,r Betty's hot on their trail But after Mel Hurtig sent his recom- "W" and not under " mendation to his Editor in chief at the University of Alberta, the editor's Stay tuned. assistant sent me a letter with the pro- nouncement: LETTERS I've written Mel Hurtig regarding a separate entry in his Canadian En- cyclopedia. As you know, he responded to my earlier letter with a promise of an entry for the city of Waterloo in the next edition of the Encyclopedia. His word was given am sure. Bet you th'ought I'd gone away. Nope Happy New Year to all. Some stretching exercises are as fol- lows: f I. Kneel down on a soft surface and sit back on your heels (your feet should be bare), with the top of yourth flat against the Jloor. You should feel a pull over the top of your feet. Hold this position for at least 10 seconds. Because this stretch is relatively easy to do, it would be a good idea to sit this way most times you are on the floor. 2. Kneel down on a soft surface, bare-' foot, with your toes bent in contact with the floor. Sit back on your heels, trying to get your feet flat on the floor. You will feel a pull under the soles of your feet, as well as the front of the ankle area. Hold for at least 10 sec- onds. 3. Sit with your foot in your hand. a) put your thumb under the foot and your fingers on top of the toes; gently pull the toes down into a pointed toe position. b) using your whole hand pull your toes back toward your leg, accenting a flexed position. c) rotate your foot in all directions firmly, yet gently. Stretching exercises will help you regain and maintain flexibility which will help you counteract cramps and muscle strains. As injured tissues heal, they tend to shorten. Stretching will help to prevent this, further increasing the foot's flexibility. If foot injuries persist in keeping you off your feet and away from activities you enjoy, perhaps you should look further than the type of footwear you use, and concentrate on stretching and strengthening the muscles of the foot. Strengthening the foot's muscles will All schools (in Kitchener- Waterloo) should be bilim gual. I think it's a good idea for everyone to learn French and English. I would like to have been brought up to speak two languages. in good faith, I Gnyle Rudy Fitness Forum Fitness Instructor Kathy Hammond aid in the prevention of numerous injuries by increasing the amount of stress the foot will be able to handle. Below are a few strengthening move- ments: I. Walk around barefooron your heels. 2. Walk around barefoot on your toes. 3. Walk along a line on the inside of your feet (and Outside edge). 4. Walk up and down stairs sideways, one stair at a time, barefoot. 5. Skip on your toes, on alternate feet. 6. Hop forward and backward barefoot. Hop side to side barefoot. 7. Crouch down with your body support- ed with your hands on either side of your body on the floor. Keep one leg bent in front with body haunched over the top of the thigh. Alternately kick one leg at a time behind your body, making sure the leg has a chance to be straightened, landing on your toes. The small muscles of the foot are often ignored when working with the large foot muscles. Here are a few exercises which will concentrate on the smaller muscles: 1. With your feet flat on the floor press your toes down into the floor, not letting them curl, and not moving your ankle. (Barefooted.) 2. Sit with your feet flat on the floor. Spread your toes outward and then together again. Do sets of 10 three times. Don't get me wrong - I'm not anti-Kitchener. I'm pro-Waterloo. We're twin cities with separate identi- ties. Waterloo should be found under "W" and not under "K." So now the question is, "Who's in charge out there?" Who has the last word? Pick up a pencil with your toes and hold for five seconds. Put a playing card between two toes and bend your ankle up and down 10 times keeping hold of the card. Repeat between each pair of toes. World peace is at the top of the list. I would also like to see that senior citizens have the money they require to live comfortably, and single parents too. "While Kitchener-Waterloo are politically discrete and separate, we still feel that they are so culturally and socially integrated that they do not warrant segrega- tion." Virginia Gereucser Betty Gardner Waterloo, Ont. And on it goes, mingle, mingle, mingle. Now don't get 'Re wrong, I'm not anti-social by any means', in fact the best time 1 had all Christmas season was at my wife's company Christmas party in Toronto, a real first-rate affair. I hardly knew anyone to start the evening, but by the end of the night I had had terrific conversations with everyone in the place, right to the top of tha corporate are perfectly happy engaged inâ€; one-way conversation with the chee- seball). Then there's the pushy host or host- ess: "Oh, Bart, what are you doing stuck over there