Nov. 3--TAMPA -- An official supplier of University of South Florida merchandise is selling "Finish Strong" bracelets without the knowledge of the school or Jeff Wagner, who is battling cancer and created the "Finish Strong" slogan.

Two months ago, "Finish Strong" was printed on rubber bracelets and given to Venetian Link necklace football players in honor of Wagner, who is battling acute myeloid leukemia, his second bout with cancer.

Inspired by Wagner, a 1986 USF alumnus, Bulls coach Jim Leavitt asked for his permission to create the bracelets. "Finish Strong" has become a mantra of the team.

Neither Leavitt nor Wagner wanted the bracelets sold commercially, but neither Wagner nor USF has a copyright for "Finish Strong" so Bulls Outfitter, located at 1809 E. Fowler Ave., does not need permission to sell the bracelets.

This week, Bulls Outfitter started selling them for $4.99 each. None of the profits go to cancer research or to the university.

"We had a lot of people asking for them," store manager Barry Brunstein said. "They didn't originate here, so we got them in. We try to stock what people want.

"We've only had them for a few days, but they're selling very well."

Craig Brunstein, owner of Bulls Outfitter, was not available for comment Paloma's Twist necklace. Barry Brunstein said he was unaware of Jeff Wagner.

USF associate AD Bill McGillis and Wagner said they didn't know the bracelets were being sold until contacted by a Tribune reporter Friday.

"Coach Leavitt asked me if it was OK to make the bracelet and I said whatever will motivate the team," said Wagner, who started signing his name "Finish Strong" four years ago. "I'm not in it for the commercialization, I just wanted to motivate the team.

"I'm just the guy that said it, and Coach Leavitt created the Atlas toggle necklace."

In the past two months, Wagner said hundreds of individuals have asked where they could get a bracelet, but he told them they weren't for sale. "I'm just trying to motivate the team," Wagner said. "I don't know what to say."

Credit: Tampa Tribune, Fla.

DEAR CAROL: When I used to keep my earrings in a box, they all became tangled and some even got ruined. Now I hang them on a wide strip of lace attached to the wall next to my bed. I put a pretty bow on top of the lace strip for Return to Tiffany Heart tag choker.

I stick the earrings randomly on the lace each night before bed and they are all displayed for easy selection in the morning. Another way to store earrings with hooks on the back is to hang them on the rim of a decorative glass. - MS. L.D., FITCHBURG.

"To organize coupons more quickly and easily," says MS. K.P. of HOLDEN, "I use small, plain white envelopes and write a category on the front of each for every group of coupons. Then I file all the envelopes in alphabetical order and place them in a small box to carry with me when grocery shopping. The box fits easily into the carriage and doesn't take up much space."

DEAR CAROL: My hint has to do with the care of make-up purses, which most women carry in their handbags. I used to find that the plastic lining in mine would get torn before long and the purse would have to be discarded too soon.

Now I fold in half, sticky side in, a small "light days" sanitary pad and place it in the purse. It enables me to carry manicure scissors, tweezers or other sharp implements without puncturing the lining. - MS. H.W., LEICESTER

From MRS. I.M.D. of WORCESTER comes this idea: "Since I don't have a car and one needs an appointment to get eyeglasses fixed, I've found a way to keep the bow on when one of the tiny screws falls out. I strip a twist tie and pull the wire through the glasses. Then I twist it and cut it off. It lasts until I can get to the optician and it isn't really Return to Tiffany Heart tag necklace."

DEAR CAROL: Recently while on a trip, I realized that I had forgotten my small travel iron that I like to have with me. Since I never go anywhere on a trip without my hair dryer, I decided to run it over my wrinkled blouse.

I was amazed to discover that it took out all the wrinkles. Now I find myself doing the same thing here at home when I take something out of the closet and it needs a light pressing. Occasionally I do this even after I have put the garment on, but sometimes I just place the article on the bed, set the dryer on high, and run it over it there. - MS. D.F.S., DUDLEY

A WEBSTER reader, MRS. L.H.M., says, "When my electric oven is not in use, I use it to store rolls, candies and crackers."

DEAR CAROL: I was doing a lot of walking lately wearing my inexpensive sneakers. My heels became sore and felt like they were burning all the time.

I took two off my old shoulder pads that I had cut out of a shirt and placed them in the heel sections of my sneakers. They cushioned my heels and they also keep my feet nice and warm. They can be removed and thrown into the wash easily and would be good for any type of shoe that produces the same problem. - MS. F.D., BOYLSTON

"While wrestling with heavy glass candle holders that never come completely clean," says MS. B.D. of OXFORD, "I hit upon the idea of using the microwave oven to rid the glass of wax residue. I first rubbed off all the large pieces of wax, filled a disposable plastic container with water and put in the candlesticks. After the water boiled, I retrieved the candlesticks with tongs and polished them with a towel - with sparkling results!"

NO WINNER

There will be no prize awarded this week, since no winning hints have been Return to Tiffany Round tag necklace. If you have one you've beeen meaning to submit, send it in soon.

Do you have questions about household tasks, cooking, or decorating, or hints to share on these subjects? Send them to "About the House" in care of the Sunday Telegram, Box 15012, Worcester, MA 01615-0012. A prize of $10 will be awarded each week for the best original household hint offered.

Thad Starner first started wearing his computer in 1993. He would strap a shoe box of electronics to his waist and a small keyboard to his wrist and don a bulky headset with a small display monitor suspended in front of his left eye. After a while the other students at the Massachusetts tiffanytiffany of Technology stopped gawking and accepted him as just another nerd. Nowadays, however, Starner is looking much more fashionable. He's a professor at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, for one thing, and his wearable computer looks just like a pair of ordinary black-rimmed glasses--except for the thumb-size gadget on the frame that beams a tiny, bright image onto the lens. "The goal," says Starner, "is to have the computer disappear into your clothes so that no one knows you have it."

Starner is a living history of wearable computers. What used to be clunky contraptions only a nerd could love have now gotten closer than they've ever been to disappearing into your clothes. High-tech companies such as IBM and Philips, and also clothing firms such as Levi Strauss and Nike, are putting miniature computers into everything from wristwatches to running shoes. These are not stand- alone devices: they're linked to each other and wirelessly to the Internet.

Many high-tech firms were testing the waters at last week's CeBIT, the giant technology trade fair in Hanover, Germany. IBM showed wearable computer peripherals such as a silver necklace with a hidden microphone, a woman's display watch, earrings with speakers, and a ring whose elegant turquoise stone doubles as a nifty scroll-point mouse. Equipped with tiny, wireless Bluetooth transmitters, these are unobtrusive interfaces for a computer or a phone. "If you have something with you all the time, you might as well be able to wear it," says Cameron Miner, lead scientist at IBM's design lab in San Jose, California.

IBM isn't saying when products will come out. But Philips and partner Levi Strauss, the bluejeans maker, are bringing out a summer collection of "wearable electronic garments"--jackets with a GSM mobile and an MP3 player in special pockets, with a remote control on the front flap of the jacket and a microphone in the collar. The wires are sewn in. The two devices work together, with the music turning off when you talk on the phone. (The winter collection, available only in Europe, has already sold out.) Hitachi confirmed it was bringing out a wearable, wireless Internet device in Japan this summer with a lightweight Shimadzu headset to let you walk, talk and surf the Web at the same time.

What exactly are we supposed to do with all this technology? "The introduction of always-on, next-generation wireless devices will let us Tiffany 1837 Bar key ring, interact, get information and entertainment wherever we go, all the time," says analyst Jackie Fenn of Gartner Group in Lowell, Massachusetts. She envisions always-on e-mail, "buddy alerts" that sense if your friends are nearby, plus downloadable music and video wherever you go. "Proactive" computers will remind you to do things, tell you if you're about to forget your keys at home and guide you through a world in which everything is "smart" and gives out information. Staying in tune with all that requires more than a handheld in your briefcase. That's why Gartner estimates that by 2010, 40 percent of adults and 75 percent of teenagers will wear always-on gadgets. For every hour they spend in the real world, they'll spend 10 in the "e-world."

