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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, January 19, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Neil Oliver Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West David harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution Sarah McSweeney Circ. Manager Website oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of All good things end Guest columnist Jill Davis, editor in chief, Halton, Metroland West Media Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award submitted photo PAYING IT FORWARD: Eight Oakville families were the recipients of several gifts during the holi- days thanks to efforts of Sutton Group -- Quantum Realty Inc. Nearly $900 was raised to donate toys, children's snowsuits and gift certificates for transportation, food and household necessities for the families in need. Volunteers involved in the fundraising event were, from left, Wendy Misiurski, Tim Parsons, Teresa Browne, Tom Parsons, Chanelie Fajardo, and Peter DeBruyn. t is said that things come in threes so I am not surprised that three men in my life -- of varying degrees of closeness -- announced they plan to retire. Suddenly I feel quite old. Their decisions to bid adieu to the working world were all arrived at differently and at different stages of their lives. However, all three richly deserve enjoyment and peace of mind. Jill Davis I knew my brother was going to retire when he started discussing his intentions a couple of years ago. He just couldn't make up his mind as to exactly when. Would it be this year or next? Perhaps 2013. I think his summer holiday in Hawaii sped up the process. By the time September rolled around he knew it would be his last `school year.' Mike the educator, a Halton District School Board math consultant, decided now was as good a time as any to put an end to the so-called daily grind. I know he will miss it very much but I also know he will have plenty to keep him occupied, maybe another math book to write or lecture to lead. ··· Halton Police Chief Gary Crowell has been in policing for some 40-plus years. I have known him since I was a cub reporter working in Brampton. He and I met recently and shared memories, some that are forever etched in our minds and link us to the past. Const. Dwayne Piukkala was murdered in August 1984. Gary worked in Peel at the time and I was part of the team writing the stories. We talked about it as if it were yesterday. We also talked about our own love of travel, specifically one island in the Caribbean that has a lounge chair with the chief's name on it. I hope he and his wife enjoy their newfound freedom next year. No longer will Gary have his BlackBerry going off in the early hours of the morning or during a night on the town with family. I wish him nothing but happiness. ··· This brings me to the last person who has officially retired -- something he really should have done years ago, but how do you tell dear dad to give up his job when he has worked since he was 14? My father is 82 years young and for several years now has headed to work for a couple of hours, twice a week. He spent his early days as a compositor for a newspaper -- a career that has long been replaced by computers. He went into advertising sales and never looked back. Work is what he has known for 68 years and it was an impressive run. Congratulations, dad. If life begins at retirement I hope each of these men have many years ahead of them. Best wishes for 2012. Jill Davis can be followed on Twitter @JDavis_Halton. I When New Year's resolutions get taken out with garbage B arely beyond the midway point of the first month of the new year and research indicates a startling number of New Year's resolutions -- made in earnest all of a few weeks ago -- have already been bagged, tied, and tossed out with the garbage. Your dreams of mastering the flugelhorn, your desire to learn the lost language of Sanskrit, your determination to lose 43 pounds, turn your brown eyes blue, become 10 inches taller and snag your own reality television show, all dashed. Seriously? What the heck happened here? What the heck happened is what happens every year around now. In fact, British researchers have pinpointed Jan. 9 as the day by which most New Year's resolutions are officially abandoned and left for dead; that's right, nine days into the new year, and a whopping 92 percent of Brits have ditched the diets they resolutely resolved to stick to in favour of a return to sweets, fatty foods and beer. Okay, it is possible that some of our resolutions -- many no doubt distilled in alcohol on New Year's Eve -- may have been a bit unrealistic from the beginning. Did you really think you had an honest shot at playing centrefield for the Blue Jays? Or meeting and marrying a supermodel? Or reading Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, and actually understanding it? Yeah, right. That said, in perusing Time magazine's Top 10 List of Broken Resolutions, it's surprising just how many seem ultimately attainable: Lose weight and get fit; Quit smoking; Learn something new; Eat healthAndy Juniper ier; Get out of debt and save money; Spend more time with family; Travel to new places; Be less stressed; Volunteer; and Drink less. (As an aside: I have a friend who proudly proclaims each New Year's Eve: "As I welcome in the new year, let me say that I'm not going to drink any more. But, then again, I'm not going to drink any less....") According to experts, the resolutions people make are often akin to a non-swimmer jumping into the deep end of a pool -- as opposed to wading into the shallow end and actually learning how to swim before taking the big plunge. While their enthusiasm is admirable, the makers of deep-end resolutions are pretty much destined to drown in that enthusiasm. Want to keep your resolutions? For starters, experts suggest you stop making resolutions linked to a new year. Why tie your desire for, say, good health to a date so rife with great expectations? Surely you can begin bettering yourself, or your life, on any day of any year. Secondly, ease into things. If, for instance, you want to drink eight glasses of water a day, and not just because Oprah does, start with two because those who start with eight will feel bloated, spend their day in the bathroom, and probably abandon the whole idea. Further, if you want to lose weight, design a diet that helps you eat healthier, rather than one that starves off 10 pounds in 10 days, only to have you gain it back in, well, the next 10 days. Common sense, no? Which brings me to my New Year's Resolutions for 2012. Use more common sense. Be more grounded in reality. Earn $10-million and retire in early February. Oh, and drink eight glasses of water a day, and not just because Oprah does. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters.