Banner Graphic, Volume 16, Number 122, Greencastle, Putnam County, 7 January 1986 — Page 14

Page 4

Tuesday, January 7,1986

Jabbar

Lakers have been a virtual paragon of invincibility winning 70 of 83 games before Saturday night, including a 15-4 mark in the playoffs. “Work is still work,” the center says. “But winning is definitely fun. I’ve enjoyed the success a lot more than I’ve enjoyed the records.” There were also whisperings that Abdul-Jabbar’s original hope was that by retiring he might pursuade the courts that he was qualified to retain custody of Amir, his youngest child, now 5. But when asked if the custody battle and the ensuing difficulties of juggling his erratic and tiring profession with his obligations as a father have affected his decision to play, he says quietly, “Not so far.” Abdul-Jabbar sees his children as often as he can, during the sporadic days that the team is home. He knows that because of his lifestyle, he hasn’t been the ideal father. “The season is so exhausting by itself,” he says. “You practice, play, travel, then travel some more. It’s tough to do other things that are important to you. The problem is having enough energy.” The rebuilding of the expansive Bel-Air home that was destroyed in the fire also dominates much of Abdul-Jabbar’s energies. Work on the house, which he says is “much bigger” than the original, is several months behind schedule. Last week, there was the discouraging news that the company that was storing his furniture couldn’t find some of it. (Doesn’t anything in this man’s life, except basketball, work out right?) Other than spending time with his children, Abdul-Jabbar says the reconstruction of his home is his most important obligation. It represents a new start after an episode of his life he says was most distressing. In that fire, Abdul-Jabbar lost almost all of his most treasured books, his valuable rugs and art works, as well as perhaps his fondest possession - a lifetime of music, a collection of jazz albums that numbered in the thousands. “They didn’t get very much out,” he says softly. “A few odds and ends.” Yet out of that rubble emerged a new discovery, and even a reward that has paved the way for his future vocation. The discovery was that people cared. For months after the fire, Abdul-Jabbar was besieged with gifts of albums, mostly from people he had never known. “People came out of nowhere all the time,” he says. “After a game we had played in St. Louis, these two old ladies came running up to the team bus waving these albums in the air and saying, ‘Here, we want you to have these.’ That’s all they wanted. It was something.” The payoff for his future came last week when Abdul-Jabbar signed his contract with MCA in sports-speak, it would be three years guaranteed with a two-year option. He will be producing albums under his own label, Cranberry. He says there is no story behind that name. “I originally wanted Skyline, but I found out that there were about seven ‘Skylines’ already. ” This isn’t Abdul-Jabbar’s first experience with music as a lifestyle and a business. His father was a musician, and in his autobiography, he recounts tales of his many days and long nights in the underground jazz clubs of Manhattan. “I know how they live,” he says. More recently, Abdul-Jabbar has taken advantage of the provisions in his Laker contract that provide him with use of the Forum for a specified number of nights each year for promoting concerts. Among those whose concerts he has promoted are Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie and Tina Turner. But he admits that the only real challenge in those ventures was in discerning the tastes of the majority of music-lovers, which were usually vastly different from his own. “Either you had the deal with the artist or you didn’t,” he says. “But people can be very fickle.” The pressures on him now will be even greater than in promoting those one-night stands. “You’ve got to produce in both places,” says Collins, who negotiated the contract with MCA. “If he can produce on the same level as he does in basketball, there is the possibility that Cranberry can become a major record company.” MCA was drawn to Abdul-Jabbar not only because of his wellchronicled love of jazz, but also because of the way he has, in recent years, struck down the walls he constructed during his

Alcohol ,rom p*B e 1

the medical community. According to Allan Luks, executive director of the Alcoholism Council of Greater New York, the patient must bear some responsibility, too. “We can’t place the entire burden on the doctor,” he said. “In today’s healthawareness age, so many questions are initiated by educated patients. We have not educated patients sufficiently in alcohol so that they can ask the right questions.” Last month, brochures describing alcohol-linked health problems were mailed by the council to physicians in the five boroughs and to corporate medical offices. To obtain a free copy, call 212-935-7070, and ask for the “Health and Fitness Guide to Alcohol.” BLOCK THAT CLICHE SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP) - Each year, the Unicom Hunters release a list of words they think should be banished from the English language because of misuse, overuse, or general uselessness. The Unicom Hunters started word banishing in 1976. Over the years the group has come down on more than 150 words and phrases. The list includes “At this point in time” and “Have a nice day.

