LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Penny Ante,

I did experience a tug on the old heart strings when I read the entries about cereal eating (ed. - see late September/early October 2003). My own use of cereal leads me to feel that there are no casual cereal eaters. If the person doesn't feel that strongly about their cereal intake, then they probably haven't consumed enough to surpass their bodily cereal threshold (I am sure this is more common among certain philistine constitutions). This posits the theory that cereal intolerance goes hand in hand with cold, cynical natures such as are seen among the managing types of many institutions. At any rate, I have to admit that I was a willing participant of the General Mills cereal satisfaction studies held at local YMCAs nation wide in my youth, and that the scientists of general mills learned a thing or two about what to put in cereals. There's a good reason many of us are drawn to the comfort of cereals, and it has little to do with nutrition or nostalgia. I suspect you were enjoying cereal during your time of anxiety in Seattle, and your warm feelings about that period is likely due more to what some group of chemists put into an innocent looking box than any objective quality about being new to the city.

Regards,

P.K.
Seattle, WA