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6 Oakville Beaver Weekend Sunday April 9, 2000 T h e O a k v il l e B e a v e r Ian Oliver, Publisher N eil'O liver, AssociatePublisher N orm an A lexande r, Editor K elly Montague, Advertising Director Steve Crozier, Circulation Director Ten Casas , OfficeManager M ark D ills, Production Manager R iziero V erto lli, Photography Director Metrotand Printing. Publishing & Distributing Ltd.. includes: Ajax/Pctenng News Advertiser, Alfcton Herald/Courier. Barrie Advance. Barry's Bay This Week. Bolton Enterprise. Brampton Guardian. Burlington Post. Burlington Shopping News, City Parent. ColingwoodMtesaga Connection. East Mark Mirror. Enn Achocata'Country Routes. Etobicoke Guardian, Ramborough Post. Georgetwn Independent/Acton Free Press, Hurona Business Times. Kingston This Week. Lindsay This Week. Markham Economist & Sun. Midland/Penetanguishme Mirror. Milton Canadian Champion. Milton Shopping News. Mississauga Business Times. Mississauga News. Napanee Guide. Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner. 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J A s s o c ia tio n iVAGON tT O V V StM cm BRONTf IUTTERFLY t h e ·` t ' U l l Jk 'T L - »l 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 S K S u b u rb a n N e w s p a p e rs oil JiM qlt BeII Fursd TV AUCTION ^3)1 ^ o lK te 1 * r-M 0 ~£jhe @ (Sakj'i//e FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE E d it o r ia ls The message of Elian's saga The tug-of-war over six-year-old Elian Gonzalez is sadly turning into a spectacle that demonstrates much of what ails North America. While many of young Elian's selfappointed protectors are trying to turn the fate of the youngster's residence into a diplo matic showdown between Cuba and the United States (communism vs. capitalism), they are losing sight of a basic point. Elian belongs with his father. Forget the borders. Forget the ideologies. Forget the symbolism. Elian Gonzalez is a six-year-old boy, who has lost his mother, and is now being kept from his father for political or other self-serving arguments. We have not read anywhere that Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, is a bad father. As a worker in Cuba's tourism industry Gonzalez makes a modest living by Cuban standards. Of course, he can't provide the same standard of living as Elian would receive from his relatives in the United States. But that is irrelevant. Imagine for a minute, that Elian's mother and father were United States citizens living in Miami and that his mother had died while traveling to California to visit relatives. Now imagine, the furor that would develop if the Californian relatives refused to allow Elian to return to his father in Miami. Would anyone argue that Elian was better off in California? Of course not. We would recognize the boy belongs with his father. Somehow, the anti-Castro sentiments in Miami and the United States have muddied common sense. Those wanting Elian to remain in the U.S. are arguing that the promise of materialis tic rewards is more important than keeping the natural bond between a father and a son. Doesn't that mirror exactly what's happening in North America. In order to provide more materialistic rewards for their children and their families, many parents are sacri ficing the time they spend with their children in order to provide that higher standard of living. And fewer are the richer for it. Perhaps that's why so many Americans are having such a hard time understanding the moral argument that Elian belongs with his father. A u th o r discovers y ou can go h o m e ag ain ven though A m erican author Thom as C layton Wolfe wrote You Can't Go Home Again (published posthu mously in 1940), I do go home again. It 's the occasion of my aunt's 80th birthday, an open house hosted by her family at the local Shrine Club. Entering the city limits of my hometown, I 'm gripped by nos talgia. I pass landmarks that I once took for granted as being just an everyday part o f life 's landscape, but that has now E earned a special place in my heart. The c ity is ce rta in ly steeped in family (and personal) history. And yet, I 've been hesi tant to come back -- the power ful pull of my hometown repelled by the overw helm ing remem brances it triggers. I arrive at the Shrine,C lub, take a deep, bracing breath and enter. I 'm hit with helloes, and a wave of emotion. It's good to see these people -- fam ily, relatives, friends of family, many of whom I have not ANDY JUNIPER seen in ages. I cannot believe how some of the kids in the clan have grown and matured. Conversely, I can fully relate to the inevitable work that time has L e tte r to th e e d ito r Westerner or easterner, what does it matter? Since Frank Klees decided not to run for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance, we have been subjected to lamentations by the media that, alas, now that there are only Westerners running, it will be difficult to succeed in Ontario. When I canvassed for the Reform party in the last election, it had been observed that most of our Prime Ministers came from Quebec, so wasn't it time for a change. I approached this subject in such a way to a gen tlem an, and he said succinctly,"W e ll he's a Canadian, isn't he?" There was no reasonable reply to this because it was not Prime Minister Jean Chretien's nationality that was the issue, but his provinciality. This gentle man's thinking was right. We should think national ly when it comes to choosing a Prime Minister. In view of this: why all the fuss because at the moment there are only Westerners running for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance. They, too, are Canadian. Aren't they? Why should people in Ontario be so incensed about the suggestion there have been too many leaders from Quebec and at the same time say that Westerners haven't a hope of getting elected in Ontario. I don't see the reasoning behind this train of thought. Or am I missing something? Perhaps someone will advise me. Betty A. Hansford done on the adults (" And when did you start colouring your hair...grey?" ) Thankfully, there are things that time can't touch. If I don' t see these people for another 10 years, they w ill remain, family, relatives, friends, bound by unbreakable bonds. From across the room, I watch my aunt, my mother's older sister N who, for reasons I 've never known, w e' ve alw ays called " Auntie" -- as she greets wellw ishers. I ' m pleased to see Auntie Eileen smiling brightly, in such fine spirits, and looking so good. I 'm amazed at how much she resembles (and reminds me of) my mother, not just in physi cal family resemblances, but also in expressions and mannerisms. When it's fin ally my turn to give her a birthday hug, we clutch each other and I believe our thoughts are in the same place, exploring an emptiness that exists despite the happiness of the occasion. This was my mother's time of year. She loved spring. She loved when the weather finally turned warmer and she was able to get out of the house in which she'd been cooped up all winter long. She also dearly loved the begin ning of the major-league baseball season (" At last, something good on T V !" ) because she was a life long, diehard fan. In February of 1999 -- before the chill of winter surrendered to the life-lifting breath of spring, before her Blue Jays packed their bags and their bats and headed north from their spring training camp -- my mother died after a long and agonizing battle with cancer. As I nurse a glass of punch, as I mingle among the pockets of people, I can't help but think of how my m other w ould have enjoyed this party. She loved par ties, loved socializing, loved life. And while I too enjoy a good party, enjoy being surrounded by so many good people, I realize that throughout this afternoon at the Shrine Club, I ' ve been up against what amounts to a dou ble-edged sword N the realization of how much you have in your life can't help but remind you of how much you've lost. It's time to return to Oakville. Outside of the club, I see daf fodils in full bloom. Spring has indeed sprung. And with spring and cancer-awareness month, there is always hope. Pulling out of the parking lot, I find myself saying a brief prayer, praying that cancer w ill be beaten. You know, you can go home again. But it takes a lot out of you...