2 —SANDY (O r» ) POST Thur»
Jun» 21, 1984 (S»c 1)
The Sandy Post
Editorial & Opinion
Chris Hole general manager
Scott Newton, editor
Caroline Duff, office manager
Honk Emrich, sports editor
Commentary
Does working class need
William Shakespeare?
by SCOTT NEW TON
Picture this: A wheat farm er, covered
with a fine dust, arrives home after a day
of plowing on a monstrous tractor He
plops down in the easy chair, takes a sip of
iced tea, and listens to the farm market
report
His son is in the same room, reading a
scene from — and barely understanding —
“ Ham let.”
Now the farm er may wonder why, ex
cept perhaps for the excitement of a few
sword fights, his son should be reading
“ H am let.”
I guess my Midwestern background is
evident in offering the above example The
reason it comes to mind is that I thought a
lot about a former English teacher of mine
this weekend when I accompanied a group
of Cedar Ridge students and teachers to
A s h la n d fo r a w e e k e n d a t th e
Shakespearean Festival.
Mel, I know, would be jealous.
And I can picture not only the farm er,
but also Mel, who spent more than a little
of his tim e justifying the study of
Shakespeare to working-class kids
After all, what is the use of trying to
understand all that Elizabethan English?
The reason is that Shakespeare, a pro
lific w riter with a large vocabulary, ad
dressed nearly every question concerning
our existence that could be asked.
The soliloquy in "H a m let" concerning
suicide — “ To be or not to be" — is the
most obvious example.
There were many, many examples in the
plays I saw this weekend, and I would like
very much to do them justice I am cons
cientious about trying, though
The quality of the plays, the costumes
and the actors and actresses — not to men
tion the atmosphere of Ashland itself —
m a k e the p ro ces s of e x p la in in g
Shakespeare on paper a difficult assign
ment.
One must try to imagine what Italy
might have been like in the 15(Xls; the men
with long hair and feathers in their hats,
and the women in long, heavy dresses that
billow at the hips.
In “ The T am in g of the S h rew ,”
Petruchio is a young man out seeking his
fortune. He says:
"Such wind as scatters young men
through the world, to seek their fortunes
further than at home, where small ex
perience grows "
Isn’t it true that most young people
dream of what the world might hold in
store, whether they seek it out or not?
M a n y q u e s tio n s a r e ra is e d
Is
P e tru c h io 's physical and s p iritu a l
dominance of Katherina symbolic of the
woman's role in Shakespearean times, or
is it simply slapstick.
While "The Taming of the Shrew" was
g rea t e n te rta in m e n t, S h akesp eare’s
history, "Henry V I I I , " dealt with the
Reformation, when England cut itself off
fro m
th e
C a th o lic
C h u rc h .
I would have edited “ Henry V I I I ” with a
sharp pencil, as its three and a half hour
length was a bit much.
Regardless, it was an education. Most
people cannot imagine what those days —
the early 1600s — were like
To give an indication of how close that
bit of history is consider that Jamestown,
Virginia, was founded in 1607.
In a time when music and television
seems to often be designed to appeal to the
so-called lowest common denominator, it
is refreshing to know that the people of
Ashland are striving for quality.
While in Ashland I saw a film on Angus
Bowmer, who founded the festival in 1935.
B o w m er was going to d iffe re n t
businesses seeking financial support, and
stopped by a m ill. At the time an odd piece
of lumber came along, and the m ill owner
said that odd piece of wood was about all
he would donate to the festival.
Bowmer took the piece of wood, and
made a sign out of it There is something
about that spirit that I like.
Now allow me to drift back to my
original question Should Shakespeare be
taught in the schools?
While the basics — reading, w riting and
arithmetic — should remain at the core of
education, there is also a need to offer
fo re ig n lan g u ag es , m u sic, d e b a te ,
literature and many other fields of study.
The belief that the schools should teach
only reading, writing and arithm etic is
narrow minded.
And yes, there should even be room in
curriculums for a class or two on
Shakespeare.
Commentary
Content law a concern
for residents of Oregon
by SENATOR BOB PACKWOOI)
Just returned from a week-long swing
through Oregon and thought I'd share
some of the week's activities with you.
