Zurich Citizens News, 1974-01-31, Page 4PAGE 4
ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1974
We need vigilantes!
Last week most papers in the province blossomed out with
editorials and stories about the dire consequences of irresponsit
activity on the part of snowmobile operators. This, of course,
was not news. It's exactly what has been said for several years.
Fact of the matter is that the operators of snowmobiles, or
at least those who areirresponsible, are almost out of reach of
the law. A property owner may be ready for legal action after
a snow machine has plowed over his rosebushes, but it's quite
another matter to see the license number of the offending
machine in order to bring the driver to justice.
For every rotten snowmobiler there are 50 sensible ones. .. bi
all are tarred with the same black reputation. In view of the
fact that an entire sport is being downgraded by a few outlaws,
it would seem evident that the sensible operators take just a
wee bit of the law into their own hands. Turn in the names
of those who are spoiling your fun ---or suffer their inevitable
fate. (Wingham Advance Times)
Newspaper errors!
Recently, a university professor had a few unkind words to
say about newspaper writing and errors. To answer these
charges, we relate to a penned version of the late Thomas
Richard Henry of the old Toronto Telegram, who wrote:
"The newspaperman writes his story in a rush, just one
step ahead of the deadline for the edition. He always does
this, even when he could have written it three days before.
If he didn't wait for the last minute to write it, he wouldn't
be a newspaperman.
"And for the story he must rely on sources of information
from those involved; changing of minds by informants; not
to mention the "no comments" from doctors, police or polit-
ical figures.
"Steaming with the speed with which it has been handled,
the story stands before the reader in cold print, a half-hour
after it was just a nebulous theory in the mind of some reporter
"Then the university professor chortles with glee, because
he finds a present and a past tense playing hide-and-seek with
each other in the same paragraph.
"But, let's look at the university professor.
"When he sets our to write anything, he takes six weeks
to write one short chapter of a book.
"The printer reads it, then the proofs come back to the
professor.
"He reads them.
"His secretary reads them.
"His married daughter reads them.
"Then he gets an expert to read them.
"Six years later the book is printed with an extra page
enumerating the mistakes that have been missed."
(Pt. Elgin Times)
The windmills of mankind!
Around the world, the energy crisis is having a varied
impact in the small Arab state of Abu Dhabi, for instance,
people must be wondering what to do with all the millions
that will be coming their way. Economists have estimated
that if present energy trends continue, Abu Dhabi will enjoy
a per capita income of as much as $200, 000 annually by the
year 1980.
In many poorer lands, the oil shortage will create hardship,
and perhaps even food shortages and starvation. In the affluent
nations, there will be more unemployment than before, more
problems, more cases of frayed tempers.
But in the long term, humanity will overcome the energy
crunch, just as it has past crisis. There are many ways to gen-
erate energy, some of which seemed uneconomical because
of low oil prices ---but which today are more attractive.
Poor as well as richer lands could build more power plants
using water to turn the turbines. The potential of nuclear
energy, of power created by ocean tides, of wind -propelled
generators is being studied by scientists in many countries.
Fermentation of animal waste has been found to be an excell-
ent source of methane gas in some developing nations.
Taiwan has installed thousands of simple power plants costing
only $100 per family.
The windmills of the human mind are forever turning, far
more rapidly than did the old windmills that provided energy
in the past. Mankind need look only up at the sun to see the
vast reserves of energy that exist.. If to some, 1974 will seem
a bleak year, to others it will be a year of hope. For it will
bring new ideas, new methods, new machines that will help
us produce energy for the world's four billion inhabitants.
(Contributed)
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Yes,you may call me gramps
Yes, you may call me
Grampa. The kid arrived three
days too late to be any use as a
tax deduction, But we can't all
be perfect.
Aside from that, he is. Per-
fect. According to the ladies,
He's a dandy little fellow, with
rosy cheeks, his mother's
auburn hair, his father's eyes,
and his grandfather's sweet lit-
tle rosebud mouth. He's very
peaceful and sleeps a lot, so he
doesn't seem to have anything
of his maternal grandmother in
him.
There are certain occasions
in our lives that are peaks, even
though most of the time we
seem to be down in the valleys.
These are the times when
something special happens.
