ALEX CHADWICK, host:
This is DAY TO DAY. I'm Alex Chadwick.
Time now for some of your comments, and here to help, our senior producer and letters editor, Steve Proffitt.
Steve, welcome back.
STEVE PROFFITT (Producer): Alex, we're going to focus on two things today: a Texas congressman's proposal for a militia to patrol the border, and an essay we ran about memories of a summer camp.
CHADWICK: OK. The congressman is John Culberson. He's a Republican from Texas. We spoke yesterday. He talked about his plan to train and arm citizens who will be charged with stopping people from crossing illegally from Mexico into the US.
PROFFITT: Here's part of what he said.
(Soundbite of interview)
Representative JOHN CULBERSON (Republican, Texas): We are in a war with terrorists who are sneaking into this country. They are here, they have walked over the border and when they blow us up again, they will laugh at us and say that `We walked over the Southern border pretending to be Hispanic because you did not protect us.'
CHADWICK: Texas Congressman John Culberson. Boy, we got a lot of mail on this one.
PROFFITT: We did. `My God, what a whack job.' That was the response from Sharon Benton, who listens in Seattle.
CHADWICK: And Angelo Esposito(ph) wrote: `I thought this cowboy shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later mentality had died.'
PROFFITT: Listener Roger A. Meyer of Chattanooga: `I hope that most Americans believe in the rule of law rather than taking justice or, I fear injustice, into their own hands.'
CHADWICK: And finally on this topic, Ed Gurowitz(ph) wrote to congratulate us on `a great satire featuring a comedian playing a Texas congressman.'
PROFFITT: He writes: `Tell me it was a satire, please.'
CHADWICK: OK. Steve, now on to letters about summer camp.
PROFFITT: On Friday last week, we featured a personal essay by a writer named Mark Oppenheimer about his experience as a child at a Quaker summer camp called Timberlake.
CHADWICK: Mr. Oppenheimer described the camp as one that encouraged nudity. Here is part of his essay.
(Soundbite of previous broadcast)
MARK OPPENHEIMER: At Timberlake, nestled in the woodlands of Vermont, boys swam in the nude, slept in the nude, even played Whiffle ball in the nude. I thought these people were crazy.
CHADWICK: That's writer Mark Oppenheimer.
PROFFITT: Yeah, and we got a mailboxful from folks who'd been to Timberlake and had much different memories.
CHADWICK: `Timberlake is not a nudist camp,' writes listener John Strickland(ph). He says while skinny-dipping is allowed, quote, "children are encouraged to swim garbed in a manner which makes them comfortable. Many wear suits; some do not."
PROFFITT: And Ariel Urlich(ph) of Mendota Heights, Minnesota, says Mark Oppenheimer missed the point of his experience at Timberlake, which, she says, `focuses on simplicity, honesty and respect.'
CHADWICK: From Richard Kleinschmidt(ph) of Manchester, New Hampshire: `I've never known an institution so thoroughly committed to trying to live rightly in this world.'
PROFFITT: And for the last words on this subject, we return to listener John Strickland, who notes: `We are a strong community and will thrive as the whiny, ignorant drone of Mark Oppenheimer's voice fades into the past.'
CHADWICK: Steve, we have time for one more?
PROFFITT: Sure. This one's from Terry Collins in Kinston, North Carolina. He listened online to a story we did about the Variax guitar. It's a high-tech gizmo that mimics the sound of more than a dozen acoustic guitars, and the idea is to replace many guitars with a single instrument. Mr. Collins, after listening to the story, inventoried his equipment.
CHADWICK: And this is some of it: a Vox, a Marshall and Dr. Z. In all, eight amplifiers, all with old-fashioned tubes, plus 19 guitars.
PROFFITT: He writes: `You can't argue with technology, but you can refuse it. I'll take the time to switch amps and guitars for a true vintage sound. I really do need all this stuff.'
CHADWICK: And we, dear listeners, really do need and do read your comments.
PROFFITT: So write us, please. Just go to our Web site, npr.org, and click on the `Contact us' link. It's at the top of every page.
CHADWICK: Letters editor Steve Proffitt, thank you again.
PROFFITT: You're welcome, Alex.
CHADWICK: DAY TO DAY returns in just a moment. I'm Alex Chadwick. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
