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THE CAT CHRONICLE
-----------------
					* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
					*  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  *
					*      July 14, 1995      *
					* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The CAT Chronicle is published weekly, every Friday by Children's
Animated Television (CAT). CAT produces educational videos for
children and teens on social issues such as AIDS and diversity,
as well as provide a free public service computer BBS.

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CAT CURRENTS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exciting development from the office our president Claude DiDomenica
this week. He has been in contact with John Fanning, the System
Operator of the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse Online BBS. This
newsletter will now be available as a file on their BBS! CAT may even
have its own file area for the newsletter and press releases.

The GLB self esteem video is slowly falling into place.
Our Executive Director, Bessie Hadley, has been in contact with
the Massachusetts Department of Education, teens and educators.
We have received a helping hand from the National Network for Youth,
Children of the Night, The Actor's Fund of America and the our very
own, Representative Barney Frank! We are pleased to receive a good
response from such a variety of people. Look for more updates
right here!

Web Home Page News
------------------
This week we are still in the construction stages of building
our new World Wide Web site. It will be well worth the wait. We
will have links to our sponsors, other bulletin boards, and
the AIDS Daily Summary as well as entertaining and unique visuals.
The estimated premiere date is July 21, 1995. We CAT people are
ecstatic to be able to offer this public service to you. Stay tuned
here for updates on this exciting project!!!

