Now in the autumn of my life
The bright colors of fall bring a bounty
Paired with a desperate knowing that soon
Gas-powered leaf blowers will surround me.
Such a horrid sound — must we really all suffer
This exercise that’s so pointless and dumb?
They blow them into the street or on the lawn of a neighbor
As if there aren’t more leaves to come.
We rebel against unmuffled cars
And curse airports with low-flying jets
We’re so sensitive if music’s too loud
And we muzzle our barking pets.
We legislate against all forms of pollution
Be it from lights, or swamps, or cars,
But somehow we have all accepted
The racket in our own backyards!
It’s not as if there is no solution;
Batteries now power most everything,
Your car, your drill and your skillsaw
Can’t we apply this to just one more thing?
The reward would be heard in an instant
Peaceful silence would fill our heads
Our local walks will bring lasting relief
When the gas-powered leaf blower is dead!
Howard Mitchell
Sag Harbor
Let It Play OutMy response, Harry Mainzer, to your argument that Pete Hegseth is unqualified for nomination and confirmation as secretary of defense is: Let the process play out [“Kakistocracy,” Letters, December 19]. My disagreement with you is primarily with the faceless, anonymous...
Reap JoyI immersed myself in the Hamptons Doc Fest this December, both as a volunteer and a filmgoer. I hadn’t attended more than a handful of films over the festival’s history, now in its 17th year; however, my recent involvement electrified...
Unprofessional TiradeIn Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Queen Gertrude famously observes, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” suggesting that overly forceful denials often reveal a lack of sincerity. This sentiment captures the debacle at the December 12 Southampton Village Board meeting, where Trustee...
A Safer WorldThomas Jones’s letter, “A Safer World” [December 19], prompted me to write this letter. Mr. Jones crows about Donald Trump’s leadership. He says Trump’s leadership will make the world safer. I would like to see President-elect Trump show some leadership...
FalsehoodsThe recent falsehoods and attacks by certain Hampton Bays community members in The Southampton Press Letters to the Editor section needs to be called out and corrected. I was called out by name by several community members. The Southampton Press...
The Twilight ZoneOn January 20, a draft-dodging “patriot” who has already spit on the U.S. Constitution by trying to overturn a free and fair election and mobilizing a violent mob to attack our Capitol will put his left hand on a Bible,...
Unfair AttacksHow unfortunate it is that one of the most beloved citizens of our village is under attack, in Letters to the Editor and, in fact, by The Press, in your choosing to highlight her purported “violations” on the front page...
End the EmbargoI read the viewpoint “Cuba Teeters on the Brink of Collapse” [Opinion, December 12], and I didn’t find any mention of the 64-year-old embargo on Cuba. The embargo was designed in 1960 to bring hunger and misery to the Cuban...
