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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1982)
^ I I KA ^4 ^ i 3/\ / \4 I S ZHei 'Z\. Jdquaa/voiM 'Aepuj \xotib»c^ avjx > ?st»3 JV Cfir/stopher ReGve is in the dog house 'Monsignor'barks up wrong tree by Gary Barker Battalion Staff Movies fall into several cate gories: spy films, epic films, art films, foreign films, B-grade horror films. But "Monsignor" is a movie that doesn't fall into any of those categories. In fact, a special category needs to be in vented for "Monsignor" — the bow-wow film. "Monsignor" is an absolute dog of a movie. It fails in all its attempts. It has less drama than most kiddie shows and worse acting than most high school plays. The movie tells the story of an American priest, played by Christopher Reeve, who kills some Nazis, has an affair with a nun and invests in the black market to make money for the Roman Catholic Church. The underlying premise of all this seems to be that since the priest has a pure heart, the audience is supposed to feel sorry for him. The logic fails. At the center of all this farce is Reeve, that so-called actor who emerged from the soap-operas to impress us with his ripples as the man of steel. While Reeve portrayed Clark Kent and Su perman as well as anyone could, he fails as a priest. In "Monsignor" he falls into the costume changing game again. He changes out of his clerical collar and into a soldier's uniform and then out of his uni form and into a business suit. He's not convincing in any of them. But while Reeve plays little more than a cardboard role, Genevieve Bujold tries much harder as the nun-in-training with whom Reeve falls in love. She tries as hard as she can to make the love affair tender and heart-wrenching, but there isn't any drama here either, since it's more of a lust affair — three words in a bookstore and they're IN LUV. Bujold hardly looks the part of a young nun anymore either, but that's besides the point and isn't her fault. Who's fault is this? Perhaps it's the director's, Frank Perry. Or maybe it's the screenwriter's for writing this abysmally pre dictable movie. So what do Catholics think of this movie? Well, according to Father Guido Sarducci, they think it's like-a really a bow-a wow-a too. Club relives dashing days of railroads by Kathy Breard Battalion Reporter The days of long, leisurely train trips and thrilling model trains are not over yet. They live on at the Brazos Valley Model Railroad Society. The club has its own layout of railroad track, 3.9 miles long, in its clubhouse. The members are continuously adding to the scenery and are rearranging the track layout. One of the latest additions is a "narrow gauge section," which places the tracks closer together, and allows for sharper curves and steeper slopes. The setup includes scenery, including mountains, tunnels and bridges. The scenery makes the track seem shorter and makes it more interesting to watch, said Rudolf J. Freund, a Texas A&M statistics professor who is involved in the railroad society. The purpose of the club is to enable train enthusiasts to enjoy train equipment, something that may be difficult to have in a home, Freund said. Freund said that the best place to get train models is in Houston, although some parts can be found in town. Beginning collectors can buy trainsets just about anywhere during the Christmas season, he said, but they will be toylike and may not actually represent trains, Freund said. "We try to get close to the real thing — more like a model," he said. Some members even like to get particular and want models to look like customized trains Miniature city teaches tots a As children peddle through Safety City they learn traffic rules and safety tips. At the end of their course they get their "licenses" — a Certificate of Completion from the Community Education office. down to last detail, Freund said. Model trains come in a variety of styles, and the cars may be copied after some train that ex isted years ago. The passenger trains that were popular in the 1940s and 1950s were fancy and often had special names, Freund said. Other trains had cars named after famous people or parks. Freund is collecting a model of the Norfolk and Western train company, which has cars named after colleges in Virginia. The Southern Pacific Line at one time had a train which had an engine painted to match the cars. Membership in Brazos Valley Model Railroad Society is open to anyone interested in model railroads. The club has special member ships for students, with a $2 a month fee. If you'd like to find out more about the railroad society, it will sponsor its 5th annual open house from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 30 at the clubhouse on Roundtree Drive in Bryan. For more information, call Rudolph Freund at 845—3170. valuable lesson by Carole Craft Battalion Reporter Walking into Safety City is like entering a minature College Station. Cars and bikes scurry along the streets just like the traffic on Friday afternoons at 5 p.m. The difference is the cars are pedaled, the bikes are big wheels and the drivers are chil dren. Safety City is a permanent safety training facility on Timber Street in College Station. The city opened five years ago to teach bicycle, pedestrian and motor safety to .children in grades kindergarten through fourth grade. The Neighborhood Advisory Council of Citizens created the program out of concern for the safety of children, Toni Broad way, assistant director of Com munity Education, said. Com munity organizations and businesses donated the mate rials, buildings and services used in the construction of Safe ty City. Safety City includes one-way and two-way streets, street lights and signs, left-turn lanes, a railroad crossing, a little red school house and a city hall. Downtown businesses are simulated through twelve metal storage buildings which house the Safety City cars and big wheel tricycles. Each building displays a sign for the local mer chant who donated it. Since the original materials and construction were donated, maintenence of Safety City is a problem. Money and labor are needed for repairs. Street lines and buildings need to be painted. After five years of heavy use, the Safety City cars need repair. The Engineering Technology Department of Texas A&M offered to fix the cars so they will run smoothly again, Broadway said. Broadway said Safety City is designed to supplement and reinforce safety lessons the stu dents learn in the classroom. The experience develops good attitudes and understandings about safety, she said. A safety officer from the College Station t Police Department helps guide children through Safety City. Classes are divided into two groups. Half of the class rides Safety City cars while the others rides bikes or walk. If a child makes a mistake, he is stopped and corrected. Broadway said the children become familiar with bicycling, motoring and pedestrian rules through first hand experiences, just like a lab that accompanies a biology or chemistry class.