Those killed by drunk drivers not the only victims
Editor:I want to express my gratitude for your time and effort in writing about my brother’s death by a drunk driver (“MV man killed in head-on crash,” March 24). We are still working out so much in terms of Juan’s personal business matters and going through his belongings, etc. And my family and I went to a hearing recently for the driver who killed Juan.
It was disheartening to see the woman’s lack of sadness or grief, but instead to see her smiling and laughing while speaking with her new attorney. She is still in custody since she didn’t make the $500,000 bail. She has not entered a plea yet since she just retained counsel.
I want to keep this case in the public eye. I want a personal face put on drunk-driving victims. It happens too often and is obviously not taken seriously enough. Look how many lives were affected: Not just Juan’s, not just his family’s, not just his friends’. I got to meet one of the witnesses at Juan’s service. She is going to start therapy to deal with the horror she witnessed. The drunk driver’s family was affected as well. Their lives have forever been altered.
There is no reason that this had to happen. The carelessness of the driver led to an irrevocable tragedy. She didn’t care enough to arrange for a ride home.
Lydia Pena-Sherrill
Dalma Drive
‘Lost Formicans’ wasn’t that bad
Editor:I would like to comment on the review in last week’s paper about The Pear Avenue Theatre’s production of “Tales of the Lost Formicans” (“Spaced out”). I was shocked at the article and the utter disgust that Ms. O’Shea seemed to have about the production. I have seen nearly everything that The Pear has done and I honestly believe that this was one of their best productions ever.
Ms. O’Shea states that “Ninety-nine percent of the show makes absolutely no sense. That it goes on for two-and-a-half hours is simply painful.” This couldn’t be more untrue. The play was easy to follow if you paid attention, the acting was superb, and the direction was as well. When I read this, I thought she must not have been listening, or that maybe she’s the one who ought to have her “medication adjusted,” as she stated that the vast majority of critics who loved other productions should have done.
And why is she commenting on the director’s notes and making fun of them? What a complete waste of space in your paper that is. She seems to have no sense of humor or irony.
She states, “Isn’t the whole point of community theater to make the public excited about the arts, rather than scare them away?” First of all, I don’t consider The Pear a “community theater.” It has always been a place that performs rarely done work and world premiers — hardly the stuff of community theater. Secondly, how can she assume that the play is “scaring people away”? What a ridiculous thing to say. Did she take a poll after the show and ask people if they felt “scared” enough to never return? I for one was sitting in a full house of audience members who laughed, cried and seemed fully engaged throughout.
It’s refreshing to have a theater on the Peninsula that takes risks in doing works like this one. I think it’s unfortunate that your paper doesn’t have an experienced theater reviewer, who could review a piece accurately and with some level of sophistication.
Ray Renati
Palo Alto
Editor’s note: Ray Renati is an actor and director who serves on the Pear’s Board of Directors and its Artistic Steering Committee. He was not involved in the production of “Tales of the Lost Formicans.”
Better if this student drove to school
Editor:Actually, if my son drove himself to school it would green things up! Right now I drive him to school in the morning and his mom picks him up in the afternoon. That’s four trips. If he drove himself it would only be two trips. Half the greenhouse emissions and half the global warming!
Maarten Korringa
Eldora Drive
Thanks for stories on student driving
Editor:On behalf of the neighbors of the Mountain View High School, I am writing to thank you for the series of great articles and the editorial that your paper has published recently about the parking issue on Truman and Bryant. The coverage of the various meetings and issues has been very thorough and well balanced. The position that your paper has taken in the editorial piece is courageous and refreshing. It is very important to raise awareness about the serious climate changes that we are experiencing and to emphasize the importance of personal responsibility starting at an early age.
I enjoy reading the Voice every week to stay informed about our local news and events.
Bijan Haghighi
Bruckner Circle
