DEAR ABBY: I wonder if perhaps I am the only living American who was in Paris the night that Charles Lindberg arrived in 1927. I was a lad of 17 at the time.

My late brother-in-law, Global Zobel, and I were at Auteil, watching Bill Tilden and Bill Johnston play Brugnon and Borotra for the doubles championship of France, when newsboys began hawking "extras" announcing that "Limberger" had been sighted flying over Ireland. A mass exodus from the stands took place, with everyone grabbing taxis to go to Bourget Airport. To this day, I don't know who won the tennis match - or if it was even finished.The boulevard to Bourget was jammed with taxis 10 abreast. In those days, the Paris taxi had a sliding panel in the roof. Everyone had acquired a bottle of something and, inasmuch as the traffic moved very slowly, bottles were passed from cab to cab celebrating the earthshaking achievement. We managed to get to within a mile of the airfield. It was around 10 p.m. in Paris, and we saw Lindbergh shoot out a flare over the airfield to determine where he was and how to land.

Paris went mad for the next three days. There was dancing in the streets, and restaurants were giving free food and liquor to Americans!

I would be very interested to know if there are any other Americans still around who shared this experience. - JOHN ZUCKERMAN, STOCKTON, CALIF.

DEAR JOHN: If there are, and I hear from them, I'll let you know. Readers?

DEAR ABBY: I was very much amused by the letter from a mother who received outraged insults whenever she took her children out in public on leashes.

In England, "harnesses" are much more accepted - perhaps because people walk more in England than we do in the States. So when my husband was an exchange teacher in London for a year, I purchased leather harnesses for our 18-month-old twin daughters. They didn't seem to object, and it gave me a great deal of peace of mind.

It wasn't until we were back in the States and we changed planes in Dallas that I realized how many Americans felt about children on leashes! I received dirty looks, muffled negative comments and some outright insulting criticism as we strolled through the Dallas airport. I felt like a criminal. Then a very distinguished older gentleman approached me with a smile and said, "How I wish those things were around when my twin girls were about the age of yours!"

Believe me, Abby, that man made my day. - LOVING MOM IN SACRAMENTO

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DEAR MOM: Knowing something about what a handful a pair of spirited 2-year-old twins can be, I'm sure my dear, departed mother would also have appreciated some kind of "harness" for her twins.

DEAR ABBY: Many years ago, I wrote to you about a problem I was having with my fiance. Whenever he lost his temper, he would curse. He never used obscenities; he would curse taking the name of the Lord in vain.

You suggested that he substitute some other phrase, so being an opera lover, he'd say, "Oh, Gotterdammerung it!" It diffused his anger, broke the tension, and brought a little laughter into the conversation. - SAN FRANCISCAN

What teenagers need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with their peers and parents is now in Abby's updated, expanded booklet, "What Every Teen Should Know." To order, send a long, business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054. (Postage is included.)

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