FEATURES SECTION _ YI e 4.Atlg Aau D4Ait1 FEAT URES SE(' 1TION Latest Deadline in the State Section Two Ann Arbor, Michigan-Friday, September 10, 1976 Page Thirteen Adrift 'midst the blue in a hot air balloon By SUSAN ADES Parachutes, hang-gliders, sailplanes, kites, - in my loftier moments I fan- cied myself winging across the coun- tryside suspended from one of those exotic aerial creatures. More often though, I kissed the ground and cher- ished the security of knowing I'd never have the means to live out the dream. Yet, one day this summer, opportunity did knock. And I soon found myself be- neath a billowing balloon which from 1000 feet cast its majestic shadow over a patchwork of midwestern farms and fields. Ballooning, I discovered, was more than just a way to get from the ................ :::::. "Ballooning, I discovered, was more than just a 'way to et from the land of Oz back to Kansas -Dorothy never knew what she was mitssisng land of Oz back to Kansas - Dorothy never knew what she was missing. STILL, I couldn't blame her if she los any desire to scale the skies after seeing the wizard's balloon whisked into the winds of the upper stratosphere, as scores of screaming munchkins bade him adieu forever. To ease my fretful mind the day of my great adventure I searched for the truth about ballooning in the written word. Perusing a book on the history of the sport, I only found it littered with gruesome tales of pioneers turned human meteors as they plunged to earth solo . . . their balloons left hinged on a cloud somewhere. Jeff VanAlstine, the person who was going to show me the world from this new perspective, had been flying bal- City op By BARBARA ZAHS Police, fire and medical assistance are now only three digits away with the recent inaugural of Ann Arbor's special 911 emergency telephone num- ber. Dialing 911 will now connect local callers with an emergency police hot- line system which will dispatch squad cars, fire fighters or ambulances at a moment's notice. THE MAIN ADVANTAGE of the new system, Police Chief Walter Krasny said, is that 911 is much easier to re- member than the old seven-digit num- ber. And, he pointed out, the quicker peo- ple can contact the police department, 'These are loons for nine years. During the ner- vous eleventh hour before flight time I tried to remind myself of just that. But the memory that he, a former aero- batics pilot, had also set the world altitude record one week before by skim- ming the heavens at 41,000 feet, was not the comfort I was searching for. For all I knew he was nothing but a thrill- crazed zombie with no particular at- tachments to such earthly delights as being alive. THAT THURSDAY afternoon, ironic- ally, was a great day to be alive. The wind was so soft a leaf couldn't ride on it and the sky was clear and inviting. All the odds were in my favor. No munchkin entourage was at Hud- son Mills Park to see me off and no flying monkeys were on hand to pre- pare the balloon for takeoff. Instead, about seven enthusiasts including Jeff, my photographer friend Steve and I lent our muscle power to the inflation effort. The propane burners spat flames into the limp green and yellow nylon sac and the balloon began to mushroom into the sky. As the hot air breathed more and more life into the monster it be- came harder to control. Relegated to the tug-of-war post along with three other peonle I helped direct the bal- loon into its upright position. Only then did I begin to feel the power of this heaven-destined creature. PUT IT was not yet my turn to be swet away by this mass of upward force. Two 14-year-old girls were first in line - friends of Jeff who were get- tin{ the $100 balloon ride free as a sort of delayed Christmas gift. (I shud- dered when I was informed that the bulk of the price goes for insurance.) So I stayed behind to witness the fi-Qt great uprising from ground level. The balloon lifted off effortlessly as thoueh it were a mere soap bubble and it shrank gradually against the sky as it climbed. HOPPING into the car, Steve and I were off to "track" the balloon from below - a task reminiscent of trying to catch a falling leaf. The balloon has little mind of its own and is ruled ty- ranically by the wind. Knowing no paved byways, it sails across fields, lawns and marshlands. Our temptation was to cruise along directly below, bulldozing ts 911 as the sooner help can be on its way. Ann Arbor is the first city in Washte- naw County to adopt the 911 system, but favorable results have been achieved in other communities that use the num- ber. "IT'S A VERY successful system," Krasny said, "but it's no better than the people who are answering the phone." Specially-trained operators are on duty 24 hours a day to receive the calls. Up to 17 lines are available to handle the emergency requests. Incoming calls are recorded and can be traced. But Krasny estimated that only one- fourth of the emergency callers have used the 911 number since its start two weeks ago. the car through alfalfa rows and rose- dotted gardens. We took to the roads nonetheless in an effort to keep a step ahead of the balloon. Like an inanimate pied - piper, the brilliantly colored sphere attracted a string of followers below, some afoot, some astride bikes, but most by car. The scene was replete with horn-honk- ing, waving policemen and unforget- table expressions. "One time in my ballooning career," says Jeff who is used to being part of the spectacle, "I watched a guy (who was watching the balloon from his mov- ing car) smash right into the back of another guy who had his head sticking out the window like this," he craned his neck out striking a giraffe-like pose, "and blam! !" Jeff smacked his hands together for effect. SEVERAL miles on, the balloon be- gan its descent into a bristling field of corn husk stumps. Abandoning the car at the side of the road, Steve and I high- stepped it through to the balloon at a healthy trot. We arrived on the spot just in time to anchor the balloon which was more inclined to cast whimsically off towards the clouds again. It was my turn. Before I could panic and change my, mind, a helmet was placed on my head and I climbed into