Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-08-02, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2000. PAGE 5. Other Views Slow down you move Slow down, you move too fast. The old folky duo Simon and Garfunkel sang that refrain in a song they recorded back in the early 1960s. We failed to take their advice. Today, nearly four decades later, our cars go faster, our airplanes go faster - hell, even our bicycles go faster. And of course, our food goes faster than ever. Who, in the 1960s would ever have dreamed that one day we’d be lining up to buy such things as IncrEdibles or McDonald's McSalad Shaker? IncrEdibles is actually a whole line of fast foods, but the showstopper product is ... well, it’s macaroni and cheese on a stick. It comes in a cardboard tube. Just pop it in the microwave for 60 seconds, peel off the cardboard and eat it like a Popsicle. The McSalad Shaker is designed to save food preparers from the exhausting and debilitating practice of actually having to go through the grueling process of tossing a salad by hand. No need with this baby. McSalad Shaker comes in a plastic cup, complete with a rounded top. Just pour on the salad dressing, cover the cup, give it a brisk flick of the wrist or two, and hey - dinner is served. A McDonald’s press release points out Travel tips to help you on your way The other day I was looking at a travel brochure of an island in the Caribbean. It does not matter what island; there are so many of them and, to be honest, they all use variations of the same brochure. You know the kind ... pictures of smiling locals in the background, just itching at the chance of satisfying your every wish. Likeminded travellers will occupy nearby rooms so that you will have plenty of congenial company. Prices are always "reasonable” and you have the impression that, if you only go there, you will come back with memories of a stay that will remain forever in your mind. They may well stay forever in your mind but, whether they are good or bad, is something that is left unsaid. I am not suggesting that all such brochures iie; only that they are what we call “the best case scenario”. If that is what you experience, you are indeed fortunate and should rightfully treasure the memories. On the other hand the reverse may be true. Maybe I learned to rough it in my student days but I know very well what it is like to sleep in stations and trains, or beside a haystack or even in a sheltered spot. I like to consider myself as one of the most seasoned of world travellers; this means that I have experienced just about everything and as a result nothing really surprises me anymore. I have not become cynical, just realistic. I still enjoy travelling (just ask my wife) and any trip is for me an adventure to be experienced and hopefully enjoyed. Let me share a few thoughts with you about the nature of travelling that may help you embark on your next one. First of all, accept right from the beginning that many things are done differently than in Canada and it does not mean, because they are different, that they are not as good. I can cite one small example. Europeans are more likely to carry umbrellas than are Canadians but you Arthur Black helpfully that McSalad Shaker “fits neatly into your car cup holder.” Like I want to meet a guy who’s driving towards me on the highway with a cell phone in one hand and a salad fork in the other. The movement towards ever-faster fast food is nowhere more rampant than on the shelves of your local bookstore. Martha Stewart has a book out called Quick Cook. You will also find such titles as New Food Fast', Life's On Fire: Cooking for the Rushed’, and Nice Timing: Gourmet Meals in Minutes. What’s with the obsession for speedeating? John Stanton, professor of food marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, says it's the inevitable price we pay for the hectic lives we lead. “People want to eat the right things,” says Stanton, “but when it comes to trading health for time, time wins.” Robert Berman agrees - enthusiastically. Raymond Canon The International Scene should not dismiss this as quaint; there is a good reason and that is they are more prone to walking and experiencing sudden showers and less likely to want to put up with getting wet. Most people honestly cannot tell the difference between Americans and Canadians; we sound pretty much like somebody south of the border. Foreign vendors often don’t hesitate to charge Americans a higher price, partly because our neighbours are now known as the most compatible of tourists. We even have an expression we use in French when we feel we are being overcharged. “Mais monsieur, je ne suis pas Americain.” Don’t get upset when you get taken for an American; just make allowances for it. Accept that some days Murphy’s law will prevail. (If things can go wrong, they will). I have had flights cancelled or delayed, luggage lost (temporarily, thank goodness) reservations misplaced, bad directions given, and the like. You name it! I seldom lose my cool. If possible I try to solve the problem on the spot. I always have reading material to pass the 1 ■ ■ - - • | Final Thought If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future. - Sir Winston Spencer Churchill too fast He’s the guy who invented Mac’nCheese on a Stick. He says: “People are constantly pressed for time these days. When I was growing up in the '50s, my mom made breakfast every day and the family sat down for dinner every night. It’s a very different pace we live