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THE NEW TANNERTUESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2008 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike OLeary The Way I See It snow also have some amenities. Who hasnt enjoyed the comfort of a warm home on a snowy, cold evening with their favourite book or show on the box? Or a brisk walk on a winter night as snow crunched beneath feet sheathed in warm winter boots? Were Canadians after all, a stoic, weather-hardened, runny-nosed bunch who complain constantly about weather, our governments and anything else we can target, knowing we both love and hate them all at the same time. Let it snow... Continued from Page 6 During the depression in the 30s President Roosevelt ob- served that It behoves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of alto- gether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things. Our federal pol- iticians would be well served to remember these words when parliament resumes at the end of January. Like many Canadians I am disgusted at the blatant attempt by the three opposition parties to stage a political coup and replace the duly elected gov- ernment. You may not like PM Harper or his policies but the simple fact is the conserva- tives increased their mandate and won the election. We ex- pect the loyal opposition to criticize government policies but this is the time to put petty party partisanship aside and work for the betterment of the whole country. I do not include the block- heads in the definition of the loyal opposition. They are not loyal to this country and sure as hell are not loyal to our queen. What they are is, in my opinion, a bunch of myopic traitors who pander to a small dissatisfied minority who, if they got their way and separated, would soil their undergarments as soon as the hangover wore off and they realized what they had done. 2009 is shaping up, by all ac- counts to be a difficult year for Canada and the world. By the same token I dont subscribe to the gloom and doom being preached to us every day by the mainstream media. Canada is in an enviable position to weather this economic tsu-nami because of the regulations our pre- decessors put on the financial community in this country. Magic Machine A new fitness machine at Stay- ing Alive Fitness proved to be so popular that the owners bought a second one to meet the demand. The T Zone vibration therapy devices have proved to ease or end pain in clients with problems ranging from arthritis, muscle strains, broken bones, lymphatic flow issues, slow circulation and general soreness. Weve had a lot of positive feedback, Ive used it on myself as an experiment, not so much for pain but to warm up and cool down and Ive lost one per cent of my body fat, said manager Leanne Monaghan, adding a lot of people with lower back pain have found relief. A 10-minute treatment consists of standing on the machine while it vibrates from side to side, set at speeds between one and 50. Its technology that was used by the Russians to train cosmo- nauts to go into space, it increases the fluid that goes between the joints and we have a whole board of testimonials from clients who love it, Monaghan said, laugh- ing that people were fighting for time on the machine, so they pur- chased a second one to meet the demand. Calendars available Readers are asking where they can get copies of Heritage Actons new 2009 historic calendar which was distributed in The New Tan- ners Christmas edition. Theyre available at Home Hardware and Halton Hills Furniture at a cost of $5 each. New Year New Career! The Employment Resource Centre (ERC) in Acton is featur- ing a free information Session on Employment Ontarios Second Career Strategy on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 11 am. Information will be presented by a representative from VPI, Georgetown, Also in January: Free presentations from Everest College highlighting their career programs and Industrial/ warehousing Certificate train- ing programs offered by Liftow Ltd. For details visit the ERC at 45 Mill Street East and pick up a complete Calendar of Events or call 519-853-5014 Familiar face TV viewers watching the mid- night mass from Christ the King Basilice in Hamilton would have seen a familiar face among the celebrants. Actons Brendan Mc- Grath was one of two deacons celebrating mass with Bishop Tonnos, who is head of the Dio- cese of Hamilton which includes Actons St. Joseph Patron of Can- ada Parish. Brendan was recently raised to the Diaconate. He will be ordained a priest in May of 2009. Brave firefighter Milton firefighter Steven Rey- nolds has been awarded the Provinces greatest honours for bravery. Reynolds was one of four firefighters and six police of- ficers recognized at a ceremony at Queens Park, Dec. 21, for his bravery at an incident at a service station in Milton where he spot- ted a woman calling for help. He approached the distraught woman and noticed she was holding a samurai sword. The woman became aggressive, so he ran inside the gas station to call 911 and held the doors closed; however, the woman used the sword to break the glass windows and doors to get inside. When she walked toward the two attendants, Mr. Reynolds prevented her at- tack from behind. Although she cut his arm severely, Reynolds was able to pin her against the counter giving the attendants a chance to restrain her until the police arrived. Continued from Page 6 -lemma of a healthy bank ac- count. Whoever thought that could be an issue? The crew will be looking at that this year and will probably donate a portion to a worthwhile cause. Thank you to the guests for helping us eat all that good food. Thanks for your appreciation. We enjoyed your company. Gratefully Ann Adema Good crew... Bottom line; Ya gotta believe Our banks are fiscally secure. There is no Citibank collapse looming on the horizon. Quite the contrary, the TD Bank is now regarded as one of the five most secure banks in the world. Other Canadian banks also rank very high. Why, you may ask? Be- cause our banks didnt have a huge exposure to the sub-prime mortgage mess like many Amer- ican banks did. Our banks and insurance companies were not selling worthless credit default certificates as many American companies were. Not that Bay St. was less greedy than Wall St. Many Can- adian financial gurus would have jumped on the gravy train with both wallets first. Who wouldnt be tempted by six fig- ure salaries and seven figure bonuses? But fortunately they were not allowed to. Anyone looking to a corpor- ate genius to lead us out of this economic swamp is going to be sadly disappointed. As simplis- tic as it sounds, the remedy lies with the rank and file workers in this country and the world. If you pay undue attention to the merchants of gloom and doom then the economy will falter. Money in itself has no concrete value, since we went off the gold standard in the mid 60s. A dol- lar is only worth a dollar because we all believe it is. Now Im not suggesting that a group hug and rousing chorus of Kumbaya will solve anything. Im not suggesting that we all continue to live on credit as we have been, providing you can still obtain credit that is. What I am saying is live within your means. Dont panic and start to hoard cash. If we were all to do that the economic ship of state would soon ground on the shoals of disaster and a deep depression would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need a leader. It may be Stephen Harper, it may be Mi- chael Ignatieff. I have serious reservations about Jack Lay- tons ability to organize a two car funeral and Duceppe is a one trick pony. We need parliament to come back with a plan to lead us out of this mess. We need them to start acting like adults and prove to us they deserve the confidence we placed in them when we sent them to Ottawa. IF they fail us now, then they should expect a furious retribu- tion come the next election. I personally have had my fill of the silliness and un- parliamentary conduct being demonstrated in Ottawa. These are serious times which require serious solutions to the serious problems we face as a nation. If they want to clown around let them resign and join Cirque du Soleil. Its time for them to roll up their sleeves and get back to work. Its small business that will lead us out of this recession not corporate giants. For sure some of us will lose equity in our homes and investments. But I believe that will come back in time. In fact I think thats the greater part of the solution. Ya gotta believe. Believe in each other and in the magnificent country we are privileged to live in. Now, lets roll up our sleeves and do something about our problems, other than whining. EVERGREEN TOPPLES: This large evergreen on Tidey Ave. in Acton was one of several reported downed by the ferocious 100-110 km gusts of wind that blew through this area on Sunday. Fifteen degree temperatures and rain had melted most of the foot-deep snow by then causing creeks and rivers to overflow. Other areas had their power knocked out by the force of the gusts and with limbs cutting through hydro lines. - submitted photo