European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Putting an end to tales without True beginnings Nancy Shulins associated press Stop me if you be heard this one a fierce looking Man leads a Doberman into a new York hotel elevator already occupied by three women tourists. A sit lady a he barks a and All three women hit the floor. A a lady is the dogs name the dog owner is Reggie Jackson. He apologizes profusely and pays the women a hotel Bill. Did you hear about the muffin Lover who had a 2-foot mass of undigested oat bran surgically removed from his intestines what about that poodle owner whose attempts to dry her newly bathed pet in a microwave had tragic a and Messy a results perhaps you be read some such Story in a newspaper or heard one told on a talk show. Maybe you be told one yourself. You May even know the poor soul to whom such things keep happening the ubiquitous Friend of a Friend. If so a news Flash you be been had. None of these stories is True says Jan Harold Brunvand a Folklorist at the University of Utah who specializes in tracking and debunking a Urban  they re Oral accounts of strange occurrences that Are told As if True and often believed. Unlike myths Urban legends Are set in the recent past and Star Normal humans rather than ancient gods. Classic legends involve evil spells monsters and treasure and Are set in haunted houses cemeteries or horse drawn carriages. Urban legends take place in shopping malls suburban Homes and cars and feature cabbage Patch kids Blue jeans and Michael Jackson albums. Though its tempting to think that some version of these events must have happened to somebody Brunvand rather doubts it. A for a Folklorist multiple versions from different beepers bring the kids running a Mother constantly racing to keep up with her Active 4-year-old son has found a High tech Way to get him Home in a hurry a she beeps him. A when Jonathan a Beeper goes off he knows he must come Home. He can to argue he can to say a just a minute a a said Pat Hammett. A a it a convenient in that i done to have to stand out and yell for five minutes and be one of those screaming  the beepers designed for Chad run Are the creation of Leslie and John Gilmore who founded kid connection in Aurora colo., about a month ago. The pagers come in brightly coloured cases that can be worn on a child a Waist. They can be leased i a places betray a Story a Oral circulation and variation a he says. Urban legends often involve hearsay but a a rumours tend to be relatively Short lived and non narrative a Brunvand says. Urban legends last a lot longer and pick up flourishes As they circulate. By the Way he reports col eco industries does not Issue death certificates for damaged cabbage Patch dolls nobody has Ever been crushed to death by shrink to fit jeans and the first seven numbers in the product code on the a a thriller album Are not Michael Jackson a Telephone number. Though some Basic storyline can be traced Back decades or even centuries the study of Urban legends is relatively new. Brunvand so the vanishing Hitchhiker a published in 1981, was the first Book of its kind and it generated a mass of mail. Realizing he was onto something Brunvand followed up with three More books and launched a weekly column which runs in about 20 newspapers. Urban legends have paid off the mortgage and put four Young Brunvand through College says the Folklorist who a in no danger of running out of material even in these High tech times. In fact Urban legends Are so pervasive that you too can play Folklorist. Just listen closely a and so optically a to talk shows garrulous neighbors and cocktail party chatter. You May be amazed at often you hear the same stories. You May even begin to believe them. For $14 to $18 a month which pays for the Beeper and the paging service mrs. Gilmore said. So far the fledgling company has received More than 200 inquiries and its clients include a Boulder teen Ager and a hearing impaired child whose Beeper vibrates. A i think it gives children a sense of responsibility rather than having mom come out screaming at them a mrs. Gilmore said. The Gilmore came up with the idea after mrs. Gilmore quit her Job As manager of a local boutique to stay Home with her sons Christopher 4, and Jeffrey 18 months. She quickly Learned keeping up with a 4-Ycar-old was As hard As working. A i thought there ought to be a Way to communicate with him when in a in the House and be s out a she said. So she adapted the Beeper Winch has Long been popular with pro less opals mid others who had to be on Call when they a cd a away from their place of business. And Christopher does no to mind it a bit. A it pro strange tales have Many lives Urban legends Are hard to kill because they have so Many lives. Take the one about the new York dog owner. He has been identified in various versions As magic Johnson Wilt Chamberlain Eddie Murphy . Simpson and mean Joe Greene although the Reggie Jackson version is by far the most popular. For the record Jackson says he would never own a dog in new York. A it would be  though the Story a details change the Basic elements remain constant frightened White women a supposedly threatening Black Man and a dog. A the Strong emphasis on such themes probably shows How scared people really Are though in this Story the fright is shown to be a foolish overreaction and the Black Man is both genial and generous a says Folklorist Harold Brunvand of the University of Utah. And there a the tale of the foolish Young woman whose Pursuit of the ultimate suntan led her to spend too Many hours at the tanning Salon. She finally sought medical advice after developing a Nasty odor. A microwaved insides a diagnosed the doctor. Its half baked said Brunvand who immediately recognized it As a Distant Cousin to the Contact Lens fused to the Cornea mishap stemming from a welding Accident that never happened in Pittsburgh. And finally Little Mikey the Star of a life Cereal commercial did not die of an exploding stomach after swallowing a handful of pop rocks and washing them Down with soda. And neither did anyone else. Just another Pesky exploding stomach legend Brunvand said. Associated press tests me a he said. A when it beeps i conic  although the kiddie Beeper is a Novelty with a purpose some wonder whether it will cause a High tech communication Gap by eliminating the need to talk to one another. Mitch Handelsman an associate professor of psychology at the University of Colorado Denver says the potential problem does no to have to surface. A just As to can be useful if there is sufficient communication this Beeper technology can become a part of optimal family functioning As Long As it docs not substitute for important Cumpie a mention a he said. Tic  Oci Uiso Ai Cli i m la Pic i it scene cd Divisi Adios a Bond. Am a 1, a a when Call d Hud 1e. A i. C a it it ago Waiau curia