The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-01-31, Page 17tl
sykdavees
It isn't difficult to notice that the 6..40“r ct,i Laat:4i ulapi 4ctbui t, v .Lli Lllt
country is in the midst of an election tasteless commercials.
campaign. Th,e` Liberals and Conservatives.
That is, if you're an avid television• initiated their commercials two weeks
viewer with less than discriminating ago and have -concentrated on at-
a tastes. Lately our commercial air- tackling each other rather than
waves have been inundated with Pierre featttriing their leaders. The campaign
Trudeaus, Jae Clarks and Ed Broad- is pure character assassination.
bents rather than buxom young ladies Each is intent on tearing the other
jumping' !out of airplanes while ex- guy down in a pitch for votes. We'll just
tolling the'virtues of maxi -pads. - to have to wait and see if it works.
Q
To. be ' honest, the maxi pad corn- '
mercials only induced involuntary
retching, ..The campaign commercials
have succeeded in going beyond that. .
The New Democratic Party only
began airing commercials this week
'with leader Ed. Broadbent explaining
his party's policy on economic issues.
The Conservatives and Liberals have
been engaged in commercial warfare.
fora few weeks now and their efforts -
have been tagged as childish. Even
sone party candidates have openly
the
The commercials are reminiscent of
an Alt -.Frazier fight at the weigh in,
except that the principals here hit the •
opponent's integrity and nota bodily
part:'A•t least not on purpose.
Jt would be far more entertaining and
perhaps serve a yore useful.purpose at
'• the -same time, if the leaders would
actually go a few rounds in the ring.
Nothing too exhausting, say three -
three minute rounds complete with
hair pulling, biting, kicking and the
occasional knee to the groin or elbow to
a key facial part.
Viewci. wvaian't mina toping subr
jected to actual eorba.'tcampaigning
for a change. I might even vote'for the
guy who could whup another candidate
in a close encounter.
The major obstacle with such a
porposal would likely be in fixiding a
referee suitable to all parties. Parti
Quebecois leader, Rene Levesque or a
top Mounti official might be ac-
ceptable.
And the parties could have numerous
candidates in the ring over the cam-
paign period leading up to the final bout
between leaders. Preliminary bouts
could feature John Crosbie against
Jean Chretien .or. Sinclair Stevens in a
three -rounder against Robert Andras.
Frankly, a little ring action would not
be much different than the kind of
things going on . in the commercials
now. Except that the party leaders
aren't wearing shorts and gloves. Not
that you would notice, anyway.
One commercial shows a Con-
servative goaltender deftly deflecting a
barrage pf Liberal pucks and as a
Conservative Player attempts to move
the puck up ice he -is harassed, bumped
and finally trippea by two Liberal
defenders.
A hockey referee pointed out that the
infractions in the commercial aren't
deserving- of penalties except for the
conclusion when the Conservative is
dumped by two Liberal players. The
object of the exercise is to 'p ikitedly
show how Conservative attempts to
govern were blocked by the Liberals.
The Liberals do much the same thing
in commercials that flash unflattering
photos of Clark while summarizing
some of his changing policies on•Petro-
Canada and the Israeli embassy.--
The
mbassy.•-The commercials are so repetitive
that the message wears. this.
There may not be a debate but I
wonder if anyone has proposed the
prospect of a boxing match' to the
leaders.
SIGNALSTAR
132 YEAR -5
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1980
SECOND SECTION
arrenwins second: prize in congest
Warren Robinson, head of the English department at G.D.C.I., recently won
second place in a national playwrlghting competition with his play on
mental retardation entitled "Them". To date Mr. Robinson. has written 15
one act plays and one full length play which has yet to be performed. He and
his wife Eleanor, •,also an English teacher at G.D.C.I., wrote a novel this
summer. It has been sent to a publisher for consideration. (Photo by Joanne
Buchanan)
4
BY JOANNE
area' of human Mr. Robinson says he
• BUCHANAN relationships. has always wanted to
,.. • , • • •• ,�;'3h:e..style-,aLth.er.pl.ay-is .--.wri'te-but <-has-,arr1°y been
Warren Robinson, by ,theatre of fact,"khat is it seriously doing so the last
"'ar natne and attempts to teach as well six or seven years. It was
as entertain,: It.is.w_ritten simply a matter of fin -
for four actors and four ,ding time, he says. He
actresses each of whom does most of his writing
play five or six different
roles..