When traveling from town to town, the
pace is so hectic I ’m usually unable to
spend the amount of time I would prefer in
any one place. Since there were many
events scheduled throughout the week, far
more than most newspapers cover. I'd like
to highlight just a few you may find in
teresting
One of the benefits of being Chairman of
the Commerce Committee is the ability to
chair Senate hearings on issues with direct
impact on the state of Oregon On Tues
day, May 29. I chaired just such a hearing
in Portland on domestic content legisla
tion This bill, the F a ir Practices in
Automotive Products Act, would require
that autos imported in the future contain
up to 90 percent U S. parts and labor
'm deeply concerned about this bill. If
we try to apply certain restrictions deman
ding we build everything in the United
States, those restrictions will be our
demise For example, assume this legisla
tion passes and becomes law A precedent
will be established
Other manufacturers, whether of steel,
concrete and textiles, will want the same
kind of treatment From Oregon's stand
point, we are going to live or die by trade,
especially trade with Pacific Rim coun
tries
Not only would this automobile domestic
content legislation cost thousands of port-
related jobs, but what's to stop a country
from retaliatory tactics that could severe
ly lim it the Northwest agricultural and
tim ber exports'* These were just a couple
of concerns addressed at the hearing
The following day, in Eugene, I presided
over yet another hearing, only this time it
was through my position on the Senate
Select Committee on Small Business This
session was one of several Senate hearings
over a two-year period on problems faced
by women in business Currently about
five times as many women as men now
start small businesses Our discussion
focused on the problems of women en
trepreneurs. i e . the need for child day
care facilities near work and the need for
m o re s ta r t-u p fin a n c in g fo r new
businesses
Throughout the trip, whether in Portland
or Eugene or Southern Oregon, people ask
ed questions about many issues including
the Columbia River Gorge and the sale of
weapons to Saudi Arabia
The only way we can ensure long lasting
protection of the Columbia Gorge — truly a
spectacular, unique natural wonder — is
through legislation To do anything other
than attempt to preserve and protect the
Gorge, to properly manage the Gorge so
that future generations benefit from it as
we did, would be a grave error. I w ill con
tinue to work towards passage of this vital
legislation.
L etters to the editor
McMahan ‘cared about teenagers’
We wish to thank John
M cMahan, Sandy Union
High School principal, for
his five years of dedication
to the youth in the com
munity. He really cared
about the teenagers and
they knew it. He helped
them feel good about
themselves and to be proud
of SUHS
We are very sorry that
the high school board has
voted for the reorganiza
tio n p la n , w h ich has
eliminated the principal's
position and has left M r.
McMahan without a job.
A fte r
h a v in g
had
children in Sandy for over a
period of 15 years we feel
the last five have been the
most productive and the
school has really produced
some excellent young peo
ple. We thank John for his
part and wish to thank all
the teachers, staff and
other administrators for
m akin g Sandy High a
school of which to be proud.
May it continue to keep on
being the type of school the
district patrons can sup
port!
Dwayne and Donna Vedder
Sandy
Tri-Met aids
handicapped
The
O r e g o n ia n ’ s
editorial on accesible tran
sit service was misleading
and unfair to the m ajority
of transit handicapped per
sons in the community.
What many forget is that
the vast m ajority of transit
handicapped persons are
not helped by lift equipped
buses Sixty percent of the
transit handicapped are
the frail elderly who have
trouble walking the block
or two from their home to
the bus stop. Of the 10,000
persons in this community
who cannot use public
tra n s p o rta tio n w ith o u t
special assistance, three-
fourths live too far from a
bus stop or have a disabili
ty so severe that they can
not use even a lift-equipped
bus.
It is because of this re ali
ty that a citizens’ advisory
committee made up almost
entirely of transit han
dicapped supporters and
advocates, has called for a
m ixe d system of lif t -
equipped buses and door-
to-door vans. This recom
mendation was reached
after three months of study
and two public hearings.
Today, Tri-M et provides
365,000 rides per year to
disabled persons with its
door-to-door van service
and accessible buses. That
is five times as many rides
as provided by Seattle’s
Metro; ten times as many
rid e s as p ro vid e d by
Oakland’s transit system;
and 600 time as many rides
as provided by Sacramen
to’s transit system. In point
of fact, no other transit
system in the country of
sim ilar size to Portland
provides as many rides to
the elderly and disabled as
Tri-M et They don’t even
come close.
W hat The Oregonian
should have recognized in
its e d it o r ia l is th a t
Portland is leading the way
in transportation for the
elderly and handicapped
While lift-equipped buses
were touted as the way of
the future in the 1970s, the
more progressive of han-
dicapped advocates now
call for a mixed system.
James E. Cowen
General Manager
Tri-M et
LE TT E R S POLICY
The Post asks that
all letters to the
e d ito r be ty p e d ,
double-spaced and
signed. Deadline is
noon, Tuesday. Let
ters should be ac
c u r a te ,
fre e
of
libelous remarks and
in good taste. This
newspaper attempts
to publish all letters
it receives and may
edit material lightly
to
c o n fo rm
to
g u id e lin e s . M a x
imum length is 280
words.
