HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1984-08-22, Page 6Lucknow Sentinel,Wednesday, August 2,'; ,19$4 ,Page 6,
"TheSepoy Town.
Established 1873
The ;:ucknow Sentinel', 11,0. Box 400,Lucknow NOG•2H0
Telephone.:, 528-2822
only f�rwo.men..
•The women'sdebate on women`s issues fast Wednesday
• was' very much •a media spectacle, •.and like Many .such
spectacles it was hi$ on purpose yet failed to justify itself.
Undoubtedjy, "there; was ,much that was good about the
debate: Merely the fact that for the . first time women
became the focds of a prime; .time media debate among the
national part ,; ,eaders made the effort. worthwhile.
• It shows that both mainstream mediavaiid politics, Oftenh
the lastinstitutions to jump on any bandwagons, recognize -a •
• legitimate claim by women to ' dictate a.: portion of the,
political agenda. . .
r ' Media attention draws public attention, and the so -.called
womerei issues, such as equal pay for work of equal value,
day care programs, . and other social services 'which : affect •
women more than men, .have become key components of the
'campaign,
Itis not hard to see why these issues are termed.women's
issues. But in "heralding the spectacle thatA%as the debate,
the organizers: and their supporters seem to have missed the
point that to: truly become a.:part of mainstream politics
these issues have to become men's issues ' as ,well. They
must be issues' important to all men;. and not just politicians
pandering for support. " '
By sci clearly defining :last .Wednesday's debate as a
women's debate on women's issues, the sponsors (the
National Action Committee ori the Status Of; Women) are
perpetuating' the myth that men are not andiperhaps should
not be. interested air specifically female, concerns.
What has resulted is a debate of secondary interest to
most men -and many women; also, 'dov s a women's debate
imply that the. earlier debates .mostly; on :economic issues
were .primarily for men, or at least that -they were .more
:important?
• It's true thatwomen are minority in the political process;
but unlike • most' minorjties they :have the . potential in
numbers to achieve equality. Equality is better gained
through integration of interests; separation will weaken the.
women's movement by ghettoizing women ,and. their
interests. • -. 4
• Making a separate, women's debate a 'tradition, as was
triumphantly predicted . by its supporters, . would danger-
ously polarize men's andwomen's politics at. a time when
they ,could be brought closer together. Of course' women
should be concerned about the economy and unemploy-
ment, butmen should , similarly address themselves to
issues of women's rights, social programs such as day care,
shelters for battered womenand rape crisis centres, as.well
as broader social concerns such as pornography and sexual
harassment. •
• Only, when these issues become a concern of . a large
proportion of .voters; and riot....only_ a.Iar.,ge :proportion :of ._
women, will they take a place of primary importance on the
, political agenda.. . DK,.
Su bscription,ratesin ..dila mode .;
'Thomas Thompson -Advertising Manage .
On-tstde o oq
Sharon Dietz -. Editor:. ,a 4
Pat Livingston - Office Manager 16oa C
A.: Joan Helm Compositor . Senior Citizens
;M erle Elliott Typesetter
-1'so Outside
canada.p
Second elass mailing reg."no. 0847
Advertising is .accepted onthe condition that in the event of atYPog Pra hicai ,i rror
,
portion of the advertising.space occupied by the erroneous :item together with.a;
reasonable allowance; for signature, will not be charged fort but the balance of the
�,
advertisement will be paid at the applicable rates., , :, . - a .e
A
BLUE
RIBBON
AWARD
1984
The Lucknow. and' Pistriett!'Horticul-
.tural Society held a flower elbow and.
tea dist Wednesday afternoolu, at the .
Lucknow Legion: <Showis above are
some 'of the- *inners and' society
• executive, from the lefts Mary: Lavas, •
who was a , runner* in petits, .
• earned, Joan . Robinson, second
.vice presidegt 4,#, the ..Ho.eultural
Society; i Mary 'MacGillivray, presid-
ent, and Jean Whitby, who�;yela the
most. points... for her exhibits. The
afternoon was also for Soelalizing,
and 'seated In the ,picture ;at left ;are •.
Mrs, • Jessie • Johnston 'acid . Jean
Willits visiting with Mrs.; Lloyd.:Mac-
• Dongall and Mrs. ;Ira Dickie: 1Mrs:
MacDougall was alio acrunnerup-and
had ,the secondhighest' nlnber . of
points for her .'flowers std other ,
exhibits, which included' `, plants;
arrangements and vegetables. •,
', (Photo by Darrell Kloeze)
• There was a breath of fall in the air when
the►agons from Redtrees arrived at Toronto
harbour. The new immigrants lined the rails
of the. Atlantic Queen, trying to pick out the
relatives who' had come to fetch them to their
new home. They cried out in Gaelic when
they recognized any, man as one of their own
Ninny, and soon the dockside was filled with
a noisy outburst of joy and tears.
