You (Steve Johnston) didn't really shoot arrows into the air and stand still, did you? (Sunday Punch, "The Heights of Hubris," Oct. 24). You've got to be kidding! I did some pretty stupid things as a kid myself, but I think you've got me topped. . . . Couldn't you have at least worn a helmet? Sheesh!

I do recall being out shooting (not hunting, really, because we never hit anything other than trees and rocks, etc.) with my father and taking a random shot at something and learning the shot went right over my father's head! That's pretty stupid, wouldn't you say? But the arrow thing IS worse!

Bud Rankin
Lynnwood

Help for the myth informed

I have been doing personal training for most of the last 25 years and may I say bravo to your article in the magazine (On Fitness, "Get Over It," Oct. 17)?

I have passed it along to all of my clients. This is probably the most talked about topic I have with them. I am amazed at how many of them tell me they want to look like so-and-so on TV or in the movies. I have a niece who doesn't want to work out because she is afraid she will look "manly," even though both her mother and her aunts (my sisters and myself) train with weights, and she thinks "we look fine."

We all do strength training and are capable of lifting quite heavy for women (and a lot of men, for that matter). We are by no means behemoths and do not partake in power lifting, which I find less than desirable for the average person. In fact, I totally stay away from this type of lifting as it is unique to the sport. That is another Oprah show, however.

Thank you for doing your part to help dispel these troublesome, prevalent myths. It is truly wonderful that you use your position to help enlighten those who so need it.

Nancy Jerominski
ACE Certified Independent Trainer, Logic Fitness at ProRobics, Seattle

Sweating equity

While it is fascinating to read in Pacific Northwest about the thousands of dollars spent on backyard landscaping projects, I remain curious as to why there are never any people shown. I presume it is because, unlike the rest of the country, when 5 p.m. rolls around there are but a handful of evenings where it is actually warm enough to comfortably sit around outside.

In most of the rest of the country, you stay outside in the evenings because the house is so damn hot. In Seattle, you go inside because on most summer nights it is just too cool to enjoy your backyard landscaping.

Am I correct that the purpose of the thousands of dollars spent on backyard landscaping is to have something to look at from the inside of your house? Perspiring minds want to know.

David E. Ortman
Seattle