| Letters Report
From
New Orleans
Now that Irish America and Irish Voice are finding their way to
our new address, I want to report in and thank you for your concern and
interest.
I’m in a position to refer to the rest of my life starting with
the “year of the great flood.” We no longer live on
Emerald Street in New Orleans. In fact, no one lives there at this time.
We had to establish a new residence in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It has
been a very intense time.
As Chairman of Pan-American Life, I’ve had to be concerned about
our 500 employees in the New Orleans company headquarters building, their
relocation, and approximately 40 of them lost their homes.
Fortunately, we have an outstanding management team and a strong financial
position so that we are recovering better than most companies. I could
go on to cite example after example of generous people who have helped,
but we all know and maybe occasionally forget there are a lot of good
people in this world who quietly do the right thing.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, New Orleans will be a different city in
the future. Recovery will be a long, expensive process, but it will take
place.
Best regards,
John J. Kelly Chairman of the Board
Pan-American Life
Insurance Company
New Orleans
Getting It Right
Your article on Patrick Fitzgerald states that supporters of Judith Miller
claim CIA operative Valerie Plame had a desk job and was therefore “not
covert.” What you did not state is that this argument has been refuted
by the CIA itself. One can have a desk job and still be in another phase
of their work “undercover.”
This incendiary case is still being fought in the court of public opinion.
For this reason, I thought it especially important to report it in a balanced
manner.
Arlene M. Kelly
Wauconda, Illinois
Editor’s Note: To clarify, our article on Patrick Fitzgerald said,
“…the authors of the law against leaking covert agents’
names say it doesn’t apply here because Plame has had a desk job
at CIA headquarters for more than five years, meaning she is not
‘covert.’”
Cover to Cover
I was surprised by the lack of the simple words “Merry Christmas”
on your Dec./Jan. front cover. I do hope the nasty winds of secularism
have not blown its putrid breath into Suite 2100.
Speaking of the front cover, the image recalled Haight-Ashbury weirdos
and scruffy mountain men. Your choice of Tom Brady was a sound one, but
the selection of your cover picture was a bad, bad one.
The story “Sean Óg is a Winner” was a winner, as were
the other items in News From Ireland. In the Hibernia section you have
a problem with the story on John O’Hurley. You forgot to give the
reader the degree of his Irishness. Is he Irish born, if not, are his
parents, how about his grandparents? The reason for reading your magazine
is to discover how Irish an Irish personage is.
Also in the Hibernia section there was a very finely written piece
on John Banville’s winning of the Booker Prize by Declan O’Kelly,
who did a grand job, and thoroughly filled the piece with all kinds
of interesting information. However, in the caption for the photograph
accompanying the piece on Carmel Snow, you didn’t identify which
was Snow and which was Coco Chanel.
The Wellington Mara’s story was fine but I, and thousands
of other readers, would like to know how Irish he was, what counties should
be proud of him.
Tom Deignan always does a stellar job on “Irish Eye on Hollywood,”
which is a well-written feature and very informative. But it was unfortunate
that “Quote Unquote” could not have prevailed without some
dig at the current administration. Patrick Fitzgerald, whose parents are
Clare People like my late, great mother-in-law, is to be saluted for making
some sense of a terribly murky situation. If Mr. Libby has to go to the
hoosegow, they should attach another 20 years for publicly displaying
his obnoxiously silly, childish name of “Scooter.”
Meanwhile, your letter to your readers, “Seeds of Hope,” is
a testimony to the great humanity of Irish people, from all the people
of Concern Worldwide to Bono and Bob Geldof.
John Boyle
Hartsdale, New York
P.S. How about getting that great portraitist Tim O’Brien, who
does such beautiful paintings for Time magazine, to execute a cover for
Irish America?
Editor’s Note: Dear Mr. Boyle: Thank you for taking the time to
write us such a long letter. I was sorry to have to edit it down. On the
issue of our cover story, we are pleased to report that we received lots
of press coverage, including pieces in both the Boston Globe and Herald,
and none of it was negative. On the point you make about Mr. O’Hurley’s
ancestry, I can tell you we tried. After many calls to his press agent
we were not able to establish his degree of Irishness. And as for Wellington
Mara’s Irish lineage, perhaps some reader out there can help us
out. Sad to say, family information doesn’t always get handed down
through the generations, and I would like to take the opportunity to encourage
readers to do up ancestry charts before it’s too late.
One the issue of Tim O’Brien, we have used several of his illustrations
in the past, including cover portraits of George Mitchell and Tim Russert.
Great Books
That was a fine article on Great Books in your 20th Anniversary
issue, but your judges managed to overlook the all-time World Heavyweight
Champion, Ulysses. I’m sure Frank McCourt would happily yield his
place on the list to recognize the champ.
Stanley Goldstein
President
American Friends of James Joyce
Scarborough Manor, New York
Editor’s Note: Our list featured books that have an explicit Irish-American
connection.
CORRECTION:
Our profile of Al Kelly in our Business 100 issue contained a few
errors. As one of two group presidents at American Express, Al oversees
a number of key businesses for the company. He also serves on the Board
of Directors for the Hershey Company and Concern Worldwide. He is married
to Peggy and the couple have five children. Irish America regrets
any inconvenience caused, and belatedly congratulates the Kellys on the
birth of their fifth child.
New Feature:
With the help of our readers, Irish America is hoping to introduce a
new feature called “My Brush with History.” If you met someone
famous and want to share your recollections, please forward your story
and photos to “My Brush with History,” Irish America Magazine,
875 Sixth Ave., Suite 2100, New York, NY, 10001.
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