HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-07-28, Page 5International Scene
Rayniond Caton
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 1993. PAGE 5.
A battle of the
sexes skirmish
Ready for another sea change in
shopping patterns? This phenomenon is
gathering steam in the shopping malls and
chic boutiques of sunny California. The
Los Angeles Times calls it "Cross
Shopping". What's happening is
unprecedented numbers of men shopping
for women and women are shopping for
men — but particularly the former.
Los Angeles retailers are reporting
whole new herds of males poking around
the lingerie and notions departments,
where only the female of the species used
to congregate. What's it mean? No one is
quite sure. Some experts think men cop an
illicit thrill just infiltrating "behind enemy
lines". Other behaviourists tug their beards
and warn of a dark side to cross shopping
— they say it represents an attempt by men
to exert control over their spouses.
I say phooey. I don't think there's
anything sinister or illicit about cross
shopping at all. I believe it represents but
one more revolution of the Gender
Blender that's been turning us into
biological vichyssoise for years.
And about time too. I come from an age
when there were separate entrances at the
public schools marked BOYS and GIRLS.
I come from an age when all public
taverns had a special door marked
A day in
the life
Summer is really not a time when you
lecture people on any subject; rather it is a
time when you would prefer to get away
from it all for a while and concentrate on
more pleasant things. For this reason I am
going to try to make my next few articles
somewhat lighter in content and share a few
of my experiences with you of my recent
stay in Europe.
What we will do is go through a day's
activities and note the things that are
different from what you would normally fund
in Canada. Some of them are little; others
are quite different from what we find here
but, since variety is the spice of life, it all
adds up to a very pleasant day.
First we have breakfast at the hotel in
Mayen, Germany, where I spend my first
few days. You have heard a considerable
amount about a "continental breakfast."
They are supposed to be small but that may
have been the case only in the past.
Admittedly there is no bacon etc. but, by the
time you have gone through the fresh rolls,
an egg, some cheese and ham, not to
mention a pot of coffee, you are pleasantly
full. Now we are ready to wander about the
city.
The hotel is only 50 meters from the city
square which means, almost before we know
it, we are mixing with the locals who are out
doing their morning shopping. Although
there are versions of shopping centres, a lot
of people prefer to go down town to a
number of specialty stores. Since we are
going to have a picnic lunch, we stop first at
LADIES AND ESCORTS. I can
remember a kid in my grade eight class
being sent home in tears. Her crime? She
dared to wear slacks to class.
Just to show you how much times have
changed, consider the case of Brett Martin,
an 18-year-old senior high school student
in Knoxville, Iowa. He, too, got in hot
water for "inappropriate dress" — but with
a distinctly 90s twist.
Brett was nailed for showing up at his
Knoxville High School prom dressed in a
wig, mascara and a red, sequined,
spaghetti-strapped dress he borrowed from
his sister.
Brett Martin did it as a lark, but the
Knoxville High School principal — a
humourless sod who must have been
caught sneaking in the GIRL'S entrance as
a student — didn't laugh. Instead he had
Martin charged with criminal trespass.
The principal should get with the times.
Hasn't he heard about Teresinha de Jesus
Gomes? Teresinha is a bluff, gladhanding
50-year-old woman who's been famous in
military circles of Portugal for the past
two decades.
But not as Teresinha de Jesus Gomes.
Her army buddies knew her as Tito
Anibal de Paixao Gomes.
Uh, that's General Tito Anibal de Paixao
Gomes, to be precise.
For 19 years, "the General" regaled
his/her fellow officers with tales of daring
military-intelligence-gathering adventures
in South America and behind the Iron
Curtain.
the bakery to buy rolls at 25 cents each;
another store will provide us with fruit,
cheese and the German version of V-8 and
we are ready. If the weather is nice, we will
soon see people sitting at an outdoor cafe
having a morning coffee and perhaps some
pastry. If it is hot, you can have some ice
cream; a small scoop will cost you 70 cents.
We are going to drive down to the Rhine
for lunch so we stop for gas. Try not to fall
over when you find out that the price is
$1.08 a litre (and likely to go higher).
Admittedly distances are shorter here but
$1.08 is $1.08. In a short while we were out
on the Autobahn to Koblenz and it does not
take long before you notice that what they
say about German highways is true. There is
no speed limit and some drivers roar by at
200 k.p.h. The average speed is 120-140
which makes the 401-402 highways look
rather tame.
When we sit along the Rhine having our
lunch, we note the large number of flat
barges that sail by. h is remarkable how
much freight is still carried by the river
system. You can now go all the way from
Germany to the Black Sea at Rumania. Not
only is there a wide variety of barges; there
are also many national flags flying at the
stem. On the day we sit there and watch the
traffic, there are probably as many Dutch
flags as any other, which I think is par for
the course.
One thing about most German towns is
that they are rich in history. Mayen is
especially interesting in that it is built on
former volcanic ground. You can actually
see where the crater was; it is currently the
site of a lake. You can also go down into a
cavern which has been dug out of the lava.
The city itself has a history that goes back
3,000 years which will give us plenty of
places to explore when we decide to do a
tour of the place.
They were great stories, but that's all
they were. Teresinha/Tito had been
impersonating an officer since she donned
a general's uniform and her dead brother's
name away back in 1974. She'd probably
still be in the Portuguese army if she
hadn't run up colossal debts for her
intended State Wedding. Authorities took
away her general's uniform and let her off
with a three-year suspended sentence.
