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0 \ 2 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, July 25,1984 Section Two ( Editorial Comment J Could They All Lose? Perhaps this is merely idle speculation speculation to occupy a mid-July afternoon. afternoon. But have you ever considered the possibility that all three leaders leaders of Canada's political parties could face defeat in the upcoming federal elections? Naturally, politicians are optimistic optimistic sorts and therefore each leader discounts the possibility. Traditionally, the leader of a political party never fails to win his own riding. There's a certain amount of prestige associated with having a national party leader as your MP. Who makes a better speaker at a local sports banquet or official opening? An unknown backbencher or someone whose face is on the national news nine out ten evenings? So the scenario we suggest is unlikely unlikely to come true. But given the uncertainties surrounding this election, it's remotely possible. First of all, we have the prime minister, Mr. Turner, running in Vancouver Quadra. He's taking a considerable risk because the riding riding is currently in Tory hands and the incumbent won last time by 7,000 votes. Keep in mind the fact that the Liberals have no seats in British Columbia and only two MPs in ridings west of Ontario. On September September 4, there's a remote possibility possibility that we could see the prime minister defeated. Then we consider Mr. Mulroney. Like Turner, he's going back to his hometown territory for the upcoming upcoming battle. But the riding of Man- icouagan is hardly a citadel of Tory strength. The Liberal MP won his seat in this riding by 16,000 ballots last election and the Progressive Conservatives' failures in Quebec are legendary. On election eve, you can bet that Brian Mulroney will be chewing his fingernails. That brings us to the Oshawa riding riding of New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent. He's no newcomer \ z Byline X. By Peter Parrott to the riding, but he could be facing one of the toughest fights in his political career. His Liberal opponent, opponent, Oshawa Lawyer Terry Kelly, is widely known in the city for his lifelong interest in sports and community community work. Liberals would have to go a long, long way before they could find a higher calibre candidate candidate for Oshawa. Tories also have high hopes that their standard- bearer, Alex Sosna will be the winner. winner. Conventional wisdom seems to say that if there's any election in which Mr. Broadbent will lose his Oshawa riding, that election will be September 4. The fact that it's even possible for us to speculate on the three leaders failing to win their seats in the House shows just how interesting this election is going to be. The two new leaders are risking, everything on the outcome. That means they aren't afraid to parachute. themselves into "enemy" territory in order to lead the attack. But then, the stakes don't come any higher. John Turner could go down in history as the man who lost the Liberal dynasty; Brian Mulroney is looking for his own niche in history as the man who founded the Tory dynasty. And Ed Broadbent, judging from the popularity popularity polls, is fighting for the very life of the New Democratic Party. No, it's unlikely that we'll see all three leaders go down to personal defeat in the 1984 election. If they did, we'd be witnessing enough new party leadership conventions to keep the TV networks busy until 1986. It seems possible, however, that one of the three just could slip behind behind his closest opponent at the polls. And regardless of the final outcome, outcome, when the dust has settled, Canadian government just won't look the same again. Children are like citizens of a foreign country. They have traditions, customs, aims, objectives, heroes and villains villains which adults can never really understand until they have a child and try to communicate. A kid's world revolves around Care Bears, Smurfs, McDonald's, Cabbage Patch Dolls, BMX bicycles, bicycles, Star Wars, and Michael Jackson, to name just a few of the cultural highlights of this continent under 12 years of age. Moreover, there are constant changes in taste. Care Bears and Cabbage Patch Dolls were big around Christmas time. But that was six months ago. For all I know, there are a few dozen new fads that I haven't heard of yet. And then, there are the differences differences between age groups. What interests interests a six-year-old may be completely completely different from the likes and dislikes of one who is eight or nine. I caught an interesting glimpse of the kiddie sub-culture last week with a visit to The Polkadot Door Live. The concert took place outdoors outdoors in the rear yard of the Bowmanville Bowmanville Library. It was a gorgeous summer day and there must have been two hundred youngsters in attendance. attendance. Now, I have always assumed that shows such as The Polkadot Door were programmed merely to fill air time before the serious television viewing hours of seven to 11 p.m. It never occurred to me that such shows would have a large following. And yet, here were all these tiny people eagerly watching their favorite favorite performers as they told stories, led singalongs, and introduced introduced the famous "Polkaroo." Now Polkaroo, it seems, is the star of this entire program. He's a large, polkadot kangaroo. (At least, I believe he's a kangaroo, although his pedigree is somewhat of a mystery). mystery). This popular beast has only one word in his vocabulary. That word is "Polkaroo". But he manages to survive quite nicely with his single word, his dancing, and waving to the kiddies. Naturally, I hurried home that night to tell little Stephanie about my visit to The Polkadot Door and to see if I could teach her to say Polkaroo. "Can you say Polkaroo?" I asked her. "Polkaroo!" she crowed, with the delight of a true Polkadot Door fan. Her