For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more attractive person, order "How to Be Popular." Send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)
Texas Spirit Award Celebrates Communities That Pull Together
DEAR ABBY: It's hard to believe we are nearing 10 years since the world held its breath as a small child was pulled to safety after 58 hours in an underground well. And after baby Jessica McClure was rescued, America joined Midland, Texas, in celebrating the rescuers and those who provided the equipment, the expertise and the countless hours of effort. We celebrated the selfless acts of an entire community that pulled together for one child.
The worldwide recognition our community received was extraordinary. At the time nothing existed to officially recognize communities for achievements such as these, so our community decided to create a platform to share the recognition we had received. We asked you to help us find deserving recipients for our Midland Community Spirit Award -- and did you ever!
Hundreds of nominations poured in -- 480 the last time you helped us. We continue to be amazed and invigorated by the incredible accomplishments of wonderful people and wonderful communities who achieve so much by working together.
To date, the Midland Community Spirit Award has honored the achievements of: Sioux City, Iowa, for its compassionate community response in the wake of a tragic DC-10 crash; Yakima, Wash., for ridding neighborhoods of drugs; Bangor, Maine, for the volunteers who personally welcomed more than 63,000 Desert Storm veterans; Warren/Southern Wells School Community, Ind., who worked together over the Christmas holidays to convert a civic center into a school after their elementary school was destroyed by fire; and Petaluma, Calif., for the massive search efforts for Polly Klaas, the 12-year-old who was kidnapped and murdered, and for ongoing efforts to establish a foundation in her memory to serve other young victims.
Abby, would you once again ask your readers to nominate deserving communities for the 1997 award? The winner will be announced at a community luncheon in early October 1997. Thank you for all of your help. -- BOBBY BURNS, MAYOR, MIDLAND, TEXAS
DEAR MAYOR BURNS: I'm pleased to help. Too often our attention is focused on negative issues, and the Midland Community Spirit Award illustrates beautifully what miracles can be accomplished when caring individuals work together. Communities whose citizens have risen to the occasion when tragedy struck are eligible to throw their hats in the ring. Interested communities may receive application materials in one of three ways:
Written requests can be mailed to: Midland Community Spirit Award, P.O. Box 1890, Midland, Texas 79701; e-mail requests to: spiritaward@basinlink.com; and on-line via the Midland Reporter-Telegram home page: http://www.mrt.com.
DEAR ABBY: Harry C. Williams Jr. of Nashville, Tenn., is right to be concerned about shaking hands with hospital patients. Some years ago as a journalist, I was assigned at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Once I went into an area where research was in progress. As I was introduced to the doctor I was to interview, I offered to shake hands. He drew away and explained, "We don't shake hands at the CDC." -- JACK STILLMAN, JASPER, GA.
DEAR JACK: How about touching elbows?
DEAR ABBY: It seems that everyone is aware that there is a dark side to the Internet, but I would like to let you know about another side of it.
There are many ongoing charity projects on the Internet, like the Linus Project and the ABC Quilts, which provide quilts for children with AIDS.
After the Oklahoma City bombing and again after the recent California fires, the chat rooms and newsgroups were full of people offering various kinds of help. Quilts were made honoring the children who died in Oklahoma, and supplies were shipped to Californians who lost their homes.
A man called Magic Mike who has access to scraps from a fabric factory now sends those scraps to quilters across the country who craft for charities, for the price of the postage. He is not only reducing the size of landfills (where the scraps would otherwise go), but he is also providing very low-cost supplies to charities that need them.
There are whole communities of people on the Internet who have never met face-to-face or spoken on the telephone, but are ready, willing and able to act whenever a call for help is transmitted.
The Internet has more caring people than it has the bad seeds we read about in the paper. It's time to turn the spotlight away from the few who are giving it a bad name and shine it on those who are quietly making this a better world through their use of this Information Age tool. -- LESA FARMER, KANSAS CITY, KAN.
DEAR LESA: Your letter is very timely, and I am pleased to help highlight the good side of the Internet.
The Internet provides millions of people with access to the information superhighway, an electronic assortment of resources, information and communication. Today's computers make navigating the Internet so easy that almost anyone can do it, and the cost is becoming more reasonable every day.
