European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 05, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday August 5, 1978 the stars and stripes Page 11 Art Buchwald Washington this year More and More people Are faced with a terrible ded whether to prolong the lives of their cars knowing they re terminal or f pull the plug and let them die in dignity and was faced with this dilemma last week i the a a towed my car to the nearest ency repair station. Head Mechanic a member of the i mechanics Assn. Am came t and opened the Hood As i stood nervous y. He hit the engine a few times with a i. Then he took me aside out of j Range of the car. I d be honest with you. I Don t know Long i can keep it alive. It s been ugh a lot. My mechanics will do every Gui their Power to keep the motor run l but it will Cost i bit my Knuckles. Maybe it would be Ter if you just took it out in Back and tit i can t do that. When i became a me i took an oath that not matter what i an automobile was in i would re r it we can t decide which cars will live i which will die. That would be playing but it seems to be in such i said. Lie Battery is half dead the engine sput-3 and the doors keep falling off. Keeping t alive would wipe me out financially. Pm re it would be happier in a you re talking about me getting in i in a mercy killing and that is for i by the am a he mercy killings of used cars were per jetted Many people would take advantage f them just so they could buy a new one. R profession demands that if there is the test sign of life in a vehicle we have to it on the Road even if it s just for a few but surely you have seen Many Auto us that would be better off if they put away forever. Why give Hope to the owner when you know in your heart there is now Way to save it i asked. There s always Hope he said putting his around me. I be seen can in even worse shape than yours and their Ownen have pleaded with me to dump them in the Potomac River. Bethoun later the driven were sitting behind the wheel whistling Dixie and tooting their Boms. When you re dealing with the life and death of a car you have to believe in but there Are some unscrupulous mechanics who will pretend they can save your car when in fact they know he engine will die As soon As it caves the repair shop i , there Are a few. But a a. Mortty of those in our profess rare dedicated to prolonging the life of an Automo bile no mater what it costs in time and spare parts. Of course. It s your decision. You have to Tell us whether you re willing to allow us to keep your car alive until the bitter looked Over at my automobile. The Oil was leaking tears and the tires were stalk ing into the pavement. The rear View Mir Row was cracked and the seat was torn in three places. Its headlights stared pitifully at chief Mechanic said. Cd bet you had some wonderful times with her in the old did i admitted. I showed him a Pic Ture of the car when i first bought she was Beautiful he agreed. I finally blurted out do everything you can to save her maybe i m just a senti mental foil but even if it s Only for a few More Days i never want anyone in my fam ily to say i did t give her every the chief Mechanic smiled and started to write on his clipboard. I was hoping you would say that. Now i think the first thing we ought to do is put in a new trans Mission and then. On criticizing the color guard i would like to comment on a recent let erf rom a writer who criticized the actions the color guard of brigade 78 during the t visit of president Carter to Wiersba stated that if this was the Best that Lithe brigade bad to offer that we would better off if the brigade had remained Uconus. Thes letters to the editor Chagrin Over service at Amelco. Ii � k o4o ii. Gotow. To Ort Montoma own til m mrm Tyml Alnert igl flu thu we. Bomb. A Vort a. Mir pc a i or Stu. To an cod. To umbel mom us my .1 Imp Yort. . Mew bureaus no new. Or aunt. Do Ciura a i can t speak for the color guard because i did not observe them during the remarks by the president. However to Knock the entire brigade on the activities of four individuals shows me a very shallow person. The brigade put in Many Long hard hours preparing the vehicles and rehearsing the review and except for the poor turnout of spectators. I think it went very for standing at Parade rest my unit he 1/10 cavalry was told to stand in a relaxed position As we gathered around the president to hear him speak. I assume that the other units present were also told this. If the writer was so dedicated then Why was t be there in person to hear Carter in Stead of sitting at Home watching the Boob tube i have put up with this constant Knock ing of the Volunteer military for utmost seven Yean and after the next four Are up i am looking elsewhere for employment be cause it seems to me that most of these Nior no s have the same attitude As the writer and i be bad enough of it set. William ban Wiesbaden Germany pen pals my a wkst3 l Law a. A a Tiitu a Iione my. Circulation of Fez _. Bar Lii. Chrism ooh. Mkt of Riwu tech. A. Mil vog mme t i cd Kim. Mil Hob. A rect hum. Cd Toj Hojell or. Luis Van Xiu cd bom. Swan Murm bum or Torrijos air . Mil 7m. Turkey nun Civ kingdom of minium common Civ f of. Ill lure Ull. Pm. Project mail Call is to reach overseas Cis with mail from Home. Ever since 1976 in Southeast Asia it has been working wit the armed forces. For those who want mail please write giving age hobbies and Spe Cial is. Armed forces malady . Box us Winchester Calu. K3k i am looking for pea pals from and Over Europe and America. I am to years old and my hobbles Are travelling and writing. Elvis Hammond Appal Box 717cape coast Ghana West Africa i would like to take this Opportunity to express my extreme dissatisfaction wit the banking service rendered by american express at the Wil Flecken training my experience with american express Here. It appears that the banking hours monday through Friday from it x to m and j � to $ 3� . And number of Bank personnel Are inadequate to handle the volume of daily business. The simple task of cashing a Check or making a Deposit May take an hour or More the procedure is simple the actual act u difficult. This realization recently crystallized White i was standing in line with approximately 100 other people not the first Tim either waiting for the facility to open. At the designated hour the clerk opened the door and proceeded to set up a Check approving desk outside the facility for the purpose of screening and approving checks. The line moved at a Snail s Pace however. 