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12 ronWeelymes-Weesdav, januiy9, ~ Arthur Black To be where liffle cable cars Climb halJway to the star... Famous sortg Iyric There is orily one town ti the world where you can truly savour those lyrîcs. That town is Sari Francisco, California. I made my first visit Just a couple of weeks ago. And 1 brought back a ton of souvenirs, norie of which 1 mentîoned when I crossed the border into Canada. 1No need to. The souvenirs were al ti my head. I'd like to declare them now. San Francisco is one of the newest old cittes ti the world. That's because they had to butld it again from scratch just niety years ago, after a devastating earthquake and fire reduced the towri to littie more than rubble and snuffed out 3,000 citlzens. But San Francisco rose again. And it stands today a remarkable ctty, quite unlike any other metropolis I've ever seen. For orie thing it has Alcatraz, a menacing knob of rock and scrub that looms i the mIst Just a littie over a mile from your cafe table on Fisherman's Wharf. Like Fishermans' Wharf, Alcatraz Is just a tourist stop now, but in Its day, It was one of the most famous and feared pris- ons on the continent. Just a mile from downtown San Francisco, but bone-chllung water, murderous tides and the threat of sharks kept the populations of the ctty and Rock from mlngling. .Fisherman's VWharf? Niagara Falls Without the waterworks. Ftsherman's Wharf is gaùdy and flashy and glitzy and trashy. Great place to go If your idea of trav- eling is shopping for dopey T shirts and munchlng' on foot long hot dogs of dubtous ancestry. My advice? Buy the T shirts if you must, but pass on the red hots. There are s0 mariy great restaurants In San Francisco it would be a crimirial offense worthy of iricarceration in Alcatraz to waste any appetite on a lowly red hot. And then there are the Cable Cars. They are tiny -- about one-third thie size of a city bus. They are old -- antique, even. They rattle and they're drafty and they're slow and often so packed you can't ftnd a space on the hard wooden benches that pass for seating. But oh, they are magical. Arid at one time crucial for any kind of mass transporta- tion ti San Francisco. It's the streets, you see. Imagine a series of toweririg lodgepole pines, ail of differ- ent heights, growing in a fleld, Say teri miles square. Imagine throwîng a 20-square mile shower curtain over those poky trees. Now imagine tak- ing a paintbrush and painting black lies from orie side of the shower curtairi to the other, up peak and down vai- ley, east to west and north to South. Those black lines would be the Hiàtreets of San Francisco. You might think you've seen steep his ti St. Johris, Montreal, or Vancouver. No. You go to thie San Francisco to sec steep hills. The hiÉlls are so steep that early horse and wagon combinations couldr't climb them safeiy. Then an English inventor by the riame of Aridre Hallîdie came along. He Invented a system of steel cables that ran under thieCity streets. The cables were guided by a systern of grooved pulîcys, s0 that they were constantly in motion. The way a cable car works is that hie car operator activates a grIp handle on board the car, which runs through a slotlntrihie street and pinches thie moving cable below. -The cable car is then pulled along until thie grip- mari releases thie handle. Cable car operation Is a lit- tle more complicated than that, but not much., The beauty of thie system is its simpltcity. The cable cars are - oh, Joy _- uricomputerized. They have no engines to break down or hydraulic sys- tems to go AWOL. They are really Ilke big fishirig lureE being hauled through the streets on a large wire cable flshlng line. They troll for pas- sengers. And thie passengers bite with enthusiasm. Cable cars started, haulirig Sari Franciscans up and down thie his of their hometown a cen- tuiy and a quarter ago, and thie same cars are doingthie same job today. Oh' thie Progress-At-Any-, Pricers tried toget rid of hiem once. Back i 1947 they clalmed cable cars were obso- lete and old-fashioned and the City would be better served by gas-guzzling, fume- farting buses, but thie cable- car-lovlng public raised such a hue and cry that thie inter- naI combustion fans backed off and haven't uttered a peep since. And a good thing too. Not only is thie rackety, clackety cable car Sari Franciscos entree as an international City, lt's a hit at home as well. Evreiybody loves the cabie car, tourlst and city denizen alike. The toughest thing about them Is trying to get aboard. There's no room! You watt at the stop and hear the failiar conductor's bell, but ail you cansee Is a slowly moving wad of humanîty coming at you along the track. On a cable car you cari sit inside and outside and you can stand inside and outside. But really outside -- hanging on to a strap and hanging out into the traffic anid hoping other drivers are paylng attention. They usually are. Those drivers have had plenty of tlme to practice after ail. Cable cars have been rolling up and dowri the his of Sari Francisco sirice 1873. Looks like they won't dis- appear any time soon. Ten years ago each and every cable car was taken out of Service, one at a time, and completely refitted. And, say the experts, "the system shouid work safely for theriext 100Oyears". mI. - Happenings CHLD FIND ONTARIO A volunteer meetng will be held on Wednesday, February 5, 1997 at 7:00 p.m. Our meeting wilI take place in the Chapter Office located at 3 Harwood Ave, S. 2nd floor, unit #201, Ajax. Elections will be held 10 fi 5 executive positions of Vice Chairperson, volunteer co-ordinator, events co-ordinator, public relations co-ordinator and fundraising co-ordinator. Recognition awards for eligible volunteers will aslo be given out at the lime. This meeting is open 10 ail current volunteers and the public. If you are interested in knowing more about us or becoming a vol- unteer please corne 10 the meeting or phone us at (905) 686- 3181. COMPLETE CAR& TRUJCK REPAIRS DIESEL ENGINES,* CUMMINS, DETROIT & CAT RADIO DISPATCHED TOW TRUCKS MOBILE MECHANICAL SERVICE TRUCK R.R. #1 ORONO 4 MILES NORTH ONTARIO 0F HWY. 401 ON LOB 1 MO (905) 983-9151 HWY. 35/115 r HALLS RADIO & T.V. REPAIR REPAIRS TO MOST MAKES STEREOS, COLOUR AND B&W T.V.s P.O. ox 27AND V.C.R.s R.R. 2, Orono, Ont. (905) 983-5721 The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington ParentslGuardiarzs from the following school areas who arc considering enrolling their child in French Immersion Senior Kindergarten in September 1997 are invited to attend an information meeting at the following location: ELEMENTARY SCIIOOL AREA MEETING LOCATION MEING DATE St. Joseph's, Bowmanville St. Joseph's Catholîc School St. Stephen's, Bowmanville 90 Parkway Crescent Mother Teresa, Courtice Bowmanville, Ontario St. Francis of Assisi, Newcastle (905) 623-5151 Monsignor Leo Cleary, Courtice Wed. Feb. 5/97 7:00 p.m. If your child is currently registered i Junior Kindergarten and you plan to enroil hin/her in the French Immersion Senior Kindergarten Program, please inform the Principal at St. Joseph's Elementary School, If your child is NOT currently registered in Junior Kindergarten and you plan to enroil hinVher in the French Immersion Senior Kindergarten Prograin, please contact St. Joseph's School prior to the registration date to set up an appointment. To simplify the registration procedure please bring your child's Baptismal Certificate, Birth Certificate, Immunîzation Record, your Lot and Concession numnber (for rural students) and proof of Separate School prop- erty Tax Support. French Immersion School Registration Dates! Phone Time St. Joseph's, Bowmanville Principal: Sue Vanderkwaak Mon. Feb. 1097/ 9:00 -3:00 Feb. Il - 1497/ Los ca st oruly Clubs. (eflhCare .S.T> (905) 623-5151 L Jim Pilkington Don Foiz Board Chairperson Director of Education e . 0 a a (con(d)