Most teen-agers do not know the facts about drugs, AIDS, and how to prevent unwanted pregnancy. It's all in Abby's updated, expanded booklet, "What Every Teen Should Know." To order, send a business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054. (Postage is included.)
Cost of Vietnam War Was High in Lives and Dollars
DEAR ABBY: While cleaning out my garage, I found a P.O.W. bracelet in a small box. On the bracelet was engraved "LCDR JOHN McKAMEY: 6-2-65" -- and then a tiny white star.
If you can locate this man's family, I would be happy to send this bracelet to them. I was very young when the Vietnam War took place and know very little about it. Why was it started? And exactly what was accomplished? They don't teach much about it in school, and those who served in Vietnam seem reluctant to talk about it. -- KAREN A. TAMURA, CERRITOS, CALIF.
DEAR KAREN: The Vietnam War was the longest war in which the United States took part. It began in 1957 and ended in 1975.
About 58,000 American men and women died in that war, and approximately 365,000 were wounded. South Vietnamese deaths topped 1 million, and North Vietnamese losses ranged between 500,000 and 1 million men, women and children.
In terms of money, the war cost the United States more than $150 billion. According to the World Book Encyclopedia:
On Aug. 4, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced that the U.S. destroyers Maddox and C. Turner Joy had been attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam. (Some Americans doubted that the attack had even occurred -- it has never been confirmed.) President Johnson then asked Congress for power to take all necessary measures to repel an armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression. The war soon became an international conflict. Joining the U.S.A. were Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, Thailand and the Philippines.
On May 4, 1970, U.S. National Guard units fired into a group of peaceful anti-war demonstrators at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio -- killing four students and wounding nine others. Small wonder nobody wants to talk about it; it was not our proudest hour. Soon afterward, the Senate voted to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
The war ended when South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam in Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City) on April 30, 1975.
Those who are interested in locating other former prisoners of war may write to: The Assistant Secretary of Defense of Internal Security Affairs; Attn: Principal Adviser POW/MIA Affairs, Washington, D.C. 20301-3407.
DEAR ABBY: About that lady in Levittown who told her husband to take a cold shower to take off weight: Maybe she's onto something revolutionary! Somewhere in the dim past, I got it into my head that when the body gets too cold, the hypothalamus kicks in, and in order to maintain a normal body temperature, it starts the body into a fat-burning program. I also think that people living in the Arctic eat a diet that is high in calories for the same reason.
Wow! Let your imagination go. Why not build a five-acre fat farm that is nothing more than a gigantic walk-in refrigerator? Holy smoke ... shiver yourself skinny! -- R.M. MORELL, M.D., SUN CITY, ARIZ.
DEAR DOCTOR: If you are right, more than half of America will love you, but a five-acre refrigerator would not be big enough to accommodate the grateful masses. So, it's back to exercise -- aerobics and pushing away from the table.
Parents Can Breathe Easier With Swimming Pools Fenced
DEAR ABBY: I read with interest the letter from Amanda's mother, who was concerned for Amanda's safety when visiting grandparents who have an unfenced swimming pool. She said she realized that a fence is expensive, and asked how she could let her in-laws know how important a fence is to save the life of a child.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is very concerned about child drownings. In 1987, more than 300 children under the age of 5 drowned in residential swimming pools and spas. This does not even count the thousands who survived near-drowning, some with permanent brain damage.
I certainly agree with everything you said in your reply. There is no substitute for constant adult supervision. Pool owners should learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to be prepared just in case. We would like to add our recommendation for a fence at least 4 feet high with a self-closing and self-latching gate. This is an important additional layer of protection.
Drownings happen quickly -- a child can drown in less than 3 minutes -- and more often than not the child is unable to cry out for help. Fencing the pool is a valuable extra measure pool owners can take to deter a child's access to the water.
