The Atlanta Journal from Atlanta, Georgia • 40

The Atlanta Journal Constitution LIVING Wednesday May 12 1999 C7 Diversions Wife gets over use of wedding gifts DEAR ANN can empathize with the woman whose husband soaked his infect ed toe in her crockpot I'm sure you will hear from other women whose husbands have done dis gusting things with kitchen uten sils but bet nothing beats mine One day I noticed a dead squirrel in the back yard I asked my husband to dispose of it before the children saw it I assumed he would use a shovel or some other garden implement to do the deed I was horrified when I looked out the window and saw him holding the dead squirrel with my sterling silver tongs They were a wedding gift from my maid of honor Dirk said was going to wash them the big Ann this guy is a business execu tive and usually shows good judg ment The tongs caused quite an argument I want to throw them away considering their sen timental value but I could not imagine myself using them to touch food again After a heated discussion I soaked the tongs in a bleach solution overnight and put them through the dishwasher several times I now see the humor in the sit uation although we still refer to them as the Please print my name No one would ever accept a dinner invitation to our home again Spokane Wash DEAR SPOKANE: Too bad your maid of gift mor phed into a family joke but it did provide me with my laugh for the day DEAR ANN LANDERS: The letter from in with the absent minded wife was one of the most heartwarming let ters I have ever read If more people would pay attention to the last sentence in his letter imag ine how the divorce rate would plummet! The man wrote love my wife and my flexibility has made a big difference in our rela He certainly sounds like a one of a kind guy If we all could be flexible enough to overlook those little habits of our spouses parents friends and co workers that drive us crazy the world would be a much better place Have you noticed Ann the little things that people go nuts over? ANN LANDERS in points out how easy it is to get past those annoyances if we just make the effort Ted is on the right track and he set me on that same track today Please print my letter and tell Ted he should write a book on the subject He has a message a great number of people need to see JO Lafayette La DEAR JO: your let ter and I hope Ted in California sees it One key word is but actually it is much more than that his boundless toler ance and patience bom of love for his wife that have made Ted such a terrific husband DEAR ANN am tired of people who refer to emergency medical technicians and paramedics as There is a great deal of education involved in being an EMT or a paramedic from initial training courses to the continuing education classes We do not go to school and attend seminars to be We spend long hours of study so that we can provide the best pos sible emergency care to the peo ple in our communities When we are called to an accident scene we are well trained on how to use our knowledge to save lives Ann I love my job but it is frustrating to walk into a home and hear someone say ambulance drivers are Please make it clear to your read ers that we just drive the ambulances we save lives An EMT in Memphis Tenn DEAR EMT: You made it clear pleased to remind peo ple of the splendid work done by paramedics and emergency med ical technicians Thank you for the opportunity to give them the praise they deserve Write to Ann Landers at RO Box 1 1562 Chicago IL 6061 1 0562 or a personal reply enclose a stamped self addressed envelope IE Unscramble these four Jumbles one letter to each square to form four ordinary words VACHO 1 sJ kJ Cl 999 Tribune Media Services Inc All Right Reserved THECK i i GILOOG 1 ssJ kJ SUMOTT i He didn't feel a thing 5 1 WHAT THE ELECTRICIAN TURNEP PICKPOCKET HAP Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer as suggested by the above cartoon i it Yesterday's Jumbles: ENTRY APPLY PUSHER EROTIC I Answer: That gardener was known for remarks like ONES (Answers tomorrow) ACROSS 1 Product promos 4 Desirable quality 9 Street pal 1 2 Johnson and Jonson 14 Soprano Lehmann 15 Putney pound 16 Tome in Tours 17 Lamebrain 18 Destroy 19 In the Old Testament 21 Oakland pro 23 Actress Arden 24 Tenant's contract 26 Cabinet wood 29 White or Red team 30 ilch 34 Liability 35 Suit 37 Countertenor 38 Swine fare 39 Brief brawl 40 Oracle 41 Cinders in the funnies 42 Gray 43 Eager 44 Guarded 46 TV's Koppel 47 Auguries 48 Eagle's gripper 50 cone 51 'Two thumbs 54 Pensup 59 Cloverleaf segment 60 His vision is a joke 62 Daytime TV staple 63 It turns new things old 64 Detest 65 Bovary 66 Emulate Holyfield 67 Dame 68 Hearing aid DOWN 1 Rhyme scheme 2 Moore of Tinseltown 3 Snooty type 4 Wonderland girt 5 6 Scheider Streep film 1982 7 command 8 Petshop swimmer 9 Political society 