I'VE BEEN giving the passage of time — and our preoc- roughly as long ats the entire span cupation with scheduling things to happen on precise dots of it — rather a lot of thought recently, and I've come to the conclusion that we should give this whole concept a complete revamp. I began these deep musings after being prodded cruclly from my hammock this morning by an early call frem my editor demand- ing to know why my column was four days past deadline, “Time is relutive,”’ I responded, although it| may have sounded more like, “‘Mmmph doo bliffey bixens,"" as 1 was still partly engaged in a dream involving me, Sharon Stone, a semi-trailer and ‘an extremely large goat. “ff don’t want to hear about your, family problems," bleated this editor, while simultancously sharpening — her cloven hooves, ‘just get me the copy.’ To which { immediately an- ‘swered with a brilliantly witty tetort-— one that (UH share with you as soon as [ finish making it up. The truth is, lime is tricky stuff and not to be trusted. Vaguely, | can remember when the clock ticked slowly. A month, s’ column tells it Dear Editor: 1 have read Doug Collins regu- larly ‘over the years, and while I agree with some other readers that at times. he goes too far, I feel compelled to write in his defence. Uncontrolled immigration into Canada is causing problems today and will cause even bigger prob- lems tomorrow if Canadians don't soon open their eyes to what is happening in this country and take a stand against it. Except for our native popula- tion, this country was settled by English, Irish, French, Scotch and Germans. ; -.. In_ other. words, Europeans. That’s what Canadians are. . . Protecting our heritage and * preserving our culture is not racist; it is the right, even the du- ty, of every Canadian. t« Weare all aware of the phony — refugees,” the illiterates who are living off our social services, the . ¢timinals who are openly taking Up residence in Canada, etc., and yet none of us are doing anything - about it. What's more, people of other cultures do” not integrate into our society. Paul Hughes HUGHES’ VIEWS say the 30 Guys prior (0 the school vacation, crawled through my life with the same speed as vist geo- logical periods. A single day could scem to last The “French in Quebec are a good cxample; their resistance has caused turmoil for 200 ycars. 1 wonder how’ Canadians would react if told that Canada is doom- ed to become a Third World country? Impossible, you say? Well, that’s what some experts in the United States are predicting for that country by the year 2050, due to the fact that they. have lost control of their borders through uncontrolled immigration from that the dinosaurs walked the Earth. “Enjoy i," my father used to say. ‘‘When you get to be my age (106) time will fly by, one year just blending into the next like a bluy.”” Of course, I just laughed and laughed, considering this and all of tis pronouncements to be the fusty meanderings of a senile gen- eration. Such is the arrogance of youth, Now that I've reached the same age as he probably was at the time (22) Ym amazed al how right he was. The sand in my own fourglass has drained halfway through (OK! So I'm 41), and I've discovered that cither crosion has widened the hole in the glass, or the grains of time have gotten smaller. Suddenly, | find myself thrust into a swirling vortex where entire years seem to disappear without me actuaily being there. Qn ‘my last birthday 1 told everyone that | had officially crossed the threshold of middle age. “I'm 40,"" | would say to those Latin America and Asia. Cuban and Haitian ‘‘refugees”’ have turned Miami into the crime capita! of the United States. Canada is following the same path, Doug Collins is telling it like it is. Trying to make us aware be- fore we become the minority in our own country, only to awake one day and say, ‘‘What happen- ed?"’ Barbara Cartile North Vancouver Keep memory music alive Dear Editor: | ’ I recently read a fetter from a North Vancouver. resident in another Vancouver newspaper re- garding .the. fact that the. CRTC . will not grant Coast 1040 Radio an FM licence. My advice to him is to write to the CRTC and complain. They: do not know how people feel about’ their radio stations - unless the listeners write and tell them. 1 have some concerns myself “about the proposed sale of CH- Gi SS raters -are , planning QM-AM to a Chinese group who to change the programming to Cantonese. This station plays the ‘‘memory music’’ that I grew up with, and has thousands of listeners like. me who will miss it terribly. ‘ So 1 would like to ask everyone who listens to this station and doesn’t want. to lose it to write and complain to: The CRTC, Suite 1880, 800 Burrard St., Vancouver V6Z 2H8. Tom Henderson North Vancouver Is| No artificial sweeteners bored enough to listen, It was not until severai days passed that my wife, in her gentle fashion, pointed out that |! traversed that particular boundary 12 months before. This only helps to iumine what a precious commodity time is, and what slaves we become to ils caprices. Each of our days and each of our actions is governed by time. , We have to be somewhere at precisely 4 pum. We have to ac- complish something no later than Wednesday, April 12, lt is, | believe, in this manner that time becomes lost to us and loses its value. ; For the past year or so, though, Ive seen a different view of time. During this period it has been both my pleasure and agony to write about local native issues. I say pleasure because ['ve had the chance to ineet many fascinating people. I say agony because only rarely do they show up for the interview ou schedule, This attitude is best ilustrated by the following conversation’ [ had with a Squamish friend: Dear Editor: I am sure this piece will be enjoyed by your readers: Have you ever wondered how effective hugs are? You rarely give a, hug that is not appreciated, or receive one that does not make your day a little brighter. : Can you think of any medication that has such pleasant side-effects? Hugs are good for you. They’re not fattening and they don’t cause cancer or give you cavities. They’re all-natural, contain no preservatives, artificial sweeteners or other chemical additives. Hugs are cholesterol-free and contain 100% of the recommended daily allowance of hope and happiness. They’re a completely renewable sourcs of energy and they’re available without a prescription. Hugs don’t require any special instructions. They don’t For the sake of comparison, by all sieans add a BMW and a Mercedes co your list. Then drive the Infiniti Q45. Its extraordinary handling and smooth 278- horsepower, V8-power prompted the editors of Road & Track to claim, “...there’s probably no other big 4-door in the world that will hustle you down a twisty road like che Q45."* Perhaps their recommendation will prompt you to hustle to an Infinici representative soon. . TOTAL PAYMENT $39,600, OPTIONAL BUY OUT AFTER LEASE $16,000. G20 « Me: What time is the mecting? Friend: 9 a.m. sharp, That's about J] a.m, Squamish time. Me: Will it be on the same day? Friend: Well, maybe the next... probably.in some other location, t used to think this was a. hell of a way to run a nation until an elder told me that it harkened back to the days when - the Squamish would paddle from village to village for various cele- brations. It didn't matter, really, what time they arrived, As long as they showed up In the same solstice, the hosts didn't worry overmuch,. They would get there eventual- ly. Nobody got ulcers over it. . I've grown to appreciate this perspective and sometimes even choose not to show up for my own interviews simply to celebrate the principle. In fact, just now I've decided to go back to my hammock and give the whole idea of time a considers- able amount of dozy thought. Right after f drop this column off at the office ... no later than 3 p.t m. need batteries, tune-ups or X-- rays. ‘ They’re non-taxable, fully returnable and energy-efficient. They can be safely used in all kinds of weather; as a mat- - ter of fact, they work especially well during cold or rainy days. They are particularly effec- tive in treating everyday ‘prob- lems like stress,. worry, anger, frustration, sadness or sorrow, |; and even the occasional . nightmare. va The best thing about hugs is’ you .can use. them without special training or prior experi- ence, But a word of caution for those of you trying it for the- first time: you should ‘never . wait wuntil: tomorrow to hug somecne who needs it today. Once you realize how good it feels, you'll want to do it all over again tomorrow! : Yes... hugs are extremely addictive. Perie Corbett North Vanccuver INFINITS.. 330 °¢ Q45 “Road & Track, Dec. 1990