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-t t' 6 -The Cariadian Champion, Friday September 19, 1997 SOPINION TH AIAN CHMPO Box 248, 191 Main St. E., Milton, Ont. L9T 4N9 (905) 878-2341 Fax: 876-2364 Classified: 875-3300 Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver A.t.eciate Pablisher David Boa Generafl Manager Rob Kelly ISditar Karen Huinnoan Circulation Manager Teri Canas Office Manager Tino Cotes Production Manager The Canadian Champion, publistted twice weekfy at 191 Main St. E., Milton, Ont., L9T 4N9 (Box 248), os one of The Metroland Printing, Pubfishing & tJistri- buling Ltd. grnup ot suburban companles wtrich inctuden: Ajax / Pickering News Advertiser; Affinton HieraldlCourier; Barrie Advance; Brampton Guardian; Burlington Post; City Parent; Coffingwood / Wasaga Connection; East York Mirror; Etobicoke Guardian; Georgetown Independentl Acton Fret Press; Kingston This Week; Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun; Midland / Penetangoishene Mirror; Minnissauga News; Newmarket / Aurora Era Banner; Northumberland News; North York Mirror; Okville Beaver; Oriflia Today; Oshawa / Whitby / Clarington I Port t'erry This Week; Peterborough Tfhis Week; Richmond Hitf I Thornhif / Vaughan Liberof; Scarbornugh Mirror; UxbridgeI Stoutti Ie Tribune; Today's Seniors. Advtrtioing ns accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of tht advtrtising npace occopiod by the erroneoun item, toonther with a reasonable ollowance for signature, wilI ot be charged for, bot the balaonce of the advertinement oi be paicf for at the applicable rate. The pub- lisher reoerveo thte right fo categorize advtrtintmtntn or decline. Wait, I'il check my notes In order ta became a professional newopaper reparter, onc daes flot have ta be blesoed with outstanding, ar even legible penmanship. Penpernanship. Penwamanship. Gaod handwrit- ing. But it helps. Same peaple can't get the hang ai it no matter bow superiar the quality af toal emplayed. Give me a Crans pen - 1 used ta have a nice gald ane embassed with my initiais - or a cheap Bic and the resulto wiII be equaliy dismal. tîfegible except ta me and certain criminal psychaiogists adept at rcconsnrcting the personalities af Ioony serial kiliers through the taunting notes thcy scnd cops. One a scale af anc ta 10, with anc being the wornt, I would have ta rate myncîf an a 'one' although others wauld probably mistake it for a seven because it was sa sloppif y drawn. 1 can't even rend the lint ai column ideas sit- ting neglccteà an a corner ai my desk, which many would say in just an wcll. To tell the truth I con decipher a couple af' them. For instance, the anc 1 uscd font week, 1 con mokc that out ... "comploints, people who compiain," it snyn. Right beiow that is writtcn, "Stupid computer stuft, guys standing araund iaoking puzzicd." 1 sort ai workcd that in f ant weck tao, but I don't knaw if it wan rcaliy o calumn sidebor or junt a note I jotted ta myscif whiic watching thone technicians mens araund with aur cronky new unit. Tbcy ended up hauiing it awoy ta became VCR micrachips or wbotevcr. We got a new anc. Gaod for us, taugh iuck for Apple, as if they need any marc ai that. Bock ta aur story. People arc ofways caming inta my office with messagen 1 have scrawlcd ta get the meoning unlocked. To thcm, the weird nwirin and jaggcd sianhes arc as mysteriaus as hieroglyphics. It's bard ta biome these people, aI though my job as a manager in ta, namehow make thcm feci responnibie for the situation anywoy. 1 con't rend houf that stuff cither, enpeciaiiy if it's mare thon a day aid, becouse anytbing beyond that looks foreign ta me os wcf f. My hondwriting sbaufd camne witb an expiry date: "Please rend before Sept. 19, 1997 or con- tents wiii be fargotten." The ather day 1 actuaily had ta write a littie story, which aimant neyer happens, tbank God. It meant taking notes. It was a picasant iittic anecdote about twa people in town wbo won $76,034 in a iottery an the wcekcnd. As is usuaiiy the case, an empioy- ce calied from the iattery office ta oannaunce it. Not cverybody knows this, but a condition ai winning the iattery is agreeing ta the nurraund- ing pubiicity. Yau can't tum it down, if you want the money. Anyway, in going thraugh the moundn ai junk that brced mysteriousiy ovcmigbt on my desk f founid'be notes 1, had-frcnseticaiiy- pcnned- Manday. There wcrc a icw uines about the lady wba sbared bof f the prize; "Janet ... 44 ... medievof secretory ... 2 daugb- ters ... plus unrcst ... education ... gang or vacu- um.", Actuaffy that iast word may bave been vacu- I um or vacuf on, wbicb o reasonable individuaf migbt assume in some sort of exatic trinket ta be purcbased by the type of persan wba wauid con- femplate bfawing a significant part of their fat- tery winnings an a gang, aoffl tbings. Hmmmm. Wbat migbt a medievaf sccrctory be? A rccptianist at the Renaissance Festival? Someone wba doesn't like their working condi- tions? "Positivcly medieval bere, betwccn you and V." The part about the two daugbters and the unrest, 1 cauid understand. A friend ai mine bas two teenoge dougbters. He knows about unrent. Bt was o reai educotion. I stored ot this mess, head tiited quizzicaily, for a iew minutes. Then il off came bock. Janet, 44, medicai secretary, 2 dougbtcrs, pions ta invcst for education. No gang, no voculon. Gaing on vacation. Bciow was o quick outiinc about Joe, the ather winncr: Joc ... scif-cngagcd ... going ta buy a chin tuck ..29 years aId. Wbot's o 29-ycar-ald guy need plastic surgcry for? A chin tuck? Then ogain, if you're self- cngoged, well maybe. 