[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 54 (Tuesday, May 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E768]]
                 GOOD WISHES, GOOD NEWS AND A GOOD IDEA

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                           HON. HENRY J. HYDE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 5, 1998

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, please permit me to share with my colleagues 
the delightful story of a Larry McManus and his efforts to bring a 
small measure of gratitude to our collective conscience. Four years 
ago, Larry concluded that, as Americans, we fail too often to 
appreciate the good deeds of others. And so, with little fanfare, but 
with strong determination, Larry set out to establish National Write a 
Letter of Appreciation Week. This holiday is a gift free event held 
annually during the first week in March. I commend to my colleagues 
excerpts of a wonderful story authored by Chicago Tribune columnist 
Eric Zorn that captures the essence of Larry's mission.

         those who shaped your life deserve a letter of thanks

       In your past, there is someone who was very important to 
     you but may not know it.
       Is it a teacher who inspired you to better things? Is it a 
     mentor who pushed you along when you most needed pushing? Is 
     it a former neighbor or lost friend who gave wisdom and 
     support? Is it a boss or a health-care professional or a 
     pastor or a cop or a firefighter? Is it a famous person who 
     took a moment to give you attention and encouragement, or an 
     artist you never met but whose work lifted you?
       Whoever it is, chances are good this person either doesn't 
     remember you or have any idea that you remember him or her 
     with such fondness. And chances are also good that it would 
     make this person's day--big time--to hear from across the 
     years: ``Thanks for everything. You made a difference.''
       These are awkward words for all but the most demonstrative 
     among us. They seem to require the excuse of an occasion, a 
     landmark for reflection, yet too often that occasion is 
     death--at which point such expressions, no matter how 
     heartfelt, are tardy.
       Larry McManus of suburban McHenry created a more timely 
     occasion: National Write a Letter of Appreciation Week.
       Simply, he suggests that you write letters to those who 
     have gone out of their way at some point to brighten your 
     life. He includes in his list of potential recipients notably 
     friendly store clerks, waiters and waitresses, repair 
     workers, bus drivers and dentists.
       ``Can you imagine how pleased these people would be if you 
     took the time to write a short letter acknowledging their 
     kindness, concern or assistance?'' McManus asked in one of 
     his faxes.
       ``I have a hunch that gratitude and graciousness are 
     connected,'' he continued. ``By extending our feelings of 
     gratitude to another we become, perhaps, by just a little 
     bit, more gracious. I believe that writing a letter of thanks 
     . . . is an antidote to what seems to me the coarsening of 
     our national culture and spirit.''
       McManus' week, which he hopes will become an annual event, 
     has received the endorsement of Gov. Jim Edgar and McHenry 
     Mayor Steven Cuda. He also has the informal support of many 
     McHenry County school officials, who he says have told him 
     they will encourage students to participate and learn the 
     value of both correspondence and expression of gratitude.
       I come from a long line of educators and can report that my 
     parents are always moved when they receive a kind remembrance 
     from an old student--the older the better. It validates what 
     they are doing far more than even the most positive end-of-
     semester student evaluation. Such a letter is where the echo 
     is louder than the applause.
       I wrote one about four years ago to Pete Seeger, the 
     septuagenarian folkie. Dr. Seuss had just died, and I'd been 
     struck by how pleased he would have been to have read and 
     heard all the sentimental slop from grown-ups about how much 
     his books had meant to them.
       Seeger recordings gave me pleasure for years and helped 
     inspire me to learn to play, however indifferently, several 
     folk instruments. And I knew someday I'd wake up and read his 
     obituary and regret never having thanked him. So, tactfully 
     not mentioning the inevitability of his demise as my 
     motivation, I wrote him a brief but warm letter of 
     appreciation and received a friendly reply.
       And now that Larry McManus mentions it, there are some 
     other people I should probably write to next week. You, too?

     

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