Mt. St. Helens a boil? No way

As a native of Seattle, I vividly remember when Mt. St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980 [“Fire-Breathing Beauty,” Feb. 17]. I’ve since hiked there several times -- it’s a beautiful, awesome park. So I take exception to the mountain being compared with a “lanced boil,” a “rotten cavity” and a “wound.” This is nature we’re talking about, not a bloody slasher film. Perhaps Hugo Martin would have done better to skip across an idyllic dewy meadow blossoming with wildflowers.

Alison Herschberg Williams

Los Angeles