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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-08-22, Page 27• age 12—Crgssr9a(t —Aug , 1984 r. 13111 Smiley You can fight.c ty hall One of the cynical, apa- thetic remarks of the 20th century is, "You can't fight City Hall." I think it's. American in origin, as are so many of our colorful expressions, but it reflects a conception that has contributed to the skepti- cism that permeates many aspects of our life. In essence it betrays a weariness of the individual spirit in a world that is grow- ing ever more corrupt, vio- lent and treacherous. It means basically that the individual hasn't a chance against the burgeoning bu- reaucracy, the petty patron- age, the you -scratch -my - back -and -I'll -scratch -yours philosophy that has always been with us, and always will but should be resisted stoutly and sturdily whenever it rears its ugly head. Jesus fought the City Hall of His time, and won, though He lost His life. Sir Thomas More fought the City Hall of his time, which included his king, the nobility and the clergy, and refused to nudge an cinch to save his life, because he was right, and City Hall was wrong. Joan of Arc fought her City Hall, in the form of her own king, traitors to her vision, and an opposing army. She wound up being burned at the stake, and became a saint. Her opponents are mere footnotes in history. Oliver Cromwell fought his City Hall, won his fight, and taught British royalty to mind its pees and queus, if you'll pardon the expression. William Lyon- Mackenzie took on the City Hall of his day, and though his only battle with it was a typical Canadian charade, he left it smarting. I could name a hundred others who cocked a snook at City Hall, and lost many a battle, but won many a war. The United States is a classic example. Another is the Re- public of France. Mahatma Ghandi practically had the British empire begging him , to go change his diaper and leave it alone. Well, it's nice to be in the company of such, even if only for a little while, and only inethe imagination. The Fourth St. Fusiliers, of which I am a proud, wound- ed veteran, has fought many a skirmish, several sharp encounters, and a prolonged war of attrition against the local town council,and the will of the people triumphed to the extent of a dozen trees being uncut, a new sidewalk installed, and a desert of pot- holes turned into a paved street. You've heard of the 30 Years War, the 100 Years War, the War of the Roses, the War of Indpendence, the Boer War, and The Great War, followed by that sickening euphemism, World War II. Not to mention Korea and Vietnam. Well, a lot has been written about them, and millions died in them, but for sheer intensity of emotion, I think the Fourth St. War outdoes them all. That's the reason for this bit of history. In three or four hundred years, the Fourth St? War may be almost forgotten, were it not for some humble scribe to get it down on paper. It has lasted between seven and nine years, and the veterans will even argue hotly about the duration. I do remember that the hundreds of children who were going to be salughtered by traffic if the town council, achieved its insidious ends are now replaced by grand- children in many cases. I do remember that the first .rush to the barricades was about as organized as HEY KIDSI LEARN TO DRAW WITH DANNY COUGHLAN 1. Here's Danny's complete draw ng. 7 0 2. Finish what Danny started. 3s Wow try it yourself! ly the French revolutionaires'- attack on the Bastille. I do remember that one lady threatened to chain her- self high in the branches of a maple tree if the town engi- neer carried out his plan of massacreing maples. There were other threats of a simi- lar but unlikely nature, such as everyone lying down in front of the bulldozers, blow- ing up the town hall while council was in session, or kidnapping the town engi- neer and giving him a cement -barrel burial in the bay. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. After half " the street was ruined, the works department ran out; of money. Over the years, they tip- toed around the potential ex- plosion, filling in the odd pot- hole and letting the street turn into the semblance of a long -forgotten country lane. But this spring, falsely feeling that the ancient hatreds had cooled, with new people moving in, and old people dying off, they foolishly raised the desecra- tive idea again. Cut down the trees. Tear up the sidewalks, make it a one -block thruway to nowhere. Like an old, dormant vol- cano, the people rose in their might and descended on the works committee like a dis- turbed hornet's nest. The air was filled with vituperation, calumny