DEAR ABBY: A few days ago here in Eugene, a woman was abducted from a small one-employee store. She was forced at gunpoint into the gunman's vehicle. It is unlikely she will ever again be seen alive.

Here is a suggestion that could possibly save lives under these circumstances:

Fall down! That's right -- fall down. And stay down. Anything is better than getting into a thug's vehicle and vanishing. Very few men are capable of lifting a limp body and putting it into a vehicle. And a few screams might help, too. -- MR. HOLLY K. ROBINSON, EUGENE, ORE.

DEAR HOLLY: I checked with the police, who said that in general, "playing 'possum" -- going limp or pretending to faint -- can be an effective way to keep from being taken from "crime scene A" to "crime scene B." The police stressed that one should avoid getting into a perpetrator's vehicle if at all possible. Calling attention to the crime by screaming or crying for help can also scare off some assailants.

They cautioned, however, that every crime situation is unique. The unfortunate store employee had no options, but usually the best way to avoid becoming a victim is to stay alert in the first place.

DEAR ABBY: I was suddenly awakened to the fact that nowhere else did I see or hear of George Washington on Feb. 22, except for reading the heading of your column, "Happy Birthday, George."

It made me stop and think about what has happened to our country when we overlook respectful recognition in exchange for our three-day holiday weekend. It's a sad day for us when we fail to even mention the birthday of the father of our country.

Abby, your "Happy Birthday, George" revived my proud-to-be-an-American spirit, so I hung my American flag out on the balcony of my apartment for all to see. Thank you, Abby, for reminding me and many others, I hope, of our precious American heritage. -- JACK R. ROBINSON, KENNEWICK, WASH.

DEAR JACK ROBINSON: Thank you for your thank-you. Perhaps some formerly forgetful folks will remember to mark their calendars at the beginning of 1998 that on Feb. 12 we honor Abraham Lincoln and on the 22nd we honor George -- and President's Day honors them both.

DEAR READERS: Earlier this month, an incorrect address for ordering "PLEASE CALL POLICE" banners for your car was printed. The post office box number contained an error, and the shipping and handling cost was omitted.

The post office has assured me that orders mailed to the incorrect box number will be forwarded to the correct one, and WCIL has agreed to ship those orders without the $1 for shipping and handling. (One banner is shipped as a premium for a $5 donation, plus one banner per each additional $4.)

In the future, please send your orders to: WCIL, P.O. Box 92501, Los Angeles, Calif. 90009, and include $1 per order for shipping and handling.

To receive a collection of Abby's most memorable -- and most frequently requested -- poems and essays, send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby's "Keepers," P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

DEAR ABBY: You asked readers to tell you about random acts of kindness they have experienced. Well, here's mine. It's the story of a black woman's kindness to a 16-year-old white girl who was lost in Harlem. It was a cold and rainy night late in December of 1944.

My 15-year-old brother and I had gone to visit an elderly aunt in New York between Christmas and New Year's. My brother decided he wanted to go back to Connecticut after a couple of days, but I wanted to stay longer. I thought I knew the city and suggested that he get the train at the 125th Street station to save time. I saw him off and then unknowingly got on the wrong bus to return to my aunt's.

I knew I was in trouble when the bus turned onto either Lexington or Amsterdam Avenue. I had no money. I was the only white person left on the bus. In the back of the bus a group of musicians were tuning up (remember, it was war time and gas was rationed).

I was sitting next to a woman, and I began to cry in absolute terror. The woman asked me what was wrong. I told her I was lost and had no money. She said she'd give me the bus fare, and proceeded to tell me where to go after I got off the bus. I cried harder and told her I was afraid of her people. The woman then offered to get off the bus with me.

We walked across the street together in the cold rain, and she waited with me until a bus came. She got on the bus with me, paid my fare and told the bus driver where I was to get off. The bus driver closed the door behind her, told her that he had taken her a block and demanded that she pay another fare for herself.

I have often thought of this good woman and prayed many, many times that God has been good to her for her kindness to me. I have also tried to show kindness to all people, black or white, that I have worked with or met. I was so distraught, I don't know if I ever thanked her. Writing this letter to you, Abby, is my sincere thanks to this Good Samaritan. -- ANNA HART ZIRUK, BREWSTER, MASS.

