A Rise Over Phoenix

I find it discouraging that Phoenix’s biggest claim to fame may be a culture that honors the ability of urban runaways to settle into the life of shallow, disconnected couch potatoes--safely isolated behind walled homes in walled communities (“How Phoenix Got So Hot,” by Louis Sahagan, Dec. 24). Even more discouraging is that these people want to make sure that only white potatoes can participate in this new version of the American Dream. No wonder they chose not to venture into the hot desert sun; their half-baked existence might be usefully stimulated by some additional cooking.

Rather than denigrating the wonderful and varied people of Los Angeles, New York and other major (some with lower crime rates than many of the new-destination cities), the people of Phoenix should be singing our praises. If not for us, when they turned on their TV’S, the screens would be blank--just like the rest of their lives.

Philip Hindenach

Hollywood