(3 of 3)
Your article on ways people can decrease their risk of Alzheimer's disease recommends "brain gymnastics" [PERSONAL TIME, YOUR HEALTH, May 15] but omits mention of crossword puzzles, like the one you featured in the same issue. TIME's own story "Elixirs for Your Memory" [SCIENCE, Sept. 13, 1999] notes the connection researchers have made between solving crosswords and warding off the onset of Alzheimer's. STANLEY A. KURZBAN Chappaqua, N.Y.
Moms and Guns
While my heart goes out to those mothers whose children were killed through the misuse of guns [NATION, May 15], to simply blame the gun is a cop-out. Few parents take the time to explain the seriousness of a gun. When I was young, my father took me to a target range and under close supervision allowed me to fire a gun. That loud bang, the "kick" of the gun and the fact that I couldn't even hit the target taught me a more valuable lesson--respect. RICHARD L. BURT DeBary, Fla.
Since there is no logical connection between their objective (reducing gun-related violence) and the "gun control" measures they demand, the marching moms cannot make a coherent argument to support their agenda. They must appeal to emotion rather than reason. PHIL EDMUNDS Boalsburg, Pa.
The Founding Fathers gave the militia, not the individual, the right to bear arms. Moms marching against gun violence are to be applauded for standing up against the all-powerful gun lobby. JONATHAN TAN San Francisco
Tell It Like It Is
In writing of model Lauren Bush "She's only 15. O.K., now you can hate her" [PEOPLE, May 15], TIME writer Ellin Martens makes the same mistake that the fashion magazines do. Why would readers base how they look or what they buy on a teenager? I am a 48-year-old, wealthy, attractive, professional woman. I spend thousands of dollars a year on clothing. Stop pushing a pro-youth image for the American woman. KATHRYN RUSSELL New York City
The Bush Bent
How I wish we could keep George W. doing what he knows and loves best [NATION, May 15]: baseball. CAROLE HARE North Fort Myers, Fla.