Hit up your local diner and help keep it alive
Great Neck, L.I.: This holiday season, between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, if you are too tired to cook, why not consider sharing a meal with neighbors, friends or family and patronize your local diner or restaurant? I have enjoyed many excellent meals for decades when frequenting any one of many local diners.
Diners have been part of my life from my teenage years to today. Eating out is a periodic ritual with friends or family. Portions are generous. Who never took a doggie bag home with leftovers to eat the next day? Between the customary soup, salad, rolls, coleslaw and pickles along with the main course — dinner could satisfy the heartiest appetite. Many times, we bagged our desserts to go.
Many neighborhoods have seen changes over time. New immigrant groups sometimes favor their ethnic foods and restaurants. Diners have also lost customers over time to numerous fast food restaurants. Many of their menus have expanded to also include breakfast items and a greater variety of items to select from for lunch or dinner.
Remember, these people are our neighbors. Our local entrepreneurs who own and operate diners have continued to invest in our community, creating new employment opportunities. They work long hours, pay taxes and provide local employment. If we don’t patronize our local restaurants, they don’t eat either. Why not honor the fond memories we had at some of our favorite diners that have come and gone by continuing to patronize our remaining diners? Here’s hoping they don’t go the way of the dinosaurs into permanent extinction. Larry Penner
Detrimental DA
Brooklyn: Re “Removing street scaffolding helps fight crime” (op-ed, Nov. 26) by Alvin Bragg, Keith Powers and Mark Levine: Actually, removing Bragg would do much more to fight crime. Joe Altamura
Host with the most
New Windsor, N.Y.: I was saddened to hear of Chuck Woolery’s passing. Politics aside, unlike other game show hosts, Woolery did not have an ego and laughed at himself when he made a mistake. Tall, handsome and personable, he seemed to enjoy himself on any show he hosted. Personally, he was the better host of “Wheel of Fortune” than Pat Sajak. He called the spins like a play-by-play sportscaster. Despite being let go after seven years, he still carved out a terrific hosting career. Rest in peace to the “Love Connector.” Todd Schuster
Too much for too little
Brooklyn: Voicer Charles O’Connor wrote in saying he went to two musicals, “The Book of Mormon” and “The Outsiders,” and saw only a handful of non-white people at both of them. He found this perplexing and surprising. I don’t know why. These musicals cost a lot of money to attend and unfortunately, many people of color can’t afford them, and the ones who can probably don’t have interest. I could afford to go to a musical but would rather set myself on fire. Dennis Burge
Alarming escalation
Fresh Meadows: Recently, the authorization to fire Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) long-range missiles into Russia by President Biden has put the U.S. on the brink of nuclear war. Several of these missiles were fired into Russia. According to former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, only U.S. military technicians have the ability to fire ATACMS. The use of U.S. military personnel against Russia is an act of war. Only Congress is authorized to declare war, according to the U.S. Constitution. We should contact our congresspeople at their offices in Washington, D.C. Vytautas Vileniskis
Offensive funding
Queens Village: Does anyone remember when Donald Trump was running for president for his first term in 2016, his comment about playing golf? He stated, “I will not be playing golf like other presidents before me. I will be serving the nation full-time.” Well, the latest tab for the taxes we all have been paying to fund his golf outings is up to $80 million and counting! Frankly, I have been more concerned with the Ukraine war ending in 24 hours, as Trump stated! Lawrence Krasner
Recipe for a crash
East Meadow, L.I.: In early 1930, a few months after the Oct. 29, 1929 Black Tuesday stock market crash, signs of an economic depression began to show around the world. President Herbert Hoover, claiming to protect American manufacturing and agriculture, signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, imposing 20-40% import duties. This was against the advice of more than 1,000 leading economists. But Hoover signed it because the Republican Party and his cabinet wanted him to. Huge mistake. Canada and the British Empire imposed huge retaliatory tariffs, followed by Mexico, Germany and eight other nations. That greatly accelerated the Great Depression. Following this came the collapse of banking institutions and an increase in unemployment from 8% to 23%. What’s past is prologue. However, Trump’s tariffs will have a more devastating effect on our economy because we import more goods now than we did in 1930. Richard Skibins
Quit complaining
Massapequa Park, L.I.: It seems that the recent election results have had little effect on hard-left Americans, from liberal governors and mayors to celebrities like Alec Baldwin — like he has a vision of how misinformed the American people are. He should keep his mouth shut and be thankful he is not in jail for manslaughter. Raymond P. Moran
Responsibility all around
Itasca, Ill.: Everybody seems to know why Kamala Harris lost the election. Maybe they’re right, but could we be overthinking this? It wouldn’t be the first time. Pablo Picasso, frustrated over art lovers incessantly analyzing his paintings, reputedly said, “Sometimes, a tree is just a tree.” Harris and Tim Walz could have done better. But what about an electorate that reinstated a 34-time felon who tried to overturn a fair election, was found liable of sex abuse, repeatedly invoked dictator yearnings and admitted to journalist Bob Woodward that he downplayed COVID’s health threat? Democrats, it has been suggested, need to look in the mirror. Maybe all voters should do that. Jim Newton
Do the digging
Manhattan: Since the election was so hotly contested, the transition might also be a problem. In the spirit of cooperation, Biden can help make the transition go smoothly. It is unclear if Trump will use the FBI, private lawyers or some other method to vet incoming cabinet members. But Biden is president right now, so he can order the FBI to do the vetting immediately and publish the results, thereby relieving Trump of this difficult chore. If it’s considered part of Biden’s official duties to provide for a smooth transition, then the recent Supreme Court immunity decision could be used to justify this unprecedented action. Nominees can decide on whether to cooperate with the FBI on the process or let the agency rely on third-party information that they are so good at detecting. I am sure Trump would greatly appreciate this helpful action by Biden. Alec Pruchnicki
Glaring example
Brooklyn: I wish that officials and newscasters would stop saying that no one is above the law. Every time I pick up a newspaper or watch a news program, I learn that there is one person who is. That person is Trump. Andrea Allen
Lethal measures
Bronx: Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran charged in the death of Jordan Neely, is now on trial. He held Neely in a chokehold for six minutes, which, according to experts, was extremely excessive. Even after Neely was unconscious and defecating on himself, according to witnesses, Penny would not release the hold. He is still being hailed as a hero by some. The NYC medical examiner’s office says his actions led to Neely’s death. A defense witness, a Texas pathologist, says other factors, not the chokehold, led to it. I see similarities between this case and the George Floyd case, when the medical examiner sought to blame drug use for Floyd’s death. Are we to believe that someone kneeling on a handcuffed person’s neck for nine minutes, or someone being choked for six minutes, are normally survivable occurrences for healthy people? It looks to me like racism is again rearing its ugly head. Jonathan Solomon
