PAGE 18, WHI'IBY FREE P~RESS, \'1-I >NESL)AY. OCTOI3ER 14, 1987 Brool] ROXANNE REVELER News & Features Editor e Il r ofli Phone 655-3637 Anoher hockey season has started. Seems almost un- believable. Only yesterday we were al sweating IL out through one of the hottest and driest summers we have had for a long ime. But now Thanksgiving is just a memory and the winter months stretch ahead of us. Even hough basebaîl season has not cnéncluded. and football is stili is full swing. it is hockey that I remnember so well; that brings back the most memories. Again, IL seems like only yesterday that I carted my son to the hockey rink for the first time. Helped hlm struggle into his skates, don his heimet, and steered hlm as he Lot- tered towards the ice. He was five or six years old and so proud of thaL littIe squirt team sweater the coach handed to hi m. He is now almost 20 years old. and after playing com- petitive hockey right up Lo the junior level for ail those many years, he is giving a littIe back this year. He is coaching a peewee house league eam. I think he is just as proud of this as he ever was playing himself. I only hope he realizes what a responsibility he has. Remembers ail the coaches he has had over the years. ..some great, some not 50 great. Remembers ail the elations, ail the disapoin- tments. and using these experiences does the best he can VIE WPO INT by Roxanne Reveler A letter from long ago for the hopef'ul young boys thaL will be looking to hlm for guidance and assurance over the months to come. I have dug out a letter that was neyer sent when originally.written many years ago. IL has remained crumpled in the back of a little-used drawer and I neyer hought that when iL reach ed iLs final destination my son would be a coach Lo whom IL was origi nal1ly wrî tten. But what goes around cornes around, and it's finally tirme the letter was put to use: Tomorrow morning my son starts hockey. He's going to step out onto the ice and his great adventure that will probably include joys and disappointmnent begins. So I wish you would take hlm by his young hand and teach hlm the things he will have to know. Teach him to respect the referee and that his judgment is final. Teach hlm flot to hate his competitors, but to admire their skill. Teach hlm it is just as important to be a playmaker and geL an assist as IL is to score a goal. Teach hlm to play as a team and neyer to be selfish. Teach hlm neyer Lo blarne his goaltender whien à goal is scored against hinri. because five mistakes were made before the puck got to the goalie. Teach hlm that winning is not everything, but trying to win is. Teach hlm IL is far more honourable to lose than it is to cheat. Teach hlm to be a competitor. Teach hlm to close his ears to the howling mob and stand up for hmself if he thinks he is right. Teach hlm gently. but don't coddle hlm, because only a test of fire makes fine steel. This is a big order. Coach, and I place my son in your hands. See what you can do for hlm. He is such a nice littIe fellow.Sincerely, parents everywhere. Reflections of a Golden Age By MABEL M. McCABE We of the senior group are varied and individual. It is therefore difficuit for an activity centre to form a policy that addresses ail of our interests. It's a thankless job for the most part. One of the fir st cornplaints that should be brought out into the open is the attitude of those who hink of us as old fogies. Many of the supervisors feel that giving us a donut and a cup of tea will solve most of our problems. I believe iL 15 time that more attention is paid to the ideas and demands of the folks who make these centres necessary. As none of us are truly the same, we have more need for in- dividual practices. It is nice to have a place to drop in and have a cup of tea but that is not the whoie of our lives. We need a personal touch. We need someone there at ail imes who would greet and weicome newcomers - just a friendly hello. More importantly let us rid this place of those who insist on saying, "Now. we are going to do bla-bla," whatever that may be. I have neyer liked being told how I should enjoy myself. 1 do not like a youngster in their twenties or thirties elling me where I should go or what I should like to do. Those who thînk of us as kin- dergarten kids are dong us a great disservice. We have much knowledge of life and have seen more than most of them will ever view. We are the ones who have endured when many feil by the wayside. I feel we are entitled to the respect and the candor that our years have made us worthy of receiving. The tendency to cliques is another problem that makes my blood boil. Many of those who have been at these centres for some tirne dling together and it is difficult for a new person to feel welcome when they are stared at, or even worse, ignored. Alil the committees in the worid will neyer make up for a pleasant greeting and a warm smiie. If that is not possible I will continue to avoid those hallowed halls. I realize it is impossible to set up programs for ail individual tastes but just having a pooî table for men and card tables for mixed groups is insufficient. We need stimulation at this stage of our lives not condescension. Why not some good speakers on many topics? Do not label every speech with the -for seniors" tag. We are young at heart, whether we are in our seventies or eighties or older, and if we wanted to be slotted in sections we would be in a box by now. Many of us live in seniors' buildings and that is stigma enough for~ me and I'm sure many others. We need to find new ways to express ourselves and new ways to do new things. Sure the women knit because it's a great way to keep arthritic fingers supple. Sure the men play pool but l'Il bet they would like to ry woodworking or carving or some other activity that would widen their horizons. We need good teachers and instructors to start programs that wil ift us from boredom and back into the mainstream of life. If the activity centres can do these hings they will find their mem- berships growing and their patrons ready to go at life with a new vigor. I feel this is just the first day of the rest of my life and I don'L want to waste IL sitting around doing the same old things. I enjoy playing cards but ît's not the be-ail and end-all of my existence. If~ one stops learning new things, one stops living. 1 vote Lo live. How many of you feel the sa me? 1~ RESIDENTS 0F Cassels Rd. W. have been up to their cars in muck and machinery for t he past few weeks as contractors work to reconstruet the 19 Cassels Rd. East, Brooki i Rev. E. Frazer Lacey. B.A. B.D. SUNDAY W(>RSHIP & CHURCII SCIHOOL -i11A. M. NURtSERY CARE AVAlL.ABLE ALL WEIC<NIE UIIITRCII OFFICE: 655-4141 BURNS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Ashburn 138th Anniversary SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1987 11:00 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Reverend Robert Spencer of Crief Huis Rhitby Jubilee Choir, 7:30 p.m. fefreshments Ail welcome Brooklin street complete with new watermains. Ail should be back to norL mal shortly if the sunny weather con- tinuels. Free Press photo THE CORPORATION 0F THE TOWN 0F WHITBY in the Regional Municipality of Durham PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE BROOKLIN MEMORIAL PARK FEASIBILITY STUDY DATE: TIME: LOCATION: Wednesday, October l4th, 1987 7: Obp. m. Town of Whitby Municipal Building Council Cham bers PURPOSE 0F MEETING: The purpose of the meeting is to provide the opportunity for residen. ts of the Town of Whitby to discuss alternative development concep. ts for the long term development of Brooklin Memorial Park. The information received at the public meeting will be used to assîst the Town of Whitby in evaluatîng developîng alternatives. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CAIL: 668-5803, Extension No. 292 I. Mm-bmr"- 7- q( hoobetti ,(Uvttted C6heý .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ===i