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2 I don't know 4 ' about you, but I'm ving a tough time keeping of on all the latest gossip and rumours about the Royals, as in Royal Family, that happy gang across the Pond who seem to be forever in one pickle or another. The trials and tribulations of Fergie and Andrew, Charles and Di, Anno and Mark. Mi , are pi phe its ogre talk show hosts, and any number of so-called "authors" who pay big bucks for the tiniest of Palace tid-bits, never mind if they are trueornot. | Am I 10 be believe, for example, as one author says, that Lady Di set out to "trap" Prince Charles into pretending to share his interests: classical music, once she got him to the alter, produced the requisite "heir and the spare," she was quite content to lead a life of splendid (if not lonely) luxury while Charles could go off to spend his time talking to the trees or fretting about the state of modern architecture. Anne and Captain Mark have finally agreed 10 call the marriage "kaput," though it has been a marriage in game only for years. As listen in on the gossip. After much delibera- tion on this topic (oh, all of three minutes) I have reached the conclusion that the real value of the Royals is not the enduring tra- dition of thé Monarchy, but rather as muse- um pieces to amuse the masses, entertain them. The Royals, at least this current crop, their photos (warts and all) in a magazine today is like taking a Fides) A yweed Dacudise vin Nations he Rayss ave bcos pein 8 society ti g on Whether you love them or loathe them, the affect i§ the same: they take society's mind off the grind and drudgery of daily life, like prime time television. They appeal to the emotions rather than the intellect. Watching Abolish the Monarchy, say some. Why? 'What good would that do. The Royals cost a pittance. They are cheap entertainment. Avi hi Sav 3 Sours tend i) we » for the Queen's sister, Margaret, well, what can one say. Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, seems 10 escape without her personal life getting across the coals, but then after all, consider het age. , from time to time, one does hear a nasty refer- ence to the fact that despite being one of the wealthiest individuals on the planet (net worth, some $12 billion) she pays no taxes. My own personal attitude to the Monarchy is At times, I feel the we can "Speaking of entertainment (not cheap) now that the province has given casinos the green light for Ontario, maybe Scugog Township should jump on the band wagon. Think of the jobs that would be created. Think of the number of tourists that would arrive here by the bus-load for a few hours of black jack and roulette, followed by a shopping spree in the local stores. Scugog has bless could everything gam! " want: a beautiful setting Gar nicer than -4 ing hored off Port Perry or cruis- years. But then reading shenani- ing slowly around the lake on a warm, gans about this particular of Royals moon-lit summer's evening. quickly tests my patience as to the necessity OK, this is crazy, you say. The last thing the Monarchy. I have always been fasci- in the world Scugog Township needs is a nated by Royal fascination. Why do super- gambling casino. But is it? Gambling is an World's gone crazy, hasn't it though? If you hawe any doubts about that, you've been onSome other planet this week. What has been going on in Los Angeles is as as crazy gots. » People killing each other. Burning buildings. Looting. Their actions are crazy, you just can't deny that, but I've been doing pleaty of thinking about the whole issue, and the more 1 think about, it, the more I think there's nothing at all crazy about the anger that caused the riots in L.A. How can you blame them for being angry? People all over the world are angry about the Rodney King verdict which freed Video is one of the most important, most powerful weapons of truth in exi People the world over saw the King video, saw the beating, and assumed a court of law would see it the same way. But for reasons most people caii't under- stand, the verdict found the policemen not The resulting rage was perfectly under- standable -- not the-way this rage was but the anger itself. How could these men get away with what they did? They claimed their actions were justi- fiable force, but people aren't stupid - there's no way what happened to Rodney King was justifiable, How can you possi- bly justify several armed policemen repeat dly beating one man with nightsticks (i call them L.A. Gear) and kicking him in the head? You sce, I think that's why people are so outraged about this whole situation. If that kind of beating is justified for Mr. King, what's to protect the rest of us? I simply do not like the idea that I can be beaten within an inch of my life by the very people who are paid to protect society. Nobody deserves to be treated the way Mr. King was. Nobody. If the video didn't exist, the King beat- ing would have been swept under the rug -- nobody would have seen the horror of it with their own eyes. But the fact remains, we did see it. And we'll never feel the same way again about the issue of police brutali- | ty. It's pot an issue of colour or of race. "'s an issue of civil rights. 1 und d the Ameri is thinking about laying federal charges against these policemen. 1 hope thgy do. pay huge sums for Royal tid-bits? Do popular all over Ontario. Tell me the dif- what a photo of Anne falling of ference between buying a bingo'éard or her horse is worth? Or Di in a bikini, or slipping a loonie into a one-armed bandit. Fergie pool-side with some Texas oil heir? Casinos are coming 10 Ontario. And D v Mega-bucks..And they are worth mega- will be an economic shot in the am. So, look so contemporary, if thelr clothes weren't so old-fashioned bucks because the public on both sides of . why not Scugog Township. After all, we a iS PAChUre Wi Shon vasursey. But it wasn -- it was the Pond and elsewhere around the Globe are not having any luck attracting industry. taken a long. long long time ago by Port Perry photographer W.H. Leonard. if you pay mega-bucks 10 titter af the pictures and Just thinking out loud. ga can identify these children, call the museum at 985-3589. Rob Smith, Brenna Johnston and Anna Van Den Berg have'a few things in common. They're all from Blackstock and they all work at The Country Oven Restaurant on Highway 12, When they're not cooking or serving customers, their quite diverse. Rob lives for playing his (drums. Brenna plays with her horse named | 'Summer: and Anna +| 'and no play makes Jol inher garden. All work a dull boy after alll