HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-10-28, Page 4PAGE 4--GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 198j
This is a time of panic and despair.
All about us, people are panicking and
grabbing themselves in despair and mak-
ing loud groaning noises. Some tear at
their hair; others just clutch at their
tailor-made shirts near the neckline.
There is much weeping, wailing and
gnashing of teeth.
But it is all done in showy, elaborate
fashion to indicate the degree of despair
and panic. Mostly it's just a reactionary
process on the part of corporate and
fiscal people and those who would pre-
tend to be corporate and fiscal by buying
BMWs they can't afford.
There is a sudden sense of urgency to
life these days; an urgency that has been
heightened by the seeming collapse of
stock markets around the world.
People with money tend to react to the
threat of recessions, market collapses
and depressions in strange' ways.
I somehow feel left out and cheated by
DAVE SYKES
this whole process. Not being corporate
or fiscal in nature, I don't have reason to
spend the morning on the phone talking
to some obscure broker nor do I rush off
to bars to lament the decline in the Dow
Jones or the TSE and to generally
wallow in fiscal despair after work.
The panic and despair of the day is
passing rile by and in a desire to be an in-
tegral component of the salient issues of
the day, I have taken to rushing off to
bars after work, savagely loosening my
shirt collar and tie and wallowing in
despair and lamenting and all that fiscal
stuff.
It seems to work. Now I'm depressed,
distraught and fearful of losing savings I
don't have and wondering if I will ever
trust a broker again.' Gee it's wonderful
to -be involved.
And now, anyone who ever met, or
even thought of going to a financial
seminar featuring renowned analyst
Brian Costello, is featured on the news
comparing the events of today with the
fateful stock market crash of October
1929.
Composite indexes, bullish *arke4,
blue chippers and mutual funds have
become the buzzwords of the day and
anyone less than conversant with these
terms simply isn't worth lamenting or
despairing with in bars after work.
Unless, of course, there's no one else
around.
This fiscal turbulence has even spread
to mothers who, on learning of the immi-
nent demise of the world's monetary
system, phone their sons to ask whether
or not the children are warm at night ( it
gets real cold up there doesn't it? ), did
you ever thunk of moving away from
there?, make sure you eat your vitamins
and that paper's pretty small, will you
still have a job?
It's even getting tougher to soothe a
mother's aching psyche, especially when
she's more fiscal than you are.
What's even worse than not being fiscal
is being recognized as a fraternal
member of the press, the people w4to are
being blamed for stimulating the
economic malaise through reactionary
and comparative reporting. Why there
wouldn't even be the hint of a depression
if some jerk reporter, who just wanted to
consume trendy drinks in bars with fiscal
people while lamenting and despairing
and loosening ties, hadn't mentioned it in
print one day.
And now look what's happened.
Stock markets have plununeted around
the world causing people to lose life sav-
ings and jump out of their basement win-
dows in desperate attempts to inflict pain
upon themselves for being fiscally
foolish. One Floridian even went so far as
to shoot his broker before taking his own
life.
That's carrying this thing too far. 1
think I'll just go to bars and lament an
despair while pretending to be.fiseal over
,trendy drinks.
0
inion
THE NEWS PORT FOIL GODERICH & DISTRICT
SINCE 1848
P.O. BOX 220 HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH, ONT. NIA 4B6
um
`
Goderici�
SIGNAL. -STAR
(.t 6CE8T ALL RClam OUND35M)-450 COMUJ) C C N NITY NEAW*Barer PAPER Nmvapeper IN CANADA
uculeCmpewm 1984
PUBLISHED BY SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED
Founded on 1648 and published every Wednesday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CCNA and °CNA, Subscrip-
tions payable in advance 523.00, (Senior Citizens 520.00 privilege card number required) in Canada, 560.00 to U.S.A.,
$60.00 to all other countries, Single copies 60c. Display, National and Classified advertising rates available on re-
quest. Please ask for Rate Card No. 18 effective October 1, 1987. Advertising is accepted on the condition that
In the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with the
reasonable allowance for signature, will •not be charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be paid for
at the applicable rate. In the event of a typogrdphical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods
or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -
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ing purposes.
General Manager
SHIRLEY J. KELLER
Editor Advertising Manager
DAVE SYKES DON ' HUBICK •
FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICE...please phone (519)524-2614
Second class
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OA.
Keep Halloween safe
Other than Christmas, Halloween ranks as one of the most exciting days of the year for
children. The prospect of dressing up in, costumes and masquerading as brigands, ghosts,
witches and an assortment of space creatures delights kids.
