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Stouflialle Sun» '1 'ribune I '1 'hursday, Jun. '24; 2008 Greetings from our craziest corner t’s mine, all mine. My very own cross- ing guard site. It arrived Ian. 14, gift-wrapped in new- fallen snow and tied with rib- bons of smiles. The location is Glad Park Avenue and Millard Street. within a five-minute walk- ing distance from our house. Three minutes by bicycle. At age 78, who could ask for anything more? While the town insists on paying for this ‘service’, I’d gladly do it for free. I love the job that much and have from the start, even as a part-timer. In all honesty, I did obtain considerable experience while holding down a secu~ rity post at Newmarket's Upper Canada Mall. There, however, I dealt mainly with traffic. Here, chilâ€" dren are a top priority. There’s a difference, a big difference. While the town insists on paying for this ‘servicei I 'd gladly do it for free. While the call from Lori Boyd of the public works department came as a sur- prise, I knew something was in the wind when Mayor Wayne Emmerson said a fifth crossâ€"over had been approved by council and a guard would be needed as soon as signs were up and pavement mark- ings complete. I was also aware Council- lor Suzanne Hilton had been working diligently behind the scenes, responding to resi- dents’ requests. Operations manager Denis Chartrand added to my excitement, suggesting everything would be ready “within a few weeks”. But ready for who? He didn’t say, leaving the cru- cial call to the department's executive secretary. And would you believe? It came in the form of a question. “We'll be needing a cross- ing guard at Glad Park and Millard some time in the new year. Would you be interestâ€" ed?" she asked. Interested? If I could have extended a wrap-around bug with my telephone cord, I would have. But the line was three blocks short. “Am l?," l splintered. “lust tell me when". "When the snow goes and the pavement's marked," she said. “some time in the new year." i A few days later she called again and agreed every- thing was a go. 0110 excited Stouffville senior was on the job, 15 minutes early. On an interim basis, I’ve honed my skills at every (Tossing site in town includâ€" ing Stonffer Street and Main Roaming Around with Iim Thomas and Ninth line and Elm, both training centres. There, under the watch- ful eyes of Sharon Norton and Elwood Pattenden, I immersed myself in a four- daycrash course. Now I’m on my own. As with anything new, I had reservations. Such as, how will children react to someone strange? How will the parents react to someone old? At the same time, wellâ€" meaning friends did nothing to calm my fears. “You'll freeze to death," some said. “You’ll get killed," warned others. Regardless. I didn't allow the nay sayers to deter my enthusiasm. And I'm glad, for I love every minute. The students, about 40, twice daily, are wonderful. Monday through Friday, their smiles light up my life. While initially hesitant to welcome a strange face under a strange toque, they're slowly warming up to the fact my only mission is to ensure their safety. Hopefully, I'll win them over. Parents, some pushing baby carriages or holding wee ones in tow, were welcoming from the start, even to the point of expressing thanks in sincere and sensitive tones. And motorists, yes those oftâ€"maligned motorists, have been terrific too, displaying a patience I wouldn't have thought possible. I wake up every morning with renewed vim, vigour and vitality And politeness. Most offer waves. ‘ “Welcome to Stouffville's craziest corner," said one woman Friday. “We've waited a long time for this." "The pleasure's all mine," I replied. And it is. I wake up every morning with renewed vim. vigour and vitality, remembering how, someone once said. life begins at 40. For me, it's 78. [int Thomas is (I Stonfi'ville resident who has written fior area newspapers for more than 50 years. MACAND When Cathy asks, as she always does, “what do you want for dinner?”, I invariably reply “Mac and Cheese â€"- or anything else”, hoping against hope that more often than not I’ll actually get Doreen’s Mac and Cheese. It’s the ‘curl up in my easy chair’ type of meal that is the fitting end to a long and full day. Comfort 0/ 2 0 OFF » THIS WEEK We'll be tying up lots of these beauties for this week. This is 