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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-12-15, Page 4As soon as they put away the elf costumes, and park the fairyland floats after the Christmas parades, the big stores begin to plan for next year's parade. The countdown to the next Christmas begins that soon. We all have an appointment with Christmas and our personal countdown is underway. No other event in the year gets as much advance planning and effort, Like the parade planners, for some a year or more in advance is hardly enough. Each of us has a list of things to do, a schedule to meet, presents to buy, tree to get, baking to do, invitations and cards to send out. We have learned to leave little to chance when it comes to Christmas. Yet there is one thing that is often left to chance — the renewal of the Spirit of Christmas within us. Actually, some feel that the renewal of the Christmas Spirit ought to be unplanned, a spontaneous thing, catching us unawares! Sometimes it happens that way. In the words, the pageantry, the colour, the message of Christmas touches the deep roots within us and warms our spirits. Inspired by the message of the Christ Child, we learn to care about others, we catch a vision of a peaceful world, a world where love reigns and people count. This vision renews us and enriches us. In the long run, these are the things that make Christmas important. The trees, the presents, the food, all that is just extra. A young woman, by chance found herself at a special Christmas service, She left with a smile on her face and a tear in her eye. Until that moment, in spite of her preparations for Christmas, she hadn't felt the Christmas Spirit. Attending the service was a blessed accident! It's a shame to plan everything and leave the renewal of the Spirit to chance, Each of us can plan to take time to get in touch with the real Christmas Spirit. Christmas is not about things, or even about what happened long ago. It is about something that can happen to each of us to- day. Don't leave Christmas to chance. Conflicting surveys Two recent surveys regarding Quebec independence has revealed and confirmed some startling facts about attitudes - both Anglophone and Francophone - in this still legally undivided country, One survey, con- ducted by the Toronto Star and Southam Press, indicates that support for separation from Canada by Quebec is waning. The other, by the Readers Digest, is less con- vincing. Polls, being what they are, do not always provide the definitive answer in questions that involve emotion and deeply held ideas. But what does emerge from these very detailed investigations and analysis of at- titudes is that many Canadians have deeply developed prejudices and misconceptions about each other. Confusion and distrust are common denominators while morale, especially in English-speaking Canada, is generally low. What disturbs is the depth of bigotry and the arrogant attitude of a majority of Anglophone Canadians that Quebec should stay in Confederation but on English terms. The survey makes it clear, as well, that these same English Canadians are prepared to sacrifice very little to keep Quebec in Canada. Our country, which only a few years ago was billing itself a little piously as the Just Society is emerging as a nation where people are condemned and put down for the color of their skins (Pakistanis) or for the language and culture they hold dear • (QuebecoiS), The survey indicates that many Quebeckers are dissatisfied with their lot under the existing constitution, yet it points out so are many westerners who wish to see greater provincial autonomy. As the University of Toronto's leading literary critic, Prof, Northrop Frye, told a recent unity conference, "The flowering of regional cultures is to be welcomed rather than resisted." Surely we could all make the modest sacrifice necessary to allow our sisters and brothers in Quebec feel that they are equal under the constitution but also equal in the eyes of all Canada as persons whose unique and vibrant culture has much to offer the whole country, Surely we could sacrifice a modicum of our materialism and apathy and get to work to force our political leaders to change our constitution to ac- commodate diversity. Highly centralized federalism may not be the only form of government. But above all, we must sacrifice our prejudice. That is what we are being asked to give up. An early Christmas gift - ISEWOMENEMEMMIIMOSMaKENEMEMMINVIMEAMITLIMMatraMMWAV Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 Se,os Nputh Hurn, North MIddl000g & North Urn bton Since 1173 ,0 MarMaannaN WAZASMOMMISMO/ 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 — Bill Weekley Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jong kind Phone 235-1331 +CNA imes dvoca Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $1 1.00 Per Year;. USA $22.00 ftaisall` CCNA AWARD 1974 He who laughs last... The Canadian Federation of Independent Business° Page 4 Times-Advocate, December 15, 1977 ( OTTAWA and Small Business Tomorrow is Almost Here Don't leave it to chance We got an early Christmas present at our place this year. My daughter, who is training to be a teacher, was heading into a hairy week of practice teaching real kids in a real school. My wife, in a sudden burst of compassion and stupidity volunteered to take The Boys for a week. At time of writing, we've had them for three days. And nights. It hasn't seemed an hour more than three years. My old lady has aged a decade, hasn't spoken a civil word to me for 48 hours, and is threatening to move into a hotel and leave me stuck with the pair. This morning, in a desperate effort to obtain a little