And, you can't knock the fact that the treats are free and doled out .in good measure.
But, while children approach Halloween with enthusiasm•and wild, carefree abandon, the
Ontario Safety League offers several safety tips that parents should be aware of and pass on
to children.
.Wear a light-coloured costume., Pedestrians are more visible in light coloured clothes.
-Retro-reflective tape is available commercially, and should be added to clothing to heighten
visibility. Note that retro -reflective is different from flourescent. Flourescent colours are
effective only in daylight; retro -reflective items are designed for nighttime use and will
glow when car lights shine on them. Look for flame resistant labels on ready-made
costumes or material to be used for costume's.
Make-up is better than wearing a mask. Masks can obscure vision. Make-up is more fun
and creative.
Children should wear short costumes so they don't trip. Costumes should be designed so
that children can walk easily without entangling their feet or tripping. Comfortable, well -
fitting shoes are a must. Also, no bike riding -costumes can easily get caught in the spokes.
Use a flashlight to light your way. A flashlight can help children see and be seen more
clearly while walking in the dark.
Trick -or -treat on one side of the street, then the other side. Avoid criss-crossing the street,
even in quiet neighbourhoods. Always walk on, the sidewalk. If there are no sidewalks, walk
on the left side of the road facing traffic.
Go out with parents or friends. Basic safety precautions are needed even on Halloween.
Younger children should be accompanied by a responsible adult. Older children should go
out in groups.
Discuss your plans with your parents. Parents and children should map out a route for
tick -or -treating and set a time limit.
Never go inside a strange house, apartment or ear. Children should trick -or -treat only at
"homes included on the plan agreed to by their parents. Avoid poorly -lit homes.
Have a parent check your treats. Treats must not be eaten until they are carefully check-
ed by a parent. Immediately discard any unwrapped„or loosely wrapped items. Give
children a meal or a snack before they go out trick -or -treating so they won't be tempted to
eat before they get home.
Know the Block Parent homes in your neighbourhood. The Block Parent home is a safe
haven for children who are frightened, injured or lost.
Children look forward to Halloween and by taking some basic safety precautions, it can
remain an exciting and safe day in their lives. In many cities, children don't even bother to
go trick -or -treating door-to-door. Rather, for safety reasons, they hold house parties for
neighbourhood children.
Don't, however, get complacent with the small town image and believe that nothing
malicious would ever happen in Goderich{ The safe approach is the smart approach and
some basic instruction for children and precaution on the part of parents will mean the dif-
ference between an accident and a happy experience.
Trick -or treat!
Sparkling tap water e,cpe7ted from new.
filtration plant by .mid-November 1962
25 YEARS AGO
November 1, 1962
Sparkling tap water from the new
Goderich filtration plant is expected by
mid-November. Minor adjustments, dur-
ing the final installations, have caused a
three week postponement from the
original date of October 20. Rough lake
conditions have hindered the completion of
the intake area out in the lake. At present
being completed are the detailed fixture
installations and general cleaning around
the impressive pumping building. The
main operation with its seven graduated
pumps and involved duct system, is ready
to go and presents an attractive ap-
pearance in its shining blue enamel finish.
First concert of the season ofthe
Goderich Community Concerts Associa-
tion is to . be held at the Collegiate
Auditorium on Tuesday, November 6th at
8:30 pm. Guest artist is to be Ronald
Turini, internationally known pianist. He
was second prize winner in May, 1960, of
the highly rated Queen Elizabeth of
Belgium International Competition. The
artist is, at present, the only pupil of a
keyboard master who is a legend in his
own time, the renowned Vladimir
Horowitz. The Montreal -born artist made
his professional debut at the age of 10 with
the Canadian Broadcasting Company.
Now at 26, he is a seasoned performer. He
made his USA debut in Carnegie Hall on
January 23, 1961.
LOOKING BACK
50 YEARS AGO
November 3, 1937
This weekend Goderich can hope to see
the biggest co-operative Dollar Days Sale
that has been offered in many years. Bilis
have been distributed throughout the town
and surrounding counties and the 30 mer-
chants taking part in theevent are offering
very special values. In order to add to the
interest of the buyers, fifteen of the
business places are offering a total of $25
in cash prizes. Coupons will be given out by
these stores with every dollar purchase
and the lucky tickets will be• drawn on
Saturday night.
