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

12 -OoýWel hns ensaMay i, 19 ARTHUR BLACK UP IN TUE SKY! IT'S A, BIRD! IT'S APLANE! IT'S AMAZINGt The Northiern Lights have seen qucer sighlts But the queerest, they ever did sec... ...Was a bald, bearded guy in a borrowed parka, shivering.and squinting up at the night sky from the shore of a wilderness lake outside' Yellowknife, surrounded by two *lundred and fifty Japanese tourists. Well, I dont know if the Northern Lights found il qucer, but 1 certainly did. 1 was the bald, bearded guy, in case you liaven't gucssed. As for the Japanese. Ah. Tlierein lies a story. A love story, as a malter of fact. They dont talk about it much, reserved and pole folks that tliey are, but tlie fact is, tlie Japanese are crazy about Canada. Specifically, tliey love tliree things about us. Tliey love Anne of Green Gables in Prince Edward Island. Tliey love the wilder- ness majesty of Banff National Park. And lliey absolutely adore Aurora Borealis. Tlie Nortliern Liglits -- tliat spectacular bal- let of electrons and radioac- tive dust particles that eacli winter, makes Canada's nortliern niglil sky tlie stage for tlie Greatest Sliow on Eartli. Everybody who secs tlie sliimmer and dance of tlie Nortliern Lights comes away imipressed, but the Japanese? They are absolutcly nuls about tliem. They have to be.' First, they spend thousands of dol- lars 10 fly from Japan to Canada; then tliey spend more thousands to fly ail the way up fromn Vancouver Up to the shores of Great Slave Lake in the Arctic. Once they get 10 Yellowknife (the usual stay is tliree days), they lay out anotlier whack of yen to sign up for a special 'Northern Liglits Tour' wliich buses them, along with guides and interpreters, 'way out past the Yellowstone city liglits 10 a remote camp where they wait -- sometimes ail night -- for the Aurora Borealis t0 do its stuif. Which it well may not do. If itfs cloudy (whicli it seldom is ar.ound Yellowknife) nobody gels 10 sec much. Same thing if il snows. And sometimes capricious, moody old Aurora Borealis just sim- ply doesn't show up at ail, for reasons unknown. This is not a Walt Disney production. The Nortliern Liglits wax and wane according to tlieir own unwrilten schedule. But sliow or no show, tlie Japanese neyer complain. Indeed, these people are in many ways dreamn visitors for any tourist destination. Tlie Japanese tliat visit Yel lowknife, cliasing the Nortliern Liglits are invari- ably pole, orderly, respect- fui, neat. Not to mention ricli. Indeed tliey are so well- belived it can be unnerving. Sliirley Saint, an interpreter and guide for Raven Tours of Yellowknife, says tliat tlie atmospliere on a bus load of Japanese tourists traveling out to the viewing area is almost always eerily quiet ("Yo'd think tliat tliey were ail asleep") -- until some pas- senger spots the first hint of the Nortliern Liglits out the windoiw. "Tlie first time il liap- pened, 1 thouglit someone liad liad a licart attack" slie recalîs. "The wliole bus eruptçd witli shouts and screamns and oolis and âaaals of pure joy. We laid b stop thie bus and let everybody off riglit there." Indeed. for the Japanese, seeing the Nortliern Lights is an extremd'ly moving experi- ence. Shirley recalîs one regal-lIooking 80-year old woman who wept openly on seeing tlie Nortliern Liglits for lier first -- and probably Iast -- tirne. Another japaflese imother said that for nler., seeing the Northern Lighis was as emo- tional an experience as giving birthi. It's a pretty big deal for the economy of y@llowknife 100. This city of î$O00 used to pretty much ôIose down for the winter as far as tourism goes. Not afly m ore. Last year, more than 1,500 Japan ese tourists lew inl 10 Yellowknife. This past win- ter, the numbers were even higher. Gotta seem weird tliough, 10, say a Great