peace, she got up at six o'clock and went downstairs to make a cup of tea and read for a few minutes, in blissful solitude. She'd just settled in a chair when she heard this horrible, familiar sound: the thump! thump! of tiny feet descending the stairs. It was No. 2 son, armed with a big grin, a loaded diaper and a hearty appetite for breakfast, Her groan awoke me, all the way upstairs, where I was trying to snatch 40 winks, after sleeping, or attempting to, with No, 1 son. He sleeps crossways, upside down, or kitty-corner, and kicks the clothes off both of us every five minutes. It's not that they are bad boys. It's just that there are two of them, Either, by himself, is a delight to have for a visit. But when they're together, it's like a onearmed man trying to cope with a cage of monkeys. We brought two large boxes of their favorite toys and teddy bears and puppets. They can litter two floors of the house with these in two minutes, then ignore them while you pick them all up. It's much more fun getting into Gran's innumerable cupboards and drawers and nooks and Crannies, and dragging out everything that is not nailed down or cemented over. On my desk, as I write, are: one baby's bottle, one large strainer from the kitchen, one fire iron, and our only flashlight, carefully taken apart. On the floor behind me is my chess set, 80 spools of Gran's thread, mainly unwound, and the baby's potty chair, completely virgin. I am away behind with my mail, and I haven't read a paper since The Boys arrived. Trouble is, it takes one of us to police them, while the other is fran- tically trying to get something essential done, like ironing a shirt or cooking some grub, It isn't that they fight a lot, They fight all the time. The older one is very intelligent and very curious. He'll find something like the short step ladder, climb it, and see how hard he can jump on the floor. The younger one tries to emulate him, gets in the way, gets a kick in the face from big brother, squeals in mingled rage and pain, bites big brother on the calf, and they're into it. Last night, after dinner, they wanted their mitts on. One of us wearily struggled them on, anything for peace, and the two immediately started boxing. For real. The little guy would absorb a punch on the ear, go down laughing, struggle up, rush his brother, and overwhelm him with a flurry of punches. He's two years younger, but just as strong and twice as pugnacious. This sort of thing is hell for a mild, middle-aged couple who believe that little children should be kind and sweet and generous with each other. I was almost drowned the other night when I tried to give them both a bath at the same time. I used to bath them singly when they were tiny, and it was a lovely experience, being so gentle and careful that the little heads didn't get a bump, or the eyes get soap in them. Now it's a cross between catching a greasy pig and being an octopus with six tentacles missing. They wrestle at one end of the tub and do belly-flops. They have splashing matches in which both get soap in their eyes and yell fiercely. It ends only when one or other slips on the soap and cracks his noggin on the tub. It isn't as though we aren't used to children. We had two of our own, and while they were trying at times, they'd get a slap on the bum if they tried to be as boisterous as The Boys. But this is the new generation which thinks that a kid's whole being is warped and stunted if he gets an occasional belt on the backside. They think the little guy should be allowed to go bare bottom a couple of hours a day, so he won't feel repressed by • his diaper, or something. So he promptly stands in the middle of Gran's newly-cleaned rug, gets a faraway look in his eye, and pees a golden stream. Put him on his pot, of course, and he just grins. And this crowd is not taught any respect for property. They One of the basic problems one experiences in writing a column for a weekly newspaper is the time element. To get a jump. on things last week, the writer started to pound out words furiously on Thursday to fill this hole. The main thrust of the epistle was to chuckle over the fact that the snow belt area had apparently switched and was moving south. Hpwever, after trudging through snow up to our arm pits on Friday, we had to crumple up those words and start all over again. There was ample indica- tion that South Huron was still very much in the snow belt, although we did escape a couple of earlier storms which inun- dated London, There's certainly a growing awareness as to why the Indians traded off this land for a handful of trinkets and a few colorful beads. No doubt the transaction was completed in the summer when the new owners were lured into a sense of having reaped a great bargain as the July sun smiled down on the trade-off. Since then, they've been spen- ding a fortune on coal, oil and gas to heat their homes, getting blisters from shovelling snow, paying periodic visits to their doctors for cold and frost-bite treatments, etc., etc. Meanwhile, the majority of the sellers have been sitting in their homes watching the government snowplows make a path for them so they can engage in the only sensible way to spend winter...sitting at home drinking fire water. Snow, whether we enjoy it or not, plays an important part in the area economy and there are many people whose very livelihood depends upon it to a considerable degree. One has only to look about at all the special requirements for winter, such as clothing, sporting equipment, snow tires, snow blowers, etc., etc, to see the great impact it does have in the market place of this part of On- tario. There is also a clear indication that area merchants