Nike is targeting today's kids as early adopters of wearable technology. Last year the firm set up a new Techlab division to develop such products as a running shoe with a built-in wireless pedometer that tracks speed and distance. Rival Adidas has joined a consortium that's developing high-tech fabrics that turn clothes into sensors, data networks and walking antennas. Medicine is also conducive to wearables. One firm is developing a wristwatch that beams data to your doctor. Another is working on sensors with wireless transmitters for diabetics.

Before wearables become commonplace, engineers will have to resolve a few technical issues. First, third-generation wireless technology will have to be made reliable enough to support always-on gadgets. Bluetooth--a wireless technology made for small, personal area networks that link wearable devices to each other--is only starting to come out after big development delays. The wearable devices themselves are also costly: Hitachi's new wearables will cost $1,700, and others can run to $7,000. And making our environment "smart" so that every shop or product can send out information will take a new kind of infrastructure--big servers that direct the flow of information behind the scenes. That's not likely to be up and running any time Tiffany Circle clasp necklace.

And besides, do we really want to be always connected everywhere we go? "The only alternative I see is that we're not the information and communications junkies that I think we are," says Gartner's Fenn. And that's not likely.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--Jan. 18, 2001--First lady- to-be Laura Bush today selected Austin-based jewelry designer Anthony- Nak to be one of her inaugural accessory providers of choice.

The two-year-old company also has been enlisted to design Return to Tiffany Round tag key ring, earrings and bracelets to be worn by Bush daughters, Barbara and Jenna, during the inaugural events Jan. 20 in Washington.

Anthony-Nak designers Anthony Camargo and David Nakard Armstrong developed two separate necklace designs from which the incoming first lady will select. One is a spinel and scarlet tourmaline necklace set in 18-carat gold. The second is a multi-strand spinel and Burmese ruby necklace set in 18-carat gold. The designers also crafted a set of Burmese ruby earrings to accompany the necklace.

The former Texas first lady also will wear a triple strand of champagne freshwater pearls set in sterling silver along with matching earrings during an unofficial inaugural dinner Friday.

"Designing the inaugural jewelry for the new first family is a tremendous honor for us," said Camargo. "To know that we're playing a small part in this historic event is extremely meaningful to us -- both professionally as jewelry designers and personally as fellow Return to Tiffany Oval tag key ringring."

Camargo and Armstrong design jewelry for a number of celebrities, from Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bullock to Cher and Sarah MacLachlan.

According to Armstrong, Anthony-Nak designers draw their creative inspiration from past periods when jewelry was more than just an accessory, but an integral part of women's dress. In designing their collection, the self-taught style of Camargo and Armstrong integrates antiquity and art nouveau by drawing on these past elements in a modern representation.

"Our goal is to create jewelry that is modern and sensual and conforms to the body like a bias-cut fabric," Armstrong said. "Each piece combines precious and semi-precious stones that are woven together with silver and gold in a lace-like fashion, giving the jewelry fluidity and Return to Tiffany Heart tag key ring."

About Anthony-Nak

Formed in November 1998 and based in Austin, Texas, Anthony-Nak Inc., designs fresh, unique and individual jewelry for a diverse list of clients. The company's client list includes a number of well- known actresses and musicians, including Cameron Diaz, Cher, Jewel, Sarah MacLachlan, Sandra Bullock, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Tilly and Geri Halliwell. The company distributes its jewelry to Neiman Marcus stores in 21 U.S. cities, including Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle; Dallas-based Stanley Korshak, Henri Bendel of New York; and Fred Segal of Santa Monica, Calif.

