A8 Terrace Review — Wednesday, December 19, 1990

The Way I

See It...

by Stephanie Wiebe

I may not look like one, but I'm Chapstick and Sucrets in my _

somebody’s little sister. My big
brother actually calls me "baby
sister", and I still think of him as
my “big brother". My big brother
follows the general rule, that o£
big brothers usually being totally
wonderful — or at least, almost.
His only flaw is ihat he lives in
California, and this only seems
like a major flaw in December.

He will telephone on Christmas
morning. After his "Merry
Christmas, dude" and my "Merry
Christmas, ch?", at some point in
the conversation, I will invariably
ask the $100,000 question, "So
what are you guys doing for the
rest of the hotidays?"

T already know the answer.
They’re going to take the kids to
Lake Tahoe. They do it every
year. Why? So the kids can see
snow. Amazing, isn’t it?

He withstands my merciless
- teasing, the "typical Californian"
comments, and the predictable
"You wanna see snow? I'll send
you snow." He understands the
irony, that I may have spent two
hours of backbreaking work with
a shovel to clear away a
substance that he’ll drive two
hours just to look at.

His Christmas is certainly
different than mine. While |
enjoy a white Christmas, he says
that his is "sort of brown" — the
trees are brown, the grass is
brown and the air is brown. I71l

. complain if we have to shovel the
_ driveway, but he can’t shovel
away the smog. I might find

moment I'll envy him. [ll envy -
his warm climate, his December
tennis games and his Bermuda
shorts. I’ll think about him

' wearing sneakers instead of snow

stocking, while he'll pet
sunglasses and Coppertone.

And then there’s those family
Photos. Why is it that his kids are
always wearing short steeves in
these pictures? It looks so
strange. My own children are
barely recognizable in their
snowsuits and mittens and toques
— while every square inch of
their little northern bodies is
covered in nylon quilting and
wool, my brother’s kids are |
airing out their elbows in the
balmy California air. They look
so comfortable, while we just |
look fat — like stuffed Canadian
turkeys. Sometimes I wonder, are
these children really related?

It’s difficult for me to envision
a California Christmas. No new.
gloves under the tree, no soft-
coloured fights against the snow
— no bundling up children into
snowsuits, then unbundling them
for the washroom and re-bundling
them. Do Califomians play Bing
Crosby’s "White Christmas", or is
there some obscure Beach Boys’
song like "Hot Christmas on the
Beach, Dude"?

I imagine the entire state
population of tanned blondes clad
in Hawaiian shirts, driving ~
convertibles while speaking on
their cellular phones, "Right,
dude, we tee off on Christmas
morning at ten — stay cool." But
I’ve been there, IT know this isn’t
irue — my brother’s not blonde.

Anyway, we'll talk on
Christmas morning, and for a

boots, and light seersucker
instead of heavy wool. And I’!

. think about the sun — remember

the sun, that warm yellow ball in
the sky?
And then I’ remember the

highways, the dry brown lawns,

the maniacs with guns, the.
earthquake, the pollution and the

traffic. And he has to drive two
hours just to see snow. It’s
pitiful.

He’s the most wonderful big .
brother in the worid, but his _
Christmas is pitiful.

I think I will send him some .
snow, —

ans io ee Oc

I,
yy th

° bey {te

Pifer— —
continued from page AG -

Gray’s supporters said after
the meeting—the second one,
which had been ordered by a
court to hash out a mean-
spirited impassee—that nothing
would get them to turn out to
work.to make Parton their

MLA, period.

And the bitterness and re-
sentment between those two
camps will be reflected in other
ridings, regardless of any pre-
tended unity or solidarity.

LERNER PRL TRS SE SSO

of Christmas
always be
with you.

eee

Dea Northern C omputer,

. BaEven Santa has us on his wish list this Christmas!
Christmas Specials on untl Dec 25.

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Macintosh Classic

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Classic with 1
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ee

ws
IBM PS/1

IBM Brings it all Home !

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Phases note: (Gd products not avaliable in Clanbronk lesion.

MSDOS Com

Laser 286/12 System
Laser 38¢ax/16 System

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colour monitor and graphics boerd.

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Desk Set

Includes desk, hutch with cabinet,
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Power Bar

EMURFI Filter and Surge Protection. -

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$149,

Diskettes (ae oe} :

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3.5" High Density $23.99/box

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Hewitt Rand 286/12 System $4799.
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All above system include CPU, keyboard,
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it megabyte RAM and DOS 4.01. Systems
with Laser brand Hard Drives come with
FREE PC Tools Deluxe. -

5:25" Double Sided $8.99/bo:
5.25" High Density $14.99/box
. 3.5" Double Sided $14.99/box
3.5" High Density _ $29.99/box

LaserPrinter

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Raven Printers

All dot matrix printers come complete with 500 sheets of paper

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TE NorthernComputer

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