European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 20, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Bush Points his lame Duck Bill in the right direction Clarence Page Welcome to this weeks episode of As the new world order turns. When last we left our hero the dashing gracefully aging preppy George a a poppy Bush he was still remorse fully dealing with americans rejection of him in favor of a new hero the Bright dashing Bill a a done to Call me Slick Willie Clinton an Arkansas commoner and Elvis Impersonator who Hadnot served even a Day in the Cia. As we rejoin our soon to be replaced hero now adjusting to life As a lame Duck he ponders perhaps one last grand overseas adventure before he waddles off to the lecture circuit. Will it be Russia where that country a change agent hero Boris Yeltsin up to his ear lobes in economic strife is treading water against discontent will it be the former Yugoslavia where serbian leaders astonishingly reminiscent of Hitler continue their ruthless Waves of a ethnic cleansing against muslims and anyone else who gets in their Way no its where 300,000 have died in famine and 2 million More Are expected to fade away soon a worse calamity than the shame in nearby Ethiopia a few years ago. As in Ethiopia the problem there is not too Little food. It is too Many guns. Somalia is an orphan of the cold War. A tiny country of about 7.1 million largely composed of Farmers and Goat herders it attracted the interest of the superpowers Only because it sits on the Horn of Africa a crucial Gateway for Trade. It has been passed Back and Forth Between the old american marines land at Mogadishu a Airport at Sunrise wednesday As part of operation restore Hope. Soviet Union and the West Ever since it was born in 1960 As a Friend of the West out of a joining of lands administered by Italy and great Britain. Gen. Mohammed Siad barrels takeover in a bloodless coup in 1969 took Somalia Down a socialist path that gave it More guns than schoolbooks. Then after it went to War against Ethiopia Over the Oga Dan desert in 1977, the soviets shifted their support to Ethiopia and Barre won the backing of the United states a relationship that lasted until the late 1980s, when we withdrew because of rampant atrocities by barrels government. Barre was toppled in january 1991 by a political coalition that quickly broke up into rival clans factions and ethnic groups. The result has been nothing but anarchy drought and famine. When elephants fight the grass suffers according to an old West african proverb. It is a Wisdom that applies tragically to the East african state of Somalia where innocent civilians Are the grass trampled beneath the feet of raging superpowers and feuding warlords. Yes says our hero we could take on no More Noble a cause. A lame Duck quacks softly but still carries a big stick. The United nations puny Effort to safeguard food shipments was a dismal failure. Roving bands of thugs tied to various warlords were stealing up to 80 percent of Relief supplies. Why did no to we think of it before no matter. Better late than never. Now that americans have the recent election out of the Way they arc troubled anew by endless scenes on the evening news of skeletal women and children too weak to raise a hand to swat the flies off their faces As they starve slowly to death. What next once . Troops make it Safe enough for women and children to be fed will the United nations install a new government it should. The Post cold War world is a rates nest of old ethnic feuds coming Back to the surface under political cover. The United nations guided largely by the firm hand of the United states is the Only body that has enough International Trust among nations big and Small to give a real sense of order to the new Post cold War world. Will Success in Somalia Lead to an All out assault on much tougher Bosnia where the serbs have bigger guns and More hiding places will boy wonder Clinton elected on Domestic economic issues run smack up against International dilemmas As soon As he is inaugurated like his idol John f. Kennedy did stay tuned. Tho Chicago Tribune life in the wind and rain Isnit a Board of Cherry 1 Andy Rooney i done to want to Burden you with my troubles but the recent storm in the Northeast resulted in a personal tragedy for me. The wind with gusts that reached 90 Miles an hour drove the rain horizontally faster than it could fall to the ground. The inexorable Rise of the tides doubled in volume by the coincidence of a full Moon and driven farther Inland by the raging winds ruined everything in its path. The Best most expensive Homes were on the front line in this storm because the Rule of thumb is the nearer the water the More expensive the House. When picture windows went it was a bad time for Oriental rugs leather covered couches books on lower shelves and Mercedes Bencs in three car garages up to their engines in Salt water. Our House is in a Small town on Long Island sound but we re Well away from the water. Last Spring some idiot in town Cut Down one of the grandest and oldest Cherry Trees in the state of Connecticut. The tree was 27 inches in diameter and i suppose 75 feet tall. He had it Cut into two foot lengths for firewood. A 10-foot Cherry Board from that tree would have sold for hundreds of dollars. The tree was Worth a Fortune but not in the firewood lengths it had been reduced to. My Friend Frank is always on the Lookout for firewood and there was More than the people who Cut the tree Down could use so Frank loaded 12 of the biggest chunks of Cherry into a truck and took them Home. Knowing that As a furniture maker i was interested in Good Wood Frank said i could take All i wanted. I took Only one piece. It weighed several Hundred pounds and it was All we could do to Roll it up a ramp into the Back of my jeep. A couple of weeks ago i located a Man with a saw he said would make Short boards out of my chunk. I told Frank i was going to cart the Wood up to the Mill and if it worked i said id like to have the other 11 pieces. A Board 27 inches wide is attractive even though at 24 inches Long it has limited uses. I looked Forward to my trip to the Sawmill. At night id sit in my chair in front of the television set not watching but idly making drawings of what i could make with the Cherry. It is important to say Here even though it gives away the sad ending to my Story that Frank lives near the water Down among the Rich people a though Franks personal Fortune is something Short of vast. It was a Friday night when the rain and the wind and the tide came. Frank and Valle moved in with us on the Hill abandoning to three feet of water one car their Furnace their Washer their drier and a garage filled to the rafters with assorted junk and several thousand old newspapers Frank had been meaning to read. The following Day with the tide out and the wind and rain subsiding Frank and i drove to their House. Good news Well pretty Good. The cards probably gone for Good the Washer and the drier May be dead but the Furnace worked and the water had stopped an Inch Short of flooding the living room. A they look out Here Quot Frank yelled to me. A what a i asked. A a the Cherry. It All floated away. Probably out to sea by  Rob it by Media services Andy Rooney is a Lorn or stars and stripes reporter december 20. 1992 inday a age 9