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The Huron Expositor, 1984-10-17, Page 2SINCE 1880, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST ' ° Incorporating BrUS oa Por 10 Main Street 527-0240 Published In SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning JOCELYN A. SHRIEK, Publisher „, RON WASSINK, Editor JANET L. MacDONALD, Advertising Manager Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Preas Union International Press Institute Subscription rates: Canadd $18.75 a year (in advance) Outside Canada $55.00 a year (In advance) Single Copley -50 cents each SiEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER' 17, 1984 Second class mall registration Number 0698 Co-operation is the key Since the first recreation conference, sponsored by the. Seaforth recreation department was held one year ago, more groups are finding that co-operation is the key to success. And that's at least one positive sign of the conference. There are over 50 groups, including arts and culture, recreation and church. Little more than 30 groups turned out for the second annual conference. That's more than last year, but a total commitment by all groups would make the conference that much better and that much more successful. The 60 delegates who did attend Saturday were the winners. They all gained more knowledge on how to get more volunteers to join their ,,,group; how to run effective meetings; and how to use the media to their ,advantage. The new ideas they gained will be a benefit to their organizations. But for the recreation conference to really work, means 100 per cent participation. The prime aim of the conference is to co-ordinate and get groups to co-operate. An example of that was the Winter Carnival earlier this year. At (east four groups participated, to make the carnival one of the best yet. And because of the combined effort of all those volunteers, their groups benefitted. And the dividends they received proves that co-operation works. All too often, each organization is concerned about their own projects - their own money raising events. Overlapping dates and perhaps too many events have caused problems. The truth of the matter is that we're all trying to raise money through sponsoring such events. But the secret Is, people participation. Money raised often goes to community betterment, whether It be new hospital equipment, upgrading ball diamonds, or for a new washroom at the Van Egmond House. But when there's no participation, there's no profit and no equipment. Perhaps a recent letter to the editor writer, who asked "Do we need a doctor?", was rlght. Maybe we have too many families (events), and It's time to combine some of those families, as was the case with the Winter Carnival. , . Tie Optimist Club, the first organizers of the carnival, took the lead by asking'tormot-e particlpation."They proved It worked. And It could work for others. And that's what the recreation conference was all about — to keep groups Informed and offer them a learning experience. Let's use some of these ideas, examine past experiences—good and bad—put them all together and stir. We're bound to come up with a recipe to satisfy all appetites. Co-operation, co-ordination and the recreation conference are a start. Let's get together and really do a bang up job In money raising ventures In the coming year. - R.W. Sept. is a great month SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley Despite the lousy weather, this was a great Sept. for Canadian males. That is. if you happened to be a rocking -chair jock, a Monday morning quarterback, or an armchair analyst of sports. Everything came together, to the dismay of the ladies. They happen to like game shows, soap operas, or good. old-fashioned movies that make you laugh and cry to the point where you don't know which you are doing with the tears running down. It was the epitome of excellence for us old -athletes We didn't make the big-time and the big money because we skated on our ankles, couldn't throw a wobbly pass twenty feet. and we whiffed at the plate with the count three and two and the winning run on third base, CFL heading for the Grey Cup. World Series in the offing. Canada Cup in hockey. with many a muttered curse about cheap penalties against the Russians. And sandwiched in between, some great tennis, golf, Grand Prix races with guys doing cartwheels in their dinky toy cars, American football, which 1 abhor because of the histrionics of the guys who score a touchdown because of their histrionics, And then, of course, Pope -watching. After watching the Pope in action, it's going to be difficult to get up for the Queen's visit. The general result of all these sports activities, for the chap with his gut hanging over his belt, but fire within it, is a plethora of uncut lawns, also unraked, undone chores, unattended business, and unshaved whisk- ers. Wives became hewers of hamburg and drawers of beer, in the good. old Canadian tradition. Never mind that your favorite team lost practically everything. You still felt your heart thumping, almost dangerously, when the Canadian team was tied by the Americans, swamped by the Swedes, and ruined by the Russkies. They were still "our boys", and we still believe in miracles, which is not a bad thing for a nation. In our favor, we ignored the facts that the Blue Jays couldn't have caught the Yankees with a lasso and a couple of hig'ily-bred quarter horses, that our hockey team, with no less than twelve Grey-cuppers on it, would be lucky to tie Italy. that the local Pee -wee team lost 10-4 in their final game. We were right there with them, cheering every boo-boo, waxing wild With every hit, pass or goal. One thing you trust say about Canadians. We're good losers. We've learned to be. I remember talking to a charming chap from Montreal about eight years ago, on a trip to Europe, "How come' 1 asked, "that Montreal has a good football team (Les Allouettes). a good baseball team (Expos) and a great hockey team (Les Canadiens, in their glory days), and Toronto has the worst football team (Argos), worst baseball team (Blue Jays) and almost worst hockey team (Maple Leafs)?" He assured me that it was only a matter of time. He was right. Thanks to massive injections of Americans, the Blue Jays and Argos are respectable. the Maple Leafs still fourth -rate. That's enough about sports. I'm sure my lady readers are bored silly. They are much mare interested in the real things of life: who had a baby, who died and why and how, when is that grump going to get out of that chair and stop watching that box, what'll i give him (that's portable) for supper? But then, thank goodness. came along Pope -watching. This is almost as good as watching the Queen, and a lot more imt.a,,ant to many people than watching the Queen. Also a lot more important to many people than watching football or whatever. 