HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-05-25, Page 4Times-Advocate, May 25, 1978
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Why people spend
The old adage about a fool and his
money may be true sometimes, but in
the long run it’s difficult to get Mr.
Average Consumer to spend his hard-
earned cash without good reason. The
Direct Mail Advertising Association
has come up with this logical list of the
major reasons people spend money:
To make more money:
To save money;
To save time;
To avoid effort;
For comfort;
For cleanliness;
For health;
To escape physical pain;
For praise;
To be popular;
To attract the opposite sex;
To conserve possessons;
For enjoyment;
To gratify curiosity;
To protect family;
To be in style;
For beautiful possessons;
To satisfy appetite;
To emulate others;
For safety in buying;
To be individual;
To protect reputation;
To take advantage of oppor
tunities :
To avoid trouble.
Regardless of the quality of the
product or service, the above factors
will always exert some kind of in
fluence.
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“Here goes — I’m turning on the news!”
In our opinion the present un
favorable economic situation in this
country has had at least one positive
side-effect. It has forced public gover
ning bodies to take a hard look at some
policies now considered to be a god
given right by some organized labor
groups.
The program most concerning
governing bodies which must rely upon
the public purse is that of accumulative
sick-leave benefits. Special com
mittees are now studying this situation
as it applies to teachers in this
province and if last week’s meeting of
the Listowel Police Commission is any
indication, accumulative sick-leave
benefits will be a bargaining point in
upcoming police contract negotiations.
Accumulative sick-leave benefits
paid out to public employees was given
as a prime reason for the financial
woes of the City of New York a year or
so ago and today much smaller
municipalities as well as provinces are
realizing that they cannot afford such a
generous program.
In the words of Listowel Police
Commission chairman David Kilberg,
“It (accumulative sick-leave)
frightens me. It is wrong absolutely
wrong that the salaries of the 1980s can
apply to something set up in the 1950s”,
Under the present accumulative
sick-leave plan for Listowel police,
members of the force can be sick and
receive full pay for the number of sick-
leave days they have accumulated. And
upon retirement or resignation they
are entitled to up to one-half their year
ly salary, or the number of days they
have accumulated if that is less than
half a year. Presently the two senior
members of the force have ac
cumulated a year or more in sick-leave
days. Therefore if either or both of the
senior members decided to leave the
force they would right now receive one-
half their present yearly salary upon
departure, or they could be off duty
sick and still receive full salary from
the commission for over a year. As one
member of the commission pointed
out, should both senior members take
sick and remain so for the period of
their accumulated sick-leave days, it
would cost the commission close to
$40,000.
That’s a chunk of money for a
municipality of 5,000 people and the
commission is absolutely correct in
reviewing the entire sick-leave
program. The thinking is to replace the
present accumulative sick-leave
program with a good, sound long-term
disability insurance policy.
Such a policy would be in keeping
with benefits offered employees by
most businesses and would adequately
cover public workers. There is just no
reason why the public employee should
be paid a cushy retirement payment of
half his yearly salary upon retirement,
or a portion of that upon resignation,
simply because he or she has been
blessed with good health and worked
accordingly. Public workers, like
workers for private companies,
deserve to have adequate insurance
coverage for sickness. Anything more
than that is icing which the public
purse never could afford — even in the
boom years.
Listowel Banner
BATT’N AROUND •'••• V.’
Miss tlie mark
In a smart looking color-processed
folder came the news about this
season’s program at Ontario Place on
Lake Ontario at Toronto. The
promotional materials tell that Ontario
Place is an “internationally acclaimed
cultural, leisure, entertainment com
plex” which attracts 3,000,000 visitors
each year. It is a “96-acre parkland of
lakes, lagoons, beautifully landscaped
islands and canals” the brochure says,
and offers “pleasant quiet areas,
waterside walkways, delightful scenes
along the ship’s promenade and a
variety of outstanding entertainment
that is all free with admission”.
