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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2006-10-12, Page 5Letters 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. Submitsions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any fetter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate inforriWon. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and O‘IGISe. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2006. PAGE 5. Other Views I'm a raving coulrophobic i've always known there was something wrong with me but I didn't know there was a name for it. Well, there is — it's coulrophobia. Your obedient correspondent is — or at least has been — a raving coulrophobic. And don't risk a hernia hauling down the Oxford English — it means clown hatred. The guys that circuses routinely employ to provide comic relief always freaked me out as a kid 'way more than the lions, the pythons or the Bearded Lady of Borneo. To me, clowns were not amusing and harmless. They looked like eerie, alien bogeymen. I never understood how everybody else could laugh at them. I wanted them rounded up and shot. I guess I'm no longer a true coulrophobic. As an adult, being in the presence of a professional clown just makes me edgy and creeps me out. A certified coulrophobic would suffer a panic attack — maybe even a breakdown. Should that be surprising? We're talking about encounters with total strangers wearing ash-white faces, hideously exaggerated make- up, lightbulb noses, neon spaghetti fright wigs and shoes the size of skateboards. Is it a coincidence that one of the minor ogres of the 20th century, serial killer John Wayne Gacy, used to entertain the neighbourhood kiddies dressed up as a character he called Pogo the Clown? Lon Chaney, senior — a guy who spent a good part of his career scaring the beejeebers out of movie-goers — had little good to say about the clown profession. "There is nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight," said Mister Chaney. David Kaye would doubtless agree. "To a toddler, there's nothing funny about a clown —he's a monster," he says. David Kaye should knovV. His working name is Silly Billy. He is, yup, a professional working clown who specializes in entertaining at childrens' parties in New York City. But he's not your typical clown. No bulbous schnozz or Phyllis Diller cosmetics for Silly Billy. "I don't wear makeup or a fake nose," says Silly Bi er, Mister Kaye. "My jumbo-sized glasses are the only thing that makes me a clown and not just a guy who is badly dressed." Seems to work just fine. Silly Billy has lots of work and no reports of terrified audience members. But coulrophobia is not an ailment that's restricted to the younger set — as promoters for a rock festival in Britain found out recently. Organizers of an event called Bestival had rented a venue on the Isle of Wight and were McGuinty also recently boosted Wynne's profile by naming her education minister, perhaps partly because he expected Tory to run against her. Tory had strong support in the area when he ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2003, but this is a big deficit for him to overcome and he cannot feel comfortable he will win. But based on 2003 results, by no means the only guide to election prospects, Conservatives do not have much better chances running anywhere in Toronto, which shows the plight they were left in by their services-slashing govern- ments under premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. If Tory fails to win a seat, his party will have lost its engine. He has built the party around him, more moderate and relying on his likeable personality, and climbed closer to the Liberals in polls. But the party probably would face its third leadership race in five years and no-one in his caucus looks an obvious successor. Tory did not need to promise to run in Toronto and could have stayed in the Final Thought The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and _never persist in trying to set people right. — Hannah Whitall Smith looking for a gimmick to sell tickets. "I know!" yelped one organizer. "Let's have a• circus theme! Monkeys! Elephants! Lion tamers! And we'll give discounts to all ticket- holders who come dressed up in clown outfits!" Bad concept. The idea of listening to rock bands surrounded by a sea of strangers all dressed like Bozo was such a turn-off to so many people that the organizers had to abandon the idea and declare Bestival a Clown-Free- Zone. Sadly, some coulrophobics remain stricken even after they've swept clowns out of their life. Regina McCann is a 28-year-old New York state resident who works in -a funeral home. She can handle that part of her life. What she has trouble with are the nightmares that visit her regularly. She dreams that she's in her car, late at night, driving down a deserted street, being pursued by "a whole bunch of clowns on stilts of different heights." Sounds kind of goofy — if you've never experienced coulrophobia. For those of us who have, it's not goofy at all — it's chilling. Personally, I've never had dreams in which I'm pursued by clowns, but if I ever do, I know how I'll respond. When the clowns run me to ground and start to surround me, I'll be looking for one specific clown in the pack. And when I see him, he can expect no mercy. After all, I know a little kung fu. Yessir. I'm gonna go for the juggler. area riding, where the only question would be how big a majority he would get. Ridings also mostly like the increased stature of being represented by a party leader. The same riding earlier accepted Eves in a by-election, when he needed to get back in the legislature after a brief fling in private business, in which the Conservatives