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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1988-08-10, Page 4a • Page 4 Times -Advocate, August 10, 1988 1 Imes t stahhshed 1 H' t 1d%or ale 1Na610hed 1881 Amalgamated 1924 BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Beat the heat. That's easier said than done. Most residents of Ontario have been trying a variety of ways to get relief from. the unusual hot weather and high humidity, but for some those attempts have turned into tragedy. We wrote an editorial early in the sum- mer about the dangers existing on Lake Huron for those using • boats, but didn't mention swimmers. Within a couple of days in recent weeks, four people lost their lives while trying to beat the heat on air mattresses on Lake Iluron and not too far from shore. These tragedies at Port I31ake and Port Elgin point out the dangers which can be dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Eteter, Ontario, NOM ISO Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 319-235•1331 • ROSS NAI_ CH Iddon eN A CCNA II' BE(hIT1 Publisher A Ad'.erlising %tanager NARR1 1)1 1 RIPS DON SMITH ( ompo'hon %tanager Butirne.. %tanager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 Practice water safety encountered in any of the Great Lakes and the depth of the water doesn't really make much difference. At least two of the recent victims were non -swimmers. Everyone not able to swim regardless of age should wear life- saving preservers or equipment of some kind when entering the water. An ounce of precaution is not only worth a pound of cure, but could and likely will save a life and that life could be yours. Practice extreme caution when using our Great Lakes, be it as a swimmer or boater. The water may appear to be calm, but it can be dangerous. A life can be snuffed out in seconds. It's better to be safe than sorry. Filo-what? --I'm-back. You probably didn't -- notice notice I was gone. I just returned from a vacation in England. How is the weather in England you may ask? "Seasonal," said thc BBC weatherman with a straight face, "rainy and dull." I might add I enjoyed every drop of rain and cvcry degree below 30. But I'm glad ' ) he back. I might even sexist remark by commenting that Canadian girls arc still the best looking. Southern England has changed a lot since I lived there. Prosperity is the appropriate word. Housing prices have skyrocketed, the 'English face car -sticker prices nearly double those in Canada, but there's still plenty of money to go round. Consider thai you can order your Ford Sierra with a genuine Cosworth engine. Unlike North America where success is applauded and con- gratulated, it has always been resented in -England, f!r.':;-:,t.;-:.14,,,.317Falyp,r4i.rwri.,,gra fiti in_. an English churchyard reads "cat the rich". But the pursuit of success is stronger in England than ever tx fore. Almost immediately after ar- riving in England, I' began to notice a certain word kept crop- ping up in advertising, on the television, and in conversations. "Yes, the typical English yup- pic works in London, owlls a house in Colchester, carries a Fil- ofax, and has two Escorts in the driveway, " an attractive girl in a pub told mc. Hold that thought... by Adrian Harte "Pito-what?" I thought. "Ask Jane," said my cousin Michael His wife qualifies as a yuppie: she spends four hours in trains cvcry day commuting to London. Jane also has a Filo- fax. I imagined an electronic device with sonic sort of digital display: a cross between a filing cabinet and a fax machine. Jane explained a Filofax is a much simpler concept, but with far-reaching implications. Not only is Filofax a ncw yup- pie buzzword, it is a time man- agement system, a status symbol Cor importantpcople%a Triumph of marketing skills, and a whole i ncw way of life. blc, but Filofax has become the well-known generic term. Keep in mind the English still like to Hoover their rugs. Replacement cards arc readily available to customize the Filofax to your lifestyle. The Filolax is everything but cheap. With luxu- rious leather covers they can cost well over a hundred pounds. " Should a yuppie lose a Filofax, suicide is not out of the question. The loss of business and person- al information would make it very difficult to continue living a normal life. It occurred to me that I have a program on my computer which can be customized to store all the same information as a Filofax, but I can't carry it home, in my car; or to lunch. The Filofax seems to make sense. Of course, there's some great marketing going on hcrc. This brand-name is not only associat- ed with being organized, it is a badge of