European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 13, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Frankly Captain Ahab you can to give a Doubloon new a Scarletto too Long gone and plenty Windy by Janet Maslin Quot the new York time by John Kelso Austin Texas american statesman a cause of the intense interest created by the new novel Scarlett the sequel to gone with the wind in be written a similar work. In Ahab goes to the medical Center we find out what happened to the famous ship Captain from moby Dick after his run in with the great White whale. Quot who s the Geezer with the Peg leg a the nurse asked the Ems Driver. A says his name is Ahab Quot the Driver replied. Quot found him face Down on the Beach lungs full of water. Had to give him Mouth to Mouth. Done to know much about him. Did no to have a Wallet on him or a Drivers License. Think he a a couple of sardines Short of a full tin  a space Case huh a the nurse asked. A a looking like it a the Driver said. A mumbled something about a great White whale attacking his ship. Said it was the Devil  a another one of those a the nurse muttered under her breath. A there a she said turning to Captain Ahab handing him a clipboard and a pen. A please fill out this form in its entirety. How do you intend to pay for your visit old Man Quot Quot doubloons a Ahab replied. A a in a sorry but we done to Honor that card Quot the nurse replied. Quot we accept Mastercard and visa. Here. Put this thermometer under your  Ahab put the thermometer under his Tongue and looked Over the form the nurse had handed him. It seemed to Ahab an ungodly Long thing to ask a Man to Complete especially since head been lashed to the Back of a whale just a few hours ago.  they see his clothes were wet he began filling it out anyway. He did no to understand the questions though. Quot what s insurance Quot Ahab asked the nurse. A a done to be a Misenheimer Quot the nurse snapped. A does your employer a the. Us a Good ship be quod a As you say Here on the form a cover you under Aetna John Hancock Prudential state farm any of those a the old Man looked befuddled. Quot what a this question mean a he asked the nurse. A was it says was your injury Job related Quot the nurse said. Quot is your prosthesis the result of an Industrial Accident were you at work when you lost your leg a the old Man finished filling out the form As Best he could then sat waiting in his chair for what seemed an eternity. He tried Reading people Magazine but he put it Down because the names Rosc Annc Barr Princess Diana and Jean Claude Van Damme did no to mean a Nyling to him. Finally after a couple of hours another nurse came out of an office in the Back and said Quot a to lain Ahab the doctor is ready to see you now. The second nurse led Ahab into a waiting room and told him to sit on the table so she could Check his blood pressure. Quot allergic to penicillin codeine advil or any other medication Quot the nurse asked. Quot what a advil Quot Ahab asked. Quot lord 1 hate mondays Quot the nurse said thinking she sure had an oddball on her hands this time. Finally the doctor came in. By now Ahab had been waiting three hours. Head been on Shorter whaling trips. Quot i Sec you have a prosthesis a the doctor observed. A what happened to your leg a a my ship a Ahab explained Quot was attacked by a great White  a  i see a the doctor said controlling an urge to Roll his eyes. Quot your ship was attacked by a Large Albino  Quot Aye Matey Quot Ahab replied. Quot my ship was attacked by a great White whale. Went a round the Horn to find him. Moby Dicks is name. Some believe he a the divil  a went a round the Bend to find this whale sounds like to me Quot the doctor mumbled. He pulled out his pad and wrote Ahab a prescription for prozac. The doctor sent Ahab to the shrink Down the Hall for an evaluation. When Ahab got to the psychiatrists office he took a chair in the waiting room. A How do you intend to pay for your visit Quot the nurse asked. A doubloons a Ahab said. Quot in a sorry we done to Honor that card a the nurse told Ahab. A we accept. Quot Ahab went screaming out of the psychiatrist s office and headed Back toward the Beach. It w As the fastest anyone at the medical Center could remember seeing a Man run on a whalebone leg. A a a a Quot a Quot a a hat is broken is broken a / and id rather remember it As it was at its Best than w mend it and see the Bro Ken places As Long As i lived a Rhett Butler had the Good sense to Tell Scarlett of Hara on the occasion of what should have been their final parting. Obviously such Wisdom is nowadays in Short Supply. So Here is Scarlett the fearless act of cultural cannibalism that dares to dust off these famously Star crossed lovers and thrust them Forward into the worlds of Dallas daytime soap opera and Judith Krantz. Tomorrow is indeed another Day. Its a Day in which reticence like that of Margaret Mitchell who was shy about showing gone with the wind to a publisher and later Felt that a sequel would be out of the question is seriously out of style. Alexandra Ripley victorious among the Many writers who vied for the Chance to perpetrate this Book knows no such restraint. During the course of a stunningly uneventful 823-Page holding action Ripley dares to turn the swashbuckling Rhett Butler into a mamas boy and Scarlett of Hara into a fatuous socialite with a near pathological love of parties and shopping. And the once dignified Ashley Wilkes has emitted a the cry of a soul in torment filled with loneliness and fear by Page 7. The Reader is As Apt to be a swept by a tide of anger and outrage a As Ripley a heroine often is herself. Among the Many things wrong with Ripley a Scarlett the sequel to Margaret Mitchel is gone with the wind one leaps out Scarlett of Hara Isnit Here. This books heroine May have Green eyes and a Small Waist and a habit of exclaiming a fiddled be dec a but she is no one Mitchells readers will recognize. The real Scarlett of Hara one of the great feminine monsters and or role models is instantly recognizable in Many incarnations with counterparts from Madonna to Becky Sharp. But Ripley bearing out suspicions that she was the wrong writer for the Job has been telling interviewers she never liked the original Scarlett and preferred Mitchells Noble virtuous Melanie Wilkes. So Ripley has devised a Kinder gentler body snatched Scarlett. Jane Seymour will be just right for the minis pics role. Then there is the heretofore unknown Butler family Drunken brother Ross envious sister Rosemary Long gone patriarch Steven and the kindly matriarch miss Eleanor who is not nicknamed miss Ellie but might As Well be. While Rhett is carrying Tea trays for his Mother Quot Stop that crying now mama dear a he said a for ill think you done to like your Surprise Ripley has understandable trouble treating him like the Rake he used to be. The stars and stripes Book department says Scarlett the sequel to Margaret Mitchell s gone with the wind is available at its  sunday october 13. 1991