tap* i
THE NEW CANADIAN
Wednesday, Augu* fc, 1^54.
PROM THE FRYING PAN . . .
BY BILL HOSOKAWA
Simple Things of Life
Denver
The kids were out in the back yard splashing �.round in th� little plastic wading pool and having more fun than a school of porpoises. I couldn't help but envy them, for they were without a cara and the simple act of playing in water was giving them an immense satisfaction, t got to thinking about the things that thrill, please, amaze, and excite them, and how much fun they can wring, out of every minute of every day. And then I got to wondering what had happened to my own zest for living.
Take for instance our little Christie, who gets such infinite pleasure out of receiving a 10-cent plastic toy for a present. She plays with it, treasures it, eventually breaks it. And. for a little while she is as heartbroken about her loss as if it were. the world's most precious treasure. And moments later she has forgotten and is happy again.
Or take Pete. The world is full of wonder. He finds fantasy.in.the shape of floating clouds. The mysteries of all nature are wrapped up in the butterfly he has captured and imprisoned in a discarded mayonnaise bottle; and in the ugly, fearsome tomato worm hie discovered in the back* yard garden patch: He rides his bike up and down the sidewalk with the intense concentration of an Indianapolis Speedway -driver, and perhaps he imagines himself racing 'desperately against phantom competitors.
Or take Susan, who is a little loo sober-minded for complete fantasy. But she is thrilled almost speechless by the sight of a horse galloping into the wind with tuanc streaming. She stops to admire the beauty of our mountain sunsets, she loves to &cvor the freedom and loneliness one feels when viewing the.vaslncss of our west from some lofty promontory.
And Mike? He glows when he talks'about football. Normally restless, he'll sit and work for hours with wood and his carving tools. Usually careless about details, he'll paint his models with the painstaking care and love of an old world craftsman. These children know, instinctively, how to throw themselves into what they are doing so that they are completely fascinated. And thi-intensity of their interest gives them happiness. �
Now thatTve stopped to remember, I do recall things, that used to give .me small .pleasures.'. Like the smell of. the air after rain. The first star of a summer's'evening, and the sharp crack of a bat against a ball headed for the fence. The flavor of vine-ripened, homegrown tomatoes, and the taste, of springwater after a loftg walk on an August afternoon. The briskness of autumn's first frost, and the warmth of spring sunshine on my back. The feel of horse-power under my toe while driving up a long hill, an unexpected letter in the mail, the whiff of perfume that arouses long-forgotten memories. The whirr of the reel as a trout, stung by the. barbed'hook, races for'deep water. The.aroma of pine after a spring shower, the beauty of a rosebud, the lift from a cup of fre^h-brewed coffee and the first taste of well-aged steak cooked, rare. Pleasure in a well-tinned phrase (and face, too), and the satisfaction of a job well done. v.
':�: � ' *   *   *
Come to think of it, there are many, many fascinating things about-'..us to be enjoyed by .all our senses! Children know how t_o take advantage of them. Adults do too, except that they've foolishly let themselves become" preoccupied \vith the unimportant things of life, like business and profits and deadlines to meet. When will we learn to slow down in our headlong pursuit of the dollar and stop here and there to enjoy the simple tilings around us? .    ,        '   .
� pacific citizen,
Here Is A New Booklet That Will Help You In Canada
:.' "      To assist'newcomer's'to- Canada-in learning: about Canadian; practices -arid requirements, -the Department '-of .'.Citizenship and Immigration' �� .has- pre-� pared�'a'-ne'w.'v>liandbc6k for Newcomers';''The book explains'citisem^hip.'ic-qiiirements, banking practices; ho\-v to. purchase a house,'.business or farm; ' the Canadian educational system:� the.securing' of'licenses: -employment; 'the. ; services provided by the Canadian 'Post' QHice; medical and; heahh services;
and social security measures. It also contains a great deal .of other useful .'�'. information about Canada and- Canadian �customs.'; �
The book is available in five languages -   Knaljs:-,'-French. German: = Dutch and Italian --.-.and may be. secured by fi-iina cut thecoupon below and" sending;it to the Citizenship Branch, Department e: C:::zensh:o and. Im'm.:-� oration. Ottawa. Please be sure ;to -indicate .��he.languaa'c-in which
vour corn*.
Published as a Service, to New Canadians by the
DEPARTMENT OF CITIZENSHIP ANO IMMIGRATION
Hon. T. W. PickersgilL P.C., MJP,. Minister.
otiimthtp branch.
iVpartww'm of Oitiienjhip and Immigration. OTTAWA.
