European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 19, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Do Lurnis Fate shows a dark Side of human nature by Paul Bourgeois staff writer it has been suggested that today i write something serious and meaningful i be always thought everything i did was meaningful in a ridiculous sort of Way. But in any Case those of you looking for something to brighten your Day might Stop now and flip to the comics this is a Story Thil often comes Back to me As i Lay awake unable to sleep staring at the ceiling. I Don t know ii it s meaningful but i m going to Tell it anyway. Some years ago 25 to be exact my Cousin Larry was killed. He was 1 f. He was a All thin boy. He was t particularly Bright but it was said that he was usually kind and tried to help people whenever he could he was our Leader when All the cousins were together not ust because he was the oldest but because he always had ideas Tor things we could do. He was fun n to be with. His lather had died of a heart attack a year earlier Ami Larry seemed to take it particularly hard. He soon dropped out of school and since his Mother. Had to work it was decided that he move in with our grandparents who lived 60 Miles away on the Gulf coast. They were retired and could keep an Eye on a favorite Uncle also lived next door and Larry s Mother decided in would be goad lot him to be around another Man. Fora month or two to went to school regularly but he soon stopped going and spent most of his Lime wandering in a wooded area behind our grandparents House. One morning after an ugly shouting incident with his Uncle Larry hopped the shuttle train for the one hour Irp Home to new Orleans his Mother was at work but Larry knew where a key was hidden and let himself in no one s quite sure of what happened next. In was believed to have been a Gas leak either in the stove or a clothes dryer. Anyway Larry lit a cigarette his Mother had been pleading with him not to smoke and the House burst into flames. It was a terrific fire. The House was wooden and old and very close to similar old and wooden houses Haifa City Block was destroyed but Here were no casualties except for Larry. The evening newspaper one Given to sensational stories had the fire on Page 1. Under the headline teen Dies in inferno was a Large picture of firefighters pouring water on the flames and a Small photo of my Cousin. Ii was a Junior High school photograph that my aunt had in her purse. Everything else was gone. My aunt and her two other children a daughter and a son about my age came to live with us. It was a difficult Lime. Two Days later. It was a saturday. A Bright warm Day. We were All getting dressed for the funeral when the Doorbell rang. I answered the door. It was a Middle aged woman in a frumpy Hoits Edress. She carried iwo shopping bags jammed with clothing. Good morning she said is your Momma or daddy around Well they re ,1 Little Busy c our of you loll nit what this is about Well she said it s about i hat big fire Uptown the other night you see that was my poor boy that burned up in that she unfolded a copy of the newspaper Story. That s him she said pointing to my Cousin s picture Thal s my poor dead her eyes were filling with tears we me and my other two children behave no place to go and. I hate doing i his but any kind of help you folks might be Able to give sure would be i must have stared at her 10 or 15 seconds Noi knowing what to say Wall Here i said finally "don11 go. I la get she smiled sweetly through tear stained eyes. You gotta see this woman at the door i told my daddy. Hurry before she Well she began again it s about my poor boy that died in that big fire the other night my daddy quickly closed the door. I could t make out exactly what was said but i heard shouts a woman crying and the word he came Back after about five minutes. His face was red. Don l say anything about ills he said. I nodded and until now i never did. I Don t know if i believe in destiny or Fate but there Are about a million people in new Orleans and hundreds of thousands of Homes. 1 wonder a what brought her to ours. S i be thought about this woman now and again. I wander if she still does this. I wonder if she s Happy. Gentle header needs lots of pockets instead by miss manners United Ratute Syndicate dear miss manners i frequently have the Opportunity to Dine out with an escort but each time i face Small predicament where to Pul my purse. I us a clutch style pure for formal to sell Normal Dinnen but even these can some Lei be a bit Large Ai Many restaurants feat two guests at a tiny table it is difficult to put in on the table and awkward for me my escort and the waiter to have to work around it. I be experienced the Don t you know where to put that thing look gleaming at me but unfortunately the answer is on my Lap it sometimes slips to the floor during conversation with a loud thump when my Ever so essential article come spilling out. Besides the Napkin goes there. If i m in a chair with no arms i can t very Well clip it Between my body and the Arm of the chair. Even if there were an Armil might fall through the opening Between the seat and the Arm. And who wants to put a pretty purse on the it oof take my word for it you can t use an Over Lac shoulder style purse for a whole round of cocktails appetizer dinner Etc when the weight of the purse hits your inner Elbow there goes your salad. I await your answer with purse in hand. Gentle Reader yes the purse does properly to on the dip and Yeti it is a Jolly nuisance there. You Don l even mention the possibility of dancing but clapping a purse against a gentleman s Back has an Adverse effect on Graceful twirling. You will find in easier to keep the purse from slipping off the Lap if you fold the Napkin around ii. You May also request an extra chair to Park in on if enough ladles did so perhaps restaurants would come up with a simpler solution to a problem thai is theirs As Well As their customers. Dear miss manners Al a wedding reception i attended in an old mansion a Young woman came by while i was chatting Wilh a Friend i had t seen for years. We were standing by the table occasionally taking one of the picks from the table and spearing bite sized a Tenet of fruit or cheese instead of using a plate and Fork. How Tacky she said spitting out the words. At least Ute a needless to say i was shocked and insulted by her vehement rudeness and i inquired about her. I Learned that she was the wife of the photographer a guest Tike me. I have attended any number of elegant Parlier where using picks for Finger food is an acceptable Way of eating fort d oeuvres and although i am not a fanatic about ii i do want to know Correct behaviour. I also feel that those who Are without blame should cast the first Meatball and when i looked at this woman s husband i wanted to Point out How Tacky i thought his plaid Cotton jacket was. But i believe that True tackiness is deliberately insulting or putting Down others. Slid i it Lacky to eat cheese and fruit with a pick gentle Reader no but it s worse than Lacky logo la one s husband s place of work and then insult his clients. This was not a guest like yourself but someone Wilh no emotional connection to the wedding party. It would have been rude in any guest to comment on your manners but she should not even have been there in the first place. Dear miss manners what is the proper financial arrangement when an engagement is broken three weeks before our wedding my former Fiance decided that he did t want to get married. Besides being in Shock i a out of a lot of Money since a non returnable Deposit had been made on the reception Hall photographer cake and Flower. 1 had paid for everything myself except the bridal Shower which my Parent had paid for. I made a list of expense and gave it to my former Fiance and he gave me a Check for half. Some of my friends said he should have paid for All of it since he was the one who called the wedding off. I could t find information about this in any Book. What docs miss Manne Stayt gentle Reader you Are certainly within i i realm of tradition when you wish to translate emotional disappointment into punitive action but suing for breach of Promise part Fly much gone out of fashion. Ii was an idea miss manners is not sorry to see it. Legally or emotionally one can never truly be compensated for the failure of Lov and in a instance such As this where the damage is so much less than would have been a failed , Iuli i Spicl would be Best served by lulling in go. A no fault Setlok ment May have cos you More but in affords you non dignity and just a Midur the mess would have been the gentleman changed his mind Obidul Yuri after i in wedding. 2 ill Lett a Guint Marrot 19, 1987
