6 - North Shore News - Sunday, December 31, 2000

YEW Year’s resolutions are
becoming less a part of societal
fabric with each passing year.

At the beginning of 2000, 79 per
cent of North Shore residents who

-responded to an Inquiring Reporter
feature. said they had made no resolu-
tions. The most cominon reason given:
it's pointless trying to live up to them.

And that’s a shame.

The first steps of any journey. are
_the hardest, and choosing not to try
‘rather than to risk trying and failing is
a cowardly option.

_... But if getting fit or quitting smok-

* --ing-are too challenging for you per-
_ sonally, think about making a resolu-
. tion on. behalf of somebody else and

keeping them up to it.

ov, You “could ask North. Vancouver

; ‘District and City councils to quit try-

ing. to. score points at the: ‘other’s

you sald it

“-“L believe I was in the wrong
North Vancouver’s Ken Rutland,

“Dee. 27 News # story.)

: “Where are re those people going to BO I in the middle

f winter?” i"

-, North, ‘Vancouver City. Coun. Darrell Mussatto worries
bout the fallout of a crackdown on illegal secondary _

ites From 1 a Dee. 27 News story.)
. owt oo.

7m fee confident.”

lace at the right time.”
who will receive the
“Star of Courage from the Governor General for his brave
-actions on Jan: 27, 1999 — the day an avalanche swept
“the Grouse Grind where Rutland was hiking. Rutland dug
survivors out cf the snow with his bare hands, (From a

VIEW POINT.

expense and get together on a recre-
ation policy that will address our
increasing lack of playing fields and
the rising cost of access to our existing
facilities.

And while you are there, give them
a second option: get tagether with West
Vancouver District on 4 transportation
policy that will address our two bridge
bottlenecks —' which will only get
worse as the concrete forest of Lower
Lonsdale takes shape. Inter-municipal
sniping and. grandstanding on. this
issue benefits nobody on the North
Shore. |

If you would just like to make a res-

‘olution for West. Van’s council, ask

them when an arts centre will be fac-
tored into the district’s recreational
plans.

It’s the start of a (real) new millen-
nium. Time for some serious resolve.

_ Serving

with wacky tales of my days
working for
Canada Safeway
store #140 in Lynn ©
Valley during the
late seventies and
early cighties.
Tonight being
New Year’s Eve, I
, thought it would
be rather appropri-
‘ate to tell you
about my other _

stretch i in the retail-s “service sec-

» tone:

LAST week I regaled readers

TVE HAD IT WITH
THIS O17!
AIRLINE! I'VE
JUST LOST my
BAGS!

COULDNT AGREE.
MORE. { JUST
LOST MY JOB,

up some good spirits

gesting that LDB workers are any more

ltkely to “go postal” than, say, postal

employees, there does seem to be a fairly
lax hiring policy in place
at the Liquor
Distribution Branch.
How do [-know?
They hired me, didn’t
they?
In tact, I worked every

_ liquor’ store in’ North
and West: Vancouver at
-one time or another

a - between 1988 and
Newtroses » 1990, thanks to the

~ LDB's imaginatively
cally executed scheduling licy that...
involved a baffling series of strictly

‘ enforced call-in and call-out times guar-

designed and pedagogi- ;

“He's very much a gentleman but unfortun ly
¢ has allowed himself to use poor. judgment in defence”
of certain is:
ys it may be time for a change’ after seeetal’
ich Dalton ‘used MLA letterhead in aid of:

27 News story. ye.

humans occupy this fantastic spaceship we call earth.
West. Vancouver resident. Harold Kalkie is unhappy“. :
bout the placemerit of speed “humps”. on Lower: Bellevue
1 News story. a

‘Michael Becker =:
Newsroom Editor.
: 985-2131, local 4

silat Publishing Group [nc, a division of Southam :
Publications, a CanWest Company and distributed to
every door on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian ,
Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No.
0087238. Maifing rates "available on request. Entire :

‘J worked for the Liquor Distribution.

. Branch: :

“Now some people are going to think:
that’ 's pretty funny, especially considering

‘that up until a few years ago, I was a fair- .
"ly renowned rub-a-dub in certain circles.

on the North Shore (and anywhere else I --
: - could cadge a drink, for that matter),

Thrice-monthly wallops of electro-

- shock therapy (reinforced by daily doses © _
-. 2 of the of? rubber hose) cured me of that
». particular addiction, however, and I’m
happy to report that the road to recovery -
is just around the corner past the next’.
hydroponic grow operation...”

ilitation notwithstanding, it:

-»“creally was a case of giving the lunatics the
“= keys to the asylum. But like the welfare. ;
“-. office, the Motor Vehicles Branch and ©“. :

- ICBC, the LDB not only hired screwups, ‘
, dropouts and longtime substance *

\ abusers, they eagerly encouraged them to.
““get onboard!” ‘

anteed to ruin your day.

The penalty for failing to wait aroun
incidentally, was_a damn good tongue .
lashing from some ‘anonymous (and |)”

. therefore innocuous) human- resources .
. flunky on the other end of the phone ©:

fine. If you struck out three times in ont

“year, you were sent packing. :

But that’s another story. The one I'd
like to tell you is about what it’s like to
work in a liquor store during the:

'-. Christmas/New Year's rush. ,° =:

- Unlike working in almost any other

retail outlet over the holiday season —..
... Sheer hell in sleigh bells -~‘working in a

booze store at Christmastime is what 1°

“imagine toiling in Santa’s workshop must
‘be like: cheerful, productive and. almost.
“tolerable; as these things go. :

; Shaving i in the public-service sector, :

a you see, is no barrel of laughs at Ahis

time of the year.

People are incl ed to become ¢ even

‘more ornery, rude and impatient

“ LETYERS TO THE EDITOR iiust inctude your:
name, full address and telephone number.

» Sabsmlt e-mall fo: n

Terry Peters |:
Editorial Manager > +
885-2131 (160) >:
ipeters@nsnews.com

Classified Manager
96-6222 (202) '

Creative Services, Ditecior
985-2131 (127) --
mianchergnsnews.com

don *t deserve a break’ ieee

_ at their mercy, a good

usual, and it tends to grind on your:

_ nerves.

At the House of Booze, howe ir’
a whole other story. 7

People are happy to see you because :
you've got what they really want. To helt
with the turkey, the stuffing and the | toys”
for the tots — if you" ve ever seen the»
glow on someone's face as they march
out.of the LDB with a case of | Johnny:
Welker Red tucked under their arm
“you've witnessed the Spirit of Receiving
in all its shining glory. . :
2. That's why it’s so mu
- at the liquor store during the Yuletide
. the customers need you. far more than
you need the

The fact.is,
employee you don’t have to serve

y you don’t want to.

If the customer is rude or unruly, yc
ust tell chem that it’s against the law to’
serve them in their present condi
you take away their shopping car!

This ain’t McDonald’s, Lushface:: Yo

re

- those Buivy peaenets that’s for ‘sur
Face it; the Liquor Distributior
- Branch has the'drunkards in this
ig, at this
of the year — especially if-you work
there. It cuts down on the .Guff Facti