HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-06-03, Page 4tee
Smiley's
Smart or dishonest
A small boy stood before a candy
counter. His eyes were wide, the goodies so
tempting. He had to,have one. A quick look
around and into'his pocket went a handful.
A story so old that it hardly bears
repeating, What kid hasn't been tempted
and given into the temptation, only to suf-
fer the pangs of conscience all night long to
the point where the candy became
tasteless.
But there's more as we were told one
Sunday recently by a pastor who was
witness to the whole thing. Morn was stan-
ding with her back to the kid. She turned
just as the dreadful deed was done. Her
reaction?
"For heaven's sake, Johnny, don't do
that, a policeman might see you."
Perhaps more than anything that il-
lustrates the morality — or lack of it — that
threatens the very fibre of our society.
Don't do anything dishonest unless you're
sure you can get away with it,
Cast nets,
not stones The disease comes in many names —
new morality, situational ethics, passivity,
tolerance — but its face is the same.
Dishonesty is okay as long as you don't get
caught.
So how does Johnny learn? He only
learns to watch for police more closely and
his conscience will cease to prick him.
After all Dad pads the expense account,
Morn brings home towels from the hotel,
the other kids cheat at school and everyone
thinks they're so smart.
Politicians condone everything but an
open revelation of their actions. Athletes
Place winning ahead of all else.
Anyone who disagrees is dismissed as
an old-fashioned square, a common scold,
Expediency is the order of the day.
The moral fibre of a nation depends on
honesty, integrity and the ability to dis-
tinguish between right and wrong whether
we get caught or not,
And integrity begins in the home. •
Teenagers and summer lobs
Of the nearly 7000,000 persons out-of-
work in the latest Statistics — Canada
figures, almost half of these are under 24
years of age. The grim picture painted by
the statistics still does not fully reveal the
anxiety of those who, before they even
enter the labor force, are faced with the
kind of desperation that comes from a lack
of meaningful employment.
Add to the already dismal statistics the
influx of students seeking summer jobs to
help them through next winter's studies
and we face a situation that could
thoroughly demoralize and alienate some
of the most important people in our society.
Although we subscribe to the theory of
providing jobs for all people who wish to
work regardless of their age or sex, many
teenagers are squeezed out of the work
force because of the length of their hair or
because they prefer to wear jeans.
Yet, it's also true that Jesus
was Himself capable of the most
tremendous invective when He
saw blind self-satisfaction and
hardness of heart in what were
supposed to be professionally
good and religious people. How
quickly His mood changed,
however, if anyone gave the
slightest hint Of a Change of
heart.
For us to keep on rebuking
someone or ignoring them after
they've shown signs of being
sorry and wanting to change is to
play the Pharisee.
To use the words of Sam
Shoemaker, a marvellous
Anglican clergyman, now dead,
"Whatever will redeem the
person is the right course to take.
We must first ask God to forgive
us for personal resentments and
unredemptive anger, and then be
honest and unafraid to put the
challenge to them. There are
times when heedless,
irresponsible people must be
brought up short, for their own
good, as well as others'. But we
should try to keep so free from
bitterness that a good relation-
ship may be maintained, Then
the whole process is one whose
ultimate intenton is redemption."
None of us dare take a scornful
position of others' sins for we all
fall a long way short of being
sinless ourselves.
Jesus showed us that
Christians have no business
casting stones. He suggested,
instead, the casting of nets .
nets of condern, nets of in-
volvement, nets of caring. It's
with such nets that we draw
people into the orbit of the great
lovejand forgiveness of God.
Remember what Jesus said to
the righteous and the scornful
who, were about to stone the
prositute, "He that is without sin
among you, let him cast the first
stone".
Yet how often, we who are
clothed in our own self-
righteousness, easily fall prey to
the sin of condemning and
criticizing. And to what purpose?
How many people have we won to
Christianity by derisively
pointing out their faults , , by
throwing stones at them . . or by
turning our backs on them
because we don't want to be seen
associating with ,them?
There is a common saying
which states, "love the sinner
and hate the sin". But, it seems to
me, it's not all that simple either.
As Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr warns
!us this idea is "not altogether
sound morally; and is also
psychologically difficult, It is
based upon the supposition that
the evil-doer has been prompted
merely by ignorance and not by
malice. Yet a very great deal of
evil is done in malice; and the
proper reaction of anger must
include the doer as well as the
deed,"
It's not always easy, as Dr.
Nei buhr suggests, to separate the
sin from the sinner. The evil deed
was first in an evil will and no
man or woman has to keep an evil
will nor express it. They can see
the error of their ways, repent
and change.
Jesus taught us by his actions
that we must dare and care
enough to put the challenge of the
person's wrong doings before
him. The key to mature, right
relationships is 'speaking the
truth with love'.
Homeowners and others will often
resort to the uncertainties of the yellow
pages rather than hire responsible summer
students eager to provide services ranging
from babysitting to housepainting.
Society as a whole stands to gain from
young people still within the formal
educational process who receive work ex-
perience from on-the-job training, not to
mention the feeling of independence that
comes from earning one's own living.
We must insist that government and
large employers are provided with the
necessary regulations and incentives that
will provide a place for unemployed
teenagers and students in the work force,
for their sake and society's sake.
Otherwise more and more young peo-
ple will drift onto welfare and we will con-
tinue to waste one of our most valuable
resources.
Strike no — directors yes The fall of a starling
By KIT SCHILLER
So you buy a house that looks
well sealed, good roof, no visible
signs of decay and then you move
in, and suddenly life is full of
surprises.
Like the starling in my
bedroom. Starlings have a way of
getting into bedrooms. I had this
friend, this nature-lover, who
boasted about the starling family
she and her husband had
somewhere in the upper reaches
of their bedroom closet. They
(my friends, not the starlings)
used to lie in bed of a Sunday
morning, while the kids burned
'the bacon, and listen to the
raucous arguments the starling
married couple got into. It was
really something my friend
would declare. Why those birds
sounded downright human. First
they'd be mad at each other
(screech, screech), then they'd
make up— barely audible sounds
of most un-starling-like cooing.
My, how she loved those birds,
until —
d'fferentation was not our way in a multi-
racial, multi-cultural society.
Perhaps the recent decision by the
West German government to place
workers on the boards of directors of all
large firms, chosen by labor and accepted
as equal partners and in equal numbers
with management would be a more positive
step.
Lack of productivity never solved infla-
tion. Canada, with the second highest strike
figures in the Western world, does not have
a good record of productivity. The West
German idea of having labor equal to
management on corporation policy-making
boards would give workers the voice they
need in the boardrooms and might ease
class tensions which exist today. At the
same time safeguards against exploitation
.by management would be guaranteed and a
united front to combat inflation would be
mounted by the two groups most able to
combat it, labor and management,
And Canadian labor on boards of direc-
tors? What an innovative idea and what
better way to Canadianize all those major
U.S. subsidiaries and other multi-national
corporations which dominate the economy
of Canada,
There's only one flaw in her
aberration. Get her a piano and
you never get a meal. She's too
busy playing the thing, Get her a
record player, and everybody
who comes in range must be
interviewed. Forget about
reading a book or relaxing.
Right now, it's the new sewing
machine, It's a beauty, according
to her, a Bernina, the Cadillac of
sewing machines. It will do
anything, In a flash, your gar-
ment will have seven new button
holes or a monogram stitched
onto the pocket in purple thread.
We're probably the only people
in town who can read in bed
without taking a book, We just
turn down the sheets and spell
out what she has stitched all over
them.Things like: "Cold feet
make cool bed-fellows" and
"Some limousine is my sewing
machine," and "How now, brown
cow." It's a lot of fun, but it's
hard to get to sleet) with all that
Braille stitching tapping out
messages on your anatomy.
I'll admit the new machine will
do everythingbut button up your
fly. But it's playing havoc with
our domestic life, She can't drag
herself away from it.
The Old Lady is up at five
o'clock in the morning, sewing.
She sneaks down after the news
at 11 p.m, to whip off a few stit-
ches.
I have to get mostof the meals.
