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‘ THE OAKVII TE REAVER weremrrmmrenderimenrnmmnnrennarmnammnmmy «nnmnmninon O Coopers & Lybrand accountants and consultants provide a full range o/}?nancial and business services. Happy New Year‘s To All Our Friends and Customers c ufyay â€" _ Canada Trust Realty Servine Oa Canada Trust Realiz Inc. recognizes Sarah‘s initiative and supports her involvement with ; OAKVILLE TOYOTA 338â€"2201 847â€"3030 é Proud ponsor of the Class Afloat project Canada Trust Realty incRealtc §1 V D | 0 & 201 City Centre Drive Mississauga, Ontario LSB 214 (416) 2734611 ST.LAWRENCE CEMENT Class Afloa 18 Years l for 0ver WeEST «qrnvrmmnntarntinmnnenreannramnnonsmnnte Until next week, Dear Oakville: Once King Neptune assume authority on deck, we were chased into the sail locker from where we were let up one at a time to be initiated. First we were covered with a mixture of molasses, old porridge, flour and the contents of the past week‘s slop bucket. Then we were hosed down with seav ater pumped at high pressure from the fire hose. Next we were forced to craw!l and slide through a rope obstacle course, after which we took our medicine. This consisted of a square of toast with chili powder on it and a glass of slightly watered down tobasco sauce. When it was my turn, I thankfully accepted the glass of clear water so thoughtfully offered, only to realize after gulping it down thirstily that it was seawater! The last part of the initiation was being named by King Neptune. We kneeled in front of him and he stemly inquired if we had passed all the tests. Then he touched his tndent on both of each sailor‘s shoulders and gave each of us a name. My new name was ‘"Penguin‘"‘. Lastly, we had to kiss the flying fish. It was a homible experience, but we had a lot of fun and I wouldn‘t have missed it for anything in the world. Our second crossing of the Atlantic Ocean took 12 days. It was very hot, but we had good winds and wonderfully, the sea wasn‘t rough. The main event of this leg was Crossing the Equator. When a sailor crosses the equator on a boat for the first time, centuries old tradition demands that he or she has to undergo a special initiation. On the afternoon of our crossing, we were all called up on deck. There the Magical Navigator asked the captain‘s permission for King Neptune to come on board. The captain agreed and King Neptune, his Queen and helpers boarded the Concordia. (These characters possessed a vague resemblance to our first and second officers, engineer, bosun and some of our teachers). the SY ( ) AMLA) For all your investment & tax planning needs. Investment Group VV DESK 30"x72" oak Sugg. list $1 * Custom Wall Units * Hutches & Buffets Oakâ€"land K 8A26]777 §E _ CORNER HUTCH 844â€"3273 OUT MSHF nensnsssenssoossessonemmnnsssonng, § EW â€"12" leaves & 4 side chair list $1429 Te sn mm eesesssonnsesssnenssossenserali h 3 aK $1249 A 4 New V@l Irli n and DOUBLE PEDESTAL SOLID OAK TABLE Ik LJ b Designers of Custom Furniture FINEWTLCD PREDUCTS LMTED 1 A Then there was Matthew, our oldest boy, who was for a while immune to the fever only because the fever could not catch up to him. Sixâ€"yearsâ€"old, Matthew was so wired for Christmas, we were picking up shortâ€"wave signals from the North Pole off his eyeâ€" brows. By partyâ€"time on Christmas Eve, he was bouncing off walls and ceilings. That night â€" after we gave the last of my wife‘s family the polite Christmas boot, we finally got Matthew to bed. It was 10 p.m., two hours past his regular bedâ€" time. For on Christmas Eve, we were having my wife‘s entire family over for a Yuletide celeâ€" bration complete with a preâ€" Christmas dinner. And although my wife will doubtlessly hurl leftover Christmas baking at me for saying this, her family is big and demanding and terribly tough to please â€" the type of folks who want their turkey ice cold and their beer piping hot. 6/\ So as my wife, and I, cleaned and cooked and prepared and overâ€"prepared, young Scott was left to his own healing devices. He drank plenty of fluids, took tons of Tyke Tylenol, and he restâ€" ed like a lazy boy watching Care Bear tapes over and over again. | 0 all those grand and gloâ€" rious Christmas traditions T â€" the merry rumâ€"andâ€" eggnog headache, the festive famâ€" ily feud and, of course, the joyous NBA hoops on the tube â€" I hereâ€" by honor another tradition that has been a burning presence around our presents for as long as The Christmas fever actually arrived early this year â€" a few days before The Big Day â€" when our tireless twoâ€"yearâ€"old suddenly misplaced his energy... Soon thereafter his eyes glazed over, he began to hack, and the broken tap that is his nose began to run. I would like to say that when Scott was wrestled into submisâ€" sion by the Christmas fever, my wife and I selflessly, wholly dediâ€" cated ourselves to the betterment of his health. But we didn‘t. We couldn‘t. We had no time. fever A Juniper holiday tradition continues for another year "Hey Scott," I said to the tired tyke, "your nose is running. Better try and catch it." Around our house, around Christmas, this passes for humor. You‘ve been warned, readers. * Kitchen Renovations. * Office Furniture But did he fall fast:asleep and rLO1}; J0 n 81 ve had kids: the Christmas . 3380058 CONFERENCE TABLE 42" round, oak Sugg. list $699 3 DOOR HUTCH & BUFFET Fortunately, the tradition of the old festive fever did not ruin our Christmas. No, amazingly, every year Christmas manages to rise above everything... Even a fever of 105°. Ask Matthew about his Christmas and he says, "The best thing I got was the racetrack from Santa. The worst thing I got was the sore throat â€" from Scottie." Matthew greeted Boxing Day and the day after Boxing Day with a fabulous fever that rose resplendently to 105°. Both boys were then transported to the closâ€" est medical clinic and subseâ€" quently treated for strep throat. I tell him not to worry. Next year, it will no doubt be his turn to give, rather than receive. Sleepy Scott spent Christmas Day checking out choice napping locations. By day‘s end, he‘d caught naps on his mother‘s shoulder in church, in his carseat during the ride to my parent‘s place in Woodstock, and on his grandparent‘s livingroom carpet. Eventually, we had to wake him up from his unscheduled slumbers â€" so we could put him to bed. sleep soundly through the night with visions of sugar plums and Santa‘s booty dancing through his head? Fat chance. He finally nodâ€" ded off at 11. And he was back up at 2 a.m. "Matthew, go back to bed," I whispered sternly into the darkâ€" ness. "It‘s two in the morning." I ordered the darkness over to my side, then handed over my digital watch, ordering the darkâ€" ness to stay in bed until at least sixâ€"something. The darkness came back to haunt us at 2:06. At 2:16. At 2:26. "Santa‘s been here," the darkâ€" ness replied. "I just know it." The darkness finally fell back asleep at 4 a.m., but was up for good (or, er, up for bad) at 6 a.m. Consequently, on Christmas Day, Matthew was a zombie. The only thing more tired than Matthew was Matthew‘s immune system. Each time I greeted the darkâ€" ness: "Hello darkness, my old friend. Have you come to talk with me again?" Happy New Year, readers )C )4