European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 8, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 8, 1986 the stars and stripes Page dear Ann Landers i am a 30-year-old female who has multiple sclerosis. I live alone and am very Independent. I am in love with a Nice looking Man. He has had a drink ing problem and the reputation of being a partier. I be known Larry six months and he wants to marry me. He has slowed Down a lot in his drinking and says he will taper off after we Are married. I am a churchgoer. He is not. He has promised to take me to Church every sunday. Is it possible for a Man to really love a woman in a wheelchair i can walk a Little and making love in t a problem. It would break my heart to marry him and have something go wrong. Larry says he wants to take care of me but i am unsure in  unsure if the Man has a drinking problem you May wind up taking care of him. The question is not whether a Man can really love a woman in a wheelchair Many Doit s what kind of a marriage you would have with a Boozer who likes to party. I suggest that you give him a year s trial and see Howe behaves. Then decide. Dear Ann Landers when educators advise parents to read to their children they assume All parents can read unfortunately this is not True. It is estimated that approximately 25 million people in this country Are functionally illiterate. These folks Are genuinely interested in their children s education because they realize How their own opportunities have been limited by their inability to read. They want something better for the next Genera Tion. Local literacy councils adult education programs libraries and churches in Many states Are involved in literacy programs. If any of your readers know of someone who needs instruction or would like to Volunteer to help teach these folks they can Call the Contact Center 1-800-228-8813 in Nebraska 1-800-228-3225 for a referral to local program. Joyce Bertman coordinator literacy program literacy Council of Northern Virginia dear j your counsel is very much on the Ball. I received Many letters informing me of the work you do. All suggested the hotline. I Hope my readers who have need for this service will hop to it. People who cannot read miss so much in life. Many Are on welfare because they can t fill out employ ment forms and Are ashamed to admit it. They Are handicapped throughout life be cause they Are unable to follow written directions. Please if you know anyone like this do them the biggest favor in the world and get them to Call this number. Dear Ann Landers been around in of Bakersfield suggest that single women Check a potential Lover s underwear to find out if the Man is  said married men Wear Boxer shorts and single men Wear bikinis. No wonder been around has Bee around. It is difficult to imagine Circum stances under which you get to Check Aman s underwear without becoming acquainted with the contents. Sign me an old Boxer in Charlottesville dear old Boxer your premise is hard to argue with. Iwon t try. .1 reminder a letters to the editor must contain the full printed name and address of the writer and must be signed. We do not read unsigned letters but we will withhold your name on request and protect your  letters Are subject to editing. Readers respond to letter on postal workers Holiday this letter is in response to a recent let Ter. Our entire office was outraged by this writer s attitude toward postal workers Day. First of All we would like to make it Clear that we Are not postal workers and honestly we would t want to be postal workers. They Are hard working efficient personnel who rarely get the time off the deserve. Let s face it How would you like to have to work 12-hour Days during the Holiday season How would you like it if you could t take leave and go to the states to spend Christmas with family and friends How would you like to stand there Tak ing packages from people who have been standing in line too Long and Don t have a smile or a thank you to give everyone in the military works hard granted and we Are not saying that the postal workers Are the Only personnel that work hard but it s time for people to get rewarded when they deserve it. If you Are so irked because no one Ever gave your unit the Holiday thanks they de served Why Don t you suggest it instead of taking it out on people that did get re warded postal workers Day was started by a suggestion. How about following their Good example As to the suggestion about splitting the Holiday work schedule it might work but we doubt it. The postal service has to ask for extra help As it is imagine half the people normally working the Holiday season. It would be mass chaos. We Hope this letter has made you Stop and think for a moment. Everyone deserves time off let s be honest waiting for one extra Day once a year is not going to Hurt us. It s time to Stop being selfish. If we All Felt that our unit was the Only unit that deserved recognition no one would Ever get recognized for a Job very Well done. Thank you postal workers everywhere we appreciate you and your hard work sgt. Karen Dussault sgt. Deborah s. Mullins tech. Sgt. Sigfredo Rivera . Marilyn l. Savage staff sgt. Sherry f. Eason Ramstein a Germany. Perhaps this writer should work for a while As a postal specialist primarily through the Christmas Holiday which i believe was the main reason we got the Day off. After he had experienced the extra hours the extra workload the Lack of time off no Ordinary leave is permitted be tween nov. 1 and at least Jan. 15the increase in customers gripes for things going wrong with their mail simply be cause we re accessible targets and All the other things that postal personnel have to contend with i wonder if he would be grudge us a Day off. Staff sgt. Lawrence j. Schmidt Raf Fairford England it is 6 30 in the morning and i m Mak ing my routine Stop at the Post office be fore my workday. The Dull sound of stereo