today. Breakfast is pretty much gone, as far as sitting down and eating. Lunch is on the way out, and dinner is under attack.” Maybe. But not for everybody. There’s a counter-insurgency movement that started in Pans about 10 years ago that is slowly, quietly making its way around the globe. It is called, oh, delicious irony of ironies, Slow Food. Delegates from 15 nations (including Canada) signed the Slow Food Manifesto. Some of the tenets they endorse: We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits and pervades the privacy of our homes. Our defense begins at the table with Slow Food. Let us rediscover the flavours and savours and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food. What can a panting, rat-racing-also-ran say to that but, Amen, brother. And Beulah, peel me a grape. But slowly. time or 1 find something interesting to do. Humans being human, mistakes will be made, but in the vast majority of times, anything you do or say will not change the situation to any great degree, if at all. Take a few common sense precautions like get to airports in plenty of time, confirm your reservations, carry your money in a money belt, make sure you understand directions and don’t be afraid to ask them. Learn a few important expressions of the language if you do not speak it. Have a day’s supply of cash on hand when you arrive to see you through to the first bank. If you carry travellers’ cheques, keep a list of the numbers in a separate place. By now you get the idea and I am sure that you can add a few items to the above list. Letters THE EDITOR, Our national health care system is one of the cornerstones of Canadian society. It exemplifies our commitment to equality, healthy citizenry, and common concern for one another. In recent years, rural communities have faced unique challenges to their access to health care services. They have brought their concerns forward through the Rural Dialogue initiative, the National Rural Conference, and through workshops and in a number of town hall meetings with their Members of Parliament. Access to primary health care, access to specialists, the availability of home care, and the state of rural infrastructure top the list of priorities for rural Canadians. Members of Parliament representing rural Canadians have heard these concerns loud and clear. In response, they drafted recommen­ dations which they presented to the Minister of Health, Allan Rock, in a report entitled, “Development of a National Rural Health Strategy ” Recommendations include Continued on page 6 Smile darn ya, smile My kids and I have been playing a new game lately. It has no name, and the rules are simple. Essentially all that’s expected of you is to try and at least look like you're happy to be here. It is played anytime you are out in public alone, with a friend or family. Though it's not generally necessary to play it when you are in entertaining surroundings such as a dance, I suppose even there we could find some who would benefit from giving it a try. The game was inspired unwittingly by a friend of mine last year, while enjoying a holiday excursion together. Sitting on a patio taking in some libations and the atmosphere, we began, after a good deal of laughs, to relax a bit and indulge in some people watching. Suddenly, she pointed out how absolutely miserable most people in general appeared to be. Here we were in picturesque surroundings, carefree and in good company, assuming that most others felt the same. Yet, I had to agree, of the folks milling around and about us, the majority bore a countenance that to be generous, would be best described as woebegone. Recalling as a youngster how my naturally down-turned mouth prompted perpetual admonishments of "Smile", or "Stop being so surly", I was at first comforted to see so many compadres. I knew they weren't really miserable, they only looked it. However, after taking this in for several minutes it was, to say the least, rather depressing. Having said to my earlier detractors in my defense that smiling all the time would make one look a little odd, I was forced by this sea of facial melancholy to admit that when you are surrounded by an aura, better a goocy one than a gloomy one. Then on a recent outing with my daughter, I noted the same thing. It would seem that looking happy only happens when we have a reason. It can't just be our general appearance. People whirling about in a mall, sitting on a beach, or dining in a fine establishment, often wear an expression which I would hope does not befit the mood. Quite frankly, it is as if when simply going through the steps of existing we wear, rather than the joys of that existence, its woes. Thus knowing that my own dipped-at-the- comer mouth probably looks much the same, I decided that day with my daughter that I for one was going to let my good time show. And so I smiled, smiled until it hurt. Ultimately, so did my daughter who was inevitably caught up in my foolish, though worthy, cause. Since then the game has continued whenever we travel where others congregate. We smile like loons walking silently side by side or waiting at a table while another fetches refreshment. So far no one has had us locked away. But what I have noticed is that it's about a lot more than a smile. As I think grin, other things seem to be affected. Suddenly, there is a spring in the step, a twinkle in the eyes, a lightness in the heart that makes me realize how happy I am to be here. This week, give my game a try and smile, dam ya, smile.