the 4 by 5 wicker basket. My eyes fixed upward to the cavernous inside of the balloon, I hard- ly noticed we'd left the ground. I searched my emotions for a trace of fear but found only exhileration as I watched, in awe, the ground fall out from beneath my feet. NOT A whisp of wind brushed my face, not a tilt of the basket could be felt. This was not the roller coaster ride I'd anticipated, not even the likes of an elevator ride designed to transplant my stomach into my throat. This was as tranquil as I'd imagined a trip on cloud nine to be. "The serenity is the great part of it," Jeff began as I, the city kid, leaned over the side of the basket to marvel at the rustic farmland. "You see, the balloon is moving in the great mass of air. It can't go any faster or slower than the air goes . . . consequently we're always in the calm and the little breeze you feel is the change in the direction in the wind." See HOT, Page 17 (> Doily Photo by KEN FINK A lofty fantasy Rural folks miss post office RANDOLPH, N.H. (P)-Charles Lowe slapped the last coat of silver paint on the wooden frame of his father's new roadside mail box. "You'll have the best mail box in town," he quipped as the elderly Lowe strolled across the highway that cuts through this pine- and spruce-covered mountain village of 285 year-round resi- dents. BUT GLENN LOWE, who at age 80 had been getting his mail for as long as he can remember from the town's post office at the old Wood Farm down the road, was not impressed. "I don't like it a bit," he snapped, the anger aimed not at the new silver mail box, but at the U.S. Postal Service in far off Washington. Like thoisands of residents of rural America, the people of Randolph re- cently lost their post office, where for nearly 125 years they picked up their mail, exchanged gossip, and sold house- hold odds and ends through the office bulletin board. THE MOVE against the rural post offices is part of what Postmaster Gen- eral Benjamin Bailer has called a policy "of e:onomic reality" prompted by the Postal Service's rising deficit. The Postal Service has earmarked 2,000 small post offices for closing this year. Of those, nearly 200 already have been closed. Further shutdowns have been "suspended" because Congress is de- t bating a $1-billion postal subsidy pro- gram. A postal bill has been passed by the Senate and awaits action in the House this week. But a postal spokesperson says "We are not stopping the (closing) orogram altogether." The question, says Bailar is "do we need 40,000 post offices." traditional concepts of mail service to see if they still have value in modern America," Bailar said in March. "The public . . . niust either pay the growing price or be willing to give up something." So hundreds of post offices are disap- pegring from the landscape in towns such as Lula, Fla., Eva, Okla., Mud Lick, Ky., and Mud Butte, S.D., as well as Jumbo, Okla., Roscoe, Neb., Lemons, Mo., 'Mexican Hut, Utah, and Grit, Tex. Other towns-Sunflower, Ala., Fish Camp, Calif., Antelope, Kan., Pony, Mont., Pelican, La., and Devils Tower, Wyo., to name a few-are under con- sideration for having their post offices closed. GOVERNMENT regulation prohibits the closings simply because the post office# are running a deficit, but the shutdowns concern dollars and cents. In Randolph, for example, the post office-which opened in 1852 on the old Wood Farm at one end of town-cost S17,579 to operate last year while taking in only $7,000. A new rural route system is expected to cost $3,000. So Glen Lowe watched his son put up the new rural mail box, and he wondered aloud whether it would withstand the hard winters of the White Mountains, whether even in New Hampshire's North emergency number "IT'S JUST A QUESTION of people becoming more oriented to the number," he said, adding that he hopes when the next telephone directories are is- sued residents will become more aware of the changeover. With the new. system available, stu- dents living in residence halls now have the option of dialing either 911 or the campus security department if an emerg- ency arises. But University and police officials are divided over which number siouid o used. WALTER STEVENS, assistant direc- tor of the University's safety depart- ment, recommends that students call his bureau in the event of an emerg- ency. If the problem does fall within the University's jurisdiction it can be quickly referred to appropriate authori- ties. Students can dial the University's emergency number, 123, from most Cen- trex phones, except those in individual dormitory rooms. From those phones, students must dial a five-digit number, 3-1131. To contact the city's police depart- ment from a Centrex phone, thetcaller must first dial the number 9 to get an outside line, followed by 911. "I BELIEVE WE must re-evaluate See RURAL, Page 14 the the space shutt WASHINGTON (AP)- Star Trek fans have apparently shot a photon torpedo into the government's choice of a name for the country's new space shuttle. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had suggested the name of "the Constitution" and had even planned to unveil the shuttle or- biter on Sept. 17, Constitution Day. BUT STAR TREK fans initiated a lttr-wrAitinfC camnaicn to President tial to the nameI that he had served ii a Navy ship that ser craft carrier of tha There also was son ing the spacecraft cause the venture effort in which sev participate. Any Tre of course, can tell stitution is also the starshin in the seri voyages of le Enterprise' Enterprise," adding It was the second time that a Star n the Pacific aboard Trek letter-writing campaign had per- viced an earlier air- suaded the powers. that be to amend t name. their decision-making. A flood of mail ne objection to nam- to NBC executives in 1968 forced the "Constitution," be- network to renew the series for a third is an international season - after they had intended to veral countries will cancel it. kker worth his salt, A Star Trek cult has mushroomed you that The Con- across the country, with the formation e name of another of clubs and members who speak end- es' fleet. lpclyof nhars rannonsl Klingons :. _ .' .. _ .. Iit :: . . . ,. . .