The Wild Guys
Written by Andrew Wreggitt and Rebecca Shaw
Directed by Susan Ferley
Performed by Eric Coats, Aidan deSalaiz, David Snelgrove, Williams Vickers.
Grand Theatre Production
Grand Theatre, London
January 20 to February 7, 2009

Live! On Stage!
By Mary Alderson

The Wild Guys, currently on stage at London’s Grand Theatre, starts with great promise. Four men line up across the stage, each talking on a telephone, explaining that he is going on camping trip. Each gives his own idea of what he thinks the weekend will entail, and right away we can imagine the hilarious problems that will result from the various misconceptions.
But while the exposition seems to hold promise, the play doesn’t quite take full advantage of it. There is potential for greater humour, but the plot becomes predictable.
Grocery store chain executive Andy (William Vickers) invites three other men for a camping weekend. Each agrees for his own reasons. Stewart (Eric Coates), who manages a small town grocery store, thinks that Andy is about to offer him a promotion. He has visions of moving up to a better store in a big city like Meaford or Penetang. And to him, a camping weekend means beer and fishing.
Randal (David Snelgrove) is Andy’s corporate lawyer. He comes to keep his client happy, and also to have a break from his much younger girl friend. Robin (Aidan deSalaiz) is a new acquaintance of Andy’s – apparently they met at some kind of men’s sensitivity group. Robin is looking forward to sharing poetry and deep breathing exercises.
Vickers as Andy is reminiscent of Wilson, the guy who was always peeking over the fence in the old Home Improvements TV series. He has read all the pop-psychology books and has an analysis of everyone else’s problems. Predictably, the audience learns later that he has more personal problems than the others.
This is a very talented cast, with plenty of solid experience. Vickers was last on the Grand stage as Belle’s father in Beauty and the Beast and he has 21 years at the Shaw Festival. Coates is well known as the Artistic Director of the Blyth Festival. Snelgrove has been in over 20 productions at the Stratford Festival and, along with Vickers, appeared in a delightful production of The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon at the Grand. DeSalaiz is an alumnus of the High School Project, having been in three, along with other shows at the Grand. With such a strong cast, one would expect more of this production. A tighter script with fresh humour would have allowed this cast to live up to their potential.
The Wild Guys is much like Norm Foster’s golf comedy, The Foursome. Both are stories of male bonding. But Foster packs his script with surprising plot twists and loud laughs. The Wild Guys’ writers are a husband and wife team – Andrew Wreggitt and Rebecca Shaw. Both have impressive resumes, with many notable works to their credit. Wreggitt has written several excellent, well-known made-for-TV movies, such as Mayerthorpe and One Dead Indian. It appears that drama is their strength.
The set for The Wild Guys is well done. Different rock formations sit at centre stage, and revolve as the characters climb on them, making the audience believe that the lost men are walking in circles.
So, while a good cast has been assembled, the script doesn’t come through for them. The Wild Guys offers a few chuckles, but lacks the big “laugh out loud” surprises we’ve come to expect from Canadian comedies.
The Wild Guys continues at the Grand Theatre in London until February 7. Tickets are available at the Grand box office at 672-8800 or 1-800-265-1593.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently employed with the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations.

The ultimate benchwarmer, Brett Leonhardt of Grand Bend lived a dream and almost became tallest NHL goalie

The son of “Hardt of Huron” bed and breakfast owners Brian and Karen Leonhardt, Brett Leonhardt moved to the United States after receiving a hockey scholarship at NCAA Division III SUNY Oswego in upstate New York, where he majored in communications and media arts. His background made him the perfect candidate when the Washington Capitals made a push to improve their web presence last season. Now living in Washington, DC with his girlfriend Logan Kapinus, Brett Leonhardt made international headlines December 12 when his job put him in the right place at the right time.

As told to Casey Lessard

My parents got me into Learn to Skate when I was four years old, and I started playing tyke hockey when I was five. At six or seven I started liking goaltending. My older brother was a goaltender so it was natural for me to want to do it and I never looked back.
I was invited to Kitchener Rangers camp, and I was there two or three weeks and it was down to three goalies. I played in an exhibition game, and that year they had two goalies that were drafted higher than me, so I just went down and played Junior ‘B’ in Cambridge and kept my college eligibility.
Getting a scholarship was a goal of mine. I did well in high school and was definitely going to university afterward. I applied to Laurier, Waterloo, and U of T, but if I didn’t get a scholarship I was definitely going to go to university in Canada.
I got a scholarship to SUNY Oswego, and after two years transferred to Neumann College near Philadelphia, about two hours from Washington. My girlfriend graduated the year before I did and took a job in D.C., so when I graduated, I looked for a job here in Washington. I called the Capitals, and from what I did in college and my résumé, the perfect job opened up. I went for two interviews and got the job.

Dream job
There are two things I love doing. One is video and film, and the other is hockey. Not only at college, but after graduation, to be able to have the job I have is a dream come true.
A lot of people forget that there a lot of people behind the scenes that keep everything going in the office other than what’s on the ice. You take away the fact that there is a pro hockey team playing, and it’s run just like any corporation. There are so many different departments: sales, marketing, and communications, which is on the rise right now. I do most of the video on the website and that’s something the NHL started last season. That was when my job opened up.
Our owner was one of the founders of AOL (America Online), and everyone tells us that we have the best website in the league. We track our views and people are starting to rely on us for our video work. Whenever there’s an event, I cover it with video; our team writer is my boss and I try to include him as a personality in my videos so he is with us in this transition from the written word to video.

Special qualifications
When I got the job, the sports information director at Oswego knew a guy named Nate, the director of media relations here. They went to school together and Nate told him that he had a guy from Oswego who had just gotten a job here. “What’s his name?” “Brett Leonhardt.” “Oh, he’s a good kid, a good goalie.”
Nate was talking to our goalie coach and told him that a college goalie had just got a job if he ever needed anyone for practice, but he was just joking around.
That’s when Olaf Kolzig, who was our goalie last year, started taking morning skates off; he was older and felt more energized when he didn’t skate the morning of a game. So last year, the goalie coach came up to me and asked if I wanted to go home and get my gear to practice with the team. I was floored. It happened once every few weeks and rolled into this season.
It was crazy (facing NHL players). It was a huge jump. They shoot so hard and so accurate. The skating and shooting, everything is so fast. Everyone is so big and so good. You naturally just find a way to play better, so I started making saves and did what I knew what to do, and started to fit right in.

The fateful week
Brent Johnson was a little sore after a game, and our coach was asked in a post-game press conference, “Johnson looked a little sore; what are you going to do?” He was like, “I’ll give him the day off. Our practice goalie is right beside you,” and they all looked at me and had a chuckle. That was Wednesday night.
Friday morning, the goalie coach called me in my cubicle and said our other goalie, Jose Theodore had been nursing an injury, and that I should come down and take some shots. I knew something was up but they wouldn’t tell me. I ran down, and they still had my equipment from the day before, so I suited up two practices in a row.
I showered and went back to work, editing the video of what the coach had to say at practice. The general manager, George McPhee, came up and put his arm around me and told me they were calling up a goalie, Simeon Varlamov. “Theodore cannot dress and cannot play, and the backup might not get here in time. Make sure your equipment’s ready because you might have to dress.”
I had to sign a one-day emergency tryout contract and fax it to the league. At 3:30 they called to tell me that Varlamov couldn’t get here until just after 7:00 and I would have to be on the bench for warmup and for maybe the whole first period.

No. 80
When they have rookie camp every year, they make a jersey for everyone there. On the depth chart of the team, I guess I was the 80th guy, so they made me number 80. When I got there at 5 o’clock, I went back into the trainer’s room to get some socks because I only had dress socks on, and I there was the trainer sewing the letters into the back of my jersey. That was pretty cool.
Warmup was the thing I was most nervous about. People are watching to see if you’ll make saves, and you’re skating around seeing Spezza and Alfredsson across the red line. I just did my thing from college, recreating my routine like where I stretch on the ice. I just tried to stop everything and look like I belonged. It was pretty cool. It’s so bright out there and to have an NHL jersey with your name on the back is pretty incredible. It was one of the greatest moments of my life.

Game time
I had a pretty good warmup and coming back out to the bench, it was dark with no lights on. The fans were going nuts. Sitting there on the bench, it just felt like college again. You hear the guys talking, like “I need tape; my skates aren’t sharp.” The coaches saying, “Come on, let’s go.” I was on the bench when we scored a goal so the guys came down the bench giving high fives and they treated me like I was one of them.
I later found out that Ottawa knew what was going on because we had three goalies on the lineup when you’re only allowed two. I wasn’t too sure how they were going to take it. Johnson would make a crazy save from outside, and Alfreddson would come in way after the whistle and bump into him. It started a couple of scrimmages and there were two goaltending interference calls. People were trying to say that it was something to do with me, but I just think there was some bad blood between the teams from previous games. During warmup, no one looked at me or stared at me; they just acted as if it was business as usual.
People asked me if I was nervous when that was happening, and I can’t lie; I definitely was. I knew Johnson was sore earlier in the week, but he looked good in warmup.
At around the 10:00 mark, Simeon Varlamov arrived; it was the first NHL game that he dressed for, too, and he was a first round draft pick. He walked down the tunnel and the trainer hit me and we just switched positions. I was a bit relieved because these guys are professional athletes and I’d been out of the game for more than a year. I’m not saying that I didn’t deserve to be there or belong there, but it was definitely right to see an NHL player replace me.

Post-game
The local cable network always does one interview during the break, so when I came back into the room, they grabbed me and did an interview there. The VP of communications said to me, “You’re not going to believe this, but you’re the top story on ESPN, TSN, and SportsNet, so be ready when your equipment is off.”
I got showered and put my suit on. Usually I do a lot of pre-game and post-game videos, but during the game I sit in the press box and watch so I know what to ask after the game. I went to the press box and our media relations officer said, “Everyone wants to talk to you. Let’s do one big scrum.” I did a quick interview with our radio guy and did the scrum. It was pretty crazy.
Everyone had the story: our local NBC, Fox, and I even saw it on ESPN and CNN Headline News the next day. (Sports Illustrated later ran a brief on his appearance.) I never thought it would be this big.

Perfect storm
We always joked that for this to ever happen, we’d have to have the perfect storm. A guy would have to get hurt the day of the game, and both of our farm teams, Hershey and South Carolina, would have to be in the middle of nowhere on the road in a small market. We always joked that someday it might happen.
My parents are just floored. My dad was pretty happy when he found out that I got to practice with the team, so he couldn’t believe it. They were speechless. That’s the first time in my life I’ve seen them like that.
I got all these emails and letters mailed into the office, like “You’re my hero,” and “You give regular guys a chance.” Around the rink I’ve seen three or four of my jerseys on people I don’t even know. I made sure my family all got one for Christmas for sure.

I love being around the sport every day. No one likes getting up Monday morning and going to work. It’s my dream job. I wouldn’t change it for anything. No matter how many days in a row you work or how many nights you’re out late after a game working, the next day it’s right back to hockey. I can look out of my office, and there’s Alex Ovechkin skating on the ice. I just love that I’m doing something that I’ve been passionate about since I’ve was so young.

Grand Bend holds a special place in Leonhardt’s heart. Growing up, the family spent summers here, and now that the Leonhardts are based in St. Joseph, Brett visits when he comes home. “I still have my membership at the Grand Bend Fitness Centre and I’d always work out there. Every time I come home, it’s Tim Horton’s, the gym and Sea Jewels. Our whole apartment in D.C. is decked out in Sea Jewels stuff.” He says he and Logan would like to move back to the area when they retire.

Draft makes beer league thrive “112 leagues below the NHL”

Story and Photos by Casey Lessard

It doesn’t draw the crowds like Toronto or Detroit, but the Zurich Recreational Hockey League, or ZRHL, certainly draws the players.
“We have a waiting list of sometimes 20 players waiting to get in,” says convener Jason Schilbe. “We have guys coming from London, Clinton, St. Marys, Exeter.”
The league draws them in because they know they have a chance to win in any given year. Unique to beer leagues in the area, the ZRHL operates a draft every year where two captains from each of eight teams pick players from the pool. No two years are identical, and that keeps everyone on their toes.
“The draft means you’re with different guys every year,” says Jamie Rader of Zurich. “Any team can win on a given night. Seems to work well.”
The draft has helped Zurich’s league stay alive while others have faltered.
“A couple leagues in Exeter tried it where you picked your own team,” Schilbe says. “The same team won every year so it faded out. This league has been around for 52 years, I think.”
The league started after the junior team left town, leaving young men with nowhere to play. It started out with two teams and now has eight.
“The idea is to pick a goalie first,” he says, explaining how to succeed as a captain. “If you have a good goalie, you’re all set, so usually the goalies go first.”
One other twist was introduced a couple of years ago when the NHL did the same: shootouts to resolve ties.
“You always have a winner,” Schilbe says. “When the NHL went to it, everyone saw it and liked the idea.”
Varna’s Mark Buruma is impressed with his experience. This is his second year playing in ZRHL.
“It’s probably the most organized rec league around,” he says. “It’s all about the beer. This is a beer league.”
Brent Durand of Zurich concurs.
“I’m a lifer. Love of the game and playing with friends. Plus the arena’s beside the beer store.”
Then there’s the allure of winning it all in the league self-described as 112 leagues below the NHL.
“I actually scored the overtime goal to clinch the championship one year,” says Bryan Denomme of Exeter. “We went undefeated that season.”
Nevin Hodgins, a five-year veteran, hasn’t been so lucky.
“I haven’t. This could be the year. It would be the dream of a lifetime.”
Playoffs start this week with the Devils and Bruins leading their respective divisions.
“Playoffs are best of five, so each team is guaranteed two rounds,” Schilbe says. “The season runs 17 regular season games, and up to 15 playoff games. It’s a long season.”
Almost as long as the NHL’s.

For game times or more information, visit http://www.zrhl.com.

Grand Bend artist Josy Britton was recently honoured with entry into the Society of Canadian Artists. For each submission, the society’s jury looks at five paintings made within the last two years, examines the artist’s résumé and determines which would be a good representative of current art in Canada.

At told to Casey Lessard

We lived in Freelton and had 10 acres of maple trees. Gord’s work got transferred to Sarnia, and we were looking for a place there. Then Gord worked at the Bruce nuclear station and had to drive to his office in Sarnia. He had to pass through Grand Bend, and knew I had camped for years at the Pinery, so he timed how long it took to get from here to Sarnia.
He blindfolded me and brought me to what I thought was one of the houses in Sarnia. We stopped here on this lot and took off the blindfold with me looking up, and all I could see was this canopy of trees. He said, “Could you be happy here?” That’s how we ended up living here.

I have to live in a forest because I like feeling like I’m part of nature, and I think people can live in harmony with nature. I love every day looking outside when I wake up and seeing what kind of day it is.
Right now I’m working on a series of water paintings. I find it an exciting subject because water doesn’t stay still. The movement is fun to create.
My calling is to paint and I find it really easy to paint, but the other part of being an artist is the promotional part, which doesn’t come naturally to me. I’ve had shows in Toronto, but I don’t have a gallery that represents me there. I think the next time I approach galleries, this will help give legitimacy to my request.
My long-term goal is to have work in the National Gallery or the Art Gallery of Ontario. This is a vote of confidence from my peers that my work deserves to be there. That’s what I’m hoping.

Paintings by Josy Britton
http://www.josybritton.com
http://www.societyofcanadianartists.com

World Religion Day
Sunday, January 18
2 to 4 p.m. – Grand Bend Legion (Kevin Locke will also perform at the Huron Woods clubhouse Sunday night at 7 p.m.)
Featuring Lakota hoop dancer Kevin Locke and the London Unity Choir. Clergy of local churches will offer readings and prayers for world peace. Refreshments served. Everyone welcome.

Gord and Josy Britton wouldn’t miss World Religion Day for anything. Currently in Ethiopia singing with Van Gilmer’s Bahá’í House of Worship Gospel Choir, the Brittons will return home just in time to celebrate the event’s fifth year in Grand Bend.
“Every year we’ve had participation from the Grand Bend United Church, the Anglican church, the Catholic church, the Presbyterian church in St. Joseph, and the United church in Dashwood,” says Josy. “We’ve had representatives of the Muslim and Jewish communities. To cover other religions, we’ve had to invite people from outside the area. The last two years we’ve had the princess from Kettle Point come and do a native prayer.”
This year, organizers are especially proud to have American Lakota hoop dancer Kevin Locke as the guest of honour.
“He’s an amazing individual,” Gord says. “He has such skill. His hoop dancing is unbelievable. What adds to its beauty is its symbolism.”
“His hoops are in four colours: black, white, red and yellow,” Josy adds. “They represent the four races, four directions, four winds. He uses 28 hoops to show all sorts of symbols of renewal. He makes them into birds, butterflies, eagles, sun, moon, and stars. He shows changing seasons through the dance. He shows that everyone is each other’s brother and there can be unity.”
Promoting unity is the main goal of the event, an initiative of the Bahá’í faith. The Brittons are members of this faith, and one of its principles is to build a peaceful world through the unity of mankind.
“We have to start understanding and celebrating our diversity,” Gord says, “and World Religion Day promotes that unity in diversity. All these faiths and non-faith groups come together to celebrate in unity.
“All of these religions share a golden rule, stated in different ways. Live together, respect each other and treat your neighbour as yourself. You don’t bomb your brother if you believe the world is one country and we are one human race.”
The Brittons faced concern when they converted to the Bahá’í faith, but have found the community more welcoming as time has passed.
“Some of our friends were worried that it was a cult or something,” Josy says. “There isn’t any fear anymore. People are surprised at how few Bahá’ís there are here because we’re quite an active group.”
“We often focus on the divisions,” Gord notes, “but all the world religions come from the same source, and that’s God. God wouldn’t create competing religions. If they look closely enough, they’ll find a great deal of commonality in the spiritual teachings, but where the differences lie are in the social teachings. Social conditions change. We shouldn’t be judging religions on the social differences.”
Ultimately, the Brittons believe we are all the same and looking for the same things in life. The key is to work to understand other cultures and religions, and events like World Religion Day help achieve that goal.
“Understanding isn’t tolerance. It’s celebrating the fact that there’s something that connects us all. We’ve traveled to Israel, India, Africa, and elsewhere, and families are families. People wake up and care about their children and want to get on with their lives in a peaceful way. It’s not going to happen by accident, but by deliberate planning.”
The event is free, and people of all beliefs are welcome to attend.

Partners in Learning, which is launching a new session this month (see p 13), has a new spin-off group that is planning to show feature films once a month. The group, called Sunset Cinema, will air its first film, Big Fish, January 22 at 7 p.m. at the Grand Bend CHC. Future films will show the first Thursday of each month from September to May.
Jane St. Laurent, Jackie Southcott and Dinah Taylor are the current film selection committee, and have only decided on the first film but are already planning for the future.
“We’re hoping to show films that are not readily available in our community,” Taylor says. “We get a lot of the blockbusters in London, but there are a lot of others that never get here. We’re looking at films from the last 10 years and hopefully newer ones.”
The group has no budget, and can’t charge admission; donations are welcome to help afford movies that incur a cost.
While there is no specific theme to the programming, the group is leaning away from overtly violent or sexual films, but 14A-rated films such as Paul Haggis’ Crash are being considered. The group wants films to generate discussion, which will take place after the films for those who wish to stay; the discussions are optional as the film presentations are also intended for entertainment purposes.
For more information about the films, watch for posters or call Dinah Taylor at 519-238-1114.

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

It’s going to be an exciting month, even though it’s already half over. January will see the changing of the guard in Washington, and possibly in Ottawa, too. While the former is much more of a guarantee than the latter, it’ll certainly be interesting to watch history unfold in both cities.
Some of my students are heading to Washington for Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration, and I have to admit that I’m jealous. While it’s unlikely they’ll get to see anything among the crowd, being present for an historic moment like that is unforgettable. I was shocked when none of them wanted to go to Chicago for election night; when I was a journalism student, everyone wanted to go to protests and anything else of such interest just to be there and be part of history. Something as big as Obama’s win will rarely be repeated in our lifetime.
Then there’s Ottawa, where things have certainly changed since our last issue. With Michael Ignatieff in charge of the Liberals, the party now has more support than the Conservatives, according to a Nanos poll conducted last week. Will Stephen Harper have the courage to bring his own government down with more maneuvering, or will he try to hold on to power and resist forcing Ignatieff’s hand? Interesting times indeed.
Here at home, the annual winter carnival is coming next month, and I hope to see you out at the community events. It’s been a tough, cold winter and we need something to loosen up our backs from shoveling.

