Front Street Weekly; 307

[Intro Music] Oregon Public Broadcasting presents Front Street Weekly; a television magazine featuring news and arts coverage from an Oregon perspective. With Gwyneth Gamble and Jim Swenson. [Intro Piano Music] [Gamble]: Good evening, I'm Gwyneth Gamble. Welcome to Front Street Weekly.

[Swenson]: I'm Jim Swenson and here are some highlights of the stories that we'll be seeing tonight. It's progress to some, but the new Banfield light rail project is making many East County residents angry. [Woman]: We even went to the governor and implored the governor to stop this mass transit system. [Gamble]: To be a firefighter in rural Grants Pass, you not only have to be good at putting out fires, you must be a competitive business man. [Swenson]: Many people across the country are deciding to have out of hospital births. But why is the trend in Oregon so high? [Man]: If you are going to have something serious go wrong, your house is really not where you'd rather be. [Gamble]: Some of Portland's finest are covering their beats on horseback and they're proving to be very successful. [Man]: The program has been well accepted ever since its inception and it continues to receive high acclaim. [Swenson]: From Oregon the Hollywood, meet nationally famous comedy writer, songwriter, and entertainer Mason Williams. [Gamble]: And correspondent Steve Amen is on the run again.

For those of you who think jogging and fitness are no laughing matter, stay tuned. [Swenson]: If you've driven the Banfield freeway in recent months, you can't help but notice a great deal of construction going on. The changes are part of a 309 million dollar project highlighted by the addition of a new light rail transit system. But not everyone is boasting about the coming of the modern trolleys. Many residents in the affected area are critical of the new transit plan and doubt light rail's chances for attracting riders. [Walker]: This is the site of Oregon's most ambitious project yet. To move people from one spot to another. It's called the Banfield Light Rail project. 15 miles of track and modern day trolley cars stretching between Portland and Gresham that will move an estimated 40,000 people a day. But some question whether the project will ever be successful. And indeed, whether it should have been started at all. [Bay]: People say they're going to build the trains, but will anyone come? The answer is yes, they will come. We're not we're not running a train out through virgin

territory that no ridership has ever been on. We're running it right through the middle of Multnomah County's densest corridor. The area where people live now and where the heaviest transit ridership has historically been. [Lee]: I think it's a boondoggle, but then, it's going to happen anyway. [Walker]: Lee Houghton and his wife Ruth live along the light rail route on Burnside. They question Tri-met's ridership figures. [Ruth]: The buses go on Burnside from Gresham to Downtown Portland and very seldom that there are many riders; most often very, very few riders. [Bus noise] [Bay]: There's always a perception that buses are empty if a person sees a bus that is empty at one time. We're not running empty buses, we're running busses that are carrying people. But every bus at one point in time has to be empty,

if you think about it. [Walker]: The new light rail system will be one part of a larger transportation improvement plan for the Banfield corridor. A plan that includes the widening of Interstate 84 to carry six full-sized lanes. And many buses will be redirected from their downtown route to travel on north south street by adding faster service throughout the east side. The larger freeway, and the new bus lines, are welcome changes for many travelers. But the addition of light rail has drawn fire from East County residents. What is light rail? And how will it work in Portland? We spoke with Tony Venturato of Tri-met, the agency supervising light rail development. [Venturato]: The term light rail means it's light construction. As opposed to heavy rail which is a heavy construction tunnels, barrier structures, that kind of thing. The cars themselves will be approximately 90 foot long. We've specified that they make them 90 foot long so we can make it through car trains

and they would fit nicely into a downtown city block without blocking crosswalks or intersections. They're electric. There's no fuels, fossil fuels at all involved. It's a comfortable ride. They're quiet. They're much quieter than automobiles, buses, and trucks. [Walker]: Trains like these, which are now running successfully in Edmonton Canada, will be used on the Banfield Light Rail system. And this will be one end of the trolley line. Tracks will loop through downtown Portland before crossing over the steel bridge. [bell sounds ringing] The light rail cars will reach their fastest speed, 55 miles per hour, while traveling here along the northern side of the Banfield freeway. The trolleys will also run through the heart of this residential district along East Burnside street to its final destination downtown Gresham. [Piano Music Plays]

