a question of treason in the faculty lounge
DESCRIPTION
This true story reveals a gang of professors who burglarized homes of fellow professors they disliked. AND ONE PROFESSOR ROBBED LIQUOR STORES IN HOUSTON to buy guns for Castro and then personally delivered via dope-ring boats during "dead-of-night" trips to Cuba. Unsolved murder resulted on campus, relative to the thievery.TRANSCRIPT
R. G. Tay lor4I01t MontroscHouston, Texas 77006
A O-ITqSTION OT InEASON rIIE FACUI,TT I,OUNGE?
Thc offlolous slgn on thc largc i l*"t d.oor stated. ln bold typc: nAuth-
orlzcd. Pcrgonncl 0nl,y.tr Tb.e nunb"r oo:t}re oloscd. portal slnply l lstccl 582
ln nlnpfe Letterlng. Iaughter and. eonvlvlal talk vlbratccl from thc cn-
oLosurc. And. strong, pleasant snelLs fl l lcd the haLlway Leadlng fron thc
oloseal d.oorway. Thc entranoe d.oorway opcncd. wlth a trenenclous squeek that
announcea 6r haukcd the arrlval of anotb,cr aoailcnlcLan. The brcw of ooffce
f t lLed the oblong rooa wlth l ts scant of f reshl ly ground. beans; thc cof fee
r:rn perked l ts bubbles ani l ct lst t l - Ied l ts Julces -- nncctar for the god.s of
Olynpus, aLL knowlngrn oncc statcd. an envlous studcnt standlng ani l lccr lng
at thc doorway. Thc clolsterecl lounge had lts own spcclal atmosphcrc for
the teachers to rclar bricfly bctwccn thclr olasscg. Thc elongatcil ohambcr
or roon hacl a coffce-bar-dlvlct.cr ln the mtddLa -- snall aozy arcas ulth
trnrsons tabl-es and oonfortabLe upholstereil chalrs Juttetl from thc nala
sotgcc of the Jovlal gatherlngs -- thc a6or blcnded ancl nlxecl, nlxcd waII
papcr str lps onto paintect stuooo as a oolor coordlnated mot i f lnto a thc-
nat lc conccpt of pastc l oolors and gocnlc v lews appcar lng as a cont lnul ty
(Grandc Canyon and. Roy.a1 Gorrgc aerlal-vlew posters i lonlnated the plo-
torial wall sccncs that appeareil ln aagl,es to catch tbe Ught beams Llkc
nakcd. hurnan legs suspcncled. on the waltr); buttcrfl les palnted wlth cye
shapetl wlngs watohecl over the.oasual settlng Like nuteil Uetngs ln olose
attcndancc. A tatl attend.ant cllreoted. thc mlxlng of the brew: thc burners
7,
f,N
I
l
IIi
a .
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on an cLcctr lc stovc kept warn thc ooffcc c lccanterg and also hcatedl cov-
crcd pots of hot nater bo1L1ng to rnke tca ancl hot ohocol-ate. Adld ' le, the
attendant, kept the room clean and. ord.cr ly as wcI l as v,ashci l thc cof fce
cups -- washcd al l thc personal cups, cvGn al l - the glazcd. personaLlzccl cups.
Addte kcpt ttre pLace, hcr room as shc ao ofton statcd., imnaculate and ln-
peooable -- cLean Just l - lke at honc; A(tdle wdrc a unl form Just r lght for
the oocaslon: vutrlte antt antlseptlo l lke a profcsslonal- nurs€ whcn shc cleanccl
the tables, ohalrs, oounters andl f loorsr or to cLcansc ani l i l ls lnfect thc
Iait lcs roon; Addllc ohangeil her attlrc oftcn, cstpcclal, ly to scrve thc norc
formal nTeas ani t Coffccsn that thc oolLegc sponsorci l as of f lc la l funct long.
Addle dressci l appropr lately in color iu l but ta lLorci l sty led unl forms for
each cvent -- shc, thus, expeoted ani l got the sanc cxaot l tude from cveryonc
clsc, for Aadlc reignci l suprcme ovcr the facul ty loungc. Addle stoocl f i rn
or crcct as shc obscrved. the dcneanor of her room vrlth aLl lts rclaxcd ancl
happy sound.s, chattcr , that d ld not Just happen by aocident: p lannlng and
coord. inat lon of snal l i tetal l -s mad.e al- I th ls happlness take place ln a propcr
settlng. Anil Addle knew hcr Job weLL,:,io"HL*t knew the Job iiescrlptlons
of othcr emPloYecs, W tn" scheal.ules of the varlous
teachcrs rn ordcr to have readr.y thc spiced tea or coffrer tca or Just prain
ordinary hot chocol-ate -- aLl reacly ancl walttngr cxactly, for thc partlou]'ar
pedantr s prefercl lccr nJust a matter of acadcmlcsrn Acrd!-c would. of tcn rep]-y
when conprinentod. for creatlng thts happy ancl cozy atnrospherc in the )-ounge.
frre atnosphere in the roungc butrt upon ttsclf, fron the pungent smeLrs
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of the eoffee bar to the laughter cnlnatlng from Jokes or the small talk --
or tha gosslp -- g igJ.es and laughtcr waterei l back again and again and agaln
to the l - lquld refreshnent vtr l le engaglng ln ldLe chtt chat, a l , I the yakket
yak or the gibblc gabble of the canpus news that concerncd everyone of thc
tcachers and staf f , the ncwsy t ld-bl ts and 1dIe personal gosslp passccl l tsc l f
around as of f lc la l pol tcy and/or soclal events. Addie enjolnecl her conrncnts
about the pol lc l ts of the adninlstrat lon as wcl- I as the sociaLlz lng c l lcks
or lndlv iduat cLaques of eaoh l l t t le chatty facul ty group no faLse pr ldeA
or puff)#6- fecl lngs of supcr ior i ty, hcwevcr, to anyonc exlsted dur lng th ls
class break or cof fcc aIuf , l0h as l t were: teachcrs Gven spoke of thelr
ohlLdrcn whose l rnnatrne ant los anuscd and contrastcd to the schol ,ar ly lmages
thelr parents created, hcre at work, and the gosslp of thelr respccted nclgh-
borhood.s reLated. I l t t1e to the c lass room realn these educators prescntecl
durlng idlc moments over a cup of cof fee. The ld le chatter lnclui led
relat ing wor l6 tours anc the excl t lng exccut ive jobs the spouscs held plus
the travel ta les lnto al l the ant ique lands of var le i l cul tures Just v is l tcdt
to conduct corporate business -- t ro cul t r r re shocklng talcs cver amazei l thesc
soJourners or modern day Marco PoLo travelLcrs. The conversat ions rangei l
the gamblt of human exper lenc e as wel l as al l the petty anlrnosl ty of the
blcker lng betwoen dl f fcrent acaclemlc groups or cLicks' However, no nosc,-*.r
every got out of JoUVror long when Addle gave her poingnant observat ions
about facurty problcms and nanners. Addie to ld teachers wtren the dross cod'e,
as she envis ioned. one shourd be, had been vloratcd (Addte insisted tbat each
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teeoher had n respons ib l l i t y to seJ ' f , f i r s t , as weI I es to se t an example
for the stui tents: mo], i l lag mlni ls, wl th d. igni ty, she l tked to sey). But the
faculty alwnys gnve unenimous rebuttal wlth tbe fncts thet only peer groupst
lnf luence young people toctey ln America: nfr lent ls, d,ress and the cl rug scenc
shepe the l lves of the students, not us eldersrn ohurped the learnfd behev-
ior ist resldent psychologist l r lar the Typson (nToung pcople now-e-ctays espes-
ieJ ,1 -y i to no t beL leve teechers o r soc le ty Ln genere l teeohers heve l l t t le
respeo t f rom the popul-ec e at large, nuch Less pupl ls -- f or students seld 'om
oomprehend the importance to stud.y or to l-earn wtret the world of ecndeme cle-
olares, even when the tcachers explain thet the business wor ld ' does expect
competency and proe f lc lencJ / t t ) . The ex-h igh schoo l teacher cont inued. exc ln ln -
1ng wh iLe At td ie shook her hea i l . r ' f the th ree hours p repers t lon fo r each hour
ln a co l lege o less ls a lwnys re fu ted . as nonsense by the typ loeL s tuc len t body
whose seooni l r ry hlgh sohool exper lence ls l lv lng proof that d. lsproves hrb-
i tur l study hebl ts ever inf luence learnlng slnce a pesslng grai le of c goss
to everyone ln e federe l funded sohoo l becnuse o f d lsor ln ln r t ion to fe l l e
depr lve6 chl ld (meaningless gredes now aborrnd beceuse of th is high lnf lat lon
of grad.es, ] l tce s lgnlng-up for wel fere to get the Suerrnteei t C rat ions)r
especial ly t rue of such pernlsslve phl losophy as prnct ic lzed on the west
ooest -- cer l fornle students know very ut t le acei lenlcs. t -csrr f
ornla students
get demoted. two gracles vshen transf err lng to Texns schoolsr i l psyohologlst
Jo Anna Snel ley ed.clect . Another teecher wl th cof fee cup in hnnd cont lnued'
the cr-asslc pot peeves of r r r feourty, "But the students thcnselvcs and
their err-knowing peers rebuke the ed.,ceted. elcrers ns belng gul l labJ'e eni l
not reelry cs lnter l lgent or knowledgeebre as the present young'r generr t ion
today; pectagogy of the old. days (eny t i rne Just pr lor to thelr very own reocnt
r/r/r/r/s rAYroR
exper iencc on earth) has no bear lng or no relevaney to any importanoe to
Iife tod.ay -- thc d.umbest student assumes others arc lgnorant. Anct these
stubborn stud.cnts have now gradwtod. fron thc federally funclecl bureauoratlc
permlsslve hlgh school systens that now clomlnatc al l of Aner lcan ed.ucatLon
with l ts funct lonal i l l - l terates who f inal ly at tencl ool lege wlth the same
cxpcctat ions to gct sonothlng for nothlng.t t The col lcgo Dcan Ross TooLe
adi lecl h ls own stat lst lcal obscrvat ions, nThe South Texas trr :n ior CoLlege can
only try to teach thesc nyrlacl students wlth a lcss than seventh graile reail-
lng Lcvel when grailuatlng from high schooL, for few puplls havc cvor read
a book ln thelr young lLvcs -- and do not lntencl to. And the students comc
from al l ovcr the Uni tod States s ince the i lynanlc cconony of depresslon-proof
Houston br lngs 701000 workers a ycar lnto the c l ty. 0nJ.y a oasual aoqualnt-
ancc wltb thc land of acad.cnc cvcr passcs the typlcal studentsr way, to com-
preheni l . a scholarrs understani l ing of l l fe as a menber of a technocrat lc
soc ie ty .n
But the faculty ncnbers cou1d" only shrr:g thelr shouLclers ln qulet d.cs-
palr and cont lnuo to v ls l t cach other ln an ef for t to forgct thelr fut l lc
cf for ts, ln al l th ls Jabber lng, for l f only onc student al l year responi lecl ,
then al l cf for ts were not lost rcnarkccl one starrey-cyei l pedant teachcr.
The Dean of the ool , Icge cont lnued spout ing his stat lst lcal norms ovcr thc
wartr vapors of h ls cof fec oup: nthe colLcgc falLure rate reaches 8Vo of thc
frcshmBn class and 5ulo oa tha sopbomorc lovcl.n And othcr pet peaves of the
faculty pourcd. Llke l lbatlong from the fount of eternal knowledge' Thc
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maJorl ty of the tcachers, bowcver, conoernecl or d lvertcd themselves clur lng
thc ooffee break wlth the chl t chat or yakklng of eaoh othcrr s da1Ly l lvcs
and personal natters -- an at tcnpt to sppcar nonchalant or hlghly sophlst l -
oatecl ln a bourgeolslc or pseud.o manncr that showecl the gloss of tho morc
lncpt occupants of the roon. However, an at t ract ive but pr ln appear lng lady
sat slpplng her hot chocol-ate: Mary Ner,rnnan sat prln anil proper to one slcle;
shc had Just marr lcd agaln to beoone Mary Newnan Retd Garrot ( she only lcga-
Ilzed her lnflt leLltles qulBpcil thc oraokllng but nuffLecl volces ln tho l lt-
t lc faoul ty ol lcks or ind. lv l i tual c laques, pcer lng t lke cycs palnted ln thc
walls whcn lfary Ncvrnan turned her head sltghtly avmy when the buz of last
namcs or gurnamcg began to banter about -- lJIs. Nolvmanr s boss had. refuscil to
change cvcr agaln thc name plato on her of f lce d.oor because of threc of f lo la l
namc ohangcs ln onc.gcmestcr had. atrcaily been requcsteilS Thc namc Neunnal,
conscqucntly, stuok as thc Logo lef ercnce to hcr now cx-marrlecl-statc D.orcr-
claturc or personaL monlker, for she hacl becn a l i lrs. Ncuman nuch longer than
any of thc other rrsrrrcs -- elghtccn ycars to bc cxact as a Mrs' Netman llstcd
on the brass c loor pLatc to ln i l lcate hcr current status, a status that sccmccl
to ohangc so often of latc) . Ttre Nerrvnan Lacly had her own pcrsonal charm or
aura that hai l begun to bloom as the mld- l t fc cr ls ls engul fecl bcr.
Ttrc engulflng but charnlng Mary Blngnan arrLveil wlth cup ln hand' to slt
next to lurs. Mary Ner,vman Reld Garrot, poscd. always as a frlenit to lfary New-
man, ar l the better to galn oonpl-ete detalLs of thc nar l ta l status i lcvelop-
mcnts before passlng lnfornat lon about as purc factual guf f to alL the rest
7 /z /7 /7 /T rAvroR
of the facul ty. And of coursc Patr lc la Car lson alvays l ls tened and then
Juxtaposi t lonei l her own love- l l fe as havlng the pcrfect husband whon shc
i l l i l . not d lsappolnt or b,c her, rver, to hcar te l l ! And thus no neei l to
leave a good thlng, chuckled lrls. CarLson ln hcr lmmatatlvc [t lac l l lest bur].es-
quc of a laugh, nfor hubby cloar ls lndeeil so tall,, f lve foot and clcven ancl
one-hal f lnchcs, hls physlque -- cspccial ty, the elcven-and.-onc-hal f lnches
being hls bcst physloal partrn shc l lkcd to ad.ct wl th a sparkl lng sml le.
Thusly, Patr lc la l - lked to exeLa1m, so braggadoclo, to aI I the gaLs vuho thcn
glgled and oogled her hubby dr.rrlng the banquets that aWffs foll-owcd wlth
the seasonal celobrat lons here in the facul ty lounge that was decoratccl
e labora tc ly Jus t fo r thc g rande occag lon .
I t re faoul ty lounge dfcor schenat lc var le i l wi th ln each cozy si t t lng
arca: each wal l cnphaslzed a dl f ferent color but each huc coorcl lnated to
match thc adJacent or adJoinlng pastcl tones. The coffee bar neasurci l
twenty-f lve fect 1-ong by for . r feet ta11; the shelves bcneath thc countcr
he ld racks o f cups : cups , tha t cxpresgcd. persona l charac ter ls t l cs ln the l r
ownerr s tastc and lntcrests -- chcap dllmc stcr e cups l lned the lrunecllatc
eye contaot, but somc astrology or zodlac s lgns l - tkc fLashing labels to l t l
a l l t t la bl t more about thc i t lscr lmlnate owncr. But somc vcry ornate ancl
i leep raLnbow colored cups at t ractcd at tent lon wl th their pr l -snat lc ccramlc
art i lcco i teslgns. .a few cups had been cleslgnecl and f l rc i t ln a kt l -n -- g lazecl
Jus t fo r the h lgh ly pcrsonaL lzed tas te : ln l t laLs had bccn nade or e tched
into the surfacel one cup part lcular lLy c lomlnatei l wl th a gconlc v lew. And
8/8/8/s/s rAnoR
several other cups bore the ln i t laLs of teachers, some of the teachers havlng
jus t recentJ .y been f i red or d ismissed: teachers , f l ve in number , f l red fo r
having hacl sexual contact ln thelr of f lces before and af tcr c lass wi th each
other ; and those same teachers had been caught ln the ac t w l th cLass roon
students -- p lus the f lve pedants had had af fa l rs wl th text book salcs re-
presentat lves ( tne book nan, super Jock salesman Ei l Janes, cvcn hacl h ls orvn
pictoral cup enclrc lcd wl th wor ld, capl to l i lecal-s on the long shol f s lnce hc
had bccn a paranour ln long standlng to numerous female teachers -- one fc l lne
trol lopc f led her husband. and chl lc l ren to tour Europe wlth th ls satyr of a
man, a grani le tour on funds d.onated to have his unlquc thesls manuscr lpt pub-
t i shcd s ince poor gu) - i - ib1e Sara 'A Ia Ish had so l l c l ted facu l ty g l f t s r Psss ing
the cup as l t were , to f inance the under tak ing) . SeveraL s t runpets , har lo ts
and campus whores pursued thls cockscomb or phl lande"@tff . r t ls t of a
salesman who had hls ov'm eoffec mug on tha cupboard.s. But the voyage arouncl
the wor ld took the pr ize l rhen the trol lope mother qul t job and at torney
husbancl to crulse the scvcn scas with nher one and onl 'y Jaokn Ed Janes, to
str lng hcr along. The long l lne of oups Just seemed to lncl lcate thelr h ld-
c len stor les oT to say l t aI I , ) - lke a loving cup or a t rophy cup to the
grando occasions !
Thecupormu8wi th thenameTomGar r i sonbrough t tominc l thchandsomc
image or v lsage of the Indlan chlcf personage who car pooted wlth a ncl-ghbor-
hoocl frlend. anil fellow co-worker, Travis Kankey. Kankey anil I one nlght
af ter the rate evenlng classcs had Just dlsmlsscd, rrral tcd to leave -- wal tcd
to J_eavo witb Tom Garr lson, wc walted wlth our cof fee cups ln hand at th ls
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vcry spot to go honre whl le Garr ison remalned ia tho sclence l -ab to complete
putt ing away equlpementr . he sald, put ter lng through dlr ty baakcrs, he had
later inslstedl Tom l-nstcaci , accor i l lng to the snic le facul ty lounge gosslps,
had placecl a pret ty young lass prone on the Iab tablc -- ln a typical
rhendezvous wlth femals students who were wlJ. l lng to do anything to pass
b. is oourse , h is k lnd o f coursc tha t l s . Tom tu to red h l -s La tc s tudents , hc
l i ked to say ; as d . id h ls boss , Frank Pr lce , who a lso propos l t loncd thc
prot t lest g l r l ln olass: only the loveJ.y ones--got- the-chanae4- yet Pr lce
rr \ ras srnaLl ln staturo, a l l t t le nan wlth a swarty compl-exl-on and al l gone
to pot or al l to boothl l l - h l -s face l -ooked (he was also a hlghly churchei l
narr ied man who phi tandered hls way lnto and out of physloal encountcrst
that h ls roI lg lous f r iends at the col lege even refushed to bel leve such
tr l f l lng when the lounge gosslps to ld. a l l thc dctal ls each group bcl lcved
only their group). The long row of cof fec cups or nugs seemed to read al- l
these talcs lnto the i t regs at the botton of my cuB as f took the last
swal low from my own personal lzei i ceranlc ohal lcc.
