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ANGI BT A A ey a TW TE CAE Cpe EN A A a Cl RA SAAS 3 ak AE RY a) FIR S ATS GARRY \ He [SAE FARE [NTE 3 LEA FR 2 FREON ' A TSE A TANS a SLA LR TRL aE CR A $d oe YR RFX % i) Ana a a ARN bar $y A el CORY ER A PRE editorial comments Santa's parade Seems that every year the annual Santa Claus Parade in Port Perry keeps getting just a little bit better. And this year's parade was no exception with about 40 floats and 15 musical groups. Organizers say it was the largest parade ever, and despite the very uncom. fortable weather, the crowds seemed to enjoy every minute of it. In offering words of congratulations to the organ- izers of the Parade for a job well done, we also think that each and every person who played any role in the parade deserves a pat on the back. A lot of work goes. into the preparation of the entries: everything from the floats to the costumes. A lot of people volunteer time, effort and equipment to make the parade a success and they deserve to be recognized. Everybody loves a parade (so the saying goes) but when it comes right down to it, the Santa Claus Parade is really for the youngsters. And the look of amazement and delight on those young (but chilly) faces as Santa made his way was enough to warm the heart of old Scrooge himself. The celebration of Christmas marks a very special time of the year, and the Santa Claus parade was an excellent way to move into December and the holiday season. And a lot of people did a lot of work to make the parade the success it was for this community. They all deserve a word of thanks. a Critical decisions ore ayer DUKE JO GEF pe HANG vd This week, negotiators from the Soviet Uni d " 2 the United States will sit down In the Swiss City of OF IT FRory AW ol' Pro f 3 Geneva and try to reach agreement on the nuclear 5% arms race in Europe. " Itis a crucial series of negotiations, for not since the days of the Cold War in the 1950's have the differences between the two super powers been so pronounced. There is a great deal of mutual suspicion and mistrust on both sides, and even on the very eve of the talks, the Soviet Union was publicly expressing doubts about the motives of the Americans. . That's hardly an optimistic atmosphere in which to start negotiations on a subject such as nuclear weapons, which after all, has an effect on every human being on this planet. On the surface it would seem that the subject of weapons reductions would be fairly straight forward, - but in-actual fact it is an extremely complicated matter. } The heart of the difference is this: the United States wants reductions in the Soviet 5-20 missile systems, and the Soviets are demanding a reduction in a "corresponding number including missiles deployed by France, Great Britain and in US submarines and aircraft. ' There is a great deal of attention focussed on this round of negotiations and the stakes are so high it is expected that the first few weeks of the talks will deal only with procedural matters; i.e., what is on the agenda and when it comes up for negotiations. If the negotiators are not able to even reach agreement on procedural matters, what chance do they have for an accord when (and if) they get around to the actual nuts and bolts of the issues. In the past few months there have been alarming signals out of Washington and Moscow about the state of relations between the two countries. Top level American officials have publicly speculated about the potential for nuclear. war and are thinking in terms of survivors rather than casualties. Any weapons race is foolhardy: a nuclear weapons race is insanity carried to the nth degree, and a lot of people, especially in Europe are starting to get mighty nervous. There have been massive demonstrations in recent months as the war of words between Moscow and Washington heated up. » On this side of the Atlantic, there have not been demonstrations of a similar nature. Maybe it is just not 'fashionable' these days to carry a placard calling for an end to the arms race. Maybe North Americans don't think that the nuclear issue in Europe has much bearing on events here. , But a nuclear exchange, no matter how 'small' or isolated becomes an instant global problem and thus the fears in Europe now must be shared by all people, including North Americans. z Sadly, the issue is-out of the hands of the citizens of this world, who can do little more than hope that their leaders come to their senses over the issue of a nuclear arms race. There simply is no room for error once that first button is pushed. a ------ i oe Se ae UN RS RN A LR =, i oy OLD AGE To be or not to be? Retired, that is. This is the question that many codgers of my age or near it grapple with in those lonely dark hours of the night when you've had too much coffee and can't get into the ravelled sleeve of care, as Shakespeare put it. Of get to bloody sleep, as some of his less flowery