Did Bombing Draw New Face On Bad Guys?

The young man had piercing blue eyes, blond hair and strong facial features. He glared at us. He looked a little like the guy arrested for the bombing and suddenly, we felt afraid. Why? For years, women have been fearful of men who seem ominous, especially men we pass in the evening on dark streets. Sometimes, those men have dark faces.

Now, we pose these questions to Common Grounders: Are you now going to be afraid of Aryan-looking men? Also: Where are the wives, girlfriends of the angry white men who join the fringe militia groups? Are they true believers also or are they in the dark about the extent of hate some of their men possess toward others? Your thoughts on any of the above will be appreciated.

She Said: “If anyone tells you life begins at 40, don’t believe them. Life begins at 90.” Bea McElroy, age 92, United Way’s Volunteer of the Year.

Products we hate to see: It had to happen. In these days of Wonder Bras, someone saw a market for breast products. We got a press release gleefully announcing sun screen, moisturizer and a bust “tonic” that helps maintain a firm breast, or so the company claims. We thought back to the ‘60s when women’s magazines, in the back, sold lotions to make your bust bigger. Bogus claims, of course. These products don’t claim to increase breast size, but they are expensive, from $30 to $42 for tiny bottles. How far have we women truly come?

Security: If you want to know how much Social Security you’ll have coming to you in later years, the free booklet “Social Security … What Every Woman Should Know” should help. For a copy, send your name and address to Consumer Information Center, Dept. 526B, Pueblo, Colo. 81009.

Fresh out of the oven: The smell of cinnamon buns increases sexual arousal in men, according to an article in the May issue of Child magazine. Neurologists at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago monitored penile flow in 25 medical students while they sniffed a wide range of scents. The study found that only cinnamon buns turned men on.

Just say no: Some words of advice from the book “Heart and Soul” by Daphne Rose Kingma: “We all have things that we have to say No to - for ourselves and in our relationships - or else move in a direction that isn’t for our highest good. Sometimes these noes are small and simple, an unadorned statement of preference that’s a quiet affirmation of your right to be yourself: ‘No I don’t want to go to the late show; I’ll be too tired for work in the morning …’

“Sometimes they ask for more strength, require that you actually take a stand: ‘No, I don’t want to buy a …; we’re already too much in debt.’ Or sometimes they involve issues of life and death: ‘No I won’t give up my AA meeting just because you’d like me home on Tuesday night.”’

MEMO: Common Ground is written on alternating weeks by Rebecca Nappi and Dan Webster. Write to them in care of The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615. Or fax, (509) 459-5098.