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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 1985)
Portiani) Obsßrver, February 20. 1985. Pai,o 9 notary METROPOLITAN t J A M TAYLOR A ASSOCIATES o BOOKKEEPING & INCOME TAM SERVICE LICENSED TAX CONSULTANT • TAX PLANNING • • PROFESSIONAL TYPING Rain or shine, he's all washed up /»*• Robert Lothtan F o r a year now, O tis Th- rn lo n has been washing up io 2(1 ears a day on the lot behind the M o b il Sla!i m ai U n ion and hilling sw ntth. The IK-year o ld I ou isia n a n a liy c worked as a carpenter in Portland un til ihe econom ic s itu a tio n made lh a l kind o t w m k haid lo ge l. "T h e re ’s just no jo bs,” he said. He was unem ployed lo r over three years until he came up w ith the idea o l starting the ear wash business N o w , a lte i reim bursing the s ta tio n lo r the water Ire uses, and tor e le tirk ily lo r his vacuum cleaner, he says he makes a "h a llw a y decent” living. O n some days, w hen he 's re a lly busy, lik e on a sunny day a lte r i t ’ s been raining, he’s even able lo provide work lo r his cousin a.<d nephew ( ars are lin e d up three and lo u r deep on a good dav I heir drivers talk with each oilier in tuss around polish ing chrome as they wait Ih e $5 p rice in clud es a co m p le te wash, va c u u m in g and c le a n in g the in side , s c ru b b in g w h ile w a lls and washing window s. T h o rn to n ’s eq uip ment consists o l several plastic live- gallon buckets wash m itts , a box ot tags, an industrial vacuum cleaner and a couple o l ladders lo hang his wash cloths on He occasionally uses a lad der Tor reaching the tops o f vans. T horn ton is there fro m 8 lo 5, rain oi shine "W h e n H’s real bad. then I'm Otis Thornton (Photo Richard J Brown JOE TAYLO R Tax ( unxultaat (M 3) 24S4033 by appointment not here," and when it ’s slow he often retreats lo the station o ffic e lo watch T V , he said The lo c a tio n c o u ld n 't be be tte r " I t ’s right around a lot o f businesses: the b a n k, the re s ta u ra n t, e ve ryth in g is here ” Sometimes he sees some lough char aelcrs on the corner, but "those thieves and robbers, I d o n 't have n o th in ' to do w ith th e m ,” he said II th e re 's something he’ s learned while w orking on the corner and at d iffe re n t jobs in the past, and in travellin g Iro in Port- land to I ouisiana. C h ica g o and IX- tro it, said T h o rn to n , it's " d o n 't trust n o b o d y." I h o r n iin i c a n ’ t say fro m his per spevttve on the corner whether his cus tomers think their lives arc better now than lo u r years ago. " Y o u hear it both w a y s ," he says. "S o m e tim e s people- say it's going go od , som etim es slow , sometimes they say ’ I 'll pay you later' " O ther w ould be sm all businessmen have fo llo w e d I h o r n lo n 's exam ple "W h e n they see me busy, everybody wants to gel in to i t . " T h a t's O K , he says. " T h e y 'r e g o in g to w o rk and do n ’t want to steal ” I h o rn lo n w o u ld lik e some day to have a place o l his ow n where he can expand As lo n g as the car washing slays "h a llw a y d e c e n t." he says h e 'll stick w ith it. " I just want lo do a good jo b , " he said " I try and send every body out h a p p y." "Master Harold" (Dan Hays) canter, and "The Boys" (A Laa Wilson. Jr and Rick Jonas) expose the emotional toll of apartheid (P hoto Richard J B rown) by R obert Lo thia n T h e re 's a n o th e r weekend le ft in w h ich lo see Ihe lense d ra m a a b o u t the personal side o f apartheid, " M a s ter H a ro ld and the B o y s .” It plays again F riday and Saturday night at 8 p .m . and S unday at 2 p .m ., at the Interstate Firehouse C u ltu ra l Center, 5T4O N Interstate. "M a s te r H a ro ld " sneaks up on ihe audience, starting out slow and b u ild ing to an in te n s ity o f e m o tio n lh a l leaves hearts th u m p in g and m in d s w o n d e rin g Just three ch a ra cte rs in te ra c tin g in a sm a ll ca fe su p e rb ly convey a fe e lin g f o r the dream s o f S ou th A fr ic a n B la cks, Ih e c rip p le d h u