HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-05-14, Page 21Last Sunday muchof the world of-
fered
ffered a communal toast to motherhood
in observing Mother's Day.
A day set aside in reengnition of -all
the great moms and the wonderful
thingsthey do for kids and grownup
kids too. Noble deeds that often escape
recognition.
So, Sunday was a day for burnt toast
and rubbery eggs in bed for mom with
a little petunia to brighten up• the
breakfast tray. And moms are great at
pretending they know exactly what
those pictures are the kids drew on the
cards made with careful patience and a
measure of wild abandon at school.
But the mainpointof the day is
recognition,
In all modesty, if moms had children
of my mold and temperment, their
lives would be fairly uncomplicated.
To be truthful,I was of little trouble to
my mother but, then again, there were
the times when she:
Had to gently separate 39.. pieces of
Goderich Mayor Harry 'Worsen signed a document last Friday, proclaiming
April 30, 1980 to April 30, 1981 as Beta Sigma Phi Year. The sorority is
celebrating Its golden anniversary this year. Martha Rathburn, who is
Goderich's chapter's oldest member, presented the mayor with the
proclamation. (photo by Cath Wooden)
We Wawanash Twp. Council
bubble gtlrn from my hair after I fell.
asleep With a rather large wad in my
qrQ�tit.'"
Made me give Valentine cards ' to
girls and other people'I wasn't overly
fQud bf.
lout Web after patch on the knees of
my pants and other parts of my school
andgoQQin' around apparel.
Made me go to school at age six while
I argued that it might be easier if I
stayed home and did neat things
promising to learn more than school
would teach me.
Curled my hair through the lengthy
Toni process to attend a wedding when
I was too young to know any better.
Going to watch me play ball even
though she didn't have the least in-
clination of what the game was about
or how it was played.
Always usingthe cheap presents you
bought her for Christmas or birthdays
when aim pany was around.
Stayed up late at night to sew neat
the
derich
things for Easter or birthdays or
something.
,Always cherished mother's day and
Chri_stmatl' cards and other assorted
objets d'art that were painstakingly
assembled at school.
Going to parent -teacher night at
schdol and learning her son repeatedly
disrupted the class with jokes. I,
naturally, toldher there was little
credence in the teacher's testimony
and offered feeble explanations.
Putting up with a path -worn lawn and
some damaged shrubs so her kids could
play hockey, baseball, golf and
whatever on the front lawn.
Had to haul me out of the poolroom,
and in the midst of an important
match, to tend to neglected chores
around the house.
Controlled her anger even though
you busted one of the most prized
members of the bric-a-brac collection
in the living room and were unable to
offer a reasonable explanation for its
�lPml e.
Made me eat spinach, brrussel
sprouts and other assorted unpalatable-
green things so, I would grow up Wile_
the strong man that I atn now:
Became irate when 1 -accidentally
bladed a chip shot through the
basement window and into the
recreation room.
Making a neato Superman cape out
of old material that I strapped to my
back and pretended I could fly faster
than a locomotive by jumping off the
front steps. _
Letting me get my own way and
insisting my sister take me along with
her girlfriends to Friday night skating.
Letting you stay home from school
knowing full well the maladies were not
of a serious or contagious nature.
Allowing me to, put a mess goopy
stuff on my hair and an equal portion of
smelly stuff on my face for an im-
portant occasion.
And finally, knowing that little boys
will be mischievous.
SIGNAL S
132 YEAR -20
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 1980
SECOND SECTION
Quebec wants new deal
says Joliette teacher
BY JASON AINSLIE
Next Tuesday, May 20,
is Referendum Day. For
the peopleofQuebec, it is
a very important day, as'
it is for every Canadiap.
But it can hardly be
considered , crucial,
because the truth of the
issue is that it will yield
little in the way of any
decision. made and
certainly nothing that is
binding.
According to Jean-
Pierre Beaulieu, a high
school English teacher in
Joliette, Quebec who
recently visited
Goderich, many
Canadians are under the
Brindley auction dance hail?
A minute's' silence in
memory of the late Reeve
Leo Foran was observed"
by West- Wawanosh
Township Council
members when they met
for ' the regular May
session on Tuesday, May
6. .
