ANSWER PAGE

Q.Where can I get a copy of that book by ex-Ranger Sparky Lyle? Someone told me it was brim- ming with good gossip. M.H., Fort Wort.

A. Lyle’s book, The Bronx Zoo -Life with the New York Yankees, is available at B. Dalton Bookseller, and it is indeed loaded with on- and off-the-mound stories about the Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Yankees. According to the Rangers’ publicist, the illustrious Lyle was “unloaded” to the Phillies last September after a stint as a Ranger relief pitcher. Because Lyle is part ball player, part crazy man, and part raconteur extraordinary his book has become quite popular and has sparked him an easy million. If he continues to have seasons like the last two, he’d better have that money in the bank.



Q.At this stage in thegame, I’m not averse to molding my future around the job market. When I hit Dallas streets after college, who will need me most job- wise? S.T., Garland.

A. Statistics are often mis-leading, but job market trends seem to run in four-year cycles. An example of this is the teaching profession: Several years ago the market was flooded, salaries dropped, and fewer college students planned to be teachers. Now the demand for teachers is increasing. Terry Kepler, director of the career center at SMU, predicts the trend from blue collar toward white collar services will continue through 1990, with a slowdown expected in the goods-producing industries.

Clerical workers will apparently be among the highest in demand as consumer services grow. Data processors, programmers, word processors, nurses, medical technologists, and engineers will also be in deman



Q. More and more I no-tice people along the road picking up aluminum cans and even pull-tabs. Is the amount they receive for the cans really worth all the effort? H.R., Oak Cliff.

A. That’s hard to judge. Obviously, few of the can collectors trade their harvests for new Ferraris. They usually make 30 cents a pound with an average of 24 cans in a pound. Many groups collect the cans as patriotic service, which also helps finance various projects. But if you’re looking for more immediate gratification, consider this: With the new “Smash ’em for Cash Program” in progress at 156 Dallas and Fort Worth Safe-ways, you can walk into a store with 796 aluminum cans (plus a few hundred pull-tabs for tax) and leave with a full case of beer for your trouble.



Q. My husband insists he saves gallons of gasoline by shutting off the car engine about 100 yards before we stop and then coasting into a parking space. He’s looney, right? B.D., Dallas.

A. Right. Walter Patter-son, director of energy at UTA, says he should be commended for attempting to conserve energy, but the amount of gasoline he saves is negligible. Patterson guesses he saves less gas than the car requires to travel one-seventeenth of a mile since the time immediately before the car stops is usually a period of deceleration anyway. He also warns that if the car has power steering or brakes, shutting off the engine could dangerously limit manuvera-bility in an emergency.

Q. During many rush hours on Stemmons I’ve pondered the Carlton cigarette waterfall. How long has that billboard been there and how much does it cost to operate? I.C., Irving.

A. The water first fell in 1962 when Dallas advertising firm Tracy-Locke built the board for Pearl beer. The sign then lauded Salem cigarettes before Carlton leased the space in 1975. Advertisers Foster and Kleiser, who own the surrounding land and the billboard, say they can’t reveal how much Carlton pays for the space. Whatever the price, the location is prime. Within a month’s time, 4.2 million motorists pass by -that’s more than the entire population of Oklahoma. The two million gallons of water that flow over the falls each day are continually recirculated and pumped back from a pool at the base of the falls. The tall grass around the sign is said to be snakey, but the reptiles don’t keep pranksters from dyeing the falls orange every Texas-OU weekend.