m a n ity o f S o u th A fr ic a n w h ite s, and fo r the th re a t o f v io le n ce th a t could break out at any m om ent W ritte n in 1982 by w h ite S o u th A fr ic a n p la y w rig h t-in -e x ile A lh o l F u g a rd , “ M aster H a r o ld ” is set in 1950. It opens on a slow day in the St. (ieorge's park Tea Room , P ort Eliza beth, S o u th A fr ic a . " M e n u — pea soup, meat pie and g ra v y .” Sam, the he ad w atter (p la y e d by K ic k Jones, also d ire c to r), and W illie , his helper (A . Lee W ilson, Jr.) — " th e b o y s " —- are ta k in g ad van ta ge o f the lu ll to p ra ctice th e ir li f e ’ s passion — b a ll- rixrm dancing They are soon jo in e d by M aster H a ro ld (D an H ays), 17-year-old son o f the couple that owns ihe cafe, who comes lo d o his s c h o o lw o rk and fo r c o m p a n io n s h ip . W e le a rn that " F la lly " has a c rip p le d d ru n k fo r a fa th e r, a s itu a tio n th a t g re a tly d is turbs the boy. Sam has w o rk e d fo r the fa m ily fo r a long tim e and has been a c o m p a n io n , even a su b stitu te fa th e r fo r H a lly . H a lly teaches Sam w h at he learns in sch o o l and Sam leaches H a lly how to he a man, and a human being O nce Sam ta u g h t the " l i t l l e while boy in s h o rts " how to fly a kite, " t o give yo u so m e th in g to lo o k up to , " says Sam Il's clear that the older Black m an has not lost his h u m a n ity lo apartheid »< "T h in g s are so com plicated n o w ," says H a lly , and they gel m ore com plicated when he learns lh al his father m ight com e hom e fro n t the hospital H e’ s rem inded o l the w hite he’s sup posed lo be H is m o th e r’ s com m ents ab o u t g e ttin g “ to o f a m ilia r ” w ith Sam and W illie , and his fa th e r's a d m o n itio n lo " le a c h the boys a h id e respect, m y son .” come hack to him C aught between racist c o n d itio n in g and his conscience, he rages at Sam and W illie. They try and calm h im w ith a d e s c rip tio n o f a jo y o u s n ig h t at Ihe ba llro om . " T o be one o f those fin a l ists out there on Ihe dance flrxrr is like being in a w o rld w ith o u t accide nts. Il's b e a u tifu l, it's the k in d o f life we w ant,” Sam fells the enthralled boy. But H a lly goes over Ihe b rin k when Sam trie s to c o n v in c e h im lo calm d o w n , and lo lo ve his fa th e r. " B e c a re fu l, Sam , y o u 're tre a d in g on dangerous g ro u n d ........... yo u ’ re just a servant here and d o n ’ t forge t i t , " he says, draw ing the line Irrational, Hally then tells a racist jo ke his lather taught him and spits in Sam's face. W illie is rea dy to tro u c e the b o y , but h o ld s back at S a m ’ s insistence. H a lly , the you ng w h ite hoy in short pa nts, is now M a s ie r H a r o ld , (he racist w h ile S o u th A fr ic a n . " Y o u have h u rl yourself, M aster H a ro ld ,” Sam tries once again lo m ake (he boy see w h at he's b e co m in g . " T h e face you s h o u ld he s p ittin g on is y o u r fa th e r 's .” T h e w o rst p a rt f o r Sam is his feeling o f having failed to teach H a lly to be a hum an being T h e re ’ s a tro u b le d re c o n c ilia tio n , frie n d s h ip seems to w in o u t. But the play leaves us w ith a big question as to w hether H a lly w ill jo in h u m a n ity or the other side, and about the future o f this troubled land. H a ro ld leaves to go ho m e and face his father Sam and W illie put a c o in in the ju k e box and dance to S eptem ber S o n g ” as the lig h ts go down *.-■ • -.2 ••-,1 • ' •. . Grace Collins Memorial Center Day Care • Kindergarten • Pre-School . { ,,r ' “ I <i -, *4 I Children 6 wks. to 11 yrs. • Bfrikfisi . n . i . ’ H it I, uni in s 4 yaar old kids at Grace Collins M e m o ria l C a n te r learn h o w to m ake cookies .shm rn 'I Ml 4111 h UÜ ('ll) Call 5 year old kids at Grace Collins study hard on sc h o o l w o rk before going outside to play ?, ,4 K Grace Collins Memorial Center “ ~ Day Care Now natural costs less than fhe Portland Police Bureau's sexual assault prevention program w ill o ile r ils m o n th ly nine h o u r " W o m a n s tr e n g th " sell defense class at Ihe Portland Adveniisi Academy, I At«) SI 961 h on W ednesdays, M a tc h ft, IT , and 20, from ft TO to 9 TO pan Kcgistraiinn Ix-gms Tuesday, I ebru ary 19 and continues u n til the class is lu ll R e g istra tio n is done by c a llin g 796-TIT9. A class sfrecifically for wom en and girls who are legally b lind w ill he held ai Volunteer Braille Services. 