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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-01-07, Page 4Page 4 Times-AdvOwte, January 7, 1987 111111111111111111111111111 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amatgama ed 1924 imes INN dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, i .rtario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. cJ cn tea, LORNE EEDY Publisher Phone 519.235-1331 JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' Far from precedent The full repercussions from the brawl between Canada and the Soviet Union in the recent world junior hockey tournament probably won't be known for some time, but there is little doubt that the game itself has suffered a serious blow at the_ international level. While the pros and cons have been debated considerably since the incident, the final verdict would appear to rest in the old adage that "it takes two to tango". • Boys will be boys, of course, and neither of the teams can escape blame for the situation. Both were clearly out of control and deserving of the harsh penalties that were handed out. - - Who started what is not the prime question although people generally tend to defend their actions by suggesting they were only reacting to the actions of others. Certainly, there are times when that is good and.proper defence, but it is also the basis of most of the violence in our society, as evidenced from hearing the tales from a school -yard scrap to a ina' jor international war. Opinion has long been divided bet- ween those who suggest that retaliation is evidence of bravery or sticking up for one's rights, and those who suggest it is stupidity and leads only to further violence or whatever has provoked the urge to retaliate. Rather than attempting to affix blame for thehockey brawl, people should be exploring the type of attitude that promotes such vicious behaviour both on and off the ice. More importantly, of course, is the need to change that attitude, not only for the good of hockey but international, na- tional, neighbourhood and family relationships. After all, the incident was far from being precedent setting, even in interna- tional hockey. That's the deplorable and disgraceful aspect of it andthe disconcer- ting point is that the attitude that pro- mpted it will be evidenced in all walks of -world society long after the frightening display at Piestany will ,be forgotten. The question is not who started what; but rather how can it be prevented from being started in the first place. Frightening report While most area residents have seen first hand or through news coverage the devastating effect of erosion along the Great Lakes, few may be able to corn- prehend the more subtle danger in those waters. Experts now claim that there are enough toxic contaminants in the waters to present health risks to untold future generations of humans. A non-government group of Cana- dian and American researchers has already warned that the health of 37 million people living in the Great Lakes basin is at risk because of chemical con- taminants in the water they drink and the food they eat. Mental retardation and sterility are two of the worrisome signs already be- ing evidenced in the population and the cancer causing PCB level is escalating at an alarming rate. One expert estimates it will now take six generations for the effects of PCBs to be eliminated from the human chain: Other factors remain unknown, although they are equally frightening. What is known is that. the residents and governments continue to bury their heads in the sand and the battle has still not been engaged to the point of taking any major remedial action: The pollution may have been slowed, but that's little consolation when those in the know explain that the impact of the toxic material in the water at present "is far more profound than anyone has even thought possible". People show resiliency People in the weekly newspaper business often get caught up in a situation similar to one heralded by a major chain store in that the .production of next week's paper commences even before many readers have received the issue for the current week. Seldom do we have time to look back on what has been reported as the challenge is to get the items required to fill the next issue. However, our year-end review does provide an opportunity to reflect on what has gone on dur- ing the past 12 months in the area served by this newspaper and it never ceases to amaze how some of the major stories have been forgotten as the area rolls with the punches. It would be rather foolish for anyone to sit down and write a simple paragraph or two to reflect what the past year has meant to the majority of people. Each person has memories of those past 12 months and each ' has to draw his/her own conclu- sion on its effect. For many, 1986 will go down as just another year in their lifetime with the usual ups and downs, but nothing of any great significance. For others, of (nurse, the past year will be long remembered. It will have brought happy recollec- tions for some