cktimes.ca Archives for Notes from a Garage


Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

Wonderful people, sports salaries and the meaning of great

Tuesday, April 22, 2003

So, here I am, back for another week. Strange for an old-fashioned guy like me to be coming at you out of your computer because I'm not really a computer sort of guy. But I'm on the internet with cktimes because I see the opportunity to have a truly free press through this media – for a little guy like me to still have a chance to start a newspaper in this day and age. Over my almost 30 years in the community newspaper business, I have come to believe that a community newspaper has a responsibility to try to support and boost its community and to try to help its citizens enjoy a better quality of life. I have enjoyed this short run with cktimes, realizing that there are still many wonderful people out there working to make a positive difference in our own little corner of the world. You are a terrific group of people and you have made this little adventure worth doing. I'll continue to work hard to earn your trust.

Talk around the Oak's Inn breakfast table about pro athletes and their salaries and then I check my e-mail and there's Gary Patterson's That's Sports and he's writing about working out a salary cap in the NHL and more and more people are starting to balk at these amazing sums of money. I mean, as we were saying this morning, a star ballplayer or hockey player earns more money that the CEO of a huge corporation where thousands of jobs hang on every decision. Think about a good neurosurgeon – this person might make a few million a year in the U.S. (far less in Canada), and save people's lives on a daily basis, but a journeyman second baseman for almost any team in pro baseball makes more – strange, but true. But I pointed out that's it's the way of the world. The gal who wrote Harry Potter is now the second wealthiest woman in England, despite the fact she was on welfare a few short years ago. We choose to reward strange things in strange ways on this planet. The guys at the table were saying that something needs to be done about the salaries, but I'm not sure there's anything you can really do at this point. It's more or less a done deal. Still, it's a weird world.

And speaking of great accomplishments and great achievements and great persons, think about this. If 39,000 children die of hunger and malnutrition every day on the planet, and about two thirds of the planet's population live in relative misery, and a majority of people on the rest of the planet are so stressed out that heart attack rates are spiralling, what have we actually accomplished since the beginning of recorded time? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps there hasn't been a single great accomplishment on the face of the planet over the last 10,000 years. I'm sure most of the world's poor would see it that way. When famine strikes in Africa these days, I'm not sure those affected feel much different than people who starved during the stone age. I posed this question to someone recently: What would have happened in the Middle East if the United States had sent 300,000 people and $80 billion in there to build irrigation projects, plant food, build schools and generally hand out good stuff? Or say the same effort was expended in Africa or Asia where people are not having much fun? I don't understand why when people are faced with the option of getting along and working together, or fighting it out, they almost always seem to choose fighting it out. I like the idea of always choosing the path of least resistance – literally. I hope you'll think about this and find ways you can make a difference.

So, there I was on Good Friday at my buddy Richard Knechtel's annual Good Friday party. In fact, this was the 30th edition of the party in question and it really is a great gathering to attend. It's great for the camaradarie and the chance to see old friends, but it's especially great for the music. You see, Richard is a professional musician and a great many musicians attend the party where they make their way to the large, well-equipped music room and get out their instruments. And they all get playing – several guitars, harmonica, piano, all types of percussion and 20-30 people singing along. When they get into tunes like "Leaving On a Jet Plane", you can feel the goose bumps rising – it's a great feeling and a bit of musical magic – what music is all about. I've been attending the party for the last five or six years and I've got to tell you it's a throwback to the parties I remember from back in the 1960's. Tons of fun. Speaking of Richard Knechtel, I'm having his singer/songwriter self here in Wallaceburg on Saturday, May 10 as part of the Glass Onion Folk Club series. I've known "Dick" for many years and have always enjoyed his original tunes. This will be a chance for some of you to experience that. Give me a call at 627-5978 for tickets – or e-mail me.

Finally got around to seeing the first Harry Potter movie last week – can see why kids really enjoy the movie but a little simplistic for real sci-fi, fantasy fans. Some good effects in the film, but nothing extraordinary.

Anyway, out of time for another week – hope you all had a good Easter. Let me know how I'm doing if you have the time.

take care and remember..."Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may."



John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.