HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1970-03-26, Page 14J
A mpg/um ; ffNAL STAR, THURSI A,Y, gAltpli 26, 1970
atineAnn,riican -musk
BY LORNA VINOENT
Some- people may think it ,
glamorous to live for seven
months in, a big hotel; where,
if
you wished, you could da
nee
every night and seea floor sh ..
ow
the
contrary it becomes so:ti
grog
gin
ordering dinner in your room
to
find- some sense of, peace
and
rng
to my husband some gossip ,
at no extra change: But tg
.
after 'a while that yoU be
,p ivacyr'.
One, . evening, while repeat
heard a uii'-i#is Ma
The Shah, something impelled
me to go over and open the
bedroom door. To my
amazement one of the hotel
staff nearly fell into .the room.
In his confusion he pretended to
examine the lock, indicating that
it Might gleed some repair. When
I closed the door on his hasty
retreat, my husband remarked
drily, "Now you see that your
'sense of diplomacy is still
,underdeveloped." From then on
I remetnbered that Tehran was
„ considered one of the 'choice
listening posts of the East, and I
learned never to mention the
name of any important person
bl• repeat •stories about him. ,
Latin American music ;was
0 very popular in Iran. Every. night
some pop. artist belt,ed out these
emotional songs while the
orchestra did its best to drown
out everything else. It was
" z ssible to carry on a
._-'-•conversation' at the same time
which made entertaining guests a
frustrating experience. ; One
evening., , a Scottish friend
enlivened the occasion by
arriving in his, dress kilt. -I
wondered i f many Iranians had
seen one before, as ;they
followed his every movement
'while - he danced MI his
partner'. They '' couldn't
.understand a. military uniform
made with a• skirt and a large
• -safety pinto hold it together.
Occasionally we saw an
excellent' display of Spanish or
Flamenca dancing by a travelling
troupe, :or .heard some -good
musicians from South America.
On the' eve of the: Moslem
Sunday, the affluent society
enjoyed large family dinners at
the hotel. Each table was decked
Life .among the
with a :bottle of soft drink at
every .place which cheapened the
appearance of the dining room.
•The women dressed in 'low-cut,
tight fitting gowns and wore
elaborate -hair-dos and heavy -
makeup Those • who discarded
the chador seethed to have' gone
to the other extreme and . were
bent on displaying a large
portion of their anatomy. Most
of them looked " artificial and ,
`s agey. -
These women from wealthy
,families .lived very indolent lives.
Their husbands considered then
merely ornamental, like' the
household furniture. Nursemaids
looked after the children and
servants ' took care of all the
household tasks. The public bath
house was still considered a
social centre, and wives spent
hours. meeting there with
friends, getting massages,
manicures and steam treatments.
In the afternoons. they visited
relatives, played mall gong and
drank tea, One wife who was
more enterprising tried to form a
literary club, but after a few
meetings the would-be tnembers
gradually dropped out. They
reminded me of rudderless boats
adrift on the sea of life without.
goal or identity. Their husbands
usually had as Many mistresses
as they could afford. Although
the day of the harem has passed,
it krill 'exists in' a scattered
community. The men eventually
discovered , that keeping • their
woven- apart created. greater
harmony. . •
Professional status was highly
regarded even though univexity
degrees were sometimes bought
by wealthy families forsons who
were _lazy. or not too bright. A
qualification, such as engineer or
lawyer was usually mentioned
during an introduction.
- On the other 'side of the scale,
a,woman of the lower working
class had a hard life. Her one or
' two -roomed mud brick house
was often, built -on a piece of
vacant property where she lived
with her family on squatters
rights:`'Her husband paid a small
rent. to the landlord until he
wished to use the land for
building purposes. Then they
would ,be turned out, losing the
small shelter they had built.
There were ' few furnishings to
covered the earthen eiloor. Bed
rolls which were stacked in a
corner. during the day were laid
out on the floor at night for the
ex'ltire family.. Sometimes, only a
piece of sacking hung over the
doorway to keep' out the draft.
They cooked rice with bits of
mutton on a charcoal brazier.
Small children were fed mast
(sotfiething ..like 'yogurt) 'made
from goat's Milk.. - .
To keep' warm in winter, they
dug 'a hole in the earthen floor,
placed ,the charcoal tihazier
inside, spread a rug or old quilt.
over ' the top, and at night the
family sarin a circle around the
fire with "their feet under the
nig, In
this ° position they
enjoyed, their hot tea from the
samovar or mended the
children's clothing "T
' Water had to' • -be carried from
a neighborhood tap or the jube.
For light they used tallow
candles or small kerosene
lanterns. Their bathroom was a
tiny 'outside shelter of dried -
mud.
In summer, the smaller
children slept outdoors, on a
wooden' platform under, the stars
where old bedding and pillows
had been spread. Often three
generations lived in the same
small• house and the' older were
highly • respected by the younger:
The wife began the day by
sweeping and watering the sand
in front of her small' abode,
washing clothes- in a tub
outdoors and hanging them
along the mud -brick m114o_dry:
I marvelled at their efforts.to be
clean with so tittle water. at
hand, and scarcely any, of what
we call, the -necessities of life.
Yet they seemed happy and •
content with their primitive -
existence. The children went --to
School-- in grey uniforms which '
looked clean and neat. Before
entering the house they afways
-r•noved their shoes which. they,.
wore only, on the street. The
family " lived with dignity and
independence, ,asking nothing or
life but enough to eat and a roof
Over their�lieads. '.
