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®f)e Cljarlotte
LIFE
Section
THURSDAY MAY 18, 2006
IN RELIGION
Men Standing
For Christ in
concert at
CPCC. 6B
Wayward
luggage the
biggest
nuisance
By Erica Singleton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE PO^
Travelers aU over the area
are gearing up and planning
for their summer vacations.
It’s not likely Uiey are planning
to have their luggage lost, but
chances are some of them will.
In 2005 alone, 30 million bags
failed to arrive at their desti
nation on time, worldwide;,
that’s 10,000 bags per day
Due to airline budget cuts,
greater airport congestion,
stricter security, and titter
connection times, lost luggage
remains a travel reality Bags
are usually only temporarily
lost, and returned to their own
ers in an average of 1.3 days or
31 hours; but 1.3 days on vaca
tion without yom personal
belongings can be a huge
downer and source of unwant
ed stress. However, there are
ways to prevent and/or endure
‘lost luggage lamentation.”
Susan Foster, an avid travel
er and author of “Smart
Packing for Thdays TYaveler,”
suggests 10 ways to avoid or
survive misplaced baggage.
1. ID tags
Start by using a sturdy ID
tag with a durable strap on
each bag. “Those little paper
tags they give at the airport
are for emergencies only,”
explained Foster. ‘You should
have something much more
secure.” The best tags have a
cover hiding your name, to pro
tect your privacy Also, remove
any old baggage claim tags, as
they can cause destination con
fusion.
2. TVavel itinerary
Another suggestion is to
include your identification
information inside the bag.
"This- is especially important if
the outside tag is removed or
lost en route. Foster also adds
that it may be helpful to
“indude a travel itinerary on
top of your dothes, inside the
li^gage, so airlines can track
you in transit, if your bag is
. delayed or misrouted.”
Magellan’s 'IVavel Supplies
'(www.magellans.com) offers
“retriever li^gage tags”, which
invite baggage agents, in ei^t
langu^es, to remove the jtin-
erary placed inside and for
ward the bag to you while trav
eling, instead of retumii^ it to
your home address.
3. Make your bags distinctive
“I see people pick up the
wrong b^ aU the time,” Foster
continued. “Theylookatitand
say' ‘oh this isn’t mine.’ The
smart thing to do is mark your
bag in a relatively obnoxious
and visible way” Foster pro
posed tying bright ribbons on
the handle, applying yom ini
tials in large, colored stick-on
letters, even painting a design
or a laige X on the top and bot
tom.
4. Photo verification
Apicture is worth a thovisand
words, and in the panicked
state of losir^ linage, many
people can’t remember the
brand or are very vague about
the color and size of their bags.
Take a digital (or Polariod, for
those not that advanced)
photo, to identify to baggage
agents the brand, shape, color,
and distinctive markings on
your misplaced bag, to ensure
it is easier to recover. “Digital
cameras can be so useful. I
always suggest to families,,
when they are traveling to
take a picture of the car, take a
picture of the kids, and that
way you have identifying pho
tos that are absolutely cur
rent,” said Foster. Plus, a pic
ture helps overcome language
issues.
5. The Earlybird....
Please see LOST/5B
Risky propositions
STDs among teens on the rise as sexual behaviors change
By Chens F. Hodges
cherts hodgL'sdthecharbnepasl com
What some teens may not consid
er sex could be the reason why they
are getting some sexually transmit
ted diseases.
Accordir^ to a report fiom the
National STD Prevention
Conference, over the last 10 years,
there has been a significant
increase in the proportion of teens
and youi^ adults engaging in oral
and anal sex.
Dr. Emily Erbeldir^ fix)m John
Hopkins School Bay \Tew Medical
Center in Baltimore told Reuters
Health that national surveys show
that “oral sex may be a behavior
that teenagers are increasingly par
ticipating in. For example, in the
2002 National Survey of Family
Growth, most teenagers have
THE STOCK MARKET
reported having oral sex and many
have not had intercourse.”
