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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1973-11-21, Page 2:Pub4 Village smithy Sugar and Spice By Bill Smiley me•••••••••~4~~,~••••••••••••••••••••••••004witis; WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1973 , , and; the surrOMidint torninunity. 11,,,,SY4010.01 fter'00n•IIC Brussels,.OntSito hylfepeStElllits: Ablishers, 1. lmlted* Eielyn ICennerly Editor TomHaley':- Pe 1IembeX ,Canadian communitY Newsp,' r Asseciation and Ontario. Weeily'NeWspaper Association.. Subscriptions finr5advancei Canada $4.00 a year, Others $5.00 a year, Single Copies '10 cents each.. ' Second •elass mail RegistratiOn No. 0562; Telephone 887-6641: Are the busies safe Jack Riddell, Liberal M.P.P. for Huron is pushing for passage of a bill in the Ontario Legislature that would hopefully improve the safety factor in school bus operations. The recent "rash" of accidents in which school buses have been involved has no doubt prompted such action by Mr. Riddell. Attacking the problem on two fronts,' the Huron member contends there should be improvements in school bus design, incorporating padded armrests and padded seat backs to keep the students more firmly in place and end the injuries caused by facial impact with the present steel bar design on the back top of each seat. Regarding drivers, Mr. Riddell contends that drivers should be. tested each year, haVe clean driving and police records plus taking coMpulsory courses In defensive driving, highway safety and emergency first aid. The general public will applaud any moves• which will improved the safety of students, ridingour school buses. However, one must first discover how many , of the accidents are caused by the drivers 'and• how many are caused by other vehicles running into their buses. Obviously, if the record of drivers in this regard is as good as that of drivers in this area, the "education" should be directed more toward the other drivers on the road than toward the bus drivers. No matter how capable, a school bus driver cannot be expected to "duck" his or her large vehicle, in time to escape every impact. Along this vein, it should be realized that finding drivers for these buses is not the easiest of tasks. The driving takes place at hours of the day 'which are awkward for most eligible drivers and the pay is certainly not high enough for the average would-be driver to make it a full-time careen ' Another angle to the problem which could be explored is the possibility that the "body count" on each school day, reflecting on grants, may have a bearing on the decision as to the kind'of weather in which the buses should, operate, in any given area. If indeed this has a bearing, such a condition regarding finances should be altered in a hurry and Mr. Riddell• is sitting in the right place to pursue the matter. St. Marys Journal Argus Letters to the editor: Sir: Country living these past few years in the Brussels area has been a warm wood-stove of enjoyment, even inspiration, to meet such a number of people whose hires are not narrowly trapped in the desire and acctimulation of material gadgets and toys with which to soothe their boredom. --That's not what people want froth their lives anyway, or the Millions spent on brainwashing advertising • would not be necessary. The older folks amaze Me. History carved in their Nines, survival skills :and attitudes toward life shaped through a time- marked by vivid confrontation With economic depression and its dreadful antidote, war. In our Carefully unrecorded history of Canada, little is mentioned of the depreSSion and yet PM cOntintril-, amazed at 'old-timer' stories that reveal that era to be one or harsh experience and yet un. matched hi Unlit& courage and strength: We itiaY well be! Canadians take a perverse pleasure, I'll swear, in the perversity of their country's climate. Give them a sunny, open winter, as we had last year, and they scowl, "Yeah; 'sheen a good. winter, but we'll probably have a cold, wet summer." Give them a beautiful, hot, dry summer, as we had this year, and they grumble. "We need rain. Country's all dried up. It'll likely rain all fall." Given them a fine, warm, sunny fall, as we had this year, and they hint darkly. "Yap,/ `Snice, but we'll pay for it. Any day now y' c'n get out the shovel." And wnen finally does begin to snow and blow, as it has around here without cease for the past thirty hours, there's a sort of weird pride in