Scvera t o f the cups bore two ln l t la ts , one se t o f ln1 t la1s abovc tho
other wl th a heart outr lncd around. the J,et ter ln$ I both sets of ln i t iars for
each tcacher and the spousG. Teachers who had mrr led studonts st l l "L at-
teni f lng c lasses on campus cnioined the sane loving c1rPr as l t were' for thc
coffcc break in the facul ty J,oungc -- Jack carror l had marr led a student
ln hls drama class; he had onc€ becn a text book sales represcntat lvc: rThc
Car ro l l s o f Car ro l l tonrn as he so o f ten re l tc ra ted w l th h ls typ lca l o r
o/to/tolto rAYloR
te1 l - ta1e muco id Nor theas tern acoent tha t revca led h ls be lng a n r lsp lacec l
Ncw Yorker. Another mucous nasal l ty speaker of a teacher John Wcst taught
physlcs anil had narrLed a stud.ent named. Kuntz from a small totivn of tttc samc
Iogo the chronlo conJested nar ls honkei l porsonal beLlefs as thc only rcaL
truth in tho world., such as ' ' ,ryest adileil to the ncwsy conflab of the faculty
lounge by refuslng to bclleve that DDT harnecl the envlronment; he woul-i l so
toudly arguc hls case at length as hls hancls and volce shook l lke a lcaf ln
the brcezc. Next, the nath teacher Farrel l Russel l - wedded a night c lub
strlpper or slnger who was his best glrl wlth thc nrr.nbers ln and out of
c lass (Uut hc f l rs t had. to cL lvorce h is p rev lous cLrab w l fe ) - - Far re l l rs oup
or goblet ha6 a scratchecl-out ln l t la l rnarklng for the spouse nonlker, a
sca thed bu t used cuPl
Anct thc scarred crackcd cups or the pealcd i lecal in l t la ls showed also
ln the teachersr i l lvorces that had. necessl tated thc ohange of surnamcsr I lke
soar t lssuc ln thc facul ty tenure systenr: d lvorcefs Lucy Harper Zel1er,
l,aura and Tom L!.nklater, vcb.o had worked. together at the collegc (tne palr
hacl mct at the l lbrary check-out desk and then courted) and the twain hai l
even divorced here on the col lege campus by employlng the Lawyer f rom the
attorneyr s of f lces in the rented. part of the canpus skyscraper. But thc
duo no longer spoke to each other, cvcn though onl-y l lnked through last
sFme namc -- Laura soon galned a saLar led. contract at St . f i romas i { lgh
school , a prest igeous seoond.ary school super ior to the eol lege ranklngs'
And other dlvorced partncrs drank from thelr s lngular cups or mugs, divoreed
fiTt/n/n rAYroR
cups now helc l in hand by Lee Carl ln and. R. G. Taylor who each sipped the
steamlng brcw and. spoke rvhi le looklng at the long lntr icate sheLf, sheLves
that c l rc lcd the ooffce bar and also served as a oupboard or store roon
locker for a l l the glassf iarc. Even a fow tal l dr lnklng glasses l ined the
long shelves pl-us a Chlna poreelaln cup or two for the few tea slppers. The
sne1l of f resh coffce f i l led the nostr l ls of the lnhabl tants of the roon at
th ls special t lme as Ai lct le changed the carafe. Lcc Car l ln puckcred hls l lps
an6 exha l -ed a pu f f o f coo l lng a1r across the ho t l lqu ld be fore dec id lng to
p1-ace an lce cube in to the i lecanter , BS l t woro . Lcc Car l ln taught soc lo logy
and thus made use o f c lass research or c lass f te td t r lps when poss lb lc . I lu t
th ls pedant pref erred hls own pcrsonal) .y cond.uctei l research proJects that
l ron lca l l y requ l red accompany ing the po l l ccmen enro l led ln h ts c lassesr to
pick-up and cven go on local ra lc ls the eseapadcs lnto thc t r {ontrosc arcat
better known as Homo Helghts, Fagvi l le or Gaylani l , Queersvi l lc , to probe a
cross scc t lon o f l l fe -s ty les fo r h ls o$ [ r o lass ] .ec tu rers (bu t ln ao tua l l t y t
the l r r tontroso area provlded. tho only loca1 stucly of an lntel lectual- gb'et to
Ln Houston torrrm denographlcs, observed 1lke l i t tLe v inyettes or character
ske tchesr fu l l o f cp isod ic scenar ioes so un iQue) ' The f requent escapades
ln to the exo t lc o r b lzar l , ron t rose ghet to car r iec i Car1 i "n on ra lds to s t r ip
jo i .n ts , Top less c lubs , nassagc par lours , Iove- Iounges and/or bod 'y -pa in t lng-
factorles guch as the infamous Rembrancltt s Paint Factory where the body human
pantecl hot ly to l ts own speclal tour of the bod'y worksr ss the brazcn ai l -
vsrtisements hawked thc gaucl.y ncon slgns frashed thelr wares publlcar}y
abovc the lntersect ions of Lovett and RoscLand knorrrm localry as The clrcul t
where thc nchicken Havdcsn crulsei l the young boys for hl re or for sale, to
t2/L2/L2/L2 TAYL0R
cvery hust ler on the streets; teLevis lon speclal- reports had probed. the
Loglst ics of the sexusl s l tuat lon, even the charglng of fees wl th a bare
signaturo on the Master Charge or BankAmerica Visa Card.! Sttch notrlety
had c rea ted an aura or mys t ique about the s leazy l i fe -s ty le tha t in tu rn
l-ed to Hol- lywood. movies about the cruls lng habl ts. t ree Car l in did takc
o f f l c ia l look lng pro fess lona l no tes on each occas ion , bu t most o f the t ine
he en joyed Jus t watch lng the cxpress lons on pcop le ts facos when be ing herded^
into the paddy wagon whl le a r lsgue club f inal ly got ralded for sone of-
f l c lous pre tex t . The long s ta re o r gau lk ing prov lded ons o f the bes t d l -
verg ions or h lgh l - lgh ts 1n Car l ln r s c lay o r n lgh t l l fe r 8s l t wcre (Car l in
also l lked to brag later about the busts or arrcsts that he wltnessed dur lng
the cxcurslons through\ lerdland' /ag Car l ln gloatecl over a cup of hot cof fce
ln the ccnf lnes of the facul ty lounge.for everyone to hear and thus to galn
a t ten t lon 1n h ls own loud manner ) . And Lee Car l ln p layed bag p lpes fo r the
Hlgh landers f Scot t l sh g roup, k i l t s and a l l , Car l ln be lng a Scotsman v la
Canada. Car l inr s homc l l fe dld not provlc le the cxcl tement that the Montrosc
raids gave hls cgor ani l the t lne away from hls wl fe late at n lght wlc lenei l
the gap ln thclr re lat lonshlp unt l l CarLlnf s donest lc squabbl-es hacl an un-'l/M-
stablc aspect or ef fect on hls bodyt s metabol lsf f he began to losc weight
so fast tbat o le Car l ln entered the Houston, Texas lv1ed. lcal Center for a
physlcat chcck-up or conplete nect lcal and thcn l -earned' th 'at he was dylng of
cancer -- h ls wl fe for thwith ln haste l -ef t carL1n, f led the house a for th-
night af ter rearnlng the ncws or verdlct , a crucrar t lne that colncided with
the sudilcn i leath of l,ecr s f ather ln Florlda; the spousc thus movecl-out whl] 'e
D/B/v/L3 rAYl,oR
Lee Car1ln at tencled the funeral , whlch l ronicaLly was held back in Br i t ish
Canada because the elder Car l ln had been vls i t lng f r iend.s in Flor ida dur ing
the long harsh winter up north. Car l in seemei l to take al l the adversl ty in
str lde but dld begln to look-I lke a bag of bones l i r i th a coat hung over the
hulk naned Lcc. To forget hls problems, both physlcal a l lments and mental
o r emot lona l 111s , o1e k l l te r Scots Car l in took long wa lks in the coo l o f thc
evening, strool ing avray hls probLems sometlmes even walking through wooded'
vacant c l t y lo ts , where one even lng a t duskrCar l ln and h is Ch lhuahua dog bo th
got jumped by a wt ldcat or ocelot that came from the bushes and scratchei l thc
two near ly to death (or so the televls lon news coveraged reported whcn also
Ia te r p resent lng a TV spec la l tha t revea led many c i t l zens kept w l ld an lma ls
as pets that cou}d. thus accldcntJ-y escapc and get l -ost , to at taok later nan
or beas t , ped.os t r lan d .ogs as a source o f food, such tas ty morsc ls ) . Bu t
Carl ln ani l h ls l l t t le r thot dogtt recuperated qulckly af ter the t r lp to Ben
Taub Hospl ta l energency ,ry*n lch also proved another hcarty faot : s lokly--\-- -.-
Lee Carl ln i i ld not ar* i lnave ternlnal cancer, onty al l h1s worr les, psycho-
somatlc 1n orlgtn, hail oausecl the welght loss rather than a mallgnancy the
orrancous 6lagnosls of cqnccr had of coursc addetl to thc problens as wel l- as
tbc pendlng i l lvoroc, cvcn though the n9w.l of the lawsui t agalnst the
physlclan d"lc[ not qulckly rcversc-Lec BeLeagureQ, Carlin had' nlssecl
so nuch workr so nany c lasses , a t tbc co l lege bceause o f bosp l ta l l za t lon
and funcral travcl t lme that he was three nonthly pay ohecks ovcr-d'rawn
slnec the aot legc had. graclous).y ln a humanc gestrrrc cont lnued to pay cven
radren Lee had. not workcd. thase past few months. But, nowt forlorn Carlln lear-
ned he would l lve ln good heal th and that the buslncss of f lce at the coLlege
then requrred sick r-eave repaymcnt beyond hls cxhaustcd benef l ts -- car l ln
had to take an extra iob to repay the sums, and Carl ln hacl uscd'-up a) ' ) - h ls
Lb/Lt+/ Lt+/r4 r.srron
slck leave aocumulat lon for two years lnto the future pay ro11 or employ-
nent, l f he were to cont lnue his ocoupat lon or vocat lon there -- a lL that pay
voucher cred. l ted t lne hacl to be relmbursei l , f lnal . ly . But Lee Carl ln ncver re-
turned. to work at the South Texas Junior College or to vlslt the lounge vrhen
he became establ ished, ln the to i l ing moonl- lght- job or avocat l -on that soon be-
came his mala source of income or pr lme pursul t of labor: o lo Car l ln lef t ln
the niddle of the nlght, so to speak, ln ordor not to have to rcpay the blg
pay check d.raw. L,ee Carl - ln had appl led for a census Job whlch he prompt ly
fal le i l and. thus reported. to ChanncL L) TIr News: a ool- Iege professor '* t l th f1f-
teen years exper lence ooulc l not declpher the bureaucrat lc Jargon real ]y made
a blg newsy l tem. And the head hauncho of a bureau teohnocrat , more apt ly
akln to the anthropold. or neani ler thal , spcoles, spoke ln a very fast pacei l
gravel-1y volce or sonorous gatei l cadence to explaln that ?tCar l ln probably
cou l -d earn a Less than fa l l lng score l f taken aga lnn the te lev ised words
fe l l - !1ke s tones on the ears o r bu l le ts cas t , sp l t t le in the €Ver w l thout the
r lng of t ruth or s incer i ty, for Just reai l lng the csnsus quest lonnalre i leteatedl
racist quest lons aboundlng agalnst the maJor i ty naln stream d.emocracy (CarLln
was the r , r rong oolor for th ls job). And. thus Lee Carl lnr s present memory 11n-
gerei l , even though he no longer rod.e patroL wlth the Houston ci ty cops on a
soclological observat lon or ntght adventure on downtown l louston streets"
Another teaoher also rod.e the streets wl t 'h somo of her law enforcement
students. Idary Bingman from the Humanlt ies Departnent also chose to r ide
with sone of her cr iminal Just lce stui lents enployei l by the sber l f f rs depart-
ment. Beaut l fu l Ms. [ {ary l iked to cruise througlr the'vVestheimer distr lct to
rald Art , , ' f renrs where the queers a)-1 hang-out she l lke to say when dr inklng
coffee 1n the lounge the next day af ter a f ru l t fuL foray; Iusious 1,{s. Bingman
felt threatened by the homosexual lndlffersncc, her belng sueh a Lovel-y wolaBII
whom aost men ai lmlred and starred. Long and hard af ter ; she "" io l : :
thelr las-
clv lous l -oolrs -- need.ed the lusty bed'roon eyes constant l -y upoff i4ne A6or
of rn in iscule plctures of tho nale genl ta l la os her of f lee i loor lndlcatei l
ti/L5/L5/L5 rAYron. C z
her obYessed l tb ldo fe l t deserted and helplessly tbreatened by the gay dls-
lnterested.ness or lnattention that oreated. instant panlc wlthln ltrary Blngmanl
a fenale nentaL lnrpotence almost transoendental from the faggy uneoncern lnto
a dry funk or enootional- frlgldlty beyond the neutrallty of an unseen sexual
$anton gJ-ance her wayr but worse yet a look never gLvon caused vrorry (fast
women need. al-l the acloratlon they can muster, and the least reJectlon turns
their soorneCi firry lnto a fearfu} scourge, nor makes tbam a blgot with a pro-
gran of vengeful clestructlonrft would cornnent Addte uthen tr{ary Blngman left
the lounge). Even the resldent faggot toaohers on canpus gave Mary Blngman
personaL consternat lon: the fa l ry pedants thus ai lmired aI l the sa&e vir l le
g l l ys 1n the l r . l6ssss who cane the l r r lay , Jus t as d td &Ts. l fa ry r so the mr tuaL
compet l t lon unnerved the grande dame ln the ) .ounge, even though her good looks
resembl -ed E l tzabeth Tay lo r . mBut most o f the s tuc len ts here are bu t t faeedrn
the fags l-arnented in remarks over a cup of coffee wlth l,[ary B. v;hen she gained
the undtvided at tent lon of the gay teachers ( tne real l ive oanpus beauty queen
teacher did not f eel secure ln her uncanny novie star looks). Lfary Blngnaan
had many thing;s golng for her: she dressed chic; a fashion show was held on
eatnpus ln the lounge to show-off the varled styl-es an enployee was alLovred to
wear to work, and. th ls f roeclom Ln a dress code macle the TV news ( some male
teacbers and students went to c lass ln wal-k lng shorts straight f rom a steam
bath -- the Laxl ty of no d.ress cod.e worr l -ed some people) . And the iob of
teachlng gave }ds. [ {ary B. a socletal out ] .et f ron her husbancl f s ned' ical pra-
t lce and styLlsh c l - rc le of f r iends, an entourage alnost s lurnning in a hlgh
d.ecadence so Jad.ed. l f t lus, the worLd. seened to be l faryf s oyster ' And thls
fas tpacedd 'amed l i l l nc1eed 'havea f Iaw,a t rag1c te rn r ina Ieaseo fne lanoma:a
beau tyspo tno leon ther teh t temp lehadprogressed todeepen inco lo rand
thenenc l . ro ] -ed ' tocover thewho les ldeo fherhead . - -asweepof the longour ] .
of hair covered the grorr th, for three years the hair sty le hai t ehangecl l ts
sooop downward" to cover the ever lncreaslng spot, a Veronlca T'ake swoop of
ths once sty l ish col f fure ef fected an anblent cure' I {edleal t reatment d '1d'
r6/L6/L6lt6 TArI on
not respond to all thc cfforts that lfary and her dootor husband. trle0 or
attcmptcd.. But Ms. Blngnan contlnueil to functlon ln a secnlngly normal
l l fc-styLe: car lng for hor two chl l i l rcn and glv lng blg part les, bashcs or
claboratc events to dLvert hcr dweI l lng thoughts. Ani l tcachlng aLso pro-
vlded a harnless enough cl lvcrs lon those Last threc ycars of her l l fc spatr .
Howevcr, the fateil enil f lnalJ.y arrlvccl drrrlng rcglstratlon ln January; she
oollapse6 as though from fatlgue of the busy momcnt whcn thc hasscl of thc
Iong llncs brought prcssurcs that causc the blood to boll. That dranatic
instant only of f lo la l ly reglstcrecl the f l rst knowledge that the rvholc col-
l sge facu l - ty and s tudent body knew about the l l l ness (and the facu l ty lounge
went al l abuzz over the deep dark secret , and then -- only then -- d ld so!0c
mouthey teachcrs remember having sccn l .4ary Blngman ponder the grai l ing of a
studentt s paper and then look away, out her of f lce wlndow, and shed a tcar
as though narklng the cssay at hand had preclpl tatei t the l lquld tear droB).
0n1y th ree wceks o f hosp l ta l l za t lon kept th ls i led ica ted tcacher o f f hs r
f eet and. out of thc class room,,r cvcn though she had. cntereil through thc cm-
crgenoy roon of Metbodlst Hospl taL; Mary Blngoanr s dlgnl ty and strong spir i t
for 1 l fc would not pernl t a long drawn-out l l lness: she dlcd af tcr having
l lved. wtth the threat and knowLcdge of i toath almost at her d.oor step these
past threc $carsr Ani[ lvfary Bingnants offlce hail bcen ]-eft iust thc waY thls
foxy lad,y hait cxltcd carly that nornlng d.urlng January reglstratlon: thc
open bamboo br icfcase with cyc glasscs on top of a pl lc of papcrs -- thc
room, her of f lcc 568, renalned a l lv lng musct ln ( f rer last wl1l and' tcstament
copy tay to one s idc , compl : tc w l th de ta l led funera l a r rangnents l l s tcc t a t
L7 /LT /LT /L7 TAYLoR
thc Uni tar lan Church) . The or i lcr ly desk top also dlsplayed. ln a general ly
usei l Esnner the last c lass schedule that lay open with the pr lnted nanc of
l / lary Blngnanrs red clrc lcd c lasscs and room numbers undcrscored. -- opcn to
her last reglstrat ion, wl th an appolntmcnt to keop, l lke rescrvat lons ln
the blg reglstry or grcat rcglstrar ln the sky.
Reglstrat lon at South Texas JunLor CoLlege always provldecl a paracle of
students d.ur lng the long processj .on that gavc al l the facul ty ncnbers a
chance to revlew and. to adnire the stui lents ant l to lay future plans for
maklng or Junping their boncs, depend. lng on the caso or prei le l lc t lon --
cholce for academic courscs or soclal lntercoursc belng nade then as l t
wcrc. One pedant lc and persnlckety teacher dubbed the utrole long reglstra-
t lon processlonaL a dlr ty verslon of the o1d tuovlc, f f iE BIBtrE. Modc of
d,ress by the studcnts reglstertng for the ourrloulum at South Texas Junlor
Col- Iege haCt a var lcd sty le, l f one coul i l cal l sty le to thelr apparcl ; sonc
studcnts arr ivecl ln buslness sul ts dlrect ly f rom thc of f lcc or on a lunoh
break; but other students dressed^ cver go caguaL or hard. ly anythlng at a l l :
nothlng nuch lef t to the lnaginat lon whon wearlng abbrcvlated cut-of fs or
hot pants; somc registrarants worc sn Apachc Ind,ian heail bancl anci tunlo, a
cul t en mssaas l t werc. And onc young thlng, a sweet gtr l t worc a formaL
white we6d.lng gown that apprarently never was v'lasheit d.urlng the subscqucnt
senesters and. naturally bscano dlrty and then cl. irt lcr than dlrt d'urlng the
whole aoaclenlo ycar (she evldentLy had sccn and hail l- lkcd the olcl movLer the
GRADuATts) . f ire stud.cnts d.ressccl their fantasies anil the faculty l lveil then!
f i ro cof fcc cups real ly got f requent use d.ur lng registrat lon when thc faoul ty
Ls / Ls / Ls / L8 rAYrCIR
took shlfts fron thc work Llnes at the work tables wherc advislng stualents
required. dctai led lnformat lon -- tho rather of ten coffec breaks kept the
sohool sptr l t aI lvc as oaoh teacher f requcntecl the gossipy lounge.