She has time to iron only one shirt
and wash one pair of socks at a
time, which rather keeps me on
edge, sartorially. I am barraged
with totally incomprehensible
terms such as tucks, darts,
pleats, basting, gathering.
I know it will end, once she is on
more familiar terms with her
new toy. But until then, it is
rather like living with a child who
has discovered what fun it is to
pound on drum.
Maybe I should have got her
one of those garden tractors, with
tiller and cultivator. At east she'd
be getting some fresh air, and I'd
be getting some peas,
student veteran. Our total income
was $88 a month, believe it or not,
Our rent was $75 a month. We ate
only because I took part-time and
vacation jobs.
One day I came home and was
stunned to discover she'd bought
a sewing machine, for $149.95.
She had also signed up for a
sewing course, at $15, and had
bought material to make a suit,
for $20. I have never been stingy,
but I was a trifle aghast.
She had bought it on the in-
stalment plan, naturally. The
story has a reasonably happy
ending. She quit the sewing
course after a few lessons, finally
threw out the suit material, about
10 years later. But she traded in
that sewing machine on a new
one the other day, and got $75 for
the old one. So her sewing has
cost her about three dollars a
year, over the years. Even a
skinflint couldn't quarrel with
that.
Another day I came home and
steam started coming out of my
`navel when she coolly informed
me she's bought a grand piano,
for about $4,000 also on the in-
stalment plan. Our income by
this time was just about $4,000 a
year.
"Migawd," I thought, "Hate to
do it, but I'm going to have to'
have her committed. We've gotta
educate the kids, pay the mor-
tgage. She'll ruin us."
Once again, her extravagance
turned out to be shrewd dealing.
She gave piano lessons, the kids
were educated, the mortgage is
paid. And the other day, an ex-
pert told her the grand piano as it
siands,is worth about $5,500.
I compare these gambits with
my own investments, in which a
couple of thousand dollars worth
of stocks inevitably wind up as 50
shares of moose pasture, and I
can't be anything but humble.
This has gone on through the
years between, and I've never
ceased to be amazed at this
woman's thing about a new
machine.
Green stuff
Dennis McDermott's recent call for a
general strike by all Canadian unionists
might very well do what organized labor
wishes, and that is to defeat the Trudeau
government on the issue of wage and price
controls. The Canadian head of the United
Auto Workers said recently that he thought
labor had the will and the ability to bring
off the first official general strike in Cana-
dian history.
Perhaps it does. We wonder though if
this is the best way to dramatize the very
real opposition — and in some ways very
justified opposition — that labor has for
wage controls.
At a time when suspicion with almost
all aspects of public life is at an all-time
high and when tensions between groups
already is exacerbated, will a class strike
achieve the long-term stability which will
serve labor's ends as well as those of all
Canadians?
A general strike would have enormous
effects on people already the hardest-hit
victims of inflation — the aged, the poor,
the minorities, the disabled and the
voiceless. It may well defeat the Liberals
but it will also heighten tensions in a socie-
ty which has long prided itself that class
Some women's hearts are won
by French perfume, mink coats,
and diamonds. I've managed to
steer clear of this type.
All it takes to make my wife
happy is a new machine. After
years of comparative poverty,
during which everything we had
was second-hand, falling apart,
or broken, I am occasionally able
to gratify her lust for something
that hums, purrs, growls or
roars. None of those verbs ap-
plies to me, by the way.
It doesn't matter what it is,
anything from a kitchen gadget
to a grand piano; it pleases her
pink, for a while.
Not for her the big bouquet on
Mother's Day, the fancy ear-
rings on her birthday-; the
voluptuous dresSing-gown for
Christmas. She wants no part of
such frivolities, Just give her
something that beats or churns or
sews or polishes, and she's in
ecstasy.
I didn't know this when we
were first married, I thought she
was a normal, greedy woman,
and kept trying to please her by
bUying blouses that didn't fit,
sweaters the wrong color,
earrings she wouldn't be found
dead in.
My first knowledge of her true
cravings, in material
possessions, came after we'd
been married a year. I was a
clam ourous cacophony. The bird
tumbled down to the floor and
eyed me coldly. I wish creatures
didn't have this habit of looking
me in the eye. It's unnerving.