Oh yeah, and the wedding is off, too.
But the good times are just starting for
Damian Taylor down in Brisbane,
Australia. Damian is a 24-year-old
Australian lifeguard, who's on the
threshold of a whole new career. There
was a picture of Damian in my newspaper
last night.
Damian's wearing a sash across his torso
in the photograph.
The sash reads Miss Wintersun 1993.
A man has won the Miss Wintersun
Beauty Contest in Australia.
"Now that I've done this who knows
what I can do?" said a teary Damian. "I
don't want to cause any waves with Miss
Australia, but I'm going for it."
Sure, go for it, Damian. It's just one
more skirmish in the never-ending Battle
of the Sexes. Nobody's ever figured that
one out, but the comedian George Burns
came as close as anybody I know.
"There will always be a battle between
the sexes" said George, "because men and
women want different things."
"Men want women and women want
men."
Canadian stores may stay open all
Saturday and part of Sunday but that custom
has not yet reached Mayen. If we are going
to do any shopping, we had better get it done
before Saturday noon since that is when
most stores close. Sunday is, of course,
totally closed down which makes for a long
weekend for owners and employees alike.
There are, to be sure, restaurants open just as
they are here, not to mention gas stations,
but it is remarkable how quickly the down-
town area changes from a hive of activity to
an extremely quiet place once Saturday noon
comes.
Without reflecting on the level of religion,
Germans as a nation do not go to church in
as great numbers as in Canada. Neither is
there the variety of Protestant churches to be
found there as there is in Canada even
though the percentage of Protestants in
Germany is about the same as it is here. This
reduction in church going is, by the way,
something that is found all over Europe.
Nor can you escape taxes. When you go
shopping, if you see the VAT tax added (the
German equivalent of our GST) it is 15 per
cent no less. Again this is par for the course
since European countries almost all have
double-digit VAT taxes, with Sweden the
highest at 25 per cent. Given that Germany
has a bad government deficit as well as
extensive social welfare services, is it any
surprise that they complain about taxes just
as we do.
Oh yes, one of the few North American
concepts you will see is McDonald's. Even
Mayen has one with ample place to park,
something that most outlets do not have.
There is, however, one difference; you can
get beer at the German version. But if you
ask for a Big Mac, they will understand you
since that is precisely what they call it in
German.
Some things, it seems, never change.
The
short
of it
By Bonnie Gropp
Short on height
and patience
Honesty and patience are virtues they say.
That being said, because I have the
former, I must admit to a sad lack of the
latter. It's not just height I'm short of.
It's been proven that patience is a good
attribute to acquire. The patient ball player
will be rewarded by either getting that
perfect pitch or a base on balls. People
looking for that ideal partner may actually
find them if they wait long enough — or a
least one only mildly flawed.
There is no species on Earth more patient
than the feline family, as our cat has
demonstrated many times. I have watched
her patiently stalk a fly, crouching back, then
moving ever so slowly towards it, to grasp it
at just the last second. The other evening,
fascinated by a moth flitting in our upstairs
hall, she sat beneath it, her head upturned to
watch, her body frozen. She stayed that way
for what seemed an eternity, the only
movement coming from a slight turning of
the head to keep an eye on her prey.
As the moth suddenly moved down the
hall, the predator slunk beneath it. Then in a
split second mistake, the moth came closer
to the ground, the cat sprang and it was over.
This confrontation made me wonder if I
couldn't possibly learn a few things from our
cat.
Being impatient is a stressful way to live.
Impatient people are frustrated usually by
situations out of their control. Playing mini-
golf this past weekend I had to fight my
frustration over the family of four in front of
us that kept us waiting, while hurrying my
children during our turn so we wouldn't hold
back the ones behind us.
I want things done yesterday. I'm always
ready early and I can't stand waiting for
anyone else. No matter how organized I am
I'm usually in a hurry and I get ticked at
anything that slows me down.
Sunday drivers irk me to no end, perhaps
because I recognize they are on a relaxing
odyssey while I'm racing with my obsession.
I have to keep reminding myself, as I'm
cruising at a 'speedy' 60 kilometres an hour,
I'm not ruining their day.
You can just imagine what the rash of road
construction this summer is doing to me. It
seems every direction you turn there are
machines slowing you down and flag people
telling you when you can go.
Recently, my structured schedule was
snagged by one of these snafues. In
exasperation I laid my head on the headrest
Then glancing to the side I noticed the fielc
next to me. I saw a large bird soaring ahoy(
in a sky as blue as a field of cornflowers.
Rolling down the window to soak up the
fresh air and beauty, I took several deer
breaths while doing my best to ignore the
work going on around me. With no smal
amount of effort, I convinced myself n
forget my schedule was being altered and
might as well just take this excuse to enjoy
few minutes of imposed respite.
It was a good lesson. Instead of getting
more stressed-out we might just as wel
make the most of these opportunities. Whet
we're in control, we hurry from one spot ti
another, forgetting to refresh ourselves witl
all the good things around us. When tit(
situation is taken out of our hands,
should reap the rewards.
Maybe, if I can exercise patience when
have no choice, it won't be long before
apply i! to all aspects of daily living.
Arthur Black