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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-12-30, Page 4PAAG'E 4--GODERICIISIGNAL-STAR, MONDAY. DECEMBER 1985 One of these years, I vow to treat myself to a resolution to get out of this wind - whipped place. I understand there are places where people can drive in the winter months despite the snow. I further understand, that they can also drive on the asphalt portion of the road. Some people get all the breaks. Many area motorists were hard pressed to find asphalt of any kind Friday and ac- cidents and poor road and visibility condi- tions made travelling treacherous at best. { I've been living here long enough now to know this sort of silly weather only sneaks up over the banks when travel seems essen- tial. Like when people are trying to get to work or return home from visiting friends and relatives in the area. I wonder if friends and relatives ever visit this area more than once. I'm not so sure they'd be willing to take the chance again. DAVE SYKES I admitted to a colleague this week that the aging process must have surely eroded key cerebral parts because the weather here wasn't bothering me anymore. Usually the approach of winter tends to make me uneasy but not this year. Perhaps it has something to do with the maturation process, but the way I look at it. the storm that has settled somewhere over The Square should let up by April. Things usually tend to look appreciably brighter by then. As a new year approaches, people tradi- tionally make resolutions to turn their miserable lives around. It's kind of a self evaluation and self-improvement process that often can lead to good results. Regardless, even an attempt to change or to take a more positive approach to life is healthy. Whether it's simple resolutions to pick up socks and underwear that have piled up, creating an ominous mountain that threatens life within a short radius of the bedroom, or a major overhaul of one's at- titude, resolutions form an integral compo- nent of every new year. Research suggests that 70 per cent of the people who snake resolutions are not really ready for any kind of change in their lives and usually reneg, on their pledges by the end of January. A psychology professor stu- dying human change suggests that it may he better not to make any resolutions at all rather than making ones you don't intend to honour. That, at least, eliminates the failure aspect. Making resolutions and habitually break- ing them will take an emotional toll and it is suggested that people only make resolutions they are willing to do something about. The failure rate generally covers behavioral problems such as smoking, nail biting, thumb sucking etc. The research indicates that roost people's resolutions fall into the contemplation stage. a stage where people $re. seriously thinking about changing* something in their lives but just haven't got around to doing anything about it. I quit snioking three years ago at the beginning of the year and it's the only real resolution I've ever made , or at lest, stuck to. There is a certain sense of achievement and accomplishment when one can actually follow through on idle dreams or fantasies. Many people make serious resolutions under the influence of alcohol on New Year's eve and find that while their inten- tions were honorable, they were not ready for a commitment. So if you don't intend to pick up your socks and widerwear this year, no sense fooling around with the idea. Opinion 5 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT SINCE 1848 hALL ROUND COMMUNITY NUM/ 1N CANADA r 1 ChPEaT ,cwouon CWee 3500 45001 C C n� A BMW. Newspaper Co., p, on 1984 SIGNAL -STAR P.O. BOX 220 HUCKINS BT. INDUSTRIAL PARK OODERICH, ONT. N7A 466 PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED Founded In 1646 and published every .1Nedneadey at Ooderlch, Ontario. Member of the CCNA end OCNA. Bubscriptione payable In advance 622.00, (Bonier Citizens 616.00 privilege nerd number required) In Canada, 0380.00 to U.B.A., 038O.00 to all other countries, Bingle copies 80C. Dlsplsy, Notional and Classified advertising rates eveilsble on request. Please ask for Rats Gerd No. 115 effective October 1, 19815. Advertising is accepted on the condition that In the of a typographical error. the advertieing upsets occupied by the erroneous Item, together with the reasonable allowenos for signature, will not be charged for but that balsnoe of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rats. In the event of s typographlosl error advertising goods or serviette at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising Is merely an offs.. to sell, end may be withdrawn at any time. The Signet -Star Is not responslble for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscript.., photos or other materials used for reproducing purporee. President and Publisher Editor Advertising Manager ROBERT G. SHRIER DAVE SYKES DON HUBICK FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES—Please phone (619)624-2614 Second class mail registration number 0716 Member:►CNA 11=1 CCNA an Here comes winter again The winter storm that struck the area over the holiday week reinforced the notion that travelling in this part of the country is often dangerous and treacherous. Many roads were closed to traffic Thursday and Friday and as harried motorists at- temepted to either get to work or return home from visiting relatives in the area, roads were clogged with accidents and abandoned vehicles. Wind wasagain the culprit as it whipped the light snow around reducing visibility to nil in many parts of the county. During the height of the storm Friday, many people found themselves in