European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 14, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse / it to h 0 m e a f r 0 n t it a a la pfc i Quot r to Jota a a 1 Kac \ a Drivers and their cars wait in line for what they had hoped would be a fast trip through the carwash. Is amps Ken be Oise trip to the carwash is ultimate revenge by Elaine Viets St. Louis Post dispatch Hen the weather finally turns warm you know where you la be. Not outside enjoying the Sun. In line waiting to get your car washed. Drumming your fingers on the steering wheel. Stuffing your Back seat junk into the trunk. Wondering Why you could t wait one More Day until the lines went Down. A while you re waiting you have time to Ponder Kenny s question. Kenny works at a carwash. It s clogged with people like you. Quot Why when we have a Beautiful Spring Day do people go to the car Wash and spend upwards of 10 minutes in line wishing the workers would hurry it up Quot he said. Hold on Kenny. Sunday i did t wait 10 minutes to get my car cleaned. It took a half hour and a Quarter tank of Quot then when they finally get to the a a. A a Entrance Kenny said Quot they Tell the attendant they want full service which a amps Dave Casey a car owner takes cleaning chores into his own hands. Includes Interior cleaning. That takes another 10 or 15 minutes and costs a a. A a. A that s helping hold up the line. Quot if they d just get the outside washed they d save a Little Money. Plus the line would move quicker and they d be out in half the we d be in a better mood. And Kenny has a great suggestion for the Money we save a give it to him. Quot Why spend All that time waiting with other frustrated impatient Drivers Are people too Lazy or is it a status Symbol Quot p neither. If we could get up the Energy to clean out the inside of the car then we d do the outside too and you d be out of work. We Are not in that carwash line because we Are Lazy. We Are Strong willed. We Are overcoming our upbringing. / most of us had the dreaded chore of cleaning the family car. We never got it right. We thought All we d have to do was turn a Hose on the thing. Wrong. There was a rigid order to car cleaning. We had to Start at the top then work Down. That took All the fun out. \ a a. A a a parents would Stop by to chant mysterious unhelpful advice Quot you re not cleaning. You re just smearing the Quot use More soap or you la never get the dirt a Quot use More water or you la never get the soap then when refinished they d Point out everything we missed. Which was everything. A finally after we d stretched Pur body Over a wet car big As a whale to reach those Damp places we d get bawled out for getting so wet. After we cleaned a few station a wagons we vowed one thing once we became credit card carrying adults we d never Wash another car. Some of us have kept that Resolution. But it s not when we pull up to the carwash a tape turns on in our Heads and this Stern lecture begins Quot what you re paying Good Money to get your car washed because you re too Lazy to do it yourself Quot you say you never have any Money but you re throwing away $10 to Wash your car. All it would take is 10 cents Worth of soap and a Little Elbow grease. When your father and i first got married $10 was enough Money to. About this time the attendant knocks on our car window. We tune out the lecture by shouting defiantly Quot full service car we be won. It was t easy but once again we be overcome our hardworking Thrifty background. But does Kenny appreciate this., Triumph no he sees us As stumbling blocks. He says we hold up the line again at the end As we become car Wash inspectors. We Point out a Small spot of soap As if it had just been on America s most wanted. Quot they demand that it be wiped up. And they walk around to look at the same spot on the other Side of the car Quot it s All True. But Kenny we Aren t asking you to do anything we did t. We endured this same inspection As kids. Now we re paying Money to say those satisfying words to someone. Else Quot you missed a spot Over at least you get paid for it. On the family a my Little girl is sometimes sugar Sweet and other times unbearably irritating. How can i get her out of a bad mood when she Hasni to done anything to deserve punishment \ i would suggest that you take her in your arms and talk to her in this manner a i done to you be noticed but you have two a personality is a Way of acting and talking and behaving. One of your personalities is Sweet and Loving. No one could possibly be More lovable and Happy when this personality is in control. It likes to work and look for ways to make the rest of the family Happy. A but All you have to do is press a Little Button and out comes the other personality. It. Is Cranky and noisy and silly. It wants to fight with your brother and disobey your mom. It gets up Grouchy in the morning and complains throughout the Day. A now i know that you can press the Button for the neat personality or you can Call up the mean one. Sometimes it takes some punishment to make you press the right Button. If you keep on pressing the wrong one like you have been today then in a going to make you uncomfortable one Way or the other. Can we a make a Deal a when discipline becomes a game you be achieved your purpose without conflict and animosity. Q s there Are times when it is obvious that my son is trying to provoke my anger just for the fun of it. Why would he want to upset me when he knows i love him a a it May be the result of a Power play Between him and you. Indeed there Are times when i think children understand this struggle for control even better than their parents who Are bogged Down with adult responsibilities and worries. That is Why so Many kids Are Able to win the contest of wills they devote their primary Effort to the game while we grown ups play Only when we must. Once you understand this you can Start making the sides even. James Dobson q do you believe that genuine love Between a husband and wife is permanent lasting a lifetime it can be and should be. However even genuine love is a fragile Flower. It must be maintained and protected is to survive. Love can perish when a husband works seven Days a week. When there is no time for romantic activity. When be and his wife forget How to talk to each other. The keen Edge on a Loving relationship May be dulled by toe routine pressures of living. Where does your marriage rank on your Hierarchy of values does it get the leftovers from your Busy schedule or is it something of great Worth to be preserved and supported it can die if left unattended. Or. James c. Dobson is president of focus on the family an organization dedicated to preserving the Home. Correspondence should be sent to him Al focus on Tea family . 80s 444,. Colorado Springs. Colo. 80tw3. Saturday May 14,1994 the stars and stripes 15