The frcquent cof fce breaks made extra work for Addlc to c lean the oups
and. the lounge chairs so oftan. Some ncw teachers from Ncw York feLt that
Addlc was belng erplolted by the po\rycr structure of the oollege ancl thus
espoclaLly bel levci l that Addle had. becn degraded by the menlal task of
washlng al I thc personal oupsl , Ad.dlers c lv l l - r lghts had conscqucnt ly been
vioLated even though she dld. not know l t ( t t re col legc should provide dls-
posa3- papcr oontalners, urged. thc l lberal pedan$). But Addle herscLf re-
pl led, t tNo one tel ls nc what to do and hai t bet ter not t ryr e l ther. Ancl I
cto enjoy aI I the prct ty eLaborate cups that tastc bettcr than the nasty
papcr coatlng tlrat l lngers on thc tongue -- Just l lkc solrc mcddllng do-
gooder to want to change everythlng nlee so that cvcryonc wl l l bc as mlscr-
able as thcy arc.n Thc srost e lcgant ooffee cup on AddlcSclcan shel-ves
pl-eased, Ai ld lets eye the most: the cup contalnei l a plctr l rc or a portral t of
the owncr -- a gLazcd. lmage or f r ieze contalncd thc ln l t la ls C.P. on the
botton lnslde port lon and also hai l the conpletety spel lc i t name enclrc l -ed
on the cxter lor of thc str lppcct cup, Char lot tc Phelps personi f led' And'
charlotte Phol-ps, the real-Ilvc pcrson, taught full t lme at south Tcxas Junlor
co}Icge and. also taught part t lmc at the nain eanpus of the unlversl ty of
Houston ln the acad.emlc arca of soclar stui l lcs -- tc lcvis lon notr iety causecl
char lot te Phelpr s nanc to becomc nat ionaLLy known and also to gct l ls tc i l as
L9/L9/L9/L9 rAnoR
teachlng at the Unlverslty of Houston, a faot that the South Texas Junlor
ColJ.ege did. not correct . Char lot te nalntalncd an aura of nystery nost of
the t imc about herseLf wtren ln thc busy loungc. Tho Charlot te Phelps nry-
st lque 5ad a qulet beauty, the ktnd of face that turnocl cyes: a nroclc l ts grace
and. f lgure, an ar istocratLc prof l le wl th a haunt lng stanped gazc that penc-
trateil the persona of her aucllcnce and went bcyond the csscnce of the nomcnt.
Char lot te i l resscd lmnacuLate -- funpeocablc tastc f rom the coutur lar of
Nelman Marcus, I lke a pr lnoess she clressect ln alL her f lnery, a lways clcnan-
dlng thc best and/or the latest fashlons (serend. lp l ty charaoter lzed hcr
modcd lmpulses) . Char lot te Pholps was not und erstandlng or verbal ly nlce
when a c le rk a t }Te imanr s i i l c i no t have in s tcck her wh ims ica l to i le t ry
ves- she l i ved and ac ted l i ke a cap i ta l i s t l c p r incesso Bu t th l s Ms . C . Phe lpsJ ' , - v t
taught a hard. I ine pol l t icaI scionce course emphaslz lng that less than
f l f ty faml l les ownei l thc real corporate weal th of the Unl te i l States. r t t rTho
reaLly owns Amerlca?n ghe l lked to quest the rhetor lc of her quest ion ear ly
ln t5e semester to pick and chose the students vrhom she though had her k lnd
of po ten t la l l t y . And Char lo t te even sa lc t more to the po in t ln the c lass' .(,/
room lectu#6n that Fldel Castro should cross pver f rom Cuba to govern the
unl tecl states, so she and three students, nf f i icked. as they werc by her
ol f l t r interrogat ion, ever so subt l -e by the semant lcs of her c lass room ques-
t ions, hacl thus organized. themselves lnto a team to provlde the means for
Fidel- Castror s over throwal of the Untted States) government. And the team
of three plannei l to rob l lquor stores and thus be abLe to buy an arsenaL to
zo/20/20/20 TAYL0R
give to Castro, so he coul-d conquer al l - of Amerlcao Charl -ot te Phelps had'
even toured. Cuba d,uring the sumneT of 1968 wlthout a vLsa and reportedly
hai l conferrei l wi th the guerr i l - l -a leader the boat t r lp belng madc under
cover of d.arkness whcn maklng a gun run to Cuba. nCastro should relgn ln
the U. S. of A.r t Char lot tc oncc salat ln the Lounge; a hush fel l over the
room l lke a s i lent shot f rom a toy pistol or powcter key. But the lu lL lastecl
only a spl l t sccond, I lke a f lash ln the eyes betwecn alL the speakcrs who
nonverbal ly communlcated more than a thousandl bLasted. words could. cver ut ter"
Char lot te usual ly saved. her rhetor lc for Just the r ight person ani l for Just
the exact moment. Thus, Char lot te Phcl-ps made pl-ans to fuI I f i l l her i l reams
or in ten t ; she a t tcmpted to c tea tc o r to accunu la te thc a rscnaL ( tne peop le
should rule and have supreme r lghts and. equal d istr ibut lon of weaLth stated.
th ls cava l le r l -ady o f c lassy expcns lve tas tes and opu len t nobLe des i rcs ) .
The Charlot te phelpsr plot natcr la l - lzed. wi th a1l the stratagem of a Nlarxlst
reso lu t lon ; the des lgn however conta l -ned more than a t reasonab le p lan : a
personal_ sehene to bi lk a few i lo l lars her way for f lnancing the gal lant l l fe.
Taking a few d.ol lars f ron t j re t t l l af ter robbery expenses seemcd only r lght
af ter a lL the chances hai l been taken. But one student became so Jeal-ous ancl
so comple te ty comml t ted to the po l l t l ca I cause tha t hos t l l - l t y anc l angcr rc -
suLtect when the sums became cllverted. (honor anong thieves havlng somehow
been v lo la ted . as an e th ica l bon i l ) . Thc Jea lo t s tudent reac ted on a wh in
(or ac ted . on orders accord . ing to somc specu la t lon as a par t o f the grande
nsthoi to logy to crack the U. S. legaL system and' thus cal l at tent ion to the
zL/2L/2L /2L rAYloR
6rea6fu l fac t tha t teachers no longer be l leve ln the capata l - l s t i c sys tene,
ccnsequent ly, focusing nat ional at tent ion on thls crack ln the l iberty ani l
jus t l ce fo r a l l tene ts o f the U.S. cons t l tu t lon - - th ls p loy be lng a co f l -
mun is t par ty dev ice or con t r l vance to v reaken the emot iona l t rus t in the
bas lc p r lnc ip les o r rud lments o f the Amer ican drearn wh i le a lso se l l ing-ou t
the very labors of a party menrber l lke Char lot te Phelps, expediency being
the roodus operandl of long rangc plans). The party members haal even ar-
rangecl for Char lot te to date a younger man ln the hopes
of gett ing hin to asslst , but he lef t v,rhen discover lng the gun running
bug lne ss .
Being a gun runner was not a charge that stuck agalnst Char lot te
phe lps . But the robbery conv lc t lon ln connect ion w l th the oharge o f t reason
had the nost evidence. The angry zealot student had d.raf ted hls own plat-
form of retal lat lon or progranmed agenda when deciding to stop Char lot tc
fron taklng any more money for her personal use; the angry student s inply
cal led the pol ice and Channel 13. i+ I louston ancl gave the t lp for the next
robbery, 8tr anonymous te1-ephoi i l6 the Houstcn pol lce department at 6L
Reisner S t ree t and to the news med ia se t the scene: the news med ia and the
pol ice rvai ted 1lke a blg happenlng for Char lot te ani l the other two students
al l set-up l ikc a movie studio for a take, a sccnar io on the move or a
l lbret to wi th l ts own speolal ar ia f rom thls street opera" Dur ing the sur-
pr lsed exci tenent, char lot te Phe}*os vraved her gun high lnto the air , shouted'
and exclaimed. that she had a gatt l lng gun at home that lvould stop aI I you
22/22/22/22 TAYL0R
4.'faseist p lgs. The Houston pol lce S.*I .A.T. team had lndeed sot-up serdf l lanco
or entrapement of these studlous pol l t icoes very ef fect lveLy. And l ' {s. Phelps
also cont lnued stateurents ln her shockei l vocal rosponse that she had other
weaprony, a bazooka that her fe1low l lberated workers should have brought
wtth ' then; she cmot l -onaL1y Lost her cool col lected. demeanor and. voLuntar l ly
reportedl . e lL the var lous pl-aces robbed to buy the arsenaL to give to FldeL
Castro -- yes, she even procLalned that an ersenal , depot had been oreatecl
ln storage at her hono. The Houston pol loe of coulse invest lgated the i lon-
lc iLe or home front lndeed to f lnd the arsenal lntact , complete wl th the re-
ported bazooka. And Charlot ter s tvrelve year old son also was qusrtered ln
the house (tne son d1d not reaLlzc ths oxact sltuatlonal lnplloatlon or evcn
compreheni l the pol i t lcs lnvoLvei l ) . Tho physlcal apprehend. lng of the robbery
suspeots took only a br lef t lme, a few hours in aI I to book slnce the whole
oplsodc was recor6e6 on TV news f i le tape. But the Jur lsprudsnce of the
classLc nat lonal case took rauch J-onger, naturat ly, ln the fecleral oourts be-
cause of f ed.eral and state chango of Ycf l l lcr
The corrr t case roekecl-on for nonths and reaLly i i td have a rare sol l -
tary ef fect on the cot lege campusr cspeclal- Iy t l te buzzlng alacr l ty of the
gosslp ln the lounge: absolute quiet relgned' &s a resuLt when the nams
charLotte Shelps came-up ln the conversat lonr ever so c3suf l l ' The change
of venue to DalLas would require distant and. cost ty t r lps to test l fy l f the
slightest vrori l leaked tbat someone ln the facu].ty lounge knew any pertlnent
lnfornatlon, for aftor-alL the lounger s proverbiar ears and eyes knew 6very-
z3 / 23 / 23 / zi TAYLoR
th lng on ever subject ment loned., the last wor i l , cxoept now for the perverse
qulet i tude on this quest lonabLe case of t reason in the facul ty J.ounge. But
the nat lonal news nedla had stated that Char lot te ?helps had taught fu l l
t ime at the },{aln Canpus, Unlverstty of Houston (no South Texas Iunlor ColJ-ege
offlclal i lean evet corrected the error). The dooumenteil worcl by the volunc
abounded on thls quest loned case of t reason agalnst the capi ta l ls t lc found.-
at lon of thc U.S. of A. ' r ' f r l t ten f i les suddenly mater laLlzed. beoause under-
cover agents f rom the FBf and CTA as wel l as the NSA had been plantecl or
enrol lecl as of f lo la l students on her ol-ass rol-Le ln eaoh cLass room; th ls
soclal stud. les teaoherr s ourr vror i is v la cassette tape rccordlngs oould. be
and were lndeed used. as mater la l evidsnoc, thus, neecl ing no hearsay ln th is
federal- case of lnternat lonal t reason.
Treasonab1.e oharges kept CharLotte Phelps uni ler Lock and key. Once
inslcto the county sher i f f rs Jal l , Iockect away ln the hol-dlng tank, BS l t
were, Char i -ot te went on a hunger str lke. Thls act lv lst used passlve resis-
tence to galn at tent lon by losing welght to the polnt of becomlng skln ancl
bones, Bt whtoh t lnc, l f lss char lot te as somc lnmates caLl-c i l her wourd' not
see her son d.ur ing v ist tat lon hours because the youth wourd not und.erstani l
the gaacy pol t t los that , mede a bag of bones of h ls mother ' And the pol lce
matron Mrs. Derores Talrcy persuad.ed charl0tte to eat somethlng in ord'er to
avoid^ dylng and thus leavlng her son an orphan who would' never ln futurs
years be abre to quest ion her and to und.erstancr the reasons for her aot ions --
2r+/2t+/2U/2U TAYTOR
onl5r thg easnest appeal of a motherts concern reachecl the passlonate d.epths
of i lespair ln another motherts heart or so the Jal ler l lked to th lnk. Thus,
Charlot te Phelps ate nothlng but exot lc f resh food.s ln season from thc gour-
net sheLves of Janal l - where poLlce matrol Delores Tal ley shopped espeolaLLy
for Mtss t rerr ie as the seconcl g lven nane had now becone the passlve act iv istrs
noniker no verbatlzed thank-you ever passed. the purseil LLns tyttl l\rMl".\_a!,c-o;y=
Tal,Iey untl l the day upon I-cavlng for the state prlson. Verbal-')zhovtever
never coursei l f ron Charlotters rnouth, such lnterJeeted lmpudence not belng
a part of her court ly manners: the proper }fs. Phelps always dlsplayod court-
esy aad. never used profanlty or defamatlon of vl le vented four- letter Anglo-
Saxon words -- her larghetto speech also secmed to know no cuss or cursc
epl thets s lnce her lnnate lntel l lgence and large vooabuLary knew nuch norc
vlv ld terrns than the l lml ted four Letter mandatcg could sver so gutturaLl-y
ut ter , in contrast to th is qulet but forceful lady. But the s l lencc of
Char lot te Phelpsr presence or essence of being relgnei l supreme as nqueonrr
of the pol lce holdlng tank; pecklng order or zuper lor l ty was qulet l -y estab-
l-lshed wlthln mlnutes wlthout word. one belng bantered by thls grande daroe
dressed. I lkc a duchess vrhl le cut- throats and dereLlcts avoldeiL the low-toned'
touchlng words of th ls comnLtted woman who galned unquest lonei l controL wlth-
out a physlcar bout from the whoLe tank (trre usual resentment toward well '-
dressed. upper oLass snooty i lamee n6ver surfaceil from the lncarceratecl J-ow-
l l fers and. the street srobs ln any of the holdlng tanks -- char lot te arways
galnod. conplete control wi th l3 a few mlnutes, less than f lve ' cven when belng
25/25/25/25 rAYloR
l:*
t ranef erred to three other county hoS.dlng tanks, oontroL oxcerclsed. oveT
a l l races) . BLacks jus t Loved Char lo t te and fLocked l i ke w i ld b i rds to her
caLm and quiet vrord.s or obeyed. as drono bees to the honey qusen. No eo}Iege
psychol-ogist behavior lst could ever explain such subt le or speed.y braln
washing.
[f lnd anil body were kept intaot by more than Charlotter s sheer wll].;
a supply of money arr ived methodical l "y and myster icusly. Char l -ot te Fhelps
always hai l l lenty of funds to pay cash for her food, and" to l letr lesr s@gn-
ingly unt lmited expend. i tur6s wl th a cr lsp new twenty doLlar blLl lef t at
the d.esk for her each day. And on the street levcl outs ld.e beneath her
barred window, a ta l l sk lnny nogro man constant ly 'o,ratohed., observed. v lg i l
of Char lot tet s celL, to keep und.er survcl l lance one of thelr own so to
speak, !n th ls c lancLest ine lnternat ion pl-ot or capeT that nnust not go v{rong
at the Last nlnute, to assure the ef fects of the long range pl-ans of the
world-vr ide cornmunlst partyt s need to preclpi tate an lnfamous si tuat lon.
The no t r te ty o f the char lo t te Phe lpsr cour t cas6 requ l red a change o f venue:
t rek ing f ron Houston to Da1 las , the cour t case and mater ia l w l tnesses went .
And. natural- Iy CharLotte ?helps was eventua)-1y adJudged treasonabl-e to the
fed.eral government of the Unttei l States: convicted. of t reason by the same
United States federaL prosecutors who ]-et canpus act lv lsts charged wlth
burnlng campus bul ld lngs go free. The tr ia l vras an open and shut caset
that no amount of d. la logue couLd change. But very l i t t le facul ty gosslp
, / 26 / 26 / 2 6 {ir}'Yi.a?.
ever Ng.en t ioned or even d lseussed Char lo t tc r s t r la I open ly ; the cont rovers ia l
case l i ras reserved fo r the pr iva te par ty ga ther ings o f the cock ta i l se t and
cont rae t b r idge c roup les a t the i r sor l t i s ( tne o therv i l se gabby facu l ty feare{
be lng subpoened. to tes t i f y t l vo hundred and f i f t y ml les a l / tay a t cour t ln fa r
DaI las , where the chana: o f venue ln te rna t lona l l zed scanda l now pro f l ressedrc
thus , a t r abso lu te s i lence o f fe lgned lgnorance resu l ted - - fo r the facu l ty
lounqe d id lndeed have lnv ls lb le ears evcn when the goss lpers t t remse lves d ld
not ac tua l l y hear o r have the l r v lab le p rcscnce known) . The worc l l vas mun on
Char lo t te Jer r le Phe lps , ln to to ; and no t onc person broke the avorved s l lenc /
or hush in pub l i c as each teache l qu te t l y d . rank a cup o f co f fee . The dregs
in tha bo t tom o f the co f fee cup l l ke por ten ts geemed to hoLd t i re pas t ta les
about the f 'acu l ty menrbers who f requented the lounge a t South Texas Jun lo r
Cn] l c ra j t s . c l f - - an h l s t o r i c s i t e on an odd shap 'ed l o t t ha t cove red f t ve any '
a ha l f ac res d .owntown between tv ro bayous : ' , fh l te Oak and. Buf fa lo 13a3 'ou tha t e fu -
c l rc led the ob long acreago w l th l t s mtery banks .
