I liked Mike DiMauro's heartfelt piece, "My unsuspecting kinship with Bill Walton and what he meant to me,” (The Day, May 29) and how his shared bond of stuttering with Walton inspired his own pursuit of successful speech therapy. I, too, share a special bond with Walton over stuttering. I had been in the United States for three years and had become a basketball fan. I was already rooting for Walton and the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1977 NBA Finals when I heard the announcer mention Walton's stuttering and that he didn't participate in many interviews because of it. I could not believe it. A famous person like Bill Walton stuttered, too. It made me feel great!

Bill Walton served as a spokesman for the Stuttering Foundation, inspiring countless people who stutter to pursue speech therapy or address their stuttering in other ways. Now, there are many famous people that young people who stutter can look to for role models. The Stuttering Foundation website (www.StutteringHelp.org) has a dynamic list of "Famous People Who Stutter" and a section of biographical articles on famous stutterers. DiMauro was very compelling in telling his story of triumph over adversity, which makes him an All-Star just like Bill Walton.

Kenny Nguyen

Bridgeport