Mr. .Robinson had
written "Them" some,
time before his wife,
Eleanor, also an English
teacher at G.D.C.I.,
spotted an -ad in a writing
magazine 'abo'ut the
play,wrighting_ contest
and pushed him to enter
it.
The contest was open to.
all playwrights in North •
America, .both amateur
and professional. As far
as Mr. Robinson knows,
he was the only Canadian
winner. When the win-
ners' names were
published, his address.
was listed only as
Ontario, Canada..
As well as winning a
cash award, Mr.
Robinson's play will be
published and performed,
probably in Kansas first
since that was the head.
office location for the
contest.
face to Go rich Little
Theatre pat ns, recently
won second prize in the
Association for Retarded
Citizens National
Playwrighting Com-
petition with his play on
mental retardation.
entitled "Therri".
To date, Mr. Robinson,
,an Eng-lish teacher and
head of,.,, the English
department at G.D.C.I.,,-
has written 15 one act
plays, one full length play
and a novel. But "Them"
is his first monetary prize
winner.
•Based on his own ex-
periences of working with
mentally retarded
children, Mr. Robinson
says "Them" • tries to
show three stages which.
the parents of mentally
retarded children gu
through, namely shock,
guilt and acceptance. It
also tries to destroys'ome
of the myths about
retarded childrenarid'
shows that they are
human beings with a lot
to offer, especially in the
during school vacations.
This past summer, he
and Mrs. Robinson wrote
a serious fiction novel
entitled "One Thing After
Another". Set in. Huron
County,. it is about two
teenagers 'and various
problems the!encounter.
'It has been sent to a
publisher for con-
sideration.
Mr, Robinson says it
was "inutually en-
couraging" to write a
novel with his wife.
"It really worked out
well," he says.
M'r..Robinson is most
•familiar witli writing
plays. In a play, he says,
one is restricted in terms
of setting. In a novel,
'however, the characters
can move around, more.
Also, in a play, dialogue
has tosay everything •
while in a • novel,
description can say some
things too.
In novel writing, the
author writes a book and
others read it. But play
.writing ........ i �.,.a.
"collaborative effort"
involving the author,
director, actors d
audience, he explainsan.
The •play whitxl'i people
most often. associate with
him is "November 9" .(he
has'changed the name to
"The Great Storm").
This is a play about the
Great Lakes disaster of
1913. in which many
sailors drowned, some. of
whom were never
identified and are buried
rn
Goderich. Tt was first
performed, by the
G.D.C.I.m drama club in
1975 and has won awards
in three different school
festivals, including the
"best play" award.
Last year, Mr.
Robinson's play
"Peasants, Warriors and
Kings" was performed at
G.D.C.I, and the year
before that his play "Les
Demoiselles" was per-
formed. Both of,these
plays won outstnding
performance awards for
some of the actors in
them • at the • Galt
Canadian One Act Play
Festival..
Mr. Robinson's plays
have mostly all been
-._per:formed;-exc-ept for -his
full length one entitled
"In the Courts of °the
Emerald King". Some ofthem have even been
performed ih other places
•
like London and
Kingston. However, they
have not been•published.
"I don't seem to hav
the time or energy "t
market them after'
writing and performing
them," he says.
.Mr."' Robinson gets his
ideas for plays based on
ditterent themes,
teach drama at G.D.C.I.
too but now it is just an
for him. He and'Mrs.
Robinson are also in-
volved
in• Goderich Little
Theatre. Most recently.
Mrs. Robinson directed
"Fiddler On The Roof"
for GLT and Mr.
Robinson played the lead
role. Th,e Robinson's two
'Wren, Baird, 11, and
Erin, 10, also had parts in
the play. ,
Mr: Robinson is from .
