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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-02-10, Page 4There's nothing quite like a blizzard to prove that people can be funny. Or perhaps "stupid" would be a more appropriate definition. How else can one explain the apparent desire of some people to risk their lives by heading out onto the highways when it is obvious that travel is virtually impossible? And yet, there were repeated examples throughout last week of motorists tempting fate to reach a destination, It is not difficult to sympathize with people who were caught in the frightening throes of the blizzard when it quickly descended and in minutes reduced visibili- ty to nil and made travel extremely hazar- dous. Weather forecasts have never been able to provide accurate indications of the extremity of any weather movement to the point where it can be determined well in advance what is to befall us, However, it is difficult to sympathize with people who head out into such a storm once it has arrived and end up in the car- nage of wrecked vehicles which dotted area highways. Some people would argue that a citizen has that freedom of choice, They would claim that such drivers are endangering no one but themselves or others who may be similarly displaying their lack of in- telligence. But that is not correct! Once those peo- ple get into trouble they expect ambulance drivers, policemen, tow truck operators and snow plow crews to come to their assistance. It is an illegitimate expecta- tion, It becomes apparent that the police must be given greater authority to halt traffic when the need arises to save foolhardy motorists from themselves, and to alleviate the risk that must be subse- quently taken by their rescuers, While area residents agree unanimous- ly that winter can quit any time now, there is a growing fear that the spring thaw could bring added hardships and woes. It becomes imperative that municipal officials take every step possible to prevent serious flooding and to formulate con- tingency plans should major problems arise. Drain outlets should be checked at the first sign of a thaw to ensure they are not clogged with debris or ice that would pre- vent the water from getting away as quick- ly as possible, In some municipalities it may also be necessary to consider hauling snow away from potential trouble spots. Hopefully, of course, the snow will dis- appear over an extended period of time so no major difficulties arise, but officials would be remiss in their duties if they fail- ed to consider the potential dangers and the methods by which those dangers could be minimized. An invitation to church Since this is the season of church an- nual meetings the following article picked up in Stewart Memorial Church, Dwight, might be interesting. An invitation to church I work eight hours, I sleep eight hours and have eight hours for leisure; But I don't go to church on Sunday because that's my time for pleasure. I was out two of three nights last week, it was 20 below I'm told; • .1 But I didn't go to church on Sunday because it was too cold. My family is well fed all week, they're not getting any thinner; But I don't go to church on Sunday because I have to get dinner. I went out Saturday night, even though I had a chill; But I didn't get to church on Sunday because I was too ill. I get to town several times each week, I use both truck and car; But I didn't get to church on Sunday because it was too far. I got my feet wet twice last week and I did not complain; But I didn't get to church on Sunday because it looked like rain, We always get a sitter when to parties we get bids; But we didn't get to church on Sunday because we have to mind the kids. The show lasted two hours or more and I didn't mind a bit; But I didn't go to church on Sunday because an hour's too long to sit. I took my cold to the party and sneezed my head almost off ; But I didn't go to church on Sunday because I, was afraid I'd cough:. • Just when I'm going out some friends drop in, but I got out just the same; But I didn't get to church on Sunday ' because company came. No one asked me to the movie, but I go often, nothing slighted; But I don't go to church on Sunday because I haven't been invited. Elder James is a member of our club, each Wednesday I with him sit; But I don't go to church on Sunday because he's a hypocrite. I attended church one time, the pastor preached at them, it was good to see; But I'm not going any more because last week he preached at me. We get along without the church, it adds nothing to our fun; But we'll be in church Sunday morning, because we're getting our baby done. Me and my old car .................................... Lord, I come because I cannot help nisr, Like a moth to a light • Like a pin to a magnet Like a river to an ocean I come, Lord, because I must Though ± ere times I Want blarktfd he Light 11 Flow So, I come I because must. Because [Mutt . : rguote I chill • Page 4 Times-Advocate, February 10, 1977 kboci,e4 • Give more authority .;4 A Place FoKifilm "This must be the end of the 200-mile offshore fishing limit." Some unusual stories Lord, I keep thinking.: about that ybnrig,thOliti phoned' eager fOrthe "I'm sorry it's alreaetaken" I told him "Oh" he sighed "th41(you" But in that sighe, • there was So rtilleff414PPointment diseafirageinent devastation despair: I *a to cry out "ItY,SpM Mistake • YOU bPillia the job" I Oily ' tibia it Wag alrvittylAketi I could tell how bail bb wanted the work Work inakea•hifitt4e1 like a man makes him fernhere's a place for him But when he can't•fitiO a job the world's saying./ he's not needed nothing to offer, this bright-Ahl'i success crazy, ego-gorgidg014 He is bewildera' pd ashamed becausettreral place for him Oh God, pie* If to hold on help hltlyto t give up on himself help him4§. p his self respect help liiittalind a place that hairrotilready bee11100e, And Lord, help1400,4tand and watch to kilOW1WhEi(to say and do for tht4e*litir seek the jobs -that liatKAIrOdy been taken, • Boy, am I glad I'm not rich! There is nothing wrong with money in itself, though the love of it is reputed to be the root of all evil. It's what money brings in its wake that can make life a nightmare. For the past four days we've been a two-car family, and it's been a real brute. We need two cars about as much as we need two houses, and I still don't know how I got into this fandango, but I'm in it, and I wish I weren't. There wasn't a thing wrong with our old car, except that it was getting a bit long in the tooth. Or so everybody said. I didn't think a 1967 Dodge, with only 48,000 miles on it, that ran like a bomb, was something to be ashamed of. Dogs are said to age about seven to one, in comparison with humans. Thus, a nine-year-old dog would be like a 63-year-old man. That seems fair enough; missing some teeth, missing some hair, and getting a bit stiff and arthritic. But there are old dogs and old dogs, of both species. I don't know the ratio for cars and humans, but I'd guess it would be about eight to one. So, my 10-year-old car would be about 80 in human terms. To some of you young people, 80 might seem a great age. But to my personal knowledge, for some people life begins at 80. And many an old girl in a home for the aged will back rne up. They know, from personal ex- perience, that some of the guy's, at 80, 82, 84 are among the most dangerous men they've every met in their lives, socially and sexually. We've all been reading lately about the Male Menopause. At least I have. I think I came through it all right, but you never really know. Only last Sunday afternoon I was giving my wife a big blast because she didn't want me to join the poker club and go to the Legion Hall and play shuffleboard with the boys after work on Friday. She was a bit taken aback for about one minute. Then she snapped that she didn't care what I did. I could go and stand on my head in a snowbank. I could go out and play poker six nights a week, as long as I didn't take more than a dollar with me, and didn't "expect me to serve lunch to a lot of men who'd leave a dirty mess to clean up and burn holes in the rug." I don't know ho* I got away over here behind the barn when I started out talking about the horrors of being a two-car fami- ly. Anyway. People made disparaging remarks about my old Dodge. A mechanic wanted to buy it. Cheap. When I suggested $1,300 as a fair price, he laughed so hard he had a mild heart attack, "Smiley, you've run that old wreck into every tree in Blank County." This was a gross canard. That car has hit only one tree, I'll ad- mit that it has hit the same tree — the one at the end of my driveway — three tithes, once by my wife, once by my daughter, once by my son-in-laW, but never by me. That shows you how rumors spread. It did have a wow in the rear bumper from the time I hit a light standard. The back bumper was somewhat like a boomerang, because I bombed through two feet of snow in my driveway last winter, skidded across the street, and hit a telephone pole, backwards. But only one tree. On one side, the chrome was stripped off and the door caved in, when the Old Lady had an argument with the side of the garage. But the other side, until today, lookedilike a new car, ex- cept for the rust, which had eaten a bare 12 inches up into the fenders. Key words there are "Until today." After today I have matching doors, both without chrome, both looking as though Paul Bunyan had taken a grievance and a kick at the door, in that order. Inside, the car is like new, if you don't mind a bit of foam spilling out of the seats, You can tell it has been a one-owner car. The two inches of cigarette ashes on the floor are all of the same brand. You can understand bow sen- timental a chap could get about such a car. Like an 80-year-old uncle with a few scars and wrinkles but a lot of zip still in the old bawd. People have made love in that car. People have been taken to hospital in that car. Babies have been brought home from hospital on their