page 4
daily nebraskan
friday, december 12, 1980
mDD
(ojoGOfFQI
)f life' at Rag comes to a close f
Daily Nebraskan editors have a great opportun
ity at the end of each semester. We get to express
our thanks to our staff 17,000 times.
For most of us, it is the end of working at a
top student newspaper. It's hard to summarize
that experience or credit people appropriately.
The deepest thanks should go to the institu
tion. The Rag isn't a place or a thing really; it
has been a way of life for many during their col
lege years.
Although our critics are part of the paper, they
never get the opportunity to know it well and
understand what the Rag really is. Our controver
sies pass and also become a part of the paper.
Each person who works here contributes some
thing to the institution that remains, but the
paper usually gives more to the student than vice
versa. That is why the Daily Nebraskan is so im
portant to those who work here.
The editor's biggest job from semester to
semester is keeping himself or herself from inter
fering with the many talented staff members.
When I was a reporter, it always disappointed
me when the final editorial each semester didn't
mention the reporters, who sacrifice more than
anyone else to wOrk here. The reporters this
semester have earned my respect and apprecia
tion. The news editor has the hardest job keeping
reporters busy and motivated. Thanks to Barb
for handling that horrible job so well and not be
coming a goat over it. And to Tom, Kathy and
Shelley for helping her stay sane. Special thanks
to that good sport Shelley for pulling double duty
in a pinch.
David's cartoons kept my page from being
graphically boring and added greatly to its pro
fessionalism. Casey, Bob, Larry, Kim, Kitty, Mark, Diane
and the ad staff round out the list of key people
who made it work.
Contrary to popular belief, there were some
Republicans on this staff. They have my sym
pathy and thanks for withstanding the liberal
tidal wave.
Thanks, too, to my secular, humanist, sa tan
consulting liberal columnists, whose writing kept
my days busy defending our slightly left of center
editorial policy.
Best of luck to Kathy and her staff,
(ioodbye.
Ron tastes political cuisine
One of the major events of President
elect Reagan 's first official visit to Washing
ton was a dinner at the home of columnist
George Will. Also present were Carter aide
Robert Strauss and his wife, ABC televis
ion executive Roone Arledge and his wife,
and other guests. News item.
The following transcript may or may
not have been found by Moral Majority
agents searching through the Will family
garbage:
o
Eiilian
Will: Welcome to our little gathering,
Mr. President-elect. As Theognis said in the
6th Century B.C "One finds many com
panions for food and drink, but in a ser
ious business, a man's companions are very
few."
Reagan: Well, Mommy and 1 just want
you to know that our administration is
going to reach out to all America, including
you.
Will: Yes. America. As De Tocqueville
said. "America is a land of wonders, in
which everything is in constant motion
and every change seems an improvement."
Roone: Which reminds me, Mr. President-elect.
We plan some terriffic new
changes in our Washington team here. For
starters, v.o thought we might replace Sam
Donaldson at the White House with Cheryl
Tiegs. If CBS thinks Dan Rather is pretty...
Reagan: Well. er. Mommy and I are all
for change. We must go back to our new
beginning.
Will: Democratic nations are but lit
tle for what has been," De Tocqueville
said, "but they are haunted by the visions
of what will be."
Mrs. Reagan: George, why don't you
knock that off.
Mrs. Arledge: Think of it, me, a former
Miss Alabama, sitting here with the next
President of the United States. Were you
ever a former Miss, Mrs. Reagan?
Mrs. Reagan: When I got married.
Other Guests: Ha,ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha!
Mrs. Reagan: Pass the potatoes, please.
Other guests: Ha, ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha!
Reagan: You know, I read somewhere
that, if you could squeeze the juice out of
all the potatoes in Idaho, you'd probably
have enough water to irrigate all the deserts
in the world.
Will: Yes, well let's remember it's time
to get down to the principal of business of
the evening, anyway. To put it modestly,
it has not escaped the notice of the Will
family that ours is the only journalist's
table you have graced in this, your first
post-election week in Washington.
Mrs. Reagan: What are you getting at.
George?
Will: Other Presidents have relied upon
the wisdom and counsel of Walter Lipp
mann. Scotty Reston. and the Alsop
brothers. To put it humbly, you can have
me! Or, as Napoleon once said . . .
Reagan: You know, Mommy, we had
this newspaper fellow back in Tampico
who used to let us play horseshoes in
back of his shop. He said something I
remember to this day: "Close only counts
in horseshoes."
Will: I don't remember that quote. But
getting back to the subject, the term
"kitchen cabinet" is crass and Jacksonian.
What I have in mind is a dining room
cabinet. A place for elegant conversation
and gracious dining, where you and the
President can mingle with some of the
finest minds in Washington.
i78C
THESC REFUGEES twr
want tj ST7yyn
XT' Jf W
Mrs. Reagan: No dice. George.
