HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-11-13, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1996 PAGE 5.
Arthur Black
Thank heavens
for Cheetah
I was in a lineup at my supermarket the
other day when my eye fell on the front page
of one of those trash tabloids they keep near
the checkout counters. There was a big
colour photograph of some decrepit old guy
who looked spaced out and forlorn. I
squinted a little closer.
It was Bob Hope.
The famous comedian is in his 80s now
and he looks old and feeble, with rheumy
eyes and crepe-like skin. He looks like a
cruel parody of the Bob Hope I carry around
in my mind. My Bob Hope has glistening,
slicked-back hair and a ski jump nose. His
black-button eyes are alert and piercing. His
lips are curled in a wisecrack grin.
That's the Bob Hope who imprinted
himself on my brain, back when he was
middle-aged and I was a kid.
Well, now I'm middle-aged and Bob Hope
is a geezer. It's difficult to get used to. Just
like it's hard to get used to the idea of Roy
Rogers with arthritis or Elizabeth Taylor as a
pudgy grandmother.
Of course a lot of my childhood heroes are
even further down Life's road than that.
So you want
to go to Africa
The closest I ever got to, working or living
in Africa was when I was giving serious
consideration to going to Ethiopia as a flying
instructor. I later talked to an American
cousin of mine, who had spent a couple of
years there in the Peace Corps. After
listening to what he had to say about the
place, I was glad that my decision had been
to let well enough alone.
I recall being told about all the shots that I
would have to have; it was an impressive list
and judging from what the doctors are telling
would-be travellers to that area, things have
not changed too much.
You no longer need a smallpox
vaccination, but just about everything else is
the order of the day. You are advised to get
shots for yellow fever, typhoid, tetanus,
hepatitis A, meningitis, polio and rabies. I
would hope that it would not be necessary to
take them all at one time, otherwise you
could well be groggy for a couple of days.
Even if you get all the required shots, this
should not be taken to mean that you are
home free. In most places, all the water you
get from the tap must be boiled before you
drink it, or even use it to clean your teeth.
Furthermore, a nasty disease by the name of
bilharzia lurks in any water you swim or
walk in, and while it can eventually be
cured, it leaves some of your vital organs in
pretty bad shape.
Mosquitoes are still roaming at will since
a shortage of money has cut back
considerably on the spraying of the water
Remember curly-haired Dean Martin? A guy
who never seemed to have his photo taken
unless he had a cigarette in one hand and a
drink in the other? Dead. And everybody's
favourite redhead? Married to that crazy
Cuban? Everybody loved Lucy. She was
immortal, right?
Wrong. Lucille Ball is gone. So, for that
matter, is the crazy Cuban.
Bogey. Clark Gable. Marilyn Monroe...
Makes a guy feel old. And that's just the
humans — how about the animals that were
supposed to live forever? Where are the
Lassies and Rin Tin tins of my youth? Gone,
long gone. To the Big Doghouse In The Sky.
Thank heavens for Cheetah.
You don't remember Cheetah? My, you're
young. Cheetah was Tarzan's sidekick — a
goofy chimpanzee who followed the
Apeman through the jungle. Cheetah didn't
have a lot of lines to memorize. Usually he
just had to jump up and down and scream
EEK! EEK! EEK! But he did it well and
endeared himself in the hearts of moviegoers
everywhere.
I never did figure out why they gave a
cat's name to a chimp, but they did and the
whole world learned to accept it. And unlike
Lassie and Rin Tin Tin, there was only one
Cheetah, His career outlasted that of several
Tarzans, including Johnny Weissmuller, Lex
where they breed. As a result malaria is
making something of a comeback. In some
places the same mosquitoes have made a
comeback, having developed a certain
resistance to the anti-malaria pills normally
prescribed.
There is a powerful new drug that can be
used against malaria, but if you have ever
taken a prescription that had a number of
side-effects, you can appreciate the fact that
those of this new drug include dizziness,
vertigo, loss of balance, headache, sleep
problems, diarrhea, stomach ache and, in
some cases, hallucinations, ringing in the
ears and forgetfulness.
Nor has Africa escaped the ravages of
AIDS; in fact, it is more of a problem there
than elsewhere. At first governments tended
to downplay the threat, feeling that too much
publicity would spoil the tourist trade.
However, according to the World Health
Organization, if the infection rate in Africa
continues at its current pace, in four years
about 25 million people in Africa south of
the Sahara will be infected.
At the present time the disease is
spreading in a southward direction. After all,
there is no barrier such as the Sahara desert
to the north. Furthermore, health services
everywhere are so strapped for money that
they cannot afford the cost of current drugs
let alone the more efficient but more
expensive treatments.
In many cases hospitals do not have them
at all. If someone contacts AIDS and is
admitted to a hospital, it is expected right at
the beginning that the patient's family will
be responsible for supplying the drugs.
The only bright light at all is, as the
disease spreads southwards, it runs into the
high standards of South African medicine
which already has the most efficient anti-
Barker and Ron Ely.
