The Huron Expositor, 1971-03-25, Page 2'.%Ateft.'409VAW.:itietl ittiMelaiMM
Sugar and Spice
by Bill Smiley
Belated congratulations to our Prime
Minister and his bride. It was one of
the big upsets in March. •The others
were muhammed Ali taking the Clobbering
of his lifetime, and me 'winning an argu-
ment with my wife.
Not from the first have I been swept
-away by Mr. Trudeau's charisma, thotigli
the women in my family were. At times
I have had serious doubts about his
attitude and decisions.
But when., a man has enough sense to
wait until - he -is 51 to get married, I
feel our.country is in safe hand's.
Good gravy, if 1.had waited until 51,
and I'm not .there yet, I'd probably be
able to ski and scuba-dive. And I might
even be -prime minister. And a millionaire.
But when a man has enough sense to
wait until he' is-.51 to get married, I
feel our country is in safe hands.
But when- a man married at 25, he's
had it. He has just thrown away the
best twenty-five years of his life; the
second twenty-five, that is.
For the first ten ,or, twelve years,
he's swimming against the tide. In more
prosaic terms, he is spending about 140
out of the 168 hours in'every week sort-
ing out his kids, his finances and his
Woman. That leaves him 28 hours to'
float, and don't forget he's going against
the tide. So where does he. float? Down-
stream, that's where. •
That's why so many married men of
50 are washed-up. On shore, or other-
wise.
If he can keep his head above water
during that first• period, he's a mighty
strong swimmer. But in the process,
, he has developed hardening of his
physical, emotional and mental arteries.
And just about .then, he is pulled out
of the water, purple and gasping, and
told that he is entered in another marathon.
In short, his kids are in their teens,Swim,
baby, swim.
It really racks me to think of the gifts
I have squandered in nearly twenty-five
years .of marriage. .Especially when I
think of Mr. Trudeate
We're very much alike. He's a little
older and, has a little less hair. Probaoiy
more teeth, unless they're falsies.
About twenty-five years ago, we were
on equal terms. Both in excellent
,physical condition. ' The only real dif-
ferences I can see are that he had a lot
of brains .and_a .lot of money. And
-Oliese to swim upstream, while he chose
to swim down.
Perhaps there's one other minor dif-
ference. • He does everything well, and
I do everything poorly. But don't forget
he's had two' and a half decadeS to•prac--
tiee - everything from, ski-ing to chess -
while I've had to catch them on the run.
I'd like to see what a great scuba-
diver he was if he'd had to raise two
rotten kids and pay off about four
mortgages. Not to mentio n dealing
with a strong-minded woman who has
a direct • line to divine inspiration in
every discussion.
No wonder be was able to snatch up a
beautiful, intelligent 22-year-old at his
age. He's practically unscarred, while
I'm like ah old alley cat. About all I
could snatch up, aside from the fact that
my wife would kill me, is a 48-year-old,
with three divorces and three chins.
Don't for one moment think I'm jealous..
Let him have his big rent-free mansion in
Ottawa while I labour over my heavily-
taxed, heavily-mortgaged hovel.
"Let him have his fifty or sixty thousand
a year in salary. We have, enough to put
bread on the table, after'paying income
tax and putting two'kids through university.'
I'm not envious. He earned it, by
being smart enough to stay single until
he was 51. "
At least I. don't have to bother with
platoons of photographers and number-
less newsmen when I take out Barbra
Streisand.
No, I wouldn't trade him even, my
old lady for his, my. kids for his charisma,
(They think I have charisma, which is good
enough for me,)
The only thing I get a little wistful
about iS. not being asked to be Prime
Minister.
And I still think I could beat him in
a game of Russian billiards.
Vin•Me..:•Wr•av.i.e.w.:e4eMeHtlutUitaffaSenfaireenitiinialikatMUNOVAI*
'rpm My Window
— By Shirley J. Keller --
Ifflefeteauseevan
Since 1860. Serving the Community First
Published. st szAroara, ONTARIO, ,every Thursday morning by McLEAN BROS., Publishers Ltd.
