HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-01-28, Page 4PAGE 4—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28,1981
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Second class
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- number -0716
Assmem
Now that Ronald Reagan has securely
been inaugurated as the 40th President of
the United States, jokes, articles and slurs
on old age are fashionable.
In short, Reagan's successful election to
the presidency at age 70 has restored faith in
the older generation. Senior citizens now
have a new image.
Growing up to be president was the
American dream and Ronnie's success has
altered that lofty ideal only slightly. Now,
any senior citizen can hope to grow up and
become President of the United States.
Their aspirations are now legitimate.
And undoubtedly Reagan, who starred in
many western movies, has done much for
the image of the movie cowboy.. Would it be
safe to assume that now such rugged
cowpokes as Chuck Connors, James Arness
and Clint Eastwood can lay legitimate
claims to the,ration's leadership.
The evidence leads to that conclusion..,
0
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poem-
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DAVID SYKES - Editor
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Can you imagine the late John Wdyne
leading a charge on the Iranian militants.
No contest. The Duke could have had the
hostage situation cleaned up within an hour
and married the Ayatolla's daughter before
a commercial.
Things just seemed to work out like that
for the macho types.
So now there will be the obvious jokes
about the senior citizen President who nods
off during diplomatic talks and excuses
himself from Summit meetings -for a glass of
warm milk.
But age, they say, is only a state of mind.
However, you know you are getting old ;
When going, out for a little nip means
sneaking out behind the house for a shot of
Geritol from a family -size container.
When punk rock means a rock slightly
smaller in.size than a boulder.
When the drive-in is just a fond memory
that provokes a twinkle use the eye and a hint
of a lecherous smile.
{
When a rasnantic urge disappears before
you get a chance to do anything about it.
Or when you try to dosomething about it
(a romantic urge) but suddenly forget what
it was you were up to."
When you and the little woman start out on
an evening stroll in the morning.
When you don't give a darn whether or not
the hearing aid is in working order.
When you need a jump-start on the old
pacemaker after a luscious lovely has
walked by.
When you scan newspaper grocery ads
looking for a decent sale on prune juice.
When today's young people would give an
arm and a leg for your wardrobe for the
sake of being fashionable.
When one for the road means a glass of
water for the bedside table to soak the
dentures in overnight -es.,
When a firm grip means you finally found
an adhesive that keeps the bicuspids firmly
6.s
in place while eating an apple.
Whe.n you need orthopedic underwear and
socks to get you through the day.
When the raciest thing you do at night
before turning in is watching u Johnny
Carson rerun.
When the little woman. says she has a
headache and you couldn't care less.
When a sweet young thing at work gives
you an inviting smile and you forget what
the next move is.
When taking a laxative becomes the
highlight of the day.
When sowing your wild oats means testing
a new brand of porridge for breakfast.
When 10 means the time you went to bed
rather than a Bo Derek look-alike.
And finally you know you're getting old
when you decide on a second honeymoon but
go to different destinations.
I wonder if Ronald Reagan has noticed
any of the above mentioned symptoms
creeping into his lifestyle.
1.FOR 1ruSQb:S �� EDIT ORIA6-�L�EICS peed phone (519) 534-.8331
nion strikes illegally
Patients in 40 hospitals across the province are being
.,sent,hoineor cared for by volunteer staff as non-medical
Workers in19 communities stage an illegal strike.
' The members of the Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUFF) began an illegal strike at midnight
Sunday to back demands for higher wages and shorter '
"hours. The strike however, is a breach of the. Ontario
Hospital Disputes Arbitration Act which bars strikes by
. ta1, Work t and requires conflicts to be submitted to
dr f at1otr
tuft Atfoiney-General Roy McMurtry wiil'aeek air
iajunetion from the Supreme Court of Ontario ordering
toe 'employees at the '40 hospitals back to work. But the
Court may not hear the application until later in the week
and If it can legally grant such an injunction, it would
cone Friday at the earliest.
That means that Many patients, in these hospital are
innocent victims to a wage dispute. Those that can be
safely discharged have been sent home while supervisors
and volunteers are. doing the work of the strikers.
Admittance is limited in all affected hospitals.
The union will not go to arbitration claiming the
workers don't get a fair deal on wages in settlements.
The hospitals have offered the employees 65 cents an
hour in each year of a two-year agreement but have
disregarded the union demand for workload committees.
The union had agreed to an earlier proposal but it was
rejected by the employees who wanted $2 an hour in each
year. •
Their demand .was later tempered to $1.50 an hour in
both years of the agreement. They now earn an average
$6.64 an hour.
