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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-06-17, Page 40 PAGE 4—GODER1C HSIGNAL-STAR, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17,1981 dave ISykes fi BaiE R BBCN apt ARD 1979 ten The boys of summer have &anged quite a bit since my boyhood imagietation created a larger -than -life picture of baseball players. But then the baseball indust is much different today as well. As a yOultilaterre.spondent spent most laky summer afternoons on a ball diamond somewhere, as long as there was a few buddies to complete two makeshift teams. If by chance the roster was limited, a variation on the game of baseball was in- vented to suit our needs and numbers. But the game consumed our sununer when carefree days held little responsibility and parttime jobs were in the future. It wasn't out of the ordinary routine for the guys to gather for a morning game, switch players for an afternoon encounter and then play on an organized town team in the evening. Naturally the guys would adopt the names of their favorite player and we scooted about the school -worth diamond emulating every move of Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron or a Willie Mays. Baseball idols were worthy of the emulation and their exploits were followed with a religous fervor. thit few Of the Ba e!` teanhmates Would even offer a squeeky rendition of Vin Scully doing the play by play, as if the school yard game hada bearing on the World Series. It was big time to the players though, and while boyhood imaginations transformed the diamond into Yankee Stadium, there was a submission to the realization that our talents would escape the scrutinous eye of the major leagues scouts. I couldn't understand why some kids held an indifference to the game and could pass the summer holidays without throwing a ball or lifting a bat. There was on such youngster in the neighbourhood and he was more at ease dabbling with a chemistry set or playing chess. I didn't want to see the poor lad waste his, life without experiencing the joys of a base hit, tracking down a long fly ball, cleanly scoopihlg a hard grounder or sliding safely into second base. So I took ft upon myce to—tear this uni fortunate kid the finer art of baseball and after much coercion on my part, he agreed togive the game a try. Initially, I reasoned it would be safe to teach him the art of hitting and proceeded to offer exiMples of gripping the bat and taking a level swipe at the ball. ' To better illustrate the point, . it only seaned fair for the lad to toss a few pitches in my direction and I would ably demon- strate the art of hitting. He reluctaoti <.. agreed and offered meagre tosses irithe vicinity of home plate. When he finally sent a pitch on a decent I lined the ball directly back at him. The poor sucker never moved a muscle, cat thing the ball hadn't been covered in the initial clinic, and the balltruck him bet- ween et ween the eyes with a sickening thud. His glasses shattered, glass flew in every direction and the ball flew at a precarious eurg'ie:—Whar ^w'',e diel -setil hf the -- glass was removed item the reuse a nu his glasses hung precariously from oneear. There was no immediate reaction , but when he realized his glasses were in pieces, the sobs soon turnedinto wailing. I knew his career had canoe to a sudden conclusion and taking him by the hand, led the way home, knowing his vision was limited with glasses. He never did play ball again and I was smart enough not to pursue the matter. Some guys are more comfortable with a chemistry set. This stay was only offered during a fit of idle dreaming. As I gaze out the window today, I am plagued by an urge to spend a lazy afternoon on the diamond. SINCE 1848 THE NEWS kIRT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT i Formai In 1111S em1 published every Widnimedlay et Galeria,. Antons. IRerrrher of the USIA ed OiWNA. Alvaro e! 1e sales eek* %2._a. payable On d 'MN he Ste. °39.7® to U.S.A...33.1111 to ail ®beer mow ties. single staples 31. Display adr.rtWnip rales evelliM o. ipw.t. N...e do far Rab Gra No. le effective Oc- tober c- to er 1. tom. Second siege wall Rphtt.tlon Namher Qt$. Aiv.rthlep Is stud owl lbw cosi Hsi *et M 1ht event at typographical erre. the .irertisleg space occupies ay Th, .iv woes item. to-..iwr nun ■es anode allowance for algmetura will wet be dwRd for but diet bele.ce of the airsrthearmrt will he Pell font the e.- pikable note. In dm event of a typogreplakell error edwardslave goods or semisweet a wrong price. spode or servlose awry not be sold. AAverNNy le merely en offer to sell. mid may be wtthlr.wn et cry thee. Yin 3ilgmsi4t r is not responsible for the leas or dsm age of unsolicited wrme.vyts. Photos or other materlab used for reprodedng mar- , II...( . PUBLISHED BY:SIGNAL-STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER-President and Publisher DONALD M. ;HUBJCK-Advertising Manager DAVID SYKES-Editor ' Second class mail registration number -0716 ..