Grim Reminders
I have read and reread this Connections — my favorite part of the Globe Magazine (“They Got the Mud Wrong,” February 18). This was one of the most compelling stories I have read. I remember seeing Sophie’s Choice; it was one of the most interesting movies I’ve seen.
Priscilla Jenkins
Wellfleet
Thank God [the author’s mother-in-law] survived Auschwitz and was a living testament to the horrors and evil of the Nazis.
user_1700434
posted on bostonglobe.com
This was extremely well-written and I absolutely loved how Sophie’s Choice, its story, Meryl [Streep’s] performance, and Bertha’s reaction were all intertwined. I love how it brings us right to the humanity of it all.
Temp47
posted on bostonglobe.com
This is a beautiful and honest tribute to the life of the author’s mother-in-law, Bertha. Beyond that it is a stark warning regarding the frightening events happening right now in our country about which the author states: “Today, as I watch my grandchildren blossom, I envy their naivete as wars in Ukraine and Gaza elude their psyches even as repulsive antisemitism surfaces exponentially nearby.”
060808
posted on bostonglobe.com
Stop Signs
I was pleased to see the Perspective by Henry Stimpson (“The Massachusetts Car-Idling Law No One Seems to Care About,” February 25). This has long been a concern, and there seems to be no enforcement of this law! Every morning a neighbor of mine leaves her car running for 30 minutes! In my experience, police and fire departments can be the worst offenders. During a recent (non-emergency) response in my community, there were four police SUVs, an ambulance, and a fire truck, with engines idling for over an hour while they were inside the home.
Tracey Chalifour
Amesbury
To do one’s part, drive the speed limit! I believe we easily get swept into going over the posted speed, when we do not need to hurry.
Mardi Fish
Bourne
One of the side benefits of so many new EVs on the road is the lack of exhaust in traffic, and during idling. The writer has made many laudable efforts to create awareness of the idling law, without success. Perhaps it would be more effective to simply encourage the worst idlers to find an electric car. I LOVE my wife’s Mustang Mach E, GT Performance SUV. Exhaust-free too; idle all you want!
Jeff Kevorkian
Middleton
If Henry Stimpson wants to stop idling, he should start with the commuter rail system. I hear the engines idling all through the night — I assume for the comfort of the morning commuters.
Michael Huntington
Scituate
I find the focus on idling odd. Drivers here seem to believe that everyone can make up their own rules and laws, not only re: idling. While there are plenty of signs on highways and roads in towns setting “speed limits,” there are [seemingly] no drivers who see these as laws to obey. And where there is no enforcement, the laws do not exist.
Alan Fisher
Bedford
Finally, someone has raised the issue of unnecessary idling. I have even asked a cop, who decided not to take action. The issue needs much more publicity.
Don Hnatowich
Brookline
I didn’t know about the five-minute law. I will stop remote-starting my car unless there’s a snowstorm.
Manny Fortuna
Braintree
Many cars are now coming from the factory with a feature called auto stop/start, which shuts the engine down each time one comes to a complete stop. One can disable it, but a button must be pushed each time one starts the car. I find this feature distracting and objectionable, question if it amounts to any gas savings, and will definitely find an aftermarket solution to permanently disable this irritating feature.
Rick Gilberg
Swampscott
Annoying car idlers are in every shopping center and not a bit conscious about starting up their vehicles and then dialing on their cellphones and chatting! Have they noticed that someone might be waiting for their parking space?
Diane Griffin
South Portland, Maine
Not idling is such an easy way for us to help address climate change. As Stimpson also pointed out, these drivers are also wasting gas. I was impressed that he would knock on folks’ windows to suggest they stop idling. Not surprising that some of them got angry. It’s also impressive how much effort he’s made to work with officials to try to get positive movement on this issue. I hope Governor Healey’s administration is more receptive of pushing the law.
Peter Reed
Maynard
I live on the South Coast in Fairhaven and regularly bike over the New Bedford-Fairhaven Swing Bridge. The bridge closes several times a day to vehicular traffic for as long as 20 minutes, clearly longer than the five-minute idling limit. An activist group I co-chair, the Climate Reality Project/Massachusetts Southcoast Chapter, reached out to MassDOT to see about getting anti-idling signs on the bridge back in 2022 and got a very disappointing response. We can do better.
Laura Gardner
Fairhaven
I’ve been annoyed and disappointed by this same thing for many years. I thank Mr. Stimpson for his concern and earnest efforts to address the problem of mass contempt of a well-intentioned law that, as he explained, would truly make a difference to our lives and the environment.
Ian Boardman
Arlington
It seems to me an empty car left with the engine running is an invitation to someone looking for free wheels. Doesn’t possible theft of their vehicles influence people? Perhaps a question about idling could be included in the drivers’ written test, preceded by information on the subject in the booklet learners are given.
Marjorie A. Greenberg
Dedham
Where I live, people drive to a beach parking lot and sit in their idling cars. They are reading the paper, doing paperwork, or just watching the water. I have spoken to some of them, and have gotten the same variety of reactions that the writer has (although no one has thanked me yet). I was dismayed to read of the lack of success he had in trying to encourage government officials and business owners to step up on this issue. This is such an easy way to help the environment! I plan to keep up my campaign here, one car at a time.
Fran Weidman-Dahl
Brewster
There is something we can all do. The State of Massachusetts, in partnership with the Mass DEP, created an Idling Reduction Toolkit that anyone can implement in their community. Many residents are unaware of the anti-idling law, as are many local boards of health and local police. The purpose of the toolkit is to educate citizens about air pollution resulting from vehicle idling and to reduce idling behavior. I plan on implementing it in my community.
M. Hurley
Acton
Past and Present
After my mother’s death in 1982, my sister kept one of her ivy plants (My Grief Thumb, February 25). After almost 42 years, she still has this plant and a few years ago, when she flew out to visit, she brought me some cuttings. I now have two ivy plants from the original and just recently nurtured another plant from cuttings for my son and daughter-in-law. It does indeed feel like she lives on through this beautiful ivy.
Pamela Bongas McIntyre
Franklin
How I identify with Misha Valencia, whose purple shamrock reminds her of her mother. My mother gave me a green version of an oxalis plant when I was young. It had belonged to her own mother who died in 1935, long before I was born, and it continues to thrive. I’ve given some of its bulblets to other relatives and to friends and I’ve painted a portrait of it, too, as a sweet and intimate memorial of our ancestries.
Joyce Westner
Winchester
CONTACT US: Write to magazine@globe.com or The Boston Globe Magazine/Comments, 1 Exchange Place, Suite 201, Boston, MA 02109-2132. Comments are subject to editing.