We are currently visiting your lovely Island and are having a wonderful time.

We were amazed at how easy it was to get here from our home in Des Moines, Iowa. We flew to St. Louis and then non-stop to Bermuda with the entire trip taking only 51/2 hours.

We would sincerely hope that there will be more advertising regarding the simplicity of travelling to Bermuda from the Midwest.

While we found information regarding this service on the Internet, our travel agent knew nothing about it. In addition, we were quite surprised that there were only 12 people on our flight to Bermuda.

If more information regarding this service was made available to travel agents all over the Midwest i.e., Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Omaha, etc., we are sure more visitors would take advantage of the St. Louis connection.

Also, there seems to be a local lack of knowledge pertaining to this flight as well. We would hate to see this flight cancelled, as I am sure a lot of effort went into arranging this flight by both TWA and the Bermuda Government.

We feel if more people were made aware of this service, then certainly, more people would be taking advantage of it.

We know that we certainly hope to use it again.

JIM, SHERRY & ALEX BARANOSKY Urbandale, Iowa More warning needed July 12, 2000 Dear Sir, My husband and I were visiting Bermuda for the first time after the Newport-Bermuda Race.

On June 24, we were victims of a robbery from our rented moped while visiting Jobson Cove. We were immediately assisted by Pc 995 Gunn from the Bermuda Police service and our belongings were all recovered within twelve hours due to the timely and professional work of officer Gunn.

Our moped was rented from Oleander Cycles in Paget. On check out instructions from the rental agency, we were assured that the mopeds were safe to lock belongings in the seat compartment while leaving the moped parked. We would like to encourage a strong warning to all visitors to your Country that mopeds are not safe to lock anything in because we have come to learn that the seat compartments are opened within seconds with a screw driver.

We would also like to see a bold written and verbal warning from the rental agencies to moped renters of this high risk of robbery. When we returned the moped to Oleander Cycles and informed them of our robbery, they did not express regret that we had this experience and furthermore, admitted that this is a frequent problem.

Although the beaches are beautiful, our experience with the apathy on the part of Oleander Cycles and our robbery have discouraged us from returning to visit Bermuda in the future.

DAVID & BRENDA SHAEFFER Annaplis, Maryland It takes two July 18, 2000 Dear Sir, I would like an opportunity to respond to a letter from "Contempt of Court'' in the July 18 issue of The Royal Gazette .

I do not write in criticism, but to enlighten "Contempt of Court'' on the flip side of a coin.

Undoubtedly, it sounds as if "Contempt of Court'' has had a bad experience with regard to this matter. However, there are many single moms and dads who are just trying to do their best for their child/children by providing love, spiritual guidance, a harmonious home, a good education, and a solid foundational up-bringing.

Regardless of how these children entered this world, be it in the confines of a marriage or out of wedlock, our children deserve a good chance. It seems that the custodial parent is subject to a subliminal non-verbal agreement with the non-custodial parent that they be solely financially responsible for the child/children because the offspring reside with them.

Needless to say, this is an unfair assumption that renders the financial scale unbalanced and can result in the depletion of the financial well being of the child/children concerned.

In many cases, the non-custodial parent does work daily and on a consistent basis and makes enough money to pay minimum maintenance payments and still does not pay.

In many cases the non-custodial parents make false promises to their offspring that they never fulfil. Some don't even call consistently to speak with their children.

Is 25 cents too much money to part with to help establish emotional well being in a child? Oh! Did I mention that when they do call, they profess to love the child with all their heart! How confusing for these children when they are told that they are loved and yet never consistently witness the effects thereof! Some don't even consider if the child has had breakfast, lunch or dinner or other fundamental necessities of life.

I assure you that none of these scenarios are fabricated or exaggerated. I know, because I have been living each and every one for the last eleven years.

No! I have never told him he could never see our daughter because he doesn't pay for her and no I have never discouraged a relationship between the two nor have I bad-mouthed him to her.

Yes, he does have a relationship with her. He does call and comes around sporadically and even has had her sleep over for lengths of time in the summer. I guess I should be grateful for the favour of a one percent contribution of his time and effort.

In the case scenarios mentioned, what then should be done as a resolution to ensure that both parents are financially and emotionally sharing the responsibility for the child??!! Especially when the non-custodial parent is working and is still not paying maintenance and is in contempt of a court order to pay.

In conclusion, not ALL non-custodial parents are dead beats and not ALL single parents: Go shopping to buy an outfit when they receive maintenance money.

Are bitter, malicious or evil because they decided after numerous unproductive out-of-court discussions with the non-custodial parent to take the matter to court.

Are gold diggers because of the necessity to have co-financial support to maintain offspring.

In a nutshell, it takes a village to raise a child, but I'm sure you will agree it takes TWO people to conceive one.

The judicial system is only deemed necessary in the event that ONE of the TWO parents fail repeatedly to make financial contribution towards the well-being of offspring.

If after going to court, and the fixed maintenance amount that has been negotiated by both parents and mediated by the magistrate STILL fails to be contributed, ONE of those parents will be reprimanded by the law. You do the math!!! PAYING MY CONTRIBUTION AND HIS TOO! City of Hamilton P.s. Carlisle Greaves, keep up the good work -- despite all the flack! Long term woes July 15, 2000 Dear Sir, I am a long term resident here and have no rights.

I've been here nearly 22 years and missed the working resident card as the cut-off date left me a couple of months short to apply by August 1, 1998.

I have been involved in the community and regularly do charity work and community service work, almost as soon as I arrived in Bermuda.

I'm not asking for a pat on the back. I am however asking for the same treatment as the other long term residents that made the 20 years before the ridiculous cut off date.

The cut off date idea is unfair and hypocritical.

Twenty years is 20 years, simple as that. I feel that the PLP should abolish the cut off date when the Green Paper is released. It's unfair and even cruel to have people waiting around year after year for the Green Paper to become a White Paper.

IN LIMBO Warwick