I watched 'the day to day life
of such a family from my third
floor balcony, and• it made me -
• ashamed to complain of
anything that we considered
hardship. The children laughed
and played like any others.
oslems
Visitors came, and they all sat
crosslegged on the sand to drink
-tea. A grandmother who lved
with them died, and later on a
new baby was born. It -seemed
like watching a play dealing with
the cycle of life.. The children
always waved to me whenever I
appeared on the balcony, and
called "Hello," the only English
word they knew. I waved hack
and returned their greeting.,
They seemed to sense even from
such a distance that I admired
them and felt concern for all
•
•
take away. • Old rugs usually
ORDAINED
A Novel of a Man of
God in a World of Men
by Robert Leckie
(N.Y., Doubleday,
1969; 493 pages),
Two year after Robert
Emmet Cullen is ordained as a
priest in the catholic church, he
is sent to the blood -drenched
battlefields of the South Pacific.
He learns to live with filth,
disease, • and obscenity among
'some of the 'bravest men in the
world. This is the story of a
priest's adjustment to the crude
world of then.
Robert , _ Leckie, a wounded
and decorated • Marine in the
Second World War,' has been
writing since he was sixteen
years old. Most of his books
have been about the war and his"
vnlurRe, `,`Thev=Wars-of America"
is _considered.- a Lrnasterpiece of
military history. Here, in his
-latest hovel Ordained, is
reflected his -lifelong interest in
religion. '
• Leckie portrays Father
Cullen, a tall "gangling redhead,
as anything but the . stereotype
prim and-. proper priest. He is
often seen in an unpressed suit
With a button , missing and
unmatched socks, much to the
consternation . of his superiors.
His unyielding belief in' "help
your, fellow man" gets him in
hot water -snorethan once., The
reader' .will be swept up with
Cullen's ' magnetic personality;
share his heartbreak at losing a
very dear friend, and side with
his unholy anger at discovering
his sister is an adultress, You will •
cheer at his humble acceptance
'4
The swift' of a kilt ..
that happened ".irl their life
together,. They taught me that
human dignity had nothing to
do with the affluent society. It
belonged to anyone who had
inner resources and the courage
to he unashamed of material
poverty.
Z._
Reviewed by •
G. J.' Mccleave
and distribution of large sums of
,money, and experience his awe
with the miracle of a
bloodstained shirt.
Leckie tells =his -tory with wit
and humor; - heartache and
drama. He reveals the political
,unrest within the Churchth,during
the era of a world of change. His
sensible and meaningful
explanations will give the
layman a deeper understanding
of .the inner workings of the
catholic religion, The book is "a
new addition to • the Goderich
Library. h.
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CANADIAN TRANSPORT •COMMISSION
By its Railway Transport Committee
OFPUBLIC HEARINGS
In the matter of the application of:
of -
Canadian, National Railways, to discontinue
passenger -train service between: - -
.Area (Province of Ontario) - - Tfain No.
Toronto . • —Palmerston - " 670, 671, 672
Palmerston—Owen Sound 670, 671, 672
-Palmerston—Southampton 656, .668, 669
Stratford -Kincardine 662, 663, 664,
665, 666, 667
Stratford Goderich . 660, 661 ;
II -Canadian Pacific Railway Company, to' disc,
continue passenger -train service between Toronto
and Owen Sound, in the Province of Ontario,
provided by passenger trains Nos. 302, 306 and
307;
III�Canadian National Railways, to discontinue
that portion bf their passenger -train service
between Toronto and Guelph, in the Province•of
Ontario, provided by passenger trains Nop. ,986
,ilec,al package price
You save $117.40'"
Suggested retail price •$246.85
Special package price - • $148.00
$98.85*
TAKE NOTICE that,„ the Committee has deter-
mined under its Order No. R-6313 dated August
1969, that the amounts which constitute the
actual losses attributable to each of the above
describedd' passenger -train services in each of- the
prescribed accounting years.are as follows:
•1- (C.N.) II (C.P':) III (C.N.)
For 1966 $414,073 $76,640 $126,955
For 1967 454,962 -89,606 141,060
For 1968 - 480,244. 97,935 147,313
TAKE NOTICE ALSO that PUBLIC HEARINGS
of the;, above APPLICATIONS will take place
commencing at the hour of 9:30 a,rn at the
following places and dates:
GREY COUNTY COURT HOUSE,
OWEN SOUND
Commencing March 31, 1970
WELLINGTON COUNTY COURT HOUSE,
GUELPH `
Commencing April 8, 1970.
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•
it is the Committee's intention to consider the
application of Canadian National Railways shown
in I above as the .first order of business at the
,hearing in Owen Sound commencing ori March
31, and .then to consider the application of Cana-
dian. Pacific Railway Company shown in II above
in Owen Sound after the completion of I. The
Committee, intends to consider the application o'f-
Can'adian National Railways Shown 'in III above.
at the hearing in Guelph commencing on April '8.
However, all persons who wish to, do so may
present their views on the discontinuance of an
passenger -train services listed above during an'
of the two hearings and in either place.
•
Persons who wish further information respecting
any of the above described passenger -train ser-
vices may write to the Secretary, Railway Trans-
port Committee,. Canadian Transport Commission,
275 Slater Street, Ottawa 4, Ontario.
Dated_at_ ,Ottawa, Ontario, this 26th day of
FebruaKy, ,1 970.
C. W. RUMP, Secretary,
-Railway Trenspcbtt Commi:tteo,
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