Rock Star Bowie

To the Editors:

David Bowie [July 18] in any role is exciting and frightening.

Gaye A. Muilenburg Hartley, Iowa

David Bowie is timeless. He is not a fad; he is not a rock idol. He is a musician who clearly stands above the rest.

Eleanor Jones Kingsport, Tenn.

So often we hear that ours is an age bereft of heroes. Bowie proves otherwise. His courage, honesty and virtuosity have inspired a generation.

Bill Haley Media, Pa.

The attention the critics are heaping on Bowie is certainly long overdue. For the past 15 years, he has been setting standards for rock and paving the way for other groups with his unusual sound and varied personalities.

Monica Sanning Amherst, Mass.

For ten hours I broiled in the California sun at the US Festival waiting to get a glimpse of Bowie. I was crushed to discover that Bowie's Ziggy Stardust has been traded for a commercial disco style. Longing to hear Hang On to Yourself and Starman, I heard Let's Dance and other unmemorable tunes. Bowie was such an innovative man whose fantasies shaped the music of others. He should not forget his past.

Melinda J. Cohn Paris

By shaking off his eccentric personae and bringing his inimitable music down to the man in the street, Bowie has gained many new admirers. His old fans should not misconstrue this fresh vitality as selling out.

Charles Williams New York City

Your story on Bowie was sensationalism. There is no reason to inform your readers about the perverted and nihilistic attitudes of this musical pretender.

(The Rev.) Jerry D. Scott II Washington, N.J.

A disgusting creep.

Ellen Powell Northfield, Vt.

Military Pensions

The President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control [July 11] recommended that military pensions be scaled back so that they no longer amount to about twice the rate found in the private sector. This proposal ignores the risk to life and limb, especially during training and combat, that is at least twice as great in the military as in civilian life. The survey's suggestions deserve the same attention that business brass would give to military men who advised them on corporate pensions.

Joseph Fernandez Colonel, U.S.A. (ret.) Lutz, Fla.

Ladies' Day

I assume that the Essay "Women Are Getting Out of Hand" [July 18] was written in jest. However, I must respond to your closing comment: "Clearly the future belongs to women." With the ERA not passed, with women being paid only 59-c- for every dollar that men earn, and with reproductive freedom still threatened, it is hardly assured that "the future belongs to women."

Catherine Oliver Pittsford, N. Y.

One does not have to be a sociologist or a psychologist to realize that men have made a shambles of this world. So why not give the ladies a chance, despite Anne Burford and Indira Gandhi?

Robert G. Arthur Kings Park, N. Y.

All I can say is: Jessica Christ! What is the world coming to!

Alan Thornton Albany, Ga.

Political Football

Since the question of quality education has become a political issue [July 18], we must ask ourselves who is responsible for the mess in our schools. It is nonsense to blame the teachers. They are no less prepared today than they used to be. The schools still have books and special facilities. The problem lies with the large number of children who are under-raised at home, not under-taught at school.

Don Enders Milford, Ohio I am a classroom teacher who wonders who is in charge of our schools. One of the problems is that parents are in control of the schools. A public school cannot operate with so many people managing it. The situation is equivalent to allowing the Chrysler stockholders to take over the decision making. The public should vote for the school board, but, once elected, the board should be free to hire able administrators. Let the professionals do the job.

Elizabeth Denniston Pittsburgh

Heartbreak Disease

You offered a comprehensive view of the effects of Alzheimer's disease [July 11]. But the sickness has two victims: the patient and the supporting spouse. Over a devastating ten years, I watched my wife go from having minor memory problems to that never-to-be-forgotten day when I had to institutionalize her. Now I know why Alzheimer's is referred to as "the worst of all diseases," "a funeral that never ends," or "a person I used to know."

James G. Kelly Palm Harbor, Fla.

The article on Alzheimer's disease was commendable for its accurate portrayal of diagnosis and treatment. While increased public awareness is beneficial, publicity can also increase the risk of misdiagnosis, especially since the early signs are virtually indistinguishable from those of normal aging. In my practice, I have seen cases in which treatable problems have been overlooked and attributed to Alzheimer's. That is why it is essential that a complete medical and psychosocial evaluation be done whenever Alzheimer's disease is suspected.

Judy M. Zarit Coordinator of Geriatric Services Hirsch Community Mental Health Center Culver City, Calif.

Travolta Fever

TIME underestimates the power of John Travolta's erotic intensity and charisma in his latest film, Staying Alive [July 18]. His performance made me, a conservative housewife, mother and C.P.A. from Ohio, want to abandon all for the frenetic and aphrodisian life of a dancer.

Rebecca Baclawski Cincinnati

Spend or Save

As one who has been a saver since the fourth grade, I read with interest your article on the growing demand for a consumption tax [July 18]. I am sick and tired of a society that penalizes those like me who are thrifty. Worse, our nation's lawmakers reward my fellow citizens who indulge in big spending frivolities by not slapping them with a consumption tax. Our politicians should face up to the need for restructuring our tax system. It is no wonder that the middle class finds foreign bank accounts more and more appealing.

Elizabeth Zilli Miami Lakes, Fla.

No Laughing Matter

The item concerning Farrah Fawcett in the People column [July 4] was in poor taste. When you consider how many famous people have been murdered or wounded in recent years by crazed assailants, it is unforgivable to make fun of an incident in which a strange man leaps onto the stage and threatens the actress. She showed courage in the way she handled herself.

James R. Kondas New York City

Equal Benefits

God can discriminate between the sexes. But the Supreme Court has ruled that insurers offering retirement plans may not [July 18]. Equality has become so strong a dogma that we refuse to accept the fact that women do live longer than men. Thus by demanding that men and women contribute equally to pension plans and receive equal payments, the court is requiring men to subsidize women.

John R. Isaac Littleton, Colo.

The Supreme Court has ruled that "even a true generalization about class cannot justify class-based treatment." What does this imply about my auto insurance rates, which reflect the fact that young males as a group have more accidents than other drivers?

Eric Randall Latham, N. Y.

Bill and Mary

The continuing saga of Mary Cunningham and William Agee is amusing [July 4]. The games Cunningham played while she was at Bendix are certainly familiar to big businessmen. They have been playing them for years. It is hardly news when a corporate executive steals an idea from a subordinate and passes it off as his own. It becomes noteworthy only when a woman does it.

Barbara J. Jenkins

Whittier, Calif.

In interpreting the escapades of Bill and Mary, reporters mistakenly portray the Harvard Business School as the root of all management evil. H.B.S. is an educational, not a correctional institution. The tactics used by Agee in the Bendix-Martin Marietta acquisition debacle bear little resemblance to what we are taught at Harvard. If some of the school's better-known graduates, like Cunningham and Agee, have acquired a reputation for backstabbing, they possessed the trait long before their arrival at Harvard.

Richard A. Davies Baraboc, Wise.

Snappy Suspenders

Your article about suspenders [July 18] omits the chief reason for their surge back into fashion. For heart patients, for those with potbellies and for those who like their stretchability under a suit, braces are more comfortable.

Elsa Anderson Kaunat Wycombe, Pa.

In the late '30s, my husband found a will left by a man who offered several pieces of advice to his sons. One was, "Never hire a man who smokes. He is always striking matches and wasting time." Another was, "Never hire a man who wears a belt. He wastes time pulling up his pants."

(Mrs.) John Capita Charleston, W. Va. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.