Just Sayin’: A worthy tribute to Gregory Hines
The 42nd stamp in the Black Heritage series honors Gregory Hines, whose tap dancing injected artistry and excitement into a traditional American form. Credit: USPS
I had the pleasure of working with entertainer Gregory Hines, who is being honored Monday with the issuance of a stamp in the Postal Service’s Black Heritage series. Hines, who died of liver cancer in 2003 at age 57, was one of the sweetest and caring people I knew.
As an assistant to the producers, I took my father to meet Gregory at a run-through of the 1979 Broadway musical “Comin’ Uptown.” The actor and dancer started talking with my dad as if they were friends, even though they had never met.
After shows, he always greeted me and my guest as friends. The last time I saw Gregory was backstage at the 1991 Broadway musical “Jelly’s Last Jam.” He greeted me and my wife warmly. At one point, the stage doorman came to Gregory’s dressing room and told him that a couple had just gotten engaged and wanted to meet him. He told the doorman to bring them to his dressing room.
Gregory Hines enjoyed life and people. Taken too soon, his talent is missed, but his image and infectious smile will be on that postage stamp forever.
Howard Lev, East Meadow
Hundreds of dollars for mortgage documents
I went to pay off a small balance on my home equity line of credit and, to my surprise, there was a $550.50 Suffolk County fee to release the lien. I learned that $300 was added to this outrageous schedule in 2017. This fee applies to all mortgage-related documents.
I’ll bet money that most Suffolk County residents will not be aware of this until such time as they need a mortgage-related document. These fees have nothing to do with the mortgage tax of 1.05 percent.
I think everyone with a mortgage, home equity loan or line of credit, or whoever might get one, should contact his or her county legislator to remove this subterfuge.
Harlan Fischer, Head of the Harbor
Gratitude for workers toiling in the cold
The soft rumble of a truck. Distant voices. Was I dreaming? I quickly realized I was hearing a sanitation truck and workers outside. Here I was, cozy and warm in my house, and there they were outside in freezing single-digit weather on Tuesday morning.
So a big thank-you to sanitation workers who come out in every kind of weather to keep my community clean. And kudos to all those workers whose jobs demand that they work outside in challenging weather.
Carol Krupinski, Plainview
