Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jeff Zeleny.Editor, 472-1766
Kara Morrison.Opinion Page Editor
Angie Brunkow....Managing Editor
Jeffrey Robb. Associate News Editor
Rainbow Rowell.Columnist/Associate News Editor
Kiley Christian.Photography Director
Mike Lewis..Copy Desk Chief
James Mehsling.... Cartoonist
Warming up
Student spirit can fuel Homecoming fire
Take the pompons out of your closet, students, and get ready to
celebrate Homecoming 1994 and the 200th consecutive NU
football sellout.
“Sellout Celebration,” the theme of this year's homecoming,
officially began Monday, but the festivities are just warming up.
This week, students will have the opportunity to vote for home
coming royalty Wednesday, pump up the football players at a pep
rally Thursday and bum some buffalo at the bonfire Friday.
All students will have a chance to show NU spirit this week.
In past years, students have been lax in assembling school spirit
in preparation for the Saturday football showdown. Few students
attend the pep rally or get involved in the Husker Howl. Instead,
some vandalize or destroy the lawn displays built in front of greek
houses.
Alumni also nave oeen missing nomecoming events, i ne iraui
tion has disappeared from the week, they believe.
This year students have a chance to change their ways. Students
can make homecoming a strong NU tradition again.
School spirit will not be a problem Saturday at the game against
Colorado, but let’s get an early start this week by participating in
homecoming events and showing Husker prick.
Misleading information and inaccuracies are the only things to
be found in the recent report on military base closings from the
Business Executives for National Security.
The report details how 26 of the 67 military bases that were
ordered to close in 1988 remain open in some capacity. What it
fails to mention is that 13 of the 26 bases are housing new branch
offices of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, a depart
ment that has shrunk from more than 300 offices in 1988 to less
than two dozen today.
This means that the 13 bases were closed, and in fact, the
facilities simply are housing other governmental agencies
The report also fails to take into account the devastating effects
a base closing can have on a community When a base is closed,
the government implements programs to help the town adjust, a
process that takes time.
And look at the positives. Since 1988, 41 military bases have
ceased operation, saving taxpayers millions of dollars The reduc
tion and relocation of the Defense Finance and Accounting Ser
vices branches also saved tax dollars, and it brought jobs to the
towns that had the empty base facilities.
Pentagon officials have said that on average, it takes five or six
years to close a military base. If it's taking longer than projected in
a few cases, fine. At least the intention to cut the spending remains
the eventual objective, and in the meantime, people get to keep their
jobs.
— The Daily mini
University of Illinois
StafTeditorials represent the official policy of the Fall 1994 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by
the Daily Nebraskan Fditorial Board Fditorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the
university, its employees, the students or the NU Board of Regents Fditorial columns represent
the opinion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan They establish the UNI.
Publications Board to supervise the daily production of the paper According to policy set by
the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of
its students
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others,
letters will be selected for publication on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness and space
available. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject all material submitted. Readers
also are welcome to submit material as guest opinions. The editor decides whether material
should run as a guest opinion, (alters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the
property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned Anonymous submissions will not be
published. Letters should included the author's name, year in school, major and group
affiliation, if any. Requests to withhold names will not be granted Submit material to the Daily
Nebraskan. 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb 68388*0448.
I ,-'l
HERE
TUOOSkNfc EoUKRS
It) HELP VOO WVfl\ r
YOOR CNVAPMfaH. |
Rfa THIS
K Wl7
L,^—
Phi SovC
TUE VJORD
VS P&C-.
©JWJMJSsstefiftL
Toenail clipper cuts off problem
We live in a time of so many
amazing high-tech inventions. And
I have just happened upon one of
the most useful products ever seen.
The way I found it is an interest
ing story in itself.
I am one of those people who
hates to cut his toenails. It is a
stressful, acrobatic chore, involving
bending, stretching, twisting,
grunting and hoisting a stubborn
leg onto a sink.
Nature made toenails very thick
to allow man to kick smaller
creatures, as was his destiny. This
makes them difficult to clip.
