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I would, however, like to congratâ€" ulate Mayor Halloran on getting over her political learning curve so quickly. Even she probably never thought it would only take an hour. If her direction on an issue can change so suddenly within her first hour as mayor, what are we, as the people of Waterloo, to see over the course of the next four vears? I am amazed at how this issue is suddenly out of her hands now that the election is over. And yet in her first interview as mayor, no less than an hour after being sworn in, her answer changed to "I am only one person, and I do not know how council will vote." A‘fler being sworn in on Dec. 4, our new mayor, Brenda Halloâ€" ran, was on the job no more than one hour and was already trying to go back on one of her campaign promises. Halloran promised the people of Waterloo that her first job as mayor was to put a halt to the westâ€"side development before it came before the region. Halloran‘s showing _ Bourke‘s climate her political colours _ column was weak Christmas cookies and shortbread must be * Hear more of Brian‘s thoughts on life with the baked in the first two weeks of December. And of _ KOOL Morning Crew every weekday morning from 6 course, they must be the cookies which have always to 9 a.m. on Waterloo radio station 105.3 KOOL FM. Only a natural tree can be putrt'lp. and already there have been complaints it‘s not up soon enough. Already this season the reindeer have been taken out twice by a sixâ€"monthâ€"old streaking ball of black fur, which has launched itself from the stairs, only to discover it doesn‘t get a whole lot of grip on the hardwood floor. Down goes the reindeer, and out comes the glue. Making new ones won‘t do. According to our Christmas elf, all things must be original. That means many rules must be followed. These are reindeer which have been glued back together at least a dozen times. They‘re starting to look like extras from a bad 1950s zombie film. Did you know the natural enemy of the ceramic reindeer is the rambunctious kitten? Oh, she is briefly amused by the aniâ€" matronic or inflatable displays you can find now, but her greatest joy is in taking out all the decorations and ornaments which have adorned our home over the years. That includes the ceramic reinâ€" deer, lovingly created by my wife in a fit of kilnâ€"firing activity some 15 years ago. Once Nov. 1 rolls around, she‘s already digging into the storage space beneath the stairs. She‘s the Indiana Jones of decorating, on a conâ€" itc stant archeological mission to unearth all the relics of Christmases past. You see, Niki is a traditionalist. However, when it comes to Christmas, she‘s an angel. th two weeks to go before Christmas, we W‘appear to be in another transition period in the madhouse in which we reside. The season has always been a rather big deal in our home, with one child in particular the driving force. Perhaps we started that by naming her Nicole. You know, the whole St. Nick thing. Not that she‘s a saint; far from it in fact. i c i The se My little yuletide defender Greg Brown Waterloo Suggesting that climate change might be nice because you would like it to be a couple of degrees warmer in the winter is like suggestâ€" ing you would like to have cancer so that you could shed a couple extra pounds during chemotherapy and get to lie around in bed. Globally, climate change will cause the displacement of millions of people living in coastal regions. Climate change will affect all facets of our lives by putting strain on our food supply, the supply of clean drinking water, and the proâ€" ductivity of our fishing and forestry industries. Your comments helped to perâ€" petuate the myth that the issue of climate change is only about the warming of the earth by a few degrees. Re: Brian Bourke‘s column Is a (‘ warm climate so terrible?; Chronicle; Nov. 29, 2006.) Your weak attempt to make light of global warming was disappointâ€" ing and irresponsible. We know the day will come when they will all have their own homes, their own children and their own traditions. And we also know the day will come when we will be gone, and the three of them will get together at Christmas and say, "Remember when ..." What more could any of us ask for? i And then on the 25th, her mission AN will be complete when she leads the RKE troops in the 25th annual assault on home base. That would be our bedroom, and still the 6 a.m. opening of the stockings. They‘re all in their 20s; you would think they would sleep in now and then. Like some kind of benevolent yuletide dictator, she has essentially managed to extend her control of the Christmas season to two homes, fi instead of just one. This has changed things in one regard. She has now become the defender of the Christmas uniâ€" verse. been baked. No trying anything new! And there must be Christmas songs. Constantly. But here‘s where the transition comes in. Niki doesn‘t live at home anymore. She and her boyfriend have bought a house of their own and are busy putting together their own Christmas tradiâ€" tions. COMMENT Mike Elliott Waterloo The occupation of her extended territory will begin on Dec. 24, when she will move in to ensure all cheeses and crackers are in the proper spot on Christmas Eve, and to supervise the creation of the traditional Irish coffee. She doesn‘t swoop in too often, but when she does, her piercing Xâ€"ray vision scans all areas of the home, in search of holiday season artifacts which, I‘m sure to her horror, she has discovered are in all the wrong places. Clearly this was education in action, confirming young leaders in our schools may well change the course of this pandemic. 