THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 7, 1995 TAG: 9509070004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Three of the four columnists on your Sept. 1 Perspectives page bemoaned the current state of our country's families and young people. That same day you prominently featured two teenagers on the front page of the Daily Break section who had nothing to share except whining about boredom and visiting friends who smoke marijuana.
Had teen correspondent Alicia Luma been more observant on her visit to ``redneck country,'' she could have had a more enjoyable trip. She drove right by our farm, which has a multitude of cows. She could have stopped and been personally introduced to her choice of 4-H hog, lamb or cow. Four lambs are still in residence if she is interested.
The photograph of the two disaffected teenagers showed that the corn, as well as the peanuts, cotton and soybeans, did not grow very well during this summer's drought. Our farm hired several teenagers who worked long hours hauling irrigation pipes to parched crops during the record-breaking heat. They would have been delighted to spend any afternoon in a cool movie theater watching any feature.
My teenagers have participated in activities ranging from the ODU Ballet in Norfolk to the Southampton Livestock Club near Franklin. I know that there are thousands of teenagers in your circulation area who are engaged in interesting and constructive activities. Could you please find some of them to feature on a front page of the newspaper?
MARY S. WILLIAMS
Suffolk, Sept. 1, 1995 by CNB