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p4 tribune january 22 1997 st comment email address stouffvilletribune pressnetnet xxgvirf v a day in to celebrate needed in february january believe it or not is almost in the record books with the recent cold snap we often turn our thoughts to sunnier days or an upcoming vacation but if you go by the calendar that vacation wont be here until easter the long cold ontario winter could easily be made far more bearable if our politicians would revive the agesold idea of a holi day in february talk of a heritage day or a flag day erupts around this time each year yet little is ever done about it we have plenty to celebrate in the country but like many other things involving our national iden tity we do not proclaim them we don not celebrate them and we don not attempt to build up any notion of national pride what we need in the middle of our harsh winter is a day to enjoy it and to celebrate the fact that so much of canadian life revolves around our winter a day to call our own would lift the collective spirit canada day is fine for a between new years day country a world of good summer holiday howev- and easter a little bright and add something to our er we need a winter holi- spot in the bleakness of sagging sense of national day to bridge the span the season would do this unity stouffville tribune 6244 main st stouffville ont l4a 1e2 905 6402100 905 6492292 classified 905 6402874 fax 905 6405477 publisher patricia pappas general managereditor andrew mair editorinchief jo ann stevenson director of advertising debra weller retail manager mike kogerson classified manager stacey allen distribution manager barry j goodyear administration vivian oneil operations mgr pamela nichols questions news andrew mair editor joan lfcmslieny kathleen griffin mike adler reporters sjoerd witteveen steve somerville photographers julie caspersen copy editor retail advertising joan marshman catherine dunkeld classified bonnie rondeau real estate joan marshman distribution arlene maddock reception ruth le blanc the stouffville tribune published every wednesday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publish ing and distribution group of community newspapers which includes ajax pickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance brampton guardian burlington post cityparent collingwoodwasaga con nection east york mirror etobicoke guardian george town independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetanguishene mirror markham economist and sun milton canadian champi on mississauga news newmarket aurora erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver orillia today oshawawhitbyclarington this week peterborough this week richmond hillthorn- hillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror todays seniors uxbridge tribune contents cannot be reprinted without written permission from the publisher my days of cheese and chocolate are over im a big ol tub of goo for those of you who know me this will come as no revelation but you may be surprised to know that after 10 yearsm i have decided to do something about it it sort of came to me during the holidays when after a particular ly fine meal i leaned back in my chair and took out a chandelier bulb with the button off my pants also my dog didnt recognize me anymore its not simply that i tipped the scales at around 215 1 have been heavier there is a charming photo of me at the metro zoo i was at my weight zenith a full 227 and leaning against the ele phant enclosure i still have to tell company that im the one with the short nose no i figured it was time when my 23yearold brotherinlaw had his first cardiac incident over the holidays i realized that this otherwise healthy lad con sumed similar foods to myself although he did wake up christ mas morning and helped himself to a big slab of beef pie and gravy i simply had cheerios with three teaspoons of sugar but i was almost as bad i used to have mars bars at work rest and play theres a plaque with my name on it at the drivethru buffet restaurants would see me coming and call in auxilliary staff lately i have been getting chest pains shortness of breath i use the railings when going up stairs and i also noticed that in my night school classes i was having trouble getting in behind the desk minute with mair a n d re w mair enough fooling around ive done the required reading and think i have found the right dietexercise regimen i must say have met with some initial suc cess but now ive become a little fanatical ive managed to drop 15 pounds on this program which is great but i find myself walking through food courts screaming at people youre digging your grave with your knife and fork ill rant or why should i pay for your health care when youre eat ing that slop im not strengthening the fami ly bonds either at a family din ner at a fancy downtown restau rant last weekend i scolded my brother for his steak and mush rooms as i picked at my collard greens and dry toast i cuffed my sister for ordering the french onion soup and made my dad send back his fatladen stuffed chicken finally in disgust they all ordered huge chocolate crepes out of spite i realized then that i had become something of a food nazi and am now full of remorse why just a mere two weeks before i would have had gravy dripping off my chin with the rest of them besides im not out of the woods yet i have hamburger dreams i actually like those cheese ads on tv and just saying the word lasagna sets off my sali vary glands version of the del uge i have miles to go before i eat to coin a phrase there is another downside to all this downsizing of mine while i can see my feet again ive had to let the person who used to put on my shoes go getting in some down time at the downhill last weekend five people and four sets of skis abandoned chateau gilderdale for the thrills spills and unique educa tional opportunities afforded visitors to blue mountain while our hosts my family and a visiting friend took to the slopes yours truly was busy upgrading her knowledge of world affairs by studying the latest issues of people the offi cial zine of the conscientious chalet owner people is one of the fundamental reasons the designated nonskier is willing to risk life and limb being dri ven through the fiercest snow storm to reach her holiday haven when my brain was no longer capable of processing another riveting revelation of infidelity strange sexual proclivities or plastic surgery among the rich and famous i perused peoples pictorial history of the ubiqui tous diana exprincess of wales once again one of the 25 most intriguing people of the year an achievement that probably comes more easily on an income of several million british pounds it came as something of a wel come distraction therefore when mr wallethead resplen dent in a new ski jacket not by armani and antique grey ski pants stouffville country mar ket circa 1976 limped painful ly into the chalet and announced that hed had a won derful time hefting his swollen knee onto a handy table top he also proudly displayed a large bruise on one of his fingers he had taken a turn awk wardly knee and fallen over finger he explained cheerful ly i forbore to mention that this was not my idea of a wonderful time it doesnt do for guests in a ski chalet to denigrate the sporting life and instead looked admiringly at his war wounds while making the appropriate noises of awed sympathy not satisfied with the morn- kates corner jcafcm g i iderdaj e ing masochism he returned to the task later in the day but this time managed to avoid life- threatening injuries by the time he got back he could hard ly walk but he was still gamely extolling the virtues of exercise and fresh air silently resting my case for the sedentary life i embarked on the intellectual comic sec tion of the toronto star still i must admit i was impressed by the old mans fortitude mr wallethead who had not attempted to hurtle down a hill on skis until he was well past 50 had gone so far as to invest in his own equipment for the 1997 ski season undeterred by the rigors of cold and the sheer effort involved in getting off ones duff and spending half an hour get ting kitted up to go out into a windchill of minus 33 he dis played the same enthusiasm he once reserved for rugby rugby is a sport which brings the kind of smile to the eyes of british dentists that hockey does to canadians in the same profes sion although im assured that there are rigorous rules to the uninitiated the game seems to consist of beating members of the opposing team to a pulp whilst rolling around in a sea of mud inexplicably known as a sport of gentlemen rugby makes ski ing look wimpy and as long as he doesnt expect me to join him mr wal lethead is welcome to snow- plough the ski hills of the world while i surreptitiously catch up on real life brought to me by time warner disney and the house of windsor