Smoke Signals, Wednesday, February 13, 1973—Page 3
Roving Reporter
Literary
m Musings
By PROF. ROBERT G. MULDER
While I am not an authority on
European travel, my office mate is or
will soon become one. Summer before
last he made the “grande tour” of
most of the the important spots across
the waters. He returned with two
bushels of shdes, all of which my wife
and I viewed and thoroughly enjoyed
at a two-hour sitting in his home. It
was the next-best-thing to being there.
What’s more is that he and another
professor are conducting their own
tour this summer. College credit in
art and geography is being given and
applications are still being received.
It should be highly educational and
extremely appealing to many of our
students who prefer traveling to
staying on the campus or in this
historical town.
One hardly lands in the British Isles
before he notices two things quite
different from what he was used to
back home. One is the exalted place
given to pets; the other is a genuine
interest in nature at the grass-roots
level.
I suspect that Americans spend ten
times as much money on their squeezy
little darlings as the British do. I also
suspect that most of it goes for
nonessentials like coiffures, perfume,
satin baskets and booties for their wee
paddlers. This sort of thing, however,
is no real measure of devotion.
What is important is that anyone
can take almost any pet almost
anywhere. It is assumed that Queen
Bess or Rover will be more than
welcome in boarding houses, hotels,
motels, and private homes. Trains,
buses and subways take them to their
respective bosoms and no one raises
an eyebrow.
But just try it here in the land of the
free and the home of the brave and see
how far you get. First of all, you had
better travel in your own car and
make sure that this or that motel will
accept pets. It should not require
more than a couple of days to go
EDITOR — Richard Jackson
ASSOCIATE EDITOrt — Stephen Bowman
SPORTS EDITOR — Linwood Lewis
-STAFF-
Karen Humberstone
Barry Bradberry
Lynn Deaner
Jim Moore
Mary Vann
Harvey Wadman
Hunter Gish
Buddy Tunstall
Thomas Long
Edgar Pittman
David Brooks
Bob Allen
PHOTOGRAPHER — Lyne Dennis
QUESTION—What do you think
of the college's S.G.A.?
through your various travel guides to
find out before making reservations,
and it is quite possible that you will
have to take a fifty-mile detour to
discover one.
FORGET ABOUT BUSES, TRAINS
— what few are left, that is — do
provide transportation in the baggage
car, but what self-respecting animal
wants to ride in such squalor? I did
once smuggle Earl into a posh
passenger coach for the ride from
Washington to Richmond, but I
worried all the way that we might all
be put off in Ashland and have to
thumb it the rest of the trip by way of
Studley. In any case, it was not like
England, where a cat would likely be
munching a crumpet as the scenery of
Devon slipped by.
In 1931 English cats were enormous.
By 1958 they were not so spectacular,
and by 1963 it was hard to find one
weighing over fifteen or sixteen
pounds. It was my own Earl who
pointed out to me that the size of
English cats varied in direct ratio ot
the devaluation of the pound sterling.
I just hope that the forthcoming
decimal currency, an abomination in
the sight of the Lord, will not reduce
them to the dimensions of a chipmunk.
Now about the Englishman’s
devotion to nature. Perhaps it is not so
great as it used to be. Air travel has
taken its toll of those who used to stay
closer to earth by train, by car, by
bicycle or on the hoof; yet, this British
devotion to the byways and the
hedgerows is still a vital part of ex-
perince. Bird watchers, hound
chasers and just plain farmers who
want to know what the water holes are
doing keep the tradition alive.
IN BOOKSHOPS FROM LONDON
AND BIRMINGHAM to such remote
villages as Swaffham the shelves
display an incredible number of
volumes on the care of pets and on
identification of fish, animals,
flowers, trees, and insects. They
come in paperbacks and handsomely
illustrated copies — from the
supremely useful Penguine guides to
the expensive limited editions in color.
THROUGH THE YEARS I
acquired a respectable clutch of them,
and I am happy to report that John
Burton’s “The Oxford Book of In
sects” (Oxford University Press, 208
pp., $10) has recently come my way.
In the same series and uniform with
this volume are others that cover wild
flowers, gfifden flowers, birds and
flowerless plants. Of the 20,000 or
more British insects that flit, fly and
crawl, nearly 800 are herin described
and illustrated in full color. Because
they are spectacular, moths and
butterflies are emphasized.
Whether or not you ever tread
British soU in quest of a flea beetle, a
mayfly or a lacewing, you should find
this guide helpful when you read
references to them in the novelists and
poets.
Theresa Trigg David Ta Iton
They’re trying the best to I think there is a lot more to it
benefit the students. But you than meets the students’ eye.
can’t please all the students all
the time.
Sid Bartholomew
What S.G.A.?
Kathi French
I haven’t heard too much about
it. They’re trying.
1M
Claudia Hall
I never hear that much about it.
4.
David Hitt
No comment.
i ' -i
Jimmy Yeatman
Betty Melton
I can’t say anything about it
because they haven’t done
I haven’t seen anything yet, but anything. Mayl)e with the new
I’m hopeful.
elections things will pick up.