www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, January 12, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 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. Letter to the Editor NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of UWO needs help from community to meet its $4-million goal In two weeks the United Way of Oakville's (UWO) 2011 Campaign will come to a close. While we have come a long way, we still have a gap to close in order to meet our $4-million goal. That goal reflects the very real needs of important agencies and services in our community -- services that are in danger if the goal is not met. Simply put, over the next two weeks we need to raise $100,000. Please consider a donation to help meet this challenge. Your pledge can be paid over the course of the year. Please visit the United Way of Oakville website at www.uwoakville.org to contribute online. If you have already made a pledge, would you con- Jeff Zabudsky sider a one-time additional gift to ensure that goal is reached? You have been a friend of the United Way in the past, and for that, we thank you. This year, at this time, we need our friends more than ever. Please give generously, and Live United. Thank you, Jeff Zabudsky, president and CEO, Sheridan College 2011 United Way of Oakville Campaign Chair Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award SUBMITTED PHOTO UNITED WE STAND: Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) recently donated $5,000 to the United Way of Oakville (UWO) at Local 793's head office in Oakville. From left, John Anderson, Local 793 business manager; Rita Thompson, labour staff representative for the UWO; Local 793 business manager g Mike Gallagher; g Local 793 president p Joe Redshaw; and Local 793 treasurer Alex Law. Editor's Note: The United Way of Oakville (UWO) uses the funds it collects to support more than 30 social service agencies that assist residents in need. This year's target is based on need and numbers previously seen. Some of the agencies funded by UWO include the Halton Trauma Centre, Community Living Oakville, CNIB, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Halton, Oakville Distress Centre, St. John Ambulance, Oakville Parent-Child Centre, among others. On the road again: thankful for coffee and cruise control I awoke at 4:30 a.m. Not wanting to roust any of the sleeping beauties in our hotel room at that ridiculous hour, I fumbled about in the dark, not-so stealthily gathering all the essentials: overnight bag, passport, wallet, keys. Then, like a thief, I stole off into the darkness. And then, like Willie Nelson before me, I was On The Road Again, only this time I was alone. Nine days earlier -- on Christmas morning, no less -- my wife and I piled into the car and drove for two days, covering the 2,180 kilometres from our home to St. Petersburg, Florida, where we'd plotted to spend the holidays with our brood. Our plotting had been intricate and intense. Planning any holiday for a family of five (plus two significant others) is a logistical nightmare considering work schedules, airline and hotel availability, house-sitting and doggie daycare arrangements, etc., but it's doubly so at Christmas when everyone's already operating on overload. Truth be told: although the dream of spending the holidays with sand underfoot and tropical drink in hand was mine, I gave up on the idea more than once only to have my wife deftly pick up the ball and run with it. After enduring traffic jams outside Savannah, Georgia, and Orlando, Florida (apparently everyone was off to see Mickey), we finally arrived in St. Pete's. The next day we drove through a monsoon to pick up our offspring at Tampa airport. Two hours later, the sun broke through and we were officially on vacation. For the next seven days we aimlessly Andy Juniper walked the beach, endured the infamous daiquiri brain-freeze, explored the area from St. Petersburg to Tampa Bay, discovering excellent eateries, and treated ourselves to down time. As a family, we reconnected. As individuals, we rediscovered simple joys like spending a guiltless hour sipping coffee while overlooking the Gulf of Mexico and casually reading newspapers or a good book. We talked about everything, and nothing. And we re-realized the world does not come to a crashing halt if we are not staring at our computers, glued to the Internet. In time, we had to start saying goodbyes. Our second son had to leave early to return to work. Our eldest and his girlfriend departed to drive to Miami for a few days. And I left in the early morning hours on the day my wife and daughter and her boyfriend were flying out. That morning, as I sped across the first of eight states I would traverse, the welcome heat we'd experienced throughout the holiday was being usurped by a freak cold front blowing in on the back of high winds. By the time I reached Jacksonville, the temperature was all of three degrees and Florida was under an unusual `wind chill advisory.' By the time I reached the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in West Virginia, wind-chilled temperatures were -17 C. Ah, back to reality. I'd never undertaken a long road trip on my own. While I was a little stir crazy at the end of both days of driving, the trip was enjoyable, and certainly afforded plenty of opportunity to marvel at spectacular scenery, to crank tunes, to think (and think), and a ton of time to count my blessings. Big blessings, like having been given the opportunity to take such a holiday surrounded by fine familial flesh. And little blessings, like a welcome cup of coffee and... cruise control (yeah, a big thank you to the creator of cruise control). Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters.