European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 23, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Trends Tribune Media it to Quot Quot pc were going out to cat with. M / friends who were visiting us on a a recent saturday was the a we inst one ready and i decided to a. A go to the car and wait for the. Others. There s always someone impatient who does that. This time it was me. It was pouring rain so i threw a Raincoat Over my shoulders and made a dash Lor the driveway. Its hard to know what to do with an umbrella or a wet Raincoat when you get in a ear rain. Once inside i had plenty of time for Idle. Thought. I waited and watched As the rain splat. Lerud Down on the Windshield. I thought about a How difficult it must he to make cars watertight. With water splattering on the roof and running. Down the windows in rivulets not a drop was gelling on me. Amazing. I recalled How much 1 liked a tent in the rain when i was a kid. The Driver s scat is a Good shape and its adjustable. 1 have it fixed just right for me and i thought How comfortable i was. Better than my chair in front of the television set. Why Don t i get a car seat for myself there. A in my ear there Are dozens of conveniences at my fingertips even when in a not going anywhere lights music and news arc available at the press of a Button. On the coldest Day of Winter the car is snug and warm. On the hottest Day of summer it s often the cools so place in town. The others came out interrupted my car thoughts and we a. Drove to dinner. , i was Back in my ear for the drive to the City after the Long weekend. The Tom. Perati ire was in the 90s. And the Sun was hitting the car on the Drivers Side. The air conditioner is efficient but i decided to give it a Little help. I. Pulled Over and covered the inside of the windows behind me with a single Sheet of newspaper to deflect the heat of the Sun. I folded Over about an Inch of the paper opened the window a crack put the fold Over the lop and then wound up the window catching the paper to make a window Shade of it. For the window next to maj i Tore the paper in. Half so that i could still Sec the rear View Mirror. It made the car seem wonderfully Shady inside. Alumni turn foil is an even More effective. Window Shade hut did no to have any with me. As through the muggy heat of the Day Cool and comfortable in the ear i had the satisfied feeling i had Defeated the elements again. Drive a 300 Miles most weekends in the summer. It takes at least three Way and i get sleepy when tie Sun a out. Ii Margie and i Are together i always pull Over and ask her to drive. She agrees cheerfully More out of fear ill fall asleep than from any real desire to ,. If we go in two cars to our summer Home and in Malone which is most usual. I pull Over to the Side of the Road when i get sleepy 11 its sunny and hot i pull into a Highway Gas station and Park Shady Side of a big truck a there. 11 i had to name the one thing i do As Well As any Man alive its go to sleep in a hurry i sleep Lor six or and awaken totally refreshed and ready to drive Lor however Long it takes. Its no wonder. Amerie aits have a invent fair 1 with their . V a Anoy Rooney is stars and stripes reporter who comments Lor Cbs-80 a Luuloa. A a a a a a a americans stick their messages bumper to bumper by Susan Sullam the Baltimore evening Sun. Quot or Quot t really is quite amazing How americans a plaster bumper stickers on their cars so a every Tom Dick and Jane will know where b they stand on anything from abortion rights to the environment to where their kids go. To school to where they vacation. In a a bumper sticker aficionado. The stickers always entertain me. One of my favourites is a yes Chew obfuscation a a which is usually plastered on the backside of a Volvo. A a a a another favorite is Quot born to shop who is. Born to shop does that mean when asked on a form what their occupation is these people list Quot shoppers from a a done to hit me my daughter s a lawyer to a visualize world peace to Quot livery Mother is a working Mother the old slogan. A you you eat seems to have Given Way to a you Are what your bumper sticker says you Are in a society americans regularly move from one location to another and have few Community ties there a to proclaim ones. Social consciousness economic status level of Edu. Cation place of birth and political persuasion. A a Hundred years ago things were dil Lerent. If you were born a Boston Brahman the world knew you had All the privilege bestowed. If you were born on a farm in Kansas everyone for Miles around knew you and your. Family. More important everyone knew How your last crop fared. A a. A a. A if you were born in the Irish italian or jewish ghettos of new. York City you did no to need to pro. Claim your identity. Alt your neighbors knew you were poor and uneducated just As they were. That has All changed. As ethnic ghettos have Given Way to suburban mobility and Rural farmlands have turned into , Many americans need a bumper sticker to claim who they Are or what they be become. This need to make a personal statement seems to get a a exist around election time. In 1984.1 remember the dilemma Ofa Friend who was what is known As a a yellow dog democrats that san old Southern expression meaning you la vote Lor a yellow mangy dog. Be i Ore you la vote for a Republican. In that Campaign it was Clear from the outset that Ronald Reagan was going to make mincemeat of Waller Monadic. While my. Friend supported Monadic and wanted to do the politically Correct thing she was reluctant to have a loser stuck on her bumper Lor the next four years. I Ler solution was to apply the Monadic sticker in september after he was soundly trounced in november Quot save the Bay Quot Over poor Walter. Voila. Then there a the practical Side of bumper stickers. Anyone who Lias been lost and disoriented in a crowded mall parking lot knows that the. Sight of a la Niihau Slicker can mean instant Relief. June 23. 1991 sunday a Page