Cheetah was in the movies even before I
was a kid. 'Way back in the early 40s when
Bob Hope was a spunky up and comer and
even Elizabeth Taylor had only been married
three or four times.
He had an incredible career for any
Hollywood actor, never mind a chimpanzee,
but do you know what's even more
incredible.
Cheetah's still around.
He's 64 years old, retired and living a life
of ease in Palm Springs, California. Cheetah
is owned by a fellow named Dan Westfall —
if 'owned' is the correct word. Westfall's
main function seems to be to keep Cheetah
amused. And the best way he's found to do
that is to make sure Cheetah never runs out
of beer or cigars.
Cheetah, it would seem, is a bit of a souse.
He cracks a dozen Budweisers every day and
manages to puff his way through about 10
stogies as well.
"If he behave himself," says Westfall, "I
give him a bottle of schnapps once a month
too."
Of course, being retired, Cheetah does his
smoking and boozing in Westfall's backyard
out of the public eye.
Just as well. He'd made a helluva role for
the world's young, impressionable chimps.
AIDS program on the continent.
To add to the fight against AIDS, African-
style practitioners are playing a role. Such
people include herbalists, spirit mediums
and faith healers who are closer to the
people, are available on almost a round-the-
clock basis and outnumber western-trained
doctors by 10 to 1 even in South Africa.
Every little bit helps.
In short, the situation does not seem to
have changed much since the days of the
explorers. Even my cousin, about whom I
talked at the beginning of the article, did not
come out unscathed. He has suffered from
eye problems ever since.
Letter to the editor
THE EDITOR,
I would like to take this opportunity to
thank all of the people who participated in
Take Our Kids to WorkTM day on
Wednesday, Nov. 6. Two hundred and fifty-
nine students from F.E. Madill alone, went
to work for the day with a parent, relative,
friend or, in a few cases, a volunteer host.
These students were able to see what their
hosts do to support a family and how an
average day unfolds in the workplace.
We had the opportunity to visit with over
50 students at their job sites on Wednesday
and everyone was enthused about the way
the day was unfolding. The students still
have some follow-up activities to perform
during the next week or two and we are
awaiting the return of the Parent and Host
Evaluations but our initial reaction is that the
day was an overwhelming success.
Again, I would like to thank everyone who
participated in making this year's Take Our
Kids to WorkTM day such a huge success and
invite you to participate again on
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1997.
Sincerely,
Jim Inwood.
The
short
of it
By Bonnie Gropp
Handy not always good
It's been such a convenient world for my
generation.
Even the longest trips seem like a short
jaunt to the market, since the evolution of
the speedy automobiles. Living life in the
fast lane, we are always at the ready so to
speak, with products that are ready-made,
ready to wear and ready to serve.
And we've managed to make a lovely
mess of the world in the process.
Not so in Mom and Dad's day.
Transportation was horse and buggy or
cutter and the only emissions were, while a
little messy, biodegradable. Snacks were
homemade, not purchased in convenient
handipacks. Leftovers were kept in the pot
you cooked them in and home canning was
the first evidence of reducing by reusing.
Pop and milk bottles were returnable.
Heck, even the toilet paper in some homes
was recycled. First you read the magazine,
then...
Research brought many improvements,
however. There was plastic wrap, heavy
duty cleaning products, paper towels, paper
napkins, paper plates, all meant to make
things a little easier. With each item that
came along to take the drudgery out of some
small task, who could blame folks for
jumping on the bandwagon with little
thought to the refuse piling up in its wake?
When my generation hitched a ride on that
same bandwagon, it was habitual. Then in
the 60s an esoteric group of back-to-earthers
began to question the materialistic values of
the world around them. Their ponderings
returned them to the handmade and
homespun. Organic gardening became the
vogue; actually the only chemicals used
were the ones those healthful gardeners were
smoking.
In the 1980s the environmental panic hit
the rest of us, when, it was noted that our
lifestyles were to blame in part for the
damage being sustained by our earth, air and
water. The realization that we were
destroying the most prized possession we
could leave our children was an awakening.
A new conscience had spoken and we
attempted to change.
Best intentions for habitual offenders
aren't always enough, however, as, old
habits in 'old dogs' die hard. Our children, on
the other hand, are not just adapting, but
leading on the environmentally-friendly
path. We can learn a lot from them.
At last week's Environmental Fair in
Brussels, over 400 students attended from
schools throughout the county. They
enthusiastically looked at the displays, asked
questions, took quizzes and tried some
hands-on experiments.
Where the earlier generations became
accustomed to using what was easy, with
little thought in the beginning to the end
result, these children, if shown and guided,
are adopting environmentally-friendly
practices that they will probably follow for
the rest of their lives. They are coming of
age in a time of recycling, reducing and
rethinking. The concessions that must be
made, they do spontaneously, knowing
handy is not necessarily a good thing.
Their enthusiastic drive for Mother Earth
is inspiring. They know the rule*, they
understand the danger and care. If
encouragod they will lead us by example.
International Scene
By Raymond Canon