| Needed:
Children's Books |
| This just in. |
| Jeanie Schmidt needs children's books. |
| Mrs. Schmidt, a member of the Katie McGuire Circle of the
Herndon United Methodist Church, dropped off a note to me
this week asking for used children's books for the Neighborhood
Resource Center (NRC) in Herndon. |
| The Resource Center, run by the Town of Herndon and Fairfax
County, is home to many programs dealing with children, including
the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, the Head Start
program for 3- and 4-year-old children and the Youth Enrichment
Program for third- and fourth-graders who need help in reading,
writing, spelling and math. |
| Also coming to the Center are middle and high school students
for tutoring and computer classes. The Parenting Education
Program for parents and children ages 0 to 5 meets there,
as do ESL classes and several other groups. |
| It's a busy place. |
| In March, Mrs. Schmidt says, the United Methodist's Katie
McGuire Circle purchased a wire mesh "book bin" for donated
children's books. The women then asked children and parents
in the Herndon United Methodist Church preschool program to
select one book to donate. Mrs. Schmidt says the children
took great care and pride in selecting the book they wanted
to give. More than 435 books were donated, and only 25 of
them are left. |
| The first book drive ended April 5, and it is hoped that
other churches, groups and individuals will have book drives
as well. Even one book can make a difference. Books for teen-agers
also are welcome. |
| "I have found that the NRC is becoming a vital service to
all of our neighbors," Mrs. Schmidt says. "As our families
grow up, reading skills are basic to our education and our
ability to succeed in life." |
| If anyone has used children's books to donate, take them
to the NRC at 1086 Elden St., Herndon, and put them in the
bins in the lobby of the Center. The hours are 8 a.m. to 9
p.m. Monday to Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. |
| The books are free to anyone in our town who needs them. |
| |
| Drugged
Advertising |
| Is America getting sicker or are drug manufacturers trying
to make us feel so ill that we just HAVE to buy their products? |
| Today we are bombarded with enough advertisements for drugs
to sink a CVS pharmacy. |
| There are drugs for everything that ails you, from rotting
toe nails, to jock itch, to allergies ("He's your classic
mold"; oh please, give me a break), to bad dog skin to diabetes
medicine. Other drugs promote male potency (God bless Bob
Dole) and a full head of hair, while others tell women that
by taking this or that birth control pill they'll be able
to run a marathon or at least reduce their risk of cancer. |
| Many of these drugs, of course, have terrible side effects.
One side effect for one drug is death. Gosh, I'm going to
run right out and get THAT one. Other side effects are so
gross that they have no place in this non-medical column.
|
| I've never understood the need for advertising all these
drugs; after all, your doctor has to prescribe them even if
you did want them. And I can imagine my doctor saying, "Sure,
I'll prescribe that drug, even though you don't need it and
it could kill you." |
| The danger in all of this, as I see it, is that if you thought
a certain drug might help you, no matter what the side effects
were and no matter what the interaction with other drugs you
might be taking, you may be tempted to buy it. |
| You can't buy drugs without a prescription? Wrong. The Internet
makes available several sites where it is easy to purchase
unprescribed drugs. And friends of mine, recently back from
a short shopping spree in Mexico just across the Texas border,
reminded me that most drugs are available there without a
doctor's order. It's a booming business. |
| Not only that, but the recent surge in advertising for prescription
drugs raises the prices of those drugs and the price of health
insurance. |
| It's time this practice is stopped. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
