Letters

Featured Letter: On death and safety

To the editor:

The discussion regarding creating a more safe solution to outside the Soundview motel and restaurant has several sound solutions. The suggestions from Troy Gustavson, Donald Ritter, Tom Hall and others as reflected in last week’s opinion pages all have merit and involve a much more reasonable budget. The use of a traffic light, allowing a pedestrian to indicate his intention to cross to the parking area would be really simple. It would show a green light to traffic, changing to red only when the button is pressed by the pedestrian looking to cross the road. Being an expatriated NYC resident, my own experience has seen this light as a fruitful solution, easy to use, modest in price and not hugely disruptive in the short run.

And, it saves the tennis and boulle courts untouched.

I also want to voice my appreciation for Rachel Young’s article on the “Death Café.” It is a topic hardly ever touched upon for fear of some too-strong reactions. Being past 70 years of age, there have been way too many occasions where I’ve had to deal with loss. The most poignant was when our daughter, at 14 years of age, lost her beloved grandfather. She was even younger (13) when she lost her “best pal,” her great-grandmother. They were best of friends and everything one could hope for in a 99-year-old. They were so very close. Melanie was with her, being babysat while her dad and I were on a brief vacation on a houseboat in Florida. She handled it all very well. With a little help, she made all the funeral arrangements, the viewing, a priest’s attendance, etc. We talked it through upon our return.

She was remarkable and better prepared the following year, when her “Poppie” died. Thanks again to Ms. Young.

Marianne Selwyn, Orient