fifth or sixth day in the world, in that car. Writing columns is not always an easy task and it becomes even more difficult when one gets vir- tually shut off from the world at large by the winter weather we've been experiencing. Newspapers are often criticiz- ed for failing to present the sun- ny side of life, but finding that sunny side has been extremely difficult. In fact, finding any type of news has been a major problem for the past couple of weeks. The "fun" events have been cancelled and we have come to the conclusion that few people need words or pictures of snow and traffic jams to understand the predicament faced by area. residents. After all, everyone has ample evidence of the situa- tion by merely looking out a win- dow and people don't need the newspaper to bring them further scenes. Not only that, but the writer has little inclination to head off into the throes of winter's fury just for the sake of taking a pic- ture of a big snowbank. In fact, our vehicle hasn't been out of the laneway for 10 days (this was written Thursday) and in- dications are that it may stay there until spring. The photos of the wintry scene have been provided by our two cohorts, Cathy McKinley and Ross Haugh. Both have to battle the drifts to get to work and periodically stick their noses out the window to .snap a picture. Actually, this writer gets a bit of a chuckle out of the "holier- than-thou" antics of many reporters. The TV broadcasters start off their news programs by advising drivers that the police are urging everyone to stay off the roads and then they proceed to show pictures that have been taken by other members of their news teams who have been sent out on those same roads to cover the situation. By the same token, we can sympathize with them, because with all the cancellation of events there just isn't anything else to cover except the weather and the predicaments it brings. A couple of unusual stories have arisen during the blizzard. Last week, an area man had to walk via snowshoes to a neighbor's to get a snowmobile ride to a clear stretch of road where a police car was dispatch- ed to pick him up and take him to his destination. Where was that destination? Apparently an appointment with a chiropractor. There was no in- dication from our news source as to the nature of his required I loved that car. But it was too randy for me. It was Male Menopause No. 2, the one that comes at 80. So I bought a new one. Not really new. Anybody who buys a new car today is either rich or ripped-off. Jumped all the way up to a'72. But I still have the old one. My wife loves it now, too, after ask- ing me for five years if I ex- pected her to be seen in public in "That old wreck." So I have two cars. I juggle them in and out of a one-car gar- age and a one-car driveway. To- day I had the new one off to work. Although I have told her 700 times that she can't back the car out of the garage, she tried it. I don't know what her technique is. I think she looks over her left shoulder and twists the wheel to the right. Or vice versa. Anyway, she creamed it right up against the post of the'garage, could neither forward go nor back, and I now have matching dented doors. Sans chrome. At least it wasn't the new five-year- old one, treatment, but we can only guess it would be even more of a necessity after battling drifts on snowshoes and bumping, across the terrain on a snowmobile. * * However, to top that one off we were advised about a motorist being stopped south of Exeter and warned that travel ahead was extremley dangerous and not advisable. In the ensuing conversation it was learned that the motorist was anxious to get back to Lucan for supper. It seems he had already battled the trying con- ditions to get to Exeter for a bucket of fried chicken and peo- ple at home were awaiting his arrival. Some things are so ridiculous they actually become funny! * * While we could understand how some skiers could be strand- ed on the first day of the blizzard as they attmpted to get north for a weekend on the hills, we, find it impossible to comprehend how some could muster the necessary lack of sense to head out the following weekend after seven days of steady news reports tbout how communities were otally isolated north of Goderich. The fellow seen heading south through Exeter with a surf board sticking out of his car trunk was obviously much more aware of the situation and we wish him luck in reaching whatever trop- cial climate he was seeking. * On the same theme, we have been in sympathy with our neighbors who have been going around with long faces for the past week or so. They had their camper parked in the lane for a getaway to Florida on January 30 and of course they have been forced to delay that trip and suffer along with the rest of us. However, with cool temperatures even in the south, some area residents have cancelled trips, consoling themselves with the fact that even a blizzard it is better to be in South Huron 'in a warm house than in the chilly south where