Letters: Recalling Cambodia’s killing fields

I read Susan Spano’s “After the Killing Fields” [May 15] with much emotion. I am a survivor of the killing fields. I remember precisely the event that had me clinging to my grandmother’s hand and my older brother holding steadfast to my mother’s hand. Thunderous tanks passing by and Pol Pot’s puppets, with rifles in their hands, ordering people to move quickly. My grandmother telling me to be quiet and to obey. This took place in the dark of night. Children’s cries, footsteps moving about on the dusty road and parents telling their children to hush up were heard. “Move quickly” was the order.

My mother was taken away from me and placed with other women to work from dawn to dusk. At night she was interrogated and was ordered to remarry. My brother was taken to an all-boys’ camp where each day he went foraging in the forest for food along with other boys. Each night the boys slept in a hut without any blankets. He missed his family so much that he escaped the camp in the night. My grandmother was picked to be a cook for our camp. Each night she came back to our hut with a pocket of peanuts. While we enjoyed the roasted peanuts in the dark, my grandmother’s warning was “chew quietly.”

I do not wish to relive or revisit my family’s journey from this nightmare. I am glad to read that the country I was born in is slowly beginning to heal from this nightmare.

Ly Sok

San Jose

Two perspectives on Amish Country

I enjoyed Rosemary McClure’s article [“Off the Grid in Amish Country,” May 15] because Lancaster, Pa., is near my hometown of Reading. Too bad she didn’t get to nearby Birdsboro, Pa., to see the Daniel Boone Birthplace & Homestead. My paternal great-grandfather and grandfather owned land adjacent to the homestead property, which was bought in the 1970s by the state to enlarge the facility. It welcomes thousands of visitors each year.

Anita Singer

Laguna Woods

It was no surprise that there was no mention of the vast number of puppy mills operated by the Amish in McClure’s idyllic description of her visit. It would not make for happy reading. Helping put an end to puppy mills is on my bucket list.

Jan Haas

Sherman Oaks

High praise for Delta’s meals

I just finished reading Rosemary McClure’s article “Tasty at 30,000 Feet” [May 1]. We just returned from Sydney, Australia, having flown both ways in Delta’s business class. We were shocked by how good the meals were in presentation, flavor and choice. Unfortunately, our flights were either too late or too early to enjoy wine; we haven’t mastered the art of wine with breakfast yet. Kudos to chef Michelle Bernstein.

Marlayn M. Riley

Ventura

Bidding a sad adieu to the Sahara

When an entity makes its final departure, what is left is sadness along with a plethora of memories. I am referring to the sad closing of the Sahara hotel in Las Vegas. After 59 years of service to millions and catering to celebrities such as Elvis, the Beatles and the Rat Pack, the Sahara quietly lowered its curtains and closed its doors. I can almost hear Frank say to Dino, sitting at the now-darkened bar, “How about one more for the road?”

Bill Spitalnick

Newport Beach