Gordon H. Brindley
requested an . official
letter of permission from
Clinton, Goderich
hospitals get funding
The Ministry of Health
is allocating $360 million
over three years for 114
hospital capital con-
struction projects in
Ontario including a
project at Goderich's
Alexandra Marine and
General Hospital to.
provide space for
amalgamation of the
hospital's psychiatry
program and a project at
Clinton Public Hospital to
replace an elevator
originally installed in
1947.
The cost and govern-
l
ment share for the AM&G
project is still being
worked out and con-
struction is due to start in
July. The Clinton project
construction began in
Decemeber. The
estimate& coif -is $88,000
with the estimated
government share to be
$55,000.
The Ministry of
Health's allocation in-
cludes $100 million from
lottery proceeds, largely
from Ontario's share of
Super Loto.
I am approaching this column from a
new perspective this week,•a new angle
as it were. Standing up.
It isn'b that there is anything wrong
with the old perspective, mind you. I
just can't sit down. Everytime I give it
a shot, the part of my anatomy in
question cries out, "Mais non! Mais
non!" And I must heed its protests.
You see, it is like this. The ding dong
that used to occupy this space you find
me in now keeps several horses.
Always eager for new experience and
discomfort I have never felt before, I
accepted his invitation for a weekly
evening riding lesson.
Pleasant recreation, I thought. I
liked the idea of something else run-
ning around for exercise and I perching
upon it.
Ha. More like bouncing upon it.
And if something else is doing the
running around, why am I so exhausted
after every lesson? Nobody told me
that riding a --horse was such hard work.
I went into my first lesson confident
council to hold dances in
his Auction Centre in
Dungannon 'and the clerk
was directed by council to
write such a letter.,
Building permits were
authorized by council for
G. Webster -house ad-
dition; M. Turner -
implement shed; W.
Shetler-two houses; D.
Stutzrrian-house and G.
Humphrey -house.
The clerk was directed
to mail a nomination
form to Wingham and
District Hospital
nominating Frank
MacKenzie to represent
them.unicipality_ on t__he
Board of Governors of
that hospital for the year
1980-81. •
Carl Seeger was ap-
pointed to the Blyth
District Fire Area as
representative from West
Wawanosh Township,
succeeding the late Leo
Foran.
The 1980 budget was
discussed and several
mill rate proposals for
the general municipal
rate were examined. A
motion was passed to set
the general municipal
mill rate at 46.94 mills for
farm and residential and
55.22 mills for business
and commercial.
The clerk was directed
to write the parade
committee for the
Dungannon 125th bir-
thday celebrations in-
forming them that West
Wawanosh Township
Council has approved the
closing of concession 4
--and-5-ft um'sides ua t5- 6
and the designated
streets in Dungannon for
approximately three
hours before and during
the parade on Saturday,
August 2.
The road accounts and
the general accounts
totalling $15,541 were.
ordered paid by council.
and wearing a suitable personna. I
said, "Howdy," a lot, yelled, "Get
•-:• them cattle outa here," and even
hummed "I'm an old cowhand from the
Rio Grande," until the horses started to
howl.
Jeff got annoyed. (He doesn't even
wear a cowboy hat.)
Then I got on one of the horses. Or
rather, attempted to get one of the
horses. He was waiting for me to put
my foot in the stirrup before he made
his move. Hi•s move involved galloping
towards the other end of the arena with'
me hopping violently along beside him.
Jeff giggled in an uncontrollable way
and offered to hold the horse while I
mounted.
I finally got up there, telling 'the
horse to smarten up or I'd bite him.
"Walk your horse," commanded the
teacher.
"No problem, bucko," said I. It was a
slight problem. The horse took off at
the approximate speed of light with me.
impression that a 'yes'
vote will ultimately mean
Quebec's secession from
the rest of Canada.
._Far from it. What it
should spell out clearly,
he said, is that the French
speaking 'province is
unhappy with its present
position in Confederation.
The referendum will give
the .,governmentthe
number* It . needs to
•1('nn-I'1,'rir l;null n
assess the severity of the
Quebec question.
