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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-10-09, Page 3a People in Profile; by Elaine Townshend In the midst of hitch -hiking through Canada and the United States, Philip Bush, 23 of: Standon, 35 miles north of London, England, took aneight-day break in Clinton to -visit his grand. - parents - Mr. and Mrs. Donald Darrell, Philip finished law school on August 1 and negotiated with his future employer in. London to take six months off before starting to work. "1 got everything together in about five or six days, jumped on a plane - to my mother's chagrin - and started hitching from Newark airport," he explains. When he left Gatwick airport south of London, it was 54 degrees Fahrenheit and raining. When he landed, in Newark, the temperature was:96 degrees Fahrenheit. He dives himself minus_points for preparation. One of the most im- portant parts of a trip is knowing where you will stay on the first night. He sent a telegram asking his -mother's cousin to meet him at the airport, but the cousin was out of town. Fortunately, a classmate from law school was visiting New York, and his hostess took in Philip as well. Five amazing days in New York followed. "Seeing guys roller skating down Fifth Avenue, wearing stereo earphones and just dancing through the traffic, has to be looked at twice," laughs Philip. Theviolence that we hear about is not exaggerated, but according to Philip, not enough publicity is given to the good things about the city. He found people friendly, except "the d rather curt. ork, he hitched to he encountered the of the trip - waiting a ride in blistering police who seem From New Y Syracuse -where first painful part seven hours for heat. "My faith in the milk of human kindness was running pretty low, ' he admits. Finally he toted his 85 pound pack, containing a tent, into down - London, England traveller fin town Syracuse and caught a. bus tO the Thousand Islands. At a campsite near Alexandria Bay, he met a 'Pennsylvaniacouple and travelledin their camper van for three days. They took a boat tour of the Islands and then drove to Mon- treal. Two things he noted about Montreal were the cleanliness of the city and the tensionfor anyone who didn't speak French. Philip speaks con- tinental French, which is much dif- ferent from the language spoken in the province of Quebec k . He passed through Ottawa, then spent some time with relat`ves •and friends in Toronto and Oakville before coming to Clinton. Life in Clinton is quiet, he discovered, but people are friendly and outgoing. He was surprised by the number of recreational facilities in such a sm ill community - swimming pool, ice rink and race track. Goderich with its neat Square would be described in England as a "quaint market town". On September 24, his uncle took him to London where he resumed hitch- hiking through the northern States to Calgary and Vancouver. According to Philip, the• trick to hitching is to avoid being let off in a city, where one can easily get lost. If a ride ends outside a city, a campsite can usually be found near a small town. The feasibility of hitching all the way to Vancouver is a question mark. If rides prove hard to find or the weather turns nasty, Philip in- tends to catch a bus. "One hopes to see famous land- marks, but...I'm like a seed in, the wind; it will take me where it wants," he concedes. He hopes to beat the snow though Banff to Vancouver: In Seattle, he'll visit friends before.heading down the California coast, He'll nip into Mexico because he has heard about the lavish living of Americans compared to the poverty of Mexicans. He wants to stuck in the middle My eyes are puffy, my nose is red and I really don't feel like writing a column this week. I'm still half asleep, my throat is aching and my fingers are having a difficult time hiting hte keyys - see what I mean. My creative streak still thinks it's about 3 am and my con- centration takes a -leap each time the hammer crashes down or the saw rattles my fillings. But despite the renovations at the office,the state of my weary body and my unhealthy head, the paper still must go out. So here I am, about as inspired as a turtle, but here I aril. On Wednesdays, .there's little mercy around here for the down and out. It's deadline time you see and with only a few hours before the paper is put to bed (as we journalists say) there's no time for sleeping, suffering er sympathy. Wednesday morning means frantically writing all those stories that I was too lazy (I mean not well enough) to prepare before now. Wednesday morning means identifying all the week's photos, a mad dash to Goderich and an af- ternoon of creating this week's paper in the paste-up department. Wednesday around here is like,,, the last chance. If the stories aren't written yet, the interviews not done or the ads not sold, it's too late. Being sick on a" Wednesday or unintentionally_ sleeping in, are ultimate sins. The typesetters, the press room boys, the post office, the advertisers and the subscribers to the News -Record don't take kindly to such feeble excuses. But what a burden to carry if the poor reporter screws up. Now and then there are Wicked Wednesdays, when the fire siren starts blaring at 10 am, someone insists on coverage- for a special event or ` a blinding -snowstorm threatens to hold us back. But like the proverbial postmen, nothing stops the paper from going to the press: - • I shudder at the thought, but I'm sure that.if I kicked off at this very moment, my last few breathes would be spend dictating my ;column. They say that's part of the ex- citment of being a journalist and nothing is more inspiring than trying to beat the deadline. Traditionally, gonzo reporters work well Under pressure, give them 10 minutes and they can create a headline stopper, give them three days and they'll come up with a story that might as well be put under the death notices. And so I must write this column come hell or high wafter. But please, give me a moment to blow my, nose and have a sip of coffee - Make the comparison for himself. Attending a football game somewhere in the northern or':western States is tee must on his itinerary'. Philip played rugby in university and is fascinated by ,North AMOrican football, The soccer played in North .America doesn't compare with that Played in Europe, but , conversely, P y England has nothing to compare with the vibrancy of North . American football. "The razz-ma-tazz of American football gives the game an electric atmosphere that •one would only find in a soccer final in England" he admits. • On the jet coming from Britain, Philip met a fellow from - Prescott, Arizona, who has a private pilot's licence and promised to give him a 's eye view of the Grand Canyon bird Amer moans to enjoy, themi selves. "I'll stop in Dallas," he continues, Excellent recreation facilities, are_ ecause e s ovl i"s verypopularabundant; average personal income is higher and average price of goods lower than in England. Judging by the job listings in North American newspapers, Philip believes em- ployment opportunities are good. "This is probably an inexperienced view," he adds, "but I think anyone who is confident and willing to work hard could make it big here." Born in. the West Indies, Philip has travelled through several European countries.