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~ POTAND OLD and with a few good buddies I BEER HALLS discovered most of them. They had a Conservative certain look about them; cheap flooring, leadership rivals filthy washrooms, sticky table tops, Jean Charest and Kim Campbell have dim lighting (by neglect, not design) jumped on the wagon with American faded wall paper and an odour of stale President Bill Clinton in admitting beer and human sweat. ~Becugog Citizen -- Tuesday, April 6, 1993 -- 9 Keep hands off seniors' pensions publicly that (gasp, shame, scandal) they have tried marijuana. The beer was cheap, always ice cold and the waiters who walked the floor Clinton made his startling admission -hefting a huge tray of draft on one arm during the presidential campaign last knew exactly when you wanted a fresh fall, though he quickly added that he glass or two at the table. didn't inhale (sure, Bill) But more than that, these places were Campbell and Charest both made filled with some of the most fascinating, their declarations in recent weeks as characters you'd meet anywhere, an they make their run to take over the entire cross section of the human race. reins from Brian Mulroney. One draft roam that I frequented Big headlines, too. But does it really fairly often (on Bay, just south of Bloor) matter? Look, Clinton is 44, Campbell "counted among its Friday evening 46 and Charest 34. clientele business types in blue suits I would suggest that if the truth be and crisp white shirts, gritty known, there are precious few North construction workers spending the pay Americans in that age bracket (35-50) cheque with reckless abandon, an who have not tried pot at least once. assortment of students with long hair Back in the late 60's and early 70's, the and scruffy beards, a few bikers in halls of higher learning all over this leather, a couple of real "down and continent reeked with that outers" who panhandled on Bay for unmistakable odour of "maryjane." their beer money, and several old- Even this writer who happens to be in timers whiling away their final few that age bracket has a deep, dark years. confession to make that I tried the There was one in particular that I stuff, too. So there. If Bill and Kim and remember to this day. A tall man with Jean are all making public admissions whispy strands of white hair, he would of a terrible moment of weakness, I can sit alone at a table, his clear blue eyes do the same. following everything in the room like a Actually, in my case, the use of pot hawk. was mostly involuntary. Back in the He had to be well into his 70's, walked late 1960's while I was at college in with a cane and was always dressed in Toronto, I lived in one of those wild and a black suit, white shirt and black tie, wierd "student houses" just a stone's no matter what the weather. He throw from the old Village. In this house lived several wild and wierd people who were always entertaining their wild and wierd friends at any hour of the night and day. carried himself like a man who had spent his life giving orders rather than taking them. But there were signs that his latter years were not good ones as his shirt was often stained and yellow at the To the Editor: It has become Apparent over the past few years that seniors of this country havy become 4th class citizens. The pefidfoners who built the country they have lived in all their lives, have "been robbed of their savings, investments and all they worked for through their lives. Since the Tories have been in office, Michael Wilson and Brian Mulroney have stripped them of any pride they had for their country, literally tossing them aside like so many bags of dirt. Some months ago, I heard Wilson telling Canadians in a public broadcast that they must take responsibility for the mess this country is in. Shortly after that, Mulroney blamed Pierre Trudeau for ruining the country. They obviously did not get together to decide just who is to blame. Canada was not in the financial mess pensions, as another of his sneaky schemes to lower the standard of living of the elderly. 8till trying to portray himself as a proud Canadian, he has been making fools of the people since his early days in politics because this is his style. The government claims it cannot afford the old age cheques, using the excuse the number of seniors is increasing. There is no doubt there are more seniors now and they are living longer, but if the country is that bankrupt, then let them get rid of bilingualism which is costing billions each year, There never seems to be enough money for social services, health care and pensions, yet they can find money to promote French, while English is treated now as a second language. Until such time as this country can get it is now until Mulroney came to office to squander billions in taxpayers' money for bilingualism and hand-outs to Quebec. The GST is one of the biggest forms of robbery, supposedly to be used for the deficit, but where are all the billions of dollars it is bringing in? P are not ible for this country going broke, yet even now after Mulroney has stepped down as leader, the Tories still talk of taking away Old Age pensions. What they are doing right now is testing the seniors against public opinion polls. This is not new because Mulroney planned changes many months ago