Loading...
The Citizen, 1997-06-25, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25,1997 PAGE 5. J Arthur Black Elvis’s loss When you turn 35, something happens to the music Gene Lees How true. Breathes there a reader over the age of 35 who doesn't pine for the good old music of their youth? And who doesn't think that the songs that make up today's hit parade exhibit all the charm and musicality of a tomcat in rut having his way with a set of bagpipes? I know that the music I rocked to 25 years ago was infinitely superior to the squawking and squalling that comes over my radio today. Oddly enough, I seem to remember my father making the same point about his music. Not surprising, I guess. The music we like as kids filtered down to us through a swamp of raging hormones. It's only natural that we would outgrow the music. Most of us anyway. There's always Jane Scott. Jane is a reporter with a newspaper called The Cleveland Plain Dealer in Ohio. The Rock-and-RoIl scene is her assigned beat. Every Friday and Saturday night finds Jane crammed into a writhing, thrashing mob, listening to groups like Twisted Sister, International Scene By Raymond Canon Where to go — or not You can well imagine that I have a wonderful time reading the travel section of the print media and agreeing or disagreeing (too loudly, says my wife) when the urge strikes me. Since this is the time of year that all the suggestions come out as to what places to see and which ones to avoid. I was interested to come across two columns by one of the wire services in the United States. The first was one about all the places that one writer liked, the second was about the places that the other writer didn't like. I was delighted to read that the first author was taken with the Italian city of Siena since that is where I lived when I was in Italy. I agreed whole-heartedly with him. It is picturesque to the extreme; there is culture galore and, what pleased me most, there were no cars on the streets. When the cathedral was built in the Middle Ages, it took so long to build it that there are two different types of architecture. It is a tourist's delight but, unfortunately not too many people know about it and head instead for nearby Florence. A big mistake! I was further reinforced in this view when the second writer said in no uncertain terms that Florence was a city to avoid. Highly overrated! While on the subject of avoidable cities, the second writer ranked Frankfurt, Germany right along with Florence. The best thing about the city was the efficient railway system which led out of it. I also tend to agree. I land at the efficient airport nearby, Smashing Pumpkins or The Dead Kenncdys. It's a job she's held for three decades. Jane Scott, rock-and-roll reporter, is 77 years old. "I must be the only rock writer who is going to her 60th high school reunion this summer", says Jane. What does she look like? Like a cross between your grandmother and a bag lady. Silver-gray curls tumble helter-skelter around her heavy homrim glasses. She wears a rumpled raincoat, a man's wristwatch and she carries a shopping bag looped over the arm that's not holding her ever-present notepad. "My survival kit" she calls the bag. It carries peanut butter sandwiches, a box of Kleenex, safety pins and - the true sign of a rock-and-roll veteran - set of ear plugs. She likes a lot of rock groups but even she will admit they're not all good. Still, she has nothing but raves for the Kinks, Bruce Springsteen and ZZ Top. There aren't many pop stars Jane Scott hasn't met in her 30 years on the beat. She's joked with Jagger, bantered with the Beach Boys, and spent quality time with The Beatles. There have been other moments. The last time Springsteen performed in Cleveland he yelled out to the audience, "Is Janey here? I but it is so long since I have been in Frankfurt that I can't remember just when. It is, to be true, the centre of commerce in Germany but who wants to look at bank buildings. We have those in excess in Toronto. I have to confess that the two writers have been in places which I have not, so some of their likes and dislikes cannot be verified by me. The one writer likes Paris; I guess I have been there too often to be enamored by it any more. Although the Parisians usually leave me alone because I can speak their language, they do have a deserved reputation for being rude to tourists, especially Americans and they are, in the process, unable to distinguish us from’the Amis, which is another reason for you to wear a visible maple leaf. There was one reference to Canada. The writer suggested that you take Hwy. 132 from Quebec City to Perce in the Gaspd Peninsula. You follow the St. Lawrence all the way and watch it get ever wider until you can no longer see across. I have done this route and it was a real joy. The writer with all the dislikes then got to the end of his diatribe and wrote "Switzerland is the most beautiful country in the world. That is, no doubt, why God packed it with taciturn hoteliers and the worst national cuisine this side of Bulgaria. Otherwise the world would move there. But bratwurst with boiled potatoes? Fondue? Better get a mountain-view table and a big glass of beer." Those are fighting words! In all the years that I have been promoting Switzerland as a place to visit, I have never claimed that the cuisine was at the top of the heap, but I can only surmise that he didn't speak any of the want to see her." Even Bob Dylan, the Hermit of Rock and Roll, thaws when Jane Scott is around. "Four years