As if all that wasn’t enough, On
tario Place is, according to the
Ministry of Industry and Tourism, “a
great family attraction with the pop
ular and unique children’s village, ex
citing giant screen and multi-media
theatres, the forum, a bandshell, pedal
boats and a season of special events
and activities”.
A quick glance over the program at
the forum shows that this season’s
“headliners” will include Natalie Cole,
Stan Kenton, Paul Williams, Murray
McLauchlan, Ray Charles, Oscar
Peterson, Earl Scruggs, Tommy
Dorsey, the Hamilton Philharmonic,
Maynard Ferguson, the National
Ballet, Neil Sedaka and Moe Koffman.
Impressive and exciting.
It all sounds great . . . and for
many people it is great. But then there
are others . . . the folks who notice the
difficulty of getting from one place to
another in the park, especially if one is
not a good walker or worse yet, con
fined to a wheelchair; the unkept
appearance of this provincial attrac
tion; the disorganization which ex
hausts all but the hearty; the lack of
real things to do anytime except on
special days; the high cost of meals
and souvenirs.
Ontario Place is an Ontario effort
at entertainment which just misses the
mark for a variety of reasons. Perhaps
it is because it is so strictly Canadian
that it ignores the desires of people and
is too proud to take a page from the
USA notebook on how to attract
crowds, handle people and hold their
attention time and time again.
Goderich Signal-Star
T ravelling
While elephants supposedly lay
claim to the best memories in the
animal world, there is some doubt
whether they really can exceed women
in that regard.
For the past 14 and a half years, the
writer has been reminded on many oc
casions that he was still owing on one
honeymoon trip. Seems that the Satur
day that was set aside for the purpose
just never completely filled the better
half’s idea of what a honeymoon trip
should be. Even the lovely, scenic
drive from Ingersoll to London and
then onto Clinton amid a crisp January
weekend was not all that impressive.
Suppose we should have taken some
slides to help make the memories more
vivid!
At any rate, with the aim in mind of
settling that lengthy debt, we loaded up
the family bus last week and headed
for destinations unknown. There were
few similarities between this honey
moon trip and the abbreviated one of
nearly 15 years ago, although again,
there was a round of tears.
However, it wasn’t the bride’s
mother pouring out her fears of what
was to befall her daughter as she was
whisked off into the hinterlands of
Huron County. This time it was the
bride’s seven-year-old son showing his
unhappiness at the prospect of facing a
week without mom being there to
provide all the amenities for which
mothers are known.
But even those tears couldn’t deter.
There were no provisions for
stowaways on this outing, and we
quickly backed out the laneway before
grandma started to have second
thoughts about looking after the brood.
* w *
It doesn’t take long before one starts
to notice the subtle differences
between travelling with four boys and
leaving them at home. Here we are at
the outskirts of Exeter and we haven’t
had to break up any fights. One doesn’t
have to look for huge trees along the
... without the kids
road that will hide a boy whose kidneys
seem to be activated by a car motor.
Mother isn’t busy making up little
games to keep young minds occupied
or settling arguments about whether
the four-legged creature in the distant
field is a white horse or a grazing
steer.
It’s possible to drive past Mac
donald’s restaurant without being sub
jected to tears of anguish. Checking
into a motel means only carrying in
some luggage and not a couple of doz
ing bodies who invariably become wide
awake for at least three hours once
they are put into the small confines of a
bedroom.
Planning tomorrow’s itinerary
brings only two differing viewpoints,
not the customary six which usually
end up being resolved by the “leader”
suggesting it would have been better to
stay at home.
Wake-up calls are provided by the
birds outside one’s window and not the
scream of anguish associated with
someone stepping on a brother’s head
as he attempts to make his way to the
bathroom in an early morning daze in
strange surroundings.
Yes, there are many subtle
differences. There’s some change left
from the $10 bill pulled out to pay for
breakfast. Waitresses greet you with a
smile and not the fearful glance four
boys can quickly elicit.
