European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 07, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 letters to the editor sunday. August 7,1994 thestle european edition col Steven s. Hoffman Usan comr Andar publisher Bernard a. Zovistoski editor news and editorial Deborah Absher news editor Bill Walker european editor Bob Wicker sports editor George mines City editor w write us unit 29480 Apo a 09211orpostfach1li437 64278 Darmstadt Germany jews Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 348-8 plus Extension As follows news ext. 237,255,282,226,326. Sports ext. 225 269,263,332,321,221. Features ext. 230,245,341. Letters to editor ext. 208. Education Jimi Jones ext. 226. Business news ext 326. News bureaus Heidelberg Germany Joueph Owen room 117. 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The appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorse ment by the department of defense or the stars and stripes of the products or services advertised. Heads up on safety for those adults and children who Are part time helmet wearers i Yould like to share a personal Story. A month ago we had the ultimate night Mare. Our 5l4-Yeark old son Michael was hit by a car while Riding his Bike by the play ground in our Small German neighbourhood. While running up to him i could see that the Windshield had been cracked across from the passenger s Side where the Impact was All the Way to the Driver s Side in Man places. When i got to Michael he was combative and did Ripe recognize me but  period of time he was More Lucid and was taken ambulance to the local Hospital. Unfortunately he gradually deteriorated went Integrand Mal seizures required being put on a Respirator and was flown by helicopter tothe University clinic in Mannheim where he received excellent care. After three Days in the paediatric intensive care unit and two More Days on the surgical Ward he was sent Home with not much More than a fractured , he has had no further complications from his head injury and is As nor Mal As can be but More attentive to traffic. Hirr bicycle helmet has the impression of the car s Windshield Frame As Well As several cracks which go All the Way through the Hel met it is even More Clear to us now that bicycle helmet can contribute As much to life saving As cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In Michael s Case his helmet prevented Amajor Skull fracture but it also prevented the rupturing of blood vessels in his brain Aswell As decreasing the likelihood of brain swelling. Swelling and increased pressure within the Skull can Lead to problems of speech and memory loss and a general de crease in intellectual ability and Overall brain function. Many states across the United states have mandatory motorcycle and bicycle Hel met Laws. The National program Safe kids has been promoting the use of Hel mets through school and Community  Grams for Many years. Our daughter who is 8 years old had witnessed the Accident. Her comment pretty much Speaks for itself if he did t have on his helmet his brain would have been  we owe it to our children to protect their Young lives in As Many ways As pos sible. Cathy Bodie. U bins him Germany r when duty Calls the past week in my Community several soldiers have been sent or Are on Call to Rwanda. After discussing the situation with some of these soldiers i find that the major Ity Are not willing to participate in Relief efforts. Don t get me wrong. If i get deployed i too would be scared and cautious. But if you Are a Soldier Yoa joined to serve and de fend. A Soldier must always be mentally an physically prepared for a crisis stand tall and serve. _ -ptc.h.r. Willis Kitzinger Germany j no publicity stunt it is amazing How much people on the news have criticized the . Military for their supposedly missed target when they dropped supplies to Zaire via parachutes. Recently heard on German television that the French missed their target yet no on bothers to criticize them. The United states was criticized at firs for not helping with the humanitarian Aid. When we started to help and we were not too late we were accused of not helping sooner. When we dropped supplies we were accused of performing a publicity stunt. My husband is currently in Africa helping to assess and assist in this tragic situation. He and All of the . Service members there Are putting their health and lives on the line to help these people. I certainly do not Call this a publicity stunt. V  be proud of the . Military for putting so much Effort into this Mission. And Pray that our husbands wives fathers mothers sons and daughters come Home Safe. We Are not Miracle workers. We Are human beings performing As Best As we can under extremely tragic circumstances. Dawn Saunders Stuttgart Germany the _ the bad in response to theer up Germany july 24i have read the letter Over several times and still have not quite figured out what the writer s intent was but his sarcasm would indicate that he has developed a great Many negative feelings toward our Host country and its people. I am a military family member who has spent the past two years forking As the Only american in my office on Post. I have had the Opportunity to learn some things about the German culture and social system and i agree that Germany s citizens have a lot Tobe thankful for. I would love to have six weeks of vacation each year i enjoy being Able to bring my dog into restaurants and no he has never barked at the other patrons and i will miss attending Volk fests and other such events when our tour her wraps up next year. But