HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2001-07-25, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2001. PAGE 5.
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Have you noticed how Time turns into a
bit of a bushwhacker as you get older?
Used to be that I measured events in
the conventional way - I knew that it was six
months since my last dental checkup; two
years since I bought my car; an hour and a half
since I drank that root beer.
But I find Time much shiftier these days. It
suddenly dawns on me that events which feel
like they happened yesterday are actually quite
hoary and long in the tooth. Some
anniversaries are incomprehensible. It seems
impossible, for instance, that Wayne Gretzky is
retired. Retired? Wasn't he playing for the
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds just a couple of
seasons ago?
Can you wrap your mind around the fact that
Canada's Expo happened nearly 35 years ago?
How about the fact that Peter Ustinov just had
a birthday - his 80th birthday? .
Ustinov an octogenarian. Common sense
tells you that just can't be true.
Except that it is. The man who's delighted
the world with a blizzard of plays and novels,
movies and musicals; the man whose roly-poly
figure and irrepressible smile seem ageless,
was in fact born in London, England in 1921.
I looked it up.
It seems highly unfair that one man should
be so• skilled in so many fields.
Aug. 1st is the Swiss national holiday
held to celebrate the creation in 1291
of one of the most democratic
countries in the world. The original
confederation was formed out of three small
cantons in what is today the inner part of the
country.
One can only imagine what Canada looked
like at that time for it was about 200 years after
the formation of Switzerland that Columbus
discovered North America.
Those readers that have stuck it out with me
over the years are probably quite used to my
periodic references to things Swiss. New
readrs might as well get used to it; my
students certainly have. The latter quite enjoy
it, I think; now and again, as a break from
heavy economic theo6y, I relate things such as
how the holes get into Swiss cheese, why the
cows wear cowbells or how my cousin,
Sukiyaki Canon, immigrated with us but got
lost on the way. He ended up in Japan where he
founded the company that makes all those
cameras and copiers.
With stories like that few students can claim
that my classes are dull; I make sure that those
who complain invariably fail miserably.
Getting back to the cows, do you know that,
if you want to go to Switzerland and are short
of money, you can spend the night in a barn for
a very reduced rate ($15). No, you do not have
to sleep with the cows!
Some farmers, when their cows were up on
the mountain pastures, decided to fix up their
barns with straw mattresses and now rent them
out to tourists.
If you dare ask how clean they are, you don't
know the Swiss. ,I can assure you that in that
country cleanliness is next to godliness. My
mother used to ,beat the daylights out of any
dust even before it settled.
Parents in Canada often complain about the
untidiness of their children's bedrooms. I can
assure you that in Switzerland mine was
always tidy; I wouldn't dare leave it in any
other way.
Canada and Switzerland actually have quite a
number of things in common, including French
Books? He's written a wagonload - including
his best-selling autobiography Dear Me.
Poems? Sheaves of them.
And scripts.
And musical works. Ustinov has' also
directed just about every creative form that
calls for an artistic traffic cop - stage plays,
operas, and some 90 films in all.
And of course he's acted - won Academy
Awards in fact, for his work in Spartacus and
Topkapi.
Mostly what Ustinov's been for every one of
his 80 years, is charming.
And he can be charming in six languages -
fluently, mind. He can also 'pass' in another
half-dozen tongues.
Oh, heck, let's face it - Ustinov could fake
his way through anything from Ancient Greek'
to Woodland Cree. The man's a devastatingly
funny mimic who's been imitating people since
he was a tiny child. His career started when his
parents invited Haille Selassie for a formal
Raymond
Canon
The
International
Scene
as a national language and red/white flags, but
one of the most famous is that of a young
sweetheart. Canada's is Anne of Green Gables
while the Swiss have Heidi. Both of their
homes are located in rather isolated sections of
the country and both have fame far beyond the
country's borders.
For your information Heidi, like Anne, is a
fictitious character. She comes from that part of
the country just south of Liechtenstein and near
the Austrian border.
Just as many tourists, including hordes of
Japanese, flock to P.E.I. to see where Ann
reportedly lived, an equal number of Heidi
followers wend their way to her alleged home
in Maienfeld, which is between Zurich and
Chur.
When I took my family to Switzerland for
the first time, they just had to see Heidiland.
After all, my children had heard the story when
they were young (they got the French version).
Now it is the turn of my granddaughter Leila
who starts working in Europe this September.
She is delighted to have Papa Ray take her to
Switzerland to show her not only Heidiland
and the William Tell museum at Buerglen but
also the famous library in St. Gall, the house
(not as famous) where I lived in that city and
where I went to school, not the mention the
spot where a building fell on me when I was on
my way to play hockey in Zurich. (Since I
survived, there is unfortunately no monument
to show her).
But come July 29, the Sunday nearest Aug.1,
the Swiss in southwestern Ontario will gather,
as many of them have in past years, to celebrate
the 710th birthday of their native country.
Once again the Menzi family, whose farm is
located between Brussels and Monkton and
dinner. The young Ustinov brought the house
down with a hilarious impersonation of the
rather priggish Ethiopian Emperor.
Ustinov was three at the time.
Someone once asked him how he pulled oft
his uncanny impression of the veddy, veddy
Upper Class toff, Sir Anthony Eden.
