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