Portland Observer, M ay 27, 1982 Page 7
Outdoor hobby brings freedom
M ay 31 i i June F le m in g ’ « five-
year independence day and she’ «
going to have a party.
“ I f I ’d known about in flatio n I
may never have left the security o f a
paycheck,” says the 4 6-ye ar-o ld
form er social w o rk er. “ But five
years ago mv first book was on its
feet and I Figured I could live for a
year (without a regular jo b ).”
T o d ay , w ith her fo u rth book
pending release fro m Random
House, Flem ing is gearing herself
for an active summer teaching and
leading backpacking tours to v ari
ous parts o f the state.
Flem ing w ill teach a four-w eek
backpacking class through Portland
C o m m u n ity College C o m m u n ity
Services beginning June 23. Class
includes four evening sessions at the
Cascade Campus, 705 N . Killings-
worth, plus an overnight trip. In ad
dition she will lead Portland Parks
B ureau-sponsored b ac kp a ck in g
trips to the Steens Mountain area in
southeastern Oregon and Olym pic
N ational Park in Washington this
summer.
The Portland author-teacher be
gan backpacking as a hobby 17
years ago, when her youngest child
was three. " I liked it immediately,”
she says o f her First outdoor trek. “ I
learned by trial and error.”
It was through teaching at P C C
that Flem ing started her w ritin g
carreer. When she taught her first
class in 1974 she drew upon her nine
years o f personal experience. “ I
covered what I wish someone had
told me,” she says.
Two friends taking the class start
ed V ic to ria House and published
F le m in g ’ s firs t b o o k, “ T h e W ell
Fed Backpacker,” in 1976. In 1981,
“ The W ell Fed Backpacker” came
out in a Random House edition.
“ The O u td o o r Idea B o ok” and
“ Games (A n d M o re !) fo r B ack
packers” were subsequently pub
lished by Victoria House. “ Staying
Found: The Complete Map & Com
pass H andbook” is being published
this M ay by Random House.
Despite her obvious expertise,
Flem ing says a ll her classes are
“ m o d erate.” " T h e y ’re geared to
getting friendly with an a re a ,” she
says, adding that people who have
never backpacked can participate
comfortably. “ The course is meant
to convey a ll the basic skills one
needs to know to backpack safely
and com fortably.”
Fleming encourages her students
to make, scrounge or recycle rather
than purchase expensive equipment
when takin g her class. She wants
them to be sure they like the sport
before choosing the necessary per
manent gear.
“ I want to entice students to fur
ther learning behond the scope o f
the scope o f the course— I want
them to see the possibilities, for ex
am p le, w ith map and compass
w ork. A n d , o f course. I ’ m always
trying to get people interested in
takin g my w in ter class. (Flem ing
teaches Snow Camping at PCC dur
ing winter term.) Basic skills can ex
tend the backpacking season to 12
months.!”
June Flaming praparaa to aacapa Into tha woods.
PEOPLE WHO DON’T ATTEND
BUS SCHOOL MAY HAVE A HARD
TIME GETTING ANYWHERE
HALIM RAH8AAN
Rahsaan
promoted
Halim Rahsaan has been selected
as the employment specialist for the
Personnel D ivision fo r P ortland
Community College. Rahsaan, age
38, has been employed by P .C .C .
for the past 7'A years and w ill as
sume his new jo b responsibilities
July 1st. Since December he has
been working out o f the personnel
division one day a week in addition
to regular duties, career educational
specialist in the Career Research De
partment. He received his Bachelor
of Science Degree in Sociology from
P ortland State U niversity and re
ceived a graduate certificate from
Southern Illinois University in Car
bondale, Illinois, 1974 for technical
analysis in job evaluation.
Rahsaan is a native O regonian,
who becomes only the second black
to hold a position in personnel for
P.C .C . since the college was found
ed in the early sixties. The first black
to be em ployed in personnel for
P.C .C . was Jim Boozer, who left af
ter ten years o f service three years
ago. Rahsaan's personal experience
started in 1973 when he and Bob
Boozer, Jim ’s brother, became the
first blacks to become employed by
the State o f Oregon, Executive De
partm ent, Personnel D ivision, as
A ffirm ative Action Officers. From
the Personnel D ivision Rahsaan
moved on to the State o f Oregon
Commission for the Blind where he
again became the first black ever to
work for the Blind Commission as a
vocational development analyst. He
worked for Multnomah County for
five years as a treatment coordina
tor at Edgefield Lodge, located in
Troutdale, Oregon.
His current civic activities consist
of chairman of the Economic Com
mittee for the Black United Front,
co-chairm an o f the newly formed
Community Congress, State C oun
cil Representative o f A lb in a Fair
Share and the vice-chairm an for
Portland Public School’s Desegre
gation M onitoring Advisory C om
mittee representing the B .U .F . He
also is an active member of the Jubi
lee C h o ir at M t. O livet Baptist
Church. Rahsaan and his wife Fran
have three children, T o n ja, a third
grader at Irvington, Khaleelah, age
5, and a son Karim, age 3.