people don't turn up their ther- mostats because. they don't even have heating systems. * * * Perhaps the best comment of the week was attributed to Stanley Township clerk Mel Graham, when a reporter asked him for an indication of road con- ditions. "The roads of Stanley township are still there, and as long as you stay off them, they are okay," he quipped. While the majority of area residents will come through the winter of 1976-77 with little more than a few unpleasant memories, the sobering aspect of the entire situation is the problem south of the border where several million have been put out of work due to a shortage of fuel, and in par- ticular natural gas. For the past couple of years we've been hearing conflicting reports about the shortage of fuel. For the people who are shivering or living on unemploy- ment cheques, it is either a reali- ty or a very cruel joke. We tend to think it is the former and it is obvious that we too will soon have to wake up to the fact that our failure to con- serve energy will create some very unpleasant conditions in the years ahead for ourselves and our children. The lack of understanding is clearly indicated by the fact that the government has had to con- sider charges against people who insist on leaving the lights on over night in those city skyscrapers. However, it is probably true also that few of our readers have yet grasped the true nature of the situation and made every attempt possible to conserve every iota of energy that they possibly can. Mustbe prepared Phone 235-1331 +CNA Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Vete tracefeahnesainsocale SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager Jim Beckett Plant Manager — Jim Scott Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager Dick Jong kind . 55 YEARS AGO' • onday evening when 12 out of Mr. Freeborn Johnston, of ,new members were presented ship "Carnegie" gave an'addreSS',.;!,,With their Master Mason aprons. descriptive of the Islands of : Mr. Andrew Easton, a veteran Pacific at a meeting of the Mrdil. tbktwo wars, who has been em- Street League on Tuesday, ,.,:played with W. C. Allison, has evening. /phased from Mrs. Rock the Friday evening at the arena ,:lacre farm on Lot 8 cone 4, Exeter-Zurich hockey teg'it. OiShOrne. tucked away the second MOO the 0,H,A, intermediate series, .07 when they defeated the feat 20 YEARS AGO Ingersoll sextette 11 goals to 8. Huron MPP announced this Mr. Richard Hill of Stephen has Week that Eugene H. • Beaver, recently lost two head of cattle accountant, has been appointed a from poisoning. Mr. Hill is not • Atice of the peace for Huron Ounty. John Etheringtpn, 12 year old Oh, of Mr. & Mrs. Archie therington is South Huron's Trivitt Memorial schoolrodit,' , jikripion speller for 1957. He Monday with a fine ittendatOe'*Mated the other 10 contestants Rev. A. A. Trumper presented,h -, ,-14taaday night. . 4 -; paper on "the Second ConlingTOO,';- ncy Fahner, 19 year old Our Lord. ord. ;,;:..wighter of Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd mr. Merner" Eilber, of Credit*, SPihner, near Grand , Bend, was has accepted a position.withk4: „ Setted queen of SHDHS Friday. Tiernan & Son of Dash** was crowned at the "At clerk.Vitie Dance." • 'Mille four winning students who represent SHDHS at the SA public speaking contest Allison Clark, Ron Carpenter, Ora Boulianne and Bill Mar- ti. al girls receiving their caps in impressive ceremony at oria Hospital this week were ty Kerr, Exeter, Maja Roobol, *risen , Arlene Harberer, ich, and Elva .Young, Lucan, able to account for it as lie hai3O' poison about the place. The Exeter and South Huffaj; Ministerial AssociatioU 30 yEARtAotr..t., Bert Borland left StinditY;"• Indiana to take a short 'cOurfie, servicing Studebaker Cara.: Miss Myrtle Reeder is entietihg Woodstock General 1105pital f0 train for a nurse. Mr. Neil Jones left for Terora this week to take a mute at Rehabilitation School there.. Crowning one of the nioaraii cessful years in Masonic' hilt* in Exeter was a derenion, 15 YEARS AGO 'SIMS board Tuesday night ,gef.its tax levy for 1962 at nine Amalgamated 1024 ., two more than it has been :fiti the past six years. ',Monday night, town council roved a telephone system for tile police dep't which will permit t,,d:Oens to make contact with the 24 hours a day. Aorge Godbolt and Sharon Nittiride were the senior winners the public speaking contest at <4; ,'High school this week, ' ''',fltfiss Clare McGowan has been anted local director of Huron rity's Children's Aid Society. Otir of the six chief ftl,agistrates with whom he has 'Ved on the PUC during the t.,27 years paidltribilte to L. J. hale at a banquet in his t The mayors and reeves i dling were B. W. Tockey, A. iI.,Sweitzer, W. G. Cochrane, ft. Ptioley and Eldrid Simmons. '.entnale had also served with 1 te W, D. Sanders and the ornas L. Pryde. • Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Moil Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Per Year; USA $22.00 •••