Dan's Papers - May 29, 2009 -

I grew up in Queens. Its major event was the 1939 Flushing Meadow, Corona, New York World's Fair. There were exhibits from all over the world. A young man came there to show how mannequins could sing. It's a small, small world. Some showed us what the world would be like in the future. Some of it did actually happen.

Our family lived within three blocks of each other. All your relatives lived on these three blocks and guess what? They always knew all about you all the time. Now this was a major guilt trip.

My paternal grandpa was a farmer in the old country. He did good and purchased acres on rural Long Island. He became a carpenter and built his own house. He retired there. On weekends anyone from the three-block family could go there. That house is still in our family. I don't know if it's a small world? It's mine and this I know for sure. We would travel on the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway. The journey begins. Adventure waits.

This parkway came before the Long Island Expressway, Route 495. The night was dark except for the twinkling stars that lit up the sky. We would always find the farm.

In the morning, Aunt Lucy would be our special director. We swam the isolated beaches, dug for clams with our toes, and caught the blue claw crabs. Grandpa had a great garden and grapes for wine. He also raised prize chickens. He always named the summer chickens after us, his grandkids. Not funny! Each aunt cooked our favorite dish. We could eat all we wanted. Mangia!

We played hide and seek. When night arrived we told scary stories. We were on best behavior because it was soon time for the major event. Kerosene lamps were placed on the tables. Little bugs danced around the flickering flames. Suddenly the door opened. Trays of pastries were brought out. Soon we were covered in powdered sugar. You could have all you wanted. Sweet. When our eyes were heavy, we crawled into our beds. The smell of pine trees filled the cabin. Awesome!

The good old days. - DR

I was very sorry to read that the Potato Hampton race was cancelled. But I, along with a few others, plan to run it this Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. During trying times our nation must stand together to preserve our founding fathers dreams for America such as free speech, the right to privacy and the right to run. We will run the same course on the same date as it has been for years.

I always preferred new potatoes and so have aptly named it the "New Potato Hampton." The cost will be lower (free) and there stands a much better chance that I will win the race. Your wonderful spirit lives on and with a bit of luck this will morph into a very sweet potato.

Dan Rattiner's op-ed was full of untruths and bias. First of all, his interpretation of the word alien is not only technically incorrect, but rather juvenile and shallow. These individuals ARE here illegally, and thus are committing an illegal act, no matter how many of them there are, or who has behaved similarly in the past. To that effect, times have changed, and those who may have been admitted into the country when it was not overpopulated and rife with economic problems were living under different circumstances. Those that "got here" were never admitted under the guise that they would be allowed to stay here. Our neighborhoods are full, schools at capacity, and millions are vying for the few jobs that they previously would have considered "beneath" them. Regardless, I have no desire for my tax dollars to support the livelihoods of those who are not contributing to our economic system. They may very well be charming individuals, and are welcome to come here to work with visas or temporarily, but staying here without proper documentation is illegal, unlawful, and a huge drain on our system.

It is, but that doesn't entitle people to declare people "illegal aliens." They are persons from afar acting illegally, yes. - DR

I'm writing to commend you for your article, "Illegal Immigrants - Derogatory Term Describes What Many of Our Ancestors Did."

I'm sure that after comprehensive reform passes and the dust settles, we'll look back at a fully integrated Latino community and wonder what all the fuss was about. Just like so many of us forget the fuss that attended our ancestors' journey and integration into American life.

I read your article about illegal aliens, and couldn't agree with you more.

I emailed you in 2005 about this situation and although you agreed, you didn't think your paper was the proper venue to discuss this. I am a painter and had done a series of paintings on day laborers to show the character and humanity of these much-maligned people (as are all incoming immigrants, legal or not,) You liked the paintings and thought they might work in an insert if you did an article about it.

I'm sending an attachment of one of the paintings but you can reach my website at sheilabreck.com and see many of them. I call the series "The Shadow Economy."