CAT People:
~~~~~~~~~~
This week, we want to focus on two of our long-time sponsors:
Robert DiDomenica, musical composer and Dan Linton, Software
Creations Founder and bulletin board guru extraordinaire. They will
be featured on CAT's World Wide Web site in the "Sponsors, Friends
and Volunteers" page. We thank them again for their continued support 
and belief in our goals

GLB Youth Advisor:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Learning Self Acceptance

Becoming aware of our sexuality represents an important journey for
young gays, involving both self discovery and acceptance; however,
these issues frequently bring both pain and confusion to almost
everyone. Most all humans feel confused at some point in their lives,
especially teenagers and young adults. These feelings are part of
'growing up' gay. Although most people outgrow this stage of life
quickly, we face some additional challenges. Speaking for myself,
I literally woke up one morning after a dream and thought to myself
'I think I am gay.'  Speaking with a number of individuals the last
couple of years, this is common but not exclusive. Most of my
childhood featured 'gay feelings' but the actual acknowledgment of
what these feelings meant came overnight. The process of self
discovery can be both exciting and frightening, because the lessons
learned growing up gay are at times painful, but at other times
wonderful. Let me give you an example: my first encounter with
'homophobia' (Someone who dislikes homosexuals or is fearful of them)
occurred at college. Discovering the hate your own friends display
towards your identity sent me into a depression that nearly killed
me. While never revealing my homosexuality to these 'friends,'
I tolerated their hateful comments and threats to others they
suspected were gay. Instead of standing up for myself and trying to
improve the quality of life for other homosexuals and myself at the
college, I fled by dropping out of school. My failure to accept
myself resulted in dropping out of school. Unfortunately I still
feared my gay identity and attempted to avoid the issue by running
away from my problem. Actually, I tried to escape this fear of myself
by both leaving college and attempting suicide. These feelings
represent an entirely different subject for discussion, but the point
here is that I learned a painful lesson.

Exploring the positive accepts of being gay leads to self acceptance.
Being held closely and kissed by someone you really like begins to
change your perspective. Suddenly, you discover the wonder and
comfort associated with your first relationships. There exists an
entire 'Gay Community' united to lend each other support and
friendship. Once you learn that you are not alone in the world,
immediately the journey to self acceptance begins. This particular
emotional trip will take a great deal of time, depending on your
particular personality. While I experienced the joy and comfort of
physically being with someone I find attractive, I never experienced
my first relationship or 'boyfriend.' I feel this makes life more
difficult, because I cannot share certain feelings and thoughts with
just anyone. Understanding that self acceptance cannot be achieved
alone is an important step. We need to develop friendships with other
gay youth because it gives us an outlet. Having other gay friends
provides you a means of expressing your feelings, fears and hopes.
The same emotions you felt could not be revealed to other friends or
family members can be shared and discussed with people just like you.
I am in the process with surrounding myself with gay friends, who
provide me with advice and support. So despite not having ever had a
boyfriend, at least there are people in my life who can help me
through troublesome times.

Once you begin to develop relationships and friendships, you find
yourself becoming comfortable with your identity. Finally, you begin
to learn self acceptance. Once you shake the fear of being gay and
replace those feelings with confidence and pride, your outlook on
life begins to slowly change. Realize that you are surrounded by
successful gay men and women, these people impact the lives of every
human being in the world. Many of the world's greatest authors,
actors, poets, scientists, politicians, diplomats and military
leaders are homosexual. Becoming free of the emotional turmoil caused
by denying your self-identify, you will find yourself becoming more
creative and productive. Our history is rich and diverse, and self
acceptance allows you to become part of our 'gay community.'

Mike Reddin
Volunteer GLB Youth Advisor
for Children's Animated Television
Internet Address: wxman@pcix.com

Child Safety Corner...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Child safety tip of the week: FIREARMS SAFETY. Each year nearly
500 children die, and 8000 are injured from unintentional shootings
in the home. Here are a few hints for parents who own guns, to
prevent a tragedy:

* Keep your guns locked up and unloaded. Keep the ammunition
  separate from the gun and keep the keys away from children.
* Get trigger locks to further reduce the risk.
* Talk to your kids about the dangers of guns.
* Teach your kids if they find a gun, not to handle it, but notify
  an adult or police.
* If you must buy your kids toy guns, don't buy realistic looking
  guns. Children with realistic looking toy guns have been shot
  due to being mistaken for having a real gun.
* BB guns and air rifles are powerful: most can penetrate skin or
  bone. Although rare, deaths do occur with their use.
* Toy guns which shoot discs, rubber BB's, darts or any projectiles
  still present the risk of injury, monitor the use of these toys.
* If your child's friend's parents own guns, ensure they practice
  firearms safety before allowing your child to play there.
* Teach your child never to point a gun at people.

If your child shows signs of suicide or unusual aggressiveness,
consider getting rid of your guns or having them stored outside
the home. Many gun clubs or police departments offer firearms
storage at low or no cost.

Jeff Sam
Volunteer Child Safety Conference Moderator
and Co-Sysop of Dr Furball's BBS

The CAT Credo...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Children's Animated Television (CAT) believes in a positive future
for all children...

CAT's philosophy is to help solve today's complex social problems
through honest and open dialogue, education, information and
compromise...

CAT will produce video programs for pre-teens and teens to stimulate
their minds, harness their creativity and imaginations to cultivate
long-lasting answers to problems in their world...

As a public service, CAT will also provide educational information
using all available technology including a computer bulletin board,
World Wide Web site and other electronic media. CAT will supply this
knowledge for children, parents and educators to enable our society
to develop ideas and solutions for a better tomorrow...

Claude DiDomenica & Bessie Hadley
Founders of Children's Animated Television
July 15, 1995

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CAT is a 501-C-3 non-profit organization and all donations
are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Contact Information:
Bessie Hadley
Executive Director
Children's Animated Television, Inc.
1492 Highland Ave, Suite 3
Needham, MA 02192 USA
Voice:            617-449-9699    FAX:  617-449-2238
Dr Furball's BBS: 617-455-8415  node 1  617-433-0026 node 2
Internet:         hadley@usa1.com
Claude DiDomenica
President of CAT and Sysop of Dr Furball's BBS
Internet:         didom@usa1.com
Coming soon, CAT's WEB Home Page: http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/

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Copyright 1995 Children's Animated Television, Inc.
	       All Rights Reserved
This newsletter may be freely distributed as long as it remains
intact and this notice is not removed. Please do not post on USENET,
FIDONET, WILDNET etc. without permission of the conference moderator.
				#  #  #
