The Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-05-22, Page 4•
PA I' 4 (MEMO O+ l+'r Tni, WDNJ$DAY, 1kIAY 22, 190,5'
DAVE
SYKS
a
i
Seery now and gf in, just when 1 manage
to convince' M,Yge .that ,.have beaten or at
leaist side steppe the aging process, I am
ith
served wa'grirn reminder of mix, advane-
ingcalm,
The aging,process wages a relentless bat-
tle against my youthful looks and x fear it
has chipped away unmercifully at this
visage.
And it doesn't help matters any that col-
leagues in the pulsating newsroom matter-
of-factly refer to anything over the age of 30
as a "fossil." And today, I feel fossilized.
There is a hint of a protrusion about the
mid-section, the stomach is still unsure
about supper from the night before, muscles
which once co be called upon to break in-
to languid m ment at a moment's notice
ache from minor activity and there are
more grey hairs than the week before.
Need I go on? •
To add insult to these depressing
developments, my colleague under the
Postscript heading is regaling readers with
the trials of trying to open her eyelids before
the day's half over.
Now I have always suspected that,
regardless of all the other symptoms and
tell-tale signs, one knows that one is getting
o d when P tri Or )1 co a . ry
ne services u> alarm.
+loick..
evidence would suggest I have Melt.
ettstage in life
Int tact, ,colleagues giggle, in obvious
"deligt at the suggestion that there is indeed
a 7 or even,. as , elr h o clock in the morning
as well. I We urged them to trust my ex
perience in this regard..
For people• with young children, sleeping
in is just a fond memory but, even so, my
biological -clock suddenly and inexplicably
turned for the worse the last few years. Igen
barely keep the lids open for Knowlton
Nash's sign off, but I am raring to go in the
morning.
But you know you're definitely getting old
when you have trouble understang young
people speaking the same language.
Parents of teenagers will know exactly
where I'm coming from.
Language, or slang, is a response to one's
environment and judging by the words that
are now tossed around by young people, I
am not in touch with my environment.
In my day', no jokes please, we tossed
around such bon mots as "peace","rit
on" and. "distorted". Coupled with a few
Suva
101
.A 1.1 t & fir• _ 5G a , �•~ tf
) an ge ' whfch► In°today's were
r would> translate into "decelnt" and
!about la' geofyourown.
Wel' #;'recent ire r :airticle suggests
that today'#ideb. uta loseses aunts terms as.;
40.4.5,04$; -.(liquor) and "�dweeb", "geek" and
which all.N is ally mean nerdy; or out
of it TO know you're a real loser if a teen
' labels you a "nerkey" which is a.corbina
tion of nerd' nd turkey., ,
Otherc mit "in words". include grody
and sleazy hick are slang words., for. .
disgusting. But, if you are "really tubular",
"way rad," "gnarly," or (heaven forbid)
"totally bitchen" you are a rather wonder-
ful or fantastic sort.
But then "shanky" is not to be confused .
with "way cranking" which is like totally
opposite. If you get the drlft'of what I'm
saying, I don't.
If something today is easy, it's "Cincy"
while "Gook" is out of style altogether. But
a nerkey 'like myself isn't remotely cogni-
zant of the fact that a burned -out person is a
"Crispy."
How will I ever talk to my kids if I don't ,
know the language?
THE NEWS PORT FR GODERICH & DISTRICT
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ODERICH, ONT. N7A 4B
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Give students
a chance to work
for you this summer
A
With the passing of the Victoria Day holiday weekend, it brings reminders that the
completion of the school year is not far off. .
And at this time of year, it means that thousands of high school and university students
will be anxiously looking for summer employment. Thousands of studentswill be pouring
into the job market, looking for full and part-time jobs until the resumption of the school
year in September.
Most college and university students are already working in jobs in the community or,
at least, following up on some leads in the market. Within a few weeks they will be joined
by thousands of high school students who will also be looking for full and part-time
employment for the summer months.
The summer job market is a tough one for the university and high school student to
crack sometimes. While prospects for summer jobs were much .more plentiful a few
years ago, now students may need that extra edge of knowing someone or getting an ear-
ly start, to secure employment to finance their education.
