Reader

Sept. 11 is a time to give thanks and count our blessings To the editor: The anniversary of that frightful day is near again - Sept. 11, a time to remember, a time to give thanks and a time to count our blessings. It just gives me cold chills to think how our lives would be now if those terrible people had taken over our country. We wouldn't have the rights we do, including our right to worship, the freedom of speech or the right to vote. We would have fears every time we walked out our doors.

Dwight Williams, left, reads an Easter story to youths Jordan Osborne, Taylor Boney, Nyesha Campbell, Tyesha Weedon and Sydny Boney Saturday at Contemporary School for the Arts and Gallery in downtown Hagerstown.

There's more to look forward to on Mondays. We have a couple of new regular features in The Herald-Mail each Monday. One is a two-part calendar to help readers get ready for the week ahead. Portions of the first page of both the sports and health sections are devoted to the idea of letting you know what is happening for the next seven days. The sports calendar has the details about upcoming local games and matches of significance and better yet will tell you why these contests matter.

With March Madness upon us, college basketball talk is hard to miss. Fan or not, this month, you can't get away from bracketology, win/loss ratios and peaking players. Here at the Washington County Free Library, we're always looking for ways to match kids with books. Sports books are often popular with boys, especially boys who are reluctant to read. However, sports books offer universal themes for all young readers. After all, there is a reason sports metaphors are often employed when talking about character-development themes such as overcoming hardships ("jumping hurdles")

There's something about an animal photo that makes you say, "Awww. " Or in the case of the salamander, "Ewww. " Some of our Tri-State readers took shots of animals in the area and here are the results. The Herald-Mail runs readers' best recent photographs taken in the Tri-State area. Send us your best snapshots of any subject, from landscapes to plant life to people. Variety is important. Quality is key. Sharp, large, color images are best. If the subject is small, get close or use a telephoto lens to make the subject appear large in the photo.

To our readers In observance of Christmas Day, The Herald-Mail will not publish Thursday. Our business office will close today at 2 p.m. and will be closed Thursday. Normal business hours will resume Friday, as will publication of the paper. Coming Friday Christmas dinners: Take a peek at the holiday spirit passed out along with the food at some area Christmas dinners.

Try one of these books or book-related gifts for the young reader in your life: o The classic book, "My Father's Dragon" by Ruth Stiles Gannett, turns 60 this year. To celebrate, Random House has published a new, red cloth edition, complete with a note from the author. ($16.99, ages 6-10). o For young readers ages 2-5, you can't go wrong with "Peter Rabbit: Holiday Collection" (Warne, $18.99), a special four-book gift edition of author/illustrator Beatrix Potter's classic tales, sized perfectly for small hands.

To the editor: For many years, politicians from all parties have demagogued the issue of affordable universal health care for all Americans to death. Every election cycle we hear grand plans and even grander promises about how we are going to "fix" the health care system, and after every election cycle the issue of health care for Americans quietly disappears while we pursue the usual pet pork projects of our elected officials. Health care is a problem that can be fixed very simply.

When Tom Hanks made a reservation years ago at the Windows on the World restaurant on the top floors of the World Trade Center's North Tower in New York City, he was hoping for a really nice seat. He got one, even though when he showed up for his reservation, he was told, "You're not Tom Hanks. " "I said, 'I certainly am.' I like to tell people I'm the original," said Hanks, 61, who lives in Chambersburg, Pa., and is executive officer of the Franklin County Builders Association.

Tri-State-area photographers captured three praying mantises and some other critters, including a stick bug. With the season changing, new photographic possibilities will crop up. We've seen plenty of sunsets, sunrises, bees and praying mantises, so if you photograph something distinctive, we'd love to see it. The Herald-Mail runs readers' best recent photographs, taken in the Tri-State area, on this page. Quality is key. Sharp, large, color images look best. Close-up photos show detail better.