Calendar feedback: A symphony of a story and the not-so 'Golden Bachelor'

LA Times
·2 min read
Los Angeles, CA - September 13: Jacob Rock, an autistic 19-year-old, wrote a symphony through a communication app via iPad, and here he poses for a portrait at his home studio on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA. His symphony will be staged on September 30th at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Jacob Rock, an autistic 19-year-old, wrote a symphony through a communication app via iPad in his home studio. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Jacob Rock's lovely tale

Beautiful! Simply beautiful [“The music in his mind,” Oct. 10]. I was a counselor with Tri-Counties Regional Center for 14 years and had some experience with people with autism. Your beautifully written article about [Jacob] Rock was, well, words fail me … .

John Snyder

Newbury Park

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How low can they go?

Art institutions pay nonadministrative employees low wages because they can [“Time to give museum staffers a lift too,” Oct. 6]. It’s not that they don’t have the resources (as various construction projects show).

Art institutions pay their senior staff generously to retain them. If the staff burns out, there is a long list of replacements.

Lastly (but certainly not least) is the negative treatment of staff by management.  (You can only take so much when you’re being kicked in the teeth.)

Mindy Taylor-Ross

Venice

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Reality is not 'Golden'

[Mary McNamara’s] column on the Golden Bachelor is brilliant and so funny, I couldn’t stop laughing [“‘Courage’ is not the word for ‘Bachelor,’” Oct. 6]!! L.A. Times is lucky to have [her] on their team, [she is] such a great writer! Thanks for the belly laughs! [She] nailed it!

Blaunch Perrier

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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While I agree with Mary McNamara’s thoughtful assessment of ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor,” I do have two suggestions for McNamara. The first: Lighten up. After all, this program is on network television, and network television is not exactly known for ushering in cutting-edge cultural views. If you long for penetrating perspectives on mate selection among mature adults, scroll through the program listings for PBS.

Of course, this program is not capturing the nuances and intricacies of how people get to know each other. How entertaining is that? Are these episodes intended to capture the dates of AARPsters? Of course not. Is this program going to change views about love and the senior citizen? Probably not. Does it show that some seniors can be energetic, active, fun-loving and excited about their future? Absolutely.

And my second suggestion for Mary: Get real about reality television.

Alfreda Iglehart

Los Angeles

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.