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SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, March 25, 1971
Pessimism Can Only Harm
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txpositorr
Y. .
' There are times in the life of every
mother, I suppose, whien she begins to
wonder whether or not her children will
ever respond to the tender loving care she
has lavished upon them.
Mothers come In all shapes and sizes,
it's true, but the real honest-to-goodness
mom is one who feels for her kids like
no one else on earth - and hopes against
hope that her children will be a credit to
her, the community and themselves one
day..
Most of the time, my three offspring
are about normal in the good and bad
department. They have their days, mom-
ents when I would gladly disown the lot of
them for most part they are
just average kids with the same
weaknesses as other humans,
Then there are days when something
happens to make me appreciate my kids-.
and at the same time fear for them lest
they fall into some of the terrible habits
waiting for mankind to experience.•,I,had
just such an occasion the other day algid I
want to tell you about it.
I was walking down the street in my'
town. I was just lagging along, not really
thinking of anything special and not really
caring that i was out of the scene and the
action of the moment.
Eventually I was- aware of a conver-
sation going on In rather ear,-shattering
pitch and my attention was drawn to a
group of youngsters about 'the age of
10 or 12 years. They were mounted on
bikes the way boys are In the springtime
and shouting back and forth at each other.
There seemed to be an argument. I
would say there, was One boy in the crowd
who was disliked brthe others ...and he
.Was getting the rub. Up to that point, I
'wasn't worried. The noise didn't concern
me,, nor 'did "the argument because I
know hoW kideibanter buck and forth when
they are angry. "
' Suddenly the words became audible ..
quite audible. And what I heard and couldn't
shut out was a stream of obscenity such
as you wouldn't expect to hear at the
wildest adult party. It wasn't cursing. It
was plain and 'utter filth and I was sickened
by the tone of it.
As the cyclists moved away - maybe
two or three blocks - the shouting
continued. There was no mistaking the
words and there was no end to them until
I finally turned in at my destination and
closed the doorebehind me.
Now I'm not a prude. I'm not so
niave as to believe that kids don't know
most of the facts of life. 'Heaven knowS
we try to keep them inforined"through
the third-rate sex movies and trashy
CI3C-type tripe we call drama.
What-leaves me cold is the utter dis-
regard these kids displayed for the feelings
of others who might be within earshot.
Whether it was the age-old attempt to feel
grown-up through mimic or whether it was
'nothing more than foul-mouthed children
letting loose. I was appalled to think
that I had to be subjected to this kind of
episode and, mqre than that, that my
children are probably enjoying a. steady
diet of this kind of conversation and coming
to believe it is just ordinary language.
When I arrived home,I immediately set
upon .my children. I told them of the
Wain in the street and explained to them
the difference between back alley prattle.
quietly spoken among acquaintances who
Were similarly minded and screaming it
out in a public street forcing all pedes-
trians to listen.
My eldest son nodded knowingly, I
didn't give up. I vies hepped up on the
idea of teaching my kids right from wrong
and I was going to pursue Until I got
an answer.
Finally I got my answer.
‘,1Viam,why do you think everybody acts
the same?" came the reply.
And for the first time that evening I
had faith in my kids again and realized
,that ' maybe - just maybe - I was 'doing
my job as a parent.
4.
There has been much
concern in recent months
because the number-of un-
employed 'in Canada con-
tinued to increase.
Quite pro.perly opposit-
ion parties and the press
draw attention to the
difficulties facing.those
who are out of work. The
problems facing the•head
of a family who finds him-
self unable to obtain a
job are many and such a
Person deserves the sus ,
tained support of more
fortunate Canadians who
are employed. The diffi-
ulties are. particularly' ^.
annarent in•Teroe me,pco-
politan areas.
The fact there is a
somewhat larger number of
unemployed this'year .as ,
compared to last year
certainly creates ha-rshios.
