Daily News from New York, New York • 1481

Ann Landers Then Now A Heartfelt Plea for Teens to Be Careful ear Ann Landers: I live in a small nity in western Washington. Unfortunately, we lost two teenagers the night after ca. 1907 Before The Donald took over, the site was home to, among other things, a sandlot baseball field. i you made the team. We were angry when we shouldn't have been.

We asked you questions we shouldn't have. We made mistakes and hurt your feelings. We didn't say, "I'm sorry" or "I love you" often enough. We argued with you. We laughed with you.

We watched you change before our eyes into strong young men and women who were about to leave us. We were scared and happy and sorry at the same time. We want to see you become firefighters and doctors and lawyers and policemen, merchants, pilots, beauticians, teachers, librarians and forest rangers. We want to talk with you about how exciting your work is. We want to listen to you tell us how dumb or mean your boss is.

We want to see you meet the man or woman of your dreams. We want to see you to fall in love and do the same crazy things we did. We want you to get married. We want to pass you a few dollars to help you through the rough spots. We want to see you have children and watch you start all of this all over again.

The thing we're most afraid of is that, sometimes, those things we worry about happen. Sometimes, for no rhyme or reason, you're taken from us by things beyond our control. Sometimes, we never get to see or do the things I've talked about because you're not here anymore and that is a hurt that cannot be described. So, this is for you, the teenagers out there. It's the same thing parents have said to their children forever.

It's the same thing youll say to your children. They'll feel the same way about hearing it from you as you do when you hear it from us. Please. 3e carefuL We love you. You're all we really have.

C1MS CREATORS SYNDICATE they graduated from high school They went to a party. Alcohol was involved. They died in a car accident I wrote this for our small community newspaper. Feel free to use it Larry Simoneaux, Edmonds, Wash. Dear Larry Simoneaux: Every parent who reads your piece will be moved by it I hope it connects with their teenagers, as well.

Thank you for a powerful message. Here it is: I don't know what it feels like to hear the words that two sets of parents received this past weekend. Like every other parent I don't ever want to know. I'm not sure I am strong enough to handle it So, this is to the teenagers. It's a message and a prayer.

It's from us to you. We were once just like you young and daring. We were once sure our parents hadn't a clue as to what we wanted or what we were about. We were once sure we could tackle the world. We were once, down deep, scared to death to face that world.

We were once just like you. The only real difference between us as parents and you as teenagers is a lot of "been there's, done that's." And, believe me, a lot of our "done that's" were just as dumb and silly and dangerous and exciting as anything you've done or will do. That's why we worry. Wre made it through. We got older.

We fell in love. We got married. We had you. We held you when you cried. We fretted when you were sick.

We watched you take your first step. We sent you off to your first day at school. We kept your drawings and school projects. We put your birthday cards on the refrigerator. We watched you in your first play.

We cheered for you when 1998 i i i "i I J. 1 1 iJJ Jf Til I I tg.i i Sandlot baseball's now a memory, as the 52-story Trump International Hotel Tower dwarfs Columbus Circle. Help Me, Harlan MARY ALTAFFER Unlucky in Love but Lucky in Son The Circle of Life ear Harlan, Last week, my relationship with my girlfriend of more than three years ended. I understand her feelings, can deal with my love for her so that I can at least face her in the future? I wonder if we could ever be friends. A Complex Situation Dear Complex Situation, Your son needs his father's love.

Your son needs his father's friendship. Your son needs his father. Lucky for him, he's got an amazing father (in case you don't get it that father is you). It's almost as if you've been so consumed with your white-picket-fence fantasy that you've barely had an opportunity to acknowledge reality. Before you can begin to see your girlfriend as only a friend, you must first let go of your imagination and acknowledge the real problems.

Clearly, she has her doubts and you have yours. The only thing not in doubt is the love you share for your son. The challenge for tomorrow is to open your mind to new possibilities while still creating a loving, healthy environment for your son. You must stop looking at your girlfriend as your wife and begin to see her as the mother of your son and a friend for the future. Take this opportunity to find the answer and erase all doubts.

If you can't find long-lasting love with your girlfriend, perhaps you can find it with someone else. While you can't plan everything, at least you can plan on being the best father in the world to your son. Harlan is not a licensed therapist or physician, but he is a licensed driver. Write Harlan a nd read more letters onl ineat unvw. E-mail letters to or send do Help Me, Harlan, 2506 N.

Clark, Suite 223, Chicago, IL 60614. All letters become the property of the column. but unfortunately, I don't feel the same way. We started dating in high school and made it through many rocky times. The summer after high school, she got pregnant and we then had our son after our first year of college.

Times have been difficult but we've always survived. In the meantime, I've continued to go to school to provide a future. (W'e didn't live together. She lived at home.) In fact we were supposed to get married a couple of days ago, but she called the wedding off, saying, "We just weren't ready. Perhaps next year." A week ago, she broke off our relationship.

I just don't know what I should feel any more. Life didn't turn out the way I had planned (I didn't want kids until I was MUCH older), but I certainly have come to love and enjoy everything. My main concern is how I'm supposed to deal with her and our son. I completely love this woman and was really looking forward to being a family and spending the rest of my life with her. Now, it's all gone.

Every time I pick up my son, I have to face her and I just don't know if I can ever imagine us not being together. The frustrating part is being in love with someone but not having it returned. I sometimes wonder if I was settling for her because of my son. I wanted him to have a "real" family, where his mom and dad are married. I would've sacrificed everything.

I know that, perhaps, the marriage would have been an unhappy one, which would probably have been worse. I feel like I've lost my best friend. How I What does Donald Trump have in common with legendary multi-millionaire publisher William Randolph Hearst? Aside from the obvious being really rich a hankering for real estate, specifically, real estate in the area of Columbus Circle. The famous site at the southwest corner of Central Park captured Hearst's attention at the turn of the century. After raising more than $100,000 for a memorial honoring veterans of the Spanish-American War a war he played a major role in escalating Hearst needed a place for it In 1913, after much wrangling with city officials, Columbus Circle was chosen.

Hearst predicted great things for the area, and went on a buying and building binge. By the late 1920s, he was the biggest property owner in the area. But one of his most elaborate projects never really got off the ground: The American Circle Building. In 1915, Hearst purchased the site at the north end of the circle, which had been both a horse-riding academy and a sandlot ballfield. He planned to build a 30-story office tower, but got only as far as the second floor when America entered World War making it impossible to get the steel needed for further construction.

By war's end, his interest had cooled, and it remained a two-story building. For many years, it was home to WINS Radio, but is perhaps best known to older New Yorkers as the building with the giant Coca-Cola thermometer. In the mid-1960s, demolition began on the building, which was soon replaced by a 43-story office tower. In 1969, the new building, 1 Central Park West was completed and its anchor tenant Gulf Western, moved in. The company remained there for more than 25 years before moving out and making way for The Donald, A few years back, Trump acquired the site and embarked on a $400 million redevelopment of the property.

In January 1997, he introduced New York and the world to his latest "jewel," the 52-story Trump International Hotel and Tower. Anthony Connors.