T i re , , , ra te r banked bu l ld l r rg tha t houset l South Texas Jun lo r Co l lege eon-
s ls te , l o f a b road. -basod ten s to ry s t ruc tu re v r l th two decad to lvers o r decada l
f loors, each, Joined on the thl rd story ot me,zzanlnc street lovol - - the arcfu-
i tec tu re be lng a deco fabr l ca t lon o f b r l ck and concre te made f ro ro f I l n t s tone
lnstoad of a mere sanr l ln the concretc formura mlxture, and the brr l ld lng con-
sequent ly now s tood L lke a g ran l te nounta ln poured on the Lanc l s l te - - con-
s t ruc ted ln L92g Jus t p r lo r to t l re f l rea t na t lona l and v lo r ld -w lde depress lon ,
7/27/?7/27 TAYLOR
th is nass lve cons t ruc t lon had been bu l l t and env ls loned by the e lc le r l fac -
Dona ld faml ly pa t r la rch f ron Tay l ,o r , Texas as a g t f t to h ls son Jus t tu rncd
twcnty -ono. And then fo r ty ycars la tc r , the ag lng bu t you th fu l l {acDona ld
se lon so ld the ng l f tcdn bu l ld lng to the t rus t conpany o f South Texas Jun lo r
co l lege, wh lch renamed the tower lng mono l l th Number one lTa ln P Iaza ' No rc -
ps t rs had ever becn nnace on the huge warehouse typc cd l f l co and Nat lona l Rc-
g ls te ry randmark ( tne owncr had w l l r tne ly served on the Texas Pr isor sys tans
Farore Board and thus had provrded pronrsed enproyment rn cus tod la l work asd- /
means tc reduce rcc ld lv lso - - the upkecp t rad becn lax , and the bu i ld lng be-
camo rund.own and. f inal l "y beraggled bcoausc of the s lnpat lco nature of the
owner to t ry to help tbo nlsfortunqtc eleroent of soclety the bul ld lng had
bocome l ts ovrn ghetto, to natoh the skld-row or s lum surroundlngs of tha pol '
ru tcd waters o f tbe Buf fa ro Bayou whcr6 l {h l tc oak Bayou arso .converges} - Tha
oId bu t ld lng e l te now res tcd ia gcn tcc l pover ty roposc on l t s Nat lonar Rc-
g ts t ry h ls to r rcar p raque bear rn f .c lv r l war mark lngs ; the h ls to r lc spot dcs lg*
nated where thc soutbern confod.cracy had kcpt a pr lson ani l arso had provl i led^
a depot for nunl t lons on thc Junoturc banks of thc two bayous ( t f re marker dt '
f lned the tenets o f war : scccss lon rcar ly be tng the nor thern yankcc tac t l0
s ince the cavar le r sou th p reservcd t b o r rg rnar fadera l - l s t cons t l tu t lon wn l re
the nor th ac tua l l y separa ted or sccec lcd to ohange thc oons t l tu t lona l laws;
thc spot now so narkcd thc old Houston based out-post of a nl ' I l tary pr lson
and ammunit lon dunp dur lng t r lQ war betwccn the states had bcen choscn for t 'hv
water f ron t loca t lon tha t Jus t na tura l l y o lcancd and c rnp t led ' l t se l f when
f looi t t lde watcr rcsul tod.r t rp to thelr arsenar ln htgh bayou waters prus
the fac t tha t cap turcd fodera l - yankec t roops soon rosc to the l r t lp toes or
up to the l r nosc ln HrO, cvcry oan Jack on bo th cmbat t l "ed s ldos up to the l r
arse ln the over f low bayou). The two bayous enclrc led the old ' downtown
I louston area. And the d.owntown buginess dlstr lct had lory: ago t lubbccl the
ue{a rreco struct ' re wrth the monrker r{ & } ,1 Bul)-d. tng (Merchandiz lng l t far t for
belng a repl ioa of the old chlcago merohand lz lng mart ' f roor whloh wareh'ougo
E /zB /zg /z:: T.,Yi oR
of f l ce - typa bus lncsscs de l l ve red the l r re ta l l . goods) . Bu t ncwcr o f f l cc sky
scrappcrs had. dralaed-of f th.e old tcnants unt l l tha ul & M Bul ld lng bad becon€.,
n lne ty percent vacant , a t wh ich t fune Sout \ Texas Jun lo r Co l le ro had. sud.den l .y
l rn r r rn tn lne rease in enro l lne in t f : ' on L " * f r : ' rnousand s tuc len ts to a lnos t
f i ve t i rousand pup i ls , v r l t i r no grov th cap 1n s igh t ; t i re jun io : : co l le6 ;e had
hecn ' ln,i,-oi 'r fro;r its found.lng ln L9l+8 at the dolvntovrn Y-l, iCA (Young llenf sv v v l r ! v \ ( r , i r :
Chr is t ian Assoc ia t lon ?o t te r Bu l ld lng Ioca t ion ) s lnco l t s lncep t lon as a
preparatory revlevr school for prosp€ct lvo South Texas Ialv School students --
the sane board o f regeants governed. bo th co l leges . The Jun lo r eo l lego €r1-
ro l lment haC expanded dramat lca l l y ln 1967; thus , South Texas Jun lo r Co l log 'e
pres ident , f . T . I t ykes , who a lso pres ld ,ed over the Law co l lege, nogot la ted . a
Iease f c r t l r ree f loors o f the d l lap lda tcd l { & l { Bu l ld ln6 , a bquarc foo tage
Lease baseC on the s tudent bod.y popu la t lon nunbers (a ml l l ton d ,o l la rs ren ta l "
s i r l ra l sum thus ch , r rged f o r 5 r7OO t r rup i l s ) . 3u t t l i e co l lee la te bo t r r r l . o f duaL
re leants soon ar rangbd to purchase t l te run-dovrn bu l ld lng on the lnva luab le
dovntovrn f l v : l and one ha l f ac res a t Number Ono l la ln S t ree t . A ten year losn
pey-out docu,nent resul tod vr i th the owner oarry lng the papers for the nort9ag9l
IgBI be i lg the pay-o f f da te fo r the loan. But the co l lege qu lck ly fe l l upon
herd t l rnes- i ; l ren the U. S . Army d . ra f t ) -o t te ry sys tem rvas lns t l tu ted . ( tne en-
ro l inen t i iac r i sen in the f l rs t p lace because o f the v le t Nan War d 'e fe r rnent - f ,
to cc l le re s tuCents as a so le reason to eXenpt a co l leg la te exper lence , re -
gard less o f the co l lege n ra jo r ) . There fo ro , the Sou th Texas Jun lc r Co l lege
he ld thc r i i s t inc t ion as bo ing the la rges t p r lva te Jun io r co l le l re ln the
TJnl tecl States. But the lOttery d.raf t systen r l roppei i by t lvo thousand' stut lentgi
the to ta l en ro l lnen t l r i u ted ia te ly as sone s tuden ts ceased a t tend lng c lasses
t i re ver l t nex t day ' ; l ien the l r c l l s tan t numbers v /e re pub l l ca l l y announced: the
l /zg/29/zr ) l : " " t .o l .
soeietul cr iv in l r forcc or ptesEure for an cduoat lon had sut ldonly beoonre
less denandLntJ o r nonex is ten t l And tha t o f f l c la l s tudent d . rop reqr : i rec l
d . in in ish in ; ; the co l lege facu l ty by tv ro in every Cepar tn ren t each senes ter .
Yet , soon, another doomsd.ay nevrs l ten brought g loon anC pan lc to the pr iva te
inn io r - no ' l l r , rpe , , , /hen the Houston Comnun l ty Co l lege c r i -an lzed i t s ne lv conceptV V * A ' J L J
of ho ld . ln : i c lasses in a rea h ip ;h schoo ls aL l over t i re mega lopo l is and thus
nade t l te ne" i / co l lege sys ten a t ru ly comnun l ty educat iona l oppor tun l ty ; aga ln
t l r .e p r iva te South Texas Jun io r Co l leC;e los t a lmost two thousand s tudents ln
a t tendance - - more facu l - ty members had to { to . Teach lng Jobs no lonSer cane
eas i l y anyr^ rhare ln Aner ica , fo r an excess number o f tcaohers 'hac l g rad .ua ted '
f rom a I I the un lvers i t les in the f l f t y s ta tes by the year L970 because o f the-
stuilent exemption gtvon to ooLloge students, trvho coonsequently took the easy
na jor in e r lucu t lon to ma ln ta ln a h lgh grad .c po in t average and thus had *o tn{
a teacn ing c legreo c redent ld l (and now four teen hundred. app l l ca t lons fo r each
teac i r in i ; job s lo t i ron lca l }y poured- jn f ron a l l per ts o f the count ry to
sout i r Texas Junior col le5e that l tSel f no\ . had. to let facul ty r . rernbers 8o
Iook tng fo r " ' to rk lnag lu t tedJobmarke t ) ' sou thTexasJun lo rCo l legeha i l
€ ione t i re i ray o f a l l p r l va te co l leges : hard ' t lmes tha t lead to bankruptoy
and a de func t cond l t lon - - the exorb l tan t tu i t lon necess l ta ted ' tha t s tudonts
enro l l a t the l {ous ton cornrnun i ty co l lege s lnce the fee fo r one course a t
Scuth Texai , Junlor CcIIege vrould in turn pay for f lve courses at a state
suppor ted co I1e6,e , a l thougt r pub l l c co l l -eges graduate func t lona l l l l l te ra tes '
just to prove that al - I buyers lnclud. lng studentg get Just vrhat they pay for
( the cheaper s ta te schoo l has no p res t lgo , l l t t l e c lou t and no c lass ) '
Tne c less en ro l lmen t dec l l ned a t Sou th Texas Jun lo r Co l l ege to the
nn {n ' r - r f r i , t t l , r e snx l s f y shO 'wed on t he l ong f aceS o f t i r e ad .n r l n l s t r u t l ve pe r -y v l r r u v ^ r ' - " 9 1 / r a
sonne l o r d eans ; a I I t he g l oom beca rno pe rson l f l ed l n t he r i eep c raggy c racks ,
on tne v ra l l s o f t i r e ag fc l bu i l d in6 , t ha t sudc len l y l ooked l nc reas lng l y c le -
r ) r oqs i n r " t o r na t ch t he nen ta l s t a te r v i t h t he phys l ca l su r round lngs . i ^ rnd .
the f r , c u l t y I oun t ;e no l onger buzzed l t s happy sou t rds c i l - r r i ng t i i e co : . ' f ee b reak ,
m ; , 6 . i ^ . , ^ , 1 ^ - n j . s a g b e C a i i i e S u b , j U e c a n d t i r e p I e C e ' , ; a S , . : i O r e I i k e a r n O r . U e ,l - l l u J U y u t - r . > r r L ,
evcn , id r i i e , . cn t i u le t l y abou t her ' , ; o r i ; , p reoccup i .eC ln men ia l du t ies , th l s
me ln ie , v r l th a reservod demeanot o r ma la lse s im l la r to an lmpr isoned so l l -
t ' t r v non f i ne :nen t .
The so l l tu r le o I ' the lounge assemblage becane more and more ln tense as
ac lc j i t i ona l facu l t y noembers had to leaver t ro t f i rq i ,bu t Jus t l e t ou t to pas-
tu r .o o r e i i r l y re t l rement i v l th I Benera l le t te r o f c red i ted recoru I lendat ion
6 i l ver i in hand l a few teachers took th ls d lsas ter as an oppor tun l ty to qu l t
i l re aeaden lc p ro fess lon comple te ly to fo rn the l r oYnx bus iness ( teachers ear l l
fo r ty percent less than an equ iva len t iob ln lnc lus t ry , and ' most lndus t r la l
t rades do no t even requ i re f l ve years o f co l lege and twen ty years exper lence
before tne year ly lnc ruments o r ra lse ,s ge t tbe teacher rs meager sa la ry to
the }eve l rvhere the mere ca l lov r h igh schoo l g rad 'ua te v rho has a iob ln a
pe t ro -chemica l p lan t v r l l l ea rn much mor6 the f l r s t year thsn a Ph 'D . ' ' v i l l
ever rece ive one canpus psycho log ls t ana lyzed the genera l soc ie ta l causes
fo r , re ro i ; ,es teem toward teachers : c r t y fa thers ha te o r de tos t a ch l rdhood
teacher anc l subsequent ly the !d persona l l t y r r - iuses a decent s i l la ry ln '3
L/3L/)L/31 TAYLoR
subt lo hos t l le psycho log lcaL war fa re tha t e f feo ts the pockot book , a lack
of moral ethlcs pract ic lzed toward thc vcry group who ls expected, to teach
the bas lc c l t l zcnsh lp behav lo r to youthr Vet these pro found, p ro fcss lona lg
roce ivo legs i )ay than a typ lca l " funot lona l l lL l te ra te cng lneer tcachcrs
are a lso den le i l an ac t lvc ro lc ln dc te rn ln lng soc la ty ts norGr Yot must pcr -
pe tua to thc tcnc ts o f u lha t l l fe ncvor hag to o f fe r an sduoator ) . The. i l c -
b l l l ta t tng nora lc o f the co l lege facu l ty p lunnc ted to an a l " I t lnc low, ox-
ocpt for the fcw teachors who l lkct l to dcl lver bad news and thug enJoyed
see lng the wor r lc i l look on o thcr pcop lc rg faccs : Shannon Doy lc and.her ln -
d lv ld .ua l c l l ck o r c laquc de l lgh ted ln rc la t lng the te r r ib lc - l von te , a gaa l l s -
t lo twlst or qulrk to thelr l ronlo naturcs turncd. now agalnst the very fo l -ks
sha once had secnlng}y befr lcnded when f l rst enp\oyed, then, t ry lng to ln-
prcss thc old powcr gtructrre of thc ool lego (Shannon Doyle SavG cocktal l
part lcs that lncluded tho sclect few who thou,:ht as she cl ld: Karen Lcwls
WorrcII DaIc , Lucy Harpcr ZcLlar who werc all oall,cd the thrcc nuns, wlth
tbc fathsr confcssror Nlok trranks -- other confciloratcg cnoludccl Tom Llnk-
Iatcr , Ray' l l l l - l lans and wlfe Ll I , Gretchcn Garst Dcutgcn Ewlng who was a
cousln to r lng }eaclcr Karcn plus thclr satc l l l tc grouplcs Sylv la Levy, JOn
rr{ l r - ler , . , r l th thc rast but not thc lcast cather lng Randorpb). Thesc bed.evlrocl
pcdants formcd, a partlcular cllck cr cl,aquc that thouehf,thoy cach had' thc
worLd of South Tcrag Junlor Co1l 'egc by tho taI I , tbese blg f lsh ln a snal l
s lnklng and mucldy or nrurky pond. Thls f l rst watar or c l l te group plot ted
agalnst other toachers of whom thay hcld t r l f l tng grudges bascd on pct ty
2/32/)2/32 TAYL0R
Jealousy such as tomrd otbcrg havlng mor6 noncy and/or hlgber posl t lon ln
thc Houston conmunlty, for th ls l l t t lc lndlv ldual c laque thougbt thcy wcrc
the only ones rrdro coul i i or should ponscss rcal knowledgc or cvcn own l lean-
lng fu} va l1d wea l th - - tbe l r p ropcr ty , appcr ta inod. , thc bcs t o f a l t poss lb le
wor lds , b los t by the l r own contenpt fo r o tbcrs ln a d labo l l ca l ca tao lysa
brought-d.own upon thelr ordalned. cncolc l t ( thegc scl f -appolnted lntel lcets
d1d not havc the savvy or lntc l l lgcncc to nanagc thclr own f lnanocs wel l
cnougb to lnvest ln stocks of new Bouston oompanlca as sonc teaohere had
donc wlth meagcr suas to nake hundrcd.s of thousancls of dlollars: stuilonts ln-
advor tcn tLy g lvc te r r l f lo f lnano la l t lps wh l tc Jus t cxp la ln lag tho l r t yp lca l
work day, such as thc Alaska Plpc Llac Conpany anploycc ln 1958 relat lng
thc vast lnvcstncnts and potcnt la l gfowth whcn sh3rrcs sold for onc dlel t
but now havlng lncreaged one huni l rcd t l rce, to rnake ml l l lonalrdout of less
than $20'OOO lnl t la l purohaec -- a l l ta lk and no work or so Addle onoc sald '
abou t theder tv l shor lok rnALrsaysg ' ,nodoeo t ) ' sbannoncvGns ta r ted '
runors that forotoLct doon beyond the gloon of u lhat aotuaLly ocourrcd on thc
colJ.ege campus, and sbe sprcad nclancholy or thc doli lrrrns wlth a gloat ln
hcr volcc that sbowcd, hcr heart fc l t happlness fron the wldc-spreai l n lsery.
And Shannon boastcd about bclng a rumor-ml l l , becauso people wcrc 3o gul l lb lc
to belleve evcry vrord, they beard, at caoh coffee cru{nfcJ -- frauntcd ancl brag--,-4,"t- \" /
geil about her gullc Llke thc rvlckcit wltoh froi\yiiorth ln thle acad'cnc Lanil
of oozd or s lnklng f lnanccs of tbs col logc. 0ther conoerned. tcaohcrs seld 'om
caaG lnto thc Loungc for a cup of Java as somc of the oldcr facul ty eal lcd
)/3)/33/n riYLoR
the f tu id bean Ju ica . The t lqu id re f reshnent l vorker l l t s charms upon tho
fouL moody mouths l lka a t ruth serum lnJootcd dal ly or hourLy, and the ln-
d lv ldua l c laquc used the ld lc chat te r as fod i le r fo r a ho t f l re la te r when
the cess poo l o f a rwnor n l t l rea l l y go t s ta r ted the loca l wags or gos-
slps kner, ' r how to gather thelr lnnocent ohl t chat or glbble gabble to use
a d l rec t quota t lon as an c lcment o f t ru th ln the gross l les tha t wou ld soon
beoone charac ter assass lna t lon . And the td le words seomed to have a rea l i t y
of thelr own t lko sonc thlrd petson vls l tor lssulng a great dlctum.
The d. lctatcs of thc col legc ad.rnlnlstrators were not Lmrnuno to the subt le-
changos an6 saroasn of t t re rutror nl lL. The presld.ent of the. col- legc Dr.
Dykes br lef ly v ls l ted the lounge along wtth Ross Toole his f r lend ancl as-o.
sistant wi th the t t t le of Dean. Dr. Xy\eq spokc about method.s to save the-<&tE-
col lege f lnanccs, such as galnlng sot l - f iZ- lons or 'eni lownments and/or gl f ts
fo r the needy co l lege f ron loea l bus lnesscs : Brov tn and Root Eng lneer lng
Company and. Gu l f OI I Corpora t lon ( t t re oo l lege c roa tec l th lnk- tanks fo r fu tu rs
grovrth pLans resul t lng f rom the clenoerat lo d. la lect lc dlgcusslons, a nodern
ad.aptat lon of ?Iator g synposlun), And Brown and Root dld lndeed, glva f l f ty
\A Vlthousand do l la rs ln cas \ { a long w l th the oash endownment caae S '6 Ien Huteh lns
who or .san lzed the read lng tab - - f ron a mBre lab toacher , He len Hutch lns
got p romoted to Dean o f S tudent A f fa l rs ln less than n lne months ( tUe ad-
n ln ls t ra t lon w lse ly b rought her in to the fo ld o f the facu l ty as a teacher
who cou ld f l rs t l l s ten and observe the needs be fore bcoomlng an ad-mln ls t ra -
t l ve fo rec ) .Bu t ,ac tua l l y , thchar i lwork lng ladyorgan lzedandopera ted
the reglstrat lon proccss as though she were the rc8tstrar ln charge vrhl Ie
b/ 3t+/ )b/)b s.YLoR
maklng a l l the corap lex dec ls lons (she h l red cu te pe t l te young g l r l s in her
o f f lees , tnc lud lng the d .ed lca ted work-horse ass ls tan t - reg ls t ra r Sharon
Tr lpp Jus t ou t o f h lgh schoo l w l th no co l lege dogree, to over -seo the d l f -
f l cu l t and lnvo lved. p recess o f reg ls t ra t lon fo r thousands o f s tudents ) .
HeIen Hutohlns aLways oomnentcd that sucocss was based on whom you know
and then the measure o f success canc f ron how hard you workcd . Anc l o le .