pronunciation was better than my own. Obviously, at 18 months, she is already already familiar with some of the landmarks of kids' culture. Daddy has some catching up to do. ®1fe Canadian Statesman 623-3303 (J^NA Durham Counly's Great Family Journal Established 130 years ago in 1854, Also Incorporating The Bowmanville News The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mall registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King St. W., Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3K9 OL* 1 JOHN M. JAMES ■ Editor -- Publisher GEO. P. MORRIS Business Mgr. BRIAN PURDY Advertising Mgr. RICHARD A. JAMES Assistant Publisher DONALD BISHOP Plant Mgr. All layouts and composition ol advertisements produced by the employees ol The Canadian Statesman, The Newcastle Independent and The James Publishing Company Limited are protected by copyright and must not bo reproduced without written permission ol (ho publishers. $15.00 a year -- 6 months $6,00 strictly in advance foreign -- $45,00a year Although nvory precaution will ho lakon to avoid orior, Tno Canadian Stitusrnan accepts advertising m its columns on thu undurr,landing that it will not ho liable lor any oner in llio advertisement published hereunder unless a piool of such advertisement iv. requested in writing by tho advertiser and relumed to Tno Canadian Statesman business oHire duly signed by the advertiser and with such error or corrections plainly noted in writing thereon, and in that case it any error so noted is not corrected by The Canadian Statesman its liability shall not exceed such a portion ol the entire cost ol such adveiti'ilmeiil as the space occupied by Hm noted error nears to the whole space occupied by such advertisement Z ■\ SUGAR and SPICE You Can't Please 'em All :a It's extremely difficult, as any columnist knows, to please all of the people all of the time. In fact, if this column had done so, it would be extinct. Half my readers get so mad - at me that they can't wait to read the next column, so they can get madder. The other half sort ot enjoys it, forgives my lapses and looks forward to what the silly twit is going to say next. In the last couple of weeks, I've had some letters from both sides. A Manitoba editor is thinking of cancelling the column. Reason? "Too many columns dealing with personal matters." I quote bits from his letter: "While it is understandable that family members are dear to Bill Smiley...I feel our readers might tire of how the grandboys are behaving. Once or twice a year would be sufficient." I should be so lucky. You are quite right, sir. Once or twice a year would be sufficient, for the grandboys' visit. And from Vancouver, a young mother writes to say, "Keep on writing about your family and grandboys. I love these columns." The editor was fair. He added: "Columns, other than family- related, are good and have received favorable comment from our readers." Thanks. I get letters from religious people who accuse me of being the right- hand man of the Devil, when I jestingly remark that God must have been out to lunch when he was drawing up the menu for this year's winter. . I get letters from other religious 1 people who send me dreary tracts and letters full of Biblical references, with the hope that I will print the lot. And I get letters from still other religious people, mostly clergy, who enjoy quibbling with me over a point but urge me to continue writing as I do, to make people think. But on the whole, it is not exactly a dog's life. I remember receiving a fairly vicious editorial blow from a weekly editor who said I wrote too much about teenagers, because I was a school teacher. I retorted with a bit of tongue in cheek. In high dudgeon, he cancelled the column. It's still going. I wonder if he's still the editor of that paper, deciding what his readers can read. (Had a number of letters from his subscribers supporting me, none supporting him.) I receive letters from places like Baker Lake, N.W.T., excoriating me for talking about the tough winters down here, which to them is almost the deep south. And I get a letter from my kid brother retired and living in Florida, with pictures of the house, flowers, pool and an outline of his day: coffee and morning paper, walk down the beach with the dog, etc. The swine. Wait till the Florida flies get to him in July and he wants to come north and visit for a month. No room at the Smiley inn,.little Smiley. On the'vHfôle,' : the letters I get are delightful. A typical example came in the other day from Bill Francis, Moncton, B.C. He says such nice things about the column that I blush even to read them, and would never put them in print. But more to the point, his letter is witty, informative, alive. He's no chicken, a W.W. 1 infantry private. I'll quote a bit. "Though obviously a man of sound common sense, I wonder how, in your youth, you got involved in flying a fighter plane, let alone risking combat in one. (Ed. note : me too!) I remember during those war years, watching a young fellow land his old Ayro Anson like a wounded pelican in the middle of our freight yard and walk away from the wreck looking a little sheepish. Soon after, and nearby, another boy flew his Harvard trainer at full speed into a grove of trees one foggy morning. He didn't walk away from that one." Speaking of education, he says he attended five different schools and doesn't think much of today's big schools. Of the new permissiveness: "Anti-social behaviour toaay may be blamed on everything from sun spots to Grandpa's weakness for women and hard liquor, which all agree is a vast improvement on the old concept." A strapping at school and another at home for being strapped at school. His last school was graded "superior," because it taught to Grade 11. Equipment consisted of a tray of mineral specimens, the remains of a cheap chemistry set, and a leather strap, but managed to turn out a number of people who went into the professions. Bill Francis says: "The