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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1989)
Thursday, March 23,1989 The Battalion Page 15 Writer, storyteller makes career of saving traditional Turkish tales LUBBOCK (AP) — Ask Barbara Walker to tell you a story, and she can entertain you for a few minutes. Ask her to share every story she knows, and you’d better pull up a chair, because she knows enough tales to talk for months at a time. “I enjoy stories that speak to peo ple who have weaknesses like mine and who are encouraged to laugh about those weaknesses,” said Walker, who is curator of the Ar chive of Turkish Oral Narrative at Texas Tech University. Although Walker knows thou sands of folktales from various coun tries, she focuses many of her story telling sessions on yarns from Turkey. “I would like to have people in the United States better understand the Turkish people,” Walker said. “I would like to share with people that Turks care for one another.” Because folktales reflect the be liefs and fears of a people, insight into a culture is gained through tell ing folktales. Walker shares Turkish folktales at schools, libraries, group meetings and festivals. In July, she will be spinning tales at a festival in Orange County, Calif. She began collecting Turkish folktales with her husband, Dr. War ren S. Walker, in 1961, when the two made a trip to Turkey. Since then, the couple has traveled to Turkey several times and collected more than 3,000 tales on tape. About one- third of the tales have been trans lated into English with the aid of Turkish students at Texas Tech. With the Turkish folktales they amassed, the Walkers formed the Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative in 1971. Nine years later, they do nated the materials to Texas Tech, where they continue to work. Walker has published 12 chil dren’s book that are based on Turk ish folktales. Her latest book is “A Treasury of Turkish Folktales for Children,” which includes 34 folktales and 12 riddles. Despite the title, the book also appeals to the child in every adult. “Everybody who can sit down long enough loves to hear a story. It takes them out of themselves, and they can take a look at themselves,” Walker said. Storytellers are able to capture an audience with changes in their voices’ tone, speed and inflection. During some storytelling sessions, Walker wears native Turkish cloth ing and accents her tales with hand gestures and different facial ex pressions. “Good storytellers are not nec essarily born, but an ability to ham and a desire to share are innate. It takes lots of practice, but you also have to love the story and want to share it,” said Walker, who describes storytelling as a “shared experience between audience and storyteller.” An audience’s excitement during a storytelling session encourages the storyteller to learn more tales, she said. Walker first learned of the joy of storytelling while growing up in El mira, N.Y., where her father was su perintendent of schools. Each night, Walker would make up a bedtime story for her sister. “I knew when I was 7 that I wanted to write books and tell sto ries,” Walker said. Her love of stories grew as she vis ited the city library every Saturday to read books. At age 11, she had her first poem published in “Children’s Playmate Magazine.” At age 14, she collected her first set of folktales. The stories were about Elmira’s role in the Under ground Railroad, which helped run away slaves reach safety in the North and Canada before the abolition of slavery. With the aid of a black man she met at the library, Walker was able to meet several people who knew sto ries about the time. She later wrote a paper about the tales when she was a sophomore at State University of New York at Al bany. The stories also were pub lished in New York Folklore mag azine, Walker said. “I wanted to write. I wanted to get it out. It wasn’t for money, and it wasn’t for reward. It was in my sys tem, and I wanted to get it out,” Walker said. At the University of New York, Walker received a bachelor’s degree in 1943 and a master’s degree in 1947, both in English. While at the university, she met her husband, and they were married Dec. 9, 1943. In between obtaining her bache lor’s and master’s degrees, Walker taught junior high students at Corn wall, Albany and Ithaca, New York. In 1961, she taught English as a sec ond language to elementary stu dents in Ankara, Turkey, while her husband taught at Ankara Univer sity as a Fulbright scholar. She later lectured in undergraduate and graduate classes in Illinois, Iowa and Texas. In 1964, the couple moved to Lubbock, where he taught in Texas Tech’s English department and eventually earned the honorary sta tus of Horn Professorship. Mrs. Walker concentrated on writing about Turkey and sharing its folktales. Thus far, she has published 375 articles, 20 children’s books, two books for children and adults, six books for adults, four filmstrip texts and one filmstrip kit. Several of Walker’s books have been translated and published in Turkey, including “To Set Them Free: The Early Years of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.” She currently is collaborating with Monica Hilling of Amarillo on a book that tentatively is titled “Turk ish Folk Art: Visual and Oral.” For the future, Walker hopes to continue sharing stories about Tur key through books and storytelling, which is gaining in popularity, she said. “The long-term view is service. I want to serve. I love everything I do,” Walker said. Good storytellers are not necessarily born, but an ability to ham and a desire to share are innate. It takes lots of practice, but you also have to love the story and want to share it.” —curator, Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative, Texas Tech University New series looks at hearts, souls of ‘Men’ TORONTO (AP) — Yes, they’ve heard the jokes about “mensomething” on the set of the new television series “Men.” But cast and crew alike say viewers of the new ABC series, premiering Saturday, are not in for another dose of yuppie whin ing that ABC’s hit “thirtysometh ing” has been accused of. “It’s the time to look at the male point of view of life,” exec utive producer and director Peter Werner said. “It’s time to consider what’s going on inside a man’s life and psyche.” The new series is inspired not by “thirtysomething” but the “About Men” column in The New York Times Magazine and its wry, unconventional looks at what it means to be male in mod ern times. ABC is giving the one-hour drama series a spring tryout. Werner calls the idea of mak ing the series “a combination of inspiration and logic.” He said the four most popular genres in television are shows about doctors, police officers, lawyers and reporters. So, the four long-time friends in “Men” are a surgeon, a news paper columnist, a lawyer and a cop. They live in Baltimore because, the pony-tailed Werner said, that’s the kind of place where you could believe four guys who knew each other in high school still might hang out together. Werner said humor definitely will play a part in the show. “The biggest danger is taking yourself too seriously,” he said. The creator and other exec utive producer is Steve Brown, who was involved in “Cagney & Lacey.” Canadian actor Saul Rubinek, who plays the newspaper column ist, said the show won’t be simply four guys sitting around talking. “It won’t be boring,” he said, on a break from filming a party scene. “You may like it, or hate it, but that’s one thing I can promise you. It’s not going to be boring.” He said the subject matter will be men in their roles as brother, son, husband, friend and lover, so there will be plenty of territory to cover. Also starring are Ted Wass as the surgeon, Tom O’Brien as the young policeman and Ving Rhames as the lawyer. Rhames, who grew up on Flar- lem’s 126th Street, said the theme of a black man whose three best friends are white hasn’t been ex plored too much in the first set of shows. “I think we have a ways to go as far as that aspect,” he said. The actor said the show is “not cliche” and will be delving into men’s hearts and souls. For that reason, Rhames said, “I think women are more ready for the show than men.” Psychologist deems collecting normal, hoarding a problem ASSOCIATED PRESS What’s the difference between a hoarder and a collector? Dr. Russell Belk, a psychologist, says a hoarder saves things even when he can think of no earthly rea son for doing so. A collector, on the other hand, is usually purposeful and systematic, whether the objects saved are valued for their utility or for other reasons. Belk says the tendency to accumu late things is nearly universal — “at least in this culture in which we see collecting as a useful contribution to science or to art.” Belk, who teaches at the Univer sity of Utah business school, was one of a group of 21 researchers who traveled by bus from Los Angeles to Boston, stopping along the way to interview consumers. For many people, he learned, ob jects with sentimental memories at tached to them, such as gifts, art work and handmade furnishings and photographs, are more mean ingful than those with great external value. When items such as a pair of bronzed baby shoes or a wedding dress are disposed of, it’s often be cause there has been a death or a di vorce. By disposing of them, an indi vidual may be attempting to get rid of sad memories. Want to get rid of something but can’t seem to do it? Belk suggests putting it out of sight for a while. “As time elapses,” he says, “objects lose their meaning and it is less pain ful to part with them.” When is saving — or hoarding — serious enough to warrant attention? When it’s irrational, says Jerilynn Ross, president of the Phobia Society of America and a psychologist who counsels individuals and couples at Roundhouse Square Phobia Treat ment Center in Alexandria, Va. On a radio call-in show, Ross fielded phone calls from hoarders. One woman confessed that she couldn’t throw away ice cream sticks. Another person collected newspaper comic strips. A hoarder may reform. For exam ple, tag-sale operator Irene Marce- naro of Westport, Conn., arranged a sale for a woman who appeared un able to resist buying cups and sau cers. “They were in drawers, on shelves, even in the oven,” says Mar- cenaro, who learned that the collec tor was driven by the fact that when she was a child there were none in her home. Though she couldn’t re sist buying them, she was able to sell them. Going into business helped turn Marcenaro from her acquisitive ways. Once she had found it difficult to resist Limoges dishes and crystal stemware, but no more. “I see so much, I don’t want anything around,” she says. Others who run sales say it’s senti ment rather than calculation that causes people to change their mind about selling something. “At first they are eager to put ev erything in a sale. T hen they start thinking. Next thing you know they’re pulling out things,” says Debby Berman, co-owner of The Good Riddance Girls, a Stamford, Conn., tag-sale business. Typically, clients remove items of purely sentimental value, such as linens, silver, photos, books and small pieces of furniture, rather than practical things, she says. Berman herself is not immune to sentiment. She says she is attached to a butcher’s knife that belonged to her late grandfather, even though it doesn’t cut as well as a new one. Dr. L.ynn Kahle, a psychology professor