PHOENIX = UNITER

I was having dinner at the Atria Retirement Center in Campbell, California, with my 85-year-old Aunt Amy and her table companions.

Although completely deaf, Amy’s friend Caroline is a good conversationalist. The 83-year-old has many memories of humorous events in her life and she shares them readily. Today’s story was different. "My family thought I was going to die," she continued. "So, they cleaned out my house, moved me to a hospital, and I have not seen my picture albums or address book since." She paused before she added sadly, "I wish I knew where my sister is."

I was surprised. I knew she was married during the hard times of the war years and she’d fashioned her wedding dress from a costume she’d worn in a play. But I didn’t remember any sister stories. I got her notebook and hastily scrawled, "You never mentioned a sister."

"Well, she’s my half-sister, really," she said, "and I haven’t heard anything about her in years. I remember she made a cake for a neighbor boy’s birthday when I was small. And, she was so good to me."

I realized she was remembering a girl quite a bit older than she. "How much older?," I wrote.

"I think she was born in 1910." That would make her 95, 12 years older than Caroline! What were the chances this lady was still alive?

I wrote a series of questions to which Caroline told me the answers as best she remembered. Her sister’s name was Eleanor and she had visited her in a town with a Civil War Monument. She was born in Portland, Maine, maybe, or maybe on the island in the harbor. She had married many times.

The next afternoon I sat down with my computer and typed Eleanor Samuelson’s name into Google. Up popped eight references mostly related to a famous historical figure. But, the second entry was an article from the Portland Phoenix describing solutions for elderly women when they lose their hairdressers (see "Roller Sets, Bobs, and Impromptu Fetes," by Sara Donnelly, Jan 23, 2003). Included was a picture of an Eleanor Samuelson having her hair done at a local retirement center!

After some quick emails and a verifying phone call, within the hour I was able to share with Caroline an address, a picture, and the knowledge her sister was alive and equally excited to have a chance to communicate with her!

Sharon Boren, California

PHOENIX = DIVIDER

Your front page cartoon showing Bush as Nero (Sept 9), playing a fiddle as New Orleans disappears beneath the flood water, with a black mans hand sticking limp out of the water; was that supposed to be amusing? Bush smiling while someone is dying in the flood? You wackos have sunk to a new low. Bush is a lot of things — elitist and incompetent come to mind — but a bigot? Who finds the death of a black man funny? If you people at Phoenix really believe that, you’re even more delusional than I thought.

There is plenty of blame to go around; but to say Bush is shifting blame? How about the authorities who live there, and should have had an action plan for a disaster they knew was inevitable? In their own back yard? Looks like they are doing just as much blame shifting as Bush. Why didn’t you mention them? Oh yeah, they’re Democrats, like you, trying to make political hay out of misery.

John Dow, Scarborough