PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 21, 1983, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby w mm Voice of the County Town blished every Wednesday Michael lan Burgess, I The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby Publlsher - Manain Editor< residents for Whitby residents. by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone ii8-fil I1 The Free Press Building, 1:11 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. ROY COOPER Community Editor Second Class Mail Registration'No. 5351 'Patchmania'no benefit to real children! Every year about this time, there seems to be one toy bought by more Christmas shoppers than any other. Remember Dungeons and Dragons, Rubik's Cube. and Pac-man? This time it appears a doll known as the Cabbage Patch Kid is No. i on many Christmas lists. Unlike the novelties of previous years, sales of the doll have reached a fever pitch. Televised news reports have shown crowds of hysteric adults clawing and kicking each other in depar- tment stores while scrambling to grab one of these treasured toys before they disappear from the shelves. I don't have any quarrel with the Canadian tourist in- dustry, at least not yet. It may have a quarrel with me before I've finished this comment. At a tourism conference in Toronto recently, experts concluded that tourists were staying away from Canada in droves because they found it too boring and expen- sive. In addition to that, they said, we don't have suffi- cient world class attractions, whatever that means. The people who would like to change all this have their eyes on one of the greatest tourism resources the world has ever known, namely the 100 million well-heeled Americans who live in states along the Canadian border. Now, I don't want to wish any Canadian in- dustry ill, particularly in such a difficult economic period. But there are times when I think we're better off boring, over-priced and without the so-called world class attractions. Take a look at Newport, Rhode Island, for example. Last summer it was the opposite of boring. It wasn't exactly cheap, but you got good value for money spent. And it had two world class attractions when my wife and I were there: The America's Cup and the Wooden Boat Show. It also had enormous crowds, traffic that moved by the inch, no parking spaces, no beds for the night, and barely enough sidewalk space to breathe. I'm sure that the Newport Tourism Council was rubbing its hands with glee, but lIl bet that the year-round residents of Newport were somewhat less enthusiastic. As a matter of fact, I know of at least one Newport lady who rented her house for the summer and fled to Georgian Bay. Is Canada really boring? I suppose it is if gambling casinos and Disneylands constitute someone's idea of a good time. But Canada is also clean, quiet and a good placé to bring up children. It is a place where you can take a stroll after supper without getting mugged. Is it over-priced? Sure it is. By and large, travellers in this country get charged more for less, even when you con- sider the U.SCanadian exchange rates. But does the population as a whole really want an enormous influx of bodies? It seemed to me that our summers, for ex- ample, are short enough already. Do we really want to share what little sun and warmth there is with a horde of Winnebagos towing Hondas and outboards? One of the greatest things about this country, in my view, is that almost anyone can really be alone from time to time if he or she really tries. My wife and I know of a sandy strip of beach on Lake Ontario that the locals ignore because you have to put a canoe in the water and paddle for five minutes to get to it. Totally deserted. Just you and the sun and the seaguls. But the tourists with outboards aren't so dumb. They'd find it too. And goodbye solitude. I for one, cast my vote for maintain- ing the boredom and the high prices. The main feature is that no two dolis are alike. But there is also a unique marketing concept - each doll comes with its own birth certificate and adoption papers, then one year from the date of purchase the owner will receive a birthday dard in the mail addressed to the doll. The kids are in such high demand stock orders cannot be filled fast enough. A private sale ad in the classified section of a newspaper asked $300 for this $25- $30 retail toy. It has probably been sold. Why have so many people seemingly taken leave of their senses? Do children really command such power over parents? Are the tots so spoiled they will sulk for days if they don't find a Cabbage Patch Kid waiting for them under the tree Christ- mas morning? Has the advertising campaign been so successfùl mothers, fathers and grandparents feel they must do anything to own one? These questions can only be answered by those people who have been affected by this latest craze. The American woman who appeared on television not long ago clutching a Cabbage Patch Kid in each hand while tauntingly singing, "I got a doll, I got a doll", is a victim of the 'Patchmania' phenomenon. The furor must be embarrassing to the Coleco Company, who manufacture the doll, since they failed to foresee its ensuing popularity. As a result, the company has been forced to.cut com- mercial advertising in half in an attempt to slow down the demand. Does this doll frenzy indicate the meaning of Christmas has been forgotten again? The last of the great blockheads, Charlie Brown, discovered the meaning of Christmas 20 years ago. Even Ebenezer Scrooge, a selfish and un- caring old man from a Dickens novel, eventually reformed and found the true spirit of Christmas. Although both are fictitious characters, they cer- tainly proved the pitfalls of materialism. Ob- viously, some people need to be reminded of them. Perhaps an unshakable fear of the future has in- vaded the minds of people suffering from 'Patch- mania'. With films such as "The Day After" vividly demonstrating the effects of nuclear destruction, a doll can become a reminder of a once innocent childhood - not necessarily a "return-to-the-womb mentality", but a desire to forget the possibility of an Armageddon by retreating to cherished memories of the past. Why encourage a child to adopt a lifeless toy? A parent could easily become a Big Brother or Sister, or Foster Parent and teach their children the values of love, care, and concern for other human beings. They can learn from example. For the many homeless, lonely, or hungry children who exist in this world, it would be won- derful if the money, energy, and time spent in ob- taining a Cabbage Patch Kid could instead be donated toward helping a Real kid have a brighter life. Hopefully, when the excitement created by this new toy dies, like the needles of a dried-up Christmas tree, the Cabbage Patch Kids won't become dust collectors on a bedroom shelf or lay forgotten inside a toy box before the snow has even melted. Otherwise, some adults could be compelled to reflect on how silly their actions have been this season. Merry Christmas everyone. Let's hope for a bet- ter tommorrow. ~4/IE 1/77 O~5&?~ /sLTCASAG6E IAF a/OZ/VAZD4AeA f5fl14nA1 »r. ie- »r- xr- ie- »Oe. ie- ie- je- ie- »r. ie- »r. er- »r. er- »r- xr- »r.