LizLetters

Mamas Need Schooling

Peralta Community College District
Board of Trustees
333 East 8th Street
Oakland, California 94606

Dear Sirs and Madams:

    I am writing to you in support of keeping your childcare facilities at Laney College open. It has been more than ten years since I attended Laney, and the two years I spent there were at least as influential to me as my time at U.C. Berkeley and in graduate school. I was just out of high school, and I appreciated that I was not sitting in a room full of naive kids like myself, but was learning alongside folks who had lived life, had families and jobs. It did not occur to me at the time that many of my classmates and instructors had young children who had to be somewhere while they were in class.
    Years later, after becoming a parent and community college instructor myself, I became aware of this predicament. The success of many students in school depends on the availability of affordable child care. It would be a disservice to the community to reduce the options that are available.

Truly,

Liz Mann

The Right To Write

Elif Shafak
Middle Eastern Studies Department
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ  85721

Dear Ms. Shafak:

    Congratulations on the birth of your first baby! I am writing to wish you luck not only in your new adventure as a mother, but in staying out of Turkish prison. Apparently the government of Turkey is not happy with the views expressed by the characters in your latest novel.
    As banned books week approaches (is there a banned books week in Turkey?), we in the United States have the opportunity to assess the state of the first amendment. We tent to tout our freedoms, especially in comparison with other countries. But particularly in the last few years our freedom of expression faces increasing challenges. Even the Dixie Chicks faced a tremendous backlash after speaking out against Bush. Afterward, though, other musicians were more free to do the same, as the Chicks absorbed the brunt of the initial outcry against dissenters.
    I do not know whether your position at an American university affords you more protection than you might otherwise have against prosecution, but I do hope for the best for you and your family, and I hope for a future in which we can write without fear.

Truly,

Liz Mann

Ounces Of Prevention

Tessa Jowell, Culture Secretary
Department for Culture Media & Sport
2-4 Cockspur Street
London
SW1Y 5DH

Dear Ms. Jowell,

    I applaud your attempts to make the fashion industry responsible for its role in creating the self-image of young women around the world. I find it amazing that this has not taken place until 2006 -- after years and years of accepting the “waif” look for models, the issue is not only in the public eye but finally could affect the fashion industry financially.
    It is all fine and good for the modeling agents and designers to cry “foul.” A few ultra-thin models will be out of a job. The designers will have to pony up for extra fabric and design clothes that look good not only on clothes hangers, but on humans with flesh as well. They can not ignore the fact, though, that girls in America, Europe, and around the world look to the models in glossy magazines for cues as to what is beautiful.
    Fashion may be an art, but what it portrays becomes very real to women and affects their lives. Women in Asia and Africa are ruining themselves bleaching their skin. How do we stop that?
    As much progress as has supposedly been made for women in the feminist movement, there is still only about as much room for variation in body type as there is in a size zero pair of jeans.

Truly,

Liz Mann

Don't Bother To Knock

Rabbi Yair Silverman
Eastbayshore Eruv Corporation
2371 West Street
Berkeley, CA 94702

Dear Rabbi Silverman,

    I only recently read about the eruv you’ve delineated in the Berkeley and Albany area. As I understand it, this creates a large “home” for congregants who otherwise could not leave their homes on the Sabbath. When I first glanced at the map it looked like I might live within its boundaries, and I got a sudden feeling that I was sitting in someone else’s home. I then saw that I live just outside of the eruv, but I do pass through it almost daily. I will now always be wondering when I am in the zone, should I take my shoes off? Is it a bad time to go ploughing through in my car? The most pressing unanswered question for me, though, regarding the nature of the eruv is this: is it okay to leave a sofa on the sidewalk in an eruv?
    Thanks for your time!

Truly,

Liz Mann

A Spin For Spinach

Western Growers Association
P.O. Box 2130
Newport Beach, CA  92658

Dear Sir or Madam:

    It is, of course, too early to determine the possible damage to spinach sales that may result from the recent e. coli outbreak. Someone will need to start right away, however, on a marketing campaign to get the leafy green’s reputation back on track.
    I am surprised at how many ads and billboards I see for avocados. I would imagine that avocados could sell themselves, especially in California, but I suppose every piece of produce could use a boost. I think that spinach will simply need a new mascot. Has there been a new one since Popeye used to down canned spinach for strength decades ago? It’s about time for a fresh face to gets kids and others to want to eat spinach and also to have faith in its safety. Although I see his face on a number of products and suspect that he is a serial endorser (and maybe even a cereal endorser), I believe you should approach Spongebob Squarepants and see if he will start eating fresh spinach on his show. Parents will get a subliminal connection associating the cleanliness of a sponge with spinach, and by the time kids catch on that there is no spinach in the ocean, they will already be hooked.

