European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 1, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                L Denise Leyes guest columns ear Mother Earth. I have a confession. No i done to litter. I done to waste your limited Supply of Energy either. And i done to Start Forest fires. What have i done that a so awful i was a dropout. A recycling dropout. Sure in the 70s, when Steps were being taken to clean up your polluted Rivers and lit to Rcd cities i tried to Recycle. This Short lived undertaking occurred when i was an army newlywed �?-1 would place empty soda cans in a bag and drop them off for recycling. Sometimes this happened to our newspapers too. But that was 12 years and two children ago. My ecology efforts waned As my garbage contents became soiled disposable diapers instead of recyclable soda cans. Everything in the name of convenience was hauled away to the garbage  throwaway existence would have con. Tinted if something drastic  have happened a my family joined Usa eur. Yes by moving overseas my Days As a naive american ended. By living in Europe i Learned a lesson a americans should spend time outside of Juhe United states maybe by doing this we will become conscientious citizens of the. World. A a and that a Why my move changed me. If my family would have stayed in our comfortable american Home and never ventured overseas i  have done much recycling. It was Only when i caught my first glimpse of my German neighbor that i Felt guilty. There she went Riding by on her bicycle with her groceries in a Tricker Basket. A is no to that quaint so european Quot i thought observing her with smug american curiosity. Then i started noticing this fad everywhere a those a Little red Riding Hood like Quot baskets. A a a a a a. A gee Quot 1 thought a How old fashioned a As i carried Home my purchases in modern plastic bags. Later i Learned from my neighbor the history behind this phenomenon her town used baskets because they done to want to pollute with non reusable non degradable plastic bags. Now my recycling past or Lack of it was haunting me. I thought about my children a disposable diapers lying in some Illinois Landfill hopefully decomposing. The noticeable fact that we had More trash than our neighbors made me feel terrible too. Garbage is picked up once a week with Only one trash can allowed because of these reasons newspapers Glass bottles and cans Are now being recycled daily i also try to Purchase biodegradable plastics and use Wicker baskets to carry Home my shopping purchases. At least its a Start. Hopefully Mother Earth these efforts will inspire my children to take better care of you and to never become recycling dropouts a like their Mother once was. Denise Leyes is a tintary family member living in go Pingen we3t Germany. A writers unite j dirty times in the past two years free Lance writer Bonnie Kaufman got letters from strangers who said her work Wasny to Good enough. She a used to such rough treatment. Free Lance writers belong to a Mongrel Breed renowned for its ability to take a kicking and keep on Licking. \ but now she a tired of turning the other Cheek. She wants to get even. Kaufman is forming the american society of rejected writers its goal is to Quot have fun with the rejection thing by trashing  membership is open to any writer who can produce a rejection letter. She envisions a group that will meet annually and present prizes for the greatest number of rejections the slowest and funniest rejections the rejection that contained the most grammatical and spelling errors and the crudest rejection. Kaufman placed an and in a new York Magazine a which had just rejected one of her articles a asking anyone who was interested in such a group to Call. In the first two Days the Magazine was out she received 15 Calls. One Man said he had thrown away All his rejection letters. Could he join informed that he could not he asked if a rejection letter from the american society of rejected  count. Kaufman said she is considering it. Associated press feedback How do you celebrate the fourth of july while stationed overseas1 wow. J r 1 sgt. Kevin merger in Ciurlik a Turkey last year in Turkey i spot enl the Day going out and getting something to cat and just being with friends. It s not like the states but we try to make up for it. Maj. Elias Chin he co 2nd in 3rd aviation regt Gie Belstadt West Germany i am going to have a big party for the whole regiment mainly because the soldiers Are by themselves. 1 want to make sure they re together like a big family. Sgt Patricia a Ljoka chaplains assistant with 59th Ord brigade Pir Masens West Germany i Start with the first of the month with my birthday and continue on. 1 dress up in red White and Blue and usually have a big Celebration behind the Chape in Pir Masens with lire tires. Sgt. Troy Smith 7241st a group Izmir Turkey i was in Ankara Turkey during the 1986 Holiday. The whole base threw a picnic the mayor of Ankara was there As were some members of the turkish general staff. It was one huge picnic a lot of fun. Staff sgt. Martha Currier 608th Aerial port so Ramstein a West Germany its difficult. It s my a birthday. You wish you were Home it makes you want to be in America. Oni piled by stars and stripes staff Page 4 c sunday july 1,1990