and blasphemy. Council cooled off like a bull confronted by an angry elephant. Another meeting was called. Again The People rose in their wrath. They formed a committee. It con- sisted of a brilliant mathe- matician, a contractor, a doctor, a lawyer, and an in- domitable nurse. Not just a few angry people to be baffled by engineering jar- gon. • I don't want to go into the . brilliant counter-attack, the superb tactics, the incredible strategy of The People. It's. too exciting. You wouldn't sleep tonight., But we won. The trees stay, the sidewalks will be rebuilt, the thruway will con- tinue . to be a residential street, thousands of children , will not be cut down by thun dering.trucks, and the road will be paved. You can fight City Hall. ANTIQUE SECRETARY ... Would be classified as mid-Victorian For these summer months 1 will depart from the usual letter format and discuss learning difficulties from a more academic point of view. Parents and regular classroom teachers have little opportunity to explore learning problems until they are personally confronted* them. This is a reality of :our educational system. Hope- fully that will be changed through programs at the teachers' colleges, school board workshops,speakers at the local ACLD chapters and articles in local news- papers. 50, Traditionally the school system has educated chil- dren by the "in •and out" method. The teacher pro- vides instruction and the Let's Talk By REV. LEE TRUMAN The average person does not realize how many things he wants until someone shows him. I saw this work while on a speaking engagement in Kenya, Africa. An owner of a small industrial plant em- ployed ,about 20 men and women. He faced a labor shortage because his em- ployees just stopped coming to work. •Inducements such as high- er pay and shorter housrs did not budge them. They had earned all that they needed for the next few months, and so they shrugged their shoulders and asked, "Why work more?" The owner was ready to close his plant. I suggested I might have a solution, and after I returned home I sent him 20 -copies of a' large mail-order catalog. The business owner has since written that when the catalogs were given to those workers and their wives, all of them were back and working within the week. this basic dimension of ourselves we understand Most responsible p have had to co with thei th rsons e to terms wants, both those y know about and those pointed out to them by those in the selling business. Sometimes we are also sold ideas. We become caught up in the emotion of a speaker who emphatically believes in his or her point of view. The late Sir Winston Churchill was listening to a speaker who intensely be- lieved that the only way to survive in this world is to re- taliate: eye for eye, tooth for . tooth, bomb for bomb. In - short, give it back to the. enemy in kind. ' After the address, Sir Win- ston rose and addressed the speaker. "Did you, sir, ever try to sting a bee?" We need to ask ourselves often if we. really want what we are being sold — be it goods or ideas, a chrome widget or retaliation. Sometimes we may have been sold a form of race prejudice and, because no person can be responsible for the color of his skin, this is particulaly cruel. The pain of this, may be lessened by the knowledge that there are increasing numbers of en- lightened persons who are rising above race prejudice. At a lecture program rat - tended was the poet, Cou sa Sullivan. Beca lineage, he excu ta- se of his ad been politely d from taking tea with the members of the club. I took the opportunity to talk with this literary gen- ius. While we were involved in our conversation, one un- known observer of this pre- tentious event wrote on a, napkin: "Poems are heard by fools like me, ut here, only God and members seem to be able to come to tea." Antique or Junque Class knobs not original By .lames G. Mc('oilam Member, Antique Appraisers Association of America Q. What can you tell me about my antique secretary? It is solid walnut with burl walnut veneer and has glass knobs. A. Your secretary was made in the 1865 to 1875 period. It would be classified as mid-Victorian. The glass knobs are• replacements;, the originals were made of brass. The current market value would be in the $1,200 to $1,500 range. Q. My Hummel, "School Roy" No. 82, has the enclo ed mark on the bottom. When was it made and how much is it worth? A. Trade Mark No. 5 was used from 1972 to 1979. "School Boy" bearing this mark is worth at least $200. The Warning Signs child is receptive to the knowledge arid skills taught. This is the "in'asect of the method. The .'out" aspect of this method is the .child's utility of the knowledge and