European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 28, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Columns science fairs one of parenthood s challenges by Dave Barry Knight bidder news a ref r Nii body Ever Potepan Xuwu Tot llu1 ready difficult of parenthood. 1 rim nol referring hot a education. That 5 . Whenever my 7-ye.ir-Nld Man asks me a quiz Stinn Ili Mil Sis i i Liim in and wry patiently explain in him using simple words Ami without displaying any Hinl Lam Busy. Rut i cannot use this parenting technique Wolti Liu More difficult issues by which i mean my buy s science fair. Science fairs Are events that occur every year n every elementary and Junior High school in America. Vein would think that just twice they would hold an went Ihal a child Rould participate in Wilh no guidance whatsoever such As a vicious teasing air or a hair spiking fair or an ordering an and alien announcing Hal you it not hungry . Out nip they continue to have science fairs in which your child is supposed to do a project thai proves some amazing s hence principle such As How a simple electrical circuit works. That is a very popular pm Jei i by the Way. Go to any v in in fair in the , and you la Nolice tll.1l at least two thirds of the Punj cts rms of a flashlight gallery honked up via wires to a Switt h and ,1 Light bulb. Yuu. The1 interested on Enki rare supposed to Lirow the switch thus completing the circuit and causing Ilie Light bulb l do Abisi Liely nothing thereby proving the amazing science principle that flashlight Hal teries do not 1.1st very Long especially in in the science fair environment. Perhaps nex year we remedy that situation by having ill the children in the enlist Allach their science fair bal cries simultaneously to a top executive Rifa Battery . A Hal thai might produce some scientific results i list think something needs to by done about the judging and i do not my this merely because my son got Only .1 third place ribbon for his project. The , although it featured a very explicit close up photograph of ,1 hand holding a freshly removed brain the passer by could Louk Al this project and have the following scientific reaction yuck now i grand you that this is not a major research breakthrough but at least my son dirt ill the work himself once 1 brought the photograph Home from work. Whereas Wilh some of the other projects you just knew the Chloren and help especially the second grader who built the fusion reactor. Bui i Don t totally blame the parents. You get crazy around science fair time because you Don t want your child to do poorly in school and thus Haw to go to a bad College and Ihnn a bad graduate school and Ihen gel a bad Job and ultimately wind up in a bad nursing Home. And so you lose perspective a Good example of this is the True is Ory of How my Friend Janice came to spit into her lighters k nox Una voted Gelatin. happened was her two daughters were doing a science fair proved in which they were griping to grow common household holds in Little plastic containers of Gelal in. But naturally the Mold would t grow. In t that just like Multi when you Don t want it to grow,.�ucb-3�-u&en company is coming it flourishes especially around the base of the toilet. Whereas when you really want it to grow when you have gone to the supermarket and purchased fond for in ii does nothing. Mold is scum so the science fair was approaching my Janice s daughters were getting upset and finally late one night when nobody was looking Janice driven by a timeless maternal instinct to protect her Young spat in their Gelatin and it worked before icing her daughters had a regular festival of Mold. But now Janice feels guilty because she knows deep in her heart that in was not scientific Mold. My Point is that unless something is done More and More parents Are going to be driven insane by science fair pressure. Some desperate parents Are already obtaining projects through the Black Market underground science fair Exchange program. You see them late at night on dark Street Corners nervously exchanging non working simple electromagnets which Are then Rusu billed under new names. Of course i personally would never endorse such a dishonest concept. The whole Point of a science fair is to teach the child valuable lessons by doing things far himself. This is Why 1 have already got my son started on next year s project making a very realistic looking first place ribbon. Meeting with a former partner and his new love by miss manners United feature Syndicate dear miss manners several months ago i separated from my partner after 1c Happy wonderful years we never married when he informed me that he had found a More suitable person to spend his life Wilh i moved Oul and established a Home career and life on my own. I am proud to say that 1 am doing quite Well. Though the separation was initially difficult i vowed never to speak to the Man again i have risen above that. I hold no animosity toward my former partner and his new love. I have yet to meet this new person in his life but for reasons i cannot Viilo explain i would very much like to do so. Would it be proper to extend an invitation to dinner to the two of them which would you consider More comfortable for All dining Al Rny new Home or a a More Neutral place gentle Reader exactly did you do in the lower realms before rising above it Alii this undoubtedly has a great Deal of Ben ring on How the genl Man and his new partner perceive your overtures. Is in Likely that they will believe that you hold no animosity toward him now miss manners believes you. And she also understands Why you want this meeting. You wish to Takt satisfaction in finding he has done a lot worse for himself and in Riino Straling to him that you Are As Well off or Bitri a without him. There is nothing wrong with these motives unless they Are exhibited to your guess. That would be rude. Arranging the Mcc Ting will Mil be easy. Even if the other person has the same Cuil Nesity Boul you thai you have about her no gentleman in his right mind would sit still for such a confrontation. Some ins incl ought to Lell him that the fatuous Ness of enjoying the company of present and past loves at the same time would nut be Worth the risk he takes by silting Between you if anything should go wrong. He probably does t even imagine the risk if everything should go right. Suppose you two Hil it off and Start exchanging confidences about his weaknesses your Best Hope therefore is to form an excuse for seeing him the need of advice a request for some object you left behind or if it is plausible merely the desire for a Friendly talk. Then just As he is reckoning How damaging a private visit with you would be la his present relationship add of do bring Kim along. 1 would t feel right about our meeting miss manners promises you Hinl he will relay the invitation reluctantly to Kim and that Kim will say you Bel i m coming you May then negotiate the circumstances Wilh him. Your House is belter for showing off How you live now but a Public place is As a Protection against emotional scenes hear miss manners what is a Young single woman to do when a Man she has just met asks for her phone number with the obvious Intel of inviting her on a Dale How does she refuse politely gentle Reader Memorie this reply i m hard in reach the truth is t really Don t have much Lime. Why Don t you give me your number there Are some who will protest at this advice Bui the poor Man will be wailing by the phone forever if the gentleman in question strikes you As Lull dense you May add that Way i la have in in Case i Ever find thai i do have mrk Lime dear miss manners when our daughter graduated from High school Cven families close relative and friends did nol respond to the announcements we sent them. This it especially annoying since we Lent cards and gifts to their children when they graduated. Now our son is to graduate. My wife and i disagree on what we should do she wants to Send them announcements i by save the what do you recommend i gents Reader a change of Altitude. Announcements Are sent to people you think might care to hear about milestones in your son s life. They Are nol notices Ihal presents am due As a matter of fact presents Are nol even customarily sent after the receipt of announcements As hey Are Wil h invitations. Those who Are especially close to the graduate or who Are otherwise moved to Send presents of course May but a letter of Ronger ritual Lions is sufficient. Dear miss manners i encountered � situation Al 1 re Cratl party where 1 did not know How to react properly. I would appreciate any recommendations you might have for each of the following people t. The one who throws i Glass of water at another. 2. The receiver of the water assault. 3. The onlooker who physically avenge the victim e.g., bites the hand of the Allan scr. 4. The innocent bystanders. 5. The Host hostess gentle Reader you have to give miss manners More information Ihan Ihal. Itka Dietle is not so simple -3 Corle that an action he judged regardless of who does in under circumstances. In the a sense of evidence to the contrary she assumes Ihal the event was a dormitory water fight in which Case everybody acted conventionally except the dog in he third Man Euver. Yuu must speak to him Aboul Ihal. In Rill t9lt Lii pit out Fiat