Odds er vat ions
Toys help prepare people for life
by JAY THOMAS
The shipment of Stingers to Saudi
Arabia prompted a lot of questions I op
posed the transfer of those shoulder-fired
Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Saudi
Arabia I have real misgivings about sell
ing. giving or any other way of transferr
ing those missiles to the Saudis due to the
fact that each Stinger weighs barely 40
pounds and can easily fall into the hands of
terrorists I w ill carefully consider each
arms proposal as it comes before Con
gress
T ru ly , the most m em o rable and
touching moments of the trip were spent
addressing those fine young adults
graduating from high school. At com
mencements in Jewell. Banks and Trout
dale. I outlined the qualities of purpose, in
tegrity. tolerance, discipline, imagination
and zeal as elements of leadership
Just as importantly though. I encourag
ed each student to do their very best and
hope that 75 years later somebody looks
bark and says "thank you" for making life
a little better
All in all. it was a refreshing week on the
road in Oregon Though these are
thousands of miles between Oregon and
Washington. D C., be assured that as the
Senate continues its daily business. I will
be keeping your questions and concerns
uppermost in my thoughts
If you’re a parent, and if you're
a run-of-the-mill parent to boot,
you probably associate toys with
Christmas, giving them little
thought during the rest of the
year
This may not be wise, for toys
are important They do more
than just empty your wallet
Tim e spent playing with toys
helps develop a child’s imagina
tion and his ability to interact
with the world A good toy should
be fun to play with, but it should
be realistic in order to prepare
the child for adulthood
A check of toys currently being
marketed reveals a shift back
towards realism — after E T and
monster toys, almost any shift
would be towards realism — but I
feel that there's still a lot of room
for improvement So. for the
benefit of any toy manufacturers
who might be reading this. I'm
going to put forward some of my
own ideas for super realistic
toys
WAR TOYS
These are the hot items, and
they promise to get even hotter,
particularly if the current ad
ministration stays in office To
please both the budding w a r
f
monger and the budget-minded
parent, I suggest a return to the
plastic toy soldier sets I enjoyed
as a child.
This time, however, let’s get
the colors right. Officers and
those in support groups should be
white The infantry troops should
be half white and half black,
while suicide squads (we have
some other name for them, but
I've forgotten what it is) should
be 80 percent black, and 20 per
cent malcontent. The enemy
should be all red, preferably with
horns
Another great war toy is the
one I call "Nuclear Strike " This
toy set would feature a patch of
simulated fused earth, a few
twisted toy girders, a whole lot of
little white crosses, and a supply
of glow-in-the-dark powder
N IN E -T O -F IV E TOYS
How about an occupational
hazards doll? A little more com
plex. but talk about lifelike Just
push one of several occupation
selection buttons on the doll's
back and it develops the ap
p ro p r ia te sy m p to m . Select
M IN E R
and
it
co u gh s;
C H E M IC A L H A N D L E R and it
develops a rash; CO M PU TER
O PERATO R and it squints and
holds its head Great, huh9 And,
as a final touch, the guarantee
should be so vague that a
malfunction can't possibly be
blamed on the manufacturer.
For the little doctor and nurse
types, the war theme need not be
abandoned A doll with inter
changeable wounds sounds nifty,
doesn't It? Just pull off a leg and
replace it with one that's had
hand grenade experience Or,
pull off the head and . . well,
heck, just leave it off Give the
kids a good supply of non-staining
fak e blood and you've got
realism
Of course, not every job is
hazardous, so I'v e come up with a
toy that's both positive and
realistic. I call it "Factory
Worker " It consists of a box with
a crank on one side The child
would turn the crank eight hours
a day, five days a week After a
year of cranking, a two week
break would be allowed The toy
is designed to last for a period of
45 years, after which it w ill be
I
IQSfef’r «J. » •
*
Not into w a r9 Well, I wouldn't
say that loudly, considering the
mood of the nation, but no pro
blem I'v e got other ideas that
have nothing to do with war, but
are still plenty realistic.
worn out, as will be the child.
LOVE AND M A R R IA G E TOYS
See what you think of this one:
a relationship toy. It would work
well for six months, poorly for
another six months, and then it
would fall apart Hm. come to
think of it, they already make
toys like that.
Why not a video game with a
domestic twist? It would be
played by two (probably male
and female, but you never know);
and the object would be to find a
path through such obstacles as
layoffs, inflation, adultery and
unwanted children, finally arriv*
ing at a rose-covered tract home
complete with three cars and a
boat, carpet in every room, 32
power tools and no mortgage I
call the game “ Unlikely.”
A BUSINESS TOY
I ’ve saved this one until Iasi
b eca u se i t ’s m y p e rs o n a l
favorite It's an old-fashioned
board game in which the object
would be to build five nuclear
plants with other people's money.
It's complex and could take a
long time to play, but it ’s full of
surprises In fact, it's so full of
surprises that I think i'll call it
“ Whoops." Something like that :
Jay Thomas to a free-lanct
w riter who lives in Sandy.