the remarks. "Well, we hadda expect 'er. Haven't even got muh snow tires on. But I got the snowmobile all tuned up. Turrible about the increase in oil." There's no increase in oil, unfortunately, only in oil prices. This winter, we may go back, as a nation, to long johns with collapsible seats. • There's a sort of obscene triumph in the way your average Canadian stomps in out C of the first blizzard of the year. Snorting, hacking, puffing, running at the nose, he roars cheerfully, "Izzen that a corker? Looks like we're in for it. Weatherman says there's more coming. Indians say it's gonna be the worst winter in years." And an endless series . of anecdotes: couldn't get 'er started this morning; never thought I'd make the hill. And, chuckling .with pride, "Haven't even got the damned storm windaS on." This warped and diabolic gaiety in the face of what is bound to be one of the most crushing experiences,possible, five Months of stark, staring winter, makes me shudder for the sanity of my compatriots. Pakistanis 'and West Indians who shiVer and turn purple every day for six months,• •must think we are a nation of madmen, when they first arrive in Canada. We are among the moSt• vulnerable v eople iii the Wokld, when it comes to the' agaries of nature. And I am one of the most vulnerable people in Canada, when it Conies to winter. I hate it, and it hates me. There are sonie people who love winter. IIOtten little kidso for example: They greet the first snow With ' sheer delight, roll around in it, and the .nto re it snows, the happier they ire, I can Seared forbear from belting them when they chortle, "Wow! Wasnt that a dandy snow,Mr. Smiley?" And then 'there are the winter sports idiots. When the skiers and the snowmobilers look out the window and croon, "Just look at that lovely white stuff", I could kick them in the groin without compunction. On the other hand, there are the elderly. Winter is almost literally murder,for them. No gardening, no flowers, no gentle walks in the sunshine.' Inst ead, it means holing up, with the ever-present spectre of pneumonia, or a slip on icy streets and a broken hip, or just the long, savage nights and the short bleak days. Not much fun there. And then there are the ordinary, sensible people like me, We know that winter is a vicious brute with about as much of the quality of mercy in it as there was in Attila the Hun. Take curling., It is my only winter outlet, aside from shovelling snow, and scraping ice off the windsifteld with my fingernails, cursing and winter, • Last night, after taking a year off the curling with a broken toe, I returned to the roarin' game: Early November. Looked forward to a pleasant game. Good weather, good skip. Had to curl at nine p.m. instead Of seven. Drove to the rink in a blizzard. Nearly cracked up on the ice in the parking lot. Lost the game. Got home at midnight, every bone in my body screaming, "Rape!" Take my leaves. There are four inches of oak 'leaves in the back y ard, covered by eight inches of frozen snow. My lawn chairs are still out, looking like forlorn relics of an ice age. And my storm windows aren't on• This it the Most unkindest ctit of all. And don't think my wife isn't cutting me up abOut it. Most Unkindly:* A politically astute political party, Which Wishes to perpetuate itself in perpetuity, as it were, Would introduce a bill in parliament, packing all the old people and the sensible people, off to South Africa or somewhere,. every Whiter. The savingS fnel 'alone, in these energy-criSta days, Would pay for the' teiVI..e the whole barren waste to the kids, and the winter sports tench, And let them •pay the takes, tot a change. entering an erl lien those qualities may b called upon again. The older people have so much to contribute to our times and I would like to see the Brussels Post used as a vehicle for exchanging experiences, infor7 mation and stories. ' Are there any sometime idle fingers, who would care to write and describe, for instance, the differences between Christmas time of 1933, 1943, 1053, 1963 and this here 1973? I'M certainly not the only, one who- would appreciate hearing different impressions from people in this area and perhaps it could somehow help fill the gap created by the unfortunate absence of Jack Thymne's splendid Cedric Staith, Editor's Note: The Brussels Post would be Very pleased to print accounts of life in the old (and not so old) days that our residers send in. We welcome contributions'.