at the University of Ore gon, says holding onto things may indicate satisfaction with yourself as you are. “People buy things that reflect their self-image,” Kahle says. “To the extent that they want to change their self-image, they will try to get rid of the old things to buy new ones that reflect a new sense of self.” Popularity of cruises gives travelers better bargains, new destinations ASSOCIATED PRESS When it comes to deciding what to do for a vacation this year, many travel consultants are of the opinion that some 3 million Americans can’t be wrong. That’s the number of U.S. travel ers expected to take cruises in 1989. The choice of itinerary ranges from a 25-cent ride on the Manhat- tan-Staten Island ferry (round trip) to a round-the-world trip in a pent house split-level suite aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 at $360,000 each, double occupancy. For travelers lured by faraway places with strange-sounding names, there’s a cornucopia of adventurous cruises offered this season. For example: • An Amazon River expedition that includes fishing for piranhas that later become a luncheon treat. • A visit to the Galapagos Islands, described by Charles Darwin as “a living laboratory of evolution,” where he formulated his “Origin of Species” in 1835. • Siberian River cruises led by Sir Fitzroy Maclean, a noted Soviet ex pert from Great Britain. • A trip aboard what is billed as the first and only luxury ship to cruise China’s Yangtse River. • In-depth luxury cruises in the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia. Despite the millions of cruising Americans each year, travel experts say less than 10 percent of U.S. vaca tioners have discovered cruising. But because of an expected in crease in popularity, more ships are being constructed, said Douglas Ward, executive director of the In ternational Cruise Passengers Asso ciation. The result is an overcapacity of berths in certain cuising areas, keep ing prices modest and competitive for passengers, says Ward, author of the Berlitz “Complete Handbook to Cruising.” Since 85 percent of those who take cruises are eager to go again, he adds, the overcapacity is expected to decline as the margin grows. Robert Thornton, professor of marketing at Miami University of Ohio, agrees with Ward that overca pacity means the cruise industry may not be in for smooth sailing. While cruises are in the midst of an unprecedented boom in popular ity, Thornton foresees a change in marketing strategy if that growth — which averaged 10.5 percent an nually from 1980-87 — is to con tinue. Plans by the cruise industry to ex pand by 30,000 berths in the next five years, he says, could result in a classic overcapacity squeeze in prof its. Because the market is already so heavily discounted, the Miami Uni versity professor recommends that consumers find a travel agent who specializes in cruises. Bargains exist and more may be available for those who can wait for a last-minute trip, he says, for no cruise line will leave with an empty cabin if possible. Thornton says industries ap proaching overcapacity typically at tempt to segment the market, and he believes that tactic will be used more and more by the cruise industry as capacity exceeds demand. “That means you’ll have ‘dinks’ (double income, no kids) on cruise A, singles on cruise B and retirees on cruise C,” he says. Ward puts it another way. He notes a trend toward “specialty” cruising, using smaller ships equipped to cater to young, active passengers, pursuing their hobbies or special interests. * *, In advising vacationers how to make a selection, Ward says there is a trend by some cruise lines to offer “more ports” in a week than their competitors, according to Ward. But such intensive “island hop- ping” gives little time to explore a destination to the full, he says, add ing, “While you see a lot in a week, by the end of the cruise you may need another week to unwind, and you’ll be hard put to remember what you saw on which day. New Spanish selections in Freeport Library help residents learn to read FREEPORT (AP) — Because of minimal English reading skills, Greg Vargas never had a reason to visit the Freeport Library. Vargas, an Oyster Creek resi dent for the past four years, said through an interpreter the li brary had nothing of value to of fer him. Library officials, taking into ac count Vargas is one of a growing number of Spanish-speaking resi dents, are working to change that. In January the library, armed with a $23,000 grant, instituted a Spanish Language Center. The center is a first-of-a-kind idea for the Brazoria County Library Sys tem, one officials hope can boost readership by appealing to the area’s increasing Spanish popula tion. “Right now, we’re just building a collection,” head librarian Betty Pritchard said of the more than 1,000 Spanish books and video tapes making up the section. “Even though it doesn’t look like much, we feel like we have a lot.” Bill Hord, assistant director of the county system, said the word among other libraries and pa trons so far has been positive. “There’s been a lot of interest,” he said. “If it grows, we’ll cer tainly spend more money on materials.” Hord said the center is a result of the large Hispanic population that has flocked to the area dur ing recent years. That increase has caused a demand for the hard-to-find books in Spanish. Maridale Martinez, a first- grade bilingual teacher at T.W. Ogg Elementary School in Clute, sees the changes. More schools in the area have some sort of biling ual class than when she started teaching eight years ago. Martinez estimated there are 20 to 30 bilingual teachers in the Brazosport Independent School District alone, and only standard textbooks to keep