10 Take a bus 11 Scent 13 Secret company bigwig 15 Soundless 20 Ground cover 22 Ancient transport 25 Entered the wings 26 ord flop 27 La Epoque 28 Old rench coin 29 Tends 31 St Lo student 32 Had leftovers 33 Byron and Tennyson eg 35 Org since 2 8 1910 36 Won soup 45 Chatter 47 The Plastic Band 49 Arthur Miller's Willie 50 Germ cell 51 Hunk 52 Takeout order 53 Eurasian goat 55 Tie up 56 Alaskan city saved by serum 57 Lady of Spain 58 Ship's mast 61 Hematology system ANSWERTO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 51298 REAR Ma I TWf I A A 8 TnA A EMT tMe I sTt 0 YJbC RONMmh A 0 A Irv 1 I TMA tWs ATE BEER AjN JjT TLES a eBe a sIh OMA 8 OMm ijMM MBn eMTs a nJt A 5 1 0 1 A I MG A TJR A I MOR ENO aMa PEE I I A Mi a tTe i 2 Is IT" Is It la 81 io ij1m 14 Is UlT Hp HI Wai 22 i ZJHBm LgXj 34 MM35 3OW37 38 W39 BH42 Mg 44 M47 MJmIm M54 65 56 57 58 55 W80 81 H62 63 64 HMb5 68 HM160 By Carmen Cohen 0 1999 Lm Anfdm Time Syndicate 51299 7fcOnllne crossword puzzles i he daily ineracive crossword puzzle on Access UM Atlanta and try your hand at past puzzles in the archives HOROSCOPE JACQUELINE BIGAR HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Thursday May 13 1999: Establish your desires and needs as clearly as possible Sometimes people pick up on your mood and not on your message How you express yourself will be pivotal requent timeouts enable you to perform at your peak Work and life are often very demanding Organization is key The stars show the kind of day have: 5 Dynamic 4 Positive 3 Average 2 So so 1 Difficult ARIES (March 2 1 April 1 9): Be more in touch with what you want Others will help you increase your earnings A positive attitude makes you unstoppable Tonight: Do some shopping TAURUS (April 20 May 20): You feel happy and grounded but you might still be overly serious about one key matter Why not loosen up? Tonight: Your wish is the command! GEMINI (May 2 1 June 20): You get a lot done with an early start Resist the urge to think Instead take action knowing what you want You have the right ideasTonight: Relax CANCER (June 2 1 July 22): You are in the limelight An offer is too good to be true ocus on what you want and refuse to be dis tracted Tonight: Get together with friends LEO (July 23 Aug 22): Maintain a high profile New begin nings are possible if you take the first step Your perspective might change radically as the day continues Tonight: A must appearance VIRGO (Aug 23 Sept 22): One to one relating opens a door A different perspective might be impossible at the moment you have a problem finding the information you seek Tonight: Detach and relax LIBRA (Sept 23 Oct 22): Discussions are provocative at best How you choose to handle this frustration is your call Not everyone sees events as you do Tonight: Talk to your best friend SCORPIO (Oct 23 Nov 21): Clear out as much work as you can Another presents a strong case for what he believes in Be cautious when handling a difficult associate Tonight: Meet with friends SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 Dec 21): A friend pushes and prods and is quite irritating Gain a perspective be open to information Stay goal directed and succeed Your concentration abilities are high Tonight: Time for exercise! CAPRICORN (Dec 22 Jan 1 9): Listen to your instincts with a difficult higher up This person always understand how he comes off Avoid starting an argument when you need to Lighten up Tonight: Do what you enjoy AQUARIUS (Jan 20 eb 1 8): Your ability to get a fire started under someone who is lackadaisical could surprise others but not you Use your energy positively Tonight: Head home PISCES (eb I9 March 20): You may feel like you have had enough financially Be sensible and put some away for a rainy day Your instincts may be off Tonight: Return calls do errands ACES ON BRIDGE BOBBY WOL I could have traded my trump nine for your eight I would have made the lamented South it was I was in a no win Look at all four hands to see if you can spot an unusual play to compensate for entryless dummy West took his top hearts and shifted safely to a trump when heart queen dropped South won drew trumps and tried his luck in diamonds He cashed his ace and led his jack hop ing it would lose to the king West played high low to signal his doubleton and East refused to win the king South then conceded a diamond but he got no help East had an easy heart exit and game went one down How could South have made his game? It help to lead the diamond jack before cashing the ace West will signal his doubleton and East will refuse to win The best approach is to begin by leading the diamond nine to 10 If East takes his king the diamond suit will run And if East refuses to win South will lead another diamond from dummy the successful finesse eliminating a diamond loser If East refuses to win diamond 10 how does South know