HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1972-02-16, Page 2 f!Few' „.0114*44ioniv
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1172
Brussels Post
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 1972
Serving Brussels and the surrounding community
published each Wednesday afternoon at Brusserg, Ontario
by McLean Bros. Publishers, Limited.,
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Tom Haley - Advertising
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Asiociation.
Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $4.00 a year, Qthers
$5.00 a year, Single Copies 10 cents each.
Second class mail Registration No. 0562.
Telephone 887-6641.
Brussels And The First War .
To the Editor
Dear Sir:-
' On January 31, 1972, the Huron-Perth
Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease
Association closed the books of the 1971
Christmas Seal Campaign. Thirty-four
thousand, four hundred and twenty-six
dollars and forty-seven cents was the
amount recorded as received which also
included Memorial Gifts and Bequests.
Our Association is very grateful for
the support of the Community in all areas;
response to Christmas Seal letter, press,
radio and the many volunteers involved
in both program and campaign.
The primary aim of the Christmas
Seal Organization is to prevent disease
and its second objective is the early
detection of disease with the introduction
of the patient into an adequate health
care program. In recent years it has
been shown that chronic bronchitis and
emphysema are the second most common
cause of disability with respect to socio-
economic loss. We are carrying out
screening programmes in many localities
throughout the two-county area and urge
your readers to take advantage of the
service when we are in your locality.
Screening programmes have both educat-
ional and practical value for the com-
munity as well as for the person involved.
Community screening for chronic res-
piratory disease has shown an incidence
of 6 to 10 percent of the pOptiatiori 18
years of age or older. U the screening is
carried out with men over the age of 40
who have smoked 20 cigarettes a day or
more for 20 years or longer then the
incidence jumps to about 25%.
We are remiss if we do not mention
the splendid service given our campaign
by all the postmasters and staff. Their
co-operation is essential to the success
of our campaign and this was forthcOming
with cheerfulness and humour.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Beryl Davidson,
Program Co-Ordinator,
Huron-Perth TBRD Association,
121 Wellington St.,
Stratford, Ontario.
'Give Them A Blast'
"We get lots of suggestions for
editorials," declares editor Ken
Campbell of the Strathroy Age-Dis-
patch, and he mentions a few of
them received on an average week: -
"How come they .ha, ha, ha..
painted a white strip on Cardoc
Street . . ha, ha, then paved over
top . . . ha, ha, . . . then painted
a new .set of lines, then . . . ha,
ha, ha . . . dug up the streets..
(We might add that this fellow re-
jected our suggestion that he run
for council and put a stop to this
sort of thing).
Isn't it kind of dangerous for
that telephone booth beside the
wall of that burned out building on
Front Street to be used?
Has Middlesex County Council or
Strathroy or anybody decided whose
job it is to take some action get-
ting that vacant house on Front
Street cleaned up?
Aren't you going to give them a
blast for ordering parking meters
for Front and Frank Streets?
Aren't you going to give them a
blast for not ordering those park-
ing meters for Fr,ont and Frank
Streets yet?
Aren't you going to give them a
blast for not telling us what is
going on with parking meters for
downtown?
Why don't nobody turn out for
nothing in this town. Give them a
blast.
Why is everything for boys in
this town? Why isn't there some-
thing occasionally for girls?
Why don't they do something?"
I'm rather, interested in the subject of
Marriage these days, for various reasons.
Not for myself. Oh, no. Once bitten ..
But I was asked to write a ceremony
for, a mock wedding to take place at a
bridal shower recently. lused some stock
gags. "Marriage is a solemn institution,
and is 'only to be entered into if you
wish to spend the rest of your life in
an institution." And “Dii you take this
Woman to be your awful wedded wife?".
And the conclusion, from a ',bishop" who
has his services confused, ""And may God
have mercy upon your souls." Stuff like
that.
Thought that was the end of it. Then
my daughter arrived home for a weekend,
with her current fiance. It seems the
young man had asked her to marry him.
The weekend was pretty obviously a
confrontation thing, where the parents and
the boy friend are exposed to one another,
with the potential bride sitting by, darting
wildly nervous glances at both parties.
Let's listen in for a moment as panicky
thoughts scoot through her mind.
(Oh, why did Don have to say that?
Moni'll think he's stubborn and stupid just
because he didn't agree with her. Oh, no,
he made another grammar error! Sure
enough, Dad pounced on that. Oh, please
Mom, don't go into that three-hour story
about how you and Dad lived on $60 a month
when you were married. Oh, lordy, why
is Dad asking him all those questions
about how much a sculptor makes, how
many sculptures he's sold, and how he's
going to pay back his student loans, as
well as mine because by George he isn't
going to support us? Oh, dear, I wish I'd
never mentioned it.)
Actually, it wasn't like that at all. In
fact, I took the whole thing very lightly,
as who wouldn't whose daughter has been
engaged three times within a year. The
only thing that floored me was that Kim said
this fellow wanted to ask my permission to
marry her. This seemed so old-worldly
in this day and age that I immediately
became suspicious, as . . .
(1Jh-huh. Wants my permission, eh?
Let's see. Permission means approval.
Approval means it's going to cost me a
lot of money, one way or another. And
so on.) .
However, as I said, I took it all
rather off -handedly until I went downstairs
Sunday morning, and found my wife and
daughter arguing about the wedding:
how many guests, who they were to be,
what she'd wear, where the reception
would be
*
and all that jazz.
' "What wedding?", I roared into the
maelstrom. Atleast it stopped them long
enough so that they could re-group forces
and attack me. T. .discovered that I was
an old fud, a fuss-pot, an obstacle in the
course of true love, a cynic, a mater-
ialist, and a few other things such as a
miser, a hypocrite'(“You and Mom didn't
have a nickel when you got married"),
and a misanthrope. I cheerfully agreed
to all the charges, which took.the steam
out of their attack.
Sent the kids off with a flea in their
ear, and half our Sunday roast..The flea
will buzz unheeded, and the roast will be
scoffed with gusto. That's life.
Would it were as simple.for every-
body as it is for the chap who ran the
following advertisement inthe 4 (personal"
column of the city paper recently:
PROFESSOR
of surgery and head, of surgical research
of a North American university, widower,
age 60, financially very comfortable, bril-
liant, good looking, in excellent health,
active in sports, with broad interest in
the humanities, arts and music, wishes
to meet an elegant lady of Jewish faith,
age 40 to 50, good looking, intelligent, and
independently wealthy. Object -
matrimony.
The rest of the ad dealt with the
mechanics. The ladies were to send photo-
graph and all details. If they shaped up,
a meeting would be arranged selectively by
telephone. If they didn't, they would get
their junk back.
Well, I can't help but admire the
man for laying it on the line, even though
he is obviously an arrogant boor. He'll
get so many letters he'll never have time
to get married.
Nor could I help composing' in my
mind a similar advert extolling my own
virtues for Leap Year ladies. It ran to
only twelve words. As a party game, try
making up your own marriage advertise-
ment. You might be surprised at how much
you have to offer to that vale of tears
and laughter. Marriage is a solemn in-
stitution. I f you are a solemn prig.
Su ar and Spice
by 13111 Smiley