students read ing. “We’re always needing Spanish language books and it’s been real hard to come by them,” she said. “There was no good literature for the children to hear.” Pritchard was the only librar ian in the area who applied for the one-year grant, noting more than one-quarter of the popula tion in Freeport is Hispanic. “I felt like the need was there,” she said. As well as the books and vi deos, the library used some of the funds to hire a part-time Spanish speaking librarian, Anna Marti nez, who oversees the collection and interacts with patrons using it. Though some of the children have English skills, Pritchard said a majority of the adults tend to speak only Spanish. “If they’re looking for some thing, she can talk to them,” Prit chard said. Though lacking in some sub jects, the collection runs the gamut from novels by Spanish authors and translated English authors to car repair, math and picture books. Anna Martinez said about 600 selections are children’s books, because they tend to get more use. Hord said the program can help children from Spanish speaking families, who statisti cally have a high dropout rate from school. Exposing the books to families for whom English is a second language and encourag ing parents to read to their chil dren in Spanish will benefit them in school. “We have a lot of children who come in and order for their par ents,” Pritchard said, adding tea chers from across the county also are putting in orders for the chil dren’s books in bulk. “They’ve gotten a lot of use that way,” she said. Pritchard added the books and tapes also will help English-speak ing students studying the lan guage who hope to improve their vocabulary. To encourage more use, Anna Martinez is spearheading a series of special programs in Spanish, including story times, crochet les sons and an income tax seminar. Vargas, who learned about the center from his 14-year-old daughter Martha, is a regular vis itor, picking out children’s books for his younger child Reyna or checking out popular Spanish movies for future viewing. The self-employed repairman said he is telling friends, who also have been by to see what’s avail able. Maridale Martinez said Vargas is a typical success, one member of a relocated culture in which reading plays a minor role. “Very few of my students have any books at home, Spanish or English,” she said, noting many are now reading during the week ends because the books are avail able. Her hope is, like Vargas, it will encourage other adults to read, setting an example for the younger generation. “If the kids can see their par ents with a book, they know it’s important,” Maridale Martinez said. “It makes a big difference to see their parents reading.” New York club revives past glamor, memories with ritzy renovation NEW YORK (AP) — The pot of gold may remain elusive. But here, the rainbow is back in the sky. The Rainbow Room of beloved memories — the first really big date, the celebration of certain wedding anniversaries and birthdays, the one go-for-broke dinner on that vacation in New York — is operating again, recalling bygone days. As the song says, they’ve “put it back the w'ay it was” — when it opened in 1934 as the epitome of el egance on the 65th floor of the art deco RCA Building at 30 Rockefel ler Center. The Rainbow Room has never been updated but, Joseph Baum, whose company now leases the two floors of the Rainbow complex, says that changes had crept in. “All of us make little changes. Suddenly they become big changes.” The Rainbow Room, which has spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline and a revolving dance floor, reopened in December 1987 after a two-year, $20 million renovation. “It was completely rebuilt down to the steel, every square inch refur bished, put back to be in perfect con dition,” says Baum. Renovation became complete this year with the opening of a cozy caba ret named Rainbow and Stars. Baum, who likes to talk about an ambiance of “dine, dance and ro mance,” says that the Rainbow Room now has alternating dance bands and its circular, wooden dance floor revolves again. “It hadn’t been used for years,” he says. What isn’t in the Rainbow Room that was at its opening 55 years ago is the “color organ.” It shot lights in the colors of the rainbow onto the ceiling’s white dome and crystal chandelier, de pending on what notes were played, and gave the Rainbow Room its name. The rainbow theme — updated — is carried out in Rainbow and Stars. The long interior wall is dotted with tiny lights — the stars. Periodically, the stars disappear and the wall be comes curved rows of rainbow col ors. “I think what we have is what Rainbow stands for,” says Baum, “history, memory and the energy of today.” Baum says, “The whole idea of Rainbow is again to be showing the world what it means to be a New Yorker, and those who want to be New Yorkers for a short time how to enjoy seduction and celebration.” Waving at the view, he adds, “This is your town expressing all its possi bilities. People dress up. We have 30 to 40 percent every night in black tie.” Rainbow and Stars is on the north side of the RCA Building’s 65th floor, and a bar, Rainbow Prome nade, is on the south. On the west, where the Ellington Band formerly swung two en gagements a year in the Rainbow Grill, the room is renamed Rainbow Pavilion and is rented for private parties. The entire floor is a private lun cheon club on weekdays. The Rainbow Room is open to the public for brunch on Sundays. Baum says the average food check in the Rainbow Room is around $50 for food per person; drinks, tax, tips and a $15 music charge take it higher. Dinner prices in Rainbow & Stars are comparable, with an entertain ment charge usually at $35 per per son.