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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-06-20, Page 19Page 6—Crossroads—June 20, 1984 1101.11.11111011111. Bill 'Smiley We'vchanged moimiNao•00"." There has been a tremen- dous change in the manners and mores of Canada in the past three decades. This brilliant thought came to me as I saw a sign today, in a .typical Canadian small Mown: "Steakhouse and Tav- -ern." Now this didn't exactly knock me out, alarm me, or discombobulate me in any way. I am a part of all that is in this country, at this time. But it did give me a tiny twinge. Hence my opening remarks. I am no Carrie Nation, who stormed into saloons with her lady friends, armed with hatchets, and smashed open (what a waste) the barrels of beer and kegs off whiskey. I am no Joan of Arc. I don't revile blasphemers or hear voices: I am no Pope John Paul II, who tells people what to do about their sex lives. I am merely an observer of the human scene, in a coun- try that used to be one thing, and has become another. But that doesn't mean I don't have opinions. I have nothing but scorn for the modern "objective" journalists who tell it as it is. They are hyenas and jackals, who fat- ten on the leavings of Pae "lions" of our society, for the most part. Let's get back on topic, as I tell my students. The Cana- dian society has roughened and coarsened to an aston- ishing degree in the last 30 years. First, the Steakhouse and Tavern. As a kid working on the boats on the Upper Lakes, I was excited and a little scared when I saw that sign 'in American ports: Du- luth, Detroit, Chicago. I came from the genteel poverty of Ontario in the Thirties, and I was slightly appalled, and deeply attract- ed by these si>;ns: the very thought that drink could be publicly advertised. Like any normal, curious kid, I went into a couple, ordered a two-bit whiskey, and found nobody eating steaks, but a great many people getting sleazily drunk on the sanie. Not the steaks. In those days, in Canada, there was no such creature. The very use of the word "tavern" indicated iniquity. It, was an evil place. We did • -have beer "parlours", later exchanged for the euph- emism "beverage rooms".. But that was all right. Only the lower element went there,and they closed from 6 p.m. to 7:30, or some such, so that a family man could get home to his dinner. Not a bad idea. In their homes, of course, the middle and upper class drank liquor. Beer was the working -man's drink, and to be shunned.' It was around then that some wit reversed the old saying, and came out with: "Work is the curse of the drinking class," a neat version of Marx's(?) "Drink is the curse of the working classes." If you called on someone in those misty days, you were offered a cuppa • and some- thing to eat. Today, the host would be humiliated if he didn't have something hard- er to offer you. Now, every hamlet seems to have its steakhouse, com- plete with tavern. It's rather ridiculous. Nobody today can afford a steak. But how in the living world can these same people afford drinks, at cur- rent prices? These steakhouses and taverns are usually pretty sleazy joints, on a par with the old beverage room, which was the optiome , of sleaze. It's not all the fault of the owners. though they make nothing on the steak and 100 per cent on the drinks (minimum). It's just that Canadians tend to be noisy and crude and profane drinkers. And the crudity isn't only in the pubs. It has crept into Parliament, that august in- stitution, with a prime min- ister who used street langu- age when his impeccable English failed, or he wanted to show how tough he was. It has crept into our educa- tion system, where teachers drink and swear and tell dirty jokes and use language in front of women that I, a product of a more well-man- nered, or inhibited, your choice, era, could not bring myself to use. And the language of to- dlUy's students, from Grade one to Grade whatever, would curl the hair of a sail- or, and make your maiden aunt grab for the smelling salts. Words from the lowest slums and slummiest barn- yards create' rarely a blush on the cheek of your teenage daughter. A graduate of the depres- sion, when people had some reason to use bad language, in sheer frustration and an- ger, and of a war in which the most common four-letter word was used as frequently, and absent-mindedly, as salt and pepper, have not inured me to what our kids today consider normal. Girls wear T-shirts that are not even funny, merely obscene. As do boys. Saw one the other day on an other- wise nice lad. Message: "Thanks, all you virgins — for nothing". The Queen is a frump. God is a joke. The country's pro- blems are somebody else's problem, as long as I get mine. I don't, deplore. I don't ab- hor. I don't impiore. I merely observe. Sadly. We are turn- ing into a nation of slobs. Craft Talk By Louisa Rush It seems that whenever I am in a group and they know I am writing this column, I invariably get asked "Who invented knitting and cro- chet?" and I cannot give an exact answer, as nobody knows. They have both flourished in different cultures far apart from one another in many parts of the world, separated by oceans and continents, They have even found pieces of knitted fabric when opening the ancient tombs . of Egypt! And I am sure that in the days of the Bible, the fisherman must have used a hook to make and mend his nets. Have you ever watched native fisher- men in Europe and in the South? They use a big wooden hook to make their nets; that's one form of cro- chet, or you could call it macrame, which is crochet's cousin. Have you ever seen the chain -mail armour used by 'the Knights in' the Middle A in the museums of ges Europe? That too is a form of crochet! The armourer used a hook and strings of hot metal, and so made the "stitches". In the history of costume, there are references to a technique much like crochet among the ancient Egyp- tians. This existed and was common to all the Mediter- ranean countries and North Africa, and flourishes even today. The openness of the cro- chet provides an agreeable amount of ventilation by day, while the fibres provide warmth against the evening chill. Have you ever found yourself slipping on an open- work knittedor crocheted shawl , against the possible chill of air conditioning? I will continue with the interesting story of crochet, which incidentally ,is the French word for hook. But this week I would like to con- clude at this point in the story, and urge those of you that have not yet learned the art to give it a try. I have .an excelle'ht leaflet Join Us For A Drink- afe, Clean,Clear....WATER No. 6870 which gives com- plete instructions and illus- trations in a step by step way, showing the positions of the hook, thread and the hands as you make each movement of the stitch. The five basic stitches of crochet are illustrated and once you have mastered these, you are on your way. The leaflet carries instruc- tions for those of you who are left-handed, so there is no excuse for you to say you cannot crochet. I once had a little girl of twelve visiting me for a few days, and she was fascinated with craft work, but was not receiving any instruction in school. While here, she learned the . basic steps of crochet from this leaflet! As you are learning, make these interesting and easy place mats, for they are both easy and quick to do, and the instructions are on the same leaflet No. 6870. Colored rib- bon is woven in and out the open stitches. 0 0 0 This week's pattern is a simple one that even a begin- ner can try! Chain loops are light and delicate but very effective in crochet. The in- structions for this charming coffee table mat are on Leaf- let No. 8061. To order Leaflet No. 8061 or Leaflet 6870 Learn to Cro- chet, send 75 cents for each plus a stamped self ad- dressed return envelope. If you do not have a stamp or envelope, please enclose an extra 50 cents to cover the cost of handling and print your name and address. Send to: Louisa Rush, "Craft Talk", 486 Montford Drive, Dollard des Ormeaux, P.Q., H9G 1M6. Please be sure to state pat- tern numbers correctly when ordering and to enclose your stamped return envelope for faster service. 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