Letters To The Editor

Important Detail Excluded

To The Editor:

I would like to provide an important detail which Mr. Calamari failed to include in his letter “Loss of Trees” in the December 3rd issue.

He excluded the fact that there is new landscaping (completed before he wrote his letter) which includes the addition of four new trees as well as numerous scrubs and bushes throughout the property.

Thank you for your warm welcome to the neighborhood, Mr. Calamari.

Diane LoBiondo

Politically Correct

To The Editor:

As a lifetime resident of G.C. I am disappointed to see that even the school concert has had to become so politically correct. At least I think this may have been the basis of the following. When my friend asked the music teacher about having changed the song at the Hemlock School concert she was told they had enough Christmas type stuff going on in school! At the holiday concert for the Kindergartners from Homestead School I was not happy to hear the traditional Christmas song "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" turned into "We Wish You A Happy Holiday" the melody was the same but all the words were changed! I wondered the day before the concert while we were singing at the village tree lighting what my Kindergarten son was singing and thought oh kids are funny-where did he get these words for "We Wish You A Merry Christmas"-he was singing" We Wish You A Happy Holiday" now bring us some ice cream etc. all the wrong words. The next day at his school concert the mystery was solved. Because the music teacher for all the Primary Schools decided to change the song all the kids now know a very odd version. I personally don't appreciate this. If my son was even a little older and singing all the wrong words people would really think it was odd. I would rather he learn the song the correct way. I also noticed that the music teacher didn't dare mess around and change the Chanukah or Kwanzaa songs in such a way and she shouldn't. I dont' feel any traditional song should be changed around like this.

We as a family are all for the kids hearing and learning diverse songs for the holidays that teach them about other people's heritage's and cultures. I don't think the best Christmas type songs were "'Hippopotamus Christmas! If there could not be too many Christmas songs then maybe leave out the Hippo song and teach "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" the correct way to the children. If the music teacher wanted to teach a different type of song -get creative and make up something that doesn't twist a traditional time honored song out of shape.

My husband was shocked and said that even while growing up in a Communist ruled country nobody messed around with anyone's holiday celebrations-so think about our freedoms, before somebody starts monitoring us in the hope of making the playing field even and being politically correct. We also noticed that hardly any kids knew the words to the armed forces songs that were played at the village tree lighting-unthinkable in most other countries-especially if they had men fighting on behalf of their country! Maybe the music teacher can teach the kids a few patriotic/military songs. We should be a majority rules society and I would hope that the majority of people in G.C. would not take offense to their kids learning the armed forces songs.

In closing I wonder if anybody else notices these things and agrees, but then just lets it go. Will we in a few years have such generic songs at school concerts that nobody will recognize them? Who knows!

Anyway, Merry Christmas and if that's not your holiday I hope you aren't offended, and Happy Chanukah and Joyous Kwanzaa or whatever the case may be-please let the grownups realize what the kids do that all these holidays are great and should be celebrated the way they were intended to be and not fiddled around with.

Happy New Year!

Suzanne Eigl

Concert At Locust School

To The Editor:

Last week I had the pleasure of attending my kindergartners "Winter Concert" at Locust School. The children performed beautifully and looked adorable.

They sang an "African American Spiritual", "The Chanukah Song" and "We wish you a Happy Holiday" "The only reference to Christmas was the song "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas". That to me is not a proper representation of a Christmas song. I cannot tell you how sad it made me that in a world where we are all teaching our children to be tolerant of others' differences, we are also teaching them to be embarrassed of their own customs, beliefs and traditions. I welcome whole heartedly the inclusion of songs that are representative of other cultures but I think that considering the other songs on the program it would have been completely appropriate to sing "We wish you a Merry Christmas". I am not blaming the new director, I'm sure her aim was to cater to every persons sensitivities. Being that I have lived here in Garden City my whole life, I believe I am safe in assuming that at least 98 percent of that audience was Christian and that the other 2 percent would not have objected to the singing of "We wish you a Merry Christmas". Maybe I am just longing to have my children be able to sing songs the way they were written and not to be ashamed of whom they are. Isn't that what we are teaching them about others? One behalf of myself and my family ........We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Kimberly Murphy Tobin

Thanks For Generosity

To The Editor:

On behalf of the Garden City Clergy Fellowship, I would like to thank Jennifer Pettas and Sonny Bishop of the Garden City Hotel for their generous hospitality to us at our December breakfast meeting. Our group of ministers, priests, rabbis, and chaplains meets on a monthly basis to work on projects that we hope will benefit the entire religious community of Garden City and to share fellowship with one another. Since 2001, in recognition of our efforts, the Garden City Hotel has hosted our December breakfast, and we are most appreciative.

We extend our warm wishes to all of your readers for a blessed holiday season.

In Peace,

Anne Klaeysen

Leader of the Ethical

Humanist Society of

Long Island and

Chair of the Garden City Clergy Fellowship