Student cab
driver faring
well at job
By Jason Hardy
Senior Reporter
“When you’re driving 30 hours a
week, it’s bound to happen,” Ken
Paulman says, referring to a minor fend
er bender he was in.
He pulls a joker card from his pock
et and sticks it on the dusty dash of cab
26.
“After my accident I figured I need
ed a good luck charm,” he says.
He squeezes a small tape player in
between the front seat and a metal bar
that holds up the meter. The sounds of
Parliament Funkadelic fill the musty
inner space of the cab, and he sets a large
flashlight next to him for protection.
“You always gotta be on your toes,”
he says as he pats the shiny, red metal
light.
Paulman, a senior theatre major at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
begins his day as a cab driver for Husker
Cabs, Inc., 320 W. P St., at about 2:30
p.m. most days. Today is no different
He gets a call over the radio and
cruises out for a client
Paulman has been driving cabs for
about a year and plans to continue dri
ving until he graduates. He said he liked
Lane Hickenbottom/DN
KEN PAULMAN, a senior theater major, drives Candy Brooks to her home. Paulman has been driving taxis for about
a year.
the hours, and the pay was usually good,
especially around peak times during the
afternoon and evening.
“It’s better than workin’ for a living,
and the hours are great,” Paulman says.
He says he usually earns between $6
and $ 10 an hour, depending on tips and
the time of day.
He arrives at an address and honks
the horn. A middle-aged woman comes
out, climbs into the back seat and gives
the directions to her destination. The
ride there is silent, and she thanks
Paulman as she leaves.
“I’m usually not very talkative and I
think a lot of people appreciate it,”
Paulman says. “Usually the people that
want someone to talk with will start up a
conversation.”
Paulman learned his way around
Lincoln’s streets when he was a pizza
delivery driver before working at
Husker Cabs. However, he says some
times he still has to resort to the map in
the Lincoln phone book.
“Even after doing this for a year
there are still some neighborhoods that I
get completely lost in,” Paulman says,
thumbing to the back of the phone book.
The next stop was for an older cou
ple who slowly made their way from the
house to the cab. He offers them a hand
but they decline and continue their
snail’s pace to the cab’s back door.
“You really appreciate the little
things, like being able to walk and to
see,” Paulman says as he gets out to
open the car door.
On the way to the couple’s stop he
encounters some heavy traffic, but hav
ing lived in Kansas City, Mo., Paulman
says he’s learned to cope with rush hour.
“Traffic doesn’t really bother me,”
Paulman says. “I lived in Kansas City,
and I’ve spent quality time on the free
way going nowhere”
After dropping the couple off,
Paulman gets called to a familiar loca
tion.
“We have a lot of regulars,” he says
pulling up to the building. “Oh yeah,
this guy’s the man.”
Paulman gets out to help put the
man’s wheelchair into the trunk.
“No problem,” he says. “It’s what
they pay me big money for.”
He heads out for the man’s home
without asking for directions. He says
most people get in the car and expect
him to know where to take them.
“I used to think that was ridiculous
when I first started, but now I just know
where everyone lives,” Paulman says.
He drops the man off and unloads
his wheelchair. In return the man gives
him a handsome tip. Paulman thanks the
man and says that every fare isn’t as
rewarding. The ones that aren’t he takes
with a grain of salt
“One older guy gave me a nickel
and told me to get myself an ice cream
cone ... it was the middle of winter,”
Paulman says. “He meant well. I’m sure
back in the day that could’ve got you a
pretty good ice cream cone.”
Pianist brings ‘voice’ to UNL
By Barb Churchill
Assignment Reporter
Another new voice is coming
to town.
Jon Nakamatsu, winner of the
1997 Van Clibum International
Piano Competition, will play a
recital tonight in Kimball Recital
Hall as part of the Lied Center for
the Performing Arts “New Voices”
series. Nakamatsu isn’t your aver
age piano player - before winning
this competition, Nakamatsu
taught high school German in
Mountain View, Calif.
After winning the Van Clibum
competition, Nakamatsu quit his
teaching position. He is now sole
ly concentrating on performing,
said Todd Holmbeig, production
manager for the Van Clibum foun
dation.
One hundred fifty-six com
petitors performed at the screen
ing auditions of the Van Clibum
competition, and 35 made it to the
preliminary rounds, Nakamatsu
said. The field was then narrowed
down successively to 12 semifi
nalists, six finalists and three
medal winners.
Nakamatsu was named the
gold medal winner, which probar
bly surprised everyone else more
than it did him.
That’s because Nakamatsu was
relatively unknown before winning
the Van Clibum competition,
although he did do well in other
competitions, Holmbeig said.
Nakamatsu said his most sig
nificant win before the Van
Clibum competition was he 1995
Chopin competition which earned
him $15,000 and concert engage
merits. However, it was not an
international competition.
Winning an international
competition is important because
of the recognition factor. Talent
scouts don’t pay as much attention
to performers who win a U.S.
competition, Nakamatsu said.
The Van Clibum competition
is not only an international compe
tition, it is one of the most presti
gious international competitions.
Winning this competition was a
“breakthrough” for Nakamatsu.
