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The Citizen, 1992-01-08, Page 5Arthur Black THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8,1992. PAGE 5. Walls bring memories of other times Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen ground-swell under it Robert Frost I do a lot of country walking, and one of the great pleasures of my rambles comes when I stumble across a stone wall, those architectural artifacts of settlers long dead. They wind along the crests of hills and undulate through groves of poplar and cedar like lumpy gothic serpents, separating ancient, overgtown pastures from the remnants of once-fruitful apple orchards. More often than not, the farmhouses that sheltered the people who built the walls have fallen to ruin - disappeared even - swallowed up by brush and bramble and burdock. But the walls live on, ’though they're often tumble-down and gap-toothed, reduced to playing host to lichens and rodents and skinny, stubborn maple and walnut saplings. Robert Frost was right - something there is that doesn't love a wall - and that something is an implacable landlady by the name of Mother Nature. Hardly anyone builds stone walls in my International Scene wMgSlByJRaymoncl Canon Let there be peace all year BY RAYMOND CANON Those of us who have lived so many years in the atmosphere of the Cold War can understandably look at the current situation with something approaching disbelief. The threat of Soviet bombers or missiles coming over the North Pole on their way to targets in North America has all but disappeared. The Warsaw Pact has folded its tent and silently slipped away. The Gulf War early last year was resolved, at least militarily, without a colossal loss of life with the sole exception being the Iraqi military. So many pluses in one year are not to be dismissed lightly. For the Yugoslavs “Peace on Earth” has been little more than a hollow slogan. Old wounds in that country have opened once again to spill the blood of many innocent victims to the extent that the country will never be the same. The soviet republics are still taking out their frustrations on their neighbours and it is still problematical what a new Soviet Union will look like and even what parts will be around and which will have gone off to seek their own fame and fortune. The Arabs and the Israelis did make a start in trying to resolve their differences, another decided plus for 1991 but there is literally no way of knowing what the chances of eventual success will be. The rhetoric heard at Madrid and back home in the Middle East was at times filled with much rancor as in the past; it appears as if the United States is going to have to bash a few heads together if peace is to have any chance. part of the country anymore. Post and wire, steel mesh and of course the electrified barbed wire fence are all much easier and more cost-effective. And utterly graceless. The old stone walls are a marvel to behold. There’s not a gobbet of mortar or a lick of cement to hold them together. No diploma-dripping engineer had a hand in their construction - and yet, there they are, still standing, still, more or less doing their job: separating This from That - 40, 50, even 100 years later. Or in some cases, thousands of years later. I'm told that there are still stone walls running across the fields of Cornwall in England that were built by the rough, red hands of Ancient Britons, back in the time of the Caesars. The stone walls on this side of the Atlantic are somewhat younger, but no less magnificent. Extensive, too. I have no idea how many miles of stone walls you could find if you tape-measured the rock remnants from Joe Batt's Arm to overgrown homesteads on Vancouver Island, but I do know there's a U.S. Agriculture Department census from 1871 that indicates there were some 252,000 miles of stone wall in New York and New England alone. And that was 120 years ago. You still don't have to walk too far in most of rural settled Canada before you stub your Another country with a fragile peace in 1991 is Cambodia. After years of trying, the United Nations managed to get all participants to bury the hatchet and to co­ operate in the rebuilding of the country. The biggest question mark in this area is the real intention of the Khmer Rouge. This faction, under the notorious Pol Pot, was responsible for one of the worst cases of genocide that the world has ever seen and, while they have agreed to go along with the others, peace in Cambodia could quite possibly wither on the vine. When we talk about peace on earth, however, it is not hard to notice how prevalent this talk is at Christmas holiday time as if it were something that we should only think about at that time of year. In reality, the spirit of Christmas is something that should be practiced at all times of the year. In this respect I have memories of people who did just that; a few of these memories I would like to share with you. The first took place in the Russian city of Smolensk, scene of a number of fierce battles in World War II. I was staying in a hotel there and found that the plumbing in my room did not work properly. In due course a plumber arrived; after he was finished we chatted a few minutes and away passport caught up with me. Thanks for giving generously THE EDITOR, Your readers have made it possible for the Children's Aid Society of Huron County to give Christmas comfort to 1,000 children in Huron County this year. This is an expression of caring and concern of which we can all be proud. The children were given warm mitts, toys and articles of clothing. And equally important, parents and care givers were helped with their concerns. Our children are our greatest asset, and our first love. Their needs are often immediate. hiking boot on the leftovers of somebody's back-wrenching labour, generations past. Do I over-romanticize these granite and limestone mementos of pioneer days? Perhaps. There’s a geologist at the University of Connecticut who says those old stone walls are not all that noble. According to Robert Thorson, they aren't even fences, primarily. What they are, says the professor, is pioneer garbage dumps. “Linear landfills” to use his phrase. Professor Thorson says those old stone walls merely represent the first man-made upheaval of the environment. The opening salvo in a massive deforestation offensive. Well, I suppose farmers clearing land in order to grow crops and raise cattle could be viewed as environmental assaulters. But you have to wonder whether Professor Thorson ever speculates about where his bread and potatoes come from. For my part, I believe I will continue to walk in the woods and look for those old hand-made, man-made walls. And when I find one I plan to park my bum on it, and run my hands across it, and think a few kind thoughts about the men and women who paid in sweat and aching muscles to put it there. They may be ghosts now, but they're still my neighbours. And as Robert Frost observed: good fences make good neighbours. he went. In a few minutes there was a knock at my door. There was my plumber with two bottles of beer. He had enjoyed our conversation so much, he said, that he wanted to come back and drink a toast with me. “Mir i drushba,” he said, “peace and friendship.” It was the middle of summer but to me it was a breath of Christmas. Another time was in Baghdad. On the day of my departure from the hotel, the manager came unannounced to me and said that he had heard that my plane did not leave until 8 p.m. It was a very hot day, he said, and he did not want me to have to sit in the heat some place since the check-out time at the hotel was noon. He invited me to stay in my air-conditioned room until it was time to go to the airport - at no extra cost to me. Guess where that hotel manager ranks in my estimation! The last time did happen at Christmas. I was going to school in Germany at the time but wanted to get home to Switzerland for Christmas. My passport from the Swiss consulate in Frankfurt got delayed in the mail so I went to the border to explain my situation. To my delight the border officials let me through and even gave me some identification to carry with me until my They can't be put off. Huron County residents have given generously of their own, sometimes meagre resources to make sure our children can look back on this Christmas with warm hands and happy hearts. Please express to your readers the gratitude of the Children's Aid Society of Huron County, and through us, the 1,000 children of Huron County, and their families. Thomas F. Knight Executive Director Goderich. The Short of it By Bonnie Gropp Guardian angels When I woke up on Monday morning, it was with a sense of normalcy. After a break (so to speak) of two weeks, my family and I are getting back in the groove, back in the old routine. My eldest has returned to university, my youngest two got a good night's sleep and my teenage daughter and I were once again in a race against time for the blow dryer. The vacation was nice, don't get me wrong, but after the social whirl, the gifts and the indulgence typical of the season there is something soothing about having things simple, without any surprises. Some Brussels students had a surprise of a different kind on their first morning back to school, however. Thanks to the efforts of a delegation of parents, the support of council and the understanding of the community, youngsters crossing Tumberry St. now have crossing guards to make the way safer. It's something that has been a long time coming and while my children have never been affected by it as we live on the same side of Tumberry as the school, I was delighted to see the guards at work this morning. We don't get a second chance with life and it was good to see something done, before tragedy instead of after. I commend the parents who had the drive to get the ball rolling and council who took the time to listen. Safety is the obvious reason for crossing guards, but as I watched them at the comers this morning, I was reminded of the man who helped my friends and I to and from school each day. Time has erased his name from my memory, but not his humour. He was to all a trusted friend. Every child was greeted with a smile. He knew most by name and often remembered some little detail that made you special from the others. He protected us from bullies and had no patience for wiseguys, who were usually put in their place quite effectively, by a few choice words from our guardian. And heaven help the driver, who didn't slow down soon enough as we were making our way across the street. Making the trip across the street with the crossing guard was an enjoyable experience for my friends and I, even into the higher grades, when we obviously no longer needed his guidance, at least not crossing the street. His wise remarks, common sense outlook and kind manner won the heart of every youngster he met. Eventually, schools decided to give older students the chance to volunteer as crossing guards and it was with tremendous pride that most of us "mature" grade eighters took on the duties. But while we may have wanted to be, we were never as capable as our friend. He made it look easy. Having gone to two schools at opposite ends of town, with each having several points of crossing, I met many crossing guards during my school years. When I was young they were a protector and by the time I left school they were a friend. A friendly smile began my day while a jovial, "How was your day?" sent me on my way at the end. It was nice to see the crossing guards in Brussels, to know that our children are safe, but also because it brought back a fond memory of my own childhood. May the students at Brussels enjoy a special friendship with these people as well.