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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2006. PAGE 5.
Other Views
The dark side of being 'known'
So I deliver this after dinner speech at a
teachers' convention in Winnipeg and it
goes very well.
They all laugh in mostly the right places and
applaud warmly when I'm done. Nobody
throws buns or offers to ride me out of town on
a rail.
After my speech a pleasant-looking woman
approaches and says: "Hello, I'm (name
withheld) from Kenora. I know how you feel
about my town, but that's okay — no hard
feelings."
Huh?
I've been to Kenora, Ontario a few times. I
like it well enough, but have no overpowering
feelings about the place. Nothing spectacular
— good or bad — ever happened to me in
Kenora.
So I ask the woman what she means.
"Don't apologize," she says. "I know that
you used to work at the Royal Bank in Kenora.
I know you wrote about the town and called it
a hell-hole, but that's okay."
Double huh?
I have never worked in Kenora. I have never
worked in a bank. But the more I tried to
convince the woman the huffier she got.
"There's no point in lying about it,"
she told me. "Everybody knows what you
wrote."
Except I didn't. As I said; I don't have any
history with Kenora and anyway I wouldn't be
stupid enough to publicly disc a town where I
might find myself looking for a motel room
some ,evening.
Doesn't matter. Nameless lady — and who
knows how many other Kenora-ites — is totally
convinced I gave the town a poison-pen
review.
Ontario's most pugnacious politician
has pummeled his way to deputy
premier, but don't place any bets he is
the next premier.
Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty promoted
Health Minister George Smitherman, who
treats all opposition questions about
government policies as personal insults. Over
half-a-dozen aspirants he acknowledged are
thirsting to replace him when he retires.
But while-the title suggests it is a stepping-
stone to the top job, deputy premiers have a
poor record of becoming premier and only one
out of the past seven made it.
Premiers also have appointed deputy
premiers for a variety of reasons and not
necessarily because they considered them best
equipped to lead their parties one day.
Progressive Conservative premier William
Davis named the first in the 1970s to save his
own job.
Davis had won only minority governments
in two successive elections and some in his
party were grumbling he would never regain a
majority and suggesting he should be replaced
by the ambitious, younger treasurer, Darcy
McKeough.
Davis took momentum out of the
insurrection by saying he was staying and, as a
signal, appointing another minister, Bob
Welch, who had lost his leadership ambitions,
as his deputy premier and nominal second-in-
command.
McKeough took the hint and left for a surer
career in business.
Frank Miller, who briefly succeeded Davis,
named Bette Stephenson, a long-time minister
and former president of the Canadian Medical
Association, as deputy premier. He was trying
to show his party cared about women and to
recognize her special abilities.
Stephenson had not run to succeed Davis,
but compared well with the men who did.
Ah, well. I'm strictly a guppy in the
celebrity fish bowl but I've come up against
the dark side of being 'known' more than
once. People phoning me up at 11:30 at night
wanting to know who that whacky woman I
interviewed on the morning was radio show.
Drunks buttonholing me in a restaurant to
ask me if I can put them in touch with Don
Cherry.
Happens to me maybe once a month.
I can't imagine what life must be like for
mega-celebrities like Margaret Atwood or
Leonard Cohen.
Or Robin Williams.
Actually, I don't have to imagine what the
kooky side of stardom is like for Robin
Williams — he laid it out to a reporter in
Beverly Hills a few weeks back. He told of
being accosted at a press conference by a
woman he'd never met.
"Do you remember me?" she asked.
"No," said Williams truthfully.
"We met in Oklahoma," said the woman.
"Really?" said Williams.
"I worked for you for six months," said the
woman.
"No, you didn't," said Williams. "I know
who's worked for me, and there haven't been
that many. Only two or three."
"Yes I did!" the woman insisted. As security
Some Conservatives were disappointed their
party did not appear ready even to consider a
woman leader and it still has not chosen one.
Liberal premier David Peterson appointed
Bob Nixon as deputy premier in recognition
he had led their party in three elections in lean
years in opposition and was admired for it. But
Nixon was older and had given up ambitions
to be premier.
New Democrat premier Bob Rae made
Floyd Laughren deputy-premier. He was
respected and steady, but older than Rae and
never likely to succeed him.
Conservative premier Mike Harris appointed
Ernie Eves, a close friend and strong
performer in the legislature, as deputy premier,
but Eves left for private business and Harris
replaced him with Jim Flaherty, who shared
his ultra-right views.
When Harris retired, Eves returned and won
a race for leader and premier, while Flaherty
lost and eventually switched to federal politics
and became Stephen Harper's finance
minister.
Eves made Elizabeth Witmer his deputy
premier, mainly because she supported him
after being forced out of their race for leader
and premier. She is now a deputy leader in
opposition — all of which makes Eves the
only deputy premier to go on to be premier.
McGuinty had resisted appointing a deputy
for three years and it does not seem a
coincidence he has named one when an
people moved in to escort the lady away,
Williams recalls her yelling, "It was platonic!"