It is no reason, however,
to downgrade. the Canadian
future or to engagejn_talk
-of depression.
True;unemployment is.
higher but perhaps we
should look at the situa-
tion objectively..
For instance, the
We All Have
Democracy as we know
it depends on the active
,participation of People at
all levels and af. all •
classes. To operate effec-
tively and to the best'
.advantaae,, the wishes and,
hopes of each of us must
be, cnannelled through re-
cognized channels.-andas-
a result through the-years
the party system has evol-
ved,
Prime Minister Trudeau:
used the occasiop,of a
recent Liberal atnner. in
Toronto to draW attention.
to the party system and to
warn that the.sYstem -
long a fUndamental instru-
ment of demodratic politics-
is currently under attack'.
"Some of our citizens
,consider Politital parties
riaick., sluggish and un-
representative" he Said
and went on "In some,in-
stances they are right.
Impatience and frustration
has driven some to enter •
new action oriented organ-
izWons; others have
simply dropped out;• and a,
a
Bureau of Statistics tells
us that there were 169,000
more Canadians working in
January compared with a
year ago - 7,668,000 vs.
7,499,000. Close to 30 per
cent more Canadians are
now employed than a decade
ago - substantially higher
than the rate of employ-
ment arowth in any other
industrial nation.
The imnortant thing
that there are signs of
underlying improvement in
'the job picture as daily
Papers resorted this week.
A continued trend'in this
direction mist depend to —
a. great degree. on the mood
of the consumer. Have We,
potential buyer faith 'in
Canada and in' our future
as. Canadians or are we
.going to allow foolish-and
uninformed talk.of unem-
ployment and depression
to influence us in our
purchaSing and investment
decisions and thus:perhaps
delay a return to the full
economy to which so many
indications Point as being
not far removed.
Roles to Play
few have even resorted to
violence.
We live in a society
rife with exploding wants
and unfulfilled aspirations.
A live, vibrant and res-
ponsive ,party can help to
channel this explosion of
energy -67 nd focus our atten—
tion on valuable ideas;
opinions and dissent."
Seeing 'this as one of
the major challenges in
the .seventies, the Prime '
'Minister asked his audience
to think of the challenge
,directed to each of us.
While hiS remarks were
directed to a Liberal.
audieate they are equally
applicable:to those of,
other perties. and to those
'as well "rho 'are not par-
ticipat np actively in any
p. rganization.
C tainly the responsive
'and responSible politjcal
parties are the basis of
a viable democracy and.that
they function as such is a
challenge directed at each
of us.
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In the Years
Agone
MARCH 27, 1896.
Messrs. David Crawford and Daniel
McConnell, of Hullett, cut from a fallen
tree and split and piled 'a cord of short
\Wed in 28 minutes.
Henry L. Kraft had a Weed- bee at
which piles of wood were cut. •
The largest and most successful tea
meeting that has ever been held in Varna
under the auspices of the Methodist
Church was held in the Temperance Hall.
Last week, while Peter Manson,Blake,
was cutting wood in the bush, he cut his
foot badly and he will be laid up for
several, weeks,
The fine weather of the first of last
week led many to think that the back bond
of winter had been broken, but the storm
on Thursday demonstrated the fact that
there was,' still considerable vigor left.
The trains from Toronto could not leave.
Large quantities of baled straw and
bay are being shipped from the station
here and some of it is going, east and
part of it is being sent to Wingham
where feed is scarce.
Quite a social inovation is to take
place, the young ladies of Seaforth will
entertain their gentlemen friends at a
leap year dance to be held in Cardno's
Hall.
The Derniniop Bank has purchased
the Good block,. on the corner of Main
and Gouinlock Streets and will have it
fitted up at once for their own use.
Wm. Hartry of town left with us a
monster egg laid by one of his thorough-
bred black Minorcas which weighs nearly
four ounces.
Wm. Dixon, of Brucefield, has re-
turned from the Old Country and ts
making arra-ngements for the rebuilding
of his hotel, which was destroyed by
fire recently.
