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6 ---- : _ Tracing a TV timeline Asa child borne of the television generation, much of my life can be traced through what was on the tube and when. For instance, much of my childhood Saturday mornings were spent watching the likes of Goober and the Ghostchasers, H.R. Puff'n'Stuff, and The Land of the Lost. My early teens saw me catch the last seasons of M*A*S*H, and some excellent new shows called Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere (now known as NYPD Blue and ER, respectively). All of this is by way of saying that, like it or not, mine and future generations will be marking seminal events in their lives by what was on the television at that particular moment. It also has the power to evoke : memories, good and bad, which is why I have been sorely disappointed by the number of Christmas specials which haven't appeared on the tube in recent years. Now, I'm not a television programmer and I don't presume to know how to do a programmer's job, but I'm guessing it can't be easy trying to fit in The Bells of St. Mary, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, and Rudolph's Shiny New Year all ina small scheduling window, in addition to the regular shows which run their Christmas specials. My beef comes with the fact that they don't even seem to try anymore. Maybe the ratings slipped, but Vince Garabaldi's theme from A Charlie Brown Christmas always reminds me of the season. Nobody seems to write carols anymore, either. Old standards are just recycled, reworked and rearranged by artists attempting to. show just how seasonal and festive they can be. Don't get me wrong, I liked John Mellencamp's rootsy version of J Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus, | liked Annie Lennox's Winter Wonderland, and | also enjoyed Bob Seger's version of Little Drummer Boy (though nothing holds a candle to the David Bowie/Bing Crosby duet), but my point is that these are all older songs that have been done to death. Then again, any new carols written in, say, the past 30 years, reflect the tone of the time. John Lennon, The Kinks and Tom Petty have all taken a crack at writing exceptionally dreary Christmas carols and have succeeded admirably, unfortunately. If I never hear about Tickle Me Elmo for as long as | live, it won't be too soon. I don't need another year to confirm my intrinsic knowledge that, like most males, I do a pretty lousy gift wrapping job (note to self: next year invest in gift bags). And I sure won't miss the pressure to have a good time. I suspect most people would have a good time if everyone wasn't constantly telling them that they should be having a good time. Great minds think alike Still with our post-holiday theme, I think there should be a Christmas registry, sort of like a bridal registry. The only drawback would be that all gift purchases would have to be made at the same facility. Like most problems in . the world, repeat gifting is a result of miscommunication. Twice this past season, I saw gifts repeated, where the giftee received multiple copies of the same gift. I gave a friend of mine a book, dropping it by her house on Dec. 24. Asked in for a drink, she proceeded to tell me that she had gone out Christmas shopping a couple of weeks before and picked herself up the same book. I wanted to crawl away. My Dad thought it would be nice to give my Mother tickets to see Ragtime. Evidently, so did my brother. His gift to them was a couple of tickets for last Thursday's evening performance. The good news is that they liked it. Now they just have to decide if they're going again next month. The View From Here With Jamie Harrison | Jamie Harrison is a reporter with The Georgetown Gemini. THE GEORGETOWN GEMINI WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1997 OUTH VIO ASSN WS WS SETA YES', ENCE RS our LETTERS Home Inspectors meet standards To the Editor, As a home inspector, I was pleased to read the article, Home Inspec- tions Up (House and Home, Gemini, Nov. 20), which promotes the serv- ices of home inspectors as a prudent investment for home buyers. i The article also pointed out that "Home Inspectors are not regulated by government, and that there is no province-wide standard of training and no level of expertise that people who work in the industry must meet before they can set up shop." I think it is important to add that there are strict.Standards of Prac- tice, an a Code of Ethics that all members of the Ontario Associa- tion of Home Inspectors (OAHI) (ae must adhere to. Furthermore, with the passage of Bill PR 158, Dec. 9, 1994, the Government of Ontario recognizes OAHI and has charged the OAHI with the responsibility of sole Regulator and Authority on the Home Inspection Industry and its members. Of course, home buyers are free to choose any home inspector, how- ever, selecting a member of OAHI ensures that the inspector: * isa full-time professional home inspector + hasawealth of technical knowl- edge and experience * has undergone extensive tech- nical training specific to the field of home inspections * must meet or exceed the Stand- ards of Practice defined by the asso- ciation + is bound by a strict Code of Ethics * carries a mandatory policy of Errors and Omissions Insurance. Les Boothroyd, Boothroyd Home Inspection Services, Georgetown Student's efforts lost in debate To the Editor, The Christmas concert performed at Glen Williams Public School was one of those truly joyous events evoking memories of Christmas tra- ditions and a spirit of good will. Beautifully coordinated, it fea- tured amagnificent backdrop of col- ourful flags, delightfully expressive dancers and musicians, as well as charming choral speakers and sing- ers. 1 left the concert in a peaceful, reflective state, honoured to have my child participate in sucha school activity. I, however, almost blew a gasket wherrl read Mr. Edgar's attempts to undermine the concert by making a political statement out of children dancing The Macarena. In the good old days of Christmas past in Thistletown, we engaged in high- land flings at our Christmas con- certs. How very pagan, "multicultural" or anti-Christmas this must seem to Mr. Edgar! Has Mr. Edgar praised the efforts of the Glen Williams' staff in pro- viding such a community event? Has Mr. Edgar considered that Scrooges imported from Toronto are not welcome in Georgetown? Has Mr. Edgar simply not moved far enough from Toronto in his de- sire to avoid multiculturalism and to seek that same old Christmas of his youth? Try the North Pole! Linda Ciotti-Kandziora, River Drive EWI} Publisher & Editor Paul Nolan Office Manager Linda Hayes Editorial Staff Jamie Harrison Frances Niblock Terry Rouse Joanne Stevenson Advertising Staff Mimi Burdett Lynne Buscher Trish Henry Production Staff Kim Konarzycki Distribution Manager Marie Shadbolt Regular Contributors Bill Ellis Eve Martin Steve Martin Mike O'Leary Terry Rouse Alex Tough THE GEORGETOWN GEMINI is pub- lished weekly on Wednesdays by Wick- low Hills Publishing Co. Inc. Mailing address: P.O. Box 145, Georgetown, Ont., L7G4T1. Phone: (905) 877-1113. Fax: (519) 853-5040. Georgetown ad- ministrative office: Personal Secretarial Services, Unit 47, 360 Guelph St., L7G 4B5. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Ideas expressed herein are those of the author only. AD SALES: Publisher is responsible for errors in advertisements to extent of cost of that portion of the space occu- pied by erroneous item. PHONE THE GEM: (905)877-1113 FAX THE GEM: (519)853-5040