Portland had a light rail transit system as early as 1872, but back then, they were called trolleys or street cars. And in those days mass transit was big business. Streetcar lines spread in all directions. Then something better came along. [Drive-by car sound] The automobile. Tri-met's burden is to convince people to return to the trolley and to leave their cars at home. Sheeran Kelly was a member of the citizens advisory committee that recommended light rail be used to move people on the east side. But she is one of those who remains critical of light rail's chances for success. [Kelly]: It will be very difficult to move a hundred twenty thousand people from your cars to a mass transit system, I think. Even though it appears that it will be far more sophisticated than buses are and

hopefully more efficient. We're still enamored with our cars in east Multnomah County. [Bay]: I have personally looked as well as my staff-very qualified staff. I've looked at the patronage from about four different angles, four different approaches to it. From every approach that we've taken it, it is very clear the ridership will be there. [Walker]: Using a computer and a complicated formula involving future options, Tri-met says they've been able to calculate the ridership for light rail and each time studies have been done over the past six years, Tri-met contends, the computer forecast they use has shown light rail to be cost effective. But for many homeowners and businessmen along east Burnside, computer readouts don't provide much reassurance. Clay Wertz is a business owner in the Rockwood area. [Wertz]: I don't understand, I really don't. I think it's a gigantic white elephant that we the taxpayers are going to end up paying for. And I hope I don't have to pay the supreme price of

going out of business for someone's foolishness in my opinion. [Cover of Nobody Rides for Free by Ratt plays] [Drilling sounds play] Construction of the Banfield transit way project, that's both the light rail and the freeway work, will cost over 309 million dollars. Tri-met's share of the total price tag: 10 and a half million. And at the time when the transit authority has had to trim back services to meet its own bills, 10 and a half million dollars makes light rail suddenly seem very heavy. But as Tri-met's Paul Bay told producer Scott Elliott, it's a gamble Tri-met is ready and willing to take. [Elliot]: When you're trimming back on services, is that a good time to be implementing light rail?

[Bay]: The light rail will actually start operations in '86. We're hopeful that by '86 there will be a substantial turnaround but we can't guarantee that. On the other hand, we have to develop our capital projects in terms of the long term. When you're building a light rail project which is something that's going to last a half a century, you don't plan it on the basis of little perturbations in the economy over six months or over one year. [Drive by sounds] Tri-met is hoping the new light rail service will keep the agency in the black. Two car trains with one driver can carry as many passengers as six buses with six drivers. That means they don't have to pay as many drivers and that means Tri-met saves money. But of course the whole plan hinges on people choosing to ride light rail. If that doesn't happen, Tri-met admits, they'll have to turn back to taxpayers for help.

[Elliot]: If we don't get that base level of ridership, won't the money for light rail have to come through the payroll tax? [Bay]: That's right. If the ridership isn't there immediately, what they'll be paying for is the base of the service. [Mainzer]: We'll know about it some of the time but if things come up, don't hesitate to call us, because it's going to be our job to make sure that construction's as easy as it can be, although we do realize it will be difficult. [Walker]: This is one of hundreds of meetings Tri-met has arranged to provide information about the light rail system over the years, and in fact the Banfield transit way project has had more public input, Tri-met says, than any other public works project in the state of Oregon. Along East Burnside, Tri-met has used a special community relations staff to ease the fears of home and business owners. [Mainzer]: It's unlike any other project in that if the road was just going to be widened. If something was in the right of way, we'd just, the bulldozer would come through and just take it right out. We tried to take the homeowner into consideration. We're having community meetings with about 20 homeowners every Tuesday night.

[Man 1]: Yes ma'am. [Woman]: You are saying there will be street lights. Now are the property owners going to pay for that? [Man 2]: Grade, like example, will your grade be higher on some property and lower on other properties? [Man 3]: Will there be a sewer assessment for residence? [Man 4]: Do we pay for that or do they put that on there? What are they doing? [Mainzer]: There's been a lot of people who have been upset when they come to the meetings and once they realize that somebody does care enough to look at their particular property and see what's there now and is also willing to come out of their home and walk around and look at where this rose bush is today and where it's going to go afterwards I think there is some sort of comfort. [Lee]: I mean we have no no complaints about how they're handling it. But, like I say I, don't think anybody wanted it in the first place. [Walker]: The Houghton's have lived on East Burnside for 33 years. They attended Tri-met's public meetings and they feel like the decision in favor of light rail was made even

before the discussions began. [Lee]: I don't know, it seemed like the talking didn't do much good, you know, go ahead and do what they're going to do anyway. It seems to me. [Ruth]: They didn't take a vote of how you feel about it and we had the impression that a great number of them were not in favor of it. [Wertz]: If I had a button to push that would stop the project today. I would push the button. [Walker]: Clay Wertz has operated his Baskin-Robbins franchise in the Rockwood area for four years now. Wertz fears that the construction and traffic patterns could make his story inconvenient for drive by customers. [Wertz]: I've been saving my my pennies, and my broken cones, and I'm preparing for a rough go. I hope that this doesn't look like a bombed out area after they're done because all the businesses went out. My friends at the paint store next door are leaving because of the light rail coming.

[Elliot]: Are you aware that several businesses have already abandoned their stores on Burnside street and moved to other areas because of the coming of light rail? [Bay]: I'm aware that people have alleged that they're doing it because of the coming of light rail. [Elliot]: I've talked to some people who have said that they are leaving. And one of the main reasons is because of what real coming. [Bay]: I'm also aware that it is quite possible that those businesses were marginal to begin with. And I'd say a smart businessman is a person who, business man or woman, who comes in and says look change is real. Change is inevitable I'm going to adapt. [Ruth]: Well I'm not happy about it. I think it's progress and this is what we have to accept and we'll go along with it. And we're trying to be cooperative. [Walker]: Sheeran Kelly agrees that cooperation is the answer at this point. When a final push to stop the light rail failed she decided to make the best of the situation. [Kelly]: Many of the communities were to benefit by this new transportation plan. And I think then we came to realize that

the Burnside, the people who lived on the Burnside corner were going to have to pay the price for the region. Which is generally the case with major transportation projects. [Construction noise] [Walker]: Discussions have already begun about extending the light rail line from downtown along the Sunset Highway to the Beaverton area. And in fact an environmental impact study is already underway to determine whether Oregon can make use of still another trolley line. [Kelly]: Even as we look at the west side line, I think the majority of us are sitting back and saying let's wait and see what happens with the east side line. Let's wait and see if this thing really works as well as the planners say it will. [Swenson]: Light rail for east Multnomah County may be criticized by some but the design of the trolley line has been praised recently by progressive architecture magazine. The publication has honored the Banfield project with a national award, citing its ability to blend in different neighborhoods

accepting the award for its design of the transit system was the Zimmer [Imaudible] Fresca partnership of Portland. [Guitar music] [Gamble]: Fire Stations, traditionally, are publicly run institutions funded by local tax dollars, but in rural Grant's Pass, there are two fire departments which don't raise money in the conventional way. And as reporter Trish Nyworth found out, that has turned these two fire departments into fiery competitors. [Nyworth]: It's been said the Grants Pass Oregon has a little bit of everything. Outdoor Recreation, lots of sun, and of course a close knit community. But if you think the charm of this Southern Oregon town ends here, then you haven't met the folks who make sure things don't get too hot out of

town. [Fire truck siren] [Dispatch]: Headquarters to all units, we have a 1333. Headquarters to all units, we have a 1333. [Nyworth]: When there's a fire in the countryside, it's a Grant's Pass Rural or Valley Fire to the rescue. On this day, both responded to a blaze in the small city of Merlin, in no other place than the city dome. That's not to say that putting out this fire wasn't important. It smoldered for well over an hour and could have provided a real hazard to nearby trees. But what's unusual here is not that both departments have conscientious firefighters but that they are privately owned businesses that are set up to make money. [Turnball]: Basically, we operate in pretty much the Fire

Service standards for this area. From the business standpoint, however, we watch our budget on a monthly basis and it's affected by the income and renewals of subscriptions. Nothing can get the employees of this place any madder than somebody accusing them of not having that drive or that public service spirit that it takes to perform the job. It definitely exists here. [Nyworth]: That spirit has made these two departments part of a growing number of public services gone private. The trend is called privatization and at least here in Josephine County, it seems to be working. [Miller]: My family was the type of people that helped one another. I can remember they got their living out of a fall to the ground. And I can remember him giving sacks and sacks of vegetables away to families that had children. And when I got a little older and we moved out of the mountains then I would take milk, or carry mail, or I was always helping someone. And I just grew up with

it. [Nyworth]: Meet Bert Miller, an old pro at running a fire business. She's been doing it now with this combination fire and ambulance service for more than 20 years. Hers is a family operation that boasts elbow grease instead of sparkle. [Miller]: You have to stop and think of the rewarding things. The people that have gone into cardiac arrest and are walking the streets today. People that have been in traumatic accidents that are still viable people today. So you have to kind of look at the bright side. You have to learn a sense of humor which to maybe the outside public kind of seems morbid, but it's a way for us to let out our tension, to keep us going. We've got to try to do the best thing we can for people. And you know, and makes it real hard. And we're not to paint polished fire department. [Nyworth]: Not too far from the headquarters of Grant's Pass Rural is another flourishing

business and competitor, Valley Fire. This relative newcomer in business for only about four years so far, not only prides itself on working hard but also on running a popular company, claiming nearly 6,000 subscribers. But it wasn't always that way. What was it like when you started? Did you just go around knocking on doors and saying hey we're here? [Turnball]: That was pretty much it. We did budget quite a bit for radio advertising and went to the newspaper for as much initial news flash as we could get on coming into business, which was quite a bit. Penetration into the community, however, was pretty slow. It took a couple years before I think I could say that half the people out there knew what we were or where we were. [Nyworth]: Learning to be a fire department wasn't tough for this crew. All are seasoned professionals, but learning to be a business had its drawbacks. [Turnball]: The real lessons have definitely been in running a business. Learning how to deal with a