It’s possible to drive past a river or
lake without having to stop and throw
some stones, or to enjoy the beauty of a
steep hill without having to face the
challenge of climbing it. You can drive
past a dead porcupine without having
to retrieve some quills, or a strange
tree without gathering some leaves.
And, while your time is more your
own, there’s little doubt you miss a
great many “decent” experiences.
if * *
Despite the fact we started out with
a strict warning this was not to be a
“driving” holiday, the miles seemed to
vanish quickly and we ended up on the
Sugar and Spice
Dispensed by Smiley
Trying to be decent, modest
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Times Established 1873
eastern shores of Lake Champlain in
Vermont before starting the trek back
through the Adirondacks of New York
state.
The change of scenery is almost
beyond comprehension, although if
you’re one of those who live on the
theory of misery enjoying company,
then we should report that throughout
the trip we found that every locale was
up to four weeks “behind” in enjoying
the bounties of spring weather.
In some areas, there was still a con
siderable acreage of last year’s corn
crop unharvested, while the pungent
aroma in other districts gave un-
mistakeable notice that the farmers
were late in spreading manure. Few
trees were yet in full leaf, let alone
showing blossom. Snow dotted the
sides of mountains and dairy cattle
were still not out in the fields in some
portions of Vermont.
if * *
We’ll have some comments about a
few of the highlights of our outing in
future columns, but we should mention
that a spring vacation is ideal because
it affords a more relaxing trip through
the countryside. Travelling up through
the mountains to Lake Placid, we met
other vehicles at intervals of five miles
or more, although we are told the same
stretch will be almost bumper to
bumper in a month or so.
Travel information is easily ob
tainable, both at provincial or state
outlets, as well as local tourist offices,
but it was interesting to note that the
Ontario bureaucratic system was
much in evidence.
Six or seven girls were on hand when
we visited the Ontario travel office at
Cobourg, while a few miles down the
road, one man looked after the needs of
the travelling public seeking informa
tion at the Quebec tourist office on
Highway 401.
55 Years Ago
Thursday afternoon last,
fire started at the Exeter
Station. It had broken out at
the southeast corner on the
platform and the wind was
blowing directly towards the
building. A bucket brigade
carried water from the
cellar and had the fire under
control when the firemen
arrived.
At the UFO Convention in
Hensail Thursday, Mr. W.G.
Medd was elected to carry
the standard in the coming
provincial election. A total
of 23 names were placed on
the nomination but all
withdrew with the exception
of three; W.G. Medd, An
drew Hicks and W.D.
Sanders.
Mr. Vernon Hedden has
accepted a position as clerk
in the departmental store of
Mr. T.C. Joynt, of Hensall.
Rev. James Foote left
Monday for Sarnia where he
will take the boat for Pt.
Arthur to attend the General
Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church.
30 Years Ago
Rebekah Lodge celebrated
its first birthday Wednesday
evening.
Aviation’s newest and
greatest discovery - jet com
pulsion - will be on display
Saturday at RCAF Station
Centralia.
Ted Pooley recently
shipped 150 turkey eggs by
air to England. They arrived
in perfect condition.
Eric Carscadden was ap
pointed assessor by the Ex
eter council at their meeting
Monday night.
Eric Heywood and his war
bride, Terry, arrived in Ex
eter the beginning of the
week. Eric for nine months
has been with the navy
stationed in Ireland.
H.L. Sturgis was elected
president of the Lions Club
for 1948-49.
20 Years Ago
Hensall Council authoriz
ed the creation of more
parking space near the
business section at its
meeting Monday night. The
lot at the rear of the town
hall will be gravelled for
cars.
A.B. Idle, principal of Ex
eter Public School was
elected president of Huron
Local of the Ontario Public
School Men Teachers
Federation at the annual
meeting in Hensall Wednes
day evening.
