HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-03-13, Page 4,.-
' ibme e C rgeterzsti a y beld
mag werolver en.
mere rh of their wanton waays,� a
lall iv ours � yen° tae tip, ae xaia iang.of the
eyebrow til c "a '' or even a hurx Ie s
winso> ie
: en:to e,.l aserejobbeeii1►s blow to reduce
r ,of .
In si riple terms, men are life. more than
Flaydough in the hands of the weaker sex.
In fact, and as evidenced and documented.
throughoutrhistory, men under the influence
of a woman's charms have been known to do
silly things. Men have killed for the love of a
woman, Men have emblazoned their
anatomical parts with the name( s) of their
loved one as an expression of their undying
affection.
Men have slain dragons to win favor with
the fair sex. Men have endured mothers-in-
law to be with the one they love.
Men have put up with horrendous long-
distance 'phone , bills to hear the sweet
sounds of their betrothed.
Men would tame wild beasts, conquer the
tallest peaks, swim the widest...well,
hopefully you get the drift of what I'm say-
ing here.
• tAt:•1,0 a bol
�F educe meg. r
A n or►'yb 1#101t•
fr -.
O of wouidu a ft tlhe t, eory.
t, ,at worneita e just'as crM �l e •.
least; that aanaa-wo , t'u £' l5 a
r• .....
.. neo °lit,elri�lfl?►t. ,
Ian, Plain ln. 'the lonfolk: � p
discovered the ll e ell ble won a bad
left town or larger towns and eltiles. Wblch
may lead , o e` to wonder ho* to •it. took
thes ozoS to rea ze. theelr age was
bereft of a aHarris ab a women.
Anyway, .havingust vtowed ,,the 1951
lfollywood classic, Westward. Women in a
local bar, a story about a Caravan of women
who travelled west to marry gold prospec-
tors, the Jove -starved bachelors decided
they, too should pursue the prospect of haul-
ing in a load of women to the remote village.
And so they placed an ad in their favorite
weekly which simply said, "women needed,
for the purpose of marriage."
The ad did the job.,On the .weekend, the
village's 140 'bac elos' wined,. dined and
generally partied with a busload of 200
°of world, wet
'p . aea3lr add for t elusive!
taai
/ on
� �Olathe; . elms* * .,: ma►.
But, while the busload of UVil � .1
feiales checked out the goods; so to
%t ..
4090 01 .001 y of the—
bachelors ignored the women or
drtink that it holly matter.
Thethi°ee-day psuedo love -fest did l 'o-
duce .come tangible results, however; One
woman managed to get engaged anc others
made contacts and friendships that could
lead to something permanent.
The concept of advertising for compa-
nions is relatively new to North America hut
many daily newspapers now carry such ads
in the classified section. But never has they
world been party too gang arrangement .of
this magnitude.
Considering :the obvious success of, the
plan in Plan, it may be safe to assume that
advertisements for wives may he popping
up in your favorite weekly on a regular
basis.
And I'm going to cover the story.
.aa..ara
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Things are heating up for
finance minister,. Wilson
Michael Wilson must feel as if he's sitting under a sharply focussed magnifying glass
on a sunny day. For the office of the federal finance minister lies at the small end of a
funnel brimful of the country'sfinancial woes.
His daily agenda is filed with the financial hopes and fears of most of us: interest
rates, the dollar, unemployrzrent, taxes, and on and on.
The dollar's plunge in recent weeks for example, has not.only boosted interest rates,
but it has also heated up the debateover the course of action to be taken.'
As if it weren't already warm enough in Wilson's kitchen he now must put together a
budget for the country amidst published reports that the tough talking policies he unveiI-
ed last fall are becoming less and less popular with cabinet.
And that is disturbing news, for Wilson will need all the poltical support he can muster
in order to make the necessary tough decisions. The cost of borrowing and the relative
strength of the dollar are of keen interest to most Canadians because fluctuations hit us
where it hurts -in the wallet.
But there are no short-term solutions. Those periodic $500 million injections to prop up
th dollar are expensive doses of tonic at best. What 4s needed is a new sense of direction,
something Wilson pinpointed in his November economic statement by calling it "A New
Direction for Canada."
The Spring budget must give a clear signal to Canadians and to the international com-
munity that this country's financial affairs are under control. •
That means taking a firm hold on the deficit, not just pruning it but cutting deeply into
one of the major weeds which chokes off foreign investment confidence in this country.
Wilson is quite right when he says he does not have as much control over the dollar as
he would like because of the strong American economy. But if he can follow through op
stated intentions to reduce the deficit, he would portray to the world that Canada is as
safge and attractive a place to invest as the United States. That in itself would build con-
fidence in Canada and bolster the battered buck. .
More than that, though, there is aneed for governments at all levels to develop policies
to improve the country's ecopomic performance, to enable us to become more com-
petitive on the international scene, especially with our neighbours to the south.
If that means stepping aside and letting non-competitive firms die, so be it. If it means
overhauling our wasteful, inefficient Uuemployment Insurance system, then get on with
it.
It is strong medicine, but the ,only away we can hope to live successfully and pro=
pserously next i:o an economic grant sucfi as the V.S, is -to compete with there oirkey
economic fronts: inflation, interest -rates, productivity and so on.
No one person can turn the country around by himself. But, with the right approach,
and support from Canadians inside and out o£-gevernment,_a.person in. Wilson's position
can measurably influence the future.
It is a difficult and important task. Good luck, Mr. Wilson.
Mainstream Canada
Bird's eye view
By Todd Mowatt
POSTSCRIPT
SUSAN HUNDERTMARK
I've always loved to laugh. I don't stop at
a giggle here or there. I usually start with a
low chuckle which builds up to a roar while
tears -strewn out of, my eyes and my
stomach and face muscles get sore.' With
me, laughing can be a major production.
There's nothing strange or unusual in
laughing itself. Everyone I know likes .to
laugh. But, what's stranger is the wide range
of reactions I usually get. '
Some people love it. They'll rhyme off
every joke they've ever heard, do all their
impressions and even throw in some soft
shoe just to see me chuckle. And, I usually
do. Make me laugh and I'll follow you
anywhere.
But, other people hate it. Reactions range
from strange looks to open hostility. I guess
in this serious world of famine, pestilence,
unemployment and nuclear armaments, I
should pat a lid on, the hilarity. And, I really
am serious, very serious sometimes. But, it
doesn't last too long.
I know my tendency to laughter can be
disruptive at times. I've known that ever
since I. was, sent f romthe dinner table at the
age of eight because I couldn't control my
gales of laughter when my sister was mak-
ing faces into her peas and carrots.
Everytime__I _thought_ I had -myself under
.
control, I'd take one look at my sister and off
I'd go running back to my room and
laughing at the top of my lungs.
She still has that effect on me. No matter
how angry I am at her, she can change the
expression on my face from rage to amuse-
ment in seconds. She and people like her are
the people I tend to spend most of my free
time with.
I'm "the kind of person who, instead of
vitamins, takes a dose of the newspaper fun-
nies every day and I'm disappointed if I
don't find at least one comic to make me
laugh out loud. I then spread the humor
around by passing on the ones I think pass
e comedy test.
Laughter is not an entirely frivolous past -
time, however. It's gotten me through some
rough times. When my mother died three
years ago, some of the people visiting the
funeral home were shocked to find my
sisters and I smiling and even chuckling to
ourselves. Though we were all feeling the
awful pain of her loss, we couldn't help but
picture our mom floating around the visita-
tion room finding humor In the situation.
There are experts who will agree with me
' that lapghter can help safes oiilf-of"Ftense
situations, help us learn and even keep us
healthy. Joel Goodman, an educational con-
sultant in New York who founded the Humor
Project, say's ithe w lolaugiis-; Iast"s T* __ ._ _...... __.
He says that studies show laughter can
help us heal ourselves, decreases discipline
problems and increases listening in the
classroom and -helps us handle aggressive
people without compromising our dignity.
He says everyone should be involved in
some nonsense. "We need a society of
'inverse paranoids'—people who think the
universe is out to do them good," he says.
