The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Us! year when ihe region's pesti- ‘ide bylaw came into effect. l spent the afternoon chasing down the required signage at several of the City's distribution points. I found that no one knew what was going on or who had the signs. _ The City ofWaterloo hiss infer mation on their website but when it came to the Ian. 28 council meeting, they did not post its time. it seems that so many people have allergies to the weeds that will likely become more popular. With strict watering bans, chemi cal bans and the inability to be informed prior to input meetings, how do we stand a fighting chance of having a healthy body and lawn? Ban limits chance of healthy lawns r tist war when t w rugitrn's pesti- Be reasonable about drive-throughs very time a business/enterprise udevelops a concept, there are It is the day of love __. Valentine's Day. You will probably not be surprised to know that, in the cir- cles in which I travel. I am not widely considered to he a very romantic man. I am not, much to my wife's chagrin, the kind of person who will spontaneously pick up flowers on the way home. I have done it, from time to time, and have in many cases ended up purchasing flow- on that Mrs, Bourke did not particularly like. Ii She has always maintained this is because I am cheap. That is not true. I would always try to buy something live and nontraditional. My wife loves potted plants, but sadly she has the plant nurturing skills ofTed Bundy. I would search for something she could. perhaps by forgetting to water it for months at a time, somehow manage to keep alive. The bonus ofthis plan is I never run out of gift ideas. If I was cheap, I just wouldn't bother to buy anything. So there. But we've never been much for valen- Bi tine's gifts. I tell her I don't need a spe- l cial day to let her know that I love her. And no, she does not buy that at all. We used to go out to dinner together all the time on Valentine's Day. But then we had children, and that kind of went by the wayside for a few years although we would often find a night to go out somewhere close to the middle of February. It seems to me we used to select a ditteient spe- cial restaurant every year. That kind of got lost in the shuffle as well. Most-schools now require you to bring enough valentines for the entire class. I suppose that's a good thing. Life, it seems, has a funny way of taking the starch out of those plans. Truth be told, I always have enjoyed a good meal at home more than any other restaurant. Since the kids have grown up, I do rather miss the piles of completely ridiculous valentines they used to get at school. - Were you one of those people who would sit around all day, desperately hoping for someone to Skipping byValentine’s Day Bill Anderson Waterloo LET"] those who find fault with it but do not have a practical solution. This time it is drive-throughs. If you can suggest a quicker, safer, more convenient way to serve the people, then I want to hear about it. Assuming that every bank and fast-food outlet had a large parking lot, can you imagine the parking chaos, the length of lineups and the hassle of getting children in and out of their car seats. If you don't know that the inter- nal combustion engine should be kept warm, you need a lesson in basic chemistry. I would guess that the critics of the drive-throughs have a car and don't do anything to keep its pollu tion under control. They don't use their garage; they don't have a block heater; they don't use a radiator cover in cold weather and they stop and restart their cars too often. However, they sure know where pollution comes from. The manu- facturers have done their best to keep the engines warm - you should do your part. A classmate iold me that this uni- BOURKE COMMENT drop a valentine at your dtsk? l was, Maybe it was because during those very early years in school we moved around a tot. I went to four or five different schools over thelspace of four years, the same years those little valentines are so popular. _ " hated Valentine's Day. To the point where I would sometimes find a way not to go to school. lt was just too painful. __ _ Luy. Maybe that's why I have never paid RICE much attention to the day. I'm really just thinking about that right now. Per- haps this whole discussion is part of some journey of self-discovery, at the end of which I will realize the error of my ways and embrace the Valentine's idea full throttle. I'm not cheap. But I don't need a special day to tell someone I have spent 32 years with that she is the best thing that's ever, happened to me. And she diresn't need t1ouers, chocolates or jew- elry to know that. That might be a disappointment for the retailers involved, but it works for us. So I will skip byValentine's Day and move ahead excitedly toward Family Day, when. like many, I will be clutched to the bosom of my family. And I cannot possibly write the joke l want to here. But you can email me. Brian Bourke, a member ofthe 105.3 KOOL FM