6
Peace Arch News Friday, August 27, 2010
opinion Peace Arch News Published at White Rock by Black Press Ltd.
editorial
The kindness of strangers
O
ur reliance on one another is unequivocal. While as individuals we provide certain skills and learned knowledge to help us along the way, we rely on others for expertise, for tasks, for sustenance, for safety, for news… This was certainly clear last weekend in White Rock, after it was revealed E. coli had been discovered in the city’s untreated well water. Once the decision was made to issue a boil-water advisory late Friday night, it was up to others to disseminate the information to ensure each and every person affected heard the news, before it was too late. Although there have been no reported illnesses (as of this writing), some feel the communication was lacking – especially considering the city’s tiny size, just 5.28 sq. km. Many report finding out too late, long after potentially consuming life-threatening bacteria. And they want answers. The answers they receive, unfortunately, are tainted by being reliant in the skills and knowledge of others. Were mistakes made? Are the right people making the right decisions? Is the science accurate? We’re told chlorination would solve the problem, yet many have expressed health concerns over chlorine. Who’s right? Or, more likely, who’s more right? The same community has been in the midst of a peculiar debate this summer over the safety of radio waves, after it was announced Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are being transmitted by Tourism White Rock. While some embrace the technology and free Internet access, others argue that regardless of Wi-Fi’s global acceptance, it is unhealthy, with its dangers soon to be exposed. Another debate taking place here is about the safety of suntanning. We also hear conflicting views on the best way to dispose of our garbage. And product recall notices are commonplace, and too often sent long after the danger periods have passed. While there is little the individual can do to guarantee supposed “facts” are indeed factual, the situation is not without hope. Sure, we’re at risk of becoming a society of cynics, but there’s nothing wrong with healthily doubting all information and their sources. Expiration dates? Don’t believe ‘em. Side-effect warnings? Trust they’re likely far from complete. And the next time you hear of a potential danger in your area? Pass on the information. Leave it to your neighbours whether to believe you.
?
question week of the
Digital communication no match for written word
T
here’s something to be said for the unamusing – but I think I can compete written word. as far as cheekiness goes. But I digress. Not typed. Written. Each letter I wasn’t there – or anywhere – the day he wrote the letter to my mom. Sent scripted in full with not a hint of such from England, it’s dated early lingo as ‘omg’, ‘lmao’ or ‘wtf.’ Tracy Holmes 1971 and I arrived a year later. I was reminded of the value of handwritten correspondence The pages are folded a bit, but the other day, when I discovered the creases can’t camouflage my grandfather’s personality. my mom looking through a box My first hint is the page of mementos: black-and-white numbers, each accompanied by photographs of her parents; congratulation cards to a new such parenthesized comments as “cheeky”, “lucky?”, “how does mother; a news article detailing one stop” and, on page 8, “any the “micro miracle” birth of my time now.” cousin; and a pretty adorable photo of a certain 2½-day-old I found the first paragraph baby who bears remarkable equally telling: Dear Sir, Madam and offspring resemblance to my own children (Canucks), in their infant days. Now is the time when everyone And then there was the letter. “He could write a good letter, my dad! should come to the aid of the party and That must be where you get it,” my this particular party is very very old, very very forgetful, very slow moving about, mom said as she handed me the brown learning to drive a car and – all in all – envelope. The suggestion I may have refusing to grow old gracefully. inherited his prowess for the written word further piqued my curiosity in the I chuckled as I read his wonderings 39½-year-old missive. about whether the “Old Girl” (my grandma) who “poodles along” to bingo I’d never really considered where my is “keeping another man,” and how interest in writing came from. Reading that letter, I began to wonder – could a scenery on the bus “is far more exciting, little bit of my grandfather lives on in me? what with all the mini-skirts.” On page 5, I felt tears: He was clearly much funnier than When I look at the pictures of Linda & I – in fact, I’m sure there’s one or two Stephen (my siblings) on their homestead people out there who find me entirely
in other words
Linda Klitch Publisher
200 - 2411 160 Street., Surrey, B.C. V3S 0C8 Phone: 604-531-1711 Circulation: 604-542-7430 Classified: 604-575-5555 Fax: 604-531-7977 Web: www.peacearchnews.com
Lance Peverley Editor
Rita Walters Sales manager
yes 78% no 22% 76 responding it brings back terrific memories to me because I was born & bred on a similar place. I often wish I could pop in… Reading on, my chuckles returned, as the letter offers parental advice, frustrations of aging and commentary on a wedding where guests were advised to speak carefully. “Maybe I’m a lecherous type – but she was in the family way anyway – and what does it matter where you enjoy your first night after marriage, providing the bed springs don’t give in.” (Reporter’s note: Ick.) I still have letters from my dad’s mum. Of the half-dozen or so from my grandma, the earliest is dated 1981. None of them approach my grandfather’s letter in length or personality, but I treasure them no less. Re-reading them, I regret that the exchange tapered off; that I never thought to communicate similarly with my other grandparents. I’m sure the connection those letters sparked had much to do with the impact I felt when my grandma died. They made her real to me. My other grandparents had all died years before. But until last week, she was the only one I had cried for. I’d only met my mom’s dad once, when I was seven. Last week, reading his letter, he was suddenly real, too. An email, I’m sure, would not have evoked the same response. Technology may have made it more convenient to keep in touch, but it will never hold a candle to a handwritten letter. “ttfn” Tracy Holmes is a Peace Arch News reporter.
Marilou Pasion Circulation manager Jim Chmelyk Creative Services manager
2010 2010 WINNER
Published at White Rock by Black Press Ltd.
Last week Are Canadians too quick to give up civil liberties? we asked...
Did you receive adequate warning for White Rock’s boil-water advisory issued Aug. 20? Vote online at www.peacearchnews.com
The Peace Arch News is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province’s newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written concern, with documentation, should be sent within 45 days to B.C. Press Council, 201 Selby street, Nanaimo, B.C., V9R-2R2. For information, phone 888-687-2213 or go to www. bcpresscouncil.org