www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, May 6, 2010 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager The Oakville Beaver is a division of Letter to the Editor Getting to Oakville GO better Every morning and evening, long lines and traffic jams are a daily occurrence in and around the Oakville GO Station, nowhere more apparent than at the Trafalgar Road and Cross Avenue intersection. A few minor traffic changes would make the situation a lot easier. · For the morning commute on Trafalgar -- GO Station-bound -- make the right lane on Trafalgar right-turn-only from Argus Road to Cross Avenue. It would not only make it easier for commuters to turn on Cross Avenue, it would ease traffic on the right lane between Leighland Ave and Argus Rd. Currently, both GO station-bound and Toronto-bound drivers try to take the right lane, the first group turning right on Argus and second group on Toronto-bound ramp at the QEW. · For the evening commute on Cross Avenue at Trafalgar (northbound) -- make both the eastbound lanes left turning between the GO station parking entrance and Argus Road. There are already two left turning lanes on Cross Avenue from Argus Road to Trafalgar. That way, commuters coming out of the GO Station will not all have to crowd the single left turning lane on Cross Avenue. · Best of all -- open up the bus-only main entrance to all traffic. This path has two lanes each way -- at least one can be made available to cars. This prime real estate is massively underutilized while cars jostle for one lane in and out of the GO station. Manoj Saxena, Oakville WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Suburban Newspapers of America Media Group Ltd. RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award Not everyone can have a car Re: This is suburbia, we enjoy our cars, Oakville Beaver, April 30 The letter writer is correct in her assumption that for the most part, most households are at least a two-car family. Those with teenagers can increase those numbers, as well. I also am the parent of three teenagers -- ages 19, 20, and 21. The 21 and 20 year old have their own cars and are fairly independent. I believe the reader may have overlooked the fact that not all Oakville residents are independent and can drive. I mentioned my older two, now I will speak of my youngest. She is 19 and is autistic. My hope for her is that she will one day become as independent as she possibly can. Driving a vehicle of her own may not be a possibility. Therefore, I am grateful to the transit system in Oakville. She and her classmates at White Oaks Secondary School are learning to navigate the transit system. Thankfully it is staffed by some wonderful, patient and caring drivers, who always make sure these special needs kids and adults get to where they are going safely. I am happy the writer loves her car, I do as well, but I also appreciate the Oakville transit system and hope that they continue to put tax dollars into it. Thank you to Oakville Transit director Barry Cole for a great transit system. Debra Dershko, Oakville ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER DREAMIN' OF CAMP: Jacob Leung, 12 and Richard Olley are pictured at a garage and bake sale held last weekend in Oakville to help send Jacob to ostomy camp. Jacob was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of three and had his colon removed in 2007. At that time, he weighed only 47 lbs. because of the ravages of the disease and the surgery resulted in an ileostomy. The garage sale was hosted by Olley, who is the United Ostomy Association of Canada, Halton-Peel Chapter president. For more information, contact 905-825-3443. What women need to know about workings of a man's mind T oday we're delving into the minds of men and investigating what livescience.com says are "things every woman should know about a man's brain." Okay, ladies, let's get the jokes out of the way so we can return to the essay in earnest. "You're writing about men's brains?" my wife asks. "Well," she says, pausing for comedic effect, "that will be a short column." Holy cow, that's really funny, hon. Now, back to the topic. According to livescience.com writer Robin Nixon, men are considerably more diverse and complex then they are made out to be, particularly in modern sitcoms where doofus dads have become stock characters and obvious targets of derision. For starters, men are considerably more emotional than most women ever imagined. In fact, researchers have found that "infant boys are more emotionally reactive and expressive than infant girls." So, why don't adult men tend to show emotion (unless they're watching sports, or having a drunken guy moment: "I love you, man.")? Because emotion is basically drummed out of males by society that largely wants its men to be John Wayne/Clint Eastwood, and also by genetics. Apparently the protective `fight or flight' response loses some of its effectiveness if a man's on the floor in the fetal position, weeping over the elimination of a contestant on Dancing With The Stars. While we're stomping on stereotypes: studies have shown that men are also more vulnerable than women to loneliness, a feeling that wreaks havoc on health. Making matters worse, lonely men have less inclination (or social tools) Andy Juniper to reach out and remedy their loneliness. Which is, in part, why married men are typically healthier than bachelors. Furthermore, research shows that men can be every inch as empathetic as women, although the male tendency is to bury empathy and opt for a solution-oriented approach to problems. Men are apparently wired to `fix-it" (although, admittedly, this is a wire I'm apparently missing). This can be effective in life, but may seem harsh to a female who is simply hankering for a hug from her big lug. Of course, when examining the minds of men, there's one thing women always want to know: what's up with men constant- ly `checking out' women. As a guy (with guy survival tools), I'm inclined to categorically deny that this ever occurs. However, a British survey recently revealed every day the average male ogles 10 different women for a total of 43 minutes, more than double the time (20 minutes) that the average woman spends ogling men. Why? Well, men are hard-wired to do so -- procreation of the species and all that. To boot, men have six times more testosterone than women coursing through their veins, and it's this powerful hormone that fuels libido. Alas, just when women are beginning to think men are hopeless, hapless, lost causes, research reveals men do, in fact, mature. Eventually. Yes, given time, men worry less about status and more about relationships and bettering the communities in which they live. They eventually "covet wedding bells," become primed for fatherhood, and really, truly want to settle down with one woman. You see, ladies: men are not all primates, as I once heard a frustrated femme attest. Nor are we all, ah, Tigers. Andy Juniper can be visited at www.strangledeggs.com, contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters.