[Mr. & Mrs. José A. Chacón and their daughter, Dolóres, (age 16 and a junior in high school), live outside Washington, D.C. (other daughters are Cecília and Mónica ages 11 and 5). Mr. Chacón is Associate Director for Consumer Education, President's Committee on Consumer Interests. His career has been varied - a migrant worker from New Mexico, engineer, systems analyst, Director of Peace Corps Cooperative Projects in Peru, and Executive Director President's Committee on Mexican-American Affairs.]

What does it mean to you to be successful or to lead a good life?

Dolóres: It means having people I love be happy and being happy myself. I know that my father places more emphasis on money - but to me money isn't everything. You should have a high goal and do your best, but if you don't succeed go on to other things.

Father: I'm not as materialistic as Dolores seems to think. I work pretty hard to make as much as I can, but don't think that that in itself is a goal. For her mother and I, life was primitive in the early days. My desire is to make a better life for our children - to see my daughters through college - then I'll feel I've done my job. I had to work for my education and it took many years - to me education is important.

Do you have any special plans for your daughter?

Father: I have plans which I hope she'll approve of - but it's up to her. Whatever she wants to do I hope I'll be able to help her achieve. I had hoped she might become a doctor. Dolores has a lot of capability, and I've always associated an education in medicine with the highest challenge. (Perhaps I'm a frustrated doctor - never had counseling.)

What do you plan to do, Dolóres?

Dolóres: In college I'd like to major in something scientific and minor in Spanish - perhaps in diplomatic work or translation. Living in Peru gave me the taste of travel. I like the people in South America - wouldn't want to only stay there.

What about freedom?

Father: Dolores started dating when she was 14 and her mother set a time limit of 10 P.M. Now it's more relaxed, and she is allowed freedom in other things too - like clothes and decorating her room. She will be getting a VW soon to commute to college.

Dolóres: I have a pretty good understanding about curfews with my parents - usually 12 or 12:30 - for proms and special things - it's O.K. to stay later. I expect restrictions on hours - know they really care. If you have too much time on your own that's not good - you can get yourself in trouble. But too much restriction isn't good either - because when you finally do get out you want to do all the things you haven't been doing. I think my parents' restrictions are just about right.

What kind of family situation do you see for yourself in the future?

Dolóres: I would like to be married, but not for a long time. Want to get school out of the way and then see what's going on. When I do marry it would be in a conventional way. I can't see myself in a communal type marriage. The person I love and respect enough to marry, wouldn't be some one I'd share with anybody else.

Does religion play a part in your life?

Dolores: It does play a part in my life, but sometimes I think it should play a bigger part - because that's what it's all about. At other times it seems as if there just isn't time for it. I went to parochial grade school and sometimes wish I still did - but I think public school has a lot of advantages too. I see religion as a part of my future life.

Father: Religion was more important formerly than now. I've begun to skip going to Mass in the last five years. I'm very liberal and side with the liberal priests - believe all priests should be married and be the head of a model Catholic family. I definitely want my children to have religion, and I'd never make an effort to leave the Church - just lately, I've become less and less enchanted -feel we should have picked up the pace of change in the Church - just don't see one world or one religion basically.

What about movies?

Father: Don't see many - work late.

Dolores: Ratings have messed up movies. Most are about young people and yet young people can't go see them. I think it's the money-making people who are making them today - they put out their ideas of what's going on with youth - revolution - and it's not true. Don't think movies are an expression of youth - too much of it is un-real. If kids made a movie they'd enjoy, their friends would like it, but they couldn't get a national showing - like "Romeo & Juliet," "Butch Cassidy," "Alice's Restaurant," "Rosemary's Baby,"

What about the clothes of today?

Dolóres: I like to dress up - but I'm more comfortable in pants. In school it's easier to concentrate if you're comfortable. One can still be feminine - that quality depends not on what you wear but on how you project yourself. I like long hair and think it's the fashion - not rebellion - dirty, shaggy looks bother me. If a person doesn't think enough of himself of keep clean, it seems as if he won't care about people either.

Father: I admire some of the things kids do about clothes today - they're honest with each other - they don't mind wearing old clothes - "I only have so much money so I'm not going to waste it on expensive clothes." Dolores looks O.K. to me - her long hair is neat - and she takes care of her clothes. I don't understand why she needs to go shop with her friends every Saturday - she doesn't usually buy anything.

What is wrong with the world today?

Father: Polarization - we seem to be going backward from the '60s with regard to social problems. Urban problems -transportation, population growth, environment - social problems are perhaps the biggest.

Dolóres: Environment, pollution, drugs.

How could we make this a better world?

Father: Forget about the myth that there's a melting pot in this country. We have a number of different cultures. We should develop an appreciation of all groups, be able to give to each and rewrite some of our history. Many people important to ethnic groups have made tremendous contributions to U.S. history - but are unknown.

Dolores: Our generation is starting to think about it - we care.

Why do young people turn to drugs?

Dolóres: There's so much in the world today - such a choice of things to do - all the pressures of high school and college - (Will I be accepted? Will my grades be good?) social standing. Lots of people can't cope with this and have no place to turn. Don't know or hear much about drugs in our school. With some it's a case of your best friend says, "Why not?" You have to have a mind of your own. Usually drug takers don't drink - groups look down on each other.

(From J. C. Penny Company, Inc. as it appeared in Penny's Forum, Winter 1970. See letter from Grace Richardson, Managing Editor of Publications, Educational & Consumer Relations, on next page.)

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