HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1986-05-21, Page 2tu
Huron .
xpomtor
SINCE
1860,
SERVING
THE COMMUNITY FIRST
BLUE
RIBBON
AWARD
1985
incorporating
Brussels Post
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Published In
SEAFORTH, ONTARIO
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ED BYRSKI, General Manager
HEATHER McILWRAITH, Editor
The Expositor Is brought to you each week by the efforts of:
Pat Armes, Bessie Broome, Marlene Charters, Joan Quicheleer, Anne Huff, Joanne Jewlit,
Dianne McGrath, Lois MaLlwaIn, Bob McMillan, Cathy Malady and Patrick Raffle.
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SEAFORTH. ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY. MAY 21, 1666
Second class mall registration Number 0896
O
cn
Government in disgrace
What do shady business dealings, misappropriated expense accounts,
scandalous cover-ups, pornography and questionable election practices
all have in common?
Your first guess is wrong. These misdeeds are not 'gathered from a
"things to do today," list of some Mafia crime boss. Actually this list of
naughty pastimes Is a true-to-life agenda of the activities of some
highly -placed members of the current Progressive Conservative
Canadian government.
Over the past eight months, five members of Brian Mulroney's cabinet
have been forced to resign their portfolios In disgrace. Hardly a
commendable record for a group that promised "openness and honesty
in government," while campaigning for election such a short time ago.
Transport Minister Suzanne Blals-Grenler was forced out over public
disapproval of costly European excursions, which though billed to the
taxpayers, had little connection with government business. Fisheries
Minister John Fraser had no choice but to resign after attempting to dish
rancid tuna onto the plates of the Canadian public. Defence Minister
Robert Coates could hardly expect to retain the respect of the troops after
getting caught at a West German peep show while on an official tour of
NATO countries in Europe. And now, Industry Minister Sinclair Stevens
has discovered the consequences of attempting to skirt the government's
conflict of Interest guidelines.
Only Communications Minister Marcel Masse has been cleared of
allegations and returned to his post after undergoing an RCMP
investigation into alleged election overspending in his riding.
While It is unfair to tar all Tory MPs with the same brush as these
fallen ministers, someone within the party must take the blame for such
irresponsible people reaching positions of trust.
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, the man who should be reeling after
the damaging revelations about the people he has chosen to help him
govern, has publicly shrugged off the damage as "disappointments."
Outrages would be more like It. Mulroney chose these people, they are
presumably his friends. If they can not be trusted, can he?
The previous Liberal government, much mocked by today's
Conservatives, may not have been paragons of virtue themselves — they
had their scandals too. But, at least they did not average better than one
resignation -in -disgrace every two months. — P.R.
OPINION
Country style taking over
[FEOM THIS ANGLE I
by Patrick Raftie
The heart of rock and roll may indeed be
"still beatin' " as Huey Lewis and The News
suggest in one of the better songs of that
' genre to be released in recent years, but
unfortunately as Mr. Lewis also alludes to,
"the old boy maybe barely breathin' "
The fears of Mr. Lewis and his press club
compatriots may be well-founded, but not for
the reasons you might suspect. The demise of
rock music after only four decades of life may
come about not because of pressure from
parent groups wanting lyrics censored, or
even because of the diminishing quality of
songs being put out.bytoday's instant artists,
No, the death blow to the likes of The Rollin
Stones may come at the hands of a revitalized
country music industry.
It's not that Kenny Rogers is planning an
assassination attempt on Mick Jagger or
anything -- it's just that some of the more
youthful members of the populace seem to
have taken an actual liking to the twangy
country and western sound.
Iattended a traditional May Two -Four beer
bash type party over the long weekend and
even though most of the guests were several
years younger than this long -in -the -tooth
reporter, I expected the musical entertain-
ment to beat least recognizable. It wasn't.
It was an outdoor party andthe music was
being blasted out of the usual high-tech car
stereos, complete with equalizers and ampli-
fiers and all the traditional gadgetry best
suited to playing high-voltage rock and roll.
Instead however, the sounds emanating
from these boom boxes all had a nasal twang
and a southern accent that would have had
Jim Morrison and Jimmy Ilendrlx spinning
in their graves.