HeIen l lutchlns knew of what she spoke; Holen had marr led I iarry l lutehlns,
a rmn ten yearg her Jun lo r , bu t lookcd tcn years o lder - - snd Har ry Hutoh lns
ho ld the pos l t lon o f f l r s t v lce-preg lc len t o f Brown and Root Eng lneer lng
Firn; Helcn, however, had been a Brown who Just happcncd to teach school
ln the town whcre the twosome narr led years before tn the twln c i ty of
Texarkana (Hclcn had the r lgbt lc tear succcss cones to those who know hovr
to work l t ) . And Hc1en Gertrud.o Brown Hutchtns l lkcd power and posl t lon;
her whole denreanor or aura radlatcd an excout lve lnage. Eelen certalnly
d.resse6 the part l shc worc her halr bobbed, conrbed, blok, rougei l her cheeks
cleep re6 blush, rather gcnerously colored,, archcd tho long eye brows and'
roascara 1lned thc cyc lashes -- Hclcn was b,ef ty, port ly and matronly (very
muoh unl lkc hcr sklnncy as a ral l d,ays as Mlss Helcn Gcrtrude Brown of
onaha, Texas). Thls weal thy dame gave twsLve hours a day to the Job at
hand. the meas ley sa la ry meant no th lng , Jus t kecp lng the oo l lego a l l ve
su f f l ced , a oha l lenge to acoonp l lsh thc lmposs lb lo d reanr - - anc l to be busy .
Hc len d td no t p re fc r to l i vc the ld le r l ch l l fe aB ev ldenced by the long
hours on campus. But Horcnr s brg ruxury rnoruded tha ehauffeur wtrc d ' rove
her l lnouslne everywhere and had' thus been hlred by hubby Harry Just to
5/35 / )5 /35 r iYLOR
wal t a rour 'd every day un t l l He lon ncoded h ls gpec l .a l serv lces - - her b tg
luxury r .4 las the dr lver ln her l l fe. Tho oonpany Brovrm. and Root asslstod
cv6n more v r l th the want lng f lnanceg o f the pr lva te d lsuscd or obso lescent
South Tcxas Jun lo r Co l lege by ren t lng t l vo f loors o f tha ncar ly vacant and
ant lqua tod v rerohouso bu l ld lng . fn ls fL l la l ren ta l boon pa ld the mor tgaga
no tc on t t re bu i l i l l ng loan . And add l t l cna l ren ta ls to Gu l f 011 Corpora t lon
as c red l t eard s to rago prov ldcd funds fo r na ln tcnance o f the hugo skyscrap-
per s t ruc t iu :c . Thc Huteh lns connect lon saved bhe l rn rned la tc f lnances o f tho
dy tng p r ! ' a te co l lege . And the soc la l func t lons as we I I fo r tho co l legc bo-
camo HeIen 's spec la l spor t o r c lever ac t l v l t l es o f a d l le t tan tc . I Ie Icn bo-
cane the o f f t c la l hos tcss fo r the co l leg la te func t lons ; I {e len a r ranged ,
nan lpu la ted o r f i n$ feO a f f the en te r ta inment pLans fo r par t les shc dec lde i l
to g lva in honor , o r no t , o f teachers o r admln ls t ra to rs a t the co l leg la l
events : par t los sho gavo in her swanky town house wt th an a t r iu rn tha t eas l l y
he ld e lgh ty poop le had l le lcnr s spec la l s ta rnp o f soc la l approva l ; cav la r and
svro rd f t sh topped her I l s t o f de l l cac lcg . He lcn Hutch lns on te r ta lnod . cveryon€- ,
who wa" uo i *S ' rvhcn conncc tcd w l th the co l legc , l nc lud lng a I I d i s t lngu lshod
gues ts , v l s l to rs o r o f f l c la l conml t taos per t lnen t to the land ' o f academc.
And then the Sou thorn Assoc la t lon o f Secondary Schoo ls Accred . l ta t lon
Comin l t tee a r r l ved on campus as v l s l t l ng 6ques ts to eva lua te the co l lege fac -
l l l t l as o r facu l t l os as thoy wcrc ; Hc len met and charno i l the en tourager as
usua l . The pres t lgeous comrn l t tcc s taycc t on ly onc rvcek lnspeet lng thc 11b-
rar ;V "n"u
c lass rooms the skyscrapper co l lege bu l ld tng amused the academlo
examlners as an un ique concep t ln educa t lon , and eaoh pedan t wond 'e red l f a
cornp le tc ly adequato ed .ucs t lon cou ld ever resu t t by t lme o f 6graduat lon or
mat r i cu la t lon s lnca a tachn ica l sk i l l rep resen ted the p r lme goa l c f nos t
s tudents rvhose ln te l lec t had no conc ep ts beycnd a du l la rd gur f ac e ldea o f
bas lc soc ie ta l conccrns the r i rho le southern Assoc la t lon o f second 'a ry
schoo ls Accr . .ed l ta t lon conn l t tec asscssrnent o r approva l be lng an ln te rper -
sona l dec ls lon bassd upon hard , co ld fac ts as p resen tc i l to them on the
campus -
t / )6/36/)6 rArLOR
Helen Brown Hutch lns herse l f dcc lded a l I co l leg la te na t te rs on th is
campps : assessed o r approved cer ta in g radua tes personaL ly a t m ld - te rm so
tha t the end o f thc somester sess lon co tmenccnof l t cxerc lsss or o rgan lza t ion
wou ld go v r i thout any f lawed. p romot lons . But t i re scho las t lc casc o f honor
s tudr r r t Ad . r lenna l {e }v ln want lng her AA or Assoc la te Ar ts der reo , W.9 l l$
fgqog, confer red w l thout wa lk lng across the graduat lon s tage bocause o f hcr
nhess g iz .e . lus t incensed. por t l y He len B. Hutch lnsr sens lb l l l t l es ln hcr ab-r J * - -
so lu te . lona ln o f acadene, pure ly acadomlc fu ry f rom Ms. He len t s pcdagog lcs
-Nrdr iennar s h lghes t honore or va lcd lc to r lan go t reduced to less than sa lu ta to f -
lan or ggggg cW lauclP wlth a stmplc gum Lg-Ude, ranklng as punlshment for d'e-
f y tng i i e len ' s au thor l t y . Au t i ro r l ta r lan p rob lcn rs such as these lnd lgn l t l es
Adr lenna l , { c l v ln had w lshcd to avo ld f rom the respec ted teachers o r augus t
acar lenan lcans a t sou th Texas Jun lo r co I l cge , and Adr lenna w lshed to p reven t
any prob tenat lc facu l ty mo lce tha t d id no t c rea to the proper fe l lowsh lp on
canpus; o r sc she thoug i r shou ld . p reva l l dur lng the f i raduat ion oxerc lses as
a c lv l l ccm: reneem.ent to se t an oxample to mo lc l m lnds ln pub l lo academlc d lg -
n l t y Ar l r i enna had ' t r l ed to ac t w l th honor bu t lns tead los t he r honors , o r
honor , o f h ighes t g rade po ln t avcragc (c ra1 , even though the n lcknano ' rL lagna ' l
y .e t re rna inec among hcr f r lends on canpus as a rega l t t t le o r aeg ls l i ke an
ardra banner o f roya l red co lo rs hos ted to th rs ros t es ta te o f academlc hon-
o rodacc ls l l x ( rumoro fg rad 'echanges f t l l e r i the facu l t y lounge) .Thegran-
dour o f the south Texas Jun io r co l lege graduat ion process lona l had l i t t le
genu lne d ign l ty amld the pomp and cercaony , on ly a gar lsh or vu) "3ar acad 'en-
rca rs acdressecr to the bare soc ia r veneer o f the r r gowned d ress lngs . And the-
d tgn l ty o f th e in famcus facu l ty Sang d ld no t ho ld -up we l l even a t a pub l lo
mat r leu la t lon ; the g radua t lon exerc lses p rov id 'ed a showcase fo r the l r m ldd le
Amcr lca bourgools redneek cat -ca l ls schooled ln the l r own t?wf ;wj
pscudo .goph !s t l ca t i on , l l keaneduca tedArchyBunke ra rch t( more rddnec
l l ve ln Brook lyn and the Bronx than a I I the res t o f the l ln t ted Sta tes ' w l th '
the l r low-n id i l le -c lass Amer ican ways) ' T i rc typ ica l n ldd ' le c lass co I Ie g 'e g r^ 'd -
us t ion thus became l l te ra i l y a ; rJ ' - ' ] t t in o r a hoot when tha twe lve facu l ty guo(
7 / J7 / )7 / 37 n:!Yr oF.
members app laudec i app lauc led , l auded and c l apped so l oud ce r t a l n ca ra -
f r r ' l ' l v n l . r ke r i s t uden t g radua tos who c rosssd t he s tage , even t o g l vo a s tand lnqr u a ^ \ t , i / ! J ' ! \ , s J ^ ^ v t ) 4 u q E r t - - - - - - - - - - J
ova t lon , a spcc la l hand o f thc nc laps t r to a noncha lan t func t i cna f t l l l t e ra te
' , vho f1 .na11yhad ' 'ga lned ' r fo r the f1 rs t t l ne* l |D-ano f f1c1a Ip leceo f
r )R?ennran t nF iner v r i t i r the f f un le t te re i l f r nesc ien t nane on l t : the care f ree bu tt / e r v . r ' . r / r r u . t , e l ,
unof f t c ia l a lna mate r chan t lng a t t l t ude bu l l t to a c rescend .o as the facu l t y
gang ts sv ran song o r ca ro l con t inued to wh ls t le , to shou t , to squee l and to
s tonp the l r fee t as these faeu l t les went w l ld ! Some o f tho facu l ty gang worg
personaLLzed ha ts o r caps w l th the i r acad.omlc robes tn fu l I 6 raduat lon rQgaL i / ;
gowt ls w i th the l r own degreed lo t te rs s tamped or s t l t ched on the shou lders ,
Ph anr l D app l tqu fsprcad across thc back , w l th D. 'D . o r D. Ed, . app l tqu fd ln
co lo rs , topped wt th a cus tomized eap o r ha t cowboy s te tson ha ts , ha rd -ha t
t lns 11 chrome or p la t inurn , ml l l ta ry caps and Ch lnese tam or Arabr lan fez
(each w i th the t rad l t i ona l co lo r codod tasse l to ind lca te the maJor s tudy
area) . Th ts pub l l c bahav lo r on ly shoured c rsa tz soph ls t loa t lon tha t the fac-
u l t y gang though t represen ted the bos t o f a l l poss lb le Vo l ta l resque wor lds ,
fu l l y decaden t and Jaded now, as the facu l t y BBn{T o r c laque l l ked to b rag
Ia te r ln t i re tongpe-c luck lng g loa t o f the l r voca l chuck les when re la t lng th i s
f ine f lasco ln the facu l ty loungo; the d l r ty dozcn facu l ty gang or the who le
Carn group needed tu te lagc !n pub l l c menncrs o r a t loas t sh lpp lng-o f f to a
good f in lsh ln l r schoo l , l f one wou lc l have thcru ( thcsc phony learnJd educatcc l
foo ts had too pompous an ln te l lee t to s toop to ab ld tng by m ldd le c lass mora l -
./I t y o r nores , I l ke a nore bc l le f 1n god, : above l t a l l , as the no tor ious tweLyg.
re to r ted v rhen descr lb lng thencse lves ln g lowlng te rms as an ar is tocracy o f t } ] .u
rnlnd lords of educat lon who laud. and lord, thelr rank and pr lv l lege ovor
thoso hordos no t a par t o f the t r rc l l t cn cock ta l l o r sperk le hour ' ! se t -up9t t - .
a l l th ls poop s t ra lgh t f rom the bead-hauncbo or ho tsc t s mouth as to lC by tho
res lden t b i t ch ln charge o f the rumor mt lL ) . Bu t theso fa lse e rud l te ca rpo t "
bagger o le codgers o r pec ian ts had a co lossaL, pu f fod-up ego or fe lgned sc l f -
rmpor tance because o f the i r i vy league grad . 'a ted . degrees and/or eas tern e i luc -
s t lona l exper iencos tha t had gonc to the l r nheadgn to g lve th ts head.y aoatoL t / .
3 / Js / )B / i8 rAYr.oR
accu l tu ra t lon tha t se l f - r l gh teous ly o rda lned th ls sh rew lsh , sco Id1n .3 a t t l t ud f -
p ropaga teC by the who le U .S . educa t lona l consensus based on SAT o r GID score^S,
to ass lgn low l .y s ta tus to a I I l ow rank ing tes ted menbers o f a repub l l c as
d .u l la rd in fe r lo r menta l l t y who couLd no t poss tb ly know or ever ccmprehend the-
r i . l - f fe ronce bo twecn e lecant o r uncouth soc la l behav io ra l t rea tnent and thuS
ac ts o f no consequence to be fa l l these h lgh ty educa ted ranksd teachers who
take advan tase o f the cons iderab le ln fe r io r popu lace , I l ke s l t t i ng ducks ln
open soason w l th a ranked. l leonse to pursue (a typ lca l snug l lbera l v lew ac-
cepted a I I over thc Un l ted Sta tes tha t fad upon l t se l f and dra lned the c rea t -
l ve p rovr ress o f o thers no t b l r thed f rom the l r regLona l Cockney se t , no t a
par t o f the j r fo r th r lgh t s lege r so tha t the facu l ty gang shou ld thus by somo
d, lv lnc-r lgbt p lay demlgod. of a l l knowled.ge as an holy wr l t to have the only
lns lgh t to a l l per t lnen t ln fo rna t ion ln the wor ld now b : rscd on an l ron lc sd-
ucat lcna l h le rarchy o f themsc lves as ce les t la l ranked d .ornagogueg to denounco
as corunon preJud lce a l l opposed. to the l r h lgher tu to la ry v lews v rh l le showlng
the l r to ta l g roup leadersh lp to r l se cunn lng ly above the average fo l l les to
espouse a l l conrp lex f reod.ons and thus to ga ln popu lar acceptance or cornp l l ca t '
ed con t ro l l n a se l f - r l gh tcous pervers lon o f good ,nessr the l r b randr now rc -
gu ls ted fc r the l r own spcc la l ln te res t ; l l bc re , l s he lp g roups bu t ha te to aaa l -
w l th the ind lv ldua ls ) . T t rc facu l t y gang ha t red showed ln tbe l r vo lce , thc l r
d la lec t , spoken w l th a nasa l muco ld chron lc w ln te r co l i l accent : each hav lng
a harsh sound lng or sc ra tchy ldeo lec t , a ca tar rha l w l th the l r manner o f spea( -
lng , tcud . Th is vocs l bu t sub t le use or s -ooken abuse o f o ther i reop le , apar t
f rom thesc nas te r fu r tu to rs o f ac lve rs l t5 ' , charac te r l zed the subr lmo aeanness
or the u l t imate tes t o f the facu l ty gang, t s psycho log lca l tu te la r ware fare
upon thmc wb,om they detested. or vr lshed to usurp as dumb and thusly unwcrthyt
The more e legant 6ang menbcrg f rom the Humanl t tes Depar tnent d td no t know
how to be hunano, a r though nos t pubr lca l ry ca l red thense lves humanl ta r lans
(rnuch l ike paul ln ' ,Vl l1a Catherf s short story "Peulr s Caset) - - the wholc pqry ' -
e r p lay dcne ln fun or Jes t , I l ke a chess
t ice ivhen the Ad'r lcnna Ulelv ln af fa l r camc
gaae Beaneauver Just to keep ln prtr ,*
a long to use and to abuse. The
9/39/?9/)9/)e rAYLoR"
facuJ.ty gaagcd arouncl Adrlcnna to boar hcr atoryr or sldc of thc story tbEt
would bcst bcf l t thclr ldlc nccda et l latcr opportune t lnc, tnd tbus caoh
clcver faot lon al lglr ' i l aooordlag to cncalcg i to takci hcr Inrt (or eFrt l ,
nfor a frlend of ay frlcnd ls nlnc, toorr would chant or Lancnt thc ncrry
busybody or tattlor, rn aflolonado of lnaulta, rho took Adrlcnntf s arn wb,llc
gtrolllng tbrougb thc loungc now fulI of Jercaladr. ldrlcnna Uclv1n cvcn ,"1-
dcnly or nlraoulougly fouad cnployacnt on ortrpus rrhcrc ao Jobs hld c-Lete6' tgf
yoarE, to galn rork for tbc klngpln of thc rhrcutl but pcrronablc orlfty Sang
lea6cr whogc cxcrgcnolcs cffcotcd tbc oausc cclcbrcl t lc crposurc of cvcnts
ncvcr rcellzcd ar bclng lnportant to Adrlcnna as shc gcrvcd or rorkc9 .t !co:-
rctar lal eldc to both thc l lbrary and thc soo laI studlca dcpartncnta, a ooo-
trol lcd but gtol ld Job arot for al l thc t i t t rc-tatt lc tbat Just nlgbt f l l tcr
clorn fron thc por-crfutly rll-cnoonlngslng Eclcn Eutohlnsr offloc, toDC ersoa{
fect, nalad,rlotly rolcagcd[, tbat luoh latcr ln tlnc oould bc uscdl clcvcrly
agelnat thc ednlnlstrator -- hcr orn words, lnlnrr lvcly glvcn, uscd agalnst
herself aoncdry to dcvour thc rcputat lon -- sodc fat ohenocE Adlr lcnnar g
wclghty problcn of oonsldcreblc locellzcd proportlons rddcd to her hungcr fof
roocptrnoc that pcrntttcd thc ploklng-of-ber-brrln tlrrrlng a lcleurc goohl-
lzlng cup of boffcc euong oupposcd good frlcndr, r11 supposcdly bcfrlcndcd
for publ lc dlcp1.yr oo lcsg, cspcolr l ly euch edrolt profcsslonol lnterrogr-
tlon oasually done to gct thc rortcd, frotr ebout thc g3aduatlon rbcnilczvout
oonoerned wlth top dog Hc1cn Brown ffutohlnet bahlnd tbc tocacs clcolslong.
