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Brenda has been and continues to be extremely involved with the community â€" through Leadership Waterloo and KW Zonta Club and more â€" and she actually cares about the issues and has new ideas. I am confident that Brenda will lisâ€" tens to the residents and she is just what this region needs. Brenda has many credentials that our city needs and perfectly fits the description that you too made a plea for... and 1 quote, "But where are our new leaders? Someone with charisma, leadership and the comâ€" munication skills to perhaps rekinâ€" dle some interest in the issues surâ€" rounding this city." am writing to you in regards to I_vour editorial, "Will a new politiâ€" cian please stand up." Although I admit that 1 agree with your opinion that we need someone fresh and new rather than the typical "old boys‘ club," 1 am appalled about the fact that you did not even mention the mayoral canâ€" didate that 1 will be voting for: Brenâ€" da Halloran. Mayoral candidate was overlooked As a result of this oversight on I‘m proud to say I have eaten fish and chips in every province we have visited. And although I still have a soft spot for the fish and chips served by the Duke Of Wellington in Waterloo (Thanks Billy!) and especially their beer, I must say my Maritime meals were outstanding. Over the years though, I have developed a cvouple of eating rules. Don‘t eat anything that looks like a bug, or that I, on the other hand, am not an overly B adventurous eater. I‘ve had shark, turtle and goat when it BC was offered to me in other countries. And I ate something in Japan which I‘m pretty sure tried to talk to me. I like fish. Specifically fish and chips. Beerâ€"batâ€" tered fish and chips to be even more specific. And I like to have a dark beer with it. There‘s something about a city with a waterfront. Halifax harbour is beautiful, and I don‘t know whether it was the city or the provincial government, but they‘ve done a fabulous job of keeping the area vibrant. Mostly, I think my wife wants to live there because of the food. She absolutely loves seafood. She‘s always had a thing about the water. Right now, we do live on the water, as our house backs onto a pond. However, as she rightly points out, e since the pond appears to be at least 60 | [ [[ per cent goose poop, it probably doesn‘t | BO qualify | ‘ve got a long list of places to which we could Imovc. Everytime we go away somewhere, my wife says, "I could live here." I‘m not really sure most of the time if she wants me to come along. That never surprises me, especially when we‘ve gone to places in the Carribean. Who doesn‘t like that lifestyle for a week or so? We spent a week on the East Coast, and at the end of our journey she proclaimed she could move to Halifax, N.S., or Charlottetown, PEL., in a heartâ€" beat. No sea bugs for this consumer LETTERS J he rally for autism heard from I many parents pleading for assistance and funding for their special angels. Unfortunately, their words once again are being ignored by the Liberal government. As the mother of an 11â€"yearâ€"old son who has 10 different medical Pleas for autism assistance are still ignored your part, I would like to ask that you please write a followâ€"up piece and highlight what Brenda will be offering to our community. 1 would also recommend that you get to know Brenda yourself (brendaformayor@yahoo.ca}, as we‘ll be seeing a lot more of Brenda before and after the election. t encourage you to visit http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/Des ktopDefault.aspx?tabid=1606 to see all the candidates who are running in this year‘s municipal election. ) TH] COMMENT And I guess, to be fair, I should mention my wife was also mystified by my behaviour, and my obsesâ€" sion with fish and chips. Why do I order it? Why do I like it so much? I wished she would have asked. Because the answer is obvious. For the halibut! * Hear more of Brian‘s thoughts on life with the KOOL Morning Crew every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on Waterloo radio station 105.3 KOOL FM. At least a cow They can escape. mussels are not riOrs. She also plays with her food. She made her PE.1 lobster dance on the plate in Charlottetown so 1 could take its picture. And she looked positively evil as she grinned down at her lobster in Halifax. Personally, if I were a lobster and 1 & * heard she was in town, I would run as [; ()l I fast a possible. Although, I suppose, RKE that speed is limited when you‘re a lobster. It takes her so long to eat a lobster that I am sometimes forced to have another beer just to pass the time. (OK, that‘s not so bad). looks like something else has already eaten it. Translated, that means I don‘t eat lobster or shrimp, (bugâ€"like in my mind) or oysters, scallops, mussels or clams. They just look recycled. Not my betrothed though. She will eat anything. The weirder, the better. And she relishes every moment. Seba Rehmani Waterloo I, on the other hand, sat there patiently, forced to watch her giddily chow down on all kinds of weird food which, in my opinion, would be better left alone scrubbing around on the bottom of the ocean. She singlehandedly boosted the seafood industry in the Maritimes in just a week. And it wasn‘t just lobster. She demolished a large plate of scallops in Digby, N.S., and a giant "Bucket O Mussels" in Halifax. ONVION and a fish have