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PROFILE
Taxi driving in Ann Arbor:
Lending an ear to generations
By CHERYL PILATE After holding a series of odd: ferent back then. Students
GERALD VOICE FIGURES; jobs throughout the Depression, weren't allowed to keep cars
he's travelled close to a ! Voice happened to see a help on campus and we'd spend ev-
million miles in his Ann Arbor: wanted in the newspaper for a ery weekend taking them
taxi over the past 38 years. And taxi driver. When he first start- around to the fraternities or sor-
after decades of listening to all ed working, the flat rate fee for orities or down to the Union for
the sad stories and crazy fan- anywhere in the city was 35c. a big dance," he muses, a
tasies, a sense of wise perspec- Dial-a-Ride and spiraling fares smile teasing the corners of his
tive comes pretty easily to him.: have since cut deeply into the mouth. "The J-Hop used to be
After all, when a man has spent volume of student business - quite the big thing. Everyone
nearly 40 years shepherding reducing it to a mere trickle would get all dressed up and
flocks of sorority girls through trickle. there was hardly a weekend in
rush, hurrying nursing home RUT DURING THE Depres- the winter when something
patients to doctor appointments, sion and early war years,: wouldn't be going on."
and guiding frightened frosh when Voice was working al- A I t h o u g h chauffeuring
through their first tour of the most 100 hours per week to sup- students was not as lucrative
city, he learns that his profes- port his family, students com- as driving around businessmen
sion exacts much more than the promised the bulk of his busi- and celebrities with big bucks,
ability to turn a wheel and re- ness. Voice found it to be one of the
member a street number. When Glen Miller and the big most enjoyable aspects of his
"I figure you really have to bands periodically liberated the job.
have an open ear," he says with campus from high-browed pur-
a genial smile.,"A lot of peo- suits, Voice was there, waiting IFOR INSTANCE, he recalls
ple tell you all their problems. to chauffeur students to the IM that some of his busiest
Sometimes you've got to be a building for a night of swing- moments as a cabbie came dur-
psychologist a n d sometimes ing and fox trotting. ing sorority rush during the
you've got to be a diplomat." "Yeah, things were a lot dif- 40's and 50's. "About four or
VA Hospital: Consequences for
the future greatest concern
She spends much of her time job. "You learn a lot in the cab
chauffeuring professors and el- business just by listening," he
derly people and speaks affec- says. "And over the years, I
tionately of "an old lady from think I've heard just about ev-
Dexter I take to the doctor ev- erything."
ery week."
Voice believes he and hisE
wife have received an invalu- Cheryl Pilate is Co-Edit or-in-
able education through theirI Chief of The Daily.
IN DOWNTOWN
ANN ARBOR
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114 E. WASHINGTON
Daily Photo By PAULINE LUBENS
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(Continued from Page 3) lain and his motives as they are'
lie there on the bed and think with the consequences of his
that maybe this guy is the actions. They worry about the
'one'." 'half-truths', the innuendos, and
Three patients in the hospi- the fear the insinuations of
tal's canteen discussed the poi- medical incompetence. And
sonings in a combination of they say outsiders have dis-
Mafia-esque and amateur psy- torted the evidence and rid-
chiatrist's jargon. They con- died the situation with unwar-
stantly referred to the victims ranted sensationalism.
as 'hits' and dubbed the per- In fact, only ten of the 56 pa-
petrator a 'lunatic," a crack- tients who suffered suspicious
pot," and a "dope-crazed ma- arrests have died - only one
niac" - seemingly convinced death was medically proven aI
the person intended the pavulon direct result of the pavulon.
to kill. Their beliefs are sub- The hospital staff's negligence
stantiated, for the most part, did not cause the poisonings.
by media reports . Rather,their expertise is re-
sponsible for preventing the
PUT AMONG HOSPITAL staff drug from taking its full toll.
and administrators, the ac- The hospital employes' fears
cepted theory is that poisoner of criticism have been unsub-
is not a murderer. Hospitals stantiated to date. The details
are stocked with drugs infinite- clerk, whose delicate job it is
ly more fatal than pavulon. to inform next-of-kin of a pa-j
And there are ways of taking a tient's death, maintained thatI
life without drugs - a pillow no relatives complained or ex-
can suffocate an immobilized pressed disillusionment with the
patient. k system. "I haven't had a single
"We still don't think the per- solitary family come in here
son who's doing it is intending and say something derogatory,
to kill," emphasized the has- about the hospital," she said.
pital's Assistant Chief of Staff, "They're all mostly concerned
Gary Calhoun. "I've talked to with what's happening at the
those reporters so many times," immediate time. All they real-
he added leaning over his desk ly want to know is, 'what do I
in his office on the first floor do next?"'
of the VA. "And the headlines Burns emphasized that "on
always read, 'KILLER, KILL- the first day of re-admissions,
ER, KILLER.' I think the the- there were 200 people waiting
ory is that someone is trying to to be admitted." He said, "Peo-
get back at the government, ple have faith in this institution,
draw attention to the hospital, faith in this system. I know
at the lack of staff, or some- that a lot of patients' attitudes
thing." -
were 'how could such a .thing:
happen in this hospital?' Most
patients had a feeling of trust:
there was a lot of amaze-
ment, and a lot of disbelief-{
which was good for our egos."
THE STAFF SEEMS equally
amazed. One of the biggest
questions they ask each other
is why the poisoner chose their
hospital? They consider it a
good facility; Mark Gulickson,
an assistant administrator,
claimed that it is one of the bet-,
ter federal hospitals in the na-
tion, certainly one of the best
in the state.
So why the VA?
"There are just too many peo-
ple running around the hospi-
tal," McWhorter said, offering
one possible explanation. "Too;
many people are trusted be-'
cause they have a green uni-'
form on. I don't think anyone:
should have free run of the hos-
pital. If you are well enough
to run around, you should be
well enough to stay home."
