Praise for Those Who Walk Tall

--First Lady Nancy Reagan, at a White House opening of a weeklong tribute to disabled people, invoked the memory of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a man who refused to let his affliction get in the way of his dreams. “He jumped hurdles,” Mrs. Reagan said of the Democratic President who had polio. “President or painter, you can be anything if you jump those hurdles.” The First Lady, honorary chairman of the series of events called “Inspire 85,” spoke after several handicapped children entertained a group of supporters in the East Room. Actor Cliff Robertson served as master of ceremonies and White House Press Secretary James S. Brady presented a painting by artist William Britt to the First Lady in recognition of her work with the disabled. Britt, a resident of the Margaret Chapman School in Hawthorne, N.Y., was institutionalized for 20 years before taking up painting, Robertson said. Brady, who was critically wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt against President Reagan, walked on stage with the aid of a cane. After the children performed, Mrs. Reagan had to pause several times. “Anybody who got through that without a dry eye did better than I did,” she said.

--Greg Hauptner donated a $25,000 Rolls-Royce to Palm Beach County, and West Palm Beach, Fla., officials promptly voted to dump the classic car into the Atlantic Ocean. But Hauptner, 39, a hair salon owner, doesn’t mind. He gave away the car in the hope that the commissioners would sink it as the county’s first artificial reef, thus upstaging neighboring Broward County, which boasts a mere sunken Mercedes, but not even of the horseless carriage sort. The freighter Mercedes I, which ran aground last November, was hauled away and sunk March 30 as a reef. So Palm Beach officials decided to work toward forming their own artificial reefs, valued as prime sport fishing and diving spots. And the rivalry is on. “Where else but in Palm Beach County could you find a Rolls-Royce to sink as an artificial reef?” Commissioner Jerry Owens asked after accepting Hauptner’s offer.

--Susan Akin, the newly crowned Miss America, was asked during an interview on New York’s WABC radio if she had used any padding or other cosmetic enhancement during the pageant. “No, I didn’t,” she replied, but she did keep a grip on herself. “The only thing I did was put Firm Grip on my behind so when I walked my swimsuit wouldn’t ride up.” It’s a sticky spray product that is used by other athletes as well. For instance, it’s “like what baseball players use to keep their hands sticky.” Pageant Director Albert Marks Jr. approved. “When you’re walking down that runway with a swimsuit that rides up, it could be difficult.”