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ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1972
u
Listen to thu ge
(frons the Mount Forest Confederate)
An unnamed reader recently mailed us the
following comment, written by Michael Barrett
in the Glasgow Weekly News;
The law, somebody once said, is •an ass.
And sometimes the comments of judges when
they sentence people seem to confirm that view.
But this week I came across a judge's obser-
vations which were so acute and wise that they
have been quoted all over the world. I would
like to repeat them at some length.
The judge is Alfonso Sepe and this is what
he said when he sentenced a 17 -year-old youth
to prison for possessing hallucinogenic drugs
and assaulting a policeman.
"Do you know who is going to serve that
year? Not you; your mother and father will
serve -that year. Your body is in the stockade
for a year, but their souls are tormented for a
lifetime.
"I have not spent five cents on raising you.
I don't know you from Adam, but your mother
and father have put their lives, their hearts,
their sweat, their money and everything else
they have into bringing you up.
"And now they have to sit in this court-
room and listen to a total stranger, who had
nothing to do with your upbringing, scold you
and put you in jail.
"This is a time when phoney kids your ages
are yelling. "You adults have your alcohol,
we want our drugs; you have polluted our water
and air, you have polluted this and that; and
all the rest of that garbage that comes out of
your mouths.
"I want you to think of this for one year
and the reason why I say it is, if you are sick,
a doctor will treat you, and he won't be high
on drugs. The lawyer who represents you won't
be high on drugs, and the people in whose
custody you will be won't be high on drugs.
"Your astronauts are not on drugs, your
president is not, and your legislators are not.
And your engineers, who built the bridges you
drive across, and the tunnels you drive through
are not high on drugs. Those who build the
planes you fly in and the cars you drive are
not.
"But in the world of the future that same
may not be true. Teachers, doctors, lawyers,
legislators ---products of the new drug -oriented
generation ---may well be high as kites.
"You know whom to send your children to,
or whom to trust your life to. Let's see what
kind of world you leave to your children before
you talk about the world that we left to ours,"
CBC -TV's popular show for youngsters Drop In has undergone
some changes this season. The show is now seen five days a
week at 4:30 p.m. (5:00 p.m. Nfld.) There are now hosts in
eight locations instead of just Toronto and Vancouver as was
the case last year. One of the additions to the Toronto Drop In"
gang, and a plus in anybody's book, is pretty Lynne Griffen
ZURICH Citizens NEWS
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SQUIRRELS, RATS
AND CATS -- I IUMBUG!
Squirrels in the attic and a
cat at the door. Winter is on
its way.
"Yep, the squirrels, after
about five years of exile, have
managed to chew their way
back into the attic, and are
happily holding their regular
family quarrels, wakes, wedd-
ings, bowling games and foot -
races right over -head.
There probably aren't more
than three or four hundred of
them, to judge from the com-
motion.
And I'm helpless. Once they
get in, you might as well wait
until spring, when they emerge
and you can whack up some tin
patches over their entries.
I like to have black squirrels
around the place, but not in
the place. They're cute and
picturesque hopping about on
the lawn, picking up acorns in
their dainty mitts and swivelling
their little bright, beady eyes
about as they chew.
But when you can't see them,
and all you can do is hear,
they're not so cute. The only
picture of them I have in winter
is of a couple of young buck.
squirrels gnawing away on the
insulation covering my wiring,
and chatting•
"Hey, jack, this is better
than the hole in the oak we
lived in last winter. Right?"
"Right, George. It was kinda
crowded with the eighty-four
of us. And no central heating
except our own. And down to an
acorn a day by February. This
is great. Lots of room for jogg-
ing to keep in shape. Lots of
heat. And - mmmmmm- I love
that electrician's tape,"
They remind me of a rat who
took over nocturnally in our
room in prison camp barracks
in the winter of '44-45.
One singe, lousy rat had
eighteen grown men in a state
of nightly alarums and excursion
At first, he'd wake somebody
up with his gnawing. It was a
cross between the sound of a
chain saw and that of a snow-
mobile.
It was a welcome diversion,
in the beginning. Sort of comp-
any, as though somebody cared.
We named him Packy and talked
about him rather fondly. For a
while.
But then the nerves started to
wear thin. There's something
nerve-wracking about a huge
rat chomping away right in your
ear, as it seemed.
It got to the point where no-
body could go to seep. We'd lie
there, nerves strumming, wait-
ing for Packy's evening perfor-
mance to begin, each of us
clutching a weapon, a boot or a
bedboard.
The little devil seemed to
know that he had us right where
he wanted us. One night he'd
start right after lights -out, and
suddenly stop, just when we
thought we'd located him.
Next night, he'd lie there
chuckling --and we'd have
sworn we could hear the chuckle
keeping us in suspense until it
was almost unbearable. Then
he'd give a couple of zrooms.
And stop.
In a few minutes he'd start
again, gnawing steadily and
contemptuously. At last,
somebody's nerves would break,
there'd be the flare of a match
and eighteen of us would leap
out of our bunks, flailing at
the spot we were sure he was
in.
He never was, and it's a
wonder somebody wasn't killed
in the confusion. Because we
all had a different spot.
Well, that's enough about
squirrels and rats. But I know
exactly why people use the
term "squirrelly" as a synonym
for being a bit mental.
The other manifestation of
winter horrors I mentioned was
our cat. In summer, she's lean
and tawny, a tigress prowling
her domain, stalking bumble-
bees and butterflies and birds.
And she's outside, day and night
A lovely cat.
As soon as the first wind
comes out of the north, she turns
into Mr. Hyde. She hangs on
the screen door, howling pit-
iably. She has ruined three
screen doors.
Does she want love, affection,
admiration? No. She wants in.
And once in, she wants grub. I
have never kicked an animal,
but when that pig of a cat
lurches in like a hyena scenting
a fresh kill and starts rubbing
against my legs when I'm trying
to rattle up some breakfast for
myself, there's a grave tempt-
ation to turf her right into the
kitchen sink. She's an unlovely
cat. Fat and demanding, like
some wives, And she thinks I'm
her husband.
Apparently my un -love affair
with cats has been mentioned
before, because I have here a
letter to the Listowel Banner
from Rita Dodkin, II. I'll quote
parts,
"Cats are very useful in many
different ways than 'putting
them on a calendar." They prov-
ide
rowide lots of company for old and
lonely people who cannot have
dogs because they can't give
them the right exercise. They
pamper and pet their cats be-
cause they enjoy it."
"I think this is far from turning
them into 'bloated, contemptu-
ous parasites' as Mr. Smiley said
They look so sweet when they
sleep on your best chair. When
they rub your legs I think they
are trying to show love. Our
cats always tried to show love.
I used to have one but now I'm
getting one next spring."
Rita, you might get one long
before next spring.
0
SOMEBODY CARES
When illness or unemploy-
ment strikes, a family can't
afford even small Christmas
gifts. But the Salvation Army
can see to it that there are
warm clothes and toys for the
children and a holiday dinner.
Along with material assistance,
The Salvation Army offers the
reassurance of knowing that
somebody cares.
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Call either office for
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