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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-09-25, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2008. PAGE 5. Bonnie Gropp TThhee sshhoorrtt ooff iitt My Adelines W hen the French man the barricades the atmosphere is likely to become festive. – William Bennett, New York Times Well, I don’t know about you, but I kind of admire the concept of festive non-belligerence in a nation. I grew up in a world horsewhipped and boot stomped by WW II and the Korean and Vietnam dust-ups, not to mention conflagrations, implosions, eruptions and drive-by martial thuggery in Laos, Cambodia, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, East Timor, Granada, Panama, Argentina, Bosnia, Rwanda, Kosovo, New York, London, Madrid, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq… Have I missed any? Several, no doubt. Our pummeled planet has not been noticeably improved by any of it. Which brings us back to France, a country that does great cheese, superb wine, brilliant philosophers and splendid artistes… But warriors they ain’t. It was a characteristic noted more than a thousand years ago, when a Viking marauder named Ragnar Lothbrok took 5,000 men on 120 ships and noodled up the Seine to see what he could plunder. The year was 845 when Ragnar stepped ashore at what would one day be Paris, idly twirling his berserker axe. He was met by a nervous emissary from the Gaulish king, Charles the Bald. The emissary had several heavy chests in tow and a proposal from his boss. Would his Vikingness be so kind as to accept a – well, bribe is such an ugly word – a gift, say, of 7,000 pounds in gold and silver to simply – you know – disappear? Ragnar took the loot and sailed away. He later told a Norse chronicler that he had “never seen lands so fertile and rich, nor ever a people so cowardly”. Hold on, Ragnar – cowardly? How about prudent? Vikings were the human Rottweilers of the age. They lived to die in battle – and they were superb at both battling and dying. The French could have resisted. They would surely have lost – not only their castles, homes, farms and livestock, but their gizzards – plus everything that wasn’t nailed down. Avoiding such a fate for a modest tonnage of gold and silver (neither of which can be eaten, drunk or made love to) looks positively brilliant to me. The rest of the world disagreed and the ‘pussified’ rap has followed Chuckie the Bald’s folk down through the ages. But to be honest, the French have not always distinguished themselves on the battlefield – especially with gambits like the Maginot Line, a massive concrete fortification built by the French between the Great Wars at jaw- dropping expense. Its sole purpose: to repel Germans invading from the east. Would have worked too, if the Germans hadn’t simply marched around the ends of the line and captured it from behind. Then there was the unseemly haste with which the French caved in to the Germans in the Second World War. French collaborators cobbled together a Nazi-friendly government headquartered in Vichy almost before the German troops had goose-stepped up the Champs Elysee. That French eagerness to please inspired a memorable skewer from Welsh wit Ivor Novello: “There’s something Vichy about the French.” Contemporary critics of French reluctance to ‘get involved’ in matters military have been no kinder. When then-French president Jacques Chirac declined to commit French troops to the war in Iraq, the American press was merciless. The New York Post ran a front page photo of a chimpanzee wearing Chirac’s face under the headline FRENCH SURRENDER MONKEYS URGE U S. TO GIVE UP. The U.S. government was even more mature. Congressmen actually voted to rename side dishes in the Congressional dining room. French toast became Freedom Toast, Naturally, that came with Freedom Fries. American military types have not been noticeably gentler in their assessment of the French. General George Patton commanded the US tank corps during the First World War. Later, he grumped, “I’d rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me”. A half century later US General Norman Schwartzkopf was even more scathing. “Going to war without France,” he said, “is like going deer hunting without your accordion.” But then another famous warrior once observed: “Had not innumerable soldiers shed their blood, there would have been no Hellenism, no Roman civilization, no Christianity, no Rights of Man and no modern developments.” Now who said that – Alexander the Great? Attila the Hun? Rommel? Montgomery? Nope. A chap by the name of Charles de Gaulle. Kind of explains the famous Gallic shrug, n’est-ce pas? Arthur Black Other Views La Guerre? No, Monsieur! Premier Dalton McGuinty should have been a bank manager. When money is tight, he makes it available to those who already have plenty and ushers others out of the door. The Liberal premier has conceded at a time when economic growth and revenue have slowed he does not have money he needs to fulfill all his promises. So he has offered generous pay increases to doctors and public elementary school teachers, who in addition to being reasonably well off have political power, and delayed his plans to help the poor, who have none. McGuinty has offered doctors pay raises that will total 12.25 per cent over the next four years, which is much more than most residents can look forward to. He has insisted this is fair, particularly because it will encourage existing doctors to stay and attract new ones needed because of the current shortage. Doctors make it impossible to know how much the average doctor will earn, because in the statistics they put out they include many, particularly older doctors, who work only part-time and make their average income appear less. A case can be made doctors deserve all they get, particularly if they do their essential job well, although there is evidence some do not. But do they deserve it more than others? The province has offered a 12 per cent pay increase over four years to the elementary teachers