success. Before I left England, my cous- ins presented me with a brand- new shiny Filofax. I have to ad- mit, it's pretty intimidating, but Filofax is a brand-namc for a small binder containing a calen- dar, a diary, addresses, a note pad, financial records, a daily planner, maps, a pcn and a ruler. There arc pockets to insert paper- work, bills, credit. cards and whatever else is truly important. There arc other brands availa- • 'm willing to give it a try. Will the Filofax catch on here? Well, this is a different culture. We resent taking our work home with us, and I get upset if I spend more than two minutes driving to work. But then again, if some corporation is willing to make the word Filofax part of the yuppie vocabulary, then we will wonder how we cv 'r did without it. Letters to the Editor Dear Editor. In the article "To hack brief on Sunday shopping" (Times Advo- cate, August 3), Andy Brandt, inter- im PC leader, claims that Bill 113 will lead to Sunday shopping through the hack door because of the "domino effect". However, both experience and common sense indicate that each municipality will make its own de- cision relating to Sunday shopping based on local values and needs and not be stampeded into following the lead of the next door municipality as Mr. Brandt suggests. Hurorr•sounty is already a good example of how each r• s can make its own decision. Bayfield allows Sunday shopping all year long. Goderich has' recently passed a bylaw allowing Sunday opening only during certain sum- mer months. And Blyth has re- stricted openings to certain busi- nesses under thc "tourism cxemntion" The proposed legislation allows municipalities to make their own rules regarding holiday shopping, according to their own values and needs. Yet it docs not force municipali- ties to make those rules. Each mu- nicipality is free to simply abide by the provincial legislation, which more strictly controls Sunday and holiday retail operations. I was pleased to note that Exeter Council has sent a brief to the a11= party committee of the legislature studying the issue and that council is expected to be represented at the committee hearings in London later Eh. The hearings will allow all par- ties the opportunity to make their views known to the committee, , which will be reporting to the leg- islature on this matter. Sincerely yours t Jack Riddell MPP Huron, Minister of Agriculture & Food Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by I.W. Eedy Publications Limited Blame the weather This week's column will be a combination of a lot of little items, mainly because of the weather. The fellow in charge of giving us our climatical changes can be blamed for a lot of things. Only this year there are very little changes. It's like Kingfish on the old Amos and Andy show used to say, "If it ain't one thing it's the sane thing." That sure describes our 1988 summer weather. Hot and dry. The one condition that we will fall back on and blame the heat and humidity is lack of concen- tration and loss of memory. In last week's issue we took a picture of the retirement of Jim Freeman as Hydro manager in Lucan. When listing the names of all of the fellow employees of Freeman's who were in thc back of the truck which they very tastefully decorated we forgot one of the fellows whom we have known for a long tim.c. The name we missed at the left of the picture was Randy Kraul who has taken over as the new manager of Lucan Hydro. We have known Randy for a long time through his fine hockey cf- forts with minor teams in Lucan and later the Exeter Mohawks, so it wasn't a case of not knowing who he was. From the ;editor's disk by El Ross Haugh The picture doesn't show a number of things that Freeman had to contend with when he emerged from a coffee break. The steering wheel was covered with grease and one of the back wheels was jacked up. While on this subject we would like to pay tribute to Jim Freeman for his 22 years of dedication to Lucan Hydro. In addition his contributions to the community in many other ways have been sub- stantial. He has been a member of the Lucan Irish junior hockey executive for almost as long as we can remember. The choice of Randy Kraul to carry on the Hydro job was a very good one. We know he will be a credit to his position, but also contribute in many ways for the betterment of the village of Lucan. * * * * We heard an interesting news report this weekregardinga deci- sion made by the city of Boston to feed temporary prisoners in their jails. For more than 20 years, the city has been getting food for those recently apprehended and kept in holding cells from a near- by diner. Now the city has signed