Sud1,itry:.He received his
Bachelor of Arts degree,
other n�iish—�r,ajur• frotu
peo.pje's suggestions (as
was the case - with
"November 9") or
personal experience.
"Them" was based on
personal experience.
When doing graduate
studies at the University
of Newcastle' in England
for 14 months., Mr:
Robinson taught,,, drama
and education to retarded
students at two different
institutions. A few years
ago he also taught drama
and educat}n to students
at the Queen Elizabeth
Wing of Victoria Public
School,
Mr. Robinson used to
• Queens University in
Kingston: He ' taught in'
schools in Sudbury and
Leamington before
corning to G.D.C.I: 13
years ago.
Besides teaching, his
plans now include. en- '
tering more contests with
various forms of writing.
This, he has discovered,
can be both emotionally
and financially rewar-
ding. About his most
recent contest win, he
says modestly:
It's like my wife says:
We only spent 30 cents to
win $300."
Thirty cents and a lot of
talent.
Annual meeting held
Hospital Auxiliary donates over X6,000
BY JANET
KALBFLEISCH
The annual meeting of
the . Auxiliary to
Alexa-ndra Marine and •
General Ho.s.pittal
followed the regular
meeting on January 21 in
the Auxiliary Room in the
hospital.
Reports' from the of-
ficers and conveners
indicated that the
Auxiliary had a very
successful year in -1979.
The secretary, Mrs. C.
Kalbfleisch, reported
that eight regular
meetings, two executive letters, this resulted arca were enjoyed ,by the Successful money
making projects were
card panty donations, a
tag day in May, a Penny
Fnir in -Toned saleof
meetings and one special
meeting were held during
the year. Thirty-one
members. paid
bership fees, and there
was an average at-
tendance of 16 at the
regular meetings. -
Mrs. L. Boyce,
Correspondence
Secretary, reported that
she had sent nine cards to
membefs and a total of
more than 130 letters: As
'about 50 of. these letters
were written aS in-
dividual "thank. you"
busy year. members also_
this At the close of each
•
During the year meeting, "refreshments
organization was for-
-tun -ate in having
teresting guest speakers.
Gary Renaud, Dr. M.
Cauchi, Miss , Joyce
Shack, Mr. M. Moriarity,
Mrs. Jennifer-Cumming,
Mr. R. Henry, and Don
Greene gave informative
talks on various subjects.
Tour's of the
physiotherapy depart-
ment, the new'laundry -
receiving wing, and the
new first floor° pediatrics
—
wexepxovirlerl by the
kitchen •staff. This was
much appreciafe`cny the
Auxiliary members.
The Auxiliary was
represented at the Spring
Conference in St. Marys,
the Fall Conference in
Woodstock, the Clinton
Hospital Auxiliary Spring
Tea' and at the official
opening of the Auxiliary
'gift shop in Clinton;
General Hospital.
worth of equipment to AM. & G
which included a food
processor, a refrigerator,
books for the nurses'
medical librai y, a
,rn a
transcutaneousei t.ro-
home baking and 'crafts
in December.
The treasurer, Mrs. D
,Smith reported that the
total receipts for the year
were $3634.08 and
disbursements were
$7125.13, making a deficit
of $3491.05. The bank
balance as of December
31, 1979 was $1,613,83:
Total donations to the
hospital *ere $6,725.79
nerve stimulator, four
sets of metric scales. a"
cryo surgical unit,'and a --
convection oven.
Seventeen hundred
dollars has been paid
towards the cost of the
oven, leaving a balance of
$2,172 to be paid in 1980.
A donation•of $300 was
given to the Garden Club
to help pay for shrubs
planted in`' front of the
hospital.
Two bursaries of $200
each were given to
graduates of G.D.C.I.
ho began-taie,ir-training
as nurses.
Mrs. B. McCreath• gift
shop treasurer, noted
that total receipts from
the gift shop and.. pop
sales were $8,902.18.
