HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-01-17, Page 17•
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I am So ashamed
....j ven-now it is .dtffiealt.' to taU alhou1C
but I feel the -burden mist, be lifted
from cny breast.
• - -The- —iident o,6..c-red-- imto�t
enough during the routine of the wori
.day last week. While the final gri'y bit ty -
, of the favorite weekly were being
assembled., watched nearby,
assuming a supervisory role.
Then,.without notice or , the ,least
enticement on tray part, a young fele
• 'Member of the paper's staff . ap- •
preached. '
Immediately her hands groped about
my upper --torso in .a massaging fashion, A
Her' nimble fingersdeftly delved right;,
under my sweater, for Gods sake, and,
produced a cigarette„ from my shirt.'
pocket. •
"Thanks,” she offered c.asually.while
strolling idly away to enjoy .one of the
special milds.
Frankly, the incident took me by
surprise and it took a few seconds for
the implications of the attack to set in.
if was ashamed.
While 'clutching :the top of ny• e shirt
co 1l and holding it closed tesomlehow
Otalo chastity, -1 glanced :abQgt the•'
oto
determine—if anyone—ha - rs tel
witnessed the crude defilement of my
body,
Trio -one appeared to have noticed.
But still xray body was revolted by the
`sudden surge of these hands and I felt
.disgustingjy cheap."'
I had heard ,and- read much "about
sexual harassment but, in my naivete,
had never, thought of myself as a target'
for such abuse.
•
What had prompted such an attack
by that wanton and letcherous woman?
It led to some serious self-evaluation.
Would. I have to accept the fact that
my little bod was sending out4oud and
clear messages, inviting such' un- -
, controllable probing. It was a distinct
, possibility.
Perhaps it was just'the provocative.
stance that I unkowingly assume
varinusesmemmilie
during the rigors of the work day-►
had I tossed my head baek`in that-bnte.;..<
little way I have once to often. "
It is difficult to asses what one's bpd "
11xt the welrtd < :
Or was my clothing worn in suelt a
fashion as to kindle fantasies in office
cohorts thereby.' rendering them
useless through much of the day. Was
the cut of my pants -enough to lure the
i'amour out of the; womenfolk around
the office?
p► man can never be, too careful about
such details, '.
Was there just ahint .of chest peeking
through a plunging: neck line of the
Pierre Cardin that -would prompt a
probe from a carefree female?
It had nevercrossed my mind that
ray clothing was giving .off bold in-
vitations.
In ernest, I am not quite certain'
what options are available in this
circurnstance. Am I just to accept the
advances of . said lascivious lady
without any recourse?
i!> . ,fat'
a!worker in e : liberated
What if thiis irnpu..lsivv prober was t",
'rise to- a`positiozrit t e +.o any a hove'
mine. Would I then be Rubjeet0 t
repeated attacks and have little to Sal -
for -fear of losing rny'job.
That is the way of the business wort %)
women have told nae. ,
So lately I have changed my style,i'n
the office. Baggy pants, 'turtle .necks "
and ill-fitting sweaters have become
common . 'dress code -for this
correspondent. -
• Hopefully it will ward off any future
licentious inclinations women may
have tgwards.rne.
It will take time, but, I am certain to
recover from what I hope was an
isolated attack on my -manhood.
But.' then, whose to dispute the fact
that I ma r be plagued by -severe and
unrelenting attacks all my life.
It's something it will have to live with.
�uppor� canvass fore
The Ontario March of Dimes Ability -Fund campaign will be conducted in
Goderich for one week, from January- 28 to February 4.
The campaign is being headed this year by the Exemplar ,and Perceptor.
'Chapters of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. Sheron Moore of Goderich is the ..
campaign chairman here.
When a canvasser calls at your door, please give generously. Your money
will help disabled people like Alfie Dale of Seaforth. It could even help
someone on your block,, According to Statistics Canada,, one inseven adults
in this country has a physical disability of sorry. kind. That would translate
to roughly 750,000 people in Ontario alone. a
The Ontario, March of Dimes --working to improve the quality of life for
physically disabled men and women --offers a, wide range of services which
affect all facets -of everyday,life for disabled'people. .
