Sunday letters: Waiting for the Trump-Biden Smackdown; golden moments at a city school

Are you ready for a Smackdown?

With apologies to the WWE, I can’t help but think the coming debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on June 27 is going to be a decision maker for the vast majority of voters − a true smackdown. Not unlike the Nixon-Kennedy debate of September 1960.

In recent months Trump has become more outrageous, more unhinged, and sometimes totally incomprehensible in his public speeches.

At a recent rally in Las Vegas his teleprompter failed and he launched into a strange narration about dying by electrocution on a sinking electric boat or by a shark attack. Digressions like this have caused many to question Trump’s state of mind. Author Stephen King said it was “like listening to your senile uncle at the dinner table after he had that third drink.”

Charlie Sykes, former editor of The Bulwark and now a vehemently anti-Trump voice on the network MSNBC, said he would like to see voters' reactions after seeing Trump’s Las Vegas speech and then Biden's speech at the recent D-Day commemorations.

This debate will not be like the last between these two. One mic will be turned off while the other person speaks. Trump will not be able to interrupt Biden.

Trump is not good at thinking on his feet about serious matters. He is more adept at name-calling and disparaging remarks. So it is with great anticipation that the nation will be watching.

That is, if Trump actually shows up.

Gordon Rowley, Wakefield

Beautiful moments at a Providence school

Thank you for your reporting on Providence Public Schools ("Elorza assails state of Providence schools," News, June 12). There are certainly continuing and serious concerns in our public schools. However, there are also pockets of magical thinking and students who thrive.

I've been an Inspiring Minds volunteer since September 2023 in Ms. Lea Fouquet's first-grade class at Alfred Lima Elementary School. I have observed growth and change in so many students. Many speak a primary language other than English. Some never attended preschool or kindergarten.

They are eager to learn and eager to please. In addition to following city-wide curricula, Ms. Fouquet teaches relaxation through breathing techniques and yoga stretches. They dance to get their "giggles out." Ms. Fouquet teaches responsibility and leadership skills. Students take turns giving positive feedback and they discuss problem-solving communication strategies. At circle time, a quiet, whole class participation exercise, they have opportunities to share thoughts and feelings, gaining self-confidence and interpersonal respect. They learn life lessons (and reading phonics) by singing Shakira's song "Try Everything."

Recently, Lima’s assistant principal, Ms. Julie Slater, a 20-year special education classroom educator, was invited to be "guest professor" in Ms. Fouquet's class. During the lesson on sketching the human head, the children were mesmerized. Ms. Slater kept a gentle, quiet voice throughout. The children were captivated.

The children learned, the teacher learned as she observed her mentor, and I was honored to witness these beautiful moments.

Thank you, Providence Public Schools, Alfred Lima Elementary, Lea Fouquet and Inspiring Minds Volunteer program.

Susan G. Sikov, Providence

The writer is a retired clinical social worker.

Democratic problem solving

The Democrats and liberals have strange ways of fixing society's problems.

The City of San Francisco announced they will be providing the alcoholic homeless free alcohol. In a number of Democratic-led cities drug addicts are provided needles and drugs. We have thousands of young people without basic reading, writing and math skills. So we pass them and give them an unearned diploma. Solves that problem.

Wait, there’s more. We’ve had a severe housing shortage in America, so we let millions of undocumented immigrants in with no means of support or housing. Now the housing is more expensive and in even shorter supply. Our armed services have problems filling their needs, so they lower the already low eligibility standards.

I think the best one the Democrats have come up with is their solution to lowering crime. Make crime legal. Problem solved.  Prove me wrong.

John E. Anderson, North Scituate

Supporting work of vaccine alliance group

Even as health systems continue to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, historic and steady investments in global health over the past few decades are delivering astounding returns. A new UN report shows that the global death rate for children under five has been halved since 2000, falling below 5 million for the first time ever.

This historic milestone can – and should – be celebrated but our work is far from over: 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2022, most of them from causes that could have been prevented or treated.

No child should die of a preventable disease. That’s why I support the work of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which helps protect kids from deadly diseases by promoting access to routine immunizations for measles, cholera, HPV, ebola, and – most recently – malaria. Since 2000, Gavi has helped prevent 17.3 million deaths around the world.

I want to thank Rep. Gabe Amo for sponsoring H.Res. 1286 recognizing the importance of strong U.S. support for Gavi so it can continue its lifesaving work. I hope to see other lawmakers follow suit. Investing in Gavi is a strong sign of this country's commitment to global health security and helps leverage support we need from other donor countries to create a safer, healthier world for everyone.

Grace Kenningham, Providence

Parents a big factor in education

Regarding "Defending the indefensible" (Letters, June 15), Michael Marra says, "...the single most important factor in every student's educational experience is the quality of the teachers in front of them."

He is wrong. The most important factor is for students to have parents who value education. Students can have outstanding teachers and still fail if their parents do not make them come to school or see that their schoolwork is being done or behave when they are in school. 

John Lint, Little Compton

The writer was a public school teacher for 34 years.

RI drugstores of yore

Mark Patinkin's column "Stanley Goldstein remembered for far more than CVS" (News, May 23) noted the sad passage of Stanley Goldstein, founder of Consumer Value Stores which grew into today's CVS Pharmacy (CVS Health Corporation).

Mr. Patinkin mentions that, when he and his brother Sid created CVS in 1963, "drugstores basically didn't exist." Really? The location of Delekta's Pharmacy on Main Street in Warren has a history as an apothecary that dates back to 1858. Family-owned Delekta's, established in 1948 by Ignatius Delekta, still exists today although the pharmacy side of the business closed in 2017.

Growing up in the village of Thornton in the early 1960s, I remember two family-owned pharmacies, Golini Drugstore and Collins Drugstore, both located on Plainfield Street. Adams Drug Company was a drugstore chain that was founded in 1932 with stores in Woonsocket and Pawtucket, and eventually became one of the largest drugstore chains in the country with over 500 stores in 14 states. In the 1960s there was an Adams Drugstore on Atwood Avenue in Johnston as well as in other Rhode Island locations.

Michael Kawan, Cranston

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Sunday letters: Waiting for the Trump-Biden Smackdown; golden moments at a city school