difficulty on area highways and county roads. Police, wreckers and even ambulance drivers had to be pressed into service under Tess than ideal conditions. Many people venture out, ignoring barricades, suspecting conditions are not as bad as reports indicated or that conditions will improve far- ther down the road. As a rule, the barriers are put up for good reason and should not be ignored by motorists. They are a definite indicator that road conditions are poor and that visibility is greatly reduced, or both. The point of the matter is that people should stay off the roads and only travel when ab- solutely necessary. Travel shouldn't be necessary when one has to risk one's life to travel a few short miles. Nothing, it is obvious in retrospect, is that important that it cannot wait for another day. Storms, mainly high winds reducing visibility, are a fact of life in the Huron County area and people must be prepared to limit travelling this time of year. If you must travel, let peo- ple know when you leave and phone when you have arrived. Also, pack an emergency kit in the car in case you happen to be stranded on a desolate stretch of road. A few simple precautions can mean a lot to a motorist on a lonely township road. Make sure you are dressed properly because keeping warm is obviously important. The ravages of winter are striking Huron County with vengance and it will help to be prepared to exercise caution. Don't travel if it's not necessary and respect the elements. D.S. Happy New Year The celebration of the beginning of a new year is something special. Something we look forward to with anticipation. The beginning of a new calendar year, traditionally. sparks a renewed interest in ourselves and our personal and business Yves. People tend to make resolutions, to try and improve themselves and their situation. A new year fills us with promise of better and brighter things ahead. it fills us with hope and firm resolve to make our world a better place to live. New Year's is also a time to reflect on the achievements and failures of the past 12 mon- ths., It is a time to look at mistakes and learn from them, a time to look at our achievements and treasured moments and commit them to memory. To plan a more positive approach to a new year, whether or not that plan is labelled is as a resolution or not. is a respl,�nsible was. to look to the future. Optimism is the operative word here. May your new year be filled with pleasant memories Happy New Year. D.S. Snow cone By Todd Mowatt Sugar and Spice By Bill Smile December is a trying time. For one thing, it's so dang sudden. There you are, tottering along a day at a time, thinking it's still fall and you must get the snow tires and storms on one of these fine Saturdays, and throw some firewood into the cellar, and get some boots and replace the gloves you lost last March. Christmas is away off there. And then - bang! — you look out one morning, and there's December, in all its unglory: a bitter east wind driving snow, and a cold chill settles in the very bones of your soul. Winter wind as sharp as a witch's tooth sneaks in around uncaulked doors and windows. One's wife complains of the terrible draught from under the basement door. You investigate and find that one of the basement windows has been blown in and has smashed on the woodpile. You clamber up over the wood, knocking pieces off shins and knuckles, and jam some cardboard in the gap. Creep cautiously outside, and nearly bust your hum. There's ice under that thar snow. Make it to the garage, and find that your car doors are all frozen solid shut. Beat them with your bare fists until the latter are bleeding and your car is full of dents. Finally get them open with a bucket of hot water and a barrel of hotter language. Slither and grease your way to work, arriving in a foul mood and with bare hands crippled into claws. bootless feet cold as a witch's other appendage. Come out of work to go home and find a half-inch of frozen rain and snow covering your car, and no sign of your scraper, and another deep dent where some idiot slid into your car door on the parking lot. I could go on and on, but it's only rubbing salt in the wounds of the average Canadian. (:et home from work and find that the furnace is on the blink, and the repairman is tied up for the next two days. And your wife is also fit to be tied up over your dilatoriness. Surely there is some way around this suddeness of December. Is there not some far-seeing politican (if that is not a contradiction in terms), who would introduce a bill to provide for an extra month between, let's say, November 25th and December 5th. i wouldn't care what he called it. It could be Lastember, referring to your fast -dying hope that there wouldn't be a winter this year. Or Inst ('all, or Final Warning, or She's Acomin! Anything that gave us a good jolt. It would he a good thing for merchants. They could have special iastember sales of gloves and hoots and snow tires and ear muffs and caulking guns and weather stripping and antifreeze and nose warmers, before plunging into their pre -Christmas sales, which are promptly replaced by their ,January sales. it would be great for the Post Office, which could start warning us in ,June that all Christmas mail must be posted by the first day of iastember if we wanted it delivered before the following June. it would make a nice talking point for all those deserters and traitors and rich people who go south every year. Instead of smirking, "Oh, we're not going south until Boxing Day. Hate to miss an old-fashioned Canadian 'Christmas," they could really shove it to us by leering, "Yes, we thought we'd wait this vear until the last day of Lastember, you