does the writer realize that there Are Many benefits of being an american that any other country on Earth including Germany would love to have does he realize that in Exchange for All their vacation time sick leave health benefits and comparatively High wages Many German employees lose Over 50percent of their paychecks to taxes and insurance " sure germans can drive As fast As the like on their highways but they pay thousands of Marks to earn Driver s licenses and Register and insure their cars in return for this privilege not to men Tion paying the equivalent of $40 to $50 each time they fill up their Gas tanks. And yes Germany does have Ameri can troops Here to protect their and our interests. But the last time i checked the american military was still made up of volunteers who Are serving their country because they want to and making a fairly decent living in the process. In Germany soldiers serve because they Are required to and the monthly paycheck of a private newly drafted into he German army is in the neighbourhood of 520 German Marks about $335with no housing food or other allowances offered. Another statement i did not under stand concerned the writer s declaration that germans can go to the states for almost  one of my German co workers who attended the world cup paid More than 1,200 Marks for his flight to the states. On the other hand we As military affiliates May take advantage of military flights to the states for$10 or $20 if we so choose. Ignorant attitudes like those of the writer on both the american and the German sides Are one big reason therein often a struggle in some communities to maintain Strong German american re lations. If he would take the time to learn a Little More about the culture we Are Liv ing in he might understand that Ity like ours has its  and Downs. Tracy Ovitt Baumholzer Germany. Applause Boos i normally get decent service from the stars and stripes bookstores but this last weekend i received excellent service from one and deplorable service from the other. I first went to the stars and stripes i Martin Luther King Village in Mainz for its 40-to-70-percent-off Sale and i receive very courteous service and a helpful attitude from the Young lady a the counter. She pointed out which books were 40 percent off and which were 70 percent off and rang up the Correct Price. Kudos for excellent service. Later that Day went to the Bookstore atthe Frankfurt shopping Center and received service that i Hope never to see again the woman rang up my two books without regard As to which ones were at which Sale Price. When she handed me my receipt i told her that she charged the incorrect Price on my books she rudely stated that it was too bad and that i was responsible for Tell ing her what each Price was. She said there is nothing she will do about it and that should read the signs posted stating no re funds no  she obviously overdosed on her geritol because i was asking Only of be charged the Correct Price. She stated again the of Well there s nothing i can do about it Cavise that s  when i spoke to the manager i received the same response. The corpulent gentleman pointed to the signs posted about refunds and went to the next  i persisted he agreed to give me the discount on one Book but refused to Correct the Price charged for the second one. It is a shame that the Mainz store is Clos ing forever instead of the Frankfurt one. Susan l. Belanger Mainz Germany. Insult to . Many comments made by world leaders Are reported in the news and Many of those remarks Are controversial. But the . Secretary general Boutros bout rps Ghat crossed the line of acceptable diplomacy flinging contempt at America and he armed services and committed a Faux Pas that if True would clearly reveal his apparent inability to manage what has be come one of the biggest bloated bureaucracies the world has Ever seen the United nations. If the Story published july 23 Ista Ccu rate Boutros Ghali wants to limit . Forces in any . Peacekeeping Force in tended for Haiti referring to those forces As possibly being trigger Happy and potentially acting As  i find these comments unfounded irresponsible an   refers to our forces As cowboys implying that these peace keepers Are out of control. No one wants War less than someone who is sent tonight it but if fighting has to be done or peacekeeping using the watered Down rhetoric of the United  can and will get the Job done with out resorting to acting like cowboys an being  and when Congress recently threat ened to withhold some of the hundreds of millions of dollars which Are budgeted to the United nations a threat made to ensure the establishment of an internal watchdog to Monitor and report the in credible financial mismanagement of that organization i wonder just where Boutros Ghali stood on that very Point. With such a Lousy track record i see a need to reduce our contribution to the United nations. As a taxpayer and sol Dier i resent his attitude. He owes an apology to the american people just before he resigns his office. Allen a. Lawless bad Kreuz Nach Germany editor s note we encourage our readers especially those who have never submitted ate Ter to write to us. / letters expressing readers View Points or opinions Are published Dally on this Page. All letters must be signed and include address and Telephone number. Preference is Given to Shorter letters so that More can be published in a timely manner. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Send to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. Or fax country code 49 06155-601 463, Dan 348-8463