The 11.10.2013 Issue - NYTimes.com Mike Rice's empathy for his players appears to remain truncated, perhaps blinded by what he perceives as the needs of a basketball program. A study conducted on the styles of various coaches found that John Wooden rarely told players that they did something wrong. If he needed to be critical, it was couched in a phrase like "it would be better if you did it this way." Civility is required in every walk of life, including sports. Rice still doesn't appear to have learned that. It really would be better if he did it that way. RICHARD MARTIN, Mahomet, Ill., posted on nytimes.com At some point I expect that an unauthorized video of Navy SEAL training will emerge, and the public will be appalled at its harshness. Congressional hearings will ensue with a "You need to be nice" theme, and we'll end up with a bunch of powder puffs for our most elite military unit. These are top athletes, and their training needs to be tough. If it upsets the gentle sensibilities of some people, they can always choose to not watch or play the sport. BARON YOUNG, Dallas, posted on nytimes.com The training the military uses doesn't approach the random screaming and profanity in Rice's videos. From my experience in the military, screamers are the least effective: they lose control, teach little but fear and outrage, or shutdown and withdrawal - all useless in difficult, high-stress environments. And yes, screamers routinely lose good candidates by ruining their motivation. Stop screaming, Mike. CHRISTOPHER C. MCFARLAND, Toms River, N.J., posted on nytimes.com Paul Gregory writes that Lee Harvey Oswald's "wife and mother and two young daughters were hiding out at the Executive Inn, a commuter hotel near the airport, where they were taken and then abandoned by a team of Life magazine staff members." The truth is slightly different. As Los Angeles bureau chief for Life at the time, I flew to Dallas with another correspondent, Tommy Thompson, and two photographers the afternoon of the assassination. Tommy and the photographer Allan Grant found the Oswald family before any other journalists did. We got them their own suite under a different name, asked them not to answer the phone or open the door but to please help themselves to anything room service had to offer. Lee's brother, Robert, was with them, and at his request, I gave him $40 to buy diapers and baby food for the two infant daughters. Grant also provided Lee's mother with money at a time when the family was most vulnerable. We treated them as courteously and generously as that woebegone family deserved. RICHARD B. STOLLEY, Senior Editorial Adviser, Time Inc. This article paints a clear portrait of Oswald and what may have driven him to such a desperate - and yes, detestable - act that broke a nation's heart and changed our history. One commenter said, "It is not necessary to understand or explore the life of a despised and reviled assassin." But if we choose to characterize Lee Harvey Oswald as a mere cardboard cutout, the epitome of evil, and we put him outside the human family, we fool ourselves. We ignore the opportunity to learn something that might help us prevent another Oswald, embittered and enraged by loss and failure, from committing such an act. ELIZABETH MICHAUD, Stow, Mass., posted on nytimes.com The human voice is such a special thing. As a professional violinist, I appreciated this look at a culture that is so different from the one I've been exposed to with adult singers. I will listen to these sounds with a sharpened perception of what is going on, and for new and subtle things to hear in their voices. DAVID W. ABEL, Oakland, Calif., posted on nytimes.com Everything I know about Italian cooking I learned from Marcella Hazan and my dear Italian mother-in-law. Although we never met, I have been cooking with Marcella for 35 years now. My copy of "The Classic Italian Cookbook," falling apart and spattered with sauce, contains many of my family's favorite recipes. When I heard about Marcella's passing, I felt like I had lost a favorite aunt. Wonderful tribute, Mark Bittman. I enjoyed her wry humor in the video; we are so fortunate to have that last look at an amazing woman. MARIA LAMALFA, St. James, N.Y., posted on nytimes.com Dumpster diving goes legit! @jacquelynottman