- Before coming to North 11 he chooses to live in North America in thefuture, which he says is not a vague possibility, lite will settle in a place like Mississauga with its close proximity to Toronto. The vastness of the country was one of the first things that impressed him.. "Mileage seems minimal over here," he explains. "You. drive 140 miles to a cricket match and think nothing of it. If .you drove 140 miles in England, you'd be in the North $ea." `People in North America know how to live because they know how to enjoy , themselves," he continues, "Whilst I've been here, I've realized some attitudes back -home are rather stupid. People here can go out and have a good time, and nobody thinks anything of it."• Several factors help North back home and my sister would never speak to me again if I didn't try to get J.R.'s autograph." He'll swing down to New Orleans to satisfy his taste for jazz, stay with friends in Atlanta and. visit Disneyland, "because I'm a kid at heart and hope I always will be." His trip will end in Florida where his sister will join him for Christmas with his aunt. In the New Year, he'll return home and begin work in London. Booze beats drugs in school Council ,for action finds If ab information session held in Exeter Monday by the Huron County Council for Action on Alcohol and other brugs is any indication, the problem of alcohol. -abuse -_by- school-. age children is of greater concern than drug abuse by the same age group. The information session held at South Huron District High, School attracted about 75 people, including a large , number of children with their' parents. Chairing the meeting was Doctor Don Ecker of Exeter, who along with constable Kevin Short of the Exeter police department, Grant Ellison of CAAD, Al Epp, SHDHS teacher Jim Gladding and high school student Matt McClure, participated in a panel discussion on the matter of alcohol and drug abuse among people. Prior to the discussion, a film on . marijuana •use by children in the United States under the age of 16 w;as. shown, with Short saying the filnr,was realistic and many of the children pictured resembled some of the youth which he had dealt with locally. Ellison and Epp had similar feelings about the • film in that it presented arealistic picture. In one •of the recurring themes of the evening,_ _Gladding said he believed some parents were neglecting their duty when it came to the supervision of the children and that there was a real problem in terms of a double standard. "When you have a double standard it makes it difficult to deal with the children on the matter." McClure stated alcohol was more popular among students compared to marijuana and that while the alcohol or drug abuse problem may begin at 1 che home the school does have a responsibility. • "Hardly a day goes by when I don't see a person affected in some manner by alcohol," Ecker stated . and added that as a parent, he would be upset if .he discovered his children were smoking marijuana, but that he would be more upset if they were using alcohol. In a question and answer session, Short said the courts were leveling heavier fines against drug pushers and that the penalties from drinking and driving have been stiffened. After his third drinking and driving con- viction, a driver could lose his licence for three years. SHDHS teacher Bruce Perry put the blame for alcohol and drug abuse on the shoulders of the parents and ,suggested that as a last resort, all laws .be eliminated• and people be made responsible ' for their own ac- tions. "Until we educate the parents, we can't blame the kids," according to phys-ed and family life instructor Ron Bogart of the school. Agreeing with Bogart were McClure and student Paul McAuIey with McAuley saying "Kids are going to do it if the parents do it." Bill Murdock of the Addiction Research .Foundation said that by grade 13, 94 percent of students are wing alcohol which compares to a figure of 85 percent for the general population. Murdock said that while alcohol was the number one problem in the schools, concern for the increased use of other drugs in the school system must be shown. The seminar was organized by Reverend James Forsythe of Exeter United Church. CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, TEURSDAYP OCTOBER 9,193 : t s Clinton America, he considered spending his' six free months touring Europe, England or the Far East. i=Ie.decided to leave a tour of England until a later; time when it might be physically impossible to a travel abroad. He abandoned the idea of the Far East because. of language barriers,. in- creased expense and extra problems PAGE- 3 obtaining visas. , Followingthe leadof classmates who had visited North Amerloa .for a,. ' month and thought it was great, he. chose to hitch -hike across Canada and the United ited States: When he stopped in Clinton he had no regrets about his choice, saying he had encountered only generosity and hospitality. Philip Bush, 23, of Standon, England, took a break recently from hitch -hiking across Canada and the U.S. to visit his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Donald Darrell of Clinton. (photo by Elaine Townshend) Study Interior planning with me in a 10 week adventure through this fascinating world, at Clinton High School. Eachstudent will complete a design project for their home, through selection of wall coverings, colour co-ordination, flooring, drapery treatments, furniture, and their many alternatives.. 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