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§| Slaves to tedmologyl *You know," he twangs between choruses, "This could be «country hit." . We‘ll see. 1 however, have just returned from the grocery store where | have purchased two big tubs of peanut butter and four packâ€" ages of macaroni and cheese. lts going to be a long week. you could prepare hot chocolate on the stove. 1 suspect that she is harboring some romantic notion that she is Laura Ingels Wilder back in that sod house on the prairie Meanwhile, my husband is wandering the halls of the house with the younger two children in tow, teaching them a new song, It‘s called, "There‘s A Great Big Empty Where My Microwave Used To ued to use the machine. Visions of Chernoby! filled my head. 1 had to make a choice. Warm and easy dinners or Waterloo‘s first major zhcnmnuc*acnss. | had to Think about it for a few minutes. Maybe it was sanity or simply the four pairs of eyes (five with the dog) glaring up at me. Whatever it was, I left the room as my family pulled the plug Luckuly, the microwave is still on warranty. The clerk at the shop says it will take at least seven days until the microwave can be fixed and returned lets at least attempt to defrost the chicken for dinner!" My cry was met with four pairs of disapproving eyes. Its not a good idea," my husband said, speaking for himself and the children who were now gathered in a protective circle around him My eldest daughter is thrilled at her discovery of the "oldâ€"fashâ€" oned" way we are now preparing our meals. She had no idea that Yup, like it or not, we are slaves to technology and entirely too dependent on the major gizmos that go whirr and ding, 1 kriow. My microwave broke down last night. We sit in front it, disbelieving, Two responsible adults with over 13 years of postâ€"graduate education between us, staring at the silent machine. & *It cant be broken," I said. "Maybe it‘s just a fuse?" my husband offered. "The lights are still on," our eightâ€"yearâ€"old said. Suddenly, it made a noise. There are a few secret fears that all parents of children share but won‘ confess, not even to eath other. We who speak so eloquently about reading readiness and developmental stages would never admit that we all live in fear that one day the television will break Perhaps he was right. I wondered what would happen if I cantinâ€" Fax No. Waterloo Town Square T5 King St. South, Suite 201 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 1P2 "Okay, so it‘s a whirringâ€"hum. Smells like something is burning. We better unplug it.* My husband moved to disconnect the faithful instrument that had so loyâ€" ally fed our little family for over four "NO!" I cried. "Couldn‘t we just try it one more time? For goodness sake, getting "Is that a hum?" 1 asked, my heart hopeful for what little hiccup of life nifllsfilb:snp‘ui\my'bdovd "No," he said. "I think it‘s a whirt." "No, it‘s more of a hum," I countered, Maureen McNab Tim Gardner Pete Cudhea (Sports Editor) Denise Tucker sixed any involvemnent in weatherâ€"forecasting. m As a bright idea the Region‘s participation ranked right up there with plastic song sheets u for folks #ho like to sing in the shower. And theres a third example of the world unfolding as it should. It‘s one you‘ll be surâ€" prised 1 support, even if my support is condiâ€" tional. Yup, they‘re talking again about develâ€" oping the old jail. 5 Natch, Kitchener Councillor Mike Wagner is front and centre in the project, as he seems to be every time the fate of a building more than a decade old is decided. uie And, yes, if memory serves, his saveâ€"thatâ€" building projects tend to wind up costing the P taxpayers. But, hey, I‘m with Mike when he says the county jail and governor‘s house are important for downtown revitalizaâ€" tion. Thats the key to my support: The development has to help revive the downtown. So they should do the superâ€"imaginative thing and turn the buildings into a jail and its offices. That would permit the rounding up of some of the and thieves, rapists and roundcts,villzins.varktsandmmd:mmfluscm of the downtowrt. Mark you, ordinary folks won‘t flock back downtown right away, but at least with all the walking eyesores gone, the area wfllbcm&hcnaflypldmlapfifiviqdflmdx Oh, the current downtown scene! the tartoos alone. One gal has a snake taooed on her arm. It‘s very feminine though. The snake has a rose in its mouth. One More Time: Whoops! Wrong again My alleged As an example, Waterloo is likely to cancel two of the three stop signs in a short threeâ€"block stretch on Lincoin Road. This is the farmed stopâ€"goâ€"stopâ€"goâ€"stopâ€"go strip that tries men‘s souls and their brake linings. Only the Mayfield fourâ€"way stop willbcntzir:di:mdnmnonlymdmmdcm. As a second forâ€"instance of things unfolding nthcyshould,\vwlool!zponhasdup-l ui The January thaw is behind us, the days are getting longer, and the world is unfolding as it should. Or at least it is in some The world‘s unfolding as jor Accounts: Circulation Manager: | Waterloo Chronicle is published every Wednesday by: .. ... Â¥ The Waterloo Chronicle is a division ma4a0t The views of c The Fairway Group Subscription rates : 240 Holiday Inn Dr., Unit F $45 yearly in Canada ham "| Cambridge, On. * $90 yearly ouaideCanada â€" N3C 3X4 +GSIL yM FotOp: 1 said than done. 14 3 1‘ M:ylmkcawdmmhulwmfllfl'.hlmn be part of a solution: ert | Kitchener should bring downtown taxes in line with reality They have driven good businesses out. As an illustration, a businessman has lamented to me that he has a good downâ€" town building he‘s been trying unsuccessfully to sell. And get this. The sales price is below‘the city‘s assessment He says the downtown assessments and subsequent taxes nuk:mm,ymlhemdhzbm Downtown revitalization.may be vital, but taxpayers won‘t be docile forever in the face of expensive. hareâ€"brained stabs at And councillors should take heed: The docile taxpayers of today can be the votingâ€"booth terrorists of tomorrow. that the Kitchener Farmet‘s Market was perfec tion unalloyed. Now a new site has been 4 mended for it. That won‘t happen for a good while. For thing, Kitchener doesn‘t have the $4 million * And you wonder about the acumen of Kitchener Downtown Business Association and dncwdkkhmamfiqflnm a consultant‘s report recommends the market move.and a "wish list" of other things that are easier sources told me that Round 2 of organized labor‘s fight wit mmmwhruw-ms. skedded for Hamilton, so the Steel City will play host to a ge: eral strike Feb. 23 and a day of protest Feb. 24. There‘s one thing that confuses me. Organized labor says i wmnhdahmdz-u‘hbmh countless employers whom it to have no quarrel. Worst thing about the protest is that we have to listen to the same old bahâ€"biah fro m labor leaders. They should be paid what they‘ worth â€" even if we have to cancel the minimun m wage law to do it. * "% On the Market: This is also confusing, A ie nnmmnaes: months ago 1 was reminded with a vengean« nvrmtonmmnnintrent}.ofmmerariuronivymiermmrsirronmmarcgmas CC ERAIAEEODEEA EASENNEATennusennemvemcn #ha‘ | ~| .. thing is getting 7A l dolk 5A k Nou BCO ic shelves are American .. it just sucks."."" et «10 % of all (Stomt mok 1 even further belo most afluent will increases in user and Coalition for cout of businesses ascendancy of the reiterate why it is nity and others ac every right to deci money in a way t tent with my valu have learned that of the rhetoric of course, the avoid it. I haven‘t grapes in years. | come courtesy of companies that 1 want to support. I Oill over its refusa doing so again ov ity in human : Nigeria 1 try not l’véflmys For over a of