Letters to the editor of the Globe Magazine

posted on bostonglobe.com

You’ve got to be kidding! Anyone who knows anything about chow mein sandwiches knows that they originated in Fall River, and the best ones are there. Rhode Island? What a joke! Cancel my subscription.

Jeanne Medeiros

Sharon

The best grilled cheese sandwich on the planet can be enjoyed at Rubi’s Coffee & Sandwiches Cafe in Great Barrington. They’re made with high-quality Comte cheese from France and Pullman bread. They’re buttered on the outside and finished with a dusting of sea salt. Heaven! I’m posting this to compensate for this otherwise excellent piece’s regrettable Eastern New England bias. I know most Bostonians think Western Massachusetts starts somewhere around Framingham, but it doesn’t. Springfield is an hour east of Great Barrington, yet we’re STILL in Massachusetts! Come visit!

jerichovalley

posted on bostonglobe.com

Janelle Nanos’s article on her visit to the Aleutian Islands really captured my attention (“Journey Back to the Aleutians,” April 30). Like her grandfather, my dad was stationed on the islands. I’m in possession of several old pictures and letters he wrote to his family during his deployment from 1942 to 1945. And, like Nanos, I have hoped that someday I could make my way to the islands and attempt to retrace his time.

Sybil Phillips

Marblehead

My father was stationed on Amchitka there. We have his photographs of the island and stops he made en route. Here are some things I’ve learned: The Aleutian campaign is often called the other Pacific campaign, the less familiar one. Author Dashiell Hammett was stationed on Adak and edited an Army newspaper called the The Adakian. Gore Vidal based his novel Williwaw on his wartime experience in the islands. It has great descriptions of the weather there.

Bryon Clemence

Boxborough

Contrary to the Perspective by Nazli Kibria, no one has to—nor should they—stay in a toxic familial relationship (“Let’s Look to Our Siblings to Bridge the Political Divide,” April 30). She states, “Siblings show us that repair and renewal are possible when we understand that the relationship is here to stay, whatever the problems.” There are many exceptions to this statement; no one should feel guilty or a failure when permanently cutting ties with a sibling.

Loretta LaCentra

Revere

Liberals believe in specific policy goals and approaches. Conservatives believe in specific policy goals and approaches. You can agree or disagree with a policy goal, or the best manner to achieve that goal. You can debate the relative merits of policy positions. You can have civil discourse on questions like: Do low corporate taxes spur economic growth, or drain municipal resources? Does standardized testing accurately assess an individual student’s potential? Does the pitch clock ruin the timelessness of baseball, or make it more watchable?

justcuriousiguess

posted on bostonglobe.com

My wife and I laughed at Melissa Giberson’s Connections, “Are You Sisters?” (April 30), and our similar experiences. We started dating in December 1996 and were first asked if we were sisters while traveling a few months later. Back then, it seemed safer when traveling to say yes. Since then, we have been asked countless times—both with and without our children or grandchildren. I think people recognize a loving relationship and they might not have words for it. Now, we proudly say, “Not sisters, we’re married”—most of the time. Sadly, sometimes it still feels safer to say sisters.

Lenore Lyons and Diane Thayer

Centerville

My life partner of 30 years, wife for 18, and I also experienced what Giberson and her partner did. On an international flight, a flight attendant refused to believe us. Other times, it’s store clerks and waitstaff. We both wear glasses, have silver hair, and are about the same height so we’re sisters! It’s annoying that folks have to move through this line of questioning, and that being life partners and wives isn’t an acceptable first question.

Diana Dugan Richards

Watertown

Here’s hoping that the grating task of correcting people’s assumptions at least results in behavioral change over time. As a gay man married to a man, I have my share of these stories as well. But I wanted to offer another story that gives me hope. Last year, my husband and I wandered into a jewelry store. I was looking for a new wedding band. The clerk didn’t miss a beat when I asked to try on rings from the “women’s” case. She took out the rings and offered, “These cases are labeled women’s and men’s but that’s arbitrary. You’re welcome to try on whatever you like.” It’s an example of the kind of grace and unassuming behavior we should come to expect from people.

Tom Chase

Boston

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