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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1985-09-25, Page 4Poge 4 Times -Advocate, September 25, 1985 Times Established 1871 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519-235-1331 LORNE EfDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager ►CNA BILL BATTEN Editor Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager DICK JONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $23.00 Per year; U.S.A. $60.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' Places for money Groups involved in staging the Lake Huron Zone Sportsfest in Exeter this summer will be meeting this week to decide on how to share in the $8,700 profit earned by their efforts. They won't have far to look for areas in which those funds can be best used as there are several projects at the rec centre facilities that would, greatly benefit from an .influx of cash that may be difficult to raise from other sources. Certainly, there is a clear need for funds to be poured into a repair and maintenance fund at the rec centre, as outlined to the board last week by engineer Cliff Marsden. It may not be the type of high profile project on which groups can hang plaques to signify their contributions, but it is a most pressing need and one from which they could gain a great deal of satisfaction. It is apparent that the capital pro- jects undertaken by groups at the local grounds has made it difficult for the board to keep pace with the ex-. tended repair and maintenance budgets that those facilities require. Budget deficiencies place some of those facilities in jeopardy and ob- viously that can not be permitted. In reality, much of the Sportsfest profit came from generous donations from council, businesses and service .groups and while there can be no argument with the hard work of the volunteers in making the event suc- cessful, some of those profits should be put back into the town's recreation program. Washroom facilities at the agricultural building may be another suitable project for some of the funds as are other projects on the board's list of priority capital requirements. Some groups involved may have equally important projects on which to spend their portion of the profits, but each should seriously consider the im- perative need to protect the communi- ty. investment in recreation facilities which enabled Exeter to be a superlative host centre for Sportsfest and drew jealous' raves from many of the visitors whose communities are not as richly endowed. It is imperative that the facilities be kept in top shape to warrant the same type of raves when Sportsfest returns to Exeter in the future. One for the road Premier David Peterson may have been imbibing in some wishful election thinking when he brewed up the idea of extending beer and wine sales to Ontario's variety and grocery stores. The response has been akin to a giant hang -over and Peterson should be convinced of the sober truth that the majority of Ontario residents are very cool to the idea. Before allowing the suggestion to brew any further, the Premier should put a cork in it and not allow it to fur- ther ferment his delicatepositionwith the voters... It's an idea whose time has not yet come, and like a good wine, should not be exposed to unnecessary airing. Poor place for the anthem When the 'i'oronto Blue Jays departed from Yankee Stadium in New York. recently. they not only took a farther two -game bulge to their division lead, thgy took home the wrath and unplea- sant memories 01 a group of fans who behaved in a manner nothing short of boorish. After all. how else could one describe a group of people who would boo at the singing of the visiting team's national anthem? Abetted by the fact the soloist chosen for the rendition of O Canada! didn't know either the swords or the tune, the whole thing threatened 10 explode into some international incident. Most Canadian fans were pro- bably ready to forgive and forget, primarily because they are good winners and able to Duet look the antics of a hunch of boors as they gaze upon the successful results on the scoreboard. However. the fact is most Canadians would ha ve lo overlook the incidents n the basis that they are far from guiltless on many of the same counts as the boors in the cheap seat ( figuratively only) at the home that Babe Muth built. One Yankee • announcer dismissed the impropriety of boo- ing at Canada's national anthem with the well-founded argument that it is not unusual to hear some Canadians doing likewise when they hear the same stirring notes. The reference, of course, is to t"xthe fact that English speaking fans in Toronto can be heard to vocalize a few catcalls when the national anthem is rendered in French, and the reverse situation has occurred in Quebec when tender ears are forced to listen to English words. i've never really understood why sporting events have to be preceded by national anthems and it is more frequently the case than not when it would be best dropped