Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-02-16, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16,1994. PAGE 5. What makes us Canadian'? It came to me, as my grandest thoughts often do, while I was out walking the dog. There we were, Rufus and I, on the prowl for an unsuspecting fire hydrant - a task made infinitely more difficult by the fact that it was mid winter in Canada, and all self respecting fire hydrants were buried up to their lugnuts in a deep futon of the white stuff. Anyway there we were, scrambling over snowbanks, looking for bare spots, trying to tip toe in the footsteps left by the mailman...when suddenly a magnificent realization dawned on me. "I know what makes us Canadian!" I shouted to Rufus, the rooftops, and a passing chickadee. "It's snow!" Hmm. I see you're about as impressed as Rufus and the chickadee were. Well, hold on now.. .let me explain. The greybeards say that one difference between Canadians and Americans is that the Yanks revere freedom and as little government as possible, while Canadians go for peace and as much government as it takes to keep things orderly. Well doncha see? That's a clear illustration of just how snow influences the way we International Scene The need for innovation The story is told of the farmer who discovered his property had been invaded by snakes. A neighbour advised him that the best way to get rid of them was to bring in a mongoose. Wanting to be on the safe side, he wrote off asking that "two mongeese" be sent to him. When looking at the letter, he thought that perhaps that was not the correct plural of the word. Out went the letter; in its place he wrote another asking for "two mongooses." He was, nevertheless, just as uncertain as before whether that was the correct spelling. Finally, off went a third letter. "Please send me one mongoose," he requested, "And while you are at it, why don't you send me a second one." Whatever the farmer's problems with spelling were, he at least showed a considerable amount of ingenuity or innovation in getting what he wanted. Innovation is one of the things that we need in great quantity right now as we face a few years of trying to do more with less, given that our governments are finally having to show some real fiscal restraint. Fortunately the world is filled with people, such as the above farmer, who are capable of showing such innovation. A couple of years ago I wrote about a practice south of the border that intrigued me. More precisely it was in North Carolina where I saw any number of organizations who were prepared to "adopt" a section of highway and keep it clean. As you have probably noticed, this practice has crept into Canada and, while I modestly disclaim any role in having brought this about, it is a nice way for individuals to take responsibility for public property and at no cost to the taxpayer. One of the most innovative bits of marketing I have seen has to do with the Glacier Express which runs from St. Moritz in Switzerland to Zermatt at the foot of the Canucks think. Sure. Snow is just like government. It blankets everything, gets down your neck, makes it hard to get anywhere and generally snarls up the works. After a big blizzard, life in Canada comes to a standstill. Nothing can move until platoons of snowplows and shovellers get out and clear the roads and sidewalks. Same thing with government. Except the part of the snow removers is played by lawyers and politicians. And as any Canuck worth his earmuffs knows - snow's not all bad. We can't discern it from our snow shoes or our cross country skis but there's an entire nether world bustling around under the white blanket, just above the rock-hard earth. Mice and voles and moles are bustling around like pre­ Christmas shoppers. They have their own underground malls down there, safe from hawks and coyotes not to mention the frigid air above. It works for plants too. A few shovelsworths of snow banked around my rose bushes guarantee they'll make it through the winter. Same thing for strawberry beds and slumbering garlic bulbs. Snow is Nature's way of giving our earth its own set of thermal Stanfields to see it through to spring. Our pioneers saw the bright side of a hard wmter. "A year of snow makes apples grow" By Raymond Canon famous Matterhorn mountain. The word "express" gives the idea of speed but the Glacier Express makes no claim to speed at all; instead of it bills itself as the slowest express train in the world. Its trip includes hundreds of tunnels and bridges and, since the train is not going at break-neck speed, there is plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful scenery. In the dining car there are.drinking glasses which are unlike any I have ever seen elsewhere. They are slanted at the bottom so that when the train is going up or down a grade, which it frequently is, the liquid in the glass will remain horizontal, hence no spilling. That seemed to me to be one of the centres of attraction during the trip but the upshot of it all is that the Glacier Express is booked solid; it may be the slowest express train in the world; it has to be one of the more popular. I didn't know it until recently but the area around Mayen, Germany is the site of an extinct volcano. On top of the volcano is a brewery which is not much different from many another German municipality. However, when you go to this brewery, you are invited to not only have a brew and something to eat but to go down into a cavern cut into the extinct volcano. There are about 150 steps down (you will be tired before you get to the top on the way back) but the sight is worth it. Visitors are able to see the lava and the ash and where the caverns have been cut into the latter. If you are going to have a volcano, even an extinct one, why not put it to good use. Closer to home, I was watching a recent program W5, the excellent news program which is shown on CTV. On it was the story of the Michigan city that has decided to make a virtue out of garbage. They have got it down to a fine art to the extent of using the methane from the dump to generate enough electricity for 5,000 homes. The garbage is handled scientifically and a ski-hill has been built on the part of the dump which has been covered. Needless to say that generates even they used to say. I can remember my Dad looking out at a driveway full of snow and saying "Doesn't matter how much it snows, it won't be here come summer." The other great thing about our snow is that it camouflages our unfinished business. Somewhere in my backyard there lies a baseball bat, a couple of croquet mallets, an ugly jumble of wooden stakes lately plucked from my garden, a garden bench with a wonky leg, one-half bag of barbecue briquets, a horseshoe pitch, three (maybe even four) rusty horseshoes, several half- gnawed dog bones and uncountable unsolicited deposits from the aforementioned Rufus. All of that junk and more adorns my backyard, but you’d never know it. Look out my back window and all you see is a pristine sheet of unlined foolscap. A Canadian writer, Frederick Phillip Grove once wrote "The slightest snow will bury our eyesores. Snow is the greatest equalizer in Nature." You said it, F.P. I could go on for a few more column millimetres about snow, but I'm past my deadline. I have to get this column over to the paper. Which means I have to dig out my driveway. Which means I have to dig out my front walk to get to the driveway. Which means... Well, you know how it works. I mean, we're Canadians, eh? more money for the municipality which is able to pay cash for all its requirements. Meanwhile the municipality of Thorold, in Ontario, is going through study after study in an attempt to get a similar project off the ground. I have a feeling that banks not only dislike customers but cash as well. I got better service when I first came to Canada than I do now. As far as cash is concerned, bankers would like nothing better than to see it disappear. My figures show that the amount of cash in circulation is actually rising in a number of countries which will not bring any joy to these bankers, but help may be on the way. National Westminster, a British clearing bank, has come up with an innovation which it thinks will do the trick. This is being tried out in one British community and is called a Mondex system. It is a card based on the telephone card and which holds cash; it can be used to receive as well as pay money and functions in no less than five different currencies. When connected to a bank account, money can be debited and credited instantly. Bankers may start to salivate at such a system but the inventor says that it will be at least a decade before it makes any real inroads into the existing cash system. There is, therefore, no need to throw away your coins but it is something to look forward to. Then there is the new Oldsmobile which has a gadget which gives you directions but that is material for another story. You already have enough innovations for one day's reading. Paul’s Perspective Continued from page 4 administration in Washington. The difficulty in obtaining loans was another topic which was raised by some employers. The premier wanted to hear about some personal experiences in trying to obtain loans. There was a feeling that there should be some alternatives to the chartered banks and that there be help for businesses which create jobs. The Short of it By Bonnie Gropp What’s important? I like sports; not those easy to get-along with individuals, though they're okay too, but the type you play. Anybody who knows me might tell you that my sporting life these days is limited to what I see from my chair, but that wasn't always the case. I was never Joan Jock at school, but I didn’t embarrass myself either (Well, maybe a little during track and field events). For the most part, I always enjoyed playing or participating in sports and some I was even not too bad at. My size made it easy for me to deke around opponents in games like field hockey and soccer and my enthusiasm alone made me an acceptable ballplayer during our neighbourhood pick-up games. I never took lessons, but I was an avid skater in winter and what I lacked in swimming ability I made up for in ardour. However, as I got older my time seemed to become focussed on less entertaining activities until a lack of practice has taken away my verve and my nerve for many sports. To save myself from any embarrassment I now limit my 'par­ ticipaction' to the rigours of aerobics and walking. And to heaving myself up from the couch now and then to get refreshments or on a particularly ambitious day, running to the basement to do a load of laundry during commercials. Knowing that even a daydream of my possessing any athletic prowess is open for ridicule at this point, I take greater inspiration these days from watching those with true ability perform. A natural athlete who accomplishes a feat with a grace that belies its challenge is a joy to behold. Seeing Jordan soar, Lemieux score or Carter slam home a run is what attracts people to sport. It is a pleasure to see someone do their job well. Sunday, watching the Winter Olympics telecast, it was wonderful to see Canadian pairs skaters Lloyd Eisler and Isabelle Brasseur not only do well, but show a tremendous amount of class to boot. I missed the performance of Russian amateurs turned pros, turned amateurs, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov who finished first in the technical program, but I find it hard to imagine anything much better than what our Canadian team gave. Not only did this competent duo give an admirable performance, but during the interview following the event, they reminded everyone of what is really important — to go out and do the best job you can. While some may have been less than impressed with Eisler's succinct summation, I saw it as an accurate assessment from a poised athlete who knew the quality of the work he had done. That the pair saw their third place finish as nice but less important than the fact that they skated well, is a noteworthy lesson in any sport. Too often it seems we are so caught up in winning and losing that whether we deserve to win or lose is not an issue. As the pair said, whatever happened during their performance no one would die and tomorrow they would still love each other. By the time this column is published the competition for pairs skating will be over but I can only presume that whatever the outcome Eisler and Brasseur handled it with now characteristic aplomb. In many of the sports I did play there were neither coaches nor fans. Winning was usually not the issue; we just loved to play, to improve and enjoyed doing the best we could without any expectations placed on us. That's a feeling I think a few kids are missing out on today. I hope examples like Eisler and Brasseur will remind their coaches and parents of what is really important.