The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

WM Htl l K) (lHRUNIl ll ' Wednesday February 1 I 1003 ' 9 ' I ‘. or s {V ) V ' < 7 V I N Y ‘ V . I.I:I II.I\S I() llll,(,llR()M(,l.l. . T q lof . was this obvious lack of critical tears to in eyes to see all the bumâ€" l e Sp ent Citizens ShOUld be thinking that brought on the RIM able matelials that are heading for vigilant to prevent Park fiasco in the first place and that the landfill site. . is far to over. It won't be over We buy coal, oil and gas to gen» In ea ers j “Other scandal until every dime is paid back into crate electricity, and throw away the e ardin the recently printed that godforsaken loan. Until that burnable gar e' n , _ , " ngbmissgion of Craig Huddle and time all residents ofWaterloo will Fire is muffs ultimate purifier. I might be the most unknownfamous person K" W his opinion of Bob Wagner. 1 would hear the burden of debt mainte- There is a clean. efficient inciner- * (arroII Spinney like to int out that this is not the trance. ator in Brampton with a very effec- . , , forum If); personal attacks on notiâ€" We should not move on but tive flue gas scmbber. It is burning a last week. low?“ my mailbox to find a letter fmm BIG Bu‘i elected officials. instead remain ever vigilant that lot ofMississauga's and Brampton‘s _ Yes. that Big Bird â€"_ as in the world~famous, Wide-eyed, There is no such thing as a polltla this never happens again. garbage and convening waste into “Shf‘fOOHWO yellow bird who lives at 123 Sesame 5‘ Except cal charlatan. Anger and pontification are electricity the return address on the big yellow envelope wasnt‘Sesame Everyone has an opinion and essential to the political process. Babcock and Wilcox in Cam~ Street, “ was Woodstock. Conn, the home J Carroll ”me?" this is called politics. When these disappear it's time to bridge manufactures flue gas scrub- the man who h“? spent the last 40 W m a b‘rd costume (and We have a society where we can really worry. bers that make the exhaust gases a cab can) as B's Bud and 05531 the (irouch. ‘ clearly debate the issues without Careful what you wish for Mr. clean enough to breathe at the top A lifelong fa" f” Sesame Street. I I“? 53m Spinney a letter a dragging personalities into the dis- Hoddle. what goes around comes of the chimney While back m8 him for entertaining kids and parents “he cussion. around. Every landfill site is adding pollu- me for nearly four decades In my letter,'l included photos of my I don‘t know Bob Wagner. 1 have ‘ tion to the groundwater. two young daughters (“95559 up “58's mm for Halloween. I disagreed with his printed opinions Scott LAM-um: Yes, an incinerator is more costly also requested a PM)!” interView at 1?“ convenience. now and then. Waterloo than a landfill site, but the cost of To my dell?“- Spinney ”PM With a two-page letter. hand- I have never thought to call any- cleaning up the polluted groundwa- “a”! on bnght yellow 0811190th thanking me for my kind one who had enough courage to R f w r] ter is even higher, words He included his home phone number and a drawmg he submit their opinion to public on 0 ate 00 Why can’t we build an incinera- dld 0’ BIS BI“! and 0595" in Greece, scrutiny to be a charlatan. s ould build an tor in the Region of Waterloo and signed: [love B‘s Blm/ Rottenly, 05C“?! Mr. Hoddle‘s article seems to be stop hauling garbageal] around the I thought your girls might “I“? this \I \I(\I I \I I attempting to make a point. which I mementor province? drawtng I did 9" Santorinit 591ml.“ , , get to be that we should stop criti~ Every time that I leave a fastAfood wrote, My JOY ‘5 that Im snuff” Bud \ ‘ I \ cizing our city council. restaurant or walk down the CarlKaufmnn and the Crouch “340m I find that disturbing in that it street on a garbage day, it brings Waterloo MYIOY came When we spoke on the : phone last week. as the 75-year-old livâ€" t ing legend shared stories from “the ‘ . ‘ zine: on the 20th anniversary of the if eat of composer loe Raposo, who Feb. 1 4 not about being mushy’ an... a... o. as... as a... sics like C Is For Cookie, ladybug Picâ€" You can. it appears, teach an old dog some new level of clothing (And, in another massive change, I nic, Bein' Green. and the Sesame Street , tricks. no longer ask for her advice in that area. I can do it theme song I admit I am an old dog. 1 can also be sometimes myself. mom.) “I loved the man." said Spinney. “He MARSHALL very set in my ways. and stubborn and disagreeable. l have been known, lately, to actually splash on was born to be on Sesame Street. WARD As well, I can be a bit of a cynic and tend toward the some cologne. (This. from a man who long main~ (Spinney then broke into the famous skeptical side ofthings tained his natural aromawas more than enough to Raposo song Sing, in his Big Bird None of this comes as much of a attract amate.) voice). last year. we lost Kermit Love (designer of the Big Bird surprise to any of you I‘m sure, so you More interesting than what i may have costumel.” can imagine what my lovely wife I i| I ( I ( ll changed iswhy. Sadly. just over a year after Raposo died at the young