Commercial fishermen here are becom-
ing anxious over the extreme scarcity of
fish being lifted these days and for some
time pa$t. In fact, fishing this October is
the worst it has been for many years, two
lifts by separate fishermen this week net-
ting only two and three fish respectively. It
is pointed out that at this time of year,
fishermen are accustomed to "reaping a
harvest" to tide them over the winter, and
last year about this time, several
fishermen lifted approximately more than
a ton of fish. Prevailing storm weather is
blamed for the scarcity of the fish.
70 YEARS AGO
November 1, 1917
One of the events of Halloween was a
masquerade'ball at Oddfellows Hall under
the auspices .of the Goderich orchestra.
There was a fairly good attendance, in-
cluding a party of young people from
Seaforth and many gay costumes made a
pretty spectacle. The 'lady's prize was
awarded to Miss Ada Gopsill, who
represented an Indian princess. Messrs.
George Little end Gordon Noble had to
draw for the gentlemen's prize and Mr.
Little won. He was in a comic costume.
Other charms may dim as we older
grow, but when the Witch with her atten-
dant ghosts and jack -o -lanterns, waves her
magic wand out hearts grow young again
and with the children we do homage to the
Queen of Halloween. So at any rate, it
seemed on Tuesday evening, when the
"Witch's Cave" in the schoolroom of Vic-,
toria Street Methodist Church—was crowd-
ed to capacity with an expectant audience.
At the Witch's tap performances came
forth and rendered appropriate music,
drills and recitations.
I take a lot of kidding from my co-
workers, along with some semi-serious
criticism from the upper -echelon types,
about the condition of the office dumping
ground, otherwise known as my desk.
Although I make efforts to keep my
work surface devoid of extraneous ob-
jects, there always seems to be enough
printed matter on my desktop to supply
an entire Boy Scout paper drive. A thou-
sand litter boxes could be lined using on-
ly the contents of my top right-hand
drawer.
And so I found great pleasure, and no
small sense of vindication, from unear-
thing from the clutter the other day a col-
umn by Daniel Stamp, founder of
something called Priority Management
Systems Inc. Stamp, it seems, is in
possession of some sort of survey which
indicates the average business person
has approximately 36 hours of work on
their desk at any given time. Also, they
spend an average of three hours a week
( which adds up to about four weeks a
year) just trying to find things on that
desk.
I can vouch for these figures. As I look
at my desk, I am sure one could spend at
least 36 hours cleaning it off, let.alone do-
ing any actual work with the mounds of
stuff which has accumulated on it.
As for trying to find things on it, well, 1
have been negotiating with Geraldo
Rivera, who wants to explore the
mysteries of my littered escritoire on an
upcoming television special. Unlike
Geraldo's disappointing Capone's Vault
episode, I'm sure my desk would yield
some sort of surprises. If not the Lind -
burgh Baby, or the body of Jimmy Hoffa;
then at least a cache of unmatchable
single socks or the remains of a long -
decayed bag lunch.
Despite the obvious financial incentive
to accept Geraldo's offer, I may turn him
down out of concern for mankind. Who
knows what dark forces might be
unleashed were he to force open my long -
jammed lower left-hand drawer. Years
from now it could become the subject of
one of those schlock horror classics.
Heaven knows, I would not want to be
responsible for all the on-screen mutila-
tion necessary for the filming of "It
Came From Pat's Desk ! "
I know that, in theory, we should all be
responsible for the care and feeding of
our own work areas. However, I refuse to
take sole responsiblity for the condition
of mine.
Located as it is, in the central area bet-
ween the Editor's Office and the Sports
Department (a distance of about 15 feet
and three reporters separate the two),
my personal workspace has become a
repository for all manner of items
discarded by co-workers on their way
past. Finished with the newspaper?
from
this
angle
Patrick Raffia
Throw it, unfolded, on my desk as you go
by. My desk has become known as "The
Place Where Old Newspapers Come To
Die".
No place to butt that smoke? Go ahead,
use Pat's ashtray. I also have their coffee
cups, notebooks, photographs, writing im-
plements and sundries. I'm thinking of
holding a garage sale. ,
There are of course, some advantages
to keeping your desk piled high. For in-
stance, there is never a shortage of
material to pull from the pile and scan,
in attempt to look busy, when the
publisher breezes through. Also, if so-
meone calls and asks if you are taking
care of a given matter, you can always
declare that you've got the material on
your desk right now. Chances are, you
are telling the truth.
I would love to go on at great length on
this subject. Unfortunately, I am far too
busy. If the average person's desk con-
tains 36 hours of work, the pile currently
covering mine must represent at least 60
hours of continuous toil.
And, it's almost quitting time.
MADAM