Hon. William M. Nickle,
Ontario minister of planning
and development, officially
opened the John A> Morrison
Dam Wednesday afternoon.
Next week is “Hi
Neighbor’’ in Exeter
stores..They will be
stressing friendliness and
appreciation as well as
special values. Other
features include a free
street dance and band con
certs.
15 Years Ago
After a patient wait for
hot weather, crowds lined
the beach at Grand Bend
Sunday to take advantage of
a bright sun and 80-plus
temperatures.
Councillor Ralph Bailey is
Exeter’s new deputy-reeve.
His seat as councillor will be
filled by Derry Boyle.
Eight babies - all boys -
were born at South Huron
Hospital in just over 24
hours last week.
The first class to be taught
at the new Precious Blood
School received their first
communion at St. Peter’s
Church Sunday. The
children were instructed by
Father James Kelly and
Principal Mrs. C.
Mittelholtz.
Jens Gravlev won prize
for a junior exhibit at the
SHDHS science fair. He
demonstrated photoelectric
control.
Think small
by Jim Smith
Fiscal Stomach Ache
•)
If a Canadian wants to hire
a plumber, he sits down and
mentally balances the value
of the service that plumber will
provide against the cost of the
plumber.
If a Canadian wants to buy
a new car, he balances the cost
of the car against the value of
being able to drive that car.
If a Canadian wants to eat
a banana, read a newspaper,
see a movie or make use of any
other good or service provided
by private business, he goes
through the same type of cal
culation.
But if a Canadian wants
to make use of a doctor, he
doesn’t think twice about the
cost. After all, there is no cost.
In some provinces, there isn’t
even a monthly health insur
ance premium. But even those
provinces which do charge pre
miums, there is no additional
cost for seeing the doctor.
What all this means is that
government-provided services
are not subject to the same
decision-making that accom
panies purchases of even trivial
items from private business.
We tend to think of Santa
Claus, dropping goodies in
our laps at no cost. And, since
all these goodies are “free”,
we use far more of them than
we should. Hypochondria is a
cheap vice for Canadians.
Other government services
suffer from the same lack of
spending checks. We tend to
demand more education, big
ger highways and fancier air
ports. But health, in some res
pects, is a more serious matter
because, whereas items like
education, highways and air
ports must be approved by
government boards (which are
subject to some fiscal scru
tiny), health usage depends
solely on the whims of the
individual.
Today, if John wakes up
with a stomach ache, he phones
the doctor. If Mary has a slight
rash, she sees the doctor. But,
if there was any personal cost
involved for them, they would
think twice and be certain that
they truly needed medical at
tention before calling on a
doctor.
Health care budgets in this
country have mushroomed
faster than anyone could have
imagined since government
took over medical insurance
from private companies. And
it has happened because we’ve
lost sight of the real meaning
of “insurance”.
True insurance protects the
policyholder against disaster,
not against inconvenience.
Our current version of health
“insurance” is far too liberal.
Somehow, Canadians must be
convinced that restraint in the
use of medical services is ab
solutely necessary.
How can that be accom
plished? By requiring every in
dividual to pay something for
each use of medical services.
In other words, by forcing the
individual to confront medical
services in the same manner
as he must confront privately-
provided goods and services.
Traditionally, voices from
the political left have screamed
that user payments discrimi
nates against the poor. Per
haps. However, some other
method must be found to com
pensate the underprivileged.
Our current system is hustling
us down the road to national
bankruptcy ■— a state under
which the poor will truly suffer.
eDo you ever do one of those psy
chological quizzes in magazines or the
Sunday paper? They’re kind of fun, es
pecially if you do them with your old
man/old lady,
We do one every Sunday, although
it’s not a psych thing, but a straight
quiz of general knowledge. And every
Sunday morning, I get between 11 and
13 right out of 15, and the Old Battleaxe
gets between six and nine right. There
goes the rest of the Sabbath.
