Reasons
After reading your letters in the latest issue [ "Letters: Nos. 124–131," January 9], I came up with reason No. 132 to love New York. Because New Yorkers don’t know when to sit back and enjoy a really city-affirming issue in the middle of a horrible time and instead must whine and nitpick about every tiny little detail. This New Yorker thanks you for your awesome issue.
—Alexandra Aron, Manhattan

Kids
I was one of the teens Dr. Ron is looking to market [ “Bad Kids Inc.,” by David Amsden, January 9]. After being kicked out of high school and arrested three times, the last one landing me in the Brooklyn House of Detention, I left Bensonhurst and reinvented myself. All this is to say that I know enough about wayward teens to know that Dr. Ron doesn’t. He’s capitalizing on the desperation of parents and the conservative mood in our nation. It’s not about being permissive; that sour tune has been played since biblical times. It’s about being a strong model for your kids and having a relationship with them that provides leverage when the hormones kick in.
—Joel Block, Melville, N.Y.

70+ Skiers
Regarding tricia casale’s comment about septuagenarians skiing: I am 83 years old and am still skiing [ “Ask a Shop Clerk: Princeton Ski Shop,” by Denise Penny, January 9]. I belong to the 70+ Ski Club, and we have members 90 years old. I just bought my first hourglass K2 skis, at Princeton Ski Shop, to replace my old Rossignols, which served me well from Vail to Vermont. I hated to see them go. Now an old dog will have to learn new tricks on the new skis.
—William Gross, Manhattan

Correction: In “Bolton in a China Shop,” by Jennifer Senior (January 9), a photograph cited as the U.N. General Assembly in session in fact shows the Security Council.

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