Swing (Jan-Dec 1945)

62 win< August, 1945 come up the river to dock. But do they get into the big town for a spree? No! They are taken immediately by ferry boat or other devices to New Jersey and sent from there to selected camps. The ships are terribly crowded but that's the way the boys prefer it. They don't care if they have to sleep on a post — just so they get back. With the exception of the working crew, all passengers are given only two meals a day; and the kitchens do well to handle that many. Add up the passenger lists, multiply it by two or three, and see what a pain in the pot that is for any chef. All along the West River drive people stand and watch the ships come in ... a good sight, with more and more to come. A new project is being developed on Long Island called Airology. It is an effort to make visible an invisible AIR subject .... atmosphere. OLOGY Various cloud formations are being constructed which show the condensation of air at different altitudes. Fine wires and electrical effects show the currents of air . . . warm fronts moving out, cold fronts moving in, lows and highs and so forth. It's fascinating to students of meteorology and also to those who have always considered air as just something to have around in case of a breath. These models may become a part of education generally. Certainly they will be of tremendous importance in the instructing of young pilots to whom weather with its vagaries is an ever-present problem. With the exception of the regular show hits that have continued to run through the summer season, new THEATRE shows are anybody's guess. Usually, if a production has big backing and great promi.se, it doesn't open until the theatre is ripe . . . from September through March. But a great many experimental plays are presented during the summer. If they survive they are sure of a successful winter run; if they don't . . . well, that's nothing new on Broadway. And we now have the usual flock of summer try-outs. Some of the senseless, expensive, flop productions along the Great White Way are known as the "gravy ride." Choose your shows carefully, and if you have only a few days in town (how did you get here?) better stick to the hits. No new gay spots opening this summer. Air conditioning is still the prime conditioner of where you go and how long you sit. Don't let that taxi go until you're sure you've got the right place. Can't say enough for the Roof Gardens . . . they really are stuff . . . especially the St. Regis. Bets on V-J Day are centered mostly on November 11th and January 1st. Some of the pessimists are holding V-J to a two or three year tussle . . . but let's bet with the cheer guys. One of the horses who patiently pulls passengers around Central Park in a cab, decided very suddenly the HOLIDAY other day that .his patience had come to an end and that he would have a glorious dash down Fifth Avenue. Off he started. No one could stop him. For the first few blocks he made all the green lights. Then came a red light. He stopped. There was great commotion, trying to calm him down . . . bystanders attempting to help the driver. But when the light turned green again, off he went. For blocks down the avenue he stopped his flight only when the lights turned red. At last he wearied of his fling, turned around and docilely walked back to the park. No Easter, no bonnet, not even a wild oat. He was just tired of it all and wanted to express himself. And he wasn't without human sympathy. — Lucie Ingram.