We think celebrities lead magical lives of
privilege and splendour. Freebie wardrobes.
The best seats in the best eateries. Laid-on
limos. Wall-to-wall adoration.
But there's a price. Kenneth Tynan, the
English critic, wrote of an incident in a
London restaurant years ago.
' He was having dinner with the actor Richard
Burton when a fan approached their table. His
name was Walter, the fan explained. He was
dining with some lads from his brokerage
firm. It would mean so much to him and his
career if Mister Burton would just come over
to the table and say something like 'Walter!
How good to see you!"
Wearily, Burton agreed to do it. A few
minutes later, Burton dutifully approached
Walter's table and delivered his greetings.
Walter looked up and drawled, "You again,
Burton! For God's sake stop being a bore and
leave me alone!"
Uproarious laughs from the table of
stockbrokers. Tynan wrote of the indescribable
look of sadness in Richard Burton's eyes.
Fame is not all roses and champagne. Dini
Petty, a media star who made her name riding
in a pink helicopter delivering traffic reports,
told a magazine writer: "I think if I had to do
it all over again I'd rather just be rich. I'don't
think that fame is worth a tinker's damn. It's
very intrusive and the more you have the more
intrusive it is."
Singer/songwriter Jane Siberry said it best.
She sang, "I'd probably be famous now if I
wasn't such a great waitress."
Of course that was before she became -a
celebrity.
election is less than a year away.
One advantage is with an official stand-in at
the legislature, he will have more freedom to
travel drumming up votes. Opposition parties
complain when a premier is away often and
unable 'to answer questions.
McGuinty chose Smitherman after months
of testing senior ministers, including Greg
Sorbara in finance, Dwight Duncan in energy,
Gerry Phillips in government services, Leona
Dombrowsky in agriculture and Smitherman,
who took turns standing in for him in the
legislature. •
McGuinty may have felt some other
ministers had too much on their plates.
None failed dismally, but Smitherman was
particularly informed and aggressive in
defending Liberal policies and recalling
weaknesses of Conservative governments
under Harris and Eves.
McGuinty also does not relish
confrontations and will deploy Smitherman to
fight his opponents in the alley while he tries
to appear on a higher road above the fray.
This creates another obstacle for
Smitherman, because a reputation as first and
foremost a hatchet-man is not much help for
someone who wants to be premier.
The little warrior
/is as if the dark, gloomy Ain that
descended brought out the nasty in
people.
Complaints, grievances and insults piled up
like autumn leaves over the course of last
week. So many were talking about the fact that
every step taken was considered off track. But
trying it any other way would anger the rest.
Yet, none of that really mattered, because
last week there was only one thing to put any
value on — the challenging, and all-too-brief
life of little Ian Van der Meer.
Ian's mom, Patty, contacted me a few
months ago about telling her little guy's story
in the paper to help .people understand. Now
everyone loves to read about a hero so I was
obviously interested.
And there was no doubt that at the tender
age of two, Ian had already attained the status
of hero. One definition of the word is a person
who has- demonstrated courage and nobility.
This little boy faced greater physical adversity
than many do in a lifetime. Severe epileptic
seizures put stress on his tiny body several
times a week. It had to have been exhausting,
but when I met him, he had an endearing
curiosity and surprising bundles of energy.
He underwent surgery in the week before his
death with seemingly quiet resolve, though he
did by this point look so weary.
His grandma called him a warrior, and he
had proved it so many times.
While one can't help but feel sorry for Ian,
you also can't overlook that there were many
blessings in his short life: Tan enjoyed the
abundant love of family, parents who fought
the fight with him over and over again, and
everyone from grandparents on down, there to
support them.
Watching your child suffer is an exhausting
exercise and there are certainly those not up to
the challenge. Ian's family, however, was there
for him. He did not have to fight this fight
alone. Until his final goodbye he could count
on their care.
Ian had also made some special friends. The
members of the Brussels Fire Department
tended to him time and time again with heart
and expertise. They too were there to help him
fight, while extending compassion and support
to Ian's family. It is never easy to deal with an
emergency, but when that situation revolves
around the life of a little one, from a family
you know, staying professional can be
difficult. They should be applauded for the
care and comfort they provided.
Personally, I have to thank the Van der
Meers for letting me get to know their warrior
a little bit. The day of my visit I saw a normal
toddler, somewhat quiet perhaps, but on the
go. He may have been too young to understand
what was happening to him, but he appeared to
be coping with an admirable grace. There are
adults who could learn from him. -
As he had faced such adversity almost
virtually from the beginning of life, I
wondered what kind of person Ian might
become. And hearing the news that he just
couldn't fight any longer, I was so sorry that
now we'd never know.
Ian Alexander Van der Meer, you were quite
a little boy. You affected a lot of people, many
of whom were in turn there for you. May your
life be a reminder to all of what really does
matter in this world — love, family, support,
compassion and courage.
Deputy not certain to be premier