HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1981-08-05, Page 7iF
Page6-Luc6ow► SamWednwrday„ August Si 10111
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Estaabllsshod 1673
�oyal affair
. Lest week's Royal wadding captured the imagination and
hearts . of even the most cynical.. Everyone you talked to
watched•the wedding on television and many were up at the
crack of dawn to watch the live coverage from St. Paul's
Cathedrals - .
No one:does it like the British when it comes to pageantry
and the wedding' of Prince Charles and his Lady Diana.
shows'. the . British haven't lost their. flair for pomp and
circumstance, despite the economic and social problems
which have plagued the country this summer.
One of the remarkable things about the wedding was the
crowd. One would expect to see older people and children in
the crowd because it is they who are least likely to be cynical
or blase about the monarchy. But it,wait Atm evident in the
crowd which waited outside Buckfligham .Palace for the
royal couple's appears* on.the balcony, that many of the
people Were youth and/ •teenagers. Indeed the very
skinheads who have .come to symbolize allthat is wrong in
Britalln these days, were not there to demonstrate, but were
.thereto cheer, wave flags and show their adoration for the
• royal family.
. Charles and Diana will have a Icing and difficult task
ahead of them when 'they return from their honeymoon
cruise to embark on their married life together. But perhaps
. the world's fascination with the royal couple has come about
because of the hope and promise for the future their love
and marriage seems to .express.
• The Archbishop of Canterbury, who married Charles and
Dianasaidit best when he commented at their wedding that.
this is the stuff fairy tales 'are made of. And we all need fairy
tales every now amend then especially in these troubled times.
The royal wedding stirred up feelings of respect for a
monarchy which has suffered its setbacks during its history,.
but in this day can capture the respect and admiration of
people around the world. .
Charles and Diana have captured the hearts of everyone
and we wish then' a long and happy married life. Along with
our best wishes we share their hopes that they will be able to
accomplish the goals they set for themselves as the future
king and queen of England and . the Commonwealth. The
have a royal task ahead. May they meet the challenge.
End postal strike
The prize for the boner of the week has to go to
Postmaster General Andre Ouellet whose comment, "1 can't'
accept that businessmen have to rely on the Post Office to
make a living. If they do they better find other ways" has
raised the ire of everyone who can appreciate the kind of
service aIi► national postal system should be capable of
providing.
What are the businesses of this country to do? Hire the
Pony Express? It would probably be faster and cheaper, if
outdated.
What is the mail order catalogue company to do? Perhaps
a fleet of carrier pigeons would serve the purpose.
What about the smali business which can't afford to wait
until the end of this ridiculous strike before they receive
payments on their accountsf Not only must they lose money
because payments will not be forthcoming until the postal -
sstrike is over, but in many cases they are forced to pay
someone to drive around collecting money on their accounts,
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has
demanded the resignation of Ouellet for his "lack of
COMM"cabout the effect of the five -week-old postal strike
on businessmen., The Federation is not out of line In their
demand.
It is time the postal union stops this insane greed and
quest for power, it is the people of Canada who are being
held' ransom to the demands of this union and the sooner the
strike is halted by legislation the better. There 1ss hardly a
citizen in this country who can sympathize with the workers
and no one wants to see the government give in to their
demands.
Only the ordinary citizen of the country, who is supposed
to be served by the postal system, Can appreciate the irony
of the unions's demands at a time when the average citizen
is struggling to keep his head above water °during tough
e ronotnic tunes.
This strike is accomplishing little except the erosion of
what little respect was left for the .postal system in the public
eye. Ouellet's casual comment is a further indication that
sates are rthe post office becomes a crown corporation and
step et taken
to improve the service and bring this union
into line, the better all Canadians, will like it.
