Aping Human Vices Not for Sam

Sam, 16, a chimpanzee, had been living in the fast lanes, entertaining patrons of the Old Train Stop Inn at Foster, Ohio, where he both smoked and drank. His life style caught the attention of animal rights activists, who complained to authorities that his cage next to the inn was filthy and that he was not properly fed. The complaint said the chimpanzee was loaded with coffee and cigarettes to get going in the morning. Law enforcement officers prohibited all this, taking Sam to the Ohio State University Laboratory Animal Center. He will be in quarantine there for at least six weeks under the care of Fred Cornhill, chairman of the Institutional Laboratory Animal Care and Use Committee. Sam will be given three physical examinations, blood tests and tests for tuberculosis. And no drugs or stimulants. “We will be alert for any problems of withdrawal,” Cornhill said.

--Neatness counts with the Neighborhood Cleaners’ Assn., which has issued a best-groomed list. Being well groomed, the association says, involves more than expensive clothes. Singer Placido Domingo was chosen for his sophisticated, elegant air. C. Everett Koop, U.S. surgeon general, was picked for clothing that’s “as solid and substantial as his character.” Also taken by the cleaners were Dan Rather, for “well-made, sensible and honest clothes”; author Danielle Steel; entertainer Joan Rivers, First Lady Nancy Reagan, Mets star Keith Hernandez, Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, actress Linda Evans and economist Louis Rukeyser.

--”I’ve lived in this country a long time; it’s been good to me,” said Uli Derickson, the German-born TWA flight attendant who was praised for her bravery during the hijacking of Flight 847 in the Mideast in June, 1985. “My husband is American, my son is American. I decided it was time.” Derickson, 42, who arrived in the United States 20 years ago to work as a governess, became an American citizen last week with 37 other new citizens in a ceremony at Newton, N.J. “It’s an exciting day, but it doesn’t come easy,” she said.

--In the field of experimental music, Julius, a West German artist who uses only one name, towers over all. In fact, he has been sending electronic sounds coursing through a 125-foot steel water tower near the Seattle Art Museum. The performance of “Music for a Big Tower” ends today. Julius said the important parts of the music are the changes made by the resonance of the big tank. The electronic buzzers were only releasing music that’s been stored in the structure all along. “It’s the sound of the tank itself,” he said. “It has been there already before.”