Letters to the Editor: Being a baby boomer doesn’t excuse your irrational fears

To the editor: I read with such sadness the op-ed article by Carol Mithers, the self-described baby boomer whose whose fears seem to take over her life with unbounding terror.

I am also a baby boomer who remembers in high school having to duck and cover under a flimsy desk. Some people built bomb shelters in their backyards. Still, most lived their lives and raised their families the best they could.

Every generation has faced some kind of world-shaking crisis, but keeping things in perspective is necessary in order to maintain our own sense of safety and well being. Being saddled with a generational label like “baby boomer” is really a silly way to categorize humans. It doesn’t make anyone’s generation golden or more special.

Having a healthy, positive attitude while keeping it real when facing new challenges will always serve us much better during these times of distress and anxiety. Hoping for better doesn’t cost a thing, and it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Frances Terrell Lippman, Sherman Oaks

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To the editor: As a child in the 1950s, my greatest fear was the polio virus.

I was born in 1949, and this virus was most prevalent in young children but also affected some adults. There was no treatment until 1955, when Jonas Salk’s vaccine was declared to be safe; a few years later, Albert Sabin’s oral vaccine was available.

The children of my generation just went about our normal activities in life. It was pretty scary for the first several years of my life, not knowing if I was going to end up paralyzed, confined to an iron lung or a wheelchair, or even die because of polio.

Medical research is more advanced today, so hopefully scientists will soon be able to produce treatments that stop the spread of COVID-19. Here’s to healthier and safer days ahead for all of us.

Jane Newfield, Westlake Village