Mexico i, ««timated to have
enough oil to supply ell U.S.
need* for the next 40 yeer«.
A good education, it is said, will
help a person go far in life.
How very true. Particularly
when that person chooses to go by
bus in Portland, after Septem
ber 5th.
Because as of that
date, the way to ride
Tri-Met will change
considerably. For the
better.
But it will take
a little re-learning by
our riders.
SELF-SERVICE
MEANS
QUICKER SERVICE.
The most important
single improvement coming
September 5th is called Self-
Service. Basically, it means riders
no longer deal with the driver when
boarding the bus. Unless paying cash.
We’ll explain more in a moment,
but first consider all the advantages:
Quicker boarding and exiting of the bus.
passholders no longer have to dig their
pass out to show’ the driver, ticket book
holders no longer have to tear off a ticket
for the farebox and, in many cases,
people will be able to board at the rear
doors! Now for some details.
EVERY BUS W ILL HAVE TWO NEW
PIECES OF SPEED EQUIPMENT.
The secret is two orange electric
boxes you’ll see on each bus.
The first box is a ticket dispenser
for cash fare riders. After you’ve depos
ited the exact change into the farebox and
the driver pushes a button, the dispenser
prints out a ticket.
The other new box is called a val
idator. Its for use with our new Ten-Ride
Tickets that will replace the cumbersome
ticket booklet. Pissengers board the bus,
insert their Ten-Ride Ticket into the val
idator and zap, bam, it gets punched and
I
imprinted with date, time, and zone.
There will be a validator inside all
d<x>rs on the articulated buses so those
with Ten-Ride Tickets (or passes) can
board any door.
How does the driver know if
everyone has paid the correct fare? He
doesn’t. That’s where our new Fare In
spectors come in; at random, on every
bus. For those who are trying to get away
without paying, it could be rather embar
rassing. (And expensive, because sur
charge fares are $20.)
THE FASTEST BOARDING
BUSES IN AMERICA.
Self-service has been saving people
time and money for decades. In depart
A TTEN D T H E T E N -M IN U T E BUS SCHOOL N E A R E ST YOU
TUESDAY. APRIL 27 MAY 1
1. Ered M eyer— Beaverton
2. Lloyd Center
TUESDAY. MAY 4 MAY H
1 Ered Meyer Tigard
2. Jantien Reach Mall
TUESDAY. MAY 11 MAY 15
1. Fred Meyer Gresham
2. Clackamas Town Center
TUESDAY, MAY 1« MAY 22
I Natl. Trans. Week Swan Island
•2. Pioneer Square
TUESDAY, MAY 25 MAY 29
1 Fred Meyer Stadium
2. Oregon City Shopping Ctr.
1
Mi
If
TUESDAY, JUNE 1 JUNE 5
1. Fred Meyer
Hollywood
2. Tanasboume Mall
TUESDAY. JUNES JUNE 12
1. Fred Meyer Tualatin
2. Rose Festival
TUESDAY. JUNE 15-JUNE 19
1. Fred Meyer Glisan
2 Washington Square
TUESDAY, JUNE 22 JUNE 26
1 Fred Meyer
Raleigh Hills
2. Lloyd Center
TUESDAY. JUNE 29 JULY 3
1. F Meyer J9th A Hawthorne
2. Clai k.un.is Town Centei
TUESDAY, JULY 6-JULY 10
1. Fred Meyer— Oak Grove
2. Jantien Beach Mall
TUESDAY, JULY 13 JULY 17
1. Fred Meyer Interstate
2. Tanasboume Mall
TUESDAY. JULY 20 JULY 24
1 Fred M eyer— Gresham
2. Washington Square
TUESDAY, JULY 27 JULY 31
1 Fred Meyer— Glisan
2. Beaverton Mall
ment stores, gas stations, laundromats.
And throughout Europe, it’s proven itself
on transit systems for nearly 15 years.
But this will be the first time self-
service has ever been used on buses in
North America. Another first for Oregon.
More importantly, another im
provement for you. And, since self-service
should help us operate more efficiently
and save money, it should also help us
keep future fare increases to a minimum.
YOU’RE GONNA LIKE
WHAT YOU LEARN.
There’s a lot more to Self-Service
than there is room to explain here. Not to
mention the new zones, handy tickets,
direct Eastside routes, etc.
Which is why we’ve created Bus
Schtxil. Three special yellow Tri-Met
buses that are parked throughout the
Portland area and can give you a complete
education on the many improvements
coming September 5th.
Check the schedule and plan on
attending. All it will cost you is about ten
minutes. A small price to pay for a good
education these days.
•Pioneei Square hedulrd 11 »m H .*» pin
lue« M l All »R het lot at ion« 12 noon
7
pm fue« Sat
TRI-MET
ON SEPTEMBER 5TH TRI-MET GOES & WHOLE NEW ROUTE.
SPEEDY SE L F SERVICE • HANDY NEW TICKETS MOKE PAIR PARES ■ DIRECT EASTSIDE ROUTES