T-MAIL - Brief Article

HELEN HUNTING

HOLLY MILLEA'S ARTICLE "WHAT'S EATING Helen Hunt?" [September 2001] was the best piece I've read about one of my favorite actors. Hunt's reluctance to throw her personal life out to anyone who would offer praise proves that she understands that the movies she makes may be for our enjoyment, but that doesn't give us the right to dissect every aspect of her life. I too "like the articles I read where people say it all," but when a celebrity says "enough," I would much rather enjoy her work than speculate about her sleeping partner.

Michael Davis

HOUSTON, TX

THE WITCH-HUNT AGAINST HOMOSEXU-als is perpetuated when Tom Cruise sues over being called gay and Helen Hunt considers doing the same. Celebrities claim it can destroy their careers if the public considers them gay--understood, given the current climate. But what's wrong with just saying "I'm not"? I wouldn't want to be called a Republican, but I wouldn't take anyone to court over it.

Julie Rieger

MILL VALLEY, CA

MOMS BUFF UP

RE: "IT'S HOT OUT THERE" BY TINA Brown [September 2001]: "The last two weeks of school have been the usual juggling mania familiar to all mothers who have a job." Maybe Brown would like to come and see what the last two weeks of school are like for a stay-at-home mom. Trust me--it's a juggling nightmare on steroids.

Barbara Claypole White

HILLSBOROUGH, NC

DELIGHTFUL DePAULO

THANKS TO LISA DEPAULO FOR AN IN-sightful article on Chandra Levy and her relationship with Gary Condit ["Secrets & Lies," September 2001]. Best of all was her use of the term slut to describe Condit. It feels right to apply that word to a man for a change. Brava!

Julia Moulden

TORONTO, ONTARIO

IT HAS BEEN VERY REFRESHING VIEWING Lisa DePaulo on the TV talk shows. I couldn't wait to get the September issue and hunted it down relentlessly.

Jan Moresi

ABBEVILLE, LA

HOOKED ON A FEELING

ALTHOUGH I CONSIDER DRUG ADDICTION deadly serious, I couldn't help laughing out loud as I read example after example of Aaron Sorkin's denial ["The Crack-Up" by Michael Cieply, September 2001]. It's okay for him to use pot to celebrate, he feels comfortable drinking one glass of wine, and he has "tried to have one potato chip... and succeeded"? It's time for Sorkin to return to the Hazelden clinic and enter its four-month Jellinek program, which, he can rest assured, involves numerous writing assignments. Sorkin will have his toughest audience ever: fellow addicts who will see through his bull faster than he can say "The West Wing."

name withheld

WYCKOFF, NJ

NAUGHTY NOTS

CAMILLE PAGLIA'S "TOP 25 WICKED WOMEN in History" [September 2001] includes one woman with no documented track record for naughty behavior: Mary Magdalene. While she has been burdened with the popular notion that she was a prostitute redeemed by Jesus, nowhere in any of the four gospels is Mary Magdalene identified as such. While Jesus did save a prostitute from being stoned, the woman in question was never identified by name, and there is nothing in the gospel texts to imply that this woman was Mary Magdalene.

Phil Hall

NEW YORK, NY

THERE IS MORE THAN A METAPHOR CON-necting Monica Lewinsky's purses and a woman's body. The vulgar word pussy derives from a thousand years of Anglo-Saxon usage back to the Old Norse word puss for pouch and the Low German word puse for vulva.

David R. Ginsburg

LOSANGELES, CA

PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS

EVEN THOUGH I AM A LIFETIME DEMO-crat, I was appalled by your tasteless, trashy, and rude pictorial "Declaration of Independence" [creative direction by David Lipman, photography by Marcus Mam, September 200 1]. You should leave the Bush daughters alone, just as the media did Chelsea Clinton. I doubt she was an angel while going to Stanford.

Cynthia MacNeil

GREENSBORO, NC

THE BUSH GIRLS, DRINKING UNDERAGE!

My, my, what college girl would do such a thing? Where were your photos of a fat girl under a Clinton look-alike's desk?

Reva Thornkill

NASHVILLE, TN

TALK WAS AMONG THE GROWING STACK OF my 12 subscriptions' worth of unread magazines to be someday dropped off at the VA hospital...until something incredible happened to change the fate of all past and future Talk issues in my house: You were banned by the White House. I just wanted to thank you for the glimmer of hope that there might be some media left in this country that aren't controlled by the sinister right wing of the GOP. I'm looking forward to my next issue.

Karen Way

DANIA BEACH FL.

IT'S IN THE BAG

THE ONLY THING SOFTER THAN HOLLY Peterson's Birkin bag is her brain ["Oops! I Bought the Wrong Birkin Bag!," September 2001]. Maybe she can spend her next $6,000 on a shrink to get her head out of seventh grade, or on a charitable contribution--it's always in style, the right size and color, and it makes you feel fabulous, dahling.

Sue Agiewich

GEORGETOWN, TX

AS ONE WHO USED TO BE INSIDE THE Hermes organization (managing director. Beverly Hills), I can tell you with great confidence that not only is Holly Peterson not fashion tone-deaf, she's actually ahead of the pack. Any true cognoscente of Hermes knows that the soft skins are more rich and luxurious--and not meant for the masses. The authentic fashionista is one who knows that the best Birkin is the one you can fold and put in your luggage knowing it will look just as fabulous at your destination.

Carolyn Mahboubi

BEVERLY HILLS, CA

Editor's Note: Holly Peterson received numerous phone calls from disgruntled socialites wanting to know if they had bought the "right" or "wrong" Birkin. Corporate suits at Herme's, upset by shoppers demanding to know the same, also contacted Talk. We spoke with Claude Gandrille, the master leather craftsman at Hermes for more than 30 years, who told us that there is no structural distinction between a hard and soft Birkin. "There are Birkins that sometimes appear stiff because the leather we use is harder," he said. "Softer leathers tend to collapse faster, but all Birkins are made the same way."

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