European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday april 1, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 11 dear readers the tragedy of the space shuttle Chal Lenger brought Forth an outpouring of mail. In time of Sor Row people feel a need to express themselves. Many letters were extremely poignant and sensitive. I have selected this one to share with you. Stacey o Brien of Waltham mass., sent it with note attached dear Ann Landers we Are All devastated by the explosion of the space shuttle challenger. I want to express my sadness to the families of those who lost loved ones and to the nation As Well. Here s a beautifully comforting poem i clipped from your column several years ago. It is not Only for those seven Brave people who lost their lives it is for All of us. Sadly hollow in Boston do not stand by my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep i am a thousand winds that blow i am a Diamond glint on Snow i am the sunlight on ripened Grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awake in the morning hush i am the Swift uplifting Rush of quiet Birds in circling flight i am the soft Star Shine at night do not stand by my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die. Anonymous dear Ann Landers i have always thought of you As a person who preferred Plain talk with no pretences. Never  known you to substitute euphemisms or pleasant sounding paraphrases when a plainer More common word would do the Job. Imagine my Surprise when in a recent column you apologized to a Reader for say ing Blind instead of visually Handi capped and deaf instead of hearing  everyone knows what the words Blind and deaf mean. There is nothing insulting or demeaning about these words. They express a human condition. Please Ann Don t take us Back to the mid victorian Era when the word leg was considered offensive and Only limbs were spoken of in polite society let Down in Canad adear Canada thanks for the Wake up Call. Of course you Are right. You will be Reading More about the deaf and the Blind in this column from now on and As far As legs Are concerned i got a big kick out of that one. Dear Ann Landers Here s another letter from someone who lost Money in a Coin machine that dispenses newspapers. When my father was hospitalized i brought him a paper every Day. On my last visit i tried three machines and lost All my coins. No paper i asked the receptionist what she could do and she said nothing. It s not my  i then said you won t mind if i bring in the tools from my car and dismantle the machine so i can retrieve my  she immediately gave me a refund and Hung an out of order sign on the dispenser. So you see there is something that can be done if you use your head. In Delphi ind dear Delphi you must be the original Oracle. Thanks for the Snappy comeback. Readers wishing to write to news America Syndi Cate columnist Landers May address their letters in care of the stars and stripes Apo 09211, . Forces credit card users protected from postal delays the problem i read with great interest the credit card warning letter that appeared recently. I was very relieved to know that i am not the Only one Over Here who is having prob lems with Mastercard and visa. The writer not Only told exactly what happens with the mail delays Over Here but exactly what will happen to your account As a result of the delays. I have had our account with the Rocky Mountain bankcard system out of the Denver area for Over five years. We have never missed a payment or had any prob lems with them until we arrived Here. We Send out our payments at least seven Days prior to their due Date and yet it still takes More than 20 Days for them to receive them. We Don t have this problem with our other credit cards. I receive every month a delinquent account notice even though my payments Are being made and for the last two months my checks have cleared my Bank but not been credited to my account. We have written and made phone Calls trying to get help and trying to make them understand that we have no control Over the Apo and All we Ever get in return is your typical form letters or a reply of the mail delay is of no concern of ours your account is delinquent if the payment does not reach us on  we have handed All information Over to our Legal office for help and i Hope they receive More than a typical form letter. It is very disheartening when we try so hard to maintain a Good credit rating making sure that new change of addresses go through every time we have a permanent change of station mailing out payments Way ahead of due Date and still we Are treated like Sec Ond class citizens. I recommend to anyone who is thinking about using their Mastercard or visa in the Exchange system Over Here to first write to their financial institution and inquire into their late payment policies and find out if they do take into consideration the delay in overseas mail. If not be prepared to fight on a monthly basis to maintain your credit rating and to prove that you sent in your payment. I Hope to pay off both of our cards within the next few months and i will not use them Over Here again no matter what arises in the future. It is not Worth the risk of losing a Good credit rating. If anyone does not be Lieve that this can happen to you guess again name withheld Stuttgart the answer in regard to the letter on credit card  the writer was incorrect in his statement that payments must reach the financial institution