I had a post last week about the poverty of choice in certain New York restaurants and stores. This prompted a great deal of mail, and I thought you might like to read two letters:

Dear Mr. Nordlinger,
When I lived in the New York area, I was appalled at the limited product choice as well. Except for pasta, the stores were inconvenient in most ways one could imagine. When I went to California to visit relatives, I knew what it was like to walk from East Berlin to West Berlin. Clean stores, wide aisles, lotsa choices. I think it’s New York and I know that the union/protection rackets are really a big part of the lower quality.

Word.

And the second:

I live in Kutztown, Pa., population less than 10,000, and our local grocery store has at least 20 brands of deodorant. [Holy mackerel!] Our drugstores have even more. [Holy mackerel!] I suggest you move to a more cosmopolitan area.

!!