November 1983

Editor At Large

In the 20-some years that I've known David Jordan, his assorted job assignments have consistently intrigued me. First he was this magazine's handyman editor. Then he left our midst and as a self-taught photographer pursued that profession for several years in St. Louis.

HI, AL, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

DIAL A CHEAP SEAT

Now up-to-date airline fares and schedules are available to travelers electronically. For $50 you can buy a password giving you access to the Official Airline Guide's computer bank of information, dubbed the Electronic Edition, via most computer terminals with a telephone hookup.

MEET ME IN NEW ORLEANS, LOUIE

MORE DATA ON DRUGS

4-H GUIDE DOG PROGRAM

WHAT'S BLACK AND WHITE AND RED ALL OVER?

UNICEF CHILDREN'S CALENDAR

BREATHE DEEPLY

Teaching Children How to Manage Money

Spendthrifts and tightwads are made, not born. To help your children learn to manage money wisely, you'll have to be a good role model and teacher from the time they're preschoolers to the days when they're attending college or heading out to work on their own.

Colorful Accents

Family Comforts

Special Splurges

Prizewinning Remodelings

Our 1982 Home Improvement Contest is history, but the excitement lives on. Better Homes and Gardens readers must be the most creative and imaginative families in the entire country!

Easy-to-Build PLANT STANDS

You can give your houseplants a lift with a build-it-yourself plant stand. The ideas featured on these three pages are perfect indoor projects for a blustery fall weekend. Here are five of our favorite designs.

Trade School: Ticket to A Better Job?

Many industries have lagged during the past several years, but America's 7,000 private vocational schools have never done better. Enrollment at the usually profit-making trade and technical schools, also known as proprietary schools, has surged by 25 percent in the past two years alone.

Gardener's Log

New biological pest control Now you can control damaging in sects in your garden without using harmful chemicals. The predatory cat erpillar nematode (Neoaplectana carpo- capsae) can kill over 250 known types of insect pests, according to recent labora tory research at the University of Cali fornia.

Kids and Cars Is Driver Education Enough?

Beaming with youthful enthusiasm, 16-year-old Linda Moxley backed the family sedan carefully out of the driveway. Linda, a recent driver education graduate, was taking her father on only his second ride with her. Approaching the first intersection, Linda accelerated slightly to turn left in front of an oncoming car, but then hesitated and braked.

HOME COMPUTERS

A home computer may top your family gift list this Christmas, but don't just leap at the first bargain you see. The kind of computer you'll need depends upon what you want it to do, and what it will do depends largely on what software will work on the machine you buy (see "Home Computers: Ready or Not, Here They Come," Better Homes and Gardens, March 1983).

X RAYS

The best advice is: Don't expose yourself to any diagnostic X ray unless there is a compelling health reason. But determining whether an X ray is warranted in a specific situation can be tricky. Does your child really need a full-mouth series of dental X rays every year? How often should a woman have mammography done, if ever?

Living Independently

These days more and more families face the challenge of finding assistance for older parents who cherish their independence, yet find they can use a little help. The need can range from short-term nursing care at home while recovering from a serious illness to simply having someone check in, prepare a hot meal, or run an errand.

End-of-the-Year Tax-Saving Tips

The year is almost over, but some sharp figuring now and a few simple moves still could save you tax money this year, next year, or both. The basic strategy involves juggling tax-deductible expenditures and possibly some income between 1983 and 1984, but other moves may benefit you, too.

Pet-Grooming Pointers

Well-groomed pets usually are healthier and happier than their unkept counterparts, besides looking better and being pleasanter companions. From time to time, you may want to call on a professional groomer to help keep your pet looking and feeling his best.

CHRISTMAS DELIGHTS for CHILDREN

Just-for-you toys and gifts like these gladden the holidays for you and your youngsters. Our extra-special assortment of ideas features delightful gifts to make as well as ready-made items to buy. No matter which you select for the children on your Christmas list-- from a hand-knitted sweater to an old-fashioned sled-- you're sure to choose a keepsake gift that will be treasured for many years.

Personal Getaways

A quiet guest room, a windowed attic nook, or the secluded corner of a bedroom-- each of us would like such a hideaway for reading, thinking, writing, listening to music, or pursuing favorite hobbies.

Space-Saving Spots For Your Microwave

Parking your microwave oven on the kitchen counter usually amounts to a trade-off between precious work space and quick-as-a-wink cooking convenience. In most cases there are better alternatives. Some make the space you already have work harder, and others steal a few square feet from an adjoining room.

Turkey Roasting Guide

You can count on roasting this year's turkey to perfection when you use the techniques below. You'll also find tips for thawing and stuffing the bird.

Creative Cake Decorating

Holiday Cooking '83

Cooking Chinese

Good News

Check your favorite stores for these innovative products, or write to the manufacturer for a list of retail sources. Please don't send a check to a company, or request an order form. The prices we list are only suggested retail prices.

Career-Changing Strategies

You've reached a plateau in your career and your chances of advancement look dim. Or you've burned out in what once was a perfectly satisfying vocation, be it teacher, homemaker, or bank president. Or maybe you're just plain out of a job.

Tips, Tools & Techniques

This feature is written by you. It's a wide-ranging collection of installation tips and shop shortcuts that you-- and millions like you-- have picked up as do-it-yourselfers. We pay $25 for each problem-solver we publish. See the box below for submission details.

Family Vacations in Central Florida

Mile for mile, Central Florida is packed with more family vacation fun than any area of comparable size anywhere. Since Disney World's Magic Kingdom sprang up from the swamplands approximately a dozen years ago, Central

How to Order Material from the Magazine

Fashion the fanciest trostings and garnisnes tor friends and family with the Mini Cake and Food/Cake decorating kits.

Shopping editor's choice

Discover the ease and pleasure of shopping by mail. Order from the convenience of your own home with complete confidence. If not delighted, each company will happily refund your money.

The Man Next Door

It had to happen sooner or later: One of Elizabeth McCann's sixth-graders claimed she didn't have her assignment "because the computer at home lost it."