And if your clipper is sharp
enough to do the job, the slivers of
toenail can shoot through the air
like shrapnel missiles. We can only
guess how many people have been
scarred for life by their own toenail
shards or those of a loved one.
Because of these hazards, I
sometimes go long periods of time
without clipping my nails. And
recently I was walking barefoot
through my home when I heard a
terrible yowling.
I look down and was shocked to
find that I had impaled the cat on
my uncommonly long nail.
Deciding it would be bad
medical practice to remove the
wounded cat from my toenail, I
hopped on one foot to the car and
raced to an animal clinic. It wasn’t
an easy drive with a leg sticking oui
the window, so as not to dislodge
the cat.
“You handled it just right,” the
veterinarian said as he removed the
angry creature, stitched its wound
am! declared it healthy.
Then he chuckled and said: “Tht
same thing happened to me once,
except it was a tiny in-law instead
of a cat. But since I discovered Eas)
Hold by Trim, the world’s finest
toenail clipper, it is no longer a
problem. I highly recommend it.”
And that’s how I bought my own
Easy Hold toenail clipper at the
corner drug store. A wonderful
device that makes clipping one’s
toenails almost a pleasure.
It is sharp and powerful and has
clever thumb and finger grips that
prevent slipping. Through extra
leverage, it requires so little
“If your clipper is sharp enough to do
the job, the slivers of toenail can shoot
through the air like shrapnel missiles.
We can only guess how many people |
have been scarred for life by their
own toenail shards or those of a loved
one.
strength that even an arthritic
should be able to hack through the
most monstrous nails.
And it somehow gobbles up the
clippings. That eliminates the
danger of your being wounded by
one of those tiny, sharp missiles.
In opening the wrapping it came
in, I happened to glance at the
printing and saw these words:
“Developed in cooperation with the
University of Mississippi Medical
Center.”
I’ve always been proud that the
University of Chicago leads the
world in Nobel Prizes, many of
them for scientific discoveries. Yet
1 don’t remember ever dashing out
and buying something discovered
by any of the Nobel Prize winners. I
don’t even know if their discoveries
have made me happier or healthier.
But here we have the far less
prestigious University of Missis
sippi helping create a product that
will make life easier for the many
millions of us who have toes.
A call to the university put us in
touch with the man who invented
• the amazing Easy Hold — the
widely unknown Eric “Ric”
Rommerdale, 52, a retired Navy
dental lab technician who now runs
i W) technology at the university’s
School of Dentistry.
“Well, well, well," he said, “you
found me. I usually stay out of the
limelight."
(His modesty explains why we
have not seen him on “60 Min
utes”)
“You really want to talk about
this?” he asked.
Of course. There are an esti
mated 2.5 billion toes in this
country. And around the world, I
can’t even comprehend such a
number.
“Well, it isn’t that glamorous. In
about 1988,1 was getting gas at one
of those stop-and-go places that
have soda pop and stuff, and I saw
this old fella trying to cut his nails.
But the thing kept slipping out of
his hand. He said: *1 wish
someone’d come up with something
that’d help me hold onto these
things.’
“So I went home and played
around with the idea in my work
shop. And I finally came up with
this thing. I had friends try it, and
everybody seemed to like it”
After a while, he called Revlon,
the biggest seller of all sorts of nail
clippers.
“Some Mr. Vice President told
me, ’We’re not interested in
anything you’re doing.’”
Probably some Ivy League guy
with an MBA.
So he called the much smaller
W.E. Bassett Co., and the president
came to see him, looked at his
invention, and asked him to redo
his entire line of implements —
scissors, tweezers and, of course,
nail clippers.
Mr. Rommerdale declined to say
how much he has raked in since his
contribution to gracious living went
on sale two years ago. “I’m just a
poor retired sailor.” But he con
ceded that he makes 2 percent of
the sale royalties.
And he deserves it all for his
vision and creativity. The rest of us
look at our toes, and what do we
see? Just our toes.
He looked and saw his fortune.
“I’ve done a lot of things,” Mr.
Rommerdale says, “but I guess this
is what I’ll be remembered for.”
By me, that’s for sure. And my
cat too.
Copyright 1994 Tribune Medta
Services, lac.