SHARON J, DIEUEditor
ANTHONY Ni JOHN5TONtt = Advertising Nod
General Muamger
PAT" LIVINGS1ON • Mee Manager
MERLE ELLIOT = Typesetter
JOAN new =, Cetnperitien
ltuatiness and t detentes Office lee Telephone 5211.2022
Moiling Address P.0, Sox 400, Luelrnanw, NO0 thio
Setond.elois Mali segiatration Number -0841
Srwb.erlptluat root 113.50 pe, poor1w advm r
° Senior *us S11.S11 parr yoke IN wIvaaaw
U.S.A. ass Varela , 03.00 per year lar sdvattee
Sr. CS. U.S.A. mid p'wmelgo, $21.00 per row Is 'Isom*
one foot in the funow
By Bob Trotter '
We might be able to make it one
more year:."
+The beef farmer, young andbrowz.
ed, looked wistfully at his 0.'1'44 herd
and then stared into the distance, His
attractive wife stood at his side, a
worried frown creasing her concerned
brow.
These are friends of mine. They
inherited a run-down farm eight years
ago and have been slowly building it
up, repairing buildings o and adding
modern •machinery. Because of the
major expense of bringing their farm.
up to date, he has worked part.titne all
those years.
They . were anticipating some relief.
They were hoping . he could quit his
secondjob and make it full-time on the
farm,
Not now. Not today.
High interest rates andlnfiation.are •
slowly inexorably shattering their
dreams, When they went to their bank
this spring for the annual accounting,
they could not get quite enough money
to carry them through the year, in
fact, they figured it out on paper and
both of them worked the year for
nothing. No return for labor.
Their banker, sympathetic as most
bankers are, wassimply unable to
redtrees
extend their .loan to the point where)
they could get through the entire year.
Their farm, although worth much
more now than when they took it over,
has for them, actually depreciated in
loan dollars . because of the inflated
dollar and the high .interest rates. The
money .to snake ,it through last year is.
not . enough for this year but the
banker, also restricted in the amount
of cash he can reasonably loan, can't
give. them a penny more.
One more year and then...? .
This beef farmer is not alone in his
predicament. Grain farmers, hog
farmers, even chicken ad egg prod.
ucers are in the same. quandry.
1 know of one pork . producer who
needed more money to keep going;
His banker could not advance the
money. The farmer threw the keys to
the barn on the banker's desk and
walked out.
;'You feed thehogs then," he said
as he left the blank.
Too much blame has been thrown at
local bankers in this mess in which
agriculture finds itself, Sonne heartless
tales, are being told. Much criticism is
available for some cases against
bankers." But it is not all the fault of
the. banks.
Too many farmers have over -eaten
ded themselves. They have bought too
much on time and banks have been
f
forced to foreclose.
It is a product of the times in which
we live.
Many other businesses have taken a
beating but it seems to' be hitting
agriculture harder than others.
1 worry about these people, There
are not .enough youngpeople who are
eager to get into farming these days.
This country needs -every one of theta,
especially those who have tried and
love the land, When they are forced
out of business, where are the people.
coming from who will take their place?
Nobody but damn fool would get into
such a precarious business. Until
farmers can get a better return, on
their labor and investment, it is lunacy "
to work your heart out only, to be
forced into bankruptcy it a few years.
I'm sure you have all heard the story
of the farmer who won a million
dollars in a . lottery.
He was asked what he was going to
- do with all the money.
He looked a�round his fields and his
big, beautiful' barn.
He watched his cattle grazing
peacefully in front of him,
He turned to the questionerand
said, with his honest face beaming;
"Guess l'll just keep on farming- 'til
she's all gone."
It's an old story but the truth in it is
scary.
By Don Campbell
When morning Came to Blake's
Folly and Chippy had still not return •
-
ed, Neil MacCrimmon asked William
Blake if he could take time off to go
and -find the old seaman,
"It ,seems you people just ' don't
want to learn," Blake said. "How
many times do I have to tell You ? You
don't go looking for people in the ,
middle of a Canadia>n.bush. Not unless
you havp a pack of bloodhounds to
• smell out a trail. If your friend isn't
back today I doubt if he'll ever get
back!"
