LITTLE WAS said when the Vancouver Aquarium cut out
the spectacular whale show. This week we hear that the
nickel and dime types of the Parks Board want to silence
the nine o’clock gun. In Eastern Canada earlier this vear.
genuine tears rolled down tough, masculine faces as the
Ontario Provincial Police highland band and motorcycle
drill team fell to budget cuts. But let’s stay close to home.

The eager-beaver lightweights
who masquerade as leaders today
are anxious to be proper, frugal,
environmentally with-it and social-
ly concious. If someone arrived on
the scene with an original idea it
would be a terrifying experience.
No once is used to it any more.

This is the province that
boasted of Amor de Cosmos —
Lover of the Universe — as
premier and principal media lu-
minary. In modern times we've
had Wacky Bennett, Fat Dave.
Tom Terrific, the Bull of the
Woods, Flying Phil, and The
Zaim.

In fact, while the terrific one
(Tom Campbell) was mayor of
Vancouver, we also had the ser-
vices of Mayor Ace Aasen, the
appointed Chief Magistrate of
Gastown. Ace. resplendent in top
hat, tails and an elegant walking
stick, was the king of the rubbies.
He would navigate his dignified
weave through the bar tables,
happy to share power with anyone
who would purchase a drink.

Ace could be bought, But since
he could never remember his
promises, no harm was ever done.

We shouldn't get bogged down
in politics. Do we have anyone in
the nightclubs te rival the late
Frank Baker?

Will law and business ever pro-
duce another John Valentine
Clyne, a formidable opponent,
scholar and a fearless defender of
social manners and tradition —
except for the night he tossed a
drink into Hal Foley’s face. Hal
who?

Is this the city where a Judge of
the Supreme Court —~ a barrister
of unimpeachable virtue — could

Canada
helping
Chinese

flood
victims

MONIQUE LANDRY, Minister
for External Relations and Inter-
national Development, recently
announced that Canada has con-
tributed $100,000 to the Canadian
Red Cross Society to help victims
of the flooding in Central and
Eastern China.

The money, from the Interna-
tional Humanitarian Assistance
Program of the Canadian Interna-
tional Development Agency
(CIDA), was provided in response
10 an international appeal by the
League of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies for medicine,
water purification tabiets, and
tents.

‘“*Canadians understand the
hardship facing the people of
China as a result of these
devastating floods. We are conti-
nuing to monitor the situation
closely, and expect) further inter-
national appeals as the situation
becomes clearer,’” said Landry.

Since the flooding began,
Canada has provided $200,000 to
the victims in China. On July 12,
Canada contributed $100,000 to
UNDRO (United Nations Disaster
Relief Organization) to assise their
relief efforts in China,

Gary
Bannerman

OPEN LINES
frequently be found in a restau-
ranton Commercial Drive sur-
rounded by felons, deadbeats and
losers of various descriptions?
Angelo Branca was self-appointed
godfather to them all. He sue-
ceeded in attempts to turn many
lives ground. Would anvone today
dare to emulate the style?

Where is the next generation of
Jack Munros? Or his best friend
dack Webster, for that matter.

Let's go back to the days when
the Social Credit Women's Aun-
iliary unanimously decided that
rapists should be circumeised.

We Jost another character
earlier this month: my irrepressi-
ble pal Al Davidson. Bis Al had
style. Many have drawn parallels
to Howard Cosel. The obituaries
ang testimonials have all focused
on his generosity and an over-

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whelming sense of family. Alot
that is true.

ff such a thing asa time warp
existed, we could travel back to
my CKNW radio studio of years
past.

ins shortly after 12. Al David-
son, the entire rotund five feet of
him, sauntets into the room.

**Haw’s it goin,’ he asks.

btell him that the parks board
is about to silence the nine o'clock
gun. ‘*You don’t say,"’ Al ex-
claims.

Avs he settles behind the
microphone, | zo to my office.
Moments later, Al Davidson's
voice booms from the radio with
the mid-day sports.

“There are only two things
wrong with the nine o'clock gun,"
he soberly announces, ‘it's aimed
in the wrong direction and it fires
blanks. Now if we could pump a
rocket into it and aim it at the
next Parks Board meeting we
might do something useful for
society.

“Who's running that outtit
anyway?”*

“Tsee the chairman has an-
nounced he’s going to run for the
Liberals... he might as well jump
into the pit and wrestle the Polar
Bears. Atleast that would be
entertaining.”

“Enstead of him we rot some
woman in charge: probably a nice
lady, probably afraid of guns."'

“EE hnew we were in trouble
when Malcolm Ashford got
elected. He was a lousy NHL
referee... so now he’s over at the
Parks Board.’

“It's probably some new ap-
proach (o cut down on crowds in
the park. { want to congratulate
the aquarium. They've done a
wonderful job in reducing crowds,
They've made their show so bor-
ing that only true scientists can
stand it. And they're so cheap
they expect to get in free."

At this point, Al would take a
commercial break. If we had a

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Sunday. August 18, 1991 - orth Shore News - 9

Local scene is losing its color

new program director that week,
the foolish manager might phone
at this point to remind Davidson
that people want to hear the
scores. The sports director would
scream back: "Ese been doing
this since before you were
born..."

Back on the air he would go
with at least five more minutes of
vital information about the parks.
He might squeeze in a sports
angle: too few swimming pools,
too much mud on the football
field, splinters in the seats at
Malkin Bowl and other socially
relevant issues,

There is a line in Brendan
Behan'‘s Confessions of an Trish
Rebel, when Behan recalls a story
of a spat between his mother and
his father. Atone point, his father

blurts at his wife: “Kathleen
Behan, tf taacus Christ were mar-
tied to you he'd climb back up on
bis comfortable (blanking) cross
and stay there."

And so it was true for most ex-
ecutives at CKNW whe obsten-
sibly had to manage Davidson.
His contribution was enormous.
His good heartedness was beyond
definition. He was far more inter-
esting than the games he was
assigned to cover. Al marched
from one cow pie to another.

Itcan only be said that Van-
couver has lost vet another color-
tul citizen: one who cared and
whose feclings were frequently
expressed in public.

As our society swims its way
through a sea of blandness, | will
miss him dearly.

HAD ENOUGH?

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