The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 21

Akron Beacon Journal Monday, May 10, 1982 SECTION 0 mm he exists. And I couldn't ignore it. So, I began to investigate further. I went to library after library, and I joined a group of people of like mind. And I read a lot of books on the subject.

"I BEGAN reading the Bible, and found that there were a lot of dreams and visions in the Scriptures. In fact, if you take out the dreams and visions, it would be a mighty thin book." Friend said the Dream Machine isn't a gimmick but is serious work. "Everybody dreams," he said. "Everybody doesn't always remember them but everybody dreams. We dream 90 minutes a night, five dreams a night.

And the last dream is the longest. "In fact, all mammals even porpoises and whales dream. We don't know what it is they're dreaming. But we know that they do by the movement of their eyelids. Friend said everybody from time to time dreams of falling.

"This generally means that they are losing self-esteem. And it usually has to do with something that happened the day before. That's what you call a 'generic dream' everybody has had it." The disc jockey said the best way to recall your dreams "is to first be sincere. Then give yourself an auto-suggestion: Tell yourself you will remember it. Then write it down all of it, or the key parts.

"IF YOU have recurring dreams, they're always important. Also, any dream that wakes you up is very important in your lexicon of events. It's like they're saying, 'Hey, this is important. Pay On a recent night a woman called in to ri i "JjtTH in i v-v v- a -n w. 7 Xu 1 By Jewell CardweU Bncm Journal staff writer "Dreams," said Bob Friend, "are extremely honest.

They give us a prospective that may be hidden in waking life. And because of their honesty, they have been linked to healing." If you don't believe that, then tune in to Friend's Dream Machine program, which is aired nightly on WAKR radio (1590-AM). Each weeknight from 7 to 8 (except on nights when Cleveland Indians games are aired), listeners call in and tell Friend about their dreams. Then Friend, who considers himself something of an expert on the subject, explains what their dreams mean. "Dreams provide information and guidance with objectivity," he said.

"They hold an important place in a mature person's life. Nothing important that happens to you ever happens without you dreaming about it first." IN FACT, Friend said, he dreamed about having such a show as the Dream Machine long before it was offered to him. The show has been on the air for about a month now and local radio personalities say they believe it's the only show of its type in the country. Friend is overjoyed by the responses he's been getting on the show. He's had callers of all ages senior citizens and children, men and women.

The show works like this: A listener will call in and tell about his or her dream. Friend records the call and then later replays it between records and public service announcements. Then he'll analyze it for his listeners. "Sometimes there is a technical difficulty in getting it on the air and sometimes the people have to wait a long time," he said. "But this is only the beginning, and we hope to work those kinds of bugs out.

This is very exhausting to do on the air. We're looking now at the best way to dp this." FRIEND, a bespectacled man of 49, has spent 25 years in the broadcasting business, the last 15 at WAKR. In his spare time he's spent many hours studying dreams and dream interpretation. "I think I've read just about every book on the subject of dreams," Friend explained. The disc jockey admitted that there are icu i ktiiu duuui a uream wnicn sne saw her husband shrinking.

"I told her that it meant, she was looking at him with not as much love," Friend said. "In other words, he is smaller in her sight." Friend finds it a bit difficult sometimes to work with young children. "They usually have scary dreams. And they will go on and on about how the monster came out of the sky. I will tell them that that's because the world can often be a very scary place to be.

"Women whose husbands have died often dream of being lost can't find their way home. But what they're really saying is that they want to go back to the way it used to be. some problems in trying to interpret the areams on tne air "because I don know the people who are calling in. "They could be lying or just may be forgetful. So, there's a lot of room for error.

But I think I've had enough experience that I can detect that intuitively. I think the good thing is that they're anonymous and can open up." Friend said he's interested in dreams "THERE ARE just so many ways to look at dreams," Friend summed up. "The dreamer is the only one who knows if the interpretation is accurate or not." Friend is pleased that the show is going well. "It's the time for it time people learned more about themselves," he said. I've helped myself so much with it.

If I could just give it to others then it would be a real kick." because he had a dream that altered his life. Beacon Journal photo by Low Stamp "I used to be a nonbeliever in God." he said. "But the dream I had proved to me Dream man Bob Friend: "I've read just about every book on the subject." Focus is on fitness in Akron school program The program deals only with cicarette smok ing and not the use of marijuana or any other drugs, except alcohol. MRS. STEFANOV, a trim woman who spends her lunch hours swimming or running, found an-: other surprise.

"The kids are horribly out of shape," she said. "On a fitness level, better than 75 percent of the students tested fair, poor or very poor on the three-minute step test." She said she believes that is due to the lack By Betsy Lammerding 1 Beacon Journal staff writer About 20 years ago, Americans learned that young people were terribly out of shape. So in an effort to make them more fit, the President's Council on Physical Fitness was formed. Well, 20 years later, many youths still are not physically fit the result of a sedentary lifestyle. the opinion of Jane Stefanov, who is trying to change the situation.

Mrs. Stefanov is director of Project APPLE (Akron Pupils Positive Lifestyle Education), a federally funded health-risk-reduction education program sponsored by the Akron Department of Public Health in cooperation with Akron Public Schools and local community agencies. THE PROJECT focuses on five health behaviors cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, regular exercise, proper nutrition and stress management. The project combines classroom learning and physical testing. The program, which began in September 1980, is under way at four schools: Goodyear Junior High, East High, Goodrich Junior High and North High.

They were chosen as being economically and racially representative of the Students at Goodyear and East are considered the target group, Mrs. Stefanov said, and they receive classroom education to go along with a series of physical tests. Those at Goodrich and North High do not participate in a classroom program, but are tested to see how they compare to those at the other two schools. Results of the tests are not due until summer. THE TESTS given at the beginning of the school year and being repeated now include a written health test, a stepping-up-and-down stress test, height and weight evaluation and blood pressure measurement.

The response from the students and teachers has been very good, Mrs. Stefanov said. She is disappointed, however, that more parents have not particpated in several evening programs at which various health professionals discuss such topics as alcohol, weight, stress, smoking, eating habits and family fitness. v(wr; OKs ot any type ot good cardiovascular exercise pro-, gram such as running, biking, swimming or walk- ing. "A lot of students get dropped off at school every day," she said, "and very few ride a bike to school.

The kids need to get involved in more sports activities. They are used to a very seden-: tary lifestyle. But you find that in the population as a whole. My philosophy is that if you get a person out and moving, they'll relize that being fit is not all that tough." Many physical education classes focus on skill-oriented programs such as basketball, soft-ball and volleyball that aim at a very small percentage of the students. She said the classes need to be more aerobic-oriented for the general student population and that is one of the goals of the program.

WHEN IT COMES to nutrition, she and the others directing the program found that the students are eating foods with a lot of salt, fat and sugar. Very few are eating fruits and vegetables regularly. "The most popular breakfast for the stu- dents," she said, "is pop and potato chips. The teachers are trying to emphasize more healthful, lower fat and sugar items and trying to get the kids to try things like yogurt and granola and to avoid things like brownies." As part of the classroom curriculum, stu-: dents also are learning to read food labels and understand calories. "We want to help the students make healthi-; er choices about what they eat," Mrs.

Stefanov said, adding that it doesn't help when schools; provide machines filled with junk food. "By; See PROGRAM, page C2 Beacon Journal photo by BM Wade Erma Kaiser after a stress test at North High School. VICKI CAIN (left), a Project APPLE staff mem-ber, takes a blood pressure reading on sophomore Additional evening programs are planned. For details, phone Mrs. Stefanov at 375-2175 weekdays.

Mrs. Stefanov said she was surprised at the large number of students who smoke and drink. "I EXPECTED to find that smoking went on in the 10th grade, but didn't expect to find a large majority of seventh-graders smoking," she said. "I think a lot of the students just don't realize the implications of smoking. They know they can get cancer, but that seems like a long time away for them.

We stress how smoking affects their appearance and breath, and the cost involved. Television and movies picture smoking as cool. "When they are tested, the kids can see right away the effects of smoking on their heart rate and see that they have less eye-hand coordination. The tests also indicate a drop in body temperature after smoking.".