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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1961-06-29, Page 6Memo To Mrs. Jones `SEs Soviet People First, my apologies for hav- ing neglected you, Mrs, Tone$, t8nce the Geneva conference of, 59, You will note that they are still conferring in Geneva,. This report, however, is based en, observations farther East in Minsk, Moscow, Leningrad, and way stations during a 10 -day visit to the Soviet Union as an Ordinary tourist. Two Western couples in a car encounter a lot of people, Mrs,. Jones, So I am going to skip the usual political and diplomatic details, Instead, here. are a few highlights of what one finds and feels — in terms of people, First of all: their humor. We half expected Sovietofficials to be very difficult at the border. But in our first encounter, at Brest, a Russian-speaking Eng- lish fellow tourist turned on the sunshine at once with a joke. "They want to know," he boomed as an echelon of cus- toms men formally approached our car, "whether or not you are carrying any atom bombs, One is all right — but two, nyet!' Broad smiles lit the faces of the examiners at that. "Da, da, one is all right," they °heckled, "but two is above the quota." From that moment, the inspec- tion went off smoothly, with Web good humor. They even passed seine suspicious-lookine W est German oranecs•i morons American meear.:n:°' •a'ted of being propaganda -ridden Lesson 1 theretore , • "..un't get yourself — or them — all tensed up and you'll get along better. In this respect, they're. no dif- ferent from you there in the Am- erican Midwest or your cousins in Britain and Western Europe. This taste for a little gaiety manifests itself in other ways, too, Mrs. Jones. The dining rooms of each hotel at which we stayed were peeked each evening with Soviet couples and party groups, obviously having an expensive night out on the town — and spending their rubles hand over fist, Without a quiver, such rev- elers paid the equivalent of 50 cents apiece for - oranges and nearly $3 for a fresh pineapple. To us, their willingness to spend lavishly on entertainment under- scored the continued shortage of worthwhile items to purchase in the stores. Nevertheless, Mrs. Jones, an epic change of climate already has. occurred. Soviet.citize,is have, begun to relax for the first time since the repressions of the Stalin- regime talinregime ended. Nowadays, people can afford to be More natural, more pleasant. The contrastwith. eight years ago.is marked. This• coincides with the emer- Jiffy-Knit Add rich interest to a bedroom with this textured spread -smart in one or multicolors. 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Meanwhile, one cannot travel through their country, watch them, and talk with them with- out noticing certain basic points: First, most of these people not only take profound pride in their nation's achievements but also identify themselves with a his toric movement. Their outlook is oddly akin to. that of Americans during the westward expansion a century. ago, Second, they have a ti omen - does sense of competition, par- ticularly with the United States. Although Americans no longer are a novelty in the major cities, they study them like' laboratory specimens. And they like. It best when they can .emphasize Soviet superiority, They suggest, for instance, that the Shepard flight was really a failure because, the United States astronaut did not go into, orbit, They inquire about racial segre- gation, They point out that their income tax is scheduled for abo- lition — although it is not a major revenue sourceanyhow, Finally, they exude an over powering confidence in the even- tual success of their' system over democracy. So strong and calcu- lated is their optimism that one literally has to guard against ac- cepting.this constant smiling sug- gestion of their ultimate victory I — and of democracy's eventual ruin, However, they ' cannot hide from any open-eyed ,tourist cer- tain gargantuan shortcomings of their own system — shortages, wasted effort, regimentation, pri- mitiveness, the sacrifice of many ordinary freedoms. Some observ- ers consider it a miracle that the Soviet Union, has held to- gether this long. Yet it has, Mrs. Jones It, is all there, both better and worse than you might expect. Ard the Soviets seem to be working harder to beat the West than the West is tokeep: ahead of them. You might give, Mr, Jones • and the neighbors a reminder about that. —By -Henry S. Hayward, Chief • of, the London. New e Bureau of the Christian Science Monitor; Did : Lizzie Borden Really Use That.,Axe? • In the pantheon of American folklore, Lizzie Borden occupies as firm a pedestal as Davy. Croc- kett,; although her credentials derive from the world's most famous hatchet job.- The legend. of 'Lizzie goes back to Fall River, Mass., and. a sweltering August morning. in 1892. A thirtyish spinster then with a reputedly sour disposition, Lizzie. is sup- posed to have slipped into the room- where her stepmother was. making a bed and cut her down. with an ax. For the next hour and a half, Lizzie ironed and sewed while she waited for her skinflint :father to return from: a downtown 'tour of his Meal - estate, properties. When the old man came back and 'stretched out on the sofa for a midmorn- ing 'rest, Lizzie came up with her trusty ax and hewed him in rib- bons also. Or so goes the- public fable. 