THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 19, 1995 TAG: 9506170007
SECTION: FINAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
Several weeks ago, you had a feature story that sought to answer the article printed next to it, a New York Times story questioning the efforts of papers around the country - The Virginian-Pilot being one - that are trying not just to report the news but to involve readers in better, life-enhancing perceptions of what news is and what it means to them.
To my mind, the Daily Break story titled ``Mother's lament'' (June 7) is a perfect example of your quest to deliver good journalism that can sometimes aspire to change lives for the better.
Shelly Wagner's poems cut right to the heart of her loss - the drowning death of her son 11 years ago. But they do far more, and so does the story by Krys Stefansky. The poems and the facts of Mrs. Wagner's life speak in a soul-scaring way to what it means to be a mother.
I hope every mother and every father who got the newspaper read that story. And I'll bet, as a result, somewhere out there among us there's a child who won't get a sharp retort, an impatient slap or an unkind, uncaring silence from a pressured parent. We'll think of Shelly Wagner and her Andrew. And we'll reach out instead with a hug that's a little tighter and lasts a little longer than usual.
MARYBETH HIGHTON
Virginia Beach, June 7, 1995 by CNB