Documentary brings back memories 

The documentary film review by Dan Buffa “ ‘Welcome to Kutsher’s: The Last Catskills Resort’ wistfully evokes famous upstate New York country club” (published on the Light’s website Oct. 30) struck a chord for me.

I actually had that job of a lifetime: the lifeguard at the resort’s pool. I was entering my sophomore year at Cornell that summer. It was 1967 and the popularity of the Borscht Belt was waning. Nevertheless I enjoyed the resort’s amenities. We stayed in a dormitory style residence which was basic but we were fed the same food. There was a great social atmosphere and the Kutsher family was good to their staff. The other nostalgic anecdote involved a car that one of the lifeguards sold to me at the end of the summer for $55. It was a ’56 Chrysler that we drove to Ithaca as an extra car for my fraternity brothers. I created a lot of good will. The best part of the summer is looking back at the feeling of well being in the Borscht Belt. It also enhanced my schmoozing skills as a natural tummler.

Steven A. Ludsin, East Hampton, N.Y.

Funds needed to boost global vaccination efforts

As we approach colder weather and a season of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah gatherings, I’m heartened by news of so many children getting the COVID-19 vaccine now that kids 5-11 years old are eligible. Vaccinating kids is the best way for us to protect them and their grandparents, so we can exchange hugs in person instead of Zoom greetings.

I feel so fortunate that my family has such easy access to immunizations for COVID-19 and other life-threatening diseases that Americans hardly ever think about. Around the world, one in five children around the world still lack access to basic vaccines for child killers like measles, polio, rotavirus and pneumococcal virus. Sadly, that results in 1.5 million children still dying each year of vaccine-preventable diseases.

I remind Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley — along with Representatives Ann Wagner and Cori Bush — not to forget about children around the world without the care we have in the U.S. I urge them to fully fund global childhood immunization programs in our federal budget. Expanding vaccine access is not only beneficial to country economies, national security, and global stability — it’s also the morally right thing to do.

Cynthia Changyit Levin, Town and Country