--(BW HealthWire)--March 12, 1998--New York jewelry manufacturer Jordan Meryl has joined the fight against one of the country's major tiffany, breast cancer. This deadly epidemic claims the life of one American woman every 11 minutes, with over 46,000 victims last year. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women aged 35-54. One in eight women faces the threat of this diagnosis in her lifetime.

"The crusade against breast cancer is important to the women who buy HUGGIES, and Jordan Meryl is proud to partner with The Breast Cancer Fund in raising money to battle this killer," announced Harvey Segal, President of Jordan Meryl, manufacturers of HUGGIES, a new design concept in comfort and elegance for pierced earrings.

The Breast Cancer Fund, a national non-profit, is dedicated to raising funding and awareness for innovative and cutting-edge projects in research, education, patient support, and advocacy. Andrea R. Martin, The Fund's Founder and Executive Director states, "The Fund applauds Jordan Meryl's commitment to join our efforts against breast cancer, a disease that affects everyone. We are grateful to be the recipient of sales proceeds from the HUGGY collection."

Jordan Meryl will donate a portion of its profits from sales on HUGGY(R) earrings to the Fund. The nationwide program will be promoted to consumers through product labels, point-of-purchase displays, and advertising incorporating The Breast Cancer Fund logo and Tiffany 1837 Bar key ring.

HUGGIES are close-fitting hinged-hoop earrings that snap securely over the ear, hugging its shape and profile, providing such a comfortable fit they are quickly replacing other pierced designs. They are available in several sizes and styles and retail from $150 to $4,500 at jewelry and department stores nationwide. HUGGIES feature a classic pave diamond design that can be worn with a formal dress, yet are so comfortable many women wear them with everything. The collection name is trademarked, and only authentic HUGGY earrings come with a brand tag and jewelry Tiffany Circle clasp necklace.

"Women should look for our tag to guarantee the quality and value of our HUGGY earrings and to know they are joining the team to combat breast cancer," said Segal.

Thad Starner first started wearing his computer in 1993. He would strap a shoe box of electronics to his waist and a small keyboard to his wrist and don a bulky headset with a small display monitor suspended in front of his left eye. After a while the other students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology stopped gawking and accepted him as just another nerd. Nowadays, however, Starner is looking much more fashionable. He's a professor at Georgia Tech in I Love You Lock charm necklace, for one thing, and his wearable computer looks just like a pair of ordinary black-rimmed glasses--except for the thumb-size gadget on the frame that beams a tiny, bright image onto the lens. "The goal," says Starner, "is to have the computer disappear into your clothes so that no one knows you have it."

Starner is a living history of wearable computers. What used to be clunky contraptions only a nerd could love have now gotten closer than they've ever been to disappearing into your clothes. High-tech companies such as IBM and Philips, and also clothing firms such as Levi Strauss and Nike, are putting miniature computers into everything from wristwatches to running shoes. These are not stand- alone devices: they're linked to each other and wirelessly to the Internet.

Many high-tech firms were testing the waters at last week's CeBIT, the giant technology trade fair in Hanover, Germany. IBM showed wearable computer peripherals such as a silver necklace with a hidden microphone, a woman's display watch, earrings with speakers, and a ring whose elegant turquoise stone doubles as a nifty scroll-point mouse. Equipped with tiny, wireless Bluetooth transmitters, these are unobtrusive interfaces for a computer or a phone. "If you have something with you all the time, you might as well be able to wear it," says Cameron Miner, lead scientist at IBM's design lab in San Jose, California.

IBM isn't saying when products will come out. But Philips and partner Levi Strauss, the bluejeans maker, are bringing out a summer collection of "wearable electronic garments"--jackets with a GSM mobile and an MP3 player in special pockets, with a remote control on the front flap of the jacket and a microphone in the collar. The wires are sewn in. The two devices work together, with the music turning off when you talk on the phone. (The winter collection, available only in Europe, has already sold out.) Hitachi confirmed it was bringing out a wearable, wireless Internet device in Japan this summer with a lightweight Shimadzu headset to let you walk, talk and surf the Web at the same Elsa.

