European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 2, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse K j e d b h in t e it St j of r a. ,. _ a a. A new York Timos tvo -4mer/can passions hamburgers and cars a fave merged mfg a single cultural phenomenon. Some experts say that As Many As one out of every six meals is eaten on wheels. America s most popular restaurant and guzzles Gas Quot the motors Cape that evolved with the airs the Roadside diners the ittle cafes were Al spinoffs of the car Quot Marsden said As Well As running boards to carry. Picnic supplies. Quot people would take a car and go into the country to have a some of the earliest automobiles such As touring cars had built in picnic. A baskets Marsden said. That Auto manufacturers Are Quiter a sensitive to the charge that they would be encouraging people eating Quot and driving Marsden As a responsible corporation we can t a honestly encourage Quot eating and driving a a said Marcie Greenfield a spokeswoman for Chrysler corporation s Interior design. Division. Quot so we Don a. One exception is the built in cup holders for automobile interiors. Chrysler corp. Was one of the first of the big three car companies to include the cup holders As part of a Standard Interior but the company in t planning any other Interior features in the Short term that would make driving and eating any easier such As fold Down air line Type trays for passengers. Safety officials Aren t Happy about the food on wheels phenomenon. Quot whenever you do two things at once you re dividing your attention Quot said Chi. Charles Trinkle a Pennsylvania state policeman at the Bethlehem a Barracks. Quot and when you Divide your attention from a two ton vehicle you re definitely increasing your risk of by Tim Bian Ger the Allentown a morning Gall he United states has Long been a culture rooted in our own rootless Ness our a yearning to be some where a else usually but not always out West. A. So it follows that As we wander around these Days often on of r Way to work or school but almost always in a car we re doing , too like eating food. And not just snacks but Complete meals. A. a _ whether this is necessarily something new. Under the Sun or in this Case. Something new under the optional Sun roof is an open question. We re certainly doing it More often than Ever before a. And by some accounts making the crowded highways a Little less Safe. The estimates vary a Chicago area _ marketing firm Ned croup which tracks the consumer habits of 13,000 people says one in 10 restaurant meals sold in the United Stales is eaten in an Quot Quot automobile. A a it is not Clear whether the automobile is moving or stopped on the Roadside As this meal is being eaten according to Ned spokesman Arnie Schwartz an Allentown pa., native. This Survey also does not include food prepared at Home and then eaten on the Road. But the frequency of these Mobile or Semi Mobile meals is increasing. In 1985, 7.8 percent of All restaurant meals were eaten in cars while 9.3 were eaten in vehicles last year Schwartz said. Other estimates put the figure at one. Meal out of six that is eaten in a car. These meals on wheels if you will Are part of a larger shift observers say pointing to the emergence within the. Past decade of books on audiotape and cellular telephones in cars two examples. Of How our car culture has shifted into a higher gear. . Census figures show we Are spending More time in our cars in particular travelling to and from work. In 1979, about 36 percent of those surveyed spent Between 15 and 29. A a minutes travelling to work each Day. By 1990, the number of commuters spending Between 15 and 29 minutes increased to 52 percent. The percentage of Drivers who spent More than 29 minutes or less than 15. Remained basically unchanged. Michael , Dean of arts and sciences at Northern Michigan University and an authority on popular culture especially car culture thinks there is some misplaced emphasis on the dining in car. Phenomenon. Quot i think the focus on the hurried executive or the hurried employee going through the fast food Lane is a red herring Quot said Marsden who has been interviewed on the subject by the Wall Street journal and the British broadcasting corp. Quot that process has been going on for a Long time. Food and automotive culture have been tied from the earliest Days. A Washington Post a . Times nows service. On the family lessons of materialism effects of divorce How can i teach my children the right attitudes toward possessions and Money it a this is accomplished not Only with a words but also by the Way you handle your own resources. It is my belief that excessive materialism in parents has the Power to inflict enormous damage on our sons and daughters. If they see that we care More about. Things than people if they perceive that we have sought to buy their Tove As a guilt reducer. The result is often cynicism and disbelief. And More important when they observe dad working 15 hours a Day to capture Ever More. Of this worlds goods they know where his treasure is. Seeing is believing. Q at times i feel i am overreacting to insignificant issues and at other times i fail to respond to an act of deliberate Defiance. How can i know when to ignore a Misbehaviour and when to confront my child. A the ability to a read your child s thoughts and feelings is a Stii that can be a. Learned by parents who. Take the time to study the behaviour of their kids. Ultimately the key to competent. Parenthood is in being Able to get behind the eyes of your child seeing what he sees and feeling what he feels. When he is lonely he needs your company. When he is defiant he needs your help in controlling his impulses. _. When he is afraid he needs the Security of your embrace. When he is curious he needs your patient instruction. When he is Happy he needs to share his Joy with those he loves. _ thus the Parent who learns to comprehend his child s feelings is in a position to respond appropriately and meet the needs that Are apparent. A. I c a is divorce really As destructive to a children As we have been led to believe _ children Are amazingly resilient and they do manage to Bounce Back from some severe traumas and crises. Much depends of course on How much conflict they witness and How wisely the Parent in custody is Able to. Handle problems. Generally speaking however divorce is extremely difficult for children involved. Children of disrupted Homes usually learn to Cope with their situation one Way of another but the emotional Impact will never be completely forgotten. A or. James c. Dobson is president of focus on the family an organization dedicated to preserving the Home. Correspondence should be sent to him at focus on the family . To 444, Colorado Springs Colo 80903. Saturday july 2, 1994 the stars and stripes 17