'When Lizzie had her day in court, the jury found her not guilty. But -her subsequent trial - by -folklore reversed the verdict. Ire old age, when Lizzie drove forth in her chauffeured• car— often on erraands of furtive charity—horrified murmurs' still• followed her. Lizzie suffered, says Edward Radin in this deeply researched and : very convincing defense of her good name, from one arch -defamer. This was the noted crime writer Edmund Pearson, 'who, an the 1920's, and '30's.wrote a number of studies of the Borden case, all so biased as to amount to a "literary hoax." So who did ax the elder Bor- dens? Edward D. Radin in his - new book "Lizzie Borden: the Untold Story", gives his, surprise .version. But he manages so much suspense, that it would be an act of sabotage to give him away. Truth has only 'to change hands, a few times to become fiction. SALLY'S SALLIES "Oatddn't you bilks ray huts Med foe aollearel "JUST IN CASE" Mrs. Carol Murdock once learned the mouth- to -mouth respiration technique 'lust in case something hap- pens at the pool." It did -.at their home in Bel Air, Calif. -- and and. Mrs. Murdocksaved the life' of her 23 -month-old daughter, Ceryl Ann. RONICLES GINGERFARM CemeesrimiLiese_ D Cin r1 • At last we are having nice warm weather — and how we appreciate it. But' it works for and against us. It gives us plenty of opportunity to work in the garden but it also, gives us the urge to 'get out and see things and go places. Of course we don't feel so guilty about going places if It coincides with doing things, For instance I had to go around With the hospital sewing I men- tioned last week and 'that little job took me to beautiful homes I didn't even know existed. Ong place was a fruit farm with all the trees out in full bloom. You can imagine how lovely it was. I don't know what the set-up is on this particular. farm, whether the 'owners had sold, off lots or what but there were at least six houses with driveways run- ning off the main farm entrance. So, although the owners were away out in the country they were still not isolated. In fact most of the women were congre- gated in one, house when I got there. ' Another place I went to was a ,single dwelling amid about ten acres of land, much of it wooded.. The house could' not be seen from the roadso to get to it one had to drive along a narrow, winding, hilly farm lane. I was enthralled with the 'beauty of the place. I thought this would be an. Ideal place in which to liv-,e. But ' now every time. I think. of it I remind myself of that narrow, winding lane and imagine what- . it would be like to get out of the place in winter -time — especial- ly after an ice storm. Partner and• I, although loving the country, have managed to convince our- selves, that at our time of life we are better off in a built-up area. After' all we can always. get away to the country for an hour or two any time we want to — or anywhere else for that mat- ter. Last Thursday we did just that. Joy and the boys came up front Milton then we all drove to High Park in the west end of, Toronto. It is one of the nicest parks' I know. Flowers, animals, water- fowl, nature trails, plenty of space and several playgrounds for the children. Ross and Cedric were able to run loose and real- ly enjoy themselves — and with little, supervision, The tulips and rock gardens were lovely but of course we were too early for the roses. We shall have to make another trip later on as the rose gardens at High Park are real- ly worth a visit. High Park is only about ten minutes walk from Dee's place •so after our outing we stopped in there for lunch. She was in the middle of painting her bedroom but seemed quite willing to stop for a visit. And so were the boys. David" was home for lunch but after he had gone back to school the four little boys played around as hap- py as could be: Sometimes we couldn't hear ourselves think but that wasto be expected. Yesterday we had another out- ing. Art came out for us and then we all went to, see the Gar- rison Parade along University Avenue, We were lucky in find- ing a place to park — in 'the shade — and with a good view of the parade. One thing is cer- tain, it was much cooler waiting and watching than it was march- ing, Partner, being an "old vet" of the first World War, and Art of the second, they were both in- terested' in picking out the well. trained men from the round- shouldered loose-limbed recruits, Outstanding were a few sergeant- majors who had the typical bear- ing of the traditional sergeant- major who hadservedin combat duty. And while the parade was on President' Kennedy was in conference with Premier Khrus'h- ebov. (Incidentally Mr, Khrush- IIAl1 SALLET — Starting +her career early in life, this 5 -year- old girl practices intricate dance ' maneuvers on the island of. Boli. The girl is one of 35 mil- lion children in Indonesia (which includes, Bali), many of whom are beim .aided by U.N. choir might be enraged to know that in spite of his name being so well known. I can never remem- ber how to, spell it!) I thought of the conference and wondered would. the.' outcome of that little get-together bring us nearer or drive us further away from ac- tual war? Would the men now marching in parade ever be call- ed upon' for combat duty? It 'was a 'sobering thought as the, sun shone brightly upon the crowds moving freely through the streets and planes flew over- .head saluting the 'troops. While we were waiting for the parade to start Dee and I took a few minutes to visit a friend who has been a patient in the Toronto General' Hospital for seven months. In the same room with her is a patient with leu- kemia..Thinking about them both I woke up.this morning feeling thankful for the ability to be up and around. After the parade Art drove us over to Cherry Beach just to take a look at the old lighthouse. We always welcome an opportunity to be near the water for awhile. Then back to Dee's place to an appetising dinner. After the dishes were done the drive home. It was quite a day. Today the "probs" are for 85° temperature so I am starting early to do what hasto be done before it gets too hot. In between going places. we still manage to do a little work! Modern Etiquette By. Anne Ashley Q. How is the best way to in- vite a wedding guest to the reception? A. By including a small card with the . wedding - invitation, reading: "Reception immediately after the ceremony (or at such - and -such a time) at such -and - such address — R.s.v.p. Q. Is it necessary for a bride - elect to reply to notes of good wishes from friends who have seen her engagement announce- ment in the newspaper? A. While' not necessary to write notes,' she may telephone some of her friends and she certainly should thank all those, whom she meets. Q. At my father's funeral re- cently, I was criticized for wear- ing lipstick and rouge: Was I wrong? A. Today, when such makeup is ',almost universally used, ,a woman would seem not entirely dressed, even at a' funeral,, if she used none at all. But she must apply It with•d;,acretion cartoon Movies Show Signs Of Life It appeared last month that the rigor, mortis that has been. setting in with the movie ear - Mon short was really only a temporary state of suspended animation. In 1958, the number of such ho r t;s made annually had shrunk in ten years from almost 200 to 50, This year, New York and Hollywood cartoonists will probably turn out 95. Walt Dis- ney, who abandoned Donald Duck and Goofy in 1958, is bringing them back for three shorts this year, M -G -M, Which destroyed its Tom and Jerry- built cartoon empire in 1957 by sacking Jerry's creators, William Hamra and Joseph Barbera, has revived the cat and mouse and turned them, over to William Snyder, creator of the Oscar- winning Munro. Snyder will make thirteen in the series, plus ten cartoons based on the works of such as Ludwig Bemelmans and Crockett Johnson, Hanna- Barbera themselves, who have grown rich and famous on their Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound television cartoons are again taking up serious movie cartooning, with twelve shorts about the do -good wolf Loopy de Loop, Walter Lantz, creator of Woody Woodpecker, is plan- ning nineteen shorts. Warner Brothers (Bugs Bunny, Tweety) will have twenty, and Format • a new outfit, will make ten science -fiction cartoons based on Ray Bradbury stories. The 'cartoon doldrums set in when costs soared and the prices distributors were willing to pay did not. But the public complain- ed. Now omplain-ed.`Now 'producers have found new ways to keep costs down. All. Snyder's cartoons are dream- ed up in New York, for example, but drawn in Europe, where artists come cheaper. Hanna- Barbera,severely limit their ani- mation, and therefore the num- ber of drawings required. Lastly, the standard length of cartoons has been cut 'from eight minutes to six. To old -liners like Walter Lantz,, who began cartooning in 1916, all this is . saddening. "The =cost has 'become so high'that it is all but impossible to get your' in- vestment backin less than four or five years," Lantz complained recently in his sedate Hollywood off tee. "The characters we used to put, in the ,movie cartoons lived and breathed like human beings. These TV cartoons have so much mouth action and so little body action. • They simply' are not. of the same quality. What you have today, even in many movies,is, very little motion with a good radio script, lots of .dialogue." ' However, Joe Barbera, who got into cartooning from account- ing some 25 years .ago, is con- vinced that minimal motion is here to stay, and he's happy about it. "What Lantz says we ,can't do, we're doing," he said in -the chaos of his own hyperactive office. "You can still turn car- toons out for the same cost as in the old days. Today, you cut out every gesture you can, and the cost comes down. You have to give people good entertainment, good stories, and goad dialogue, All that motion is passe, mhat we`re back to is the original coif- cept of the "cartoon, to satirize people, their walk, their general appearance, We're back to hu- mor." From NEWSWEEK QUICK RESPONSE The head of a large business concern was extremely interest- ed in psychology. One day he put up a number of signs read- ing "Do It Now" in his officee to increase efficiency. A little while later a friend asked hire whether the, scheme had any et- feet upon his staff. "Weld , .: yes," said the boss, "but not exactly what I'd hoped, The cashier absconded with $10,- 000, 10;000, the head• bookkeeper eloped with my private secretary, three clerks asked for a raise, and the office -boy left to join a circus." 0 To Size 48 PRINTED . 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