Letters: Sister Aimee, Restless Legs, 'Staying Alive'

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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

Time now for your comments.

(Soundbite of music)

MONTAGNE: Earlier this week, we profiled the charismatic Hollywood evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. She was famous in the 1920s for her radio broadcast and faith healings.

Chris Buckham(ph) in Atlanta writes, my late grandfather grew up dirt poor in L.A. He used to tell us he and his brother Norm(ph) were paid regulars in Aimee Semple McPherson's faith healing routine. They would pretend to have some sort of terrible ailment. Sister Aimee would miraculously heal them, and they'd receive a few bucks out of the offering plate for their trouble. I had never heard of McPherson anywhere outside grandpa's stories. He passed away a few years ago. Thanks for bringing back a wonderful memory.

Our story about what can be a hard-to-describe ailment, restless leg syndrome, had many of you commiserating via e-mail with reporter David Kestenbaum.

DAVID KESTENBAUM: I first remember the feeling when I was a kid. It was particularly bad when I was tired on long car rides. I wanted to sleep but I couldn't. There was this uncomfortable feeling in my legs that would build until my legs jerked. It was maddening.

MONTAGNE: Listeners offered up their preferred remedies: cider vinegar, the herb butcher's broom, and calcium magnesium supplements. Add to that, tonic water, compression socks, and even Codeine.

Gene Dawdy(ph) in St. Augustine, Florida, writes: Our family has never had any problem describing the sensation. The syndrome is referred to as jickity leg, not of course to be confused with being all coffeed up. Although coffee does seem to help, as well as bananas and calcium tablets.

A correction now. In an interview about computer retailers, we incorrectly identified Best Buy as the big-box store firing 3,500 employees. It was actually Circuit City.

Finally, we take note of your passionate responses to this week's reports using disco music to illustrate fund raising by presidential candidates. The more money raised, the more seconds of the song we played.

Eric Duplantis(ph) in Morgan City, Louisiana, wrote: The segment using the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" as some sort of audio bar graph was the most stupid segment I have ever heard on NPR.

Dana Miller(ph) in Bethesda, Maryland, seconds that. She calls our method unbelievably stupid and grating. Who ever thought that one up should be fired. Those who went along with it should be forced to listen to the song for a solid hour.

We did received a few thanks, too, along with this note from Larry Bush(ph) of Fort Myers, Florida. I was amused, if not amazed, by the money raised by presidential candidates. As for the music, listener Larry Bush asks, does that mean you're going to play the Ray Charles song "Busted" if they drop out?

(Soundbite of song, "Busted")

MONTAGNE: Any other suggestions? Go to npr.org and click Contact Us.

(Soundbite of song "Busted")

Mr. RAY CHARLES (Singer): (Singing) My bills are all due and the baby needs shoes and I'm busted. Cotton is down to a quarter a pound…

MONTAGNE: This is NPR News.

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