ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
On Thursdays, we read from your e-mail. And we received a good deal of praise for Daniel Zwerdling's latest story on troops who've returned from Iraq with mental difficulties, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
This time, Danny told us about veterans who misbehaved, got kicked out of the military and lost their benefits, including mental health care.
SIEGEL: Superb reporting as always from Mr. Zwerdling, writes Hannah Henchman(ph) of Bloomington, Indiana. I knew there were many servicemen and women who have been neglected and ignored, but had no idea of the numbers or the details of their travails. It is truly an outrage.
BLOCK: Joel Siegfried(ph) of San Diego was moved by our story. Once again, you have touched my heart, brought tears to my eyes, and outraged my sense of justice over the barbaric and inhumane treatment of our returning war veterans. Will we ever learn or are we doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again?
SIEGEL: Earlier this month, Joseph Shapiro did a story about an effort in New Orleans to move hundreds of homeless people into more permanent housing. One of the homeless who was featured was Chris Turnbow.
Mr. CHRIS TURNBOW (Homeless): To me, home is a feeling. It's more than furniture and whatnot. The (unintelligible) home is where the heart is, a place of security, a place that I can say, this is mine. I'm going to lock the door and feel secure.
BLOCK: Well, Jean Aaron heard that voice in our report, the voice of her son, Chris. She hadn't seen him in five years and didn't know his whereabouts. Joseph Shapiro rode along as she and David Turnbow, Chris's son, drove the streets of New Orleans looking for him and were finally reunited.
Mr. C. TURNBOW: What in the world are you all doing here?
Mr. DAVID TURNBOW (Chris's Son): We've looked hard and hard and hard for you.
Mr. C. TURNBOW: You all heard my interview?
Mr. D. TURNBOW: Can you believe that? That's making the one shot, daddy.
Mr. C. TURNBOW: Man, (unintelligible) so bad.
Mr. D. TURNBOW: It's a Christmas miracle, dad.
BLOCK: Many of you were thankful for this piece of good news ahead of the Christmas holiday. I have had a hard time feeling any real Christmas spirit this year, writes Samantha Pack(ph) of Knoxville, Tennessee. Thank you, Joseph Shapiro. This is a real Christmas story. My husband and I listened twice and cried twice.
SIEGEL: Nicole Bungart(ph) of Oklahoma City had a similar sentiment. As I look forward to being reunited with my own family for the holidays, Joseph Shapiro's story made me feel acutely the emotions of Jean and David's search, and the relief and joy at their eventual reunion. What an incredible gift for the holiday season.
BLOCK: Listeners were more divided about the fictional story we ran on Christmas Day called "La Parranda." It was about two Puerto Rican sisters. Cecilia Cavallo(ph) found it incredibly condescending. She writes, it was poorly written. If you're going to air stereotypic drivel, please make sure it's well written. Simply insulting.
SIEGEL: Elaine Tingee(ph) felt differently. She caught the story in the parking lot of her local post office in Hailey, Idaho. And apparently, she wasn't the only one. There were about five cars with people sitting in them, she writes. When the story ended and we all went in to pick up our mail, we looked at each other and smiled, knowing that we'd all been listening to NPR. Bless you for sharing this story.
BLOCK: Please e-mail us your likes and dislikes about our program. We value your thoughts. You can write to us by going to npr.org and clicking Contact Us at the top of the page.
SIEGEL: This is NPR, National Public Radio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.