T.J.’s subjects

Joe Torre, baseball may be what you are remembered for, but the bravery it took to talk openly about your childhood pain [T.J. Simers’ column, Nov. 6] is what well may matter most as your legacy.

My hope is that the thousands of youngsters who turn to sports for solace from the domestic violence in their own homes will take some of that courage and run with it. They may be in for a rough ride, but, as a child, I survived domestic violence, physical abuse, incest, and abandonment at the hands of a schizophrenic mother and an alcoholic father. I didn’t want that experience to be for nothing.

As an adult, I counsel other adults from similar backgrounds, and write books about recovery for adults who survive the nightmare. Thank you again for stepping up to the plate.

Dee Gregory

Los Angeles

(Gregory is the author of “Broken Bones, Broken Lives”)

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T.J. Simers’ characterization of Ricky Davis as a “druggie” [Nov. 10] is nasty and inappropriate. I work in a treatment center for people with drug and alcohol problems and I do not think of them as “druggies.” All of us have addictions of one sort or another. Simers, for example, is addicted to nastiness. Simers will probably not die from his addiction, although research points to a reduced life span among those whose prevailing attitude is a negative one.

Joshua Siskin

Sherman Oaks