PEOPLE
or someone who’s only 23, Gabby Hendel
wields a great deal of power. With the flick
of her wrist, she can stop traffic and bring
the city to a screeching halt—literally.
You see, Hendel works for Multnomah
County as a bridge operator. That means she
spends hours perched atop Hawthorne, Morri
son, Bumside and Broadway, letting boats
through and pissing off impatient drivers.
Meanwhile, she gets to kick back and
catch up on her reading, writing and paint
ing. The booths also are equipped with a
television and VCR to keep operators from
getting too bored.
Hendel’s mellow demeanor probably comes
from the 13 years she spent in Hawaii. Her
family bought an ice company and moved
there when she was 5.
“I grew up in the rain forest,” she says. “I
didn’t wear shoes until I went to high school.”
A full academic scholarship brought her to
University of Oregon. As is the case for most
Pacific Northwest transplants, the weather
required some get
ting used to; howev
er, the most difficult
adjustment for Hen
del was the frenzied
stress levels of the
mainland.
“I think anytime
you move eastward,
there’s a quickening
of the pace,” she
says. "It was kind of
hard.”
Even though she
was surrounded by
Eugene liberals and
F
Hendel graduated in March with a degree
in psychology and women’s studies—“which
means nothing, unless I get a master’s.” Her
future might include social work, massage
school or travel through Europe and North
Africa.
Hendel, who lives in Southeast Portland
with Hedi, her partner of 2 1/2 years, still
makes it back to Hawaii a couple of times a
year. However, she says it just isn’t the same
anymore.
“I’m just so overwhelmed by how assimilat
ed the culture is into Western ideals,” she says.
“There are small businesses going under every
single day.”
In fact, corporate giant Costco forced her
parents to close shop. Her dad eventually
found work in Gresham, so now almost every
member of the family has made the transition
from Hawaiian to Oregonian.
For the time being, Hendel’s biggest adjust
ment is getting used to being on call for work
24 hours a day. At least she has occasional
crazy encounters to keep things interesting.
“1 hear so many stories from other people.
There was a jumper on the Bumside,” she says,
adding an interesting tidbit about the relatively
low bridge, “but really, if they jumped they
wouldn’t die.”
For all of her expertise, though, Hendel
had to learn the hard way about the dangers
of crossing the mighty Willamette. “1 was
skateboarding across the Hawtheme, and I
hit a crack and fell flat on my face and
skinned my knee.”
But that wasn’t the worst part—while she
writhed in pain, she watched as her skateboard
slowly rolled into the river. She jokes, “It was
like the saddest day of my life.” JH
Gabby Hendel
watches over
Morrison Bridge
during one
of her shifts
Lesbian bridge operator’s job has its ups and downs
*
by
J im R aixjsta
had a failed fling with a sorority girl, Hendel
didn’t get involved in any queer groups dur
ing her first couple of years on campus. The
people she met during a rape awareness
march changed all that.
“All of a sudden I had a handful of friends
who really understood me,” she says. “I didn’t
realize there were other people like me."
Before long, Hendel was serving as co-direc
tor of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
Alliance and organizing Lesbopalooza, an
annual music festival that just keeps growing
and growing. When the event started in 2000,
eight bands were booked for a one-day show;
this year, it added an extra day along with per
formance artists, an all-lesbian crew of fire
dancers, workshops—even a Tupperware party
thrown by folk singer Phranc.
>: •• s
JlOlOIX
All Summer Long-7 bays a Week
Live Music 5 Nights a Week
Breakfast Sat <& Sun 8am-3pm
Banquets 4 Catering for
all of your summer events
B illy R ee ^ s
R estaurant t, B ar
■
Restaurant ▼ Retail
Join the Blend
■
•.
eclectic food, wine,
& furnishings
4100 S.E. Division ▼ 233'6950
HOMEMADE MEXICAN FOOD/G RE AT VEGETARIAN DISHES
DAILY LUNCH SPECIALS • FULL SERVICE BAR • ICE COLD MICROBREWS
BULL RING NW
..
dragonfly
RESTAURANT
■
From comfort food to world cuisine
4b
HMM) NW 27th at Vaughn • (503) 274-4096
Open
www.bullring.citysearch.com
Taes-Frt 11am
non-smoking establishment
Join Us for Happy Hour from 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Sat ft Son 4pm
Closed Monday
pacific asían cuisine
join us on our patio
lunch monday - friday
dinner monday - Saturday
1411 ne broadway
(503) 288-3960
John
Street
CAFE
Where the art of
cooking is practiced.
8338 N. LOMBARD
(503) 247-1066
All Roads
Lead to • • •
2716 Martin Luther King Blvd
Portland, OR 97212
CAFE & CATERING
503 288-4169
WE DO CATERING