in a politician with some gumption, it will always be in a mess. How much more does the government want to take from the seniors? They have been robbed enough. Stop using them, better still, it's time the government gave back all it has taken from them. Politied Ht, 5 have two per one they display when trying to get elected, with all the fast talk about working for the people; and the other they show after they are elected. Then you find ott the kind of people they really are. Hands off our old age pensions, because enough is enough. Hazel Zoller, The use of pot was so common-place collar, his shoes old and shabby in need that one had only to walk through the of a good polish, and when he bought main hall and up the old staircase to his beer always carefully counted out my room on the second floor, and bingo, the exact change. Once I saw him walk a bit of a buzz without a joint ever across the room to pick up a coin that touching one's lips. had fallen on the floor. He carefully I can say with all honesty that pot rolled his own smokes from a pack of Band Chief replies to March 30 letter was never my cup of tea. I aidn't like the stuff and I was glways a bit suspicious of just what was in those "dime bags" that appeared at parties or any gathering of students. Besides, whenever I had a few extra dollars in the pockets of my jeans, I much preferred to hang out in the cheap pubs and taverns, shoot some pool and shuffleboard, watch the' hockey game and knock back draft at 25 cents a glass. There were many fine old beer halls (Men Only) in those days in Toronto Player's tobacco. I wouldn't call the place "friendly." People kept to themselves or their groups and when a scrap broke out, it "was usually over a dispute at the shuffleboard table. The cheap beer halls were a fascinating window on life for a young student like myself in Toronto of the late 60's. As for my experiences with pot, I make no apologies now 20 years after the fact. Besides, like Bill Clinton, I never inhaled. Sincere appreciation To the Editor: I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all those nice people who live along Highway No. 12, or off. I hope you will recognize just who I mean. I canvassed for the Kidney Foundation of Canada and met some of the most generous people you'll find anywhere in Ontario. It is not the best of times now, but I am sure you all did the best you could. The response was far more than expected, triple in fact, with donations of $1,018. This means so much to some people. My sinceré thanks to you again. Vallie Lovering, RR 1, Port Perry. Spirit and courage Also with your new To the Editor: sculptures. Congratulati to our Mi (First Nation) natives of Scugog Island where for your spirit and courage. May you continue on your path of success with Native Perspectives; a wonderful environment of art, crafts and ity building on Scugog Island cultural knowledge and ceremonies can be shared with the community to lessen the shadows of ignorance, racism and bigotry. Heather Hill Gibson, View Lake To the Editor: In response to the comments by Joel Aldred in his March 30 letter to the Scugog Citizen regarding grants to the Mississaugas of Scugog First Nations. We are concerned about the image of native people portrayed in this region by this negative mis-information. However, we do have confidence in the people that they are not nearly so closed-minded, and are more supportive of our endeavours. Both the new Community Centre and the Native Perspectives store are community-driven projects, and profit only the community as a whole. Actually the community centre is not a completely new building, but a much needed addition to our present Band office. The Mississaugas of Scugog have not had the proper use of council chambers since the early part of the 20th century, and this new addition will contain such facilities. Office space for our staff is not nearly adequate, however, this existing space will still form most of the total office space when construction is completed. As well, dditional space is needed for reg meetings as we _can currently accommodate up to eight people. The hall portion of the building will be used by the Scugog community at large and will have a much greater capddity than that of the vé#§™mall Island hail located off the reserve. It is the opinion of many, including the - business community of Port Perry that Native Perspectives is a valuable addition to the downtown area as a tounst and consumer attraction. We sincerely hope that relations between our people and non-natives of this Region are not. affected by any further negative comments. Sincerely, Chief Yvonne Edgar and council, Mississaugas of Scugog First Nation. Reward for return of dogs A substantial reward is being offered for any information leading to the safe return of two Siberian Husky dogs. The doge went missing last Thursday in 8cugog Township and owner Mark Penney would badly like to get them back. One of the dogs is black and white in colour and answers to the name "Buddy." The other is red and white and is called "Chinook." Mark fears the dogs may have broken through thin ice on a pond on the provincial Crown land at the north end of Scugog Island. However, he is continuing to search for them. If you have seen these dogs or have any information, give Mark a call at 985-4648.