European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 28, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 28, 1986 the stars and stripes Ami Landers Page 11 letters dear Ann Landers i was very pleased with your advice to say sorry no to any adult stranger who rings the Bell and asks to use the facilities. If your readers think you were being hard hearted let me As a sure them that such Jar is not the Case. I f speak from experience. Two years ago a pleasant looking Man neatly dressed and somewhat elderly showed up at my front door. He asked if he could use my bathroom said his car had broken Down and his companion was walk ing to the Corner drugstore to phone for help. He looked harmless and seemed polite so i said yes. I became concerned when he remained in the bathroom for what seemed like an unreasonable period of time. It occurred to me that he might have become ill or worse yet died in there. All sorts of bizarre notions raced through my head. If something was wrong How would i explain this stranger s presence in my Home suddenly the bathroom door opened and there he stood naked As the Day he was born. I nearly fainted. He walked toward me shoes in one hand and suit shorts shirt and socks in the other muttering Over and Over i hate tight clothes. They make me  i knew at once the Man was deranged. I managed to remain Calm and asked if he would like a cup of Coffee. He said,1 that would be  i went to the Kitchen called the operator gave her my address and asked her to Send the police at once. Within minutes the police were in my Kitchen helping my visitor get dressed. He was indeed a mental patient and had been reported missing. How Lucky i was that the old Man was t violent. He could have killed me. Never again will i let a stranger in my Home for any reason whatever. Please print this letter for the Benefit of others who May be As naive As i was. Thankful in . Dear thankful Here s your letter and my congratulations for handling the situation in the Best possible manner. To you goes my . Cool Galm and collected award. Dear Ann Landers congratulations for opening another can of Worms. Since when have you become a Diamond appraiser i refer to your statement that a one third Carat Diamond is Worth about $450. Our family has been in the jewelry Busi Ness for 50 years. My husband is a certified gemologist. I am the third generation in the business. Since your article appeared we have received Many Calls from customers who Pur chased diamonds from us. They say Ann Landers claims one third of a Carat is Worth $450. We paid a lot  please Ann be aware that All diamonds have different characteristics qualities and grades. To. In w. A.  right you Are. It depends not Only on weight but shape Cut and clarity. The jeweler with whom i consulted assumed i was talking about an average one third Carat Stone. To make matters worse some papers around the country printed i a Carat by mistake so i be heard from lots of jewel ers these past several Days. I think for now on i la leave the Diamond business to the experts. 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 Soldier s wife Hopes others will voice concerns too i am a wife and Mother of four whose husband is serving in the military overseas. My husband has served for More than 12 years in the . Army. During those years i be read and listened often with great Dis Tress to the Congress hashing of the Mili tary both in verbal judgments and financial matters. Now an article in the stars and stripes forces me to respond. In a recent Issue i read about yet another Way the military is being forced to trim its budget. Namely by cutting the length and Quality of my children s education. Not Only will the school year begin later this year but Many of the extra enrichment programs will be Cut Back and lost to our children programs such As Art music physical education and Field trips. I already have a child whose physical education is severely limited along with Art and music due to a time and travel crunch. Our teachers and students must travel daily from the american elementary school to rented classrooms in outlying German schools. This results in a minimum of one hour lost in classroom instruction time each Day. This is due to Lack of adequate space. Now the department of defense dependents schools budget must bring maintenance and new construction to a standstill because of budget cuts. The same Lack of space results in our teen agers being bused Between two and four hours every Day to High school. These cuts in programs for children and teachers result in a decline of Quality in the education. Teachers will move on in search of better opportunities and benefits. I want my children to have the finest educational opportunities possible. Congress has also continually voted against adequate pay raises for the military. Our paychecks often Don t keep Pace with the rising Cost of living. Or. Congressman i Challenge you to try to raise a family of six on $12,000 a year before taxes. Your rebuttal will Likely be that the military provides benefits to offset these costs. Even with the commissary Exchange and medical benefits we see More taken away from us each Day. Military hospitals and clinics must turn More and More of their work Load to champs. Congress is trying now to do away with dental care and other needed services. You Are trying to Cut our retire ment benefits As Well. Try and imagine the stress on your family if they found it Nec Essary to live on this salary. And so on with the cuts in military benefits. On with the cuts in pay raises. Did you vote yourself a pay raise last year or. Congressman does your income now exceed double digit figures Are you aware it takes my husband nine years to earn what you earn in one year we the american people pay your salary. What right do you have to continually fatten your belts while you vote us into near poverty you Are supposed to work for and on behalf of the people. I