LI <) CQO o® co by a dh The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, December 8, 1993 5 ° J W.J. Library news The lesser of two evils: smoke or alcohol? BMT Library offers unique lending service By J.W. JOHNSON Headline seen recently: “Attor- neys general in 16 states want to ban smoking in fast food restau- rants. Have we really gotten to this point? Perhaps so, when now at some colleges, one must ask per- mission to hold someone's hand. Pay attention all you anti- smokers, fur haters, whale lov- ers, and other purveyors of men- tal myopia. Enough is enough! Your single-issue stridency, re- gardless of the cost to the concept of individual freedom, not to mention the economy, is becom- ing nauseating...such as, some of you used to say, was this writer's former cigarette smoke. After 29 years of smoking, it's been more than 2 years since the last ciga- rette, so subtract that from your list. More about that later.... In the first place, part of the reason that the short list of single- issue advocates noted above launch assaults against virtually anything, is because the very thing many are railing against has given us a standard of living which permits the time, i.e., the radical Sierra Club virtually trying tostop economic progress with extremist ecological views which donot even try to find ecologically sound so- lutions. No, that group would rather destroy the very economy which gave them the time to be bored and have nothing better to do than sit around and dream up extreme, self destructive views. (Parenthetically, it's the same boredom born of success which now finds the professional com- munity the largest consumer of cocaine and marijuana in this country...the struggle to survive having been supplanted by the boredom of having arrived.) But it's not the Sierra Club, et al, who've become nauseating...it’s the sanctimonious do-gooders who promote anti-smoking hys- teria, and who now want to ban cigarette advertising completely, and now want to ban smoking in fast food restaurants. I used to smoke.. I smoked for 29 years. I enjoyed smoking. And had continued to smoke, it would have no doubt shortened my life span...but that was my choice. I tried very hard not to offend (heaven forbid) another person with my smoking. I did not, for example, smoke in someone else’s home or car, unless I was given permission. I was always careful, even in my own home, about where smoke was being directed. And I don't buy the alleged research on second-hand smoke. From everything I've studied (pro and con), this research is akin to the many research efforts spawned by pseudo-scientists struggling to - publish a paper and/or obtain more grant monies. In short, the conclusions reached are the pre- conceptions held. The objection here is another cry from our vic- tim-oriented view of things today: ‘Oh, I'm offended by your smoke, which makes your life on this planet, therefore, negligible, and consequently, my access to the media to complain about it, corre- spondingly greater.’ Now the anti-smokers want to ban tobacco advertising, and to ban smoking altogether in fast food restaurants. What about beer and liquor advertising? Vir- tually every sports event has some sort of liquor and beer advertis- ing. It's doubtful that continued tobacco advertising will be more hazardous than, literally, running into someone who is DWI. Just ask the thousands of grieving relatives left behind by those who drink, drive and kill our fellow citizens each year. And yet where is the hue and cry about banning alcohol adver- tising? Is it because the effects of alcohol have reduced the number of brain cells of many who shout anti-smoking. The issue here is obviously not whether to smoke or not to smoke, whether to drink or not to drink; the issue is one of personal choice. I chose to smoke. I choose, than and now, not todrink. Many of you have made the opposite choices. I support your right to do so. And we should continue mas- sive, and affected industry-sup- ported education programs about the effects of both tobacco, alco- hol and other forms of drug use. Butlet's stop the whining about smoking, unless those of you who are doing so are also willing to give up the rest of the drugs in your sanctimonious life. As | was saying... Make a child's Christmas toy that will last By JACK HILSHER Some grandparents cope with Christmas by giving money. Oth- ers haunt toy stores. But a few are smarter...they have discov- ered a time-honored way to re- member their grandkinder by making them wooden toys. This column will show you how to be one of the smart ones. Wood has it all over plastic, which never produces heirlooms: Wood ~does.:.a--hand-made gift : from Nana or Pop-Pop is never,” ever, thrown away. So...let’s get started. The toy you are going to make in an hour or two has been called a “Whizzer Spinner” and it dates back to when the wheel was in- vented in Chinaaround 1000B.C. For parts you'll need some string or fine twine, a few short dowels any diameter and some scrap plywood about 1/4" thick and at least 4" square. Begin by drawing a circle 3 or 4 inches on the square and cut or saw it out. If you use a compass to form the circle, do not lose the center point. If you drew the circle around a glass, lacking a compass, measure carefully to find the exact center point. Finally, sand the edges of your circle. Next measure and drill two bh small holes about 1/16", evenly on both sides of the center point. Lacking a drill, a fine nail ham- mered in and pulled out will also do the job. (Your holes should be large enough for the string to run through without