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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 1998)
Wlje -Jjlortlattb (©bserlrer Page 7 FOCU 1998 REV V . J . , » ’ American figures we lost in 1998 W e said goodbye to leaders and legends, entertainers, sportsm en and politicians. Florence G riffith Joyner left us in 1998 as did Barry Goldwater, Alan Shepard and the infam ous Pol Pot. Also bid adieu to the C hairm an o f the Board — *O1 Blue Eyes — The Voice. Frank Sinatra, was perhaps the greatest exponent o f the A m erican popular song, the man who made aching ballads o f love and loss an art form. W as the end o f an era, too, when we lost Roy Rogers and G ene Autry, cowboy kings o f the silver and small screens. G ene Autry was a new breed o f cow boy, short on violence and long on music. Roy Rogers made over 80 w esterns w here the formula was always the sam e, good guy Roy fighting the bad guys o f the West. The political side, we lost former A rizona Sen. Barry G oldw ater, who led the conservative party in the 1950’s and 1960’s and form er T en nessee Sen. A lbert G ore Sr., a key Southern liberal w ho lived to see his son becom e vice president. W e lost A lan Shepard, one o f the original seven astronauts to fly in space and the fifth m an to w alk on the m oon, Also, Jam es Earl Ray, who pleaded guilty to killing Martin Luther K ingJr.,and later recanted. Environ m entalist M arjory Stoneman Dou glas, cham pion o f the Everglades, passed aw ay at the age o f 108. W e lost the infamous Pol Pot, architect o f C am bodia’s “ killing fields” and Telford Taylor, who pros e c u te d N a z i w a r c rim in a ls at Nurem berg and helped lay founda tion for the principle that govern m ents m ust be held accountable for mistreating citizens. Other world fig ures w e lost in 1998 The sports arena, track and field superstar Florence G riffith Joyner, still fit at 38, was taken by a brain seizure as she slept. Also, the legend ary voice ofbaseball Harry C aray was laid to rest. Richard “Dick” McDonald, who with his brother started the fast food giant M cDonald’s, died in 1998. So, did Hazel Bishop, the chemist who made indel ible mark on cosm et ics industry by inventing kiss-proof lipstick. Every one o f us has lost someone dear to us in 1998. But what we have to do is look forward to 1999 as a new year. And keep the memories ofthose we love close in our heart. ’ .'v The Year o f 1999 in Review The Y ear in Business The Beetle, Bears, Bill, thebhat and breaking barriers — *B’ meant more than ‘Business’ in 1998. N o matter how you cut it, the last year was a transforming one for consumer to car tels. The five-year merger marathon lead- m gupto 1998 was justaw arm -up.This past year saw an explosion o f deals that shattered 1997’s all-time record w ithinjust six months, as financial, oil and telecommunications companies led the rush to create new corporate giants. Thanks in part to the ever- surging stock market, by mid-Decem ber $ 1.6 trillion in mergers involving Year of Extreme Lost years leave a tem porary imprint on our gray m atter, like bootprints in the snow that gradu ally turn to slush, then wash away completely. The past year, high lighted by extrem es o f nature - human and otherw ise - m ay have left an indelible, m uddy heelprint on our brains. Politics regressed from partisan to petty to pitiful. Kids committed adult crimes. G row n-ups acted like juveniles. And a m onster w eather p a tte rn n a m e d a fte r a b a b y whooped up on the U.S. like a mean old man. M eanwhile, most o f us sim ply w ent about our lives, rolling our eyes at the hem s and haw s o f beltw ay pundits, D ow watchers and spin meisters. But nobody escaped 1998 un touched. H ere’s a look at som e o f the stories that held our attention over the past 12 months: M onica, Bill, Linda, Ken and the rest o f the gang were the story o f 1998. If you haven’t been paying attention, a young W hite House intern’s thong panties led to the impeachment o f President Clinton, the downfall o f a House