Will: What'1 Why not? Is it because I
backed Howard Baker in the primaries?
that was a brief indiscretion,
a mere infatuation before I was awed
by the strength and brilliance of the Reag
an campaign.
Mrs. Reagan: No. it's just that we're
going to reach out to everyone in Wash
ington. We just started with you because
we're starting with the Wills at the bottom
of the list and working our way up. Next
time, it's Tom Wicker. By this time next
year, we should be dining with Joseph
Alsop.
Will: (Gnashing of teeth) No, no!
He's retired! He's passe! That era of po
litical thought is ended!
Mrs. Reagan: At least he doesn't quote
Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
(c) 1980, The Chicago Tribune Co.
n
nebraskan Jason's vitality resolves nothing
Editor in chief: Randy Essex; Managing
editor Bob Lannin; News editor: Barb Richard
son; Associate news editor: Kathy Chenault;
Assistant news editors: Tom Prentiss and Shelley
Smith; Night news editors: Sue Brown, Nancy
Ellis, Bill Graf; East Campus Bureau Chief: Jim
Garret; Assistant night news editor: Ifejika
Okonkwo; Entertainment editor: Casey McCabe;
Sports editor: Shelley Smith; Photography chief:
Mark Billingsley; Art director: David Luebke;
Magazine editor: Diane Andersen.
Copy editors: Sue Brown, Nancy Ellis.
Maureen Hutfless, Lori McGinnis, Tom McNeil,
Jeanne Mohatt, Lisa Paulson, Kathy Sjulin, Kent
Warneke, Patricia Waters.
Business manager: Anne Shank; Production
manager: Kitty Policky; Advertising manager:
Art Small; Assistant advertising manager: Jeff
Pike.
Publications Board chairman: Mark Bowen,
475-1081, Professional adviser: Don Walton,
473-7301.
The Daily Nebraskan is published by the UNL
Publications Board Monday through Friday
during the fall and spring semesters, except
during vacations.
Address: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska
Union, 14th and R streets, Lincoln, Neb., 68583.
Telephone 472-2588.
Material may be reprinted without permission
if attributed to the Daily Nebraskan, except
material covered by a copyright.
Second class postage paid at Lincoln, Neb.,
68510.
Jason was not hanging from the rafters
when I got home. I was relieved but not
ecstatic. If not the rafters, the bars would
be the next logical place to find him dang
ling. Like a cheap bit of costume jewelry
from the ear of a inah-jangg debutante.
LiLJU
zangari
I pulled on my coat and started on the
evening's intrepid travels- going from bar
to bar in search of Jason's fleecy hide.
I caught up with at the Tiki God lounge.
He was hunched over the bar sipping
Scotch from a coconut. He raised basset
hound eyes at me, then quickly returned
them to the coconut. "Go away," he said.
"Ok I said.
He grabbed me by the lambskin collar
of my coat and lifted me to the bar stool.
"Ok." he said, "stay, see if I care."
I ordered some Amaretto and coffee
and waited.
Jason didn't need any prompting.
She had no reason to go away like
that. Things were going well for all of us."
"She felt like we weren't going any
where at all." I say.
Jason drained his coconut. "I can see
it's no use talking to you." he says from
the corner of his mouth. "You never agree
with nie. Jason pushes his coconut to the
center of the bat and clasps his hands in
front of him. He adds, "neither did Marie."
I touch him lightly on the arm and say
"Let's get out of heie."
Jason looks over at me and shakes his
head. "I suppose you'll be leaving soon
too," he says.
"It's always a possibility " say. "Some
times I think I'm already gone."
"I can understand that," he says. He
looks down between his feet at the pave
ment below. "Other times I think I'm go
ing to end up here all alone like some
smoking carcass."
"You're a little too vital for that ever to
be a possibility," I say.
He cuts into me with brittle eyes. "The
old vitality. That's the only reason thai
people like Marie and you and others stay
around, isn't it? You feed off me. I have
touched segments of life that you people
are afraid to approach because il isn't polit
ically hip or socially acceptable I'll tell
you one thing. My vitality is honest." Me
hops down from the car and stalks oil.
"Jason." I hear myself say , harsh, cut
ting. He stops and slowly turns around. "Get
out of my life." he says.
I walk up to him and plant my feet in
his path.
"Ok." I say. "You may be right in pari
But did you ever consider the possibilities
that we also see a great deal of ourselves in
the things you do? We care about you. Will
alway s care about you."
"And you will leave."
"Of course. So will you."
Jason's features fall like a row of
dominoes. "We've all been living in the
pages of a comic strip," he says.
"I know." I say .
"Things are never resolved. They just go
on week after week. Punch line to punch
line.
Jason throws his arm around my
shoulder and we walk back to the car.