If I may, I would like to use your newspaper to thank a gentleman for his kindness.

We had lost our cat "Truffles'' for a week and were broken-hearted with worry. Last Saturday, February 26 a gentleman (I'm afraid, in my upset state, I did not get his name) had the misfortune of finding "Truffles' down by the Riddell's Bay dock. He then had to inform me of her demise. With my father and his help we were able to retrieve her and lay her to rest.

It must not have been easy for him to be the bearer of bad news but with his kindness I was able to put an end to my sleepless nights and know she was now at peace -- and he would not accept the reward offered! Many people would not have done this, thinking we, animal lovers, would not want to know the bad news. Please -- if you ever have the misfortune of finding someone's animal in good or bad condition -- let them, a vet or the SPCA know, as it is much better to put an end to the unknown.

Truffles now has two eyes and is somewhere chasing birds and climbing trees.

Peace be with you and her! TRACY HARRIS Warwick Wrong way to go about it March 8, 2000 Dear Sir, Surely we must be losing our minds. On the one hand we are doing the right thing in encouraging our young people to pursue an advanced education -- in most instances to qualify for positions within the international sector -- or legal, accounting, and insurance degrees to service that international sector.

On the other hand we are discouraging those same potential employers in the international sector from staying in Bermuda.

Net result -- we will have an increasing number of qualified Bermudians -- and a reduced number of potential jobs.

Net Net Result -- we are not losing our minds -- we have surely lost our minds.

MOST CONCERNED BERMUDIAN Southampton Put your house in order March 10, 2000 Dear Sir, From a position of racial equality, it is important to me as a company manager, to confirm that the Minister responsible for CURE firstly equates his policy to his own Government before entering the private sector to investigate and report on racial make up.

When the Government of the day has successfully integrated its candidates according to current demographics, then it may enter my business and ask as many questions as it likes. I will have to say that it has to be the Government that asks the questions in my business, because I have no right to assume the racial make-up of my staff, neither have I any right to ask them what race or ethnic background they consider themselves to be or belong to.

I see no colour in my business, simply faces of individuals who relate to different functions in the organisation. To achieve success in business, a person is judged solely on performance.

SET THE EXAMPLE Warwick No intellectual giants March 12, 2000 Dear Sir, During the debate in October, 1993 in the House of Assembly discussing Judge Stephen Tumim's 1992 Report of the Criminal Justice Review Board, Mr. Gerald Simons, CEO of Argus Insurance, stated one thing he had been struck by while in the employee benefit field of the business world.

Chief executives, managers and owners known as the movers and shakers were predominantly white. Mr. Simons also added he had noticed many of these whites were not intellectual giants. Some indeed had difficulty comprehending basic concepts. Without political powner, Mr. Simons' views as quoted in 1993 is more true now than when he made that statement.

RAYMOND RUSSELL SR.

Pembroke Letter gives warning March 3, 2000 Dear Sir, What a brilliant letter, signed by Expat CEO, setting out the contribution that exempted companies make to the Bermuda economy.

With the hotel industry continuing in its downward spiral, all Bermudians should be so grateful that the exempted companies want to operate in Bermuda.

If the Government Ministers continue to make life difficult for the exempted companies to operate here, they will simply leave. Remember they left the Bahamas almost overnight.

Bermuda and Bermudians have enjoyed a high standard of living, but this could change in a matter of weeks.

For the sake of the future of this Island, I only hope that some of the PLP Members of Parliament will take a stand against their colleagues who are determined to harass the exempted companies.

AMPLE WARNING Warwick Prove your worth March 3, 2000 Dear Sir, With reference to Expat CEO's letter to you of February 23, 2000, may I say this was a most interesting letter -- both for the detailed information and the input from such a representative of a most vital part of our income source.

This should be included in our school curriculum, to prepare our school children for a better understanding of where the money comes from and the role foreign money plays in our economy. Listening to the talk shows, it is obvious that there is a frightening amount of ignorance on this subject.

While I did not have the actual figures, I always knew the contribution made by expatriates was enormous and that Bermuda -- as we know it -- could never have existed without their money and their talents.

If Bermudians are concerned about the number of expatriates who own all the hotels and exempted company businesses and the subsequent dangers to the country, as outlined by Arthur Hodgson, then I have a solution.

Let his pals in the BIU use all that money their members pay in to purchase the St. George's hotel and show those expats a thing or two about making money. With a labour-friendly government and no labour strikes that have crippled other hotels to contend with, I can just see the money rolling in.