One of the biggest perks -
besides winning $20,000 - is
receiving professional manage
ment from the Van Clibum foun
dation. Other prizes include a
stipend from American Airlines
and being included on a compact
disc release.
Nakamatsu won’t just be
thrown to the winds at the end of
the two years, Holmberg said.
When his two years are up,
Nakamatsu will still be able to uti
lize the Van Clibum foundation’s
professional services.
Nakamatsu is not a total
stranger to the music world. He
has taken lessons with piano
teacher Marina Derryberry since
he was 6. Derryberry continues to
be a force in Nakamatsu Is life and
will accompany Nakamatsu dur
ing this recital.
‘It’s nice to have Marina with
me during this tour,” Nakamatsu
said. “When no one knows you,
and you’re in a strange city, it’s
very comforting to have a friend
around.”
The irregular schedule can be
a pain sometimes, especially when
trying to find time to practice,
Nakamatsu said
“Every day is different. You’re
at the mercy of whatever city
you’re in, and you try to make the
best of it.”
Tonight, Nakamatsu will per
form Ludwig van Beethoven’s
“Sonata in E major, opus 109,”
Frederic Chopin’s “Polonaise in
C-Sharp Minor, opus 26 number
one” and “Grand Fantasy on
Polish Airs,” William Bolcom’s
“Nine Bagatelles,” Igor
Stravinsky’s “Four Etudes” and
Franz Liszt’s “Sonetto 104 del
Petratca” and ‘Tarantella.”
The Beethoven “Sonata” is
one of his later sonatas - the 30th
composed out of 32.
“This is lyrical and more intro
spective than most of Beethoven’s
other sonatas,” Nakamatsu said.
The two Chopin works aren’t
his most popular works, but
Nakamatsu said “they’re really
great pieces for an audience.” -
The Bolcom piece was com
posed for the 1997 Van Cliburn
competition, and Nakamatsu’s
performance of it won praise from
the composer. Nakamatsu enjoys
playing this piece, he said, because
“it’s ftiU of ambiguity and jokes.”
The Stravinsky is not often
performed. That’s a shame,
Nakamatsu said, because as an
early Stravinsky piece, it is M of
romanticism and an almost
Debussy-like sound
The Lizst pieces “are exciting
and romantic in the best sense, anda
good close fbrtheprogram,” he said
Nakamatsu’s recital is tonight
at 8 in Kimball Recital Hall,
Tickets for toe recital are $18 and
$14, half-price for students.
-——
Various Artists
“Nebraska Football Greatest Hits VoL 1”
Alphabet City Sports Records
Grade: D
In the latest attempt to sell Comhusker
football fans something they don’t need, we
now have the Nebraska football compact
disc.
Alphabet City Sports Records out ofNew
York is the latest group to get in on the act
with a 24-track compact disc featuring 12
songs to go with a dozen or so cuts of the most
famous plays in Husker football history.
The cuts range from Nebraska’s 25-21
upset of Oklahoma in 1959, ending the
Sooner’s 74-game conference unbeaten
streak, to Cory Schlesinger’s go-ahead touch
down against Miami in the 1995 Orange
Bowl
All the usual suspects are here: Lyle
Bremser, Kent Pavelka and current NU play
by-play announcer Warren Swain, among
others.
The first track has promise as the “open
ing montage” lumps together some of the
most recognizable sounds from Husker histo
ry including Pavelka screaming “touchdown”
over and ova; and Swainfe call of an Ahman
Great touchdown with The Alan Parsons
Project’s “Sirius” in die background.
But the problems with this project lie at
the end of each radio track.
Following each and every Husker cut, a
song follows that is supposedly related to the
cut
After listening to Johnny Rodgers’ punt
return against Oklahoma in die “Game of the
Century,” Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”
follows and really puts a damper on
Bremser’s “Man, woman and child!”
This discouraging practice plagues the
entire project and stoops to the lowest lengths
after Swain’s call of college football’s
“immaculate reception.”
The track relives the unbelievable finish
of NU’s win over Missouri last year, a win
made possible by the footwork of Husker
receiver Shevin Wiggins.
The song that pays tribute to this truly
great moment is none other than “My
Adidas” by Run DMC.
The reference of course is to Adidas, die
official supplier of Nebraska football gear.
These sad stretches in referential humor
really stick out when Gap Band’s “You
Dropped a Bomb on Me” follows NU quar
terback Fred Duda’s 95-yard pass to Freeman
White in 1965.
It also should be noted that this is possibly
the only disc offering songs by James Brown,
Bachman Turner Overdrive, Kool & The
Gang, Peaches & Herb and Tori Clark in the
same collection.
This compilation really makes it difficult
for any Husker fan to justify buying the disc.
A compact disc of pure Husker football
cuts would seem to be a better product for
those crazy enough to buy this one.
Sadly, the best thing about the disc is
probably the liner notes, as they list a summa
ry of Nebraska^ top 10 greatest games.
The notes include the scores of all of the
games from NU Is five national championship
teams, along with a file on former Head
Coach Tom Osborne.
But this is something that any Husker fan
can get in a media guide without buying a
compact disc that has litde overall value.
Unless you’re a member of a Husker
Booster Chib, save your money.
-Andrew Stmad