"I simply try to talk as if I had a cathedral in
my mouth" he said.
Ustinov was born with a silver samovar
spoon in his' mouth - his parents were White
Russians who moved in the loftiest of
European high society - but Peter spent more
time laughing at the Upper Crust than living in
it.
He was fascinated by 'blue blood' — but
only for its comic potential. "Laughter would
be bereaved if snobbery died" he once said.
Actually, I think it's his bon mots that I enjoy
more than his novels, plays or films. Ustinov
is Oscar Wilde without the barbs; Samuel
Johnson without the bluster.
Above all, he revered the therapeutic benefits
of the belly laugh.
Ustinov once described laughter as "the sun
that drives winter from the human face".
And he's still with us, still writing. Still
charming. Still warming the cockles of our
hearts. •
Shine on, Sir Pete.
who are excellent hosts, extend a warm
welcome for the celebration. There is a little bit
of everything from Switzerland, including
food, games and music, the latter of which is
one of my favourites.
It is a day I try hard not to miss and all
Swissophiles are welcome. Hope to see you
there!
Letter
THE EDITOR,
We appreciate you allowing us to use this
space to thank some very important people in
your readership area who so very willingly
helped create The Walkerton Heritage Water
Garden. Specifically I'd like to mention the
following people from the Blyth Communities
in Bloom committee: Bev Elliott, Nellie
Mason, Shirley Nicholson, Elaine Scrimgeour
and Matt Snell. •
If we perchance have neglected to mention
your name, accept our apologies. There have
been so many who have contributed that it has
been a challenge to keep up with all the names.
The.garden itself is truly a sight to behold; an
incredible work of art, formed by the
dedication, commitment and in some cases,
sheer muscle power, of what has become a
small army of volunteers and donators.
The committee members are truly
overwhelmed with the generosity of so many
people from Walkerton, mid-western Ontario
and beyond.
For those who visit the site, they will see that
the garden is still a work in progress. The
committee members continue to meet and plan,
and fundraising is still an -unfortunate
necessity. For those who may still wish to
donate, please send your donation c/o The
Walkerton Community Foundation, Box 1169,
Walkerton, ON NOG 2V0.
Tax receipts will be provided.
Sincerely,
JoAnn Todd and Don Moore, Co-Chairs
Walkerton Heritage Water Garden
Committee.
Don't wait 'til too late
received some sad news last week. A high /
school friend called to say that one of our
'old' chums had been killed in a car crash.
There were six of us who hung out together
in high school. Typical teens light di heart one
moment, plagued with angst the next, but
sharing a friendship that supported us and
formed us.
I think of this often and I know with a
certain prejudice. To paraphrase a quote
attributed to the Maharishi I realize we view
the past through golden glasses. In retrospect
things are often much better than what they
were in reality. However, when I think of Judy,
the girl she was, the friend she was, I am not
sure my memories are coloured by time.
Certainly exuberance is never in short supply
when one thinks of youth, but in our group,
Judy's spark burned just a little brighter.
When I first think of her, what I recall is her
giggle, a delightful bubble of sound, ladylike,
yet unrestrained. It was captivatingly genuine,
suited to her warm personality, her natural
beauty.
And she smiled and laughed a lot. My
recollections cannot conjure up an image of
her as anything other than upbeat. She always
seemed to manage to find the good, to enjoy
what was there for her and not expect any
more.
A co-worker, in the newspaper story telling
of her death, noted that Judy was liked by all.
It did not surprise me. As is typical of
adolescent girls, and maybe even adults, my
friends and I did our share of bickering. Yet, I
don't remember a time when Judy was the
object of my frustration. Her role, if memory
serves correctly, was more that of peacemaker.
Oh, certainly, she did have her moments, with
siblings, parents, others, but generally, Judy
just went along, not in life, but with life. She
took what it served and volleyed it ba...k, just
apparently loving the game.
Perhaps my memories are tinted by golden
lenses, but honestly I dor 't believe so. I know
tha. when I think of Judy, and the others for
that matter, they were dear 'o me at a time
when people need that type of bond. They
were an integral part of my past and to me that
is important.
Several years ago, the six of us decided it
was time to see each other all in one place at
the same time. The reunion was everything we
could have wanted. We laughed, talked, waxed
nostalgic and for a time were silly young girls
once again.
As is typical, we vowed to meet if not
annually then every few years or so. As is also
typical, we did not. While I have thought of
them regularly, while I have kept tabs on what
is happening with them through various
channels, there are only two I have seen with
any regularity. And now, I meet with them at
a place and time where none of us wants to be.
Had I stayed in better touch with Judy I
doubt my sorrow at the world's loss of this
vibrant woman would be less. But the sadness
I feel for not having maintained a connection
is certainly profound. Judy was a good person.
a fun person, the type of person with whom we
should all like to spend time. I had the good
fortune of knowing her, yet like so many
people do. let time and a busy life distance me.
What was yesterday may not be important to
everyone. We obviously must live in today, but
I don't believe that what is past is behind me.
These friends knew me when I was still taking
shape — and liked me anyway. I only hope we
don't wait for more sadness to bring us
together again.
Ustinov
can't get enough!
Celebrating the Swiss national holiday