Courting divorce Sacred role Are the kids all right?
Beechhurst: $74 billion! Whoever coined “money can’t buy happiness” was right (“Melinda & Bill at Gates to $plitsville,” May 4). My husband used to bring me home a pizza on Friday night and I thought it was manna from heaven. Well, I guess you can’t please everyone. Celesta Miceli
Brooklyn: Thank you so much for publishing “Stacks of pride” (May 2). It is high time that NYC school librarians are recognized for their tireless and often thankless work in the NYC Department of Education. Study after study shows how a school library that is staffed with a licensed school media specialist will boost student achievement. In NYC, where many students live below the poverty line, it is not often safe and/or possible for students to access their public library, and bookstores are only in some parts of our city (have you seen a bookstore in South Brooklyn?). The school library is possibly the only place students will access free books — and without judgment about their reading choices. Let us continue to support the hard work of the existing 300-plus school librarians in NYC while advocating to give 1,000-plus city public schools each a licensed librarian.
Esther Keller
Bronx: May is Mental Health Month and the theme this year is, “You are not alone.” This is especially resonant in a year of so much heartbreak and loss. As adults, many of us have struggled, but we often discount the toll the pandemic has taken on our youth. As we continue the process of reopening and taking baby steps toward normalcy, we should pause and make sure that our children are all right. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 and 24 and has been rising in recent years. Know the acute warning signs, such as expressing hopelessness or purposelessness, withdrawal from relationships, anger and revenge-seeking, and reckless or risky behaviors. While these can signal many things, it is okay to ask about suicidal thoughts. The idea that asking about it can put the idea in someone’s head is a myth.
Todd Karlin