1 could have been in the front row, if I'd wanted to exaggerate my arthritic foot, get some crutches, don some dark glasses and hire a seeing -eye -dog. But 1 thought that would be a bit much. I could have gone to the big mass by driving four miles from town and taken a shuttle bus, and arrived the night before if i wanted standing room. I thought that, too, would be a bit much. Especially because it promised rain. i can go there any day in the rain. Heck with it. i'll watch it on TV, provided there isn't an especially exciting game on TV, which there won't be because the Papal Visit seemed to have cornered the market on the tube. And no wonder. He is a man of terrific presence, with a great sense of the dramatic,' as befits a one-time actor, a dedication that allows for no questions, and a feeling for the poor and underprivileged that makes one, for a few moments, at least, feel like a fat, overprivileged slob. At least the sports and the Pope' crowded politics off the front pages. A matter of deep, almost religious thanks. Only thing 1 fault the Pope for is that he didn't offer a special prayer for Team Canada against the atheistic Russians. That would have been a nice gesture, and he'd probably have doubled his Canadian fold. Nature study USE YOUR SENSES—Debra Perkin, above, shows students a breed of caterpillars found In the Wawanosh Valley Conservation Authority, while Wendy Ross, right, shows another student how to Identify trees by touch. (Mcllwraith photo) Protection: sexual not poiitical SENSE AND NONSENSE by Ron Wassink Ever wonder where the English language got its start. 1'11 bet most people would like to know, especially the young Russian couple who were caught in a most embarrassing situation, just because of the English language. 1 m sure most Anglo-saxons have trouble with the English language. 1 find I do. But what about the people, for who English is a second language. They must have one heck of a time with all those words with double and triple meanings and all that punctuation. Take the Russian couple. They were travelling abroad and were on a stop over in Northern Ireland. In halting English, the young man asked the cashier at the duty-free shop for "protection". At the mention of the word, protection, the first thought of the cashier was -that couple wanted to seek refugc.in _Ireland --that they wanted to escape from Russia. The young man and woman were whisked off to police headquarters, but after 20 minutes of interrogation, officials deter- mined it wasn't political protection the couple was after, but sexual protection. They just wanted some condoms. But the couple couldn't get "protection". In Roman Catholic Ireland, the sale of condoms is forbidden except to married couples, and then only with a doctor's prescription. Whether they like it or not, (and I'm not talking warm weather), the English language is a curse for many. They're going to their home over there. Sounds confusing, doesn't it? Then we have a kind lady who enjoys any kind of vegetable. But her son learned the sun wasn't just a big star. But the movie star disagreed. If they were asked, they wouldn't know where it would end. Enough is enough, already. MI this talk about our confusing English reminds me of a story a Dutch fella told me. When he. first_ arrilted._in Canada. he .only. knew a smattering of English. His new boss, Canadian through and through, asked his employee if he would like some grapefruit. Now grapes and grapefruit are two different fruit. but not to a hew Canadian who loved grapes and thought grape fruit was just that. "He handed me this thing, looked like an oversize orange. I didn't know what to do with it, so I peeled it and ate it like an orange. It was the most sour thing I ever had. And I never did find a taste for grapefruit," said the Ducthman. Then there was the new Canadian who was so proud of the way he could speak English. He was the laughing stock of all fellow employees. How old are you?" they would often ask. "I'm dirty, and my wife is dirty two," he replied proudly. I realize that was a low blow, but that's what first time English speaking yisitors to Canada are faced with. Our language has grown from about 70,000 words in 1828 to more than 600,000 today. Our language contains about 46 different sounds, which is more than any other tongue. And to express them, in 600,000 words, we have an alaphabet of but 26 letters, which makes English the craziest and most illogical language to learn. We've.got the -most incredible spelling in the world. And the way we pronounce our words makes learning our language the despair of foreigners. Consider ail the ways we pronounce words ending in "ough count them! And the sounds of "th" and "w" give a lot of foreigners trouble. It's a crazy mess, but it's fascinating and worth learning, right? It's not easy to be a man BEHIND THE SCENES by Keith Roulston These are not easy days to be a man, unless perhaps you're in a monastery several hundred miles from the nearest female. There's a war going on out there between the males and females, except that under the acted rules of conducting our civilized battle, only one side is allowed to fight. if you're a man these days, you're supposed