• There was little to do except go
about the chores as usual and hope
that by some ' miracle. Chippy would
find his way back horite. Neil worked,
at repairing some loosened rail fence,
stopping now and then to look down
the road which ran into the bush in the.
hope of seeing Chippy return., .
Flora too was restless. Prom time to
time she went .to -the window, pulled
back the curtain and peered anxiously
towards the road. At work in the bush,
Hamish Murdoch paused often as he
chopped into a big , maple tree, sighed
and spat. on his hands before lie
regripped the axe.
Just before noon a wagon came up
the road and, stopped by the clearing
in the. bush next to Beakers Folly. The
driver waited for his Passenger to
alight and a well-known figure went to
the back of the wagon, pulled off the
carcass of an animal and draped it •
around his Shoulders,. was Chippy
Chisholm, He came smiling through
the trees net only carrying a deer but
there was a brace of rabbits astound his
neck. He took his old claypipe out of
his mouth and called to Hamish. .
"Did ye think 1 wasno comin' back
tae ye? Och well, 1 had a wee bit o'
trouble chasm' this laddie." He patted
thecarcass of the deer, "He was a
wiley one, but he couldna lose old
• Chippy, if Chippy was wantin' tae get
him!"
Hamish was happy and relieved at
Chippy's return. But he was a little
angry too, The. old seaman did not
seem a bit concerned that he had
caused so much anxiety.
"I'm no green, even if I'm cabbage
lookin," Chippy said. "Ye dinna hae
tae fash ye set. I flee found my way in
many a strange land. I mind the time
once in Autitralia, just'outside a place
called Sydney - this shipmate an' me
went out tae find
But Hamish was in no mood at that
moment for any of Chippy's stories.
He went back to the halfycut maple
and eased his anger by driving the axe
blade deep into the resinous w
When Blake, flora and Neil
Criminon came to the cabin all anxious
to hear how Chippy had spent the
night, the Clef seaman was delighted to
tell the story: He related his tapper:
knee in his usual colourful if not
altogether factual dialogue, whilst he
slowly .turned the handle of a rough
spat and savoured the appetising smell
of rabbit roasting over the glowing fire
in the hearth,
It seems that close to, nightfall On
the day before, Chippy sighted a fine
• bulkbut was not close enough to bring
it down with his musket, Each time
that Chippy almost came Close, the
,snapping of a twig underfoot or the
brushing of his body In ° the under-
growth startled the animal and Chippy
followed it deeper and deeper. into the
bush.
Snow fell 'that night and there was
no mod'n or stars to guide the .old man
back, He collected wood and lit a fire
and although he was unable to sleep,
he kept himself warmuntil daylight,
With a thin layer of snow on the
ground, Chippy was able to track• the
deer again in the morning. Finally, he
carne dose enough . to bag his prize
and guided by the sun he struck off
towards Yonge Street,;; collecting two
rabbits on the way. Chippy emerged
from the bush a few miles north of
Richmond Hill and a farther on his way
down to Toronto with his wagon and
team, gave him a ride back home.
Flora and Neil listened to 'Chippy's
story with interest but William Blake,
the seasoned pioneer, was not so
impressed.
"Do you think Mr. Chisholm is asp
remarkable man free his age?" Flora
asked Blake. "Ye would think he lived
here free being a wee bairn!"
"He's remarkable," Blake said.
He steels remarkable - a remarkable
old liar, thats what he is!"
Blake's words had little effect upon
Chippy. He lit ,.a dirty brown stained
pipe from ;the glowing end of a half
burnt sliver of woad lying at the front
of the hearth, and pointed 10 the, deer
carcass hanging up in the corner of the
cabin.'
"So ye think Chippy is a.liar do ye,
Mr. Blake? Well there's one laddie
who would hae a different opinion if he
could speak tee ye!"
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