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12- Ofono Weekly Times Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Basic Black by Arthur Black We have met the enemy... One of the great: comic strips published in my lifetime--and yes, Virginia, there was a time when the juxtaposition juxtaposition of'great' and 'comic strip' in the same sentence sentence did not evoke a smirk--was called Pogo. It ran in hundreds of North American newspapers newspapers from the 40s until well into the 70s when it's "genial creator Walt Kelly called it quits. Both to life and to writing writing comic strips. 'Pogo' was the name of a whimsical, talking opossum who presided, loosely. speaking, over an Evergladian swampland swampland that featured a^ cigar-smoking alligator, a poetry-spouting owl and a pessimistic turtle named Churchy ' La Femme among other unlikely and unforgettable unforgettable critters. Mister Kelly's M.O. was ingenious. ingenious. His strip featured no humans, just animals. He gave them the gift of speech then let them comment on political events of the day. Those animals said a lot of memorable things in the years the strip ran in the papers. One of my favourites came from the lips of Pogo, who, surveying some political debacle of the day, commented commented wryly "We have met the enemy and he is us." A pithy way of underlining the old chestnut that humans are their one worst enemy. Not hard to prove. Was there ever a species on the earth that fouled its nest as enthusiastically enthusiastically as we do? From poisoned poisoned ozone to gas-guzzling gas-guzzling SUV's; from pollution-strangled pollution-strangled rivers to chain-sawed rainforests. We are not a class act, chum. And we never seem to learn. The fabled Cedars of Lebanon are just a cliché from the Bible, destroyed for ships keels and--probably--firewood and--probably--firewood millennia hgo, leaving only desert where they once stood, dark, green and majestic. majestic. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, Easter Islanders were chopping down their last trees to serve as log rollers to move their huge stone monuments. Are we getting smarter? smarter? Can we pronounce 'New Orleans'? A gorgeous gorgeous city where for most of the last century authorities, drained' and bulldozed more than a million acres of marshland--to marshland--to sell houses. Marshland that nature Classified Business Directory Ace Submarine "Nothing but the best!" 905-987-4064 3211 Hwy 35/115 Newcastle Mon - Fri 7am - 9pm Sat/Sun 8-8 Fine Finishes by T Osmond COMPLETE Furniture Repair * and Restoration Caning • Veneering • Carving French Polishes & Wicker Repair 905-786-2477 Experience You Can Trust GRUNDY'S COUNTRY UPHOLSTERY 3375 Cone. 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IVAN JONES TONY FANARA Orono 905-983-5303 Hampton 905-263-9988 Debra Inglis Interior Design ppery n 4312 Conc:r#6,Kendal 905-983-5900 Clarington Beech Centre 26 Beech Ave!, Bowm'anville Modern Facility Historical Setting Weddings, Banquets, Meetings (30 to 250 people) Self-catering kitchen. 905-697-2856 INSTALLED CHATTERTON ELECTRIC RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL POLE LINE CONSTRUCTION ' Dave Chatterton Orono, Ontario Tel: 905-983-5546 If no answer: 905-983-5940 had provided to protect against disasters like... oh, can we say, 'Katrina'? 'Katrina'? We are dumb, no question. But maybe we're finally getting it. The London Zoo recently recently opened a new exhibit in a public display situated situated between the polar bears and the Siberian . tiger enclosure. .. It was called simply "Homo sapiens". It consisted consisted of a large cage containing eight hairless, hairless, pink-skinned creatures creatures dressed only in fig ' leaves, which chattered at each other and entertained entertained themselves as best they could. People --the antithesis of a Pogo comic strip.. Sort of a day in the . life of The Simpsons without the suburban . trappings of Springfield. The exhibit only lasted lasted for four days but it made its point. And it pulled no punches. The press release. announcing announcing the Homo sapiens display explained that it was meant to "highlight the spread of map as a plague species." Maybe it's a good . sign. Perhaps if we can publicly recognize the damage that we've done, we can turn it around and use our fabled inge- nuity to actually heal the planet. Maybe. But it's not like we haven't known the score for some time. I remember years ago when a traveling circus circus came through the small town I lived in. The circus featured the usual B-circuit offerings --a miniature midway with a merry-go-round and a carousel. A 'Guess Your Weight' gypsy, a Fat Lady and plenty of overpriced cotton cotton candy. They had animals too: Sortie chimpanzees, a boa constrictor and a mangy brown bear _ wearing a silly hat. And there was one curtain behind which-- for twenty-five cents, you could see the most fearsome creature on earth. This Way to See the World's Most Dangerous Animal the sign read. , You paid your two bits, pushed your way .through a moth-eaten curtain and came face to face with the most awesome, awesome, destructive beast, ever spawned. For a mere twenty-five cents you could see this ravening ravening beast in all his fearsome fearsome majesty. lira full-length mirror. mirror. rise to the top With two victories in their last two outings Orono Minor Midgets continue to the top of the • standings. On February 8th, we topped Bow- manville Rotary 9-3. - Leading the way for the Bakshop boys were • Ben Stefaniri with 3 (g) and 4 (a), Matt Dobson with 3(g) and 4 (a), ' Scott Sikma 2 (g), 2 (a), Devon Coutu 1(g), 1 (a), Chris Lupel 3 (a) and Matt Mercer 1 (a). The next game was February 14th" against -, T.D Canada Trust we ; came away with a 5-2 victory. Matt Dobspn was on the score board . with a hat trick, Ben Stefanin 1 (g) 3 (a), Matt Mercer 1 (g) assisted by Jeff Mulder, Chris Lupel and Scott Sikma each had one assist. >; Tanner Johnston and Bryce Cochrane shared the net minding for both games. Great team effort by all the members of the Minor Midget team is showing in their quest for top place standings. standings. It's a fact that many fire deaths I are caused by.people attempting . ; , , i | tp cook or smoke while under the influence of alcohol, There's more to responsible drinking - MÆ* than taking a cab; Don't put yourself- ; . :lpS or your family-a '&/(? ■ " ■ W . ,