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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-05-21, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015. PAGE 5. Segue: an uninterrupted transition from one film scene or piece of music to another. Lovely word, segue. We swiped it from the French, bien sur, mangling the pronunciation in the process. The French only give it in one syllable (seg); we Anglos bumped it up to two (seg-way). Media types are inclined to use the word a lot – “Did you catch that segue from the battlefield to the hospital ward? Wicked.” That said, I’d like to take this opportunity to segue to the Segway. You know the critter I mean. That weird ‘personal transport’ gizmo that looks like a lawnmower on steroids. To make it work, the operator stands on a platform between its two wheels, tilts the handle forward and scoots off over the horizon. It’s a mini-miracle – no exhaust pollution, no engine noise, easy parking. Hey, you can even work on your tan. All hail the glorious Segway: a self- balancing, electrically driven, environmentally friendly transportation revolution. Range: 17 miles, weight: 120 pounds, maximum speed: 12.5 miles per hour… Impact on the general public: about the same as Alberta’s ex-premier Jim Prentice. It wasn’t supposed to work out that way, though. When American entrepreneur Dean Kamen unveiled his invention back in 2001 it was hailed as a breakthrough in the business of moving humans around, almost as significant as the wheel itself. Even Steve Jobs, the Apple guru, declared that the Segway was a huge deal. “As big as computers” he said. Experts predicted that before long, legions of people, from royalty to rabble, would be putt-putting (make that hum-humming) around in Segway hordes, relegating bicycles, scooters, motorbikes – even automobiles – to the trash heap of history. Didn’t happen. As a transportation revolution, the Segway parked itself between the Ford Edsel and the Russian Lada. Maybe it was the hefty price tag or the fact that many jurisdictions quickly outlawed the vehicles for use on public roads. Or perhaps it was the inherent dorkiness of the machine. (That Youtube video of George W. Bush test driving a Segway and doing a Three Stooges pratfall in the Whitehouse driveway didn’t drive up sales.) For whatever combination of reasons people just didn’t take to the Segway. Nowadays, almost 20 years after its launch, encountering a Segway is about as rare as a unicorn sighting. If a body believed in Voodoo a body might begin to think that the Segway was hexed. Consider the fate of Jimi Heselden. On a sunny September afternoon in 2010, less than a year after purchasing the world rights to the Segway, the English billionaire strayed from a pathway near his estate in West Yorkshire, went off a cliff and plunged to his death in a river 80 feet below. He was piloting his personal, customized off-road Segway. Bad segue. Arthur Black Shawn Loughlin Shawn’s Sense Once upon a time, it was alright for people to expect others to earn respect from them instead of it being given. It wasn’t that long ago – I remember when I first started refereeing just north of 15 years ago (wow... I need to retire from that particular endeavour) and I was first taught that the way to enter the field was to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. You would give players, coaches and fans respect until they proved they were not deserving of it. For players, that meant arguing or putting others in danger. For coaches, the same. For parents and fans, it meant overstepping the boundaries of good taste and sensibility. I didn’t like the idea, but I understood it. When you’re only dealing with someone for an hour or two, for maybe a maximum of four or five times in a soccer season, you can’t give them the time to earn your respect, so you have to meet them halfway and make them lose it. It seems, however, that the world has taken a lesson from soccer and, like so many other things, respect is expected and not earned and that irks me significantly. Whatever your job is, in years past, you had to earn the respect of those both above you and below you. Whether it was earned through actions or personality or inaction (and I don’t mean sitting idly by when someone needed help, I mean not acting rashly when it was necessary), once it was earned, it was on you to keep it. Now-a-days, people expect respect right out of the gate. They expect that, because they are a member of a certain job or a member of a group or come from a certain upbringing, they are deserving of respect and maybe admiration simply because they exist in that situation and it turns my stomach to see that happen. I could point fingers at the people who cause this kind of undeserved recognition, but as part of turning over a new leaf I’m going to try to be more of a hand-on problem-solver than someone who simply points out that something needs to be changed. This particular problem is going to have to be addressed from the bottom (of the age bracket) and worked upwards. We need to teach children that everyone – every single person the world over – is responsible for earning the respect of those around them. No one should gain respect simply because they happen to be holding a whistle or a clipboard during a sporting event, representing a municipality or nation or standing at the front of a classroom. (Don’t get me wrong, there are some jobs that do gain immediate respect in my books, but that isn’t because the jobs are inherently associated with respect. When I see firefighters, police officers, military personnel and the like, they have my respect, not because of the job they do, but because of the risks they face so that I don’t have to.) We need children to realize that just because someone believes they deserve something doesn’t mean they get it, otherwise, we’re going to end up with an entire generation of people who either cause the world to come to a screeching halt when they don’t get what they feel is due to them, or they are going to come to the startling realization that they actually need to earn something and it’s going to result in years and years of suffering through this thing I’ve deemed the desert of adulthood. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m impulsive. When I want something, I’ll do whatever it takes to get it. Whether it’s a dishwasher, a new phone, a television or anything else, I will do what it takes to get it. I, however, work for those things. Throughout my formative years, if I ever wanted something my parents didn’t think was necessary, I was given the chance to earn it. One winter I babysat my siblings every Friday night for an entire hockey season to get a Super Nintendo (I really wish I could go back and explain the value of getting paid by the hour to myself whenever I think about that, but, hey, I earned an invaluable lesson there). I also was treated, by my parents, my teachers and anyone else as I deserved to be treated. If I showed I didn’t deserve to be spoken to like a mature individual, they wouldn’t. I will be forever thankful for that. When I see people a third my age walking around with devices that would cost me an entire paycheque, however, I’m pretty sure they didn’t spend six months earning it the way I had to. I’m not begrudging parents... not really. The demand for immediacy, whether that be for products or respect, in the world isn’t their fault, it’s society’s fault. In writing this, however, I realize that respect is just one of many things that people are taking for granted, both in having and earning, these days. Whether it’s products like cellular telephones, the best of the best sports equipment, computers, cars or electronics or less-tangible things like respect, responsibility and maturity, the more I see of younger generations, the more I believe that, not only are these things being handed to them, but they are starting to believe they deserve to have these things handed to them. In light of that revelation, dealing with only respect is sort of like trying to cure a cold by treating the runny nose, but who knows, maybe a better analogy would be dealing with respect is throwing the pebble that will cause the necessary tsunami of change. While this may come off as me being a curmudgeonly person well north of my actual age, the simple fact is I think we need more people like me in that respect (and likely only that respect). We need people who are willing to make people earn things that are worth having because it teaches incredibly important lessons. In the real world (or private sector real world I guess), we aren’t given things because we say we need them or want them, we’re given things because we’ve demonstrated we’re deserving of them. We don’t get raises because we say, “hey, I’m more important than you think I am so I should get more money,” we get raises, if and when we do, because we show that we are important and intricate parts of the companies for which we work. In short, in the real (private sector) world, we have to demonstrate our worth to have it realized and I think that everyone needs a refresher course on that. Denny Scott Denny’s Den Walking the walk It is a saying that I’ve heard a million times over the years. Someone says you have to “put your money where your mouth is” and we all know exactly what that means; it’s all well and good to say something, but you need to do it. It was in my story last week regarding the Windmill Lake Wake and Eco Park in Central Huron that those words were uttered by Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn. Despite concerns from local farmers, Ginn said that with the municipality’s focus on economic development, retaining youth and encouraging them to work, stay and play in Huron County, shutting down the business owned by a young couple would be a case of not putting Central Huron’s money where its mouth is. It was an off-the-cuff comment, but it speaks volumes. Ginn is right. So often, local council members talk about doing something, but when faced with an opportunity to do that very thing, councillors, for one reason or another, make the easy decision and opt out of change. We all do it. Saying one thing and doing another is not reserved just for councillors. We have all said we should lose weight, but then decide against the very changes that would facilitate that. We say we should save money, but then continue to spend frivolously. It’s because it’s easier. It’s easier to eat something fattening that tastes great than it is to get up and exercise. There have been two situations recently that just scream for people to put their money where their mouths are. The first was earlier this month when the Brussels Agricultural Society voted in favour of partnering its fall fair with the 2017 International Plowing Match (IPM) in Walton. For years, I have heard Society members lament the lack of involvement from younger community members as they brainstorm ways to increase attendance at the year’s fair. Then, along comes a way to do both with the IPM and there was a lot of hesitation. Granted, there were some legitimate concerns in that room and some definite hard feelings when Society members were informed that some aspects of that traditional fair simply won’t be able to go ahead at the IPM in a bit of a “them’s the rules” situation. However, it is the attachment to tradition that was the biggest barrier and sometimes an attachment to tradition and certain wants and needs can be mutually exclusive. Very often if something stays the same, it can’t grow. In Huron County (and beyond) there is always a push to attract tourists and new residents (including new Canadians). However, when that concept is put into practice, griping can be on the rise. In the cold winter months, when Toronto tourists are warm and snug in their beds, the powers that be in Huron County break their backs figuring out how to get tourists here, only for residents to complain about them once they’re here. Whether it’s long lines at the ice cream stand, traffic on the roads or no parking at the familiar haunts, these people are often viewed as a nuisance, rather than the lifeblood of our local businesses, and that’s sad. The Goderich-to-Guelph Rail Trail is another opportunity for a community to put its money where its mouth is. If the county wants healthy lifestyles and active transportation and tourism, the trail offers all those things. Do you really want them, or not? There may be situations that need to be worked out. It might not be the easy decision to make, but if long- term planning has established priorities, perhaps it’s the right one. Other Views The problem with modern respect Segway? What’s a Segway?