The Times

Reamer Keller "Which do you prefer, Delbert, the red or the green handle?" SUBURBIA TODAY

Members of the Willimantic, Connecticut, Rotary Club had to ask a carpenter in the next room to stop hammering because they could not hear their speaker over the din. The carpenter agreed, and Conrad J. Hemond, an engineering professor at the University of Hartford, continued with his talk on "Noises We Live With." • • • Since it is against the religious beliefs of the Amish to drive automobiles, Elam Beiler, a young Amishman of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, gets around in a horse-drawn carriage. The carriage, however, has high and low headlamp beams, turn signals in the rear, a dome light that goes on when the door is opened, and a cigar lighter. • • • The Olympia State Bank, of Chicago Heights, Illinois, has a unique way of making friends, says Adele Sandberg. One day she pulled up to the Drive-In window with her three children and was gratified to find that the teller had put three packages of candy next to her receipt on the pull-out drawer. A week later, when she had her poodle along, too, there on the tray were the receipt, the three pieces of candy—and a bone-shaped biscuit for the dog. • • • A sign at an Arlington, Virginia, barbershop reads, "We Need Your Head To Run Our Business." • • • In order to help solve the shortage of well-qualified personnel, North Shore Hospital in Manhasset, New York, has built a group of attractively furnished garden apartments in which to house nurses and resident physicians. Far different from the clinical, institutional living quarters usually associated with hospitals, these apartments provide a homey atmosphere, privacy of study, and a cheerful surrounding for nurses and budding doctors. In fact, officials at the young (six-year-old), suburban hospital say that the apartments are a chief reason they soon hope to be able to attract and keep a full staff of top people from all over the world. • • • Here's good news for any churchgoer with a car in Dade and Broward Counties, Florida. Three drive-in theatres are now open on Sunday mornings for regular church services which you can attend without getting out of your car—a boon to the handicapped, the elderly, and to families with wriggly small children.

WHO LIKES AMERICANS?

