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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1996 Christmas story time at Georgetown Library Be sure to make your way to the Georgetown branch of the Halton Hills Public Libraries tonight for Merry Christmas Storytime. Bring your entire family for one hour of stories, carols and refresh- ments. Free tickets are available at the Information Desk. For more information call 873- 2681. A Pineview Christmas Students from kindergarten to Gr. 5 will be entertaining parents tonight and tomorrow morning at the school's annual Christmas concert. Included in the celebration will be presentations by the school uke- lele emsemble, drum group, bass guitar group and the school choir. In addition, the students will per- form skit and there will be a special presentation by the kindergarten class. Showtime for tonight (Dec. 18) is 7 pm, and tomorrow (Dec 19) at9 am. This event is only open to par- ents of Pineview School students, given the limited seating available. Thestaffand students at Pineview wish everyone a happy holiday sea- son. -Carolfest at St. John's St. John's United Church is hosting an annual Carolfest, Dec. 23, fea- turing family Christmas music. The Carolfest is open to the com- munity and is not a religious event. The organizers do ask the attendees bring along a donation for the area food banks to help those who are less fortunate at this festive time of year. The celebration is free and is tra- ditional. Carolfest is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm, Monday. Kudos to Maple Avenue Baptist on Nativity scene Congratulations to Maple Avenue Baptist Church on successfully stag- ing a live nativity scene Friday and Saturday nights. The first-time effort was an im- pressive combination of different medias in an effort to further tell the Christmas story. Prior to the actual show, families were encouraged to visit with the animals in a manger cum petting ZOO. : Included in the manger were horses, donkeys, sheep and a calf. The show then started with caroling as about 200 people joined In. The show included the telling of the story, set ina modern day stable, which saw Mary and Joseph ride a donkey on their way to Bethlehem. The modern day manger became the historical one, as angels from on high, helped by microphones and lasers delivered the news ofthe birth. "A little clown with a porcelain face." Katelyn Portelli, 8, Watson Street "An electric train set, HO scale and $200." = John Woodward, 6, Oakridge Drive What are you asking Santa Claus @ for this Christmas? "Nibbles the Horse." Christina Portelli, 6, Watson Street "A Walkman." Emily Hope, qi 0, Joycelyn Crescent THE GEORGETOWN GEMINI hristmas greetings -- and eating! ' Tis the season to be jolly, Ho Ho Ho, merry Christmas and season's greetings. It is time for all the greetings and festive get-togethers that highlight that most special time of the year -- Christmas. Like many, I am sentimental over Christmas. You know -- the lump in the throat every time you hear a favourite carol. And though we get the same bombardment every year about the commercialism of Christmas and the greed of Christmas, it still shines through as the finest commemoration festival of which we are capable. Like most families, our Christmas celebration is one steeped in the traditions of our own founding families, and it is great to see the traditions carried on by our children with some new wrinkles from the in- laws. Our Christmas celebration is a liberal mix of the religious, the myths and yes, some of the com- mercialism. Daughter Becky is one of those people born only a few days before Christmas so we always have a jolly birthday luncheon for her while at the same time the whole family joins to decorate the tree and home, with Christmas carols playing in the back- ground. Without fail, someone will say that this Christmas tree is just about the nicest one we ever had, regardless of the slight list to the left or right. All the indoor decorations are set out and hung at the same time, leaving no doubt that the season has MTC clay With Bill Ellis Christmas in our family will be different this year, in that someone will be missing from the festivities. The lady who " made it all happen at Christmas will be here in spirit only. All things change, and Becky has announced that it is time for her family to hold the big Christmas Eve dinner. Our Christmas tradition calls for the official Christmas dinner on the Eve, and everyone gathers right after dinner to open gifts. On Christmas morning, everyone gathers again to check out what Santa left for the kids and everyone else gets a stocking full of goodies from 'old Jolly.' All assemble again on Christmas afternoon for a festive drink. A glass of wine or champagne or for the hardy -- a Purple Flash! This drink is only mixed on Christmas afternoon and was originally devised by my father-in-law, bless him. The major components are scotch whiskey and blackberry brandy (recipe available on request.) Then the feast continues with Christmas Day dinner of prime rib or steaks with all the trimmings. Boxing Day is drop in or drop around day, and then a few days' rest before the parties, parades and football of the New Year. It's tough work, but somebody had to do it! Merry Christmas! indeed arrived. ciates Halton Ltd., Realtor in Georgetown. Bill Ellis is an Associate Broker with Johnson Asso- J My first instinct was not to com- ment on this story. Ata meeting last week, however, two of my fellow B.I.A. committee members (ladies both) challenged me to reveal my thinking on this touchy subject. Truth be known, they pretty well double-dog-dared me to write this. So, here goes. We were discussing, of course, the Ontario Supreme Court deci- sion which clears they way for women in our province to bare their breasts in public. I don't want to put words in my friends' mouths but I had the distinct impression they ex- pected me to say something outra- geous like: "I think it should be mandatory." So I did! (One has to satisfy one's audience.) I was, and still am, very uncom- fortable discussing these points. I think that under the joking veneer, many women see this decision as an obvious demonstration of the rights (and lefts) of The Sisterhood. Oth- ers see it as just another example of some radicals trying to nipple -- er -- I mean nibble away at the moral thread of society. The majority would probably view it as a some- what simple attempt at titillation. ' [heard the Feds were behind the noted exception that women can't shuck their shirts in public for "com- mercial purposes." Health Minister Dull Dingbat is supposed to be very concerned that the tobacco industry might try to find a new showcase to replace advertising previously shown on racing cars. I heard he has no intention of standing for any "bouncing billboards." Other than the obvious health hazard -- that a significant portion of the male half of Ontarians would suffer recurring whiplash injuries -- I don't think the Minister has much toworry about. Current tobacco leg- The Way | I See It | } With Mike O'Leary | islation should pretty well cover the situation, so to speak. No matter how lucrative the offer, only the brazen would walk down the street with "Warning: habitual use could kill you" so prominently displayed. I sought out the opinion of Vil- lage Constable Bill Riddle on the new law. Residents will be relieved to know he hasn't seen any trend to topless shopping. He assures all citi- zens that he's on the "look-out" for any freezing floozies and that he will closely investigate any unveilings. Ill certainly sleep bet- ter knowing Bill's on patrol. Wish I knew what the dirty little grin on his face meant though. With all the press, radio and TV coverage this subject received, I came to one definite conclusion. It was a slow news week. Undoubt- edly, some women will test our com- munities' shock-quotient by parad- ing around half-nekkid. Probably not for a few months though, given the weather we have coming. Still, come May time, we may have anew meaning for the old saying "Spring is busting out all over." Now that I' ve made aclean breast of things and exposed by opinions to public ridicule, 1 hope my BIA colleagues are happy. Quite frankly, I see the whole debate as a tempest in a C cup. While most of the province was either ridiculing or looking forward eagerly to this change in society, I noticed an article buried in the busi- Don't you wish Warhol had said 5 minutes? ness section. A survey recently showed that one-fifth of Fortune 500 companies do not have any women on their board of directors. Even more alarming is the fact that the appointment of women to these senior positions is slowing down. Of the 6,123 seats on these boards, only 626 are occupied by women. The moral of the story is that if you really want to see big boobs, check out the old fools who run these ma- jor corporations and make these ap- pointments. Gwen Jacob has had more than her Warhol 15 minutes of fame. There are real problems that women have to face daily. We' ve all had fun with the great shirt debate but I fear that stories like this will only trivialize the discriminatory prac- tices that women continually have to overcome. As the father of four daughters, I want to see the real wrongs being righted. To me, the freedom for women to go bare breasted on the street is a giant step -- in the wrong direction. kkk This is our last issue before Christ- mas. I would like to take this oppor- tunity to wish each and every one of you the best for Christmas. Christmas is an important time in our house. Being self-employed, it seems that life is a carousel spinning faster each year. I wish you peace of mind and spirit, so you can appreciate all that is truly important during this holy season. If you are estranged from friends or family, I wish you the courage to contact them. God bless us, everyone. Mike O'Leary is acolumnist for The Georgetown Gemini.