should welcome storms such as last week, because it tends to eliminate many of the trips area residents would be making to the are used to banging around in rented quarters, and their parents haven't anything worth breaking anyway, so they are given free rein to that vandal that is hidden in all of us. Thank the dear goodness I have to go to work every day and have eight hours of comparative peace. But I'm worried about Gran. Another couple of lamps knocked over, another box of oatmeal sprinkled into the downstairs john, and she's off to the bug-house. city to undertake Christmas shopping. As they say, it's an ill wind that doesn't blow some good! While this is a joyous time of year for most people, there is also a considerable amount of sadness for many, for it brings the usual number of deaths and tragedies. Last week we attended the funeral of a 90-year-old grand- mother we had inherited through marriage. She was the epitome of those grandmothers who are depicted as loving and kind in storybooks and TV shows. There was always a cheery welcome at her home, and typical of most grandmothers, there was always a place at the table, regardless of how many of the eight children, 27 grandchildren or 27 great grandchildren showed up for a brief visit or the traditional festive meal. One of the features of those visits was the sampling of homemade bread or some other goody from the pantry and generally there was a new green plant that she had started for a granddaughter. What made it all the more special was the fact that grand- ma was blind, although that was never a handicap and seldom even an inconvenience to her. We hope that this Christmas you'll be especially kind to your grandma, and if you don't have DOLLAR UNE and your finances December is the time for rounding up your tax records, and for taking several last minute steps that may help reduce your taxes for the year. The year-end deadline particularly applies to people who own a rental property, to small business owners, to investors with a portfolio containing losers, and to high income earners who are looking for a tax shelter. Members of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario answer your questions in Dollar Sense. Mr. Eddy is with Thorne Riddell & Co., Toronto. First, though, you have to know where you stand, and for that you need your receipts for the year ... salesmen need gasoline bills; landlords need rent records and repair bills. You may not actually plan SAFETY Of AIR rA55ENGER5 ------------------- one, there are plenty of them around to adopt. * * * One of the projects we've un- dertaken with the teen class at Exeter United Church this fall has been a monthly visit to the senior citizen apartments on Sanders St. The kids have distributed gar- den produce and baking, and last week we journeyed over to decorate the Christmas tree, sing some carols and string pop- corn tree trimmings. One of the interesting aspects of those visits is the fact the seniors always greet us most warmly and there is never anything pretentious. We get invited in for a chat, regardless of whether they are decked out in their Sunday best ready for church, or sitting around in their pjamas having a cup of coffee. There are many other seniors in the community who would welcome you just as warmly. Why not plan a visit today, es- pecially now that winter has deprived many of them an oppor- tunity to get out of their homes? Just one word of caution: be prepared to spend more time than a few minutes, because you won't want to leave once you get there. DOLLAR SEflSE to file your income tax return for another few weeks, but you will need your receipts anyway, and the sooner you round them up, the better. It may turn out to be very difficult to obtain duplicate receipts from people who have already issued you one. But if you have to ask for a dup- licate, ask now and not in February or March when companies are deluged with that kind of request, at the very time they are busy preparing their own income tax returns. Do you rent out part of your home? Are you going to do repairs this winter? If so do the work before the end of the year so that you can charge the apropriate expense against your income from the property this year. If you wait until Jan. 1 to pay them, you will not be able to use them to lower your 1977 taxes. If your investment port- folio contains losers, and you are searching for cap- ital losses to offset earlier gains, December is a good time to sell. But watch it; the sale should be done well before Christmas so that the transaction will have been completed be- fore the end of the year -- it takes a full five business- days for stock market trans- actions to be completed. If you have capital gains or, say, a lump sum payment from a pension fund you may decide to buy an income averaging an- nuity in order to spread your tax burden over by JIM SMITH This is an essay on the fu- ture, a subject of particular appeal to erstwhile writers since, by the time anyone can prove the predictions wrong, it's too late to matter, Futurists have gone out on a limb with variable re- sults, Dr. James Lockhart, a biologist at the California In- stitute of Technology, for in- stance, suffered a stroke of bad luck when he predicted, in 1959, what would happen by the end of the next dec- ade. "Ten years from now," the good doctor pronounced, "you will be able to sit on a lawn that needs no mowing and reach up to pick a nor- mal-sized peach from the low branches of a dwarf tree." So much for futuristic infalli- bility. The following thoughts are presented without the slightest suggestion of their infallibility. If, 60 years from now, they are shown to be wrong, I don't want to hear about it. As we've noted here be- fore, it will soon be possible, through electronic hookups, for any worker not involved in manufacturing to work at home rather than commuting to an office. Intercity con- ferences will be held without the participants ever leaving their own boardrooms. This technology is closer than you may think. The Canadian Federation of In- dependent Business, tired of inefficiencies in the Post Of- fice, has been investigating a device which will transmit photocopies of printed docu- ments over telephone lines — almost instantly. 