European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday april 1, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 9 by Tony Nauroth Nuernberg Bureau Herzo base Germany Snipes. They re crawling All Over the Countryside and recreation Center director Mac Shaw is organizing a Hunting party. Shaw passed out flyers announcing the Hunt to begin at 7 . Today. The flyers offer free maps and permits to bag the which Shaw translates As however a German English dictionary translates it As Federal Shaw admits the snipe docs not exist. It s one of the Best kept secrets of childhood he said. The Only Way you find out about it is if you get caught Here s How it works you sit around a campfire and talk about Snipes Shaw said. The first per son to ask what s a snipe Bingo he s the Mark. You take him out in the Woods and Tell him to make snipe sounds to attract the beast then you go Back to the Camp fire for a Good laugh while you listen to his squalls and screeches. The whole idea is to perpetrate a hoax he said and what better Day to do it than april fools Day Shaw s flyer claims that Snipes make excellent gifts. A poetic and ambiguous hint is included it s nobody s fool that heeds the Call of the snipe Shaw said the hoax plays on such Ambi Guity but he believes most people will read his flyer and chuckle. But we do have several people who have signed up he said. Shaw said it s All in fun but there s a hint of revenge in his scheme. This happened to me 20 years ago he admitted sheepishly. Kids find fun in messages from the animals by Connie Dickey staff writer Frankfurt what do an elephant a Camel an ant and a fish have in common they Are All characters in a Book and All teach lessons especially for children. The elephant learns to become an individual through encounters with other characters in the Book. The Camel gives him a name the ant teaches him to dance and the fish teaches him to swim. The elephant even has his own song an elephant won t forget you when you re Happy. An elephant won t forget you when you re sad. Cause an elephant knows. The secret is remembering it All. Learn ing from the Good times and the the Story is from the Book Peel the extraordinary elephant by Susan Joyce. Joyce believes messages to children should be fun to learn. Peel s message is for children not to be afraid to explore the world she said. They need to be open and not be afraid to learn about themselves. They need to learn to during National Library week which begins monday Joyce and the Book s Illus Trator will visit libraries and schools at Usa eur and Safe installations around Germany. Joyce who has lived in Frankfurt the past eight years said the Book is an autobiography of sorts. Each of the stories is based on my own growing experiences. 1 Learned to dance As an adult and also As an adult an 86-year old Man taught me to overcome my fear of water and to the Arizona native said she chose an elephant As the Central character because she Felt like an elephant during her child Hood. Joyce grew up in a pentecostal Home and wore Long skirts. I never fit in. I was outwardly different and being different to a child is not com is photo by Tracy bake inspiring Young readers children s author Susan Joyce reads part elephant to a class at Atterberry Cavern of her new Book Peel the extraordinary elementary school in Frankfurt. she said she chose to write a children s Book because writing for adults is not inspirational. Children Are easier to write for because they Are innocent and open she said. The 41-year-old author works for Wang computers teaching their usage to . Military communities. By having a business degree i have been Able to earn a decent living that allows me to pursue my creative Side she said. She is also an artist. "1 had planned to do the Book s illustrations myself but when i had a Friend of mine read the manuscript he Drew an elephant and said this is your elephant which was exactly what i had in mind. His illustrations have such depth and insight that i could t have done she said. The Illustrator Douglas Dubosque has lived in Frankfurt for the past five years and is the manager of a photography com Pany. He also docs children s photography. I find it easy to work with children and to relate to them the Connecticut native said. He has been a Camp Counselor and school teacher most recently As a Kinder Garten through Grade 12 teacher in Malta. The Book came along at the right time Dubosque said. After Reading the Manu script the characters just came to me. Many were drawings i be done before and did t do anything with. I just stored them in my imagination for later the theme for National Library week is get a head Start at the Joyce and Dubosque will visit the follow ing libraries and schools � april 7 Stuttgart area 8 15 ., ludwigs Burg elementary 9 15 Pattonville Library 10 ., Robinson bar Racks elementary 12 30 ., pan Erel Centary 2 ., Patch elementary 3 30 ., Kelley Library. 9 april 8 9 ., Lindsay air Sta Tion Wiesbaden 4 ., Patrick Henry Vil Lage Heidelberg. � april 9 Frankfurt 10 30 Abrams Library 2 . Edwards Cavern Library. Ober Ursel 4 ., Camp King Library. O april 10 9 30 We Bruecken a Library 3 30 ., vog Chweh Library. April 119 ., Pitburg a Library 2 ., Span Dahlem a Library. Car makers blame Economy for Gray Market slump by Bob Hoyer staff writer the shrunken Dollar is deflating the . Gray Market in luxury foreign car imports. European Auto dealers and shippers report the Market is Down As much As 80 percent from a year ago when Amer ican buyers criss crossed Germany in Pursuit of used car bargains. The search has come to a screeching halt As Many would be buyers have moved to the sidelines. Because of variables that include monetary Exchange rates and pricing policies it is difficult to estimate How much direct imports will fall below the record figure of 1985," said Ben Jackson executive director of the Auto Mobile importers compliance association. We believe the final figure will Settle somewhere be tween 50,000 and 30,000, with 30,000 the absolute in 1985, a record 67,000 Gray Market imports entered the United states up from 40,000 in 1985 and 15,000 in1983. German automakers attribute the 1986 Gray Market slump to the economics of monetary Exchange. They say that As a result of the Dollar s lost buying Power it no longer pays to convert european cars to . Specifications. But Jackson and other Auto converters disagree. They argue that Money still can be made by converting the right cars. But they admit the lower Dollar has created a perception problem among buyers. If German manufacturers raise the prices of their . Models then even with a lower Dollar it still May pay to convert their european cars for direct import Jackson said. Converters note that while the Dollar has dropped by More than 30 percent against the German Mark the Price of used German cars also has decreased. In some cases the prices of used cars have dropped As much As the Dollar said Rainer Kies a Stuttgart dealer Active in the conversion business. Even Many new cars Are Selling at substantial reductions from a year ago he said. Often such cars were ordered by middlemen on speculation. There have been cases where 100,000 Marks were paid for Mercedes so oils that now Are being offered for 70,000 Kies own conversion business is Down about 80 percent this year a decline he finds perplexing because the drop in used car prices still makes it possible to turn a while Jackson and car converters Hope for a stabilization of the Market German manufacturers expect it to remain depressed if the Dollar hovers at current Levels. In Munich a spokesman for Bow said the lower Dollar has just about eliminated speculators from the unless the Dollar becomes extremely weak i think there always will be some Gray Market cars shipped Home by . Military members and government employees Liv ing overseas the spokesman said. But those who got into the business to make Money when the Dollar was Strong Are now pulling out of the Market because it is no longer in Montrose n.j., a spokesman for Mercedes Ben of North America said the lower Dollar is putting the brakes on the Gray when the costs of converting cars to . Clean air and safety standards Are added to Purchase costs in Marks these cars end up costing As much or More than Mercedes Export models built for the . Market the official said. Walter Fabian spokesman for the North american Export office at Daimler Ben in Stuttgart said the vol ume of the Gray Market is falling because the potential for profit no longer in the past when the Price differences Between cars priced in Marks and those priced in dollars attracted speculators to the Market european newspapers were filled with advertisements by dealers stocking foreign cars Fabian said. In recent weeks these ads have decreased by 80