in the corner, you look so bored, how do you ever expect to meet anyone unless you MINGLE?" (You don't, you have assessed the crowd and Or, "Hi, are you the Wendy Wend- buckle that went to Carleton University in 1968? You aren't? Oh, I'm so embar- rassed. (But not so embarrassed that they don't stick around for another 15 minutes making more of a fool of them- selves). What would you like to see come to pass in 1986? "Hi-efe, we just thought we'd come over and mingle a bit, everyone having a gogd tithe? (Until then, yes). Mingling. What does it mean? It means you travel a minimum of 22 feet across a room to insinuate yourself into a conversation of perfect strangers who have no interest whatsoever in talking to you but are too polite to mention it. Then, after what seems to them an indeterminable time, you drift off to some other huddle (wary of the 22-foot minimum) to do exactly the same thing. This is repeated six or seven times during the evening, after which you go home and next day tell the kids what a marvellous time you had-even though you can't remember one meaningful stitch of conversation. Minglers often lead off with the following remarks: Oh, I am sure there are several hosts and hostesses commenting right now that's the last time we'll ever invite that wet washcloth to one of our soirees. And you know what? I couldn't care less. I simply refuse to be bullied into mingling and that's that. Turkey? Carols? Leftovers? RIDE?How about "mingle"? As in, "shall we mingle." Argh. Detestable utterance. I attended about a half dozen get-togethers over my traditional Christmas vacation and the stupid word mingle came up at nearly all of them. Not every one, thank heaven, but almost every one. I might add the the times I thoroughly enjoyed. the word mingle never entered the picture, while the times it did were barely sufferable. If you could pick one word you tired bf hearing during the recent holiday‘festive season, what would it be? My main concern is to start a new business with a partner and to see favorable provincial and federal poli- cies for small business growth. Jim Maw WATERLOO CHRONtCLE, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY tr, Schmingle Chronicle Editor Rick Campbell You say I'm Gn your list for next year? Ifl am, I never should have been on it in the first place. Mingle, schmin- gle. me and ask me Why I'm noGairjiiri.u" will, soon enough, quick as I can find a chgeseball willing to listen. Not my style. I go to a party, I case it quick. If I know some folks, fine, or if it's an obviously laid-back good time, I'll be in there same as everyone else whooping it up. But if it's stiff as a kitten left out on a winter's porch, please don't come up to Minglers always meet in the middle of rooms, no matter how big or small. They never serve themselves food or drink, but grab eagerly each time a tray passes by. They let their cigarette ashes go right to the filter, then reach over you while you‘re eating tobutt out, perhaps apologizing for the few traces they deposited in your jellied salad. People party to have fun, to catch up on news, spread some gossip with their cream cheese, anecdote with their antipasto, boogie with their beemuts. I find that conversely, people mingle to attempt to advance their careers, to show off how much they know (or don't know),to talk about their new BMWs, just generally to fulfill a need to im- press. I have nothing against minglers. Some of my best friends mingle and I think no less of them as a result. I would likewise like to think they think no less of me because I think mingling' is for the birds. Mingling is, forced. Granted there is an art to it, just like there is an art to belching. Those who do it, do it very well. But the rest of us are just not im- pressed. But mingle and I are not good buddies. I used to think it was because I was a lousy conversationalist, and never had anything decent to say. Not so. At that party in Toronto with complete strang- ers, we talked on and on about auction sales, the value of antiques, winter sports to' keep one fit, world travel, airline disasters. No problem. This was not mingling. This was partying, at its finest. Less talk of doom and gloom. More smiles and happiness because I think we live in a pretty good country. I have nothing against striking up a conversation with someone while mixing drinks at the bar. Or hanging around a scrum for a few minutes if a mutual acquaintance has introduced me to a group. Or even going up to a perfect stranger to ask a pointed question like "when the hell does the hostess bring on the chow? Do they think us working stiffs had time for dinner, or what?" Ali this I can do no problem. ladder. Key was, everyone was there to have a rip-snorting good time, there were no artificial barriers, no one was any better than anyone else. Mary Ann Selma" L 1986 - PAGE ,