By Staff
FRENCH LICK, Ind. - Billboards to "fight mannequinism" puzzled me.
Fortunately, the Bedford Times-Mail was there to explain this alien illness-fighting campaign to a curious vacationer who could name only one plastic person, Polythene Pam, who's on "Abbey Road" - not the "Rubber Soul" album.
So what is it? In fact, a "fictional medical condition" that "causes people to become unlife-like by not paying attention to issues or causes that affect the world."
In other words, about 57 percent of 15- to 25-year-olds pay about as much attention to significant world issues as dress shop mannequins devote to them.
The Virginia Commission for National and Community Service Web site illustrates the need with graphic descriptions of the ailment.
The site reads: "Sufferers experience a hardening of the skin and firmness of all joints until ultimately the body is transformed into a plastic hollow shell. The disease of the mind ultimately affects the person's whole being and community."
To extend the parallel likening civic apathy to a physical disease, there are no solid numbers showing how many Lawrence County youths are so afflicted.
There's evidence that young people in Lawrence County have good immune systems and buck the trend.
They reportedly take a big interest in such activities as the United Way Youth Day of Caring and the annual Youth Brain Games to benefit the Lawrence County Museum of History.
Groups of active young people such as the Mitchell High School chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions and the Bedford North Lawrence High School I-Care Council also suggest strong community resistance to mannequinism.
Perhaps Lawrence County defies the 57 percent infection rate. Perhaps not. A Times-Mail editorial merely reinforced the importance of local teenagers and young adults taking precautions by registering to vote or getting involved in a cause about which they care.
People of all ages have a role to play in the fight against civic disengagement. An Indiana University graduate student who joined the fight against mannequinism makes a point of discussing important issues with friends and family. That's also a good starting point for parents who want to protect their students from becoming the plastic generation.
Like Minnesota's Whorehouse Days, I offer this as a parable, much like "War of the Worlds," which I saw in Jasper July 28, is also a cautionary tale about Sept. 11.
I'm grieving one of my favorite characters after finishing "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," but glad I made it back for at least the last half of the DUHS Class of '75 reunion.
July 28, while Sue, Savannah, Logan and Mara went to the splash park at Holiday World in Santa Claus, I drove to Kentucky, which sounds and felt farther away than Indiana.
Owensboro is home to six NASCAR drivers (including Darrell and Michael Waltrip) and was gearing up for a motor sports festival. I peeked in the window at its museum, site of a monster truck exhibit. The festival features displays of stock cars and dragsters and a street fair along the riverfront.
A group of Owensboro farmers is credited with staging the first indoor tractor pull in the 1960s, setting the stage for indoor motorized sports becoming a national phenomenon.
July 26 we gathered around the television and watched the manned space program come back to life with the launch of the shuttle Discovery and some amazing pictures. The video of debris falling during the ascent is being carefully analyzed to rule out problems like the one that doomed Columbia 2 1/2 years ago.
The big news in Indianapolis was "The end of an era," with Macy's removing the L.S. Ayres name from 12 Indiana stores by fall 2006. The department store began in Indy in 1874. It overshadowed the IRA disarming after 35 years and 1,775 deaths.
We came through Paoli July 23, the day of the first Nathan's Famous Hot Dog's eating contest at Huck's Food and Gas.
Contestants chowed down as many frankfurters as they could in 12 minutes for a $100 gift card. Five entered, but only three stomached the final round. Daniel Jones, of Shoals, won with seven. Second, and a free fuel fill-up, went to Larry Brown of Mitchell. Brown's no slouch in competitive eating. He won the pudding contest at the Persimmon Festival and a hot wings contest. Jones, on the other hand, ducked in for the air conditioning during a softball tournament in 100-degree weather. "I was persistent and drank lots of water and took my time." Shell gas down here ranged from $2.09 to $2.15. Gas was as cheap as $2.02 in Kentucky - and they pumped it.
That flushing sound is your tax dollars: According to a Government Accountability Office report, the Pentagon tossed $2.2 billion worth of items in "new, unused and excellent condition" in fiscal years 2002-2003.
For example, a U.S. Army battalion in Japan turned in 172 new pairs of extreme weather boots, which cost $23,000, but were sold for 40 cents each. Later, eight other military units bought 214 pairs of the same boots.
TV Guide revamping look, content: Faced with the challenge of staying relevant in the Internet age, the magazine will transform into a larger, full-color format and a mix of 75 percent stories about TV shows and stars and 25 percent listings - reversing the current ratio.
Most people can find television listings through digital guides.
Changes go into effect with the Oct. 17 issue.