HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1981-08-27, Page 12Par, 4
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Beware of the fly -by nighter
Fly-by-nighters-the people who are here today,
gone tomorrow: the con artists who do a little
work for a maximum fee and then disappear; every
community suffers their visits. Whether it be
repairs, roofing, insulation, siding or whatever, fly-
by-nighters are almostguaranteedtodo a sloppy job.
By the time the injured party has discovered his
error, they have disappeared into the night.
It's recommended procedure for people plan-
ning on having work done on their properties to
have it done by competent, reliable professionals
who are local and who are capable of being accoun-
table. It doesn't make sense to save money by giv-
ing a job to someone who doesn't care about the
quality of his work and won't be around if things go
wrong.
In order to survive, small town tradesmen must
depend a great deal on word-of-mouth advertising.
They aren't liable to do sloppy work knowing that
the local grapevine is going to cut their future
business.
A sales tactic of the quick con artists is work
that the owner "should" have done. Such words
should be ignored. If doubts are raised, a
homeowner should contact a reliable local
tradesman for his opinion - never some out of town
sharpie who only cares about his commission.
Light cars, costly gas: get a bike
The average car of 1990 will be much lighter than
today's model, says an auto industry report. So will the
wallets of car buyers, because the average price will
have gone to $25,000.
This will purchase 2,250 pounds of automobile,
which will work out at more than $11 a pound. Think of
it as sirloin steak, and you begin to get the feel of it.
The thirsty V-8 engine will be as commonplace as the
dinosaur but gasoline will still be needed, and it is an-
ticipated that the cost by then will be $7 to $8 a gallon.
It might be useful, with 81 years to go, to begin
breaking oneself gently into the habit of riding a bicy-
cle.
(Leamington Post Express)
Canadian
Published Each Wednesday Ay J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd.
Member:
Ilyeekly Newsoapirs Association
ewtart• Weekly N•wspessers
Associations
News Editor Rob Chester
Second Class Mail A.pistration Nwnbsr 1385
Subscription Rates: $8.50 per year in advance in Canada $19.50 per year outside Canada Sin9$e Copies 25a
By
ROB CHESTER
Can the media influence the actionsof an adult?
Can cartoons influence the actions of children?
Both of these questions came to mend while
working on a story you won't see in the paper this
week.
One of the arts electives for the Consetoga Jour-
nalism program was a Canadian literature course.
The teacher we had believed there was only one
basic theme to any and all literature. Not only did
this make for a very dull class -listening to the Same
theory expounded every week - but it also convinced
me he was wrong.
His theme was growing up. The character as a
child grows and comes to an understanding of
himself. ( Which is usually true but is simplistic to
limit your studies to a single theme or level.)
However, he seemed to think that a child, being
child -like, lives in a fantasy world where (for ex-
ample) creatures of fantasy really exist. You can
tell a child something and the child will believe you.
Now this to a certain extent is also true, but I
believe there are more aspects of acceptance in
adulthood than in childhood.
Try telling a child he was found in a cabbage
patch.
Then see if he'll buy the one about the stork
when he asks again.
Growing up is not accepting your environment,
but questioning it.
A child seeing Superman fly off a tall building
quickly finds out it cannot be done. •
Rarely does a child actually jump off a building
to find out, which is the second aspect of adult
acceptance - comparison. A bumped knee jumping
off the sofa cures the desires to fling one's self off
tall buildings.
But tell an adult something and he is likely to
believe it. This is mostly because the lies you tell
can be more subtle and beyond an adult's ex-
periences.
I can't write about flying pigs, but a column on
South African politics would be believed by many,
even if it was sheer fabrication.
As well as being accepting though, the adult has
come to a number of conclusions about life and
these basic characteristics are hard if not impossi-
ble to change.
In short, can the media influence people to do
something out of character?
I doubt it.
There have been charges that movies, televi-
sion, and even newspapers have inspired criminals
to spectacular crimes.
On a smaller scale, one of the headlines on our
student newspaper was labled "irresponsible"
since it supposedly incited student vandalism.
If a person is prone to vandalism, it will
manifest itself in some act which coverge by a
newspaper cannot influence.
If something is well known and/or available to
anyone who asks, including a potential criminal, is
publishing the fact in a. newspaper irresponsible?
Many people have a fear of being quoted or hav-
ing their picture taken for the newspaper.
They seem to believe the newspaper has some
special be brand of ultra truth (many too, believe
the worst and think the newspaper is out to get
them) which makes a printed statement more im-
portant or more visible than the obvious.
Part of this comes from not being used to
newspapers and not being aware of the newspapers
news function.
But I do not believe the newspaper has a life
changing influence. It does, but only if you let it.
While economists are hailing the new energy
price agreement as the saviour of the Canadian
economy, and most are hailing the agreement as
the first indication of any attempts at government
policy or action in a long, hot, strike -ridden and ex-
pensive summer, I wonder who can afford gas at $4
per gallon?
Ultimately we all will, but with the price of gas
tripling in five years, think about the about the cost
of everything else you'll want to buy.
Higher oil prices are anotherblow to the auto
hleaae, turn to page 5