I inquired of the host if perhaps his father
had volunteered to act as disc jockey for the
evening and he hadn't the heart to turn him
down,
To my surprise he informed me that this
crowd who were mostly around 20 -years -old
actuary preferred this odd form of music.
However, he graciously offered to try and
find me some ' `headbanger" stuff, if I was
willing to go listen to it in the back 40, and
kept it down so as not to disturb the livestock.
Since the back 40 was a long way from the
beer cooler 1 decided to decline this offer and
examine up -close this worrisome trend in
popular music. It appears the cause of the
new-found interest in Nashville came about
because of the appearance of a flock of what
was best described as "New W ave;' country
singers,
W hat we were getting here was not Johnny
Cash or (God forbid) Ernie King and the
Ranch Boys, but some more revolutionary
artists who have managed to combine the
country sound with the outrageous lyrics for
which rock music is both famous and
criticized.
I felt h little better having discovered
today's youth still like their music a little on
the rebellious side, but I wasn't ready to
convert. I searched all the tape boxes in the
cars hoping to find a copy of "Momas Don't
Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys,"
hoping to send out a subliminal message to
halt this madness, but no one had one.
As the evening wore on, and the beer
cooler emptied, a strange thing began to
happen. I think I was almost starting to get
the beat. On several occasions I looked down
to discover my toes tapping of their own
accord, while my ears continued to reject
these foreign sounds. Others seemed similar-
ly affected and several mere exuberant
airtypesb even tookiimepto the musics, Maybir air e
air banjo.
things weren't so different after all.
Call it what you want, if it's got a good beat
and puts you in a good mood, the name
doesn't matter. Like the song says "It's still
rock and roll to me,"
Free press a must
During recent years, the media have taken a terrible beating. Every time
a politician finds the need for someoneor something to blame for his or her
mistakes we find the media are the culprits.
The people who provide the public with the news of the day often do
make mi .lakes. Some news people are obviously too brash and even cruel
in their treatment of sensitive events. However, consider for a moment
how important a free and open press is to modern society.
The recent nuclear accident in the Ukraine provides a startling example
of what can happen when reporters are not allowed access to a crisis
situation. First reports of the melt down in Russia included the conjecture
that as many as two thousand residents of the area had been killed, and
that thousands more would probably die within the next few months.
These early reports indicated that not one, but two reactors were burning.
Since that time we are hearing reports that the casualty list was
exaggerated. Soviet officials reported that very few people had actually
been killed and that only 100 to 200 people were injured.
We still don't know the truth, which is probably somewhere between the
Soviet figures and the guess work of the foreign press. What has become
increasingly clear is that the total absence of reporters left the rest of the
world In Ignorance of the actual extent of the threat which had been posed,
not only for the residents of the Ukraine, but possibly for vast areas of the
earth's surface far removed from the immediate site of the disaster.
Without a free press those same politicians who blame us so frequently
for every misadventure in which they become involved, would be free to
get away without public knowledge of their responsibility for whatever
goes wrong.
Sure, there are times when publicity can be embarrassing, even
shocking, but a free press is still a very necessary part of our tree society.
(Goderich Signal -Star)
Rules have changed
Curious kids, visit friendly cops
By Patrick Reftis
. y ,nut.,
Gay `.i'o erators misunderstood
I think it is 'time to cleiir, up some of the
myths and misconceptions surrounding a CORNUCOPIA certain occupation. Service station operators v
have a reputation that Is somewhere between
that of an insurance salesman and a
politician. We know that. After hours of by Dave Broome
exhaustive and 1 might add, dangerous
research I will now attempt to crush to
smithereens the foul allegations that dog this
most misunderstood group of people.
Service station ' operators are not nice
fellas. Well now, ; sometimes they are,
sometimes they are not. They are real nice
when gas Is, say, S2 a litre and they are down
right pleasant when your car breaks down in
their lot. They are not nice when you
purchase gas across the street, race away
without paying or threaten them with a large
club.
Service station operators always wear dirty
clothes. Iles, lies, lies. Only when they are
working. In fact, some guys f know actually
like to shower after work and get ail dressed
up. Some wear neat stacks, some wear nice
yuppie shirts. some wear shorts and some,
tee hee,probably weprnothing atoll. But that
is none of my business.
Service station operators have no sense of
humor, Wrong. Sometimes, when you're not
. looking, theyllet the air out of your tires. Yes,
it is true. This is a fact. I know. And, if they
feel really happy, they might kick your lights
out. Literally. But their favorite prank is to
wait mail the lingua of rats for get is gone
and then
eme, I have evidence that this happens
Nice guys finish last!
That sporting axiom has been discredited by many, but now a University
of Western Ontario professor has come up with a theory that may indicate
why fans support the "bad •guys" in such attraction -a as wrestling.
Jim Freedman suggests that professionai wrestling is as much a parody
of democracy as it is a series of hat ,merincks and half-nelsons.
Wrestlers act out in the ring what many of their fans believe are the
"phoney promises of liberal democracy." In life, hard work and clean
living are not always rewarded with promotions and acceptance, &Mt
though that's what a liberal democracy is supposed to be about. In
practice, however, it's more likely the "good guy" who winds up face first
on the mat. •.
... _ h came to know wrestiinb and its fans though a` two-year
p..., t'se q . liberal
Freedman, who 9
stint as a ring announcer, claims the sport 1s a- severe critique of I ,
democracy as practiced, not as ideologized."
T �hat'saratherstin In Iindictment ofthe system.butitMay beclo'serto
9 9
the truth'th'an most would care to admit. There's a certain strength and
dedlcatlon needed to snake it to' the top, but just as many get there using
brutal tactics, whether it be in athletic endeavours or the many others
humans pursue.
unto others before
The newversio`n;ofthe golden rule appears tobe' "do
they do it to you.^.'`
(Exeter Times -Acct VOCate)
Service station operators lead wild night
lives. No. No. No. The legend that these mild
mannered, dedicated public servants are
lecherous bar prowlers by night is, simply,
false. Why'? Because everyone would know
and you know how rumors spread in small
towns, right! 'Then no-one would buy gas
from them, would they? In truth most service
station operators stay home at night and read
the wall street journal and popular mechan-
ics,
echanics, Ela. hat
Service station operators drink Black. Lobel
beer and straight vodka. Now, this is only
partially correct- They do drink Black Label
beer but never straight vodka. They put mix
in it. Sometimes they mix it with orange juice,
sometimes with 7 -up and I've heard, will
even mix it with Black Label beer. So there.
Service station operators are the toady
liekspittle, puppets of greedy, rapacious oil
companies that are conspiring in a heinous
worldwide conspiracy of economic terror
ism. This, unfortunately is very true. As a
matter of fact, f asked a local service station
operator why he had not lowered his gas
prices when others had. He said, "Dave, we
haven't done it because we are the toady,
lickspittle puppets of greedy, rapacious oil
1
companies that are conspiring in a heinous
world-wide conspiracy of economic terror-
ism."
errorism." Now. if that isn't proof they are victims
as well as us, I don't know what is.
Service station operators are real jacks.
Through my own personal observations, ican
only say that this is half right. One service
station operator I know likes, get this,
hunting and fishing. Yes. fishing. And yet
another chap enjoys, egad, jogging. Jog-
ging? Some may even be fond of hockey or
broomball, or baseball, or darts or weighttift-
'rng, and, possibiy, knitt ng. One shouldn't
speculate too much on such things. After alL
What ane does during ene's spare time might
be illegal, right?
So there,now you know the truth about
service staion operators. If you ever meet
one Ma bar, buy him a Black label ora vodka
or both. Hewitt probably be very happy if you
even mix them for him,
Then the next time you pull into his lot he
probably won't let the air out of your tires or
kick your lights out. But, remember, if he is
not smiling when he comes out of the shop,
you should maybe, hustle off to another gas
station, When you do that it kind of makes
them mad. But it's fun, Ha, hat
Blood, sweat and tears paid o
I received a bit of a jolt Friday - I was
diagnosed as "physically fit"
Finally I received the written affirmation
that all the blood, sweat and tears E') of
rec cntnronths had indeed paid oft, and I was
supposedly in good, physical condition.
As a person who has been plagued all her
lifewith a numberof aches and pains brought
onMainly because of my self-imposed
i m through sports,the appraisal
it all almost worthwhie. I mean one's
goal is always to "get in shape" but who
really thinks they'll get there.
The' good news", as I. guess it's called,
Was en unexpected part of my Friday. It all
began as part of the research net ess'ail for a
story 1 was. approached to dof Athos
Appraisal. Whetf it was surges er
teat myself I was willing, bat somewhat
hesitant at the same time. I knew I wasn't in
the worst shape rd everbeen fn, but I knew I
wasn't in the best shape either. Arid I tvasn t
sure I Wanted someone else to make The
discovery if it was the latter ofthe two
situations. I mean, tame on, there's dust no
p 'Ott a stomach
assin off the eictrarolls around the , 'gpe're
as part of the normal body mak p f
taiiangabout the human hodyrhere' - not the
planer~ Saturn.
N , ,
=IOW glad ibraved the ordeal. It Wast t
tabbed.. in fact the test, if it can be called a
test, did me alo`tbf good. It taughtifie quite
bit abed rnyself'and helped me dismiss some
of the misainceptions I had about, being
physically fit.
I was brought to the realization that being
in shape doesn't necessarily mean having to;.
function with a thuscle-taut form, a fat level.
of zero, arida working weight several pounds
lighter than my existing weight., That doesn't
Mean though that all that ,jiggles is
golden ._.but....that leaves me something to
work on.
f
SWEATOCKS
Wby Heather Mellwraith
There is still a long way to go beforelattain
my goal of physical fitness bet right new i
feel like a kid who bas just received a good
report card, due that she's not afraid to take
home. But in my case it's not morn and dad
who need to see the report, but instead little
brother - you know, the kind of little brother
with the big brotherly Concerns
A jock, a student bent on pursuing a career
in physical fitness, his increasing knowledge
of the human body, bas Went dm -ft to my
side fora couple of years now The smallest in
my family I`ve been destined to he the "frail
., t
one", and thus the one Piaui ose to 'AIWA e
every tune lie saw' me. To him I'v'e displayed
early signs of osteoporosis and rnah rintiuii
and live each day on the verge of lapsing into
a state of anorexia. And despite my
protestations to the contrary, and despite the
fact 1've put 071 10 pounds thatl'd like to Oa
disappear, I can't seem to,'convince him Fm
not a poor, little waif. ��
According foray ` test Pm lust the'fight
weight for the size of trier and have, a good
distribution of fat, on my body (that hardly
sounds complimentary, maybe I should have
saidihave just the right amount of fat) I have
a -lot of muscle, particularly in my biceps, so'
thy lirotherbetter quit pestering me about my
"health" or PIi have to physically demon-
strate.how illy muscles work when put tithe
test!`
'Scored well on the aerobic fitness test and
Was able to complete a good' number of sit ups
and push ups in the muscular strength and
muscular end
urine portion of the test -
surprise; surprise.
Where f famed to perform well was in the
grip teat, and there, I not only did poorly, but
I failed td even perform well enough to get a
rating Talk about a weakness. In the
flexibility test I did alright, but that area too
could definitely use some improvement.
Otherwise I can see what are now stiff and
sometimes inoperable body parts becoming
inure add' turning me into an o!d woman
befomy tune.
re
In all seriousness though Ifound my fitness
appraisal a beneficial aid to my own plan for
a�tevement'of physical fitness. It not only
pointed but the areas I was weakest, but it
gave me some idea of where my strengths lay
as well, It also showed rale just what I could
sensibly Made in the way of exercise, Cvitllottit
hang myself( It actually **Mined aiy
belief in exercise, i etause finally 1 saw that
there are fruits from the labor .._
The only thing, Tin having difficulty awl!
nowiacomingto,grips with the recoriiraenda-
tion thatmaintain my present level of
exercise. That retornmendation came after
Td seriously considered cutting down sty
activites, f i mean how long can one person try
lbsqreezeinasfewasthree sportsactivites a
day?)
Maintain? What a thought. ButIsuppose `
should give it awhirl. After'all, what's!;it they
say about wound body, sound mind? tett!
face it, My mindcould be little sounder- dr
so rue been told•.