The Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-08-10, Page 4PAGE 4—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1983
DAVE
SYKES
This business of having babies (yawn) is
becoming easier all the time.
I am walking rather tall and proud this
week, after wife Joan gave birth to a cute
little female bundle in London last Thur-
sday. Laura Katharine raises the Sykes
contingent to four and by all medical ac-
counts, the female side of the family is
progressing in fine fashion.
So pardon me if my feet fail to make
contact with old terra firma. My smile is
wide, my head is still a little on the fuzzy
side and reality is the furthest thing from
my mind.
In comparative terms, I was a relative
man of steel during the entire ordeal.
When son Bradley was born in March of
1981 I was nothing short of a nervous wreck.
It was my first time and fathers are af-
forded the luxury of making fools of
themselves for the first born. "I don't want
you even near the hospital if you're going. to
act like that again," the mother of the
children cautioned as we booked her a meal
last week.
Assured that I could act in a reasonably
sane manner, the mother -to -be relented and
allowed this clown to be present in the
labour and delivery room.
The real fun though, is in the father's
waiting room down the hall. There, in
relative comfort, fathers can idly pass the
time watching television in easy chairs
while mothers agonize through the labour
process. It is a different world in that room
and to the outsider, it no doubt provokes a
bit of laughter.
Now that I am referred to a s a pro, in the
vernacular of the baby building business, I
too can make jest at the nervous antics of
the rookies or first timers.
The label pro, Meaning that I have ex-
perienced the birth of a child on more than
one occasion, was self -bestowed upon this
dutiful dad. I played the role to the limit in
the waiting room and dispensed with much
wisdom, sage advice and spoke in com-
forting and fatherly tones to the youngsters
who paced about spasmodically.
An old pro, like myself, can spot a rookie
father from a distance. They stick out like
Harold Ballard at a nice guy convention.
They pace nervoulsy, they are prone to
spastic and involuntary movements, they
thrash about incessantly, they mumble a lot
to no-one in particular, they run their
fingers through disheveled hair, their shirt
tails hang out the back, they wring their
hands, they pretend they aren't scared or
nervous and they try to act like pros but fail
miserably.
It is so much fun to act in a condescending
and patronizing manner in such cases.
Of course once the baby is born, the rookie
spends $129 in quarters phoning everyone in
the phone book including the yellow pages.
Those of us with children know better. We
simply phone one female member of the
family and within minutes everyone within
a 100 mile radius is aware of the birth, vital
signs and condition of the mother and baby.
A few pregnant ladies happened to be in
the waiting room watching television when.a
rookie was reporting to his parents over the
phone. "It was no problem at all," the rookie
said.
It was all I could do to keep the great -with -
child ladies from tearing his limbs off.
"What do you mean it was no problem," one
lady protruding noticeably said. "Have you
ever had a 10 or 14 pound baby."
Women are imminently sensitive about
the issue but I have to agree with the rookie.
Having a baby is no big deal. I will have to
admit that the first birth was rough on this
wretched writer but few problems arose
with the second pregnancy.
I survived without any scrapes or loss of
sleep. Funny thing, though, the wife wasn't
feeling up to par. It seems to affect her
differently.
eNA
BLUE
RIBBON
AWARD
1983
Second class:
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Metric could be costly
It is now official. The mistake that nearly took the lives
of 61 passengers and eight crew members aboard an Air
Canada Boeing 767 on July 23 was a mix-up in metric
calculations.
The Boeing 767 is Air Canada's newest jet and as such is
the first plane in the fleet to have all its oil, fuel and water
measured in metric units. The airline admitted this past
weekend what had been rumored for at least four days.
Fuel for what turned out to be the ill-fated Flight 143 from
Montreal to Edmonton was calculated in pounds instead
of.kilograms, resulting in less than half the fuel needed for
the flight. The pilot, who did not do the measuring, thought
he had kilos of fuel on board. One kilogram equals 2.2
pounds. A full load would have contained 22,300
kilograms. The loading of 22,300 pounds meant the plane
carried only 10,124 kilograms.
It was extremely lucky for Flight 143 that one of the
pilots knew the layout of the abandoned Gimli, Man..
airstrip and the crew was able to land the jet - with only 75
litres or 16.5 gallons of fuel left and the fuel system
malfunctioning. As it was the tail of the plane was so high
off the runway that the escape chute ended a considerable
distance from the ground. The result was passengers hit-
ting the runway with enough force to send them bouncing
and tumbling on the hard surface.
Prior to the mix-up in calculations the 767's fuel -
monitoring system was not working which meant the
back-up safety system, designed to give the pilot a 30 -
minute warning his fuel was low,wasn't working either.
The malfunction is what resulted in the manual measure-
ment.
