Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 34

mi 2D TIMES MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1997 ADVICE Used cars aire sold usually 'as is' Even chauvinists deserve to be heard Si 'I; 'A NANCY PARADIS ACTION ANN LANDERS COLUMNIST guarantee stated that if you didn't quit smoking you could get your money back. I have tried many times to contact the company, including sending them a certified letter. I just want my money refunded. Edward Redington Response: We have hit a brick wall in trying to contact this company as well. Through the Division of Corporations, we tracked down a Florida Counseling Services Inc.

in Fort Lauderdale. The owner, Marcia Pinck, has offered similar smoking-cessation workshops but never in this area. Since 1992, the seminars have been held in her office or in private or corporate facilities. Pinck is concerned that someone is using the good name she has built for her company over the past 17 years. She said she has no knowledge of the Florida Counseling Services that gave the seminar your wife attended.

She would nonetheless like to help your wife. If you are in the Fort Lauderdale area, she offers your wife a free hypnotherapy session in her office. You may call her at (954) 525-1050. I helped finance the purchase of a used 1987 Grand Marquis for my son on Jan. 28.

The following day, we returned to the dealer because it did not start correctly. A few days after it was supposedly repaired, the problem reoc-curred. Again it was repaired. A week later the car wouldn't start at all and had to be towed to the dealer. The saga continues with the car still not starting or running the way it should.

We have tried to resolve the problem with the dealership. Even though someone claiming to be the general manager said the car should not have been sold at all, he also said that was our loss since we bought it as is, so in essence we paid $1,800 for a piece of junk that is not serving the purpose it was bought for. Lillie White Payton and Dwayne White Response: Used cars probably cause more heartache than any other large purchase. Alas, it usually turns out to be our own fault and something we could have avoided. This is the situation you unfor- Reaction I am writing in response to an item in this column on Feb.

25 about a gift certificate purchased at Oshman's in Countryside before Christmas. D. Peterson's son had received one as a gift, but when he went to use it, the store had closed. The friend who purchased the gift certificate, just before Christmas, had not been told that the store was going to close. I was an assistant manager at that store.

The implication that we sold a certificate knowing it could not be redeemed is incorrect. The staff of Oshman's did not know of the store closing until Jan. 2. Between that day and Jan. 8, when we ceased operation, we gladly refunded any gift certificates.

Wendy Hulette If you have a question for Action, or your attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write: Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St Petersburg, Fl 33731, or call your Action number, 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, (800) 333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request for Action. Names will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

tunately now find yourself in. As you have learned the hard way, a used car is sold usually "as is." Even if it falls apart the minute after you drive it off the lot, the problems are yours; that's why it is essential to do your homework beforehand and have a certified mechanic go over the car before you sign on the dotted line. We are sending you a copy of our tip sheet on buying a used car. It is available to readers who send us a long, stamped, self-addressed envelope. No refund coming Last June my wife attended a no-smoking seminar put on by Florida Counseling Service at the Don CeSar Beach Resort.

Their Dear Ann: I hope you will print one more letter about cross-dressing. Nobody complains when women not only dress but act like men. Women have succeeded in invading the male world to an alarming degree. It's not uncommon to see a female security guard in a male club, dressed like a man and using the men's bathroom. Female reporters walk into male locker rooms, and their noses get out of joint if they are not --treated with Victorian respect.

When a guy complains, they holler about "discrimination." I visited San Juan, Puerto Rico, recently and was impressed to see that women dress like women and enjoy their femininity and men respect them. The only females in the United States who look and dress like women are prostitutes. No wonder they do such a great business and married men are their best customers. Shrewsbury, Mo. Dear Shrews: You asked me to print one more letter about cross-dressing, and yours was it.

Although you sound like a male chauvinist oink oink, a great many others share your views and you deserve to be heard. Separate these siblings Dear Ann: How can I diplomatically tell my sister that I don't think it's a good idea for her son, who is 14, and his sister, who will soon be 12, to sleep together? They have separate bedrooms, but almost every morning the girl ends up in her brother's bed. Their parents think it is wonderful that they are "so close" and have so much to talk about. I am worried that they might be doing more than talking. I presume this same situation occurs in other families, so if you print my letter, make sure the finger isn't pointed at me.

My sister would be furious if she knew I wrote to you. Please put me on the other coast. "Auntie Mayme" It's a great job, if you can stand it their talking before bedtime and each retire to his or her own space and stay there until morning. I hope someone in that family reads this column and takes my word for it. Don't compete with deceased wives Dear Ann: Fie on you for saying a second wife should not be offended because her husband put a memorial notice for his first wife in the paper on the anniversary of her death worded "your loving husband." That's like advertising how much he still loves the first wife maybe more than the new one.