Perhap's McWhorter's expla-
nation is valid, or perhaps
someone does have a vendetta
against the government -- or
the hospital itself. But hospitals!
are not prisons. They are not
five girls would hop into my1
car and I'd be driving them
around to the different houses
all night long. It kept me real
busy but I rarely got a tip.
You never used to get a tip
from a student. I think the first
thing they were taught when
they came to school is never
tip a cab driver."
Voice has five kids of his
own, befitting the benevolent
paterna aura he exudes. Soft-
spoken and seemingly imper-
turbable, he speaks of his life
as one would tell an amusing
story. Only an ever present cig-
arette belies his rock-like pla-
cidity.
Although his children have
long since left home, Voice
feels he hasn't lost touch with
young people. His residence on
Sybil street is virtually suir-
roundedbyoff-campus housing
and he has ample opportunity
to chat with students, particul-
arly during the summer.
"Students have changed a
bit over the years. They seem
to dress quite a bit differently
these days and not care as
much about how they look,"
says Voice. But they still have
loud parties, sometimes right
next door here. It don't bother
me though. They may make a
lot of noise, but so what -
that's youth."
EXCEPT FOR A short break
to fight in World War II,
younger days I would'
ve jump-
ed at the chance to take
a drive like that, but I'm get-
ting too old for that kind of
thing.'
He and his second wife Nell,
whom he married eight years
ago, take shifts driving a Vet-
eran's cab, which Voice owns.
Ms. Voice, who started driving'
a taxi shortly after their honey-
moon, says her job "is just a
lot of fun."
Both husband and wife down-
play the hazards involved in
NELL, who always drives
during the day, contends
she feels as safe in behind the
wheel as she does in her house.
To Get More
ANCHOR INN
TOPLESS
WED.-SAT. -7 P.M.
Do You Want
a
5
a
}V
L
r
z
From Your Years at U-M ?
Consider TRn IGON Fraternity
OPEN HOUSE: Sunday-Thursday
cab driving. Although Voice has
twice been the victim of an
armed robbery in the past two
years, he has not installed a
safety shield in his car be-'
cause "it would keep the heat
from getting to the back seat
during the winter." "I'm just
gambling and I kind of take it
as it comes," he explains.
(Sept. 21-25)
7-10 p.m.
Stop by the house any evening; We'll be
glad to show you how we live.
A Fraternity Co-ordinatinq Council Member
'Ii
0 Continuous
Go Go
* Seats 600
4 4 Stages
* Comedy Acts
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PLYMHOTN
Voice has driven a cab in this
designed for crime prev
Dr. Michael Cohen, a on
intern at the VA, explain
is perverse for anyone
and kill sick people. But
is no real way to preve
Hospitals are not se
See VA, Page 8
e
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ed
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ntion. college town continuously since
-time 1937. Gray - haired and slightly
d, "It paunchy, ("you wouldn't be-
o try lieve it, but I used to weigh
there 140"), Voice shows hardly a
nt it. sign of slowing down.
curity "You learn to expect any-
thing in this business," he says
with a chuckle. "A couple of
years ago, some goof asked me
to drive him to Green Bay at 2
a. m. in the morning. In myI
Another observer suggested
someone akin to an arsonist -
a person who likes to make
trouble - may just want to
watch everyone try to prevent
the havoc.
Everyone admits it could be
anyone who administered theI
pavulon: medical personnel, a
medical student, a patient, an
orderly, an outsider. The drug
was not difficult to obtain be-!
fore the new security precau-
tions were instituted, and it
can be used effectively with
a minimum of medical knowl-
edge. But hospital employees
generally refuse tosuspect fel-
low full-time staffers. As Burns
noted, the work they do de-
mands team effort and they
could not accomplish it without'
faith in one another.
"I don't feel it was someone
I worked with . . . I can't be-
lieve it. I've worked her for
over two years and I feel I
know them very well," he as-
serted.
"I can't evensthink it would
be one of us," said one admin-
istrator's secretary.
BUT THE WORKERS are not
as concerned with the vil-
Don't Let the University
Screw You Again
YOU TOO CAN LET IT FLY ON
THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES:
" Student Organization Board
Acts as Liason for Students and U. Administration
® Research Policies
" U. Relations
* Academic Affairs
B udget Priorities
" Permanent Interviewing Board
* Women's Inter-Collegiate Athletic Advisory
Committee
INTERVIEWS WILL BE HELD
MONDAY & TUESDAY, SEPT. 22 & 23
Drop by SGC Offices on the Third Floor-Michigan
Union to sigjn up for an interview and pick up appli-
cation forms.
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Meditation (TM
Program
as taught by
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free Introductory Lectures
on the TM program
Tuesday, Steptember 23
2:00 P.M. AND 7:30 P.M..
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SIMS-761-8255
The University of Michigan School of Music
FACULTY CHAMBER CONCERTS
FIRST PROGRAM
MICHELE DERR (guest), soprano LESLIE GUINN, baritone
GUSTAVE ROSSEELS, violin LAWRENCE HURST, double bass
ARNO MARIOTTI, oboe DONALD SINTA, saxophone
CHARLES FISHER, piano ELLEN WECKLER, piano
MARILYN MASON, harpsichord
ASSOCIATES: DENNIS HORTON, trumpet; JAMES WILHELMSEN, piano
SUNDAY, SEPT. 28, at 4:00 P.M.
RACKHAM AUDITORIUM
Quantz, Derr, J. Haydn, Kent Kennan
Admission Complimentary
Announcing, by Popular Demand
the RE-OPENING of the
%I ,etad ti/nion,
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cafeteria SERVING: lunch only-
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