DEAR ABBY: Thank you for the reworded 23rd Psalm, "King Heroin Is My Shepherd." It is powerful testimony against drug abuse. It's a shame that an educated, talented 23-year-old young lady had to give her life to produce it. What a difference she could have made in the lives of others if she had been allowed to reach her potential. The loss is incalculable.
Neither my wife nor I has ever used illegal drugs, alcohol or tobacco. We have raised six children who, to our knowledge, have never used any of those substances either. For this success I give a great amount of credit to the reading of articles like this one to our children as they were growing up. They always knew where their parents stood and we tried to be totally up-front, honest and fair with them.
I am a volunteer high school teacher. I have already used this column as a teaching tool. Rarely do I have every student's undivided attention, but when I read your column to them, no one even blinked. There was dead silence afterward. I know it helped to reinforce the commitment of some to stay off drugs and help their peers to stay off drugs, too.
Thank you, Abby, and thanks to the 23-year-old's family for sharing that sad suicide note with the world. I hope some good may come of it. -- DENNIS J. DAVIS, GLENDORA, CALIF.