1 did get past the screening clerk and i altered into the facility proper to make my the four Booths Avail Label for con ducting business Only two were being utilized. The entire ordeal took approximately one hour and i was near the front of the line this year was decreed the year of the Soldier and rightly so. Our greatest National asset is our people. They protect the Freedom that we All take for granted. How Ever there seems to be a contradiction one aspect this is the year in which a Soldier s life is supposed to become a Little More attractive and worthwhile yet the valuable time of these individuals we Are honouring is being in not an isolated problem because everyone gets paid. Therefore it is incumbent upon All who can positively influence the banking service a Soldier receives to do the responsibility for military banking about a bogus letter i read the letter to the editor allegedly written by myself which appeared in the stars mid stripes on july 30.the philosophy implied in that letter is not my own. I was appalled by the use of the word misfits and other archaic cliches throughout the am astonished that the authenticity of a letter such As this would not be con firmed by the editor prior to publication. I consider the letter to be in very bad taste a poor joke and obviously written by a very immature to the ramifications of that letter it is imperative that the Lori and Stripe publish an immediate retraction in the most conspicuous part of the newspaper. A. Sgt James l. Griffin Zweir Tocken German the Stan and Stripe apologizes for any embarrassment or inconvenience caused by the Crank letter and we Are equally appalled that anyone would submit a letter such As this using someone else s , with a volume of More than 4, m letters to Loahy it is virtually impossible to authenticate any Given letter. Our policy requires that All letters to the editor be signed and include a com plete mailing address. Anonymous or to signed tetters Are okd. With no action Tak As this particular letter was a Reader s viewpoint and required so opinion or com men Tymn a umber Agency twas selected for pub Catton As any similar letter might Griffin As Well As All other readers can be assured that future letters of a suspicions nature will be checked out to our greatest possible extent. De. Shifted from the department of the trea Suty to the department of defense in an at tempt to eliminate these shortcomings and thus improve the Quality of the banking service military personnel receive. We Here at the Wil Flecken training area Are still Joseph p. Maher wed Fleeker German editor s note James m. Haul vie president american express intent Zobal banking corporation replies military banking facilities maps at the Usa eur major training areas of Wil Flecken Hohenfels and Grafe Wohr have an especially challenging task of meeting the financial service needs of the banking customers from All of Germany. The variables of training unit density and individual unit training schedules of ten translates to Large numbers of patrons at Post service facilities to include the writer apparently encounters such a period of this usage. Bank management recognizes that bottlenecks occur within the system and has recently implemented programs to improve the timeliness of Cus Tomer service not Only at wild Flecken but throughout he system. One example is Teller recheck stations the writer mentions and which has proven it self in speeding the flow of banking hours of banking operations Are established locally by the Community and Bank and must adhere to minimum weekly hours of Public service As outline Din the Dod contract governing Jbf opera Many communities such As wild Flecken there Are extended hours of opera Tion on payday. During an August through november 1978 test the Wil Flecken Branch will be open every saturday from 9a-m. To noon along with 10 other military Community Banks in Germany. One Way for service members to avoid payday Check cashing lines is to elect the Check to financial institution sure pay in the air Force pay option which is recommended by the military and your local Bankers. Unfortunately Many service members Are still not reaping the time saving benefits of this convenient and Reli Able method of management supports the year of the Soldier Here in Europe and is doing its Best to produce tangible improvements in banking service. This obviously will not occur overnight but the commitment of Dod and the Bank contractors will be More and More shape shufflers i noted with interest the recent feature on the Stuttgart Square dance clubs s five country club the shape shuffling squares la similar feat last septem Ber within a seven hour time Frame. Our bus. With about 40 aboard departed shape. Belgium around 6 30 . On sept 25 for the so town of Civet. France where we danced to cafe at 8 30 am next Stop was witty a item Bourg where a local cafe owner allowed unto dance on his front Patio just before noon. Then in mid afternoon we arrived in vials. Toe Netherlands and proceeded Toa Point identified by a Small Monument As Uijun cuon it the Federal Republic of Germany to Netherlands and shuffling squares is the Only Square dance club in Belgium associated with the european association of american Square dance clubs. Member ship is International and open to All person Nel assigned or attached to Clevres a Belgium