There was a lot wrong with Flight 143. Had the' Air
Canada crew not been successful in overcoming the com-
bination of computer conk -outs and human error, the
plane would have most certainly crashed and the metric
mix-up would never have come to light.
Now that it has, our federal government had better do
some rethinking of this country's metrification program.
To have people confused in a grocery store about pounds
and kilograms of hamburger is one thing; to have people
confused at airline terminals is quite another. To hove
some airplanes on the metric system while all others are
on the Imperial system is lunacy. One also wonders how
much extra those Boeing 767s are costing because the
American firm must install metric systems to meet Cana-
dian specifications.
The recent Air Canada mishap isn't the only official use
of metric which involves the well-being of Canadians.
About a month ago a 12 -year-old girl went missing in
Toronto. A description of the child was given on a number
of consecutive CBC news broadcasts. On each occasion
the age of the young girl was given, along with the color of
hair and eyes and a description of the clothes she was
wearing. On each occasion as wellAhe height and weight
of the child was given - in metric only. It is quite likely that
at least 75 per cent of CBC listeners lost an important part
of the description of that missing child because they could
not visualize weight in kilograms and height in cen-
timetres.
This\kind of stupidity has to stop. What does it gain
Canadians to order airplanes with metric systems, or
publicize the vital statistics of missing persons in metric
only?
It gains us nothing and could cost us lives. (Listowel
Banner).
Your assistance is needed
We need your help.
A brief story on the front page of the Signal -Star
outlined the fact that the company has commissioned an
independent telephone survey of readers in Goderich and
the surrounding coverage area.
Over 300 random numbers were selected and hopefully
those phoned will give a few minutes of their time to an-
swer the questions thoughtfully. It will help us in
assessing what the readers like about our product and it
will also help immeasurably in determining the kinds of
things we should be doing for you in subsequent issues of
the Signal -Star.
You are important to us. Your thoughts and opinions are
important to us and the survey will act as a valuable tool
as we endeavor to present a more accountable and
responsible weekly product.
The telephone survey, will be conducted during the
evening hours and hopefully those contacted will take the
opportunity to assist us.
Thredteni' skied
By Dave Sykes.
DEAR READERS
SHIRLEY KELLER
There are always times when you are glad it's
happening to the other guy. But when I read
about the fellow in Florida or somewhere who
got a telephone bill for $61,000 .... that's right,
dear readers, $61,000 .... I really did feel a snap of
compassion in the pit of the stomach. Poor man
... literally.
Seems this executive had a telphone credit
card he was using while away from home. The
telephone company believes someone may have
overheard him telling the operator the number of
the credit card - likely at a public telephone - and
turned the number over to a group of good
buddies who called everyone they knew
anywhere in the world, using the filched number.
Sounds logical, if not honest.
The executive has decided he really doesn't•
need a telephone credit card after all and has
cancelled it. Isn't that the classic case of locking
the stable door after the horse has been stolen?
Telephone bills aren't the most popular items
at our house. Paying the telephone bill is always
such a unpleasant task, because the money
changes hands long after you have "reached out
to touch someone". Often times you can't even
remember "who" you called much less "why".
There's a constant effort at our residence to
keep telephone bills down to a reasonable range -
something that will allow us to eat the same
week as the telephone bill comes in. But it isn't
always easy. Having two kids living out of town -
one of them in Honolulu, Hawaii - doesn't make
the job any simpler.
Of course, those gut -wrenching ad-
vertisements on the television don't help either
... Ma Bell sure knows her stuff doesn't she?
You're sitting around minding your own
business and sticking to the budget by staying at
home to watch a little t.v. ... and suddenly, there
it is on your screen. The obviously over -wrought
mother blurts out that son Joey just called ... the
worried father wonders what's happened to him
... and the sobbing mother confides Joey just
called to say, "I love you."
I tell you it gets to a person. You start to think
about all the people you love ... and how happy
they would be to hear from you just clear, out of
the blue, no real reason for calling.
How many times have you succumbed to that
poignant picture? How many times have you got
up and called somebody on the spur of the
moment? How many times have you added to
your telephone bill unnecessarily after such an
experience?
I get a little riled up sometimes at Bell
Telephone Company when I think of the many
ways they have of increasing their revenues,
pulling more and more of my hard-earned bucks
out of my pocketbook.
Like most Canadians I have had my share of
run-ins with the telephone company ... and I've
spit out my quota of venom against a company
for which there is no competition, no alternative.
But then there are times when I have to admit
that the telephone service we get here in the
Land of the Maple Leaf is absolutely excellent.
It's just so superior to some other places I've
visited that one can hardly imagine how people
function without the same telephone quality (and
quantity) as we enjoy.
It's one of those things special things about
Canada we've grown accustomed to ... and now
take for granted. No big deal at all.
Unless you get a telephone bill for $61,000, of
course.
