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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, July 12, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 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. Letter to the Editor Neil Oliver Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West David harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Website www.oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of On servicing seniors Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS: The Canadian Federation of University Women's (CFUW-Oakville) Club of Oakville, Submitted photo recently honoured the winners of this year's CFUW-Oakville University Entrance, Community Service and Mature Student Awards. Chosen for their academic excellence and community service, this year's recipients are: (standing, from left) Sara McCormick (Oakville Trafalgar H.S.); Victoria Larkin (Iroquois Ridge H.S.); Clarisse Schneider (St. Ignatius of Loyola H.S.); Rose Streete (Sheridan College); Cynthia Cheng (T.A. Blakelock H.S.); Ashley Chen and Alisha Esteves (St. Thomas Aquinas S.S.). Seated, from left, are: Lauren Droog (Loyola); Vienna Bassan and Alex McKeen (Abbey Park H.S.); and Cadence Baker (White Oaks S.S.). Re: Free ride for seniors, Wednesday, June 20, 2012, The Oakville Beaver Oakville Beaver journalist David Lea reported Town Council has passed a motion granting a once per week free ride on Public Transit to residents 65 years of age and over. This news intrigued me for very many reasons. Did Mr. Lea interview those who voted against the motion and why? In my reading of the Beaver article, both sides of the argument were not reported. Please focus on the fact that seniors are in the majority and we are not all afraid to speak up about our needs or well-being. What we do resent is irresponsible `pandering' to us by politicians, or politicians making decisions for us without consultation, or so it is perceived. I would respectfully suggest that at minimum, good public policy is made through research and the integration of a `process', which involves the groups affected. As the result of my checking with representatives of organizations and individuals who qualify for this four-times-per-month getaway, I found someone who was part of this decision-making who shared the fact that this plan was on the books since last September. If this is a fact, is it not a true indication of `our' (seniors) real importance in the broad scheme of things? The questions I asked my fellow 65-plus follow: · Which group of people decided that this was one of our "needs"? · How many 65-plus comprised this group? · Which seniors' organizations were consulted? How many individuals were asked for input? · How many choices were put forward in a transparent fashion? · Should we be enlightened as to how this generosity will be implemented? · Does the Split Pass not exist for the purpose of meeting the needs of specific seniors? Please devote your energy to expanding, improving and retaining the existing seniors services, which are not being managed effectively, not being funded adequately and as a result, are not meeting the needs of the seniors to whom they are made available. Care-A-van is one primary example. When family members are not available, I, as a senior with physical limitations, call upon care-A-van services. Three to four times out of five, a taxi is sent for me. I am sure that this practice is of greater cost to the taxpayer. Are public taxi drivers trained to care for or respect the nature of the disabilities of their passengers? Would it not serve our needs more effectively and would it not be better public policy to address council's areas of responsibilities that are underperforming and not meeting the needs of the seniors whom they are supposed to serve? The fact is public transit should be free to all seniors as it is in Britain. That said, the council has responsibilities specific to issues like care-A-van that demand your attention and yet do not seem to be a priority by these councillors who purport to speak for us. Pearl H. Cameron, Oakville Tackling the `Can women (and men) have it all?' debate recent article in The Atlantic magazine, written by renowned Princeton University Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter, has stoked what is now a decades-old question and retriggered what has become, to some, a tiresome debate: Can women have it all? Of course, we could simply defer to comedian Steven Wright and end the debate once and for all by profoundly noting: "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" Indeed, if you take Wright's theory and mix in a little human nature, you'd see that if someone were to finally, triumphantly have it all, they would immediately become unhappy, thinking: "Oh, my word, I have it all. Now I need to work harder to be able to afford a bigger house in which to put it all." Ah, but we jest. Sort of. In case you live in a remote cave, the gist of this `Can women have it all?' debate is that while today's world is wide open for modern women -- they can indeed be mothers and workplace dynamos -- can they possibly juggle the pressures and demands of home life and work life? Can they have it all by successfully balancing the two? Slaughter (supported by personal experience and assorted stud- A Andy Juniper ies conducted over the years) suggests that women, yanked in so many different directions and seemingly programmed to reach for perfection, invariably feel inadequate, are riddled by guilt, and are... unhappier now than they were 40 years ago. Her conclusion: women cannot have it all. Nonsense. Nonsense, that is, if you possess any perspective whatsoever. One-hundred years ago our ancestors rose before the crack of dawn each day and engaged in backbreaking labour until bedtime just to survive. Just to stay alive. Just to not be felled by a lack of shelter or sustenance. They had no time for over-analyzing, no time for extensive navel-gazing, no time for deep contemplation of work-life balance; they stayed pretty focused on not getting trampled by The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Compared to our ancestors, do women (and men) not have it all? Sure, there may not be enough hours in a day for us to do everything we want to do (or think we need to do). But all that means is that we are forced to prioritize what is truly important in our lives. And that's not a lack of having it all, that's just life. I think part of the problem -- and it's a problem that knows no gender bias -- is that we are a society of perpetual whiners, destined to be unsatisfied no matter how much we have, no matter how good we've got it. The fact that we have time on our hands to have these ceaseless debates suggests that we're not nearly as overwhelmingly busy as we think we are. Okay, in the purest philosophical form, perhaps it's possible that `having it all' is merely a myth. Or, it's possible (and this is my best bet) that, unless you just got flattened by a runaway bus, you probably have it all and just don't realize it: you're not living mindfully enough to realize and appreciate, minute by minute, moment by moment, just how wonderful the life is that you've carved out for yourself. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters.