Letters: Readers discuss Steve Kraske’s dad, Dr. Tom Poe of UMKC, Alzheimer’s and more
Joyful tribute
I was filled with joy when I read Steve Kraske’s column about his father (12-2, A2, “Forget Trump for a moment, and let’s talk about my dad”).
The love he expressed was obvious. I am still smiling. It made me think of all my little habits that are seen by others, but not by me, so now I will be on the lookout.
I am saddened that society seems to adore all the brash actions of men now and that quiet, kind, consistent men are mostly pushed aside. I admire those traits, which have made men strong, steady and reliable in their families and communities. Bless them all.
Mary Anne White
Bonner Springs
A loving farewell
Dr. Tom Poe, I always thought you lived in the back of the Tivoli, waiting for me to come in to be educated on the ways of the cinematic arts.
You taught me enough to know that one day it would not be true. A day like Nov. 21 would come, when the screen would go dark, the credits would roll and it would be your time to go.
Some will know you for being the best professor on the UMKC campus. Some will know you as an LGBT pioneer and advocate. Most will know you as a good friend.
You lived and taught with the vibrating life and color of Fellini’s “Roma.” You left this world humble, quiet and serene, like Kurosawa’s “Ikiru.”
You may have been a Methodist minister, but you were and always will be the pope of cinema. Dr. Tom Poe, rest in peace — my professor, mentor, guide and friend.
David Fresia
Lee’s Summit
Alzheimer’s bill
An estimated 73 million Americans know someone with Alzheimer’s disease, and more than 15 million are providing care without pay to more than 5.4 million who suffer from it. About 51,000 Alzheimer’s patients live in Kansas, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Alzheimer’s disease is a national health crisis. At a cost of $236 billion a year, it is the most expensive disease in the nation. It is the only disease among the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.
As an Alzheimer’s Association advocate, I recently had the opportunity to learn about the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, a bill that would provide funding for critical training for health-care professionals who work with people with dementia.
I want to thank Kansas Reps. Lynn Jenkins, Mike Pompeo and Kevin Yoder for co-sponsoring the bill. I want to encourage Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran and Rep.-elect Roger Marshall to become co-sponsors.
Historic increases have been made to fund Alzheimer’s research in the last two years, but more must be done.
Sara Miller
Alzheimer’s Association
Wichita
Why the violence?
I have lived in Kansas City for 29 years, and it never fails. We read about senseless killings here every day. It seems as if the number rises every year. This must stop.
The same goes for young children who are sexually abused by their parents or their parents’ boyfriends or girlfriends.
Why are people doing this? What’s the reason behind it? Lately we have also been reading about policemen from all over being shot.
We wonder, “Why is this happening?”
Tony Lordi
Kansas City
Cuba’s horrors
The “Off the Easel” cartoon in the Nov. 30 Star depicting Fidel Castro’s descent into hell by spending eternity on a raft was very appropriate.
I have personal knowledge of the atrocities committed by his regime during the late 1960s. The Catholic high school I attended admitted two new students who had escaped Cuba, and I became very close friends with them. Their stories of the “new revolution,” which was to free the island from the previous dictator, have stayed with me to this day.
Once in power, this “man of the people” made life for my friends and those around them a living hell as their friends and family were imprisoned or simply disappeared.
What these girls had suffered before escaping was more than any child should have to endure. I can’t help comparing their situation to our own with the election of our new president who has promised to “make America great again.”
Let’s all hope our fate does not follow the same path.
Bonnie Johnson
Independence
This story was originally published December 5, 2016 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Steve Kraske’s dad, Dr. Tom Poe of UMKC, Alzheimer’s and more."