school's rather good record was due not only to excellent instruction,, but also to drawing, from a radius of five miles around, those whose eyes were fixed on distant goals and whose legs were equal to hoofing it back and forth. There was nothing wrong with my legs and I lived nearby. "Just a little light upstairs, they said; a handicap I've learned to live with." "Now, some seventy years later and a little wiser, I have become just an old fellow round whom the wind blows in the laugh of the loon and the caw of the crows and the wind whistles by so dreary and cold, in chilling disdain of ways that are old. But this feckless old fellow just putters around and heeds not the wind nor its desolate sound. Cares not a whit for what the winds say; just listens for echoes of things far away." I think that is wise and honest and real. May I feel the same. I'll be in touch, Bill Francis. You're a literate man with some brains in your head. An unusual phenomenon. Letters to the Editor Copy of letter sent to Oshawa's NDP M.P., Edward Broadbent, Durham East's P.C., M.P.P. Sam Curcatz and Durham - Northumberland's P.C., M.P. Allan Lawrence, Dear Sirs, I am a resident in the federal riding of Oshawa and the provincial riding of Durham East. I am a Grade 12 graduate from O'Neill C.V.I. in Oshawa and I just completed my second year at Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario. I have been actively involved with the Oshawa and District Oslany Association and during these past years, held the offices of Treasurer (1077/81) and Vice-President (1981/112) of that respective organization. As you may know I've also been involved with the Trent University Student Union this past year (1989/8-1). 1 held the position of Otonahee College's representative for T.S.U. Thu local Ostomy chapter notified fellow ostomates, including myself on the matter of further assistance for all ostomates across Canada. (Re: Oshawa and District Ostomy Assoc. June/84 Bulletin pp 4-7). In fact, the standing committee on health, welfare and social affairs in Ottawa discussed this matter with representatives of the United Ostomy Association of Canada, last February 20th, 1984. Ostomates have come a long way from the days when this topic was hidden in the closets. Until about 25 years ago, ostomates did not receive much help from anyone, not even from some government agencies. They were fitted with heavy rubber pouches that protruded under their clothing, wore extremely irritating (o the skin and they frequently leaked and smelled. Many of them shut themselves from the world and became recluses, I am sure you know some lliings about ostomy surgery. To fill you in for some more details, an ostomate is a person who has undergone surgery and has lost all or part of his or her rectum, large bowel or bladder and after removing the diseased parts, the surgeon brings the end of the bowel through the abdominal wall and forms what we call a stama. Most ostomates must wear a pouch or an appliance over that stama to collect feces or urine for the rest of their lives. In my ease, I received an ileostomy because of ulcerative Colitis backover 10 years ago. Recently, I underwent surgery at Toronto General Hospital so to have an internal pouch (Kock Pouch) done on me. I am one of four individuals in this area who has an internal type ileostomy, whereby I don't have to wear an appliances or, pouch. Mind you I still require some surgical dressings, etc. Many people say they would rallier he dead than have that, hut lei me assure you, life for an ostomate is not bad. I have had an ostomy for almost 10 years and underwent ti operations dealing with it and yet I am living a full, happy and comfortable life. Really my ostomy lias released me from that terrible disease, ulcerative Colitis. What I am concerned about though is the high costs of osloiny supplies in this area. When one, like myself, who is not covered under any drug plan, one finds these necessary items as expensive or costly. I am sure I am not the only one who has to deal with the high costs of ostomy supplies. Ostomates do have financial help in some parts of Canada. In the four western provinces and in Quebec, all ostomates are reimbursed to the extent of anything from 90 per cent lo 100 per cent of their costs. In the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, ostomates who are over 89 years of ago do receive help, in Ontario, ostomates who are 18 years or under arc the only ones who receive government assistance. Mind you, that in eases similar to mine, I am not eligible for help, except from the Durham Region's Social Services Department. But that is only good while I am attending school full time or if I ever become unemployed. In between school terms, 1 have to pay the entire eosls of my supplies even though I need most of my income for university next year. I guess though that I am in a heller position than others, especially those in P.E.I. and Newfoundland who do not offer any help whatsoever. It seems strange to me that such countries as the United Kingdom, West Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Holland, Austria, Spain, Auslrailia and New Zealand provide free supplies or full reimbursement for all expenses to ostomates whereas, Canada does not! We need to provide help for all ostmates in these provinces where no help is available and to improve and extend the help available in other provinces, including Ontario. All ostmates in Canada, should receive full coverage for their pou dies, appliances and accessory, items, for the care of their ostomy, so all can lead a full, healthy and comfortable life, July 17, 1984 Dear John: I would like, at this lime, to "thank you" for your very fine coverage of Legion Branch 178, Bowmanville activities, over the past lour years that I was president. Your willingness to help Br. 178 will always be remembered. remembered. 1 also wish you a "Speedy Recovery" from your recent operation, Yours in Comrndship Doug Walton