Download Report

ACTFNT
Savannah News-Press, • Sunday, November 6, 1994
Fishman
Istanbul At Night
A Turkish Delight
She was "party queen" in Japan, but
we met her in a schmata shop in
Istanbul, where she was renting a room
upstairs for her one-month holiday in
Turkey.
Her friends back home missed her,
she said. And her family wanted her to
return because they had someone for her
to marry. It wasn't hard to see why they
liked her. She did card tricks, told
stories, played practical jokes. She was
the life of the party.
But Japan was expensive, she didn't
want to get married and she liked
traveling.
Her name was Mayuma,' 'like
Miami," she said.
Mayuma was filled with linguistic
shortcuts. "Thank you" in Japanese, for
instance, sounds an awful lot like, "Don't
touch my moustache." And if you want
to try negotiating a discount in Turkey,
say something that sounds like "In
dreama."
W.'
- "C
But it can backfire, she warned.
"Once I told an American woman that
'thank you' in Japanese sounds,an awful
lot like 'alligator,' except she got nervous
and all she could think to say was
'crocodile.1 "
We met Mayuma because we were all
waiting for Imam, the owner of the shop,
who promised to take us to'-a nightclub
where he was going to sing a duet with
Mayuma.
Imam wanted to be "rock 'n' roll"
star .and was about to make a cassette.
For the stage he changed his name to
Mehmet, however, because Imam, in
Muslim; was a spiritual leader and that
would not go over well in Turkey.
Shortly after we arrived, Imam, who
ordered a full round of the ever-present
apple tea for us, disappeared with a sack
full of clothes he had to deliver.
Eventually/he called back and
instructed the man who ran his gyro shop
on the corner to take us by-taxi - taksi,
in'Turkish - to the club, where he would
meet us later.
'
The second-floor club, on a Monday
night, was jammed, but when our
companion told the maitre d' we were
with Imam he briskly set up a table near
the dance floor, putting us even closer to
the smarmy and polyester master of
.ceremonies who sang ballads arid told
jokes in between acts.
"Is this the worst kind-of lounge lizard
"or what?" my friend whispered to me.
We ordered a bottle^fRaki, which is
the Turkish equivalent^1 Ouzo; a bottle
of Su (Turkish for water) and received a
platter of fruit to boot: slices of
watermelon, one cup of shiny red
pomegranate seeds, sections of apple
dipped in lemon juice, something that
looked like pear but tasted much more
sour, and a bowl of pistachio nuts, the
unbleached variety.
. The liveliest table was a group of men
next to us. The dance floor was small but
that didn't stop them. Extending their
arms, clicking their fingers Zorba-style,
nodding their heads, they gracefully
placed one foot bejiind and then in front
of the other, dipped forward, their knees
nearly touching the ground and danced
with their arms around one another or
alone.
v
When one found a particular groove: .
another would surround him and clap out
the rhythm, Despite the alcohol, they
remained in complete control.
The only other women in the room sat
on stools at the bar. The most striking, a
blonde, moved around a lot, working the
room.
"They are Russians," our male
companion whispered to us, in the same
disparaging tone of voice the Greeks use
to describe the Albanians (or Turks) who
come into their country and work for
very low wages. "They are prostitutes."
• • / hope you
never know how to
talk about
war.
History
T
'-?v. 3 Wj.*:J**£t..'>. ~;«*
Students
capture
veterans'
war
stories
on video.
Lt. Col. Clyde "Cass"
Cassidy (above) looks at
mementos he kept from his
military days, including
flight certificate (far left). At
left, veteran John Huskison
talks with Bartlett students
Okore Okirike (C) and
Ezekiel Cuttino, both
members of the 1th grade
Talent Pool.
By JANE FISHMAN
Features Writer '
First came the introduction by Alexandria Clifton, a seventh-grade student at Bartlett Middle School, She was
poised and to the point.