Laval Fbrtier. O.B.E., Q.C., Deputy Minister
PV.**t � e wc
a copy :~ (
'HandKv* f>r New.
STREET ADDRESS ^1 NU IPALITY _
Jare
by dnbaulla
Let's Stop Blaming The 20th Century!
JET'S FACE IT. There's something wrong with us!
We turn to the morning paper, and what we read makes us shudder. And small wonder. The Communists are at it again. M>> Carthy is shouting his head off again. The Mendes-France proposals; are creating a crisis at the EDC Conference at Brussels. Dr. Malan's hand has been strengthened, with no signs that Nationalist? will moderate their apartheid program. A report from the Fifth International Congress on Mental Health blames, industrialization and monotonous city living for broken marriages and broken }-�->.:>;.. There's a note too, to the fact that mental illness is on the up-�wjmg in Canada. Butcher Picard's trial has been set for September. Ar/i there is the account of four teen-age boys from decent, middle-das* homes who murdered two derelicts, horse-whipped two.-teen'-ag* girls and tortured defenceless men to satiate some inexplicable desire.
There is something definitely wrong with us, Could it h,: that we, as human beings, are not quite up to facing the world we. ii.vo. iii"?- Could it be that we, Who have been raised under fairly favourable economic conditions, and who, at the present time, are living under ideal conditions, physically and economically, as will be found in any other part of the W'orld, are lacking some inner strength, some inner reserves which are necessary to cope with the conditions of Twentieth Century living?
True, in Twentieth Century living there are more stresses.More fears. More dangers. But let's face it. Along with these stresses, these fears, these dangers, there have been good- things, if we stop to think about them.
. Take the matter of life, for example. Perhaps no one has brought this gift of the Twentieth Century � the prolongation of human life � as pointedly to our attention as has n, j. Beirill. Professor of Zoology at: McGill University. He points out that in ancient. Rome the average life expectancy was 22 years. In India, as recently as 1951, the life expectancy was no more than 27 years. .On this continent the life expectancy of a normal individual was 30 years in 1800, 4f> years in 1900, 60 years in 1936, and is. now approximately 08 years today, and rising steadily. Compared with ancient Rome where 22 years was practically the end of man's sojourn on earth, Canadians at 22 years are just on the verge of a now adult world, with, some fifty years of living still to their credit.
And at no other time in our history have we found living ns comfortable, as it is now. Despite new shocks and stresses, science has brought about mechanical changes which have resulted in less: physical exertion, better working conditions, and a more luxurious arid pleasantcr way of life for average Canadians, The. average working hours are about' 40 hours per. week. .Out of 168 hours in each week; with approximately 40 hours taken up '.-with earning: a living, and subtracting 56 hours for sleeping, we stilt haw 27 hours of leisure at our disposal. And that should be enough time to safeguard ourselves from the; physical and mental stresses �f niodern living. And yet mental illnesses are on the increase, Teerv agors are running rampant. Old. age is a growing problem. rWH'v-is guilty of strange excesses.
Perhaps we do not know what to do with the good things that the Twentieth Century has brought to us. We have a longer life spv.'. Wo luive improved conditions for working. We have unlimited leisure.. What more do we need in order that the world become a less tern* fying place, in. order that humanity shall live at peace 1 Perhaps
'haven't enough initiative," enough foresight, enough understanding-of what constitutes human values, what constitutes happines?,-wh3t constitutes control. Perhaps we are yet children >in a grown-up'worio; What good is- prolongation of life, extension of lehnre �!�:r;--
.opportunities.'for self-improvement if we cannot >t^.p up. and gra??, � them all and make them work for us?
What are we doing with.Twentieth Century's cift ff pr     ^- �
� human life and leisure? Not very much. We accp* 'h?    r   '
.'yet -ar.o befnddled by the problems which come wi:'--. ;t. ;":'
^hmsldoring it with vigour and imagination a? our Tv. � .-�"h �'��-*-ry birthright, we,sit back and rest On the fallacy thnt"; i;:car;    v v
{Continued on Page E/j^br)
THE NEW CANADIAN
Tnbliatimd oo Wedattdty and Saturday of -each wpek M * medium of expression and new* outlet amocip tho�� of Japanese origin m Canada
HENRY MORITSUGU   L_____ ..      ........   Y/.vn'
TAKAICHI TMEZIKI �        Japan** Section Edi:*
KEN MORI    -' -   - A<rrem.--�
Mfxnlay to Friday a_w. - *"t :3� p.i
for �f 499
Offke Hoars
>atardar
SubscriytioB in Ajiraacr t*� $6.m per otx