HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-09-15, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2011. PAGE 5.
Do you read the obituaries in the
newspaper every day? I do – and not
just to see who I’ve outlived by 24
hours. I read them because…well, because
you just never know.
Obituaries are inherently fascinating
infonuggets when you think about it. An
obituary is a soul’s farewell note to everybody
and everything he or she has ever known. It’s
accompanied usually by a photo of the
deceased – a photo which the deceased
probably didn’t choose and wouldn’t have
approved of.
You’d think it would be a cultural tradition
to spend a great deal of time and thought
composing one’s personal obituary, but in fact
very few of us ever write our own. We’re too
busy or we’re uncomfortable with the
morbidity of the idea – or perhaps we secretly
believe that we’ll never die.
When we do shove off, the job of penning
that farewell note falls to a mate, or next of
kin. Or worse of all, to some anonymous cub
reporter whose duties include the Joe job of
spinning a few coherent lines about the stiff
under the sheet in the morgue.
Still, newspaper obituaries can be utterly
charming in their artlessness. Often they’re
trite; occasionally they’re sublime and every
once in a while they can evoke a distinct
thrumming pang in the cardiac region of the
thoracic cavity.
Which brings us to Buncy Johl.
Odd name, that. East Indian, I’m guessing,
since the newspaper tells me his second name
is Singh. The photo that accompanied his
obituary in the newspaper last week shows a
pleasant-looking, middle-aged man, balding,
with an easy smile, wearing what looks like a
track suit.
And right under the photo, about four and a
half inches of ten-point agate type summing
up Buncy’s 50 years on the planet.
About an inch and a half into it you learn
that Buncy was, among other things, a
musician. He played in the BC rock band Soul
Addiction. I’m guessing that he and the boys
spent more than a little time entertaining at the
Strathcona Hotel because the obit salutes the
hotel owner and “the Strathcona family” for
special thanks.
I’m also guessing that Buncy’s final number
was not an easy listening tune because his
death notice especially praises the staff at the
Intensive Care Unit at Royal Jubilee Hospital.
What struck me was the way the obituary
unconsciously reflects the giant cultural tossed
salad that is Canada. It mentions Buncy’s
parents, aunts and uncles, most with Asian
names like Gurmit and Ajit and Joginder – but
also a sister Rita, nieces Erin and Robyn and
brother-in-law Wayne – names that could have
come straight from a three-storey mansion in
Forest Hill or a clapboard farmhouse near
Primrose, Alberta.
If Buncy’s forebears hadn’t immigrated to
Canada a couple of generations ago, his
smiling face would probably never have
appeared in a Canadian newspaper and you
and I would almost certainly never have heard
of him. But his forebears did come here. And
became Canadians. And cross-pollinated with
the rest of us mongrels. And gave us Buncy.
He touched a lot of people, this Buncy Singh
Johl. In fact, the obituary says “There was no
one who crossed Buncy’s path and was not
touched by his magnetic personality, unwitting
smile and loving, compassionate and
forgivable nature.”
And that includes Brad, the hospital parking
attendant who is thanked in the obituary for his
loving support.
Curious, how much you can infer from
simple newspaper death notices. They’d never
qualify as ‘light’ reading, even when the
subject is a warm and lovely guy like Buncy.
But they can be illuminating. Even, on very
rare occasions, funny.
When a newspaper to which Rudyard
Kipling subscribed mistakenly published an
announcement of the writer’s death, Kipling
(who was also born in India) dashed off a note
to the editor. It said: “I just read that I am dead.
Don’t forget to delete me from your list of
subscribers.”
Buncy would have loved that.
Arthur
Black
Other Views Bon Voyage, Buncy Singh Johl
Before he became a sideshow and star of
The Hangover, Mike Tyson was the
most ferocious boxer I had ever seen.
He was also the man who spoke some of the
truest words ever spoken in sports. “Everyone
has a plan until they get punched in the
mouth.”
It’s so true. In every sport, business or life
experience everyone has a plan until someone
or something starts working on its plan and
punches you in the mouth. Then the plan
changes out of necessity.
At a loss for words, Goderich Mayor Deb
Shewfelt stood up and said “it’s been an
interesting two weeks” before sitting right
back down at the Sept. 7 meeting of Huron
County Council.
On Aug. 21 several Huron County
communities, predominantly Goderich and
Benmiller, got punched in the mouth and now
the game has changed and they have to adjust.
There are basic reasons politicians run for
office. They want to make a difference, they
want to leave their community better off than
how they found it and they want to put their
mark on a place they love.
There are typical jobs that come with being a
municipal representative, like balancing an
annual budget, deciding which roads to pave
and which structures to build and making your
community an attractive one for potential new
residents.
However, there are always curveballs. Who
would have thought that when Shewfelt took
office once again last fall that he would be
looking at rebuilding his town after one of the
greatest natural disasters this area has ever
seen? It’s just one of those things that comes
with the job.
Sure there are emergency-readiness plans,
but a plan and training can only go so far when
disaster strikes.
The same can be said for councillors
throughout North Huron and Huron East.
Little did they know years ago that a simple
letter buried in their council meeting agendas
from the Avon Maitland District School Board
(AMDSB) would lead to the closure of nearly
every school in both municipalities.
That first letter regarding potential school
closures was just as unassuming as that lazy
Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago. Yet now,
here we are facing worlds that might never be
the same.
