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Sir / These poor dears simply want to show off their brains. They have got the notion from this generation of adults (including many parents and educators, movie and TV producers, editors and publishers) that the brain is not in the head at all — it is really down there below the belt.
A. DALE SMITH Marion, Ind.
Sir / There are those of us who are too old, too shy or too chicken (and maybe too sensible?) to try streaking ourselves. So rather than be left out in the cold (figuratively streaking, of course), we naturally turn to streak jokes. Although habit-forming, there is no evidence that streak-joking is hazard ous to your health. Examples:
Q. What did Nixon say when he caught Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Dean streaking through the Watergate complex? A. Cover up!
Q. What do you call Congressman Carl Albert if he runs naked through the House of Representatives? A. Streaker of the House.
Q. What's naked and runs across the desert? A. The Streak of Araby.
BOBBI AND BOB FITZSIMMONS
Wiesbaden, West Germany
Sir / If done by Mr. Onassis it is a Greek streak, by any Welshman a leek streak. In the Middle East Henry Kissinger has doubtless seen a sheik streak. Men of humble mien do a meek streak, while those running fully clothed through a nudist colony do a freak streak. If the act is performed in Bergdorf's, it is, no doubt, a chic streak, and in any high fashion store, a boutique streak. The solo act is a unique streak; a group performs a clique streak. The chosen footwear suggests the sneaker streaker. The possibilities appear limitless.
PAUL COTTON New York City
Round the World
Sir / Your belittling comments on the round-the-world yacht race [March 11] are typical of the feeling in the U.S. today toward anything that is "not invented here."
The exception is perhaps European and Japanese automobiles—for obvious reasons.
It is a strange European custom to undertake an occasional feat of endurance purely for the personal satisfaction and honor of taking part. Some are even willing to pay for the privilege. I wonder how many American crews would have entered if there had been a $ 100,000 prize.
JOHN HANDSCOMBE Dallas
A Special Friend
Sir/When T.S. Eliot [March 11] arrived on the Abbot Academy campus for an impromptu talk in 1952, the rumor of the day was that he was a "very special" friend of Miss Emily Hale, our dramatics teacher. Since rumors are practically a national pastime at most boarding schools, imagine my surprise when you carried a picture of Emily Hale as a lovely young woman and indeed a very special friend of Eliot's.
But Eliot's loss was Abbot's gain. Miss Hale nurtured and expanded our love for and understanding of the theater, which I. for one, needed at that time and still enjoy today.
ANN KENNEDY IRISH
Harbor Springs. Mich.