European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 13, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                P&3&&1 \a.,�1 list �&�s.lvjs4 Piv a fume War on aids bracelets Are modelled after the pow bracelets of the Vietnam War years. Identifying with aids victims United press internationals in. Ted Kennedy sometimes has one around his wrist so do actresses Morgan Fairchild and Lynn Redgrave. Modelled after the aluminium pow bracelets worn during the Vietnam War years Gold and Silver plated pea bracelets have become a Way for celebrities and politicians to publicly identify with aids victims and their families. But Dennis Millette operations director for the los Angeles based Public War on aids program says the greatest interest in the bracelets has been shown by people in America s heartland far from the Urban centers where the disease has claimed thousands of lives. The biggest response has been from Small town America because people even though they re not affected they re saying aids is not a problem in my area but i want to help i want a Bracelet Here s my  since the program began in december Millette estimates about 10,000 of the $10 bands have gone into circulation. A lot of times they say i wore a pow Bracelet for years and i want to Wear a pea Bracelet he said. The program was conceived As a Way to raise Money for aids care. A major beneficiary of sales of the bracelets is a California based group mothers of aids patients which provides support to the families of victims. Organizers also have set up a separate endowment with the profits to be used in the future for Grants to individuals in need. So far the relatives of 50 people who have died of the disease ranging from an 11-month-old Georgia girl to a 56-year-old California Man have Given permission for the program to print the names Ages and dates of death of their Kin on the bangles. Mary Jane Edwards of Rancho Palos Verdes calif., who helped found mothers of aids patients when her son Gregory died in 1984, was one of the first. I think it is one of the greatest ways we can Honor our fallen said Edwards who receives an average of a letter a Day from people inquiring about her son. It makes me feel real Good that they remember him. I m always thrilled to death to Tell people about him. I be made a lot of Good friends through the people that Wear Greg s bracelets. It keeps his memory  Edwards said she gave a Bracelet with her son s name on it to Kennedy whose staff also reportedly Wear them and surgeon general c. Everett Koop. It was a shame i had to lose a son to get into something like this a positive thing she said. Hopefully we can erase the social stigma associated with this  on average a run of 250 bracelets has been minted for each of the 50. But demand for some such As Lori Christine Thompson whose death at age 11 in san Diego in 1985 was widely reported has pushed the minting into the thousands he said. Millette said recipients often develop a Bond with the Bracelet and want to learn More about the person beyond their age and Date of death. Biographies of each of the 50 victims have been prepared to respond to just such inquiries. Often the letters and phone Calls come from relatives friends or strangers who have seen the Bracelet said Millette. It s like the Ripple effect he said. The idea is the Bracelet is a real identifiable Symbol. It says i am part of the War on aids. What we re after is to get a lot of bracelets out there so people Are saying children Are dying babies Are dying. It s not a Gay problem it s a major  the names and addresses of each donor Are recorded so that when a cure for aids is found we can Call in All the bracelets melt them Down and build a Monument from them he said. About 45 different aids support organizations from All Over the United states have expressed interest in using the bracelets locally As a fund Raiser said Mark Manning National director of the pea program. The groups will get to keep 40 percent of each $10 Purchase. Similar programs May soon be set up in England and Australia. Millette said he Hopes that the was some Day will become As popular As the pow bracelets which were sold by the millions during the Vietnam War. As the endowment which now stands at about $30,000, grows Millette said individuals will be Able to petition for Grants to fund aids related expenses not covered by insurance or Public health care such As funeral costs air travel medicines Etc. I personally would like to see the fund raise $10 million or $20 million he  s like creating a National Symbol. We re eight years into this War just like the Vietnam War. It s time to create some  Erma Bombeck Erma Bombeck is on vacation. In her absence the Best of Bombeck will run. This column originally appeared in september 1983. In t it time we All smart ened up about Hospital care where else in the world do we Check into a facility with a bed next to someone we have never seen before put up with a steady Stream of strangers who take our blood and our urine and Are never seen again and pay $200 a Day for the privilege at those prices you would think we would get to talk to the chef instead of a nutritionist. Most of the Beds in hospitals Are occupied by people who Are recuperating. The crisis is Over and they Are just getting their strength Back. My proposal is simple. A Good hotel room in los Angeles costs around $200 a Day. For this i get a room with a television and bathroom to myself. No one coughs in the Middle of the night. No one watches the Ball game when i want to watch masterpiece theatre. None of their relatives come to spend the Day and use our bathroom. The hotel room comes with a Continental breakfast and a newspaper. It also comes with a Fluffy Bathrobe that covers my entire body. There is Valet parking for people who come to visit me. How Many of you have had people visit you in the Hospital who had to Circle around until the new parking garage was finished there Are deck chairs and a swimming Pool and when i Don t eat everything on my plate no one cares. I can read until i go to sleep and no one wakes me out of a sound slumber in the Middle of the night to ask if i need a sleeping Pill. If my vital signs Are up to it i can walk to Rodeo drive and read Price tags. Or if i am lonely i can sit in the lobby and watch people argue Over their Bill. If i have a burning desire to see my doctor there is a putting Green nearby where we can meet and maybe have something cold to drink while i Tell him what Reader s digest says about my condition. I be been thinking about this for a Long time. It has a few bugs to work out but by and Large you have to admit that if you re Lucky enough to recuperate in the summer months you could get some real bargains at Palm Springs or the ski slopes at Vail. Not convinced what if i told you that for the Price of a ride in an ambulance you could Fly first class from new York to London c 1988 Erma Bombeck Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday August 13,1988