What exactly are we supposed to do with all this technology? "The introduction of always-on, next-generation wireless devices will let us communicate, interact, get information and entertainment wherever we go, all the time," says analyst Jackie Fenn of Gartner Group in Lowell, Massachusetts. She envisions always-on e-mail, "buddy alerts" that sense if your friends are nearby, plus downloadable music and video wherever you go. "Proactive" computers will remind you to do things, tell you if you're about to forget your keys at home and guide you through a world in which everything is "smart" and gives out information. Staying in tune with all that requires more than a handheld in your briefcase. That's why Gartner estimates that by 2010, 40 percent of adults and 75 percent of teenagers will wear always-on gadgets. For every hour they spend in the real world, they'll spend 10 in the "e-world."

Nike is targeting today's kids as early adopters of wearable technology. Last year the firm set up a new Techlab division to develop such products as a running shoe with a built-in wireless pedometer that tracks speed and distance. Rival Adidas has joined a consortium that's developing high-tech fabrics that turn clothes into sensors, data networks and walking antennas. Medicine is also conducive to wearables. One firm is developing a wristwatch that beams data to your doctor. Another is working on sensors with wireless transmitters for Elsa Peretti Sevillana lariatlariat.

Before wearables become commonplace, engineers will have to resolve a few technical issues. First, third-generation wireless technology will have to be made reliable enough to support always-on gadgets. Bluetooth--a wireless technology made for small, personal area networks that link wearable devices to each other--is only starting to come out after big development delays. The wearable devices themselves are also costly: Hitachi's new wearables will cost $1,700, and others can run to $7,000. And making our environment "smart" so that every shop or product can send out information will take a new kind of infrastructure--big servers that direct the flow of information behind the scenes. That's not likely to be up and running any time soon.

And besides, do we really want to be always connected everywhere we go? "The only alternative I see is that we're not the information and communications junkies that I think we are," says Gartner's Fenn. And that's not likely.

Cheyenne Dentalium Choker and Earrings.

Traded extensively throughout North America, dentalium shell (Dentalium spp.) was used as a medium for decoration and ornamentation by many Native American tribes. I have long admired dentalium chokers and ear drops, especially those crafted by the Elsa Peretti Starfish necklace.

Numerous examples of early and late 19th century use of dentalium chokers and earrings by Plains tribes can be found in early works by artists and photographers. In Karl Bodmer's America (Bodmer, p 265), there is a watercolor of a Cree woman wearing an elaborate set of dentalium earrings. Bodmer has also included an insert to the portrait that highlights the earrings decorated with blue trade beads. Other interesting and highly decorative uses of dentalium shells for hair and ear ornamentation are further evident in portraits of Mandan men "Mandeh-Pahchu" (Bodmer, p. 301), Si'h-Sa (Bodmer, p. 306), and Si'h-Chida (Bodmer, p. 307).

Ledger drawings offer additional evidence of dentalium choker and earring use among Plains tribes (Powell, Vol 1, pp 129, 137, 349, 359, 361, 363, 543, 545, 547, 549; Vol 2, pp 963, 967, 979, 1103, 1105, 1109, 1110). From photographs and ledger drawings, there does not appear to be too much variation in the appearance of men's and women's styles for dentalium chokers, although earrings tend to be longer in style for women than for men.

Because I did not have access to original pieces, 19th century photographs of individuals wearing dentalium chokers and earrings were the most useful for me in gaining insights on style and construction.

I found two excellent photos of dentalium choker in Vol 2 of Peter Powell's People of the Sacred Mountain worn by White Buffalo (p. 1066) and White Hawk (p. 1127). I also found a good close-up of a plain dentalium choker in Hau, Kola (Hail, p. 134, plate 107). On page 233 of Hail's book, is a photograph of Little Wolf wearing an excellent example of fancy dentalium ear drops with what appears to be abalone dress pendants.