Ancl olc Hclcn Eutohlne hrd for sorc professoratc rcason rcfuccd to Erant Pcr-'-
nleslon for Adt,rlcnna not to werk rorocs thc publlo ornpus atagcr to thls ln-
ncnsc but hcevy problcn ucnt rll thc way up thc ohaln of oomnaadl to oollcgc
pragldlcnt Dr. Dykcsr offloc nho kncw nothlng eborrt tha equabblc rnd thuc hro
grantcd pcrnlsslon ln wrltlng no lcss to plck-up the ahccp gkln as Adlrlcnnr
cal led her estoolate dlcgrcc -- Ecrcn Hutohlns Iatcr cnoountcrccl and laoturcd
Ad.r lcnna ln her pluah off loc, to squcr.r roudry whlre plnoblng Adtr lcnners fat
ohcckcr 8o ednonlshcd, "Oh, you lwtct dcvl l ' you!tr -- [o fat l lP or f laok
o/ tro/ tro/ t o / t*o rAYroR
takcn fron anyonc. The chal lenge dl i l not go rranet i the unnl t lgated gal l or
cxposed lnept ncrvc of Adr lcnna to buck thc Hclcna aystealat lc chaln of oon-
rnnd or cchelon of powcr 'gtruct tnc ht t l lafur latcd Hc1cn Eutohlns, for thc
rcel col legc powct l ry wl th th ls englnccr lng lndy as shc oont lnucd to qucl l
thlg graiuatcd cxpolrurc wltb r loud oluaklng of har tonguc-ln-ohcck gouncls -
gouads tbat also wcnt qrck-qwak fuII of cahocs fron thl hot dry elr ln tbc
throet not yct nedc notst by the rpl t t le of Hclcnr s oontent lous l lpel An0
Adrlcnne dlA lndecp pty thc prlcc or pcnalty for hcr ladlgorctlon whcn a Bc@
or dlatum canc froo olc l[12 He1cn Hutahlnsr offloa that ncrc staff oould not
go to the faoul ty loqngc to t l r lnk ooffccr t ro longer to soeleLLzc publ lcal l 'y t
to cb,ew-the-fat or bcat tbe guns, r l l pr lv l lcges dcnledl lndcf ln l tc ly bccrusc
of the cLash of wll ls tbat now bcoauc tbc ungpokan frlvollty bctwccn tbe tro
hefty fe l lnes, thcsc l l t t lc- I l l t lcr pertonal l t lcr . Eowcvcr, thc faoul ty 8os'
s lps to ld ani l rctold tha sanc old t lddlc teddlc, to crpleln to crob othcr
wlth glec, a l l thc onoc Erbl la batt ler that nor qulct ly cnsucd to t lc f rnc
both Fc1cn and Adtrlcnnaf g character -- tbc faoulty gEag of 9o*ac
quletly
rupported the bl l l of r lgbtaf f rccdonr to opceoh cverywhcrc, ln onc qulct
breath, thcse t l tu lar fo lkg hlsscal tbclr rupcr lor r l rs or ooneerng loross
thc hal lowcdl ht l lwaya, t l t - for- tat rg tn carfut for a l l ths olap-trap, al l
thc col lcgletc lntr lque donc und,cr tbc nrsoaradc of a earnlvr l at t l tudc f ron
tJrc tltan faoulty gang to cnJoy obrcrvtng thclr clrndlcstlnc hrndllwork' all
the ef for ts now 80 loudly verbal lzQ(I .
Thc oral faoulty oonvivlal ctnospherc provldctl I wclooncd lnprovcncnt
to the old dlenEl 1oungc wlth l tg funcrcal mood so cvl i tcnt of latc. L l t t lc
clee gccmed to lntercst the gosalp nongers bcyond thc Lrrgubrloua or gloony
throet of thc dylng col legc, Just to kacp Gvery teacher upsct wl th nount lng
runorr , "tffto
clusc blgh br.ood prcssurG readlng to ohronlo oardleo errcstn
But the Adlrlcnna Mclvln affelr rcvltellzcd tbc gonbcr l0ungc runol roor' to
r f tg tb6 tonguec or to br lng Joyoua t l t t le- tadt t lc baok, el lvc lad wcI l ; thc
notor lous Ai l r lenna uclv ln grai luat ion conncncanent proccgslonal csoa;ndc adacd
.L/ 4L/ t+L/4r ravron
a ncw btgh- lntcrcst lcvcl as t lnc Insscdl or progrcsscd dcLlberatc ly. And
the next Adlr lcnna cacalndc cvcn troro enuscd tb faoul ty spcotatorsr scl f -
ptoclalmecl soclel crpcrtsr Eo af fa l r bassd on a dlct rather than thc typloal
scrual pol l t lcs that uoual ly prcval lcd. ln al , l thc caopus natters. Ad.r lcnna
dcoldcd to lose oycr an b,undrcd poundc, but aotually only l,ost clgbty-flvc
bcforc shc bcoane so l r r l tablc ani l snappy to bl tc cvcryoncf s hcad-of f , and
thus began her crash dlct - -a l l thc od1blc plans wcnt wcl l , to avold catablc
snacka and al l Junk foods from thc Looal catery or grcasy spoon rcstaurant
on eampus that svcn the ol ty heal th dcpartncnt hat l c los cd as thc f l l th lcr t
plaoc ln Houston torm. Thc dlctary lnocntlvc howcvcr to shcd the crocsrs
poundagc had dlcrlvcd fron a decp clcslrc to havc an, affalr wlth hcr ohuroh
organlst frlcnd wlrca bubby l ' fclvln rpat on sumcr arny blvouax tralnlng, a
Iustful salaolous sohcnc for thls bungry sciluotlon by a fat lady -- a rathcr
oanpy ldca to plan so far ahead for s lx nonths, th ls fornloat lon or ad,ul t ry,
on the protestant ohurch prenlscsr t ro lcss. And thc heavy pounds Just , ""rd
to nelt ot to pour froa hcr stooky franci untl l one day carlyrA(lrlenna began
to nrnoh anil to cat nuoh largcr portlone or at least norc oftcn onoc agaln:
har yen to t l lc t had changcd, suddcnly whcn poor dcJeotcd Adr lenna dlsoovercdl
that thc young scxy fellow she wantcd to havc or to know ln tbc trucst
Blbl lcal sonsc of tb ls adul torous af fa i r no longer held any lntcrcst for
her, cvcn as a ner6 pctson when thc wclght pcr lahcd. And thc shapcly f lgurc
had cnerged wlth aLL lts fenlnlquc, a lors nov nournccl ln hungry angulsh --
Adrlcnnaf g oulturcd. nlnd hcld l ltt lo lntcrcst or psrsuaslon for tbc youag
Ai lonls as ln the past i too oany ouryy d. lstraot loas, parhaps now cxlstcd (anA
as wcl l th ls rcagonlng had lnf lucnocd thc ortglnal problcn to fccd thc faoc
and thcn to nourigh thc nlnd rathcr than to scduoc cvcrybody to galn attcntl0/[
l14/11kc cvcY6-nc elgcl. Chcrub faocd Adrlenna, alnost rcraph l,ooklngr dlcl not
z/ t*?/ t+2/ bz rAYI",oR
appoar thc per t o f the typ lca l t ro l lop work lng v r l fe nor had l ' { s . ACr ienna\ k '
looked l tke thc canpus swcetheart strunpl t whl le cnrol led as a young unlv-
ors l ty s tudent , cvon though she now qua l l f led as a cour tesan or ' :8B ' lpug
har lo t , no t un l l ke her co l loagues who had mado th ts campus ln to one b lg
borde l l -o o r whors house. But Adr lenna had a mar r lago o f ten yeats v ln taga:
her husband. and the young organ p layer had a c loso persona l f r lendsh lp r too- t
cvon though runor hs ld t r ra t Ms. (uh , rn lseryn) Adr lennat s in tend:d cuckho ld
was gay as a goosc. Tho look of lnslght lnbucd a suddon revelat lon on ole
Adr tennar s ange l io facc tha t c loude i t beyond one o f cons torna t lon and/or
qu io t despera t lon o f res igned f rus t ra t lon v rhon rea l l z lng sho 'had beon c lever ly
ou l t i va ted . o r usedrs lnp ly abuscd. , to ga in acccss to her own husb ' lnd (nuuuy
perhaps oven lndulgoi l a la lson wlth th lg hlgbly o.raI but vost lg l r l s l tuat lon),
Tho v rho lo s tagcd c l rcumgtance prov lded food fo r thought to a I I t i re facu l ty
goss ips .
The *osslps 1n thc ) .oungc had an ctplanat lon for everythlng ani l of
coursc nade-up whatever fac ts ncc i lod to sc rve thc l r zurposc to cxp l loa te
the nys tc ry a t hand, a l l done as loca l co lo r w l th f la l r o r panash. 0bv l -ous
f la l r and loea l oo lo r , fu } l o f charac tc r , ea roe to the genora l a tnospherc
of thc faeul ty 1oun69e vb.en the phl losophy teaehor Art &lason wore kLl ts and'
p layed bag p lpes to en ter ta ln thc cducatorg by s lng lng on the premlses
dur ing co f fee broaks . A f fab lo Ar t I \ {agon ac tua lLy d ld lndeod ha l I f rom
scot land and thus p layed h ls bag p tpes fo r the sco t t l sh l i l ghrandors gJoup
ln F ious ton , fo r thc soo tg as d lsp lacod , persons ga thered to keop ? I l vc the
.l/ trl/ t l/ trl TAYToR
t rad l t lons o f tho o Id . count r5 evcn to rcc ru l t Aner lcan lzec l descendants
f rom the Sco t t l sh c lans ln the co lonLesr Bs the e r l sp d la lec ts rc fe r red
t ,o ccn t inon ta l Un l ted S ta tes . A r t however p re fe r red to s lng and to per -
fo rm before an aud lenco a t pub l l c func t lons whero teLev ls lon news covoraBe
cou ld ca tch h ls bes t p ro f l le shot , to lndu lge g lamor and g lo ry ln t lnse l
c l ty . Teach lng Jus t d ld no t p rov lde the exe l t lng L l fc , Bven thcugh he had.
the r lght k lnd of an educat lon of fercd ln the wsstern wor ld wl th hls bac-
ca laura te degreo or d . lp loma, as thc f tne pr ln t read on the lanbr s sk ln , bo th
d.egrces: one, f rom 0xford and an l lA f rorn the Sorbonne ln Par ls, France ( f re
se ldon s tayed louger than two years a t any one schoo l o r so tho record .s
lnd lca tod . Ar t t r r lason pre fer red to s ln6 ln 2b11c morc than any th lng e lso
1n l t fe ; he v ras ao I r leh Tenor s lngcr bu t had a th lck speak ing Seots accent
ln normal specch, B t r 'aoccnt tha t rag a lnos t lmposs lb l "c to comprehond: he
pronouncod, nBu lb fo r Bob and Tho ln fo r Ton.n Prunc la t lon d ld no t c la r l f , y
Ar t ldasont s appea l , bu t s lng lng conmrrn lca ted a l l h ls csscncc to o thers .
And Ar t sang the song ' rDanny Boyt so wc l l tha t the dcmand grcw a l l over
thc c l ty , evcn on TT 'shows t l l t the fanod D la l lng For DoI Ia rs norn lng show
that o r lg lna ted na t lona l l y ln Houston rcques ted h ls ren i l l t lon (connect lons
wlth the Bon Shaw agency then hand. lcd. the nat lonal lxodel lng gave Art Mason
the publ lc opportunl ty to s ln6 h1s heart ot t t . Ben ghaw had been the cowboy
on Ed Su l l l van tg o ld I 'V 'shows; Ben Shavr had hend. led the ar ranEgnents ln
Houston when Grace Ke l ley o f [ ' , l onoco v ls l tod the space c l ty . And o f coursc
Bon Shavr now prov tdcd node lg and. ta len t fo r the na t lona l l y te lov lsed ' show
t+/ tlr/ trl+/ t+l+/ tJ+ IAYLoR
nDlal lng for Dol larsn program that or lg lnated ln Houston town each norning.
Ben $harv hlrnsel f however hai l Just d lcd gucldenly of a v l russ pncuDonla, or
so the l lous ton coroner r s rcpor t s ta ted w l th thc ln ln l tab le Josef Hc lmcshck
s lgnaturc . But the med lea l g rapc v lnc o f Ber tner a t l lo lcombrc Bou lcvard
hawkccl wl th l ts laborous stor les and graphlc detal ls that d,cacl o lc Bcn Shaw
hadbcendc11bcra te1yann1h11atcd ,k1 l . I cdbyan1crob1o1 .og1s t 'exper t1n
gern war la rc , po lsoned as l t wcrs , by a t l t t l c known organ l lm tba t b ldcr
or nagcaradcg l t se l f ag pneumonla - - a l l done dur lng thc w ln t ry scason o f
malcontcnt by an angry gpousc and/or lover to one of thc chlc nodeLsr 8tr
cnemy a l l ou t o f sor ts , who fe l t tha t the agency gavc a raw dea l ooncern lng
fees and promlsed pub l lc appcaranccs , a das tard ly c lecd oncc too o f ten donc
to some noy lce nodc l , avenged now ln an ln lmlca l sub tc r fuge. On ly the d ls -
creet nsmart-sct t would coo to cach other al . l theac dccp dar l acorctat lvc
Iove bouts wh l lc soc le l l z lng ln a ncarby R lvcr Oaks mang lon , wh l le a lso
hear lng a bar rdy gco t t l sh d l t t y tha t para l l c lcd the anc lcn t ba l lad subJcot
natter rlth tbr prcrcnt Bcn thaw balledry es errn8 by rongstcr Art lfason
about a logs not so s lovcnly cxcoutcd. Bl l lad,ccr Art } lason sang hls wal
lnto Houston soolctal s l tuat lons and thus onvrard lnto t loustont s hlgh roolcty
ag 1 t wcrc .
Houston hlgh soclety ontertalnment at part lcs dcnandcd thc publ lo dls-
play of l ts ncwest darLlng or play th lng, t roubad.our Art l {asonr who olalnci l
k lnshlp or l lneagc to thc rc lgnlng royal fanl ly of England, a wayruard' f lndrof
conncc t lon desccnded to euecn E l lzsbc th I I , cous lns th r lce removcd by t lnc
and p lace - - a l l so oarc f ' ldd)vooa l lzcc t whcn Pr lncess t la rgare t v ls l t cd thc
$/ t+j/ Lj/ t*S/ trS TAyroR
space c l ty o r o11 c l ty encrgy cap i to ' I o f the wor ld to ra lsc funds to remodc l
the old grande opera housc ln London town, a glmrnlck to capl ta l lze on her
faml Iy connect lons ( roya I fund ra ls tng reoogn lzcd thc ln te rna t lona l wca l th
and va lue o f depress lon-proo f l lous ton) . And Ar t } fason aga ln sang to the
looa l gent ry when l r incc Char lcs , the oharmlng Pr lnoc o f t laLcs , v ls l t cdI $PACE CIIY / .\_flPACE CT.T|f I
L l t t l e o lc Hous ton h lgh soo lc ty . Consequent ly , thc rega l dava l la r Ar t
I t [ason beeame the slnglng swaln al l over tovun, known ln al l the r lght pJ,accs,
espae la l l y en te r ta ln lng a t pa r t les g lvcn by Jo Anno K ing Her r lng , a fo rmcr
I t f lss Aner lca who hostcd Europcan royal ty ln her I louston pLacc whl le also
belng hospl table to Klng I{ussaln and the Shah of f ran wl th ln thc sruzsralnty
on her Houston es ta te . The songb l rd Ar t Mason a lso c rooned h ig Lyr lcs to
the maglc c l rc lc sct d.omlnatcd by Lynn Sakowltz " ' {yat t
who had becn awarded
i l the most eLegant wonan ln the wor ldn -- not go honorcd. Just oncc but threc
y€ars ln a row (Lynn hos ts par t l cs a I I over t tn wor l i l as wc l l as ln her
Houston pa laa lous mans lon wherc Trunan Capotc f rcquents ) . S ings ter Ar t Maso l \ - )
fo r a scason re lgncd as the mus lca l dc l lgh t o r dar l lng o f thc smar t Je t sc t .
But Ar t l r r lason over ex tended h ls energ les and h ls ncager persona l f lnanoes;
hc l lved opulent ly, extrenely hleh and mlghty, whl lc spcndlng hls nonoy nuch
faster than he could carn tbe hugc suns noccssary for h ls hlgb falut lnt wayl /
one weck, Art Ulason borrowed threc hundred i lo l lars cash fron ?appy tawretrcct
a speech and -Engl lsh teacher at South Texqs Junlog CoIIcgc -- borrowecl the
suttr ln cash unslgncd as Art h lmscl f ha pay day whloh camc every
two wecks. But four nronths later, Art hai l not re-pald ths anount and had
thus begun to avold ole man Pappy ln the long hal lways and evcn slngular ly
5/ b6/ 46/ t+6/ t+6 laYLoR
ln thc gosslpy facul ty l ,ounge. The cycs ancl ears of the wal ls, somc Jlm
Dandy tad t l l c - ta les , ln the teaohcrs f Lounge Jus t scencd to know about th ls
f lnanc la l s l tua t lon the lond lng o f f l l thy luc re , and on ly the th rea t o f
Icga l l y garn lsh lng thc paychcck enab lcd the nuch o ldcr man to ge t h ls money
back ( tne co l le r :e p rcs ldent h lnsc l f had oonf ron tcd Ar t l \dason w l thout lnvoL-
v lng Pappy pcrsona l ly ) . Ar t thcn gLad ly repa ld the loan an i l lmned la tc ly
actcd as though nothing had over happcnccl betwecn Pappy and hlnscl f - - e
conven len t s l tua t lona l c th lcs w l th f la rc o r pqnash chantcd fo r th thc
purscd l lps of t } rc wagglng tongucs that knew preclsely how to brow bcat sonc'-
onc !n part leular wl th thc sanc old t ldt l lc- tat ld lc but prcscntcd^ ln a subt lc
new fang lc i l nanncr l Ar t had a g lanour o r Jes t to h ls persona l l t y tha t c r -
I lvened thc roonr Boy toon, and prt lcular lLy the faeul ty Ioungc whcre so
nuch chlt chat bentcrcd tbout thr rrl le rlth all thc shootlng-of-thc-brcczc
by all thc blow-hards on cenpus -- ccrtrln goselpy tcaohcrs cggcd Art to do
ancl to say thlnga that roulil rcycrl lorc than nlght ordlnarllt bc ralal about
er t renc ly persona l e l tua t lons , to nakc a I l the cars burn : qucs t lons about
h ls love l l fe ncvcr go t de f ln l te snswcrs , bu t qucs t lons about h ls d r lnk lng
Scotch and n lss lng c lasscs d ld ra lac a fcw h lgh brows l f ron low to h lgh .
