Page 8-C-Thursday, September 10, 1981-The Michigan Daily CALABASH PIPES, OLD HATS, TATTOOS, AND FL YING SAUCERS Specialty shops a local specialty By JOHN ADAM "You know, Sherlock Holmes never really smoked that kind of pipe, the calabash," the proprietor of A-Square Tobacconist said with the smile of someone who knows. "In his books, he smokes a bent briar pipe, not a calabash." He went on to tell me that the gourd, not the meerschaum, imparts the unique smoking taste. A customer walked in, fat cigar hanging from his mouth, and i took the opportunity to browse over the various brands of tobacco, with names like "Pride of Copenhagen" and "Pride of Istanbuy." THIS LITTLE specialty shop is the home of a couple of thousand pipes, ranging from a $2 corncob to a $400 car- ved, Turkish Meerschaum. Even non- smokers would be interested in the anecdotes about the rush of expensive cigar purchases for the Rose Bowl last year, or about the Turkish monopoly on precious meerschaum and the "coolies"Awho mine the stuff on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. It's like that in a lot of specialty shops around town; these places are, in fact, Ann Arbor's own specialty. Here the pleasure is found not so much in the purchase, as in the act of purchasing. I've spent'several afternoons lately looking into these shops, never making a purchase-although I will probably return to some. ONE OF THE MORE inexpensive places I hit was Second Hand Rose, a small thrift shop near City Hall. It has a surprisingly good selection of jackets and vests, old hats, ties, and dresses, all at bargain prices. Fantasy Fashions is a slighly more bizarre second hand store. The window displays manikins of Wendy Williams and her lead guitarist with a mohawk hair cut dyed light green. Inside, more life-like manikins give the place the air of a wax museum funhouse, with New Wave/punk rock music piped in. The store offers clothes "from the conservative to the totally absurd," says the shop's owner. Indeed, the racks display everything from gray flannel suits to outrageously bizarre costumes that would shock even the most avant garde. All the clothes are second hand, and can be altered by a seamstress in back. FANTASY FASHION will also make custom designs. The shop is an in- teresting alternative to many of the stores around town, and even has "un- dertones of a community center" for the more artistically inclined, says the proprietor. "The spirit of adventure runs through our shop," she says. I A little way up the price ladder, and with something radically different to offer, is the Velvet Touch. On the establishment's window panes are the words, "New Girls, New Girls, New Girls." I went up the dimly lit stairway to ask about a massage. Two girls were at the head of the stairs, walking along a dark corridor. Both were in loose shorts, one wearing a tube top, and the other a shirt that looked more like a night slip tucked into her shorts. IN A GLASS BOOTH at the top of the stairway lies the manager's office. "W- e-1-1," he said when he say my youthful face. It didn't help to tell him I was from the Daily. "Last time I did this (provided information) with the Michigan Daily they totally . . . . me over. I don't want anything to do with them." So, I left. Oh well. Beneath the massage branch of Velvet Touch is the "general store," where I had no fear of being kicked out. Students and a few jacket-and-tie businessmen from the area browse through "Butts 'n Buns," "Whoppers" and "40 plus," to name but a few of the erotic magazines (sealed in cellophane so one can only browse at the covers) available here. Flashing lights near the back of the store drew my attention to the 25ยข peep shows. Unfortunately, they didn't open for another hour, so I continued my browsing. Joy Jelly "flavored lubricant," a small assortment of pipes, bongs and scales, an assortment of vibrators and dildoes, busty posters, porno films for home showings, an assortment of crotchless panties, and open holed bras, and for the more cultured, some paperbacked erotica books. Fine. I pulled up my overcoat to my lowered head as I went out to the sidewalk. TIME FOR A change of pace, I dedided: Mickey Rats Video Circus. Fans constantly flock to these elec- tronic space games, which thrive on a steady diet of quarters. This upstairs shop has four or five little cubicles filled with "wizardous" machines. The crazy space sounds compete energetically with piped-in music of Eric Clapton or Bob Seeger, making for an interesting game. But I can't deny it-one of my favorite places, although it is one which I may never be able to bring myself to patronize, is Ann Arbor Tattoo. In the corner of the shop hangs a Norman Rockwell poster. In it, a burly, bald- headed sailor is having the name of his latest lover tattooed beneath the crossed-out names of his former loves in different ports of call. WHEN YOU GET that thing put on you, you got that forever," said John Ardner, owner of the shop. As I walked in, "Painless John" was putting a new See SPECIALTY, Page 10 RentaCr from Econs-Car U-of M SWDENTS 19years and older Choose from small economical cars to fine luxury