Banner Graphic, Volume 20, Number 192, Greencastle, Putnam County, 19 April 1990 — Page 4

THE BANNERGRAPHIC April 19,1990

Dear Abby: Officer whistles down parents who threaten children with calling cops

DEAR ABBY: As a police officer, my story concerns parents who use the police to threaten their children into behaving. Recently I met my family at a restaurant for a dinner break. (I was in uniform.) Seated near us was a family with two small children. The boy didn’t want to eat something on his plate, so his mother said, “If you don’t eat that, I’m going to have that policeman over there take you to jail, and you’ll never see us again!” Abby, that child looked at me with fearful eyes, and I felt like a boogeyman. Another time, my partner and I were doing foot patrol through a shopping mall. We saw a mother with a whining child. As we approached, she told the child, “See, I told you that they would come for you!” This caused the child to cry harder and louder. Teen-agers hate us as it is we don’t need the younger ones distrust-

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ful of us, also. NO BOOGEYMAN DEAR NO BOOGEYMAN: I’ve commented before on the importance of letting children know that the police are their friends. Parents: When a child is lost or has been harmed, that child should be able to put his trust in

a policeman or policewoman. * * * DEAR ABBY: This letter is long overdue in support of your antismoking campaign. Thirty-three years ago, I was a four- to five-pack-a-day smoker. When I went to the hospital one evening to visit a friend who had leukemia, I got off the elevator on the wrong floor, and before I realized my error, I was halfway into a 32-bed ward of tracheostomy patients. What shocked me more than anything I had ever seen in my entire life was a patient smoking a cigarette through the hole in his throat! Abby, the sight of that man, who apparently was so desperate for a cigarette after all he had been through because of his smoking habit, made a true believer out of me. I quit cold turkey and to this day I have never lighted another

cigarette! My wife and I have four children, now grown, and none of them ever started smoking, and none of their spouses or children smoke either. I hope this can encourage at least one chain-smoker to quit. I am now 68 years young—due to quitting—and if you want to use this letter, please feel free to use my name. ROBERT B. LEATHERS, MADERA, CALIF. DEAR MR. LEATHERS: Congratulations. Your story about the horror of seeing a tracheostomy patient smoking through the opening in his throat reminded me of the following: About 20 years ago, I addressed a group of post-surgical patients at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. They called themselves “The Lost Chord Club” because they had had their voice boxes

removed following a bout with cancer. These patients were learning to speak with the aid of some mechanical device that had been recently perfected. As I was leaving the auditorium you guessed it I saw one of the patients actually sneaking a puff through the hole in his throat! * * * DEAR ABBY: No one would go up to an overweight woman and say: “Gee, you’re fat! You look terrible; why don’t you go on a diet?” Yet, people feel free to give me similarly insensitive treatment all the time. It happened again today. You see, Abby, I am 10 pounds underweight. Since I’m short, I appear to be very thin. I am not anorexic. I am not bulimic. I am just skinny. It is no easier for me to gain weight than it is for people to lose

