Halloween Visitors

Re “To Live and Die in L.A.,” by Agustin Gurza, Nov. 2: It is more than a little ironic that a Times columnist who purports to speak for the area’s Latino community would admit that he bolts his doors and hides, deliberately, from his neighbors. I found it further instructive to learn the subject of his readings within his self-imposed isolation--the “rootlessness” of modern Angelenos. Does it need to be pointed out to Gurza that it is precisely the act of opening doors to welcome whomever may be there that will lead to an improved feeling of “connectedness”?

My own experience on Halloween, as I hung decorations and welcomed witches, goblins and yes, even Pikachu, with “Happy Halloween” and “Wow, what a great costume!” was one of having a tremendous good time. Is there anything more “connected” than a holiday where all sorts of people (whom we might never meet under other circumstances) bring their children to our front doors all dressed up and looking for treats?

In missing all those beautiful children and in many cases their proud parents, he missed a young Latina angel of about 3, dressed as a fairy princess in green gauze, who alighted on my doorstep to shout “Trick or treat!” There was a true moment of communal absolution and shared joy as I expressed my delight to both her and her mother, while dropping treats into her eagerly extended plastic pumpkin. Yet perhaps it is an even greater pleasure to be taught how completely wrongheaded Gurza is by the very children he locked out.

STEVEN M. BRADLEY

Westchester