morning crew, can be reached by email at bbourFoolfhtaortt. For years," I never really understood why the schools would even encour- age the exchange of valentines. But that was only because of what I went through. I'm not usually a fan of doing all things for all people, but I think this is definitely one of those cases. You really can't imagine what it's like to spend all day waiting for just a single card. A note. Anything. Thankfully, I guess, for a few years, I only had to go through one Valentine's Day at a time at each school. Then it was time to move on. verse is so immense that little man cannot affect it. Nature has been keeping it clean for centuries. So for. get about the drive-throughs. Be a little reasonable. Nature will take care of the rest. or by man or demand to Winer- loo Chronicle. 279 Weber St. N., 181te 20, Waterloo, Ontario N2f ilRtNCLl MAhrf Kaufman Waterloo ie P. Bennett, a veteran of countless Canadian folk Wjitif,i" since 1979, is back in the saddle and bringing his solo tour to the Princess Cinema on Feb. 28. For his many fans __ I'm proud to count myself among them -- this is great news. After suffering a heart attack in May, Bennett was forced to take a leave from his longtime position as touring sideman for award-winning singer-songwriter Fred Eaglesmith, playing mandolin and harmonica. Eaglesmith recently spoke with me about his 25-year musi- cal relationship with Bennett, whom Eaglesmith considers an inspiration. _ - - - _ A __ "Without Willie, we've had to change the show entirely, " Eaglesmith said on the phone just hours before he took the stage in Grand Valley, Calif. "Willie is such an integral part of the sound and brings a certain level of Canadiana to the band. (In his absence), we've turned it more into a rock 'n' roll band. "Willie is a hard worker. and he changes my strings every night because he knows I have other things to do," said Eaglesmith. "There's a complete lack of ego. and he's always in it for the show." Every time I go to one of Eaglesmith's local concerts, Iget to the show early - not only to score a front-row seat, but to see Bennett tune up the instruments And while Bennett's mandolin, har- monica and backing vocals bring something extraordinary to a Fred Eaglesmith concert, it's his solo records like Hobo's Taunt and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings that made me a devoted fan. In 1999, Bennett received a Juno Award for the album Heart- strings. "Tryin' to Start Out Clean (1975)," , "M” Eaglesmith said without pausing. "I like that whole record - such an incredible record. His music is universal." _ "Willie is a stage man," said Eaglesmith. "When you're watchingWillie, you're watching a legend -- and he's very gra- cious. He's from that whole ('70s Canadian folk music) genera- tion, and usually only two people stand out -- and Willie is one of them." I Ssked Eaglesmith ifhe had a favourite Willie P. Bennett album. Sharing concert billings with such luminaries as I] Cale, Jesse Winchester, Garnett Rogers and Guy Clark, Bennett was part of the 1970s folk-music scene in Canada. I asked Eaglesmith about his own memories seeing Bennett perform as a solo artist. And while Eaglesmith has countless memories of Bennett on stage, he has even more from the road, touring with Bennett full time since 1995. "I'll tell ya a story," said Eaglesmith. "One of my best memo- ries ofWillie is when we blew a hydraulic line on the bus in Montreal. Willie crawled under it with only about eight inches of space. While the test of us ran for parts, Willie, covered in grease, stayed under the bus for six hours repairing the lines. Ill never forget that - he's always been in for a pound if he's in for a penny" And despite the heart and soul Bennett has put into his music, both on and off the road for three decades, he never became as famous as his contemporaries Since the heart attack though. fans and fellow musicians have been generous with their support for Bennett, on his mad back to good health. Back in July, Eaglesmith hosted the Willie P. Benefit in Peter- borough with 100 per cent of the donations given to Bennett to help with expenses associated with his heart attack and to pro- vide income replacement. Musicians who performed included Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Liam Tncomb. Washbéard Hank, Dan Walsh and Brock Zeman "I've always wished he would be more recognized," said Eaglesmith. "And he should not had to have a heart attack for that to happen." ---- - - - _ ___ Come Feb M, I'll be there at the Princess Cinema - arriving early, as always - to show Bennett the “aspen he has earned many times over. Tickets forWlllie P. Bennett are $25. For infor- mation call 519-884-51 12 or visit princesscinemascom. Marshall Ward is a visual artist and independentJilrttmakrr, cur- mntty teaching life drawing at the Mum-loo CommunityAns Carma Email is welmmeat marsttalLunmNmotmaiLmm. Folk favourite coming to uptown Waterloo WAI HULK) CHRONICLE . Wednesday, February 13.2“” . 9