Snow Owl gliding across the night sky. He glances down expecting to sec wildemness. Instead lie sees a couple of hundred Asiatic faces in designer parkas, tripod-mounted cam- eras beside tliem, looking Up expectantly at the sky, in the middle of an Arctic night. What was it Robert Service said a century ago? There are strang-e thinigs don)e 'nieaili the midnîight Sun... Mister Service was more observant than he knew. Bowmianville To as tmla steu'&rs Another induction of a new member Edward Steel marked an auspiclous open- ing to the April 28th meeting of Bowmanville Toastmasters. Chairman Toastmaster Vanessa Hughes capably led the assembly through the business session with ber theme of avoiding procrasti- nation. -'What If' situations chai- lenged the speakers to be imaginative In the impromptu speaking. Speakers had to deal with sucli diverse topies as "What iflsh told j okes" "bo whab if the mute button could burn people off?" Toastmasber Russ Le Blanc delivered a spirited Ice Breaker whlch won hlm the best speaker trophy. Toastmaster Marilynn Dow gamnered the best evaluator trophy. For more information please cali Irene Konzelmann 983-9423 Orono. Flowers for Mom this Motber's DayI from Fisherman's Fish & Chips II! We offer full course dinners from our special menu or... you may choose fromII aur regular menu led &JlI 1~ I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ll~ ui CI Mr. & Mrs. Harley Elliott of Kendal. ON (Parut Bold, Retlring) DIRECTIONS: Take Hwy. 115 to Kirby go East on Ganaraska Rd. 9 to White Rd. go north/or Hwy. 2 to Newtonville go north on Durham Rd. 18 to Ganaraska Rd. 9 go weut to White Rd. SATIJRDAY, MAY 9 - 10:30 A.M. New Holland baler 270:* 4 furrow plough, 3 pt. hiteli fertilizerspreader. corn planter 3 pt. hitch 2 row. grain cleaner Fanmilll, 707 new Holland forage harvester, hay ,wagon. 165 Massey Tractor-Industrial bucket, 3 pt. hitch blade, bush hog. chain harrows., grain auger. cernent mixer, 12 HP rlding lawn mower, 1 ton Chev truck 1985 - with hoist - low mileage, 1980 Pontiac Leman, table saw, eut off saw ( 1 for wood, 1 for steel). radial arm saw. lathe, jig saw, beit sander. 2 vibrator sanders, harnmer dill, cordless dill, elec. welder, chain saw - sharpener - breaker - joiner, Oak lumber, water pumps, scrap metal, 8000 lb. winch (mounted on bumper). egg cra'te, 1870's oul lamp, antique china cabinet, 4 Centennial rifles, Mussle-loader, 303 British, 410 Shotgun, patio set & wooden lawn chair, liard cover books (novels), double bed, 8 pc. dining room set, round drop leaf table (2 'chairs). coffee table, end tables, Oak wall dlock, rockingchair, bread maker, everythlng you need for winemaking. Royal Albert (12 place Setting Song Bird New Romance), saddle. some tack, standard jumps. box jumps & barrelîs, gelded yearling - sired by Tripple Hero (reg. quarter horse) Dam - Sundanoer (reg. sport). wood lounge, small entertainment centre, compound bow & arrows, 7 pc. & il pc. golf club sets, rowing machine. 1969 skl-doo Olympie 12 HP. MAIIY MORE ITEMS AUCTIONEER: BRUCE KELLETT 705-328-2185 29 ac Micharel& Liawm Brouw. Real Estate em Liam says: 'keep telling Dad he needs to take me t( ,'ork wzt h him. But for some reason, Dad sa>. -(ients don 't want a 3-year o/d at a listin appointment! Jjust can tfigure it out!" If you are thinking about selling your home, or buying a new home and need 10 find out about Buyer Agency, contact: MICHAEL BROWN at Re/Max Reflection Realty mnc. (905) 434-52222 (24 hrs) at the Maa9ened Sý-e-miail J. II tJU>IiJ om.caJ U Fis erm n ~ For Reservations Cali 987-7250 e-mipcehar@dnforcamfre Fish & Chips H We're Iocated on Hwy 115 just north of Hwy 2 z Ne wcast1îie) Comparative Market Analysis of your home Open 8 arn. - 9 p.rn. Motber's Day I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I is i rU ti I I I I -I M. 0 ;s 9 )r it