skills or in other words, his or her ability to produce a product. If a child's product tor output is not consistent with the level of input, then that child's receptive ability becomes suspect. The initial. investigation of receptive abilities must in- clude an assessment. of visual and a'uditery acuity. Can this child see and -or bear clearly? plasses or a hearing aid might be all that is required. If this is the case acuity will improve lin- mediately but the brain will require additional time to adjust to the more aCcurate percepiion it is now receiv- ang. • Sometimes, however acuity is intact and the prob- lem is with perception. A child may be able to see or hear clearly but has diffi- culty with the interpretation of what is seen or heard. This . is a perceptual disability which requires specific edu- cational procedures to remediate. I will deal with perceptual problems in greater detail in future arti- cles but for now it is import- ant to realize that many chil- dren demonstrate some per- ceptual difficulties in their first two years of school. If these difficulties persist .into Grade Two or Three then maturational development would no longer be an ade- quate explanation. Intellectual potential, many times, is erronously considered a receptive ability: It is not! Almost all measures of intelligence rely heavily on the child's ability to accurately receive and perceive ,information. Any indication off functioning level must be considered in light of this fact. A low, score on an intelligence test, in and of itself, must not be used to explain a slower learning rate. Only after considering all aspects of learning and finding that they are con- sistent with the indicated in- telligence level can a judg- ment such as this be made. If the findings are not con- sistent the intelligence test score must be regarded as invalid or at the very least a minimum. Even our assessment pro- cedures, much like the class- room teacher, still depend upon the child's product or output to make assumptions. about receptive abilities., It continues to be an imprecise science. Some learned people, such as Dr. W. Fred Gore Corning at the University of Waterloo, are attempting to measure the brain's activi- ties in much more precise and scientific way. By means of a developmental EEG (electroencephalo- gram), Dr. Corning over the last ten years, has been carrying on research with regard to brain wave pat- terns and frequencies. His work presents much promise to the field of learning and learning disabilities even to the point that diagnostic im- plications are being con- sidered. We are, however, still a long way away from the day when a child can be "plugged in" and a diagnosis made. In the meantime we must Continue to rely on the "in and out" method, know- ing that input precedes out- put — reception must occur before expression. Goe g W. Germany Q. You told me my antique pipe organ was worth over $1.000, but implied that I wouldn't be able to sell it. Please explain. A. There were literally millions of pump organs made in the late 1800s; they are not scarce,, They are bulky and heavy — very dif- ficult to transport. Most organs ,are sold by dealers who have a truck to deliver them. The prices I provide are based p1 a:etliai sales. 0 there.ar0 whir a few sales, I also. state that the probabili- ty of selling is slight. Bend your questions about antiques with picture(s), a detailed description, self-- addressed envelope, and $2 per item to James G. Mc- Collam, 2004 Beverly PI., South Bend, IN 16616. All questions will be answered but published pictures can- not be returned. Do You Think You Have Arthritis? if you think you do, you're in good company. More than three million other Canadians have it too. For the true facts about arthritis, arthritis research and treatment programs, contact the office of The Arthritis Society nearest you. It's listed in your phone book. THE ARTHRITIS SOCIETY 80 Page Steno Pads Grenada 1 2's Pencil Crayons 150 Sheet Typing Paper 200 Sheet Refills Vinyl Binders 18rnl. Liquid Paper 4's Bic Pens 2" Vinyl Binders Erasermate 11 Stick Pens "Theme" Exercise Books . 59 1.29 1.19 i.39 1.29 . 79 . 99 2.99 . 99 . 79 TRIANGLE DISCOUNT RAMAT MED/CAVES • COSAYEACS TOBACCOS Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Weekdays • Sundays Noon to SIx Jim and Virginia Nelemans withand "` ....._ Patrick Patricia, RR, Wingham,Ont. Remember to make early arrangements for your portrait to assure delivery for Christmas. Call us now at 343-2201. Note: For°those families only able to get together between Christmas and New, Years (Dec. 27-30 inclusive), we will be open to serve you. Call us now at 343-2201 to reserve a time.