
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 18, 1991                   TAG: 9104180480
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-15   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By KAREN L. WEIRICH
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

MERCHANTS' PATRIOTISM SEEMS SHALLOW TO VISITOR/

I CHOSE to leave Florida and come to Roanoke to be with my family while my husband served in the Persian Gulf. The people of Roanoke have been very supportive. My hat is off to organizers and volunteers at the Vinton Support Service Center.

I have just one complaint: The "patriotism" of the area's retailers is, at best, very shallow. They are eager to sell red, white and blue paraphernalia and yellow ribbons. They run commercials saying they support U.S. troops and their families. But when it comes right down to it, do they?

Local merchants want to sell me Gulf War mementos, but when I go to write a check I'm stopped dead in my tracks. My husband arranged for his paycheck to be directly deposited into our checking account in Florida. Therefore, I depend on out-of-state checks to buy food, clothes and services here. Sure, there are cash-withdrawal machines but each use costs $1 and that gets expensive. And I don't like carrying large amounts of cash.

I've had problems cashing checks even when I presented a driver's license and my military identification. I might add I've never bounced a check. Merchants in non-military towns don't seem to realize a military I.D. is the best around. We can't skip town because we can be found anywhere.

I understand bad checks are a big problem and I realize merchants must take precautions. But if they say they support the troops, they should do it to the fullest! That also means supporting families here at home.

Karen L. Weirich, a Roanoke native who lives in Pensacola, Fla., is the wife of a Navy hospital corpsman stationed in the Persian Gulf.

by CNB