by the payment due Date or in Terest charges will be levied on your a  what the writer was i believe unaware of is an item called the uniform Commer Cial code which now has been enacted by All 50 states. In one Section of the acc they address gis should come first says Reader while listening to an recently i heard that the . Government is planning to give the contras Aid in the amount of $100 million. The next Story was our plan to pre sent $150 million in Aid to the inhabitants of Northern Ireland. It seems As if every Day our government has found a new cause to overwhelm with Money that seems to come from nowhere. But it was Only last week that i read in the army times that our meaning the fighting men and women of the . Armed forces pay increase is  where is the Justice in this this year soldiers were Given a 3 percent pay increase and had to put up with a 15 percent hike across the Board for All goods and services provided through cafes. And with the foreign currency Exchange going the Way it is what other Choice do we have in my eyes our pay has decreased. And by the Way who authorized ousted presi Dent Ferdinand Marcos and his entourage a $12,000 deferred payment plan limit on the Island of Guam the most credit i can Muster from cafes is $1,000 a frightening Day has arrived a Day in which an administration is More willing to help any other nation or cause than it is to support the Brave men and women who daily serve to keep it in Power. Sgt. Randall w. Erwin Stuttgart writer critical of whiners at clinic the next time you feel the need to visit your local medical facility Stop. Think for a minute. Is it something that can wait for an appointment is it some thing you can treat yourself the pharmacy has several Over the counter preparations All for free. Why torture yourself and everyone else by waiting in the clinic for a couple of hours when you Don t need to. Ask yourself would i be Here if i had to pay for this visit probably not. I can t imagine How a doctor can get any satisfaction from his work when he or she has to contend with the likes of you. That doctor is there from morning until night yes night quite often without lunch or even a break. Still most Are caring and considerate. Can you blame them for being Short with people Long after you be gone Home the doctor is still at the clinic updating charts and preparing for the next Day. While you re Reading this letter Don t say to yourself he should t have become a doctor if he feels that  Well if he or she had t become a doctor where would you be right now i m just tired of waiting in line behind the whiners. Name and location withheld Awag celebrates anniversary congratulations to american women s activities Germany Awag on your 30th anniversary As advisers to this Fine organization rep resenting Over 22,000 women we applaud the Fine work done Over the years to bring together . Women s clubs German american and International clubs from All Over West Germany. American women s activities Germany is volunteering at its very Best symbolizing the involvement and dedication of hundreds of caring talented and dedicated women working in a myriad of activities to contribute to the betterment of their Community. We Are proud to be a part of it. Mrs. Richard Lawson mrs. Glenn k. Otis mrs. Charles l. Donnelly or. Mrs. James b. Craft Mirs. Lewis Spence pen pals i am 19 years old and would like to have my name published in your pen pal Section. Flora b. Am is 33 or. Veciano Road Dumaguet City 6501, Philippines i am 28 years old and would like to have pen pals. Nancy Boyles co Boyles & sons pm. 31 Panambo Davao Del Norte Philippines the item of due Date postmarks Etc. Basically it states the postmark is the con trolling item. Thus if you mail a payment or other instrument to a financial institution or otherwise and even mail it 1-2 Days before the due Date the postmark on the Enve Lope becomes the controlling Factor. The premise behind the acc is the Mailer does not and cannot control the postal service. Thus in the absence of delivery Assurance the Mailer must have Protection for obvious reasons. Even though we Are under the military operated Apo system the postmaster in new York City is the controller and responsible person for turning mail Over to the Apo system reporting and other items to the . Postal service. So for this purpose you Are not outside of the United states and the Apo postmark is basically under the state of new York thereby making their statutes with the acc applicable. One other item to note is if the payment or whatever arrives at the financial institution after the due Date and they still de duct or add late charges write them a letter referring to the acc and request reimbursement. Financial institutions will Levy such penalties and will keep it unless the customer Calls their hand on it. 1 would very much imagine there Are untold thousands of  ple who unaware of the acc just shrug their shoulders and pay the so called late fee. When they do that s pure Gold to the institution. Elton g. Schmidt Wuerzburg Germany the St is and a Ripen in Cru of i a european edition capt Dale k. Patterson us editor in chief cmdr Jeffrey s. Zakem us Deputy editor in chief . Blackwell m. Proctor production manager managing de. . Mcdermott circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military services overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the . 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