June
1, 2006
Endings and
Beginnings
The yin and yang of life has never been more
evident than in the past 24 hours...
One of Allentown's most thoughtful
civic voices and America's proudest citizens
has fallen silent. Dorothy Roth passed away on Tuesday evening. Her
cultured South African accent from the land of her birth, and her beautiful
manners, will be missed almost as much as her well-written, prodigious letters
to the editor that scolded, chided or complimented many of us from the Opinion
Pages of The Morning Call. The saying goes that there are none so devoted as the converted. There were certainly none so
devoted to the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen of an adopted
country, than she.
I met Dorothy Roth in the mid 1990's, when I
was hosting a live public affairs television program on Channel 39 - WLVT. I
had aired a show on a subject that particularly interested her; drug addiction
among teens. She wrote to me and invited me to tea. The last time I'd had such
an invitation I was in Miss Primm's Saturday
afternoon class for young ladies. We had a lively, lovely, discussion; in great
part because I agreed with her, and we became fast friends. Dorothy, it was an
honor and a pleasure to know you. I will miss you.
about this blog
Pamela Varkony is a writer and
commentator living in Allentown,
and a former member of city council. Her "Perspectives" have been
gained through her work in the United States
and internationally. She is the founder of "Power of Women", and a
Commissioner for Pennsylvania Public Television.