I try to be decent and modest about
it. “It’s only because I know more
about politics, read more general
news, and am about twice as smart as
you, dear.”
She responds: “Yes, it’s because you
are fascinated by those stupid
politicians, have time to read the news
while I’m doing housework, and are
stupid enough to read a lot of stupid ar
ticles and watch stupid TV shows, that
you beat me. ” And so it goes.
But last Sunday morning, after I’d
licked her 12-6 on the information quiz,
she dug up another one, in a golf
magazine, with little squeaks of delight
and potential triumph.
It was a personality probe, and the
end result was that you were supposed
to discover what sort of person you
were, and as a side issue, what sort of
golf player this would make you. You
had to be absolutely honest in your
answers. And if you weren’t, there was
your spouse, across the way, glower
ing, and saying: “You aren’t a bit like
that.”
So, with brutal honesty, we did the
quiz. We’d have been far better off in
church, but there you can answer the
questions, hide behind the prayer book,
and bellow the hymns lustily, although
you be a very Old Nick underneath, and
nobody Knows the difference.
This was real and earnest, with no
sidestepping, no hiding, no evasions.
And it came out pretty well as we had
expected: we are almost total op
posites. I’ve known it for years, but my
wife forlornly keeps hoping and saying
that we have a lot in common.
Who needs it? The old adage says
“Opposites attract.” Maybe that’s why
we got stuck with each other, and have
lived happily ever since.
Oh, we have our little differences,
but beyond things'like “Drop dead! ” or
“I’m leaving first thing in the mor
ning,” nothing much comes of them.
Well, this quiz really spelled it out.
There were 20 questions, each with
three categories, and we filled them in
religiously.
There were three column. Ex
amples:
1. Dependent — Dominant — Detach
ed.
20. Lets things happen — Makes
things happen — Watches things
happen.
In both of the above, I was number
three, she was number two. And so it
went, right down the list.
Both of us had only two or three
marked in the first column. In the se
cond and third columns we were
almost diametrically opposed,
although there were a few overlaps.
Here’s how we stacked up, if you
haven’t turned to the comics by now.
My old lady is: dominant, assertive,
anxious, kind, extrovert of action, has
enduring rapport with people, quick
tempered, irascible, talkative, active,
energetic, enterprising, precise, needs
people when disturbed, puts stress on
doing, makes things happen.
Your humble servant, on the other
hand, comes out as: detached, relaxed,
calm, considerate, introverted, has ex
tensive rapport, is gentle-tempered,
reflective, reserved, cool, inhibited,
restrained, needs solitude when dis
turbed, puts stress on perceiving,
watches things happen.
We agreed we were both: even
explosive in temperament; had a love
of privacy; were self-assured (in most
cases); were suspicious. In four out of
20, we have something in common.
Well, which of those two would you
want to be stuck with for 30-odd years?
My old lady comes across as a quick
tempered, aggressive, dominating bul
ly. Which she ain’t.
And I come across as a cold,
bloodless piece of calf’s liver, hung
over the line to dry. Which I ain’t.
Like all of those psychological
quizzes, it’s a bunch of junk. The title
of may wife’s category is the
Triangular Type, or the Muscular
Warrior. She is supposed to bully peo
ple on the tee, offer advice, and play
only to win. Hell, she can’t even bully
me, accepts advice, and plays only to
win.
My category is called the Linear
Type, or the Loner, I’m supposed to be
a solitary, not wanting confrontation,
and even want to gp out and play
twilight golf by myself. Ridiculous. I
wouldn't walk across the street to play
nine holes of golf by myself. One of us
might win.
The only thing we found out from the
quiz was that we both should have been
in the first column, called the Circular,
the happy extrovert who enjoys golf
and plays an excellent game.
Amalgamated 1924
Published Each Thursday Morning
St Exefer, Ontario
Second Class Mail
Registration Number 0386
Paid in Advance Circulation
September 30, 1975 5,409
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Advocate Established 1 881
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