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The Citizen, 1992-12-23, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23.1992. PAGE 5. Arthur Black Yanks way ahead when it comes to totems to-tem (to'tem), n. anything serving as a distinctive, often venerated, emblem or symbol. - (Webster's Dictionary) No question about it, the Yanks are light years ahead of us when it comes to totems. Americans know how to worship the obscure. Why, in the Gafford Family Museum in Crowell, Tx. you can see the actual can opener that Lee Harvey Oswald once used. And at the Barbara Mandrell Country Museum in Nashville, they've got Barbara's wedding nightie right there on display. That's nothing - take a trip to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich, and they'll show you a test tube containing Thomas Edison's last breath. Of course, it looks an awful lot like a run- of-the-lab empty test tube, so you pretty well have to take it on faith that some entrepreneur cranked up old Tom's deathbed and sweet-talked the expiring inventor into heaving his last breath into the tube. Doesn't matter. The point is, the ■International Scene ■ Peace on Earth — maybe For as long as anyone can remember, the message at Christmas has been one of peace on earth, good will to all men. You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief, therefore, when the^collapse of the Soviet Union and other states in eastern Europe indicated that the many dreary years of confrontation with the Communist monolith were about to come to an end. Plans were made to reduce the level of military preparedness in all the countries of the western world and, in fact, by the time you read this the Canadian Air Force will have withdrawn all but a handful of planes from its NATO bases in Europe. This brings to an end over a quarter of a century of their presence in western Europe and calls into question the future of NATO as a military alliance. That, however, is scope for another article. If we thought that peace was going to break out all over, we were, unfortunately, sadly mistaken. We have witnessed the Gulf War and the ability of the allies to bring it to a conclusion with a minimum of loss of life, at least from our point of view. Right now we are witnessing a civil war of sorts in what used to be Yugoslavia, a war which reminds us, in case we had forgotten, that past slights and injuries are not easily forgotten. The Yugoslavs are not alone in this. People all over the world tend to react in a similar manner if given half a chance. In this respect, if there is one country in Americans, by virtue of sheer pluck and initiative, have a Thomas-Edison's-Last- Breath-in-a-Test Tube Memorial Shrine - and we lackadaisical, shiftless Canucks haven't. Ah, but all is not lost. Canada has the Crystal Skull. You haven't heard about the Crystal Skull? It's a beauty. A work of art, in fact. It's a life­ size sculpture of a human skull, carved from transparent quartz and full of beautiful internal veins and bubbles. It is five inches high, seven inches long, five inches wide and it weighs 11 pounds, seven ounces. Who carved it? Nobody knows. The crystal skull is more than just a sculpture. It has 32 exquisitely formed teeth and a lower, articulated, detachable jawbone. What's more, the eye sockets have been cunningly hollowed out deep into the skull in such a way as to catch and channel light beams, causing the sockets to flicker with light. The story goes that the skull was discovered deep in the jungles of Belize, back in 1927 by Anna Mitchell-Hedges, the young daughter of a British explorer. She said that when she held up the crystal skull, 300 Mayan workers fell to their knees and kissed the ground. She said they prayed and wept for another two weeks. I don't know exactly how Ms Mitchell- Hedges managed to get the skull out of Belize, but she did, and she brought it with her to Canada. To Kitchener, of all places, where the skull, reposing magisterially in her By Raymond Canon QS the world noted for promoting the “peace on earth” theme, it is Canada. Our armed forces, meagre as they are, have an unparralled record in their participation in U.N. peace-keeping missions. If my memory serves me right, Canadians have been involved in every such mission that the U.N. requests for such missions. This should not be construed as my longing for the good old days when we maintained a high level of preparedness in our military forces. There is no doubt that the tensions of the world are much lower, at least in the NATO countries, than they were when the Russians were a threat, or at least we perceived them to be. Older readers will remember all too well the possibility of a nuclear attack over the pole and, if the rockets or bombs fell short of their target, they were likely to land in Canada and not somewhere in the desolate north. For that threat no longer to be there is a relief almost beyond measure. However, at such times there is a tendency to let one's guard down and history will tell us that this lapse can sometimes be fatal. We need go back no farther than the events between the two great world wars. For this reason it seems as if we should celebrate Christmas and its emphasis on peace on earth, good will to all men with the realization that we have got over one hurdle but, at the same time, keep in mind that there are additional hurdles in front of us. History tells us that the first shot in anger in World War I was fired in no other than Sarajevo and that is a place very much in the news these days. Shots will be fired in anger for as long as we care to predict; we have to make sure that they don't pattern what happened after that first shot in Sarajevo. Perhaps in our efforts to attain peace, we can concentrate more on the second part of the Christian dictum - the practice of good living room, continued to dazzle and bemuse observers for years. Bemusing or not, the skull has been a source of puzzlement to archaeologists. Its workmanship is far superior to anything else found in Central America — or anywhere else for that matter. No one