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PAGE 6 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22. Whether we needed it or not, Canadians were treated to a dose of lottery mania for the third consecutive January two weeks back when the Lotto 6â€"49 jackpot reached the $10 million mark. Bigâ€"time spenders went over the deep end trying to beat the oneâ€"inâ€"14,000,000 odds, office pools formed to collectively try to collect, weekly dabblers upped their modest antes in hopes of cashing in on the big one, and even those who rarely if ever play the lottery game were seized by the urge to gamble on the chance of having the windfall drop in their lap. Second Class Mail Registration Number 5540 As might be expected, any number of stories also surfaced, some extolling the virtues of the "harmless‘" game of chance, others ripping the lottery system for breeding false hopes and dreams, especially among those who can least afford it. _ In that light, we offer only that while some players of the lottery game do tend to have their priorities misplaced, as an overall system it is hardly the villain so many make it out to be, and given the spinoff benefits it is designed to offer, the criticism is for the most part unjustified. But while the most recent craze to jump on the lottery bandwagon brought many folks fun and excitement for a week or more until it was confirmed the bonanza jackpot had been won, a most bizarre twist has brought to light a specific shortcoming in our systemâ€"the lack of legislation to curb abuses in the purchasing of lottery tickets. Now a wellâ€"documented tale of woe, a story came out of Presque Isle, Me. last week that one Norman (Chubby) Gallagher claimed to have picked the winning numbers in the $10 million 6â€"49 draw. Problem was, Gallagher purchased his ticket, or so he thought, through an unauthorized agency in Mississauga called WinShare Club. But the club claimed Chubby missed the deadline for ordering tickets for the draw, and that their efforts to register the numbers despite the lateness were foiled by computer foulups. The revelation has not only put WinShare on the hotseat, it has also brought to focus the vague legislation the Ontario Lottery Corporation Act has to deal with all firms selling mail order tickets outside the province. Existing U.S. postal regulations already prohibit Canadian lottery tickets or any promotional pamphlets or phone numbers to be mailed into the States, and authorities in Washington are working vigorously to bring about the end of abuses of the system and violation of existing laws. And while our own lottery officials may be just as intent on eliminating the abuse, current legislation must be changed to pursue such a course; and so, an announced meeting of top government officials to examine ways of amending existing laws. It is a move that cannot come too soon. If our government is to remain in the lottery business, it must set the highest, most airâ€"tight policy standaras for the operation and enforcement of lottery rules, or risk losing the faith of those who support the lottery system. The Chronicle welcomes‘ letters to the editor. They should be individually signed unsigned letters will be pubâ€" lished and the Chronicle reâ€" serves the right to edit. End the abuse policy Suturtan Newepapers of Amerne published every Wednesday by Fairway Press, a division of Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Record Ltd , owner n 225 Fairway Rd. S., Kitchener, Ont and will be address correspondence to Waterioo office 45 Erb St E. Watemoo, (OJnt. N2J 1L7, telephone 886â€"2830 Waterioo Chronicle othice is located in the Haney, White Law Othice Building (rear entrance, upper foof) Parking at the rear of the building Open Monday to Friday 9.00 a m to 5.00 p m zls ;;wsi;ouaim ug adverâ€" that al} complaints can be resolved. Those who feel furâ€" ther action is needed should address their concern to the Ontario Press Council, 151 Slater St., Suite 708, Ottawa, Ont. K1P 5H3. ‘The Chronicie is proud of its Publisher: Paul Winkler Manager: Bill Karges Editor: Rick Campbell established 1854 If you read in the papers one of these days about some middleâ€"aged guy going berserk and punching a pretty young waitress or bank teller right in the mush for no apparent reason, you‘ll know it was I, driven finally over the brink by that inanity to end them all, ‘"Have a nice day."