1 did Joe o disservice, ai course. It tums out he is seif-empioyed, nat seif-engaged. And be doesn't want ta, purchase a new, bofderjawiine. He wants ta buy o new truck. Now, 'tuck', from 'truck' is excusable but 'chin' fmom ncw? f had a bigb iaop ot the top ai the 'n' thot sort ai mode it look like o 'c'. Next was o jagged, thin 'e' thot seemed suspiciousiy like the stem ai an 'b', petering off into o few mounds thot could bave been anytbing, like *in' or 'en' or 'w' 1 gucas, which is wbat it was sup- posed to be. Sa Joe, congratulations, I'm sure you're not o bad iooking guy and if you are, sa what? At ieast you mode $38,017 an the weekend, which is mare money thon aimant anybody except certain Calombians and newnpoper magnates. And Janet, bave fun an yaur vacation. If your job is o littie medievai, just chuck it and coant for a couple ai montbs. Boy Scout Apple Day in Milton was a aucceaa in October, 1964. Mers, with some of the juicy red applea that were on sale are Robert Evans, David Couiter, Walter Weise and Gregory Garber. Ch."bronic fatigue mysterious Cbronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) bas been calfcd the yuppie flu ai middle class mathero. The truth is it's very reaf and dcbilitating, tbougb iB is rare. It's mfucb marc thon just being tircd a flat. Janet was tircd off the time, and she was sure she had CFS. She warked full time, taok care ai tbree kids, was active in charities and cburcb and cxcrciscd daif y. Janet didn't have CFS, she simpf y didn't get enaugb nlccp. Marilyn was cxbaunted becaune ber son was in a seriaus cor occident and nbc bad ta woit an bim bond and foot for six manths, wbiie still try- ing ta mointain ber job. By the time ber son got better, she couldn't recover ber previaus cnergy level. She was often Boa tircd ta do laundry or dishes, but she neyer missed ber bowling league. Cbronic fatigue isn't that selective. The folawing definition ai CFS was odoptcd by the US. Centers for Disease Contrai and Prevention in f994. Currcntf y, people arc ding- nosed witb CFS if tbcy show four ai these symptomn: " Uncxplained persistent fatigue " New or cicarly detincd onset " Nat the renaît ai angaing exertian " Nat alleviated by reat " Substantial reduction in previaus levels ai octivity - Impairment in sbort-term memory or con- centration " Sore throat " Tender lympb nades " Muscle pain " Multi-jaint pain " Headaches ai a new type or pattemn ,Wbile this defînition is in anc sense quite belpfttl, it really doesn't do wbot it sbauld. Bt is uneful in that it shows bow CFS is sametbing marc than being tired. The limitation ai this definition arc nonethe- icss vcry troubiesamne. First, iB is extremeiy vague. Haw mucb is a "substantial" reduction in octivity? Wbat if you're 40 and you tirst noticcd tbc fatigue at age 25 - is that no langer a ncw and distinct onset? Because ai the ambiguity, tbc incidence ai CFS bas been found ta vary widely -in difféent studies, from as iow as one out of Psychiology in the 90s 500 people ta a higb as anc in cvcry 50. A scand prabfcm in thot it's difficult ta dis- tinguish CFS from neyeraI other conditians becouse there is a lot ai averlap in symptoms. Cansequcntiy, people witb CFS arc often mis- takenf y diagnased with ather problcms, wbile people wbo have athcr prablemis arc aften diag- nascd witb CFS. People who lcad bigh strcss lives may expeti- ence persistent fatigue, a reduction in normal activities, probicms in memary or concentratian. Tbcy are often mistakcnly diagnascd witb CFS. These people do nat nccd any special trcatment far fatigue, bawcver, because fatigue is nat their prabiem. They instcad need ta f earn baw ta reduce, manage or cape witb stress, and their fatigue wif f disappear. lB bas been porticuior y difficuft ta distinguish CFS irom depressian, even for bealth practitian- crs, as depressian sbarcs ai icast fOve symptams witb CFS. Peaple with CFS or depressian tend ta sf ay home, spend time alone, cventualiy lase their jobs and their fricnds. There arc important dit- ferences, bowever. First, people witb depressian are generaiiy sad, wbiie those witb CFS are nat sad, Bbey're just Bircd. Second, people with CFS gencraliy suifer when tbey exercise and are quick y exbausted by it - while exercise tends ta rcinvigorate someone wbo is depressed. Third, people witb CFS stili have goals, tbey just bave trouble compieting Bbem, wbile o depressed persan connot. Finaily, wc're not yet sure what ta da wifh sameone wha bas CFS. Wc don't know wbof causes il. Afli we rcoliy knaw is that it's reaf, not just Bbc angst ai middie-aged yuppie mothers. Looking Back 00 -j