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PAGE 6 â€" WATERLOO CHRONIGLE, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19; 1996 â€" _ 2 4 0 _ 0 I happen to be blessed with a group of wonderful friends, both male and female, whom I can call upon at virtually any time. They have seen me through good and bad times as I have with them and they are to be treasured. Bob and Paul are part of that group. What makes these two unique however, is that while each has made his mark very strongly in life and become a highly recognized leader in his chosen field, each â€" and this is the key point â€" has the capacity to be such a good, caring and wonderful fmend. But like Paul, Bob is a leader. He has guided Ontanio‘s legal ard sys tem along to the point where it is the envy of the world and he has done it â€" like he does most things â€" with style. The way in which he carmes out his job and his manner make him every inch a leader What really counts however, is his ability to be such a wonderful human being. Beyond the periphery of the job, Bob Holden is a com:â€" panionable man, quick to laugh, eager to share in wit and gaiety, warmly sympathetic to another‘s problems. He has a heart and it is large, feeling and caring. There is mixed within him, equal portions of logic and warmth. At the same time, he has a commutment to decency and honor that he vigilantly guards, steeling himself against visible passions and internperate conversaâ€" tion. He is amiable and humorous, congenial and courteous. He has always been a good friend to me. What is the point of all this? It is to say that we don‘t always give our fmends enough credit or recognition. We don‘t always tell them how much they mean to us. We sometimes leave it far too late; someâ€" times, we never get around to it. Unlike Paul, Bob is a liberal. Being a conservative, I tease him about that. I also use the small "I" to designate his politics because that is really what he is; someone who is a real liberal at heart but who doesn‘t always vote for the big "L" party when it strays away from its principles. Then there is my fmend Bob Holden in Toronto. Bob, like Paul, has accomplished a great many thing in his life: a wonderful career as a enminal lawyer and a very successful stint as director of Ontario‘s legal aid program. Paul is an unabashed admirer of Bman Mulroney, whom he considâ€" ers to be a fmend. He is also a relatively loyal Progressive Conservaâ€" tive. Agree or disagree with him on these matters, it doesn‘t matter; he will try to win your heart over in politics with logic and reason. But those are only his outward and more superficial qualifications What makes Paul so special is his ability to be a leader and a fmiend That ability pervades his actions and his thinking. It is made up of a combination of integnity, brains and tremendous human qualities of compassion and understanding. One fmend is Paul Mitchell, a neighbor of who lives just around the corner from me in Waterloo. On the surface, he has achieved just about everything in hife that any ambitious human being would ever want to accomplish â€" and more He is president of McNeil Products in Guelph, the company that gives us, among other things, Tylenol. He is also a member of the board of Air Canada and the past chairman of the Board of Governors at the Uruversity of Waterloo. As far as that goes, he would be on anyâ€" body‘s list of prominent Canadians Paul feeds himself on facts, that is the bone and blood of his life. He has never twisted what he believed. He has never mauled the truth as he saw it. He is a fair man, a just man, an honorable man. And when it comes to being a fmend, a good man. He is the type that stands by you through thick or thin This is a story about two fmends of mine. Although they‘ve met each on occasion, they really don‘t know one another very well. Yet they are similar What binds them together is their extraordinary gift for leadership and fmendship ( Waterloo Town Square 75 King St. South, Suite 201 Waterloo, Ontario NJ 1P2 Telephone 886â€"2830 News Line 886â€"3021 Fax No. 886â€"9383 They are role models indeed. Friends & role models Meanwhile Fred Sagel Pete Cudhea (Sports Editor) Deborah Crandall Tom Brockelbank Maureen McNab Melodee Martinuk Heather Mitchell Sheri Gervais Major Accounts: Bill Karges Denise Tucker Darlene Royle Linda Howard 1. The low mortality rate and the relative shortage of hospital beds and doctors are related. Regional folks unable to get a doctor or hospital die, say, 30 years later of natural causes. 2. The onions at Harmony Lunch bolster the body‘s and hence the community‘s immunity system. 3. The Region‘s low mortality rate is due in part to the fact there hasn‘t been any crashes of 7475 at Bresâ€" lau International Airport. 4. The low Regional crime rate is a myth, but the full statistics which show a higher crime rate were stolen. 5. The Region‘s second place in sewage treatment is a real coup and will quickly be made into a tourist attraction. Just as soon as we figure out what to spotâ€" light. 6. The relatively low (16th) standing on air quality should not be a surprise. The one time the Goodyear blimp visited here they filled it with Regronal air and it died. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. The surâ€" vey is supposed to show that Waterloo Region has armved, but I have my doubts. Life was better when we were tiny It‘s like being a streetâ€"cleaner Living in a one town has its advantages A Killer Case: I don‘t know about you, but the press and TV gave me more than | wanted to know about John Merz. The case was tragic; he was brutal But it wasn‘t the crime of the century And no, I don‘t know how Waterloo Region got city status and it doesn‘t matter because the survey set Regional officials and other apologists to playing pickyâ€"picky with the results. They shouldn‘t have bothered. They should have known they could leave it to me to explain some of the story behind the story. Like so: Yes, it was done by Chatelaine magazine and I know such surveys are surefire for promoting the magazine as well as disserninating vital information and doing other noble journalistic things. Here‘s the story behind the story Waterloo Region is so healthy you‘d have to bump somebody off if you wanted to start a cemetery. Well, hardly, but the region has rated runth healthiest in a survey of Canadian cities Andrew Pearen Circulation: Mary Baycroft Jerry Fischer Circulation Rick Campbell President: Paul wmfler The Fairway Group Subscription rates 215 Fairway Rd. S., $45 yearly in Canada. = Kitchener, Ont. $90 yearly outside Canada +GST. The views of our columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the newspaper. l Waterloo Chronicle is published every Wednesday by eâ€"horse S> SK\ & B International Standard Serial N*'i.-ull Say, there‘s no poll finding to show how many are bugged as [ sometimes am, by the Tower of Babel you get on the cable TV listings. Can you think of any other country which would serve up so many lanâ€" guages for the advantage of immigrants? l It‘s not that there‘s universal appreciation. There are times when you think some immigrants are Foing to give us a week to get out. Con us Ned Goodman, head of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews which commissioned the poll, said "the feeling is you can have your differences and 'Four festivals, but don‘t ask the rest of Canada to pay or it." Seventyâ€"seven per cent believe "ethnic groups should preserved)eirnduue,b\nsfil.lt:ywadaptte the value system and way of life of the majority, Goodman said. That‘s where Canadians are, and those who prattle A new poll shows that multiculturism is on the wane. Only one Canadian in five feels taxpayers should fund ethnic minority groups while 55 per cent vaguely support multiculturism policies. _ 0 All Together: OK, let the multiculturism prope nents write dissenting letters to the editor by the ton: most Canadians stand exactly where I do on our manyâ€"splendored and manyâ€"splintered nation. It‘s a pity such a cowardly and abusive punk gets so much attention. Still, at least he didn‘t beat the rap. That‘s common enough these days. You have to conâ€" vince yourself that crime does not pay; eventually every acquitted murderer will get a parking ticket. Idle Thought: How come you never see any recipes for leftover lobsters? nce over 0 Toh contrary are conning themselves and trying to Sandy Baird