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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2002-10-30, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2002. PAGE 5. Other Views N. act of kindness, no matter, how small, is ever wasted. A Greek chap by the name of Aesop scratched that observation down on a clay tablet about 25 centuries ago. It is a simple gem, as verities go. Self-evident. I've never heard — can't imagine — anyone disputing it. And I don't know anyone, with the possible exception of the Dalai. Llama, who even pretends to live by it. Well, him and the Kindness Crew. The Kindness Crew is Val Litwin, Chris -Bratseth, Eric Hanson and Brad Stokes — four 20-something Victoria lads who are currently crossing the country in a psychedelic motor home committing random acts of kindness wherever they park. What sort of acts? Oh, they've showed 'up at SPCA kennels offering to wash and exercise the animals. They've made sandwiches and handed them out to work crews on construction sites. They've treated._ homeless people to, hot meals, done the shopping for shut-ins, entertained patients at a kids' hospital, fixed flats, weeded gardens; swept city streets, picked up _hitchhikers, driven old-age pensioners to the bank and handed out free hugs to grumpy bus passengers. And the fee is always the same: Nada. Nil. Zilch. I met these guys in Vancouver 'way back last spring when they were merely talking about their cross-Canada odyssey. Cynical observer that I am, I tried to figure out their 'angle'. Here were four healthy-looking white kids who looked like they could be -Modeling 0 ntario's Progressive Conservative government has a lot of bodies it would like to keep buried, but they keep getting dug up and embarrassing it. The Tories have been hurt repeatedly by a' freedom of information law that enables inquisitive outsiders to apply (for) and obtain information about many government actions. The law was introduced ironically and much against their own wishes by the Tories nearly two decades ago and not used much in its early years, but suddenly has become a secret weapon for opposition parties and news media. Among many examples, the Liberals found through requests under FOI that Cam Jackson, then a minister, spent taxpayers' money so lavishly on hotels and fine dining Premier Ernie Eves felt compelled to fire him. Another Liberal request through FOI showed a second minister, Chris Stockwell, and his staff ran up bar bills that were not permitted and a discomfited Eves had to order them to repay taxpayers. A newspaper found, through FOI, a third minister, John Baird, and his staff spent too liberally in restaurants and Eves rebuked them. Yet another request through FOI discovered Rob Sampson, a fourth Tory minister who had been fairly tight in spending taxpayers' money on the needy, was more generous in dining at the best hotels. Requests through FOI also have raised suspicion Eves may have had his staff put some of his restaurant bills on their tabs so he would look more frugal, but the investigation into that is still going on. A newspaper's request through FOI showed helOre Mike Harris, Eves's predecessor as premier; stepped down earlier this year, senior civil servants exchanged memos when the province was approving a controversial, multi- Million-dollar waterfront development sought by a close friend, Peter Minogue. The memos noted factors that are not college fashions for the Eaton's Catalog. Instead they were planning to travel' from sea to sea doing good deeds, like superannuated boy scouts. Why? They were not Mormons or Scientologists or Jehovah's Witnesses or even Catholics. They are not spoiled rich kids working on a hi-tech Ph.D. thesis. I reckoned they were good for two weeks of hard travelling before they'd limp back to Victoria and forget the whole thing. I was wrong. As I write, they are close to half-way across the country, moving out of Regina and on to Winnipeg. They've still got Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and Newfoundland to go. They plan to wrap up their tour in, fittingly enough, one of Canada's friendliest cities — St. John's — on Nov. 28. Adventures? They've had a lifetime's worth already, from blowing minds in downtown Vancouver as they Windexed office building windows and swept the streets with whisks and dustpans, to riding wild horses in Merrit, BC. That's where a cowboy said "You wanna perform an act of kindness, pardner? Great.. Whyncha bust this bronco for me?" And they did. supposed to be taken into account, such as Minogue was 'a personal friend of the premier' and had been raising his application `at political levels.' Another revelation through FOI was that senior officials at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, who judge what products their stores should sell, had accepted free trips from suppliers which, while saving taxpayers money, might be construed as influencing their assessments. A report the Tories commissioned and kept secret for a year, finally obtained through FOI, predicted electricity prices would rise generally after they opened the market to competition and soar dramatically during periods of peak demand. Both are proving accurate so far and the Tories look as if they ignored good advice. A request through FOI has shown pharmaceutical drugs that may endanger people have been found in large quantities in rivers and lakes near sewage plants, one more worry for a government that has to be concerned particularly after seven people died from drinking contaminated water' at Walkerton. The Tories went to court trying to keep secret studies they made on the impact if Quebec separated and argued making them public would threaten national unity and Ontario's economy. But the information has been released under FOI and the nation and province are still Well. At least they didn't get trampled. And already they've noticed a curious thing on what they are calling the Extreme