Friday, June 4, 1971

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Nine

Friday, June 4, 1971 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Nine

Memories, oplnions-
re ectionsin theglass

By CARINE EIJSBOUTS
As a complete stranger in the
clinical-looking chemistry build-
ing I couldn't help but think of
little books I used to read when
I was young - vicious chem-
ists were trying to discover a
vile chemical that would turn
the world's population into obe-
dient animals to conquer the
world.
Lost in these memories, I
came to the second floor where
the door to t h e glasablower's
room was invitingly open.
A large table in the middle of
the room was covered with glass
tubes, some of them molded in-
to complicated constructions.
Several torches, an electric glass
saw and other machines stood
by the walls. Tools and chem-
istry equipment lay scattered on
narrow tables on two sides of
the room.
Dave Myers, tall, white hair
and wearing blue protection
glasses was sitting behind the
center table, working on an or-
der from one of the chemistry
labs. His face was orange-red
in the glow of a heated glass
cylinder in the gas flame. He
talked freely, as though think-
ing out loud.
"Right after h i g h school I
started working for Du Pont in
Wilmington, Delaware. I work-
ed in the analytical lab, only a
few doors away from the glass-
blower's room. Like most people
I was very fascinated by this
craft, but in my case I became
so interested that I ended up
being a glassblower.
"After 13 years I came to the
University. Working for the
University labs is so much more
satisfying than working for the
industry. I wouldn't trade this
job for anything. I love it. To
me it's a privilege being among
so many young people, it keeps
me young."*
Heat and concentration made
sweat run down from his face.
He wiped it off with a towel
lying on his working table.
"I stand up for kids, L i k e
three or four years ago when
the city council refused to have
South U. transformed into the
People's Park. I could under-
stand their point of view, but
I didn't think it was fair at all
because some Mich guy had

Maynard St. closed down for a
long time for the construction
of a big business building.
"I don't like to hear people
say those young demonstrators
should all be thrown in jail. 'I
understand how it goes:
"When 'mama's little darlings'
get away from home they want
to change the whole world in a
day or so and there's no way
they can do that. If they would
just demonstrate against one
thing at a time, against t h e
war, without involving things
like racial, establishment and
ecology matters, I think they'd
achieve a lot more.
"The demonstrations in Wash-
ington seemed very useful to me
at the start, but they've lost
their usefulness by now. I, my-
self, am definitely against the

dustry. And Nixon let the U.S.
army invade Laos and Cambo-
dia not because he wanted to
but because the army generals
convinced him that the com-
munist storage places there
should be destroyed."
While talking Myers walked
to the sink and filled a little
crystal container with two flu-
ids. He heated t he container,
shaking it's contents. Slowly the
crystal turned silver, reflecting
the glassblower's face and ev-
erything in the room 1 i k e a
carnival mirror.
Watching the container he
seated himself back at the ta-
ble. "You know something? I
hate taxes. I don't think the
money people pay for taxes is
spent right at all. The war, the
large government. Moneywise
it's stupid to have such a large
government."
His hands kept turning the
glass in the gas flame. What
started out as a simple factory-
made glass tube was molded,
twisted and blown together with
other glass material into a com-
plex piece of chemistry "quip-
ment. He put it down and look-
ed at it. It was finished.
He wiped off his face agatn
"Glass blowing is restful, crea-
tive. And I love to perform when
there's a crowd watching nse.
"It's too bad I'm not teach-
ing glassblowing. I would love
to. Years ago g r a d students
learned to make small ?quip-
ment. This room still has fa-
cilities for some twenty people,
but it became too expensive."
He got up from his working
chair. Taking me out to t h e
hall, he pointed out a set of in-
tricate colored objects in a glass
case -#- two minuscule Snoopies,
a cat, a swan, little trinkets. "I
make these in my free time."
He walked back into his york-
ing room, scraps of glass on the
floor cracking under his feet.
He read the instructions cn an
instrument order from one of
the labs and got back to work
Photography
by Jim Judkis

war. I'm not very patriotic. I
don't see why we don't get out
of there. Of course we should
have never moved in.
"Wars are horrible. I was in
World War II myself, and I
don't wish for anybody to be
sent to Vietnam." He interrupt-
ed himself to b 1 o w into the
glass cylinder he was holding.
The heated part of it expanded
like bubble gum.
People passing by in the hall
stopped on their way a n d
watched through the open door.
Myers looked up shortly a n d
continued his monologue.
"In my opinion Nixon is the
nation's scape-goat as far as the
war is concerned. The war is to
be blamed on moneymakers, in-