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Show x wpiirtf King Herod - Tl I 1t wcont hstl ment eene 04 05 with ttw House o Roman Hamewur in end the breeder Greek it no cnristmaa event occurred ana tor' l no- -- o rareee ) By GEORGE W. CORNELL AP Religion Writer a slow, steady rhythm, the hare-este- d la slaves swung the long fans of cock feathers above King Herod's ad, keeping off the flies. He sat propped n pillows, paring an apple, mouthing it f the blade. His hands shook. His breath came altmgly, in short gasps. d His eyes shifted warily about $ reception hall, scrutinizing the Syrian oks with their laden platters, the mail--ate- d red-line- bodyguards, spears at their sides, re dusky hounds sprawling on the ed floor. Thin d wisps of smoke curled from the engraved brazier. A waier-.oc-k dripped monotonously. Outside, along the covered pergola, he card the sandaled footsteps, and at ice, a sentry stepped through the door-sa- y drapes to announce the presence of eastern traveler who had stirred up ie city with their inquiries. Herod, the knife still in his hand, for their admission. They came erward, a stately looking delegation, in ashed robes, salaaming before him in Jie Oriental manner. So these were the igi, the sages of !he hoary metaphysical books and ceies-i.signs, the strangers who had been king, a Wonisking ahout a new-bor-n a Prince of Peace, derful Counsellor, uho would reveal the glory of the Lord and whose government would have no aio--on- al ' end. it was sheer treason. Jerusalem after a readied had They bng overland journey, apparently from Persia, looking for the Illustrious child, a manifestation of the Omnipotent, toretold ;n their recondite tomes and signalled by 1 culminating phenomenon in the stars. To Herod, Herod, disease-riddealready obsessed n, with often delirious, phobias aoout do so only when sitting upright There was an odor about him, a foulness of breath. And his mind reeled with guilts, horrors and illusions, imagining his own sons swooping down on him, swords in hand, his murdered wife Mariamne wailing in the night his guards abandoning him, the hounds at his throat suspected plots against him, raised himself stiffly on the cushions, a frosty smile forming on his lips. The king greets thee, be said, coughing He ran the bade of his hand across his mouth, and leaned forward, forcing a tone of congratulatory solicitude into his voice. Say cm now, when didst thou be- At the urging of physicians, he spent long hours in the hot baths of Callirrhoe on the Dead Sea, and then more baths in warm oil at his palace. But the medications gave only temporary relief, and his disorders increased. Occasionally, he broke Into wild lamentations over friends he had doomed at random, and then ia opposite fashion, he would rage violently against them. At the same time, his unabated investigations and enveloping espionage system kept whetting rumors of treachery by his own sons of Mariamne, Alexander and Aristobulus. At one point, Herod put them on trial before Caeser Augustus in Beirut, marvel in the firmament It is a subject of our most eager desire. The beaded chief Magus cited the day and hour, along with details about a series of planetary conjunctions in 7 B.C., climaxed by a triple conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. , The cycle is complete, he said firmly. It was the supreme fravashi! It had been several months before, likely more than a year, with the intervening period required for their trip. Herod previously had interrogated Judaism's scholars, learning of their ora hold this I Herod meets the Magi to learn about their quest. where the emperor effected a reconciliation. But a rival son, Antipater, by a wife of Idumea n rather than Jewish stock, revived suspicions against the two. Herod had 2C3 courtiers confined for questioning. Some died from the lash, refusing to confess anything. But two tall, muscular guards, Jacundus and Tyrannus, who often had ridden with Alexander after Herod cast them off, confessed under torture that his son wanted them to kill the king, saying afterward he had fallen on his own sword. Adding to Herods mounting, feverish alarms, his barber, Trypho, whispered to him that an old soldier, Tero, who had served with Herod In past wars, had urged the barber in Alexanders behalf to slit the king's throat while trimming his Lard. Whipping off the apron, Herod lunged to his feet, shouting for his Galatian guards to lock the barber in irons and also the old comrade-at-armTero, and his son. In his hysteria, he ordered them all beheaded, and also the 200 officers in s, one-tim- arm-twistin- A major test of Nixons political sagacity will come ia 1970 in the target totes selected by the White House as battlegrounds upon which U.S. Senate teats and possibly