know. Avoid the pushing and vulgarity of the holiday rush. If nothing else, it would give us a break from the massive nauseating volume of pre - Christmas advertising, which begins toward the end of October and continues, remorselessly, right into Christmas Day. Best of all, perhaps it would give dummies like me a chance to avoid looking like such a dummy. Procrastinators, who flourish during a sunny November, would have no more excuses. All their wives would have to do is point to the calendar and say "Bill, do you realize it's only three days until Lastember. isn't it time you did your i.astember chores" In fact, if that fearless politician who is going to introduce the iastember Bill in the house wants some advice, here is a codicil for him. Somewhere in the Bill should be the warning, in bold type: "Procrastinators will be Prosecuted!" Jeez, why not' They prosecute you for everything else. If such a month were added to the calendar maybe we could start it with Grey ('up Day people like me wouldn't go on thinking that Christmas is weeks away. instead. on the last day of iastember, with all their winter chores in hand, they'd know that Christmas was practically on top of them, like a big, old horse blanket, and they'd leap into the proper spirit, lining up a Christmas tree, laying in their booze, tuning up their pipes for the carols. As it is now, we know that Christmas is like a mirage. it's way off there somewhere, and no need to panic. Thea, with that startling suddeness, it's December 22nd, all the Christmas trees have been bought, the only remaining turkeys look like vultures, and the liquor store is bedlam. Who's for a 1,a stem ber' Ever since i remember. around (,'hristmas the character and meaning of this holiday has been mildly debated an- nually by some groups and individuals. is Christmas becoming steadily too commer- cial? Has the celebration lost some of its religious depth? Is Santa Claus determined to replace Christchild? There is really no reason to complain one way or another, as long as it is entirely up to individuals and families how they celebrate and where they place the emphasis in their values. We can always determine the degree of commer- cialism we allow to enter our homes. We are in charge of the religious component of our lives. There is no honest way to blame others for what we do or fail to do. It would not occur to Jews to regard Chanukah other than a deeply religious celebration of their faith. Why should there ever be any question about the Christchild's place in Christmas for Christians? This year's Christmas celebrations are just over. Every family and every individual was free to follow the traditions with which they felt most comfortable and happy. That is as it ought to be. it does not follow that, as religious ex- perience has a free and profoundly mean- ingful place in many private lives, there must be necessarily a place for it in public institutions such as schools, government of- fices or other places of work and learning. A recent newspaper article written by an area Trustee of the Huron County Board of Education emphasized that, just as, Christ is central to Christian faith, that faith itself is the solid foundation on which our public school system rests in Ontario. Are there intelligent and convincing ex- planations why the so-called Judeo- Christian teachings form the basis on which the public education, at public expense, is available to a population whose beliefs and backgrounds vary so drastically and whose equal rights are rivaranteed in the Con- stitution'' This public education is not only available. but mandatory for certain age groups. it is no good saying that pupils can be excused from religious exercises on re- quest. it is religious subjects that should be taught on request and to free will, in chur- ches and at home. Why insist that prayers and religious teachings take place at school'' Why do many parents want to shift that responsibili- ty to the paid staff of a public institution' Can they not be bothered to get up early enough to pray with their children at home, before sending them to school? is their religion not deep and sincere enough to take time later again, for praying together in the family, at home or in the church of their choice? If the religious beliefs taught in the home and church cannot survive safely through the few school hours of academic teaching rry 1 ELSA HAYDON and technical training, there mint 1e some flaw and weakness somewhere other than the school experience. .The trustee in •question comforted us to the effect that a little religion never hurt anyone. That is not the point. Or perhaps it is just the point. Arc we talking about deep and sincere religious beliefs or going through the harmless motions of some watered-down public display of acceptable hypocrisy'' It has been said, "How can one teach responsibility without showing how the Ten Commandments have fostered human understanding of what is right and wrong?" At this time in history, surely we do not set out to make a case that this is the only way of understanding right and wrong. History and current events tell us that one of the major causes of wars and ether kill- ings and hardships has been and still is the desire to force religion upon others. For peaceful purposes, religion ought to he a personal experience and private affair At schoo' our children should be made aware of world religions, but for indoctrination of specific beliefs the churches, synagogues, temples and other houses of worship - and our homes - should provide the necessary space and opportunity, before and after the relatively small number of school hours. Have a happy and peaceful New Year'