- P.O. BOX 220. the Ae HUCKINS ST. Gold'it INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH N7A 4B6 9 FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIALOFFICES Owe pliititerinT524,104ri o really cares? The North American media is obviously engrossed in the present baseball strike to offer readers front-page coverage and up to the minute reports on the progress of negotiations. Short of the government announcing that interest rates will not be allowed to rise abovele per cent, baseball is the big nom-° There have been baseball strikes before and threats of strlke action, but never bas jt interrupted tide seasonal version of the great American pastime. It's as tf the conti- nent should declare a state of emergency before the baseball fanatics begin to do silky things. Apparently people can't survive, maybe just barely, ,without baseball. The is—sm. is over. agency. H a team is able to per- suade a player to join their ranksfor $4 million a year, the previous owner of that player feels justified in demanding compensation inthe form of a player. The players believe, that as individuals, they should have the right to play for the highest bidder and thus protect their own interests. The issue has been challenged before. The point of the matter is that the fan is losing out on summer efhenter nu de— hag :g rge era ll.0 : dollar contracts, owners are filling stadiums and every related industry is making money. The fan picks up the tab andthetab becomes costlier each year. Canadians may have a vested interest in the dismal antics of the Bine Jays or the-ExpoliarefinialParsual of the pennant. For now there is no baseball. And judging by the media coverage everyone should feel a great sense of loss. We manage to live through postal strikes, airline strikes and assorted others. But just try to live a normal life without baseball. In essence, not too many people care and a summer without baseball will not adversely affect too many lives. But the man who pays the bills never gets a chance to speak-D.S. Attack on inflation The federal government has launched the idea that inflation can be wrestled in the export market and `sub- sequently aid will be provided to help Canadian industry be more competitive on the world market. At an informal session of the cabinet, there was general agreement that the Canadian dollar could be given a boost over the next three years by encouraging exports of mineral and forestry products. Fizst, the government will have to come up with an extensive policy that could take months to implement. In fact, the cabinet said that earliest results couldn't be .r sieieetteol until the fall. The cabinet held an informal session at Meech Lake, north of Ottawa on the weekend to discuss some long range policies that could help the country cope with and perhaps beat inflation. Trudeau told newsmen the meeting didn't deal with specific strategies, but rather, was aimed at Iong range measures that could be in- troduced to the House of Commons in the fall session. The governmeint has been repeatedly pestered in the House by opposition members to offer Canadians some relief from inflation and unbearable interest rates. Finance Minister, Allan MacEachen, who has taken the brunt of opposition attacks for his gradualism approach, said the government's main priority was economic growth and industrial development. The one -day session was dominated by discussion on inflation and industrial strategy. If the talks. are in- dicative of future government action, then the govern- ment is intent on coping with inflation by boosting in- dustry. Making Canadian industry competitive on the world market is no easy task. Ideally, the. Liberals would like Canadian industry to process raw materials that are now being shipped out of the country and processed into Perished gge, e& in biller r_oatntr°ie__s. Obviously there will have to be substantial incentives to the manufacturing sector to take on the task. The program will obviously lean to and favor Canadian owned companies in the industrial and manufacturing sector. Canadians cannot expect any short term or immediate relief from inflated prices and tough interest rates. For now it is an accepted part of life. Long range planning is a necessity but that planning must be implemented soon to have any visible effect within the next couple of years. Everyone has a different remedy but talk is cheap. Only action will get results.D.S. by Cath Wooden EAR READERS SHIRLEY J. KELLER Children everywhere are looking forward to the end of another year of elementary school training. Summer vacation is upon them, and they can hardly wait. As Signal -Star's resident public relations of- ficer, I've been spending quite a number of hours lately in the elementary schools showing a set of slides about the production of a newspaper, and talking to kids about the business of com- munication. think You know, I it would be a great idea if every taxpaying adult had to spend a few hours each year in the classrooms of the province. I suspect our views of teachers would change quite a bit if we each had the opportunity to actually see what the teachers go trough on a normal school day. It might even alter our expectations of teachers - and give us a clearer insight into the attitude of the young people we send to the schools to be educated. But enough of that. It is enough to say that for the most part, I was sincereliimpressed with the staff I. dealt with in the schools. They are a dedicated lot, and boy, do they care about the kids they teach. I am willing to wager that many of the teachers with whom I worked, stay awake nights trying to dream up ways to get through to the youngsters they have in their classes. Interestingly enough, some schools I visited enjoyed tremendous support from the conn- munity. Many citizens were involved each and every week - giving their time to help certain students work through their specific learning difficulties. This one-on-one `extra help' provided by in- terested citizens is just invaluable. Not many teachers have the time in a day to hear the stumbling eff'orl of each child having problems. And how else can effective learning take place? Surely children need this practice -time with a gentle listener who will encourage and guide. This kind of adult volunteer program is probably more vital now than ever before. Despite the fact that there are more op- portunities for children to learn - and better