Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 25, 1993 TAG: 9303250304
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TAI WATCHERS STILL WAITING
Q: What became of Tai Collins on "Baywatch?" There were items in the paper saying she would appear as a lifeguard. L.V., RoanokeA: The answer's debatable. Some viewers think they may have seen the former Roanoker; others just don't know.
WSLS-TV, which carries the show on Saturday nights, also doesn't know if Collins has appeared. "We call it Tai watch," a station employee said.
A spokesman for the production company, All American Television in California, said Collins may WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND? RAY REED have appeared in some crowd scenes but might be hard to recognize. She's had no speaking parts and therefore no credit listings.
Collins, 30, moved to California in the past year to launch an acting career, and took some courses at UCLA. She said she wanted to escape the notoriety over her alleged affair with Sen. Charles Robb, who admitted to receiving a massage from Collins.
Collins indicated last fall she expected her "Baywatch" role to develop into some speaking parts.
Latin America and U.N.
Q: Why is it that we never see any troops from Central and South American countries among the multilateral forces of the United Nations? G.B., Roanoke
A: Latin American countries take a small role in international peacekeeping.
Argentina and Uruguay each have about 1,000 troops on U.N. duty, Colombia has about 200 and five others in the region have from 10 to 100 personnel abroad. Worldwide, there were 52,000 U.N. troops on Dec. 31, 1992.
Money is a major factor for most of these countries; some U.N. member nations are behind in paying dues, and this can hold up reimbursements to countries that send troops, a spokeswoman said.
Also, peacekeeping is purely voluntary. Eastern or European conflicts are a long way from South America, so there isn't much political incentive.
Schmoozing around
Q: I'm wondering about the origin of the word "schmooze." R.S., Roanoke
A: "Schmooze" is of Yiddish origin and came into use in America around 1900 to describe idle gossip, or people loafing and talking shop. The original Hebrew word meant news reports or gossip.
Beware of schmoozing reporters. We get paid for those gleanings.
Just the tax, please
Q: Why is there an imprint of the state of West Virginia on soda cans? And please don't make any sarcastic comments about the state of West Virginia because I think you'd be surprised how many readers you have among people who are originally from West Virginia. W.V., Roanoke
A: That imprint indicates the soda company has paid a penny for each can sold in West Virginia. It's had the excise tax since 1951.
Every Coke can from Roanoke carries the stamp because it would cost more to segregate a production run for a single state, a Coke spokesman said.
And I would never crack wise about West Virginia. We have already printed most of those jokes anyway - and theirs about us, as well.
Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.