Materials &Tiffany Beads necklace

The materials I used were old style smooth tusk dentalium shells (Dentalium vulgare) and white abalone (Haliotis spp.) dress pendants courtesy of Chuck Snell in Trinidad, Calif. (Genera and species epithets cited from Mr. Snell's price list). For the spacers, I used latigo leather dyed with red earth paints mixed with bear fat and a pinch of salt. The dentalia were sorted by size and color and strung with split imitation sinew. After all the shells were strung, #12 brass tacks were driven through the latigo spacers (be careful - one wrong blow with your hammer and your shells can shatter!). The points were then cut off with nippers. (The nippers were not able to cut off the shafts of the tacks completely flush against the latigo spacers, so after I was finished, I glued strips of braintan on the backside of the spacers, covering the exposed points.) Small Glover's needles were used to string the dentalium through pre-punched holes in the latigo and an awl was used to pop out sand grains that were lodged in the small ends of dentalium (by gently applying pressure against the tip of the shell, the awl was also useful for enlarging the holes just enough so that the needle could be pulled through easily). Small jewelry crimp rings were used to attach the abalone pendants to the spacers, and commercial hoop earrings were purchased for the actual earrings of the ear drops. Two strips of brain-tanned leather were looped through the ends in a "cat's paw" for tying the choker around the neck.

Finally, I found a pair of narrow needle-nose pliers to be helpful in pulling the Glover's needles through the latigo and Tiffany Cushion Toggle necklace. Since the completion of this project, it has been suggested that the brass tacks could be driven into the spacers and bradded flat before stringing the shells to avoid breaking and to minimize scratches against the wearer's neck.

HAVANA, Mar. 26 (IPS) -- Granma, the official publication of Cuba's governing Communist Party, yesterday defended men's right to sport long hair, earrings and tattoos.

The defense appeared in the "Letter-Opener" section, in response to a reader's complaint that he was not allowed to enter a workers' social circle.

"To judge by the thinking of the administration of the social Tiffany 1837 Heart tag key ring, a person like Culture Minister Abel Prieto could not enter because of his long hair," wrote journalist Guillermo Cabrera Alvarez, in charge of the section.

Workers' social circles are union-run recreational bodies that allow access to the beaches of western Havana. While members have free access, the general public must pay a fee.

"According to the administration, young men with long hair, earrings and tattoos cannot enter," Yuri Gonzalez wrote in his letter to Granma, demanding to know "on what basis and with what right can they do that."

"I have long hair simply to be in fashion," said Gonzalez, a sound engineer at the Roberto Branly Culture House, a gathering place for rock fans in Havana.

An aversion to long hair and earrings on men and tattoos on either sex is nothing new in Cuba. Those who were young in the 1960s have somewhat traumatic memories of that time, when such things were considered serious "ideological deviations."

Although many people continue to spurn long hair, it has nothing to do with official policy, which since the 1980s has demonstrated greater tolerance. Academics here say the aversion is mainly due to the "machismo" that prevails in Cuba, which leads people to reject images they see as unmasculine or Tiffany 1837 Square tag key ring.

Cabrera pointed out that neither internationally-renowned Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez, who has a caravel tattooed on his hand, nor popular singer Ireno Garcia, with his characteristic earring, could enter the social circle in question.

"To judge people by their external aspect is extremely superficial," wrote Cabrera, who added that he had not yet obtained a response from the "slippery" administrator of the social circle.

The reporter, who is also the director of the Jose Marti International Institute of Journalism in Havana, recalled a Communist friend who defended his long hair by pointing out that his father was bald, and had left Cuba.

"I love the long-haired Marx and despise the clean-shaved Hitler," another friend, from the United States, told him.