binding.) Cut and thread your string or twine through both holes as shown in the drawing...two short dowels make good handles. Keep string to the lengths shown. Test by holding the unit level, momentum should cause it to twist again, but you control this by alternately pulling and loosen- ing, slowly increasing speed with the hands coming together and pulling apart. It sound more dif- ficult than it is...your whizzer will be whizzing and spinning in no time. A plain circle is silent; try cut- ting “half-scallops” evenly around the edge of another disc and you'll get a nice humming sound. Fin- one dowel in each hand. Loosely, . ish off the disc with hright (non- flipping it a dozen or more times until both sides of the double strings are twisted. Now extend your hands slowly, which will pull the whole rig taut and cause the disc to rotate back in the opposite direction from your twist. Its spin the dis bhi¢ direction by “tofie) €316tsT the Wider the de- sign the better, and when the disc spins at top speed there is an illusion and dots become lines of color. Congrats! You've just made a great stocking stuffer and become a hero in the bargain. ‘Whizzer Spinner’ SIDE VIEW 3' to 4" diameter y Any thin wood ok centered, but 3/8" apart i | FILLY LL LLB LCL EAR R LR | 16" small scrap dowels V.L.S.I.O.N! EMERGENCY SHELTER PROGRAM NEEDS YOUR HELP LETS DISPEL THE MYTHS: The Homeless are alcoholic, system abusers, susbstance abusers, transient. HERE ARE THE REALITIES: The Homeless are educated, employed, from all economic backgrounds, in need of decent afforable housing, the victims of hard economic times. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE V.LS.ILO.N! (Volunteers In Service In Our Neighborhood) needs your help to provide for the needs of the persons who find shelter with us each night. Please take a moment to send a donation. Of all the gifts you give this holiday season, none will be more deeply appreciated and gratefully accepted. SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO: V.L.S.1.O.N! P.O. Box 150 WILKES-BARRE, PA 18702 Wow Ae By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Friends of the Back Moun- tain Memorial Library are selling the “Entertainment '94" book at the library with proceeds to bene- fit the library. The cost of the book is $25. and is packed with hundreds of discount offers from many of the best-known restau- rants and merchants in yourarea. You can save 50% on almost eve- rything—dining, travel, shopping, theatre, sports and more! The Entertainment card is welcomed at some of the best restaurants in town, with special second entrees ‘on the house’ benefits. The card is also the key to 50% savings at over 1500 hotels nationwide and is filled with thousands of dollars worth of 2 for 1 and 50% off cou- pons good for the entire family— dining, movies, sports, services and more. The “Entertainment '94" book may be purchased at the information desk in the li- brary. It would make a nice Christ- Give the gift that lasts all year A subscription to The Dallas Post Call 675-5211 to order one mas gift for someone. The library has an on-going assortment ofhandicapped equip- ment available for the public to use when needed. We have wheel- chairs, walkers, crutches, potty chairs, and canes. ‘We also have one electric bed. The Dallas Ro- tary Club recently donated two new wheelchairs, which have been added to the inventory. These are available for loan without charge and are made available through the generosity of the Dallas Kiwa- nis and Rotary Clubs of Dallas. A new book given to the library in memory of Josephine Castel- lani by Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Castellani is “The Complete Book of Baking” by the Pillsbury Com- pany. Pillsbury has assembled hundreds of delicious recipes in one complete and comprehensive book that any home baker, whether novice or expert, can enjoy and use with confidence. A baking basics chapter gives all (~ S670 Or Hye: ~C() Aa oP TE yo AS re SO DML Home F or The Holidays fis Open House Sat., Dec. 11 - 11:00-7:00; Sun., Dec. 12 - 12:00-5:00 x Door Prizes, Refreshments, Beautiful Gift BasKets - Ready to go! Introducing Marie’s Jewelry Estate ¢ Costume elu wie TR Almost Home Antiques & Gifts Rte. 6, 203 East Tioga Street, Tunkhannock, Pa. 4 MC/VISA (717) 836-4183 Mark your calendar & bring a friend! 2 QP RE PPR RI RE Se A A De AK or LIN 526 L i ra. a the information you need to know on ingredients and techniques. Each recipe has been tested by the trusted Pillsbury test kitchen, so you can be assured it will work every time, even in special condi- tions, such-as high altitude. The best baking book ever. “Smilla’s Sense of Snow” by Peter Hoeg presents one of the toughest heroines in modern fic- tion. She is part Inuit, but she lives in Copenhagen. She is 37, single, childless, moody and she refused to fit in. Her six year old neighbor, Isaiah, manages only with astubbornness that matches her own to befriend her. When Isaiah falls off a roof and is killed, Smilla doesn't believe it's an acci- dent. She has seen his tracks in the snow, and she knows about snow. She investigates and dis- covers that even the police don't want her to get involved. But opposition appeals to Smilla. A magical, nerve-shattering journey! CC) 6! CH () of 9. es aera Y) P 9,0, \ v9 Good news 0 Sid tt SGYROTATT P2Yaarniet ¢ P&G empl oyees- re oh, is enroling our 4 to provide ih a ctors you n . an health care prov! : presti jous os | health maintenant d choose erage that Qives nnsylvania ortheaste™ Pe coverage, because
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers