A COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER VOL. XXXIII FEBRUARY 1997
E D I T O R I A L
The Winter Blahs!
So, where has our lovely Fall season gone to so soon? It seems to me it was only the other day that we talked about "summer swiftly slipping away" and our entering the beautiful season of autumn. Even the ever popular Yuletide season has come and gone much to the disappointment of many and the delight of others.
But, time moves on relentlessly, too quickly for some and too slowly for others. Before we know it another year has passed and we are now into the dawn of a new year - 1997 to be exact - just 3 years short of the 21st century.
Winter is upon us again with all its fury, arriving with depressing regularity, early as usual but departing tardily and not before leaving a legacy of misery and mayhem in its wake. Blizzards, ice-storms and treacherous road conditions are the order of the day for the next couple of months, compounded by the sub-zero temperatures that make us yearn for warmer climes.
How typically Canadian all this is to those of us who have lived here for some years. Outdoor activities such as skating, skiing and snow-mobiling are enjoyed largely by the younger set, while we older ones pass our time away with less strenuous activities like bowling, billiards and badminton. This is also a time of excessive television watching for some, the excuse being that it is too cold and unpleasant for us to do anything outside. We are now well into the coldest month of the year, a time when some of us, according to the media, are supposed to be suffering from the "winter blahs". This malady, according to psychologists, is really an acute attack of depression caused by a lack of sunlight but one that is easily cured by a short holiday in some sunny tropical paradise far from our frigid country. Unfortunately, only a few can avail of this rather costly cure, much to the chagrin of the rest of us who are left behind to suffer the rigours of a Canadian winter.
However, all is not gloom and doom, spring is just around the corner - March 20th to be precise- and just ten days later we celebrate that
most important of all Christian festivals-Easter. After Easter our weather usually takes a sharp turn for the better and before we know it our long-awaited summer is here. So cheer up folks as we have a lot of good things to look forward to again.
Best wishes to you all from all our members.
Eric Peters
Editor, AIIT