Drought Rains New Job Opportunities on Archeologist

If every cloud has a silver lining, one would expect to find a glimmer of value in the devastating drought that has been plaguing the Midwest and South. To Leslie (Skip) Stewart-Abernathy, the historical archeologist for the state of Arkansas, the drought offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “I’m trying to keep this in perspective,” Stewart-Abernathy said. “If all the farmers in Arkansas go broke because of this drought, it’s a major, major disaster, but for an archeologist it’s a delight . . . . “ Stewart-Abernathy is examining two wrecked century-old steamboats and an old wooden barge left exposed by the receding Mississippi River, which has dropped 24 feet below normal. “We usually only get to see a little piece of these boats, and then through a filter of dark river water,” said Stewart-Abernathy, who toils on the Arkansas side of the river, below Memphis, Tenn. “We’ll be taking measurements and noting construction techniques. You must remember, there were no blueprints for these old boats. The people who constructed them knew what they were doing and they simply built them.”

--Democratic Sen. Bob Graham of Florida has found another summer job. He’ll be starting work this week as a drug education and enforcement officer with the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office. Graham, reported to be on Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis’ list of possible running mates, has a special interest in the government’s drug fight, having co-sponsored a bill that would step up aid to state and local law enforcement agencies. “With major drug legislation pending in Congress, I want firsthand information about our efforts in drug education and enforcement,” he said.

--Nine years ago, Cat Stevens abandoned his career as a pop singer and moved to the Middle East to follow the teachings of Islam. But over the weekend, the British-born Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, traveled to the State University of New York College of Technology in Delhi, N.Y., to give a lecture at the annual convention of the Islamic Circle of North America. His message, perhaps not as profound as some of his lyrics in “Moonshadow” and “Peace Train,” was simply that he’s happy to be out of the music business. The 40-year-old erstwhile singer-songwriter called the music industry corrupt, saying he was glad that he had “extracted” himself from “that business.”