i
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
rhursday, September 8,
eaving the small-town
womb
By RICK BONINO
. I'M from Tawas."
any times have you heard this toothy greeting from
aen of the northeast Michigan wilderness? Never?
, one out of every .000035 people in the whole United
East Tawas or Tawas City, you know.
ght remember from fifth grade geography class,
rts are gypsum wallboard, oil filters and Army
tudents remain a rather rare product indeed. You
y high sch'ool classmates who accompanied me
gers of both feet. That's right, buster-zilch.
ng to college is a strange enough experience, trying
gratiate yourself with rooriimates, dorm 'food and
tly. But if you hail from a borough that could fit
n Arbor's back pocket, more adjustments are in
'AWAS is a hick town. Hell, we've got an A&W and
. There's a Big Boy and McDonald's not twenty
ist because the "Twin Cities" can muster a mere
'etween them, and just because the WELCOME TO
sign indeed rests on the back of another proclaim-
LEAVING TAWAS CITY, some folks get the wrong
re used to people in Tawas, lots of them. Detroit
ip for the summer, particularly on holidays, leav-
lire to keep the Christmas lights burning on New-
next December.
elt a bit claustrophobic standing in the Alice Lloyd
aily Associate Sports Editor Rick Bonino graduated
irsity in April.
lobby amid the rest of southern Michigan, New York and New
Jersey. Mfore than just the numbers stood in contrast to my lily-
white Water Wonderland. Back home, "black" was how you
drank your coffee and "a Jew" was how you sneezed.-
Given the right attitude, meeting people seemed easy. Some
of the local denizens proved only too eager to make your acquain-
tance, muttering "Mescaline?" or "Spare changeq?" as they
strolled the streets.
Tawas never lacked for freaks, either-imaginative burnouts
who'd drop acid and stand flapping their arms on rooftops and
the like. But Ann Arbor lent new meaning to the word "bizarre."
"Not that Tawas is a hick town. Hell,
we've got an A&W and a Kroger's. There's
a Big Boy and McDonald's not 20 miles
away."
Sure, we had an eccentric old man who urinated on the lettuce
at A&P, but he lacked the elan of a Shakey Jake. Arid our most
fervent dervishes were Baptists, a 'bit less visible than Ann
Arbor's ubiquitous chanting Krishnas.
BUT THE MEAGER melodic meanderings offered by those
orange-robed Tom, Dick and Hares was reminiscent of the
talent back in the jewel of Lake Huron. The best you could do
for live entertainment in Tawas town was trudge down to the
Community Center on an odd weekend to hear Off or E.T. Shad-
rack spew forth their latest rendition of "Smoke on the Water."
Ann Arbor proved a musical Mecca. Acoustically sincere Hill
Auditorium delivered the likes of Todd Rundgren, Jackson Browne
and Chick Corea and Gary Burton. Once in a bloodshot moon, you
can even catch Tom Waits at the Ivar, er, Michigan Theatre.
Less live performance also abounded in that and other the-
atres. Back home, the Family might get the latest box office boffo
before it hit TV. The Tawas Drive-In served up tales of lusty
bikers and teenaged hitchhikers between submergences. My
cinematic senses climaxed at the array of old, on-campus and
new, off-campus flicks that awaited my rubles and retinas. Even
Pink Flamingos at midnight.
Oh yeah, school. The jump from Tawas Area High to the
University proved just a shade less lengthy than that from the
first cigarette to shooting smack.
AT TAHS, A FEW friends and I virtually ruled the roost, which
anyone with half a mind could do (which included myself and
the aforementioned friends). But at the University, I became just
another perverted Social Security number among a host of big
city intellectuals and small town valedictorians.
I recall sitting open-mouthed in an early humanities class
while my' precocious peers debated some finer points of Greek
mythology. Tawas had taught me only the latest scoops on
Jackie and Ari in the latest Enquirer at the IGA.
Too often, those lurid tales in the tabloid pages find form in
Ann Arbor. Tawas' major crimes, primarily speeding and shining
deer, pale in comparison to the plethora of assaults and B&E's
all too characteristic of Washtenaw, County.