•
. "I -'am here to welcome Cass1 Cassidy, who fought in
World War II. Thank you for coming to talk to us today. Mr
Cassidy will be interviewed by Brian Rosenzweig and Jason
Hampton-. Jeff Graham and Stephen Crawford will be operating the video camera. Faisal Johnson and Patrick.Parkman, who-will be interviewing our next veteran, are observing." . ;
The first two interviewers, their hair combed neatly,
heir feet plafited squarely on the floor, are also seventhgraders at Bartlett. For 3r£ weeks, their class, which is part
Df the school's Search Program/Talent Pool, has been going
o the library to study World War II, talking to members of
the 8th Air Force and meeting in groups to pool what they
earned.
'
To personalize their research, the class decided to interview and videotape 15 veterans from the community. After
he interviews, the groups developed a time line and drew
maps of where their particular veteran fought.
Holding 3-by-5-inch cards containing their questions, the
first pair of students sat eager to start the 30-minute interview. To cut down on noise from ringing school bells and
public announcements, the interviews were conducted in the
office of Clayton Powell, across Montgomery Street from
Bartlett.
From the initial questions, the students learned Cassidy
was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force who enlisted in
September 1941, four months before Pearl Harbor. He
thought he would gel his one-year hitch in the military over,
he said later, "but you know what happened Dec. 7, 1941.
The rest is history."
Cassidy, who was reared in Oklahoma and had a football
scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, stayed in the
service until 1965. As an aircraft commander, he flew 62
missions. After the war, he served on bases in Louisiana,
Oklahoma, Kansas. Illinois, California, Utah, Kansas, Alas-
Photos By
Paula Gomez
Staff
ka, Texas and South Carolina. Cassidy* was transferred to
Hunter Army Airfield in 1962, where he was .a squadron
commander.
; . - . ' . .
Following is a sampling of the questions and answers
asked by Rosenzweig and Hampton:
''£>id you fly on D-Day ?"
"Twice, in the morning and afternoon. It was a devastating day, a nasty day. There was mass confusion. There were
many ships in the harbor off-loading that you weren't supposed to fly over, but you had to and then they would shoot
at you. It was a miserable day. A whole lot of people got
killed."
'' Were you scared ?
, "Each time you went up you were scared. The only mission you weren't scared was the first one because you didn't
know any better."
'' Were there many casualties ?"'
"Far too many."
'' Was the war very emotional for you ?"
"It was a job we had to do at that time. You tried not to
get emotional.' 1
1
'Did you feel like quitting ? "
"Yes, after mission No. 1. It got harder and harder to
pull the throttle. It worked on you."
"Did you think of your family in the States?"
"No, we didn't dwell on that. We had a job we had to do."
1
'Do you still keep in contact with your crew ?''
"Yes, I do. They are scattered all over the country, in
Wisconsin, Florida and California. And my bombadier lives
in Savannah. We went through the entire war together. You
• See HISTORY, Page 2E
Hospitality Association To Honor Emma Kelly With Traub Award
By RICHARD FOGALEY
Features Writer
When Imam didn't show up. Mayuma
took out a piece of paper w i t h a popular
Turkish song scribbled phonetirally in
.Japanese and motioned to the Lounge
Lizard that she was ready
Ho brought her on stage, she sang her
number solo and the room erupted w i t h
applause, especially from the blonde
Hussian
"I m a k e many mistakes." Mayuma
said when she returned lo the l a h l e . all
flushed, "bul you <lo not know
We let'l shortly after t h a t . I he lour ol
us, since my friend and I were l e a v i n g on
a 7 ;\ in flight As we got up. the Monde
d i d , loo. m a k i n g her w a \ lo yet a n o t h e r
lahle
"Where are von f r o m " " I said
woman lo w o m a n " W h o are YOU
really •"•
"1 am H o m a m a n . she r e p l i e d ,
s m i l i n g mysterious!} "I am disco
queen "
Section E
SCOTT BRYANT/Stnff
EMMA KELLY: Honored by group
She was a confidante lo songwriter .Johnny Mercer Her fans are legion .lust the
mention of,her name evokes images of cabarets and piano bars, and even Savannah il
self
And as f a i t h f u l as her t a n s are to her.