to finesse diamonds against East? He also sees Wesf signal of the diamond eight Surely West would not play his eight from 8 doubleton so South should find the winning play 05 12 A 10 8 3 The bidding: South Opening lead: Heart king WEST632 AK 3 EAST75 9 8 6 5 2 K53 NORTH84 10 7 10 7 6 2 J742 North 2 NT Pass East Pass Pass West Pass Pass Vulnerable: Both Dealer: South SOUTH AKQ 10 9 A J9 A CHRIS HELCERMANAS Rogue Pictures High school daze: Deon Richmond (left) hangs out with Guy Ji Torry (center) and Donald Adeosun aison in stumbles over mixed message I By Steve Murray MOVIE CRITIC Like a student who parties every night but still expects to make the honor roll is a movie that wants to have it both ways It keeps up on its own mixed message Deon Richmond plays Greg aka a high school senior whose plans for college keep getting waylaid by his fantasies of living the phat life sur rounded by gorgeous women whose sole goal in life is to show him their breasts parents try to snap him out of it sliding college applica tions under his nose But too busy hanging with his pals June (Donald Adeosun aison) and ish (Guy Torry) to think about the future Then he falls for Cinny (Maia Campbell) a smart curvaceous classmate She already has a boyfriend but starts to win her over Their growing romance is something the movie makes us take on faith hard to buy Cinny falling for just an overgrown kid The idea of course is that learns to grow up through love responsi bility and respect a nice thought So is the stress on the impor tance of education But the mes sage gets muddied by the non stop fantasy parade of has genuine flashes of charm and heart but undermined by the pandering to the basic instincts MOVIE REVIEW Grade: Starring Deon Richmond and Donald Adeosun aison Rated for sexuality and language At metro theaters I hour 32 minutes' The verdict: Trips up on its awk ward mix of positive message and sleazy pandering of its target teen audience One dream scene features a recruited from a college called known as for 'j short And we get the spectacle of June turning a naked woman into a banana split via whipped cream and chocolate sauce When June calls a woman a the movie lets her punch him out He also gets his comeuppance from the many girls lied to Still it compensate for the ways presents most of its women as playthings Even Cinny never gets to be more than an idealized dream girl One of the subplots has June getting pressed into ser vice by the neighborhood drug dealer The plot seems to be an excuse to trot out a style fantasy for an ammo heavy revenge scenario difficult to enjoy so soon after the Littleton Colo slay ings Oh and for the record this is another of the countless recent teen flicks that climax at a prom STEPHAN SAVOIA Associated Press Roadside memorials like this one to Joseph Munroe Jr who was killed in a 1 995 accident near Pembroke Mass are seen as a potential driving hazard by opponents Mass debates allowing permanent crash memorials By Jean McMillan ASSOCIATED PRESS Boston On the roadsides after the twisted metal from a fatal wreck is cleared a mound of flowers a marker or a little cross is often erected a makeshift memorial to tragedy Paul Chizook wants to replace those temporary reminders with something more permanent The Massachusetts resident is pro posing signs emblazoned with the names of car crash victims and the dates they were killed along the highways While such tributes may seem like grim distractions to some to Chizook they would serve as a powerful reminder of the dan gers the lurk along the highway that message that you get from a uniform placard alongside the road to recognize and know that someone died here I think sufficient to take your foot off the said Chizook who lives in Tyngs boro Mass about 30 miles northwest of Boston The idea of rdadside memori als has sparked debate not only in Massachusetts but in other states In Virginia measures to have the state install roadside memorials were proposed ear lier this year but failed to get approval James Keaton chairman of the national Alliance for Traffic Safety said roadside memorials pose a hazard and might actu ally lead to more highway deaths we put memorials up at every location on our highways and byways where a fatality or serious injury has occurred are we potentially obstructing the clear view and right way of motorists and road he asked Keaton said his organization made up of safety experts has not officially taken a stand on roadside memorials but would probably lean against support ing them Chizook said Massachusetts could design some sort of uni form markers made of reflective material so they could be seen at night A competing piece of legisla tion would limit the time make shift memorials remain to 30 days It would also require a1' permit to erect such a display MOVIE REVIEW IBIS 3LK0SSW0RD I.