Dear Amy: I teach in a public school and am wondering if there is a way that my fourth-graders could send letters to soldiers in Iraq. Do you have an address to which I could send students’ letters? We’d love to do this, preferably in time for the holidays.
– Margaret
Dear Margaret: For security reasons, it has become challenging to send mail to service members overseas – unless you have a specific name and address. The best thing for you might be to find contact information of actual people from your community who are serving in the armed forces. Wouldn’t it be great if your class could send mail to service members who had attended your school? Researching this would be a great class project.
I have mentioned the Fisher House Foundation before in this space.
This organization runs “comfort houses” for wounded service members and their families at or near hospitals.
A spokesman for the Fisher House Foundation assures me that any mail sent to Fisher Houses would be appreciated and enjoyed. Addresses for Fisher Houses are available on the Foundation’s website: fisherhouse.org.
Following are addresses for the Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals that treat wounded service members. I am assured that any mail sent to these hospitals will be distributed among soldiers being treated.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, care of American Red Cross, 6900 Georgia Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20307-5001. Write “For Any Service Member” on the bottom of the envelope.
Brooke Army Medical Center, care of Maj. Cradier, 3851 Roger Brooke Drive, Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234-6200. Write “For Any Service Member” on the bottom of the envelope.
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, care of Chaplain’s Office, CMR 402, APO AE 09180. This address is in Germany – senders should use domestic priority mail.
…
Dear Amy: You responded to a letter from “Frustrated in the Northeast” about how to deal with a troublesome mother-in-law.
I could have written that letter.
As a teacher, I should have used my behavior-management techniques with my mother-in-law a long time ago.
In an effort to “keep the peace,” I have been an enabler of my mother-in-law’s hostile behavior toward me for years.
The extended family is now shocked and bewildered by our family’s “sudden” separation.
My advice to young families is not to tolerate toxic in-laws.
Everyone deserves respect, and elders do not have the right to bully younger relatives.
– No Longer the Enabler
Dear No Longer: Sometimes, “keeping the peace” doesn’t really keep the peace – it just moves the skirmishes from one battlefield to another.
I gather that your behavior-management techniques involve being very clear about your expectations and finding a way to make sure that the children in your classroom understand that their behavior has consequences.
I agree that this technique would work well with family members too.
Send questions via e-mail to askamy@tribune.com or by mail to Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.
