SATURDAy, MARCH 7 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A
Free For All
CALLA KESSLER/THE WASHINGTON POST
The water court in the pavilion at Glenstone in Potomac in September 201 8.Monica Hesse’s column about
the Harvey Weinstein conviction,
“The jury recognizes that messy
truths are still true” [Style,
Feb. 25], incorrectly stated that
the #MeToo movement originated
in 2017 with the allegations made
against Weinstein.
Though Hesse was right that
Weinstein’s trial is merely a sen-
tence in the whole story, she was
wrong to say it started with him.
The #MeToo movement began in
2006 with civil rights activist
Ta rana Burke. Attributing a
movement created by a black
woman to a white man erases a
critical part of the history of the
movement and puts power back
in Weinstein’s hands.
Georgiana Hardesty ,
Hanover, Md.#MeToo’s
origins
I will be 83 in August, wear glasses and am a daily
and Sunday subscriber to the print edition of
The Post and look forward to reading it. I think it is
fair to say many more senior citizens like myself read
the print edition of your newspaper.
One page I usually check after the front page,
editorial/opinions and Sports is the weather
page. Because I have friends and family in other
parts of the country, I look at the forecast for them,
too. So, on Feb. 25, I looked to see what kind of
weather Denver was having, because our daughter
and her family live near there. And I saw that
Denver’s high temperature was expected to be 26,
with a low of 10, and with “sf.”
So what is “sf ”? I looked for t he key for about two
minutes and then found it buried in the lower
right-hand corner; the entire key was less than an
inch high. I took out m y magnifying glass and found
that “sf ” stands for “snow flurries.” It could have
stood for “some fog” or “slow frosting.” But I
digress. Seriously, though, couldn’t you expand the
weather to a full page so I don’t have to buy a
stronger pair of glasses? I would also suggest you
review the fonts and space used in the entire paper
in consideration of the older folks such as me who
read and enjoy The Post.
Anthony V. Fasolo , LeesburgHelp loyal weather readers
Thank you for putting the story of Ethel Rae
Stewart Smith on the front page of The Post [“Faded
records tell Virginia’s story of school segregation,”
Feb. 23].
Smith’s example as a teacher in Upperville in 1956
— her humble circumstances and struggles to over-
come difficulty — offers lessons for all American (and
world) citizens who teach, encourage and seek to
inspire. Thank you also for this window to school
segregation in rural Virginia and for allowing us toknow of the work to preserve historic school records
by a Loudoun County volunteer team of residents,
historians and high school students. Serendipitously,
the story of Ethel Rae Stewart Smith is linked to “One
of NASA’s ‘Hidden Figures’ ” [front page, Feb. 25] —
NASA mathematician and 2015 Presidential Medal of
Freedom recipient Katherine Johnson. These African
American women give evidence that fierce determi-
nation can reward the present and the future.
Jean Bassett Fenwick , Round HillRecalling fierce women
JAHI CHIKWENDIU/THE WASHINGTON POST
Ethel Rae Stewart Smith, 9 2, kept photographs chronicling her years teaching black students in a
two-room schoolhouse in rural Virginia.Marshall Lasky’s condemnation of the u se of
“epicenter” for any non-seismological purpose
[“A high-magnitude mistake,” Free For All,
Feb. 22] was m isplaced. Though his unbending
fondness of geology and Greek etymology is
laudable, he showed little appreciation for
metaphor and for the accepting fullness of our
own language. Is there a better single word to
describe the central importance of Wuhan,
China, as the birthplace of covid-19? Is the use
of “epicenter” here likely to lead to the misap-
prehension that covid-19 is an earthquake?
Let’s save our sputtering for words such as
“unique” and “literally,” whose loose use can
actually lead to miscommunication and de-
tract from English’s p ower.
Yes, the battle to restrict “epicenter” is a “lost
cause,” j ust as when that early stonemason m usthave considered the “dilapidated” battle lost
when the word was applied to a non-stone
building’s deterioration. We can know that
“jumbo” d erives from t he name of P.T. B arnum’s
elephant and still, somehow, accept it as “darn
big.”