CUPE represents orderlies, aides, Kitchen at-
tendants,maintenance workers and- some registered
nursing assistants. All the employees�°have been wits
— contract since September.
(Canadians have a difficult time coping with strike ac-
tion in -the public sector and many employees deemed
essential to public operations have had the rightto strike
taken away. Regardless, strikes cause hardship for many
people and it always raises questions of the legal and
moral variety.
Illegal strikes are another ball game. Undoubtedly the
workers feel justified in their actions and suitably
angered by their position to take such serious action. The
employees say the threat of fines is irrelevant, a mere
joke. .
Such action only leads to the destruction of union
credibility and the system that controls them. D.S.
Canadainvites toxic dumps
Do you think the American government would condone
the testing of toxic chemicals in their own backyard.
Not likely. But that is exactly the scenario as revealed
in Ottawa last week when the defence department con-
firmed reports that Canadian Armed Forces worked with
theUnited States Army to -test chemical defol;.ants-I,D New
Brunswick.
The testing was- done during the Viet Nam war at the
Canadian Forces Base Gagetown and involved hundreds
of acres of land that were sprayed with highly toxic-
chemicals.
oxicchemicals. One of those chemicals was a defoliant, Agent
Orange, that has been blamed for cancer, birth defects
and other health problems.
The government .claims the chemicals were used for
simple tests on range clearance and brush control but
officials claim the American authorities made no mention
that the chemicals were to be used in Viet Nam.
Canada had a testing arrangement with both the
Americans and British around 1966 and the New Brun-
swick site was chosen because the foliage resembled that
of Viet Nam.
Gagetown belie stretches for miles and naturally new
there are concerns about health of the people living on the
I am speechless.
I mean really. Literally. Undeniably.
Unequivocally.. What I am saying here
people 1s this: I cannot say anything.
Do not laugh. This is not funny. Those
rampant ,winter germies have caught me
with my turtleneck rolled down . and have
attacked me right where I live - in the voice
box. That's right all you desgly
healthy people out there, I have f :';en
victim to laryngitis, not to mention
winter diseases that end in itis'.
He ha It's easy for you to laugh.
Everybody gets sick in the wintertime you
say. Well I don't! ! Why not Spike theSeagull
Man up there? Why haven't those rotten
little critters fouled up his bronchial
system? I mean, he's frailer than me by a
long shot.
I am supposed to be strong. I am supposed
to be invincible! I am supposed to
be ... repeater!
It isn't easy answering the telephone at
base and in thearea. Some people have lived there since
the testing began and claim there have been no health
hazards or increases in the reported cases of cancer or
birth defects.
But they can't be that sure or that confident now. There
could be latent side effects -that residents are no* con-
cerned about.
Paul Hellyer was the Canadian Defence Minister in 1966
and he claims such testing was a routine sort of thing but
the side effects of Agent Orange were not known. He
added that neither government would have permittedthe
testing if the effects of Agent Orange were known.
New -Brunswick justly feels like a chemical dump and
undoubtedly environmentalists will raise a fuss about the
latest chapter in the New Brunswick waste disposal saga.
But it is inconceivable that the Canadian Government
would allow such testing without knowing the full extent
or ramifications of the tests. You can't blindly enter such
agreements and later claim you didn't realize toxic
chemicals containing dioxin were being used.
The citizens of New Brunswick must feel betrayed and
rightly so. D.S.
work with a squeaky "Lo?" and have a
complete stranger answer back, "Oh you
poor dear. Why don't you crawl under the
covers and snooze?"
People just do not say that to reporters.
We are supposed to ask the questions and do
the uncovering. Sheesh. How demeaning.
I broke down and visited the doctor today
in hopes of obtaining sane pretty blue and
pink capsuled drugs (I got yellow " and
orange) and an elderly lady recognized me
in the waiting rains, even without,my dice.
"Aren't you...?" she asked.
I nodded in affirmation aid my lips
moved. Then she looked at me expectantly,
waiting for me to explain my ailment.
Naturally she didn't get it and the look
changed to mistrust There's a reporter in
the doctor's office, she must have been
le thinking. She must be reporting on the sick
people. How very rude.
As you can see, I am in a bit of a no-win
situation here, folks. And all because I can't
explain myself without sdunding like a seal.
DI
now shanty
Photo by Cath Wooden
DEAF • .^-s€
BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER
Did you ever wonder what would happen if
everyone just refused to pay taxes of any kind?
That's right. What would happen if
homeowners refused to pay property taxes? And
workers refused to work until employers refused
to deduct income taxes? And shoppers refused to
shop until merchants refused to collect sales
tax?
