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"A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 9, 1999 - 7 The Poul Povey Shay Question of the Week... Do you have a suggestion that you think would make a good question of the week? Call us at 905-985-7383. has come through to the kids today that if those guys hadn't of went over and fought we might not have our freedom. television. I think there's enough. enough emphasis put-on it, but some of the schools are really good when November rolls around. Do you think enough \ y. aR 1 R emphasis iIsputon Dorie Brouwer Judy McGee Geoff Taylor Lynn McDonald Wendy Cooper emembrance Day in this No, there isn't enough. I Yes, I think there is. It's in Throughout the entire No. With this generation No, not at all. Unless you day and age' don't think the meaning the newspapers and on year I don't think there is it'll probably become a read it in the paper or here about it, there's noth- ing really much done to recognize it. thing of the past, and per- sonally that makes me sad. Things are forgotten awfully quickly. LETTERS Museum theft was a harsh blow To the Editor: For almost two weeks now, local area resi- dents, visitors to the Scugog Shores Historical Museum, and colleagues from other Ontario heritage sites have expressed shock and dismay over the recent theft of artifacts from our Center School storage facility. Many have offered a supportive shoulder, an attentive ear, and a general willingness to help in any way they can. We've even had someone come forward with a first-hand account of sus- picious activity near the old school house that we hope will help local police i in their investi- gation. At the heart of this outpouring of support is a strong belief that the stolen items have an intrinsic value to the community that goes well beyond dollars and cents. What we have lost - temporarily, I hope - are more than items which could give us a view of a room much as it would have looked four or five generations ago, or a glimpse of the region as it was before and after the arrival of electricity or gas-powered engines. We've lost artifacts that provide us with a sense of where we've been, how we've changed, and who we are. Museums help bring the past to life. We col- lect, preserve and place artifacts from bygone eras on display so that we may learn from them. By stealing items from our stored collection -- items that many people from within our community and beyond had not yet had a chance to see or touch or learn from -- the thieves have struck at the very foundation on which we grow. As curator of the museum, it's difficult to contain the anger and dismay I feel over this recent turn of events. But there is strength in numbers, and I'm comforted to know many people share my feelings about what has occurred. My thanks to all those who have taken the time to offer condolences, provide assistance, and reaffirm the community's commitment to the museum. Susan Neale, Director/Curator, Scugog Shores Historical Museum Tz oid, -- ' hey EST. pr gf gone : by Jeff Mitchell AND NOW, A WORD OF THANKS ..It says here, right on the front page of one of Canada's national newspapers (No, not that one, the other one. No. The other one.) that a recent study supports the notion that prayer does indeed help heal the sick. Yes. Listen here: "A year- long trial of 990 patients at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., found heart patients fared 11% better when a volunteer prayed for 'a speedy recovery with no complications', suffering fewer infec- tions, heart attacks and treatment failure than the unprayed-for patients." (The reporter who wrote the piece must have been praying his editors let him get away with the phrase "unprayed-for". Well, hey! You see?) These study results are similar to those reflected in another, smaller survey some years earlier. It was determined that the results were consistent whether or not the patient knew the per- son who was praying for him, or even if he was aware that appeals were being made on his behalf. ..There is no mention as to whether or not researchers looked into the frequency with which lottery numbers that are - prayed over turn up, or if entreaties to a higher power make horses run any faster. Similarly, we don't know yet if God cares whether or not the Packers cover a spread (how long, oh Lord?), or if it makes the tiniest bit of a difference to the powers that be if your plane is simply enduring turbulence, or in the process of breaking up. (To continue, briefly, in the sporting vein: | considered praying that both the Yankees and the Braves would lose the 1999 World Series, but thought that might be a bit much to ask, really). The mystical aside, there are a few certainties upon which one can count: Planning a round of golf more than a couple of hours in advance brings rain, every time; looking forward to a quiet night of snuggling on the couch with your snookums and watching a movie invariably prompts the dullest person you know to drop by with vacation pictures; trying to sleep in on a Sunday causes children to whine and bicker; sneaking out onto the porch in your boxers to get wood for the stove usually coin- cides with the arrival of a vehicle in the driveway; traffic is always the worst it's been in years when you're running late, and nothing good ever happens on a Monday. Like the prayer thing, there's no definite explanation for these phenomena. They are simply truths with which we live. It does not say here how beneficial prayer may be during a newspaper war which, we are constantly reminded, is raging here and across the land. But that's irrelevant, because big- time newspaper people like Conrad Black don't pray. They prey.