I don't blame her for being upset. I am a 70-year-old woman married to a 73-year-old man who has buried two wives. I don't mind hearing about the happy memories of his first wife of 39 years because he doesn't ram her down my throat, but his constant yakking about his fabulous second and much younger wife (they were married less than five years) burns me up. Once he started to go into detail about their sex life, and I shut him up by saying if I die first and he ever talks about our sex life I'll come back and strike him irreversibly impotent. He often calls me by his second wife's name.

When I get mad, he says I should be flattered because he loved her so much. I really don't need any advice, Ann. I just wanted to get this off my chest. Freeport, Maine Dear Freeport: I hope you feel better now. Meanwhile, stop competing with women who are in the cemetery.

He is yours now, and that is all that matters. Write Ann Landers, co Creators Syndicate, 5777 Century No. 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. ffi 1997, Creators Syndicate Inc. As the stand-in for actor Bill Campbell on Automatic Avenue, Russell Hackney spends a lot of time waiting around to stand around.

That's show biz. 1 By PAMELA DAVIS Tunes Staff Writer action. "It's a thrill for me because it's something I've always wanted to do," he said. "I have no problems with waiting. I'm absorbing everything." It's not even necessary that he resemble the actor he stands in for.

Both men are tanned, tall and slender so it's easy to get the lighting set up before Campbell takes his mark. "He's professional, which is the very best thing about him," Campbell said about Hackney. "He's always there and is not a nuisance. He's a good guy." Being a stand-in doesn't mean you can get all chummy with your actor counterpart. Hackney said he and Campbell don't chat about their lives.

"He's very reserved and friendly," Hackney said. Though Automatic Avenueis only his second stand-in gig, Hackney isn't a newcomer to show business. The 32-year-old has been a theater and TV commercial actor for 12 years and is now the education theater specialist at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa. Hackney got the job as Campbell's stand-in at a general casting call. During the 15 days he's on the TV pilot set, he plans to network with the production crew and hopefully learn about upcoming film shoots.

"Right now I'll do anything in the business that will take me somewhere," he said. Dear Auntie Mayme I need not identify the location of everyone whose letter appears in print, so don't worry. A 12-year-old girl should not be sleeping with her 14-year-old brother under any circumstances. They ought to be able to do all Tinws photo RICARDO FERRO Russell Hackney (right) is a stand-in for actor Bill Campbell (left) in the action-adventure television series pilot Automatic Avenue. ST.

PETERSBURG Working as an actor's stand-in for a TV pilot is a good gig if you can get it, and, for at least some people, getting it isn't difficult. Tampa resident Russell Hackney landed his stand-in job because he's tall. At 6 feet 4, Hackney is the same height as Bill Campbell The Rocketeer and Bram Stoker's Dra-cula), one of the lead actors in the the action-adventure television series pilot Automatic Avenue, which wraps up production today in the Tampa Bay area. During a break in filming at an abandoned St. Petersburg warehouse last week, the two men debated whether one was indeed taller than the other.

To resolve the question, the men stood back-to-back so onlookers could see they were a close match. As a stand-in, Hackney doesn't lead a glamorous Hollywood-style life. He won't get any screen time or be invited to the Emmys. His role is simple. He occupies the exact spot Campbell will stand for his scene.

While Hackney Parental pressure triggered bulimia 8 stands there, the production crew sets the lights and focuses the camera on him. After Hackney steps aside, Campbell steps in. The technical gear is ready and the scene is filmed. When Hackney isn't standing-in, his job is to listen for the crew to yell "Second team!" so he can rush into place and stand some more. Basically, he gets paid to wait around and then stand.

No lines. No action. No fame. He won't discuss how much he gets paid to stand around but said that it's enough to buy groceries for a week. It's a job, Hackney said, that requires someone "who's attentive, who's listening, who's competent, capable and won't wander away." Most days last 12 to 16 hburs and are filled with more waiting than standing-in.

Hackney knows his stand-in status wouldn't send him into stardom. In fact, it's a position that's only one step up from being an extra a person who anonymously moves throughout a scene for background ABIGAIL VAN BUREN DEAR ABBY Buffy fromlD Buffy's neighborhood will wind up harboring more supernatural beings than your average erajsermovie. Still, with its top-notch production values and delicately balanced scripts, Buffy is an obvious if unlikely choice as WB's great hope for an audience beyond Joey Lawrence and Jaime Foxx fans. Featuring lots of knowing winks at pop culture and a touch of X-Files attitude combined with a perceptive take on high school life and lots of great-looking young actors Buffy just might be the kind of show that works for adults and teens. The challenge now: making sure that enough people tune in to the fledgling WB network to see Buffy it all.