Truly,

Liz Mann

The Bell's Toll

Pat Russo, Chairman and CEO
Lucent Technologies
600 Mountain Ave.
Murray Hill, NJ  07974-0636

Dear Ms. Russo:

    I am disgusted by the news that your company is collecting money from people each month for the rental of rotary phones from the 1960s. According to a recent news report, one octogenarian customer in Ohio has paid thousands of dollars for her phone over the decades. Apparently your company has stated that customers were given the opportunity to opt out of renting the phones thirty years ago. In my experience the informative inserts that companies provide with one’s bills that have money-saving offers such as opting out are small, innocuous and look simply like the other useless stuffing that often accompanies statements.
    I do not believe that your company or AT&T really think that the customers who have been fleeced over the years have been aware of the degree to which they’re throwing their money away. To continue to cash these people’s checks is immoral and irresponsible, and in many cases amounts to elder abuse. You’re no better than common pickpockets.

Truly,

Liz Mann

Everything Old Is Old Again

Hasbro, Inc.
1027 Newport Avenue
P.O. Box 1059
Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02862-1059

Dear Hasbro,

    I was disappointed to learn of the new, “updated” version of your Monopoly® board game. I was never a huge fan of the game, but I do feel at least a bit nostalgic about the classic version. Aside from not wanting to  expose my child to capitalism any more than that which is inevitable, I  will not be purchasing this new version of the game for her. Children are already branded right and left, and do not need to have name brand  pieces on their game boards.
    The main thing that turned me off of the game in the past is that it always took so damn long to play. Now it will also be one long commercial. The joke about Starbucks eventually opening shops in people’s living rooms is coming to fruition. As much as I find the Starbucks piece annoying, though, I feel it is downright irresponsible to put a cute little order of McDonalds fries in youngsters’ hands when so many kids are practically living off of fast food.
    I hope that you at least have balanced things out with the messages on the “Chance” cards. Do players suffer the consequences of corporate greed in the tradition of Enron? Do they suffer financial setbacks due to class action lawsuits? I do hope this is not solely the 3-D advertisement that it looks like.

Truly,

Liz Mann

Make Love Not War

Richmond Mayor Irma Anderson
c/o Mayor’s Office
1401 Marina Way South
Richmond, CA 94804

Dear Mayor Anderson:

    As a lifelong East Bay resident I have always been aware of Richmond’s violent reputation. It pains me to still see headlines almost daily about new shootings and gang activity. I grew up in Oakland and was displeased when I learned that Oakland has a bad reputation around the world. When I traveled I learned that the violence was basically all people knew of, that they were unaware of the many things about Oakland that make it great. While I am guilty of not knowing a great deal about Richmond, I am sure that the same scenario applies. I did recently discover your lovely waterfront while biking on the Bay Trail.
    I imagine you are constantly brainstorming ways to curb the violence in Richmond. I read a news story recently about a strategy being used in Colombia that may work here as well. Gang members’ wives and girlfriends have collectively decided to withhold sex until the men lay down their guns. This just might work! If their plan is successful, I believe you should try and organize a similar pact among the women in Richmond.
    This could be the key to ending violence altogether. I think it warrants a town hall meeting. Good luck!

Truly,

Liz Mann

Tiff Over A Skiff

Mark Morice
3312 Napoleon Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70125

Dear Mr. Morice,

    I am amazed almost daily at the ridiculous things people sue each other over. The lawsuit against you falls into this category. Apparently you commandeered a neighbor’s boat during hurricane Katrina and rescued scores of people. Since you abandoned the boat instead of carefully placing it back where you found it, your neighbor is suing you! YOu seem to be the only one in this equation displaying any integrity. I imagine many people would feel pride in having some role (albeit a passive one) in the rescue effort. Rather than counting himself lucky to have retained what he has among the countless people who lost everything, your neighbor is looking for someone to blame.
    I hope your neighbor does not make you regret your noble actions. This is simply proof that no good deed goes unpunished.

Truly,

Liz Mann

No Return

Laura Tischler
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Ms. Tischler:

    I am writing out of concern for Dr. Mohammad Salama, who has been essentially living in exile for over two months while waiting for clearance to return to the United States. It is not clear to me from the report on his situation why he had to leave the U.S. in order to process an upgrade in his visa, but I find it troubling that the department is so inefficient that this individual’s entire life has been interrupted indefinitely due to red tape.
    On the one hand, perhaps this is a sign that the U.S. is being extra thorough about keeping track of who enters the country after the incidents that occurred five years ago today. It seems more likely, however, that the bureaucracy that handles such matters needs to be improved.
    The future of this country will benefit from the work that Mr. Salama is slated to do. He has been hired to teach Arabic here in the Bay Area (provided he gets here), which will, we can hope, help to foster communication and understanding between the U.S. and the Arabic-speaking world.
    My faith in the system is challenged by what Mr. Salama, who is probably not the only one in this predicament, is being put through. It is not a service to our country to detain valuable members of society for months on end. It seems however, in light of such places as Guantanamo and the newly-revealed secret prisons, detainment is our country’s standard m.o.

Truly,

Liz Mann