From Our Readers
Aftermath of War I was thrilled when I opened up the October 8, 1989, issue. There on the inside of the front cover was a photograph of my husband when he was in the U.S. Marines in 1944. Although the picture was originally published some 45 years ago, we never could identify where it was taken. Your caption cleared this up for us. My husband read the articles and said they were very accurate. To my knowledge, it is the first time he has ever read Awake!
H. S., United States
Oil Spill As a seafood distributor, I appreciated the article in the September 22, 1989, issue on the Alaskan oil spill. It certainly did affect the lives of people living there, as well as the environment. We surely need direction from our Creator to direct our steps. But as far as Alaskan seafood is concerned, we do not have to fear purchasing such products, inasmuch as a thorough inspection program is now in progress.
A. C., United States
Future to Believe In I was really enlightened by the essay that a 16-year-old girl wrote on the future. (October 22, 1989) I particularly liked the poem she quoted: “Two men looked out of prison bars, one saw the mud hole, the other saw the stars.” It was a very effective springboard for going into a discussion of the Bible.
D. B., Canada
As a teenager, I was greatly impressed that this girl entered her essay in a contest. That is a tribute to her faith and love of her Creator. Her essay painted a beautiful picture of the future of those who look to Jehovah God.
S. G., United States
Special Needs Your article (August 22, 1989) mentioned lipreading. Not all deaf people can lip-read, however. The average deaf person understands only 30 percent, and the rest is guesswork. (Try watching TV without sound, and you’ll see that it is not easy.) People often try to force us to lip-read rather than write things down on paper for us. Or they will talk in our ears or talk loud to us or even yell. This doesn’t work. It also hurts us very much when hearing people treat us as if we were mentally retarded.
F. B., United States
These reminders are appreciated. Lip-reading was mentioned merely as an option for individuals who become deaf later in life and find learning sign language too difficult. We did not mean to imply that all deaf people can lip-read.—ED.
Wayward Siblings I want to thank you for the article “Young People Ask . . . How Could They Do That to Me?” (November 8, 1989) My sister was disfellowshipped from the Christian congregation two years ago, and many of the thoughts brought out in that article described my own feelings. At the time it seemed as if our family would not survive this sad experience, but we did. And we were able to display our loyalty to Jehovah and his organization.
K. L., United States
Staying Friends The article “Young People Ask . . . Why Is It So Hard to Stay Friends?” (September 22, 1989) made me realize to what degree I had suffocated my friendships. I was jealous if others even talked with some of my friends! I am now making changes. I hope that this valuable feature never goes out of this magazine.
G. Z., Brazil