Thou^ self-reported anal sex is
less common than oral sex, it rose
over the study period fiom 3 percent
to 5.5 percent in youi^ women.
When teens participate in this
behavior, according to Erbeldii^s
report, the transmission of STDs
will not be detected in a urine test.
see TEEN /4B
Cosby challenges graduates to take charge
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA-Bill Cosby
challenged Spelman
College’s graduates “to take
charge” Sunday, adding
those leaving the historical
ly black college for women
have no choice but to lead.
‘You have to know that it
is time for you all to take
charge,” Cosby said. ‘You
have to seriously see your
selves not as the old women
where the men stood in
front and you aU stood
behind, because the men,
most of them are in prison.”
Added
Cosby: ‘Tt is
, time for you to
I pick up the
pace and lead
I because the
I men are not
"there. They’re
not there and
Cosby
every one of you young
women know it.”
In 1987 Cosby and his
wife, Camille, gave a $20
million gift to Spelman,
which is celebrating its
125th anniversary this
year. The Camille Olivia
Hanks Cosby Academic
Center on the campus
opened in 1996.
Cosby said when a
Spelman graduate in the
500-mernber class of 2006
accepted her diploma
“there’s no time for you to
fool around anymore.”
‘You’ve got to because our
race depends upon you and
your sisters graduating all
across the United States to
realize that what’s left is
you,” he said.
In his current “A Cali Out
with Cosby” speaking tour,
he has emphasized the
need for proper parenting
and education as self-help
answers for low-income,
urban families.
In an interview witii The
Associated Press before his
commencement speech,
3 COSBY/4B
‘Boomerang’ kids pose challenges at home
By Chens F. Hodges
cherts Jtodges& iliecharloileposi com
Once upon a time, college
graduation meant entering
the real world armed with a
new career and-that first
apartment.
These days, 48 p^xmt of
college graduates find
themselves returning
where it all started-their
parents’house, according to
a MonsterTbak survey
And it isn’t just the new
graduates that are going
home. That same survey
sa}^ 44 percent of the class
of 2005 is stiU kicking it at
Mom’s crib.
This is why they are called
the “Boomerang
Generation.”
Recent Johnson C. Smith
University graduate
Charita Young moved back
to her parents’ house in
South Carolina, but doesn’t
plan to be there long. In the
fall she’s off to Savannah,
Georgia to get a graduate
degree.
‘T just wanted a break,”
YoTir^ said about moving
home.
But all grads don’t have
that plan, according to
Elina Furman, author of
“Boomerang Nation: How to
Survive Living With Your
Parents the Second Time
Aroimd.”
“While some
boomerai^ers manage to
avoid the pitfalls of moving
back home again, many
don’t adequately prepare
themselves for the practical,
economic and emotional
realities of moving back in
with mom and dad,” she
said.
' For one thing, mom’s
house isn’t a fi'at house.
This is somethh^ Yovmg
already knows. Though she
doesn’t have a curfew like
she did in high school, she
said “I can’t disrespect my
See BOMMERANG/5B
Yadkin Wine Festival showcases N.C.’s best
©•O
By Erica Singleton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE PO^
Not a big race fan, no
problem, there is another
state tradition you can
enjoy this weekend, without
a pit crew North Carolina
isn’t just the birthplace of
NASCAR, it’s also the home
of our nation’s first cultivat
ed wine grape- the scupper-
nong. Just an hour North
on 1-77, the Yadkin Valley
Wne Festival features
award-winning world class
wines fi'om 20 wineries
based in the Carohnas.
Never heard of them? You
wiU.
The Yadkin Valley is the
only designated area in
North Carolina for wine
growing. After a two-year
study, the U.S. government,
designated the area con
ducive to growii^ good
wine-making grapes. The
Yadkin Valley Appellation
(not to be mistaken with
Appalachian) is only about
five to seven years old, how
ever, wine growii^ in this
area is not new
Jack and T.illian
Kroustahs of Westbend
'\Tneyards, in Lewisville,
are the pioneers who have
been at it since 1972. The
area has really blossomed
in the last 10 years, adding
Raffaldini Mneyards,
RagApple Lassie
Vmeyards, and Chatham
Hid 'TOnery to name a few.