MacCrimmon was one of the first to board
the ship. In his excitement, .he ranup the
gangplank and. hugged Captain Jamieson.
"God bless ye, Ian, ye did it - ye did it!" he
shouted, ' bursting with .pride and deep
emotion. "Och man, I'm sae glad tae see ye.
We'll hae such a grand ceilidh when we get
ye back Name tae Redtrees l"
/But Jamieson was not free to travel with
them "I am afraid I cannot leave iininedi-
ately," he said sadly. "I have to settle
accounts regarding the. ship and the cargo.
Chisholm and Murdoch will have to stay
here too. ;We must strip the forward
passenger hold of bunks and restore'the ship
to .its original condition." '
It was shortly after noon, and MacCrun-
mon decided to leave there and then, so they
could be well outside Toronto before ,sunset.
There were no objections from the imnti&
grants. After . so many • weeks in cramped
quarters, 'they required little persuasion to
carry their, meagre belongings off theship
and climb on to the wagons.
Jamieson, Chippy, Chisholm and Teddy
Murdoch watched them disappear .. west-
wards along Front Street. The captain and
Chippy wished they were going with. them,
but Teddy was not at all. disappointed. ' He
had many good reasons for wanting to stay a
few more days on the ship, and all ' of them
relatedto the love sickness from which he.
still . suffered. ' '
That evening, Jamieson called Teddy to
his cabin. "I have no wish 'to pry into your
personal affairs lad," he said with a tinge. of
amusement in his voice. "But 1' think you
need a little advice if you still insist upon
courting. . Miss Lockhart." He took some
money from -his pocket and ' handed it to
Teddy. "Take tomorrow morning off and go
and buy yourself :some decent clothes - I am
not sure of clothes will win a fair lady, bit I
am certain they will help!" ,
The next day, Teddy set off eagerly to find
a*table outfitters. All his life he had been
use • ,o casttoffs and hand -Me -downs, so he
was ''•t exactly an expert when it came to
selectin : a suitab dress for his ase. Shortly
before lu ' e, Chippy Chisholm burst
REDTREES
by Don Campbell
into the captain's cabin. He 'was holding his
sides with laughter and had great difficulty
in speaking. "Would ye just come and look
what is walking towards ye .ship," he said
between chuckles, "I think . we got . - the
Prince o' Wales - about tae come aboard! ",
Jamieson rushed to the upper deck in time
to see what appeared to be Teddy Murdoch,
followed by "a' portly looking gentleman,
coming up the gangplank', The fat . man
would have raised . a 5rile, but the appear-
ance of Teddy Murdoch was out of this
world! He was, dressed in a•grey suit with a
cape of the latest fashion, and a white silk
ruffledshirt showing at his neck. His boots
were black shiny leather and to top it all, he
had a tall hat. .
"Good God!" Jamieson said in, absolute
amazement. "When.I sent him away to buy
clothes, 1 never expected him to conie back
dressed like the Governor General!"
Teddy swaggered on to, the deck followed
by the • litti'e fat man, who bowed to
Jamieson. `•I take it sir, youCathat are/Captain
t ain
P
Jamieson?" When Jamieson nodded, abso-
lutely flabbergasted, the ' man continued. "I
think I have outfittedyour young gentleman
to complete satisfaction," he said with anair
of professional pride. "Unfortunately, he did
,not have sufficient funds for the complete
purchase.. He told me, sir, that you would
make up the difference, and I would be .
greatly obliged for the further sum of five
guineas. '=',
Jamieson took the merchant below,to his
cabin, and paid him the money he demand-
ed. When, the portly one had made out a
receipt and 'departed in complete satisfac-
tion, Jamieson returned to the upper deck':
and confronted Teddy Murdoch. He looked
him up and down with mixed feelings of
anger and utter amusement.
";Do ye no like my' defiles, sir?" Ted• dy
asked, embarrassed by, the captain'S scrut•
any.. •'The man said I looked like'a dandy. De
ye think 1' am good enough now tae go out
with a young lassies?"
•
"We'll let the 'girl be thejudge of that,"
Jamieson Said, pretending to be. stern. "In
the meantime, put your working clothes back
on, and see if you can too like a carpenter.
,
Dandies don't have to work, but it wit", take
you a long . time to repay all the money
you've spent!''