It doesn't seem clear who will pick up the tab
for that monstrous dunner. I'd like to believe that
the owner of the credit card could prove it was
the system that caused the problem, and not his
wanton misuse and abuse of the "plastic".
I guess there's a few lessons in all of this for all
of us.
First of all, credit cards shouldn't be taken
lightly ... there's always someone out there who
is one step ahead of you, thinking of ways to
separate you from your money.
Secondly, be wary when giving credit card
numbers out to people, especially on the
telephone. It just doesn't pay.
Thirdly, be certain a credit card is really a
worthwhile convenience for you to take the
inherent risks with them ... know what are the
risks and try to avoid them.
Fourthly, consider how fast a few telephone
bills can add up to financial disaster.
( Incidentally, it's true of all credit cards when
they are in the hands of irresponsible folks.)
And finally, give thanks for the 'modest
telephone bill you 'got last month. Sure, it a little
higher than you would have preferred, but you
did get topnotch service for your money. You
have the world at your fingertips 24 hours a day
every day ... and with a little self-discipline And
some judicious use of long distance calls, you can
even call telephone service inexpensive.
(Psst ladies ... can you guess what your -
husband would say if that $61,000 had been 'at-
tached to the bottom line of your telephone bill?
Scary isn't it? )
On a recent morning I picked up some
reports at the town hall. Leaving the
building, I paused on the top step and hap-
pened to take a long look up and down the
street. What a lovely and impressive sight of
colours and the kind of cared -for orderliness
that is inviting and speaks of cheerful com-
mitment to our reputation as the "prettiest
town in Canada"! We are used to living with
this attractive environment, but at the par-
ticular time and in the particular place, it
just grabbed my attention and lifted my
spirit.
It also reminded me that it would not be
right to let this or any summer pass without
paying tribute to our parks and flowering
nooks and corners and to the people whose
work goes into making it all so nice. One
ought to start the list with those who work
with their hands in the soil, rain or shine, but
much of the credit must go to the town coun-
cil and the administration for continuing to
recognize the local and tourism value of our
much appreciated parks tradition and
system.
Municipal developments and im-
provements seldom work in isolation within
the confines of one council alone; they form
a chain to which links of many efforts are
added year after year. This is also the case
with our waterfront park development
which is now taking physical shape, from St.
Christopher's Beach to Harbour Park im-
provements.
You will remember the years of ground-
work and preparations, the meetings for
your input in the planning stages, the time
when it became possible to gather the main
finances from a number of out-of-town
sources in the form of senior projects to
which the administration smartly added the
benefits of smaller, labour-intensive pro-
grams, including the work done by
Katimavik participants.
We all have reason to feel pride and
satisfaction when we watch the waterfront
parks development reach out towards its
potential this year and culminate in further
successes in later stages. This council in-
herited a solid program to which it, too, will
add its touches of enhancement. And so it
goes on, becoming truly our collective
achievement.
While we are on the subject of waterfront
parks and beautification, I feel that it is in
order to give credit to a private individual
and businessman whose efforts have made
an enormous difference in the appearance
of an important waterfront area formerly
known only for its weeds.
Many people seem to think that the
flowerbeds and other decorative items by
the railroad tracks in the vicinity of Captain
Fats are maintained by the town as part of
its parks system. That is not so. They are
Mr. Moody's own creation, at his own ex-
pense. Whilst Mr. Moody's efforts would
serve his business improvement purposes,
the difference it has made in the looks of the
area is considerable. This landscaping was
Mr. Moody's neighbourly contribution when
we opened the Marine Museum (joint pro-
ject of Town of Goderich and County of
Huron) two years ago. It makes the area so
much more attractive.
Still on the waterfront - one thing is miss-
ing. An attractive and good restaurant,
perhaps on the marine theme, either in the
harbour area or somewhere on top overlook-
ing the lake, would be a lovely finishing
touch filling a void on an interesting scene.
In any season, it would be nice to sit back
and watch the moods and the activities of
the lake - storm or calm sunset, sailboats
against blue skies, lake freighters arriving,
loading or leaving, seagulls, the ballet of
trucks, the patiently lined -up fishing
hopefuls - so much there to provide an in-
teresting atmosphere, always changing and
always remaining the same.
I wonder whether I will live to see such a
restaurant materialize, although I have pro -
rooted the idea throughout the years of my
local public life (admittedly sometimes
perhaps a bit misguidedly). I should add
that the number one question the tourists
ask is about such an eating place. With all
the public access to one of our best attrac-
tions - the waterfront - it is difficult to
believe that this one interest has been so
regrettably neglected.
Coming back to the beginning - just
recently some tourists stopped me to ask for
directions and added, "You have a very nice
town here." Many others have similar ex-
periences. It is so good to be able to reply
with full conviction - "Thank you. Yes, we
are very proud of our town."
LSA HAYDON
Ai