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Times -Advocate, January 28, 1987
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Times Established 1873
Advocate Established 1881
Amalgama ed 1924
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imes
dvocate
Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0
Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386.
Phone 519-235.1331
LORNE EEDY
Publisher
11M BECKETT
Advertising Manager
BILL BATTEN
Editor
HARRY DEVRIES
Composition Manager
ROSS HAUGH
Assistant Editor
DICK IONGKIND
Business Manager
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 i
C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A'
Too many reminders
While there have been too many
reminders about the dangers of police
work in the past couple of years in com-
munities across this nation, that fact took
on some new and heightened meaning for
local residents last week in the frighten-
ing incident at the Exeter police station.
Policemen in this area have been
roughed up in incidents in the past, but
this one was certainly the most serious
as evidenced by the type of charges
which have been laid.
Officials have already indicated that
the methods used by the local police in
handling suspected law breakers will
have to be reviewed. That is only com-
mon sense because the risks must be
reduced to the lowest level possible.
The danger, of course, is that the police
may be seen as being too heavy-handed
and cautious by public hat too soon
forgets such incidents as those of the past
weekend or are unaware of others that
have occurred.
However, short memories are less
threatening than the "short fuses" of
some suspects and it is the latter from
which police officers must be protected.
Some area citizens have told of hav-
ing an officer's revolver aimed at them
upon being stopped for nothing more
sinister than speeding offences south of
the border. That may appear to be an
over -reaction, but unfortunately is
nothing more than commonsense by of-
ficers in some areas of the U.S.
The public must be constantly
reminded that those who serve to protect
law abiding citizens, -must follow pro-
cedures that make that job as safe as
possible even if some of those pro-
cedures appear too stringent in the vast
majority of incidents.
Many workers in other occupations
wear safety gear throughout their
careers without ever facing situations
where it proved valuable. However,
they've seen the ramifications for those
who didn't, and wouldn't be caught dead
without it. -
Heavy handed
TV evangelists have generally used
heavy-handed approaches to augment
their institutional and private coffers.
The messages are usually directed at the
lonely, frightened members of their au-
dience who are easy prey for the glib
tongues.
The preachers exert a great deal of
pressure and questionable persuasion as
they coax donations. Many of those dona-
tions come from people who can ill afford
them and end up being used for the per-
sonal fortunes of the evangelists and
their entourage.
One of the hest known among the TV
speakers is Oral Roberts and he stooped
to a new low recently when he advised his
audience that God would call him
"home" if he failed to raise $4.5 million
for medical scholarships at Oral Roberts
Univeristy.
He said the message had been
received directly from God and Roberts
implored his audience to ldasen their
purse strings to help him extend his life.
Several TV stations decided to cancel
the show in view of the blatant and
heavy-handed request for people's
contributions.
Other stations should consider the
same action and the printed media repor-
ting on the situation would do well to con-
sider whether a capital "G" is warranted
for the god from which Roberts is receiv-
ing his messages.
A little careless
It's one thing to lose money, either
bills or coins, but it surely is something
else again when the peoOle who manufac-
ture our currency lose the dies from
which the money i stamped out.
' It happened this 'way: b'ack .in
November the Royal Canadian Mint in
Ottawa shipped the dies for the new one
dollar coins to Winnipeg, where, per-
sumably, the new coins were to be pro-
duced. The private courier firm which
was to deliver the dies to Winnipeg, ad-
mitted three days later, that the dies had
been either lost or stolen somewhere
along the way. More than a week later
the people at the mint reported the loss
to the RCMP, who have been looking for
them without success ever since.
It will cost another $24,Q00 to remake
the dies, but obviously tilt design will
have to be changed. The original design
-on the back of the coin was to have been
a voyageur's canoe - fittingly symbolic
of Canada's pioneers. The new design
will be a loon, also fittingly represen-
tative of the wizards who are responsi-
ble for our financial health.
Wingham Advance- Times
ON THE PWS Sift,
INSTEAD OF MAKiNG VIE SAME
OLP MISTAKES VIE DiP LAST
YEAR, WE'VE ALREADY COME
UP Wrf i SOME NEW
ONES fOR ' T!...
a
CV it
111 A BILL
COLLECTOR!
Serving South Huron, North Middlesex
& North Lambton Since 1873
Published by l.W. Eedy Publications Limited
YOU'RE IN IALK-
I'VE GOT STACKS
OF THEM!
You can't miss
The anecdotes and stories
related to people giving- direr
pons are legion and no doubt
most readers have their own
favorite. One which may top the
list revolves around an elderly
gentleman, who after spewing
out a list of turns and landmarks
to help a motorist find the way.
finally stopped up short and came
up with the startling revelation
"that you can't get there from
here...
Another of my favorites is that
of a motorist who lost his way and
stopped to ask for directions and
became extremely upset when
the person being asked to assist
couldn't figure out an appropriate
route to get the motorist to his
destination. When the ex -
asperated motorist questioned
the mental ability of his advisor,
he was justly rebuked with the
reply. "I'm not the. one who is
lost
While the stories related to giv-•
ing or receiving directions are
humorous. they are far from that
at the time. "1'ou can't miss it.'
is one,of the most disprovable
phrases in the language.
