European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 8, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Jump starting your car safely by Randolph e. Schmid associated press this is the season of the dead car Battery that awful silence when the key is turned and nothing happens. Jumper cables usually provide the answer if used with caution. But careless jump starting can result in a Battery explosion leading to Burns and even blindness safety experts warn. Invisible Hydrogen Gas can escape from some batteries posing the danger of an explosion if a spark occurs when connecting the jumper cables. And such Sparks Are very common. The National Highway traffic safety administration and the consumer product safety commission stress the importance of care starting with getting plenty of ventilation around the Battery before jump starting Check the dead Battery to make sure it s not Frozen and that it has adequate water in the cells. After making sure both batteries Are the same size most Are 12 volts position the two cars so that the cables can reach both batteries but the cars Are not touching one another. If they touch they can ground one another causing problems with the Start. Then turn off both cars and accessories in the cars. The National society to prevent blindness recommends the following procedure Clamp one Cable to the positive plus pole of the dead Battery then Clarno the other end to the positive pole of the Good Battery. Attach the second Cable to the negative minus pole of the Good Battery and the other end to the stalled car s engine Block. Start the car with the Good Battery and once it is running Start the car with the dead Battery. With both cars running remove All cables. Remove the negative Cable first and then the positive one. Be careful of the fans and other moving parts of the engines. Now that the two cars Are running let the stalled motor run for a while to safety experts warn that careless jump starting can result in a Battery explosion and serious injuries. Get the Battery charged. Then it should be Safe to hit the Road. Of course that in t necessarily Safe either especially at this midwinter season when Snow ice and cold can threaten even in a relatively mild season. Greico corp., which writes automobile insurance policies has issued some suggestions for safer Winter driving. Some of these ideas May seem obvious but Greico says Many Winter Drivers Don t follow them. Among the company s tips Clear Frost Snow and ice from All windows and lights before starting out. It s essential that Drivers be Able to see All around them and to be seen. When it s snowing drive with the headlights on. Allow extra time for trips in bad conditions so you Don t have to Rush. Always drive More slowly in bad weather. To Stop pump the brakes gently since jamming them on will Only cause a car to skid. If a skid does occur take your foot off the Brake and steer in the direction of the skid. That Means turn the wheels in the direction which the rear of the car is trying to go. Then pump the brakes to Stop. Carry emergency equipment in the trunk including a bag of Sand shovel Blanket and flares. The other night on thirty something a woman whose biological clock was set to go off a Midnight was trying to line up a donor for her baby. You la notice i did t use the word  the Guy she was considering was handsome smart and had the attention Span of a Puppy. The idea of producing a child together was wisely aborted when he admitted he liked his  i wanted to reach through the set and grab both of them by their throats and shout what do you think parenting is a ride in a Teacup at Disneyland do you think it s All Rosy Cheeks at bedtime and Candy Cane breath at Christmas i la Tell you what parenting is in one word longevity. That s right the Long haul. And Here s the kicker it s being there when your kids Don t want you to be there. There is no other Job in this world where there is More rejection where you Are dismissed with More regularity and where the people you Are sworn to serve Tell you i Don t need you. I Don t even like  Day after Day it s get off my Back leave me alone you live your life. Let me live  and is it tempting i be known parents who have Given up on their kids. There Are a lot of reasons. Maybe the kids made a mistake. Maybe they did t take their parents advice. Maybe they said something that Hurt and weren t even sorry for it. Maybe they were just real Subtle and said there in t room on this planet for the both of  i be also known parents who hang in there. They drag their kids out of drug houses take Over on grandchildren while the parents get their act together and bail their kids out of jail. They go to All their daughters weddings loan them car payments and open their doors to them when they re out of Money out of a Job or out of love. There is no age limit on parental responsibility or worry. I have a 77-year-old Mother who still sees me off on a plane and says you be  As if i m going to Cut myself opening the package of Honey almonds when you give birth to a child the first thing you lose is your innocence your belief that life will be the same As it was before the baby was born. The second thing you lose is a sense of self. You blend with the new life and after a while you Don t know where one lets off and the other begins. You Only know that parenting is harder to get out of than a Book club. You hear a lot of talk about the biological clock that final moment when reproduction becomes iffy at Best. Maybe some thought should be Given to the biological Calendar. You work a lot of weekends. C 1989 Erma Bombeck Page 16 the stars and stripes wednesday february 8,1989