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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-01-04, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, January 4, 1989 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalg,imated 1924 BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Published. Each Wednesday Morningat Exeter,. Ontario, NOM 150 Second Class_ Mail Registration Number Q,F Phone 519-235-1.331 ROSS HAUGH Editor _ HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager A CCN. IIM BECKETT _ `Publisher & •Advertising Manager - DON SMITH Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: !anada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 Acts of kindness he saying "It is more.blessed to give than receive"was. aptly portrayed by at least.. two groups in the Exeter area over Christ- mas. The former employees_ of Fleck Manu- facturing made the holiday season a little happier for a number of their fellow workers along with some handicapped _ youngsters. •= Despite the fact they lost their- jobs when -the plant closed at the end of Sep— tember, the executive qt. the social and recreation club decidedo, use the more. than $6,000 in the treasury to help oth- ers. While all former employees enjoyed a "Christmas "turkey from the Fleck funds, many others : Will have a more lasting memory .of the generosity and kindness of those who could have used the monies for themselves. Jeff Finkbeiner of RR 2, Crediton who was the Exeter Lions Timmy at a recent Sportsmen's Dinner was thrilled ,to :get his "very own" television set. 'A Clinton girl Charlotte Liebold has new remotre controls for her television set and another TV was presented to the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario and here many handicapped children will be able to see their favourite programs., - Added to this was a new swing set to the Parkhill Group .Homes Inc. facility on Huron street east in Exeter and contribu- tions to the Huron County Christmas Bu- reau. These former -Fleck employees who -are mostly area residents are -to be com- mended for their unselfishness and. thinking of -others when many them- selves were facing financial hardships. The second version of Christmas kind- ness was shown by eight young Exeter girls who went carolling for three nights during the week before Christmas and collected $197.42. :This money is being forwarded to. UNICEF and will be used to support a young girl in_Ethiopia. • A picture of these charitable singers appears elsewhere in this -issue. Again, thanks to these two groups- for showing the true meaning of the Christ-. mas Spirit.. Y By Ross fhtlughr Only eleven years to go We've just completed another step toward the year 2000. Elev- en ycars to go and counting. I am younger at heart than I have ever been. But when I was young in body, the year 2000 seemed as remote to mc as the year 3000. It had no meaning at t1I. I never even wondered whether I would live to sec it. Orwell's 1984 was the distant future. 2000 was 'speculative science fiction. Only writers like Jules Veme, H.G. Wells, or Ray Bradbury had been imaginative enough to think that far ahead. I was too young to think be- yond my next math test. 'The next century was light-years -away.- Thcn I saw Kubrick's "2001 - a Spacc Odyssey" in 1965 (24 ycars ago!). For the first time, I counted and realized that with a lot of luck, careful driving, and clean living, I just might squeak into the 21st century myself. The year 2000, of course, will still be in the 20th century. The 21st begins - so people with scientific minds tell me - on Jan- uary 1st, 2001.Thcrclis no;.point in arguing about it, and it is as difficult to disprove as the exis-' tencc of the Easter Bunny. But I think that the year 2000 will be the magic one. I won't tell you how old I would be if I were to make it. Hopefully, if I do live that long, I'll be well enough to join in the Dear Sir: worldwide ccicbratigns view satellite -transmitted, live, inter- active, select -projection, omni - phonic, ultra -shortwave TV: But since the year 2000 will arrive less than a dozen years from now, chances arc that. we'll have neither cable nor sat- ellite dish, that 1'11 still be strug- gling with our veteran boob - PETER'S POINT • by Peter Hesscl tubc, with my right hand on the vertical -hold button, my left hand trying to get thc ghastly green out of the announcer's face. Futurologists have predicted that for decades that we'll soon be railing along safe, remote- controlled highways, and relax while our solar -powered cars arc steered by automatic pilot. That we'll step on and off mov- ing sidewalks in glamorous cit- ies under plexiglass domes when tropical gardens bloom in January.i have a hunch that in January 2000 I'll still fight against fatigue on the Trans- Canada, fight for parking space downtown, climb over snow - ,banks, try not to brcak my neck on the ice or get: splashed with salty slush. Utopian writers have assured us that we'll soon be able to Ay to London or Paris 'in halfan hour, that it'llrbe nothing unusu- al for people to work in Sydney, Australia, and to live in Baldur, Manitoba. Balderdash. In the year 2000 we might spend less time in the air, but three times as long in traffic jams on thc ground, in line-ups, security checks, and bomb scares. I don't believe that technology will kccp pace with the pmhlems caused by .,. , don't think our engineers and designers should even try to in- vent new-fanglcd gadgets. Let them concentrate on preventing our planet and its population from being smothered by gar- bage and industrial wastes. Lct them find ways to feed 10 billion people with food that doesn't slowly kill them. Eleven yea to go till 2000. Not long, if u consider that eleven years a it was only 1978. Time is runnt out. The 20th century (which someone had predicted would belong to Canada) is practically over. The 21st century may or may not be- long to Canada. But it will be- long to our children and grand- children. From where i sit, 1989 seems like a very good year to start planning. Lettersto the Editor Overseas agencies seldom high- light positive and hopeful projects to win public support. Ethiopia is a case in point. Mention Ethiopia and most Canadians think of a waste- land of wat and famine, without hope. This image is misleading. There is hardship, but there is also progress.. USC Canada is help- ing to supply funds so that farmers and scientists can work together through Ethiopia's Plant Genetic Resource Centre (PGRC) to con - 1 serve the country's traditional seeds and select the best for development. and storage in times of drought. PGRC Director, Dr. Mclaku Wo- rede, describes the program as the only way to sustainable agricultural growth within Ethiopia. Local seeds have been developed by centuries of cooperation between man and nature, to 'resist drought, pests and disease and improved va- rieties arieties will be used to increase agri- cultural production. The Ministry of Agriculture, Farmers' Associations and the Ethi- 1 opia Seed Cooperative are working in close cooperation with PGRC. 