HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-10-04, Page 19sykes
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Whew!
It was touch and go for a while but.
Canadian beer drinkers can now safely
slurp their suds without any fear of
having their body disentegrate.
That is if you can trust the federal
health protection branch.
Apparently all beer contains some
level of cancer-causing nitrosamines.
The nitrosamines found in beer are
believed to be the result of heating the
malt in the brewing process.
But the risky business is that this
chemical is very deadly.and is found in
all beer. It takes only 10 parts per
billion to cause lung cancer".
Naturally the levels found in beer are
reportedly safe and the industry says
the levels will be negligent in the next
few years. -
That's rather reassuring, isn't it?
To be sure, anyone who has sought
the comfort of the refreshing beverage
is distraught over the latest ne-V4.
"I just don't understand," an ale
Maxine Pollock shows how she makes a poodle dog using a coat hanger and
yarn. Making one takes quite a bit of time and patience, she says. She will
have several for sale at the Christmas Country Fair at Saltford in October.
She has never tried to sell her crafts before so she's not sure how well they
will sell.(Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
connoisseur remarked the other day.
"These -cancer scares are attacking
our vital staples in life."
"Why it seems there isn't anything
now that Iwe can eat, drink or smoke
without fear of contracting some strain
of cancer.' And this latest news does
restrict the diet somewhat."
"Devastating news for certain," I
offered in response. "Cancer is coming
at us from all directions."
"Oh it's more than devastating," he
shot back. "They say you can't drink
milk, eat bread, smoke tobacco and
now they're telling us that beer, un-
doubtedly the one elixir that gives us
the nerve to carry on in this jungle, will
kill us. Why I wouldn't be surprised if
the next thing they told us was that sex
causes cancer."
"Well, I don't mean to alarm you," I
offered with reservation." But there
has been some talk by experts about
that very subject. You know...too much
of that stuff being bad for you."
"Well there you go. I knew it would
come to this. It just breaks down the
whole value system of our society," he
• said woefully.."Why this utterly
shatters a whole way of life for oun
young people. What kind of future dol
they have without beer and sex?"
"A limited one to be sure," I coun-
tered. "And just think what this will do
to the great male past time of sitting
around enjoying a few pints and
babbling•on about sexual exploits."
"A great tradition gone by the
wayside," the connoisseur admitted
with regret. "But at least now we will
know whether or not a guy is lying
about his alleged noble deeds because
he will have cancer."
"A deadly accurate system, no
doubt," I suggested. "But do you think
man could survive without beer?"
"There is little chance of that," he
commented with certainty. "And the
beer commercials have told us so.
Everyone knows that a man who drinks
the right brand of beer constantly has a
bevy of overendowed and scantily clad,
nubile young ladies crawling all over
him. Unfortunately I haven't found the
right brand yet but the commercials
wouldn't lie."
"Perhaps you are right," I said. "
But still I've tried those brands and
have ygt to see a balloon, I've never
been skiiing on grass, I don't get the
urge to buy Brador when the father-in-
law visits and when Gary returns my
snowblower inthe summer I would just
as soon break a bottle over his head as
have him drink it." "But the brewing
companies claim that the stuff that
causes 'eancer in beer will be reduced
so that there's hardly a chance anyone
will ever die," he said hopefully. "So
you would have to drink a lot of beer for
a long time to ever get cancer."
"Ah, that's great news, I knew
science wouldn't let us down. They
know what life is all about. Send
another round over here will you."
the,
SIGNAL—STAR
132—YEAR 40
Maxine's busy hands
turn out treasures
BY JOANNE
BUCHANAN
Maxine Pollock's hands
are never idle. And
sometimes she even
wishes she had more than
two of them!
• I.n between her regular
° household duties, Mrs.
Pollock occupies her
Maxine Pollock will sell these poodle dogs atthe
Christmas Country Fair at Saltford in October.
She makes them out of yarn and coat hangers.
She also does macrame and makes beaded .
Christmas decorations. Her hands are never idle
and she says she has met a lot of interesting
people through doing crafts. (Photo by Joanne
Buchanan)
hands with various
crafts.
At present she is busy
building up her stock for
the Christmas Country
Fair at Saltford Valley
Hall in October and the
Snowflake Bazaar at the
Legion in November. She
has decided to rent booths
at both of these events to
see if she can sell her
craft work.
"It's my first attempt
at nnythin . like' this
(selling and I'm looking
forward to it," says Mrs.
.Pollock who also adds
that . she certainly
wouldn't want to make a
livingselling crafts.
Mrs. Pollock's booths
"will -feature a potpourri of
crafts and are, being
'killed as Christmas
Boutiques.
For starters, Mrs.
Pollock makes fluffy
poodle dogs out of coat
hangers and yarn. Over
13 ounces of yarn goes
into each dog plus extra
yarn for the ears and
Mrs. Pollock admits that
it takes both . time and
patience to make them.
Last year, Mrs. Pollock
took a macrame course
at the high school and so
her Christmas Boutiques
will also include articles
she has macramed, in-
cluding Christmas
wreaths. .
