Man of the Year?
Sir:
To find a man who really deserves being called Man of the Year for 1951 is difficult. It can be General MacArthur, but his influence on 1951 is not great. It may be Winston Churchill, but he came into power late in the year, too late to deserve [the title]. No one on the other side of the Iron Curtain did anything very important this year. My preference is Senator Estes Kefauver . . .
J. DICK New York City
Sir:
John L. Lewis—who kept his trap shut when it was out of season.
FRED W. BANE Springfield, Ill.
Sir:
There is no question in my mind as to the Man of the Year; he is the ubiquitous—one might say inevitable—cab driver who sums up virtually all of the issues raised in numbers of TIME stories.
By actual count, this cab driver (or his female counterpart, an anonymous scrubwoman) has been quoted 34 times in the past six months. He never yet has failed to comprehend both the broad picture and the significant detail behind each story, and his succinct wisdom is beautifully quotable. I haven't been able to figure out his nationality. Sometimes he is a shrugging Frenchman, frequently a shrewd but likable Cockney. In the Nov. 12 issue he is an analytical Swede ("the only thing that puzzles me is how could a simple Navy N.C.O. get access to so many top secrets. Also, why were his Red sympathies ignored for 24 years?").
This man obviously is eminently qualified to lead the world. You will note how much smarter he is, for example, than your writer. In 490 words, your writer missed this double-pointed puzzle. Not so the cab driver. In two simple sentences, the cabbie got right down amongst the ribs and started probing the heart of the matter. He does it every time, and so does the scrubwoman.
That cab driver is a valuable piece of property, Mr. Editor, hang on to him like serge to lint . . .
TED SMILEY Tallahassee, Fla.
Girls' Guide
Sir:
Regarding your Nov. 5 review of The Intelligent Man's Guide to Women by Vassar Girls Whitbread and Cadden: if these ladies are married,* I'm sure their husbands have the sympathy of all other men and women who read TIME'S piece.
(MRS.) NANCY B. KEYES Long Branch, N.J.
Sir:
The Intelligent Man's Guide to Women sounds as dull as two virgins discussing sex.
MARCIA MATTHEWS McAllen, Texas
Sir:
If we're to believe Whitbread and Cadden, the road ahead for most A.A.M. (Average American Male) Groggles promises to be a rough one, indeed. Unless, of course, like me, they're lucky enough to have married a girl who seems to prefer private happiness to public hypertension.
JOHN T. KELLEY Chicago
Old Brown, Ex Veep
Sir:
Shades of Peter Rabbit! I never dreamed I'd see my childhood friend, Squirrel Nutkin, making TIME'S [Nov. 5] PEOPLE page. Even Old Brown must be blinking to find himself compared to John Nance Garner and mentioned in the same column with Margaret Truman, Princess Margaret and other royalty !
ELIZABETH CONVY SCHMANDT Ann Arbor, Mich
Sir: