Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota • Page 15

Lifefeatures- lArgus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D. Friday, July 25, 1986 SB wch Itessom) I I j. I I XTr I it I 1 i 1 i sSv- ''7- I i I ft'A I- --tJiJ. 3 1 Dear Ann Landers: I was interested in your comments on the overuse of "OK" and decided to do a little research on it. "OK" was first used in 1839 by C.K.

Greene, the editor of the Boston Post, as an abbreviation of "oil korrect," a facetious misspelling of "all correct." Given meanings were approval, endorsement, accepted as legitimate or correct. While there are no hard statistics to prove it, one can safely assume that the most widely used American word in the world is "OK." Spaniards utter it more often than "salud" and in England it is more common than "righto." Even speakers of the Djabo dialect in Liberia say "O-ke." "OK" freely punctuates the conversations of people who do not know another word of English. During a World War II soccer match, a team comprised of Poles, Czechs, Danes and Norwegians was hamstrung by their language differences until a Polish player shouted "OK!" Everyone on the team knew what that meant, and from then on the play proceeded smoothly. In 1840, when Martin Van Buren was running for re-election, the Democrats banded together under the banner of the New York Democratic OK Club and soon after the word became part of the language to signify that what is OK is all right. Mrs.

J.H.R., Renton, Wash. Dear Mrs. J.H.R.: Thank you for sharing your research. Your letter is another fine example of how my readers educate me. Dear Ann Landers: Recently I received a call from someone who was taking a survey for our alumni college directory.

One question really annoyed me. The caller asked, "Do you work?" I replied, "Yes, I am the mother of two." The woman then said, "I mean, do you have a REAL job?" I replied stiffly, "I have a very real job. Raising children properly is probably the hardest job there is." Will you please tell me why a woman who stays at home and Lesley Ann Warren (left) plays an artist whose project of collecting Apology, airing 8 p.m. Sunday on HBO. Peter Weller plays a police anonymous phone confessions entangles her in a murder plot on officer investigating the case.

'CAT. Squad' script puts it above rest Review Ann Landers takes care of her children is considered I was trained to be a professional and one day I hope to practice that profession, but I consider homemaking and being a full-time mother my career for now. Comment, please. Making No Apologies In Conn. Dear A dozen long-stemmed red roses for you and a pox on both the houses (summer and winter) of anyone who tries to put you down.

Dear Ann Landers: Your response to "Fixing to Kill in Seattle" showed that you have never had any firsthand experience with an ex-wife who is a total witch (I'm trying to keep this printable) and a stepson who would try the patience of a saint. I've had plenty, so please let me speak. That woman should understand that the problem is between her and her husband and not between her and his ex-wife. She should enlist her husband's support tell him it is destructive to their marriage when he has secrets with his former spouse. She should be as sweet as honey to the witch and refuse to become involved in any ugliness that can only make her look bad.

And most of all she should make a real friend out of that stepson, no matter how bratty and hard-to-handle he may be. That child is her husband's and unless she makes peace with him and turns that situation around her marriage will be forever in danger. This is the best advice she'll ever get. I hope she takes it. Bin Thar In Vt.

Dear Bin: Beautiful. You did a lot better job than I did. Thanks for the assist. Ann Landers is a national columnist with News America Syndicate. I4, By MIKE HUGHES Gannett News Service For movies, the magic word continues to be style.

Some of today's directors, photographers and composers have become so skilled that they can make a bad story good and a good one great. And we'll get three prime examples this weekend. The lineup has the debuts of two films (one network, one cable) and the TV premiere of a third. Tonight, Dragonslayer airs at 8 p.m. on CBS.

A sorcerer's apprentice (Peter MacNicol) tries to save a tiny kingdom, pitting his still-shaky magic against a fierce dragon. The story is slight and the pace is slow, but there's a lyrical beauty to the setting and the mood. In movie theaters, that came across wonder- Counter Assault Team, trying to stop the assassination of scientists. The approach is larger-than-life, both in Petievich's stylized dialogue and in Friedkin's carefully composed shots. The semi-known actors seem to have been chosen for their visual impact.

But stop for a moment and listen to how good some of that dialogue is, how beautiful those shots are. Admire the neatly understated performances of Joseph Cortese, Steve James, Patricia Charbonneau and villain Eddie Velez. Notice how it's all helped by the music of Ennio Morricone, who did the same thing for Clint Eastwood westerns two decades ago. The more you watch C.A.T. Squad, the more you admire it.

Not everyone wants to see a tough action show, but it's nice to find people who care enough to do one just right. 14 I what the audience knew right away; then she lectures it as a closing moral, as if it were a revelation. The script by Tony-winner Mark Medoff is filled with absurdities and coincidences. But director Robert Bierman sometimes saves the film by creating strong mood; the moments inside Warren's sculpture are powerful. Sunday, C.A.T.

Squad (9 p.m. on NBC), like the others, is superbly directed; unlike the others, its script is crisp and intelligent. This was created by the men who gave us the brilliant To Live and Die in L.A. Directing was William Fried-kin, of French Connection and Exorcist; writing was Gerald Petievich, a former Secret Service agent. Here they give us a government Horoscope By CARROLL RIGHTER GENERAL TENDENCIES: The early part of the day is splendid for looking at every single aspect of your goals for the future and deciding just what you want to have as your operating medium.

ARIES (March 21 to April 19): Decide on the best campaign to follow that can bring the greatest progess and then full speed ahead! TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Confer with clever pals and learn how best to gain your personal wishes, then do the work required. GEMINI (May 21 to June 21): You can gain the backing of a powerful person. After important daytime activity, be with friends. MOON CHILDREN (June 22 to July 21): Go over that new plan you have that may require a little revision. Listen to ideas of new contact.

LEO (July 22 to Aug. 21): Talkover some new project with your mate before you put it in operation. It can be fine for both of you. VIRGO (Aug. 22 to Sept.

22): State your ambitions of a conventional nature to one who is expert in such matters and get good advice. LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22): Plan Bulletin board Over the fence Telling tale Bumper sticker seen this week, "I shop like a bull I charge everything." Listen up In his column in The Platte Enterprise this week, Ralph Nachtigal shared yet another of the conversation he overhears in Betty's Cafe: "How much rain did you have last night?" "Twenty hundredths." "I only had two tenths." "Oh." JT Almanac Today is Friday, July 25, the 206th day of 1986. There are 159 days left in the year.

Today Ten Little Indians, 8 p.m.. Prairie Village, Madison. Saturday Shirts and Skirts Square Dance, 8:30 p.m., Bergeland Center for Seniors. Randy Halverson, caller. Farmer's Open Air Market, 8 a.m.

to 1 p.m., Sioux Falls Downtown Mall. The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild, 8 p.m., Prairie Village, 1 I fully; on a little TV screen, this may be strictly for specialized tastes. Sunday, Apology at 9 p.m. on HBO has an artist (Lesley Ann Warren) asking people to phone in anonymous apologies, which will be used in a giant sculpture. Naturally, they have a lot to apologize for.

This is set in New York, after all. And naturally, she becomes trapped in the search for a killer. But the viewer soon will be befuddled. Warren's face ripples with humanity, but the dialogue she's given offers no hints of it. She needs forever to figure out Graham God's will for my life? If it is God's will for you to be a teacher in a public school, accept His will thankfully and do it, for only then will you have fulfillment and happiness.

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand" (Psalm Yes, our whole culture today seems to be saying, "Don't make any sacri- mors. 2 the best way to keep promises. An outside partner can give you good ideas as well as a fellow worker. SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov.

21): Make plans with allies for the evening's entertaniment. Then get busy with your special talent and perfect it. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21): Be sure to do what your closest tie wishes of you.

Take time to make your home look more charming. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 20): You have a good opportunity to find new methods to handle regular jobs more efficiently. AQUARIUS (Jan.

21 to Feb. 19): You have very sensible ideas during the daytime. The evening is best for making new contacts of worth. PISCES (Feb. 20 to March 20): Be diplomatic in showing your good friends how truly devoted you are to them.

Take the evening off. IF YOUR CHILD IS BORN TODAY he or she can be the most understanding young person to whom lofty principles are easily comprehended and held dear, so give a fine and classical education that will add to the natural talents. A most brilliant adult can emerge here. er God's will for our lives we have a sense of purpose and satisfaction that nothing can take away. If God leads you to be a teacher, don't settle for anything else.

Seek His will, therefore, and begin by committing your life to Jesus Christ. Then pray that He will help you discover His will, as you evaluate the abilities and interests He has given you in light of His Word. again with intermarriage between the Polynesians and the Chileans. The island was named by a Dutch explorer who landed on Easter Day in 1722. Then the Chilean government annexed the island in 1888.

Easter Island is important as the richest site of the megaliths of the Pacific island groups. Megaliths are ancient carved stones of giant size. Very little is known about the people who made the megaliths. One belief is that settlement of Easter Island took place about 18 centuries ago, although some scholars contend that the settlement occured more recently. Evidence suggests that the island's original inhabitants were of South American origin.

The ancestors of the present Polynesian population are though to have traveled in canoes from the Marquesas Islands, massacred the inhabitants and made the island their home. Many archaeologists believe there were once many megaliths and about 600 statues. About 100 statues still stand. AP photo New face Actress Karen Cellini poses for a publicity photograph in West Hollywood. Cellini has been chosen to replace Catherine Oxenberg in the role of Amanda in the nighttime soap Dynasty for the fall season.

Family Circus My cinSWer by Billy DEAR DR. GRAHAM: In a few weeks I will be going to college, and I want to become a public school teacher. My friends all tell me I am crazy, however, because it is a very hard job and doesn't pay very well. They say I ought to think about myself more. How do I know what is right for me to do? N.B.

DEAR N.B.: The most important question you can ask is this: What is Dennis the Menace Bab, wouu) iou fattem up ices live for yourself. Live for money, and live for pleasure. Take the easy way in life." But every day 1 get letters from men and women who have made it to the top of their professions only to find their lives are empty and meaningless. They have lived for themselves, leaving out God and His will, unconcerned about helping others, and as a result happiness escapes them. But when we discov Ask Andy Andy sends a gift book to Kenneth Maclean, age 14, of Glendale, for his question: Can you tell us something about Easter Island? Easter Island is a triangular-shaped island belonging to Chile.

It is located in the South Pacific Ocean about 2,300 miles west of the Chilean coast. The island is also called Rapa Nui. The island is formed of three extinct volcanoes. Swept by strong trade winds, the area is warm throughout the year. Indigenous vegetation consists mainly of grasses.

Potatoes, sugar cane, taro roots and tropical fruits are grown in the fertile soil. Easter Island's prime source of fresh water is the rain that gathers in the crater lakes. Area of the island is about 45 square miles and only about 2,000 persons live there now. In 1722 a substantial number of Polynesians inhabited the island, but disease and raids by slave traders reduced the number to fewer than 200 by the late 19th century. The population has now built up C-tet Syfxfeo Ik Tm getting tired.

Instead of a wishing well, let's have a wishing puddle.".