Dear Editor,

Thanks for the very kind review of Dynamics of Organizing: Building Power by Developing the Human Spirit, in the May/June issue. Though I must take exception to one of the lines in Ms. Fellner’s review, “The fact that Trapp and Cincotta were willing to sacrifice their health and important family time to the cause does not necessarily make it a good model.”

I can’t speak for Cincotta, and agree that it may “not necessarily make it a good model,” but since I am 69 and still able to get up in the morning, walk the dog and, this past month, spent four days in Seattle with ADAPT at a four-day action, I don’t think I made too many health sacrifices to the cause. As my friends in ADAPT would say, “Not dead yet.”

As for sacrifices to important family time: My wife and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary this August, our daughter designed the cover of Dynamics and our son carries on the tradition in his family that our kids shared with their dad – of “secret missions,” a trip to the ice cream store, a movie or a day at Lake Michigan with the family.

Maybe not a good model, but it worked for us. No sacrifices were made on my part during my career, only the joys of sharing life with countless other human beings in our struggle to find the true human spirit that the Great Spirit has placed in all of us.

Sincerely,
Shel Trapp
Chicago, IL

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Dear Editor,

You can imagine my delight in reading the recent article on the Section 8 Homeownership Program. While I’ve been disappointed that public housing agencies have not been quicker to adopt this effort, I’m delighted that those that have are succeeding.

Sheila [Crowley] and other critics would be quite right if the program became major, but it will always be a small, but significant effort. It should grow slowly so that families benefit from solid counseling, have time to acquire acquisition assets and are assisted in the physical inspection of possible purchases so that they are not faced with beyond-normal post-purchase trauma. Small and slow will hopefully keep the flim-flam artists uninterested.

The hope expressed by each individual interviewed is what lies behind the Section 8 program for ownership. We have a national housing crisis in part because we have a national crisis in hope. Ms. Anderson’s creating her own environment in her newly purchased home exemplifies the results of hope actualized. Her daughters have a sure place from which they can start their lives. This is worth fighting for and following up on in a few years to see how it’s going.

Best wishes,
George Knight
Alexandria, VA