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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1993)
mmmm Lifestyles Tuesday, April 6,1993 The Battalion Page 3 a little hope By DENA DIZDAR The Battalion After a year of delays and negotia tions, two Texas A&M faculty mem bers may soon be able to give a home to the Romanian orphan they want to adopt. Dr. Richard Shafer, assistant pro fessor of journalism, and his wife. Dr. Jill Shafer, an extension associate in the department of consumer and family sciences, spent their spring break in Romania finalizing the adoption they began in June 1992. Dr. Lynne Walters, an associate professor of journalism, had given the Shafers the name of a friend who had adopted two Romanian chil dren. Armed with only the name of a city, the couple headed for Europe last summer. "I'd always had an interest in east ern Europe," Richard said. "It al ways seemed exotic. So, finally Jill said, 'Let's go to Europe.'" The trip began that way - as a ca sual driving trip through Germany, Poland, Hungary, and what used to be Czechoslovakia. But in the back of their minds, said Richard, they thought they might go to Romania and see the situation there for them selves. They had read stories describing the ban on birth control there issued by executed dictator Nicolae Ceaus- escu, and the abundance of unwant ed children that resulted. If they could get there, they would. "In Germany, the people said, 'Well, you really can't go to Roma nia,'" Richard said. "It's sort of like someone here saying they're going to drive to El Salvador. Everybody thought that it was impossible and not very bright, but we just kept driving." An elderly British couple in Poland who had just been to Roma nia told them it "wasn't any big deal." The closer they got to their destination, Richard said, the more reliable the information got. As they travelled on, they made their way across the Romanian bor der by train - but not before encoun tering some trouble. They had not gotten visas and had to buy them before they could enter. But because no one spoke English, the message had to be communicated through hand signals. The armed guards eyed the pair, Richard said, as they tried to resolve the problem in a mimed dialogue. As a peace offering, Richard gave the customs official a Kennedy half- dollar and hoped the incident would be over, he said. A few minutes later the official knocked on the window of the train and handed Jill a bou quet of roses. "That's how things went," Richard said. "It would be kind of crazy and then they would do something in credible." They finally arrived in Deva, the city they had been told about. Richard described it as "the ultimate socialist-planned town." But the city and its surrounding provinces held something more for the Shafers than perfectly-spaced apartment build ings and "charmingly dilapidated" hotels. That something was a 9-year- old boy named Lucian. Richard said "good karma" led the couple to a bar called the Tropicana. The bar's owners, Calin and Nicolet- ta Laza, would become instrumental in cutting through the red tape that sometimes slowed down Lucian' adoption. Calin was an engineer for the state before Roma nia's revolu tion, and Nicoletta is still the prose- cuting attor ney in their district. The DARRIN HILL/The Battalion couple's bar is Lucian, a 9-year-old Romanian boy, is in the process of being one of the first ac J 0 pt ec J by A&M faculty members Drs Jill and Richard Shafer, capitalist ven- r 7 7 tures in Romania since Ceausescu's execution in December 1989, Richard said. "They were very interested in helping us," said Richard, "which later turned out to be quite brave be cause of all the bad publicity about adoptions coming out of Romania. See Adoption/Page 10 Depeche Mode stuck in the '80s on latest album By JENNY MAGEE The Battalion Depeche Mode "Songs of Faith and Devotion" Sire Records Album provided courtesy of Marooned Records • pa the music scene for me. They served tfteir purpose in that time period effectively, and it seems sad to think that while Depeche Mode is offering its "Songs of Faith and Devotion," I am ready to say goodbye. Depeche Mode's disappointing new album "Songs of Faith and Devotion" has provided the music industry with one more catalog of the band's never-ending obsession with darkness and religion. In the band's 11-album history, from "Black Cele bration" through "Violator" to ^Songs of Faith and Devotion," consistency in style seems to be the band's one-sighted ambition. David Gahan, the lead singer, may have long black hair and a goatee now, but his distinctive gloomy voice and style haven't changed. It never seems to fail that a Depeche Mode song will either be perfect music for sitting through a rain storm or it wul be "danceable" and appear on alter native clubs' rotation list at least 4,000 times a night. The danceable tune from "Songs of Faith and De votion" is "I Feel You," which followed in the path of its most recent ancestor, "Personal Jesus," and made a pre-album debut on several radio stations. "Get Right With Me" is one of the more ad mirable singles on the album. Incorporating a background of gospel singers, the song takes an ap pealing turn from DM's Gothic-architecture-set-to- music sound. Songs like "In Your Room" and "One Caress," with its intricate string accompaniment, seem to lack vitality and passion in lignt of earlier works such as "Master and Servant" and "Strange Love" that uses the same theme of obsessive love. The best tune on the 10-song album is "Judas" primarily because it differs from your standard, everyday DM song. It doesn't repeat the song title endlessly for the chorus, which always seems to See Depeche Mode/Page 10 W ^ J § § A ♦ v J.