Thomas Forsyth's residence inKippen
had a very narrow escape from fire a
few days ago. By the assistance of
James McLean the fire waz-extinguished.
APRIL 1, 1921.
Chris. Leonhardt of Manley has pur-
chased the 50 acre farm from Michael
Wall and is, going to move on it in the
near future.
While Orville Cann of Usborne was
crossing a field on his farm he found
a dandelion in full bloom.
The bank at, Walton Is nearing com-
pletion. It will be an up-to-date building
when finished,' -
A number of friends and neighbors-
me,t at the home of Dan McDonald of
McKillop and presented them. with an
address which was read by Con Eckart.
•The evening was spent in dancing with
music by Thos. and Joe Davidson and
Ivy Henderson. '
The Good Friday concert' in Egmond-
ville Presbyterian. Church was a grand
success. The choir appeared in their
new gowhs and ''presented a striking
appearance. The presentation of a
pulpit robe was made to Rev. S. Mc-
Lean, the address being read by W. G.,
Strong and the presentation made by
E. H. Close.
R. M. Jones, of town, has purchased
-the residence on Goderich Street West,
,at present occupied by him, from H. B.
Edge.
Mr. and Mrs. Rbbert Smith of town
attended the diamond wedding 'anniver-
sary of his father and Mother, Mr. and
Mrs. Robert Smith Sr. in Hullett:
Jane Robson, widow of the late John.
Ross of ' Brucefield, passed away at the
home 'of her son, Dr. H. H. Ross in her
80th year,
The Easter dance by the G.W,V.A.
in their club rooms was the most succes-
sful of the ,many good dances given 1;1,
the club. The- music was furnished by
Krug Bros. of Kitchener. A' number
of out of town guests made the evening
all the more enjoyable.
Peter McKay of TuckersMith sold a
22 month old Shorthorn bull to Frank
McConnell of Dublin.
MARCH 29, 1946.
County clerk, N. ,W. Miller, suffered
slight injuries and concussion in a 'car '
accident on Highway 8. He was blinded
by glaring lights causing it:hitri to lose
control of his car.
John Foster, well known resident of
Zurich observed his 96th birthday. He
conducted a brick and tile yard for many
years. •
A 'Pleasant evening was spent in Win-
throp Hall when a large 'gathering of
friends and neighbors assembled in
honor of Mr. and 'Mrs. Ross Murdie.
Miss Vina Murdie and Arnold Lamont,
prior, to their leaving for their new
home, Those appearing on the programme
were, Walker Hart, James 1'. Scott and
Mrs., J. Zeller. Mr. and Mrs. Murdie
were presented with a floor lamp, table
lamp and a toaster; I Miss Murdie, a
necklace and Mr. Arnold Lamont, a wrist-
watch, An enjoyable stag euchre' party was
held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. David
McLean, honoring. Robert Doig of Tucker-
smith, the occasion being his 80th birth-'
day. Arthur NiCholson, called the gather-
ing to attention and an address was read
by Robert Archiba1 . He was made the 141
recipient _ of a Wm g leather chair, a
foot stool and a p pe, the presentatiOn
being made by John McKay and Mervin
Lane. The fishing season opened at Hayfield
when Toms Bros. had had a lift of a ton . of perch. ' ,
While cutting wood it their bush Bob
Carbert, Staffa, shot a large horned owl
with a wing spread of 58 1/2 inches.
over 1000 jack rabbits and eight foxes
were bagged during the winter by Thames
Road hunters.
During the past five months three sets
of twin calves have arrived on the farm of
Laverne Stone Of Kirkton.
ROSS Mcb, who recently returned
from Oversew, has accepted a position
on the Evening Review at Niagara Falls.
I'M DONG M1 SEX EMOTION
PROJECT..., NW
you couw PART
Willi SOME OLD
COPIES OF PtA1130Y
"When she found out the red piping on my jersey was
blood, out site went!"
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