Shakespeare's Rose Quote Attracts Comments

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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

Time now for your comments.

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MONTAGNE: This week, NPR's Robert Krulwich argued Shakespeare was wrong when he wrote: That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet. Some of you pointed out that was a line spoken by Juliet.

ARI SHAPIRO, host:

Pity Shakespeare if he has to defend every assertion from each of his character's lips, writes Ryan Wixall(ph) of Springfield, Missouri. We have no way of knowing Shakespeare's opinion on the subject. All we can fairly say is that Juliet was wrong.

MONTAGNE: And now two things we got wrong, on a story about high school seniors here in California posting their college rejection letters on school walls, we quoted a senior named Danielle Eddleson(ph). She said the act of stapling up those I-am-very-sorry-to-inform-you rejections gives students a sense of camaraderie and liberation. Well, Danielle's father, Robert, sent a letter to us.

SHAPIRO: It is with regret, he writes, that I inform you that although your story was most informative and entertaining, you got Danielle's name wrong. It is Eddlemen(ph) not Eddleson. You may staple this wherever you wish if it will help to assuage the hurt I may have caused.

MONTAGNE: On Monday, we said that the American explorer Robert E. Peary led the first men to the North Pole a hundred years ago. How about some historical balance, writes Russell Gibbons of Pittsburgh. Please note that Frederick Cook claimed to have reached the North Pole more than a year earlier.

SHAPIRO: Gibbons is a member of the Frederick Cook Society, so in the interest of balance, we called a neutral observer. Bruce Henderson has written extensively about expeditions to the North Pole, and he says while there's not definitive proof either way…

Mr. BRUCE HENDERSON (Author): Cook's claim is at least as strong as Peary's, in my judgment, and in some cases stronger. And the reason his claim is stronger was that he was the first to publish details of what the North Pole looked like. I mean, this was at a time when there was speculation as to what would be found there.

MONTAGNE: That's from listener Bruce Henderson. Finally, a less controversial story on StoryCorps we heard from Gus Hernandez, who lost his house to foreclosure. Hernandez told of needing a place to stay and walking into a motel owned by Siddiqi Hansoti.

Mr. GUS HERNANDEZ: I came in and I inquire about these weekly rates, and I say, look, you know, I'm looking for a room. I don't have all the money, but I've got $50 in my pocket. And he says, put that away. I'll trust you.

SHAPIRO: Michelle Cabbo(ph) of Encinitas, California was so moved by Hansoti's kindness that she looked him up in the phonebook and called to thank him.

Ms. MICHELLE CABBO: And when Mr. Hansoti answered and told him why I was calling, he was most gracious, kind and full of good humor - everything that this world needs more of.

SHAPIRO: Hansoti told Cabbo that she too was welcomed anytime at his motel.

MONTAGNE: And you're welcome to comment on our stories anytime. Just go to npr.org and click on the button that says Contact Us. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.