HOWARD THE MEAN

If Howard Merrill is serious, and I’m dreadfully afraid that he is, then the invited psychiatrist readers should be answering this question: What motivated such a mean-spirited letter (Calendar Letters, Aug. 24)?

So Johnny Carson shrugs his shoulders and juggles pencils. Pretty perplexing stuff, wouldn’t you say? Maybe he’s relieving some tension now that Bill Cosby is carrying the burden of responsibility for the financial well-being of NBC on his back.

Perhaps we should examine these causal links in a series of articles. Think of the possibilities--as we delve into Phil Donahue’s incessant eyebrow-rubbing, the alarming set-tapping of Pat Sajak and, last but not least, the real story behind Tom Brokaw’s speech impediment.

As for David Letterman’s references to “Late Night� as “this damned show�: It’s a joke, Howard, a joke. Just like “since we first went on the air in the ‘50s. . . .�

Get it?

I didn’t think so.

GARY KANOFSKY

Los Angeles