Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1987. július-december (41. évfolyam, 26-48. szám)
1987-11-12 / 42. szám
Thursday, Nov. 12. 1987. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZO 11. Taxi anybody ? There are about 27,000 private taxis operating in Hungary and, "believe it or not", they carry more passengers and goods than the stateowned, taxi companies combined! How come? Because private taxi drivers are more polite to their customers and, being available to the public during the late afternoons and evenings - even on Sundays and holidays - get a good play from people in a hurry. Most of these private taximén are either pensioners, work part-time to augment regular incomes, or former drivers for state-owned taxi companies who switched to make more money. Many of them are skilled workers and college graduates. All must belong to the Private Craftsmen's National Association in order to qualify for licensing and, each year since 1982, 5,000 new licensees and private taxicabs prowl the streets for customers.- At any rate, the next time you should visit Hungary and hop into a cab, remember this: Private taxicabs are equipped with a CB radio linked with a network and, by means of this system of communications, they have been and continue to be of great help to the police! In a decision governmental authorities believe will help to boost tourism revenues to unprecedented highs, the American Society of Travel Agents has selected Budapest as the site of the 1988 ASTA World Congress. This decision was made after a rigorous review process which included a careful, in-person check of Budapest's hotel, restaurant, sightseeing, and entertaining tour resources by a special delegation of ASTA officers and members of the ASTA World Congress Committee. US endorsement. The supervisors of the US Federal Aviation Agency have sized up Hungary's air traffic control systems and the job air traffic controllers do here. Summing up their experiences, the supervisors said the Hungarian controllers showed a high level of expertise and a thorough knowledge of the very modern equipment they were using. The navigation equipment in Hungary fully complies with the strict requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization, they concluded. An Ode to Fraternity It rarely happens in the life of legislators, either in Hungary or elsewhere, that the thoughts of a poet are constantly with them as they discharge their obligations. Attila József, one of the great figures in Hungarian literature, wrote a beautiful poem that has been translated into many languages and seems to have been written especially for those who undertake to shape a modern policy on ethnic minorities. In the introduction to the 3rd stanza of his poem entitled By the Danube, he writes: "My mother was Kun, my father half Szekely, and half, or perhaps even all, Romanian." Then two verses later he seems to identify the tasks awaiting future generations; giving them a programme: "Turk, Tartar, Slovak and Romanian mingle in my heart which now owes this past a gentle future - Hungarians of today!" And to show that the programme is a full one, and that we have carried it out, we must quote the final lines of the verse too: "The struggle that our forebears wages is soothed to peace by memory and to settle finally our common affairs is our work; it is no small task!" More charges against nutrasweet A University of Illinois scientist says he warned the G.D. Searle Co. years before NutraSweet swept the diet food and soft drink markets that the company's new artificial sweetener could heighten risks of brain damage in fetuses and small children. Dr. Reuben Matalon, a pediatrician and geneticist, said he prodded Searle officials several times between 1976 and 1984 to do more research on the issue but Searle never performed the studies. The Chicago-based company got U.S. government approval for the low-calorie sugar substitute in a controversial ruling in 1981. The Food and Drug Administration, despite receiving more than 3,600 consumer complaints, recently expanded uses to frozen and chilled fruit juices. Matalon said in May he reported that this initial, federally funded tests on 51 adults suggest heavy NutraSweet consumption may increase blood levels of a key amino acid enough to affect attention span, memory and concentration in some people, particularly small children. Pregnant women who are sensitive to the sweetener's main component, the amino acid phenylalanine, also may face a heightened risk that their infants will have birth defects. We shall rejoice to see our American model upon the lower Danube and on the mountains of Hungary,... I limit my aspirations for Hungary, for the present, to that single and simple point, Hungarian independence, Hungarian self-government, Hungarian control of Hungarian destinies. (15) D. Webster to L. Kossuth, 1/7/1852 3 n Memóriám FAREWELL GRANDPOP! In Memory of John Szabó Passed away in Trenton, N.J. in October 1987. at the age of 97. Was a reader, builder and supporter of our newspaper for many decades. He is mourned by two sons, John, Jr. and Stephen, two daughters-in-law: Julia and Helen, all in Trenton, N.J., granddaughter, Carolyn Kyrning of Stockholm and grandson John Szabó III. of Lakewood, N.J., four great-grandchildren, a niece and a nephew. We are publishing the eulogy by his granddaughter, Carolyn. YOU were truly the light in my life, My Grandpop! YOU were the one who took me lovingly by the hand, as only a Grandfather can, and opened the many doors of life for me. YOU taught me patience and understanding by always giving me of your time .. the precious jewel that has become so very rare today. YOU were my teacher in so many ways......... YOU were the master of optimism, who most often saw the bright side of things. YOUR sense of humor, friendliness and smile warmed many hearts and could make a room echo with laughter. YOU brought me closer to Mother Nature through our walks in the woods in Pinewald and through your gentleness and love for animals. YOU taught me equality and justice as a right for all mankind, regardless of race, creed or social standing. YOU were my inspiration to the revelation of books, and made them a necessity for me. YOU were a person loved by many and forgotten by few. NOW your light has gone out.... but what a magnificent glow that spread its warmth for 97 years! MEMORIES of you and our life together will burn within me as an eternal flame and will be carried on by my children and theirs. GOODBYE....NO!....UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, MY DEAREST GRANDPOP! We are sending our deep sympathy to the Szabó family and well cherish the memory of our dear friend, John Szabó forever. Editorial Board Hungarian Word
