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Times-Advocate, 1981-11-18, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, November 18, 1981 imes - Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 dvocate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since- 1873 Published by j.W, Eedy Publications Limited IORNI III)1 I'uhli.he'r II�t BI CM. L L Ad%erh.int; BILL BATTEN ROSS HAUGH Editor Assistant Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager DICK )ONGKIND Business Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $17.00 Per Year: USA $35.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' Provides no handouts Anyone who was looking to the federal budget to bring an immediate and effective end to economic problems being faced by those in various sectors of society, will be disappointed. There was only marginal assistance offered to home owners faced with renewing mortgages at high rates, or farmers faced with hard times due to high in- terest rates or the nation's growing list of unemployed. The major thrust of Finance Minister Allan MacEachen's long-awaited budget was to plug some loopholes in the income tax system to gain $2.5 billion for the federal treasury. The impact of that will be felt mainly by the upper income taxpayers. They are, after all, about the only people remain- ing from whom MacEachen could expect to get some extra cash. The low and middle income taxpayers already have their backs to the wall in their fight to survive inflation and the new peril of recession. Initial reaction to the budget has been negative, almost without exception. Perhaps that is an indica- tion it is realistic and designed to wage war on infla- tion. Time alone will tell. They keep coming About the only thing constant in education, it seems, is change. The suggestion is that the mammoth contingentofcivil servants have to keep coming up with new concepts to justify their positions and all too often the change is made for nothing more than the sake of change. Unfortunately, entire generations of students have suffered from some of the poorer innovations in which they have been used as guinea pigs. The ministry of education has now written draft guidelines to a new and compulsory "lifeskills" credit course that it wants to introduce into every high school in Ontario. The concern. apparently, is that students are not graduating from high school with enough life skills required in the work place or in their personal lives. Obviously, if the new courses are going to infringe greatly on the time for academic or vocational studies, the risk arises again that the school system will turn out graduates who are lacking in those skills. Some of the suggested courses have merit, but the past experience of mistakes should prompt all those involved in the decision toxnove with caution and care. The appreciation of the arts and nature should not be added at the expense of literacy. Change should be made for the sake of improve- ment and not merely change. Taking the lead Colborne Central School principal Ron Jewitt should be commended for taking the leadership in in- itiating a school bus monitor safety system. On a school bus, five senior students are designated monitors and are familiarized with emergency procedures in case of an accident. The monitors learned about artificial respiration, how to control bleeding and how to handle a person in shock. They will also be responsible for the safe exit of other students in the event of an accident. The system has been operating in other counties and police would like Huron schools to be involved in the monitor project. Colborne took the lead. The fact that students have some knowledge of emergency and safety procedures could be a big boost in the event of a school bus accident. Even if the system is responsible for saving one life, it can be con- sidered a success. Goderich Signal Star Losing became automatic Some would suggest it is only a coin- cidence. but there is little doubt that the weather has taken a decided turn for the better since Jay Campbell took over the duties as forecaster forpCFPL-TV. Prior to his appointment, there was no word other than miserable to describe conditions. and the London TV station should he complimented for making the necessary change to correct the situa- tion I'm not certain that the foregoing will serve as a sufficient "plug' for CFPI, in return for the enjoyable day to which they recently treated the writer and some of his weekly newspaper cohorts in the area. The program included an interesting tour of the broadcast facilities and then an afternoon at the Western Fair Raceway. complete with wining and dining .and unfortunately, losing. It is assumed thatCFPI, broke even on the day. getting sufficient kick -back from the Raceway for luring a bunch of dumb horse -players to the track to cover the cost of the meal. It is further assum- ed that the Raceway was picking up the tab for the bubbly that kept flowing, because the losses at the betting win- dows appeared to mount in direct proportion to the intake of the refresh- ment that numbed minds to the point that there was always a belief that things would he more profitable with the next bet. The bet on the first race was an "automatic" for a group of sophisticated and scientific bettors who carefully study track records, driving percen- tages. etc. For those of us who follow other methods, putting $2 on Sports Edi- tion was a natural for a group of weekly newspaper personnel. As it turned out, the horse runs about as fast as the T -A sports edition editor and that started the pile of ripped -up tickets that slowly overflowed the table I shared with our advertising manager. The second race was just as easy to pick as the first. With a pair of Barbaras at our table, it would have been folly to overlook Barb's Delight. It was, to our lament. folly to bet her as well, and even the suggestion that our loss should be covered by the horse's namesakes fell on deaf ears. .4: BATT'N AROUND with the editor However, the writer proved his astute ability at judging horses, and calmly walked to the cashier's wicket to collect $20.20 as his share for picking the daily double. Why daily doubles pay $20.20 when I have them and then soar to $300 to $400 when I'm not at the track or have a losing ticket is still beyond com- prehension, but that's the way things go. Beckett, sensing that his table partner was his ticket to fortune, then suggested we share in future wagers. Not realizing the albatross to which I was now being tied, the offer was accepted and our betting was geared to the 3-4 combinations in the exactors on the ensuing heats. The three was my choice, the four was his. In the third race, I watched intently and excitedly as my three horse circled the track at the head of the field and crossed the finish line with room to spare. The excitement quickly waned when it was realized that his four horse was still in the process of coming around the final turn and appeared in danger of be- ing run over by the horses which had already entered the track for a warm-up for the next heat. Things looked much better for the next race as the starter slowly moved the horses behind the gate and headed past the grandstand. The three and four horses were in the thick of things as they rounded the first turn and it looked like money in the bank. Then, all of a sudden, his four horse pulls up and stops. The an- nouncement comes shortly after that it was returning to the barn due to equip- ment breakage. Now, I don't suggest that the adver- tising manager has any control over such situations, but had he been alert he probably would have spotted the Scotch tape on the harness while the horses were warming up. Readers are possibly thinking that things were no better for the next race. That's true, but it would be difficult for even the most imaginative to dream of the situation that was to arise. Again, the three and four horse look- ed good as they moved from behind the starting gate and the writer was elated to note that even Jim's horse moved quickly along the turn. Then it happened! The four horse broke stride, forcing the horse behind to also pull up. What number was behind? Yes, the number three. The two came embarrassingly close to being lapped. After wasting another tWo bucks on the fifth, I made the best gamble of the afternoon. I told my betting partner 1 had to go home. He believed me! My luck had turned! How long's Trudeau been in power now? Hmm... except for a brief period, about 13 years — WHY? That'`s what I say -- WHY? Expounds on brilliant thought There has been a tremendous change in the manners and mores of Canada in the past three decades. This brilliant thought came to me as I drove home from work to- day and saw a sign, in a typical Canadian small town: "Steakhouse and Tavern." 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 of 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 not even a Joe Clark. I am merely an observer of the human scene, in a country 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" jour- nalists who tell it as it is. They are hyenas and lackals, who fatten on the eavings of the "lions" of our society, for the most part. Let's get back on topic, as I tell my students. The Canadian society has roughened and coarsened to an astonishing 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: Duluth, Detroit, Chicago. I came from the genteel poverty of Ontario in the Thirities, and I was slightly appalled, and deeply attracted by these signs: the very thought Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley > that drink could be public- ly 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 get- ting sleazily drunk on the same. Not the steaks. In those days, in Canada, there was no such creature. The ver use of the word "tavern" indicated iniquity. It was an evil place. We did have beer "parlours," later ex- changed for the euphemism "beverage rooms." But that was all right. Only the lower ele- ment 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 s 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 something to eat. Today, the host would be humiliated if he didn't have something harder to offer you. Now, every hamlet seems to have its steakhouse, complete with tavern. It's rather ridiculous. Nobody today can afford a steak. But how in the living world can these same people af- ford drinks, at current prices? These steakhouses and taverns are usually pretty sleazy joints, on a par with the old beverage room, which was the opitome of sleaze. It's not all the fault of the owners, though they make nothing on the steak and 100 percent 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 institution, with a prime minister who used street language when his impeccable English failed, or he wanted to show how tough he was. It has crept into our educational 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- mannered, or inhibited your choice, era, could not bring myself to .use. And the language of today's students, from Grade one to Grade whatever, would curl the hair of a sailor, and make your maiden aunt grab for the smelling salts. Words from the lowest slums and slummiest bar- nyards create rarely a blush on the cheek of your teenage daughter. A graduate of .the depression, when people had some reason to use bad language, in sheer frustration and anger, and of a war in which the most common four-letter word was used as fre- quently, 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, mere- ly obscene. As do boys. Saw one the other day on an otherwise nice lad' Message: "Thanks, all you virgins - for nothing." The Queen is a frump. God is a joke. The coun- try's problems are somebody else's problem, as long as I get mine. 1 don't deplore. I don't adhor. I don't implore. I merely observe. Sadly. We are turning into a na- tion of slobs. Knowledge and experience I always enjoy talking to old people. They've got so much knowledge and experience to share that a person can learn a great deal if time is taken to listen to them. One old gentleman that I talked to told me about his father's experiences back in the pioneering days in British Columbia when the real logging had just begun. Then, men worked a standard twelve hour day, six days a week. For this they earned between 00 and $40 a month, plus board. Theywere logging the Dougas fir which often grew to a height of 180 fetor more, on occa- sion half again as tall. Imagine being the 'highri ger' who had to climb the tree and cut off the top before the tree itself was cut down. A scary job at the best of times. Another dangerous job was that of guiding the as many as 12 teams were hitched up one behind the other. The driver or "bull skinner" strode up and down the long string of v Perspectives By Syd Fletcher logs down the rivers and out of the big log jams that often resulted. In the early days the lumber- jacks drove spikes through the soles of their boots to keep from slip- ping on the logs. Theull the logs ouut.sedoxen Smetimes oxen, carrying a long stick with a sharp nail in one end called a 'goad', bellowing curses and orders at the top of his voice. To make the logs slide on the 'skids', whale oil was used. The old man reealled one incident that involved a logger who was careless in his washing habits. Finally the men just couldn t hold their breath any longer when he was around. They dragged him outside, not without some protest and a few bloody noses. When the men started to strip his clothes off, they discovered that he was wearing more than one suit of underwear - three in fact. And he had been wearing them for several months. When the loggers finally peeled off all the layers they scrubb- ed him with a stiff bristl- ed brush and strong soap. The offender's skin was reddish purple and his teeth were chattering when they were finished but he was clean. For awhile anyway.