countryment would put it. It's a question that has also stirred a great deal of agitation among sociologists, medical reporters, and old guys who are healthy as trout and are about to be kicked 'out at the age of 65 with a speech, a copper watch, and a pension that will have them eating dog food by the time they are 68. It used to be a gold watch. Not no more, not with igi hovering around the $400-an-ounce mark. In fact, just the other day, I dug out my father's gold watch, which was given me on his death by my mother, because I was her favorite. I have never worn it, because I don't wear vests, and it's a big, heavy brute that must be slipped into a vest pocket. You can't wear it on your wrist, or put it in your hip pocket. It's as big as an alarm clock. I took a long look at it, and if it hadn't been Sunday, might have hustled down to my friendly gold buyer. But Roots, or Con- science, or Common Sense, took over, and I sadly put it away again, with such other . memorabilia as my war medals, my hip 'waders, and a fading picture of my first real girlfriend, in a box in the basement. Roots told me it was a precious symbol that should be passed on to my eldest son, of which I have only one. Conscience told me it was a rotten thing to do. And Common Sense told me that there was probably about one-eighth of an ounce of gold in it. I am, however, holding in reserve a broken tooth with a gold inlay. When I came back from overseas and was discharged, I was given a form to present to my own dentist, listing the dental work to be done, at government expense. He was a typical WASP. He looked at the list of work, which was quite extensive, after a term on short rations in a prison camp, and laughed. "Ho, ho, Bill. You don't want all that gold cluttering up your mouth. This was signed by a French-Canadian. They're great for gold in the teeth." If that dentist is alive today, I would be quite happy to strangle him. I went along with him, while noting his prejuice, and instead of having a mouthful of gold, I got one little inlay. If he'd followed directions, and counting the teeth that have been pulled, or fallen out, or broken, my - mouth would have been woth about $4,000 today, instead of maybe $6. * Well, this hasn't much to do with retiring, which we started on way back there, but it does show what inflation can do to a man. bill smiley What about retiring? I look around at colleagues who have chosen early retire- ment, or who have been forced to retire because of that magic, arbitrary number, 65. ; Some are happy as hummingbirds and swear they would not even put their noses back into the old shoe factory (high school). Others are miserable, plagues by illness and a feeling of being useless. The latter drive their wives out of their respective minds, hanging around the house, getting in the way, edging into senility. Thus I waver. I thought some years ago that I would soldier on until 60. Surely 40 "years of work is enough. Then I am swayed by my father-in-law, who recently retired at 86, and my wife, who can barely stand me at home for a weekend. My If we lived in a decent climate, I'd probably be retired and happy. There's nothing 1'would like better than to saunter down to the square, play a game of chess with some other old turkey, drink a little vino, and watch "the girls goby, with cackling remarks. ! "Try that in the local square, and they'd be carting you off to the last resting place, frozen solid in a sitting position. ~Why don't we all give up, we old gaffers? You know why? Because we are not old gaffers at all. In my chest beats the heart of a. 15-year-old maiden (who has been smoking since she was two. In the old days, we'd be retired, happily playing chess or shooting pool, because our sons would be looking after us, and our wives would feed us well, and know their place and our daughter- in-laws would be producing hordes of grand- children to light us on our way. These days, we are still looking after our sons, and our wives are avaricious and spoiled, and our daughters-in-law are already separated from our sons and not - keen on having more.than one and a half children. ' i : Oh, I keep my staff on its toes. One day I announce firmly that I'm going to retire next June. Their faces light up and they say, "Oh, chief, how. can we get along without you." _ Another day I say, "Well, haven't decided yet. What with inflation and all, y'know ... "' And their faces drop into feet, and they say, "that's great, chief. How could we get along without you?" And I smile. To myself. I've finally figured out the solution. "Retired men, unless they have some insane hobby, like making rose trellises, drive their wives crazy. If my wife will sign a written agreement, duly witnessed, that she will go out and get a job (she once was a waitress, shouldn't be any trouble) the moment I retire, I'll do it. I don't want: her hanging around the house, spoiling my retirement.