K m m a Kelly is just as faithful lo t h e m , al
ways ready lo play I h e i r f a v o r i t e songs
"People come back and s l i l l Imk around
for me," she said recently, before s t a r l i n g
her n i g h t l y set al H a n n a h ' s K a s t . Hen Turk
er's j a / / elub a l x i v r t h e P i r a t e s ' House
d o w n t o w n Her M a r k h a i r was pulled hark
into its signature him w i t h two Oriental
wooden hair s t a y s in I heir usual place
The grand dame k n o w n as I he " L a t h ol
Six Thousand Songs.' a inomkei pinned on
her In Mercer. p l a y s al H a n n a h ' s Tuesday
through Sa!urda\ night-*
Kniina K e l l x ' s popularitx and the lad
t h a i , to m a n y , she and S a v a n n a h are syn
onymoiis are w i n she \ \ i l l he honored
Thursday w i l h Ihe S a v a n n a h H o s p i t a l i t y As
social ion's annual Trauh A w a r d The
award, in its eighth year is presented to
someone who has contributed (o local tourism and is named after Herh Traub. former
owner of the Pirates' House In his 114 years
w i t h the r e s t a u r a n t . Trauh turned il i n t o one
of the best known in the c o u n t r y and il he
came one of the city's major tourist a t t r a c
lions He sold il in 1W7
The Mack t i c event begin*- at ti .'Ul p i n
w i t h a reception al Ihe H y a t t Regency Hol d , followed by dinner and t h e a w a r d s pre
sen! a! ion About MO people ai e e \pedod lo
attend
John U e r e n d t . whose S.i\ a n n a h hased
hook " M i d n i g h t in Ihe < i . n d e n "I I'.ood and
l-'.vil" h a s graced n a t i o n a l he^Kdlei l i s t - * I < M
more t h a n M4 weeks, w i l l presenl Ihe a w a i d
to K e l l v H e r e n d l ' s hook t omhme^ a l i a g i e
d e a l h . \oodoo, ;t d i : » | : queen and m a i n d
Ihe c h a r a d e s who i n h a b i t \\\v- c i l \ m l o .1
story t h a i has been responsible lor n i i m e i
oils t o u r i s t \ isiK lhi'> \ e . u K e l l \ i^ men
tinned pi o m m e n l K in t h e book
Herendt w;«s d e l i g h t e d !o t1\ in II i » m
New N U r k C i ( \ for I h e e v e t i l ^ . i n l MOD Me
Pamel. general m;mag«M d l l i < l l \ ; » l l ;md
president o l t h e S a v a n n a h l l o ^ p i l . i h l x
ciation
This is the eighth year the association
has presented the award. Last year's recipient was Senia Wilkes of Mrs Wilkes' Hoarding House
Proceeds from the $7f> per person event
will be used to pay for Christinas decoral i o n s , such as bows and garlands, for 21 of
Ihe c i t y ' s squares Area residents, in con
j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e D o w n t o w n Neighborhood
Association, design and i n s t a l l the decorat i o n s , w i t h help from Ihe cily's Park and
Tree i V p a r l m e n l
The event also helps celebrate t o u r i s m .
Ihe c o m m u n i t y ' s second largest employer,
a l l e r m a n u f a c t u r i n g , and one t h a t goner
ales more t h a n $(»(H) million a n n u a l l ) in rex
onues. M c U a n i e l said "We represent ho
Ids r e s t a u r a n t s , l o u r companies and relat
ed m d u s t n e s \ w Inch serve* '.' !> m i l l i o n tour
i s t s each year." he added
O t h e r people w e n * m e n t i o n e d as possible
ret i p i e n N ol Ihe T i a u h A w a r t l but the
b o a i d w a s ( | i i t t ^ k l o pick l \ d l \ McPann*!
said
• SOP AWARD, Paqe 2E