DEAR ANNA: With a little luck, your Good Samaritan may see this letter and remember her good deed. Thank you for reminding us that you can't judge the quality of people by the color of their skin.

DEAR ABBY: You advised "Miss X" -- a male pre-op trans-sexual -- to use the women's rest room when dressed as a woman. Bad idea. It is illegal for people to use a public rest room intended for the opposite sex, regardless of how they are presenting themselves.

Speaking as a longtime crossdresser, my idea of transvestite hell would be to get arrested wearing a dress and high heels and have to spend a night locked in a cell with a group of Hell's Angels.

Abby, most women are offended by the idea of men using their rest room regardless of how the man is dressed. I easily pass as a moderately attractive woman, but I respect the fact that I am not wanted in the ladies rest room and I stay out of it.

I suggest that "Miss X" do the same until after the operation. When I am dressed up in public, I find small restaurants and convenience stores that have a single unisex bathroom or a single-stall men's room with a door that locks. -- KANSAS CITY CUTIE

DEAR CUTIE: It will please you to know that I got several complaints for my answer. Thank you for setting me straight.

Good advice for everyone -- teens to seniors -- is in "The Anger in All of Us and How to Deal With It." To order, send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

DEAR ABBY: The letter from the family who is having problems about whether or not to wash new clothes was amusing.

Many years ago I read a book called "The Medical Detective," from the files of the Centers for Disease Control. Among the anecdotes was the story of a woman who had gone to a damaged freight sale in central California and purchased a pair of blue jeans for her son. She sent him to school, where he became so ill he was rushed to a hospital. The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong and feared he would die.

The next day the boy recovered. When he was well enough to return to school, his mother dressed him in the same pants. At his second trip to the hospital, someone realized he was wearing the same pair of pants and tested them. The pants were loaded with a high concentration of pesticide. A container of liquid pesticide had broken and saturated a skidload of jeans.

The CDC went on a full-scale "jeans hunt." It was determined that the rest of the load had been bought by an orphanage. Luckily, their policy was washing all new clothing, so no one else got sick.

Think of the chemicals used in manufacturing clothes. I do, and I wash before I wear. -- JOHN M. SPRADLEY, GARDNERVILLE, NEV.

DEAR JOHN: Thanks for an interesting letter. I received a surprising number of letters from readers echoing your sentiments.

Read on for a real eye-catcher:

DEAR ABBY: I read with interest your letter from a gentleman in Omaha who said he always washed new clothes before he wore them. His mother had told him that nobody else does it, and he was being ridiculous. You told him it was essentially a matter of personal preference. I should like to present a different perspective:

I worked for the world's largest apparel company for 15 years. I toured many fabric and apparel manufacturing plants. I watched the fabric and finished product go through many chemical processes, including being soaked in a milky alkaline solution to soften and prepare the fabric, a dye solution to give color even to white fabric, and other chemicals. I also received numerous letters from women who wore new unwashed lingerie and pajamas, complaining that the dye from the fabric had bled and ruined their dresses or bed sheets.

I have had many plant managers say to me, "If people only saw what their clothes went through, they would never wear them without washing them first!" -- BRAD DARNALL, NASHVILLE, TENN.

DEAR BRAD: Thanks for the informative input.

DEAR ABBY: The letter you printed from "Patience, Consistency and Praise in Minneapolis" brought tears to my eyes. As a schoolteacher who has given up on more than a handful of teaching assignments because he couldn't be mean to kids, I pray that every school administrator, policy maker and teacher read that column.

Children are only the innocent mirror of the environment they grow up in; if they come to school with a mean, jaded attitude it's because they learned it from all the adults in their lives. They get enough strict meanness at home without getting it at school, too.

I wish I could find a school anywhere where disciplining children with love is the order of the day. If I could, I'd be packing in a moment to teach there. If every school were to implement a love-based discipline policy, not only would test scores rise, but also eventually we would see a decline in drug abuse, delinquency, drop-outs, crime and unemployment in society. -- R.L.K., SILVER LAKE, CALIF.

DEAR R.L.K.: I have always maintained that if children are raised with love, they will respond to others with love.

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.)