‘ It may happen in a restaurant. It will be just after that waitress has served me lukewarm soup, followed by filet of sole. The filet will turn out to be of the boot variety, rather than the sea variety, and I will just have broken a tooth on it. As I am fumbling fragments of bone out of my face, she will sashay off to serve anothér customer, hips twitching, and toss over her shoulder at me a gay ‘"Have a nice meal, now." That‘s when I will let her have it. Or it might occur on a Friday afternoon, in the bank. The weather forecast is for blizzards, I‘m in a snarky mood, on my way to have two teeth extracted, and my arthritis is giving me a fairly lively foretaste of hell. And this young teller, her feet aching, slaps down my withdrawal, summons an exhausted smile from down around her pantyhose, and chirrups, "Have a nice weekend, It‘s not the grammar or the verbiage I object to. It‘s the utter insincerity of the suggestion. It means just about as much as if the speaker blew his/her nose and spat into the wind. eh?" And it‘s pretty obvious where it came from. It‘s one of those American imports that should be banned at the border. It has crept across via the airwaves, issued in treacly tones by signingâ€"off disc jockey and game show MCs. And it has been copied by Canadian media people, who ape automatically the mispronunciaâ€" tions of their U.S. counterâ€"parts, such as eggsacuâ€" tion for ‘*execution" and noshus for "nauseous." From there it has spread like the Black Plague into our airlines, hotels, restaurants, and even our sacred institutions like the banks. I haven‘t been in a bordello lately, but I‘d be willing to bet that when a customer totters off shaky and unshaven into the cold dawn, the madame will coo after him in dulcet tones, ‘"Have a nice day, now."‘ 1 have a strong suspicion the damn thing originated in the deep south, along with such heartâ€"felt maxims as "Y‘all come back real soon, y‘heah." Which means, roughly, if you want to be ripped off again in our joint, we‘ll be happy to obâ€" lige. 1 refuse to believe all those waitresses, air stewardesses, bank clerks are spouting this garbage from deep in their hearts. Those gals are tuckered out. They don‘t give a diddle whether we â€"It is written ‘"Thank God we have the electronic media to tell people the facts, ‘cause around here sure as hell aren‘t." â€" _ â€" Bill Smiley Syndicated columnist Then don‘t drop dead, as long as we do it in front of somebody else‘s wicket. o â€" No, they‘ve been coerced into this phoney farewell by the Simon Legrees they work for, the type who think that if the clerks utter such slop in the Holiday Inn in Texas, they should do the same in the Holiday Inn in Toronto. And they‘re the guys I have it in for, not the poor underlings, forced to soil their lips with an artificial, cynical soâ€"long that raises the hackles on the likes of me. * As I became more disgusted with the obvious falsity of such as the dentist absentmindedly muttering ‘"Have a good day" just after he‘d drilled two and yanked one, my response subsided to a grunt. _ At first I }Eébonded to this silly utterance with a reluctant and very concise "Thanks. You to<_)."' Next step will be to look one of the idiots who issue this inanity right in the eye and calmly ask: "Are you kidding? Who told you to say that? Do you mean it? What do you care what kind of day I have? I don‘t really care what kind you have." This might make a few of the more sensitive ones blush. But most of them would just drop their jaw and wonder whether old Smiley had got into the sauce, to make him so snarly. _ _ It may take stronger measures, and I hope many of my readers who agree with me will join in putting a halt to this pernicious poop. If it happens in a public place, perhaps we should call the manager and say "This young lady/man is interfering in my private life, in my democratic right to have a rotten day/weekend if I feel like it. Now you, buster, just tell her never to insult another customer with that silly saying, or I‘ll take my business elsewhere." This is the only language understood by the type of turkey who thinks such garbage as ‘"Have a good day‘" is good public relations. Hit him where it hurts. In the P.P. panic pocket. Perhaps I am overâ€"reacting. I have been known to do this in connection with Celsuis, metric, politicians of every hue, greedy unions, misleading advertisements, town engineers, school adminisâ€" trators, and about 12,000 other things, including the highway robbers known as garage mechanics. Maybe it will pass away, along with other such wornâ€"toâ€"theâ€"heels expressions as ‘"‘That‘ll be the frosty Friday" and "All righty‘" and the ubiquitous "Turkey," which seems to cover a multitude of mental and physical abberrations. Doug Pearson, CN Director of Development Projects, on publicity surrounding Waterioo‘s proposed City Centre â€"SEE PAGE 11 _ But in case it doesn‘t, keep your dukes up, you purveyors of "Have a good ...‘ the newspapers