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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1985-08-21, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, August 21, 1985 a< Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 imes INN dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519-235-1331 J.ORNE EEDY Publisher - JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK IONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $23.00 Per year; U.S.A. $60.00 �.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' Going too far While many Canadians may have jumped for joy when the Charter of .Rights opened up new avenues to them, it is becoming apparent that there have been a number of negative aspects to the situation. The most recent example is a rul- ing by the' Ontario Human Rights Commission that car insurance rates . based on age, gender and marital status are discriminatory violations of the human rights code. The decision was rendered on an application from an unmarried' 20 -year-old male who argued that the higher -rates being charged .for drivers in his -category were discriminatory. The result could be that insurance companies will have to charge an equal rate for all drivers. That is totally overlooking the fact that statistics prove that unmarried males under the age of 25 are at higher risk .of being involved in ac- cidents than others in the general driving population. The hoard chairman who heard the case even suggested there. is no basis for insurance companies making a surcharge against those with driving convictions or offering a discount for those who complete driver -training courses. The result of the case, which is being appealed. is that all drivers will It's nice The final two days of our North Island tour were sepnt in Rotorua. This city of 47,200 is in the thermal district of the Volcanic Plateau and is one okthe country's foremost tourist attractions. This thermal region is 240 kilometres long and 32 kilometres wide. Local residents have come to terms with the mixed blessing of thermal living. It seems it is only tourists like us that notice the rotten egg smell everywhere. This comes from the natural gas of hydrogen sulphide by Ross Haugh seeping out of the ground. These eruptions are •liable to fly up anywhere. Residents take for granted oc- casional warnings by radio to keep away from certain streets when steam is rising out of. the ground. A variety of backyard devices are used to tap thermal bores for cooking. thermal heating and private swimming pools. The tap water at the Travelodge in Rotorua was the hottest we encountered anywhere on the trip. We were warned by the bus driver to be careful in set- , ting the water right when taking a shower. During the second day at Rotorua we were taken through the main thermal area. of Whakerewarewa by a Maori guide. She told us to stick to the paths. Scalding hot pools give no second chance. We were fortunate to see boil- ing mud flying up in the air. The geysers go as high as 90 feet usually three or four times a day. Also located in this tourist area is the Maori Institute of Arts and Crafts. Here young Maoris learn their crafts of carving and grass skirt making. We were shown the com- plete process involved in making end up paying more to balance out the reduced rates that may have to be ex- tended to those currently in the high risk categories. Another example of the lack of common sense in human rights issues is that females will be allowed to par- -ticipate on athletic teams which were once the sole domain of the male species. That may have been cheered by a handful of young ladies wishing to join the boys on minor hockey teams, but it certainly has serious ramifications for -female -athletes-: Carried to the natural conclusion of what's fair for the goose being fair for the gander, it suggests that boys will also have to be given the oppor- tunity to try out for spots on teams that were previously the sole domain of the female species. Given the fact that the second - stringers on most male squads would be the starting contingent when com- peting with females, the situation could put women's sports back into the dark ages. There may well be elements of discrimination in insurance plans and athletics, but common sense dictates that some of those elements should re- main for the common good of the vast majority of both males and females. to get back home the skirts right from the original reeds to having them dipped in the boiling pool waters for strength. That evening we were treated to a Hangi, which is a Maori feast that was cooked in baskets hung • in a thermal pool right outside the hotel. From this earth oven came steaming mountains of food, an appetizing assortment of the modern and traditional. Included was pork, lamb, pumpkin which is actually squash, Kumara a type of sweet potato,' potatoes, smoked eel, mussels, marinated fish, salads and Maori bread. It is said of the Maori his capacity for food is matched on- ly by his lavish hospitality. After dinner we watched a Maori con- cert featuring fierce action songs and beautiful Poi dances. Many rural areas in New Zealand still have their Maori meeting houses and with the cur- rent resurgence of pride in Maori culture, increasing attention is being paid to upgrading these houses. For today's Maori. life is challenge to take the best from their culture and adapt it to the practical needs of living in the modern world. • it's a challenge which is being expressed in a return of pride in not only the Maori language; but in their arts and crafts. This af- fects all New Zealanders, as a young country tries to promote harmonious relationships among' people of different racial origins. Our Newman's bus tour ended back in Auckland late Friday afternoon. May 10 and we spent the next three days just lounging around the hotel which was near the airport and about 12 miles from downtown. We got up at about 8 a.m. on the morning of May 13 and made a Mothers Day call back to Crediton where it was still Sun- day afternoon. Our plane left Auckland at eight that evening. We arrived in Honolulu about' nine and a half hours later, had a close to three hour stop to go through American customs and then completed the flight to Los Angeles, getting in there about 5 p.m. Due to the time differences we landed in California three hours before we left New Zealand. By the time we hit the Los Angeles Viscount hotel bed we had been up for 34 consecutive hours. Minutes before boarding the. plane at Auckland, I ordered a pinapple milk shake. It was the most uninspiring refreshment one could possibly have. They don't use ice cream, just milk and Qavouring and give it a quick stir. This is a shame as they do have very good ice cream in New Zealand. One of the first things we did in Los Angeles was get a hamburg with catsup. We said earlier we A Rotorua geyser didn't see catsup in any of the down under countries. We have been told since it is now available at the very few McDonald's in New Zealand. It was nice to get back to Toronto after being away for six weeks and to be met by a friend- ly face belonging to Jim Fleming of Ellison Travel. We had to wait about an hour as Jim was also picking up Mr. and Mrs. Bill Smits of Exeter who arrived on another airline after spending a few weeks in Holland. Also it was great to be welcom- ed home by our fellow employees Please turn to page 19 A. Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by 1.W. Eetfy Publications Limited "As a political protest, Otis drained every bottle of South African brandy and sherry in the house". Occupational hazard • How to supplement your in- come when you go into retire- ment? This is an occupational hazard of potential retirees, who, after living in this country for the past thirty years, know full well that their paper money is going to be good for starting fires with, and not much else, in a decade or so. Canadians are extremely security -conscious. They don't give a diddle about growing old gracefuly. They want to grow old comfortably. It's hard to believe. These are the ' same people whose ancestors came from the fogs of Scotland and the bogs of Ireland and the smogs of England, with plenty of nerve and not much else. They paid their dues with hard work,.taking chances. raising and feeding huge families. The last things in their minds were -pensions, condominiums in the south, the falling dollar, or Ayrabs. They didn't need oil; they cul their own wood. They couldn't even spell condominium. There was no such thing as a pension. The old man was Grampa, and he hung onto his land, bullied his sons, and made most of the deci- sion, until he retired to senility and the fireside. The old lady was Gramma, and she helped birth her grand- children, bossed her daughters, hada wisdom that only hard liv- ing can give. and was buiried thankfully, but with copious tears all around. They lived with a certain ugliness: brutal work, vicious weather, cruel child-bearing by the women, until they were warped and arthritic and sick in body. Few pleasures like music and books and drama and automatic dishwashers and television and milk in a plastic carton instead of a cow. But they didn't need two mar- tinis to give them an appetite for dinner. They didn't need a couple of Seconal to put them .to sleep, or a couple of mood elevators to relieve their depression, or a cou- ple of Valium to relax their muscles. They ate like animals because they worked like horses. They slept like animals because they were exhausted. They didn't need Sugar &Spice Dispensed by Smiley mood changers because they had only two or three moods: angry. tired out, or joyful. They didn't need muscle relaxers because their muscles were too busy to relax. Now you may think I'm mak- ing a pitch for "The good old days." I'm not. 1 think they were dreadful days. I remember the look on my Dad when he couldn't even make a payment on the coal bill. I remember wat- ching my mother, who never cried, weeping over the sewing machine at midnight. when she thought no one was looking. But in those days, people grew old with a certain dignity, if not • beauty. They accepted their final illness as "God's will." Most peo- ple today say,"Why me?" when they are stricken. Today people want to be beautiful when they're old. They want to be thought of as "young at heart." They want to be com- fortable. They don't want to be ill. They dread the cold. They fear poverty. They search. sometimes desperately, for some' sort of womb. or cocoon to go back to, where they will be safe and warm and fed. and never have to look that grim Old Man straight in the eye. And modern economy lets them down. Their hard-earned and hard -saved dollars dwindle into cents. They come close to heart attacks and strokes when they have to pay $3.80 for a pound of beef, 89 cents for a lousy head of lettuce, over a dollar for a pound of butter. They are disoriented, confused, and frightened. And it's not only the old who are frightened and insecure. I see it in my younger colleagues. They don't talk'about Truth and Beau- ty, Ideas and Life. They talk about property and R.R.S.P.s, and the price of gold, and infla- tion, and the terrorizing possibili- ty of losing their jobs. Some of the smart younger teachers bought some land when it was cheap (they're not so young anymore, eh?) and built on it. The smarter ones have a work- ing wife. The smartest ons have both. Most of them, even those in their thirties, are already _figur- ing on a second income when they retire: selling real estate or boats; doing the books for some small businessman; market gardening; antique shops. Who can blame them? But I have the answer for every one of them. No problem about retirement. Just follow Bill Smiley around, do exactly the op -- posit to what he does, and you'll come out healthy, wealthy and wise, when it's time to put your feet up. If Smiley Nuys equities, buy blue chip stocks. if Smiley buys gold mining stock, buy a swamp. If Smiley calls the Toris to win. vote Liberal. If Smiley buys an ounce of gold, dump yours fast, because it will drop 8200 over- night. If Smiley gets into seat- belts, because they are com- pulsory you get out. The law will change. I could go on and on, but 1 won't. Just watch what I do, and do the opposite. And have all the papers to prove it. But I'm charg- ing twenty per cent of everything you make. And that's how i plan to weather inflation and retirement. Why he was punished Recently there has been a lot of publicity ahout the Keegstra trial which was held out in the West. if you remember the case. Mr. Keegstra was a secondary school teacher whose responsibility was to teach world history. He chose to teach it from a rather unusual view -point, that is. that the kill- ing of six million Jews did not really happen during the Second World War and that there is an in- ternational conspiracy of Jews who control most of the world through its financial institutions. Mr. Keegstra was fired from his position and tried on a charge of trying to incite hatred against a particular group of people, Subsequently he was found gull, ty and was fined 85000. One of the defense's points was that this is a free society and that .he should have freedom of speech, that even if Lis theory is - obviously wrong he should still have the right to spout off about it. Well, he does have that right, to By the Way by Syd Fletcher a certain extent. Ile can rent space in the local paper (if it will accept it) and can state his opi- nion. He can stand on the corner and rant and rave about anything he chooses to. (something that surely did not happen in Nazi Germany incidentally. not if you valued your life), and nobody will ever be able to legally stop him here in Canada. • However, there is a difference in the way he chose to express his opinions, that is, inside a public school classroom. By accepting a position with a public school board a teacher is expected to teach and maintain the basic values, philosophies. and tradi- tions. of the society which is coughing up his paycheck each month. There is a large degree of trust involved. The parent ex- pects that the teacher will not try to force untruths down the child's throat from his/her position of power and responsibility. That is what Jim Keegstra did and that is why he was punished.