After paying all ex=
penses, including the new
shop and transferring
$1,000 to the ' general
account, the gift shop still
has a surplus of $233.8q
for the year. The bank
balance at the end of the
year was $3;455.88.
Shop convener, Mrs.
G.C. White, referred' to
-3"-as a "banner year"
as the -new shop which
opened on -February 12 is
a great improvement
over the former smaller
shop. Mrs. White thanked
her co -convener, Mrs. F.
Worsell, Mrs. McCreath,
and Mrs. R. Bell, per-
sonnel convener, for their
co-operation. • • She also
thanked all those who did
knitting and made other
articles for the shop.
Mending by Auxiliary
members is not required
since the hospital_ has
been using the new
_J.au.ndxy __service, The
sewing corrtmittee does
sewing; when it is needed,
however, and in 1979
made several draw
sheets for the hospital.
Mrs. N. Jackson, col
ordinator of Candy
Stripers, ,mentioned the
Awards Day for Candy
Stripers on April 29 when
four cap's, five hands for
Turn to page 2Ar••
First there was the Polish people and
then the poor Newfies. Now it seems
the target. is Joe Clark.
For years anyone that ever drew a
smile at a party by telling a joke
usually made some reference to a
Polack or a Newfie.
The jokes always cast those two
groups as being somewhat less than
genius. People told "them with no
concern. No one considered himself or
herself a bigot of any type and no one
really felt for a minute the jokes were
true. But still they went on.
And now the rage in joke circles is
Joe Clark numbers. Our Prime
Minister isn't doing well in the polls but
he's prime material for joke writers.
The difference between the -Newfie
jokes and Joe Clark jokes is that the
CIaf'•k jokes have -been personalized. 'I
mean it's possible that you don't know
any Newfies and thus a Newfie joke
would not cause you to think of an in
dividual.
But what does a Joe Clark joke make
you think about.
Personally I think it's cruel. The poor
guy is trying his best to persuade an
entire country into letting him run the,
ship. He's failing in the polls, most
everyone is telling him he's inadequate
for the job he wants and everywhere he
goes the first thing people ask him is
how it feels to be a loser.
What did the guy do in six months tc'
'deserve all this.
The other day a guy says to me
"what do you do if Joe Clark hands you
a pin?". I haven't got a clue so he tells
me "you run like hell because he's got
the grenade in his mouth."
The worst thing you can do is laugh. I
snicker and the guy is off and running.
With the grenade number still fresh he
says to me "why does Joe Clark Carry a
turkey around with him?".
Playing the straight man I repeat the
question and the guy says "spare
parts".
•
This is no time to get philisophical. I
ask this guy why Joe Clark jokes are as
popular as they are. I wonder out loud
why, when a man offers to take over
leadership' of a country that has a few
serious problems, people make him a
social. plaything.
I'm about to comment that I have
absolutely no political leanings but
prefer to cast my vote for' the man
rather than the party when the guy
gives•he a who cares look and plunges
into another joke.
"What were the toughest three years
of Joe Clark's life?" he asks. ,
I stop the philosophy to play'straight
man again.
"I don't ' know, what were the
toughest three 'years of Joe Clark's
life?" n
"The first three , years o'f kin-
dergarten."
For some reason I find myself trying
to defend Joe Clark: I make some
comment like at least the man had the
intestinal fortitude to tell a country he
was wrong when he was wrong. And he
did make some tough decisions when
he told everyorre it was going to cast
them a great deal more to have what
they had a year ago.
I mean I wasn't happy about the
prospect of paying $1.25 a gallon for gas
but maybe we'll have to. -
The guy appears to be' un-
derstanding. He wipes the grin off his
face and says to m -e "did you hear that
someone broke into Joe Cla'rk's
library?".
"Really? Why would someone do
that?" I ask foolishly.
"I don't know but they stole both
books," he says. "And Joe was really
mad about it because he hadn't finished
colouring one,"
l guilts the moral al the story is if you
can't take a joke you shouldn't be Joe
Clark. ''
jetf
Seddon
y
•
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