cars. -Inquire sbout special weekend rates- In Ann Arbor 438 W. Huron A GFLCO COMPANY 761-8845 x t x, t r Y V J 1 s R vinyl Yp yC . , *t v ~ 4 d 1b ~ 'St Daily Photo by PAUL ENGSTROM PAINLESS JOHN, proprietor of Ann Arbor Tattoo, has (counting the stars) ' more than 100 tattoos on his body. A Nickels Arcade tradition Magazine salesman Alvin " ' j Neff reviews his career 0 0'~ By PAM FICKINGER Imagine standing in Nickels Arcade for about nine hours a day, six days a week. Come January, Alvin Neff will have been doing exactly that for 50 years. Alvin sells magazines there and, he says, the Arcade "hasn't changed at all." But Alvin will tell you about plenty of other things he's seen change in that time. He can remember when The Bivouac and Drake's Sandwich Shop were banks, and when Follet's was a drugstore. "1 REMEMBER," he said, pointing from his newsstand in the direction of Angell Hall, "when Haven Hall burned down a long, long time ago." , But the biggest change, he says, has been in the students-they aren't as friendly as they used to be. He fondly recalls a football player who used to stop by to see him every day, years ago. Another change Alvin has seen in the students is their dress: they "now come in jeans," whereas in years past there were a lot more ties and suit coats. They even pack their clothes differently now-in suitcases, rather than the trunks he remembers watching them lug around. A 66-YEAR-OLD native of Ann Arbor, Alvin got started in the magazine business by helping his brother, Floyd, and then taking the stand over when his brother retired. In the beginning, the two had only a small stand set up -in front of the Ar- cade. Today, Alvin sells more than 20 different magazines, from Scientific American to Penthouse. He used to sell newspapers, but he says he stopped because they were a "nuisance."' Cosmopolitan and Glamour are big sellers, Alvin says. "You know, the girls buy those a lot." Men, on the other hand, buy Playboy and Penthouse. Why? "I don't know ". Alvin says. "Some of the girls will cone. in and buy Playgirl or Playboy, an! they give me the old story that they're getting Playboy for their boyfriend," he grinned. Glancing at the skin magazines on his rack, he explains, "I've got to sell what people want." Alvin is very religious, as is his wife, Lillie. "She's a doll," he ; smiles. ; They have been married since 1967,. and Alvin says Lillie is a very special wife, "especially considering my con- dition. There aren't many like her. Alvin was stricken with polio at age 14, and it left him with a mild limp and speech impediment. If he weren't selling magazines, Alvin says he doesn't know what he'd like to do.\ At one time, the University offered him a job. He would have started the job in 1942, and he could have retired at age 62 with a good pension-but he, didn't take it. Alvin says that selling magazines is hard work, but he really enjoys what he's doing; he likes working in the Ar- cade and seeing all different kinds of. people there. He could retire tomorrow, but, he says matter-of-factly, he doesn't, know if he'll do that, either. Daily Photo by JACKIE BELL ALVIN NEFF, selling magazines in Nickels Arcade for nearly 50 years, has seen a lot of changes. a SHORT or LONG Hairstyles for Men and Women DASCOLA STYLISTS " 615 E. Liberty-668-9329 s 3739 Washtenaw-971 -9975 0 613 N. Maple-761-2733 9 611 E. University-662-0354 Tips for avoiding theft S- (Continued from Page 6) THE BEST WAY to keep students from getting "ripped off" is to teach them how to prevent burglaries them- selves, said Price, who for the last year has provided the community with an extensive public service bibliography of pamphlets, slide presentations, and various community awareness programs. Ann Arbor is a special target for the. programs in light of the densely populated areas filled with students, many of whom are "relatively wealthy," according to crime preven- tion officials. The Crime Prevention Unit itself oversees everything from the "Neigh- borhood Watch" burglary prevention AI E WRTH3an PatIG A NAME WORTH REPEATING program, to the recent expansion of an anti-rape program. + .~ According to Prevention Unit publications, most citizens actually aid.. the burglar in the perpetration 9f.a crime. Reasons cited include: -unlocked doors and windows ,,: -lack of interest and concern ., -inability to describe circumstances. surrounding the crime. -obvious signs of absence from tie home or apartment -failure to cooperate with police There are over two million burglaries in the United States each year - that's one every 15 seconds, according to department publications. There are several ways an individual can help secure the safety of property, V but the three most important procedures are: taking security measures in and around home, being concerned about what happens in your neighborhood, and finally, cooperating with law enforcement officials. If you think your home has been en- tered, go to another phone and call the police immediately, crime prevention ; officials advised. Don't touch anything in your home; leave everything exactly as you found it. Don't attempt a per- ; ink~'E'i~ ~ U