The rich, rocky soil is one
of the filings that make it so
good for wine growing.
Wme enthusiasts will tell,
you that grapes
to be stressed.
And as presi
dent of the
Yadkin VaUeyj
Chamber o.
Commerce
Tbresa Osborne explains,
the region still has its prob
lems. “The humidity is
higher than usual for grape
growing,” said Osborne,
“[but] they’ve found a way
to over come it.”
And overcome they have.
The soil, and weather are
most similar to the condi
tions of the Burgundy
region of France, and the
wines show it.
“The festival originated as
way to escpose the
public to the fine
wines beii^
grown in the
area,” e^qjlained
Y V W F
Committee
Chair Joe
Walker. Each year fhe fes
tival has gotten a bit more
popular, with more wines
featured. Tb be featured in
the festival, wines must aU
originate in some manner
See YADKIN/5B
'Mo.
The fRw Rn^ou REsifluc*
CEnTtB on IIlinoRiTv Re«.t«
A breath of
fresh air
Asthma is the most common
chronic disorder among children
in the United States, affecting
approximately 1 out of every 20.
Although African-Americans are
only 12.7 percent of the U.S. pop
ulation, 26 percent of all asthma
deaths occur within this popula
tion. Overall, Afidcan-Americans
are three times more hkely than
whites to die fix)m an asthma
What exactly is asthma?
Asthma is an inflammatory
disease that affects the inside
walls of the airways carrying air
in and out of the lui^ such that
they become swollen. In
response to an environmental
trigger, the airways become so
narrow that they are unable to
move air adequately Certain
environmental factors, such as
cigarette smoke or pollen, can
trigger this inflammatory
response. There is no cure for
asthma, but there are medica
tions that can control it and help
prevent serious or hfe-threaten-
ing episodes fium occurring.
What are the symptoms of
asthma?
The most common symptoms
are wheezing (a whistiing soimd
when breathing), chest tight
ness, and trouble breathing
(including faster or noisier
breathing). It is important to rec
ognize that a very subtle, early
symptom of asthma is a recur-
rit^ cou^.
Tb diagnose astlmia, your doc
tor may order pulmonary fimc-
tion tests, which measure air
speed, air flow, and lung capaci
ty The results \vill be lower than
normal if airways are inflamed
and narrow, as is the case with
asthma. As part of the evalua
tion, the doctor may administer
medication that helps open the
airways to see if it changes or
improves the test results.
How is asthma treated?
After receivir^ a diagnosis of
asthma, it is important that your
doctor determine the right med
ication regimen, foUow-up sched
ule, and education about the ill
ness. To prevent recmTent
episodes,, you can also learn
about other things that can keep
asthma imder control. After all,
the more you know about your
disease, the better!
Regular visits with a phj^ician
are required, but it is also cui--
rently recommended that all
people with moderate to severe
asthma monitor their air flow at
home with a device called a peak
flow meter. Daily monitoring is
helpful for detecting early
changes in disease status and
response to treatment. The
healthcare provider will give you
instructions on the proper use of
the peak flow meter.
Medications are used to pre-
v^t and control asthma symp
toms and to reverse air flow
obstructions. We wfll address the
specifics of drug therapy in a
future asthma column.
Can asthma attacks be pre
vented?
Yes! In addition to taking med
ication, it is important to identi
fy triggers that precipitate asth
ma attacks. Typical triggers
include smokir^, animal dander,
dust, roaches, mold, and pollen.
This information may help you
avoid situations in. the future
that may cause an asthma ecac-
erbation.
Asthma can be deadly if you
are not prepared and if it is not
managed properly If you or your
loved ones are experiencing
symptoms, take control of your
health by getting an evaluation
today! Remember, knowle^e is
Please see ASTHMA/4B
S '
i ir