THE LAST WORD What a month it has been. Twenty eight days have come and gone; we are all a little bit older and hopefully, although I wouldn't bank on it, a little bit wiser. February has brought winter back into our lives showing that Wiar- ton Willie and Punxsutawney Phil are not always on the money with their forecasts. Phil saw his shadow and fore- cast six more weeks of winter, whereas Willie did not, and predicted an early end to winter and was backed up in his prediction by Shubenacadie Sam. The odds are 2 to 1 in favor of an early spring, and I won't argue with that. As I traveled to the south of the County earlier in February I was amazed to see the "topping out" of the ra- dio mast near the Black River Cheese Factory. Three engi- neers were dangling like flies 200 feet in the air adding the necessary bits that will bring these good folk in South County their first cell phone service and perhaps even high speed internet. Modernization reaches South Marysburgh at last! No longer will intrepid motorists who travel these roads have to ensure their gas tanks are full before leaving the safety of cell phone coverage on Cty. road 8 or Hw. 33. I am told that the cell phone service will even reach the outermost wilderness of Long Point and, may I add, it is LONG overdue. These good people have been paying for service that they were unable to access (unless you read the fine print on some cell phone contracts). Shifting gears and bringing a little bit of love into our column. Did you remember to send that Valentine on 16 STROP (anag. sport) PUZZLE 18 S-PEAK SOLUTION 20 PENTHOUSE (anag. he tones up) ROTOR S-E- CURING EGOCENTRIC (anag. Cicero D] gent) olD] MUGS bUS - HERE - Daily [AlL[S[E]H|OJ0|D] TR- (IN IT) -Y [M] QEnn EE pow [R[0]T OR] A 2 ERA-TO lclo|c|E[N[T|R]I]C] 3 TIS- (sit rev.) -SUES 4 MUST - ACHE 6 AC-CENT ACROSS 7 A-T-TEMPT 8 AVERS - IONS 1 TEA- (anag. ate) -TIME (anag. 9 MAD -E -TOME - A - SURE 14 F- (ALSEH (anag. shale) -OOD litem 15 A-SPA - (RAGUS (sugar rev.)) 5 CAR-AWAY 17 STOCKCAR (anag. rock cast) 10 MASS 19 A-T-T-ACHE 11 SCAR -CITIES 21 OARSMAN (anag. arms on a) 12 M- (ODUL (anag. loud) -ATE 22 O-RANGE 13 NAMES (anag. means) 25 NIGH-T February 14" , or eddy you give " -- to The orien Monologues instead? * 'What Every Woman Needs to Know" might also have been its title, and I believe the play based on Eve Ensler's book was almost a sell-out at the Regent. This poignant and I am told, hilarious tour of the last frontier, based on interviews with over 200 women about their memories and experiences of sexuality, is a celebration of the 'gentler' sex in a rather unique way, touching on the second last frontier of intimacy, vulner- ability and self discovery. Why, you may ask inquisitively, do I say 'the sec- ond last frontier?' I say that because I have absolutely no doubt that the FINAL frontier will be out soon and will likely be called The P Chronicles.( Modesty forbids me from saying the word) In this world of ours when one- uppersonship seems to be the order of the day, watch this space for news of its arrival. Taking a more somber note, the events which initi- ated in the tiny country of Denmark and ricocheted around the world have once again given the leaders of The West- ern World much food for thought. We now live in a world in which one person can pick up their pen or brush and publish drawings/paintings or articles which are seen by others to defame and insult their greatest leader or libel their beliefs. It is called "The Free Press," and is an institu- tion that is vigorously defended by every western publish- ing house and newspaper as being essential to preserve free speech. | DISAGREE! I disagree in the same way that I see some forms of art as pornographic. There was a ruckus about this very subject two or three years ago when some salacious drawings or prints were displayed in To- ronto under the guise of being art. Surely the ultimate test must be: Does this public display (either in the media/ theatre or in galleries) contribute in a positive way to the lives of the GENERAL public. If there is any doubt that the words or images portrayed may injure or insult or de- fame or worse still, move some people to perpetrate crimes, then they have no place in the public arena. Before I leave this subject [ must finally add that the steady erosion of the products of the movie industry and television towards the inclusion of sex and sexual vio- lence is of equal concern. Why has this been allowed to happen? Where is it going to stop? Do we really need inti- mate physical content and savage violence to sell movies, videos and attract audiences to TV shows? If the control- ling bodies who license these products are not prepared to take a tougher line, then provincial and federal govern- ments must step in and draw a line in the sand. I for one would like to go back to the days when we can still be en- tertained and feel comfortable with our sons and daughters sitting beside us when the Saturday Night feature leaps on Continued on page 19