They don't have to be
milestones, like graduations
and weddings, In fact, these are
often so formalized, they can be
excruciatingly dull.
No, I mean those rare events
that are crystal clear, even with
the passing of years.
I don't remember a thing
about my birth, for example,
and that was supposed to be
something important.
But I remember vividly the
day in public school when I was
sick, sick, sick, was too proud or
too shy to ask to leave, and
vomited on the classroom floor
and all the way down the hall
to the lavatory, with my best
girl watching the whole sordid
thing. I was nine, and that was
my first affair. It died in the
bud.
I remember a baseball game,
in my teens. I was at bat. Bases
loaded, two men out, the count
_,,,e and two. The next pitch
was obviously low. I dropped
my bat and started to jog to
first base, forcing in the win-
ning run. "Stee-rike three!"
bellowed the umpire. Game
over. Instant ignominy.
I'll never forget my first real
job. Arrived at the docks about
midnight, thrilled beyond
reason. I was going to be a
sailor. Found a bunk. Couldn't
sleep, with the excitement of it
all. My heart resembled a
drumming partridge. Had a big
breakfast and prepared to enter
manhood. I was seventeen. My
boss took me in tow, gave me
some brasso and a rag, led me
into a men's urinal, pointed at
the brass foot-plate and said,
"Clean it."
Another big day was the one
on which I passed my wings
test. I had flunked one two
days before because the inter-
com was almost useless. The
instructor would tell me to do a
steep bank to port and I'd do a
slow roll or a loop. He took a
dim view. It looked like
washout and back to manning
pool to wash dishes for the
duration. But 1 got a second
chance, flew like Jonathan
Livingstone Seagull and
walked on air for weeks.
Another time that is etched
in my mind is my first visit to
London. As the train neared
the great city, I was trembling
so violently I couldn't light a
cigarette, It was probably the
thought that I, a small-town,
small-time boy, was actually
about to enter the setting of a
thousand stories, the home of
kings and queens, the fertile
spawner .of_ a vast. empire. I
didn't stop shaking until I'd
downed two pints of bitter.
You'd think a chap's first
operational flight against the
enemy would be a highlight.
Mine wasn't. 1 was too busy or
ignorant to be even scared. All
those red and green things zip-
ping past the cockpit might as
well have been Christmas tree
lights, instead of tracer bullets.
But I don't suppose I'll ever
forget the day I was shot down.
One minute there was the snarl
of engines, the whack of cannon
shells, the crump of flak and
the dirty black spots in the sky,
as shells burst. Mates all
around me.
Next minute there was total
silence. No engine. No mates.
No flak. Just the blue sky
above, the dun earth below
coming up swiftly but dreamily
and me thinking, "Well, there
goes that date with Tita in Ant-
werp tonight."
There are lots of other peaks.
The day I decided I was in love
with a girl, once and for all,
and took the plunge, after
deciding that I wouldn't marry
until I was forty and had ex-
plored every means of escape.
And the day my son was
born. Hugging the knowledge
that I was a father and had a
son, even though I was in
hospital a hundred and fifty
miles away when he was bir-
thed,
And the day my daughter
was born, slipping into the
world as easily as she has slip-
ped in and out of equally
ridiculous situations ever since.
Anyway, the birth of my
grandson was one of the peaks.
I can tell, You can't fool an old
peak man like me.
0
If the manufacturer of your
steam iron recommends the use
of distilled water in the appl-
iance, take heed, says Con-
sumers' Association of Canada.
Tap water or chemically soft-
ened water leaves a residue
which will clog the small holes
in the steam and spray mech-
anisms.
Business and Professional Directory
OPTOMETRISTS
J. E. longstaff
OPTOMETRIST
SEAFORTH MEDICAL CENTRE
527-1240
Tgesday, Thursday, Friday, Sat-
urday a.m., Thursday evening
CLINTON OFFICE
10 Issac Street 482.7010
Monday and Wednesday
Call either office for
appointment.
Norman Martin
OPTOMETRIST
Office Hours:
9.12 A,M, — 1:30-6 P, I.
Closed all day Saturday
Phone 235.2433 Easeter
INSURANCES
Robert F. Westlake
Insurance
"Sp.cialhdng In
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Phone 236-4391 — Zurleh
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