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Whitby Fre Press, Wednesdy, March 9, 1994, Page 13 Resden reembrsfriend John Candy PROM PAGE 1 performance lor your old school mates, but thon you always attrcte gen nepeople te you. attr d sliked pretense and nover showed anýy. I remember you teling me that night that you were so nervous before you went on that y ou were almost pbysically ill. Even then, when you were rocketing te success you wyere humble anid unsure oà yourself. Didn't you know everyone loved you? Remember in 1968-69 when w. were inseparable? You viorked In the pet department of the Towers store in Svarborough and 1 in a Beekers in the Scarboroulgh boonies. After work, you wouldclimb into your big car wh'ch you called "the White Kniht and would come to my work, perch on the end of the counter and help me close up Then w. would cruise around listen to music and talk. You were a sad, young man then, John, in spite of your jovial wise-cracking exterior. 1 remember thiuIking how unusual it was for yVoua to live in a bedroom mn the basement while your mom lived upstairs. In al the turnes 1 came to your house, I think I only talked to your mom four or five times. I know you Sehool budget discussed Durham Board of Education trustees backed away from mak- ing more than a million dollars in cut. during budget discussions last week. Members of the boards finance and transportation committee considered: * eiminating professional development programs for tea- chers and staff, which would have saved $535,700 annually. *chopping a program te upgraeioder secondary school technical facilities for a savings of $483,000 a year. * reducing the frequency of a school _painting program, saving $275,00a year. Trustees voted te cut spendling on the professional development p rogramntey10 per cent -- $30,000bhadalready been taken from the program in earlier cost- cutting. The painting programi budget, wbich allows on. Durham Region seondary school te b. epainted each year, was left untoclied, as was the employee counsebling and technical upgrade programs. StilI te b. voted on is a pro- po sal te redue. cafeteria staff at Exeter High School in Aýjax and General Vanier in Oshawa so that combined cafeteria/food school operations won't have te be subsidized. With the. cuts so far made, tue board budget would increase taxes by 3.3 per cent, or an atverage $42 per household. mhat increase would corne despite a budget reduced by $10 million from bast year -- the board is receiving $25 million boss in provincial grants. The committee expects te wrap Up budkfot docisions at its meet- ong ight (March 9) but will have te cut furtiier if transfer payments from the. province are freduced. T7hose payment levels are ikeby te b. announced lator this monith. <The final budget likely won't b. brought down until bat. April or early May. rnisued your dad ternibly. 1 couldn't understand losing a parent when only a child of four. I guess that helped to make you the very sensitive person you were. Remember the. Donland'a movie theatre? I think it's gone now, but it was only a stone's throw from your house. How you loved movies. We would watch two or three ahowigs f the same ftlm sonie evertngs. You seemed to los. youýrself in them. Did you ever seriously imagine that on. day your face would be Up there? I seem to recall that you didn't think you had much of a future. You were tormented by your weight to the extent that you went to Buffalo to sign up with the U.S. Marine Corps. You said that the training at Paris Island boot camp was so rigourous that y ou would bose al of-your weight. You also said that if you were shipped to Vietnam, you wouldn't care. "Que sera, sera." What will b., will le. Well I tagged along that weekenâ to try to dissuade you, but we ended up in the rocruiting office all the same. If it were not for that football injury to your knee, they would have tâken you. I was relieved they didn't but you were very disappointed. I have a photo of you from that weekend 'n Niagara Falls, Ont. You're smoking on. of those damned Marîboros that you loved so much and are gazing wistfully across to the United States. Did you know thon that there was wbere your destiny lay? W. learned from each other, as ail friends do. I bearned to give more of myself since you gave so, freoly. You would always spot me a dollar when I needed ono or drive me somewhere when I needed a lift. Do you remembor my l8th birthday when we woro both working at the Neil McNeil High School dance? You shoubd. I know 1'1l neyer forget it. We wore both dateloss that night and I wvas particularly ,dcespondent since my girlfriend was babysitting ýand would flot b. with me at the. dance. You told me at about 8:30 p.m. that you had to run an errand. You didn't ge backwitil after 10p.m.but who did you have in tow? Lois, mRgrlfrend The two of yrou had cooked it up as a surprise and you had driven the. 30 miles or so to pick her up for me. You aiso drove ber back that evening. A guy could have neyer bad a better pal. After high schoob you went to Centennial College wbere my friend Willy Godfrey kept me up to date on your shenamigans. a time went on, we developed separate interests and, as so often happens, we slowly drifted apart. Mfather worked with Cyour mother-in-law or your wife Roio's aunt, or some relation or other. I was so happyte hear that you married andl got ail the dope about your little daughter and son. As I said, John, you had become famous and I did not want to intrude. I only saw you tbree times during your years of fame andtheinterludes were too brief. I promised my children that I would talc. tbem te meet you somotime but I neyer seemed te get around te it. I wish now that I had tried harder. I looked for you at two Argo gamos last season but you were not at those gaines. I guess it's too late now. My heart gos out te your mother, your brother Jim, your wife Rosie and your countless friends. Your legac , John is not onyyour huge vokim-e oJ work, btyour chl dren, your friends and the effect you have had and will continue to have on millions of people. You have given the woeld a large measure of happiness and that is no email thing. I will mise y ou terribly but I will neyer forget you. And, b- the way, John, say hello to Elvis for me will you? Sleep well, iny friend. Gocibless. Jonathan O'Mara Ail the comforts of a motor home. Ail the case and cfficiency of driving a van. Discover why Roadtrck is the bcst sel ling North American camper van. 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