If May 20 produces a
'no' vote, Quebecers fear
that this will be a sign to
the rest of the country
that all is well and no
steps need be taken to
ensure national unity.
A 'yes' vote, on the
other hand, may be in-
terpreted as a cumulative
request for the review of
the terms of con-
federation, laid down
over 100 years ag • p
At that time the major
French -English issue was
the Manitoba Schools
Question.
Had the Manitoba
Schools Question, which
concerned language and
religious rights within the
school system, been dealt
with properly, the
problem could have been
resolved to the
satisfaction of the
majority of .the
population. The gover-
more or less on top of him :Ind hugging
him very tightly around the neck.
"Check your horse, bozo," com-
manded the patient teacher ."
"Check! Check!" I grunted. The
horse eventually got tired and walked.
Jeff said that perhaps he should have
told me that the horse hadn't been
exercised in, like, six months. I Said I
appreciated knowing that and could he
untangle my fingers from the horse's
mane?
And I actually went back for more
one week later.
The first week I managed to stay on a
horse without falling off. The second
week I learned how to sit on a horse
properly, even if it meant falling off.
Well, Jeff° and the horse did their
utmost to see to it that I fell off] First,
the horse decided to make a run
straight for the wall and stop within
inches of it. However, I did not stop. I
kinda bounced off it and back onto the
horse. Dismembering myself from the
saddle horn, I bravely carried on.
hment, however, viewed
the situation, from the
English perspective only
and the result was that
Louis Ri'el, the ringleader
of the franco-Indian
cause, was hung.
A century later, in a
new but similar English -
French conflict, the
referendum will serve 'to
give Quebecers a voice in
„their own future.
Mr. Beaulieu, who
taught French in
Goderich five years ago
on'an exchange program,
said,'We love Canada. We
do not want to leave
confederation but we
want a new deal.'
He emphasized that the
referendum . will not be
binding in any way and
that 'before any steps
other than negotiation
could be considered,
another 'referendum
would have to be slated.
That would not occur for,
perhaps, five years.
He indicated also that
Rene Levesque's
aspirations of separation
are little more than a
political 'or else'. Mr.
Beaulieu feels that a
system in which Quebec's
tax dollars could remain
in Quebec would better
benefit that province's
people, but said thatithis
could be accomplished
under a revised con-
stitution.
The Globe and Mail
reported recently that
while a majority of
Quebecers want Quebec
to remain a part of
Canada, the status quo is
clearly unacceptable.
Only one in seven (15
per cent) favours keeping
things as they are, while
eight in 10 (79 per cent)
'are looking for some form
of change, and 41 per cent
overall want a revised
form of Confederation.
Goderich ambulance attendant, Dave Barrick explain$ the functions of this in-
cubator, used for transporting newborn infants, to an interested Cathy
Hildebrand at a Hospital Day display set up at the Suncoast Mall on Monday. In
1979 the 'Goderich ambulance service made 1,206 calls. There were 2,086 ad-
missions to Alexandra Marine and General Hospital; 142 babies born; 652
operations; 18,862 examinations in the x-ray depart ' Mt; 1,462,446 units of work
done in the hospital lab; 6,253 visits to physiotherapy; 1.3,669 visits to.emergency;
and 41,370 meals prepared for hospital patients. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
Jeff did not seem to be satisfied with
the way I was lurching around in the
saddle while the horse loped. "You look
like a sack of something," he com-
plimented. "Heels down, hack
straight!" I was proud that I was
simply remaining on the horse's hack.
Jeff thought that an appropriate cure
would he to take away,the stirrups and
the reins. So he did. "Lope your horse."
he commanded.
"You have finally fallen out of your
tree," I announced from my precarious
perch. "The power has gone to your
head." Nonetheless, he got his way and
so did the horse and I was left helpless.
But, stiprises upon suprises, I did not
hit the dirt. I learned to sit on top of
horse properly, although the aftermath
is rather painful. And gosh darn it if
I'm not going back for more next week.
I'm an old cow hand....from the Rio
Grande. Yo! Let's circle the wagon
train and git them cattle outa here...