News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 31

INSIDE NEWS-PRESS Lw SECTION DearAbby2D Horoscopes 2D Coasting today 2D Calendar 3D Comics 4D Tim ITV5D LIFESTYLES EDITOR: AMY BENNETT, 335-0236 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. 5 p.m.) MONDAY, JULY 20, 1998 Cumin Grandmother is motivated by the heart SHE ARRIVED, THIS bundle of sweet joy, earlier than expected, barely tipping the scales at 5V4 pounds, yet carrying all the hopes and aspirations of generations on her tiny shoulders. "I'm a grandmother," my friend proclaimed over the phone. Then she began to weep. I rec time New Arts Festival premieres award-winning drama about Tchaikovsky ognized the uncried sobs stored deep in my own heart.

There is something about holding the child of your child that makes you consider what you have lost and one of a team of contest judges, says "Petia" stood out because of its clarity. "It's solid," Taylor says. "There are no weak spots. Everything seems to work in the piece. It's a good mix of humor and sadness." Music lover ANA v.

at.iA TAYLOR in Hamby, an ardent classical By MAUREEN BASHAW News-Press staff writer or 50 years, Ray Hamby has had the same dream. He's sitting in a darkened theater on Broadway. It's opening night. And it's his play. That dream has stuck with Hamby since he was 10 years old, living in Bend, where his father was the town's deputy sheriff, his mother was a homemaker and he was one of five siblings.

The one who wrote poems. The one who dreamed. Some things never change. Hamby, now 60, is still dreaming, still writing. Over the years, he figures he's written about 40 stage plays and 150 radio plays, the majority of them produced.

But the closest he's come to realizing his dream is four shows off-off -Broadway. "It was so far off, nobody knew where they were," Hamby says, howling with laughter. Could it be that "Petia," Hamby's latest play, will bring him the fame he's so long hoped for? Southwest Florida will play a part in answering that question. His drama, based on the life of composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, makes its world premiere Aug. 6 during the highly respected annual New Arts Festival in Fort Myers.

Hamby, a widower who lives in Baltimore, won the $500 top prize for "Petia" in Theatre Conspiracy's first New Play Contest, a competition that attracted entries from 98 playwrights from the United States, Canada and Ireland. Bill Taylor, the Conspiracy's artistic director music follower, became intrigued with the idea of writing a play about Tchaikovsky after he stumbled across a biography of the composer about two years ago. On a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia last year, he soaked up more information for the play as he walked the streets the composer once walked. Based on historical facts, "Petia" brings out the composer's most hidden passions, his ill-fated marriage and his controversial death in 1893.

It's all woven together through correspondence between the composer and the wealthy Moscow widow who kept him in commissions throughout his life. But just because "Petia" won the contest doesn't mean it's a finished product. Taylor, who's directing a local cast in this premiere production of the show, says changes have been suggested at just about every rehearsal. Later, they are reviewed with Hamby; if he gives his blessing, they stay. During a break in a recent rehearsal at the See PLAY 3D if you go Photos by BENJAMIN RUSNAK News-Press SENSITIVE SCENE: Michael McNally, playing Tchaikovsky in "Petia," fights off an unwanted advance from his new wife, Antonina, played by Tammy Kopko, during a rehearsal at the Foulds Theater.

t. JP ft WHAT: "Petia" a new play by Ray Hamby based on the life of composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky WHERE: The Foulds Theatre at the Lee County Alliance of the Arts, 1 0091 McGregor Fort Myers WHEN: Performances at 8 p.m. Aug. 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15 and 2 p.m. Aug.

9 and 16. WHO: Produced by Theatre Conspiracy, the show is part of the New Arts Festival. ADMISSION: Tickets are $14. For reservations, call the New Arts box office, 278-4422. and what you have conquered.

You are inspired, frightened, elated, worried and, most of all, grateful. Grateful this precious life is safe. Grateful you lived to see this day. My friend's tears that morning brimmed for much simpler reasons, I suppose. Up most of the night, she was exhausted and relieved.

