Letters: Back to Beyond

Mark Levine's story about life in Atlin, British Columbia ("Where the World Might Find You," September), nicely captures the dilemma of an isolated community facing the changes wrought by a global economy. It is disheartening to realize that even the ends of the earth no longer provide a refuge from the modern world's stampede.

In a place as far removed from the world's corrupting influences as end-of-the-road Atlin, an "environmentally conscious mine" may indeed sound like an ingenuous proposition. It's enticing to believe in romantic promises, but let's hope the Tlingit value the spirit of their land and resist the temptations.

Pick Your Passion

I certainly enjoyed reading Ian Frazier's article on my life in the fungal jungle ("Does the Mushroom Love Its Plucker?" September). I would be remiss, however, if I did not call your attention to the fact that two photo captions in the story were reversed. The top photo on page 94, labeled "Agaricus bitorquis (edible)," should read "Tippler's bane (edible, but not with alcohol)." Conversely, the picture on the bottom should be labeled Agaricus bitorquis. So please, pick your (fungal) friends carefully, and happy hunting!

A Dog's Tale

As a longtime fan of Tim Cahill, I must say that his September Out There column ("Shed His Grace on Me") is perhaps the best piece he's ever written. Cahill's ability to blend faith, friendship, dogs, mountains, small towns, and medical miracles is truly a miracle of its own.

As a proudly cynical New Yorker, I'm apt to find an essay like Cahill's a touch sappy, but instead his artful writing left me deeply moved. The poignant story vividly reminded me of the comfort and solace I found in my Labrador retriever, Stanley, while my mother battled a serious illness a few years ago.

Resting Places

The Barker Dam mentioned in your article on Joshua Tree ("There's Something in the Rocks," Destinations, September) was built by my grandfather in the early 1900s to provide water for the cattle that he and Bill Keys ran in the area. I wonder whether the cowboys who made that arduous run would have ever believed that, a hundred years later, people would choose to climb those rocks for fun.

Thank you for your astute guide to Joshua Tree. However, you didn't mention the area's most evocative and best-known hidden site: the slab commemorating the burning of Gram Parsons's body. The singer had expressed a wish to be burned in the park upon his death, so when he overdosed in the town of Joshua Tree in 1973, his friends stole his body and fulfilled his last wish.

Spotlight Dance

So the Russians are planning to send up a fleet of space mirrors to light up the northern sky ("Do Not Soon Anger Us, or We Will Make Your Days Sunny and Pleasant Beyond Belief," September)? Kinda makes me long for the good old days, when you knew that all Brezhnev and company had up their sleeves was plutonium and these flights of fancy were reserved for spy-movie archvillains.

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