English usage evolves willy-nilly. So it was
ironic and fitting for Lasky to cite William Safire,
who, five years after q uoting geophysicist Joseph
Sides’s deploration of “epicenter’s” u se outside of
seismology, agreed with American Heritage dic-
tionaries editor Joseph Pickett’s assertion: “Even
though the metaphor [epicenter] may be a mis-
application of the scientific understanding of the
word, [it] effectively evokes the visible focus of
radiating power in an earthquake, and seems
worth keeping in a writer’s b ag of tricks.”
Bob Brown , AlexandriaTake ‘epicenter’ seriously but not literally
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Patients l eave Wuhan No. 3 Hospital in China on Wednesday.Regarding Philip Kennicott’s Feb. 16 Arts & Style book
excerpt, “A mourning son finds an escape into music”:
At the conclusion of Kennicott’s long search, he provided a
veiled hint of a personal revelation as he explored the depths of
Bach’s s ublime Goldberg Variations: “There is always a nagging
feeling that the reach exceeds the grasp,” he said, borrowing
from poet Robert Browning’s “A man’s reach must exceed his
grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”
But notwithstanding a thematic weakness, does Kennicott’s
late revelation not also conflict with his earlier view of music —
and music lovers? For after recounting his mother’s d isillusion-
ment and lack of fulfillment in life, he attacked music as a
cliche, a transient drug devoid of consolation or healing power
and “a distraction from things that are more painful in life.”
Most of us accept that there are no empirical answers to the
meaning of life. But evidence, at times nuanced, abounds: the
transcendent effects of music, art and literature. Even more,
the miracle of the human body, birth, the beauty of nature and
the unfathomable cosmos itself, all of which constitute “the
reach” that Browning and now Kennicott may have come to
understand.
Richard W. Stinson , BethesdaGrasping ‘the reach’s’ meaning
Regarding Kelsey Ables’s review of Glenstone, “The
calming cacophony of aural art” [Weekend, Jan. 31]:
I found Glenstone a thoughtful, deeply stimulating temple
to modern art. It did not seem “strange,” nor did I find any
relation to Instagram. Please do not assume that “our
ever-present digital maelstrom” is everyone’s reality. Con-
sciousness is singular. It is troubling that Ables’s personal
perceptions — “pretentious... cultish” — became general-
ized insults.For me, Glenstone is a revelation: a stunning expansion
from traditional museums, interweaving nature with
art. Treasures are discovered off quiet paths; mysteries wait
within Andy Goldsworthy’s cottages. Trees, a reflecting
pond and sculpted hills echo and amplify Sufi voices, along
with rushing water, paintings, sculpture and complex
installations.
For such a contemplative and generous gift, I am grateful.
Anna Katherine , Santa Fe, N.M.Grateful for this contemplative gift
Not only do I agree with Richard Yorczyk’s
sentiments regarding the Equal Rights Amendment,
but I also admire his linguistic creativity [“A picture
worth 1,000 words that all mean ‘unequal,’ ” Free For
All, Feb. 29]. Describing a group of older white men
as a “paunch” i s a brilliant, and hilarious, neologism.
Did he just coin a new collective noun? As a n older
white man eyeing the encroaching paunch with
trepidation, I can’t think of a more apt word.
Tom Wallace , Arlington
The ever-present paunch
Thank you for the article by Reem Kassis titled
“Why Palestinians object to the term ‘Israeli food’ ”
[Food, Feb. 19]. Reading often of “Israeli food” in
The Post’s Food section, I was refreshed t o finally see
a thoughtful article about the dilemma Palestinians
face regarding the continued appropriation of their
food by Israelis.
While Kassis made a good case for appropriation,
I might add that the erasure of Palestinian culture to
make way for Israel was/is part and parcel of ethnic
cleansing that continues to this day.
To c all it “Israeli food” i s to be complicit in a crime
against humanity. It is for this reason that what you
eat is as important as what you call it.
Nora Burgan , Falls Church
Why Palestinian food is important
The illustration that accompanied the March 1
Business article “Tech firms tap into parents’ anxiet-
ies” caused me anxiety. Infants should be placed on
their backs for sleeping — not on their stom-
achs. New parents are given many instructions, but
one of the easiest to remember is “Back to Sleep.”
