By: Stepanie McClain
Writing Samples:
Gregory Peck Speaks at UB's Center for the Arts
Thirty members of an animal rights group, holding signs that read,
"Cruelty, not sport," gathered in front of Marine Midland Arena Saturday
night to protest a rodeo. Protesters, mainly members of the Animal Rights
Advocates of Western New York, huddled under umbrellas as rain poured down
and passed out anti-animal cruelty literature to the "World's Toughest
Rodeo" spectators. Jackie Gabet, a first time spectator, read the pamplet
titled, "Cruel Entertainment," while she waited in the lobby. "I guess
in some ways it is cruel," she said. "I used to only think of it as entertainment."
Peggy Miller, who works with the executive producer of the event, said
the rodeo included: -bareback horse and bull riding; -barrel races, where
girls ride horses in a fast, clover-shaped pattern; -bullfighters who help
the cowboys return to safety if the bulls charge; -and barrelmen, who tell
jokes and help the bullfighters. Max Reynolds, a sharpshooter and Roman
rider also performed, jumping a horse through a ring of fire. Roman riding
involves a rider standing with one leg on each of two horses. The rodeo
is growing in popularity each year, Miller said. Ticket counter representatives
at the arena said they sold enough tickets to ensure a visit from the Dodge-sponsored
rodeo next year. The exact number of tickets sold was unavailable. Miller
attributed the growth in popularity to televised rodeo coverage, an increase
in country music popularity and a committed audience. "Once you have
an audience, they keep coming back and bringing friends," she said. Protesters
said they were mainly opposed to the use of animals as entertainment and
calf-roping, where the cowboy throws a rope around a calf's neck when the
animal is running 30 mph. "It's like a religion with me," said ARA member
and protester Sharon Ljungley. "Animals are not put on earth for our entertainment.
"I know they take care of their horses for barrel jumping,"
she said. "Calf-roping is the cruelest aspect." Supervision for all activities using animals is needed, Ljungley said.
She said she's witnessed livestock auctions where purchasers for rodeos
put the calves in trucks and threw unwanted or sickly animals out of the
windows. Spectators Antonio and Mercedes Martin said people will protest about
everything. "They're out there wearing leather coats, so they're just
as guilty," Antonio said. Rodeo is the third largest sport in ticket sales, Miller said. According
to the World's Toughest Rodeo internet home page, more than 46 million rodeo
tickets were sold last year. "People should go to other sports and let the animals alone,"
said Stanley Lukaszewicz, a father of one of the protesters. "I would
rather go to a hockey game. "But that's what is great about this country, we have a right to
protest and a right to go see it," he said. May 5, 1998 Gregory Peck, the star of 55 films, including "Moby Dick,"
"To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Roman Holiday," said his
sprinting ability helped launch his 54-year film career. Thursday, Peck told the audience at the State University at Buffalo's
Center for the Performing Arts, he was in an office waiting to hear about
an acting job, when the receptionist told him a producer mentioned his name
as a possibility for a part in a play. "I dashed four blocks to the building, up eight floors, ran all
the way down the hall to the open door. It was a Saturday morning, and there
was no receptionist there. He (the producer) was sitting there, still talking
to the receptionist at the other office," he said, "He began to
laugh, got red in the face, he slipped off his chair on to the floor and
he said, 'you go the job.'" Gregory Peck "is a man who needs no introduction," said Thomas
Burrows, director of the Center for the Arts, "He's been part of our
lives for half a century." "A Conversation with Gregory Peck" lasted two hours as Peck
reminisced about his film career and fielded questions from the audience,
which included 30 of his Western New York cousins. Peck's grandmother came from Ireland to Rochester via Canada, he said.
His father attended Niagara University before moving to California where
Gregory was born, he said. His favorite role was the part of Atticus in "To Kill a Mockingbird,"
he said. "He maintained his honor throughout the film, even though he was
putting himself and his children in danger," he said. One audience member asked which film he would never make again. "Take your pick of any of the more regrettable pictures I've made,"
he said, laughing. He mentioned "Only the Valiant." He said "Moby Dick" was the toughest role he played because
he got lost off the coast of Ireland "on a rubber whale." Peck invited audience members backstage, including a woman who asked
if he would sign a photograph she took of him 50 years ago. A priest in the audience said he was inspired by Peck's character in
"The Scarlet and the Black," and asked if he ever considered becoming
a priest. "I had a vocation as an alter boy when I was 13 and 14," he
said, "But Father, I recovered from it," he said, as the audience
laughed and applauded. "I hope you take this the right way," the priest responded,
"But we're glad you did." Peck praised Lyndon B. Johnson for his support of the arts and civil
rights. Johnson, who appointed Peck to the National Council on the Arts,
used to ask Peck, "How are the arts?" Peck said. Johnson said
he hoped one day the council would create a black American Shakespeare,
Peck said. Peck said most films today are more about money and violence than art,
but there are 15 to 20 films a year he enjoys. "There are very good pictures coming out today," he said, You
just have to shop around." At the end of the program, Peck introduced his wife, whom he met during
an interview while filming "Roman Holiday," he said. She gave
up an interview with Albert Schweitzer to go out with him, he said. "Well, you made the right choice," he said he told her. Many audience members told him he inspired them to become better people
through his films. "I see you sitting up there, and you are Atticus," said one
woman. "I was a little nervous about coming, because I didn't want
to hurt my dream of what I thought you would be like. I am thrilled that
did not happen." A red-tail hawk perched itself on a branch in a tall tree next to a stream
and watched as a stray cat hunted for its breakfast-only to become breakfast. "The hawk swooped down and picked up the cat, and flew around a
little bit," said Barbara Brigette, a wildlife rehabilitator who witnessed
the event last month. "Then he dropped the cat to the ground and flew
off. He came back a few minutes later to eat it." In the autumn, Mike Tomczak's neighbor's small dog became a meal for
a red-tail in Hamburg. "He let the dog out to do his business and he looked outside. He
saw the dog being carried off," he said. "He was ticked off because
he paid $500 for the dog." Tomczak, former president of the Buffalo Homing Pigeon Association, raises
racing pigeons and said he loses two or three pigeons each year. He said
the pigeons cost $250 each. "I've heard of great-horned owls taking pets, but it's very unusual
for a hawk to take a cat or dog," said Gerry Rising, nature columnist
for the Buffalo News. "If I were a hawk, I would hesitate to go after
a cat. They can be very dangerous with their claws." He said there has been an increase of hawks in the area, which can be
attributed to government protection law for birds of prey. Another theory
on the increase is land development driving them out into urban areas, said
Diane Obusek, wildlife administrator for the Erie County Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The most common hawks in the area- red-tails, sharp-shinned, cooper's
hawks and rough-legged hawks- prefer feeding on rabbits, squirrels and small
birds. They rarely go after larger animals, she said. "Hawks do not have any natural enemies other than humans,"
Tomczak said. He said he tries to keep the hawks away from his pigeons by spreading seeds that attract crows,
who are known competitors with hawks and often chase them away. Back to the top Back to Stephanie's Guide to the Universe
A Rodeo in Buffalo, yeehaw
March 6, 1998
Gregory Peck speaks at UB's Center for the Arts
Red-tail hawks a problem
