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