6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday August 25, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist A summer day in Oakville Lilian DiRisio oday, on this hot and hazy August morning, it suddenly hit me how lucky I am to live in Oakville. I owe this resurgence of gratitude and pride to my constant visits in July to the downtown core. You see, I am a classic suburban dweller one who lives in Oakville, but Lilian DiRisio commutes daily to Toronto. In this existence, what I basically see every day is the route that takes me from my home to the QEW eastbound and back again. However, as I am a teacher, I have been blessed with a glorious summer holiday which has led me to spend more time in Oakville, again. I had forgotten how truly beautiful it is to live here. This week, I have been trying to plan a vacation getaway for myself and my family and I tend to gravitate to travels that lead me to the sea. I love beach holidays and one of my favourite places to visit is Cape Cod. The irony, of course, is that I don't need to leave here because I have exactly the same atmosphere and scenic water surroundings in Oakville that I would find in any oceanside small town. I am talking specifically about old Oakville, the Oakville I grew up in which lies south of the QEW and borders Lake Ontario. This summer has been one where I have let myself see, and appreciate, the simple things at the mouth of the Oakville harbour. I have been dropping my son off for his paddling lessons at the Burloak Canoe Club and, as I drive down Navy Street to Water Street, there appears before me a different place all together. Water Street dips down to the canoe club, which sits quietly on the shores of the Sixteen Mile Creek, and I feel I have been transported to a place nestled in tall trees somewhere in Northern Ontario. Someone once claimed this spot was a "touch of Muskoka" in Oakville. My son has loved every day of his experience here because, in his 11-year old words, the creek is "so peaceful." I then drive up around the Oakville Library, past the sailing boats that are docked along the creek , and I can see the lighthouse in the distance. This lighthouse brings back many pleasant memories of summers past, as I walk past the bowlers, dressed in their crisp whites, at the Oakville Lawn Bowling Club. I pause to look at the majestic Erchless Estate which stands as a reminder of William Chisholm, the town's founder, and Oakville's 150-year history. I walk towards the TOWARF building, and I remember councillor Fred Oliver's pride when it was built back in the late 1980s. I can remember taking many strolls along here. The coastline is truly breathtaking and I look around from the hill, which holds the name "Oakville," written in perfectly trimmed hedges, to the CN Tower in the distance. Thank you Harry Barrett for fighting to have the long and winding public trails along the lake! I take my walks here almost every day this summer. I sit on the benches that have inscriptions on them telling the sitter how this bench has been donated in loving memory of someone else, some other proud Oakvillian, who probably looked out at this very lake and enjoyed its calming effects. I read the last installment of the Harry Potter series to my children here and, in between chapters, my son skips rocks into the water just far enough to scare away the swans that are taking their leisurely swim. But, it is always the lighthouse my eyes are drawn back to because, of all the symbols I could choose to NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. 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Well, Wikipedia -- according to, ah, Wikipedia -- is the largest multi-lingual, free-content encyclopedia on the Internet, boasting eight-million-plus articles in 253 languages. The ever-expanding information bank proudly bills itself as "the encyclopedia that anyone can edit" Trouble is, the "anyone" doing the editing might be an idiot. Or a vengeful, spiteful spud. Or, someone with a vested interest in the particular entry they are editing which is to say, someone intent on wholly distorting or, at very least, subtly spinning the facts. Subsequently, not all eight-million-plus articles in 253 languages are objective or, for that matter, accurate. Recently, for example, the bios of assorted politicians on both sides of the border were tinkered with "edited," in Wikipediaspeak -- making some politicians look super good and some look like that newly released movie Superbad. Stephen Harper's bio, for instance, now reads: "Stephen Harper is the best Canadian Prime Minister ever! He likes to cuddle with kitties and hug babies, and he looks really dashing in a suit!" Conversely, Hilary Clinton's bio begins: "Hilary Clinton is a battleaxe." Okay, okay, I'm kidding. Exaggerating, slightly. Still, you can see where Wikipedia runs into problems, being an open-edit forum. And, in the case of personality profiles, those being profiled are naturally never happy (remember the old adage: biographies are distorted by ignorance while autobiographies are distorted by ego). Suffice to say, I've lost considerable sleep over my imagined Wikipedia profile. Not that there's anything scandalous or Andy Juniper inaccurate about it, just that it's numbingly boring. "Andy Juniper (born in The Dairy Capital of Canada, Woodstock, Ontario)." Yawn. Still with me? So, I got the crazy notion that if anyone can edit an entry, well, maybe, just maybe, I'm an anyone! Consequently, my beefed-up bio will read: Andy Juniper (born 1980, in the wilds of Woodstock, and subsequently raised by wolves John and Martha Wolf). He spent a pleasant, almost idyllic childhood playing road hockey, singing in the local boys choir, helping the elderly across particularly busy intersections, tirelessly raising funds for AIA (Armpit Irritations Awareness), and shooting frogs for sport with his brother's pellet gun. Andy was educated at Oxford (the Oxford Hotel, that is, not the school). He studied draft beer and both the sound and moves of a rather raucous rock band that regularly performed in the Oxford under the moribund moniker of Farmer. Unlike Farmer, it was obvious to all that Andy had a future. Andy would have received his high school diploma if he had actually earned enough credits, and he may well have then gone on to college to study the complicated craft of introducing songs on radio music was in his blood and disc-jockeying was his dream had he not been waylaid by a venture into journalism. Today Andy lives in southern California with his wife, Scarlett (yes, that Scarlett), their three adorable offspring, Scrabble, Mango and Mackerel and their four hounds, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. He is a renowned author, a sportsman, a scholar, an inactivist, a gentleman, a spy, and the previously unnamed Fifth Beatle! Chicks dig him. In brief, he is all things to all people. Okay, okay, not all of it's 100 per cent accurate. But it's close. Hey, if you want perfection, go to Picky-pedia. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.