and grief or disap- pointment to others. That's the way any year un- folds and progresses. At any mo- ment it can turn the optimistic in- to the pessimistic, the happy in- to the sad; and of course, it can have just the opposite results. In fact, our lives can change drastically at any point in time as reflected in the stories that made up the area news over the past 12 months. There were instantaneous changes for some as the result of unexpected pleasures such as lot- tery wins or in being recognized for an achievement or finding that the price of a farm commodi- ty has suddenly skyrocketed. Conversely, the news of a death Batt'n Around ...with The Editor can bring unexpected shock waves as can word of a plant clos- ing or the sight of the aftermath of a brief hailstorm on a crop in the field. Other situations may be more lingering, such as therpetual rainfall of the past fall, but the results can be just as devastating. s w • s s If there is a common thread among the many year-end reviews I iiavehelped-to compile over the past 30 years, it is that people in general have a remarkable resiliency. The reality is that most people have good cause to go around with frowns or a rather downhearted outlook. After all, we're born to die. Fortunately, most people translate that into being born to live and they know that allowing tragedies or adversities to con- sume them will result in little meaning to their own lives. When we look around our com- munity, we see many people who have suffered through their set- backs and problems and have managed to overcome them and get on with their lives. The unpleasant memories are never shut out completely, but they are not allowed to ferment and bring spoilage to the many other enjoyable aspects of life that are still available. If you want some proof of that, you'llprobably find it in looking over our year-end review and seeing how someone in your neighborhood may have been adversely affected and has heat- ed eated to the point were you have ac- tually forgotten about that per- son's adversity of the past 1.2 months. s w s * In the coming 12 months, there will probably be as many joyous and tragic events as there have in the past. For some, it will bring a challenge of getting their heads down out of the clouds; for others it will mean pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. If there is a message to be gleaned from looking at the past, it is that life can bring some sud- den turns but none that can't be negotiated when the resiliency, and will is properly applied. Hopefully, you and yours will not be among these put to the test of pulling on your bootstraps in 1987. Yi Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited i0,0 4 811/41444*4111*-- y4. CRf9tTOs4.5 PON no OW! ism tiop "NOW t KNOW WHY THEY CALL IT THE -POST' HOLIDAY BLUES" Really -quite simple Back in the 1960's when quartz watches were the cat's meow, I could only admire then in the win- dows of expensive jewellery stores. At 300 bucks they were out of my reach - so naturally they seemed very desirable. In terms of my income at that time, buy- ing one of those futuristic timepieces would have been as extravagant as a holiday in Hawaii would be today. So I shrewdly played. the waiting game. I sat back and watched the prices come down. And they did. Slowly at first, then with a vengeance. Every now and then I'd sneak up to a store win- dow to check: 250 dollars, then 195, then 99.99 - and still I waited. at last my self-respect began to suffer. Everybody was wearing digital watches but me. When the prices tumbled to below $15.00, I finally caved in. I joined the ranks of chronograph wearers and users. I gave away my 25 -karat, ruby -studded Omega that had served me faithfully through thick and thin. After all, it was only an analogue watch. And everybody knew that analogue watches were as obsolete as manual typewriters, black and white TV, and tie clips. I struggled with the mechanics of my new beast for quite some time, but finally - within a year - I learned how to change the minutes, the hours and the date. It was really quite simple. All that was needed was a ballpoint pen ora sharp pencil to poke at the little hole between the two buttons. It was the kind of mathematical/technical problem I was able to cope with after some basic training and lots of practice. But confidence with that simple model led to my downfall. I felt I was now ready for the big time. All my acquaintances had long since advanced to digital watches with an alarm. All around me I heard little beeps as people got ready for their important ap- pointments. "Beep!" and the assistant executive under- secretary jumped up to rush to a vital conference. "Beep!" and the acting director of internal cost accounting control hurried down the corridor, to act no doubt. "Beep!" and the deputy minister, for heaven's sake, put the pencil sharpener away and prepared himself for a working luncheon at Madame Berger's. I knew the time had come for a proper watch. And I acquired the CAL Y799 with time/calendar display (seconds, minutes, hours, date, day of the week, and month.