control of the Senate She's Only 11, By HAROLD LUNDSTROM Deseret News Music Editor But Overweight M.D. Dear Doctor: I am only 11 years old id plenty overweight. Please send me ome advice. If my age interferes with be diet, could you possibly send me one hich is more my age diet? I hope I'll pt good diet Thank you very much, r tst a I one-ha- lf eight-ounc- 9 ja g r. j e -- q. re-ov- er m A week ago, Ballet West presented Its first performances of the "Nutcracker Ballet outside Utah, in Reno to four completely sold out houses. Ballet West has just completed another successful presentation in Albuquerque, and tha reviews of the per- follow. formances Miss L. Ballet West is now I Comment: (TVr advice is on the in Phoenix where fay.) Note to parents: I render if you it will present two Is performances Satfver realized that even an J eight conscious and eager for medical urday in the 3,000-see!p? Garamage Auditorium where every Dear Dr. Steincrohn: Please tell me if rest (top price is $10) has been sold. Here are the two Albuquerque reatmg a grapefruit or drinking n e glass of orange juice with views: 'ery meal will help one lose weight, I NUTCRACKER Is Colorful, Imagiave heard that they cut the fat in the native; by Betty Alexander, Albuquerque d- ' Mrs. D. Tribune critic. Comment: Not true. Albuquerque was served a beautiful, Dear Dr. Steincrohn' Hello, and how delicate confection by Ballet West pre ire you? I would like to ask you a ques-e- . senting the colorful, imaginative "NutIf a very old ami sick person was to cracker. ereive blood from a very young person A large and appreciative audience ftmld it work better than a transfusion watched as unique sets imported by the rom a middie-age- d one? Would he Ballet West Company transformed the faster? Mrs. S. Popejov Hall stage into a Christmas Eve Comment: I doubt that it would make of another time and place. iy difference. But its an interesting The music of Tchaikovsky's familiar peculation. Nutcracker Suite, transports Ballet Sot further information, rood Dr. Sleinerotm' dancers Wests Your Diet tec w through a night of fantaFet Cen Kill 'on" Vend cents la coin end a statncM. tree grows magicalas the Christmas sy envekve to turn tn cert of The Deseret n. Son 1257. Self Lake city, Utah (4110). ly out of sight. And the young Clara, por- r, i He had beat them, finally, he gloated furiously, purged his kingdom of them, exterminated them all, his challengers, his cherished Mariamne his comrades his own sons and hers. However, a still nobler prince, of David's line, now tented in that realm. ... ... Trembling, his sagging body dry with fevers and inflamed with Itching, Herod threw off his clothes and shut himself in the steaming palace tepidarium, demanding oils, unguents, toweling, the strigilis on his back, in no orderly sequence, gulping milk and tonics, railing incoherently at frightened slaves. Elections rs In Wyoming, the White House appears ready to accept the decision of Gov. Stanley K. Hathaway to run again for governor and is now talking to Congressman John Wold about a race opposing Sen. Gale McGee. Democratic Sen. Joseph Montoya in New Mexico is a prime target, with Republican Gov. David F. Cargo and Congressman Ed Foreman getting White House scrutiny. Congressman George Bush, a Texas Republican, is a Nixon choice to challenge Democratic Sen. Ralph Yarborough. And, if Congressman William Brock of Tennessee isnt interested in taking on Sen. Albert Gore, White House assistant Bill Timmins would be made available. This is only a partial list But even a casual scrutiny makes it clear that a number one Nixon priority is control of the Senate In 1970. And, if it takes White House pressure to produce qualified GOP candidates, that pressure will be used. 'Nutcracker Ballet ' Wins Albuquerque YOUR HEALTH STEKCROHN, vote-gette- high-power- politics. J. year that he will take on two-terDemocratic Sen. Frank E. Moss for Utah's Senate seat And, if this occurs as most Washington and Ut:Ji observes fed it will, Nixon people are willing to return national committee political division director Richard Richards to Utah to reek the ants. Congressional seat which Burton will Through stategists like Harry Dent, e aide to Sen. Strom Thurmond, vacate. But Burton is only one of a list of atthe White House is already engaged in who are tractive g in all which Republican persuasive likelihood will result in some genuine recipients of White House urging to take a crack at Senate reals. GOP opposition to a group recruit Another Nixon senatorial of carefully selected Democrats marked with Utah ties is George Romney, former for return to private life in next years Michigan governor and now Secretary of balloting. Two examples of this can already be Housing and Urban Development He is noted in Utah. The conclusion is rapidly being tabbed as a man who could beat growing that First District Congressman incumbent Democrat Sen. Philip Hart in 1970 and reportedly is listening closely to Laurence J. Burton will yield to increasing White House pressure and will White House blandishments. Now consider some of the other announce shortly after the first of the ff F. Kennedy, L .1 Lyndon B. John- son and latest Mr. Teuscher but by no means least Richard M. Nixon to observe this facet of American to death there, the place where otiier members of the Hasmonean dynasty had been executed. That was the last of them, as the deranged Herod counted it, the end of the royal Jewish dan that had beset and badgered him, threatened and fought him, slandered his own ancestry, the last of that impudent, unmanageable brood. "recruits: itself may be won. to the extent to which the One tip-oWhite House, which means Nixon, has become involved in 1970 senatorial races, can be gleaned from the candidate recruitment drives which have already been launched by key presidental assist- John custody. As for Alexander and Aristobulus, he had them bounJ and taken to his fortified palace in Sebaste and strangled '70 SPEAKING OF POLITICS By M. DeMAR TEUSCHER Deseret News Political Editor Most recent U.S. presidents are the end result of a political environment With the possible exception of Dwight D. Eisenhower, they have been the actual, as well as the titular, head of their party. One needs or.v to consider the careers of Franklin D. R o o s e velt, Harry S Truman, ; -. jMMyesgagttjg-wgg- ' r DESE2ET He staggered to his bed, calling for powders on his flesh, choking for breath when he tried to lie down, perspiring and clammy now1, huddling under downy quilts in a chair, his sensibilities drained, oblivious at one moment and starkly alert the next, rigid with unnamable, skulking penis, then dropping off again into blurred vacuity. White House Showing Hand For By PETER igCTMMlirity- And Insane, Meets The Magi Scriptural allusions to a coming Deliverer, a light to the nations of the earth. One Lke the Son of Man with an everlasting dominion, tne Jewish seer, Daniel, had envisioned in the courts of Persia itself, the homeland of these visiting mystics. And the prophet Micah, 600 years past, had written that the mighty one would be born In Bethlehem. Herod, after eliciting the time interval since the Magi saw their star, directed them to the village south of the capital, adding breathily, Go and searcu diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word that I too may come and worship him. He settled back in his seat, his thumb stroking the knife edge, as the visitors disappeared through the damask curtains. The child would be under two. Herod muttered to himself, reaching for a slab of roasted venison on a s'destand. He swallowed several bites and threw the rest to the hounds. They gulped it down and stood there, tongues lolling, greedy for more. Jackals, parasites, demons! He screamed at them, as if they represented the whole world around him, ready to pounce. Some had tried it once, the w orse for them. He had ripped them to shreds, but he still kept these beasts around to prove his nerve, daring them, these circling devils, with their beady, excited eyes, like his entire royal retinue, the stalking lot of them. Mariamne, he murmured, his head sagging. Bring her! Bring her my Mariamne! Then he gorged himself on more food, trying to sooth the ulcers scalding his insides. He also suffered from dropsy, which puffed his tissue with excess fluids, from fevers, convulsions, fierce head pains, a burning body rash and festering tumors on his abdomen and feet The glandular abnormalities and ulcers produced a ravening appetite, and his gluttony only worsened the infections. He had difficulty breathing, and as the surplus liquids clogged his lungs, could fnnstm , III 1 MUSICAL WHIRL trayed by Mary Jo Neal of the Utah-base- d company, saves her beloved nutcracker from death by the Mouse King. Then the nutcracker becomes the handsome Prince, Larry Hunt of Ballet West. Through the technical imagination of tiie production company, the audience joined Clara and the Prince on a trip through a lane of crystal ice and snow flakes to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The companys featured performers, Caroline Anderson as the Sugar Hum Fairy, John Hiatt as the Cavalier, Rocky Spoelstra as the Snow Prince, and in other roles, Mary Lynn Shupe, Richard Tanner, Dianna Cuatt and more, are precision dancers that make one hopeful Albuquerque will be seeing more of Ballet West in the future. The Nutcracker is an especially enthralling performance for children to see. They are delighted by mechanical toys that fight with the Mouse King, and by the Dance of the Wooden Soldiers. Mother Buffoon with her skirt full of buffoons (Albuquerque dancers) is a comical treat for everyone. NUTCRACKER BALLET Production Lavish; by Jim Newton, Albuquerque Journal Arte Editor. Dreams of Sugar Plums and all the other magic of Christmas comes alive in spectacular fashion in Ballet West's "Nutcracker, at Popejoy HalL Lavish settings, colorful costumes, and excellent dancing are blended to tell the story of the little girt whose nutcracker turns into a fairy Prince who whisks her off to an enchanting visit in the realm of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Joining the professional Salt Lake troupe are a half hundred New Mexico dance students. Their effectiveness is noted in the fact that all dancers blend into one excellent troupe for the full two-hoperformance. Many Albuquerque dancers have good supporting roles and do a creditable job, an excellent reflection on both their local training and the extensive special rehearsals conducted by Susan Parry, a former member of the company and now an Albuquerque resident As in previous appearances here, the troupe uses recorded music for the performances. The Popejoy Hall technical director, George Schreiber, has done an excellent job of putting together a special sound system to avoid the tinny effect of ether programs. Still, there is no substitute for a live orchestra. Perhaps in future programs here the ballet can team either with the Albuquerque or with the University of New Mexico Symphony or Chamber Orchestra. The performance is rich with solo parts, notable in the second act, with representations of Spanish, Arabian, Chine, and other styles that brought repeated spontaneous applause. And the Grande Pas de Deux that brings the entertainment to a close is effectively performed by Caroline Anderson and John Hiatt. Through watery eves, he recognized the hounds at his feet, gapemouthed, jewels dripping, mocking him, and then he realized he was staring into the face of his sister, Salome, who was telling him, warning him of further danger. Had it not been Antipater, an older son of an early Idumean wife, Dons, who had first lodged the information against Mariamne's sons? True, true, he remembered, so it was, and Salome now had evidence that the case had been fabricated by deceit, forged confessions and bribed accusers in a criminal alliance with Antipater. Where w as he? At the Herodium near the Dead Sea for the executions. Herod lurched to his feet and bolted for the door, yelling for guards. Then he stopped stontiy, realizing they already stood there, posted constantly in his chamber vestibule, and he croaked the command to seize Antipater. Shortly, he also received word tht the Magi, those alien fomenters ot treason about an almighty new descendant of David to take the throne of the world, had tricked him, outmaneuvered him. They had quit the country secretly, without .eading him to the child. Herod went bellowing through the palace, alternately raging, weeping and calling madlv for the dead Mariamne. He descended to the dungeon cells, and back again, searching uie kitchens and storerooms, scattering the domestics in panic. He climbed again to the lofty ornate apartments and roof gardens, in view of the tower named for her, striking out with his scepter at wall hangings and jeweled furnishings, panting for air, at times falling to his hands and knees and crawling along the corridors, the hounds behind him. Mariamne . . . Mariamne! At one point, he grabbed a knife and tried to stab himself, but a guard stopped him. He seemed not to notice it, or care. When Antipater was brought before him, he pointed a wavering finger, NEWS hjlJ) Dec7br Thursday, 18, 1969 oim nAti jo::: Whats Right With U. S.? Count 'Em Up By HARRY JONES J. Calvin Robinson from out on 17th South took the time to write during this busy season. He disagrees with a recent column. He did say in his letter that what this country needs is national pride. Then he asked about running a column now and then on What Is Right With America. M r. Robinson, there isnt enough space in all of the newspapers across this land tell everything that is America. There big and little. A man standing on a knock-kneeladder hanging Christmas lights around the eaves of his home It means he has some kind of faith in the story of Jesus. And all the Valley of Salt Lake City is aglow with Christmas lights. In all of the schools the young people are preparing packages for the less fortunate the needy. Sure, its the season. But it is part of what is right with America. of ours to right with your and my are so many tilings ... d ... ... I know a man in his 70s who walks with two canes. Hes partly deaf and living on a small pension. Yet since 1945 he has saved $5 to donate to CARE each