Calendar of events Thursday Morton Lodge No. 469, F & AM will have a called meeting Thursday, April 19 in the M.M. degree. Supper will be at 6:30 p.m. Visiting brethren are welcome. Greencastle High School Class of 1935 will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 19 at Putnam Inn. Plans are being made for the 55th anniversary. Cloverdale Masonic Lodge will have a stated meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19. Officers are urged to attend. Visiting master masons are always welcome. The 14th annual Percy L. Julian Memorial Lecture will be present at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14 in the auditorium of the Julian Science and Math Center at DePauw University. The public is invited to hear Dr. Thomas W. Cole Jr., president of Clark Atlanta University. There is no admission charge. Friday Cloverdale Masonic Lodge will have a father-son dinner at 7 p.m. Friday, April 20. Members of the Cloverdale lodge and their sons are invited to attend. The Greencastle Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a “Winning With People” 8-11:30 a.m. Friday, April 20 at Walden Inn. Philip J. Millage will conduct a seminar workshop on communication and decision-making styles. Deadline is April 18. Cost is S3O per person (includes coffee and danish at outset and pop and coffee at break). Putnam County AARP No. 1330 will meet at 1:45 p.m. Friday, April 20 at the Senior Center. The program will be “Know Your Medical Rights,” to be given by Karen Jones of PRO, Terre Haute, and Sue Murray of Putnam County Hospital. Everyone is invited. Putnam County Farm Bureau will sponsor “Meet Your Candidate Night” at 7 p.m. Friday, April 20 at the Community Building on the Putnam County Fairgrounds. Candidates from both parties will be introduced and given a limited time to respond to questions. The public is encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served. The Roachdale Elementary PTO Spring Carnival will be held 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 20 in the school gymnasium.A variety of games will be offered. Prizes will be raffled off during the evening. Hotdogs, nachos, popcorn, snow cones, caramel apples and soft drinks will be served at the concession stand. The public is invited to attend. Saturday Greencastle Lady Elks will meet at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 21 at the club for work at the cemetery near Blackstock as part of Clean-Up Week. An old-fashioned square dance will be held 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, April 21 at the Roachdale Lions Hall. Admission is $4 per person. Bainbridge Masonic Lodge will hold its annual spaghetti supper Saturday, April 21 at the Bainbridge Masonic Hall. Serving will start at 5 p.m. The public is invited. Adult tickets are $5, while children’s tickets are $2.50. Sunday Friendly Squares Square Dance Club’s Spring Fling will be held 14 and 5:30-8 p.m. Sunday, April 22 at the Community Building on the Putnam County Fairgrounds. Dinner is scheduled 4-5:30 p.m. Callers will include Larry Cole, Mel Cruse, Zeller Daugherty and Ted Vaile, with rounds by Randy Carman. This will be mainstream with plus tips. Imannuel Baptist Church, located at Albin Pond and Houck roads, Greencastle, will have a round-robin missionary conference Sunday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 25. Five different missionaries will speak. Services are scheduled for 10:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday and at 7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday. The public is invited to attend. Christian singer David Stenger will appear in concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 22 at Fillmore United Methodist Church. A love offering will be taken. Everyone is inivited to attend. Monday The Putnam County Board of Health has scheduled its next immunization program on Monday, April 23. The program is conducted every fourth Monday of the month, unless otherwise noted. Persons desiring immunizations are asked to contact the Board of Health (6535210) for an appointment Immunizations are given at the Health Office located on the fourth floor of the courthouse. The program does not include flu shots. Chapter CB, PEO will meet at 8 p.m. Monday, April 23 at the home of Mrs. P. Myers with Mrs. M. Kelly serving as co-hostess. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) No. 573, Greencastle, meets every Monday at 7 p.m. at Ml Zion Baptist Church, 802 Crown St. Those wishing to attend or in need of information may call 653-8674 or 653-4879. Heritage House Convalescent Center will have a ham and bean dinner, beginning at 5 p.m. Monday, April 23. The Kitchen Band will play after dinner in the dining room. The ham and bean dinner is always the fourth Monday of the month. Tuesday Tots Time free child care, designed for a parents’ morning out is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays. It is held each Tuesday, unless otherwise announced, at First Baptist Church, Judson Drive, Greencastle. Children under age five are eligible for the free service. TOPS Tuesday morning group now meets at 8:30 am. at the GTE meeting room, 201 E. Washington St, Greencastle. Everyone is invited to attend. The Heritage House Convalescent Center’s Euchre Club will meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 24. Refreshments will be served. Parents of sixth-grade students are invited to attend a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 24 at the Cloverdale Jr.-Sr. High School main gym. Information about seventh-grade courses, music program, athletics and other students activities will be provided. Persons who have questions may call Mary Thomas at the CHS guidance office (7954203). The Civil War Round Table of West Central Indiana will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 24 in room 123 of the Julian Science and Math Center at DePauw University. Wes Wilson, DPU archivist will discuss the role of DePauw University (then Asbury College) in the Civil War and the war’s effect on campus life. The public is invited to attend. Wednesday Twentieth Century Club will meet at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 25 with Lucille Hom.

weight. Believe me, I’ve tried. I get very tired of being told I look like a skeleton and need to put on a few pounds. One person even came up to me and asked, “Why are you starving yourself? Men don’t like skinny women.” People keep asking me, “Do you exercise?” (I don’t.) “What do you eat?” (Everything.) Abby, why do people comment ta thin people about their weight—but wouldn’t dream of making a personal comment to our overweight counterparts? SLIM AND SATISFIED; DEAR SLIM: Overweight people have always been discriminated against. Fat people are ridiculed, while thin peopler are envied. A comment on ar person’s thinness is considereda compliment. A comment on a' person’s obesity is considered an insult.