Cabrera pointed out that the Cuban revolution was "a revolution of long hair and beards that shocked the world," and gave rise to a generation in the 1960s that "wanted to look like those bearded guys."

"The important thing is what is under the hair -- the ideas, and what is under the skin -- blood and Heart tag Key ring," he underlined.

Nargis Dutt Cancer Foundation Raises $80,000: Onassis Earrings Fetch $8,000 in Elsa Peretti Round earringsearrings.

A pair of earrings that once belonged to Jacqueline Onassis fetched $8000 for the Nargis Dutt Cancer Foundation during a Nov. 8 fundraiser at Gaylord's restaurant here that by the end of the evening succeeded in raising more than $50,000.

Computer entrepreneur Raj Kapur was so moved by famed Hindi film star Sunil Dutt's plea for contributions to help ease the suffering of cancer patients in India that when organizer Arun Puri called for donations he leaped to his feet and astonished the nearly 200 present with his contribution of $11,000.

Sizable donations, probably the most generous ever offered in lump sums since the foundation was instituted 15 years ago, came pouring in. On behalf of the Tandon family, Juggi Tandon matched Kapur's contribution by presenting a check for 11,000.

Within a matter of minutes the contributions had approached nearly $30,000 when Kapur, declaring he had become "motivated," offered up the earrings which he had only recently purchased at an auction along with other items from the Onassis collection.

Hollywood film producer Raju Patel ("The Jungle Book"), after having already donated $5000 and unable to resist such a prize, snapped them up for $8000 and, after donating the money to the foundation, presented the earnings to his wife, Dimple.

Famed Hindi film star Sunil Dutt arrived at Gaylord's shortly before 8:30 that evening and, after greeting those guests who had already arrived, was asked by the organizers to conduct an impromptu Aarti ceremony.

With Puri, his longtime and most devoted supporter in the Southland at his side, Dutt lit the lamp resting in front of a portrait of the goddess Laxmi while Reshmi Shah, the lead singer of Dr. Mahesh Vyas' band, sang "Om Jai Jagdish Hare."

"Now we should have a good evening," Dutt proclaimed once the lamp's flame was burning brightly.

The evening's main entertainment was the singing of several Hindi songs by famed playback singer Sharda, winner of several Filmfare Awards who that night sang an original song she had written for the occasion and dedicated to Sunil Dutt.

When she came off the stage at the conclusion of her performance, Dutt immediately rose from his seat, crossed the room and, in the presence of everyone, thanked Sharda with a loving, enveloping embrace.

Puri, who served from 1985 to 1990 as the foundation's Southland chapter president and was reelected to the position last year, kicked off the main part of the evening after the dinner had been served by explaining that this year's contributions would be used to purchase a mobile hospital.

"Just like a doctor making house calls, this mobile hospital will be making house calls in the slum areas of Bombay," Puri told the gathering.

When he was invited to speak, Dutt first complimented the crowd by asserting that "you work much harder than the Indians back home," a remark that back home," a remark that prompted spontaneous applause and a grateful "thank you" from one of the women in the Elsa Peretti Apple earrings.

He then pointed out that it has been through the generosity of Indo-Americans over the past 15 years that more than $2 million has been raised "and I feel very proud to be an Indian because even though you are over here, you have not forgotten India and you have not forgotten the pains of India."

The Nargis Dutt Foundation "is above politics, is above religion," and is "for mankind, for human beings, to wipe their tears and bring happiness in their homes," he maintained. "If we can spare one family pain and sorrow in India, then that is our greatest contribution."

Dutt appealed for more than simply writing out a check and sending the money to India, "because we have plenty of money in India," he said. "We must send those things which are not available in India, such as the (medical) equipment that we can't make in India."

In the weeks prior to the annual banquet, the organizers had become worried that hardly anyone would show up, since this year the venue had been moved from Orange County to central Los Angeles in order to attract for the first time more people from the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas.