The topic was brought to mind
this week when 1 had to travel in-
to the bowels of Middlesex Coun-
ty to attend a meeting. The host
for the meeting provided what
appeared to .he simple and
straight -forward directions to his
residence. After establishing
from what direction i would he
approaching his home, he ex-
plained that it would be about six
miles from an intersection with
which I was familiar. 1 would
pass two noticeable curves in the
road. cross over a bridge and his
house was then the first place on
the right o not counting the house
that was right beside the bridge
To • make the directions even
.more explicit, he noted that his
property was distinguished by
three barns I somewhat in
disrepair and should I come t'►
a church the one with the spire.
not the one without r I would have
gone too tar.
In retrospect-. those probably
constitute some of the worst
directions ever delivered. There
were at least three curves in the
Batt'n
Around
...with
The Editor
road. not One but two bridges. and
obviously it was impossible to see
dilapidated barns on a dark
winter's night and whether a
church had a spire or not.
I'o make a long story short.
which is not (he norm for lost
travellers, the occupant of a
nearby farm house was able to
provide adequate direct ions to his
neighbor s and the journey was
successfully completed. The host
generously accepted some of the
blame. although his lacial ex-
pression indicated it was only to
be polite.
The reality is• that while most
of us know where „+e live and
never have trouble reaching that
destination, few people are able
to provide concise and accurate
directions to others ‘vho may
wish to visit. many also have dil-
1iculty in giving appropriate
directions to other locations, even
in their own neighborhoods. and
often end up feeling guilty when
they realize they have given inap-
propriate messages.
Those who can honestly sug-
gest that "you can't miss it" are
those who have erected a huge
it
neon sign on their barn Or home
to signal their location. or have
the advantage of living between
two unmistakable landmarks
that provide instant recognition
for those approaching from
either direction.
It's surprising how litany peo-
ple give directions in terms of
points on the compass rather
than saying left or right. The
former may be fine for those
travelling in compan\ with the
sun. but unfortunately there are
those among us who easily get
Twisted after a few curves and
turns and don't know in which
direction we are proceeditlg Ube
able to then decide whether it is
necessary to go right or left to he
heading east as directed.
Experience has shown that
many rural people give direc-
tions based on the number of
homes from a certain corner Or
the number of sideroads one
passes. A quandry often arises
when visitors can't figure out
whether the abandoned farm site
with the crumpling barn is to he
counted or not and whether the
two roafis which dissect at vary-
ing points constitute one or two in
(he count.
The examples could be extend-
ed ad nauseam, but in the interest
of solving the dilemma. let's look
at some solutions and ap-
propriate methods of giving
directions.
Ironically. one solution is
relatively simple. and that may
explain why it has escaped some
of us. With the exception of those
living in the Elmira arta, most
people arrive al destinations by
motor vehicles equipped with
gauges 111a1 measure distance
fairly accurately and it doesn't
really matter that some ( in•
eluding yours truly I don't think in
terms of kilometers.
For some time. i've been guil-
Please turn to page 5
Few call back
Are you getting tired of people
,who don't phone back? Have you
ever wondered why they don't
and what might be wrong with
them?
I used to wonder. But i think i
found the answer.
I call Mr. X's number: "May i'
speak to Mr. X. please?" Recep-
tionist: "Sorry, he's not at his
desk. Would you care to leave a
message?"
In spite of previous experience
I trust the receptionist. After all,
it is her job to receive and relay
niessages. "Please, have Mr. X.
call me as soon as he comes
back:" I am assured that he will
do just that.
Mr. X. cannot beat his desk all
the time, of course: tie must at-
tend meetings, consult with his
colleagues, have a coffee, go to
the washroom. He is only human
- at least I think he is. But when
he doesn't call back within an
hour, I begin to worry. Is he still
in thatonfounded meeting? Did
he suddenly take ill? Did he die?
At any rate, he doesn't call me
back. Next day, at five after nine,
I call his number again. You
guessed it. He is not at his desk.
The receptionist is very good
about it, though. Pleasant,, effi-
cient, reassuring and apologetic.
Yes, he did get the message
yesterday, but he was simply too
busy to callback. He'll return my
call the moment he gets back to
his desk. "You may rest
assured."
i rest assured all day. Mr. X.
does not call. I rest not nearly as
assured the next day. Or the next.
On Friday I try again. i should
have known better. Fridays are
bad days for getting anyone. i
rest during the weekend. On Mon-
day morning, at 10:30 - a good
time, right after coffee break - i
call Mr. X.'s number and get a
afferent receptionist.
"Sorry, Mr. X. is in a meeting.
You left your number before? I'll
have him call you as soon as he
comes out of the meeting."
i have attended few meeting in
my life that lasted longer than 24
hours. So i call again at 1:30 p.m.
on Tuesday. It is now more than
a week ago that i placed my first
phone call.
Receptionist A is back and
recognizes my voice: "You're the
gentleman who called last week,
aren't you?" "Yes," I say, sup-
pressing an- un -gentlemanly
remark, "I called several times
last week. I called yesterday, too
and i was told that Mr. X. would
call me right back."
"I couldn't have told you that,"
replies the receptionist, "I wasn't
here yesterday." "i know that,"
i say, "but your replacement said
that Mr. X. was in a meeting and
would call me right after.'
"Well, it isn't my fault if ..." "I
didn't say it was your fault. Look,
all I want is to talk to this guy for
a minute or so," Once again I am
assured that the very instant he
gets back to the office he will be
given my message.
And the miracle happened on
Wednesday (statistically the day
when more phone calls are
returned than on any other day of
the week) Mr. X. called me:
"Hello, I'm returning your call."
"Which one?" I said after
recovering from shock. "What do
fou mean , " "i mean that I left
Please turn to page 5
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