'homegrown' Ontario beeffrom the Fergus area, and boneless blade roasts in We section them a bit before rolling them, to remove any large wedges of fat. The cooking 0 is in your court, but you're not defenseless 0 -â€" we'll have copies of Doreen's tried and true pot roast recipe for you. Reg. $4.99 lb. I’m sure there are drawbacks to having a country the shape of Chile, but one of the benefits is having a progressive growing season as the climate shifts over the long, north-south stretch of land. What this means in this case is a long window of availability for these berries which is far beyond ours. That’s why we’ll have these now and for quite a while 1/2 at the peak of their quality. PINT food at its finest. Reg. $10.95 Serves 3 to 4 (or 1 Evan) To my mind, nothing says 'Spring' more beautifully than the simple tulip and then there are the not-so-simple ’parrot' and 'double' varieties, too. Give your spirits â€" and your home -â€" a real pick-me-up, with a bunch (or 2 or 3) of perfectly beautiful Spring tulips! From Chile VEGEHUUMN'." VEGEEMMME- SAUSAGES These sausages are actually not so much hot as full of flavour. They're great dinner sausages roasted or, if your BBQ is still going, even a notch better grilled on a bun. (y Made with pork. 0 OFF Reg. $3.99 lb. rms WEEK We're featuring this soup for this particular week for its thinning qualities, given the probability of you not being able to resist at our bakery counter. It's not too often that something this good for also you anA HEiiiiUr The Hospital Gala will be officially launched at our store on February 6th. The theme will be Italian in nature and there will be some QEEQLAL food to nibble on, including CHRISTINE CUSHING'S new PASTA SAUCE, and more than likely she'll be here in person. Watch for Gala notices in the Economist. RAINBOW (NUT? â€"FILLETS â€" Let's hope that we do better with the supply of these than we did with the Butt rfish last week our apologi for that. The Rainbow will be THIS WEEK 0 The theme this week is lime, with a bit of coconut thrown in for good measure. We'll be making COCONUT-LIME CHEESECAKBS â€" these are made in Graham crumb and toasted coconut crusts filled with our cheesecake mixture swirled with fresh lime curd. They are then glazed and finally garnished with toasted coconut. We'll be making two sizes. .................. S‘14958r s2295 COCONUT MACAROONS â€" these are chewy, moist macaroon cookies which are l / 2 dipped in chocolate. ' We'll have the smaller drops in containers ................. 57% Ba. and we'll have large cookies, also 1/2 dipped for ....... s 199 Ba. COCONUT-LIME CUPCAKES â€"â€" fluffy white coconut cupcakes iced with our white icing which is jackedâ€"up with a bit of lime zest Reg .................................................................. 52401341. LIME CURD TARTS â€"~ made with our flaky pastry shells filled with tart lime curd and garnished with plenty of whipped cream and a sprinkling of ‘n 00 toasted coconut. Reg ....................................... 1 Ba. available an naturel or with 2 ()Iil" THIS “’Iilik’ our mustard, lemon and dill % seasoning. my THIS Reg. $9.95 lb. WF-FK SPECIALS IN EFFECT UNTIL CLOSING SUNDAY JANUARY 27m Hours: Mon. ll:00-7:00 ~ TuchI‘hurs. 9:00-7:00 ~ Fri. 9:00~8:00 mogpgnognr Sat. 9:00-6:00 ~ Sun. 10100-5100 . 9'0"“ 548 Carlton Road, Umonvrlle afi- 940-1770 www.thevillagegrocer.com This week in our Deli we'll be whomping up great quantities of our dated-upon fresh salmon salad. It's made with gently-poached Atlantic Salmon, fresh lemon juice, celery 0 and onions, and pure A) mayonnaise .. Heaven on a fork! WEEK ' HT MAG C MIDNIG I You may not know that. after-hours. when yours truly is peacefully snorin away. two kitchen magicians are tor ing away in the ’illagc Grocer kitchen. perfectin their own personal culinar) creations. It is Mary . who fills our cold counter every day with her beautiful and delectable single-size salads. each npc the result of much recipe research and imaginative fine-tuning. And Stan the man it is who rolls all our }umm}' wraps â€" AND. he whips up the most amazing tartar sauce to be found this side of the Atlantic. It‘s different: rm 3 am R its better! (Must be the red onion) â€" Pick somc up with your trout. VIII/\(ili (mom-git All these items will be featured at ...... While supplies last! (AIADOAN norunou on mnsnnmm (not us