Who else thinks drill sergeants should be used to deboard planes? My father has said this all along, and that if every civilian had been forced to participate in their own survival, our economy would be so great and we could fight our war on so many fronts that we would never have to take one inch of foreign soil. He has also said to me, "The best way to prepare to defend yourself is to fight in your backyard." I don't remember him saying "The best way to prepare for defense is to live in a safe place with ample supplies and let the government handle it for you." As someone who actually saw the first man on the moon walk, a huge hero of mine, I would like to thank all those involved in bringing his life to a close. It made no sense to me. There was no reason for it. The man died. The government was not going to tell the truth. I had to be told. I'd like to know what Dr. Z said to his son. Did he tell him he loved him and miss him? That his father would have liked to have had a chance to tell him everything he wanted to tell him? Why don't we know that? Why are so many important parts of Dr. Z's life just wiped from history? Who's fault is it that Dr. Z no longer tells us he loves us? Is it his wife's fault? Did she brainwash him? It's too long ago. Was he brainwashed by his government or something worse? I know one thing for sure—Dr. Z was a special person. A special man. We lost a special life. Do you ever think about him? ## Dr. J April 13, 2004 Dear B, I have to say you are making me feel really old. I had some of the best high school years of my life, yet I am sixty-five and you want me to think about the things I did in the early sixties? You are absolutely right, it was a different time. What do you want me to do? Sit and cry? Your mother keeps you off school because of who you are and I understand how traumatic it is for you to go to school. You are doing well but no matter how hard you try, things will come back that no one ever wants to come back. I am sure there is nothing we can do about that except make you accept it. The fact that you were picked to be in this team means that you had some qualities that were needed. The people involved in this are your parents, your teachers, and Mr. DePalma, a special teacher from a special school. For all I know, you could have been picked to be in the Miss America team or the Miss America swim team. Mr. DePalma had asked me the other day if there were other kids in your class like you and I said, "I think there are four or five," which there are, but they don't act like you. Some of the things you were saying were true. You didn't have any control. Why? What did you think I should do? In our society we are taught that you can if you want to. When you get involved with things that most people your age are involved with, you are going to be questioned and made fun of. Have you noticed that if you sit in a car, the other kids get out of the car to ask for directions or for help? If you are riding a bike with them, they get off and laugh. So what do you want to do? I can see that this has bothered you. This does bother me too. I don't know how much money or time you have but it is not too late. Maybe one of the kids you know is in a gang and is talking to some people. As far as I know, that may be the answer. I am going to give you a big hug and tell you that I love you. Love, Dad ## Boo Boo ## The Boo Boo Letter Dear Dad, Thanks for asking me what I thought you should do and what is bothering me. I'm glad you asked me, it made me think of how I think about it, so it made me feel better to write it out. I know I am supposed to be really hard about the way things were in the sixties. In the seventies and in the eighties, the fifties were as far away from me as they can be. Now I am wondering if maybe some of the things that happened in the sixties happened because those of us who are younger were really helpless at that time. I want to know why it is considered a really bad idea that two ten-year-olds have a three-way? Why did they take this picture of me being taken out of the class and then taken to my room? If I had been allowed to go home, it would have been fine. Then no one would have been upset, and I wouldn't be doing this letter now. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this, and I'm not being fair, because I know it happened to a lot of other kids. It's just that the ones who were picked for that project were really bad kids, and the fact that the administration picked kids who are as stupid as we are does not help. If you had asked any of those stupid kids who were in that class why they were upset, they would have told you that there was no reason. They never had a reason for not doing their homework. Now I want to make myself clear that we had a very good curriculum and I did not have a bad education, but what I think is unfair is that we had too many rules and some of the rules seemed made up to make us less than what we really were. You remember I was taking algebra when the school sent my picture to all the parents? It was because I wasn't living up to the image they had of me. What happened was that I had decided to be a dancer instead of a math person and that made me different. I am a dancer now. I think I will probably be a classical dancer. I was in the second row of the class picture. Why was that? Because all the smarter kids were in the first row. My problem was that I wasn't smarter than those kids. If I had been smarter, I wouldn't be having this problem right now. Now, maybe, because I'm not as smart as you, if I ever stop being stupid I will find a better way to say things. Do you think I'm smart? I really want to know what you think. There's something else. My hair was blonde when I was ten and now it's turning gray. My skin turns red at the first sign of sun. You know how that is? Do you think there is some connection between that and being a ten-year-old? That is another thing that bothers me about the pictures. I looked so different when they took them. It didn't matter if I was smiling or not. So what was my real problem? Even though it's not a good picture, you can't believe that everything was as great as it could have been if you saw the movie made about us called _Cannonball Run._ I wish I could have done what I did in _Cannonball Run._ What I really wanted to do was be a pilot. So why didn't I do that? The problem was I was very hard on myself, and sometimes I was hard on my parents. It's just that, you know, the pictures make me so mad. Maybe I'm just not understanding, but I really believe that there are all kinds of children in the world and everyone has the right to exist. I wonder if any of the kids in the movie are actually as they seem on the outside. Do you think people look better than they are? Are you seeing a good reflection of me in that movie? Do you think everyone who looks like me looks like that? There's someone out there who thinks exactly like me but you can't see him because he can't get anywhere near me. My hair, to him, is beautiful because he can see the color of the color of it, not because of what it looks like on my head. It makes me want to say the movie is great because it shows how we are all alike in some ways, and yet not alike in others. It's great, except that it doesn't show any of the stuff about me that you like. I guess it doesn't show that side of me at all. I know what you mean about having to live with the fact that it was a different time, and that people could be cruel. Do you think it would have made any difference if I had known my parents? You might have felt a little better if you knew what had happened to us in the past, but it wouldn't have made us any happier. As far as I know, we aren't going to be able to change anything in the future. I know that if you were there then, you would have to ask the school principal and his wife what happened. I will try and find the movie and watch it. I was wondering if this will be all that I can say about the sixties. How was it that I lost all my friends because I wouldn't talk to them? Why didn't I talk to anyone when I had anything to say? By the way, I'm not sure how to say this