'Ther cost of USC of launching and coordinating this important pilot project is $1.3 million. We need the financial support of Canadians to help Ethiopia put its own re- sources to work. Please send your contribution; every dollar counts. John Martin, Chicf Executive Officer, - USC Canada, 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K I P 5B1 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited • �i It's that time again How many make New Year's resolutions? Most people will come up with an affirmative answer; but then comes the query; how many res- olutions arG-•kept and for how long? - While it is generally thought' that most resolutions centre around losing weight and stop- ping smoking, that's not the case. • An national survey 'conducted by Priority Management Systems of Vancouver ' found that 'the number one resolution .or goal was to make money. - During 1988, about 75 percent of the persons asked made some kind of New Year's resolutions orgoals and 88 percent of these keptat least some of their person- al promises. Of those questioned, 26 percent resolved to make more money.' This goal was followed by sav- ing more moncy, losing weight, getting a new job and spending more time with a spouse.. The forecast of resolutions to be made_ ins 1989 was similar, with a slightly higher emphasis on 'using weight and .spending more time with a spouse. Sur-, prisingly,, quitting smoking wasn't in the top 10 for either year. A poll conducicd last nvicek by the St. Thomas- Times Journal, contradicted the national figures. The top two resolutions by St. Thomas and arca residents were to quit smoking and not to make a resolution; :because they t From the -- ; editor's disk by Ross Haugh couldn't be kept. 'From a personal standpoint, losing weight was -our big goal for 1988 and that proved to be fairly successful.- In a weight loss contest here at the T -A dur- ing the first two months of 198.8, we lost 12 pounds and right at the moment after hearty holiday eating, the loss figure remains at eight pounds. As readers will find out in Jim Beckett's On *the Street column this week, our weight loss con- tcst is being repeated and this time it is being Thrown Wide open to anyone who wants to - lose weight and is willing to back his or her wish with a .fi- nancial contribution. Three members of our immedi- ate family arc threatening to enter this contest, just to prove that- they hatthey can outdo us and that father doesn't always know -best. So, it will be back -to the salads - and long, long walks. Probably the most efficient -exercise would _ be the one usedby your elbows , in pushing away from the -dinner. .� table.. ' in the national -survey, some 77- percent 7-percent madebetween one and five resolutions for 1988 and the majority planned to setgoals for - 1989 and most also thought niak.. Ing goals will help them get ahead. I• t was recommended that peo- . ple set realistic goals in six differ- ent areas of their life. They . - would be corporate, financial, in- tellectual, physical, family, social and spiritual. While our New .Year Mehra - lions arc over, they continue in different societies. The Chinese New Ycaris`ccic- brated beginning in late Januar or early February, according to the lunar clacndar. The year of thc Dragon, 1988 will give way to the Year of the 'Snake on Feb- ruary 6, 1989 according to the date 0,1 11 IC IiCW•1113011 111 lin_ L.t.x. Most ancient .nations celebrate the new year with the coming of spring, while in India the Hindus celebrate the first day of each of the four seasons. 1 can't afford to be sick I am seldom ill, for which I• am very thankful. When I do need medical advice, it is never for something simple. I have been treated for athlete's foot on my hands, and "pink cyc" in my haz- el orbs. - - I have lost my tonsils and ap- pendix, and gradually gained 10 ugly pound which I would like to get rid of without chbpping off my head. I am usually my own worst en- emy. That is a gentle way of saying I have Masochistic tenden- cies. Nothing serious. ND need for institutionalization - which sounds like a deadly disease it- self. A few years ago, 1 sliced into my fingers at the T -A while trim- ming PMTs with an Exacto knife, leaving the tops hanging like bottlecaps. In that case, stopping the flow of paper from the • Workers' Compensation Board was more difficult than staunching the original gush of blood. • I finally wrote the Board, promising to never claim com- pensation for my injury and ac- ccpting full responsibility for my wound. I blamed my own care- lessness, and assured the Board .1 worked in a safe environment. An hour after I handed the edi- tor a photocopy of my letter, the Reynold's Rap by Yvonne Reynolds / plastic case covetin jg the fluores- cent lights came loose from its moorings and dropped on his head. "Safe workplace -indeed!", he was heard to mutter. Another time i gave myself blood poisoning by picking ata toe. My..husband delivered me to the doctor's office within min- utes of noticing a telltale red line snaking its way from my foot halfway up my leg. But these were minor, com- pared with with my most recent medical complications. I intcrview_ed.a bee keeper, and broke out in what was soon diag- nose as a severe case of hives. (Both those statements are trtle, but I don't think they arc related. However, there is no known curc for a corny sense of humour.) My visit to the doctor, and thc antihistamine shot at the hospital were covered by OHiP. it's the other uninsured costs that arc pushing me to the edge of hank- ruptcy. In trying to track down thc al- lergy that made my hands swell and my forehead itch% i was ad- vised to stop taking some recent- ly prescribed medication.. Wouldn't you know it was the most expensive ever, working out at $1.50 a pill for a month's supply? Next i had to have all my rings cut off. Aside from the trauma of going ringless throughout uhe holidays, i face another just as severe when i get the bill for pu ting my rings back together again. I have made a New Year's res- olution to stay as healthy as pos- sible. I can't afford to be sick. •