Time to get a few things off my chest
Roderick Benns is the publisher of The Advocate. An award-winning author and journalist who grew up in Lindsay, he has written several books including Basic Income: How a Canadian Movement Could Change the World.
Ah, spring. The smell of lilacs in the air. The hopeful sound of children’s laughter. In town, the buzz of civilized street cleaners and the urban medley of voices in cafes.
And then there’s the dark side of spring.
First, I highlight the young Mensa candidate who chooses to ride his mini dirt bike by my home, in town, on both the street and sidewalk. It’s an auditory onslaught that leaves one with a lingering sense that maybe humanity won’t be okay after all.
The same ilk – brothers in idiocy – are those who tour their unnecessarily loud cars and trucks down Kent Street, a stain on the return to patio life so many crave in late May and into summer. It’s as if the sounds their cars make are intended to show their virility. We get it. You wish to impress your peers with your ample exhaust system and find a mate via your suspect music tastes filtered through your enlarged stereo speakers. Now go away. May I suggest North Bay? (Sorry North Bay, I chose you at random. I’m sure you have your own issues.)
Nothing to do with spring but since I’m feeling a little cranky as I write this, let’s get some other things off my chest.
Online readers of the Advocate —Thank you for reading. However, the key word in those previous four words is ‘reading.’ That doesn’t just mean the headline. Please do not ask us questions that are clearly answered within the story. No one on this team will answer them – it’s a rule we have. Instead, underneath your probing query we will simply write “this question was answered in the article.”
Next! For the love of God, stop saying “the Kawartha Lakes.” It’s just Kawartha Lakes. We don’t even need to say “City of” any longer. We don’t say City of Toronto or City of Peterborough all the time. Even the City of Kawartha Lakes is trying to use just Kawartha Lakes more often. We live in Kawartha Lakes, period. Unless you mean to refer to an area that encompasses Peterborough, only then should you say ‘the’ Kawartha Lakes because both municipalities share the Kawartha Region. If you just mean our municipality, then it’s just Kawartha Lakes.
Now let’s talk about parking. From my booth at Smitty’s last month I observed an octogenarian who attempted to back up into a parking space no less than five times. The thing is, I don’t mean five tries on the same space. I mean he tried five different parking spaces and only on the fifth space did he feel he had succeeded. Meanwhile, other drivers had no idea what to do except stare in trepidation at this vehicular chaos. Young or old, stop backing into parking spaces if you don’t know what you’re doing.
With that off my chest, I’m going to try and enjoy the lilacs and a latte.
You forgot to mention the people who don’t know what to do at a 4-way stop . Oh, and don’t forget about the thoughtful dog owners who are too lazy to stoop and scoop.
As I read your article I couldn’t help but think, aw you sound old and sad. I remember well over 40 years ago driving around in souped up, jacked up, fat tire muscle cars with hush thrush mufflers and mind blower speakers! Our parents used to cringe when they heard those sounds, at 63 I still love the sound of a good ole muscle car. The kids today feel the same about their version of a muscle car. On a positive note if a kid is putting his/her time and money into a cool car chances are they aren’t out there doing any bad stuff, so let them show them off.
Brenda…nope, not sad at all and 11 years younger than you, from what you’ve posted. Just not someone who enjoys excessively loud cars going down Kent Street if I’m having lunch at a patio. I’m certainly not the only one.
You are just a miserable guy aren’t you? Don’t want kids having fun? Also with the whole city of kawartha lakes, and ‘the’ kawartha lakes. You don’t own the whole area so don’t try to make people change. A lot of us still miss the days of individual townships and call it the kawartha lakes because it’s a group of small towns. Lindsay advocate just seems like instead of a place to advocate about Lindsay beauty it’s turned into people wanting to complain about others. Terrible write up and terrible opinion.
You think humanity will be okay? What an optimist. I must say that I always think of all the lakes in Kawartha when I see “the” used to describe … what exactly? Ignore the loud noises and enjoy the nice weather and patio fumes. It won’t last.
I think I’m older than all of you and I never liked jacked up cars when I was younger, and abhor them even more now. Where are the noise bylaw officers or police when you need them? And then there are those who still go the wrong way on the roundabout at the Fenelon Community Centre. Three times in one month I had to stop to avoid a head on, so I wonder how many still do that. Again, no police in sight.