It's an interesting thought isn't it?
Aside from the fact that most of us would be
jobless and hungry, homeless and naked, until
the rebellion had worked its way down through
the masses of humanity :... "until governments
were overthrown and- kingdoms acrd con-
stitutions were rendered powerless .... what
would life be like?
I've been thinking about this kind of society for
the last few days, ever since a young man from
the community walked into my office and
challenged me to think about it.
Frankly, I don't think I'd like to live in that
kind of a system. Not at all.
When you get right down to it, every human
being needs a framework -of rules and
regulations within which to operate. The human
mind just can't cope with total freedom. The
human mind is toe limited and too self-
destructive. At least as we know it today.
But let's just imagine for a moment that the
people of Goderich and area were living in a
taxless, governmentlesa world.
D
ERS
What would the quality of life be like here?
The first thought 1 had was for something as
basic to everyday winter living as snow removal.
How would this community work through the
problem without some kind of government
system to make the arrangements?
I threw this question out at coffee break
recently. The answer came back quickly
enough: each citizen would be responsible for
cleaning the portion of street or road or sidewalk
immediately in front of his or her home.
Sounds reasonable I agreed.
Then I began to think about specifics. My own
home for instances where we share a portion of
the street with the neighbor opposite. The first
order of business -would be to co-operate with the
neighbor on this problem. A shared respon-
sibility. Not impossible by any means.
Since we live in the middle of the block, it
would require skillful negotiations with the
people who reside at either end of the street.
After all, their performance - or lack of it - would
affect my family and my neighbor's family. A
little more difficult, perhaps, but still not totally
impossible.
Now that gets us to the end of our block. But
there remains quite a bit of street to be cleared
between there and my office ... between there
and the grocery store ... between there and the
next town.
Now my movement becomes dependent on the
fulfilled responsibility of every person along the
way. If even one shirks his or her duty, my travel
is restricted.
I must admit that the newsroom co -
occupants are having a delightful time at
the expense of moi. They let the phone ring
and ring just so I have to answer it and then
they laugh merrily as I try to make myself
understood.
And they talk rudely about me right where
I can hear them because- they know my
defences are down, If I burst forth with
angry barkings, Spike smiles sweetly and
reminds me my laryngitis will only get
worse if I try and yelp
It is nice to have supportive co-workers in
times of stress. n
Of course, my voice problems do not, just
occur at work. One's social life gets kinda
damp when one goes out for a night on the
town with the strong manly smell of Vicks
Vaporub on the chest.
In fact, when one's larynx feels like it is
wrapped in fibreglass insulation, life in
general loges something in quality.
Take The Exorcist. There was Linda
Blair's head turning around, in living black
and white on my 19 -inch TV screen just
begging to be screamed at. But could I
oblige? Nay. I had to run madly around in
circles, biting a pillow. There is no dignity in
that.
It isn't fair. The rest of the world can sing
in the shower. Deprive me of my morning "I
Gave My Love a Sandwich" behind the
shower curtain and I'm lost for the rest of
the day.
And I am just plain sick and tired of
running up to people and tugging on their
shirtsleeve to get their attention. And once I
have their attention, I'm tired of playing
charadee' to hold it.
Life is so cruel. I long to hear the sound of
my own sweet voice which others have
described as sounding bird -like. (Large bird
that dwells on beach -like)
And when I do regain it, I refuse to let it
get away from me against simply will go on
talkingforever and ever so ea not to Pose
track of it.
Not a very dependable system at the best of(
times I'd say:
But let's suppose for a moment that everyone
kept up his or her end of the bargain.
Can you imagine the manhours that would be
involved for these individuals? What time would
you have to rise each morning to get your portion.
of the street cleaned off for the early morning
traffic?
Can you imagine the equipment that would
have to be purchased by each homeowner along
the way? Good for the economy of course, but
costly for the individual.
I'd be willing to predict that a ,a system
wouldn't last a full day, even 11oou had full
agreement totry it.
I'd be drilling to wager that somebody
somewhere along the route would hire a con-
tractor to do the job. Maybe a whole neigh-
borhood would hire a contractor to remove the
snow'on Its streets.
Even if you could get a contractor at a
reasonable price (the competition would be
fierce and the price should be decent) the hassles
would be enormous getting the neighbors to
agree on who should pay what ... and when. And
who would collect the tardy accounts?
All this speculation. makes -government look
like a bargain, if we were getting nothing more
than efficient snow removaL
Just thinking through the options makes one
happy t o pay taxes. At least untll the alternatives
are less 'taxing' in themselves.
cath
wooden
v