Last summer, she
began making various
articles out of beads. Her
cousin in Detroit, ..who
does bead work and visits
Goderich a few times a
year, showed her some
bead patterns which she
learned at a store where
she buys her materials in
Detroit.
For the fair and
bazaar, Mrs. Pollock has
made miniature beaded'
wreaths, angels,
snowmen, snowflakes,
Christmas trees, candy
canes, figure skaters, and
assorted animals. She
THU1tSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1979
alsohas beaded hanging
plant • holders. The
holders are the only
things which she ' uses
pattern • books for. The
rest she does ouCof her
own memory.
Mrs: Pollock says she
has always knitted and
done.. various crafts' for
herself. Once she made
an afghan after someone
showed her how. But she
says that aspect of her
•• craft work' is nothing to
brag about.
"I can't just sit still and
do nothing," she says,
adding that it's nice. to
know more than one craft
because if you get bored
doing one type, you can
always switch to another.
Mrs. Pollock says she
has no idea how well her
articles• will sell, so she
has no idea how much
stock she should be
building up. She says she
has so.much now, that she
is running out of room to
store it all at her home.
She cannot say exactly
how long it takes her to
complete one article
because she works on
things a bit at a -time,
whenever she, finds a
spare moment. She does
admit that she is getting
faster at her crafts, the
longer she does them
though.
"It used to take me
three-quarters•of an hour
to do a beaded angel. Now
I'm down to .half an
hour."
It's difficult to put a
value on crafts. resides
—the cost of materials,
there is one's time and
labor to consider, she
says. But she doesn't •do
her crafts for money. She
does them for the en
joyrnent they provide
her. She has met a lot of
interesting people
through her crafts and
finds them a continual
source of interest and
pleasure.
SECOND SECTION
Maxine Pollock of Goderich looks over some of the beaded Christmas
decorations she has made for the Christmas Country Fair at Saltford in
October. She plans to display them on coffee mug trees beeause they are
quite small. Mrs. Pollock took up bead work just last summer. (Photo by
Joanne Buchanan)
Modern technology is great but if it
screws up there's usually little you can
do about it.
All the great things science has
developed to help man do things easier
have truly been the boon to society they
were bil•hed• as when they were
discovered.
One of those marvelous ideas some
guy had several years ago has helped
put thousands of people at ease. The
pay toilet. It permits thousands of
people every day to relax in a public
washroom, knowing they have almost
as much privacy as they do at home.
Very few people felt when pay toilets
were installed that somebody was
making a dime from a guy in a jam. I
mean what happens if you are seconds
away from an accident and discolor all
you have is a quarter.
Elevators are another invention that
can be a lot of fun when they decide it's
with a trick elevator and by the time I
was rescued I was having visions of
never being heard from again.
I was in a hotel in Toronto and my
room was a mere 25 floors from the
ground. Snappy view of the city but
truly a lousy location when the elevator
doesn't work.
My wife and I recently joined several
other couples for a weekend away from
it all, and hooked into this hotel. The
first morning we were there the little
woman asks me to go down to another
couple's room, two floors under ours,
and pick up a pair of pants.
No big deal. I- figure I'll hop on the
elevator and he back in a matter of
minutes.
I hit the button for the elevator and
start the wait. Everybody in the
building is going down to the restaurant
and the 90 percent of them are in the
first 24 floors. One mo a crack. I push my floor and
time to go south. I rrcently had a bout I'm standing there waiting for this this time verything goes well: It stops
thing and I can hear it but it won't stop.
Finally the bell rings, the light comes
on but the elevator keeps going.
I figure it must have been full or
something and hit the button again. A
couple of minutes later it _arrives, and
miraculously it is empty.
I get in, push the floor I want, and
wait. I then realized that unless the car
N being lowered by some guy on the
roof something is wrong. The car is at
the fourth floor and dropping,fast. Just
my luck. A cable snapped and I'm
going to bounce for half an hour before
the fire department washes my
remains down the sewer.
It stops at the ground. Another guy
gets On muttering something to the
effect that he hopes it works this time.
He's wrong. It goes to 26, stops for a
second, and heads down again without
opening any doors.
at 25, the door opens and 1 get off.
Without the pants.
Not wanting to take any chances I
decide to take the stairs down. I slip
down to floors and try the door. The
sign says its a fire door, locked for
security. You can go down the stairs
but you have to go right to the ground.
That way no burglars can use the stairs
to pilfer rooms floor by floor.
Great idea except I'm not a thief and
I'm 22 floors from the ground.
Now I'm getting angry. I start the
long trek down and at 16 have the good
fortune of finding a caretaker cleaning.
He has the door open to vacuum and I
walk out Of the stairway.
He knows about security and looks at
me like I'm that thief those doors are
designed to keep out.
I don't know whether I should try ane
explain what happened or just ask him
if he's got change for a quarter for the
pay toilet.
*FT 1
Seddon
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