Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-11-23, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017. PAGE 5. Other Views IfI'm missing out, I don't care Such is my ignorance of what's fashionable in food (or anything else) that I had never even heard of the U.S. restaurant chain that caused great excitement in Toronto this week by opening its first Canadian outlet at Yorkdale Mall. Apparently the opening of the Cheesecake Factory is a victory in the battle against climate change because it will save hungry Toronto addicts of the chain from emitting tons of carbon since they'll no longer be forced to drive across the border to get their fix. Such was the excitement that when the U.S. chain announced last spring that it would be opening in Toronto this fall, customers immediately wanted to know if they could make reservations. In this age of abundance for most people in our western world, it seems to me the most powerful driver of human activity is the fear that we might be missing out on something that other people have. This has always been a huge influence in Canada where people press their noses against their southern neighbour's window and worry that things are more exciting there than here. Sure we can do without the gun violence — can feel downright superior about it in fact — but we can't help feeling like the little sister or brother watching his older sibling doing "adult" things while we still have to be in bed at 9 p.m.. So, for instance, Toronto's Canadian Football League team drew a less -than - capacity crowd in a small stadium when it qualified for the Grey Cup championship on Sunday while many football fans stayed home and watched U.S. teams play on television because they feared Canadian football wasn't good enough compared to the much -hyped National Football League. Keith Roulston From the cluttered desk Back in February Canadians even demanded to be able to see the U.S. ads during the Super Bowl game because these ads were the talk of the U.S. television shows we watch and people felt left out because we hadn't got to see them when they were replaced by Canadian ads for broadcasts here. This fear of missing out on something plays a big role in the addictiveness of the pervasive connected world of cell phones. Experts say organizations like Twitter and Facebook designed their applications to notify people when they receive a new message so they can't help but pick up their phone and connect for fear they might be missing something. Research has shown that many people suffer anxiety if they must be unconnected for any extended period of time. Go to the theatre and you'll see that the first thing many people do at intermission is to check for messages on their phone which has been shut off for a whole hour. Going to the bathroom or getting a drink or snack can come after making sure they haven't missed a critical message, such as pictures of a former schoolmate's cat doing something cute. The travel industry is growing as never before, no doubt partly because travellers send dozens of photos of the pyramids or the Great Wall of China to their friends back home who feel left out because they haven't experienced seeing these landmarks in person. Even if they don't book a vacation to the same location themselves, they may want to visit some other exotic spot so they can post photos to make their friends envious that they're missing out. Despite the excitement about the famous (except to me) Cheesecake Factory coming to Toronto, there's no guarantee it will take the country by storm when we actually have our very own branch of the restaurant. Remember the excitement of Target coming to Canada? I'd barely heard of the big U.S. discount department store chain when it was announced it would be making Canadians the great gift of giving us our very -own Target stores after buying out Zellers I think I may have visited the Canadian stores about twice before the company decided Canadians weren't enthusiastic enough and pulled the plug. We were left with neither Zellers, the boring Canadian store, nor its supposedly exciting American replacement. Remember when there was a huge buzz because Krispy Kreme doughnuts were coming north of the border? We'd been seeing characters on American TV shows talk about their addiction for the fat -laden doughnuts for years and finally we were going to see what was so good about them. There was even some talk that the arrival of the deep -fired American superstar might undermine Tim Hortons, the home-grown Canadian institution. It turned out that when we actually got to taste Krispy Kreme, Canadians weren't so enthralled and the company retreated to a few locations here and there. Maybe it's a little like dreaming about a date with some unattainable guy or girl, then finally going out with him or her and finding out they're an airhead. Sometimes you find you're not missing out on anything at all. Fishing the past out of the bin There's nothing in the world quite like an unexpected expense to make you take a look around your home and evaluate what you really need to keep. For me, the expense is snow tires. Alright, that wasn't exactly an unexpected expense but, as I've joked about with people in the public, my wife sold my car. Recently, Ashleigh and I traded in my little Elantra towards the purchase of an SUV she drives and I took her Jeep. I like to joke that she handed me the keys to the Jeep one night after she told me she sold my car, but it was a decision we made as a family. Unfortunately for me, the unexpected expense is how much more expensive the snow tires are for the Jeep, as well as the apparent difficulty in finding a used set. Maybe I was spoiled, driving a car with 15 - inch wheels. They seemed to be a little easier (and less expensive) to source that the Jeep's larger tires. Regardless — I find myself at an impasse that would require me to drastically change some plans for the future (including Christmas) or start looking at the collection of items I've acquired over my life that I could do without. Unfortunately for me, I put a lot of value in the emotions and memories tied to things so going through boxes of old things to try and get rid of them is a battle of nostalgia versus practicality. My first kick at the can saw a collection of video games posted for sale online, some of which are already being sold. Anyone who comes into my office knows that I've got a bad habit of keeping things that I probably don't have a use for anymore (heck, looking up while I'm writing this I see books for learning programs that can't even be installed on our current computers). I'm a bit of a pack