European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 19, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Locals like the Boring Liedy the new York times these arc the things that Boring people care Aboul what s happening at be firehouse tonight. Tio is sending mail to whom. Where Rocky. The lost German Shepherd May have fled to. They do not care that outsiders walk into their Post office nearly every Day and demand to know if their town is really Boring i hey Are used to it and they take it with humor they say because they like life in Boring md., a Rural town of Ico people about 20 Miles North of Baltimore. Like Chicken Alaska two egg fla., and hell mich., Boring is the sort of bump on the Road that people spot on their maps on the Way to somewhere else consider stopping in then never do. They see the name Boring and assume the place will be just that. The people living Here in fact won t immediately Tell you otherwise they done to claim that the town is anything but Dull. They simply say they like it the Way it is. Mary Jane Pusey the Boring postmaster puts it this Way Quot we Are always afraid that we Are going to be ridiculed but in fact people who visit Here wish they had a place like this to come Home to. They want a Little Boring in their  activity Here centers around the fire station which is Home to Bolh official and Volunteer firefighters. It is where the almost nightly Bingo games take place where the voter drive is held Quot vote Boring Quot a sign proclaims and where the Gas engine show is held each june. Boring was actually named in 1880 after the Boring family the town s first postmaster was a Boring. Today the combination Post office general store looks As if it has t changed much since it was built in 1854, with its wooden Post boxes and ancient cans of Prince Albert tobacco resting on the shelf above the old fashioned Cash Register manned by the owner Alvin Cullison 86. It is to the Post office general store that the towns residents go each Day to pick up their mail buy a few spearmint leaves two cents each and Exchange a few words with Pusey and Cullison who has been a Boring resident since 1925. Alvin Cullison right who operates Boring a general store chats with two friends outside the towns combination store and Post office. Quot folks Don t Tarry As much As they used to years ago Quot said Cullison who was the postmaster Here for 26 years. He was also the first Volunteer fireman to ride Boring a Brand new fire engine in 1926 when it rolled out on its first Call. He has seen Boring change from an entirely Rural town to a slightly developed one. Pusey said that when she first moved to Boring she was wary. Quot All these old men would sit around All Day and talk about the most Well local things Quot she said. Quot but now i just love it. I know everybody. Doctors lawyers  National politics is not too big in Boring. Quot i Don t talk politics i talk fire service Quot said buddy Schweers a firefighter. Charles Campbell says that his own farming business has been off about 80 percent in the last few years and that he a planning to move away after 50 years in Boring. But most of Boring s residents Many of them elderly Are staying on despite the barbs about the name. Quot it s a Cross that All the residents have to Bear Quot said Alan Caruba the founder of the Boring Institute a Center in Maplewood n.j., that does research on boredom. Quot but people in towns like that grow up and realize what a wonderful Way of life they have had there compared to the rest of the  Baltimore Washington who should be no. 1? Fil Power brokers in the nations capital say Washington  take a Back seat to in Vonarn. Even in a Nama. By Liz Spayd the Washington Post some1iml soon the Federal government will announce plans to join Washington and Baltimore in one huge megalopolis for the purposes of official record keeping. And As with Dalias fort Worth and a Neapolis so. Paul the merger Means a new name the  metropolitan area oops. Maybe that s the Washington Baltimore area7 in the name game this is what one might Call the big leagues. Or you could just Call it a blatant grab at bragging rights one that has drawn in sen Charles s. Robb d-va., Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton d-d.c., rep. Steny h. Hoyer la my. And a growing roster of business titans who Are lobbying the Federal government Over what the newly configured Region should be called. The reclassification was prompted by 1990 census figures showing that the two areas have become so intertwined through development and commuting that it makes More sense to think of them As one big place if past practice is followed the metropolitan area with the larger Central City will go first when the Region is named Baltimore which is one sixth larger than the District of Columbia would get lop Billing. Needless to say that idea has set More than a few washingtonians blood a boiling. Lets not forget they say that Washington is the nation s capital Home of the Leader of the free world and a City whose name has much More drawing Power than does that of its neighbor to the North. Quot most of the business that comes Here the High tech companies the telecommunications firms Are attracted to the area because its the seat of government Quot said de Cronin chief executive of the real estate firm Smithy Braedon. Quot Washington is what people have heard of particularly people  the ultimate arbiter of the name dispute a the office of management and budget a has agreed to consider the views of the Public before deciding the matter and is soliciting opinions through members of Congress and other interested parties. A random Sample of some possibly interested parties Breaks along somewhat predictable lines. Washington Gas had this to say Quot we think it should be the Washington Baltimore area because we re the nation s capital and the one with the great football  Baltimore Gas disagreed Quot it s the Baltimore Washington Airport and the Baltimore Washington expressway so Why break with tradition now Quot if bomb does decide to break with past practice and go with Washington s name first it would be the first time that it allowed a metropolitan area to have the name of the smaller City in the first position. And How does fort Worth feel having played second fiddle to Dallas for years Quot this is a very sensitive Issue Here Quot said Tom Higgins economic development director for fort Worth. Its bad enough being the second half of a hyphenated name but worse when you get lopped off altogether Quot ill be flying Home in a plane and the Pilot will come on and say a Well be Landing in Dallas in about 30 minutes a Quot Higgins said. Quot it s easy to lose your identity if you Don t fight  Page 16 a the stars and stripes saturday december 19, 1992