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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 9 COMMENT WATERLOO CHRONICLEWATERLOO CHRONICLE LETTERS TO THE CHRONICLE Sam Lovullo, the longtime producer of Hee Haw, an American television variety show featuring country music and comedy, died this past week at age 88. Hee Haw was one of my father's favourite TV shows when I was a child. Co-hosted by country music stars Roy Clark and Buck Owens, and created by Canadian comedy writers John Aylesworth and Frank Peppiatt, Hee Haw debuted on CBS in the summer of 1969 and ran for 25 seasons. Still ingrained in my mind is the comedic duet, sung by Archie Campbell and Gordie Tapp that went: "Where, oh where, are you tonight? Why did you leave me here all alone? I searched the world over, and I thought I'd found true love, then you met another, and PFFFT! You was gone!" Vividly, I can still see my father tuning in every Saturday night, laughing along to nutty running gags and some of the corniest one-liners imaginable, appropriately delivered from a corn� eld. At the time, Hee Haw's cornbread humour didn't really appeal to me (I was usually immersed in my Star Wars action � gures at the base of our living room � replace), but looking back now, I can see how rural audiences tuned in each week to laugh at endearing char- acters like Junior Samples, Grandpa Jones, Minnie Pearl and so many other great comedic talents. As well, the show offered first-rate live country music performances with guests that included Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Tammy Wynette, Hank Williams Jr., Linda Ronstadt and the Statler Brothers, to name a few. All these artists I saw perform on Hee Haw as a child have a place in my record collection today. My father's favourite comedy sketch, from what I remember, was KORN News, a newsbreaking skit where Charlie Fahrquarson (Canadian icon, Don Harron) delivered local news in his own inimitable way, with his loud, hearty laugh. Another was Goober's Garage, as George Lindsay played his "Andy Gri� th" role, enthusiastically sharing his love of cars and jalopies with other cast members. One of the most memorable sketches for me on Hee Haw always involved four cast members sitting around in hillbilly garb, swigging moonshine and looking overtly miserable. � e comedic song brilliantly touched on themes of human frailty and sorrow, and always began with the chorus: "Gloom, despair, and agony on me-e! Deep dark depression, excessive misery-y! If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all! Gloom, despair and agony on me-e!" Each time this segment would air, I'd look up from my Star Wars � gures just long enough to watch the performers, each one alternating with a long, mournful howl after each of the � rst three lines. Re� ecting on the show this past week with the recent passing of Lovullo reminded me how, only with the passage of time and our own life experience, we come to fully appreciate these small but signi� cant pieces of our past, echoing our childhood through memorable moments and songs like the ones I heard on Hee Haw. ••• Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Email is welcome at marshall_ward@hotmail.com. MARSHALL WARD MARSHALL ARTS I can remember living in North Bay in the 1970s when the population was around 45,000 and people knew each other. Drivers in parking lots would stop and let you back out, not to take your spot but just to let you back out know- ing you cannot rotate your head 360 degrees. A friendly wave to each other and we continue on our way. When I moved to Calgary in the late 1970s, being a bigger city of around 300,000 then, I found the people just as friendly and when driving around, I was given the same consideration I got in North Bay. People stopped at let you into their lane instead of letting you wait to turn in. In parking lots, pedestrians gave you to "go ahead signal" when approaching and again drivers would stop and let you back out of your spot. � ese days, either the people are in too much of a rush or just don't care anymore. Drivers honk at you when you try to back out of a parking spot at the mall or zoom by missing you by inches. Pedestrians scream obscenities as they walk behind your vehicle � guring that even though they are in your blind spot they have the right of way no matter what. Drivers constantly drive through red lights, scaring me into waiting to make sure everyone is stopped to my left and right even though I have a green light. Pedestrians don't even look when they step out from a store at the mall or on the street � guring vehicles must stop if they are there even if it is icy. The highways are just as bad. Not to say I am a speedster, but I was going 120 km/h on the 401 in the fast lane, heading towards Toronto when some driver thinking that was not fast enough decided to pass me between the jersey barrier and my truck. I was always aware that the fast lane was just for passing cars that were slower in the middle lane. I have been behind drivers doing 80 km/h in the fast lane and refusing to move over. Most times there are hardly any vehicles in the slow lane at all. Not long ago, I was driving in Cam- bridge and could see the light ahead was going to change to amber which it did. I slowed down and came to a stop and was instantly rear ended. � e per- son who hit me said "I thought you would be driving through the yellow light." There was $10,000 damage to my truck which was only months old. Why has driving changed so much that people do not care about other peo- ple's lives when driving? Why do people insist on driving through red lights? Where are the cour- teous drivers gone? Are they in that much of a rush that they do not care if they live or die when driving? Am I missing something? Bill Walkem Cambridge Smarter city might mean one city Shortly after New Year's Day, the City of Kitchener released a report that, in my mind, may end up being a catalyst for change across Waterloo Region. � e report is called "Digital Kitchener" and outlines a long-term strategy to create a "world class smart city," one that leverages technology in ways we have only imagined, to date. This is more than having public Wi-Fi zones, fancy websites, or online engagement tools. It's about identifying and solving the biggest challenges our municipalities face, using emerging technology. It's about stepping in to the wide, wild world of the Internet of � ings and using dig- ital chips and sensors to deal with climate change, crumbling infrastructure and tra� c congestion. In 2016, all the region's municipalities voted to replace existing light bulbs with energy-e� cient LED bulbs. � at was a smart move, in my opinion. But Kitchener -- with a keen eye to the future -- went even further, as they opted to install digital transmitters in the street lights. � ose transmitters are the � rst part of a "smart-city" network, which will allow the city to manage their infrastructure in an entirely new way. A smarter way. In my mind, a move like this is exactly what today's municipalities need to do -- to make better choices and save money. In Kitchener's case, the jewel in the smart-city crown will come in the form of a civic innovation lab, nestled right into the heart of Communitech. � is brilliant move positions the City of Kitchener to become a leader in this emerging � eld, with enormous potential for commercial gain across the high-tech sector. � at's an economic devel- opment win for the entire region. � is is a big moment. Which brings me back to my orig- inal thought. Some of you won't like it. A move like this must catapult our entire region into a very important conversation about who we want to be when we grow up. If the City of Kitchener is launching a Dig- ital Strategy, we should all be launching a Digital Strategy. No. � ere should be one Digital Strategy for the entire Waterloo Region. Instead, we have eight municipal govern- ments, working independently on a multi- tude of strategic initiatives. Try explaining that to a classroom of college students -- they see how ridiculous we are. As time marches on and the issues that municipalities face get more complex, the reasons to exist as independent municipalities are going to get thinner and thinner. And if we continue to hunker down, behind our wall, we may miss out on something wonderful. ••• Karen Scian is the co-founder of the Talent Business Solutions, an educator and a recovering city councillor. She is also chair of the Waterloo Public Library Board. You can email her at beinscian@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @karenscian. BEIN' SCIAN KAREN SCIAN Where have the courteous drivers gone? Having a bit of a laugh at old Hee Haw memories Letter policy Letters may be submitted by email to editorial@waterlooch- ronicle.ca, and include the author's full name, place of resi- dence and contact information.