business. Everything about our business. That's been quite an education, something that I was totally unprepared for and just had no idea. I actually had visions of a lot of free time while running this place. It wasn't my feelings then, nor now that public or private had anything to do with the quality of service that was going to be delivered by particular fire agency. That's management. Competition between us and our competitor, I think you won't have any problem confirming this with them in an interview, is not in existence on the emergency scene. There is no- The competition between us is on a marketing level. [Nyworth]: Now when you talk subscribers, that's where all the competition comes in. And with two fire departments covering virtually the same territory, attracting subscribers is the name of the game. Competition aside, both departments have managed to carve out a niche in this rural community, and even though they might look a little bit different from each other, and are operated quite a bit differently than the fire stations you

might be familiar, with both Grant's Pass Rural and Valley Fire can carry their hoses and hats with pride. For they say what's really important to the fire business, like the fire station, is not the ads or the hype or even the competition. It's making sure that every last ember is out, even at the city dome. According to the people who subscribe to these two departments, their fire service is just as good as any public department with which they have dealt. Is this some kind of a national trend or anything? Are we seeing examples of this elsewhere? Well Jim yes we are. There are cities across the country which have departments looking at this as an option because of avoiding the high-tax dollars. What about here in Oregon? There are five fire departments in Oregon which have already gone private. And I understand there are some police departments which are looking at it as an option as well. Well, there are about 40,000 babies born each year on the average in the state of Oregon and now many Oregonians have come full circle in their ideas about childbirth going back to the

days when most of the births took place in the home. In 1982, almost five percent of the babies were born out of the hospital. I should advise you that this following report does contain some scenes of an actual birth. Most of the babies in this country are born in a hospital delivery room such as this one. But more and more parents are coming to believe that this is a cold and sterile way to bring life into the world and so they're looking for alternatives. The critics of the alternatives say that they are unsafe and even dangerous to mother and child. There are documented risks to home births- to all births actually. But- hospital situations can handle these risks, where home births can't. And I feel, and there's evidence to show, that the damage is done to a few babies and home births to me don't justify having a home birth. Justified or not, the fact is an increasing number of women are

deciding to give birth away from hospitals. In fact, Oregon for some reason has the highest out of hospital birth rate in the United States, at just under five percent. [background birthing breathing. The baby has real good color] But why would so many women choose an option many in the medical community call risky. Mothers like Gail Stevenson, who has been through this out-of-hospital birth experience three other times, say impersonal hospital births can't compare with the experience of having a baby at home or in a birthing center. [backround birthing sounds. Another boy!] I wanted to have a home birth because I wasn't really pleased with the first- with the first birth in the hospital even though it was basically really nice. I just thought there could be a lot more available. I think that sometimes it could be more risky to be in a hospital in terms of being able to have the kind of a natural birth without interventions.

I really feel more comfortable at home and safer actually. Michael ?Anjarsky? is a naturopathic physician and a home birth attendant. He worries that some mothers may choose an out-of-hospital birth for the wrong reasons. I do see a certain percentage of people choosing alternative birthing because it's a cheaper option and I think that is a bit of a worrisome feature. I don't think that should be your deciding factor of where to have your baby. Not only can parents now decide where to deliver their baby but also who they want to deliver it, which points up another potential danger. The use of lay midwives. Those without any formal medical training in home deliveries and their numbers are growing. There are now about 70 in Oregon. Dr. Peter ?Bors? used to be a strong proponent of home births, but after delivering over 800 babies in the home and seeing the potential for complications, he now believes that a home situation is too risky for childbirth. If they say they want to have it at home with a- with a midwife I just tell them that you know I think

that's your choice. I think there's a little gamble involved in making that decision. Were they to have a serious complication that would not be the ideal situation for them to be in. I think everybody would accept that. The bad thing about, to me, lay midwives is that anybody can call themselves a lay midwife. The state- state of Oregon as far as I know, doesn't have any licensing or any control over this situation at all. Doctor ?Zilkey? is right. There are no licensing procedures for practicing midwives in the state of Oregon. Anyone over the age of 18 can simply call themselves a midwife and deliver babies without state intervention. I think where the state needs to intervene is to do whatever it can do to make sure that births that occur out of hospital occur in the safest manner possible. I'm not sure and, right now whether creating a licensure process for lay midwives is the best way to do it. Mary Canvasser is an unlicensed midwife. Although her practice isn't regulated by the

state, she is a member of the Cascade Midwives Association, a group of midwives in the Portland area who have developed their own standards. Mary says while licensing may get rid of some of the risk it might also change the advantage that brought expectant mothers to midwives in the first place. I feel that there's advantages to licensing. My fear is that midwives and consumers wouldn't be involved with that and it would be placed into the medical- medical hands and that's my main concern. Although there is no proof that giving birth out of the hospital is causing a growing number of infant deaths, many do believe a birth is less safe in a home or birth center. Well certainly if there is- if there is a life threatening situation that needs some very high- high- highly technical equipment and that equipment isn't there, then certainly that woman is in infinitely greater risk than if they were in the hospital. But in-home birth supporters say hospitals are not without risk themselves. Serious complications during labor and delivery can happen here as well.