People communicate with one another through newsgroups, mailing lists, e-mail and chat areas, where they can ask for and receive information, share experiences, and access worldwide resources on virtually any topic.
DEAR ABBY: In a recent column (I've lost the clipping, so I can't give you the woman's "nom-de-gripe") a woman complained that her son and daughter-in-law refused to have children, thus depriving her of her RIGHTFUL grandchildren. And, although she didn't specify it, her qualifcation of the family background -- doctors, lawyers, college professors, etc. -- indicated that she perceived it to be her son's duty to contribute to and further the family's illustrious gene pool.
It reminded me of the story of the scion of a "proper" Bostonian family who applied for a position at a Wall Street banking firm. A letter from one of his references said:
"I would wholeheartedly recommend this young man to your firm. His father, a Harvard graduate, descends from a line of Pilgrim forebears whose family tree includes several Astors and Cabots. His mother, a Wellesley alumna, is a descendant of a Daughter of the American Revolution and also claims kinship to the Lodges. His grandfather was president of Harvard, and a great-uncle was ambassador to the Court of St. James."
To which the would-be employer replied:
"Thank you for your glowing recommendation. Unfortunately, we intended to utilize him in the brokerage business, not for breeding." -- JAMES A. ABLE JR., THE TAMPA GRAMPA
For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order "How to Have a Lovely Wedding." Send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)
ORIGIN OF 'THE BIG APPLE' IS TOPIC FOR JUICY DEBATE
DEAR ABBY: My aunt recently went to New York City and brought back a T-shirt for her 3-year-old grandson. She told him about the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, and she also told him that New York City is called "the Big Apple." He asked why. She said she didn't know and tried looking it up, but she couldn't find the answer. She even asked professors and college students, to no avail.
Abby, can you help? -- HER NIECE IN GLENDALE, ARIZ.
DEAR NIECE: I put that question to my readers in 1988. Here's a sample of the responses I received:
DEAR ABBY: The Bible tells us that the apple was forbidden fruit. (Remember, the serpent in the Garden of Eden dared Eve to eat the apple.) Well, from that time on, the apple signified temptation. And since New York City is the most tempting city in the world, the traveling men named New York City "the Big Apple." -- NORMAN IN NEWARK
DEAR ABBY: I once read a story written by a man who traveled with a circus. He said, "New York was the choice spot, 'the big one,' or 'the big apple,' and that is how New York City came to be known as the Big Apple." -- CORNELL THOMPSON, HOUSTON
DEAR ABBY: I saw a letter in your column asking why New York City is known as the Big Apple.
Back in the 1920s and '30s, people in the entertainment world, particularly jazz musicians, talked about making it to the top. To "play" New York City was to make the big time or the "big apple," which was the jazz term.
Today, New York City remains the No. 1 visitor destination in the world, thanks to both the New York City Convention and Visitors' Bureau's efforts and the state's own "I Love New York" statewide tourism campaign. Last year, we welcomed 17.8 million visitors to The Big Apple -- over 3 million were from overseas.
So, we welcome the world -- and especially you and your readers. Come and enjoy all of New York State's beauty, history, culture and unlimited recreation, from Buffalo to the Big Apple! -- MARIO CUOMO, GOVERNOR
DEAR ABBY: "The Big Apple" was the name of a song that inspired a dance wherein a small group made a circle, held hands and danced to a lively beat. A gossip columnist named Walter Winchell made it popular in 1930. It took New York by storm -- that is why they call New York City "the Big Apple." -- A. NOLAN, ATLANTA
DEAR ABBY: New York City was named the Big Apple because during the Depression of 1929-30, all the banks closed and many people were suddenly unemployed, so they stood on the street corners and sold apples for a nickel apiece.
There were so many apple stands in New York City, they called it the Big Apple. -- MRS. LEONARD COOKSON, PARADISE VALLEY, ARIZ.
DEAR ABBY: As a former resident of New York, I believe it came to be known as the Big Apple because New York grows the most varied apples of any state in the union. For example: Delicious, Rome, MacIntosh, Baldwins, Golden Delicious, Spy Greivies, Jonathon, etc. Hence the name the Big Apple. -- N. WHITMAN, LAUDERDALE LAKES, FLA.
What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS, and getting along with peers and parents is in "What Every Teen Should Know." To order, send a business-sized, 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. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)