I realize this is not the place to advertise, but I’ve been keeping busy working on a new project (above and beyond the paper and school). I’d love for you to visit my new blog, casey365.com if you have a chance. Comments are appreciated! See you soon.

Alternative View
By Lance Crossley

It can get confusing listening to the various media pundits and experts talk about what’s wrong with the economy. You hear a lot of talk about “subprime loans”, the “credit crunch”, and “market confidence”. All this is true, but for me, there is no clearer illustration of what ails the economy than this startling fact: On the morning of January 2, at precisely 9:04 a.m., the country’s highest paid 100 CEOs had already earned what the average Canadian earns in an entire year.
That means that before these CEOs had barely recovered from their New Year’s hangover, they had “earned” $40,237. This shocking fact was recently published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which analyzed the earnings of Canada’s best-paid CEOs for 2007. The study’s author, Hugh MacKenzie, puts it like this:
“If you made what most would consider a substantial salary – say, the $100,000 a year that gets you on the so-called ‘sunshine list’ in some provinces – the highest paid 100 CEOs would have pocketed your annual earning by the end of lunch hour on January 5.”
This perverse gap between the rich and poor is one reason it is going to be very difficult to get out of this deepening recession. In the last five years, hundreds of thousands of well-paying manufacturing jobs have evaporated into thin air. Workers are left to scrounge for low-paying jobs, which doesn’t help in a country where not a single province has a minimum wage even close to the poverty line. In fact, Canada has the second highest percentage of low-paid workers in the developed world. (Only the United States is worse).
Meanwhile, household debt in Canada is at a record high; as the recession worsens, a lot of Canadians simply won’t be able to keep up. Those relying on their home equity to bail them out of debt are in trouble too, as the Bank of Canada says that “a severe economic downturn could result in a substantial increase in default rates on household debt.” In other words, brace yourself for a housing crisis of our own.
In the last 30 years corporate profits have soared while workers’ wages in real dollars have either stagnated or declined. According to Canadian Business magazine, the country’s 46 billionaires are worth more than the total assets of the bottom 14 million Canadians. This ever-widening gap is finally catching up to the greedy few at the top. Why? Because no one has any money to buy the things they’re selling.
In 1914, Henry Ford announced he would pay his employees five dollars a day for their work. This was unheard of at the time, as most industrial workers were only making 11 dollars a week. He did so because he wanted his workers to be able to buy his cars. He realized that if citizens don’t get a fair share of the pie, then the economy cannot grow because capitalism relies on people buying things.
Ford’s philosophy helped build North America into an economic giant. Now the giant has grown top-heavy. Unfortunately, it’s the ones on the bottom who are going to suffer when it falls.

Keeping the Peace
By Tom Lessard, C.D.

