To the editor:

My Irish eyes are smiling, because Cape Girardeau has done it again. Thousands of area residents -- when they patronized their favorite convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and other retail businesses -- brought the luck of the Irish to families affected by muscle-wasting diseases. By purchasing and signing the Shamrocks Against Dystrophy mobiles, they turned these high-traffic venues green with good fortune for St. Patrick's Day.

By taking part in Shamrocks Against Dystrophy and other local Muscular Dystrophy Association events and by calling in pledges to the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon broadcast of KFVS-TV, Southeast Missourian readers continue to make a huge difference for families throughout Missouri and across the nation. On behalf of my niece and others living with neuromuscular diseases, I thank you.

MAUREEN McGOVERN

National Vice President

Muscular Dystrophy Association

Tucson, Ariz.