Readers write: Eco-friendly choices, Estonia’s music, and more

Eco-friendly activities

Regarding “For the birds: Can humans turn empathy into solutions?” in the Oct. 7 Monitor Weekly: The decrease in the world’s bird population is alarming. In 2013, I even blogged about seeing fewer of them.

There are things humans can do to help. For example, I let my Johnson grass go to seed. The painted buntings love it. I plant milkweed for the monarch butterflies. I have rocks in my birdbath so the bees can drink without drowning. My purple martin house was home to six pairs this year, and countless hummingbirds stop by my sage bushes on their spring and fall migrations.

Pam Lampson
Corpus Christi, Texas

Estonia and music

Regarding “His music celebrates simplicity. So does the building in his honor” in the Aug. 19 & 26 Monitor Weekly: Thank you for sharing such a moving account of Arvo Pärt, a fine man and inspiring composer. My 12-hour visit to Estonia in 1992 was unforgettable. It included hearing a concert in a beautiful Lutheran church and walking up a hill to visit a government building. 

The love of choral singing was very apparent in Estonia. Mr. Pärt’s compositions evidence so much of the country’s quiet stillness as well as the vibrant life of its courageous people.

David Barker
Barnstaple, England 

Soul of the city

One of the Inklings in the Oct. 21 Monitor Weekly quoted former Puerto Rican Gov. Luis A. Ferré, reading, “A city without a newspaper is a city without a soul.” It is my belief that Mr. Ferré should have added, “as long as that soul is not manipulated by the newspaper.” Thanks for keeping up the good, reliable news.

Argeo T. Quinones-Droz
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Peace prize

Regarding “A peace prize befits Ethiopia’s leader” in the Oct. 28 Monitor Weekly: What a wonderful, beautiful editorial about a wonderful, beautiful man: Abiy Ahmed, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Ethiopian prime minister. His inspired, creative, and loving leadership has brought a sense of peace and harmony to a large area of Africa that has been without for so long. I was so inspired, chills ran up and down my spine! Thank you to the Monitor and to the writers for this editorial.

Daniel Overton
Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida