The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 14

B2 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1994 People KIDS Continued from Page 1 Compiled Irom wire reports by Harold Wiley ENDANGERED SPECIES FT" A1.1 1 1 111 1 1 mK2T. IXSJf i -r H' 11 1. astic proponents of spanking tend to come from several specific communities among them, conservatives, fundamentalist Christians, Hispanlcs and blacks. I can say with confidence that most every black American of a certain age can recall the times as a child he or she heard those dreaded words: "Go get me a switch." Or. "Find my belt." And though it's not the most pleasant memory, it almost always elicits a fond laugh or shake of the head.

But the world has changed so dramatically from the one we knew. In supermarkets and oVr sitcoms, I hear children telling their parents in no uncertain terms where to get off and lt makes me cringe. I'd have preferred to walk through the lion cage with red meat tied to my tender parts than talk to my folks like that. James Brown sang about it once: Papa Don't Take No Mess. Mama didn't follow the book In my case.

It was Mama who didn't. And because she didn't, I'm here to talk about it today. Believe me, you don't bring four kids out of South L.A. and have them grow into worthwhile adults by reading something out of a book. But nowadays, It's fashionable to swallow psycho-babble like chocolate cake.

Play with buzzwords like they were action figures. And suddenly, we're told, a child who misbehaves isn't misbehaving, he just hasn't been "nurtured," or he has "unresolved issues" or "unexpressed anger," which the "parents" must find a way to deal with. Don't put the onus on the child or demand that he stop acting like a brat this would crush his delicate "self-esteem." Arrgh. Sure, I play with my kids. I talk to them, I listen to them, I love" them.

But at the end of the day, they must know: I'm not your friend. I am your father. Cleveland firefighter suspended A Cleveland firefighter who drove Billy Joel to a concert after the singer was in a minor traffic accident was suspended Friday for three days without pay. Fire Lt. Robert Readinger was in charge of a rescue crew that responded to the fender-bender on March 17.

Neither Joel, who was on his way to a concert at Richfield Coliseum, nor any of the other motorists involved was injured. Readinger gave Joel a ride to the Coliseum, about 30 miles south of Cleveland, in the rescue squad's vehicle. The unit was one of only four available throughout the city. Readinger didn't have a dispatcher's permission to make the run, fire officials said. Readinger was accused of nine violations of fire department policies.

Possible penalties included a written reprimand, suspension, demotion or dismissal. Fire Chief William Lee said Readinger was given relatively light punishment because his record is otherwise spotless. "He'd only been a lieutenant for about a year," Lee said. "I think he was a little star-struck." Readinger couldn't be reached for comment. His home telephone number isn't listed.

Joel has defended the rescue squad's actions, saying that the ride was "a wonderful display of community spirit." Model Cindy Crawford to host MTV special Cindy Crawford will host her first entertainment special for MTV on May 18. The program will feature the inside story on television, celebrities, sports and politics. Viewers will see Crawford spend the week with the cast of Saturday Night Live, finding out how they script, cast and rehearse each show. MTV will also feature a story on the NBA, how it has progressed in recent years and how such high-profile players have influenced the popularity of the sport. Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson and NBA Commissioner David Stern give Cindy their comments on the rise of basketball.

Next, Cindy spends time in Washington, D.C., with some Associated Press Macie Lucas sits next to a stone lion anchored outside her home in Columbus, hoping the beast won't be the next to disappear. The lion's companion, a 200-pound unanchored cast-concrete tiger, was stolen recently. In all, according to police reports, seven such lawn ornaments have been stolen in recent weeks in Columbus. And it seems to me as well that too many parents want parenting to be a painless thing with easy, step-by-step Instructions. They operate too much from the head and too little from the heart, trying desperately to become their child's "friend." But the average kid has no shortage of friends.

What he or she needs Is someone who sets limits and imposes consequences yes, even painful ones. Because a parent has to be more than just a big kid with the keys to the car, more than someone who begs in a saccharine voice. "Timmy, stop chasing your sister with the carving knife, okaaay?" as if Timmy has some choice In the matter. How about. "Timmy, you'd better stop it, now!" Because a parent has to be willing to be unpopular sometimes.

It's funny. When they meet my kids for the first time, people invariably remark on how polite and well-mannered they are. Which puzzles me, because there's nothing especially remarkable about my kids' manners. They say please, they say thank you, they don't sass their elders and, sometimes, when the wind is right and the planets are In alignment, they remember to say "excuse me" before interrupting an adult conversation. I've always thought these were things kids were "supposed" to do.

And it's not that they're Step-ford children, either. They rough-house, make noise, watch too much television, beg for more allowance or a later bedtime, ambush Dad in a crossfire of Nerf missiles. Being a parent We have fun. I tell them often and without special occasion that I love them. I tease them, play with them, help them with their homework, make them clean up their room.

When they get out of line, I lecture them or restrict their privileges. And when the offense is especially grievous about twice a year, on average yes, I spank them. Never in anger, never without telling the child what he's done, never with enough force to hurt always with enough to sting. I am seldom disappointed with the results I get: an angry, resentful child, yes, but one who eventually becomes contrite and who rarely repeats the behavior that got him in trouble. Spanking is not pleasant or pretty for child or parent, I grant you.

But does it work? In my 15 years of child-rearing experience, yes. According to a recent Miami Herald article, the most enthusi stick to her creating pieces that, while not revolutionary, are a beacon of the popular looks in fashion. Her mohair sweaters, whether tunics or cropped, as well as her flirtation with neon colors signaled what's on fashion's horizon. As for accessories, the focus is on legs and feet, an outcome of the abbreviated skirt length. One of the hottest options on runways centers on mid-calf hosiery, leaving the rest of the leg bare.

Come cold weather there are going to be a lot of frozen gams. Star Staff Photos Frank Espich SPECTRUM STYLES: For Anne Klein, Richard Tyler does a little-nothing short suit in brown. Below, Adrienne Vittadini brightens basic skirts and sweaters. Grisham has coached his son's baseball team in Oxford, for four years. Last year, he took over his daughter's soccer team and went undefeated to win the city championship.

His big name means nothing on the playing fields. "I've never detected any special treatment from umpires, opposing coaches or fans. They aren't intimidated. They love to beat me. But it's all in good fun." Bentsen eager to see his name on currency Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bent-sen had to wait 442 days for a big payoff that comes with his job.

"Do you know how much money they've printed with someone else's name?" he asked about 200 people gathered Thursday at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth. Leonard Pitts Jr. is a columnist for the Miami Herald. Sunrise The Features Department is responsible for the content of this section, from feature stories and entertainment reviews to columns and the comics. Call us with your suggestions, questions or story ideas, between 9 a.m.

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Features Editor Dennis Royalty 633-1194 Assistant Features Editor Ruth Holladay 633-9405 Weekend Calendar Terre Dawson 633-9407 Toll free (800) 669-7827 young influential people in the Clinton Administration. Then, it's out to Los Angeles, where Cindy gets to hang out and go bowling with actress Rosie O'Donnell and take a behind-the-scenes look at the cast of Melrose Place. For the past five years, Crawford has been the host of House Of Style, one of MTV's longest-running series, said Doug JHerzog, vice president of programming for MTV. America's pastime is Grisham's passion John Grisham has one thing on his mind these days, and It's not writing.

It's his other love: baseball. "When Stephen King and I get together, we talk about baseball. He coaches his son. When I was on the set of Pelican Brief, I talked to Denzel Washington. He was mad because he was missing his 9-year-old's baseball game." COMMENTARY come a phenomenon.

To put Cobain's contributions In perspective, he and Nirvana resuscitated rock music almost single-handedly. Rock music had become stolid. Then Nirvana came along and opened things up for a new crop of bands Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and Sound-garden among them. Cobain had acknowledged using heroin. Last month, he went into a drug- and alcohol-induced coma.

He lived his life as if he expected and wanted to die at an early age. Now he's gotten his wish. The lights are out. It's less dangerous. "I don't know why I'd rather be dead than cool," he wrote in the aptly titled song Stay Away.

"I do not want what I have got," he screamed in the song Radio Friendly Unit Shifter. Perhaps lyrics like that explain what happened Friday. When Nirvana first hit the charts 2'2 years ago with the al Nirvana's Kurt Cobain died Friday as he lived in a youthful rage U' t- 1 1 44 '-r If i I He returned to his native Texas to introduce bills printed with his signature and that of U.S. Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow. Currency bearing Bentsen's name couldn't be printed until there was a new treasurer.

Withrow, who joined Bentsen at the ceremony, was sworn in March 1 "1 waited 442 days," Bentsen said. "I surely can't wait to see them cranking out those Bentsen bills." The new money should be in circulation by late May. A y62r c'dsr Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is 68. Actress Michael Learned is 55. Actor Dennis Quaid is 40.

Actress Keshia Knight-Pul-liam is 15. THREADS Continued from Page 1 The Idea with DKNY is to mix things up, do the unexpected while creating an Individual style fashion's overall mood at the moment. Among new items Karan tossed into the mix were molded scuba vests in neon-colored neoprene shown for day with black bodywear. For night? Hot pink neoprene party dresses or DKNY's spin on the tuxedo cropped top with satin peak lapels and tap pants which just cover the derri-ere. Other highlights shown thus far include collections that each had its own interpretation of the trends.

Richard Tyler is hitting his stride in this his second collection for Anne Klein. It was subtle and sophisticated sportswear with amusing twists. Tyler's raincoat outfits typified his humor. A pea jacket style in olive green was worn with its emerald green button-out lining unbuttoned, exactly how some of us wear such a coat in real life. But Tyler's was in actuality a quilted vest and with a navy knit turtle-neck and fluted miniskirt, a complete and polished look.

Todd Oldham enlivened "Gertrude" with a star-studded lineup supermodel Cindy Crawford led the parade down the catwalk, while Julia Roberts, Susan Saran-don and Ellen Barkin were in the enthusiastic audience on the sardine-packed sidelines. The real stars, though, were Oldham's clothes painted velvets in snow cone colors, abstract plaids and classic sportswear in suede, leather and fur looks, all man-made synthetics. Multicultural images Rising star Byron Lars took the best of several worlds and adapted them for a collection which spoke to multiculturalism, an emerging trend involving more than looking at another people for inspiration. Lars paired Masai collars with pinstripes and African masks with velvet miniskirts in his five-star showing. Nicole Miller has gone from silk printed ties to primarily solid colored clothes, ranging from rubber-coated canvas rain jackets to little A-line dresses with Polartec tops and supplex bottoms.

Adrienne Vittadini continues to "TitiMXItfr. vW 'iiif bum Nevermind, Cobain and his band tapped into teen-age resentment. Rebellious kids are the mainstay of rock 'n' roll, and Cobain's frustrations were theirs too. Because rock 'n' roll is so much show business, there's a tendency to think that lyrics don't reflect what the singer truly feels. But Cobain's tortured-artist persona never felt forced or phony.

Nevermind went on to sell more than 5 million copies. Rather than tone down or become mainstream, the band's next album of totally new material, In Utero, was louder and faster and more violent. In words and deed, Cobain acted like he didn't want success. But success Just kept on coming. For most musicians, what they do is either a calling or a job.

For Cobain, it seemed to be the only way he could effectively channel his anxiety. In the end, apparently that wasn't enough. 1 "I would like to be remembered it's an embarrassing question, of course as somebody who made some books that remained beautiful." By Marc D. Allan STAR STAFF WRITER ith the lights out, it's less dangerous," Nirvana's Kurt Cobain wrote in his band's most famous song. Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Anguish, anger and fear ran through Cobain's songs and his life. On Friday, the 28-year-old singerguitaristsongwriter for one of the world's most popular rock bands put a bullet through his head. It would be more genteel to say Cobain committed suicide. But Cobain never was genteel. He created ragged, frantic music, filled with youthful rage and crunching guitar chords.

He wrote songs that scared parents and caused kids to rally. He sang with his hair hanging in his face and with no interest in fashion or commercialism. His music came to be called grunge. It spawned a musical movement In Seattle that's be UPDIKE Continued from Page 1 Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Relaxed and good-humored, his rosy hatchet face crowned by a boyish sweep of white hair, Updike confessed to being neither a theologian nor a model Christian "If someone were in trouble, I wouldn't send him to me." But religion Lutheran by birth, Episcopalian by choice has both Informed his writing and relieved his own life of the youthful angst that comes from "being doomed to die," he confided.

"Rabbit Angstrom (his best-known character), through the four novels, is to some extent on a quest, trying to find a certain kind of goodness or at least a way of viewing goodness." Updike said. The practice continues. Riding the success of his 16th novel, Brazil: enjoying critical acclaim for his new of collected poems: awaiting release elf a short fill Star Staff Photo Rob Goebel RELIGION IN FICTION: Author John Updike discussed religious ideas and themes in writing Friday. story collection and working on another novel, the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner churns out work as though he were trying to outrun eternity. it.