knows what tools were used to carve the stone, but we know they were a lot more subtle than the chisels and hammers of Michelangelo. The crystal skull shows no trace of scratches or tool marks - even under a microscope. Over the years, strange powers have come to be attributed to the skull. Some observers claim to have seen an aura surrounding it. Others swear it emits eerie, high-pitched' music. Still others peered into the skull and saw visions of faces and landscapes. But even if it's just an uncommonly beautiful artifact, the skull is ours. Can you imagine what the Americans would do with something like that? Why, they'd open a theme park around it. But they don't have the skull. It's right here. In a living room in Kitchener, Ont. Or used to be. I decided to call up Ms Mitchell-Hedges to get the latest news of the skull. “She doesn't live here any more” a voice informed me, “she moved last year.” To Valparaiso, Indiana. And yes, she took the skull with her. Oh well, at least we've still got the CN Tower. So far. will. We all have our pet peeves and prejudices that we have to work on; some of them we display openly, others are practised in a more subtle way. Perhaps when we leam to get these under control, peace will not be such an elusive commodity. Even the longest journey begins with a single step. Think before giving pets as gifts The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is asking people to think before giving pets at Christmas. "Every year, pets are given to people as Christmas presents. Many of these gifts are not wanted and taken to animal shelters, pounds or worse," says OSPCA publications Coordinator, Glenn Perrett. "Pets don't often make good presents." If you are going to give a pet for Christmas, he advises that the buyer should allow the recipient to pick the pet. An alternative to giving someone a pet is to wrap items the pet requires and place them under the tree, he suggests. "This is a good approach in that important pet care products are on hand when the new family member is brought home and the prospective owner will be surprised and happy knowing that he or she will be able to choose a pet in the near future." Christmas plants such as poinsettia and berries of mistletoe or holly are toxic to pets. Chocolate is as well and can be fatal if too much is digested, he says. Sharing turkey and chicken with feline and canine pet can also be dangerous, he warns. Christmas tree decorations, such as tinsel can also be hazardous. "These seemingly harmless decorations can become deadly if they are swallowed and block the intestine of the animal." Lastly, Mr. Perrett says, "The holiday is a special and hectic period for many people. Often pets are unintentionally forgotten or left out of the family festivities. Set aside regular times to exercise and play with your pets." The Short of it | By Bonnie Gropp May your holiday wishes come true At Christmas each year we not only add new memories to our collection, but it's a time when we may reflect and remember the joyous times of seasons past. The trip to Grandma's laden with presents then the trip home, our stomachs and arms full, after a day of good food and more presents are memorable moments. It's a time to be with family and friends,wrapped in the warmth of love, enraptured by the sight of snowflakes falling, fires burning and the Christmas tree sparkling. Like many other people, not all my Christmas memories are as pleasant, however. One of my most vivid was actually quite the contrary. I had a very dear extended family, having adopted my father's business partner and his wife. They treated me like the daughter they never had and were to me a second set of parents. When I was quite young Uncle George developed Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), which destroys the motor nerves in the brain and the spinal cord One Christmas morning as I entered their home for the traditional spoiling of Bonnie, I was met at the door by their eldest son, who was in tears. Uncle George was unable to breathe; his skin was a ghastly grey. Thinking of the excitement Christmas holds for a young girl, the family insisted I come in and open my gifts as usual which I did. But for the rest of my life, I will never forget that day. As his emotional family gathered by him, in one corner of the room, attempting to alleviate his discomfort, I sat alone by the tree, crying while I opened gifts, one by one, alone. What had always been a wonderful warm moment of sharing our gifts together is forever shadowed for the child in me, whose wish for that Christmas was not for gifts, but for someone I loved to get better. I must apologize for becoming so maudlin at this traditionally happy time of year — believe me it is not my intention to depress you with this story — but as we all prepare for our own special holiday season, we sometimes tend to forget the time is not always as happy for others. With that in mind this year, we thought it might be nice if the students from our area elementary schools would, instead of their usual letters to Santa, share with our readers their Christmas wish. The results are sometimes enlightening, often surprising and usually entertaining. I read them with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes. What really amazed me as I read these innocent epistles, is how much of the triumphs and trials of this world our young children understand. While the world may hold much wonder for them, I know I am humbled by the wonder they show me. I recommend if you read nothing else in this issue this week (though if you see this you are obviously reading just about everything) don't miss one of those letters. While we don't reprint them as is, we have always left in the errors, for no other reason than we feel they remind us of the charming innocence of the writers. While their literary offerings often point out some of life's injustices and un­ pleasantness, their spirit and honesty can't help bu» uplift you. May you all have a happy and healthy holiday season and let's hope that in 1993 wishes do come true!