chose him leader and premier. Eves earlier had lived in and represented Parry Sound, but no-one called him a carpet- bagger. Eves also was prudent enough to hold on to the riding in the following general election and won there, although his party lost government. Tory also could have promised he would run in the Toronto area, where there are ridings, in Mississauga, for instance, the Conservatives lost only narrowly last time and have a much better chance of recapturing. Tory will not have difficulty disposing of the Liberal complaints he will run in a riding where he does not live — he can drive from his home to any part of it in 15 minutes. But he could breathe easier if he had not made an unnecessary promise. Say 'Cheese' The colours of fall casting vibrant hues against a sunny blue sky. A welcoming warmth blessing you like an autumn kiss. This past weekend was a time to give thanks and lovely weather made it even easier to think of the blessings that abound. Surrounded by loved ones, on a crystal clear day infuses one with a sense of calm and well-being. Life when you think of it, is moments strung together. While there are those we might wish to forget, there are as many, like those in a time of Thanksgiving, that are meant to be cherished forever. A young girl I knew understood that so many moments in a life are precious, and she never let one go by without capturing it on her camera. Her friends, her family, even herself, she photographed obsessively, chronicling even the most minute details. Nature was also a favourite subject and her pictures reminded us of the brilliant sunsets, the whimsical clouds or the smiling daisies that bring such beauty to our days. None of us ever really paid attention, not until she was gone. It was then we could truly see the gift she had left us. It's perhaps for that reason that I've noticed since then that so many people seem to be suddenly finding a passion for still photography. Maybe it's the novelty of the digital camera that has sparked the movement, but whatever the reason everyone seems to be taking pictures these days. You no longer need to worry if you forget your camera because it's almost a certainty that someone else w'll be preserving the occasion and will be willing to share it with you. That's a definite bonus tnese days too. Technology has made it possible for photographs to be easily shared. Posted on websites, or e-mailing the pictures taken today, can be enjoyed by many almost immediately. While I don't embrace this technical age with the same kind of enthusiasm many do, what it's done for informal photography is interesting. Everyone seems to have a camera and I can't help but smile to see so many people madly shooting away, creating a photo gallery of this face, that group and all the moments in between. I've been a fairly faithful picture taker, memorializing our family events over the years. And I have even been known to run and get the camera for seemingly inconsequential occurrences. But I hadn't always looked for the magic in the simplistic or thought about how even these things deserve to be preserved for posterity. Through my young friend's legacy I now know how important those little moments are in illustrating a full, rich life. The results of my happy snapping have outgrown any photo album and are stored in a photo box, somewhat up to the challenge of holding the ever- growing pictorial library. To the few folk remaining who haven't caught the photo bug, I'd encourage you to get a camera and start shooting. No value can be placed on our photos. A picture can show a personality. They are images of the past, and reminders of happy times. They will help you see the sun on a cloudy day, or take you to the beach in winter. And they will help you remember that smile that is lost. So, don't just count your blessings — get them to smile and say cheese — often. Tory handicapped by promise rogressive Conservative leader John Orangeville 1:10 Tory is being called a coward for refusing to run in the riding where he lives in next year's general election and he must be having second thoughts about an unusual promise he made. After being chosen leader and winning a by- election to get in the legislature in a partly- rural, normally safe Conservative seat based on Orangeville early last year, Toly said he would run in 2007 in Toronto, where he has lived all his life. The new leader made the promise because his party needs to win ridings in Toronto, where it has none, to win an election and he wanted to show he is confident it can win seats here, including one for himself. Tory lives in Toronto Centre-Rosedale riding, where Liberal George Smitherman won 52 per cent and his Conservative opponent only 22 per cent of the vote in 2003. Smitherman since has become a high profile health minister and strongman and recently deputy premier in the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty and he challenged and dared Tory to run there. The Conservative leader and Liberal tough guy would have provided the most closely watched riding contest of the election. But after much hesitating, Tory has opted to run in the neighboring Don Valley West riding where, he points out, he was born and lived for 48 years before moving closer to downtown. Smitherman has accused him of being chicken-hearted and later of lacking courage and later still of "running home to his parents' house" and it clearly is an issue he hopes to drag on. Tory is avoiding taking on Smitherman because he would be harder to beat, but has no easy path in Don Valley West, where Liberal Kathleen Wynne also won 52 per cent of the vote in 2003 and the Conservatives managed 38 per cent. f e e a a 0 Es zt n y tl tf 0 y 11 la 0 0 !,- ix :0 En ze Is Id