Not Your Usual Junk Mail

I enjoyed Marvin J. Wolf’s article on his father, “Living from Junk” (Sept. 5), until I neared its end. Even though it’s probably none of my business, I was shocked at Wolf’s admission that his father died “broke and trapped in a nursing home.”

My God, Marvin Wolf is one of six children. Why wasn’t his father in one of the children’s homes, with plenty of money to make him feel secure? I don’t understand what appears to be such cruelty, especially since the father obviously spent his entire life taking care of his son.

This family illustrates the truth of the old saying: “One parent can take care of 12 children, but 12 children can’t take care of one parent.”

Marlene Winston

Los Angeles

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Having had a father who was in the junk business, I really appreciated Wolf’s article. My dad, too, was a tough-but-not-hard guy who took pride in his work, even though he went around with dirty fingernails to show for it. Theirs was a noble generation of hard workers who valued their families and realized early that life offered no handouts.

It is important for us to periodically recall the strength of those shoulders we all stand upon. I thank Wolf for sharing his memories and triggering mine.

Stu Bernstein

Santa Monica