from the program. Players are inient on the game at hand and most merely fidget nervously, using the time to ad- just their jock straps or practice their spitting. Fans have trouble assuming Batt'n Around ...with IllikThe Editor the correct stature with a beer in one hand and the mustard dripp- ing from the hot dog in the other, while the Tate -arrivals use the time to inch their way to vacant seats while attempting the im- possible task of convincing those around them they are deaf and unaware of the reason for everyone else standing. - The final few lines are accom- panied by a growing crescendo of cheers from those who haven't joined in the singing and in- variably one of the combatants in the game breaks rank to lead the others into vacating their positions before the appropriate time in short. the national anthem never gets the respect and atten- tion it deserves and would be bet- ter served by being reserved for occasions when it can he accom- panied, by the dignity and thought 1 that it deserves. As a parting shot for the Cana- dians who were upset and an- noyed over the fact the Yankee Stadium soloist forget both the words and tune of 0 Canada! it could be asked how many of them could sing the Star Spangled Ban- ner by memory. In fact, there are many who may come up short when 'asked to repeat the; new wording of their own national anthem. * * * * * While prejudices run high on both sides of the border, those who strive for the true brotherhood of man must be cheered by the selection of minority groups to positions of esteem and power in both countries. Neither country has yet reach- ed the stage where minority group representatives are nam- ed without considerable attention to their color, race or creed but that too is slowly breaking down to the point where it raises fewer eyebrows than in the past. That is certainly the case with the naming of Lincoln Alexander as the capable replacement for Lieutenant -Governor John Black Aird in Ontario. There may have been some symbolism in the appointment but it in no way can detract from the fact that the former MP and cabinet minister was an obvious and desirable choice based sole- ly on his dedication to his pro- vince and country. Mr. Alexander has expressed the thought that this is a truly free country in which the son of a railway porter and a maid can be appointed to an office of such dignity and tradition. REM, ®KfIc'IT "It's finally happened — the country's been repossessed!" Summer drags to close Just a few rather dour com- ments on a few things, as sum- mer drags to a close. I now know what it is like to run a summer hotel, without benefit of staff. I undertook to take my grand - boys for two weeks. They were here for four. Their mother join- ed us "for a few days" and stayed two weeks. Their Uncle Hugh has been up from the city at least every other weekend, often with friends. Trouble is that it's beautiful around here, with trees, swimm- ing in fresh water, breathing in clean air, and eating fresh food: sweet corn picked today, green or yellow beans the same, real tomatoes instead of those hard, bitter little pellets from Florida or California, strawberries and raspberries and blackberries just off the vine. I don't blame them. The city can be pretty gruelling in a hot summer. But next summer I'm going to lock up the big brick house with the jungle in back and the massive oak in front, and take a motel room, with one bed, no swimming pool. First two weeks with the boys were fine. Made their sandwiches every night, popped them in the freezer (the sandwiches, not the boys). Drove them away from the television at 11 p.m. (they have, athome, a tiny black and white with two channels). Turfed them out of a sleep like the dead at 7 a.m. Supervised breakfast (kids can drink a barrel of orange juice in a week). Checked to see they had sandwiches, an apple or banana or pear, wrapped their bottle of pop in their towels, made sure they had their swim suits, and booted them out the door in the general direction of summer camp. Tried to keep them in clean clothes, no easy feat. Speaking of feet, they have the happy faculty of playing football or baseball or basketball in the back yard in their bare feet, just after the lawn sprinkler has been on for two hours, then rushing in- side, across the rug and going for a pee, then rushing back across it to resume activities. It didn't seem to bother the boys, but it played hell with the rug. I don't think I can get it cleaned. Might was well throw it out. Their Gran would have killed them. On the spot. But there are so many spots now, it doesn't seem worth it. Dinner was fairly simple. I didn't fuss around like Gran, get- ting a wholesome meal, with chicken thighs, taties, salad and dessert. Small boys love ham- burgers and chips. Needless to say, we dined out quite often. Thanks to Ben, the younger of the two, the back lawn looks as though several goats had been grazing on it, and, after eating all the grass, had started eating dirt. Ben, to the amusement of my