European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sas. Michael Abrams the people of Hamelin bring the legend of the pied Piper to life every summer. The grim truth pied Piper is an american by Jon Connor staff writer to would be imagined that the. German folklore character the pied Piper in actually an american since january that has been the Case. And you can see him yourself walking the streets of Hamelin in Northwest Germany. Michael Boyer 33, is the modern Day Piper whose role is to draw tourists and business to Hamelin instead of leading rats away from the City. His responsibilities include representing Hamelin at tourist Trade fairs across Germany visiting children at schools serving As the town s tour guide appearing at birthday receptions attending ribbon cuttings and serving As an informal ambassador to tourists. Much of this is done in his pied Piper outfit a a Cross Between the togs of a court Jester and Robin Hood beginning a with the curly toed shoes and topped by a Feather bedecked hat. His multicoloured clothes include shades of red Orange and purple. The pied Piper Boyer said i just the same As Mickey mouse wandering through  Boyer s path to the pied Piper began 15 years ago when he arrived in Germany As a military policeman with the . Army. After leaving the service Boyer worked As a civilian in various military affiliated communities such As Hanau and Kaiserslautern. It was then that he began attending night school several times a week for four years to study German to improve his skills As a main Exchange manager. Michael Boyer is the City s current pied Piper and Goodwill ambassador. Quot gee if i wanted to be a useful manager i need to speak some German Quot Boyer said. While hundreds of people applied for the pied Piper position Boyer ironically beat Cut the Competition because of his English a which was considered a plus when dealing with foreign tourists. Other factors included the clerical skills he developed As a my desk worker a and his ability to read music As a guitar player since this Job required the ability to play the flute. Quot that was an instrument that i was willing to learn Quot Boyer said although he admitted he did t know a thing about it. Quot it was very strange Quot at first he said comparing the flute s breathing requirements to the guitar s hand coordination. But eventually after 10 weeks of lessons Boyer went from squeaking to mastering the instrument with the mysterious Powers to control both rodents and children. He said his unusual Job keeps him Busy seven Days a week. There Are a Quot million things to do Quot and Quot not enough time Quot to do them he said. So far Boyer said he enjoys his Job and says it could be a Long term proposition. However Fie said it s hard to imagine doing it when he s 60. Quot i Don t want to dance around in tight pants Quot he joked. A As Yong and old alike know from a Robert Browning poem and a version by the Grimm Brothers the Story of the pied Piper is As sad  Ning. About 700 years ago the City of Hamelin hired a Piper to eradicate the rats and mice that plagued it. The Piper s flute music entranced the rats enabling him to Lead them into the nearby Weser River where they drowned. But after lie accomplished. This the residents refused to pay him. In retaliation the pied Piper using the strange hypnotic Powers of the flute led 130 children out of Hamelin. Forever. Every sunday at noon from now through mid september an Amateur group of some 80 performers in historical costumes acts out the legend on the Terrace of the Hochzeit Shaus in the Center of town. The free 30-minute show is filled with music song and dance. Although Boyer plays the piped Piper in some of the shows another Man has the role most of the time while boor lends support As a member of the citizenry. Boyer s we Barbara participates in the play As does their 7-year-old son. To Contact the pied Piper Call the tourist Bureau at 05151-202617 or 05151-202610.short subject scandals May topple in s ruling party by Alan Riding the now York times with a series of corruption scandals bringing loud demands for his resignation Spain a prime minister Felipe Gonzalez has been reduced to a Shadow of the popular and. Charismatic Young Leader who swept to Power Here 12 years ago. Gonzalez s decline was already apparent in last june s general elections when his socialist party lost its absolute majority in Congress for the first time since 1982. While he was returned for a fourth term As prime minister it was As head of a minority government. But Over the last month corruption scandals involving major figures in the socialist establishment have shattered much of the remaining Public Confidence in his. Government. Today few spaniards believe that Gonzalez can survive in office until the end of his term in 1997. Last week jos6 Maria Aznar the conservative Leader whose Peoples party now leads the socialists in the polls urged the prime minister to quit Quot to a Gonzalez save us from witnessing an i decorous  Pilar Rachota a leftist Deputy told Gonzalez Quot you represent the end of a dream a the crisis has already forced the resignation of two ministers the arrest of the former governor of the Central Bank and the former chairman of the Stock Exchange an arrest order for the former head of the civil guard who is in hiding and the resignation of two former government ministers from Congress. No less a blow a popular judge renowned for fighting corruption stepped Down from a government Post. The judge Baltasar Garzon bemoaned Gonzalez s Quot passive response to corruption and said he now believes his inclusion on the socialist ticket last june was Quot an election  so far Gonzalez a honesty has not been questioned but to has been widely criticized for not cracking Down More strongly on government corruption. As a measure of mounting Public anger bystanders shouted Quot resign Quot and a Crook a at him recently As he arrived at a Parade. Appearing before Congress last week he again rejected Calls for his resignation. Raising his voice above heckles and taunts of opposition deputies he vowed Quot i will finish m 5 term with Honor without lowering my  but if the 52-year-old prime minister is still Able to hang on to Power it is Only thanks to the support of catalan and Basque nationalist parties. Jordi Pujol the Leader of Catalonia s convergence and Union party who now holds the government s Fate in his hands has warned that his support is Quot not  in response Aznar charged that Gonzalez had Quot mortgaged Quot his government to the regional parties. Wednesday May 18, 1994 the stars and stripes 23