Doughnuts

Re “Sweet Dream for Doughnut Fans,” Jan. 27: Smithsonian archivist John Fleckner said, “The story of Krispy Kreme is a blend of nostalgic memories and revealing business and social history.”

I look forward to trying one of Krispy Kreme’s doughnuts. Every doughnut I eat is a disappointment. I’m afraid there will never be a doughnut to equal the ones I had as a child off the Helms bakery truck. They were a treat without equal.

JOHN MITCHELL

North Hollywood

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Though I have been a fan of Krispy Kreme doughnuts for almost 30 years, I am not celebrating their arrival in the Southland. While I applaud Krispy Kreme for its business success, I am sorry that what was once a regional treat--a sign, if you will, that you had arrived in the South--is now yet another ersatz experience in “Chia America.”

We aggressively promote conformity; an odd note in a society that proclaims the virtues of “diversity” with mind-numbing regularity. I will rue the day when, in every part of the land, we all drink coffee from Starbucks, wear clothes from the Gap, rent movies from Blockbuster, buy books at Borders and stock up at Costco and Wal-Mart, all the while pretending that we’re experiencing something “great.”

RUSSELL BURGOS

Thousand Oaks