Kindness Tour. It's becoming apparent that random acts of kindness are contagious. People along the way keep showing up at their motorhome with urns of coffee and baked goodies for them. They get 'adopted' by families who keep taking them home for dinner. Four guys who set out to be kitid to others are drowning in kindnesses returned to them. If you check their , website (www.extremekindness.com ) you'll note that they write more about being grateful for kindness received than they do about kindness dispensed. • Even hard-headed businessmen have caught the virus. The Extreme Kindness Tour has picked up corporate sponsors ranging from a hotel.chain to a footwear manufacturer. Still, you have to wonder about these guys. What would possess four normal Canadian kids to spend three months of their lives doing menial chores for strangers? It's no big, mystery to the Kindness Crew. They have a simple mantra: inspiration, motivation, stimulation, kind-to-the-nation. Could be worse. They, could' be spending their 20s in a fog of keg parties, fast cars, smoky poolrooms and dumb television like, er, someone I once knew. The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote "What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?" Good question. Another good question: Why a Random Acts of Kindness Tour? - Why not? holding together as before. The Tories also have been hurt also because the environmental commissioner they appointed, Gordon Miller, reported he has had to go through: FOI to obtain information because the environment ministry was unhelpful. The Tories, wisely for themselves as it turned out, had ignored calls for FOI legislation since the early 19.70s, when the opposition parties began demanding it. until premier William Davis was forced to set up a royal commission into it after he lost his majority in 1975. Even after that commission recommended FOI, the Tories dragged their heels, saying they were concerned individuals' privacy might be violated and, besides, ministers could be relied on to provide the public with the information it needed. The Tories eventually abandoned their rearguard'action in 1984 and introduced a FOI law that was more restrictive in handing out information than now, but it is something they must wish they could have kept on a back shelf forever. Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our gudeline. The Citizen reserves the right to -efuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inac -;urate information. As well, letters can oriy be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise. Bonnie Gropp The short of it Really for little ones 4 4 is Halloween, the lamp is lit. And round the fire, we children sit. A'telling ghost- tales,, bit by bit. 'Til cater Jane says 'Hush'. What's that a'peeping 'round the bedroom door? What's that a'creeping cross the kitchen floor? What's that a'squeekin' like , its throat is sore? It's a goblin!" With apologies to the writer, this is the way I remember the above song from one of our music class books dating back to the good old early 1960s. Age-wise I was still in single digits and Halloween was a spooky, thrilling, much anticipated occasion of 'chills, .fun and sugar .rushes. • , Prior to this time, however, I remember being just a tad fearful of Halloween. I have a • vague recollection of being in a car with my grandmother and, seeing some bigger kids in terrifying costumes, hiding in terror from the ghostly, ghastly apparitions. Sobbing, I refused to venture out. Such fears didn't last long though and by the time I had begun kindergarten I was on my way to becoming a seasoned trick-or-treater. In those years as well I can remember parading into the senior classrooms at our school, wondering why they smiled, oohed and aahed. To my five-year-old mind there was nothing sweet abotit us. Why, we were frightful looking. Then you come to the age when you notice grownups no longer gush over you in costume. You are 11, 12, 13, and with a smile the candy is handed over. Friendly, they are but less than enchanted by your cosmetic makeover. It truth be told it is now that you should recognize your Halloween days, as you once knew them, are over. I was i nasty old mom. The cut-off at our home for going out on Halloween was public school. All good things must come to an end and as far as I was concerned high school pot an end to trick-or,tteating. Dress up if you like, my kids were told, but you can hand out candy at the door. Actually, I'm fibbing a bit. I believe my youngest two did venture out for Halloween in their first year of high school. And never mentioned it again. It's not that I'm an old humbug really. I just think Halloween is for little folk. People might argue with me that there's no harm in' older kids going out for'Halloween. After all, at any age, it's all in good fun. But if memory serves correctly when kids get older the tricks become more fun than the 'treats. We all know the damage that has been done in towns during Halloween and I'm pretty sure it's not caused by the under-10 or over-25 groups. Also, while it's cute to see those sweet little ones all dressed up. there's nothing charming about a big kid with a pillow case crammed full of candy, who donned a ball cap and called it a costume. More importantly, however, the big kids can scare the heck out of little ones..It's one thing to see a two-foot devil coining up the street towards you when you're a toddler. It's quite another to see a group of teens, raucous and intimidating. Obviously just because they're teens doesn't mean they're all troublemakers. Sometimes it just takes awhile to admit something isn't as fun as it used to be. Older kids should have a different opportunity, perhaps a community party that begins after most of the little ones go home. . , I mean even I like dressing up. Warnin kindness ahead! Information law hurts Tories a 1 Inijc tralgt in L . Cl I e min u 1.!ri#,i 1; r.J ) ~;a71 sir f !