I don't think you can ever really guarantee a healthy outcome to any mother. You know there's the extreme emergencies that happen in the hospital that you know those babies can't be saved. Hospitals don't deny that. Yes they're probably in hospitals but I think that that they're anticipated and be corrected. Birth attendants and parents usually agree that when either the life of the mother or child is threatened the hospital is the best place to be. Here, experienced birth attendants and emergency medical equipment are always available. It was never a bad experience and I always felt comfortable being in the hospital where the medical equipment was available to me and for my child in case something went wrong. If you are going to have something serious go wrong, your house is really not where you'd rather be. You've got- then you've got to face some kind of emergency transportation, the time involved, and then to get to a hospital you can have definitive treatment. The increasing popularity of out of hospital births has already had some effects on the slow changing established medical

community. In an effort to compete with the new birthing centers a number of hospitals are already making an effort to create rooms that offer a more home-like atmosphere. Rooms like this bear little resemblance to the old delivery rooms. Doctors too are responding to parents' desires for a drug free delivery. I would hope of course that if with our changing in hospitals and making it more homelike atmosphere, that we could convince most of these women that they should have hospital deliveries. But I recognize that there are going to be some who actually will not accept that. Certainly faster Rosemary, and if that means anything it should be a girl. Sounds good. Between 90 and 95 percent of all births are considered normal or low risk. But whether even so-called low risk mothers and their babies are safe at home or in a birthing center is a judgement for the expectant parents to make.

There's pros and cons in both sides. And so what it is is to give- to give women the choice that they want to make. You know for their birth and control of their birth. When I tell a patient and what I believe myself is that if you can be well followed by a competent doctor and you feel comfortable where you're delivering, then that's the best situation for you. Because of the growing number of out of hospital births, a licensing requirement for lay midwives is expected to be introduced in the next Oregon legislative session. [transition music] [music] Portland's mounted police unit has served as a model for similar programs across the country, and from as far away as Australia, there's a police department importing the idea from the Rose City.

The Portland mounted police are now an established fixture on Portland streets but four years ago when Sergeant Larry Kanzler began the unit he wasn't sure it would succeed. Initially there were some misgivings. We had some concerns about whether they were going to be effective, whether they were going to be just a public relations aspect or were they going to actually go we got there and do a police problem or handle police problem. And early on we proved to them that we could also have a very functional [inaudible ] enforcement We so we do both. How did the public initially receive mounted policemen? Excellent. The program has been well accepted Eever since its inception and it continues to receive high acclaim. In other cities most horse officer teams are used strictly for crowd control. But in Portland the mounted police do almost every job a patrol officer in a car can do. You can't

speed down the freeway at 70 miles an hour. There are some very obvious limitations in speed. But other than that we can take the same calls. I carry the same reports in my saddlebags the officer working the car carries. I can respond in the downtown community probably faster than a car can because I'm not limited to one way streets and like I'm not limited to operating on the street ,I can walk on the sidewalk and I can, I can maneuver the horse through the traffic very easily. Kanzler says he and his partner can pin a suspect between the horses so that the suspect cannot move. Here a suspicious looking character is arrested by the officers. That's tight. [laughter] That's it -that's it. That's all we do. That's really - Could you come in tighter? Yeah we could come right into it where both horses are leaning on each other. So we just reach down and put your hands behind your back - like so? - and Lester takes the think that's lady right there. That's ahead. Just. Like so around your wrist. then we just cart you off like so. That's all there is to it.

And Front Street gets arrested. It is economically wise to keep them out of police mounted unit growing. For the cost of one patrol car. Seven mounted teems can be on the street. And there's the added benefit of beautifying the city as well. I'm curious. What do you do about horse manure. Each officer carries a scoop in his saddle bags. If the horse defecates on the sidewalk the individual officer cleans it up. He puts it into the flower boxes downtown or into the park. Around here we got a lot of flower- flower bushes - well fertilized - well fertilized right. The high protein food value that we're feeding the horses - as soon as water hits it it just kind of dissolves and disintegrates and it becomes good fertilizer. Mounted police officers believe that an important contribution is their communication with the public. But it takes a certain personality type to be a successful member of the mounted police team. The officer needs to be a gregarious person. He needs to have the willingness to talk to the community and to the news media. Have a willingness to support

Work. police department. In all aspects of its function and have a willingness to do the job in a very unsupervised role. Even though the program has met with unqualified success, still for Kanzler, There have been frustrations. As the office you can see it down there who implemented this program. been your greatest frustrations? The slow movement of city government. That's right. Try to train yourself on a program And all of a sudden its gone. But officer cannes seems to believe the police. equestrians are here to stay. It is successful and I'm sure it will continue to be successful. I think it's going to stay/ I really do. Jim, this was a fun story to do but I do have to admit to you I was a little nervous being pinned between those two great big horses. Well at least they're out there picking up the right criminals for a change. Thanks a lot.