55 YEARS AGO The Exeter High School Drama Club presented a three act comedy entitled "Miss Henderson's Gentleman Friend" in the opera House on Wednesday evening to a well filled house. Those taking part were Miss Dorothy Balkwill, Miss Helen Wethey, Geor. C. Hind, W. Bor- don Cunningham, Wm. L. Law- son, Maurice E. Ford, Edgar Thompson, T. Harry Seldon, and Miss Bertha Russell, The new Methodist Church at Crediton was opened and dedicated for worship this week. The former church was destroyed by fire on January 1. Mr. Cecil Johnston, who is a student at Toronto Medical is now spending the holidays with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Johnson. Messrs. Jas Walker, of Dental College and Bruce, of Toronto University and Miss Verna Walker, of London Norriial are spending the holidays at their home in Exeter North. several years. If so, shop around now. You have until the end of February to buy the annuity, but if you wait that long, you may find that you cannot get as good a rate of return as one purchased now. It all depends on whether inter- est rates rise or fall and if you think they're going to fall, buy now. And let's not forget the best-known year-end tax saver there is -- getting married. If you marry in 1977, a husband can claim his wife (or vice- versa) as a dependent: for the whole year, subject to her income not exceeding $2370. After their mar- riage, if they do get married in mid-December, and she earns no more than $380 in the last half of December he can still claim a full married exemp- tion for himself and his wife, with the wife claiming another exemption on her own return for the year. gaexi60,8,A, The implications of this sort of communications break-through are staggering. Besides signalling the begin- ning of the end for the Post Office, virtually all business travel will become obsolete. Society will change drama- tically. Industrial empires — think of the effect on the auto in- dustry or hotels or airlines — will tumble., New fortunes will be earned overnight; ima- gine the profits to be earned from a wrist telephone, for instance. Cities could be bankrupt- ed as workers move far away from their "offices". On the other hand, if they can sur- vive the loss of assessment, cities would also become more humane, free of depen- dence on the automobile. The rural areas will be de- luged by demand for serviced residential land, In the short run, it will be impossible to provide enough serviced land. But, in the long run, rural Canada will cease to be the poor relation of urban Canada. Entrepreneurs will find the rapid changes exhilarat- ing; hidebound traditional- ists will be staggered. The next generation of dominant business leaders will be those who accurately predict the changes and act accordingly. But, above all, the changes will drive home one point which is so often overlooked in our society: politicians do not create change; rather, they are controlled by chan- ges beyond their grasp. The fortunes of our cities will not be affected by the actions of the urban political leaders. The future is coming. Like it or not. 30 Years Ago - A Christmas cantata, "Under the Starlight" was presented by Centralia choir under the direc- tion of Rev. Weir at the evening service. ,There was skating at the arena Saturday last for the youngsters, It was the first and only skating so far this season. Exeter Girl Guides carolled a number of streets on Monday evening. The Legion is urging all families to have a silent guest at their Christmas tables donating the value of the meal foR CARE. Mr. and Mrs. John Perkins celebrated their diamond wed- ding anniversary on Sunday, December 14. 20 Years Ago Children of Grand Bend United Church were thrilled last week to see Saint Nicholas at their Sun- day School concert in his formal garments. The type he wore when he was Bishop of Mura in Lycia in the third century. A.J. Sweitzer has won first prize in the home decoration con- test sponsored by Exeter Coun- cil, Other winners are J.W. Weber, and Allen Fraser. Led by past president Andy Bierling, Exeter Legions in- stallation team outlined the duties and accepted the pledges of the branch's new president Graham Mason and the aux- ilpary officers under President Marion Frayne. Stanley Sauder was licenced as minister of Thames Road Men- nonite Mission during a special service at the church Sunday. 15 Years Ago Main St. United Church Sunday School children dramatized the Christmas welfare work they are doing during their annual yuletide program Wednesday. A play written by Mrs. Don Wilson, one of the teachers, described what was being provided a Korean boy by the Sunday School's campaign to adopt him through a relief agency. The orchestra, glee clubs, drama club and dancers from a number of grades will entertain during SHDHS "Hi-Time" show Thursday and Friday nights. Town council has agreed to in- vest up to $3,000 in the develop- ment of low-lying parkland in the north east corner of Riverview Park. James A, Rader, son of Mrs. Jesse Rader, flay has been awarded the Robert Stewart bur- sary, valued at $250 for study at OAC, Guelph. By Larry Eddy, CA