rat and I'll admit that Denny Scott 4, Denny's Den (though 1 won't cop to the word hoarder because the second something becomes gross is the second it's at the curb, I'm not the kind of person who thinks they can `save' things that have been ruined). I'm not sure where it all started — I didn't have a room full of things when I was young. I had a fairly spartan living space prior to my siblings (who are 10 years younger than myself) being born and, shortly after that, I had to share a room with my brother so it wasn't like I had space to spread out. My mother will often say I had the whole basement to myself and, to be fair, there was a television and an office space that were, for the most part, my domain. Somewhere along the line, however, I started keeping things that maybe didn't need to be kept. I didn't trash or trade old things in when replacing them. I kept them in case the new thing didn't work and, if I'm being completely honest, my small stash of functional -but -outdated cell phones has actually come in handy a time or two for myself or a family member. That said, when I start looking at some things I have that I've put some kind of premium value on, I honestly can't remember why I did it. There are some things — items that belonged to someone no longer with us, gifts or anything with an attachment to a particular time in my life — that make sense to keep but there are a lot of others that don't. Cards and games from my youth (and later) are boxed up in case I want to play them again. Video games and systems stretching back to when I was five years old are in a box somewhere waiting for me to discover them. Recently, however, I've found the value in getting rid of all these boxes of nostalgia — not only is it cathartic to see more bare wall/floor in the house, it's nice to relive those memories one last time before sending them on to someone else to enjoy. Whether it's thinking back to some of the first video games I played with Ashleigh when we first started dating, memories of family game night with my siblings and the eternal catch phrases born of those nights crowded around the table or remembering playing video games with my roommates long into the night instead of studying for upcoming exams, I've discovered that each item is a time capsule of memories that's a joy to recall. That said, those memories are enjoyable once, but I think it's time to put a few of them behind me, which is what I started on the weekend: gathering up things I don't need and posting them online to sell. It's nice to look back and remember the good times associated with items but even the excuse of keeping games and toys for Mary Jane is starting to stretch a bit thin given the massive amount of things people have already been kind enough to give her. I guess the whole point of my story is that it isn't bad to keep boxes of things from earlier in life — they can provide a link to unique and enjoyable memories. Reliving those memories, however, has diminishing returns and it's often best to bid those triggering items adieu before they become just another piece of history cluttering up the house. Shawn Loughlin Shawn's Sense Mom, watch me dive! For the first time in over 30 years the United States has failed to qualify for the World Cup finals. Tragic, right? But, fear not! The Americans have a solution: They'll host their own tournament; and the Mexicans will pay for it! Alright, I'm kidding about Mexico footing the bill — although, to be fair, a payment structure has yet to be determined — but yes, the American team missing out on the World Cup has led to a discussion about an alternate tournament in which the team can compete. The casual, working title for the tournament is the World Cup National Invitation Tournament (NIT). This takes its inspiration from its college basketball cousin. Every year the NCAA holds its tournament and there are always teams that don't qualify. This led decision -makers to create the NIT to generate games (and revenue) for schools that miss out on the tournament. So now, in a year where so many prominent soccer nations (four -time winners Italy, the Netherlands, the U.S., Ireland, Greece, Chile, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon) failed to qualify for the World Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation is investigating such a tournament. Is it possible that U.S. Soccer has somehow absorbed, through osmosis or some other highly -complicated means, the America -first attitude of President Donald Trump? If the U.S. won't be at the World Cup, then the U.S. will host its own tournament. It'll be huge. The biggest and best tournament soccer has ever seen. People won't even bother to watch the World Cup when they see what the American World Cup NIT has in store for them. (I hope you read that in your best inner Trump voice, complete with dramatic pauses.) Soccer is one of the few vestiges of a pure, unchanged sport. While it is claimed that organized soccer began in Britain in the 19th century, there seems to be evidence that the sport was played by ancient civilizations in Egypt, China and Rome. And, really, it hasn't changed much since then. Sure, there have been technological advancements in boots, clothing and equipment. Stadiums have been built using hundreds of millions of dollars to modernize the fan experience. But, when it comes down to the game, very little has changed. Two nets, one ball, don't use your hands. Every year there seems to be some sort of "Americanization" proposed. Whether it's the inclusion of a stop -clock, the relocation of the penalty spot or the elimination of the penalty shootout, someone on this side of the pond is always trying to "improve" upon something that has worked well for hundreds of years. This is simply the next step in that journey. The World Cup (with the minor exceptions of things like international corruption and match -fixing) is a simple competition. The best 32 teams in the world will play until there's only one left. That team is the winner. It's been Trump who's said that things like NAFTA, the Paris Climate Agreement and countless other things aren't good for the U.S. So, instead of these things going ahead without the mighty and all-powerful U.S., he says the system must be changed to accommodate the U.S. If an event excludes the U.S. for one reason or another, the problem can't be with the U.S., it must be with the event. And if the event can't be "fixed", then the U.S. will create its own event. The World Cup will go on whether the U.S. is involved or not, but regardless of the circumstances, Americans must have their day in the sun; every day.