In Carol Herbert Sanders’ letter on Oct. 16, regarding Goldy Gopher’s “stepping out of a closet” during Coming Out Week, she asks, “How am I supposed to explain to my young children exactly what Goldy was doing (symbolically or otherwise)?” I’m hoping that Carol’s question was not a rhetorical one, but rather that she really is reaching out to the homosexual community and is taking the reigns to lead herself and her children into the (theoretical) promised land of equality, compassion and freedom for all. I’d say your best bet, Carol, is to go to the closest library and read a few books on being homosexual and coming out. Then, sit your children down next to the fire, make some hot cocoa and tell them everything you’ve learned: That being homosexual is not an evil thing, that there are lots and lots and lots of homosexual people in this world (probably some right in your neighborhood, or at the table next to you at McDonald’s) and that, yes, even someone (something?) as beloved as Goldy Gopher could be homosexual and still lead a normal healthy life. The sooner we begin to understand that what we do, say and think actually does rub off on our children, and the sooner we begin to have smart, articulate, honest discussions with our children about tricky but crucial stuff, the closer we are to living in a society where the need for Goldy to come out of the closet is obsolete. Then we can all have the luxury of having Goldy simply represent “plain, innocent fun.”