The student employment centre in Goderich has been one of the most reliable
resources and starting points for students looking for jobs. Willing to assist students in
the search for a job, the staff has a list of many employers looking for workers. And,
naturally, they have a list of willing workers who will take on any job in the community.
Businessmen, industrialists and merchants in the community who have hired students
to perform a variety of tasks, know full well the freshness, eagerness, dedication and en-
thusiasm students bring to the workplace daily. They are eager to learn, eager to per-
form, eager to work for their pay.
If you think you may require some extra help in your business over the summer mon-
ths, contact the youth employment centre and give students a chance.
The joh-does not necessarily d ,13 to be easier, nor dotes ititrave to be full time. l f-aet-,-
students are willing to perform a variety of tasks and chores, regardless of the hours.
Younger students will even tackle odd jobs around the house and yard.
Tf y_oll need heIln.foor a day or two. or even for a few weeks or months, there are Students
available who will be more than willing to take on the job.
Young people can.clean things up around the house, clean out the garage or basement,
paint, mow lawns, pull weeds and perform a v,iriety of other odd jobs you may not have
time to complete This summer.
There are many university and high school students who could use the opportunity to
work for you this summer. Give students a chance. You'll both be better for it.
Keepin' dry
13y. Dave Sykes,
POSTSCRIPT
SUSAN HUNDERTMARK
In my never-ending quest for self-
improvement, I've decided to attempt to
quit one of my worst habits. I don't smoke, I
have a limited intake of both alcohol or caf-
feine, I try to exercise regularly and I eat as
little junk food as I can manage (on good
days). What hidden vice could be lurking in
the lifestyle of such a seemingly healthy
person, you may be asking. Well, I hate to
admit it but I sleep too much.
With the coming of summer and the ex-
tended hours of daylight, I've decided that I
shouldn't be lying in bed when I could be
using the time for jogging, exercising, sew-
ing or something equally productive. So, I'm
trying to break a lifetime love of sleeping to
that end.
Every morning tor two weeks now, I've
been setting my alarm clock at the ungodly
hour of 7 a.m. with the plan of springing out
of bed, throwing on a jogging suit and runn-
ing down to the beach. I If I live in Goderich,
I might as welt tike advantage of the beach,
r4,r ht,?+
When i first moved to Goderich, a friend
told me there's nothing like taking a dip in
the lake at da -w- The- :+ ,she meted it,
it sounded so invigorating, so peaceful and
so wholesome -the perfect way to start the
day.
But. when the alarm goes off and I ury my
eyelids off niy eyeballs, it requires so
much less effort just to stretch over and hit
my old friend, the snooze button. Sure, I've
been awake since 7; I've just been sleeping
in nine minute periods until 8:15 or 8:30
before I hit the showers.
One morning, 1 actually managed to
struggle out of bed at 7, stagger into the kit-
chen, sit at the table and think about
exercising—not quite what I had in mind but
a heck of a first attempt don't you think?
Maybe I'm being too lenient with myselt.
But, the way I've analysed it, the problem
goes back to my childhood when my Dad ( a
real morning person) used to wake me up
for school by tickling me. A man who sings,
whistles and even laughs in the morning, my
Dad delighted in tormenting me while I was
struggling out of my sleepy stupor first
thing in the morning.
I must admit, he's always made sure
there was lots of coffee perking before he'd
wake me up to laugh at me saying, "hook at
the beadhn that!"
Once I moved away from home, I'd sleep
past the alarm to treat myself "just this one
ilFr'rc`�" O -sou r-se-ors c9 alp cat,era,I
until I became a victim of this disgusting
habit of sleeping late.
The problem was exacerbated when 1
caught mononucleosis #n Grade T2 A
anyone who's had it knows, all you want to
do when you have mono is sleep. For an en -
tire summer, my family doctor prescribed I
lay around and drink lemonade (which I
didn't mind too much). And, to this day, I
still feel sleepy around 5 p.m. when I would
have a nap after school while recovering
from mono.
