HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1973-08-15, Page 2Sugar and Spice
By Bill Smiley .
There's nothing like seeing old friends.
Or old fiends, as it comes out sometimes
when the linotype operator is not on his
toes ha ha.
I have a couple of old fiends who
managed to drop in while I was getting
ready to go to England. Between them,
they almost aborted the trip.
It's not that they bother me,I wouldn't
Say that. It's just •that thy cripple
me for about two days each, by the time
we finish reminiscing and get to bed as
the robint begin to chirp
That's not so bad. A chap must expeCt
that sort of ruin. But they brought with
them a couple of other old fiends -•
their wives. That's what really put the
tart' On the griddle, as Lord Faversham
said While he was roasting a Well-known
street-walker.
We haVe all sorts Of friends, eh?
There are the close chUms of public
school, with whom there IS nothing in
common by the time yoU are in Grade II
except the fact that Old Lady Williams
beat the hell out of yoU every second day,
When you were in Grade 5. .
Then there are the bosOin buddies of
high school. This is an eternal, yearning
friendship, Often depending on the type of
beicn. Ten years later you meet and
there's not much to say after exchanging
the number of Children and wives or hus-
bands you have had. •
College friends are even closer. I
was looking at a pictUre Of four of us
the Other day. We had in-jokes. We
Were tilt:Separable. We would give our
left arm for each Other.
I haVen't seen one of them for twenty
years, One is a drunk, a second is dead,
and the third is an accountant. Net tleee8,-
tarty in that Order., .
Then there are the friends you Make
on summer jobs; TheSe are Stv intimate
you Can.hat dlY. wait to; separate so that:
you Can Write each other. Once.
And if you Were in the service, there
are all Sorts of friendS. TherelS .Dutch
X14 ittieyer , the tibighitotte AtiStralian, 43.Cit
RYan, the unmitigated Canadian, Singh
Thandi, the SIAM and CO on. A
few of them still around,_ and you, See
Meth every five years, but that means`only
a couple Of days of ruin.
And, of course, - you; have acte friendt
tithed' you married. There.4teShirley and
Bill* and Joan and bielt, and Jack and
and litiiiiphrey and ViStila, Not to mention
Those itathed are
direfully diiguise4, and the last t*.b,
Oen figure 'Ottt for theettielVeS Who 'they
are. -
Nor should we forget TrofeSsional
friends, the people we work with. In my
case,. they range frOm someone like Miss
S. , who weighs 84 pounds after a steak
dinner and has a laugh that would knock
yOur fillings' out, to. Mrs. 0., who is
t.ithe sexiest broad in the school", accord-
ing to the kids. AS .a gentleman, I can
• only agree with them.
Yes, a chap gathers a lot of friends
Over a' few decades. But the two I
Mentioned earlier are a little special.
Bub 'and Trap. We joined the air force
together, drank beer' together, sang bawdy
songs together, and purStted the fair sex .
together.
We . learned to fly together. On one
leave, we hitchhiked to New York to-
gether and I can still remember Bub,
after a bit of intemperance or something,
Spewing all Over Broadway from the
window of a taxi. Broadway has gone
Steadily downhill since.
We went Our several ways during
the big conflagration, and all Managed
to stay alive during various hairy
dents.
When we-got hothe from .the Wars, we
got in tOUCh. We were all going to
college and funds were pretty slim, but
we'd get together occasionally for some
of the old riotous living of the rude
- soldiery. •
We all -fell in love abed the same
tithe and got married abOUt the same
time. We each have two children and
have shared the woes and glows Of rata,
hg kids. The three 'girls we .chose,
Peg• . Ruth and Suse, ,are still Married . to uS, something of record thege dayS.
We're all been modestly successful
in a Material away and modestly tithtne‘
Ce$SfUl in a spiritual) way.
our wives tell US: individually, that
We are rotten husbands and fatherk, taut
We don't see them reaching Into the grab-,
bag for' Stibetittitee.
When We. Meet,. a couple,of tithesa
year, co are,. Middle-aed adliet•
" and pains, but were young at heart„ as
you, would dearly see if you dropped by
about 4 a.th,
We'll probably Wind up in the. same
for Senile. Veteran's, If We' do,
we'll ,,Iteep. it lively.
YeSir a hien aCettireS a lOt Of friends
in a lifetinie. But not many of US have
WO old fiends dike Trap and Bi) to drOp
around and turn its into living skeletons
wheit We're trying to get read* id go,
nglaticip
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1973
-Serving Brussels and the surrounding community
Ptiblished each WedneSday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario
' by McLean Bros, Publishers, Limited.
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Tom Haley - Advertising
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association. ,
Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $4.00 a year, Others
$5.00 a year, Single CopieS 10 cents each.
Second class mail Registration No. 0562,
Telephone 88?-6641.
Tire new plan
The new Brussels plan, outlined
at a public meeting here last week,
is exciting. Huron planners Gary.
Davidson and Nick Hill and the com-
mittee of Brussels citizens working
with them have come up with sound,
sensible and imaginative proposals
for the future of our village.
Btussels is the first village in
Huron County to ask for planning
help and the forward-looking atti-
tude of Council, who approached the
Huron planning department in 1971,
has, paid off. We will keep the
clean air and friendly small town
atmosphere that most of us prize
and which is in short supply these
days. At the same time we will en-.
courage and provide for industrial s
and commercial growth that is so
important in terms of providing a
wider assessment base thus making
possible lower taxes.
Planning ahead, we think, is
always a good idea. And if the
planners and interested Brussels
citizens have their way we will
have areas of town zoned and pre-
pared for future industrial , com-
mercial, residential, recreational
and industrial development. This
growth will be regulated so that
the people of Brussels will have a
say about the future shape of the
village -- what type of development
and where.
Without a plan we could face a .
future of developmental hodge-podge
-- a nightmare of polluting indus-
tries on the river bank and strips
of new houses strung out along the
highway. But the purpose of a good
plan is to ensure that the many
assests that the village has are
used to their best advantage.
It is exciting to contemplate
the Brussels which our planners en-
ViSiOn. Especially appealing is
the idea Of turning the unused
river shoreline into a large park
for recreation and other public use.
This river-side area, now badly
neglected, could become a great
drawing card for tourists and a
bonus for residents.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
of this week there will be a store-
front exhibit, including slides,
Models and copies of the plan pro-
pOsals on Turnberry Streets Drop in
and find out what is proposed. After
you are familiar with the plan look
around town and dream a little
about what Brussels could look like
in the future.
Plenty of citizen in
volVement and feedback will be neces-
sary. But it will all be worth-
while because this plan Will help
ensure that our village not only
survives but thrives and prospers
in the. future.