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aE 18 -- PORY PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, March 3, 1987 Take a Look Back 2 | This week's photograph shows a home that is still standing. It is the first house - south of Myrtle United Church in Myrtle Sta- tion. Taken circa 1910, it was not known -when the house was originally built and by whom; nor who the couple standing in front are. It is known, however, that Jim Cooper purchased the property in 1914 and resid- ed there until he moved to south Myrtle in- to the Eleanor Thornton house in the late 1940s. Photograph courtesy Whitby Historical Society lls ~ Viewpoint by ROXANNE REVELER The weather during the past few months has been nothing short of spectacular for this time of year. The bright sun seemed to defy the thermometer and make one feel it was - much warmer than it actually was ... almost spring-like was a term heard more often than not around town. And during these incredibly lovely two weeks, I could not help but notice more and more of those die-hard runners tak- ing to the streets. Although their numbers are significant- ly higher than they were during the cold bleak day s of mid-winter, there did not appear to be as many as in former years. As a matter of fact, now that I think back, there seem to be fewer and fewer of these people dashing about as each year goes by, and I finally figured out why. "+ We are in the middle of a revolution. Sud- denly, people by the millions -- gaunt, out of breath, sore-legged -- are casting off their costly and fetid sneakers and dropping by the wayside, where they lie down, close their eyes and smile broadly. They are busy discover- ing the most relaxing new trend to hit Western society since the invention of the Jacuzzi . not running. ' After months or years of strenuous over- exertion, people are beginning to ask why? Why drive yourself to the point of exhaustion? Why pound \ your feet to bloody stumps? Why pretend pain is good for you? Why terrorize entire communities by thundering around the streets in massive, unruly, grunting herds? Today, non-running is our slowest but steadiest-growing past-time. The Ministry of Sedentary Activity estimates that there are more than 600 million non-runners in North America and Europe. What kind of people are these non-runners" Who are these pathfinders bold enough to drop out of the faddish rat race? Are they weirdos" Ginks? Sociopaths"? Harmless eccentrics? Brain-washed zom- bies? Commie spies" Not at all. Surprisingly, non-runners are very much like you and me. They include people from every walk of life. And there are not only walkers. There are sitters, leaners, nappers, starers, procrastinators, popsicle-lickers, readers, sneezers, yawners, stumblers, stamp . collectors and, of course, the totally immobile. Many non-runners have been doing it all their lives. Others have only recently kicked" the running habit to join the swelling ranks of the unrun. Together these non-runnes spend billions of dollars annually on products total- ly unrelated to running in any way. Without them and their non-running-related expen- . ditures, the economy would fold up in a minute. But the economic gain from non-running 1s only part of the picture. There is the spiritual side too. Non-runners feel a kinship that expresses itself in innumerable ways. Non-runners will often wave to other non- runners they don't even know. Sometimes, they will even invite them home to dinner. * And there is the well-known psychological lift that comes to non-runners. After the first half hour or so of non-running, you become so elated by the realization that you are not out in the hot sun or in the pouring rain pounding around a hard sidewalk or dusty road that you may find yourself uttering a restrained sigh. This indefinable sense of quiet satisfaction is 'one of the things that makes not running so enjoyable. People find that once they start to not run, it's hard to stop. After just a small taste, the tyro non-runner finds his body demanding more and more until he is almost smiling with the sheer joy of not running. It is this "up" feeling that enables veteran non-runners to go 24 hours a day without running a single step. Even more astonishing, there are those, who, by combining non-running with meditation, have achieved a mental state in which they. don't even think about running for months on end (Turn to page 20) RR hes Reflections of a golden age, by Mabel M. McCabe old Remedies Do Work There is an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. This was brought home forcefully to me in the paper of Feb. 4th. On the front page was a photo of the outdoor rink at the lawn bowling grounds in Port Perry. Memories came flooding back to engulf me. There are so few of the outdoor areas given over to skating that one thinks they have disappeared forever from our scene. Then this picture. How | recall my youth on the ponds and surfaces around my home. | always felt that | was going so fast when really it was the wind giving me a helping hand. It became clear when | tried to turn and go back against it. The vitality that was induced by the exercise and the fresh air would fill me. - Of course, there were the days of frost-bittert nosés and toes. but it seemed a small price to pay. | remember taking off my skates and suddenly feeling that burning tingle that turned into actual pain. Many an evening, | recall running through the snow banks in my stock- ing feet to draw out. the frost. Now we are told that is all wrong, and it will damage the par- ticular part of your anatomy if you put ice or snow on it. Strange, I've still retained the full use of my toes, my nose and my fingers, and I'm nearing seventy. You know some of the old remedies do work. Still, memory brings those wonderful people who were with me 'on these adventures back into focus. Dad, who was 'a great speed skating instructor. My sister who was so good and such a dear friend. Cousin Jimmy, who always seemed to be wherever my father was. And of course, mother, who did not skate, but was home to greet her chilled family with hot chocolate or homemade soup. | see us still in my mind's eye around the table joking and laughing with roses in our cheeks that no rouge could ever match. Before we could enjoy the warmth of the drink, we had to look after our equipment. Our skates must be rinsed down with hot water to take the frost out of the tubes. Then dried thoroughly. Laces un- tangled and straightened out so they would not rot and break. We were taught to do these things because our things cost money, and that was a scarce commodity, during the depression years. I wonder if those kids in the picture know how to care for skates, and if they are keeping them in good shape. If they do, those thirigs can be handed on to others when outgrown. This is a nice program, because it could be, that a child may get skates Who never would never have been able to afford them. Passing on one's outgrown articles td less fortunate is an extra plus that each of us should feel. There is nothing so rewarding as knowing that you have given of yourself to another. Even if it is just a pair of skates; it is from you. One thing must be stressed here, never make a remark or a sign that the recipient is wearing cast down ar- ticles, for that is cruel. I'd like to take this time to thank all those who were responsible for this rinks existence. From the gentleman in this paper who thought about it, to those who worked hard to get it in shape. May you all have many happy days recreation on the ice. Letters To The Editor A thank you to the people of the Port Perry Star for publishing the excellent tribute to a well-beloved brother Paul Diamond. And a well deserved thanks for the unknown. as vet. author, whom 1 somehow suspect to be a VON. was moving and comforting. Paul did it his way! Sincerely. Marjorie Stevenson. Brooklin. nurse. It was beautifully writen and