facilities in which they can learn - many parents are leaving too much training to the schools. A good many of our homes these days are troubled. Moms and dads are having marital problems perhaps or, if they are not, maybe its financial problems that plague the house. Often there just isn't the emphasis in the home to spend time with the children. It appears that a growing number of students just don't get the support at home they ab- solutely require to do their very best at school. What kind of support you ask? Things as basic perhaps as the discipline of proper bedtimes to ensure wide-awake par- ticipation at school the next day. Things like a nutritious no-nonsense diet that provides enough energy every day to think and to study. Things like really hearing the child's reactions to his courses and taking time to assess how well the youngster is receiving them. Things like knowing the child's achievements at school and praising hire for them. Things like encouraging the child to set goals for tumself and helping him to reach his full potential. Things like approving the educational system in .general and developing in the child a healthy respect for teachers and for learning. Things like taking an interest when the sebool calls asking for your support. Things like being there for parent -teacher interviews and for his first basketball game. Things like backing up the teachers when they find it necessary to admonish your child, and reinforcing the school's position when it comes to rules and regulations. Sure it takes time. And effort. But the more parents there are who shirk this responsibility, the more chance there is that a greater number of students will need the extra stimulation that only adult volunteers in the school can provide. I'm not sure how many schools in our area have adult volunteer programs, but I would guess there are quite a few. Over the summer may be a good time to find out whether you can be of help this fall at your school. Maybe before school is out this month, you could call the principals to see if there is -an adult volunteer program and how you can fit in. Then by September, you will be able to work out your own personal schedule and maybe even see your way clear to offer a few hours each month to the school. It's easy to see how everybody benefits from a program like this. It's a simple, effective way to invest in a better life for yourself and for others in the community. There are days that I thoroughly enjoy spending in a grouchy mood_ Hostility can be very soothing when one wakes up in the morning refusing to look on the bright side of life. I am experiencing one of those days and findingthat frowning can be fun. I get tired of being chipper all the time and when I decide to be chippy instead, the wide detours people make around me make me feel good, in a malevolent sort of way, of course. Throughout the day I have been trying out various emotions such as downright grumpiness, blind anger, major frustration, and general moodiness. I have found them all to be refreshing; that is, being rude to people can release nnuch in the way of or- nery build-up. The newsroom colleagues know how to handle me in situations like today. They tend to sidestep around my desk so as not to have their back to me. (They never know when I'm going to lash out violently.) They just ignore me as I slump behind my desk muttering obscenities in my coffee cup and chain-smoking. . Occasionally, they make the mistake of offering something in the way of conversation such as, "Do you think I should print this picture lighter?" To which I gleefully answer in a mean way, "How am I supposed to know for crying out laud? Jeez. It's a stupid -looking picture anyway. Leave me alone. I'm in a bad mood." Or, "Hey, do you want to flip for a cof- fee?" t "What for? rel only lose anyway. All I ever do is lase. Nothing goes right for rrne. Here, rel prove it to you." Naturally, I flip for the coffee and lose. There is an unmistakable satisfaction in having things turn out wrong for me when I get up on the wrong side of the bed. It is proof positive that the whole world is against me, is out to get me, and would him to see me emigrate to Uranus. Trying to analyse a lousy state of mind is a big mistake. Once I come up with reasons for my animosity, I feel cheap and weak. So it could be the fact that there are too many of the wrong sortof ions floating about, or it could be my horoscope, or it could be the hot muggy weather, or it could be the fact that I drank several too many beer last night. So what? I'd mucn rather oeneve that my spite and venom have independently lodged themselves upon the doorstep of my per- sona. It makes it more fun. I'm also finding this column delightfully oppuent to write. I sat here at my machine for an hour with my arms crossed insisting that I wasn't going to wiite one this week. "Just write in my space that the people can write their ownfrigging column this week for all I care." "To which the editor replied, "You could always go back to washing cars for a living." I frowned my most impressive frown of the day and set to work thinking all the negative thoughts I could_ Everything I spell looks wrong which means every word over five Ietters I have to look up in the stupid dictionary. I look over what I have written. "Is this ever stupid," I grumble. "Look at the stupid sentence structure and it's a stupid topic anyway. I hate writing this stupid column." Whoops. I just noticed I am nearly finished What's this? I am starting to smile. Oh no! But I am not finished being in my bad mood yet. I have my pride you know. Aw, rats. Visions of cool' beer are dancing in my head. Well, that's that I guess. Does anybody want to flip for a coffee?