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

NS [HA WS Dra Ee ol 37 RAL RZ > ry Ah AE pe po APES SERENE AS editoriol poge a Dr. Charles Best Canada lost one of its outstanding citizens last week with the death in Toronto of Dr. Charles Herbert Best. He was 79. In 1921, Dr. Best and his partner Dr. Frederick Banting received world-wide acclaim when they extracted insulin from the pancreas of animals and successfully used it to treat diabetes. in human beings. Their discovery is credited with prolonging the lives of millions of people around the world who suffer from the disease. Dr. Banting, a surgeon, died in an airplane crash in 1941, and Dr. Best continued his work as a biochemist. After his retirement he lectured and spoke on the need for continued research into the causes and treatment of diabetes. Dr. Best died last Friday following surgery to remove undissolved material from the bloodstream and to repair a ruptured artery in his stomach. He had collapsed at his home a week ago Sunday after learning that one of his sons had died of a heart attack. The amazing discovery by Drs. Banting and Best has of course been told many times; of how they worked in a small and cramped laboratory, which by today's standards would be considered woefully _ inadequate. In noting with sadness the passing of this pioneer in medical research, Canadians should also remember that the search for controls and cures of dozens of-diseases is still going on. And while we may marvel at the ingenuity and brilliance of Drs. Best and Banting so many years ago, we should also remember that research in 1978 is expensive, very expensive, and men and women working in the laboratories today are constantly hamstrung for lack of funds. While incredible advances have been made in . medical science even in the past decade, there are many mysteries that have not yet been unravelled. Canadians should honour the memory of Dr. Best this year by giving a little more generously to support those who continue to work to make the quality of life a little better for us all. Nobody Interested? Last Thursday night the Scugog Ratepayers Association held its annual meeting in Port Perry, and it is fair to say that there was no shortage of chairs for those who attended. It must be discouraging for the handful of . members who did turn out to see such poor attendance. And it is to their credit that the active members of the present Association have managed to keep from folding completely. Granted, there has not been a 'burning issue' in the Township for the past year or so, but it seems somehow sad that the only time the overwhelming number of citizens will. get out to these kinds of meetings is when there is something "boiling on the front burner'. The meeting Thursday night was advertised, as was the fact that Yvonne Christie, chairman of the Durham Board of - Education would be the guest speaker. Mrs. Christie and her Board are about to bring in an education budget of something in the neighbourhood of $75 million. One would think that fact alone would prompt a few more citizens to get out, hear what she has to say, and take the opportunity to ask some questions about education in general in Durham Region. After all, the cost of education by far and away takes the largest bite out of the taxes paid by property owners in Durham. Apathy. One hates to use that word when talking about the public, but how else can one account for the apparent lack of interest in local affairs shown by so many citizens in Scugog Township. = It couldn't be laziness, could it? bill | o | One of my favorite indoor sports is leafing through travel brochures, and I've been indulging myself lately, while plann- ing a jaunt to Europe this summer. I revel in the colorful descriptions of exotic and romantic places, even though I know they are generally a lot of hogwash. It is common knowledge that Venice stinks like an open sewer, but I still want to have a gander at the Doge's Palace and the F&A Pra "I's FROM GHRETIEN .... 4) Gants. HAVING 4 HELLUY) Time, wish vou were HERE!" Bridge of Sighs. - I am perfectly aware that being a Canadian tourist in Paris is like being an open safe in a houseful of burglars. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to visit Notre Dame and have a dekko at the gréat : bells where the Hunchback thereof swung so merrily. - I'm pretty sure that I won't be having an audience with the Pope, but I'd still like to stand in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, gawking at Michelangelo's magmticent ceiling with all the other tourists. I'd love to ride down the Rhine guzzling pilsener and looking at castles, with one eye peeled in case we spotted Die Lorelei sitting on a rock in the midle of that polluted stream. i I'd delight in a real Hungarian goulash, Bavarian sauerbraten, Italian pasta, or * even' an honest 'Swiss steak. . ghia It would be great to drop in on old prison camp friends like Nils Jorgenson in Oslo, Milan Karic in Dubrovnik, Jean Morai in Liege, Belgium, Rostislav Kandusky in Morava, Czechoslovakia. Evan though I know they would no longer be dashing young fighter pilots, but pot-bellied burgers heading toward senior citizenship. In fact, I could happily take off every summer and spend six weeks or more kicking around Great Britain and Europe, looking up old acquaintances, making new friends, and devouring scenery and history. There are only two things that stop me from doing this. One is money. The other is my wife. There's not enough of the first .item. And it almost takes dynamite to get the second item travelling. Looking -at- prices, I-am shaken fairly rigid by the way they have shot up in the five years since we last went abroad. 'Hotel prices in London have zoomed by 50 percent or more, to make that city, once a real bargain, one of the more expensive places to visit. : For example, by taking advantage of a 'special discount" connected with our tour, we are able to stay for one night at the Penta Hotel for a mere $56.00. Regular rate is $62.00. Last time we were over, we stayed at a middle-class hotel, with bed ..and breakfast for $32.00. And while the Penta is a new hotel, 'and no doubt very smart, it is far from being one of the great hotels of London. At that rate of increase, a double room at the Dorechester or the Savoy would now set one back about $150.00. : . Probably the answer is simply London's popularity. Although many new hotels have been built in the last decade, there is still an enormous demand for rooms, with hundreds of thousands of Nogth Americans ~ Europeans and Asians pouring into the fabulous old town every summer, mouths open, wallets bulging, and cameras click- ing. Nor does it help that the pound has got back some stability, while the Canadian dollar has sunk to Depression levels. A colleague who was over: there last summer suggested, "Take as much money as you think you'll need, then double it. - They - whack you a buck for a cup of coffee." When I was young and in my prime, as they say, the British pound was the sound- est security in the world. A pound was worth about five dollars. Today, the pound is one-of thé least envied and most unstable units of currency in the western world. It used to be an evening on the town, albeit not a wild one, but a 'couple of drinks, a show and something to eat. Now it's an average-sized. tip after a. meal... That's what happens when you win a couple of wars and lose an empire. But it isn't the money that bothers me about making the trip. It's the Old Lady. First of all, she can pack so much stuff into a suitcase that it takes an adult male gorilla to life the thing. That's why I came home from our last trip with my arms stretched to down around my knees, Second of all, she is somewhat of an insomniac. Hot milk, nightcap, Sleeping t pills, you name it and her system shrugs off as you or I would a lifesaver. That's at home. . Imagine what she's like when we're on the move constantly, sleeping in strange 'beds every night, eating strange food, getting excited at new sights and sounds and people. hours a night and the rest of the time is an advanced case of somnambulism. Why ani I so selfish then, you may well - ask. Why do I drag her off to foreign fields, where she'll be lucky if she sits down on the edge of a fountain and people don't think she's a statue? Because she won't let me go alone. Many a time I've offered. "Why don't you just stay home, dear, and have a nice, quiet time around the house? I'll send you a card every day, and I'll be back in only six weeks, before you know it." : --8he doesn't trust me; even 'when T tell her it's the ladies, not the men,- who get pinched in Rome. . So that's why I'm saving quarters in the cookie jar and refurbishing my once-fluent French, German and Italian. derci, Mademoiselle, was maken sie hier? Nix offnen der tor bevor der zug halte. Avez-vous des bluejinsi? Mein epouse nich schlaffen prima." Expect there'll be no problems when you can handle the lingo like that. : The Argyle Syndicate Itd. She knocks off one or two . '"'Arrive- 9 RJ Sb ----