The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 59

TTVT 1 THE BEACON JOURNAL THURSDAY, NOV. 2, 1989 Firms looking Television 6 for offices should Ann Landers 10 try Akron 2 comics 10,11 JUL JLjU JL iLJLjJ SECTION FAMILY FRIENDS' evival in fine art of storytelling it 1 Well-spun tale offers intimacy in an often impersonal world Abe Zaidan Those of us who speak in tongues will have an edge By Jim Carney Bfacon Journal staff wrrtw 4 1. K- 0 it' I 1 k1 halls and storytelling conventions across the country. Making up stories, researching them and then performing them before an audience, Ms. Guthrie said, "is an enormously satisfying thing to do." The 38-year-old Ms.

Guthrie became interested in storytelling when she worked as a children's librarian in Providence, R.I., in the early 1970s. Storytelling is becoming more popular because Americans are searching for more intimacy, said Jimmy Neil Smith, executive director of the Tennessee-based National Association for the Preservation Perpetuation of Storytelling. "A generation ago, we began to See A REVIVAL, page E2 Cindy Guthrie tells stories for a living. Sometimes she tells them to people and sometimes she tells them to dogs. "I love living in my imagination," said the brown-haired Ms.

Guthrie, one of a growing number of folk artists who are reviving the art of yarn-spinning and storytelling in the age of fax machines, instant replays, satellite dishes, mobile telephones and microwave oatmeal. A minister's wife, Ms. Guthrie, who uses the art of her words, description and sound of her rich voice to create images for the mind the way an sculptor uses a chisel and marble, tells her stories to people at church chicken dinners, meeting WW. Beacon Journal photosMichal Good Her Intensity and joy In storytelling are evident as Cindy Guthrie (above) spins a tale in a class on storytelling. Her audience (left) was at the Grace Lutheran Church In Wadsworth.

When the earthquake rumbled across California, World Series viewers in Japan got a running account of the story in Japanese that matched the exhaustive reports that Americans got from the major networks. Japanese broadcasters at Candlestick Park in San Francisco called in interpreters, who monitored the U.S. networks and simultaneously repeated what they heard to a Japanese audience more than 5,000 miles across the Pacific. Although you can find an argument that the whole world is muddling along, thank you, with one shading of English or another, that notion strays from the mark. American tourists may encounter shopkeepers eager to do business in acquired English.

But native languages remain firmly (and proudly) ensconced around the globe. And when it came time for Japanese sportscasters to send the earthquake reports back home, those reports went home in the mother tongue. I was reminded of this on a recent morning by Professor Gregory Shreve, director of the Institute for Applied at Kent State University, and Shreve's colleague, Albrecht Neubert, a 'specialist in linguistics who teaches at Karl Marx University in Leipzig. Neubert is temporarily at KSU to pursue his work iwith Shreve. The two are collaborating on a book about their work.

The institute is still in its infancy, having been opened in 1988 for graduate courses for foreign language translators, interpreters and language teachers. In that time, enrollment has grown from 12 to 20, "and it likely will continue to grow. According to Shreve, the institute is now one of the few schools in the United States to offer such training. And the timing seems just right. Translation could become a growth industry to manage world trade.

Both educators say the merging of the 12-nation European Economic Community into a single market in 1992 will increase the need for translations of business and technical papers. deals with the written word; deals with speech and occurs pn the spot. The technical translations will require more than a simple understanding of how to order breakfast. As Neubert pointed out, languages cannot be precisely translated from one to another. That severely challenges a translator of technical manuals and official documents.

In a world marketplace, it should be that communication will play a Vhajor role in determining advantages and if there is a point where the U.S. must start catching up, it is in the area of foreign language skills. It is not uncommon to speak to Europeans who have learned, by accident or choice, a half dozen languages to survive. Asians speak English in far greater numbers than Americans who know a word of Japanese or Chinese. I have read that this is changing that we are finally coming around to stressing Russian or German or Japanese as a second and third language.

But we may have to double or triple the pace. When the waves of European immigrants began arriving in America a century ago, many lost little time learning English while insisting that their children shun the parents' native language. Such decisions were clearly economic to enable people to compete in the marketplace. Ironically, today, in a global economy, English-bound Americans must be able to do quite the Abe Zaidan is the Beacon Journal's senior editor. Foil a kidnapper be safety savvy Never walk up to an unfamiliar car even if the stranger says something like, 'Your mother's in the hospital and I'm supposed to take Your family would not send a stranger.

police detective's advice The apparent abduction of 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic in Bay Village last week is every parent's ultimate horror story. But having your child kidnapped by a stranger should be among the least of your worries, say area police departments. "We have very few cases that we classify as actual abductions," says Canton Police Sgt. Tim Richard, a detective who specializes in juvenile matters. "Most of the missing juveniles are just plain runaways." 1 Akron' police Detective Bob Noland concurs.

He notes, however, that "if it's your kid or my kid, one (case) is too many." Parents and children take a number of steps to reduce the odds even further. During the school year, Noland makes a presentation called "Dangerous Stranger" to almost every Akron grade school class. He also briefs 2,500 to 5,000 adults annually. car even if the stranger says something like, "Your mother's in the hospital and I'm supposed to take you." Your family would not send a stranger. A "stranger" is not necessarily someone you have never seen before.

Says Noland: "I tell them, 'I see people in my neighborhood every day but I really don't know Always report any contact with a stranger. "A lot of kids are afraid to do that because they think they've done something wrong," Noland says. If a stranger tries to grab you, any type of resistance is usually beneficial, in Noland's view. He tells parents that advising their children on resistance is totally up to them, but that he would tell youngsters to "scream, yell, fight, run." Also, because a passer-by might interpret a struggle between a child and an adult as a family discipline problem, yelling the word "kidnapped" can help. stranger, you also can see him coming.

Besides, if a car stops, you're already headed in the right direction start running. It's highly unlikely a person will turn the car around or jump out and chase you. Never walk up to an unfamiliar Among his main advice for children: When you're playing or walking to school, try to do it with a friend. There's safety in numbers. Walk facing traffic.

That not only is good traffic safety in any situation, but in the case of an approaching YGRXIKQ MOTHERS More preschoolers have mothers in the labor force 65 Percent of children under age 6 with mothers in the labor lorce (includes gIRTH MATES Entertainers born on same day and year: Marilyn Monroe and Andy Griffith (June 1, 1926). Marlon Brando and Doris Day (April 3, 1924). Merle Haggard and Bil- ly Dee Williams (April 6, 1937). Janet Leigh and Pat Paulsen (July 6, 1927). Natalie Wood and Diana Rigg (July 20, 1938).

Jimmy Dean and Eddie Fisher (Aug. 10, 1928). World Features Syndicate unemployed). gLOW-DRY RISK If you blow-dry your hair in the bathroom, take care. According to the U.C.

Berkeley Wellness Letter, about 30 Americans, mostly children, are electrocuted each year in accidents involving a blow-dryer. Typically, a plugged-in dryer falls into a bathtub while someone Is bathing, which can be fatal even If the switch is In the off position. Since Oct 1. 1987, safety standards set by Underwriters Laboratories have required that new hair dryers be designed so they won't produce a dangerous shock if they fall in water when the power switch Is off. Some of the most recent models also have a feature that will protect you from shocks when a dryer that's turned on falls in water.

Even with a dryer that complies with the new safety standards, be sure to follow recommended safety precautions never use it near a full sink or tub, always unplug and store it after use and if you do drop It in water, be sure to unplug it before retrieving it. If you have a hair dryer made before October 1987, and have young children, you may want to think about getting a new dryer, advises the Wellness Letter. If you've bought a dryer recently but don't know whether it was nude before the standards took effect, write to the manufacturer to find out Los Arwetes Times Syndicate QUTJOXUNCI1 Access to a refrigerator and a microwave can help add variety to -your eat-in lunch at the office. "If you have access to a refrigerator, your lunch can include yogurt and cottage cheese and raw vegetables, tuna fish salad, brown rice salad with cubes of roast or stewed chicken, vegetables marinated in Italian or herb salad dressing, cold cooked pasta. With a microwave, you can reheat leftovers from home macaroni and cheese, chop suey, pot roast and vegetables, spaghetti.

For easy reheating, store in single-serve containers that can go from the freezer into a microwave. For best quality, use frozen leftovers within three months. Prepared foods include soups, hot sandwiches and frozen meals. If your office has kitchen facilities, you can make your own lunch. For an easy minipizza, spread a bagel with spaghetti sauce, top with mozzarella cheese, heat in the microwave.

Bake a potato in the microwave, top with shredded cheese, yogurt or leftover vegeta- bles. Auociated Prasj SOURCES: Census Bureau. Children's jq 75 'QQ '85 p'9Q '95 Defense Fund, Dept of Labor L-Projected JNSIDE DANGEROUS JOBS THE SCENE: A birthday lady seeks gifts for a Kent State scholarship fund. Page E3. PARENTING: A support group can help parents who have no one else with whom to talk.

Page E4. FAMILY: Grandparents avoid conflict in talks with their children. Page E4. Occupations with highest rate of criminal harm: Recreation worker Policeman or policewoman Bartender Parking lot attendant Cab driver Auto mechanic i Retail salesperson Security guard Social worker U.S. Bureau of Justice.