We offer to your readers our free brochure, "Children and Pools: A Safety Checklist." Send your request on a postcard to: Pool Safety Checklist, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207. -- CAROL G. DAWSON, COMMISSIONER, CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
DEAR ABBY: I just read the letter from "Andy's Mother" who was disappointed in her son because he wanted to do manual labor and work with his hands instead of getting a college education.
Abby, my husband is 26 years old and has been a bricklayer for nearly seven years, and he is far from stupid. He not only lays bricks, he is sometimes the foreman and has to read blueprints for large buildings.
I wonder how many men Andy's mother knows who make $45,000 a year without a college education.
My husband works 40 hours a week, and I am able to stay home and take care of our own children. I know a lot of "professional" people who put their children in day care because one income is not enough to raise a family.
I'm proud of my husband. He may work with his hands, but he also has to work with his head or he wouldn't know what to do with his hands. If it weren't for people like my husband, we would all be living in tents with no electricity or plumbing. -- A MASON'S WIFE IN HARTFORD, CONN.
DEAR MASON'S WIFE: The mail was heavy on this subject. A Waco, Texas, reader wrote in to say that he worked with his hands, but he also had eight years of college. He was a dentist.
Everybody has a problem. What's yours? Get it off your chest by writing to: Dear Abby, P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, Calif. 90069. For a personal reply, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
FAMILY HAS CAUSE TO CELEBRATE BIRTH OF DOWN SYNDROME CHILD
DEAR READERS: October has traditionally been Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and has been so declared by the National Down Syndrome Congress.
Because I have so often heard from parents or grandparents of babies born with various disabilities, I thought that the following might be helpful.
It is important to remember that no one can predict at birth how far your child will go, or what your child will be able to achieve. Therefore, each child should be given the opportunity to reach his or her full potential -- whatever that might be.
For information on Down syndrome, and to be put in touch with the local Down syndrome organizations, contact the National Down Syndrome Congress, 1800 Dempster St., Park Ridge, Ill. 60068-1146; telephone: (800) 232-6372.
Readers, because one of the most difficult tasks parents of a Down syndrome child must face is making the initial announcement to family and friends, I offer this beautiful birth announcement as a guideline.
On the birth of their second daughter, Hannah Marie, Greg and Janet Roy of Mesa, Ariz., sent the following announcement:
"July, 1990
"Dear Friends and Family: Our beautiful second daughter, Hannah Marie, was born July Fourth. We want to add a personal note to this announcement because we would like you to know that Hannah was born with Down syndrome.
"In the last few days, we have experienced many ranges of emotions and have learned a great deal about all the positive ways Down syndrome can affect our daughter and our family.
"Hannah is a beautiful, responsive baby, and we hope you will accept her into your hearts without pity or reservations. Please don't feel that you have to pretend that she is `normal,' and please feel free to ask us any questions you may have about her.
"With God's help, we hope Hannah will grow up strong and healthy. We want you to share in the joy of her progress along the road to maturity. She may travel that road a little more slowly than the others, but we will consider each new milestone in her life a blessing.
"Though our hurt and disappointment may still be fresh, we know that God has placed Hannah in our home and in our hearts for a very special purpose. We also know that our lives will be enriched by all the special gifts Hannah was meant to bring to her friends and family. Her presence has already filled our home with much happiness. Please celebrate her birth with us. Sincerely, Greg, Janet and Emily"
DEAR ABBY: After reading the following item in the newspaper, I no longer hand-carry gifts to weddings:
"Two gentlemen, handsomely attired in tuxedos, appeared at a fashionable wedding at a country club. The guests on the bride's side assumed the gentlemen had been invited by the groom's family, and the guests on the groom's side assumed they had been invited by the bride's family. The tuxedoed gentlemen took charge of all the wedding gifts by placing them on a table near the cloakroom. During the evening, the gentlemen transferred all the wedding gifts to a van, and that's the last anyone saw of the gentlemen -- and the gifts." -- TRUE STORY, PALM BEACH, FLA.
By popular request, Abby shares more of her favorite prize-winning, easy-to-prepare recipes. To order, send a long, business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054. (Postage is included.)