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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. November 16, 1982 -- 5 editorial comments e z A, z . 7 H 2 7 4% 7% /~\ nd Wy, 7 g/d a 7 (i ; 4 ay \3 -y co i % chatterbox by J. Peter Hvidsten REMEMBRANCE DAY Remembrance Day has come and gone once again, with members of the Royal Canadian Legion holding their annual banquet, parade and remem- brance services. Having attended many of these services over the years as a reporter/photographer for the Star, I sad- ly noticed this year the decreasing numbers of peo- ple attending this event. Not only is there an absence of veterans, who are obviously dling in numbers due to their age, but there is also fewer and fewer young people attending the services. This was very evident on Sunday, November 7, when the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion held their parade to the cenotaph. Other than a few youngsters (cubs and guides) in the parade, there was almost a complete lack of spectators. In fact other than those who took a direct part in the parade and service, it would be doubtful if there were twen- ty others present for the remembrance service. The service held on Wednesday, November 11 in Blackstock was considerably better than the Port Perry version. After 'a ceremony held in the Blackstock Rec Centre, a contingent of members from the Port Perry Legion led a small parade to the cénotaph. But at least there were about 100 young people from Cartwright Public School there to take part in the service. For the first time in many years, students from the schools were not given Remembrance Day off as a holiday, and I feel this is good. Unless those students were going to attend a service, you can bet ~ that they would not be giving one thought to the meaning of the holiday. But it is not only the kids who don't deserve this holiday. In Port Perry alone, banks were closed, the Post Office, municipal offices and some law offices © took the day off. And for what? I cannot recall anyone from any of these institutions attending the local services, : If Remembrance Day is to continue as a day set aside to pay tribute to the thousands of young men who died in two World Wars and the Korean war, then let's get more involved. As an employer, I would be only too happy to close our doors for an hour on November 11, so that my employees could attend a service locally. I am sure there are many others that feel the same way. Let's start to get the ball rolling in the right direction again. We don't want our young people to forget those men who lost their lives in order that we may live in a lifestyle like we are blessed with today. The pain and sacrifice of war should never be forgotten. REACHING EIGHTY A young man in his eighties brought the follow- ing story into the Star office recently and we thought it was worthy of re-printing. . "The first 80 years are the hardest. The second 80, as my experience so far goes, are a succession of birthday parties. Everybody wants to carry your baggage and help you upstairs. If you forget anybody's name, or forget to fulfill an appointment, or promise to be at two or three places at the same time, or spell words wrong . . . you can explain that you are 80. If you spill soup on your necktie, or fail to shave one side of your face, or if you take another man's hat by mistake, or fail to mail a letter and carry it around in your pocket for a week . . . you are 80. ~~ So, you can relax with no misgivings, for you have a perfect alibi for everything. When you are 80 nobody expects much of you. If you act silly, it is your second childhood. Everybody is looking for symp- toms of softening of the brain. EIGHTY is a great deal better than being 65 or 70, At that time you are expected to retire to a little house in Florida and become discontented, grumbl- ing; limping . . . a "has-been."" But if you survive till 80, everybody is surprised that you are still alive, sur- prised that you can still walk, that you can talk above a whisper, surprised if you reveal signs of lucid in- tervals. At 70 people are made at you for everything. At 80 they forgive you for everything. If you ask me, LIFE BEGINS AT 80." SIGNS OF THE TIMES There is the odd time that a sign along a road- way or on a building will catch your attention more than others. Two signs I recently noticed did just that for me. . The first one, seen along a wooded area read "No (Turn to page 6) What's all the fuss? The Durham Board of Education came under fire last week when it was disclosed that about $1500 was being spent on a dinner at Thunderbird Golf Club to say "thank you" to principals and other Board employees for their extra work during the recent strike by school janitors. So, what's the fuss? The matter is that several trustees did not know the dinner was even scheduled and they did not know that half of the cost was paid from a $5000 fund under the direct control of the Educa- tion director Ken Munroe. The other half came from pro- vincial grants. The Durham Board of Education budget this year is about $125 million, so $1500 for a 'thank you' dinner and $5000 in a fund controlled by the director are not exactly big potatoes. Still, from the point of view of the public, one must question why employees should be rewarded with a dinner for doing a little extra in their duties. And why did some trustees claim they had no knowledge that the dinner was being held? The Board could have sent the employees very nice letters saying "thanks a lot' and saved $1500 cash and an untold amount in public relations woes. Sometimes, it is not what's done, but what appears to be done that causes immense problems for public organizations like the Board of Education. After Brezhnev With the death last week of Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev, both American president Ronald Reagan and the new Kremlin leadership held out partial olive branches which hopefully will lead to a new and better relationship between the two super powers. Reagan, in his message of condolence said he hoped for a better relationship with Moscow, but almost in the same breath, stipulated that the United States would con- tinue to build its military capability and nuclear arsenal. A similar line came out of Moscow right after the official announcement of Brezhnev's passing with the Kremlin saying detente would continue, but at the same time war- ning that any "'imperialist aggression" would be crushed with a "massive retaliatory strike." Sounds like the two sides are up to their same old ver- bal tricks. However, even though relations between the United' States and Soviet Union have chilled considerably in the last couple of years, there may be hope for improvement. Firstly, President Reagan simply must face the fact that his "get tough with the commies" stance will not score him political points at home. Grain sales and the supply of equipment to the Soviet pipeline into western Europe will force him to moderate his stance. Likewise, for the Soviets. With their economy and agriculture production in a shambles, they need grain from abroad and the hard currency from the sale of natural gas in Europe. If it takes cold, hard economic realities for the two sides to get back on reasonable terms, so be it. We can then hope from this, the two most powerful nations on earth will move on and reach agreement on other issues like the arms race and indeed the future peace of the planet. That's some investment When the oil rich Saudis go shopping for an investment, they don't fool around. Last week, for example, a group of about 60 Saudi investors paid in the neighbourhood of $500 million for some 11,000 Toronto apartment units in buildings all over the city. The sale of the apartments has a lot of people worried, not the least of whom are the tenants of those buildings who feel quite justly that they will eventually face rent hikes of 30 per cent or more. Is this the kind of foreign investment Canada needs? Hardly. Investing in Canada on a debenture or loan basis is one thing; outright ownership of residential buildings is something else again. What's next on their list: $500 million worth of the best farms in Ontario, how about a few subdivisions, or the entire main business street in a medium sized city or town? Foreign ownership has controlled our resources for a century. Now it wants Canadian kitchens and bedrooms. And just what does Cadillac Fairview Corp. intend to do with its multi-million windfall; invest the money in the American Sun Belt? This sale obviously points to some very serious implications for Canda, and just who can own what in Lr ---- RR a cy " Fo ALS en ae an - » ry " AF aero ab aN TRE Sl We NE rT . 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