Still Nifty at 50

To the Editors:

Shirley MacLaine [SHOW BUSINESS, May 14] is a bright star with lots of twinkle. She has everything together--her body, mind and soul.

Mary Shapiro Georgetown, Mass.

Hooray! A dazzling tribute to a dazzling woman.

Catherine Stroud Vodrey East Liverpool, Ohio

Shirley is an inspiration to all women approaching 50, and to those who have already reached and passed the Big Five-O. Judith Furman Washington, D.C.

It sounds as though Shirley gets her biggest kick in front of the mirror singing I Get a Kick out of You.

Barbara Armentano Manchester, Conn.

I appreciate Shirley MacLaine's quest to know herself and the meaning of life. There are few people who are willing to pursue the answer to the question of what happens when the curtain falls for the final tune. If Shirley has lived before, we can probably expect her back again. Her next incarnation: the encore.

Stephen M. Bartos Silver Spring, Md.

Ah, those gorgeous gams! At 50 she's still nifty.

Bob Blackall Horseheads, N. Y.

What the world does not need is a middle-aged elf. For ten years Shirley MacLaine has been complaining that writers cannot provide good roles for women, while Meryl Streep, Ellen Burstyn and Diane Keaton have been acting in terrific pictures.

Paul Burkhart Los Angeles

When Pete Hamill labels Shirley MacLaine's spiritual beliefs "intellectually ridiculous," he is correct. But the same words would have to be applied to love, dreams and what most of us experience as beauty. My thanks to Shirley for the reminder that a life governed by intellect alone is an impoverished one indeed.

Carla Scheidlinger San Diego

Innocent Abroad

Your article on Reagan's trip to China [NATION, May 14] reads more like a section from Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad than a description of what could have been an important meeting between two world powers. Only Reagan can make diplomacy look like a family vacation.

John D. Miller Berea, Ohio

In spite of all the pomp and pseudofriendly chitchat, President Reagan's visit shows that what China wants from the West is goods and expertise and the money to pay for them without an alliance against the Soviet Union. The Chinese Communist Party knows that its strength is international Communism, which is centered in the U.S.S.R.

Jacques Lagace Sainte-Foy, Que.

In America's history Ronald Reagan is the only President who is old enough to cope with the gerontocracy of Chinese Communists.

Chu Chen-hua, Dean

Graduate School of Foreign Language

Fu Hsing Rang College

Taipei

Love That Misery

Of all the delicious and malevolent self-inflicted agonies you describe in "The Appeal of Ordeal" [ESSAY, May 14], only marathon dancing is wholly understandable. It was done during the Depression in order to have a place to eat and sleep, standing up.

Sylvia Terrell Los Angeles

One must wonder how Charles Krauthammer can call watching the cinematic wonder of Napoleon an ordeal, let alone liken it to running 100 miles over the Sierra Nevada.

Kirk R. Sanders Ellettsville, Ind.

The appeal of ordeal is not the accomplishment itself but reaching the state of awareness through the nearly forgotten practice of self-denial. By indulging in an excessive standard of living fueled by imaginary needs created by Madison Avenue and disseminated by the media, the Western world has lost touch with its senses. Denial breaks the spell and allows the individual to become aware. With a raised consciousness one can rediscover true values and a sense of self-worth.

Thomas Birnbaum New York City

Miss Liberty's Facelift

Repair the Statue of Liberty [NATION, May 14]? Better to let it rot. If we fix it up, foreigners looking for a better life might actually believe that we intend to welcome them as we once did. Letting it decay will drive home the truth-that their immigration to this country is no longer regarded as their human right. Now it depends on obtaining the approval of a giant bureaucracy that will hunt them down like dogs if they dare to enter without its approval.

Jeffrey D. Smith San Jose, Calif.

Lee Iacocca's pleading is not what caused me to make a contribution to the rebuilding of the Statue of Liberty. It was remembering that cold February day in 1923 when my steamboat entered New York Harbor and I bounded up on deck to get a good look at the old girl as she greeted me.

Aritz Kraa Vassar, Mich.

Casket Controversy

Because members of the funeral business abused the rights inherent in our free-enterprise system [ECONOMY & BUSINESS, May 14], Congress was compelled to impose controls on the industry. Perhaps others, particularly professional journalists, will consider this Government intrusion a caveat to be heeded.

Thomas M. Edwards San Francisco

Caskets and other merchandise are only a small part of our business. It is the service that makes the difference between one funeral home and another. The death of a loved one is often a shocking experience. How a family chooses to handle it is based on personal idiosyncrasies, which are the funeral director's responsibility to interpret. The decision to have a casket of cardboard or solid bronze is left to the relatives. What funeral directors give of themselves to families in need will never be put on paper except by those who often write in appreciation.

Patricia Caballero

Funeral Director

Miami

After nearly 40 years as a parish priest, I have dealt with many funeral directors, and I have met only one who was disreputable. Mercifully, he went out of business. The ones I have dealt with in hundreds of funerals have been kind, thoughtful, sympathetic and understanding. Upon occasion, they have been recipients of unjustified abuse, even though some often handle welfare burials at fees below cost. I do not claim that there are no crooks in the business, but there are not many.

(The Rev.) George T. Cook Rockville Centre, N. Y.

Computer Erotica

Boo to your article on CompuSex [COMPUTERS, May 14]. Having been an active member of the CB community for more than a year, I can assure you there is much more to the system than exchanging erotic messages. I have met delightful people, shared letters and phone calls, and made friends through CB I am certain I could never have found any other way. Oh sure, CompuSex exists, but for 90% of us on CB, it is the fun and friendship we share that keep us "on line."

Nancy Paulson Libertyville, III.

Of course the woman whose husband left her because of her addiction to CompuSex is confused, hurt and angry. But how can this woman be forming a support group to help other out-of-touch hacks? Talk about the blind leading the blind! The growing legions of computer buffs and professionals are loaded with people who turn to an impersonal, unemotional computer to give them what they can neither give nor get from flesh-and-blood relationships. Are eyestrain, increased white-collar crime and broken marriages the improved world the computer has brought us?

Dennis Bateman Pittsburgh

Helpful Visit

Your article "A Hungry Mob" [WORLD, May 7] states that because the Dominican Republic is a democracy and has no leftist guerrilla threat, Reagan praised its stability and offered no more than the $135.7 million U.S. aid package already approved for this year. Actually, as a result of discussions during Dominican Republic President Jorge Blanco's state visit, the U.S. Government agreed to provide additional help to the Dominican Republic over and above the $112.2 million that was planned for this year. At the time of the President's departure, these new commitments brought the total level of economic assistance and guarantees to $135.7 million.

Jeffrey R. Biggs

Director of Press and Public Affairs

Bureau of Inter-American Affairs

U.S. Department of State

Washington, D.C.