But when we spoke later, the conversation took a more serious turn. The role of grandparent, as well as I've been able to observe, is ill-fitting1 for some and perfectly comfortable for others. I'm not sure anything in life quite prepares us for it. Several weeks before the birth, my friend confided doubts about this new phase in her life. At 44, she didn't FEEL like a grandmother.

And she certainly doesn't look the part. Both of us still have that notion of abuela as a shawl-wearing, gray-haired woman, rocking away the afternoon. As the first generation in this country, we have no models to emulate. Our mothers are ethnic mothers, with seemingly mystical powers we cannot even begin to describe. If you don't have a grandmother or mother of this sort, you don't know what you're missing.

She knows everything: how to soothe diaper rash, how to calm a colicky baby, how to make breast milk flow. Impossible to compete with someone like that. But my friend wouldn't think of taking over, of barging in and giving orders. She can't. She's in the office.

She must make appointments, sit in on meetings, write reports on deadline. And all this she does yearning desperately to hold this teeny baby instead of staring at a computer screen. But how blissfully unaware this new human is of dilemmas around her! So small, so wrinkled, so trusting and so alive, the child has yet to discover the changes she has wrought, the relationships she has transformed. I am not yet a grandmother and hope not to be for a while. But I am keenly aware that life has a way of taking you by surprise.

So I watch my friend, grateful to be privy to a passage most of us will eventually experience, and I notice the changes new life always brings. Without explanation, she is rescheduling her activities, re-orienting her duties. She wants to make sure she's around, available when needed. A grandmother, you see, is a surrogate on call, motivated by love, not obligation. Ana Veriana-S'uarez is a family columnist for the Knight Ridder News Service.

RUNNING LINES: Greg Benedict, left, plays Vladimir, as the stage manager, who goes by the name of Nobody, stands in as the character Modest during rehearsal. Papal document puts dissenters on notice Cold brew on hot day not a wise decision By JEFFREY WEISS The Dallas Morning News Some U.S. Catholics wonder whether a recent announcement by Pope John Paul II sets up a future crackdown on dis i sent in the church. Others consider the apostolic letter titled "In Defense of the Faith" an interesting but hardly ground who disagree with these teachings "would therefore no longer be in full communion with the Catholic Church." In fact, the church has always had the ability to move against those it felt were outside the bounds of accepted though enforcement in recent years has been infrequent. The Rev: Charles Curran, now a professor at Southern Methodist University, was a notable exception.

In 1986, because of his views on homosexuality, contraception and other issues, he was stripped of his right to teach Catholic theology at Catholic University of America in Washington. The latest papal letter is merely a continuation of this pope's policies, he said. "It's an attempt to create a chilling effect," he said. "I don't think this is a straw that's going to break a camel's back. I see it as ratcheting it up one more step." ence of Christ in the Eucharist, for example and matters taught as true but not considered God-given.

The letter adds a third category: Teachings that are logically or historically derived from divine truths. Those, too, are now considered infallible. One who denies such teachings, the pope wrote, "opposes the doctrine of the Catholic Church." The cardinal's letter offers a few examples of the topics in this new category: male-only priestly ordination, euthanasia, fornication and prostitution, and the invalidity of Anglican priestly ordination. The hot-button issues of homosexuality, contraception and abortion were not included. The pope's letter says that those who teach contrary to the infallible lessons of the church can be subject to an unspecified "just punishment." The cardinal's letter makes an even stronger point.

Those rights. "Will the second papal slipper drop?" She and many other American Catholics consider this an effort by an elderly pope to cement his legacy into the life of the church. They disagree about how binding his wishes will be on future papacies. The first "papal slipper" was a four-page letter accompanied by a commentary by one of the most influential Vatican officials Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The papal letter is aimed at Catholic theologians and sets into canon law a new category of teachings to be considered infallible.