Ar t madc no bones about h ls l t k lng the na t lona l l y ce lcbra tcd dr ink lnpor tcd
f rom h ls o ld count ry . The sco toh bo t t l c p rov l i l cc l a ooncre tc examplc o r rc -
mlnder o f Ar t l fasont s rea l seL f - - the bo t t l c remalncd, a oons tan t ooBpan lon
rr t rcrc ever Art t ravcl led, a lways onc or two ln the glovc oonpartment of thc
automobl lc , a sw lg o t a d rop or two the t gave so laec l l ka thc ba lLadrc r a t r
envo l o r o1d re f ra tn fu l l o f Ar t f g own nus ica l co , 'npos l t lon , to escapa the
Z / trZ / trl / trZ / t l rAY:Ion
clrcrry class roon dlulhrds wb,osc lnptt lcnoc cvcn to try to rced on a thlrcl
grade lcvcl dlsgustcd pcdant Art Ueson. Btrt Art had no pettcnoc of his own
to tcrch or to ettcnpt to tcrcb tho Aacrloan blokcs or bonchcad.s; the rc-
scarch prper dctal ls oould not lntercgt t l r duI l , wlt tcd col lcgc studcnts as
belng rcvclant cnougb for thcn to ctey ewakc rlurlag thc crplenatlonr o- sono
lgnorant know-lt-alls Jugt got-uB rnil walkcdl out of thc clrss bcoeusc of
thc borlng asslgnrcnt that clarcd to rcqulre thc wc of thc evcn Borc dul l
Ilbrary, vuhcrc nothing ooulcl beppcn but tb rc-hash of ilced knowlcdgc or so
theec Lazy collcgc studcntg dcllghtccl crolelnlng ln ctgcr but loud publlo
protest to all olasl rcqulrcncnts not of thelr oellor youthful dlcnandlng
cxpcrlenec (a borcd nlnd lcproscntr rn cnpty dul l lntcl lcot tbat IrEscg
ItscLf rs I nor! of crocl lrnoc). lvca ncwooncr Art l iheon orl t lolzcd thc
lnfl,r:r of pcoplc to flnd Jobs tn boon town Eqrston: thc dynenrlo coonony
brought tbc rorst cduoatcd part of thc poprlaoc fron ll l othcr reglone of
thc Unltcd Statcr; tbosc vrho oould not cuoccod clscwhcrc hed brought thclr
Dctgc! or 1lnltcd gkllls end cvcn rctkcr mntal b,orlzons -- CrLlfornle bclng
thc 1cast or poorcrt cdtuceted, tho beokrnrd nltl-wcstcr&cr, lndl thc stupld
frozcn nlndcd north lendcrg, eII plrocl rnccrcdt by thc bluc aoscd Art. T'hc
braggedoolo rrty ldecoa tootcd thc Houston gtetlstloe: thc tcn hlgbest rrnkcdl
hlgh gchools ln thc nlrolc untted gtatcc cr lst ln thc Eoustoa cnvlroasl eco-
ond to nonc errcwherc; thua, the lncpt lorrconcrs chcrcal tbclr sprarllng 18-
norsnco llke e raglng f,lrc ln e fcrtllc forcst of aoadcnlo InBcrwork' And
.Art lfi loh oonscquently lbhorcd tb fcdcrellzcd aystcn of I quote cduoatlon
tbet hr s bccn rulncd by pcrnlttlng tb alow nlndcd or dull thlnklng BcoBlc
s / t+8/ t+8 / b8 / t+8 TAYTOR
to oontlnuc ettcndlng olesgcg for luoh e long tlnc bcyond the slrth gradc
bcoausc thc lgnorant now donlnetc thc Aacrloan allsg room socnc antl thus
puII dovrn t l1 lntcl lcotuel purrultr to thclr lor lcvcl or wclk nlnclcd csteto,
And the Unltcd gtetcrf wholc olvlllzrtlon has bcgun to reap tbc lrok of
sclontlflo tdvrnocacat wltb thc cnctgy orlsla ebowlng tlet tbc young rlnd's
oaa not vlgullzc cycr I Dtrns to oorrcot tbc problcn, rny problcn, for thc
world, hea elwryc crlctcd tn thc Drrrcnt rtetc utt wlll cvel thur aontlnuc
cxeotly !n l ta prescnt oondlt toa -- Jurt too lgnorent cvcn to qual l fy es
bolng dunb, suob llk, t.l": Art lfiront Urny gtrscntl eak nrzzlng qucstloas
oonoernlng tclcvlslon rn. t
dcplct Jcrur Chrlrt rldlng on I donkcy or rs!: thrr uarcrcl puDllg r83uao tbrt
ilre gon of God rbould rldc ln e nor lollr Royoc (end thc oollcgo tceohcrr
gct tbs horac-l1rgb for crplrlnlng tbc truc pcrrpcotlvo d hlgtorlorl in-
vcntlonr thet tbcsc raell nladg rcfugc to ednlt or to lcrn3 todry rcprcsonttr
ell thcsc nlndl ctn rto rhllc ycatcrd.ey bes no valuc or rcvchnoy, lndl of
ooursc tonorlow ctn ntvcr bc dlffcront fron Nowl)' Scgc brrsh ualcarncd
studcats htvc bccn ellorcd to netrloulrtc rr oclcbrrtcd graduatcr lnto thc
Rrbllc unlvcralty quota aystcn tbrt glvre eddltlonel fundlng to rohools
hevlng no gradc 1owcr tban r C; thtr , e blrakct B rvcrlgc eegcrly rcsulta
to grln tbc oovctcd oonGt: the foggy nlloonocptlon Pcrpctuetcd ln thc ln-
fletcd etualcatgr nlndl tbet thclr knowbctgc rcDrcrcntl rcrl lcrrnlng, e 8ub-
rtanderd cxccllenoc that beooncs tht tl l-Ancrlcrn norn, partlouhrlly vrhcn
bcratlng oollcgc tceohcrl Just llkc tbc b18h gcbool teotlog that workcdl to
ncll to cnbenor gtudlot rupcrlorlty ovor rdultg rho d'lrc try to oorrcot thc
l/ t g/ trg / t*g / trg rAYtoR
111 cduoated nunbgkul lr oorvort lng tbclr outcay f l lppent dlsrcprrd for for-
nel ccluoatlon; tb.ccc l lndlcsg mntr l r lobo low l t tcnd ool lcgcs by tbc ln-
fcctuoug dtoYcl.
And thus fcr lntel lcctrnl nlndc rcgult rryhen gelnlng e ool lcgc dcgrca
in the Ancrlcen cduort lonrl gystcd; Ancrlorn rerdcuh doeg not produco
thlnkero, only tcobnlolans; luropo provld,oa el l tbc rcl l lntcl lcotg todey
botb for thc l l terrry rnd thc tcobnlcr l lnvcntlons eg cvldlcaoci by thc nls-
sllc end sproo probr lnvcatlonr oonlng lnto the NASA progfrn fron Gernan
cnd Brl t lsh cd,ucatcdl lnvcatorl rboro dlsolpl lnc cr lats rt oonmon oourtcry
but pernlsslvc cdlucrt lonc rclgqr ruprctro ln thc Unltcd Statcc. Ancrlolr s
hr cdueetlont l cystra rnd aoo1rl perglng pol loy on thc hlgb gohool lcvc1
rcekcng forcvcr thc quel l ty of l l fc ln thc onoc lupcrtor or cl l tc Uattcd
Statcs, ecoordl lng to thc Art Uegon enoorly ln hlr lsol l t lon l t South Tcrrs
trunlor CoLlcgo from thc lntclllgcntth of olcl London or gootlradl -- thc oor-
plctc durl l ty. of Artr s ocrcbrel proocrr thowcd ln thc rnonlc of hlc tonggt
ruoh r! I Sootrnrn glnglng thc frlrb dltty "Ilanny Boy" (tnc lrrrdlor of nl-
tlonrl oonfllotr nlnglcd wlth tbc donogrrBhlor thet e lnooty lntclllgcnoo
oould not oycr-look wlth rl1 ltr rurbllngr). Otbcr grr,rnbllngr on thc ool-
lcgc ftoulty tlro. oftcn roundlcdl frol tb tcnrrrcdl rrnkr. Andl ournudgoon Jon
Utl ler ohlnncd-ln wlth ble typlorl prtrontzlng nuncr (or hok of nucrrt l
to eonncnt that thc dcrf rnd dunb or ronter rcterdat!! -- i ldl0t stvants,
el l i -- do not dcsorvc t lnc by ool lcgr teaohcrg sinoc tcaohlng eldla oouldl
pcrforn thet ohorc, hncntcd tbc pottrat Ulllcr (trurnrnterllns fclt to solry
for ron Mlllcrrc ttatc Of nlnd untll thc renk end tcnurc pronotlont grvf
o/ jo/ So/ So/ so raY-roR
hln tho fourth htghcgt srlrry rcwarclc for thesc orucl ettitudcs whllc thc
dlcdlcatcd, barct-worklng tceohcrg gct pcnrllzcd wlth cvGn lorcr noncy on tbc
inoruncnt Fy corlr -- Ancrlorn knor-hor now ncglcotg truc lndivldurl ao-
oonpllrbncntr end huds thc lezy who rppcer bury rlnoc ohss loon tcrchlng
hrc bccrmc a frablonrblc punlrbncnt for thc pcdent: tba unilcr-lnld ancl thc
ovcr-'6o1kcd ipconst do tlnc ln thc rtdcnt ercne rhcrc thcgc rorkctl rcrp
thc bcncflts crllcd "ugly Ancrloenil. Thc stetc funcls rcunrdl thc rorst of
tbc lot, both for thc harlh faoulty ncnbcrs rnd thc hzlcst studcntr gct-
tlag hlgh grrdos for ncro et,tcndenoo or cerncd frvors besod on cuput scrull
pol l t loa! Art lv leron contlnuedl to dcncen Amcrloans and thclr leok of hls
brend of Ccltlc oulturc3 thc futurc gcncrttlong of young Ancrlorns wlll thut
cxpcct e glft or frec rlde frorn tho govcrancnt and weld ln gcncrrl Just
bcoaugc of thc glvc-eway pcrnlgslvc eooltl-lnarlng cduoetlonrl phllorophy
today thtt shoulil confcr r dlgolelncr dcgrcc ls r rcsult of thls crsetz cd,-
uoatlon -- tbc Soott lcb rant lng cobocd-off thc four wal ls of thc faoulty
loungc es tb prceohy 1coturc oontlnucd llkc thc strc olc rcoor{ or rcfrrln:
rcoond vcrsG, sl[c oheptcr of Ancrlolns vcrrut luropcua. Europo cduoetcr
la rlx yctrs bettcr tbra docs fourtccn y.lrt of thc Unltcd gtetort cttuoatloacr/
systcn. And thcn eftcr r1r ycrrs of luropcrn gnnorr sobool, tho oboloc FCt*
sonally for e tcchnlerl robool oonfrontr thc oonttncntlel forclgn youth to
pursuc r luorrtlvc voortlon: tbc rcel, rorldl lnvolvcg tbc llfc of tJrc lvcrr8'
Eqropcanr g cduoatlonrl prclnrltlon rnd notlvation rt r youngct rgc thrn dool
thc youth of ancrlce thlnk ldcelly rbout e quellty cduoatlon' Art lfieon
crpound.cd t! rn clltctt, r nln of qurllty llkc thc clvallcr found'lag tldc-
mtcr r lgncrs of thc Ancrloen oonstl tut lon, wbo beok thcn hrd no tolcrrnoc
Ll 5L/ 5L/ 5L/ 5L TAYTOR
tl<-a 2- -4J
for the tlmeless tlnc-rnsterg end thc stupldl students rhopoag ago fled
to the f ront ler but now ln modern cl ro ls or garb becona professlonel l l fe-
gtudentg ln the unlvereal cduoat lonal syrtcn of the Unl ted Stateg. Ancl
thus Art l r , tason could not hldc hls obvloua lmpat lenoc or oontempt wl th the
dul l or s low wlt ted pupl le; Art d ld not repeat erplQnat lons for those re-
s lc lua l mente l reJeets who d ld no t l l s tsn eare fu lLy (Dr . Dav ld Fagen a lso
he ld the sane pred l leo t lon tovard the s tup lc l ) . Bu t the qua l l t y teaoher
reoe iveg no rewardg fo r a t tenpts to oor rco t an lgnorant s ta te o f n lnd :
the teaohergt tedlum of ai ln ln lstrat lve*-et t l tudes that requlrenents nust
conforn 1n t r lp l l ca te oarbon cop les on ly keeps the ded lca ted taaoher too
busy to purBus creat lve cndeavors, only t t re boredom of repet l t lon p€rpst-
rrateg thq funct lonal l l l l terate syndrone thet donlnates al l levelg of the
educat lonal exper lence (oornrnl t tec work thus glves gtatus and power to t lF
stynled lntel leot , bet ter known ag the ednlnlstrat lve at t l tude or pow€r
e l t te ) . Thus , the f rus t ra t lon rccu l tg ln ha t rcd toward eech o ther as
adversaty teaohers oonpet lng for the sam€ l ln l ted rank and tenure glot
on the la i l i ler of suoocst; " ld
lnsul ts beootrc a way of l l fe ln th ls lntel-
Iec tua l g l re t to , fuL l o f baok-b t t lng and e t rTy , un less be lng a par t o f en
ind lv ldua l e laque or o l , l ck on son6 pe t oonml t tcc the an lnos l ty ree l l y
beoomlng sn lde saroagm for everyone no t ln the l r par t lou la r g roup le ( tne
h16her the posl t lon or ranked tenurc, the mor€ oaust lo the retrarks beoause
powor cor rup t l r and abso lu te powcr cor rup te abro lu tc ly , to quote to r { Aoton) .
And nunerous sub-groups banileil together for the sake of thelr own nlloontentr
lc leorogy groupcd somo dlssldentg wht le nasaL twang cl l ls ter k*-%owor )
2/ jz/ 52 / lz/ Sz rhYLoR
crazcd. cducators who hsd no clout,
that honked the l r d lsoontent ln the
wltho
faoul ty lounge. But the yankec teachersr.8 Iorrr l -publ lcaI Iv proolelnecl poet lc )
r lFnave ln publ lc wl thout censur6: the blsctr f
of denographlcs shoned when berat lng Sctr tbern accentg aad al l polnts South
as belng lgnorant ani l behlnd-the-t l racr; these noi thelnl t tberelg oolned terns
to express the l r aeaden le d lseonten t suoh as l inegravat lon i to teaob 1g-
norant blacks yrho are too nnlgrantn to learn beceuse of speeklng thelr
nnlggereecan l lngo -- only the wlsdon of thesc yankee hlgh browg trangcenclcd
obvlous lnoplety i lown South wl th thelr scelawrg sanct lnonous hypocr lsy so
ful , t of dogmatlo epl lhets beoeuse thelr at t l tudcs advenced the myth thst
on1ySouthern"#*p re9gpreJud1oc towardn 'e8roeg '5uohc lenogreph1cs
be lng a to .o l o f the educated sad ls t lo edn ln ls t ra t l ve a t t l tude tha t a lsoI
4<Vproo la ln f ; "no longer beve to be n loe to teaoherg who r re t l d lme a dozoarn .
Thls fanat lo subt le warfarc of adnlnlstratorc upon the truly hard-worklng
encl honor studded teaohers paraff {tnc novel CArcH 22 heterodory synilronc
of th l p l lot caclrc f rugtrat lon feeter lng lnto hatred for the bureauorat lo
sys ten and then vent lng the ,peraona l fYy ln ebsurd p l lo t n lsc lons tbs t o f tep-
kl I I or i lestroy thelr own oohortc (wl th f r lends l lke these, t ro one needs
any enenlesl thuglyr the oaLcontcntc gpreacl t ] re acai lenlc equlvelent of the
stol l i l proverblal nt l l tary mlnd that drornc l ts orn problcng ln the nurky
6lstrecr of others; the only dl f fcrence betwecn thls brend of b lgotry rc-
soundg ln the ear no t the nasa l twangr a conven len t l l fe - I le so penet ra t lng
and bor lng, that only the happy hour Lush or i l runken oocktal l Pedant woulCl
dare espouse such l tbera l verbagc o f abuge even ln Jes t to mls t rse t ' rev l le
,3 / fi/ i3/ rl / rl TAYLoR
or dlsparage wlth hlgh haaded sl-ander aI l connon folks by wl t ty renarks
that l ronlca), ly pleoes the personal lnveot lve on thenselves l lke a boon-
srsng so typ lca l o f the l lnous lne l lbera l d .ev lceg knonn as the r l coho l lc
or drug crr l tute €go8peeg.
And Ar t Urson a lso drank h ls na t lone l Scotch to ' . fo rge t o r to eseapo
the boredon of bavlng to teaoh only seventh gradle level lnformat lon on the
co l lege sc6no (one wegtern un lvers l ty h l red f t f th g rad .e Eng l leh teeeherg to
lnstruct thelr footbr lL players who eoulc l not wr l te or speek ln ooherent
sentenoes, guch as tbc rhe tor lo Jus t t f i cd ; the e lenentary teacherg had the
pat lence to p resent the bas lo l lngur l sk l l l s tha t r ak l l led pro fessor oou ld
not help but sccth or Jeer at suoh low leveL skuU pr lct loe by the ethlet lo
ooeoheg) . Art l r fason conplalned that ha never got to teeeh the quel l ty of
knowledge hc hai l lcarned on the ool lcgc level . The lerrndd Art d l r rnk l lkc
e f l sh to fo rge t the c ta l l y haranguc or to essuage h ls ln te l Iea t tha t hed
been lnsul ted by the Aner locn youth hls l lver now plekled nust have loof{
l l ke a e leve or a sp leck led t rou t e f loe t o r awash ln l l fe rs d r lv lng fo toeg.
Art drove h1s autonobl le wbl , Ie under thc aloohol lc lnf luenoe: he drove l lke
a f lend or i bat out of hades when e t ruck on the frecwey Insscdl too ploscly
adl-up "otffion"slc ie the burLcy t ruoker, toot lng tbe horn rnd shout lng obscent ler , fu l l of
f lngered gestures --rArt d ld al I thcsc gyrat lons only when lnebr lated fron'
hig dal ly lntrke of a nwo6n Scotch toddy. Tlppl lngly more thrn oncor Art
l i leson el-so perforned hls lnnene gestur lng to a t ra ln that b lew l ts whlst lc
encl goarad hln out of a splr l ted t rance beoausc of the one-upnraghlp hlgh
U/ fU/ Str/ ltr/ St* rAyLoR
s lgn known es the oono lson: n ldd le f lnger , Jus t f l y lng h leh upward ln a
rag€ to glvef en the blrdt - - Art thea chagcd the shr lek of t l re t re ln unt l l
the street played-out or curvei l around a beni l that sui ldenly erogsedl onto
the ra l l road bcd t recks : Ar t rode pe I I ne I l ln to the s lde o f the g lan t
l ron horse as he so of ten cal led thc loconot lves whoq under the lnf luence
of dr lv lng l lke r drunk Tndlen Chlef ( tne t r r ln cragh put Art l {ason ln thc
hospi ta l for nonths, c lur lng whlch t lns the ool lege hired someone elge to
t rke h ls p lace) . The co l lege Job had bored Ar t go much tha t he go t r pos-
l t lon ln a pr lvate peroohlal h leh school where n ser lous epproach to ed-
ucat lon dl t l occurr or so Art g loated w,hcn relat lng to f r lendg fron tSfofe
facul. ty lounge t l t t only prlvate lohools teught enythlng rnynorc. Art dld
l ndeec l teach E\Cathol lo St. t rohng Hlgh Sohool when he brd recupereted
f ron the wreok or eco ldent re fe r re i l to as the grea t t re ln cbaset The e . r8
la the facul ty lounge enJoyed relr t lng el- l the detel ls of the hospl te l go-
Jourr t and the rubsequent recovery cplsodcr as to ld by the nurses ono of
whon arranged for Art to galn enpl,oyncnt et her alnr nrater. Art teught tro
year l at th.e pr lvate sohool 'unt l l the }1*t t
Blshop dlei l . Oor l then Art wec
dlenlseed, lnd e lewcul t developed.r t , ; f ,hc datr th ls t lne"u&ei lvedl f ron the
Houston ?OST and CIIRONTCLE newspapor reports. But the feoul ty loungc et
South Teras erpencted the story whcn eaoh pedant repeatcd. tha event l . Howevef,
Prppy Lawrence only. oonnented. tbet Artrs l rnpat lenee probebl 'y c iueed the dls-/ -ntz/
I lke €ven among fel l thol lcs. Prppy lawrenoc nevel even t l l l b ls dylng
soe la l lz lng ln the lounge erot .
no rore ebout Art l t fason ln the conf lnel of the
dey repeetcd gosa lp when
Prppy Iawrence grldl
, /5 j / j j / j j / j j rAyLoR
facul ty lounge utren dr lnklng the f rcsh bern brew dur lng hls c l .ags brerkg.