If you are missed by the canvassers here in two weeks time, donation
boxes are set up at various stores and businesses around town to which you
may contribute.'
arch of Dunes funds at work
Beep
, become
in Alfi
home.
ft is the sound . of in-
dependence to Alfie,:who
14 years ago became.
paralyzed from the neck
down, after damaging his
spine diving into a lake
outside Owen Sound."7.----
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132 YEAR --3
O
eri-cI
GN
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1980
SECOND SECTION
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Alfie's life is
Beep! Beep! .has
a common "sound
Dale's -Seaforth
It is also the sound of
-greater freedom to his
wife, Doreen,, who has
been by his side since'the
accident six weeks, after
their marriage. -
The Beeps come from a'
touch operated select and
control unit best known
simply as aTOSC II. With.
this urut, supplied by the
Ontario March of Dimes,
Alfie is now able to make
phone calls,- 'operate:' a
T.V. and radio, control
his ham radio set, open
the front door, turn lights.
on and off, . and tun an
intercom simply by
touching a single switch
with his chin: '
--To' make 'a „'phone calx
Kapp'
he touches a switch which
autoatically sends the
unit through the various
functions. When he
reaches the telephoiefunction, heremoves his
chin fromthe switch and
touches another part of it.
He Then holds his chin
there, and counts thebeeps untii hereaches the
The Ontario March
conducted ' in Gode
February 4 under the
Perceptor Chapters of
Last week some of
together to assemble ki
of Dimes campaign will Ae
rich from January 28 toauspices of the Exemplar and
the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.
the sorority members got
is for the canvassers. Left to
easesimemegmensemieseesse
I bought a pair
guards for my
discovered it wo
the skate blades
to put these dumb
When Ibought
figured they'd be
as they looked. A
two strips ofheavy
groove neatly cut in
The skate guard
were the standard
with a groove for th
curve . for the toe
short spring that loo
the blade to hold it in
Skate guards are
tough, form fitting
they're inplace, GustI don't want to lea
that I bought these thi
were the latest in skat
allthat's available.
t really dictn't reali
until I tried to put the
my coat on and wad on
right are Sharon Moore (campaign chairman),
Helene Alcock, Joanne Collins, Ellen Connelly and
Sandy Rompf..Donations to the March of Dimes
help physically handicapped people like Alfie Dale.
(Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
ier withTOSC ier II
correct number.'Tli he
removes his chin and
starts on'the next num-
ber. Four beeps and the
unit `dials a four. Six and
it dials a six. -
Making a "phone call
may not seem like much
to the average . person,
but consider what it
means to.. someone in
Mie's •j 'rezo He no
longer needs Doreen to
dial his calls or hold the
receiver, so he can be left
alone and still have a link
with the•outside world,
The link could mean the
difference between life
arid death in the event of
a fire, or, if Doreen were
to have an accident, Alfie.
could phone for help.
"It's-. juste like having'
-hands,' he says.
However, he was quick
to point out that it can't
make coffee or bring it to
him like Doreen.
For • four. years
following -his accident,
Alfie was bedridden in a
Chronic Care Ward at an
Owen Sound.hospital. It
was here that someone
suggested he start
sketching by holding a
pencil in his mouth.
"I thought they were
crazy," he says.
But he gave it a. try and
quickly mastered. the
technique.
Today, his most noted
work. •...i.s ....`.t�kie_ ..AI-d.._MiH,
which took almost two
weeks to complete and is
on • the cover of the
Ontario March of Dimes
annual report. ••
A limited edition of the
Old Mill has been
reprinted by • the
organization and is on
sale for $10. After costs,
proceeds of print sale go
to Alfie to supplement his
disability `pension..
Doreen quit work about
six years ago, when Alfie
'developed diabetes.
