1986_09 The Daily Collegian September 1986

              , T.ewUy, S«pt. 9,1986.
page
Tales told of Las Vegas summer
Sue Me
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Erik Pappa I
She started to mutter something, and
senseless gibberish came pouring from the
side of her mouth and onto her pillow.
"Shut up. you mindless peapod," I
though to say, but instead told her to
relax. That's the best way to enjoy a
massage, 1 persisted. Besides, 1 was con¬
centrating on the strokes my blonde
masseuse had shown me the previous
week in her living room.
"Heavy pressure up, light strokes on the
return. Touchie, touchie, touchie." What
a memory. The occasion for meeting this
memorable masseuse — or massage tech¬
nician, as one may prefer — was an
interview for my summer employer, my
hometown newspaper, the Las Vegas Sun.
My subject moaned again and I eased
my fingers further down, to her thighs,
purging the reservoir of anxiety from her.
Sort of like an exorcism.
'As my mind raced back over the seas¬
on's work and my moment's efforts be¬
came routine — though no less satisfactory,
judging from my friend's blissful expres¬
sion and release of destructive spirits — I
felt content in the world. Not so much for
the summer's stories I had covered, but for
the people I'd come to know, which went
beyond this woman, clad only in a sheet
and momentarily in my paws.
No, thankfully there were others. For
instance, Mike Smith, the Sun's editorial
cartoonist. He had asked me to write an
irreverent letter to our champion of fear
and loathing, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,
requesting that he send us his column as
soon as it became syndicated. We figured
we could elicit a favorable response by
amusing him. Maybe, we figured, we
might even offer him page one, in the
"Where 1 Stand" space. Even though his
getting there would be unlikely.
That space was usually reserved for
guys like Mike O'Callaghan, former two-
term Nevada governor and now the Sun's
executive editor. O'Callaghan, very well-
respected throughout the state, chanced it
one day by taking a few of us shady
bachelor-types out to lunch.
It was the kind of thing he could do
easily, stepping out with us lowlifes, be¬
cause he knew how to be an ordinary Joe.
He's the kind of guy you look up to. the
kind about whom stories abound.
For instance, when he was governor,
the Hell's Angels threatened to stage a
huge orgy in the state. O'Callaghan dared
them to by calling out the National Guard
and putting them on the border. Hell got
wind of it and never showed..
On another occasion, O'Callaghan drove
his limousine by a gunman alongside a
road. The governor stopped his car to find
out his intentions. "I'm going to shoot that
redtail hawk," the man said, pointing to
the bird circling overhead. "The hell you
are," replied O'Callaghan. "I'm telling
you, put that gun in your trunk and go
back to California, where you belong."
So the story goes.
Anyhow, we wat at our table and talked
politics, with Nevada U.S. Sen. Paul
Laxalt coming up during our discussion.
O'Callaghan seemed to think that Laxalt,
should he declare himself a candidate,
would have a bona fide chance of cap¬
turing the Oval Office, despite Nevada's
slick image and Laxalt's Fresno Bee-
lawsuit. I had doubts about the asses¬
sment, although many days find me be¬
coming convinced otherwise.
Smith, incidentally, hates Laxalt and
thinks he's in with the mob. Smith was
especially pleased to get a call from C.K.
McClatchy, who requested that he send
him an editorial cartoon he had syndi¬
cated. The illustration depicted Laxalt
getting stung by the Bee as in their libel
suit.
Another summer series of incidents also
dealt with politics, but those of love,
which are more dangerous. For various
reasons, the peril exists particularly in
Vegas. Anyway, one of our city editors, a
shady bachelor-type himself, had dated a
divorced woman whose ex-husband liked
to tail her on outings. So, when out on the
town in the editor's Triumph, the couple
soon found a car pulling up on them
trailing closely, until the ed lost him.
(Journalists learn to be drivers par excel-
Iance).
Later, the ed got a phone call at home
from the ex, who said he was run off the
road by the ed and said he wanted to come
over to collect damages.
Eventually, the ed found out that the ex
enjoyed tire slashing (his history showed
80-plus murdered tires). So, a bit afraid to
go home the next few nights from work,
the ed asked me to drive him home,
hoping to save his innocent Firestone
radials. He further hoped, I think, to have
an extra pair of shady bachelor-type fists
at his side should theworst come to pass.
A ritual of reconnaissance and strategic
driving, including a few jaunts around the
block, consumed my time for some nights,
until the ed felt safe from the ex, and 1
began to think of other adventures.
But that was when the moaning re¬
awakened me from my trance. She was
still enjoying herself, and there 1 was
touching sensitive areas again.
Well, such is the life of a journalist, I
suppose. Always touching sensitive things,
and getting into trouble.
OUTREACH TUTOR/ADVISOR
Provide Middle School (7th & 8th) and High School students
with tutoring in Math, English, and Science courses and advis¬
ing on College Preparation.'
Qualifications: Good Knowledge of Mathematics through Calculus;
Experience working with Ethnic Minority Students; Driver's License; Must
be able to work 4 days per week from 2:00-5:00 p.m.; and provide own
transportation (mileage reimbursement)
$5.15 - $5.50 per hour (depending on experience)
Applications available at CORE SAA-Outreach Office (Joyal
Administration Building, Room 251)
Deadline: Wed., Sept. 10, 1986
Work-Study Students Preferred
EVENTS
Continued from page 3
"Sometimes our funding is hard to jus¬
tify. For example, bur fine arts program
has suffered because we arc unable to
bring in attractions that will draw people.
Last year we brought in the 'Cleveland
Duo'and maybe five people showed up,"
BLOOM COUNTY
McClintic saiH
She said that the committee schedules
more rock acts because of the broader
appeal they have to the campus commun¬
ity.
"We don't try to be just entertainment,
rock-n-roll, party city — because that's
obviously not our purpose," McClintic
said, "we try to do a lot of educational,
informative and fun things."
by Berke Breathed