Dogs, cats, mice, squirrels, birds
-- they all stop what they're
doing and stare, as if to say "if
you think you're the boss, you're
mistaken",
But I was the boss. I would
catch my fine feathered friend
and turn him outdoors to join his
kin. As I was planning how to
catch him, he was making an
inspection of his new, larger
quarters, on foot. Obviously the
dumb bird couldn't fly. He was
probably the slow member of the
family, and his falling down the
chimney (for that is what must
have happened), was no more
than you could expect. Best to put
him outside, and let some
hungry cat make a meal of him.
I looked at him again, and he
looked right back. "Who asked
you here anyway?" I said, He let
out a screech, Not only was he
homely and stupid, he also
sounded dreadful. No asset to any
home. Survival of the fittest,
according to Charles Darwin,
implied that that bird should
become catfood.
The Times-Advocate baseball
team didn't fare too well on their
initial outing last Thursday night.
After putting in what seemed to
be an endless seven innings
against the Northlanders in the
Exeter Recreation League we all
left with the understanding that
we could make a few im-
provements iii certain areas.
Every time I look out the
window of our home I become
more convinced in the truth of the
old saying that "the grass is
always. greener on the other
side."
In fact I become downright
jealous of the plush green lawns
of the neighbors.
Our view from the back window
is highlighted by a large pile of
dirt that is presently providing a
good base for a And growth of
weeds.
At first the fact that I didn't
have a lawn was no bother to me
at all because cutting the fast
growing green stuff was always a
dreaded chore.
Most of the homes I drive by on
the way to the office have
beautiful lawns and the residents
seem to be always out on the
grass enjoying themselves.
I can hardly wait until our lawn
is planted and we'll be able to
walk around the yard without
being up to your ankles in mud.
To make matters worse I have
an almost new lawn mower in the
basement that has never seen
action in Exelter,
condition to play the game. The
complaints of sore arms and
strained legs on Friday morning
is a good indication that most of
us used muscles we didn't know
we had.
position scoring 26 runs while
holding our effort to getting two
people safely across home plate.
This victory will probably send
the Northlanders into their next
game with plenty of confidence. I
know it made us realize that we
will have to put in a much better
performance/in future games to
even get the score a little less
Perhaps it was the number of one-sided.
errors we made in the field or the One thing this writer un-
lock of hitting power when we derstands now is that it helps to
were at bat that led to the op- be in reasonably good physical .„ •
" • le ,'
Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881
50 Years Ago
Miss Vera Rowe has resigned
her position with Gladman and
Stanbury.
Miss Margaret Strang of
Usborne was successful in
winning second class honors in
honor science at UWO..
Miss Carrie Davis has taken a
position at the Post Office, in
place of Miss Alice Pfaff who has
resigned.
Mr. Bruce Medd returned
home last week having graduated
from the OAC Guelph with the
degree of 13 .S.A.
Mr. Garnet Frayne has pur-
chased the hog business from Mr.
H, Elworthy.
Despite the severe trouncing
we took in our debut alI of us
enjoyed the game, however, at a
recent team meeting it was
decided to change the team from
the "T-A Tigers" to something a
little less aggressive.
• • -,:,-•':rfew",•''''rItIrttgelign
Amalgamated 1924
•
Itteetefetlimaatveate
20 Years Ago
Gangs of up to 50 members are
making rapid progress on con-
struction of the addition to Exeter
Legion Memorial Hall, Members
have been turning out in large
numbers for volunteer work at
night,
Highest University of Western
Ontario award, the Hon. G.
Howard Ferguson trophy, was
presented to SHDIIS graduate
John Harberer, Zurich.
Major step in the restoration
program of Trivitt Memorial
Church was taken Monday night
when the vestry approved plans
for rewiring and new lighting of
the church.
Glen Lamport, 13-year-old son
of Mr, & Mrs. Lamport, RR 1
Hensall, maintained his family's
reputation for producing top beef
by winning the gain honors at
Hensall Feeder Calf Club Friday.