The profits would be shared out to all the workers so they would be happy campers.

I can just see them marching along that beautiful entrance way singing Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's off to work we go. You cannot get a more productive worker than a happy one.

You would also have a happy Environment Minister, who could expect to see a drop in drug use and fewer foreign workers to steal the bread off the tables of our fine sons and daughters of the soil or crowd our over-stretched housing. I see visions of Utopia! My solutions to the lack of appreciation for the tons of money donated to charities and other worthy causes -- sports and the likes -- is as follows: Starting right now -- withhold all money to every cause, every sports promotion, every scholarship until the recipients come out strongly to voice their appreciation and support, as it seems insane to give millions to support those who will not, in turn, support you. You have absolutely nothing to lose and much to gain.

All expatriates should withhold all their volunteer work, including running sporting events, etc. However, they should continue their sterling work in donating blood to the Red Cross, as Bermudians are happy to accept the expatriate's blood when it is required.

I would support an expatriates holiday for expatriates only, so that the Bermudians could have a better understanding of the contribution made by all the expatriates when they have to run everything in the Country without them.

THE EIGHTH DWARF Paget Sad to see Williams go March 10, 2000 Dear Sir, It is with a great deal of sadness that Bermuda should see Mr. William Williams and STW Fixed Income leave Bermuda.

The majority of Bermudians wouldn't know it, but Mr. Williams has quietly and generously donated significant amounts of money to benefit Bermudians through his charitable donations.

I can speak only for cardiac healthcare which affects almost half of our population. The generosity of Mr. Williams, in memory of the departed Fire Chief of Texas, will fund the Research and Education Library in the new Barber Cardiac Diagnostic Unit in KEMH.

Mr. Williams, we acknowledge you with heartfelt thanks from the charities in Bermuda in which your past generosity has benefited one of the most important things in life... Good health! R. ANDERSON Co-Founder Bermuda Heart Foundation Keep your promises, PLP March 2, 2000 Dear Sir, Today, I read with no surprise, the article entitled "Government has no cash for new housing projects''. I say they partied it all away.

They made many false promises and let down a lot of needy families. I wonder if they were thinking about those people when they spent the night at the Princess Hotel. The excuse they used for staying at the Princess was they had an early meeting. I feel if they had to make time, they should have risen a little earlier on that particular morning and made their time like responsible people should do and save some of the hardworking taxpayers' money for better use.

Also I would like to know why is it the Premier always has no comment or cannot be reached for comment when it concerns important issues, and the only time I see her face in the newspapers is for representing a tag day, attending a luncheon or something of that sort? When are she and her Ministers, who are so concerned about Bermudians' welfare, going to start showing it? LET DOWN BERMUDIAN Pembroke Pensioners need help March 14, 2000 Dear Sir, I was shocked to hear on the radio that the MPs have just voted themselves a raise. Whatever for? Do they need it more than the senior citizens who have not had a raise in years and are still expected to bear the brunt of raised land tax, new hospital fees which makes our insurance go up too. Say a widow pensioner -- the highest is $646 a month -- is this all to come out of it. Be Real.

The older you get, something always goes wrong. With an old body you just cannot avoid it and this is very, very depressing for old people. Nothing has been done for or made easier for senior citizens.

The Government says it has no money for this or that. Yet they can give themselves a raise. How selfish can they get, it's all for me this lot while we can get it, to heck with seniors: "They're going to die sooner or later.'' This Government should take a good hard look at itself and not be so self-grabbing to make ends meet with despair what is going to happen to them.

Common sense is needed here! A SENIOR CITIZEN Devonshire Insurers do excellent job March 13, 2000 Dear Sir, As an American guest worker in Bermuda, I was originally given the opportunity to continue with my American benefits package including coverage by a US health insurer. Assuming the American package would be better, I simply chose to continue this protection.

On my second year in Bermuda, I was offered a choice again with the US carrier and a local company. Upon review of the Bermuda plan, I opted to purchase coverage locally. The ensuing years have provided me with far superior coverage than what was on offer in America. I do not view myself as "cherry picked'' because it is part of our group programme and I have incurred significant medical expenses, as has our staff.

I just wanted people to know just because its "American'' don't assume it is the best, and that in my view the local market is doing an excellent job providing health protection in Bermuda.

A SATISFIED CUSTOMER City of Hamilton