Pappy hat l taught for f l f ty- two Jrears, ret l red f rom lr t lsalppl Stete rnd hed
won the lderoer Award when e studcnt et Colr,r"uble Ualverslty ln blg epple
New York Cl ty -- a l l auch to the cbegr ln of the l luouslne l lberels rho knew
more than eyeryone slgc end hrd oycn oolned e word for 'cvery c l tuet lon:
01e lv l lss referred to Peppy behlnd hlc beok, iHcrg Juct rn 01e Mlss thet
elnost mede a tuccess ln l l fe but hes to teach heretn The l rony of thesc
harplesr own oondennet loa.never secncd to reglster ln thelr otd aonEolousnes.F
whl lc bur l lng the v lndlct lve tonel eoouart lons upon otbcrs -- thenselves
bclng lnnune to otber gosslp noagcrs, or so tbey sccnod to tb lnk. But
Peppy heerd the lntrualve prylng fron €roh busybody rho tr led to snoop lnto
h ls good gracsg ln o rder to leern e t ld b l t o f neu8tba t Jus t n lgh t eoc lc len t {
f low fron the old oent g l lpg, words that f lowed l lke honey usuel ly ln grande
regonant Southern c ldence. Peppyf I ldeolect oontainet l only the Lovely coundJt
end crpregsci l gooi l mnners to r I I pcoplc when ln publ lo, oo elr lng of d l r ty
llnen to nstoh the soethlag end sorrtohy tordc thrt the nuoold nesel trerpr
from the loorl olequc fectot'y cnJoycd nlnufroturlng to plok hla epert. Plppf
ms 8 ntn of n ny parts: the dendy dresser who set thc node or prce ts l t
nerc r to an t lque oo l l cc to r la h ls gno lous hoac , the soene o f e legeat per t leE
(and nos t o f e1 l p rppy fu l l " f l l l ed l as . l l v lng exenp le the e rpeo ta t loas tbq t
Add le dernan i led o f e l l the teachers , hcr obosbn beeut l fu r peop le) . PrPpy oo-
Joyed tceohlag and belng erouni l young peopl"e cnJoyed tenohlng the beruty
of the Engl lsh langurgc, tho spokcn worct being hts f or t { 1n the Engl lsh
ancl Speech cleggeg, his reel Joy to enl lghten othcrg' And of courso Pappy
6156/ 56156156 r:.Yr.aR
enJoyec l the oonpen lonsh lp o f feL low teeohere by soc l r l l z lng o f ten ln the
fecu l ty lounge, thus , g lv lng c lue rcspeets to e i tn ln ls t rc to rs and to pass lng
fe1 ] 'ow- te rohers ,8n-Re1d-Gyf .o twhonever thenkedb1n
byworc lofnouthor€Yonbyhendrrr1t , ,ooo, f f i "oenovedtoNewtrersey
when her new spseoh textbook eppaercd on the net lonel book narket her
suoossl t rankLcd, ln the berr t of the gosslpy loungc but oerr led Mrry qul te
fa r away, r t leas t , o r e t les t , oooed the long tongues ln the faou l ty loungc./
ol lque-e: the Local lorurge wags, t rue to forn, Just seenedl to know or 8t Letstz
to re le te tha t the Newaen tex tbook d ld no t con t lnue to se lL we l l because o f
too mrny l l lustrr t lona or ld le drewlnga thet s lnply f l l led the pnge rather
then sp6cl f lc lnfornat lon rs r propsr textbook should. The lounglng Eosglps
Just automrt lcel ly seened to know t l ret th ls Esrry lng ledy was gl 'ad to leevc
Houstoa town. t rdary Newnen had been e m'arr lecl wl fe for e lghteen yesrs to the
sane preeoher mn, the olecqulng tongues woulcl ef feot e nooklag tone ln the
vooe l - reoount lng o f the locaL te lc : the d lvoroe regu l ted so tha t thc mrn o f
the hoty oloth coul i l orgenlze a hal f -way house for loonl d.rug ebuge proglrBfv
Mary thus ly go t cus tod ly o f {he daughter ' to reer , no t to r81so l l ke en cn lml
glurred the runor nongers ts they !p.ko of both lnrtners. And then the ner-
r lages rer l ly began to heppon: Mery lcgr l lzed every ef f r l r or f l lngr every
lnfedl l t ty sanctt f lact by hoLy nr l t thst she hai l lndulged, lcoordl lng to thc
ceust lo eold tongue wrggors ln tbc f roul ty I 'ounge.
The fecul . ty lounger c reguler ooffee dr lnkerg, te l r lppcrs or oooor
swlggers, e l l kaew tbe oaln- l lne cr tspus news or gosslp bcoeuse of I t r€wg-
t/sz/st/n/n rAltLoR
Ict ter appropr letel ,y ent l t led THE CLAW, r nonlker that Just gecned, netural ly
to l lve-up to l ts neue by soratoblag €yery t ld bl t of news fronr evary hlc l t len
eloset to Just l fy l ts om nonencleture ov6ry dry la cv€ry wey ( tnc gosslps
of courso knew al l the worthy news wel l ehead of publ lcet lon detes). And
Dave Roblnson kept tho news of th€ col lege eereful ly.organlzed by thc ouo-
berecl nnd datedl wcckly entr les wl th ln the yel low psges of THE CIAl t . But
Dave h lnse l f cere fuL ly s t ruc tu red thc more subt le soc la l goss lp o r po l l te
p.per warfere lnto hls olvn newsy lct ter that unr l l l lngly l lved-up to l ts
eegls thet bore lHE CIAW wlth unuttered, powpow or pow wow Just l f lcat lon.
HE CI,AV'I hed begun es r hend nineogreptred gbet run-off on left-over or
sersp prper ln thc work toons ; the ln fo rna t lve r r t l c les had re le ted e I l the
t lme ly eonvent lons e t tendoc l by tbe faou l ty (e I I one hr rndred end f l ve) end
of couxse the news l ls ted the ntne of everyonc who represented the col lego
at oonference plus el l the ornpus brbbl lng or heppenlngs ono Fge of the
copy gven oarr ied perconel hM garsg€ rFor Sr lc i l tcrs. Both c l i tes of tbc
pr ln ted l shec ts cont r lnec l t rewsy t ld b l ts r !o wested spaoe or e f fo r ts fo r e I I
the ntne cell lng. The soop6 of tb canpus newr on I surfeoe level Eccned'
whol ly comprehenslve to eI I lnt l lv lc luel nscds beoeusc eeob tercher scnt- ln
bu l le t lns o r seooped nessagea o ther t . l cherg repor ted the runored hearsey
es feo tpa l g led t l t l l ngs tha t happened w l th the porspoot lve deper tnent eg
" f f i " ,wouIr l re1ate.The1nt l1v1durtoI rque1augh1agIyse1dthat Iongrgor o r ten ycars be fors , the gosg lp had go t ten so ln tense or e rduous rbout
r sorcl ld long wlndecl stsr led event tbnt hed becn repeatecl so of ten ln a
s / 58 / 58 / 5S / 58 rArr.oR
heated. gasbag rrgunentat lon or ergplc segslon lnwblob Ihve Roblncon hrd
declered heppened onc rny et r pert lculer t lnc fmne wh1le the eugust
r lndbag lounge gosslps lnslsteal ts I cpouter of detel led t ruthg thet the
pessed evcntg ooourred enother wey et r d l f ferent t lne of the or lcndsr yerr i
thereforc, the weekly newslet ter bcgen l ts or lg lna dut 'of the esh of d ls-
pelr Just to keep the bebble of detcs and order of sequenoos correot ly rc-
oord ,ed ln ohrono log loe l re l r t long to eaoer te la ne ln - I lae o tnpus lno ldents
thrt wouLd ln i leed Jog the Beeory dur lng enother euoh probrblc debcted dls-
ousslon or dlcputed dlelect los of cenpus goaslB es regnrds the nunerous s$LL/
Ju lcy c le te l l s , 8 lo t o f f rc ts o r oonoerns to mrke the l r bus lnegs on6 o f
fo r tu l ty . D lve Rob lnson ehmys nent loned l every l l t t l c oonccrned de te lL ln
1TI4 CI-A' f t newslet ter : mnt lonet l whcn Jrne Curry got t c l lvorce encl chrnged
her dress node or stVIKh lnage (ncver nent loned hoyever that t rene Curryf s
bogs Dr . Grndy Speers den led r renk rnd tenure rs lse to ber beceuge J rne
wcs afraneougly oonsld"ered too eoot lonel when the cl lvorce becene f lnel
hls own enot lonel . sadlsn of course wcnt t rncheoked to ruln other l lvesr l lker-)
I reging fever spreadlng btrs upon the i l lgl lked f aculty membetsnt- Ffirt JenctC-l'Wr-/
hlred an at torney 6xpertend\6u1ng alob ednlnlgtretor l who r l lgn terohers),
Thc unwrl t ten newr lnterestsd thc gosslpa the nogt. But Deve Roblnson r lso
wrote-up the tld blte of the loungc hcersey news, suoh es rvtren Ilcbble Wlll1rl l16
dlvorced Lcc WlLl lener son ( Ietcr to beoone Debble Young) end Debble thcn
got enother Job to csospe tbe wegging tongues -- but got e Job wharc Reoheel
?rvoner g husbrnd workecl ln the ol,d lfunble butl i l lng but now r€nlued l[ON
(Erxon bo lng e conputer lzed worc l s lnoe fu rc t lone l l l l l te ra tes eanr t p ronouao€
9/ 59 / sg/ rg / sg rArLoR
tbc French word ihunblai oorrcot ly ln the putc rons6 of thet etynology).
But Dcbble goon returaed to enploycont ln the oollegc oonputer roon where
har oo-workcrg welooocd the reunlon of enother hrrd worker. Dlvc elso
wrote as gospeL or grvc br lef nent lon thet Hrrhn Doek kept a sonpbook
for hls own reaEons of every pr latcd word rbout Soufb Teres Junlor Col , lege
and the Cher lot ts PheLps eecn;ndc ls pert lculrr . Everyone end everythlng
sver ment lonedl ln tbe feoul ty loungc secned to get a I lne entry la l ts own
rlght ts r fecturc ln I I IE CLAW, r t r rppropthteJ.y enough of r desor lpt lve
nrmc for tbs lounge goaglps. THE CIAW lsr r osnpus newslnBer etrlotly for
the faoul ty ncnbers dld not heve the bl t lng sat l re thet the 9en treolnto
Collese SHRIITPINO II0CIiN0LOGY publloetlon cxhlbltctl: ths Sen Jeck ornpulr rsg
wes an "oooy^o,Mt^eosrephed,
shect fu l l of ld le but t rue gosslp, aot sup-
pos l t lons , the t rever led ln -depth ccore t eventg . Thc s rnc ph l losophy, o f
oours6 , p rova l led ln bo th housc orgrne . h r t Deve Jus t ne ture l l y p l roed l teqg
rbout h lnse l f , guoh es be lng e p rcc lno t cbr l rnen fo r the denoore t lo per ty
la Bel le l re rnd other communlty ef fe l rs of a pubLlc neture ( tne sexlst ohaln-
ncn changed the anytax to ehalrperaon rro but the word PERSON i loes contr ln
SoN es e sexual connotet lon). Devc real ly enJoyecl polnt lng-out ln pr lnt
the nlgtekes end. the Juloy gosslp: b lg brokgforrnd. would not sccn to lndloats
a track record ot propenol ty for brater lng heersay lo dl f fereat hls
rels lng, but pcrbepg thrt leoklng brd proolpl t r ted now the nccd, for Drve
Roblnson to coord. lnr te el l th ls oozy gosslp. Thls l ronlo di f fcrcnoc nndc
Dlver a behavlor soor lnooagruoul; hc hellcd from the blg epple; I l lcw York Clty(
epparent ly brd Left en lmprlnt of l t t host l lc lnr l t f ferencc towercl lnter-
o / 60 / 60/ 6o/ so rAY:LoR
I
personnl re let longhlpa. D,rve hed lef t gotnur|n. . to go west to Seynour, Texes
where hc oet ead rmlcd r b lg lnnd ownert s young i laughter on e West Texeg
reneh the t tbe ts lbble fenlLy ownecl and opcretocl . But Drvc took hls br lde
fron the desert Southwect to the ble el ty of Houston whers hla young South-
lend Eons wer€ now be lng rearcd ln Bs t l r l re . Devc hed 'beoone southern lzed
ln so mtny ways: s drop of Bourbon end e Luoky $tr lke gnoke. And the vocel
r€sponse aow oontslned r sof tnesc retber thnn the nesal barshnesg thet
sounclei l l lke . gat t l lng gun ln eetgc the nugloel 111t or nelocly. now
nagked the once typ lce l conJes ted sn l f f les -sound o f the yenkee ' l - anc t the
Jovlel nature f l t the short t lunpy guy wlth cur ly helr . Only ;" regonant
l -aughter retelned the yenkee eccent. pave reel lzed he tnns no longer e good.
yankeefor .goodyanbf f i - -hehedbeootmebsorbedlor
rsgenb le ted ln e l l th lags Southern 8s w6re h ls own oh l ld ren , f rec o f thc
o td p reJud lced v lc lss l tudes o f : I l fe . Devo geve f ree ly o f h ls t lme, bo th to
h ls n6 lghborhooc l end the coL leegucs r t wmk. But the ohrngc o f rdn ln ls t re -
tors, t rue to thelr syndrone of ed,r ln lstret lvc et t l tudes, pleeed thc feoul ty
nouth pleoc or orgrn ccl lcd 'TI i fE CIAIT lnto thc Jur lsdlct lon of the Journel lgn
deprrtnents in lnnedlete neme chenge to BAYOU BUI.LETIN would glve nore seope
to l ts d.ect lcated phl lotophy elong with tbe ohrnge of pr lat lng es I teblold
or. lnost of tebleeu proportat ions to hlde or to mesk the folksy nows behlncl
the rdded et t r ret lon of p lotures. The elegent fornat had ohenged the oon-
trol f ron fecul ty to ed,nlnlstrat lve wl thsut word one nent lonlng censorshlp
a8 r Beaos to nuzzle tbe eoademlo freed'on of the news) 'et ter , now seduced by
t/ 5t/ 6t / 6t/ 6t/ 6t rAY:LoR
the luxury o f f r rnded h lgh grade paper s took and e legent work fac l l l t l es :
the obvlous nene change ln mere searnt los to oharede the oensorghlp or logo-
necby l l ke a doub le cdged sc ln l te r he ld ln oere fu l seherzrndo - - eL l th ls
oonoern caut red by the verb lege o f Drver s repor t rge as tn ln te r loeuter o f
coat roversy feered by the new r i ln ln ls t re t lon , to pa f tey the syn t ro t lo news-
prper rrvarfere lnto e luI led pow wow ,r%r, c.npus pletor l r l orgnn. The
orrpus frcul ty preEs hed bocome nuff l ,ed, nuzzlei l or letherglo eg hed the
onoe buzz lng lounge rom l tse l f e rh lb l ted eo t lve l l fe c lu r lng r oo f fce bre lk .
Adr len Helt crrc lnto the lorrnge to get enother oup of oof fee; Aclr len
HelL wore r gnlrk or snoer ef fected upoa hls l lp, suspoeedly, beceuge of a
} !sp or c l tpp lnped luent , r he l r l lp - - b ls f rce hed r scu lp t o r g ren l te
look ec oonstant and dar lng es l fount Rusheore, and hls tongue hed en ecld
qu lp on t lp to ne tch h ls e rpresg lon . Adr l ra r s co f fee cup tas ted fuany or
peoul ler , ot sro he of ten comnented. And upon close serut lny, the purple
s ta l4s end edg lng o f the roye l b luc oo lo re t loa on the s ldes end the bo t tom
of the cup i lomlneted the lns lde o f the oeren loa . A t the bo t ton lns la lc por -
t lon of the cup revealcd a inede ln l ler tcon stenp thrt only too of ten lndl-
ceted week glezlng ani l thus leact polsonlng bul ld-up whcn hot l lqul t l sat-
urated the l , ler loen-nede contr lner for any prolonged langth of t lner 8lY ten
nlnutes. Ibe polson from the cup eeeacd p€rEonl f led or suspended ln the
very elr of the roo6o Aclr lea HeI l hetd the cup near hls hesrt rs dlc l he
ho ld deer tbe nunerou l t admln ls t ra t l ve pos l t lons a t the oo l lege: tb ' roe d l f -
fe ren t execut lve o f f l ces or Jobs hed been h ls var lous d ,u t les over the pcs t
ten yerrs (Adrlea hed cloneted or provldecl funds for n eD3lI cnd,snent to
berr hrs neoe encl thua to provld,c r tun for r stlpont towerd studlent gcholer-
'zl oa/ oa/ oll 03 'r.Arrilt(
ships set-up dur lng the t lme when Adr len served as chalrmen of the soclr l
studles delnrtment end ther l l r ter sunt lncreesed the funportence of the
endownncnt wtr l le Adrhn Hrl I adrnlnlstered es Dean of Students) . And now
et thc t lnc of the nerger f ron the dylng South Texes Junlor Col lege lnto
the Unlversl ty of Houston systen, Adr len held only n pogl t lon as a ner€
teaoher ( teachlng belng the scourge of the earth to the ednlnlstrat lve at-
t l tud&b phl losopby becausc the tbrecfold purpose of cduoat lon lncludes the
fol lor lng: resetrob,, servlce encl tcrchlag -- wl th terchlng r l r ryr p laoed
Legt and tbus no wonder tbr t so nuch sophlstry proprgt teg r Iow leve1 ln
the beslo gkl I ls ' | . The er-edlnlnlstrr tor ot the ousted Dean of Stuclent Af-
fa l rs preferred. to teech ancl usc hls laterpersonel skUIs ratber thrn to
gl t at e desk botgcd-down wlth butcruorat lc peperwork ln t r lp l lcate coFI.
The faoulty nows ghcet .EIE CfAf or thc Eltoll llltligtn$ grvc honorablc mentlon
to .ddrhnrg cbengc o f g ta tug , fo r o lc A( l r len Hr l l wrs on€ o f the t r own
when pcrt leg end the cooktel l heppy hour ctne eround -- a real sp.rk le hour.
By pcrsonal request, r l l th is ohengc hed been ef fectecl or so gteted the
cempul newspep€r:s; the otmpus studleat nom reJ,ecscs fron IEI TAIItr hnd so
clear ly rctprtcd the turn of evcntc. Adrhn entertelned e great deal ; h ls
w l fe espec teL ly enJoyed e l t thc conv lv le l e f f r l rs the spouse hed. r w l ld
eyed Look ek ln to e be t on the lxor l rh l le pa t ro l l lng the s rea near the
punoh bor l end the long plush l lquor ber ( t t re look beoenc nole glessy eyed'
and progounced es thc runors of t l lvorce t lme lncreasei l end f lneLly becene
I feo t o r f lna l l zod cer t l tuc le es the c rnpus news re l r tcd) . The Adr l rn He l l
daughter e lso hed tbe w ld .e eyed look , l l ke e b l rd ebout to f l ' y ewey; fen l l y
t lcs obrrroter lzed the work-e-dey etnosphclc . t the eorregc i lur lng the t lne
I