Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 52

J6 FRIDAY, JANUARY 2. 199SDETR0IT FREE PRESS 5F Ha utta yo' Friday-moanin' minds Readers' likes, disKkes round out old year rpader wrote in In Mi Banners. Slie was worried tliat she BOB TALBERT )4 7 'Every new parent promises not to spit into Kleenex and wipe their kid's face. Every new parent breaks this touching magazines in the doctor's office? ROBERT dd VALLE. Royal Oak: "One of the best classical stations switched from Mozart to Metallica.

Anyone want to buy a car radio? lips that touch decaf will never touch mine Sickest (and funniest) bumper sticker I've seen all year. "So Many Cats So Few Recipes' most entertaining videos are usually the movies churned out so effortlessly in the "30s and '40s. For example, the Inner Sanctum flicks starring Urn Chaney Jr. or Sidney Toler's Charlie Chan." JEANIE BEAL. Richardson.

Texas: "You're right Bill Maher should have stayed on cable Michael Bolton's appearance ha? improved immensely since his haircut too bad I can't say the same thing about his singing." Got a message for Bob? Call 1-313-223-4457 anvtime. Or fax him: 1-313-223-4726. was beinflr ae to her cat because she didn'Nfl the dead mouse her cat offered to her. And we thought jue had worries Every new parent promises not to spit into Kleenex and wipe their kid's face. Every new parent breaks this pfomise K-Rock's sophomoric iSdio spots slamming Arthur P.

and JERIF are terrible. Even worse, they gay them every five minutes If I jjgve someone a greeting card and ttoey turn it over to see if it's a hallmark I don't think they'll get Sriy more cards from me." CftDI HICKS, St Clair Shores: "Wish gjy car radio had a remote with a ffeshback feature Sure wish the jnhone company gave all new area codes to the pagercell crowd. I fiate to have to dial all those lumbers all the time, especially about in the car without seat belts, drunk drivers, people blaming politicians about the world, Bananas in I'ajamas, Barney." Bill CMRUTH. Clawson: "Expressions we can do without: 'Have a nice day' and 'No problem' People we can do without shoppers who leave market baskets in parking slots, too damned thoughtless to put them where they belong; charlatans who roar into a handicapped parking slot, display a handicapped ID and then jump out of the car as if it's an Olympic event" KATHLEEN Troy: "I wish Mars candy would make all chocolate-coated for those who are allergic or cautious about ingesting fix)d dyes Don't you wonder if it's possible to pick up germs by but how about those NBA players complaining about how tough it is for them going city to city by 1997 shocks: Seeing a picture of Johnny Carson almost bald and wearing a mustache, sane people using their credit cards to order items on the Internet, audiences laughing at George Carlin as he makes fun of Christians and denies any existence of God." ANDY GREENWEU, Farmington Hills: "I can't believe how many self-serve gas attendants are engaged in personal phone conversations while taking your money. Many don't even look up So many confuse acquaintances as true friends.

My true-friend' barometer is a kidney. Would you give that person one of your kidneys? It's a short list when I'm calling a half-mile away Does this next generation spend more time trying to avoid doint" something than the time it would take to just do it? Scary moment Quoting some factoid with total authority and, when questioned about the source, realizing it's WRIFs Drew and Mike!" CONNON BARCUW, Holland: "Best line of 1997: TV Murry, the seven-time all-around rodeo champion, said, 'Not to put them down or anything, EFF1E LOVEUCE, Taylor "1 love: Pentium commercials (guys in space suits), your column, people who buckle up and do not drink and drive, the look on my daughter's face when she told me she made honor roll with straight A's, WNIC-FM (100.3) I dislike: drivers who let their children run SKY WATCH ATTITUDES Reunion isnt ihe time or place ft) even the score Doonesbury By Garry Trudcau ITHOST UM7HIS If I ARBY0UtUEARtN6 I wcmicaATry I IT'S A APOLfOFROM GO AHeAP-CHECK I If veoocwu.1 lHMNEP. AltfT YOUR. ccmpuos- 15 NOT HOURS! 1 I Ilk I I (fc I have a problem that is probably glared by many. Next year my high school class will lipid its 20th reunion.

I consider this a jpfoblem because I was one of the out-of-it dweebs with very few friends. i aid auena my UURA SCHLESSINGER Tonight's southwestern sky about one hour after sunset. Friday By Dick Guindon Guindon 10th reunion. While I didn't feel unwelcome, I didn't enjoy myself very much either. The best part for me was to see that most of the former cheerleaders were now fat and divorced, while I had lost weight and had married a truly wonderful man.

I know this sounds bitter and spiteful of me, and it About an hour after sunset, look to the southwest to see the moon lined up with Jupiter, Mars and Venus trailing down and right from the moon. Saturday At 3:32 a.m., the moon is at perigee, its nearest approach to Earth, at 229.435 miles. ft GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS BEST PICTURE NOW DONT SPOIL IT BVTZLUNO US THEENDIN6. Sunday At 4 p.m., Earth is at perihelion, its closest approach to the sun, at 91.4 million miles. Monday The moon passes 0.2 degrees south of Saturn at 7 a.m.

Til Arfliif Mercury is at its greatest western elongation 23 degrees at 10 a. i.m. Wednesday At 6 a.m., Mars is at perihelion, 128.4 Real Life Adventures By Gary Wise and Lance Aldrich Fair Game By Stephanie Piro million miles from the sun. Thursday Looking east-southeast about 7 p.m., the stars Aldebaran, Betelgeuse and Rigel form a triangle below a nearly full moon. This month Mars and Venus are strung along a line toward the already set sun.

