* B and Town FAMILY SPOTLIGHT THOUGHTS FROM GIRLS AND BOYS TOWN The Original Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home Feel Good About Being an American Father Val J. Peter, JCD, STD (NAPSA)—In June, most Americans, myself included, spent an extra amount of time watching the funeral of President Ronald Reagan. It was so good to see the whole country come together, even for one brief, shining moment, to mourn a man who worked so hard , to bring an end to the Cold War. It was an uplifting | experience for the whole country. Yes, for all of us. And if you ask yourself why every"one seemed so truly taken with the former president, one of my kids here at Girls and Boys Town, Robbie, a high school Val J. Peter junior, gave me a great answer. “Seeing all those people standing in line to show their love for President Reagan made mefeel very good,” he said. Robbie explained that what they were saying about President Reagan was a relief from the drumbeat of doom that continues through our news media. Robbie’s message has a common thread among our children and a numberof adults: “Father, when I listen to the evening news all I hear is how horrible we Americans are, especially when they talk about the warin Iraq.It just makes mefeel bad.” I will give you the same answer I gave to Robbie and my other kids. It comes from the more than 50 Girls and Boys Town graduates who have been fighting in Iraq since the start of the war. They write or e-mail about all the good things they are doing. Theytell us how they help little children; how Traqi people are grateful to them; how they have brought an end to a terrible regime...the things that you seldom hearon the news. It is messages of help and hope like this—things that focus on the positive aspects of things—that are exactly what President Reagan did in the post-Vietnam Warera. He lifted us from the doldrums of the 1970s and gave usall a reason to be proud as Americans. Robbie says he learned a lesson, too. “Too much bad newsis bad for you.” Girls and Boys Town, theoriginal Father Flanagan's Boys’ Home,is a leader in the direct treatmentand care of abused, abandoned and neglected girls and boys. Through 19 sites across the country, the organization directly cares for more than 37,000 girls and boys annually. Girls and Boys Townalso assists 1.5 million children and parents through its National Hotline (1-800-448-3000), outreach and fraining programs and community partnerships. @