But that's just another step from the comfortable fawasian
womb to the real world. The education in the University class-
rooms may have been questionable, but the one outside it proved
priceless. Regardless of origins, I'm sure you'll agree when it's
all over.
Just don't forget to lock your door.
Doily Photo by ALAN BILINSKY
Unlike small towns, Ann Arbor keeps its doors open far into
the night.
I was a naive
transfer student
a -
By DENISE FOX
rfRANSFERRING h e r e from
Michigan S t a t e University
was not quite what I expected
it to be.
It seems that in areas where;
I expected difficulties there!
were none, but where I expected
none, there were all kinds of
problems.
My biggest worry as a trans-
fer student from MSU was that
the academic adjustment would
be grueling. Once I started class-'
es, though, I discovered that
the change was actually very
easy. Classes seem to be con-
ducted pretty much the same
everywhere. From past experi-
ence, I already knew how much
time I needed to spend studying,
how to take notes, how to pre-
pare myself for final exams.
My biggest "problems" aca-
demically w e r e remembering
that classes here start at ten
minutes after the hour and lo-
cating my classes.
Not that these concerns were
Denise Fox, a new Daily staff
writer, transferred to the Uni-
versity last fall from Michigan,
State University.
trivial, mind you. For the first
time in my school years, I was
early for my classes, something
which seemed to go against my
better nature. And one time I
spent half an hour looking for
the LSA building-when I was
right next to it.
I thought the easiest part of
transferring schools would be
the social aspect, until I actually
arrived on campus.
Y FIRST dilemma was find-
ing a place to live. I knew
that I didn't want to live in a
dorm here because I was con-
vinced after my second year in
a dorm at State that three years
of residence hall life would be
enough to drive a sane person
crazy.
I was lucky enough to find a
place to live with an old friend.
Other people I met at orienta-
tilon were not as fortunate, how-
ever. Several had misgivings
about living in a dorm, but fear-
ed they wouldn't meet as many
people if they lived off Ampus.
After I made the initial ad-
justment to this school, I didn't
think I'd ever feel out of place
again. But to listen to people
See I WAS, Page 7
OPEN HOUSE
THURSDAY, September 8t 8 p.m.
Lots of people & information.
Free Refreshments.
SHABBAT
COMMUNITY DINNER 6:30 p.m. ($.50)
(call for reservations by noon-663-3336)
MINYANIM-Evening
Orthodox 7:45 p.m.
Conservative 8:00 p.m.
Reform 8:00 p.m.
ONEG-Discussion 9 p.m.
Refreshments 10 p.m.
MINYANIM-Morning
Orthodox 9:30 a.m.
Egalitarian 10:00 a.m.
SUNDAY MEALS
GRAD BRUNCH (lox-bagel, $1), 11f
DELI (corned beef on rye, sides, $1 a
6 p.m. (weekly)
a.m.
plate,
HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES
ROSH HASHANAH-
Sept. 12 Sept. 13 Sept. 14
Orthodox (at Hillel)
7:30 p.m. 8:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m.
Conservative ,(at Lydia Mendelssohn)
8:00 p.m. 9:00,a.m. 9:00 a.m.
(Reform (at Hillel)
8:00 p.m. 9:00a.m.
YOM KIPPUR Sept. 21 (Kol Nidrei) Sept. 22
Orthodox (at Hillel)
7:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m.
Conservative (at Trueblood Aud.)
7:00p.m. 9:00 a.m.
Reform (at Hillel)
7:00p.m. 9:00 a.m.
I
* William at Thompson
" Main at Washington
" Packard at Stadium
* Washtenaw at Pittsfield
a Briarwood Mall
* Westgate Shopping Center
* PlymOuth Road at Green Road
* East Huron River Drive
at Clark Road
" Milan: 9 Wabash Street
BEIT MIDRASH
Courses in Judaica:
Hebrew (4 levels) Calliaraphv
Basic Judaism Jewish Catalooue
Bible Israeli Society
Talmud Torah Trop
Shrriirat Shabbat Philosophy