Dear Sir, Unfortunately there are days when many of us are in a rush, late for work or just going nowhere in a hurry. The really sad part is that we seem to have lost our respect for the many tourists that come to our beautiful Island for a holiday.

I would like to say to the driver of the white car licence number 20381, that at 12.25 p.m. on Thursday, May 27 you were driving far too fast and there was no need for you to tell a couple on a bike who were trying to decide if the turn into Astwood Park was the correct one, to get the...out of the road.

These tourists were traveling slowly along the road and because you were in a hurry, frightened them. This is only the beginning of the tourism season and I hope that we all can slow down and show others using our roads a little courtesy.

INNOCENT BYSTANDER Warwick Put St. David's first May 31, 1999 Dear Sir, I understand there are about 300 applicants for some 30 houses soon to become available at Southside. It has been said that choosing the successful applicants has posed a big problem and the only solution may be to draw lots.

May I respectfully remind those whose responsibility it is to choose, that they should consider the sacrifice made some 50 years ago during the Second World War, when many St. David's families were obliged to leave their homes and be relocated elsewhere in Bermuda in order that the US Base could be built as part of the war effort. It is true that these families were paid compensation, but what price can be used for the loss of one's home which may have been in the family for generations? Indeed, had there not been a war, the descendants of those families would probably be living in the same houses today.

Since the land has now reverted to Bermuda, it seems only right that descendants of those displaced families should be given preference when allotting the BLDC housing today. Perhaps none of the 300 applicants fall into this category but again, perhaps they do. I submit that if any applicant can prove ancestry among the families displaced from St. David's during the war, that they should be given priority.

This view was submitted to a community meeting held at the former bowling alley at Southside some months ago which was sponsored by Government MPs and BLDC. It was received by the assembly of St. David's residents with applause.

I trust the Minister will be sensitive to the moral obligation.

UN-COMMON SENSE St. David's A simple solution May 31, 1999 Dear Sir, While everyone is wringing their hands about the poor literacy showing of Bermuda's schoolchildren, one big, inexpensive step can be taken right now.

Every child in Bermuda's school system should be required to read three books this summer and write a report of 100 to 300 words (at an appropriate grade level) on each of them, using a guideline set by schools.

One book should be from a list of books supplied by the teacher and the other two the students' choice. Our national libraries and book shop personnel are more than able to help them select age-appropriate reading material. I am sure that they would be glad to receive copies of the required reading lists and post them there (in case they get mislaid). The reports should then be corrected and graded by the teacher in the fall term and treated like a term paper (So that the exercise will be treated seriously).

This is not a new idea -- every good school in North America requires the same! And just think, kids might just find out how much fun reading is, and actually enjoy it.

U.R. LITERATE Paget Noise is everywhere May 28, 1999 Dear Sir, I empathise with Ann Smith Gordon's "Silence is Golden'' Letter in today's Royal Gazette . Sorry, but I'm afraid your letter will fall on deaf ears, with respect, pun intended. I know there is a lot of support among your neighbours but I assure you the problem is Islandwide. Sadly, one answer to loss of hearing is more noise. No, I'm no doctor.

The folk I feel most sad for are the youngsters. Pre-teens, trapped in the confines of the cars, subjected to all the noise. What of their future health? Is this child abuse? The sound I find most disturbing is the bass. This penetrates to the very centre of my chest cavity, at some distance from the source. I have stopped going to the "Concert in the Park'' for this very reason. Do people close to the amplifier experience this same sensation? A thought for our Environmental Minister Mr. Arthur Hodgson: Is there a potential tax revenue base here? Could these machines be taxed? Many other forms of communicating equipment using our air waves are: cellular phones, ship to shore radios etc. I don't know how amplification is measured, by megahertz, boom booms, whatever, but the bigger the boom boom, the bigger the annual fee. Perhaps this way a return to the golden silence of yesteryear could be re-discovered.

KEITH J. ROSSITER Smith's Parish Good news at last May 24, 1999 Dear Sir, Thank you and your staff at The Royal Gazette for printing some great overseas articles last week.

Friday, May 21, 1999, Page 49; A bill favouring legalisation of marijuana for medical purposes passed its first reading in Britain's House of Commons.

Saturday May 22, 1999, Page 24; the US Government said yesterday it was getting into the business of selling marijuana -- to bona fide researchers.

Yet the Parliament and Government of Bermuda continue to jail Bermudians for possession of small amounts of grass. I, for one, look forward to living in this kinder, gentler Bermuda we've all been talking about. Now that homosexuals have all of the legal rights they need, how about some relief for another group of repressed individuals, people who are enlightened to the use of marijuana? SPANISH POINT VOTER Pembroke Bermuda needs unity May 13, 1999 Dear Sir, I often think of Christiana Alaire, the white vice president at ACE Insurance, who called the Policeman a "black bastard'' some nine months ago, having admitted to having a few drinks, she probably said what was in her heart.

I would like to share an insight with your readers. Over the past nine months since the Alaire case was reported, I have asked, perhaps 200 black Bermudians, a simple question: "Can you look me in the eye and say that you haven't said `white bastard' in the past year, either out loud or in your mind?'' You see the witch hunt is on for racists of the white variety but what we should be dealing with is "race relations'' not "racism''.

Remember the CURE Commission? Funded and neglected by the UBP. The Commission is missing the point. "CURE'' stands for the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality. Unity comes from us understanding where we have come from and where we must go -- together.

SANDERS FRITH-BROWN Warwick Toilets were awful May 31, 1999 Dear Sir, On May 15, my Daddy took my brother and me to a cricket game at St. George's Cricket Club. My Daddy took me to use the bathroom. The toilet was dirty, filthy and smelled awful. My daddy had to lift me up to use it. My daddy took his own toilet paper and there was no water to wash my hands. My name is Kerrysha Tucker, and I am seven-years-old. I attend Heron Bay School.

KERRYSHA ANGEL TUCKER Southampton