LETTER: Good Night

To the Editor: "A Room With A View," a topical/philosophical column by Paul LaMonica, reads so strong I might've found it in the traditional press. In particular, a piece on an encounter on SEPTA was masterful (DP 9/29/92). I do take exception, though, to the lead of "Playing Poker on a Tightrope" (DP 9/15/92): "It's a Monday night. As usual, there is nothing good on television?" Holy smokes, does not "Northern Exposure" reach the cloistered halls of the University of Pennsylvania? And, if it does, how can LaMonica and others not have discovered it? I mean, where else on network television can one find, variously, a discussion of the Hegelian dialectic, recitation of Walt Whitman -- at length -- Buddhist philosophy co-existing with Native American thinking and lifestyle, a celebration of the soul and of art, an inclusion of Franz Kafka and writer's block, theories on magic and superstition woven into the fabric of a "scientific" motif -- Joel, the lead, is a physician -- and explorations of the Jungian anima/animus? I submit that nowhere else on television, if not in society at large, will one find such eclectic, thoughtful and earnest attempts to explore the human spirit while usually managing to entertain, if not delight. LaMonica should keep up the good work and perhaps play poker on Tuesday night. JEANNE REED Editor Leaders Magazine