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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, ApRil 9, 2009 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike Oleary The Way I See It there for years confirmed they did get the books however, they hadnt seen them for ages, maybe even years. Okay, the telemarketer was rightsort of. Either way, i never got a call back from her. Just when I thought I had the best way of ridding my life of telemar- keters, the telephone rang at home and the Dude answered. It was one of the Toronto newspapers trying to sell a subscription. You could tell they were asking his name and trying to confirm our whereabouts. Yes, I am but no, that isnt our address. The Dude told them. For some odd reason he was getting way to much enjoy- ment with this phone call. Eavesdropping on one side of the conversation suddenly got really interesting. No, that isnt we dont have a street address.. What on earth was he trying to pull off? Of course we have a street address. No, we actually live on a private island in Geor- gian Bay and I dont think you can deliver hereweve been frozen in for months he continued. By then he was fully enthralled and I was rolling my eyes in dis- gust at the same time as giving him heck in the background for leading the caller on. What are you doing? Stop it I grumped at him. Before I knew it the Dude and the caller were in a great conver- sation. Yeah, the snow has been really bad up here this year he answered. Well, the number is an Acton number, but we have it for- warded to here in the winter while we stay here I could feel God getting the lightning bolt ready to strike him down with every sen- tence he spoke. Yeah, its been a great year up here for snowmobil- ing. After about five minutes, the Dude smirking from ear to ear ended the call with his newfound friend who was convinced he was talking to someone in the middle of Georgian Bay. Needless to say we didnt subscribe. Continued from Page 6 Fun with telemarketers... Earth Hour a success Once again, the Town, resi- dents, business, schools and other organizations collaborated to make Earth Hour a resounding success! Town-wide, our energy consumption dropped by 13.5%, a significant increase from last years 9.4% reduction. Our col- laboration continues to show our commitment to fighting climate change and helping to implement the Towns Green Plan. Well done! says Mayor Rick Bon- nette. This is the second time that Hal- ton Hills participated in the global Earth Hour event. The 13.% con- sumption reduction represents nearly 8,000 kWh or enough electricity to power about 6,500 homes for an hour. It can also be translated into 1, 426 kilograms in greenhouse gas savings or the equivalent of not driving 4,755 kilometers. To make every hour Earth Hour and to conserve all year, join The Good Life, an initiative of WWF- Canada. Go to www.thegoodlife. wwf.ca. Click on the Groups tab, then Groups Directory. look for the Town of Halton hills group and join. Spring Water With this winter push, over the past few days we could experience high water levels in our waterways as we warm up into this week- end. Credit Valley Conservation and Conservation Halton have issued high water bulletins for this week. Due to the recent precipitation and the melting of accumulated snow, we could see higher flows and water levels with the warm- er temperatures predicted for the end of the week. Caution should be exercised when in and around waterways. Strong Kids On Thursday, April 16, 2009, at 4pm, Acton YMCA Child Care Centre will raise awareness and funds for the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign by holding its annual community walkathon. The Ac- ton YMCA is inviting members of the community to come out and support the annual walkathon by making a donation or volunteering your time to help out. Children, staff and volunteers will hit the streets starting at MSB school on Acton Blvd, and going around the block. Refreshments of cookies and Juice will be served upon re- turn to the centre. The YMCA Strong Kids Cam- paign is focused on raising much needed financial support for chil- dren, teens and families who are unable to afford the full cost of participation in a YMCA program or activity. Deadline for murder This Saturday, April 11, is the deadline for tickets for the April 18 murder mystery dinner, Trial by Error, at the Acton Town Hall Centre. Tickets are available at Acton Home Hardware, Dollar Stretcher Daze and Halton Hills Furniture & Appliances. It is always a good performance and a great evening out. Its cer- tainly a dont miss event. Festival on Main Downtown Georgetown BIA is holding the annual Festival on Main on Saturday, June 20 from 8 to 5pm. If you are a charitable or service group we are looking for you! The festival is a wonderful way to raise money for your organ- ization by holding an entertaining fundraiser, such as a Charity Ca- sino, penny Auction, Raffle or Silent Auction. Need ideas or have an idea? Call us at 905-873-4970. Friends, Im sorry to have to tell you but Ive had a traumatic, tragic event happen in my life. No, my dog did not die, not with- standing the fact I dont even have a dog. Friends, this tragedy will be devastating for the entire boomer generation who grew up in and around Toronto. 1050 CHUM AM has gone, gasp, all news. No more hits from the golden age of radio. No more CHUM Charts; Gone forever the CHUM Bugs. I am overcome with emotion and feel a sense of betrayal. Im sure those of us who grew up in the 60s feel the same. I can vividly remember switch- ing stations on my dads car radio when he was putting gas in the car. My dad, of course, listened to CFRB when they played music. At least, my dad and mom thought it was music, to my ear it was boring melodies from the war and just after. My minor victory didnt last long because as soon as dad got behind the wheel hed turn the dial back to the old fogeys sta- tion. I would then get a mild lecture about keeping my paws off his radio, along with his opinion of that screeching and scratching he called Rock and Roll. The funny thing is that in my middle age I found myself lis- tening to CFRB. I justified it by saying I only listened to RB because they had better traffic reports. Truth be told, I did ori- ginally enjoy the banter between the hosts and the people calling in. Over the years that became tiresome and the talk show hosts came and went like a revolving door. No just the on air person- alities but the whole character of the station seemed to move way to the left politically. Before that, there was a rather interest- ing mix. Meanwhile I had always kept good old CHUM AM tuned into one of my buttons. When I tired of the whining a fast flick of a finger took me back to the times when I was carefree and actually had hair. Had the powers that be turned CHUM into another talk radio station I might have understood that. But the new owners, CTV, have chosen to simulcast their all news TV station CP24 on the 1050 dial. This absolutely doesnt work, mostly because TV is, of course, a visual medium. So youre likely to hear the announ- cer say, As you can see traffic on the 400 North is jam packed. That might help if you were ac- tually on the 400 North but when youre on the 401 East at Oshawa, who cares? its obvious that the new management doesnt give a damn about the generations of loyal listeners. i still keep one button on 1050, but switch back to 1150 Hamilton after a few words 1460 Guelph is another mostly oldies station but doesnt have much eastbound reach. All of my children know most of the melodies and words to the oldies. While each one has her own musical taste, one of our bonds is the music of Marys and my youth. She and I would often dance around our kitchen, much to the delight of our children. How do you dance to todays music if you call it that. Oh God, Im really starting to sound like my father now. This isnt the first time either, but when one of my kids observes that, I take it as a compliment. I suppose some of you may think Im making much ado about nothing. But 1050 CHUM has been a constant in my life for over 50 years. The music brings a smile to my face and a lift to my soul. I remember school days, old friends, triumphs and traged- ies. In a way, its the end of an era and I think thats sad. Old CHUM on air DJs, like Jungle Jay Nelson, Bob Maca- dory, and Al Boliska must be disgusted or spinning in their graves. I can hear them saying Whoda thunkit? The good news is that Ive managed to record a good bit of my favourite music on CDs. The bad news is that my van only has a tape player. Anyone want to buy a car? *** PS. Thank you to the an- onymous person who returned my coat to the Legion after Dr. Vanderbents soiree last Friday night. I appreciated its return. End of an era PRIVATE AUDIENCE: Dr. David Vanderbent was happy to share the recognition and tributes at the evening for him with members of his staff at the Acton Medical Centre at the Meet and Greet session before and after dinner. Left to right are: Patricia Dorscht, Colleen Venema, the doctor and Ann Adema. - submitted photo