But you know it was really interesting to watch the interaction between the officer and the horse. He trains the animal, he stays with the animal, he grooms him, he takes care of him. There really is a tie between officer and animal. Well it's- it's also impressive that that service is so inexpensive. I forget what your ratio was. Well it's seven mounted units to one patrol car so you're getting a lot more officers on the street for than the cost of one patrol car. That's great. Now some scenes from Burt McDowell's record a studio in sherwood and a view of some cultural events coming up soon. [music] Tonight on our tapestry segment after two Grammy awards and a stint in Hollywood

comedy writer, songwriter and entertainer Mason Williams has returned home to Oregon. [guitar music by Mason Williams] Mason Williams started out in Texas. Moved to Oregon when he was in junior high school. Back then fame and fortune were the last things on his mind. There's lots of indications of no talent. And I was interested in girls, softball, and being a forest ranger. Probably in that order. It wasn't until the late 50s that Mason became interested in writing or music. Folk music was big back then. And Mason decided to become a music major at the University of Oklahoma City. As a member of a folk trio, Mason had a brief encounter with the up and coming Smothers Brothers. They played at the same club in Aspen Colorado. Not much transpired out of that first meeting until Mason started a solo act at a popular club in Los Angeles.

Sherry Smothers, a Talmudic sister, had been- she was a waitress at the Troubadour and she had been listening to my material and she talked Tom and Dick into coming down one night to listen to some of my stuff. And they asked me if I would make an album with them but just- just to play guitar and they would do some of my material in the album. We did it about three days after- after that so it was kind of a rush job but it was an ongoing relationship from then on. Smothers Brothers theme - [whistling and guitar music, applause] If I had a ship [audience repeats singing] Smile when you sing [audience singing - I'd sail away] Wait. Hold. [inaudible - Tommy & Dick ] buy -[Tommy] wait a second someone- I heard someone not singing over there. [Dick] I wasn't watching. You mean you saw some guy not singing? [Tommy] No, I heard him right over there. [Dick] Now wait a minute. You can't

hear somebody not singing. [Tommy] This is a song where people are supposed to join in. [Dick] I know it but you can't hear anybody not singing. [Dick] You saw- you saw the guy. [Tommy] No, I wasn't even looking over there and I heard him clear as a bell. Just absolutely Really nothing. [Dick] Tommy you can't not hear someone not singing. [Tommy] you can so. [Dick] its imposssible. you have to see him. [Tommy] You can- 'kay. Am I singing right now? [Dick] No. [Tommy] How do you know? [Dick] Because I can- [music] Mason wrote that theme song for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour which aired on CBS from 1967 to 1969. He was also a comedy writer and an award winning senior writer during the show's last two seasons. According to Mason, the series was given the worst time slot available. The one opposite Bonanza. Which was called the kamikaze time slot because nobody had been able to make a dent in Bonanza. Something like nine shows and gone down in the la- in the two years before they offered it to us and. Tommy and i were living together at that point. And uh we were looking at Mort

Saul and some different people and we were saying - Gosh you know there's really nothing on mainstream television that- that reflects what's going on on the street in the counterculture and so we went into it realizing that we- that if we stayed cornball and kind of insipid that we'd probably go down but if we started reflecting what people- what we felt what other people were saying That maybe we would have a chance really is definitely in sight for. At least this portion right in here. Informed sources have informed us that the Mexican government is confiscating in burning large amounts of a peculiar weed. It is therefore expected that northerly winds will push an overall 'high' into this area. One of Mason's favorite original comicedy skit ideas was the Pat Paulson for president campaign in 1968. [Dick] Ladies and gentlemen

the next president of the United States, Patrick L. Paulson. Learned a lot about politics in the process Of writing and I thought that was probably the best work we did because we illuminated you know in an entertaining way through the political process. And Pat was able to be the perfect candidate in that he could say accidentally what all the rest them wished they could say. [Pat Paulson] Well I have no intention of reaching into the political grab bag and grabbing any man as my running mate. Im gonna reach in and grab a woman. He could be awkward where they couldn't afford to be. [Pat] Now take the Roman empire for example you never hear people talking about Antony and Brutus. Well maybe a little talk. [laughter] And he could be truthful where they- where they had to play that game. [Pat] So who would our troops overseas prefer to have for a visit? Miss America Spiro Agnew? Like I never found any situation as good as the Smothers Brothers show because I never found anybody

