ear Ann Landers:

I haven't slept in 57 hours. I'm 25 and have above average intelligence. Eight hours after snorting cocaine for two days and doing crystal meth, I went to a tanning salon. I believe I may have suffered some brain damage because it has taken me 45 minutes to write these few lines. This morning, I tried to recite the ABC's and couldn't do it. I'm scared stiff and can't stop crying.

When I lay down on the tanning bed, I tensed up im-mediately and became para-lyzed. I couldn't lift the lid of the tanning booth. It felt like 500 pounds of weight.

I managed to crawl out of the booth with my heart pounding a mile a minute. Now, 24 hours later, my mind is still unfocused and soupy.

I think I should check into a hospital, but I'm scared to go. I'm going to call a drug abuse center for counseling. There is more to this story, but it's taken me more than four hours to write this letter, and I'm exhausted.

Please warn people about the hazards of combining drugs and tanning booths. I pray I'll recover from this episode and find out what happened to me.

-Joseph in Kentucky

Dear Joseph:

I'm terribly sorry about your frightening experience and appreciate your writing to warn others.

For years, I've been telling my readers to leave drugs alone and stay out of tanning booths. Drugs can mess up your head, and tanning (either by sun or artificial light) can ruin your skin. The combination of both could be extremely hazardous.

If you haven't seen a physician by the time this letter appears, do so at once. Please write and let me know you are okay. I'm worried about you.

THE NEW YORK TIMES TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2001

Science Texts Contain
Errors, Study Finds

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 15 (AP)- Twelve of the most popular science textbooks used in middle schools across the nation are riddled with errors, a two-year study led by a North Carolina State University researcher has found. The errors include maps that show the Equator passing through the southern United States and a photo of the singer Linda Ronstadt labeled as a silicon crystal.

Check out "Defacing Britney" at: mrbellersneighborhood.com

Local Youngster Contributes Article

Tom Hosier, 11, of RFD 2 is a contributor to the Sept. issue of Jack and Jill magazine, the 25 year old children's monthly published by the Curtis Publishing Co. The written item is included as a news note in a special department of Jack and Jill called North, East, West, and South, and is an excerpt from a letter to the editor. The letter tells about a camping trip, when he and his friends woke up after hearing a wildcat growling. This news note was selected from among many hundreds which are submitted by children throughout the United States and the entire world. Each contributor received a framed "Certificate of Merit".

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UPDATED: MAR 2007