He received the George T. Mickle
and Sons trophy.
Until one day she got home
from work and found the starling
family had completely taken over
her clothes closet, with the
inevitable soiling of her dresses,
her husband's suits and (is
nothing sacred?) her mink coat.
That did it. She called the family
cat into the bedroom, and after a
battle which shook the house, the
cat emerged with a smile on her
face and my friend had only the
feathers to clean up, and all of
her clothes. So much for sen-
timentality, I told myself when it
became obvious there were
uninvited guests above my
bedroom closet.
My first reaction was one of
panic. From the sounds of things,
the birds were getting ready to
take over, Whose house was it
anyway?
After a cup of hot tea panic
gave way to the calmness of
desperation. Something had to be
done. The ceiling had to be
removed and the problems)
squarely faced. I had never
removed a ceiling before. It was
covered in panelling which came
off neatly when I used a screw
driver and pried, and with it
came one frightened baby
starling. Only one — 1 had
estimated a flock from the
Nuts to Charles Darwin. I
wondered what Dr. Samuel
Johnson might have said.
Perhaps something like this:
"The bird, Madam, was born in
the house, which gives him a sort
of primacy of tenure. You were
not born in the house, nor did you
purchase it from the starling
family, TherOore you might
Madam in the eyes of the
Almighty, be regarded as an
interloper. As such certain
obligations fall on you. They
might include treating one who
was born in your house with
charity and respect".
I fixed him a make-shift nest, I
got him suet and bread crumbs
and a tiny dish of water. I closed
the door to keep the dogs out. I
wished him well, and told him he
could use the entire bedroom for
time
flyin mgclaesseot and when the right
The next morning he was dead.
He had not died violently, and he
had
next week,
diedinh wn home. More of
that
SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAK
C.W.N,A,, 0.WN.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC
Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited
Editor — Jim Beckett — AdVeitising Manager
Assistant Editor — Leigh Robinson
Plant Manager — Jim Scott
Composition Manager — Dave Worby
Business Manager Dick Jorigkind
Phone 23S-1331 Boost
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Published Each Thursday Morning
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Registration Number 0386
Paid in Advance Circulation
September 30, 1975 5,420
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Progress chart
A new sign will soon be cat-
ching the eye of people who pass
along Exeter's main street,
The sign will be erected on the
west side of the street in the
vicinity of the RIC office and will
show the progress being made in
collecting funds for the South
Huron Recreation Centre. It has
been designed to look like an ice
surface that will be unveiled
gradually as donations are
collected for the new centre,
'the building of the recreation
centre will be an interesting topic
of conversation in this area and
the sign will attract a great deal
of attention in the months ahead.
Estimated cost of the structure
is one million dollars with half of
the financing available through
various government grants. The
remaining $500,000 will have to be
raised locally, hopefully by
donations from local industries,
businesses and individual
families.
The sign should be an excellent
way of keeping people poSted on
the progress of the fund raising.
25 Years Ag0
Many former residents from all
over Canada and the United
States returned to Crediton over
the weekend to join in the Cen-
tennial Celebrations of Zion
Evangelical United Brethren
Church.
A clock and fan depot is to be
opened in Exeter on June 5 for the
convenience of hydro customers
who wish to have their clocks and
fans changed over for operation
on 60-cycle power or to exchange
them for the latest 60-cycle
models,
Exeter Greys Softball Team
walloped a younger and more
inexperienced junior team from
Lucan Tuesday night to win their
first game of the season.
At the Spring Fair in Hensall,
the Ladies Aid of Carmel
Presbyterian Church raised MO
from the booth they sponsored.
10 Years Ago
Improvements to the electrical
distribution and street lighting
system are included in a Flydro
program being undertaken this
year by the Exeter Public
Utilities Commission.
Five new members, Joanne
Roweliffe, Christine McGregor,
Deanne Reaburn, Wendy Dixon
and Kathy Kyle were received
into the Henson Brownie Pack
Tuesday,
Exeter's year-end surplus
stood at $13,000 compared to the
high of $43,000 accumulated back
in 1063 the 1065 audit report
revealed,