Using a Word Improperly Isn’t Really a . . .

I am beginning to tire of the word “tragedy” (“Tragedy found its way into the New York Yankee clubhouse . . . “), especially if it is used when a 79-year-old man dies. Yes, it is sad for Paul O’Neill and for all of us who lost their fathers, but a tragedy it is not. It is the way of life.

Tragedy is Payne Stewart being killed in the prime of life. Tragedy is a youngster killed by a drunk driver. Most sons go through what some of the Yankee players went through this year and deal with the loss in their own way. So let’s keep O’Neill’s loss in perspective and not give it such a Hollywood slant.

TOM FIELDING

Pasadena