Hunger

Hats off to Al Martinez for his eloquent essay on hunger and famine (“The Lion Within,” March 3), and to the young people who fasted for those who have nothing to eat.

There is a difference between being hungry and knowing the “lion of hunger.” I have been hungry often. I have even fasted occasionally on Passover, or to lose weight. But like most of the young people in the downtown warehouse, I always knew that when the fast ended, I would sit down to my favorite meal.

By contrast, “knowing hunger” is when you have had nothing to eat and you don’t know if you will ever have anything to eat again. That’s when the “lion rages.”

JUDI A. KESSLER

Santa Barbara