From the June 2010 issue:

From Claudette Kostrich Laureano, Plymouth, Minnesota:

I was Gabriel Kosakoff's [Spotlight, May 2010] student at the High School of Music and Art in New York City. He was my orchestra teacher and someone who meant a great deal to me.

Editor's Note: Claudette Laureano and her husband Manny Laureano have been co-directors of the Minnesota Youth Symphonies for 22 years, and Manny Laureano has been the principal trumpet player of the Minnesota Orchestra for 29 years. The Laureanos met at the High School of Music and Art.

Gabriel Kosakoff writes that "the Laureanos are a real credit to the world of music. Manny is one of the few super star trumpet players that we ever had at Music and Arts and for many years has been recognized as one of the most respected trumpet players in the country. I remember Claudette as a lovely, hard-working young woman who was a very gifted violinist. I didn't know that she was conducting or even teaching music but you can be sure that anything that Claudette sets her mind to do will be done right."

To read an article about Claudette and Manny Laureano in MPLS St. Paul Magazine, click on www.mspmag.com/entertainment/people/83930_1.asp.

From Steven Montgomery, Manhattan, New York City:

I really liked the essay "Ambition" in the May Eldercountry. My first career goal was to be a filmmaker, and I found the theme of the essay to be relevant to my own life.

This is my favorite sentence (though I never imagined reaching such a conclusion!):

"Work success, I decided, would depend on finding something that I could do fairly well, something that someone would want to pay for, and something that someone else with greater talent would not care to do at all."

I hope a lot of people will read this useful and touching essay.

Editor's Note: Steven Montgomery found a career as a development consultant, and advises nonprofits on fundraising. Last year he gave a talk and film presentation in Indiana on "Achieving Success After My Dream Failed to Come True." You can read or listen to a public radio report on his talk by clicking on indianapublicmedia.org/arts/hobies-heroes-filmmaker-finds-fulfillment-changing-dream/.

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From the May 2010 issue:

From Liz Weis, Manhattan, New York City:

Loved the link to the technical terms [CHECK IT OUT, April 2010], the essay on Bernstein [Spotlight, WALTER BERNSTEIN], and the essay on neatening up [NEAT]. Is there a difference between French corners and hospital corners, which is what my mother called the requirement to pull up a piece of sheet and tuck it in last? I can't even describe it, but my hands know how to do it.

Editors Note: The Essayist probably mis-remembered. The correct term for the corners his mother taught him how to make in making a bed appears to be "hospital corners." To see how to make a hospital corner, click on www.www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Hospital-Corner.

From Victoria Hallerman, Staten Island, New York City:

I loved the Bernstein piece in Eldercountry [April 2010], especially the end: " 'Writing is all I ever wanted to do,' he said. He has no plans to stop." Fine and to the point. The pictures were quite professional, the subject relaxed.

The essay on neatness [NEAT] got me thinking. I used to feel quite guilty about writing – when I wasn't teaching – if the dishes hadn't been washed and everything put right. Then I felt guilty about procrastinating, until one of my teachers (A.R. Ammons, poet and teacher – and rare individual) said, "It's only the flight from the poem."

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From the April 2010 issue:

From Len Speier, Manhattan, New York City:

As usual, an interesting and pithy work [March 2010 issue ], and a chuckle or two to be found in the essay [INSPIRATION]. Commenting fairly and evenhandedly by the Eldercountry Lawyer on that nasty Supreme Court decision, unfortunately, doesn't make it any more palatable to me. I am tempted to ditch my framed Supreme Court Certificate of Admission (it hangs in my bathroom), but perhaps I will hang on to it, hoping for a meaningful change in the court's composition under Obama. (I am such as optimist!)

From David Salsburg, New London, Connecticut:

The Eldercountry Lawer piece on the recent Supreme Court decision [March 2010] set me thinking. As I read the Constitution, I don't see anything about corporations there. So, I gather that the idea of a corporation as a legal "person" is probably the result of laws of the states or the Federal government. If so, why can't Congress simply pass a law limiting the "rights" of artificial "persons" to whatever rights are needed to conduct business, like make contracts, borrow money, etc.? This is the way the Talmud might have solved it. Talmudic solutions, which often involve redefining a word that everyone thought they knew the meaning of, have a lot going for them. For instance, instead of seeking a Constitutional amendment to make desecration of the flag illegal, the right wing patriots can just pass a law that states that anything burning or being desecrated is not an American flag.

Also, I was delighted with the whimsical essay [INSPIRATION]. You can wait a long time if you hold off writing until "inspiration" comes. Wasn't it Anthony Trollop who shocked his Victorian readers by admitting that he wrote every day starting at a fixed time, as he would at any other job?

From Earnest H. Scarborough, Okanogan, Washington:

I really enjoyed the Spotlight about Bob [BOB SHERIDAN, January/February 2010]. And especially the pictures. I have been on Coffeedrome for years but never knew who Bob was. Now I know. I also now know a little more about this amazing man! Thanks.

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From the March 2010 issue:

From Carol Zaglio, Manhattan, New York City:

I am struck with wonder at the genuine and forceful photos taken by Bob Sheridan [ SPOTLIGHT January/February 2010], not to mention your article about his life.

From Ruth Cowan, Manhattan, New York City:

Another readable, enjoyable (especially Alan Oser's column) and informative issue [January/February 2010]. Thank you.

From Len Speier, Manhattan, New York City:

I very much enjoyed your article on freedom of expression in the January issue of Eldercountry [Eldercountry Lawyer, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION? IT DEPENDS].

From the January/February 2010 issue:

From Perry Neubauer, Cambridge, Massachusetts:

A word of praise for The Essayist: This is immediate and spontaneous, as he recommends [PRAISE December 2009]. I always read his stuff and enjoy it almost as much as his cooking and his violin playing.

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