Hearken to a leading travel writer: "You'll find that the South Pacific is one of the rather rare parts of the world where Americans are greeted with something surprisingly close to affection." Why? Partly it's the Polynesian custom of unrestricted hospitality. Partly, the frontier heritage shared by the U.S. and the countries "Down Under". A good way to visit this domain of friendliness is aboard the ss MARIPOSA or ss MONTEREY. ★ First is Tahiti. In Papeete, the biggest town, smiles, nods, spontaneous greetings meet you everywhere. Stare in amazement at the countless patchwork motor bikes—and likely you'll be offered a ride. Visit Quinn's Hut at night. Sure enough, people will sit down, chat, ask you to dance. They're not being forward. That's the way things are done in French Oceania. When you leave, take all your change. Nobody expects tips in Tahiti. In fact, tipping is tabu, or moderate, almost everywhere in the South Pacific. ★ Then, Matson's newest call, Rarotonga, so isolated that events of 1000 years ago are still lively topics of discussion. As your ship heaves to off the reef, the island sails out to greet you. Rarotonga lads and lasses swarm aboard to entertain with stirring songs and dances, the traditional salutation to seafarers since HMS BOUNTY called in 1789. ★ New Zealand is next. Circa 1900, a gregarious porpoise, one "Pelorus Jack," would cavort in the bow waves as ships made port. Today's welcome is less spectacular, but more substantial. The people actually enjoy making Americans feel at home. New Zealand's scenic grandeur is equally amazing. All the world's wonders are duplicated here: Scandinavia's fjords, Switzerland's Alps, Yellowstone's thermal regions, Canada's lakes and forests, England's green, rolling countryside. ★ Australia is another outpost of good will. You'll dock in Sydney, a sophisticated metropolis of two million people. Posh shops offer excellent buys in woolens. The serpentine lanes of King's Cross sprout coffee houses and jazz cellars. The city boasts 647 parks and one zoo... where you can contemplate Australia's prehistoric fauna, including the platypus and koala. ★ In earlier times, visitors to Fiji were eagerly awaited... so they could be garnished with malawathi leaves and served for dinner. This quaint custom has been discouraged. The last foreign visitor was served up in 1867 — a certain Mr. Brown. He was the last, perhaps, because these bushy-haired epicureans tried to eat his boots, too. Today's Fijian sports an appetite for good humor; he'll greet you with a resounding "Kasine!" meaning, "What a shining thing you are!" You'll enjoy the shopping in this British Crown Colony. Bazaars overflow with handicrafts from the East and imports from Europe, all at a bargain cost. ★ Then, Pago Pago, Samoa, sheltered by the lush, green walls of a sunken volcano. The Samoan custom of hospitality has little changed. That's why fales (houses) are still built without walls. Visitors are often invited to an ava ceremony. Ava, a beverage from the root of the pepper tree, has a flavor all its own. In the traditional ceremony, you quaff it with a hearty "Manuia!" the local version of "Skol!" ★ Hawaii, your final landfall, reserves its most famous welcome for Matson sea-rovers—Boat Day, a chromatic melange of streamers, leis and cheering dockside throngs. Pehaps you'll visit the Outer Islands. The sights include Haleakala, an extinct crater massive enough to swallow Manhattan Island. And Kauai's Barking Sands Beach. Gas bubbles clinging to each grain cause the sands to emit poodle-like yaps when stepped on. ★ Granted the South Pacific is a cornucopia of friendliness; how's the hospitality aboard ship? In a word, it's completely attuned to American taste. A former passenger wrote: "The service was perfect; the entire staff went out of their way to make it an enjoyable cruise for everyone ... the ship has more friendliness and personality than any I have ever been on." (Copy of letter on request.) ★ Here's what your day at sea might include: 9:30 a.m. —Open one eye. That Sadie Hawkins Party last night! But you missed breakfast. No worry. Here's your room steward with a breakfast you can devour in bed. (You hadn't asked. He must be clairvoyant.) ★ 11:00 a.m.—Up to the ballroom to trip the light fantastic. Tutored by dance instructors using the Cheney method, you're gaining quite a repertoire of steps. And it's gratis. ★ 12:15—Luncheon. Perhaps you'll try cream of mango soup, a Matson original. ★ 2:30—At the traditional Crossing-the-Line ceremony, pollywogs (those who have never crossed the equator) volunteer to be welcomed by a jovial King Neptune. ★ 5:30—You are host of a cocktail party in your stateroom. Matson provides complimentary service, set-ups and hot hors d'oeuvres. ★ 7:00—You survey the menu—and resist the temptation to order all 70-odd items. Later, you're alerted by a chorus of "Happy Birthday to You." It's a cake and candles, compliments of the Captain. ★ 9:00—Dancing, tonight's film, bridge or the Cruise Director's entertainment program? Even here, grave decisions must be made. ★ The cost? This Spring only, Matson is offering special fares reduced 25% on four cruises of the ss MARIPOSA and ss MONTEREY: March 19, April 5, May 3 and 21. Nothing else is changed. You'll bask in unmitigated luxury for as little as $22 a day—less than most resorts. The ships? Ultra-modern. All first-class, air-conditioned, gyrofin-stabilized. Private bath in every room. Each cruise is six weeks long and sails from San Francisco, following day from Los Angeles. Double-room fares range from $1155 to $1875. Special sea/air itineraries can be arranged to meet any time requirement. To learn how you can roam the paradise seas for as little as 7c a mile, mail this coupon. Matson Lines A TRADITION OF LUXURY MR. M. D. VAIL, MATSON LINES, 215 MARKET STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA ★ I AM INTERESTED IN THE SPECIAL 6-WEEK CRUISE SAILING ON _________ WITH ACCOMMODATIONS AT ABOUT $_________ OR SHOW ME HOW A MATSON SOUTH SEAS CRUISE CAN BE TAILORED TO _________ VACATION DAYS AND A BUDGET OF $_________ THERE WILL BE _________ IN MY PARTY. ST-1 NAME ADDRESS CITY ZONE STATE