Please make a correction to your article, recom-
mending babies be put on their backs to sleep
and not on their stomachs as shown in the
illustration.
Mary Anne Friedlander , Fairfax
It’s ‘Back to Sleep’
Although Griffin Bell was an excellent attorney
general, in her Feb. 15 op-ed, “Trump thinks the DOJ
is his personal grudge squad,” former deputy attor-
ney general Sally Yates did not mention Bell’s
immediate predecessor, Edward Levi, who was
appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1975.
An individual of unimpeachable integrity and
whose political affiliation was unknown, Levi be-
came attorney general after distinguished service as
president of the University of Chicago and, before
that, as professor and dean of the university’s law
school. He was widely credited with restoring
independence and credibility to the Justice Depart-
ment in the aftermath of Watergate. To day’s Justice
Department desperately needs an attorney general
like Levi.
Richard W. Murphy , Silver Spring
An unimpeachable attorney general
The Post’s finely tuned obituary for Lawrence
G. Wallace, “Supreme Court advocate penned a fa-
mous footnote” [Feb. 28], and accompanying photo-
graph of the accomplished violinist lovingly recalled
Wallace’s surprise musical footnote in my life. We
had first crossed paths in the 1980s as fellow string
players in a community orchestra. The next decade,
however, when I was securing a string quartet to
perform at my upcoming wedding, my sole point of
contact was a highly recommended cellist from
Northern Virginia whom I did not know.
On my wedding morning, from my staging area
upstairs at the Audubon Naturalist Society’s Wood-
end M ansion in Chevy Chase, I rejoiced upon h earing
the quartet’s designated processional music, from
Handel’s “Water Music” to Haydn’s “Quinten.” Next,
descending the staircase to Mozart’s “The Hunt,” I
spied the quartet even before I saw my handsome
groom. A surprise gift was recognizing that the first
violinist was Larry Wallace, who was equally sur-
prised to recognize t he bride!
Larry later assured me, “When I play at weddings,
the couple stay married!” My husband and I recently
celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, forever
blessed by this deputy solicitor general’s musical
footnote.
Lee Rucker Keiser , B ethesda
A treasured musical footnote
Thank you for the deep-dive story on former
Auburn University football coach To mmy Tuberville
[“In Ala., a football coach hits the stump, recruiting
votes,” front page, Feb. 29]. Please present more
eye-opening stories like this so voters can stay woke.
Roslyn Brown , Bowie
This take was e ye-opening
ISTOCKA baby girl practices good “Back-to-Sleep” habits.
ASSOCIATED PRESSAttorney General Edward Levi, right, with
Supreme Court nominee John Paul Stevens.
Is the Metro section trying to
outdo the Sports section with
alliterative headlines [“Plan for
more police in Montgomeryschools polarizes parents,” Met-
ro, Feb. 23]? Perhaps you should
try harder. How about some-
thing like this, f or example: “Pro-posed plan for populating public
schools with more police per-
turbs precocious pupils”?
LeRoy LaRoche , PotomacHear, hear for harmonious headlines
I’m not much of a sports fan but often will glance at t he front
page of the Sports section and read an article that interests
me. All too often, these pieces leave me baffled; the F eb. 29
Sports article “United’s expectations are all that are left
unchanged” was a perfect example of why. I read the entire
article and only when I looked at the photograph on Page D
was I able to make out that it was about a soccer team. The story
made no mention of this and was even more confusing thanks
to the quote: “The result is going to be some good football.”
All too often, Post sports writers assume all readers are
familiar with the sport associated with a team name. Wrong. I
would appreciate it if, when they write about D.C. United, the
Capitals, the Cavs, etc., they slip in what sport they’re writing
about. It would help uninformed readers such as me who don’t
keep up with sports in general but like to read a good story.
Edwinna Bernat , Shepherdstown, W.Va.Help the occasional sports reader
KK OTTESEN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Tarana Burke.DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Shoppers struggle as a storm pummels Denver on
March 13, 201 9.