1 believe the weight of their knowledge was received by their felâ€" low classmates. Peerâ€"toâ€"peer messaging is extremely important, especially around health issues. These two leaders, talked openly and honestly but with compassion about the realities of this devastatâ€" ing disease. Both girls had attended a regionâ€" al public health information session on HIV/Aids and were determined to put their knowledge into action. Immmend the Chronicle for highâ€" lighting the HIV/Aids event at Winston Churchill school last week. 1 too attended an impressive event organized in honour of World Aids Day by Grade 8 students Heather Kennedy and Jacqueline Steele from Centennial school. HIV/AIDS info is important for kids Catherine Fife Waterloo Region District school board trustee Marshall Ward is a professor in the fine arts program at Wil frid Laurier University. Email is welcome at mward@wiu.ca. In the chapter on Jim Henson in Before You Leap, Kermit writes, "I truly believe that because of Jim and his dreams, the world really is a better place for all of us." I believe that too. For me, Jim Henson‘s kind and gentle spirit resonates most at this time of year, with madeâ€"forâ€"TV specials that include Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and Muppet Family Christâ€" mas. In addition, I still love the record John Denver and the Mupâ€" pets: A Christmas Together. My favourite Christmas present of 1979 was the Muppet Movie Album, with the song Rainbow Connection performed by Kermit. As a child, I would play the record countless times with my Kermit the Frog puppet in hand, singing the lines, "Someday you‘ll find it, the rainbow connection â€" the lovers, the dreamers and me." pamt oS MX Cl en oo oi ons neinenogh In the book The Wisdom of Big Bird: Lessons from a Life in Feathers by Caroll Spinney, Spinney shared his memories of the memorial service: "Jim‘s son Brian asked me to come as Big Bird and sing It‘s Not Easy Being Green, which has always been Kermit‘s signature song. Somehow I managed to do it without crying. Jim had written letters to his five children to be opened only after his death. Brian read from his. Jim wrote: Be good to each other. Love and forgive everybody. "At the end of the service, Frank Oz was talking and he sudâ€" denly lifted up Kermit‘s puppet that had been sitting on the coffin with a sign saying I Lost My Voice. Holding Kermit, he started to sing the song One Small Voice. It turned out that all the people in the memorial service had brought their puppets with them, lifted them up, and when you turned around and looked back, there were 50 puppets all singing. Big Bird then walked down the aisle of Saint John‘s Cathedral to this massive chorus of puppets all singing. It was an extraordinary thing." §2 0 O en en ts . On the DVD commentary for the movie director/writer Richard Curtis describes his n memorial service: One of my treasured childhood | books was Of Muppets and Men: The $ Making of the Muppet Show by k. _ | Christopher Finch (1981)..1 marvelled MARSHALL at photos taken during shoots where WARD Jim Henson, wearing a microphone and headset, held up Kermit the Frog. Beside him was longtime friend and fellow puppeteer Frank Oz operating Fozzie, Kermit‘s rightâ€"hand bear on the Muppet Show. It was Frank Oz who spoke 1990. Jim Henson once claimed that Kerâ€" mit‘s job on the Muppet Show was much like his own: "Trying to get a bunch of crazies to actually get the job done." My favourite stories include Kerâ€" mit‘s tales of his remarkable career â€" most specifically his fiveâ€"year run as host of the Muppet Show. Like the Muppet Show, Kermit‘s poetic humour and witty innuendos will resonate with adults of all ages. With his gentle delivery, he provides guidance and insight in chapters like Growing Up: Every Tadpole Must Drop Their Tail and When Bad Things . mm M Happen to Good Frogs. In the opening, Kermit writes, "I have a lot of memories from the swamp. I remember when I was little, we‘d all just sit out on our lily pads for hours and hours, rocking gently on the water and listening to the soft, sweet sound of chirping crickâ€" ets. Then of course we‘d eat the crickets ... but that‘s another story." Before You Leap: A Frog‘s Eye View of Life‘s Greatest Lessons is a selfâ€"help memoir in which Kermit uses his life experiences â€" from humble beginnings in a family of 2,353 to his 50 years in the entertainment business â€" to help readers lead a better life. im Henson, creator of the Muppets, was the most widely Iknown puppeteer in modern American television history. As a huge fan of Jim Henson, I was delighted to see his most famous beloved creation, Kermit the Frog, has a new book out â€"just in time for Christmas. "My hope still is to leave the when I got here." Make it a green Christmas at Jim Henson‘s funeral in May world a bit better place than e Love Actually, memories of the Jim Henson