a con- tract with McDonald's hamburger chain to supply anything on the menu except french fries. In this instance one can't say "keep your eyes on the fries 1t probably won't be long until one of the prisoners orders, "Two hamburgers to go". * * * * Back to the weather again. The rain that has fallen in this arca in the past few weeks has been very choosy of a nearby farmcr com- bining grain and finding the ma- chine was clogging up. h had rained at one end of the field and not the other. Table manners You're all familiar with feeding time at the zoo. Long before the attendants arrive with their carts full of dead fish and other goodies the animals scream and yell and jump around in anticipation. And when the delicious morsels are thrown in front of them, the beasties fight and scrap and can't wait to fill their bellies. At our house, dinner isn't quite' like that. At our house, the beasties have to be begged, cajoled and bribed to come to the table. No matter how tastefully the dead fish have been prepared and served by the attendants, the beasties arc seldom hungry. Except for dessert, but that's another column. We start our meals with saying grace, but sometimes I wonder whether that is appropriate in view of what follows. "Duncan, will you ask the blessing, please?" "I don't feel like it today, let Stephanie do it". I should have removed him from the table right there and then. Stephanie recites grace so fast that neither God nor anyone else could possibly understand a word of it. In frustration, Elizabeth asks the blessing, and the feast begins. "1 hate ham," Duncan announces in spite of the fact that he has been told 9,999 times to say "I don't care for -it". "Do I have to eat potatoes?" asks Alexander, who until 'tow has been the least obnoxious. "You don't have to eat anything, but don't expect dessert". Stephanie dislikes tomatoes (except in the form of ketchup), Alexander is urned off by vegetables, and Duncan says that all meat makes him puke. "Alexander,stop reaching across , the table. First of all, your sleeve gets into thc gravy, secondly it's bad manners". "Stephanie, stop tilting the chair. Duncan, keep your fork away from Alexander's eyes. Alexander, use your napkin instead of your pants ..." i remember when Alexander was six months old, Elizabeth PETER'S POINT • sleeves, slurp, belch, interrupt each other and their parents in conversation, go to the bathroom during meals and forget to come back. If they do come back, they forget to wash their hands. 'They bring toys to the table and fiddle with them. They speak with thcir mouths full. They kick each other under the table. They do another --- ;-•-tixrezlty or thirty annoying things, some of them too revolting to report . in a polite communit) newspaper such as this one. started to let him cat some food by himself. Shc,gave him a spoon with which he pounded and splashed whatever mush he was being served at the time. i asked Elizabeth why she was allowing him to make such a mess. 1t seemed a lot easier and cleaner to feed the little guy. "it's the only way he'll learn to eat properly. if he is fcd all the time, hr'tl rc% c- devctop proper t..' r didn't inter• •-c ' shekncw .hat .,. i., The same ,.ring hap, co Duncan and Stephanie. Ti, h.., been eating by themselves since they were old enough to sit in a high chair. And they still don't know how to cat. Their table manners (except when we're in a fancy restaurant) drive me crazy . They spill milk, drop forks and spoons, throw peas at each other, play with their food, slouch, wriggle, get up from the table, wipe their faces with their What ever happened to iearnin; by example? Neither Elizabeth nor I behave like that. I don't remember ever throwing food at Elizabeth, and i know that Elizabeth never scratches the table with her fork, Where do they learn these atrocious things? And what happened to the theory of early training? I was spoon-fed until my 6th birthday. Then I was handed a knife and fork, given some elementary instructions in how to handle them, and two wcry s lair i ate like a civiliicd layman brink Really. I remembcr,it distinctly. 1 nk.ser had too much trouble with table manners ever since. That's hat we should have done with r kids. Now it's too late, and they may still cat like pigs by the chic they reach midlife crisis. But why do they eat like little ladies and gentlemen when we take them to a "fancy restaurant"? Or when we're invited for dinner at their grandparents? Or at my sister's. Why on those occasions do they pretend to be people when in fact they're monkeys? Maybe oncewe crack that riddle, we'll all be able to enjoy mealtime at home. Suggestions, anyone?