realize you will say you have told the military to Cut its budget but not where or How. I will also agree that there is a lot of waste which can be eliminated and will thereby Aid in cutting budget needs. But you Are still forcing military leaders to put yet More stress upon the military family in order to preserve military readiness. Overseas Tours Are Likely to be extended both accompanied and unaccompanied to save moving costs. Our children change houses and schools like you change socks. I m also outraged at the general opinion of the american people regarding the Mili tary services. You perceive military Mem pen pals i m a trainee English teacher. I wish to perfect and practice my English. I am 26 years old. My favorite hobbles Are music films travels Reading and Art. Or. Ahmed de Bane 2, Rue Omar Ammari 16050 Kouba Algier Algeria Bers As  i invite you the congressmen and you the american people to pay me a visit Here in West Germany. Allow me to take you on a tour. I d like you to stand on the East West Border and watch the Farmers As they do their daily work in their Fields. Please be sure and notice the armed guards standing Over them and Riding on the Back of their tractors with rifles across their Knees. Please come and listen to the stories of the unfortunate men and women who de sired Freedom enough to risk their lives for it. Most of them Are dead from attempting to gain their Freedom. Come visit the Berlin Wall. Please notice that it is lined with memorials and Flowers dedicated to those Many who lost their lives trying to flee from oppression. Consider the Odds they face mined strips of land vicious dogs on Long leads armed patrols armed Tower guards barbed wire fences. Does it sound like what you want outside your front door come visit Dachau which i first saw at age 6. The memories Are still vivid of ovens where human beings were literally cooked till the flesh left their Bones Hooks on Ceil Ings where bodies Hung before they were dead and the showers where there Are Pic Tures of mountains of gassed bodies. Why do you feel so sure it can t happen to you we Are not warmongers. We Are concerned for ourselves and for you and your families. Blindness will surely bring these horrors right into our own Back Yards. Have you experienced a terrorist attack first hand ask about it there Are people in Frankfurt and Spain who have first hand knowledge. They Hope you never have such an experience. I am terrified that americans Are going to peace March themselves and our country into becoming another East Germany or Czechoslovakia. Your very thoughts must be closely guarded out of fear in these coun tries. I understand russians have no unemployment. That s great they also do not have the Freedom to walk around the Corner and buy All the ribs they want from a neigh boyhood bbl. Nor do they have the free Dom to buy an air plane ticket and Fly any where their heart desires. And perhaps most importantly they Don t have the free Dom to criticize their government and work to make it better. Congress can continue to Cut the military budget and benefits increasing stress and watch one Good family after another leave military service. When the Challenge to our Freedom arrives on your Doorstep will you defend my family and yours i doubt it. It will be too late. It s Long past due that we realize no mat Ter How dear the idea of peace is to our minds and hearts there Are unfortunately those who have no such desires. Their hearts hold dear dominance control and Power. Our words of peace cause them to feel secure. We Are becoming Putty ready to be folded to their ideas and ideology. I love my Freedom and my country and i want peace. But i also want an Opportunity to raise my children the Way i think is Best. I want the right to think and act freely. I want my children to live in a land where they do not grow old immersed in fear and oppression. These things Are real not figments of someone s imagination. We take too much for granted. Seldom do we witness firsthand the atrocities of Power hungry govern ments. Sincerely search and find out Why people Are fighting Back in Afghanistan and Nicaragua. If a whole nation can rally to the Aid of the world s starving then we should rally and beat at the doors of Congress to do something about the horrors Man inflicts upon Man in the name of greed and Power. I want peace but not at the Cost of Basic human Freedom. That s Why i m writing to the stars and stripes to encourage others like myself to write to your congressmen. If they want the Security to sit on Capitol Hill and vote themselves yearly pay raises that boggle the mind then they must give consideration to providing enough funds to maintain a ready and Able military not an impoverished Shell of stressed men and families and Unready equipment. I m proud of what my husband does. If the Day should come that he must risk his life for your Security As Well As mine i want to know he is Well equipped and prepared to meet the risk involved. This year or. Congressman Why Don t you tighten your Belt vote yourself a pay Cut to help balance the budget there is unbelievable waste in non military govern ment spending As Well. I am Only one person. 1 urge you All to write to your congressmen write to them All. Together we have a powerful voice. Tell them we want More funding to preserve our military readiness our schools and our fam Ilies. Tell them we think they Are reckless with our tax dollars. Tell them they won t get our vote if they Don t support our needs. Most importantly vote with caution. Re search to know what your congressional candidates believe and Are Likely to do with their time in office. Assure those guilty of inflicting needless stress and robbing us of necessary benefits and programs that they la not receive our vote. There Are a lot of military families in the services of our country. United we have a Strong voice. Debra Rost Schweinfurt Germany the St is and tripes jul