ago I got an invitation to come backstage at the Palace Theatre the night of his show," recalls Jane. "I did manage a lame question about his album. When I extended my hand to shake good-bye, he kissed me on both cheeks. Later I was told that he dedicated Like A Rolling Stone to me." How big is Jane Scott in the annals of rock and roll? Big enough to rate her own exhibit in The Rock and Roll hall of Fame in Cleveland. Right up there along with Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Simon and Garfunkel. Jane Scott's listened to and written about them all. Well, not quite all. Jane Scott does have one regret. She never got to meet The King. But she came close. Back in the 60s Jane tip-toed up the back stairs to the top floor of the old Hotel Statler, peeked around the corridor and... "The jig was up. Scowling down at me was a bodyguard about seven feet tall with a hairdo like Don King. He seemed four feet wide. I never did get an interview with Elvis Presley." Elvis's loss. languages and had the menu upside down when he ordered. As for taciturn hoteliers, there are that sort in every country but they are certainly not like that where I stay. If I can find his address I am going to send him a list of places to eat the next time he is there if, indeed, he ever goes back. He does admit that the nicest short flight is the 35-minute one between Geneva and Nice, France. I have flown that one too and I agree with him but he does leave the impression that the plane was zooming down through the Alps. Correction! That is what Swissair pilots do when they are flying for their country's air force, but they do not do it for Swissair. Apart from the likes and dislikes of the two writers, I discovered elsewhere that the fastest growing tourist area is Russia with the number of visitors increasing at 20 per cent a year. I wish I could say the same for Canada but we have not yet become a tourist mecca. It might help reduce our 10 per cent rate of unemployment if we did since it would employ the groups of people that are most likely looking for work. I suppose that, like a lot of other things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I can assure you of one thing. Iraq has a number of fascinating places to visit but it is not going to have to set up an office to handle the rush. If it did, one of Saddam Hussein's relatives would likely get the job of running it. A Final Thought The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; the pessimist fears this is true James Branch Cabell The Short of it Playing safe Summer breeze blowing through your hair, a sense of abandon, of complete freedom. I remember as a youngster how difficult it was to wait for the warm weather to come so that I could get out my trusty CCM bicycle and hit the roads. Then when school let out it was an adventure every day, as my friends and I would embark on tours around the countryside. For us townies, having a bicycle meant having the independence to cruise the backroads and backwoods, breathing in open spaces. We discovered nature, isolation and solitude— — and cuts, bruises and breaks. We were lucky. Each year there are many cyclists killed while riding. An annual report from Ontario Road Safety recently announced that in 1995 there were 3,037 cyclists injured in accidents, 19 of them fatally. That rate is down from the two previous years, however, quite likely due to increased awareness of the dangers, and education into bicycle safety. One of the biggest changes occurred Oct. 1, 1995 with legislation making the use of cycling helmets mandatory for anyone up to the age of 17. If caught without a helmet, riders from 12-17 must pay a fine of $60 plus costs, while the parents of riders under 12 would be charged. Safer or not, there were some who felt the restriction was unfair and in the case of adolescents uncool. "They’re dorky looking," one teen said. A parent told me that rather than be judged geeks, her kids have just quit riding their bikes. The majority seem willing to take a chance that they won't get caught, and that their hard head will be just fine. Fortunately, because the onus is on the parent with younger children, the habit of helmets is ingrained early. The idea, by the time they reach their teens, that this may not be cool, will be less likely because the practice of cycling with head gear will be familiar. Though the law does not make it mandatory for adults t6 wear cycling helmets, most experienced riders wouldn't leave home without protection for their heads, and knees and elbows for that matter. But in addition to protection, it's important that cyclists of any age play by the rules. Road and traffic signs should be obeyed and the proper hand signals, to indicate your intention to others, should be learned and used. Common sense can also be a life- saver. This week the Ontario Cycling Association kicked off its CYCLONE Tour, which will be making stops in Huron. OCA is obviously concerned about the issue of bicycle safety and the tour's hundreds of participants will be examples of how to have fun and follow the rules. I don't spend the amount of time on a bike as I did when I was young, nor do I ever go too far afield. But, when I do, I can still remember the exuberance, the innocence, the fun. The exhilaration of cruising untroubled surroundings, the peaceful exhaustion from exertion, are too greatly appreciated to be spoilt. Nasty accidents may still happen, but respect for the dangers and taking precautions against them just make sense for a carefree summer.