I was born in Windsor, Ontario in 1937, the seventh child. I had three brothers and three sisters.
My mother was very handy with the sewing machine and needle and thread. She would get hold of Maple Leaf flour bags, take the stitching out, bleach the bags and then join them and make pillow cases, sheets, underwear and curtains. A lot of the time, the bleaching wouldn’t remove all the wording, so the shorts would have the Maple Leaf logo still visible.
My father was a tool and die maker and a part-time car racer at Detroit and Port Huron tracks. He built a house on Riberdy Road, out by the airport in Sandwich East. It was a two-storey building with a semi-detached garage and a good-sized Victory garden.
Everyone was urged to have their own garden during the war. In the summer, as the crops ripened, I’d take a salt shaker and start at one end of the cucumber row, pick a cuke, wipe off the prickers and eat and eat until I was full. When the tomatoes were ready, I’d take on the task of wiping them on my pants or shirt, lick them, add salt and enjoy the taste of fresh vegetables. My sister dug into the onions, which she loved and I didn’t.
Wartime meant rationing. Every family or eligible person received a ration book and coupons with which to purchase meat, butter, gasoline, tires, etc. Every Sunday, my dad would have his bacon and eggs for breakfast. If we were lucky, we’d get the drippings, in which we’d fry bread. It was a real treat. Butter was in very short supply so we’d use lard on our bread. My grandfather, who had a house across the street, would invite one or two of us over for breakfast. It consisted of porridge with ice cream on it. Mmm good.
In the back of our property, there was a huge farm owned by the Walker family, on which they grew acres and acres of cattle corn. When the corn was still edible, we’d pick a few dozen and set up a table on Walker Road (the main street leading to downtown Windsor) and sell it. We’d tell everyone that it was Golden Bantam corn. I understand that one of our customers was Mr. Walker himself.
When there was no corn in the fields, we were able to witness the coming and going of military aircraft of all shapes and sizes either in training or heading to the war zones. Once in a while the “air raid” sirens would go off and we’d have to pull all the blinds down and turn off all unnecessary lights until the “all clear” sounded.

Our home was about five miles from the Detroit river, where there was a 30-foot diving tower and a beach. I remember my oldest sister telling me about the time she and my second oldest brother had 26¢ between them to get there and back and to have a treat. The bus to the beach cost 5¢ each to get there, and 5¢ each to get back. That left a nickel for popcorn.
When they reached their destination and were walking out to the pier, a lifeguard stopped them and asked where they thought they were going. “To the diving tower,” they replied. He pointed to a spot in the river and told them that if they could swim there and back, they could go to the diving tower. They were about 10 and eight years old at the time.
Well, they were good swimmers and had no trouble completing the task, so he allowed them to continue to the tower. When it was time to go home, instead of taking the bus they spent the fare on food and walked the five miles home. It was late when they arrived and my worried parents asked why they were so late. They replied, “You always tell us to take our time getting home.”

To the Crediton Community Centre committee: Thanks for all the work you’ve done and for a great effort in raising the money required to renovate the hall!
Jim: Hope you get well soon!

Advice from Mom
By Rita Lessard

Finally, the old year of 2008 is gone and we welcome in the New Year of 2009. I certainly hope the old year was pleasant enough for everyone and hopefully 2009 will bring much happiness. As we all realize with every passing year that we are getting older, it seems at times things don’t really change.
For instance, with clothing, history has a way of repeating itself. I remember years ago when my kids were young and I was a stay-at-home mom, I didn’t get out of my pyjamas until at least nine o’clock in the morning. As a matter of fact, after the kids went off to school I would scoot over to my friend Joanne’s place for tea, stay a while, and didn’t get dressed until I was ready to do my housework. Looking back on this habit I can appreciate it when the young people stay in their pyjamas all day; they even go to school, do their shopping and all their other fun activities dressed this way. I must admit I was never that bold, but one has to give the kids credit; they don’t seem to worry how they dress, whatever is the fashion: pyjamas, low rise pants, pretty underwear and short- or half-shirts. I really do worry about their cheeks and backs being exposed to the elements.
Like I say, times don’t really change that much. I recall my mother harping on me about always dressing warmly and she was always going on about wearing a hat in the winter time. As she said, heat rises so if you wore a hat, you certainly wouldn’t be cold. When I thought about it I decided to say to her, “So ma, if I wear a hat I could go out without my pants and I’d be perfectly fine.” Not so. I got a good clout for that comment. Kids, I recommend you get those hats on, especially if you don’t cover the rest of your assets.
I also worry about the cats and dogs out in the cold of winter. At this time of year, cats like to snuggle up in a warm place such as a car engine. You might save a cat’s life by honking your horn before starting your car.
My friend Tanya was concerned with her cat’s hair balls; someone told me if she added a teaspoon of vegetable oil to her cat’s daily meal, this would help prevent the situation.

Happy birthday Michael Lessard on January 24.
P.S. I apologize to Mae and Bill Brennan, who last week were forced to witness me putting my garbage out in my pyjamas. Force of habit. All the best in the New Year.