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wp Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, August 11,1992 -9 4a VHEWPOINTS John BNeClelland GETTING HOOKED, 4 AGAIN! They do it to me almost every sum- mer, these guys. And this year is no exception. . I'm almost out of the closet. If I doo't" quite have a foot up on the band-wégon, I've sure got my eye on it. 7 1 should know beuer. Having been burned badly by these guys so many times ifthe past, I should really listen to my head and simply ignore the fact that on the 29th day of July, the Montreal Expos are tied for first place in the National League Eag. I have been an Expo fan since the team came into being back in the summer of '69. Even here in southern Ontario, the heart of Blue Jay country, they havé been my favourites. (With the Jays a close sec ond, of course) But like all Expo fans, the relauonship has been bitter-sweet; a long, drawn-out exercise in frustration punctuated by tan- talizing highs, depressing lows, and always a promise of great things to come In the beginning, the Expos were like the Mets. Nobody expected them to win, but nobody cared. They were fun to fol- low, and a tnp to Jarry Park to actually see them in person was a mad-cap, glon- ous experience, an atmosphere more hike a fesuval than a major league bascball game Of course, the Expos were Canada's only team in those days, which made rooung for them all the easier But in the late "70s and early '80s things changed for Expo fans. The team began to take itself seriously. They moved out of Jarry Park to the Big "Owe" in Montreal's cast end; players like Rogers, Raines, Dawson, Carter, Wallach and Reardon made their way into the line-up, and backed by a stellar cast of journeymen, they looked like more than a promise. Who can every for- get Bill "Spaceman" Lee and his "bon mots" in both languages. Example: "When | die my one wish is to come back to carth as a grasshopper and live in the centre field ivy in Chicago." By 1980, they were bona fide con- tenders, always in the thick of the pen- nant race, battling it out with the Cards or the Bucs or the Phils. Always so close, always so much promise, and yet always coming up just a run or a strike-out short of the big one. What Expo fan will ever forget the day Rick Monday hit that Steve Rogers pitch over the right field fence to knock the team out fe "Blue Monday," the writers Called it. And certainly it was a watershed for Expo fans. As the decade of the '80s moved along, Canada's other team vaulted into the baseball lime-lite. The Expos went downhill, playing in front of empty seats disguised as fans. Carter, Raines, Dawson, Reardon packed their bags for warmer climes and fatter pay-cheques, and the team slipped into mediocrity. Oh, sure there were a few flashes in the late 1980s: a win streak that brought them close at the All-Star break of even in August. But year after year, when it was time to be counted in September, the bubble had popped. Still, through all the lean years, | would keep an eye on the standings, check the box scores, and even, if | was stuck for something to do, tune in a game from the Stadium. So, what's going on in 927 A month ago they were eight games out. Today, dead even, and once again Expo fans are sitting up and taking notice. Instead of Caner, Dawson and Raines, my hopes are nding on guys named Grissom, Walker and DeShield. And a pitcher named Hill? Can they keep it going for another six weeks? Or this 1s just another "blip" to torment guys like me who have been more than pauent through the years? I dunno. Marquis Grissom is a fine player, but he's no Tim Raines. Ditto on DeShields and Dawson. And I don't see a Reardon down in the pen, though with Hill, they may not need one. Ever since the Expos "got a life" a few weeks ago and began their run, I've been telling myself not 10 get hooked agaig. Too many past disappointments. But I'm keeping fh on them, that's for sure. And who knagvs, maybe this is the year they............ 1... We'll see in September. FINALLY: Can somebody tell me how athletes from the former Soviet Union are getting so many medals at the Olympics? If you believe the news reports, the former USSR is flat broke and there are shortages of everything, even basic foods. Yet, they find the' money to train ath- letes to compete (and win) against the best in the world. Makes you stop and wonder just how tough things really are over there in the It's happening again. While we're preoccupied with summer vacations, landfill sites, Olympic fever and the recession, our Prime Minister is moving Canada closer and closer 10 a free trade deal with Mexico. It's not being done in secret, but there's not a big fuss being made about it either. Remember when free trade was launched with the Americans? While we were wor- ried about the free trade debate, Mr. Mulroney's government moved us inex- orably closer to the GST. Then, BOOM, it was reality and the country reacted like it was a big shock. I remember hearing about the GST during the 'free trade' election and wondering why nobody was upset about the new tax. [ asked people about it, and for the most part they told me, "I've never heard anything about a new tax." Now we pay it on a daily basis. Well anyway, it's happening again. Canadians seem blissfully unaware how close Canada is 10 a free trade agreement with Mexico. You know, Mexico, where the weekly wage is less than most Canadians make in half a day. Mexico, where 'benefits' aren't having your prescriptions or your dental bills paid for -- a 'benefit' is simply having a job. With free trade, Mexico will surely ben- efit as major manufacturers leave the land of high taxes, high wages and a high cost of living (Canada) for a country where labour is distressingly cheap. I am convinced a fro trade agreement with Mexico will spell fothing but trouble for Canadians. You think we're in a reces- sion now? Wait and sec what happens when this free trade deal is signed. Manufacturers should be given incen- tives to stay in Canada. Instead, they're being given reasons for abandoning us. B=INSILVED MYSTERY! Where the girls are Here's a challenge for mystery buffs. The photo above is the less challenging of the two: a mother and daughter, perhaps? But the photo at left is more puzzling...are they sis- ters? Friends? School chums? Committee members? Mother and daughters? Our guess is both pho- tos represent mothers and daugh- ters, but we have no idea who they are. Can you solve this week's mys- tery? If so, call Scugog Shores Museum Village at 985-3589. Scuco6 CtTizen country-with-no-name. -- Introducing JOHN MITCHELL. John's on layoff from GM these days andis * hanging out with the folks at Overridge Retail He lives in Blackstock and has been com- huting for seven years with no regrets! At home, John's an expen at clear- ing a room -- all he has to do is pick up his guitar and his wife and kids mysterious- ly disappear. "DO | HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF? | WALK THE HUMANS, | GUARD THEIR HOUSE, | RECYCLE THEIR TABLE SCRAPS, | RE- DECORATE THE BACKYARD... THE ONE THING | DRAW THE LINE AT IS CLEANING OUT THE TOILET BOWL. SO HERE, TAKE THE STUPID PLUNGER AND DO IT YOURSELF!" Touchy, 'Snapshot of the Year' and win a great prize!