a fighting chance. I‘m pretty sure lobsters, clams and known for their prowess as warâ€" 1 constantly wonder when will the government care about our chilâ€" dren the way they care about the unions. The sad reality is children with autism will always be a huge liabiliâ€" ty and headache for both the govâ€" ernment and taxpayers to deal with. They will never stop and appreâ€" ciate the unique potential these special individuals possess and just how much they desperately want to fit within the community. Mr. McGuinty has never spent one hour in a special needs classâ€" room or any treatment facility, yet he did plenty of talking and promisâ€" ing during the elections. Once elected those same words were riddled with excuses and placâ€" ing blame on the previous governâ€" ment. conditions â€" including autism â€" I‘ve come to realize that we are not dealing with a mature government, but rather a government that borâ€" ders on the pathological side when it comes to their words and actions. Ann Josling Waterloo Marshall Ward is a professor in the fine arts program at Wil frid Laurier University. Email is welcome at mward@wlu.ca. It‘s really a matter of openâ€"mindedness, and making the choice to provide your children with a better, healthier alternaâ€" tive. It‘s also about teaching your children that, if the thought of eating their animal friends worries them, alternatives are out there. So far, however, no one has invented the soyâ€"based chocoro ni. Perhaps that‘s for the best. Understandably, most kids may turn their noses up at the traditional "garden veggie" patties that many people associate with vegetarian food. I myself am not a big fan of these blandâ€" tasting patties â€" consisting mainly of brown rice, mashed chickpeas and nuts. However, I see no reason why children, who would normally eat hamburgers and hotdogs, wouldn‘t equally love soy burgers and soy hotdogs. Along with a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables and wholeâ€" grain foods, I can serve soyâ€"based meat alternatives, rich with protein, to my family without reservation. Lower calories are one of several reasons to consider meatâ€" less alternatives. Nutrition researchers have long urged people to reduce their meat consumption, knowing that a high intake of red meat and animal fat is associated with higher cholesterol levels and increased risks of prostate and breast cancer. Along with the health benefits, I enjoy the fact that meatâ€" alternatives cause me no concern regarding contaminants found in meats that frequently make headline news. With all these soyâ€"based foods flooding grocery stores, it‘s becoming easier and much more convenient for parents to get their children to eat more soy. I think it really comes down to texture and taste, and I swear that some dieâ€"hard meat eaters out there would have difficulty distinguishing today‘s soy burgers from meat â€" unless they looked closely and noticed the absence of fat dripping off the grill. Along with barbecuing red peppers, asparagus, portabella mushrooms, zucchini and pineapple, there are usually some meat alternatives on my grill like veggie burgers, veggie hot dogs and simulated chicken and pork skewers â€" all made from soy. This summer alone, 1 have been Il WARD I introduced to tasty new varieties of soyâ€"based "deli" items that simulate salami, ham, turkey, roast beef and Cajun chicken. As well, spicy vegetarian chili made with ground soy is one of my new specialties. "What do you barbecue if you‘re vegetarian?" is a frequently asked question when people learn of my passion for preparing food on the outdoor grill. Since I ate meat for nearly 30 years, and liked lots of it, I worried that by giving it up I‘d never taste a good burgâ€" er or hot dog again â€" but my fears were unfounded. There is a cornucopia of delicious meat alternatives at the supermarkets these days, and it‘s fun to experiment and try them all. In making the lifestyle change to no longer include meat in my diet, 1 was inspired by the long list of great vegeâ€" tarian minds that include not only Shaw, but Albert Einstein, Thomas Ediâ€" son, Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatâ€" ma Gandhi and Leonardo da Vinci. me to reffect deeply on the subject of eating meat. Once I fully understood the conditions under which animals are raised and slaughtered, my conscience would no longer allow me to eat meat. One of my favourite quotes is by playwright and 1925 Nobel Prize winner George Bernard Shaw: "If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth â€" beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals â€" would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals?" As a child, a favourite treat of mine was a spicy pepperoni stick, dipped into chocolate pudding. I wouldn‘t eat chocoroni, as 1 called it, now â€" not because my tastes have matured, but because I no longer eat meat. After reading the book Animal Welfare and Human Values by Dr. Rod Preece, a professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University, 1 developed a new perspective on the ethical treatâ€" ment of animals. In 1999, during my year as the City of Kitchener‘s artistâ€"inâ€" residence, I invited Preece to give a public lecture at City Hall titled Animals and Artists. Like his book, Preece‘s lecture caused me to reflect deeply on the subject of eating meat. Throw another soydog on the barbie MARSHALL WARD