that was as smart as Tommy - to open the door and let you express yourself once in a while at least in ways that you want to. [Tommy] For example. In this box here is an actual size photograph of a bus that was done by one of our writers Mason Williams and the bus is right there. The actual size reproduction it's something that every artist should do. And Mason was- it came on the show when the Smothers shows first started three years ago, was one of the writers that I relied on, I think, more than anyone else. And he also has given birth to a lot of good ideas and he's put- I always think he's put the tedium back into redundancy. [laughter] Now Mason Williams also sings, plays a guitar and tonight he's going to play one of his own compositions a classical guitar piece entitled Classical Gas. [music] The original title of it finally was Classical Gasoline because I thought of it as fuel for

the classical guitar. But when the copyist wrote out the parts he just abbreviated gasoline so it became Classical Gas. So in a way he named it. I never intended to be like 'Hey man it's a gas'. Anything like that. In fact I was shocked when I realized people were thinking of it that way. [music] Mason received two Grammys for Classical Gas in 1968 and performed the song on The Ed Sullivan Show and all the popular talk shows of the day. He even made a couple of celebrity appearances without his guitar on the dating game.

The Dating Game was a- was a major source of income for the writers on The Smothers Brothers show. We used to try to get on and be- and not get picked because you got a thousand dollars every time you went on if you were a celebrity. One guy went seven times before he got picked. You were only on once? I was on three times. Did you get picked? I finally got picked yeah. And I was picked by Linda Crystal. Linda Crystal was the dark haired beauty on My Chaparral. I was supposed to go to Hawaii with her but I was writing the show and couldn't go and so she went with Batman, Adam West, instead. It was really good. After the Smothers Brothers show was canceled in 1969 because of censorship problems, Mason moved out of Hollywood. Three years later he moved back up into Oregon's Cascade Mountains and has called it home ever since. The only reason I came back to Oregon was that I felt that the woods and the whole natural environment was just a better space to be in. That the priorities are

more natural. I tend to be a workaholic so if you- in Hollywood, there's not much else to do. And they operate- there's too much opportunity there in a way. Too many things for you to take advantage of. So I think that coming back here I uh when- at five o'clock it's obviously time to go fishing. [music] I left Hollywood basically because I just- I was writing the Smothers Brothers show from 9 o'clock till 9:00 every day and then making records starting at midnight and then writing other stuff in between and carrying on as well, so I just kind of burned the candle at both ends and you forget that the same brain that you create with is the one you have to live whith. I think fatigue is what really destroys you. I

think I'm happiest really when I- when I do feel like I'm living a balanced life. Taking care of all the things that are important equally. Not letting one plant die in favor of another. Since moving back to Oregon in 1972 Mason has written comedy for a number of television shows. He teamed up again with the Smothers Brothers during the summer of '75 and wrote a special for one of the old writers on the show, Steve Martin. He also had a brief stint as a writer for the 1980 Saturday Night Live - a job he says he hated. Over the last several years he's been spending a lot of time writing bluegrass symphonies like this one performed in Tulsa Oklahoma. With. The show's reals classy you know the arrangements are very good. And. they show the years of work. [music] [music, applause] Surprisingly after all the concerts, books and television writing experience, Mason does not think of himself as a great musician or writer. He says he's more of a creator. [music]

Recently Mason put together a benefit concert in Eugene to help save a couple of Oregon rivers from hydroelectric development. He'd like to see those rivers classified as national scenic waterways. And he says the concert was his most important performance in a long time. In terms of rewarding myself and also rewarding others and also doing something for the rivers which I really love. I think this is right now is it. [singing Shenandoah with guitar] Jim I understand that Mason Williams is still writing for the Smothers Brothers.

He is, he has just written a piece for them called Fantasy for Broadcast Signal and Truck Horn. Do you know of any plans where we can see him on television or hear any of his work. The Broadcast for Signal and Truck Horn is scheduled to be on the Saturday Night Live some time in December performed by the Smothers Brothers Yes. What about other writing? He's done a song called Reggae nomics which is to be out soon and he's doing a bit of songwriting also for the Ian Tyson show. Reggaenomics performed obviously about the David Stockman trio. And finally tonight for those of you who have a hard time just getting up in the morning what about getting up an hour earlier to go jogging. Speaking of a hard time, Steve. Thanks Gwenna, nice to see you horsing aroubnd for a change. OK tonight I'm going to take a look at jogging - one of Oregon's biggest activities. You can't even drive down the road without almost hitting a robust runner crossing the street. But just what is it that drives these people to rally early in the morning. Putting in a good mile or two before breakfast. Well let's find out. This is the way it starts for a lot of us. A lazy Sunday morning watching TV, drinking