year. What other country would take on the task of feeding some 35 million peo-pie in other countries? Thats what is right with America. The supermarkets across the land are stocked with more things to buy than any bawling piteously. other stores in the world. Nothing is, He would kill the king! Yet thou, O rationed except at a special sale which Antipater, was the informer against my limits iis a customer to one of the item. slain sons. You might have to stand in line at the . Death, he decreed for Antipater also. checkout counter. But compare this to , He ordered troops to imprison all of the other countries where people stand for hours just to buy a special item. principal men of Jerusalem in the hippodrome just outside the city walls. He You can complain about the inflated directed that every soldier be paid an in the market, or the high taxes. h extra bonus, 50 drachmae. prices to complain is part of what's -- . Your right to And he dispatched a cohort of them slay all male children, under two, in right Bethlehem. It wont be too long after the first of the year that the political campaigns will Tomorrow: Holocaust and Hope. begin In earnest People seeking both national office the Senate or the House, and people seeking county offices will be MERRY-CO-ROUN- D campaigning. By the time November rolls around, you and I will have had it up to here with politics. But we still have a choice of two men or more. And that is one of the big things that is right with America. I went to a sports event the other night Some 14,000 Americans stood at attention with their hands over their hearts while someone sang the National " Anthem. That is one of those tingling things that is right with America. Than, Mr. Robinson, there are the . By JACK ANDERSON peace marches. You and I feel the same WASHINGTON The venerable about those who would tear down our ' Smithsonian Institution hat swapped off flag or attempt to raise the flag of the Viet Cong. one of the nation's art treasures without But for those who march in peace and getting a formal appraisal of how much it was worth. Result: the taxpayers were for peace sincerely, right or wrong, the fact that they are allowed to demonstrate badly skinned. is what is right with America. I wonder The Smithsonian's curators gave up a what would happen to a similar group superb Flemish painting, valued at behind the Iron Curtain. 839,000 to $35,000, in exchange for an Mr. Robinson, you and I apparently American original with a price tag of disagree on some things. Rut the thing only $10,000. about this wonderful land of ours is that The unorthodox deal was made by we can disagree without either of us Robert Tyler Davis, acting director of being marched out before a firing squad. That's part of whats right with the Smithsonian's new National Collection of Fine Arts, w ho has virtually no America! funds for art purchases. Over the past two years. Congress has End allocated only $47,000 for new paintings not enough money to buy much fine Every motorist in the valley would like a portable parking space for Chrisart. Thire were paintings on hand, however, that Davis felt could be sold or tmas. swapped for something better. To enhance the National Collection, therefore, Davis had to reach into the public art treasury as stealthily as a wristwatch hustler on a Naples street comer. Last February'i the National Collection learned of an impressive painting, Helen Brought to Paris, by the American artist Benjamin West, at the James Graham & Sons Gallery in New York City. The Collection decided to swap a Mother and Jan Massys painting, Child, for it. Prudence demanded the most careful appraisal before this public treasure was given up to a private gallery. Yet no formal appraisal was ever made. The Collection did obtain a written estimate from Parke-B- e met Galleries, whose expert on old masters looked at the Mother and Child for a few minutes. Reached in New York City, the expert, Hugh Hildesley, said his estimate was strictly informal A formal appraisal, he explained, is notarized and requires hours of research and examinatwo-mont- ... Smithsonian Makes A Curious Swap -- - Wit' BIG TALK tion. Without waiting for this, the Smithsonian approved the trade on the recommendation of its own experts. Davis was so delighted with the deal that be wrote happily to Robert Graham, a partner in the Graham Gallery: I am pleased that you have agreed to (the) exchange. The Graham Gallery immediately put a price of $35,000 on the Mother and more than triple the worth of Child the West painting that had been given to the Smithsonian in the exchange. "I still say that if the people of Peyton Place would write to Dear Abby, she could solve their problems." Fret outlet take ter eity kirtaeer featwa- Bii::iMniHiiii:i!iiii!Miii |