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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, December 15, 2011 · 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 A gift of kindness for this holiday season Donations needed for cancer research With all the twinkling lights, the snow yet to come, seasonal music, gifts, holiday cheer, friends and family, it is no wonder we call this "the most wonderful time of the year!" Yet for some, a diagnosis of cancer carries a weight like no other. I remember the holidays when our daughter, at the age of three and again at the age of seven, was facing the toughest battles of her life. Our family depended on the transportation program, support and information from the Canadian Cancer Society. We were welcomed with open arms at the Halton unit office. Volunteering has become a family tradition for us, and our daughter continues to lead and inspire us with her quiet wisdom, strength, kindness and gentle ways with everything around her. She is now seven years cancerfree. With the holidays fast approaching and the season of gift giving upon us, I hope you will consider a gift to the Canadian Cancer Society -- the largest national charitable funder of adult and childhood cancer research in Canada. We are there with our patients as they travel through their cancer journey. Support services like our transportation and peer support program are available to patients. In the last year, our dedicated Halton volunteer drivers provided 10,698 rides to cancer patients who have no other way of getting to their treatment appointments. One million Canadian have turned to us when faced with cancer since we introduced our free Cancer Information Service. Recognize a loved one by making a donation in honour or memory of f them, or share the spirit of the holidays by making a seasonal donation. Research is one of the Canadian Cancer Society's most effective weapons in the fight against cancer and we are committed to funding excellent research to have the most impact on that battle. A recent example is the discovery of f how to turn skin cells into blood cells -- an important breakthrough for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related cancers. We also fight back through leading prevention programs, advocating for healthy public policies and providing information and support services to Canadians touched by cancer. We have more impact, against more cancers in more communities, than any other Canadian cancer charity. To make a donation this holiday season, or for more information, please contact our Halton office at 905-8455231 or contact me at smcdonald@ ontario.cancer.ca. Warm holiday wishes from the staff f and volunteers at the Halton unit. Sandy McDonald, fundraising co-ordinator, Halton Unit, Oakville Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award CHRIS PORTO / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER NEVER TOO YOUNG TO HELP: St. James students, from kindergarten-Grade 3, recently collected non-perishable food and warm clothing donations for the Morden Road school's third annual Christmas Drive. Organized by kindergarten teacher Miss Genovese and Grades 2/3 teacher Mr. Porto, the drive ran for three weeks, raising g 1,309 items for Oakville families in need. Instead of banding together, they are (rock) banding apart I rreconcilable differences. It all came to an ugly head about a month ago, soon after I began sidling up to Dawes. You see, your honor, the distance between her and me seemed to grow each day as my relationship with Dawes progressed from initial infatuation, to real love; to Tom Cruise-on-Oprah's-couch love -- that is, crazy love. A love she apparently could neither comprehend nor appreciate. No, your honor, Dawes is not another woman. There is no other woman. I would never leave my wife for another woman -- well, maybe Brooke Burke, the bewitching co-host of Dancing With The Stars, or maybe Minka Kelly who portrayed Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights s with a sultry sensuality I found irresistible, or maybe... Sorry, your honor, I've lost my train of thought. Right, right. Dawes is not another woman. Dawes is a band from southern California. They have an engaging, infectious, Laurel Canyon sound that comes off current while at once reminiscent of early Jackson Browne. Yes, your honour, that's correct: Dawes came between us. You see, your honour, I take my music seriously and personally --- some people (my wife, for example) might say obsessively (and to a childish degree). When it comes to music, I fall in the Nietzschean camp, believing: "Without music, life would be an error." And while my wife and I have never been wholly on the same (music) page, our interests often intersected, or she at least had the good grace to pretend to like what I like. Granted, there was that incident back in the Andy Juniper early days of R.E.M. when she commanded me to turn off that "hillbilly crap." Hillbilly? Crap? Suffice to say, I gave her the old silent treatment for the remainder of that decade. Trouble is, of late, she's been increasingly honest and forthcoming with her (idiotic) opinions. And now, the problem as I see it, is that I have taste in music. And she doesn't. To wit: Dawes. Our eldest tossed this gem my way. I'm always looking out for new music. I scour music publications, I tap in to industry insiders, and I rely heavily on friends and my offspring, who have inherited my musical-obsession gene. Anyway, Dawes was a gem of a find -- a young band, out there flogging their second release, the captivating Nothing is Wrong. And, I knew she would love this band. "I hate this band," she said, after a few listens. "They're terrible." While I took a moment to wrest that dagger from my heart, she tossed another. Apparently a few of the other offerings I'd sent her way (new music from Wilco, Fountains of Wayne, The Horrible Crowes, Manchester Orchestra, The Vaccines, etc.) were also not up to her exacting standards. Like Goldilocks, she found something wrong with each: this band's too hard, this band's too soft. "And Wilco," she proclaimed, "is poorly mixed." Poorly mixed? My head exploded. Who, I wondered, is this woman? Certainly no one I know, or would want to know. The woman I married would have loved all of the above. Especially Dawes. And that, your honor, is why we're here: Irreconcilable differences. I love Dawes. She doesn't. What's that, your honor? If I proceed with this case there is a good chance she'll get half my album collection whether she wants it or not? Why, that's preposterous. That's a miscarriage of justice. That's... Ah, your honour, I respectfully file to dismiss. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters.