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Christmas is a time for reflection, sharing and giving thanks. For me it is also a time to be grateful for those who help the poor. Today, 1 give Thank you, Waterloo. Ontario residents from all walks of life have reachedâ€"out to Africans facing a devastating food shertage by donating $697,112 to World Vision‘s appeal for southern Africa‘s famineâ€"relief. â€" But it‘s the Grinch who has more to say about the season of holiday celebration in the 21st century. Sure, he stole all the presents and did his level best to make Christmas morning a time of tears, but unwitâ€" tingly he made it possible for the population to consider a Dec. 25 without a glut of gifts that often sinks the naive mto a pit of debt until the feeding frenzy the next year. Visit a garage sale to see how precious the children‘s presents were. Canadians‘ generosity is saving lives in southern Africa _ On Aug.6, my wife and I took our last shipment of humanitarian aid to Guatemala. We went directly to the schools and not to the Presiâ€" dential House as in other years, since we do.â€"not know the new First Lady. 1 notified the principals of the schools that I was coming this time; since I had not been abl go for eight years due to work% wife Olga went every two to three years. * I was honoured by the people with presentations of song, dance. Sl‘muge was bad but I‘m not so sure about the Grinch. Ebeneezer embodied all that Christmas isn‘t meant to be, a man with ice water for blood and an appetite for money satisfied by the suffering of his workers. We love to hate him and cheer as the spirits transform hirg into a caring Santa Claus, a lrium'fih of good over evil. If you believe in prese'rving existâ€" _ nodes and alo'ng main transit corriâ€" ing farmland and greenspace, creatâ€" _ dars. like King Street, University ing more pedestrianâ€"friendly enviâ€" â€" Avenue and the proposed LRT ronments, creating a vibrant© route. uptown, increasing the efficiency of It‘is not aiming to destroy every public transit, reducing automobile _ house and replace it with a skyâ€" dependence; and reducing our éonâ€" _ Scraper, but since it is simply not tribution to smog and climate _ realistic to e:ipi‘cl zero growth in the change then you should also supâ€" _ City of Wateffllbe over the next 20 port an increase in height and denâ€" _ years, let‘s regulate the type of sity in Waterloo, .~ growth that occurs. It‘s low-densiry The policy is ahf)ut favouring . development that we should be t segms that there is some confuâ€" Ision about Waterloo‘s height and density policy study and the type of growth that it aims to promote. The end of the road has come... How many parents, grandparents and children have come to our house in the last 28 years? I don‘t know... The teddy bears, the dolis, the clothing, the shoes and soccer uniforms found a home with the children of Guatemala. = In support of Waterloo‘s height and dénsity study â€" Put the first six letters back in Christmas This letter is dedicated to the people of Canada who made chilâ€" dren happy in Guatemala with their clothing, shoes and toy donations for 28 years. Thank you, Waterloo, for your donations thanks on behalf of our partners in southern Africa who pass along their appreciation to families and individuals from Waterloo who conâ€" tinue to support World Vision‘s efforts. To ‘date, Canadians have given nearly $2 million to southern Africa to help children in seven famineâ€" stricken countries. However, the number of people affected continâ€" __ Like so many caifie with rings in our noses, we‘re around by the retail sector, tol@#gat we don‘t really love our wives unless we plant a large rock on her finger; that if we really cared about our kids the least we would do is treat them ta*a roarâ€" ing good time in Disney World; that if we truly loved ourselves we‘d play the lottery and live happily ever after. We‘ve been soid a bill of goods that fuels the corporate furnace. Most of the stuff filling the shelves is produced offshore by the sweat of poorlyâ€"paid workers, slaves to North American glitz. Christmas is much more about sustaining the economy than expressing love, for even an orange given with a caring attitude outshines a sack of gifts given out of guilt. As Christmas approached, I was sad... Thinking of those little smilâ€" ing faces which brought us so much satisfaction here as donors and in Guatemala receiving. Now, my conâ€" solation is the albums of letters and pictures which 1 have, We will conâ€" tinue buying school supplies for some children in Guatemala, as we have done in the past; in that way 1 will not worry about transportation costs. I will no longer make any large or small shipments. â€" _ The more we give the less it‘s appreciated, an example of the law To the many people from indusâ€" try who helped me when I worked at Meyer Industrial Distributors Ltd. (Later Meyerâ€"Mercer), 1952â€" 1990. To my ballroom dancing and sustainable growth over unconâ€" trolled sprawt and it takes a very moderate approach by mainly increast®m height and density at nodes and along main transit corriâ€" days, like King Street, University Avenue and the proposed LRT route. and poetry at three different schools. There were tearful recepâ€" tiens in which children of the past brought me small gifts. I felt like a father and grandfather at all the love and attention I received. I was "don Jorgito" toeveryone. Their love was genuine. hm uomm e s c en en Aage en emamnnnmrmmms an ie nommien nc o. [HE CHRONICLE n COMMENT ues to rise and supplies are used as quickly as they are received. There is hope despite food shortages that threaten the lives of nearly 18 milâ€" lion people. That hope is based on the continued generosity of Canadiâ€" ans like you. And that generosity is saving lives. Thank you and Merry Christmas. Thank you to the transportation people who gave me excellent dis~ counts or took the shipments free of charge to various destinations. God blessall of you. May you have a beautiful Christmas if you are a Christian. If not?have a lovely holiday. â€" Perhaps the young Philadelphia boy set the pace for what Christmas should be when, with his dad, he walked through the city core notics ing the homeless huddled at curbâ€" side. The youngster wouldn‘t rest until his father agreed to buy blanâ€" kets to cover these hapless people, a gesture of love that became a perâ€" manent fixture in the city of brothâ€" erly love. If we persist in taking the first six letters out of Christmas we will conâ€" tinue to miss the mark. Spanish â€" language _ students (evenings) at the Conestoga Colâ€" lege, 1973â€"1996. To my ballroom dancing students at Mutual Life ({now Clarica). To my ballroom dancing students at Victoria Hills Community Centre (still teaching in both places). And to the communiâ€" ties in Ontario. Individuals in Magog, Que. and Calgary, Alba. My sincere thanks for trusting me with so many toys, clothing, food, mediâ€" cines, infant‘s incubior, srutches, bicycles and wheel chairs, among other things. ; When we consider that it costs $35 to cure a child of leprosy or about the same amount to feed a starving child for most of a year, it‘s tough to cough up cash to buy gifts for those who already have so much. speaking out against, not policies like‘this one. Unfortunately, lowâ€" density development tends to take over areas out in the country where few people live and therefore only a small number of people find it in their own interests to oppose it. But, if you are opposed to higâ€"box stozes, giant parking lots and sprawling subdivisions with pesticideâ€"covered lawns replacing current farmland and natural areas, then you should be in favour of this height and denâ€" sity policy. of diminishing returns president, World Vision Canada Jorge Luis Serrano, Waterloo Jim Newton, New Dundee Ken Adams, Waterloo Steve Woodworth and the rest of the "gang of four" conservaâ€" tive trustees on the Waterloo Catholic District school board will finally move on from their attack on the work of public health nurses to focus on a new target: high school athletics. According to Mr. Woodworth, "As soon as I heard that our sports teams were playing against teams called ‘the Trojans, a name which is clearly intended tp promote condom use, I knew that something had to be done ,tf prevent the continuing corruption of Catholic values in our local school system." Woodworth and his allies will promise to protest by practicing what they call "the rhythm method" (only attending school board meetings at certain times of the month) until the rest of the trustees give in and let them have their own way yet again. scott.piatkowski@rogers.com * Two highâ€"profile candidates â€" Mike Connolly and Morty Tayâ€" lor â€" will emerge to challenge Waterloo Mayor Iynine Woolstencroft in her bid for reâ€"election. In their campaigns, both Connolly and Taylor will target three main groups of potential supporters: people who like placing blame on those who don‘t deserve it; people with short memories; and people who love irony. * On the heals of their expensive, yet popular hydro rebate public relations strategy, Ontario Premier Ernie Eves and his govâ€" ernment will begin issuing cheques to Ontario residents to make up for some of their other mistakes. Starting in February, every Ontario taxpayer will be issued the following cheques: $382.26 to compensate for destroying the health care system; $201.05 for destroying the education system; $185.64 for repeatedly targetâ€" ting the poor for mistreatment; $129.89 for creating a massive housing crisis; and $605.34 for general government mismanageâ€" ment. While welcoming the cheques (totalling over $1,500) as one of the preâ€"election goodies they have come to expect, Ontario voters will listen to the small voice inside them that says, "Wouldn‘t it be smarter (and cheaper) to elect a government that did the right thing in the first place and didn‘t have to compenâ€" sate people for all of its bungled policies?" * After promising to invade and â€" AB 4# occupy any country with undisclosed * N weapons of mass destruction; any â€" country which consistently violates / SCOTrE both United Nations resolutions and PIATKOWSKI international law, any country whichais ° a threat to world stability, and any country which repeatedily ignores basic democratic values, Bush will suddenlyorder American troops to attack themselves, * Francoise Ducros, who was forced to resign as press secreâ€" tary to Prime Manister Chretien after calling American President George W. Bush "a moron‘", will be hired as an advisor by the American Republican Party. "All of us knew that the guy was a huge moron, but no one on his Staff | ppppooaaa ever had the guts or the candor to say it | PA rogn out loud before: We realized that we [ ANOTHER | could trust a Canadian to tell the kind VIEW of ugly truths that our president needs ‘ 8 ‘ td hear, and we‘re looking forward to ‘ * hearing more of her honest opinions", F party strategist Anthony Parsons Jr. | ({subsequently labelled by Ducros as " a a h major loser bith ugly clothes, bad hair, | BA & \ and even worse breath") will comment. a lattaes ..x . > * Author and filmmaker Michael Moore will win the Acatfemy Award for Best Documentary for his film "Bowling for Columbing". After considerable political pressure from the NRA and other conservative groups, the Academy will attemp(to withdraw the award and give it to another, less controversial nominee. According to a defiant Moore, however, "The only way they‘re going to get this Oscar away from me is to pry it from my cold, dead hands." * Jack Layton will be elected leader of the federal NDP, prompting the media to run a series of articles and features under the theme, "The NDP is still around? Who knew?" Unsucâ€" cessful candidates Lorne Nystrom and Bill Blaikie will concede defeat graciously but willssiill complain that the newfound media and public attention being generated by Layton is bad for the party, as it distracts from other more important tasks (such as "labouring away in obscurity", "fighting amongst ourselves over the minute details of policy", and "winning meaningless moral victories that no one hears about")., In 2003, I predict that... * Paul Martin will finally realize his lifeâ€"long ambition of becoming prime minister â€" not of Canada, but of Bermuda. "After years of flying the Bermudan flag on all of my company‘s ships in order to avoid paying Canadian taxes, it just seemed natural that J would become a Bermudan citizen and run for the top political office there instead of in Canada," Martin will Piatkowski‘s predictions for 2003 F L ?:i