To the Editor:

One of your readers last week asserted that Beth Holloway Twitty stretched the truth when she told her Judson audience that she’d not eaten, slept or bathed during her first 118 hours in Aruba in June 2005.

I was in the audience that day and I think this critic missed the point entirely.

Mrs. Twitty didn’t mean to imply she might not have eaten a bite of something or fallen asleep for a few minutes from sheer exhaustion.

She was talking about how her normal daily activities meant very little in the quest to find her missing daughter. Perhaps she had a meeting in a restaurant – so what? Her point was that her frustration and sense of loss brought her to find a place of worship where God gave her peace.

Mrs. Twitty normally speaks to law-enforcement groups and talks about security issues and international law. Our invitation at Judson was for her to talk about her faith.

She did a marvelous job and was very inspirational.

Critics of Mrs. Twitty should remember two things. First, she never sought the spotlight – she and her family led quiet lives until their world was turned upside down last year.

Now they admit they seek the media spotlight in the hope that someone will hear or see and come forward with information. Natalee’s father, Dave Holloway, says this quite clearly in his book.

And second, how is one supposed to act when their daughter is abducted and possibly killed?

Is there a handbook that tells you what to do?

I think it’s easy for us outsiders to make judgments, but the fact remains that we’ve not been there.

We who haven’t walked a mile in Mrs. Twitty’s shoes should be reluctant to criticize her.

The writer characterized Aruba as a peaceful island unworthy of a boycott. Perhaps most Arubans are peaceful, but their police force obviously watches “The Keystone Kops” training films.

And the boycott is endorsed by the governors of Alabama, Georgia and Arkansas.

If I ever got in deep trouble, Beth Twitty is the kind of friend I’d want in my corner.

She’s an American hero.

Michael J. Brooks

Marion