European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 03, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A amps i Emmatel Lewis or hansens offer a Little humor a lot of compassion by Ron Mckinney staff writer. Spec Liz Iansen needed an emotional upper a after listening to a chorus of kids shrieking a  you a miss you Quot during the armed forces network pm radio Call in show. The message was intended for their father in saudi Arabia. A. Quot five hours of that can get to you Quot she said. For Comfort Liz can turn to her sidekick and husband spec. John Hansen. They Are often on the air together during John s shift 7 . To Midnight sunday through thursday As part of the an pm request radio format Liz 27, Fields the multitude of phone Calls a mostly. From women whose husbands or boyfriends Are in the a persian Gulf a for song requests and messages of love. From there John takes Over the Telephone and coaches the caller through the taped message that a played Over the air in Germany. A a these people Are looking for human Contact Quot Liz said. Quot a lot of the ladies we talk to Are living out in # ,1 Germany somewhere where their nearest Nighbor is Miles away. They might not get television they a get radio. We might be the Only person they talk to in ays and Days. A Quot i Start to  Tricia or Frances or one of these a Omen who Call from Giessen. A Quot Quot you come out of Here feeling everything they re feeling to i you re a sensitive person. And unfortunately Lam oversensitive in a lot of ways. You Hurt when you leave. It. Just reminds me of a person i love who s gone Quot she said. That s when John 25, knows that its time to apply his wide repertoire of jokes  am i supposed to pick people up if you re crying Quot he asks his a wife.-. A a. A a a a a. A a. A Quot i think i am a Little More callous than she is. I tend to just fire questions at people and i guess that s my Way of reacting Quot he said. V the hansens diverse emotional reactions Are just an indicator of their physical differences. John has dark half and stands six feet four inches he maintains a clean Cut appearance that has been seen often on an to. , a Reddish blonde with a self described Quot How i woke up Quot Blunt Cut Bob prefers to hide her Petite body a a foot Shorter than John s a behind the radio microphone. _ and on the radio  voice has earned her Quot a _ ton of fans Quot according to John. A Quot i Don t think that anybody that  her especially people that know broadcasting things that she s got just an average voice Quot John said. Quot she a got this voice that. Reaches out and grabs a makes you feel Nice and warm. Quot she gets these Calls from my battalions entire brigades we Wanna talk to Liz we love her voice. Put Liz on the phone it s Kinda funny How that works but that�?Ts., another thing you can t react to admirers. She has a lot of.  a. Liz s  gives no indication of her Southern roots in Atlanta. Quot they done to pay me to have a georgian voice Quot she said. Quot but give me half a Glass of wine ill put on a lampshade and talk like a sow. It s  who hails from the Small town of Princeton Minn is More visually recognizable due to his to newscasts on an. He said people often ask for his autograph while in line at the commissary or at the Bank. Quot it really got to me the first couple of times it a \. Happened Quot he said. Quot i guess i m really flattered by it. I. Don t understand it sometimes. You can t help but think that it s a real kick that people Stop you in the Street. Hey i know you i m just specialist Hansen. I m nothing 1  Liz in t so sure about that. She said that women love a her husband. Quot but they re All very Nice about it. Some of them will even ask me before they kiss on him. What do you say no Quot a a despite the hansens Public image. Liz said that in the privacy of their Home,.they re actually a Boring couple. Quot if people actually knew How Boring we  get off the air we eat our lunch out of Brown paper bags and we go Home and watch a movie that we be seen. Betimes. We Don t go out much. We just Kinda hang out by ourselves Quot Liz said. Quot we re Dull Quot John admitted. John is far from Dull when he flips on the Mike at Tho _ radio station. And at Home Liz said he is the same nut everyone hears Over the radio Only slightly toned Down. _ Quot John is terminally silly to begin with Quot she said. Quot he a got imitations and jokes and noises that he makes All the time. Its not an act. When i m Oit the air with him i m like a goalie. You just have to stand up and wait for whatever he throws your  a As for getting married nine months ago John thought of it As a career move. Quot when we first got married this was my plan in a going to finish my stint in the army and become a Beach bum and you Liz can go be a radio head. She beat me for saying that Quot he  onslaught of phone Calls at an have put the hansens in touch with their audience throughout. A Germany. Up to 80 percent of the callers have been dependent married women with children John said. Quot it helps me to know who i m talking to Quot John said Quot if i envision the woman i saw at the Corrie Nessary pulling Quot seven kids with three carts full of groceries then know who i m talking to. A. Quot before the deployment i always envisioned the motor Pool of the. Second of the 64th armoured with a radio up in. The Corner that s turned up really . V Johns sense of humor also makes or interesting conversations on the air. When a caller named Gloria could t remember her Boyfriend s name during a taped request he playfully chided her. Quot really close relationship Quot he asked her. _ _ at his Side Liz laughed the laughter helps soothe the pain Liz feels in empathizing with the callers. Quot i tend to carry that around a with me for a couple of hours then i go Home Kinda Clear it All out. And come Back and do it again Quot she said