I'm frequently amazed by seniors who
seem to exist on little or no sleep by my stan-
dards. I once worked for a pharmacist who
put in four hours at his garden before
greeting me at 9 a.m. while I stood yawning
at the drug store door waiting to begin the
day while he was ready for lunch.
Over the weekend, I was put to shame by
my grandmother, a woman in her 70's, who
was mowing her neighbor's lawn when I ar-
rived at her house for a visit. She had been
up since dawn .cutting her own lawn and had
enough energy to tackle her neighbor's too.
While my grandmother is up with the sun,
she usually goes to bed at dusk as well.
When the' sun goes down, I've usually reach-
ed the time ofday._When I'm widest awake
Ali energy to burn.
So begins the cycle once more. After an
evening _i'xerc_ise_class. followed_ by lively.
discussion late into the night, the snooze but-
ton looks pretty inviting at 7 a.m.
With a little more thought, I may be able
-to break my sleeping dependency BULI_
think I'll have to sleep on it first.
11
One would think that it is possible for
Goderich town council to come up with a
basic policy concerning Canada Day
celebrations and other annual festivities of
ceremonial or promotional nature. The
events do appear year after year.
For some reason the subject ( Canada
Day, sister -city promotion connected with
visits to and from Bay City, etc.) creates
repeated and rather embarrassing fussing
around the council table where conflicting
views are often merely expressed, without
serious attempts at real decision-making
through definite motions for or against
something specific.
Thus there were recently lots of com-
ments concerning the $10,000 budget propos-
ed by the Canada Day committee, but after
everybody had left the chambers ; nd when
the verbal dust had settled, the fact remain-
ed that no motion had been made by
anybody to endorse, reject or modify the
budget. No doubt this atmosphere is ex-
tremely frustrating and discouraging for
the employees who must deliver the right
and perfect thing, with a non -budget and in
the absence of anything resembling
guidelines.
May I make a suggestion, even if it is too
late to benefit this year's Canada Day plann-
ing? The town council ought to set aside
eril ugh time, het ore long, tor a thorough and
candid discussion concerning public
celebrations, directed towards finding some
common ground and a generally acceptable
basic policy that would be subject to minor
"seasonal adjustments".
Edch council member could be encourag-
ed to present a list of his or her suggestions,
preferences and objections. I predict that
fireworks and parades, being the most truly
popular and universally enjoyable events,
would be found on everybody's positive list.
Attach a realistic dollar figure and there is
your nucleus for a basic agreement. Then
weigh individual opinions on other items. If
it adds to the expense, is it necessary for the
officials to be perched on a platform during
the brief ceremony in the park? Would a
"cash bar" policy at municipal social func-
tions cause a hardship and to whom? After
all, one third of the council members'
remuneration is taxfree, for expenses. What
is the rationale behind inviting more than
eighty people to a sit-down dinner hosted by
the town? Go through all the lists and come
to an understanding.
I believe that a lot of the acrimony and
division now evident in the council circles
could be reduced or eliminated, if the town
had a clear, realistic and straight policy,
formulated after both the positive and
negative elements have been calmly and
respecttully aired among equals. No single
expense item can be judged intelligently un-
til it is balanced against its benefit, but the
benefit must be unwrapped for all to see, if it
is to be understood and accepted.
i find myself in agreement with both sides
in this Canada I)ay dispute. I support coun-
cillors Wheeler and Carey in their views
that we have many reasons to celebrate our
country on its birthday. i also share the con-
cern of councillors Clifford and Searls that
$10,000 is too much for the celebration. Why
does nobody take a better look at the budget
that includes in some categories items
related to the whole season's expenses?
There is plenty of room for compromise.
if you argue over and over again about a
birthday party in your family, it will take
the joy and pleasure out of the celebration
and turn it into an empty formality. Our
council members should prevent it from
happening in this case.
In another matter the council owes us a
quick explanation. The half-hearted and
selective secrecy concerning possible land
deals and annexation has filled the com-
munity with an excess of hot rumours. How
is it now "in public interest" to continue the
mishandled mystery? Clear answef�s of
substance are in order.
ELSA HAYDON