4(XII N l Halsey on Tuesdays, M arch 5, 12 and 19 fro m 6: TO 9 TO p in Registration for these classes begins I uesday, Feb ruary 19 ( a ll Volunteer B raille Serv ices a I 284-TTT9 E n ro llm e n t fo r this class is lim ited to 15. Both classes are tree and arc a v a il able to women and girls age IT and up Those registering must he able to a t tend all three sessions o f the class. Black history Black H is to ry M o n th w ill he cele brated w ith an entertainm ent and in fo rm a tio n p ro g ra m 2 to 5 p m. S u n da y, Feb. 24, at the C la rk C o u n ty Public U tility District office, 1200 Fort Vancouver Way. T hree o rg a n iz a tio n s representing Blacks in ( la rk C o u n ty arc jo in in g forces to present the p ro g ra m . Admission is $5 per fam ily or $2.50 per adult and $1.50 fo r those 12 and younger. Tickets may be purchased at the door. Don’t let the high cost of electric heat run you down. A N P O N a tiv e A m e ric a n C u ltu re C e nter is s p o n s o rin g a c o m m u n ity event on Sunday, F ebru ary 24, n ix m t o f t p .m at the N o rth w e s t Service C e n te r. T itle d , " N a t iv e A m e ric a n C u ltu ra l E xp re ssio n s," in c lu d in g an art e xh ib it, c ra lt and fo o d sales, sing ing, d ru m m in g , d a n c in g , and three wom en speakers. T opics include p e r sonal grow th, fam ily and com m u m iy, s p iritu a l and tra d itio n a l values. D o nation $2.00. Event landed by M e tro politan A rts Com m isson. ?' • - • *. • lu ai lo r less ih a n h a lt the price. A n d now's lir e lu n e lo s w lie It N o rth w e st N a tu ra l qas has I? seat lin a n e m q w u h n o inotrex dow it. Pas n ie n t' are as iw as $25 a m o n ili A n d il l irtosi casc-s, hookups to th e qa» lin e are tree S i w arm up lo heal for less th a n h a ll ih e cost ( all N o rth w e st N a tu ra l t ias tosías W h ile electric rate's have q< me up, n a tural jjas rates has e qone di nett Even lower th a n they were in I9R2 So com pared lo an electric tn rn a i e, a h iq h -c ttn tenc y n a tu ra l qa» tiirn ace can nice you the same amt •lint ol Native culture Ih e vacings w ill m äki von w arm all uv er. ” NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS 22ft 4211 Alhanv 926-425» Ssiona »25 Ift»2 S me i h i » e t l’9 » 2 5| I P o lli and « IM - 'Latch Key Program ’ 128 N E. Russell Si. nation's security? Should mielligeixe organizations he held accountable? Are t IA aiiem pis lo withhold mlor m alion from (he ( ongress an d ihe public justifiable ? lohn Stephenson and University ol Poiiland Assixiaie Prolessoi Gordon S>.lililining will examine then conirasi- ing (minis ol view in the linal lecture ol " (ile a l IX-cisions ’8 5 ," sponsored hv I lie (S olid A lla n s ( ouilcll ot < begot i Self-defense Portlanders get last chance to see powerful play M 2 I N X . J»tN Ava. PoOlaaA, OR «7211 281-6930 Experts to debate role of CIA A tree public lecture, "liiic-llig en ee O p ciu lio n s How Undercover D tp lo macv W o rk s ," hv lo u iie i ( IA o lfic ia l John Stephenson and Political Science Professor G o rd o n Sc Illu m in g w ill be presented on luesdav. M arch 5. I98S, 12 n o o n , at the W illa m e tte ( enter A u d ito r iu m , 121 S SS Salmon Street, Portland Intelligence operations have plaved a role in U S foreign policy lo r nearly 50 years But as Am ericans read and watch news reports ot ( IA acttviltcN in Nicaragua, Asia, and the M iddle I asi. serious questions arc being raised over the proper role ol the intelligence com m uittiy A te covert o p era tions v ita l to out bonoco I incolli t uv 9'M s aleni 585 «611 lire Dalles 29t. 2. Fiiqene »42 »IX'I 4 5
