The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

•T he IFP• H alton H ills, Thursd ay, A p ril 11, 2013 9 BETTER HEARING DAY GEORGETOWN Tuesday April 30 8:30-5pm ONE DAY ONLY Call for your complimentary hearing test! (55+) SPACES ARE LIMITED HEARING SCIENCES Audiology and Hearing Aid Centre 905-877-0099 211 Guelph St., Suite 1 (in the M&M plaza, across from Winners), Georgetown When you lose your hearing, doing ordinary things takes more effort. You have to work harder to understand and to stay connected to the people and things that are a natural part of your world. You can regain your energy - and confidence - so you can move about your world, with Oticon Agil. Agil is the revolutionary new hearing device that helps you understand more with less effort. Research studies have shown that people fit with Agil hearing instruments report an amazing 86% Overall Satisfaction Rating and a 93% rating for Speech Clarity! With Agil, you'll reconnect with the voices, music and sounds that enrich your world. Life will seem brighter and more fulfilling, because you're hearing better and understanding more. IF YOU HAVE NOT LISTENED TO THE NEW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY RECENTLY, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY NOT TO BE MISSED! A manufacturer's representative will be present at our Better Hearing Day to demonstrate the impressive Agil automatic processing digital instrument. It is available in several different styles and price ranges. Hear your phone conversations with ease - even cell phones - with the automatic phone feature. Come and listen to the actual hearing aids. This is the best technology available today. Listen and judge for yourself! Savoring a 'Happy Birthday' Yesterday was The Sidekick's birthday. Now I can honestly say, in my entire life, I've never met a person who gets more excited about having a birthday than The Sidekick. Birthdays for her are better than Christmas morning, better than an Easter egg hunt, even better than winning a free lottery ticket. Yesterday morning, she was up bright and early, to get ready for work. She has to leave for work fairly early on Wednesday mornings, so she showered and primped and did all those things that women do getting ready. I was still in bed, enjoying that nice cozy early morning mode, when every- thing is a pleasant fog and dozing comes so easy. I give The Sidekick top marks for get- ting ready for work. She's quiet, she shuts the bedroom door so the sound of the shower doesn't disturb me, and she makes sure she doesn't turn on the light in the bedroom without warning me so my eyes aren't seared by the fl ash. Once the bathroom becomes silent, and I don't hear the sound of water running or a hair dryer blowing-- I know she's al- most ready to re-enter the bedroom. She came into the bedroom, and sat on the side of the bed, knowing full well I'd wake up. After all, it was her birthday, and she was just waiting for me to say those special words. "Happy Birthday!" I tell ya, if The Sidekick had a tail, it'd be wagging. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I could see that she'd taken extra care to make sure her hair was perfect, her make- up was fl awless and the entire package looked great. She wouldn't be putting on her makeup while stopped at a traffi c light this morning-- this was serious stuff. "I'm not sure what to wear today," she said, throwing open the closet doors. "Well, I see you've started with your 'Birthday Suit'", I commented. "You can build on that." I'll admit, I was surprised it was a 'one outfi t' morning-- she went with her fi rst choice. As she left for work, I knew she'd en- joy her special day, making sure every- one who entered her offi ce knew it was her birthday, and then be equally pleased when they all countered with 'Happy Birthday,' as a result. I think she's somewhat unique-- she's only too happy to tell the world how old she is, something many women are prone to hide. And she likes to make damn sure that she looks good, especially on her birth- day. I'm good with that. Taking pride in oneself is a good thing. Personally, I don't get as wired about my own birthday, (in fact I'm betting she gets more excited when I have a birth- day than I do myself,) but I've realized, over the years, that her outlook is really healthy. I had fl owers delivered to her work- place-- something she really enjoys. She called me when they arrived. "The fl owers look great," she said, hap- py as a clam. "I was wondering, would you mind if I left them here (at the offi ce) over- night? After all, we're going out tonight, and I'm working late tomorrow night. That way I get to enjoy them more." I said it was fi ne, and smiled to myself. By leaving the fl owers in the offi ce, she had another full day to enjoy them. And another full day to rub her co- workers' noses in the fact that she received roses on her birthday. Ted Brown Photo takes third in newspaper contest The Independent & Free Press managed to pick up one top- three fi nish in the recent 2012 Local Media Association edito- rial contest. The annual contest recognizes the best in journalism among community newspapers throughout North America. Ted Brown's photo of a fi re juggler at the Magic on Main celebra- tion in downtown Georgetown took third place in the Best News Photo category for non-daily newspapers with a circulation between 16,001 and 36,000. Metroland Media Group, The In- dependent & Free Press' parent company, led all companies with 129 awards.