music and the constant thud of mail pushed into the boxes Greet me each morn ing. I feel compelled to write about the letter objecting to a special Holiday for postal workers. Where else could you receive mail and packages on saturday or sunday during the Christmas season it was also amazing that the postal clerks greeted me with a smile when i had eight packages to mail some requiring insurance or other special actions. Of course on december 24th, they pleasantly reminded me that my packages would arrive by Christmas maj. Helen l. Rangel Span Dahlem a Germany i have incorporated a ritual into my daily life to which i remain faithful and that is a daily trip to the Post office. I have greeted the old Plain Brown building with its squeaky old doors its Dingy chipped tile floors and it s Overall cramped Interior Over 650 separate times since my stay in Europe. Many times i be entered the Post office feeling pretty Down peered into my Box Only to experience a 180-degree emotional turnaround due to Aletter sitting in it. I agree with the no that one of the most important morale factors is getting the troops their mail on time however i Don t think that i would suffer a mental collapse if that figure of 650 were 649 due to a postal appreciation Day. Not everyone visits their boxes daily As i have friends who frequent their boxes sometimes once week. I was recently assigned to a base clean up detail where a co worker was assigned to the postal Squadron. I asked him if he enjoyed his postal Holiday and he said it created More work in that his Section had to work several hours longer into the morning in order to take the Day off. They often work six and seven Day weeks wit Long hours. I was fortunate to get several Days off at Christmas time and i enjoy most govern ment holidays with my family but Christmas and holidays to the postal workers is business As usual often working12-hour shifts. The no stated that the civilian Community would not tolerate such a Holiday but i Don t feel that we As military person Nel can be compared to our civilian counterparts in that aspect due to the Rigours of military protocol and downright 110 per cent 24-hour on Call service. I Don t think it s a matter of rain sleet or Snow but More of i do solemnly  . Jeffery k. Currin Ramstein a Germany i can t think of anyone More deserving of a Holiday than those soldiers who work diligently Day in and out in the Post office. Did you or your troops really suffer such a loss in morale that you Felt compelled to write such a letter you should be grateful to these people so big Deal you did t get your mail for one Lousy Day our Community survived and i m sur yours did also. Name withheld shape Belgium i am a postal worker and i do not understand where this writer gets his idea about morale. He says Why is it that postal workers can just take a Day off at the expense of other soldiers morale Well what about the postal workers morale while Al of these other soldiers Are on leave in the states spending the thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with their families we postal workers Are working six and seven Days a week moving their mail. And what about training holidays and pay Day activities we the postal workers Are moving the mail. No one seems to worry about our morale but do we com Plain no we simply do our jobs and Cdo them Well. Spec. 4 David b. Barlow Baum older Germany i am a postal clerk who feels like a Day off was less than we deserved. We spent Long hours during Christmas taking mail in breaking it Down and putting it out while you were working half Days or hav ing the Day off. You would think that maybe postal clerks would get Christmas eve off to do some cooking or last minute shopping but As it was we were working. Due to our dedication to the army and the Post office we put in Long hours so that people like you who complain would get your family their Christmas gifts or cards. The morale in our company went Down because we Are allowed no leave during Christmas season and a limited amount of time to spend with our families. So the next time you feel it necessary to complain about the Post office being closed for one Day ask yourself How often is Woodland closed the commissary the Bank the cafeteria or the Gas station keep in mind that if we took every Holiday that they or you get then you would never get that one stamp that you arc crying about. Spec. 4 Danita y. Crumpton Grafen Woehrer Germany pen pals i am 20 years old and would appreciate it kindly i you would please publish my name in your pen pal column. My hobbles Are cooking gardening and read ing. Watss Analyn b. Ket Anelo of Beach Dumaguet City Negros Oriental Philippines please publish my name in your pen pal column. Iam 31 years old. I like listening to music and outings. Lett s. Locsln24-or. A Cetano Road Dumaguet City Philippines 6501 i am a 31-year-old High school teacher who would like pen pals. I like to read listen to music and write   no. 7070 4th ave., Dona Inez Village san Jose spa Lay Negros Occidental Philippines please place my name in your pen pal  Akbas Guleryuz sok.13/6 y. A ranch Ankara Turkey i am 19 years old and would like to have my Nam added in your pen pal Magazine because i am very willing to have a pen pal from other countries i Enlo Reading cooking and making friends. Oarle Marie d. Fonta Nollac of Ester Fontanilla 40-a san Juan Street Bacolod City Philippines 6001 i am 52 years of age and would like to have May name published in your pen pal column. My hobbles include gardening cooking and . Susana de Clemente look Beach Dumaguet Cit Negros Oriental Philippines european edition capt Dale k. Patterson us editor in chief cmdr Jeffrey s. Zakem us Deputy editor in chief . Blackwell m. Proctor . Mcdermott production manager managing de. Circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military services overseas. 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