To the editor:

Jeannie New Moon, who was recently killed by a train, was a very dear friend of mine. She was extremely bright, kind and talented. She will be missed for many reasons, but her sexual identity was not any of our business. We all have secrets that we do not share with the public and I am truly ashamed that my local newspaper reported this very personal detail.

Secondly, Jeannie was not a transient. She had been living here for over 20 years and had an RV in which she lived. She had more places to call home than most of us will ever have the good fortune to enjoy. She had kept the same post office box for years. She simply lived an alternative lifestyle and she loved to sleep out under the stars. We may not understand that, but we owe her the right to live according to her own values.

Jeannie was well-known in our community for being a good person who would literally give you the shirt off her back, although she usually carried a spare wherever she went. Few people in the world can be as proud as she deserved to be for having a life lived so well.

Please be more considerate in the future. Jeannie was an enigma, but she was a person first; a beautiful person who will be sorely missed. I honestly thought Lawrence was more progressive than this. Now we all have more information than we needed.

Sandi Carr,

Lawrence