opinion

i Our Readers Write DYFS Divides Youth , Family To The Editor. There is a giant in our midst. Fie does not submit to the law of the land, for he has his A own laws. He enters your home without a search warrent and he takes your freedom without even reading you your •rights'. He believes he owns your children To contest his authority would be considered a sign of guilt ; he does not believe one is innocent until proven guilty . He strips away your credibility by intimidation and unfounded assumptions. HE ENTERS the school where your children are and silently, without your knowledge or consent, interrogates them on private affairs of the home. He does not acknowledge the rights of you and your family to be present or have a lawyer present. You don't "have the right to remain silent." but anything you or your children say "can and will be used against you." The giant doesn't even believe you have the right to be notified until his deed is done. The giant doubts your competence as a parent and feels he is much more qualified to oversee your "shortcomings." for he hastily moves forward to undermine and rob you of your authority and responsibility in the home. He comes to the land disguised as a "Goodwill Ambassador" and "Savior" for the family's problems, but when you draw near to investigate his claims you find he is the "House of Mirrors": a never-ending system of false illusions. HE CLAIMS he does good but the evidence is fear, broken homes and wounded hearts. "Restoration of the family" is only a facade to be held up while he slips his paycheck into his bacn pocket. He clutches your children in the palm of his hand and commands you to do his bidding. Do not resist him. for he has the uncontested power to rule your childrens' lives. He's been known to pull children out of school and leave the responsibility of returning them to whoever w ill take it. It may take months, but he doesn't care. He thinks he owns the children. And his law doesn't acknowledge that as a priority. Who could this giant be that no one is aware of his (Page 55 Please) Teens: A Place to Go To The Editor:. This is a reply to your March 12 article. "Teenagers: Nothing to Do." You are right, teens need places to go and activities to do Parents, hold on to your hats, because there is something teenagers can do. Many of the churches in the area have teen nights with activities teens can be involved with. Parents do not have to drop off their teens in the mall ; they can use the churches in the area to benefit them They can be challenged with the Word of God and learn to have good, clean fun. THEY CAN FIND out what God says about eternal life, death, sex. drugs, etc. There is more to life then just hanging around. At Grace Gospel Chapel on Friday evenings. (Page 55 Please) KtSSKSSSL *ES i2Z£? Ko.B«tt4aeC«Nr H*y CW Cape May Comfy HsraM JL ! Joseph R. Zelnilc Editor Bonnie Reina General Manager Gary L. Rudy Advertising Director John Dunwoody Special Promotions Director Darrell Kopp Publisher Coif I9$6 Ai 'iwfud *■ prop**)* » gfcn <o» A* •**>'• wiwi pi An pybtto-o* tfcon b« p-op— , o I <■» Spowotp Co'p No po<i K».»ol ••P'oAxk) DEADLINES-" News & Photos . . Thursday Advertising vBay — 3 P.M. Classified Advertising Friday — 3 P.M. 465-5055 For News or Advertising Information Mail Subscription: Yearly, S40; Six Month, S20 Call 465-5055 For News, Advertising or Subscription Information vpwt •— **- *.M> 1 J* CAPE MAY Herald -Dispatctf Cape May City &***» of the Cap: May County HerakJ fc—TV Wit I i III By n» Ih«m r.O »•* 4*0 M*y Comrt hMH. I U «SI« JJ — — — — — ^

V , j : . bsi Dorii Word SPRING HAS SPRUNG — This farm equipment, at Fred Schlender's farm in' Goshen, will soon be in operation as warm, spring weather moves in. Lookin' and Listenin' Iron Horses of War By DOROTHY D. FREAS Looking at the paved surface of the entrance to the parking lot. it seems strange that a row of metal bars that flatten as you enter rise up and point at the tires of your car when you plan to leave through that same driveway, reminding you to reverse your direction and drive out of the opposite end. paying your parking charge as you exit This mechanism, promising not to be gentle with your tires, would seem to be a modern invention. Not so! A DEVICE WITH the same possibilities was used during the Revolutionary War. under water. A frame more than two thousand square feet was built, made of wood and holding poles the size of telephone poles, but each tipped with a sharp metal spike These poles were set at an angle that would impale a ship-bottom as it floated by. going upriver These "iron horses." as they were called, were placed (Page 55 Please)

March Magic Slipped -Away By CLARE CAMPBELL You do this every year. March. You gale-gallop in and you never stop for breath. Why are you always in such a big hurry? You never give me time to check the calendar! I'LL FORGIVE your throwing ice on my windshield and pulling my scarf off. I'll excuse your luring me outside with jujt my sweater and laughing when I stand shivering. Next year WILL YOU PLEASE SLOW DOWN? I need1 a little leeway to bid goodbye to the snowdrops and welcome the chionodoxas and the daffys and the hyacinths. Please, next year, let me go to the swamp a fewmore tirhes to adore the skunk cabbage patches and the anemones! I absolutely MUST search the few remaining patches of arbutus and admire their buds. And the shad bush! ! Let me. please, see its first stirrings? WHAT? Yes. of course I love April, but you have no right to Iry to con me with that line. I KNOW YOU brought your own miracles and I want time to ^njov them! I want to purr with the pussywillows and waae in the brook while it's still frigid enough to make my toes numb. I w ant to find the killdeer's nest, lined with stones, in my garden. I HAVE to stand under the maples and sense the benediction of their returning reds Why dpn't you "go out like a lamb" the way you're supposed to? Next year will you please take it easy and meandef out? Won't you please drag your feet a little * while I catch up? YOU bo THIS every year! You summon the tiny rose leaves before I get there. You won't wait till I watch you cover the forsythia with a golden glow — you NEVER let me see it happen! ! YOU CHEAT. MARCH!! Well, next year I'll be ready for you. You needn't try any of your sleight-of-hand. I'll be watching you! You just DARE attempt to slip some of your magic by me. I'll here the very first frog and red-winged blackbird. MARCH, did I just hear you giggle9 (ED. NOTE: Campbell writes from Court House). r. Letters Welcome Thel Herald, Lantern and Dispatch welcome letters to the editor on matters of public interest. Originals, not copies, are requested. Writers must sign name, address and phone number.

-Sell the Contrast— We've Got Plenty of Nothin'

By JOE ZELNIK The search for an "off-season" industry has turned desperate. In an amazing bit of schizophrenia, the county chamber of commerce last week reported the county has "tremendous treasures" but needs "something to offer " W. The chamber vice president wrote that "this place apgra pears to have everything." i The chamber tourist committee chairman wrote that ■- "the lure of the seashore is no longer enough." THE ANSWER IS patently simple, and I am not going to ■f charge anybody a finder's fee or consultant's retainer for •) my proposal, although I may wpite it off as a charitable contribution like. say. HistoricTolo Spring Village. First, what NOT to do. Some places — Cape May Court House comes to mind — would like to copy the extended season success of Cape May by attempting to capitalize on Victoriana. . The truth is. the Victorians were a bunch of hypocrites, guilty, according to a recent book, of "bad taste, prudishness and imperialism." MY MARKET RESEARCH shows that today's vacationers totally reject prudishness and. as soon as we whip a few more mighty powers like Libya and Nicaragua, also will have had their fill of imperalism. After that, bad taste alone will not suffice and Cape May will flounder <or is it founder? > . So what does the county do to lure winter tourists? You've heard the old saying, if nature gives you lemon trees, sell lemonade? What do we have here in plentiful abundance nine months of the year? Apathy, indifference, boredom, inertia, and. let's be honest, laziness. THE KEY LOCAL weapon against terminal lackadaisia < is the motor vehicle About the only thing that brings relief is to get in your car or pickup truck and drive around. I know people who about mid-January will drive three hours to find a kosher pickle. Most motorists, however, stay in the county and throw out empty bottles and cans. That's why we lead the state in roadside trash. Even doing this may not be enough to snap everyone out

of his lethargy A recent study showed that 4:t percent of the county's winter drivers have their eyes shut, one reason i-e lead the nation in rcar-enders Freeholders long ago realized the potential political danger from the county's nondriving populace, deprived of the vehicular motion antidote to cabin fever. There was a real threat these people would revolt or. worse, vote Democratic Thus the county came up with the narcotic of fare-free transportation. FDR TIIDSE WHO DO drive, the most stimulating thing one canjdo here is pull into the state Motor Vehicle Inspection station in Mayville and see how the rusty bucket does. Emissions, lights, horn, wiper, brakes. Pass or fail? What color sticker? This is pure suspense and raw excitement. I've sfen station inspectors forcibly eject drivers trying to comf through a fourth or fifth consecutive time in February, the dullest month. But is the low-key life salable, you ask? You bet your yawning wife it is. Why9 Because of the contrast it offers to our urban centers the sites from which we are trying to attract tourists! New York. Philadelphia. Pittsburgh. Cleveland. Those places are stress-filled: traffic jams, air pollution, crime. Their residents suffer from ulcers, clenched teeth ALREADY. MANY tourist agencies are promoting "stress-management vacations." What do we have to offer? Absolutely nothing. What can be less stressful? No.traffic, no movies, no lines, no surly waiters! 1 recently borrowed a stress measurer from Burdette Tomlin hospital, hitched a ride in a Mosquito Commission helicopter, and measured stress eminating from various communities. A 1001 reading is considered moderately stressful. The needle never moved from zero as we hovered over Stone Harbor. Avalon. Cape May Point. Reeds Beach. As with everything else. Ocean City led the county with a score of It. Lower Township was next with an 8. The Wildwoods had a 6; except for West Wildwood wun a minus-two. I've even got a slogan. Up tight? Come on down to Cape May County.