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Civil responsibility or just plain old courtesy? I would take either at this point! On March 19, at about 6:40 a.m, I was driving on Bridgeport Road. At the intersection of Margaret Avenue, a car collided with my car, hitting my car on the left front corner and forcing me into the snow bank. There were two cars following me on Bridgeport. They slowed down and stopped. I remember thinking, "Thank God there are witnesses." When the driver of the vehicle that hit me got out of his car and came to check if I was all right, both of the cars drove off. I could not get out of my car. The doors would not open. l was not injured. The other driver and I both said we had a green light, but without witnesses the police cannot deterâ€" mine fault. I appreciate the fact that life is busy. Everyone who is out at six in the morning is going somewhere. We might not want to get involved in someone else‘s accident, but a Do your civic duty t was a year ago today that I played my first Iround of golf in 2007. March 26. As politically incorrect as it is, on a very selfish basis this is reaâ€" son enough for me to cheer on global warming. Sadly, the first round of 2008 seems to be some way off. If you happen to be one of those people just chomping at the bit to get out and embarrass yourâ€" self on a course, you could join me this week at an indoor tournament. It‘s being . e held at Golf Without Limits on Northfield | / 91 Drive through the end of the week. All | ‘ proceeds go to the Brain Injury Associaâ€" _ (MMRHE tion of Waterloo Region. We‘ll have a j tournament dinner on Friday evening, h with all the usual prizes. The punishâ€" |\ & ment, of course, is you get me as the Un . master of ceremonies. | F It‘s the first time I‘ve ever taken part in an indoor charity tournament. It does offer some advantages. I don‘t have to worry about the weather, and I don‘t have to wander around looking for lost golf balls. I think the young lads at GWL are onto something in their business. Indoor I golf is a noâ€"brainer, but the opportuniâ€" B( ties it provides for charities and other groups to run an easy wintertime fundraiser are outstanding. GWL hopes to bring in about $10,000 for the Brain Injury Association. And the event will provide a template for running such events in the future. Still a couple of spots open if you‘re interested. Easter‘s different without the kids Intelligent monument Seems as if the planned Intelligent Communiâ€" ty/Celebration of Technological Movement/Waterâ€" loo Historical/marker/plaque/monument has been placed a little further back on the stove. _ I‘ve had a remarkable number of people talk to me, or email about the topic, probably more than on any other issue. . â€" Across the board, reaction to the idea was negaâ€" tive. I‘m assuming councillors have heard many of the same things. A couple have told me they have heard a lot of positive comments. I‘ve yet to run into those, although l am sure they are out there. A couple of councillors have taken issue with the witness is needed to help the police _ Heritage Green park as a monuâ€" make a just ruling. A witness has the _ ment to Waterloo‘s Intelligent Comâ€" opportunity to add clarity to a situaâ€" _ munity Award. tion. The chief issue now should not To provide witness is like return ing a lost wallet. It is just the right thing to do. It makes us feel good because we are contributing to the good in our society. When you witness an accident stop and leave your phone number with the accident victims. If you really can‘t stop, then phone the police when you get to where you are going. Please, if you witnessed the acciâ€" dent on Wednesday morning at the corner of Bridgeport and Margaret in Waterloo, call the Waterloo police at 519â€"653â€"7700 and bring justice to light. _ You may need me to do the same for you some day. Forget about obelisk he City of Waterioo is planning on building a 30â€"foot obelisk in BRIAN BOURKE COMMENT monument being characterized as marking the city‘s selection as an Intelligent Community. "Well, if it walks and talks like a duck, and comes out the same year as the duck, what did you expect? Signs of spring There are a few signs of spring out there. In the one tiny corner of our front garden that gets a small amount of sun all day long, there are three very nomaseeee) â€" brave tulips attempting to make someâ€" thing happen. That meant no chocolate bunnies £ were hidden. No chocolate eggs lying e around the house. And no small paper * bunny footprints leading children to 3 their treasures. The footprints came about because for a couple of years AN when the girls were very young, we RKE would always see bunny prints in the snow on Easter Sunday. My wife j thought it would be a good idea to extend them inside. She thought it would be a parâ€" ticularly good idea if I made them. I always complained about cutting out the footâ€" prints. Every year 1 would end up doing that the night before Easter, mostly because 1 had forgotten where I had stored the feet from the year before. And every year the footprints would get smaller and messier. At one point, the girls would comment on how they looked more like random scraps of paper than anything else. I would rant and rave about having to cut out silly paper prints for young women in their 20s and why couldn‘t everyone just grow up? And then they did. Be careful what you wish for. Sandra Fielder Waterloo Brian Bourke, a member of the 105.3 KOOL FM morning crew, can be reached by email at bbourke@koolfm.com. It is coming, albeit slowly. Easter has always been one of the first signs for me no matter when it falls. This Easter Sunday though, for the first time in 25 years, there was no one at home. Two of the girls have moved out, the third was away for the weekâ€" end and my wife was away as well. The chief issue now should not be how to boast our city‘s recent success, but how to tastefully celeâ€" brate this community, better appreâ€" ciating the process taken to get us this honour. While I‘m all for celebrating our past and present, a 30â€"foot Christâ€" mas tree doesn‘t seem prudent. The initial problem here is not necessarily the design of the monuâ€" ment, but the monument itself. How can we call our community intelligent if we are clearly emphaâ€" sizing our arrogance and selfâ€"re honouring? Financial contributors to the project should focus on the rehabiliâ€" tation of the park. It will become a valued natural asset to the rapidly intensifying uptown area. This park and city should be known for its beauty and integrity, not poor design and egocentrism. Eric Mueller Waterloo Some would say he is the greatest of all time. Like Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, his accomplishments are legendary. He is a gifted athâ€" lete and visionary with an unbridled passion for his craft. He is, in his own words, "the stylin, profilin‘ limousineâ€" ridin‘, jetâ€"fAyin‘, kissâ€"stealin‘ wheelin‘ and dealin‘, son of a gun," Nature Boy Ric Flair. And to millions of wrestling fans like me, he is The Man. The 16â€"time world champion has always said, "To be The Man, you‘ve got to beat the man." But now, after 35 years in the business, Flair, having just turned 59 last month, is expected to lace up his boots for the last time at Wrestlemania 24 on March 30 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, in a soâ€"called careerâ€"threatâ€" ening match against another wrestling icon, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. * â€" WToi\'w'mstling fans, Flair‘s impending retirement is every bit as bittersweet as Ali‘s retirement was to boxing fans, or Michael Jordan‘s departure from basketball was to NBA fans. In the book Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time by John E. Molinaro, Ric Flair is ranked No. 1. Molinaro writes: "Remâ€" brandt, Picasso, Van Gogh, Renoir, Matisse, Dali and Ric Flair. Yes, Ric j Flair. For 29 years, the wrestling rin; | ) was Ric Hailys canvas; he usediis vgsl | NBW: \l { . repertoire of unique brushstrokes and ARTS a palette of brilliant colours to create . |@RRe@@aa s masterpieces the likes of which pro I ; i. wrestling had never before seen." }f a As a longtime wrestling fan, one of the first wrestling personalities I ever saw on television was Ric Flair. It seemed like he had always been there, and always would be a constant, bridging the past with the present for genérations of wrestlers and fans alike. If this Sunday is in fact the last time Ric Flair "walks that aisle," as he is known to say, it will truly close a chapâ€" ter in my life as a wrestling fan. The era in which I first started watching wrestling in the early ‘80s is dramatically different from today‘s "sportsâ€"enterâ€" tainment" business, and the majority of performers from that period are either longâ€"retired or dead. And as I reflect on the illustrious career of "the dirtiest player in the game" (another Flair gem), some of my fondest memories include seeing Flair wrestle live in person. It was in 1985, when I traveled with my American cousins in Buffalo to East Rutherford, N.J., by train to see Flair, then National Wrestling Alliance (N.W.A.) world champion, wrestle one of his greatest foes, Handsome Harley Race. I couldn‘t wait to see the legendary Ric Flair for the first time, and after a 25â€" minute classic bout, Flair pinned Race in front of the soldâ€"out Meadowlands Arena. Of course, that‘s how the match was scripted to end, but that didn‘t diminish from its action or drama. Two years later, I would see Flair again defend the world title, this time against "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. Seeing Flair in his prime, perâ€" forming at a peak level while maintaining a grueling schedule of over 300 matches per year, was pro wrestling at its finest. It would be at Wrestlemania 18, in Toronto, in 2002 where I would see Flair wrestle live for the last time. Sitting just 11 rows from the ting, I watched Flair battle The Undertaker in a brutal and bloody noâ€"disqualification match. Being among thouâ€" sands of fans yelling Flair‘s trademark "Wooo0000!" with each backâ€"handed chop he delivered to his opponent‘s chest sent chills up and down my spine. Even at 53 years of age, Flair‘s performance that night was captivating. And it will be at Wrestlemania this Sunday where, most fans believe, Flair‘s career will come to an end. Many of those fans will consider him the greatest performer in the history of his unusual art form. For wrestling historians like Molinaro, he will be remembered as an artist, "A man who has used the wrestling world as his canvas â€" molding, sculpting, and stretching the sport in ways never thought possible." And for me, Ric Flair will always be The Man. Marshall Ward is a visual artist and independent filmmaker. Email is welcome at marshall_ward@hotmail.com. ‘The Man‘ heads for retirement WATERLOO CHRONICLE » Wednesday, March 26, 2006 «9. «. , 4 MARSHALL