HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1979-08-15, Page 7Sugar and spice
By Bill Smiley
Odd weather blues
we're well into the second week of one of
the weather in this Canada of ours.
the drapes drawn and the fan blowing,
for my longjohns. That would be typical of
in print, I may be looking through drawers
But as I write, holed up in my study with
Hot nuff fer ya? By the time this appears
• when it's their turn to go on holidays.
sparkling, it's going to snow and blow on
the weekend. They are positive that, if the
summer has been ideal, warm and dry and
delightful so far, it will be cold and wet
The weather is so much a part of our
national psyche that it's a wonder it hasn't
those scorching summer sessions that we
crept into politics, On second thought,
masochists in this country endure and even
it has. Elections are carefully geared so enoy, in a perverted way.
that they don't occur in midsummer, when We suffer, but we suffer with a certain
nobody gives a damn about politics, nor in
pride. One wilted citizen will say to another
mid-winter, when it's too cold to get out
dripping one, "Ain't it a corker?" And the
the vote. other will respond, almost joyously, "Ne-
' One of these days, so enthralled are we ver seen the beat of it."
with the weather, that we'll probably have
On the streets of our towns and cities, we
a couple of guys running for prime minister duck from one air-conditioned haven to
who are weather forecasters. And the one
another, catching our death of cold in the
who gives the most horrendous forecasts
process. Smart people take a heavy
will win in a walk. sweater to the supermarket so they won't
freeze their extremities, and peel right
I am not sneering at my fellow Canad-
down to those extremities as soon as they
ians obsession with the weather. I am as get back into the street.
bad as the next. There's nothing I enjoy
What a crazy way to live. Six months
more, on a winter day, than blustering in agog and six months from now, we'll be from the cold, tearing off my boots and
doing the opposite, ducking from one
overcoat, and asking all and sundry, "Did
over-heated place to another, and bragging
you ever see such a rotten winter?" And about the cold. sure enough, someone will retort, "Yabbut
I wonder if there is another nation in the
we had two feet more snow this time last
world that talks as much about the weather
year."
as does ours. I doubt it. Perhaps it is
In summer, I sizzle around the golf
because we are rather shy and inarticulate
course (my body, not my score) and whine when it comes to opening a conversation. with the best of them, "Isn't this brutal?
As a result, we commence with, "Cold
My lawn is baked black. It was 98 in our
nuff fer ya?", or, "Hot nuff fer ya?", and
bedroom last night;" and one of the
can nearly always be certain that the
foursome will come back with, "Yabbut person spoken to, even a complete stranger remember last summer, when we hadda
as long as he's a Canadian, will respond
play in rubber boots and mackinaws ?"
with something like, "Real brute, izzen
You can't win.
it?" This retort covers extreme days in
One of the few Canadians who doesn't either winter or summer. care about the weather is my wife.
If an immigrant, unfamiliar with our
When we had babies, she'd pop into the
opening gambits, makes a sensible remark
office in the middle of a blizzard. "What in
about the weather, such as, "My, it is
the Sam Hill are you doing out on a day like
unpleasantly warm today, is it not? ," we
this?"
go right on the defensive, with, "Ah, this
And I'd discover that she'd thought the
is just right. Waiell the real heat wave hits,
baby needed some fresh air, and pushed It'll slaughter ya."
the carriage through the snow for half a
Or if a similarly untutored foreigner, just
mile.
trying to be pleasant in February, "Mein
Her indifference to our great national
Gott, zis is a cold country in vinter, Hein?", conversation piece infuriates me. We had a
we snarl, "Nah, she's mild this year. Ya
bitter quarrel just this week. I'd been out in
shoulda been here last winter. Forty the car, and told her the guy on the radio below for three weeks straight."
said it was 96 downtown. She said she
Yes, there is a certain arrogance in didn't believe him. With a touch of warmth
Canadians when it comet to our weather. I repeated what they guy on the radio had
Nobody much likes rain and wind. But
said. Ninety-six degrees.
when it comes to hot and cold, we are
"It couldn't be." fascinated by temperatures. "Why not?"
We exchange weather reports. We
"Because it doesn't feel that hot. And remember winters and summers as far what does it matter, anyway?"
back as thirty years. You can see why I blew my top. Matter? If some unusually urbane Canadian What could be more important?
ventures to utter a, "Nice day, eh?", we
There is no single element in this country usually come back with a yabbut. "Yabbut that is more important to us Canadians
there's a big blizzard comin' in from the
than our love-hate relationship with the
West." Or, "Yabnbut it's supposed to rain weather. In fact, it may be the only thing
all next week."
that will hold this country together, when Canadians know, without being told,
all the referendums have been taken. that if a winter week has been sunny and
RESCUE BREATHING (MOUTH-TO-MOUTH)
THE CANADIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY
Start immediately: The sooner you start, the greater the chance of success.
Pinch nostrils to Seat your mouth
Remove mouth.
prevent air leakage.
by keeping the neck
Maintain open airway victim's mouth and
tightly around the
blow in. Thei victim's from lungs. Watch
Release nostrils,
Listen for air escaping
chest should rise. for chest to fall. elevated.
HUGE WINNINGS — Lions club president Jack Knight congratulated
Joanne and Rick McDonald and Fran and Bill Bremner were
congratulated by past president Bob Richmond for being the largest
winnings -- $500. and $2,500 respectively at the Lions Club elimination
draW held Saturday night in the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community
Centre. (Photo by Langlois)
AND THE LUCKY WINNERS ARE ......—Fran and Bill Bremner won
the biggest prize of $2,500 at the Lion's Club elimination draw held
Saturday night at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre.
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encourage private sector investment in
by the formation of Small Business
The Incentive
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An individual, corporation or group of
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Open airway by lifting
neck with one hand
and tilting the head
back with the other
hand.
REPEAT LAST THREE STEPS TWELVE TO FIFTEEN TIMES PER MINUTE:
IF AIR PASSAGES ARE 4J01' OPEN: Check neck and head positions; CLEAR mouth and
threat of foreign substances.
For infants and Children, cover entire mouth and hose with your mouth, Use small puffs
Of air about 20 times per iiiinute.
USE RESCUE 611EATHINO when persons have stopped breathing as a result of: OROWNING,
CHOKING, ELECTRIC SHOCK, ATTACK, SUFFOCATION and OAS. POISONING:
Don't give to. Send someone fora dobion Medical MVP
arrives breathingi restored
Lorne Maeck,
Minister of Revenue
Frank Miller,
Treasurer of Ontario
Larry Grossman;
Minister of industry and Tourism Ontario
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