European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 14, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse _. San Francisco convention & visitors bureaus an Francisco s great Golden dragon. According to the chinese the year of the Serpent which begins feb. 6, will bring Wisdom and flexibility and encourage new concepts and significant discoveries. Hiss Teria mounts As Snake year approaches by Marge Bookert he Serpent will supersede the dragon on feb. 6, 1989, in an extraterrestrial Power Transfer preordained Over four and a half millennia ago. It was then that China adopted a lunar Calendar divided into 12-year cycles with each year dominated by an animal deity. Other members of this zoological theocracy Are the horse ram Monkey rooster dog boar rat of Tiger and Hare. Thus the approaching year 4687 comes under the Serpent s Sway. In san Francisco s populous cantonese speaking Chinatown they refer to it As sea he the sibilant for Snake sounds More like Sher in mandarin. Nien is year. According to the san Francisco convention & visitors Bureau firecrackers will begin rattling windows in the City Well before the old year Sheds its skin. But the real Hiss Teria the eight Day Public Celebration won t strike until the 11 the. It will reach a pan demonic Peak on the night of saturday feb. 18, when scores of illuminated Parade units Snake through the downtown streets. Except in certain Bicu Tural circles the Snake gets a better shake in the far East than in the West where its image suffers from the Garden of Eden connection. Erma Bombeck calligraphy spells year of the Serpent with Serpent Ideograph at top. Cantonese pronunciation sea he Nien. Chinese traditionalists Honor the Serpent for its sagacity supernatural Powers and kinship to the Beneficent dragon. Wisdom and flexibility Are the watchwords for the year ahead Chinatown s oracles say. When the Snake wakes so will these traits for the betterment of world affairs. Events Are expected to unfold sinuous by rather than suddenly in 1989, with the most momentous occurring in May the Hibe Nator is a slow starter. The intellectual climate will be receptive to thinkers and philosophers and thus conducive to new concepts and significant discoveries. But the Snake moves in tortuous ways and the chinese Are mindful of its Bent for trickery. Even in Astral Guise they warn the in dilator can be an Asp. Nor is sea he above tossing a few Snake eyes from on High. The year winding to a close was under the benign Protection of the All powerful dragon. Yet the world was visited by drought floods wild fires and hurricanes. The herpetology experts advise us to Brace ourselves for further jolts possibly seismic in the lesser reptile s reign. Clearly the almighty Constrictor is in a position to put the squeeze on Mother nature whenever it pleases. Chinese legend tells us that creatures that live in Burrows derive supernatural Powers from overhearing Earth s secrets in the still of the night. On the brighter Side the scaly Eminence is associated with Prosperity. Old China hands consider it bad Luck to disturb a Snake which has entered the House for it s a guardian of treasure. Among the secret Powers attributed to the Ophidian Are those of Healing and renewing life. Today in Taiwan More than 200 shops and restaurants purvey Snake products blood venom meat wine Gall Etc prize for their medicinal and aphrodisiac Al properties. Snake soup and Snake wine find a ready Market in Chinatown san Francisco. The Graceful writer partakes of Yin the passive female essence and is a Symbol of feminine Beauty and Charm. Ann Margaret Faye Dunaway Susannah York Jacqueline Onassis and Julie Christie Are spellbinder of this Stripe. Oriental astrologers characterize individuals born under this sign 1893,1905,1917,1929,1941, 1953, 1965,1977 As cerebral seductive cultivated and self demanding. Their charismatic personalities Combine passion and compassion. They have a rare Talent for finding and entwining the Money tree and a steely reluctance to share the fruit. Vanity extravagance and unfaithfulness must also be counted among their shortcomings. Though seemingly Cool they re often wound As taut As a Spring. Snake years have produced a spate of singers Placido Domingo Beverly Sills Lena Home Joan Baez Bob Dylan and Dionne Warwick to name but a few. Other stars in the Serpent s cast Robert Mitchum Jesse Jackson Beau Bridges Bob Newhart and Nora Ephron. Which takes us Back to Center stage. San Francisco glides rings around other cities even asian ones when it comes to chinese new year. Its feb. 11-18 Serpent year Send off will be no exception. For a guide to the exotic pleasures of the City s second new year season Send a stamped self addressed envelope to of cab . Box 6977, san Francisco calif.,94101 after Jan. 15. Marge Booker is news director of the san Francisco convention & visitors a lot of people awoke this morning to a panoramic View of Blue sky Birds fluttering from tree to tree and a dazzling display of nature. When i open my eyes the first thing i see is an exercise bicycle at the foot of my bed. It looks like an incredible hunk or As i have often referred to it the iceberg on the matrimonial the bicycle has been there for two years. My husband has Ridden it a total of 15 minutes. I am seriously considering naming it As a correspondent in our suit for separation. It s an old chinese proverb when an exercise bicycle enters a bedroom love goes right out the window. Hear me out. I m not one of those crazy women who put a Van Gogh in the bathroom because it matches the towels but i do like a certain semblance of decor in the House. One look at our bedroom and i hear who s your decorator Arnold Schwarzenegger the bicycle was a problem from the moment it was lugged into the House. Maybe it s my imagination but it used to be smaller. With every Day it sits there the pedals flare a bit More the seat swells and spreads the handlebars stick out like the arms of a 16-year-old boy in a 10-year-old s suit. At first i tried to be reasonable about it. I said there is a place for everything and everything should have a place. Why Don t we just put it in the garage next to your Workbench i be got an old quilt that can keep the dust off of he put it in front of the to set in the family room. Why Don t we store it in the Hall closet where we keep the garment bags he moved it to the bathroom which created a Small problem. We could t close the bathroom door. Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday january 14,1989 Why Don t we just put it on the Back porch i suggested and Plant a living hedge around that s when he put it at the foot of my bed. I Don t think i m going to win this one. Somehow the exercise bicycle has turned into my husband s armageddon. It comes from years of losing the Battle of his ugly chair. You know the comfortable one that hit the Wall when you pushed the lever and spread the entire body out into the Center of the living room As if it were being viewed. The Only color it came in was slime Green. It s funny we be never argued about children Money in Laws or wallpaper but that stupid exercise bicycle is another Story. As our daughter observed the other night i Only Hope when i get married i have the same staying Power As that c 1988ermabombeck