neighbors, can play any game without equipment, or opponents. Baseball: he can take a called strike, scowl at the umpire, foul Sugar &Spice Dispensed by Smiley one into the stands, then hit a dou- ble and stretch it into a triple, sliding into third base. He can dribble a basketball, flip it to a team-mate, get it back and drop an easy basket, walking away, dusting his hands. He's eight, and at seven decided his given name, Balind, was not for him, so re- named himself Ben. Quite a kid. Lives in his own world. And . pretends to be deaf when you try to call him out of it. As soon as their mother arriv- ed, of course, the boys went ape. Every grandparent knows about this. Don't ask me why. I'm not a child psychologist. Dear Kim has an over- abundance of talent. She com- poses music, writes like an angel, is an excellent teacher, and has been stone-cold poor ever since she got married. She's a bit sick of being poor. But she's an ex- cellent mother. Sick of being poor, she spent most of her time here writing new songs that were going to make a million, and pumping me to find out how to be a syndicated colum- nist within a month, at the outside. And we fought. She is a bristly feminist, and I, as she thinks, a male chauvinist. But we love each other and when the fights got near the blood-letting stage, one of us would grin and declare truce. She took me for about one grand this summer, counting everything, but you can't take it with you, so why not? Hugh is another fettle of kish. He lives in one room in the city, with cooking privileges, but doesn't cook much. When he's home, he is either standing at the frige, door open, as he used to do when he was 16, or standing over the stove, cooking some infernal but delicious concoction full of almonds, raisins, garlic • and whatever, with a pasta base. He's not an old waiter for nothing. This weekend he brought a friend, Elena, She's on a very strict diet, because of allergies, and brings her own food. Not wanting to be beholden, she bought some food. I came down to the kitchen yesterday, and she had out for dinner eight huge lambchops. I asked how many were coming to dinner. She said just the three of us. Two chops each and a couple to share. I turn- ed green. But she and llugh ate two each and Hugh had another couple for breakfast. I bought some home-made bread and Elena has six slices. Hugh ate the rest of the loaf, at the same sitting, except for one slice, which I surreptitiously snagged while they were sitting around belching. Tough diet, eh? Threw them onto a bus to the city this morning, laden down with plastic bags full of corn, beans, blueberries, tomatoes and green onions. All fresh, local stuff. They left me with a refrigerator full of Elena' diet soup (ugh! ). Hugh's dried corn, and a lot of other delicacies from the health food store that are go- ing straight into the garbage. It's a lot of fun, running a sum- mer hotel. With no staff. Next summer. there's going to be no manager, either. Could be continued One more week of the three which it has taken me to tell you why i think Canada has so much to offer and why we should be proud of it. Two of our vital systems are among the best in the world: our medical network and the educa- tional system. You may think I'm biased about our educational system but there is no doubt that ours ranks among the best in the world. Ilow many adults do you know who cannot read or write'' Ask the same question down in rural Georgia or Kentucky. How many students do you know who have the. ability to go to college or upiversity yet cannot do it because of financial reasons. (There is no excuse for anyone not to go to school in Canada for this reason as there are govern- ment loans and bursaries and scholarships of all kinds. ) Our tuition costs are extremely low compared to those in American universities. in that country post- secondary education is becoming By the Way by Syd Fletcher ......................... something only for upper middle classes or the very rich. Because the provinces support local education to a veru large degree the load for special educa- tion classes does not have to he borne by heavier levies on (he local tax base which means that these services are provided where they are needed. not just where they can to' afforded as is the case in many parts of the 1'.5 . Similarly we' have an excellent system of \ledicare which pro vides service to the poor and the rich, equally. You don't come in- to a hospital with the knowledge that you may be bankrupt by the cost. Ask }ourself why marry Americans come across the border 10 be treated over here and it gives an indication of the type of care received here rand there, where a back rub is jolted down as an additional cost, as is every single service which you receive. r Ask yourself why Cana- dian nurses and doctors are con- stantly being recruited to work stateside -and you gel an even clearer picture of what our educational system 11)1151 be doing. Ant 11►roud" Could 1 go on 101' three more weeks" You het I could'