a Tre TP The Adventurers Anti bacterial hand soap----"check" said Valerie, Dispos- able surgical gloves, "check" she repeated, Amended and updated copies of our wills "check" she said almost mo- notonously. "What's going on?" I hear you ask. Are you embarking on some long and dangerous journey? Are you putting your lives at risk for some obscure point of principle? Are you heading for some war torn part of the globe to do humanitarian tasks for the poor unfortunates? Are you joining Sister Theresa's organization as they labour in the slums of India's Calcutta? No! No! but in the eyes of many, something equally as dangerous. We're heading for Toronto to visit my son, his wife and our two granddaughters in Richmond Hill to celebrate his birthday. : Aha, alot of you have said on reading this " They really are silly to take such risks". I have no intention of belittling the whole newly con- structed apparatus to gain control over S.A.R.S., but by the same token I believe in what the Medical Specialists are saying. Just last night on T.V. one of the doctors said there was no reason to avoid Toronto as long as you stayed away from where S.A.R.S. exists--in the City's hospitals. Well God Willing we have no intention of going to a hospital in the City. In my view, that being the case, we are probably running a greater risk to our health just driving in to, back from and around about Toronto. Three or four weeks ago, my son advised that he was flying to Tokyo for a week on business. I reacted as many of our acquaintances have responded to us that this was too risky. "There are no cases in Japan" he said and true enough he had no difficulty in passing through the screening processes at both airports. He is probably planning a trip some where again but assures me not to China or Hong Kong but there's nothing he can do about Toronto since they live there and his two daughters go to school there. 1 thought of this when we were in Hotel Dieu recently on A ESR AE the day they closed the Hospital. It was deemed a necessary precaution (since lifted) even tho' there were no cases in the area. One of the Doctors, somewhat humourously suggested that people were seized by Mask Hysteria. It is, of course, no laughing matter and if uncontrolled could cause unimaginable havoc. It seems to me, at times, the press and news media are really inflaming the issue and causing considerable fear among the population. This fear is bringing out the worst in us it seems. People are staying away in droves from Chinatown, Asians and others are being shunned and demonized by the populace as if the disease was caused by racial origin. There is no problem in being overly cautious as we are in this region at our Hospitals and primary care facilities (Doctor's offices). Valerie was in at the pharmacy in the Doctor's Bldg. this week and was vetted by a nurse. When she advised that we were going to Toronto, the nurse said we would have to wear a mask next time we came into the building. I hope all of these controls have a strictly medical base and do not reflect an oft held disdain for Toronto and its inhabitants. Anyhow we're on our way Thursday and intend to have one of our semi-annual visits to Tilleys as we prepare for our next vacation trip; have a substantial feed of sushi, sashimi and miso soup at the Restaurant adjacent to Tilleys and visit with the grand daughters for 5 days. During that period we will undoubtedly do a lot of shopping which my daughter in law says is less crowded now. We do look forward to returning to the County in good health even tho' we may have to wear a mask (some of you probably consider this to be a humanitarian gesture at any time) - John A. Jackson P. S. It's Wed. April 30th. We returned home late Mon. afternoon. Still healthy so far. P. PS. Sometimes the loss of a word can completely change the meaning of a sentence. In my last article I wrote-Kind friends loaned me some talking books which made these restrictions less boring. Somewhere in re- writes, E-mails etc. the word less disappeared. My apolo- gies to Art. and Judy Cole, the kind friends.