Mail

Kelly McGillis

I would like to thank you for printing the story of Kelly McGillis’ tragic rape (PEOPLE, NOV. 14). Obviously this must have been a very hard story for her to tell. I want her to know that her story did, indeed, help those of us who have been victims. I am now mustering the courage to tell my parents what happened to me seven years ago when I was in junior high school. I was not raped, but a family member physically molested me. I could not imagine someone as beautiful and successful as Kelly McGillis living through such an ordeal. How unselfish to reopen wounds in order to help others. I thought to myself, “There’s hope. She survived, so can I.”

Name Withheld

I think Kelly McGillis, finally, is the woman who made us all feel the horror of rape. I am sending copies of this article to the offices of President-elect Bush and his soon-to-be Vice-President, Dan Quayle. I hope they will read the article, feel the horror and see how impossible it would be for any woman to carry to term a pregnancy resulting from an attack such as this.

Beverly Bayles

Gaithersburg, Md.

I was alarmed by Kelly McGillis calling Newport Beach, Calif., a “very, very safe place.” That is where I was raped. Please, Kelly, don’t let anyone think a wealthy or nice area is safe. Nowhere is safe, and rape will end only when we are always careful, everywhere.

Name Withheld

A three-year sentence for the fiend who attacked Kelly McGillis is ample evidence of the sickness that pervades our society and our criminal justice system. Miss McGillis will live with the horrors she experienced for the rest of her life, while this demented individual is now freely roaming the streets of New York to wreak havoc in the lives of other innocent victims.

Steven S. Orlow

New York City

No one should ever have to go through what Kelly McGillis did. However, the cynic in me always wonders at the convenience of such heartrending tales. Would Miss McGillis have brought this up during the promotional tour for, say, Top Gun? Or would it then have been a horrible tale of an airline experience? As far as I’m concerned, this kind of publicity is second only to the fading stars who “bravely” admit their drug or alcohol dependence so that they are at the forefront of the Hollywood news scene once again.

Jamie Wooten

North Hollywood, Calif.

Suzanne Martin Cooke

Shame on Jack Kent Cooke. The old stud should be gelded and put out to pasture. I congratulate Suzanne for her decision to keep their (third) child, rather than abort again upon Jack Cooke’s demand. He appears to be cold, emotionless and disrespectful toward the needs of his daughter and ex-wife, and he should be held financially responsible for the damage he has done. Hang in there, Suzanne.

Sharrie Patrick

Otis Orchards, Wash.

After two abortions in two years, Suzanne Cooke’s stupendous disregard for birth control is outweighed only by her incredible greed. She deserves neither more money nor the beautiful child she has so graciously allowed to live. A year’s supply of oral contraceptives would have cost her far less than one abortion. Was she, at 29, immature enough to think a 76-year-old billionaire wanted the hassles of baby spit and chicken pox? Where was her concern for human life before two abortions? In her pocketbook, I think.

Connie Holland

Cairo, Ill.

So, Suzanne Cooke wants to be with her daughter full-time. So do I, but since I didn’t marry a billionaire, my day consists of getting up at 5 A.M. to dress for work, wake my two children and get them to different day-cares. I’m on time for work at 8 A.M., work a 40-hour week, get home at 5:30 to fix a hot meal and bathe the children, taking time out from the ever-present housework and laundry to read to, play with and nurture them. All this for $22,000 a year as a secretary. It gags me that this shallow twit thinks $75,000 is not enough to “give her daughter every opportunity in life.” She would not last a day in my world.

Jennifer Pack

Independence, Mo.

Heidi Mosbacher

I was touched by Heidi Mosbacher and her work and devotion to the Amazon sloths. People like Jane Goodall, the late Dian Fossey and Heidi Mosbacher are the jewels of mankind. These women are selfless, courageous and dedicated people, and their efforts to protect and study animal-kind should be acknowledged and applauded. Is a fund available that supports her work, or is there an address to which contributions may be sent?

Jackie Geyer

Pittsburgh

Contributions maybe sent: c/o Consulado Alemão, CP-741, 69000 Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil.—ED.

The Preece Clan

Linda Preece would like us to believe that her parents were just ordinary working folks looking to “make ends meet”? I would hardly call having $100,000 in cash lying around their house, or being able to buy their daughter a new Mercedes for her high school graduation, living hand to mouth. Most working people are looking to better themselves, but not all of us resort to selling drugs to do it. Who knows how many other families were destroyed by the Preeces’ greed?

Anita Starnes

Anaheim, Calif.