Letters to the Editor

Mind Games

I was interested to see your reference to the “Brainball” game in your November Editor’s Notes. Did you know there is a place to play this high-tech game right here in New Hampshire? The Children’s Museum of Portsmouth installed the Mindball game as the centerpiece of its newest exhibit earlier this year, and we are the only children’s museum in North America to have it. Our exhibits director Sue Kaufmann wanted to bring the game to our museum because it’s one that everyone can play — size, strength and age don’t matter — and it teaches valuable lessons about biofeedback.

Mindball has been a huge hit with our visitors, and we often find a parent being trounced by a child, just like you experienced. Anytime you and your son are ready for a re-match, just head to Portsmouth.

I’m sure you’ll be able to chill out and beat him next time around!

Heidi Duncanson
Director of Marketing
Children’s Museum of Portsmouth

Record Sales?

First, I want to share with you how pleased my husband and I are with the article on our log home. [October 2006] We have gotten calls from people we know and strangers, and the response is positive and we are thrilled.

Taking on a project such as this was a big undertaking and a sacrifice. We didn’t really have a Thanksgiving/Christmas with our daughters that they are used to so we plan on making it up to them this year.

You may have a record sales month for October as I hit every book store I could to get copies. At one point I bought out all the copies at Barnes & Noble to send to family/friends that live out of town and I also put them in our guest bedrooms. My daughter went in to Barnes and Noble one day and asked where the copies were and she was told, “Oh, some lady came in and bought what we had,” and of course she laughed and told them that it was probably “her mother.”

As a subscriber to New Hampshire Magazine, I love everything about it. You have a little of everything for everyone. When we were in the planning stages of building, it was New Hampshire Magazine I turned to get names of companies to contact if there was something I was interested in.

Donna Bissonnette
Deering

Quick Question

We love the soapstone sink shown in the article on the frontier home in Deering. The other materials and appliances all have a name, location or Web site for more information except the sink. Could you direct us to more information on sizes and prices?

I live in Francestown, N.H., one of the towns that was well-known for their soapstone many years ago.

Janice O’Donnell
Francestown

Editor’s Note: The sink was made by Green Mountain Soapstone (www.greenmountainsoapstone.com) for Belisle Granite Countertops in Hooksett (www.belislegranitecountertops.com, 669-4634).

Note from Florida

As a summer resident of New Hampshire, I’ve wondered why you have never done articles on the Press Room (jazz) in Portsmouth and Farmsteads, N.E. in Hillsboro. Farmsteads, especially, deserves an article for their work with autistic adults. They have a huge fundraising lobster bake coming up soon at Foster’s in York.

Autism has a special part of my life as a friend of mine in Deerfield has two autistic grandsons by two different mothers. We also have an autistic teen boy who summers next to us. Gratefully, autism is not in our family’s gene code.

We winter on Anna Maria Island, a barrier island south of Tampa. We summer on the back side of Northwood Lake where we have a tree farm.

I loved your editorial about your son. My granddaughter has not gone directly to college, which boggles the mind of much of the family. I can’t imagine being a brave enough teen to live in the city.

Kim Gardner
Anna Maria Island, Fla.

Seeing a Physiatrist

I recently reviewed your 2007 medical directory and was surprised and disappointed to learn that you had not included the specialty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, also known as physiatry. The American Board of Medical Specialties is the licensing board that recognizes only 24 medical specialties. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is one of the 24 specialty boards, and it does confer board certification in PM&R and subspecialty certification within the field of PM&R.

There is a huge demand for our services that range from evaluation of simple and complex disorders involving the neurologic and musculoskeletal systems, pain management, diagnostic testing and electrodiagnosis, manipulation, acupuncture and rehabilitation of patients who have experienced traumatic sports or work injuries, strokes, brain injuries, etc. I would argue that more patients see physiatrists in the state than the single pediatric urology or the three “public health and general preventive medicine” practitioners that you have listed in your directory.

We do enjoy New Hampshire Magazine, and we believe that you do a great job with it, but we would be remiss if we didn’t highlight this oversight.

Barry Gendron, DO
Seacoast Area Physiatry
Portsmouth, Exeter and Somersworth

Matter of Fact

I just received your medical directory 2007. I am not sure where you get your directory information, but there are a number of glaring errors.

First of all, I am listed as a general surgeon … in fact I am a cardiac surgeon at Dartmouth. I never practiced general surgery. I have been practicing cardiac surgery here for five years. A number of cardiac surgeons within the state are not listed at all.

Finally, some of the cardiovascular surgeons listed are not cardiac surgeons at all. Some of them have even been retired for a number of years.

I know patients look at this. If you are going to publish a medical directory, it would be nice of you to actually get it right.

Anthony DiScipio, M.D.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Editor’s Note: The information used in our medical directory was from a freshly updated list maintained by the N.H. Board of Medicine. Next year we will announce the publication to give doctors a chance to check or update their official listings.

Calling All Hams

Great magazine. Re: the recent article on Joe Dodge [November 2006], you listed his dad’s old radio call, but not his. It would be interesting to the radio hams who receive our mag to know.

W.A. Dennis
Sanbornville (Call W1WA)
Note: Joe’s amateur radio call was W1UN.

The Elusive Newt

For the first time ever
He’s been too clever — So shy!

Not one of his kind
could my seeking eyes find — Oh my!

The newt has gone missing.
A chance at the basket I’m kissing
Goodbye!

I hope he’ll remember
to come back in November.
I miss the strange little guy.

By unsigned Newt Spotter
No address given

Clarification: In our Hot Restaurant feature story in the November 2006 issue we erroneously identified Quentin Keefe, co-owner of the Commercial Street Fishery, as a Real Estate broker. He is a mortgage broker. Pam Kelley has a background in sales and marketing and, at the time of the purchase, was a partner with Jeffrey Paige’s at Starfish Grille. Kelley and Keefe had looked at other properties and then approached Paige about buying Starfish. The timing was right for all parties and an offer was quickly made and accepted. The restaurant is located on Commercial Street, across from WMUR-TV.