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Sunday October 10, 1999 Oakville Beaver Weekend 11 Family Fare Be thankful for freedom we enjoy There are many things that I would like to give thanks for, but above all, I am grateful that I am not a turkey. Before you put down that baster, this isn't going to turn into a vegetarian rant. Nor is my gratitude for my non turkey state limited to the Thanksgiving season. No, the life of a turkey is pretty meaningless. Their entire existence is spent in captivity, herded from cage to cage. What lives they have are planned out for them, to the minutest detail: when they eat, where they go, everything they do, or more accurately, have done to them. The turkeys have neither the ability nor the power to govern their own lives, to really live. Id o . Say what you want about Canadian society, but here we are allowed so much in the way of freedom. We get to do things on a daily basis that people in other parts of the world can barely dream of. I shudder to think what my life would be like if I lived under the Taliban govern ment of Afghanistan. As a woman, I would not be allowed to leave my home Stephanie unless accompanied by a M acLellan male relative. I wouldn't be --------------------------------------- permitted to work, and receiving medical attention would be basically out of the question. I could face a vio lent death by beating or stoning for something as minimal as not wearing my Burqua properly. These conditions can't even be excused as a cultural situation, since this state of affairs has a tradition only as long as the fundamentalist Islam government's time in power - since 1996. As I write this, citizens in many nations are unable to openly express their thoughts, unless their thoughts are in strict agreement with those of the ruling government. Just count the ways that we can express ourselves in our day-tom HEY! Check out a 19th century Thanksgiving celebration For those w ishing to experience a pioneer Thanksgiving, you might still be able to have that experience today. The Halton Region Museum is throwing open the doors o f its Hearth Room to give 20th century diners a 19th century experi ence. The museum is a nine teenth century hom estead situated in Kelso Conservation A rea near Milton. The picturesque set ting beneath the N iagara Escarpment was once part o f a farm established by the A lexander family in the 1830s. Many of the original farm buildings are still used by the Museum including the barn, piggery, black smith shop and stone farm house. The traditional Thanksgiving fare will be served in the 1870s Hearth Room. As its name suggests, the centrepiece is a wall-towall stone fireplace designed like those com monly found in mid-nine teenth century inns. Handhewn wooden beams grace the fieldstone walls. Limited seating is at 1 p.m. Advanced booking required. The price for Thanksgiving dinner is $20/adult and $ 10/child (three to 12 years). For those looking to build their appetite for din ner, the Halton Region Museum is also featuring a tw o-hour guided Escarpment hike departing at 11 a.m. View the fall colours in style. Kelso Conservation Area is pro viding the unique opportuni ty of taking a chairlift ride to the top of the Niagara Escarpment. Guided hikes are $5/person, chair lift rides $2/adult and $1 /senior and child. While at the museum. visitors can wander through the Exhibits Building, play in the new children's Discovery Centre or join in on the Discovery Hunt around the grounds of the nineteenth century historic homestead. For reservations or fur ther information, call 905875-2200 ext. 0. day lives, often without being aware of it. It happens with anything from conversations held in public, to the music we listen to, the literature we read and the way we dress. We are free to assemble and join organizations, for recreation or to make statements. Events like the Amnesty International Coffee House I just participated in are allowed to happen, in broad daylight, in schools. Most people who observe the Thanksgiving holiday attend some sort of liturgical celebration as part of the. fes tivities. This tradition is just an assumption for so many of us, who don't consider that in another place or time, we might not be allowed to have a religion; that we would risk serious consequences by admitting that we were Christian, or Jewish, or Muslim, or B uddhist. . . Yet for most of us, Liberty is just a statue in New York. We take for granted what we think are simple freedoms, and how many of them we have. With our freedom, we can live by our own choices, express our thoughts, experience a multitude of viewpoints. These are favourable conditions. Bear them in mind. You don't have to live like a turkey. Stephanie MacLellan is an Oakville high school student Her column appears regularly in the Oakville Beaver. S P A C E O P T IC A L Top B ra n d N am es All F ra m e s S to re w id e w ith p u rc h a s e o f y o u r R x le n s e s OME FABRICS % 490 Span Rd,, Unit 5, Oakville, ON L6K 2G3 Mon.- Wed. 9:306 · Thun. 9:30-8 · Fri. 9:30-6 · Sat. 9:30-5 905-338-8856 f/io /n e 6<)fi'Si(/Ur(ion · Large selection o f fra m e s · D o cto r's a p p o in tm e n t arranged · We accept all visio n care p ro g ra m s &ctendecl! To November 30th/99 Due to overwhelming response. FREE (zonsuftatiotv fro m Fa ir h o m e Fa br ic s [_ Book now before the Christmas r u s h .___j (%te Space Optical invites you to come in and see all the new latest styles of eyeglasses. Visit us for personal and prompt service. 842-2821 Trafalgar Village 125 Cross Ave.