that will raise their maximum salary to a giddy $94,000 a year, adding new incentive to the common advice those who want a good job should stay in school. McGuinty says this is all the province can afford, but he does not need to apologize to the teachers, who deserve admiration, because theirs is a tough and valuable job. But most Ontarians will feel McGuinty, who has been trying hard to make himself known as `the education premier’has stretched to the limit in looking after teachers. McGuinty is particularly anxious not to offend doctors, who quietly reach for their scalpels when negotiating for pay, because he has more than 500,000 residents unable to find a family doctor and hopes to persuade existing doctors to take on more. No one also wants to return to the days when a Progressive Conservative government had a schoolyard fight with teachers daily, but Ontarians are having to pay higher prices for peace in education than they expected. Teachers have been found to miss an average 12 days a year through sickness, more than the average for most categories of worker, although they work only 10 months a year. Taxpayers have been spending $260 million a year on replacements, but the premier still has not said how he will make sure teachers attend school more. McGuinty also has done nothing to reduce the practice of school boards hiring retired teachers first when they need replacements. The retired teachers commonly collect pensions of more than $40,000 a year. Apart from the unfairness, this prevents newly-trained teachers, including many from visible minorities attracted to and needed by the profession and others who can work only part-time for reasons including being single parents, obtain a foothold in their profession. Other public workers who have immense political clout have been collecting more money without hindrance from McGuinty. Police and firefighters have sought and obtained so-called “retention pay,” extra bonuses to stay in their jobs rather than move to neighbouring jurisdictions. Some municipalities are being forced to pay police and firefighters twice as much as their average residents earn, although firefighters commonly have the perquisite of cramming their workweek into a few days at the station and spending the rest of the time renovating homes. The embattled Progressive Conservative leader, John Tory, has urged McGuinty to demand municipalities be more prudent and offer them incentives to do so, but the premier will not tread on their toes. McGuinty also promised a “war on poverty,” but instead will settle mildly for comforting the comfortable. Eric Dowd FFrroomm QQuueeeenn’’ss PPaarrkk Resplendent in satin and sequins they took the stage, stepping proudly into place on the risers, beaming smiles frozen in place. No one beyond the lights could see the fast fluttering heartbeats, nor feel the slight queasiness, the shortened breath. These were the subtle signs of nervousness they had learned to cover well. A moment, and then... The pipe blew, the director’s arms rose and the four-part chord began the music that had become a passion for this group. Just over 30 years ago I was a young, stay-at- home mom. Happy to be there, but in need of some kind of outside stimulation. My world was one of diapers and Sesame Street and while it was a satisfying one, there was little I did for myself. Then one day, my mother convinced me to come out for an evening with this choral group she belonged to. Tagging along with no small degree of reluctance I eventually found myself in a room listening as some 40 women sang with gusto old familiar, and not familiar standards. To a young 20-something, the music was hokey, the emphasis being given to the learning and performing a little too serious. But then invited to join in, I was won over. High school now in the past, I’d forgotten how good it felt to sing, sing, sing, in harmony with others. It was a high, and I was addicted. For 20 years I belonged to Sweet Adelines, not just singing in the chorus but as a member of a quartet. Some of the best friendships I’ve ever had have been with girls I came to know during those years. Some of my greatest memories are because of them. We travelled to music schools, competed, provided entertainment at countless local events and did our own shows. There was choreography, costuming, public relations, sales and of course, the music to worry about. I had needed something to add to my world of formula and potty training and I got it. Despite that, the day the decision was made to disband the chorus, I can’t say my heart was broken. I knew I’d miss the camaraderie and the music, but I no longer needed extra activity in my life. With a full-time job already taking time from my family, Sweet Adelines had become one more demand. But there was also the interaction with women, those friendships, the talks and understanding that go with them, the sharing of a common interest. These were a little more difficult to let go. My quartet continued to get together periodically to rehearse and perform but it began to feel a bit like beating a dead horse and eventually we quit. For a time, I was able to stay in touch with the closest friends I had made, which was nice. But there’s no escaping the reality that people and situations change. Relationships broke, locations switched, lives ended. Several years ago, one of those dearest to me lost her life to cancer. At her funeral there was a lot of chatter about getting together, seeing each other again and remembering. It didn’t happen until this past weekend. Oddly enough, or perhaps there’s a certain symmetry to it, I had about as much enthusiasm for attending as I did that first time 30 years ago. Again, it was with my mom with whom I walked in the door, again primarily because I felt it was something she wanted me to do. And again, I’m glad it happened. They were, after all once among the flowers of my heart those Adelines. McGuinty helps better-off Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. 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