Alfie says . he got the.
idea for this'sketch and
numerous others from
-pictures, ' photographs.,
and drives through the
countryside;
Since the mull print, he
has been commissioned
by several people to do
sketches. This, along with
recent lessons in oil
painting, should keep him
-busy during the winter,
months, when the snow
keeps him,.indoors.•
• For Seaforth residents,
the sight of Alfie roaring
around their quiet streets
in his electric wheelchair
is a common one.
He uses the street
because the sidewalks
are too rough and the
curbs prevent him from
crossing streets. ••••-He
controls the chair by
using a mouth switch.
Last spring he lobbied
town council for curb cuts
along the main street so.
he could go downtown in
his wheelchair from his
Chalk Street home. And
they were ins -tailed-. -
"I know around here
you just couldn't get
better people," he says,
praising the community
support he has en-
countered since moving
to the town about four
years ago.
Providing TOSC II
• ,units to others like Alfie
Dale is a goal that the
Ontario March of Dimes
has set for 198'0. But the
number of units, worth
about $3,500 each, will
depend on the success of
the annual appeals in
January.
By touching a simple switch;' Alfie Dale of Seaforth is now able to make
phone calls, answer the door, turn lights on or off, control a television, plus
much more. An electronic device known as a•' TOSC II, provided by the.
Ontario March of Dimes, helps Alfie who is paralyzed from the neck down,
to do allthese things.
of revolutionary skate .�
aughter's skates and
uld be easier to take
off the boots than it is
things on.
the things I honestly
-as simple to operate
1 there is to them is
, white plastic'with a •
to the centre.
I last worked' with
flat bottom piece
e blade, an upward
f thrlilade and a
ped over the top of
place.
now space age
jobs that; once
om fit your blade.
e the impression
ngs because they
eguards. They're.
ze what I faced
things on. I had
my way out the
door when my wife asked if I had
bought the things. I quickly tried to
show them to her figuring the best way
to do that would be to take them out of
the package and put them on the
blades.
That's when I realized that there was
more to these things than the simple,
straightforward instructions indicated.
The plastic bag had the directions
printed on the back. Simply lay the
.skate guards on a flat surface, hook the
toe of the blade into place and firmly
press the blade into the groove.
1 put the guards on the table, hooked
the toe in 'arid" fifteenminutes later
threw both the guards and the skates on •
the floor and left in a huff.
Later that same evening I went back'
at the task Of getting my daughter's
new form -fitting skategu.ards on her
blades. I had to •get the job done
because a note from her school said she
had to have the guards on her skates to
reduce the risk of injury to fellow
students at the school skating party she
was going to.
The person taking the most risk for
this party was' the old man'. Not only
was the work frustrating and annoying
it was downright dangerous.
I put the toe in puce and no matter
how I pushed, twisted, coaxed, cursed
and threatened -the blade wouldn't fit
into place. If the blade was.a quarter of
an. inch wide the groove in the guard
was an eighth pf an inch. Each time I
tried to get the things on the sharp edge
of the blade filled the groove with bits
of plastic shavings leaving less and less
room 'for blade. '
I figured I •could clean out the groove
with a knife and possibly widen it a
-touch, However no, ordinary kitchen
knife would cut the space age tough
plastic.
Crouched on the living room floor I
decided to put the heel of the skate into
the groove at right angles to the guard
and draw the blade the length of the
groove to clean it out. Straining to cut
through the mess and pulling the skate
toward rne'it,slipped out.
Tears quickly came to my eyes'and
my voice ` went up several octaves.
Realizing how close I came to changing
my entire married life I went about the
cleaning in another fashion. After
much exertion'I had most of the gar-
bage out of the groove.
The blade fit better but not right. Just
then a friend dropped in and using my
best Torn Sawyer stuff I gave him the
task of saving the skating party.
I tried not to laugh as he strained and
fought to get these dumb things on. He
finally managed to get them on enough
that they would stay in place. We both
agreed not to risk further injury and
considered the job done.
The party was a success. No one was
hurt by my daughter's skates and she,
as I knew she would not, couldn't get
'the guards"back on the blades so she
left them' at the arena.
Unfortunately they were found and
returned.
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