*.- ♦ - • -C':.-.:'-:!-- -'••.•t'*"-.-"■ ♦ ♦ ; .Book orrers practical advice, touching reminders By ERIN HILL The Battalion "#552. Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something." So says H. Jackson Brown, the au thor of "Life's Little Instruction Book, Volume II," which is every bit as de lightful as its predecessor. When Brown dropped his 18-year- old son Adam off at tne University of Tennessee in 1990, he presented him with more than a few parting words of fatherly advice. His list of 511 "suggestions, observa tions and reminders'^ formed the first "Life's Little Instruction Book," which contained such thoughts as "#221. Don't major in minor things," and "#226. When some one hugs you, let them be the first to let go." Brown originally intended the compi lation only for his family, but it ended up in a publisher's hands. A year to the day after he dropped Adam off at school. Brown's Brown book appeared on the New York Times bestseller list and he was in business. Though some have tried to rain on Brown's parade, like the parody book "Life's Little Destruction Book,' Brown says he's in a state of "euphoric disbelier over his success. During the past two years he has also published "A Father's Book of Wisdom," a collection of letters he re ceived from his father, and "P.S. I Love You," a similar collection of his moth er's thoughts and letters. Despite his career as president and creative director of an advertising agency in Nashville, Term., he hasnt abandoned "The List" (see "#942. Don't trust your memory, write it down"). He continued adding on and when he reached 512 entries, one more than the first volume had, he sent the manuscript off to his son, who liked it better than the first one. "Volume II," starting with #512 and ending at #1028, is not a sequel but a continuation of practical advice and touching reminders of what makes life worth living. According to what Brown told his son, the public can ex pect a new installment of the instruc tion book every two years. Since he thinks often of his son at school, many of Brown's tips are espe cially suitable to the student set: "#544.When you go to borrow mon ey, dress as if you have plenty of it," and "#696. Don't believe all you near, spend all you have, or §leep all you want.- • There are those on campus who can't understand why "#643. Take the stairs when it's four flights or less," isn't widely headed, especially in Ster ling C. Evans Library. When lines'get long at the Pavilion one wishes that those in front were reading "#588. Every so often invite the person in line behind you to go ahead of you." "Volume II" has a blue plaid cover . to match the red plaid of the first vol ume and will look nice on the book shelf. It should make fans of the first book, who include Katie Couric and Ross Perot, very happy. As the plaid cover says, the thoughts contained inside are sugges tions, observations, and reminders on how to be happy and how to make others happy. You might think "I could have writ ten this," but you didn't and Brown did. It certainly isn't earth-shattering stuff but giving credence to even a few suggestions can give some clarity to students preparing to embark on life's journey. Take for example: "#649. Don't con fuse comfort with happiness," and "#650. Doh't confuse wealth with suc cess." Didn't that just focus your priorities? Even if it didn't, "Life's Little In struction Book, Volume II" is a perfect gift for a graduating senior because it only costs $6 and it really is helpful. 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EFFECTIVE READING CENTERS CONGRATULATES Our first group of students who have REDUCED READING TIME 50-60% and IMPROVED COMPREHENSION 20-30% Bedia, Juan Griffin, Brian Pritchett, Sean Bloomer, Pamela Haile, Daniel Ravn, Andrew Bradford, Chris Helms, Steven Reed, Kim Brice, Clinton Hendricks, Chris Robinson, Leslie Bruns, Charlote Holtam, Alishia Rodriguez, Ruben Callender, Jeff Howie, Kim Sanders, Tim Chavarria, Robert Jackson, David Sharp, Neil Cochran, Amy King, Timothy Sanchez, Francisco Contreras, Elizabeth Lehmann, Mark Sien, Then Crabbe, Clay Lipaser, Steven Stagemeyer, Tom Cruthirds, Greg Malone, Kevin Stone, Scooter Davila, Sandy Maness, Karl Sun, Adam Dela Cruz, Anthony Minch, Jeffery Taylor, David Doss, Todd McRay, Teresa Temple, James Dunn, Hunter Morse, John Voss, Chris Essma, Anthony Nold, Ray Voelkel, Tyson Fanning, Christ Oellrich, Stacey Walker, Marth Francis, Marc Oglesbee, Robert Walter, Chad Ford, Roy Paz, Maria Walton, Erica Garner, William Phillips, Shanna Whitesel, Dean Goff, Brandon Prindle, Justin Wamack, Kevin Call 268-0076 or attend free preview class this week We Care About Your Success