age of thinks. , , And i wish I could really tell you. But 52. the world lost Muppets creator Jim Henson at the age of 53. v I don't think I was a horrible person I“ H l R l\ I I'm not sure I know. “Nothing but wonderful kindness from that guy. never saw him before. but i believe I was typically lthink it has something to do with angry â€" vexed at times â€" but never angry,“ shared Spinney. male, ‘ a»? being empty-masters We spend more time “Such a sweet man. we became such close friends â€" then sud- Yes. I left the toilet seat up (this is a i 53 together now than we ever have, with a lot denly, he was gone." Henson shared a mutual admiration. once major admission given that t have 3-3 r g more freedom to do what we want. acknowledging Spinney as. “the only genius I've ever known.“ denied it for almost 30 years). l j i The days offerrying kids to one school Spinney remembered his first conversations with Henson I Yes. I tended not to clean up after ”z " event or another friend's house ora ball about the Big Bird character: “Jim, is he a parrot?" Spinney I myself. I would leave towels lying . ._ 1 diamond are over. (Except for those nights recalled asking. “Jim said. ‘Why don't you think of him as a little ‘ around. I would hm Wipe 0mm j a Q when they quite sensibly decide it might slow of wit.” But over time. Big Bird emerged as a four-yearold ' 1 kitchen or bathroom counters. like I jv’ J ' be best for dad to drop them off some- child trying to learn the alphabet." must men. I planned to do it, but [just fl: I where.) When I asked Spinney what kind of bird Big Bird is. he said, forgot l . In the old days we tnighi have acouple "I think he’s just a lark." But then another voice chimed in on Iditln'l shatt- t'wry day. Sometimes I BRIAN ofquiet hours in the afternoon before the the subject, barely audible on my end of the line. insisting that . not for st'Vt'I'ill days at a time. despite I girls came back from school, when every- Big Bird is actually a giant condor. "That‘s my wife Debra," my Wilt’ s pr(ilt'\i.lll()ns_ I BOURKE thing would quickly be about them. what laughed Spinney. "She’s an angel and my greatest supporter." I really didtil particularly care what I, 7 . â€"~< were they doingH‘Vhercdid they ”09d (0 Spending more than half his life on Sesame Street, Spinney lwon- around the house, Any logged be? has been there from day one. when Big Bird had only a few shirt would do .\lltl I would wear things until they [1,5 "Cl any great revelation. I'm SUN? IO (ll-56W” I feathers on his head and Oscar was a cab driver from the Bronx. ‘ J fell apart, the first thingto suffer is the relationship between “I used to be orange you know" said Spinney, in his gravely So what has changed? mom and dad. grouch voice. for one thing I am marking my 100th consecutive For parents, it's just overwhelming and paying "Oscar is a lot of fun to play," Spinney wrote in his memoirs. _ " day ofshaving. [his is, without a doubt. a world attention to little things between the two ofyOu The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the record for me. I shavi- at night because it's best l not becomes the lowest on a long list of priorities Crouch), “He's such a paradox he gets so much enjoyment out handle anything sharp when i get up at the crack of Is that right? No of course not. But I'm guilty of it. ofbeing miserable." stupid, but I have yet to miss a day. And my wife was guilty ofit (00. In celebration of the show's upcoming 40th anniversary. the Sometimes. I turn around and actually put down mm Valentine's Day approaching. it doesn't mean book Street Gang the Complete History of Sesame Street was the toilet seat. On someoccasions, I have actually we're going to get all mushy and spend hundreds of recently released. along with a talking book (ID. narrated by found myself going back to do it after forgetting, dollars 0" each other. Spinney. “later in October, I just found out. there will be a new I wipe off the counters. Not right away sometimes. We don't have to. There are some things that mean book filled with pictures of our 40 years of Sesame Street." Spin- btit the first step, of course. is admitting you have a a lot more, My informed me. problem. A little consideration, some eye contact. true I thanked Spinney for his time and the joy he brings to fami- l have now eaten lobster. And some crab. That interest in each other and. of wurse. time spent with lies like mine. goes against my lifetime ban against anything that someone you know cams are all free. "Have a good night.” Spinney signed off in his gentle Big Bird kicks like a bug. I haven't gotten around to shrimp voice. “Nol' 050“ rudely interrupted. “Have a rotten one MU‘ yet' and I may not, but it’s a start. shall, heh heh hell." When my wife and I go out together I make sure I “' am dressed appropriately, We haven't quite reached Brian Bourke. a "WM ofthe 105.3 KOQL FM the matching sweat suit level, (and i can guarantee momingatw, mu be reached byemarlat Marshall Ward isa 1113111110me and independent/lbw you we won't go there) but I try to keep up with her bbourkeOkoolfmoom Email is welcmm at MM,WM@MMLGML