And it adds this category to an oath required since 1989 of most church officials and teachers. Canon law had included two broad categories: Teachings considered to be directly divinely inspired the pres JOHN PAUL Alcohol is a diuretic, which means that you urinate a lot and lose valuable electrolytes. To rehydrate yourself, you can try shots of Gatorade or other sports drinks in between cocktails, but Adams thinks a few ounces of water every 20 minutes will suffice. Opinions are split on the intake of caffeine, found in coffee or cola drinks, which are also diuretics. Some experts recommend decaffeinated beverages to supplement alcohol, while Adams believes in just monitoring "the frequency at which you urinate." Consume salt not in handfuls from cardboard cartons but in drinks like Gatorade, or maybe from the rim of your Margarita.

Salt is lost during dehydration. The whole point is to replenish your body with everything that is being lost. Gannett News Service You've put in a long day. On your way home, your car's a.c. starts blowing hot air.

Even before you get off I-75, you've got just one thing on your mind: a nice, cold beer. But wait: Isn't alcohol the worst thing you can drink during hot weather? Doesn't it dehydrate you? Well, maybe, but you still need a drink. "A cold beer on a hot day tastes as good as it's ever going to taste," says Dr. Thomas Adams, a professor of physiology at Michigan State University, "but you have to pay attention to your body's hydration level." Drinking a normal amount two beers won't get you in trouble. More than that, and you're taking a chance.

But if you insist on excessive drinking in the heat, here are some tips: breaking move by the pope to clear up a confusing bit of church law. The bottom line may be that both are right. "I think Catholics who disagree will continue to disagree. The onus will be on the institutional church to decide whether to punish them," said Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice, a group that supports abortion QUICK FIX XT. until peppers are tender.

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in small saucepan. Stir in rice, return to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in salsa, beans and corn. Add cup STUFFED ROASTED PEPPERS 3 red bell peppers 3 cup water 34 cup instant brown rice v.

INSIDE WHAT'S Insurance companies rather than your own physician are increasingly dictating what prescription drugs you get. So what's countermanding doctor's orders? Formularies restrictive drug lists that are essentially a laundry list of medicines your health plan will pay for. a Health CD FYI BABY'S MEDICINE: It can often be difficult to get babies to swallow their medicine. BabyTalk magazine offers these suggestions: Hold your baby at a 45-degree angle, as if you were nursing or bottle-feeding. To prevent gagging and spitting up, slide the liquid dropper between her cheek and gums, not between her tongue and the roof of her mouth.

Or gently pinch your baby's cheek with your thumb and forefinger when giving the medicine to trigger the swallowing reflex. TODAY'S TOP TICKET TRAVELING THE BACK-ROADS: "Bye Bye Brazil" will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Schein Performance Hall of B.I.G. Arts, 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel. The film is about a small-time traveling sideshow that journeys along the Brazilian backroads and has been described as exotic, heartwarming and earthy.

It's in Portuguese with English subtitles. Tickets are $4 for general admission or $3.50 for B.I.G. Arts members and members of the Southwest Florida Film Society. Call 395-0900. TELEVISION TONIGHT BEST BET: "Biography: Ann- Margret," 8 p.m.

on Although the auburn-haired entertainer once failed a screen test for a supporting role in "Hello, Dolly!" she was later nominated for best supporting actress in "Carnal Knowledge" and best actress in "Tommy." VCR ALERT: "Change of Heart," 9 p.m. on Lifetime, Jean Smart and John Terry star in this drama about a marriage that's rocked when the wife discovers that her husband is romantically involved with a man. TV listings 50 cup chunky mild salsa Vi cup drained canned black beans (optional) xh cup frozen corn cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro Cut peppers in half; remove seeds. Place peppers in baking dish; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave, at high, cheese; mix lightly.

When peppers are done, fill centers with rice mixture; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and microwave on high for two minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro..