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Times-Advocate, 1988-01-27, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, January 27, 1988 Times Established 1871 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 BLUE RIBBON N4vvnnh 1985 Imes dvocate Iished Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150 s ration Number 0386. Secon Phone 519.235.1331 ROSS HAUGH , Editor DON SMITH Business Manager PCNA JIM BECKETT Publisher & Adsertising Manager HARRY DEVRIES DICK IONGKIND Composition Manager Vice -President SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 Prayer for Unity During almost every week of the year, some group or organization is being rec- ognized with a special week and this com- ing week is no exception. This week at least two recognitions are taking place that we know of and both are well deserved. They are Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and Victorian rder of Nurses Week. Not much needs to a said about the need for Christian Unity not only in our communities and in Canada, but through- out the world. Much fuss is made about wars, terror- ism attacks and other acts of aggression in foreign countries, but we can start right at homein trying to bring about unity in the Christian faith. A good way to begin would be for each and every one of us to attend the church of our choice each Sunday.There are more than 40 churches of all denomina- tions in the coverage area of the T -A. and we are almost certain in saying very few have overflow attendances. In fact, many are probably less than half full. This special week is set aside each year by many Christian communities through- out the world to rejoice in the fellowship of their common faith and to pray for in- creased understanding and determination to work together in expressing their Christian Unity. The local recognition of Prayer for Christian Unity will be held Sunday af- ternoon at 2.30 p.m. at Trivitt Anglican Church in Exeter. Turning to the other special week,.the Perth -Huron branch of the Victorian Or- der of Nurses was established in 1908 to care for patients and families in the two counties. VON believes everyone has the right to comprehensive and compassionate health care. This includes a commitment to en- sure that whenever possible, appropriate care is provided to allow people to re- main in familiar surroundings of their own homes. The Perth -Huron branch provides es- sential and emergency nursing service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The of- fice for this area is located at 52 Huron street in Clinton. Keep it charming Only a week ago, residents of Prince Edward Island voted in favour of build- ing a transportation link between the Ca- nadian mainland and their island. The vote was far from being over- whelming, so it appears many of the resi- dents have their doubts. It's probably those with their roots there for a long time that are not sure the change is neces- sary. This proposed fixed link would bring extefisive change to the island. It would bring Prince Edward Islanders within a 15 minute drive to New Brunswick. Now it takes almost an hour by ferry. The trip isn't the problem in itself. It's the frustration of long lines of waiting to get space on a ferry. A trip of only 15 minutes would mean more mainlanders will head over on cas- ual trips •and more islanders going the other way for business, pleasure and shopping. On the positive side, the new link by Ross Haugh .would certainly boost the island's econo- my. It would bring more tourism across the Northumberland Strait and also im- prove shipping for island products. Those opposed to the link are con- cerned about how the extra tourists will affect their quiet way of life and possibly the ecological effects brought on by man-made structures in the waterway. For generations this probable hook-up with the mainland has been talked about, but now with a 60-40 vote in favour the discussions may take on a different fo- cus. We have never visited Prince Edward Island, but we understand it is a relaxing and charming place to visit and is inhab- ited by friendly and warm hearted pople. It would be a shame if increased num- ber of tourists and over - commercialization would affect the quiet and homey tradition for which Prince Edward Island is famous. by Ross Haugh Can do without garbage The other night we went to sec a movie called "Three Men and a Baby". This is a light-hearted comedy which sets up the situa- tion where three confirmed bach- elors suddenly find themselves stuck with a small baby for an indefinite period of time. I'd like to `make a couple of ob- servations which I fliadc about this movie and the trends which 1 hope are happening. First off. 0no of- fensivc Lir, 1. 11( and 110 ,`ht C!. CS. The (' rector . ' . / set up a • very funny situa, n the audience laugh and laugh and laugh some more. I hope that this is a trend. Personally 1 am sick of • turning on the television and sce- ingmore blood and gore and; ob- scenities than Carter has liver pills. Secondly, it was interesting to • I. J sec the long line up of people who were paying $5.00 each to sec a movie which didn't contain any of the above mentioned By the l � Way by Syd Fletcher things. That indicates to me that other people are also feeling the same way as I am about the gar- bage which is infesting the tube. In Ann Landers the other day, I noticed that a Grade 5 teacher had asked her children what they hopcd to do on Hallowe'en. A large number of them commented that they wanted to "kill some- body",. Now I ask you where they got that idca. These are nine and ten year-olds, remember. I think that the answer is fairly obvious. They watch movies such as "Hallowe'en" and \ ' 't". Do they watch them the `lea,: -0 Of course not. 1'() Tn i 'k t, m up for $.99 at the loL..t , idco store or simply watch them on scheduled TV pro- grams. Parents, in most cases, wouldn't take their children to see such junk, but will let them rent ' movies without even looking at the labels. It seems like a cheap way of baby-sitting the young- sters, but believe me it will cost in the end. What I am hoping for/though, as I started out to say, is that there is a reversal in trend toward a better set of values, and that people are beginning to demand higher standards in their enter- tainment world. • Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited 7 LET'S SEE If WE CAN CURE YOUR COMPULSION TO VISREGPRO THE SAFETY AND WELFARE OF THE PUULIC :)/ WU T— allo LOSE MY JOB ON THE PAROLE BOARD? tj f4 Build your own town Did you ever dream about be- ing the mayor of a town and have complete control? It can happen .Only one way do to do it. Build your own town and take over all of the im- portant jobs such as mayor, po- lice chief, hotel keeper,etc. This may sound ridiculous, but it has happened and in Cana- da. Pity, you say. At the moment there is such a one-man town known as Em -Te Town in Alberta about 100 miles north of Edmonton. Leonard Mohr, a 60 year-old carpenter is the sole owner of the town. He built, it on his property with a chainsaw, ham- mer and nails over the past self - en years. He has built 20 wooden build- ings in two rows facing each other across a narrow street From the editor's disk by Ross Haugh lined with board sidewalks and hitching posts.There have'been mock gunfights on main street and two real weddings. Mohr explains the, idea of his town this way, "I guess I want- ed to build a town. I could never be the mayor of any other town, so I guess I had to build one.1 ( guess 1 am a dreamer." The town includes a saloon, hotel, general store, bank, a combined sheriff's office- jailhouse, barber shop, black- smith shop, buggy shed, a couple of one -room cabins, two livery stables and Mohr's own cozy log cabin. He is currently doing interior arpentry on a two-storey bank building and a two-storey hotel which will have four upstairs - !bedrooms and a downstairs din- ing room where coffee and doughnuts will be served next summer. Next will be a church if he can find a bell and Mohr is also thinking of a school if donations continue to come in. Fast -forward it, Daddy! The kids and I were returning from a trip to the library last Saturday, and we were all singing along to some snappy music over the car radio. Everybody was feeling happy, but the station had to break for a string of commercials. "Fast -forward it, Daddy," Stephanie said, and I had to set her straight: "This isn't a VCR, Stephanie. It's a radio, not a tape. You can't fast -forward the radio. And it occurred to me that it would be marvellous :f we could. Fast -forward everything, 1 mean. Not only videotapes, but everything we find as.tedious as commercials. I propose this as a challenge to our engineers and microsystem designers: invent a gadget with which we can fast -forward whatever annoys us. So perhaps in the year 1998 I can go to my dentist (if I have any teeth left by then) and face the drill with indifference because the moment it begins to be in the slightest bit uncomfortable, I can press the FF -button, and presto — it's ten minutes later, and Dr. Anderson iS already figuring out the bill. I'll go to my super -automated financial institution to withdraw some cash (if I still need it by then), and I won't care how long the line-up is because I can zap the fast -forward button, and I'm the next to be served. Of course, this will work for you too. The FF will hurry you through the rough parts of.life in a, jiffy,' while allowing ,cou to savour the good parts at your leisure. And maybe we coulcj;have a "pause" button, too. And' what about a "rewind" — you must admit that a "rewind" capability would be fun. 1 can see it now: folks in the future may wear wrist -watches with these controls built in: Pain, frustration, all inconveniences of any kind can be stopped on demand. Pleasure and ecstasy will be the order of the day — until the "viewers" become bored. Saturated with all the bliss, they will let life'continue until another PETER'S POINT • incident, occurs that must be fast forwarded. Wouldn't you like to have those controls now? Children and teenagers would probably lean heavily IV" e fast -forward button. "1 can't it to grow up", Stephanie tells me. she had the FF., she wouldn't have to play "mother", she could be one. 'If only I were out of school yet', kids in grade 8 tell mn. With the FF they could be filling out forms at Employment Canada five years before their time. Newly married couples — or whatever the equivalent thereof will be called in.the year 1998 — will be able to press the "hold" button as long as they can stand it, to prolong their honeymoon: And as long as there is no mechanical breakdown, they can FF to their first car, their first child, their first home, jumping over all the obstacles- we had to face. But the older people get, the more heavily they will rely on the "rewind" button, especially the "fast rewind". Oh, if only we had it now! Zap! Back to the good old days, the days of wine and roses. Zap! Back to the golden days, fmitfui with golden deeds. And when the man with the scythe comes, how we will be able to fool him! "Get lost!" we'll tell him, and zzzap! the FR button will take us back to wherever we feel we want to go. UrItil we have relived our lives so often that we finally allow the Reaper to throw his cloak over us. Even the best program must come to an end. On the other hand, perhaps I should tell Stephanie that life is not a video casscue recorder. This may be one of my responsibilities as a parent. "It isn't fair," she'll object, as she always does when something doesn't go her way. And my answer will be: "No, life isn't fair, it isn't meant to be fair. People must try to be fair. But life is full of nasty surprises, and there is no easy way out — no buttons to push." 1 suppose our kids aren't going to have atfy more problems because they grow up with TV and VCR than we had because of movies and radio. My generation had to learn — often the hard way — that the silver screen was not exactly the best role model for dealing with relationships and a lousy preparation for life in general. Most of us eventually managed to distinguish between fact and fiction, and I hope our kids will, too. But as parents we may as well realize it: our children are dealing with some pretty sophisticated concepts of time and space. Reminder: Keep all January Peter's Points for the PPC (Peter's Point Contest). Rules to be announced in the next column. Prizes,