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By LINDA D. COLE and INGRID L. KOHLER
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 14, 2001
Aha! Suspicious minds might suspect a reader challenge. Last week we trotted out a series of unusual, perhaps even difficult, requests, only to come this week to a letter from Harriet Mettge, which begins, "You have done so much with unusual requests, so I'll add another tough one."
Harriet, who lives part of the year in Exchange Land and part of the year in Ohio, has a son, Bill, 41, who has Down's syndrome. He enjoys playing the game Nintendo Tetris. Many years ago the game came out in a watch form that, unfortunately, is no longer available. Bill flies to Florida twice a year and used to while away much of the travel time with the watch game.
Harriet hopes a reader might have a Nintendo Tetris watch that no longer is being used. She writes that Bill will be on cloud nine if one can be located. If you can help, please send your responses in care of this column.
Apparently music and sing-alongs still rank high as a fine way to spend a summer evening. June Hammel is eager to find piano music books or sheet music containing singable songs (that probably cuts out The Chipmunk Song, doesn't it?) from the '50s to the '80s for a senior group that is getting together to unite their voices in song. June will happily pick up any donated material if you give her a call at (352) 518-0891.
The musical beat goes on, this time with a request from Marjorie Nelson of Largo for a particular song by Tony Bennett, Lonely Wine. This song, Marjorie says, made him popular during the late '40s or early '50s, but, of all the songs he has repopularized in his huge career comeback, this one appears to be missing. Got Lonely Wine? Please give Marjorie a call at (727) 507-8837.
Helen Pfiester of Clearwater is looking for new homes for 219 331/3 rpm records. She also has collected a number of items used in crafts: 27 pill bottles, nine baby wipe containers, 12 18-ounce peanut butter jars. Helen may be reached at (727) 531-2552.
Betty Johnson of Dunedin is doing sleuthing for her garden club. The club's yearbook, owned by all members, is in a 41/2- by 7-inch ring binder, a size which no longer can be found in the major office supply stores. If you know of a place that sells them, please call Betty at (727) 734-9011 or Greta Jones at (727) 787-3927.
Rose Higley of St. Petersburg has a request and an offering. First the request. Montgomery Ward's going out of business has left her with a canister vacuum cleaner for which bags are not available. How have others in her plight been handling the problem? If you know of a different brand of bag that can substitute, or if you have a supply of bags left after the demise of your Ward vacuum, please give Rose a call at (727) 345-2006.
Now the offering: Call Rose at the same number if you are interested in having the collection of nice seashells her daughter gathered at the beach over the years.
F. Hammond of Hudson has a pretty assortment of stick pins and brooches that belonged to her mother, but, while the mother had no problem attaching her jewelry to her blouse, the daughter is having difficulty piercing the synthetic materials in clothing nowadays. She tried soaping the pins, but that does not always help. If you know a trick that might help, please send it to F. Hammond in care of this column.
If you are interested in having some Betty Crocker catalog points, please call Mrs. A Shaffer of St. Petersburg at (727) 526-8209.
Harold Beintker of New Port Richey recently requested assistance in finding an eight-track stereo player. He reports an overwhelming response and wants to thank everyone who came to his aid. In fact, he couldn't personally respond to all the messages he received, so he is using the column to thank folks and let them know he did, indeed, find what he needed.
Send requests to Reader Exchange, Home & Garden, the Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg 33731 or e-mail cole@sptimes.com. Requests will be accepted only by mail or e-mail; no phoned requests, please. Except in unusual circumstances, readers must agree to publication of phone numbers (please include the area code) to be considered.