Earlier this year longtime Brussels
representative and former Huron East Mayor
Joe Seili vacated his council seat. He said he
couldn’t take the lack of control he and his
fellow councillors had. Whether it was the
AMDSB, the Provincial Government or local
protest groups, Seili said the job was no longer
what he had signed up to do.
However, it’s in disaster time that a
councillor’s love for community and his
willingness to go above and beyond the call of
duty shines through; when a community is
truly threatened. It’s when extra hours are put
in by the dozens and a personal life ceases to
exist, but they do it anyway.
NFL linebacker Ray Lewis once said that the
millions of dollars he makes playing football
for a living were for his preparation, not his
performance on game day.
“You pay me for the work I put in Monday to
Saturday,” he said, “Sunday you get for free.”
With our municipal representatives, it’s
meetings that run past midnight and months-
long budget processes and administration
committee sessions that we pay for. When we
really need them and the community is in
trouble, we get what they have to offer for free.
Best laid plans
The idea for a “Tip of the Hat, Wag of the
Finger,” or “Thumbs up, Thumps
down” section in the newspaper has
crossed my mind several times, and I think it’s
a wonderful idea, in theory.
The problem comes when we wag a finger at
someone, they take offense, and we end up on
the wrong end of legal activity.
However, in this column, I’m running
entirely off what other people have said, so, if
you want to start the legal nightmares, leave us
out.
This week I’m going to shine a spotlight on
two different factions on opposite sides of the
same argument, and wag a stern finger at a
related party.
First, to North Huron Township Council:
Congratulations councillors on turning the
other cheek and deciding to support a facility
in Central Huron despite Central Huron’s
council decision to not do the same.
Some time ago, Central Huron
representatives decided that they wouldn’t
support facilities outside their borders. This
meant that the arena in Blyth, now known as
the Blyth Community Centre, would see no
funds come from Central Huron, despite 30
per cent of its user base coming from Central
Huron’s Hullett Ward.
This decision is going to come back to haunt
the taxpayers of Central Huron indefinitely in
my opinion.
For as long as I’ve been covering North
Huron council, out-of-township user fees have
been a hot topic because of two major (or at
least two hotly debated) points; the recreation
facilities in the municipality and cemeteries.
North Huron, when presented with the
information that Central Huron and ACW had
supported the Auburn playground group,
decided that their taxpayers in the village of
Auburn were worth spending $2,000 to help
get the new equipment up, painting the
equipment that is being kept and recognizing
all the contributors.
Now, the second spotlight needs to be shone
on Blyth Ward councillor Brock Vodden.
Vodden stood his ground during North
Huron’s debate about whether to support
Auburn.
He stated that North Huron’s reluctance to
donate (up until that meeting) had come about
as a matter of historical significance.
He explained that, since Central Huron had
decided not to play nice “in the sandbox,”
North Huron had decided to not put any funds
in the community hall in Auburn since it is
actually in Central Huron. This decision then
carried over to the playground equipment
which is on adjacent properties.
While council was sympathetic, according
to Vodden, he didn’t feel comfortable
supporting a facility in Central Huron as North
Huron refused to do the same.
Now, to wag my finger.
To the Central Huron Council of the day that
decided not to support a centre your residents
were using, you threw the first rock in a fight
between glass houses.
Be sure to see the “of the day” part there. I
certainly don’t want to attribute the decisions
of past councils to current council members.
The decision to not support a community
centre your residents use, regardless of
municipal boundaries, was as reckless as
letting a bull loose in the China shop, and as
shortsighted as Mr. Magoo.
I’m sure I could come up with a few more
analogies or comparisons, but the basic
statement here is the decision was a silly one
to make.
In a world where rural municipalities have to
rely on neighbours for important services,
including, but not limited to, water and sewage
services, emergency services coverage,
recreational centres, and a plethora of other
services, it does not bode well for a
municipality to have isolated itself in such a
way.
Also, in a world where taxes are jumping by
leaps and bounds due to past-due inspections
and Municipal Property Assessment
Corportaion (MPAC) decisions, supporting
something that residents actually use (A great
number if 30 per cent is accurate) is not a place
to cut costs. Those cuts will just come back on
those ratepayers.
Whether they end up paying user fees for
using a centre outside their area, or pay the
fees associated with playing outside their play
area, even if it’s just a photocopying cost for
the application and the cost of driving from
literally two blocks from the Blyth
Community Centre to Central Huron’s new
community centre, is a burden that ratepayers
shouldn’t have to shoulder.
Another tip off the hat goes to both Ashfield-
Colborne-Wawanosh Township Council and
Volvo.
Both groups donated substantial amounts of
money to the Goderich and Area Relief Fund
to help those affected by the Aug. 21 tornado
get back on their feet.
ACW did so when they were rolled into the
relief fund-accessible area due to damage
caused in their municipality.
Volvo, on the other hand, had little to no ties
to Goderich anymore, from what I’m aware.
The corporation, which had closed a major
manufacturing plant in Goderich in the recent
past, opened their coffers to help the
community that had created world-class
graders for them since they bought the
Champion Road Graders plant some years
ago.
Shawn
Loughlin
Shawn’s Sense
Denny
Scott
Denny’s Den
Tipping my hat with a waving finger
Let no man pull you low enough to hate
him.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Final Thought