I think he's right. While we have to stay
serious long enough to deal with the
business of life, there is a tendency to treat
ourselves too `seriously. I often fall into the
serious trap when I'm not around people
who make me laugh.
• I've always loved the scene in Mary Pop-
pins when Mary and her two charges go to
visit an elderly gentleman friend for tea. As
the mood turns to humor, they begin to rise
in the air until the tea party is taking place
near the ceiling while they're all having a
great time laughing away. But, with a
serious thought, the characters begin to
drift down to the floor.
Of course, we have to come down from the
ceiling when we negotiate for a raise at
work, hear the number of people killed in
wars around the world, or- -work -with-
dangerous equipment. There are times
when laughter just isn't appropriate.
But, we should spend as much time
laughing as is -appropriate. Weshouldspend
as much time as we can having a tea party
up around the ceiling.
You will have noticed how often, in con-
versation or .discussion, other people hear
what they think you are saying and not what
you are really saying. It happens to all of us.
It leads to"misunderstandings, When words
are, used or received sloppily, ,minds stand
apart in confusion and disagr brrrent; when
statements are not expected to be to the
point, the camouflage of wordy non -answers
serves in the place of clear explanations.
I think of such things at times as I attend
both the county and town council meetings
or when I review some of the situations
resulting from their decisions. It is amazing
how often individuals miss the point; it is
dismaying how frequently the questions re-
main without real answers.
In my opinion, the recent passing of by-
law 20 of 1985 by the Goderich town council
was surrounded by such elements. Since
nearly half of the Council members voted
against the by-law, the items in question
should not be passed over like a minor
'nuisance. The reported arguments in favour
do not speak to the point.
The by-law increased our sewage rates
(collected for the municipality by the PUC
on its bills) while some of the existing and
future sewage money is used for other,
unrelated municipal purposes. It follows
that it is easier to show a smaller increase in
the annual mill rate, if the council pays
some o hemunicipa7'bills from the addi-
tional revenue collected out of the public
pockets under another label. The increase is
the point.
Before we go any farther I want to em-
phasize most clearly that there is not even
the faintest suggestion of questionable
legality in this matter. The council has the
authority to do what it did. However, it is
seldom on a question of legality that a
municipal council is criticized or hears ob-
jections in its daily work. What is legal is not
necessarily right and desirable from a
public .perspective of additional considera-
tions and values.
We are talking about the sewage plant,
more politely called the pollution control
plant. The councils' foresight, the excellent
operations management by the plant staff
and the outstanding reserve and grant
money management by Town Ad-
ministrator, Larry McCabe, resulted in an
enviable surplus in the reserve fund after
the plant expansion had been concluded at
the end of 1983. The council acted wisely by
leaving $350,000 (plus interest) in the
reserve fund for "capitalprojects related to
sewage works".
When the council decided last year to use
some of the rest' of the sewage surplus for
the purchase of a computer for the town
hall. there were a few mildly raised
eyebrows, but there was no outcry. There
might have been even a feeling that Larry
deserves the advantage of a computer in his
work, as his excellent financial efforts were
largely responsible for the successful
surplus in the first place.
Had the balance of the sewage money
been earmarked in the by-law for related
hard services, the case would have ended
there. Instead, the by-law transfers the
balance of the sewage money to the general
account for budget purposes, thus turning it
into a neat little grab bag. In the same
breath it increases the sewage rates. That
was the point of departure for many minds.
The sewage charges recovered (via PUC
bills) "should equal the operation of the
plant", says an administrative committee
report in February. Fine. Better still, the
report also shows that the preeincrease
rates collected $216,,553 in 1984 while the
plant, operating expenses in the 1985 budget
are seen as $200,900. By that logic, where is
the need fora rate increase?
In dollars per customer the increase is
relatively small, but the ignored principle
opens even wider a door through which
other things with different labels might be'
marching whenever useful. The by-law,
passed byfive members out of nine, is now a ..
fact. Taling about it serves as a reminder
that the door is watched.
ELSA HAYDON