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4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Wed. May 23, 1984 editorial comments /980 MEDDL/IsT BACK JO DEFEND HIS TITLE chatterbox by Cathy Robb HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW truly bizzare, and I'm not talking about Scugog Council. Nancy Prentice was the first victim. ust happened. customers. She looked normal, her blouse neatly press- ed, her lipstick on, her light brown hair curled nicely in place. ficient steps to get her home quickly. finally did get home, she just wasn't the same person. Somewhere between the office and her house, Nancy made a detour, and that's when it happened. bbie McEachern, one of the Star's ad staff, was manic fever has been sweeping the office, and the town. You could be next. The fever starts when you look in the mirror and aren't quite satisfied with the mug that's staring back. Brinkley after all. You wonder how come you weren't born with fifteen feet of wonderously thick blonde hair. You wonder if blondes really do have more fun, and if your brown hair is the reason for your lacklustre social ife. You stew about your general state of ugliness for a little while, looking to boyfriends and husbands for reassurance, not getting any, looking to girlfriends and mothers for reassurances, not getting any, while the fever burns brighter inside you. It itches like a flea- infested wool sweater crammed down inside your stomach and it's all you can think of. Time for a change. Time for a change. Time for a ... and then you DO IT. You pick up the phone and dial with crazed fingers, hoping there's room for you, pray- ing there's not, thinking IF I DON'T GET AN AP- POINTMENT RIGHT NOW, I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH WITH IT. AND IF I DON'T GO THROUGH WITH IT RIGHT NOW, | NEVER WILL. And then I'll be ugly for as long as I live. And then the fever can take one of two courses. It town or it can clam you up (like a clam). Nancy Prentice was pretty clammed. | mean, one minute she had your basic, everyday brown hair. Nice, but average. Then the fever hit her and the next day she came walking through the office with screaming platinum blonde streaks. Va va vavoom. There's something weird in this town, something On the day it happened, nothing appeared out of lace. There was no warning of what was to come. It Her day went without incident: answering phones at the Port Perry Star office, working on the classified ads, drinking coffee and making small talk with At five o'clock she cleaned off her desk and left the office, walking as she usually does, alone with brisk ef- But she was hours late getting home, and when she the next victim. And I came after her. Some sort of You're disappointed that you don't resemble Christie can either force you to spread your intentions all over Nobody had known about her intentions. At least, I didn't. And there she was, looking like Rita Hayworth or somebody. And the there was Debbie (this is the sob story of the year -- get ready with your Kleenex). Debbie had no identifiable reason for getting the fever, except that it was catching. Deb was already blonde with four feet of the thick, shiny stuff hanging down long enough to sit on. She hadn't had a serious haircut for nine years and her hair was the envy of every woman who has ever dreamed of being Rapunzel, and the glint in every man's eye (don't all men dream of girls with long blonde hair). But then the fever hit her, with a force that would knock out Darth Vadar with a single blow. She got the first twinges of the fever last fall and ranted and raved and threatened to get her hair cut all winter. Nobody believed she would. Even when she made the appoint- ment nobody believed her. I didn't, for sure. I figured it was just Deb ranting again. But little did I know the extent of her fever. It con- sumed her, made her reckless. She forgot how gorgeous her hair really was and dreamed of shorter days when she would be known as Debbie, not *'the lady with the long blonde hair." So she did it. A couple of weeks ago Deb headed down to the Hair Shoppe (the same place Nancy went to, by the way) where her hair was cut off by the bagful. Then it was shaped and permed and styled. She looked like Barbara Streisand (sort of). Because her blondeness was due to years of sun bleaching, she was an instant brunette when her hair was cut off. She looks terrific, but she certainly looks different. Deb has been the talk of the neighbourhood ever since. And then it was my turn to catch the fever ---- ex- cept that I had an excuse. I was in this play, see, The Shadow Box, and I played a real shady lady ---- a real, pardon the expression, tramp. And I had this feeling about Beverly (my character's name). Beverly wasn't dark-haired like me. I could feel it in my bones. She was a flaming red-head or a bleached blonde, or maybe a little of both. Not a boring brunette like me. So I too got the fever, and headed down to the Hair Shoppe where Carole proceeded to streak, bleach and colour my hair, and then my eyebrows to match. I am now what you'd call a strawberry blonde and am waiting impatiently to have more fun. Isn't that what they say, that blondes have more fun? Well where is it? I'm waiting. Anyways, the fever seems to be gaining momen- tum. My editor got his hair buzzed the other day, as did (Turn to page 6) How Typical Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and NDP leader Ed Broadbent clashed recently over the wording of a peace resolution the PM wants introduced into the Commons for support from the three major parties in Canada. Broadbent has tried to have several points added to the resolution, and last week, the battle heated up when Trudeau fired off an angry letter to the NDP leader accusing him of trying to score some political points. Broadbent didn't waste any time replying to the PM, accusing him of petulance, having a closed mind. He even went so far as to call Mr. Trudeau's actions "biz- zare and outrageous.' So much for peace and harmony. So much for com- promise. When politicians get into a public spitting match over the wording of a peace resolution for the Canadian Parliament, one begins to get a little better understan- ding why the world is cranking out weapons at an un- precedent rate; why those super tankers are going down under military fire in the Persian Gulf; why Central America is alive with armed struggle; why the Russians and Americans have broken off arms talks; why there are a dozen flash points in the world today; and so on. Nobody can agree on anything these days, not even the wording of what should be a simple resolution about peace, of all things. How typical of the way we do things. Heaven help us all.. Drunks On The Road --~ \ Nod The attitude of Scugog Township council towards a request for a grant from PRIDE Durham is a little disappointing. PRIDE (which stands for People to Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) is attempting to bring the message to the public in Durham Region that impaired driving and the havoc it causes is a major social problem facing everyone in society today. The Durham organization asked for $500 (aonetime contribution) from each municipality in the Region, and the request was flatly rejected last week by Scugog Council. Some members of council suggested that organiza- tions such as this aren't going to do much to reduce im- paired driving, thus a grant of $500 would be a waste of taxpayers money. Surely, this is not so. While we agree completely with the comments from some local councillors that stif- fer laws are required against people who drink and then take the wheel of a car or truck, we think that a better informed public is important as well. The perils of drinking and driving have been well documented in recent years as governments, police forces and the courts are taking the matter very seriously. It is estimated that about half the fatal accidents in Canada each year involve at least one driver who had been drinking. In 1982, in Ontario alone, more than 1200 people lost their lives in traffic mishaps. The people who have become involved in PRIDE ofter are those who have lost loved ones through a fatal accident where alcohol was involved, so their commit- ment is genuine and dedicated. The drinking-driving problem facing society in this province and the rest of Canada is a complex one with many dimensions. As we said, tougher laws may be part of the solu- tion, but better information and increased public awareness are needed too. The grant request of $500 for Scugog Township council is not unreasonable, and it is not an unrealistic sum of money for a growing community with more than 14.000 people. : PRIDE Durham is not asking for on-going contribu- tions from any municipality. The council should » Ve some re-consideration to the request. It is an issue that affects all of us, in one way or another. It deserves some support from our elected representatives. A A mI. 0 it ec es WR BANS am ----