Speaker and an elected successor, and the most bitter partisan debate on Capi tol Hill in recent memory. El Nino rocked our cradle. Ice storms paralyzed the Northeast and Canada. Snow flogged the M id west. Tornadoes and fires ravaged Florida. Texas slogged through floods. And the west coast bore the brunt o f the The Baby’s bad breath.W ater, W ind, Fire in ’98. P lay g ro u n d s becam e b a ttle grounds across the U .S., from P a d u c a h to Jo n e sb o ro to F ayettev ille, as disturbed kids trained their anger and their guns on innocent classmates. When Boys Go Bad Gun Violence & Children A strin g o f g risly m u rders showed hate on an adult scale. An elusive Eric Rudolph, suspected in tw o fatal bombings, at once be cam e A m erica’s Most W anted and its hardest to find. Meanwhile, the hate-laced murders o f a gay col lege student in W yoming and a black hitchhiker in Texas left the nation in a daze. Russell Weston Jr. walked into the U.S. Capitol, killed two heroic security guards, ■i H Ri E, i iiiygyR jyy.r. 's 1 f 7 ? ;— and made us all want to double- lock our doors. From Shootings to Investiga tion W hile we pride ourselves on swift and fair justice, not everyone agrees on our methods. The U.S. recently executed its 500th death- row prisoner, w om en included, since 1977. Human Rights groups cry hypocrisy. M eanwhile, at least 3,500 m ore prisoners aw ait the dead m an’s walk. Karla Faye Tucker Executed James Earl Ray faced a higher ju d g m e n t. U n a b o m b e r T ed Kaczynski and Oklahoma City ac complice Terry Nichols got life for taking lives. King Assassin Leaves Behind Theories Viagra entered our syntax - and our bedroom s, show ed us how much life imitates art. ThomasJefferson's family tree sprouted a new branch. And John Glenn gave the U.S a jolt o f the right stuff at the right time. One can only imagine w hat’s in store for 1999. A Monica talk show? Media restraint? Bipartisan anything? W e’ll see soon enough ... ' .T',~ US companies were announced, a 77 percentjump from 1997’stotalof$906 billion, according to Securities Data Co. Exxon-Mobil, NationsBank and Bank o f America, Daimler Benz and Chrysler were just a few o f many. T heY ear in Sports: Heroes are back. Finally. After years in which you could find an athletes name in a police blotter as often as a box score, and the only reason we looked up to players was because o f their height, 1998 saw us yet again talk about sports in a posi tive light. The Year in Entertainment gainst the backdrop o f the formu laic comedy/drama o f impeachable proportions unfolding in W ashing ton, a scandal weary public was all too eager to embrace kinder, gentler offer ings from the Arts in 1998... Only a year after Titanic seemed to ? V '» ■ k T • • *•'» * ♦* X : usher in the return o f the multi-million dollar, special effects heavy/plot lack ing blockbuster, we regained our col lective movie-going consience. Sav ing Private Ryan, a movie that re minded us about all that was good about America, grossed $ 190 Million. For laughs we turned to quirky com edies like Something About Mary and The Waterboy. <Armageddon rocked the box office, while the other ‘meteor’ movie, Deep Impact,fellflat. The Y ear o f 1998 was glorious in many ways and splendor. As we ap proach 1999, we can take a look back and see our mistakes and accomplish- ments. So as we toast, laugh, and enjoy what's to come. The Year o f 1999 is here and now- SKI IN THE NEW YEAR MT. HOOD M EADOWS f \ H PACKAGE INCLUDES PACKAGE PRICES MEADOWS SK I R E SO R T Adults (13 & over) Juniors (12 & under) Bus and Lift ONLY are available at all G.l. J oe ’ s T icketmaster O utlets and T ickets M t . H ood M eadows S ales O ffice 287-5438 £ FOR MORE INFORMATION “V » y . -■ Ur ni ■ — > ♦ ** -* *.»7. '1 ’ - - *• V.) A ' ’• • •> • » “ ' • A - • »kV S»' 4- + Fireworks Display 4 Torchlight Parade 4 Night Skiing Until 12:15am ♦ New Year's Eve Dinner Buffet & Party 4 Entertainment By Bobby Torres Ensemble 4 Round Trip Transportation from Portland MT. HOOD * . • ' ''•bkxLTz'-' • A