Venus outshines Jupiter by 2.5 magnitudes, appearing low in the southwest after sunset. Mars is midway between Venus and Jupiter. Venus slips gradually into the sun's glow as Mars and Jupiter draw toward their mid-month visual encounter. By Jan. 20, shortly after sunset, Mars and Jupiter will be less than half the moon's width apart in the constellation of Capricornus the Sea Goat, although its faint stars will be hard to see due to the twilight glow of the evening sunset.

Comet Tempel-Tuttle, the parent comet to the Leonid meteor shower, also returns this month. It reaches perihelion next month but is at its brightest during January, glowing at around 9th magnitude. Learn more about astronomy on the Web at these two sites: www.kalmbach.comastroastronomy.html www.pa.msu.edu:80abrams Compiled from a report by Martin Ratcliffe and Alister Ling for the January edition of Astronomy magazine. In Detroit, call the Skywatchers hot line messages about astronomical events: 1-313-207-1857 anytime. MY TGAM AMD ttt-tSAJ SOS POCAOSD 1 sa8.Be& tppo use.

i is. My teen years were undoubtedly the worst of my life. Should I attend this reunion in spite of my own wishes to provide a sort of closure for my teen years? Wichita, Kan. r. DR.

LAURA: Yes, I think you should go. But not out of spite or out of some false sense of closure. You should go because it is a necessary part of your ongoing growth toward maturity. Your perspective about history is rigid and one-sided: You were a victim. Think back, even tp your 10th anniversary.

Were you gracious and outgoing? Were you interested in the lives, thoughts or experiences of anyone else, except to gloat in their pain and failures? Twenty years ago you were all teenagers immature, impulsive, superficial and hypersensitive. You cannot fairly blame all of your high school angst on everyone else. It is adolescent thinking to image oneself only in comparison to others, either making them all above or all below you. They were and are all just people each with different stories, successes, failures and hurts. Yes, I think you should go to the reunion and try to connect and really understand the lives of the folks who were there when you were.

My mother, divorced for eight years, is living with a younger fellow. I am married, with two children, 8 and 10. My wife and I are very embarrassed with her lifestyle. When I talk to her -about it she says, "I'm 55 and can do whatever I want" I guess that's true, but it doesn't mean that it's right I will not have her and her boyfriend stay overnight at our home. My mother threatens not to visit if I keep to that standard.

My sisters tell me that I'm just causing trouble and being a pain. I'm not going to back off, because I fdon't want my children to think this behavior is right Madison, Wis. DR. LAURA: Nor do I. Values are eternal and not dependent upon blood or circumstance.

In fact that's exactly when they are the most tested. You are not rejecting your mother. You are not loving her less. You are USimply not participating in and accepting rwrong behavior. Respect for someone does not include tolerating wrong or evil from them.

When fyou care about someone, part of that caring is to have the courage to put yourself out and challenge them when they are off track and supporting them in attempts to get back on track. Standing by and watching someone Sacrifice values for easy gratification is "wrong. In addition to holding fast to the Values in your own home, spend time talking to her about these ideas. i Dr. Laura Schlessinger's column appears Fridays in the Free Press.

Write her and other columnists at P.O. Box 828, Detroit 48231. Her radio show is on WJR-AM (760), noon-3 p.m. weekdays. TRIVIA Recipients of Most New York City Ticker Tape Parades Foreign government leaders: 56 parades U.S.

military: 26 Athletes and sports teams: 21 Pilots: 15 Foreign royalty: 14 Astronauts: 6 New York City Municipal irff oo Guys do too cry. Upgraded Jack Nicklaus game features exotic golf courses Jack Nicklaus 5 out ol Rlars Formats: PC CD-Rom Estimated price: $39.99 Category: 3D golf Players: One to four Cktrk nut Aetnlade at www.accolade.com MIKE Floyd Game Guy import your own graphics. In addition to the game's five Nicklaus-designed courses, there are two courses designed by folks who used the course design option to create them. "Jack 5" also has full Internet play capability, and you can download additional courses. So if you've got that golf itch in the middle of winter, give "Jack 5" a swing or two.

Write Game Guy Mike Floyd at: Game Guy, Box 828, Detroit 48321 or E-mail him at mfloyddet-freepress. com such as uneven lies, ball backspin and hazards. Among the game's new features is a mouse-driven swing meter designed to imitate a real golf swing. Though difficult to use, the meter provides greater flexibility in club head speed and accuracy. But the most impressive feature of the "Jack" games is the course design option.

You can build your own course from scratch by using the terrain, hazard and landscape options available, and you can even Nicklaus-designed courses that will severely test the skill of any seasoned video golfer. The courses are photorealistic and feature exotic locations like the Hualalai Golf Club, with its beautiful Hawaiian lava animations. The courses redraw quickly after each shot, and new animations and sounds have been added. The 3D golfer's movements are among the most realistic I've seen in a golf game, and the game's Balltech technology increases the realism of factors Jack Nicklaus is a living legend in golf and one of the game's most enduring symbols of greatness. So it's only fitting that the video golf game that bears the name of the Golden Bear, Accolade's "Jack Nicklaus 5," has become the best as well.

like the never-ending quest for the perfect swing, the "Jack" series continues to be tweaked and upgraded, thanks in large part to the game's loyal fans, who provide feedback. "Jack 5" features five 1.