The red balloon
To The Editor:
Re “Wally Elvers, 95, longtime Villager, polymath” (obituary, June 6):
What a wonderful testimony to the intelligence, love and fruitful originality of this lovely gentleman, who was my neighbor for many years, the husband of my friend Bibi, and the father of my two daughters’ friends Laurie and Susie.
I remember a story Bibi told me many years ago, about how Wally’s parents arranged to take precautions against him getting lost when they went on excursions to the Bronx Zoo. They would buy a red helium balloon and tie it to his wrist, explaining that if he should ever find himself alone and without them, he should not run and panic, but rather stand still in the spot where he was and slowly raise his wrist up and down. His parents, who would of course be looking for him, would scan the horizon to see the red balloon rising and falling, and thus know where to look for him.
What charms me about this story is the way it demonstrates an encounter with a situation that for most of us would be so fraught with terror, not to say hysteria, and shows us that the proper way to meet it is with reason, intelligence and originality.
Carol F. Jochnowitz
Go, dogs, go!
To The Editor:
Re “Not going to the dogs on Gansevoort, Pier 40” (op-ed, by Lynn Pacifico, June 6):
Lynn is absolutely correct. We need more dog runs and they should be included as a part of every proposal for public spaces, including those on the waterfront. It’s always been a struggle to get dog runs in the Village, despite the fact that more and more dogs live here. The decision makers really shouldn’t be so dismissive of dog owners as we are an important part of the community and we vote!
Aubrey Lees
Bus is a lifeline
To The Editor:
Re “Figuring out 14th St.” (Editorial, June 6):
I’m 75, with heart and lung issues, but living in active retirement at Hudson and 11th Sts. thanks to the 14A bus loop down to Hudson and Bleecker Sts., plus the M11 and M8 lines, which help me get to various doctors and other appointments and Off and Off Off Broadway theaters at night. It’s what keeps me going.
Ending the 14A loop (the line I use most) will bring my life-preserving active life to a semi-halt and will no doubt shorten my life. So this is deadly personal for me.
By the way, the notoriously bad M20 bus is so erratic, late and slow, I’ve missed many a curtain time waiting in vane for one to come. Low-income seniors can’t afford Ubers or taxis, and subway stairs are just too much. Please don’t abandon us. It is literally a matter of life and death.
John Doyle
Follow the meds
To The Editor:
Re “ ‘This is fixable’: Parkland father on U.S. gun violence” (news article, May 30):
I don’t know about the latest shooter but all the priors were on antidepressants. The problem is not the guns but the criminal pharmaceutical industry — they are truly the bad guys.
Lynn Pacifico
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