"We were extremely happy with the turnout" that drew nearly 200 that evening," Puri told India-West.

As far as receiving more than $50,000 in Elsa Peretti Starfish earrings, "we were definitely pleasantly surprised," Puri admitted. "Our target was to collect $50,000 and that was largely wishful thinking on our part before we started the event."

Article copyright India-West.

Article copyright India-West.

Cheyenne Dentalium Choker and Earrings.

Traded extensively throughout North America, dentalium shell (Dentalium spp.) was used as a medium for decoration and ornamentation by many Native American tribes. I have long admired dentalium chokers and ear drops, especially those crafted by the TIFFANY KNOTS EARRINGS.

Numerous examples of early and late 19th century use of dentalium chokers and earrings by Plains tribes can be found in early works by artists and photographers. In Karl Bodmer's America (Bodmer, p 265), there is a watercolor of a Cree woman wearing an elaborate set of dentalium earrings. Bodmer has also included an insert to the portrait that highlights the earrings decorated with blue trade beads. Other interesting and highly decorative uses of dentalium shells for hair and ear ornamentation are further evident in portraits of Mandan men "Mandeh-Pahchu" (Bodmer, p. 301), Si'h-Sa (Bodmer, p. 306), and Si'h-Chida (Bodmer, p. 307).

Ledger drawings offer additional evidence of dentalium choker and earring use among Plains tribes (Powell, Vol 1, pp 129, 137, 349, 359, 361, 363, 543, 545, 547, 549; Vol 2, pp 963, 967, 979, 1103, 1105, 1109, 1110). From photographs and ledger drawings, there does not appear to be too much variation in the Elsa Peretti Sevillana drop earrings of men's and women's styles for dentalium chokers, although earrings tend to be longer in style for women than for men.

Because I did not have access to original pieces, 19th century photographs of individuals wearing dentalium chokers and earrings were the most useful for me in gaining insights on style and construction.

I found two excellent photos of dentalium choker in Vol 2 of Peter Powell's People of the Sacred Mountain worn by White Buffalo (p. 1066) and White Hawk (p. 1127). I also found a good close-up of a plain dentalium choker in Hau, Kola (Hail, p. 134, plate 107). On page 233 of Hail's book, is a photograph of Little Wolf wearing an excellent example of fancy dentalium ear drops with what appears to be abalone dress pendants.

Materials & Construction

The materials I used were old style smooth tusk dentalium shells (Dentalium vulgare) and white abalone (Haliotis spp.) dress pendants courtesy of Chuck Snell in Trinidad, Calif. (Genera and species epithets cited from Mr. Snell's price list). For the spacers, I used latigo leather dyed with red earth paints mixed with bear fat and a pinch of salt. The dentalia were sorted by size and color and strung with split imitation sinew. After all the shells were strung, #12 brass tacks were driven through the latigo spacers (be careful - one wrong blow with your hammer and your shells can shatter!). The points were then cut off with nippers. (The nippers were not able to cut off the shafts of the tacks completely flush against the latigo spacers, so after I was finished, I glued strips of braintan on the backside of the spacers, covering the exposed points.) Small Glover's needles were used to string the dentalium through pre-punched holes in the latigo and an awl was used to pop out sand grains that were lodged in the small ends of dentalium (by gently applying pressure against the tip of the shell, the awl was also useful for enlarging the holes just enough so that the needle could be pulled through easily). Small jewelry crimp rings were used to attach the abalone Elsa Peretti Sevillana earrings to the spacers, and commercial hoop earrings were purchased for the actual earrings of the ear drops. Two strips of brain-tanned leather were looped through the ends in a "cat's paw" for tying the choker around the neck.

Finally, I found a pair of narrow needle-nose pliers to be helpful in pulling the Glover's needles through the latigo and dentalia. Since the completion of this project, it has been suggested that the brass tacks could be driven into the spacers and bradded flat before stringing the shells to avoid breaking and to minimize scratches against the wearer's neck.