-) The month is of par - PETER'S POINT • Hatter importance. What would happen if I woke up one morning thinking it was still May when in fact June had just begun busting, out all over? I don't know how I ever got through well over half a century of life without knowing what month it was by glancing at my wrist. And my new watch has an alarm that signals the designated hour and minute with a 30 -second beep -beep -beep -beep guaranteed .to impress and five-year old. And it has an hourly time signal - a simple beep that won't let me forget that yet another hour of my life has passed. This miracle of state-of-the-art technology even has a stopwatch function which I won't describe in detail at the moment because my days as a 100 -meter sprinter are definitely over. Yet it is reassur- ing to know that anytime I want to I can get a 1/100 -second readout, and even a split -time measurement. How about that. When I bought the watch, the clerk explained all its functions, and he was kind enough to set it just the way I wanted it. Accurate time and date, naturally. And no hourly time signals, thank you. Just an alarm so I don't forget when it's time to go home. And all that worked very well until last October. The changeover from daylight savings to standard time, remember? Well, Hirst set all the easy clocks in the house: my digital clock radio, the digital clock on the stove, the digital clock on the TV, and so on. The instructions for my new watch consisted of six pages of text, diagrams and "helpful hints', but I was too busy to read through all that. So I worked with daylight time for a few days. Easy, really. Instead of 17:38 it was actually 16.38, but when my watch said 00:19 on January 1st, it was' in fact only 23:19 on December 31. I therefore had to take action. Back to the instructions. "How to set the time/calendar". Final- ly, I would learn what to do. "Depress button A to activate the time/calendar settting. O.K., I located and depressed button A. Nothing flashed. And I was the one getting depressed. I read step 2: "Selection of the digits to be adjusted ( flashing ) is made in the following order by depressing button B..." And then followed a diagram that resembled the dashboard of my watch. I tried step 1 again. .No flashing, but the numbers went crazy. Maybe I should have depressed button B while holding down. button A, or vice versa. I wondered what the difference is between holding down and depressing. After 20 minutes of trial and er- ror I gave up. My watch still shows daylight saving time, but it now gives an alarm signal at 2 in the morning, a beep every hour on the hour. and it tells me that it is August 13, 1936. I guess I'll be 5 years old next week. Maybe somebody will give me a real watch for my birthday. One that I can set in "split time". that has a round face with 12 numbers and two or three hands. I think I could live the rest of my life without the beep. Best in memory Looking back at this last • Christmas I think that it proved to be one of the best that I can remember. - It's always nice to give gifts and just as pleasant to receive them from people who have put a little thought into their gift- giving. I'm lucky enough to have a family who do just that. They took time in the stores to find just the right tie to replace that favourite blue striped one that I've dragged out a few too many times. Another considerate soul saved up some money as a gift for me to buy myself that new computer program which I've been wanting all year but didn't feel right about squandering my pay on. It's a good feeling too to get a (gift from someone who has in - ted a little of their own soul in - the present. I got a set of ceramic chess pieces from a nephew. He ,had painted them and glazed them himself, painted them again until they glistened and shone. His father spent the better part of two weeks making a board for them to sit on. Sixty-four pieces of wood, alternating dark and By the Way I)% SvI Fletcher light, all carefully measured out to form an exquisite piece of fur- niture which I will always treasure. Then there was the box which was so heavy that my daughter could barely carry it over from the Christmas tree. As soon as I took the paper off I knew what it was even though it had ,been all repainted, bright red. I had seen that tool box many times before on Dad's work bench. Inside was a collection of tools, a few new ones to be sure, but others that I recognized; tools that Dad had. collected over the years and were as much a part of him as his right arm. There was even the old straight razor which he had used way back before the last world war. I looked over at Dad and there was a big lump in my throat. I know that his eyes were not too dry hither. .4 Now I'm not much of a mechanic. My wife wilttell you that but sometimes she gets desperate and even I get called on to hang the odd picture or fix something around the house. I know that every time I pull open that big old red toolbox I'm going to think of Dad and remember the good times we've ' had together.