coffee and working on a nice stale Danish. And then for no apparent reason we begin to compare your body to the actors and suddenly that little roll of fat you've been meaning to get rid of begins to grow before your very eyes. The Danish is no longer a little bread topped with jams and sugar but a lump of sucrose, glucose, and dextrose. As the actors pump iron, the mind wanders to images of hitting the bench and dreams of a lean mean machine cloud your thinking. But it doesn't take long for the fog to clear only to be replaced by the sounds of grunting and the tearing of muscles better left alone. [music, grunting, weights being dropped] You don't have to have a medical degree to know you need help. And where better to get it than the local YMCA - the Mecca of healthy faces and robust bodies. ?Cary Cule? is the assistant director of health and

physical education. And it didn't take him long to size me up. You might want to consult your physician. Your experience with weight training, Steve. Might be one thing that that Might be against you Well you really want to look for a cardiovascular activity which you can maintain for a period of 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Something where you will be keeping your heart rate up at an intensity where you will be burning those calories consistently. Weight training really doesn't burn the calories. So you want- you want to get something like running or swimming or jump roping. As Cary explained the benefits of exercise I thought about the options. I can't see jumping rope for 30 minutes and swimming to me, to coin an old phrase, is staying alive in water. So that left running. Again my mind wandered to Peter Strauss gliding around the track stopwatch in hand and it wasn't too hard to put myself in that position. That is until it actually came time to

do it. Now most runners love the early morning. I think the heavy fog helps them forget what they're doing. As for me early morning is about 11. But I was determined to get into shape so I headed out at 8 to watch the other runners and gather my courage. I must admit talking to some of them was inspiring. Herb ?Bisgar? runs about 3 miles every other day and he's 50. I had heart bypass about 3 years ago. Before that I used to run. There intermittently. But. After having that happen I got scared enough to really do it consistently. I stick with it. Fear is a great motivator. Marvel ?Fangsrud? runs three to 10 miles every day. I thought it would give me extra zoom and endurance and it does. The main advantage is that I find when I run, I get by on much fewer hours of sleep. I can- I can be well rested on three or four hours, otherwise it takes 7 or 8. So I get extra

hours of living each day and that's one of the main reasons I do it. Even KOIN and sportscaster Ed Whalen hits the streets averaging 35 miles a week. I grew up playing sports. And I went to school on a football scholarship and after I didn't make the pros I started drinking and smoking and got real fat and after a while I just sort of know it's enough and I just wanted to get back into the shape I always was in so I just started running again. That's one thing I know how to do. After a while it just becomes a commitment and a way of life and hey the trade off is wonderful I tell you that. Now I was ready. It almost felt good stripping off the shackles of everyday living facing the early morning elements in sneakers and shorts. Of course there are some real disadvantages to running in the wee hours. But I was determined. So I reluctantly left two of my best friends behind and headed out. Now running around the track can be boring. I mean how long can you watch the backside of another runner. Of course the big alternative is to concentrate on the tops of your feet as they plod along. To help pass the time I thought back on some of the words of wisdom from Cary.

It's a new social event seeing runners. On the street. It is a thing to do right now, meeting people. Obviously Cary runs in a faster lane than I do. So feeling mildly rejected, I looked around for more inspiration or at least a little humor. And believe me it's there. Only minutes ago I watched this man and woman flying around the track. And now the day's workout complete, how do they celebrate? Oh well another pipe dream up in smoke. Undaunted I was determined to reach that runner's high I've heard so much about and after putting in a good 440 I hit it, only I didn't find it particularly pleasant. The track turned ugly, catching me unaware. Some people just arent built for running. Well it didn't take me too long to figure out I need a little more help. And one of the best ways to keep going is to find someone else to jog with. Course a big problem now is figuring out how to get them to stop.

Now what you can't see because of the desk is that my knees have swollen to about the size of a cantaloupe. Which brings up an important point. There are some dangers to running particularly when you're first starting out. Cary strongly advises everyone to see a doctor if you haven't been exercising regularly and always start the program with stretching exercises. And start off slow. Maybe aim for running a mile in 15 minutes. If you have trouble with your joints, a soft track is best. And make sure your running heel to toe. But the main thing to remember is that if you're having any problems consult someone who knows. I did and it sort of helped. So you've got knees the size of cantaloupes, huh Steve. It sounds as if your runner's high was a bit of a runner's low. Actually are you running every day? Yeah I'm averaging a good two - three blocks. Jim, are you a runner? I am, Sometimes. I'm not. And that's all the time that we have tonight for friends to play until next week. Good night.