to stand there and take the best shots women have to fire at you and your brothers, 9'nd smile and admit you deserve it. it's not "politically correct" to point out the silliness of some aspects of the women's movement for instance. James Thurber. who made a fortune off the battle of the sexes 40 years ago would starve today if he tried to portray men as victims of women. Everybody knows it's the women who have been victims of a conspiracy among men for thousands of years. if you earn your living working with women, your working hours have all the dangers of walking through a mine field. One wrong slip of the tongue, one wandering eye and you're in danger of beirrj; branded a male chauvinist. forever. Don't, for instance, mention anything about The 20 -Minute Workout, even if you sweated along with the girls just this morning. It will be assumed that you're really a closet voyeur who probably rents porno movies on the weekends and shouldn't be left alone with little girls. Come to think of it, best not say anything at all that doesn't pertain exactly to the job. It may seem a ntce idea to tease a female co-worker or give her a soft whistle when she's showing off that new mini -skirt, but you may end up being a statistic in the latest report on sexual harassment on the job. For heavens sake be careful with your hands. i know it was only a decade ago the experts were telling us that Canadians were too afraid of physical contact but forget all they told you. Get too close to a woman at work these days and you may end up before a government agency. Wear blinkers. No matter how revealing the costume your fashionable co-workers wear, don't notice what is revealed unless you want to.be known as a dirty old man. (I have yet to figure out why women want to show it but get upset if men see it. But there are many things I don't understand yet). 1 know you say you're innocent of these things but you're just fooling yourself. The feminist leaders will tell you that all males are to blame for the guys who rape women, the guys who beat their wives so badly that the women become heros of television movies by setting fire to the monster while he sleeps in bed. Even if your female friends are more moderate, they'll take it for granted that men can't understand women. There is one thing to take comfort in: this too shall pass. Society seems to go on binges every few years to discover a new oppressed group. it goes totally overboard before bringing some sanity back to the world. Twenty years ago it was discrimination against blacks. For a while, all whites shared a common guilt because blacks discriminated against in the southern States. Nobody ever admitted that a black could be wrong sometimes too. We in Canada. of course, managed to get our own guilt by including Japanese, Pakistanis, . Jews and North American Indians. There was just one difference. You didn't have to look at a black across the breakfast table every morning. A good deal, it's free COUNTRY CORNER by Larry Dillon My wife receives catalogues every couple of weeks that have a specially personalized cover. She's kept informed of the thousands of dollars that she is about to receive free (as soon as she fills out an order form, and of course sends money). Farmers don't pay for their hats. Every- body knows that. They get them for free from feed dealers, seed dealers, machinery dealers and all those nice people from whorn they buy. We live in a wonderful society. Not only do we have continual offers of free hats. we are offered nearly everything we desire as gifts or bonuses, subject to only a few minor conditions. A company from Toronto picked me out of the 25 million citizens of this country for an outstanding offer. They guaranteed to make the a millionaire vritbin two years. All I had to do was to pay $500 in installments while 1 took their correspondence course. !couldn't loose. They guaranteed it. Their generosity was so overwhelming that i decided to pay 550,000 instead. After all, they were going to make me a millionaire. i certainly wouldn't miss a measly five percent of my first million. I immediately mailed a letter telling them of my generous decision and advising that 1 didn't have the 50,000 today. i said that i would take it out of the million. It was guaranteed, so there was no risk on their part. 'They never did answer my letter. i was a little disappointed. Now it will probably take me longer than the two years to become a millionaire. But at least 1 will be able to keep my $50,00u. Another company offered me a free computer if i would buy software from them. One of their competitors offered me free software if 1 would buy their computer. Gosh wouldn't it be nice if we could take half of the first company's offer and the rest from the second company. That way both the compu- ter and the software would be free. Some stores give away free, with every purchase, vouchers that can be used as part of the purchase price on additional merchan- dise. Sometimes they even sell their high priced items interest free, for a limited period, of course. The offers we get are often so incredible that it's unbelievable. Our family recently received a flyer in the mail that qualified us for a $100 discount on any of a variety of packages worth $119. That company must think that we are exceedingly gullible. it is almost an insult to just be included on their mailing list, The catch to getting all these free items is that we're paying for them. Companies cannot give items away indefinitely. They must make a profit or go out of business. If we are receiving something "free", the odds are that we are paying handsomely for it in some manner. Those free items are often paid for many times over by the business we do with the companies that give them out. The hats, jackets, vests, toy tractors and other gifts are usually paid fbr out of our initial purchases. If anyone gets something for nothing, it's not usually the customer. We end up doing free advertising for the dealers by displaying their logos on the hats we wear.