In the end, failing to meet that challenge may be what kills off the ultimate vampire slayer for good. Watching her somersault across the screen, it's obvious she's come a long way from her Emmy-winning turn as Erica Kane's devious daughter on the soap All My Children. With three episodes already distributed to critics, it's also obvious this series will take a while to get fully going, but by the third episode, Whedon seems to have artfully mastered the delicate balance between satire and serious approach, making the haughty popular kids at Sunnyvale High seem nearly as menacing as The Master's bloodsucking minions. "We can do a horror movie every week that's a metaphor," Whedon told TVGuidein January. "The mean kids actually get possessed by hyenas and eat people instead of picking on them." Of course, Sunnyvale is conveniently located on a center of demonic energy known as Hell-mouth, a halfhearted attempt to explain why action figure; dispatching scary monsters with Jackie Chan-style grace and lots of cool one-liners.

Anthony Stewart Head, the love interest in those gooey coffee commercials, plays Rupert Giles, Buffy's mentor and the school librarian helping the teen figure out the evil schemes and supernatural concepts she needs to defeat her enemies. Perky, slightly sardonic and eminently watchable, Sarah Michelle Gellar soars as Buffy, equally convincing when tossing off one-liners about cheerleader tryouts or breaking her own heart as she rebuffs a good-looking guy she fears is too eager to join her scruffy band of vampire killers. Dear Abby: I am 18 years old and recently went from 180 pounds to 130. I've dropped six pants sizes, plus two more sizes in shirts. You can definitely see the difference.

Ever since I was a little girl, my parents have bugged me to lose weight, even though I was healthy and well-built. I played sports and ran track, so a lot of my weight was muscle, but my parents always wanted me to look like a tiny gymnast in miniskirts so they bribed me to lose weight. By the time I was in the eighth grade, I was so depressed about my weight that I considered suicide. About 6'2 years ago, I began sticking my fingers down my throat every time I ate. Now I throw up after I eat whether I stick my finger down my throat or not.

I know it's not healthy. I know I am bulimic, and it is not a joke. I want to have a husband and children someday, but I know that won't happen unless I get well. You can bet that, if I'm lucky enough to have children, I'll love them no matter what size they are. Please tell me where I can get help, Abby, and please tell parents to stop criticizing their overweight children.

Help them lose weight, yes, but constant nagging and poking fun only lead to desperate measures on the part of the child. Ready To Move On In Hobbs, N.M. Dear Ready To Move On: It is a sad commentary that someone as young as you had to resort to i such drastic and life-threatening u. measures. Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized in part by a preoccupation with food, binge eating (usually in secret) and purging after eating.

The disorder is generally accompanied by depression, shame and guilt, mood swings, low self-esteem and withdrawal from normal social activities. Physically, bulimics can suffer from malnutrition, dehydration, tears in the esophagus and serious heart, kid-ney and liver damage. If left un-' treated, the condition can be fatal. It is important to recognize that food is not at the heart of any eating disorder. Parents, if you feel that you or your child may have an eating disorder, either bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa, do not blame or try to make your child feel guilty.

Express your love and support and try to be understanding. Realize that your child is terrified of something and seek professional help immediately. For information on eating disorders and a referral to a doctor, therapist and support group in your area, contact the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders by writing to: ANAD, Box 7, Highland Park, IL 60035. Enclose a business-size, self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope. ANAD's hotline, answered by understanding counselors, is (847) 831-3438.

Sweet sound of civility Dear Abby: I am a clerk in a store. Recently I asked a young female customer a question. She replied, "Yes, ma'am." "Ma'am" and "sir" may seem old-fashioned and out of style and to some people they smack of servitude, but it fell sweetly on my ears. It was a welcome display of manners, since only minutes before I had heard another young female shopper tell her child, "Get your a- over here!" Milwaukee Manners Mourner Dear Mourner: While formal etiquette is not as prevalent as it once was, the majority of people still practice casual good manners. The parent who speaks crudely to her child, regardless of how annoyed she may be, is in for a rude awakening because in a few years her child will be responding to her in the same manner.

Write Dear Abby, Universal Press Syndicate, 4620 Main Suite 700, Kansas City. MO 641 11 -7701. 0 1997 Universal Press Syndicate IrV.l SI S7JH I mn Gen Xers favor ethnic foods over meat and potato dishes Scrippt Howard Nowtpapars Kraft Kitchens have found another trend among the twentysomethings they don't favor traditional meat and potato meals. Instead, they prefer ethnic fare such as Mexican or Thai or sandwiches rapped in tortillas or other flat breads. "Gen Xers are hungry for diverse and ethnic food choices," says Stephanie Williams, director of Kraft Creative Kitchens.

"They're a large market segment which enjoys foods and flavor that are notably different from their parents. As a result, they're driving eating trends and food choices for 1997 and beyond." Temple Terrace Brandon CarroBwood South Tampa Town n' County St Petersburg Palm Harbor Seminole 989-1676 661-0033 962-2700 872-8427 884-5770 381-7841 786-5560 393-8337 ffh fru di ifc ti ir frt.