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Continued from page 1

v If Jr

This is the traditional way fans see Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, scoring an easy two points over his opponents with a deadly sky hook. Nearing 40, the Lakers legend begins his 18th season in basketball during 1986-87. youth to separate himself from the news media. “I think they’re hoping that he’ll be a magnet that will draw young artists to MCA that might otherwise go to CBS or any other company,” says Collins. “His hope is to be able to draw that kid from Detroit or the Bronx who thinks, ‘Won’t anybody listen to me?’ His style will be, ‘Hey, we need you.’ ” Even before the contract was officially signed last week, Ab-dul-Jabbar was at work at his new vocation. “It’s sad that a lot of American artists were forced to live in Europe because of the lack of appreciation and racism that existed over here. Herbie Hancock, Dexter Gordon and a lot of others lived there for long periods. Some of them even died over there. But they had to go. Jazz clubs even have a diffient ambiance in other parts of the world. Once when I was in Paris, this guy grabbed me and said he just had to take me to this club. We got there and there was no band, but the jukebox was fantastic! It had everything you could ever want and the people were loving it.” Abdul-Jabbar’s eyes brightened as he told the story, then his expression changed. “I’ve known places like that all my life,” he said. “Jazz is confined to small cabarets over here. Getting the music before the public in the right manner is what I hope to do.” The beat to which Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plays basketball will assuredly end sometime in the years to come. But it seems as if through all of his success and adversity, he has indeed discovered a way to make the music his music—last forever.

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Food jobs not meant for homosexuals? VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Homosexuals should be barred from jobs as food handlers, doctors or day care nurses or be tested for AIDS before taking those jobs, according to a majority of people responding to a Gallup Poll. Seventy-two percent believed a blood test should be given to the general population to determine how far the acquired immune deficiency syndrome virus has spread, said the poll commissioned by the Christian Broadcasting Network. “It clearly indicates enormous concern on the part of the public,” George Gallup Jr. said of the poll issued Thursday. “That’s shown in the rather extreme measures they would support.” Poll respondents were asked: “In light of the AIDS epidemic, do you feel that homosexuals should or should not be allowed to work as food handlers, teachers, medical doctors or day care nurses?” Sixty-one percent said homosexuals should be barred from working as day care nurses; 55 percent said they should not be food handlers, and 53 percent said they should not be doctors. Forty-nine percent supported barring homosexuals from teaching. A larger percentage said homosexuals should take blood tests for AIDS before working at those jobs. Seventy-nine percent wanted the tests required for homosexuals seeking jobs as food handlers; 77 percent for doctors and day care nurses and 69.5 percent for teachers. The margin of error for the telephone survey of 518 people nationwide was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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designed to benefit the small colleges as a whole. But the effort is also designed to be individualized by each college to be used on its own. “Small colleges often represent small pockets of educational quality, but they are often tucked away someplace and are not well known,” said Pelletier. ”It’s important that small colleges individually build on their reputations. Some very

Boone County sheriff hopes wife is elected to take over

LEBANON, Ind. (AP) Boone County Sheriff Ern K. Hudson hopes voters have been so satisfied with his performance the past seven years they’ll be happy to elect his wife, Judy, as his successor. Hudson, a former Indiana state trooper, is prohibited by law from seeking a third four-year term in 1986. As Mrs. Hudson, a jail matron, explained Wednesday: “We’ve done a good job here, and this department’s been completely turned around. If they (the voters) want to continue that, I’m it.” Hudson won’t be going anywhere if his 36-year-old wife wins on the Republican ticket. He’ll stay on as her right hand man, likely with the title of chief deputy. She’ll be the administrator, and he’ll be the investigator. “Obviously, we’re not trying to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes. We’re looking at it as a team effort. Judy’s been with me every minute of the day here,” Hudson said. The high school sweethearts who met in Fortville have been married 17 years and have two children. When Hudson was elected sheriff in 1978, his wife came in as the supervisor ofnthe kitchen and processed female prisoners. Her annual pay is comparable to a deputy’s—sls,s2o. Mrs. Hudson is firearms qualified, as required of the 11-member department. She doesn’t carry a .357-caliber Magnum, however, and doesn’t wear a uniform unless she is escorting prisoners for court. She remembers fighting with a woman

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local reputations, limited to their own communities, and it’s important to build that into a wider audience.” While it is difficult to gauge the exact effects of the campaign, Pelletier asserted that it had been a “tremendous success” based simply on the fact that 300 institutions have adopted it for their own use in some way.

arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. “She made a lunge for me and the fight was on.” Nothing lost, she said, but “a couple handfuls of hair.” A commendation from the Lebanon police department was awarded for her part in the sensitive treatment of a rape victim. She feels her biggest obstacle in running for sheriff in the rural county is that she’s a woman. In the 19705, three Indiana women announced their intentions to run for sheriff when their husbands’ terms expired. Only one of the three, Frances Farney of White County, was soundly beaten, 2,574294 in 1974. Ruby Taulbee of Whitley County won the same year. Marietta Hardy in 1978 clinched the sheriff’s election in Scott County. The Indiana Sheriff’s Association, of which Hudson is president, lobbied for unlimited terms in 1978. But the voters didn’t buy it. Only seven of the state’s 92 counties favored unlimited terms. Mrs. Hudson says there is already community support for their proposed “team concept.” “If I should get beat, I’d have to look for a job,” she noted. “Ernie will be fine. But me? I don’t know. It will be hard to find something this exciting. I wouldn’t be happy to be stuck in a corner somewhere. ”

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