We called him Chewy. He was fall, muscular, blond and blue- eyed — a "dream- boat". He was a ‘hero, the star player on the town’s basketball team — the pro- vincial champion: ‘team. And he- chewed gum. His head held high above the . crowd of school kids congested in the halls, he — - chewed. In front of the principal, he chewed, O the basketball court, he “chewed. With a touch of arrogance and a hint of defiance, Chewy chewed. At the games we cheered; ‘‘Yea, Chewy! ” At school, though, we said, ‘Yes, Mr. Grisdale.’’ Chewy was the boys Phys. Ed. ’ teacher. _.In-my school days nobody chewed gum at school. Not even the . teachers. It was all right to smoke, but not to chew. But Chewy - . did. With conviction, Chewy did. Chewing _ Why do we chew? For probably as many reasons. as ; there are - flavours and brands of chewing gum, Some of us chew to relieve . tension or help us concentrate. Test pilot Chuck Yeager chewed the right stuff when he broke the sound barrier, so the legend . “goes, Some of us chew to help us overcome overeating or smok- ing. Many are the claims that it does help. Tough image But chewing gum has a bad reputation. Why? You've seen’ the old movies — trollops chewed pum, tough — guys chewed gum, hard-boiled reporters chewed gum, obnoxious bobby-soxers chewed gum. Young and beautiful; sophisticated ‘socialites held. cigarettes in long. elegant holders, but they never . chewed. “Gum chewing is another one of those pleasures,’”? Miss Man- “mers gently explained to me, ‘‘that is never proper.”” In ex- cruciatingly correct behaviour, ‘the range in gum chewing goes only from slightly repulsive to extremely repulsive,” Oh boy. Am I in trouble. If it weren’t for a couple of sticks of: overworked Trident this’ writer would sit forever, pen poised over blank paper. Who chewed first? . . - What is the origin of chewing gum? Who invented it? - - The base for chewing gums traditionally has been tree resin, or - ‘sap. In ancient Greece, resin from the mastiche tree was chewed. (The influence this popular pastime has had on us is reflected even in our language: fo masticate, meaning ‘‘to chew’’, original- ' ly meant '‘to chew mastiche”!) Later in human history, the Maya Indians of Mexico chewed gum obtained from the milky juice of the’ sapodilla tree. It was called chicle. New England colonists some time later picked up the native Indian habit of chewing hardened spruce sap. It seems these natural rubbery resins had pleasant and distinct flavours all their own — gum gums with flavour flavours, But - the best was yet to come — _ In the 1800’s (who else but our cousins to the south would develop this) the fad was chewing sweetened and flavoured paraf- fin wax gum. We don’t have flavours like these any more: Licorice Lulu, Sugar Cream, White Mountain... Later in the century Mexican chicle won out and became the forerunner of what we can call modern chewing gum. The chicle was boiled down and rolled flat, my source explains, ‘‘creating _the base for the tastiest chewing gum to that time.’’ Bubble gum came on the scene early in this century, but was not perfected and marketed until 1928. Today natural tree resins are no longer used, Synthetic resins have replaced them. Ruminations Until the mid-1960’s gums were not sugar-free. Dentists con- ~ stantly warned of the potential danger of sugar-coated and sugar- sweetened chewing gum as a promoter of tooth decay. Today, however, sugarless gum has become a dental ally. The Journal of the American Dental Association reported recently that by chewing sugarless gum directly after eating, we may im- prove the natural ability to protect our teeth and lower the in- cidence of tooth decay by stimulating the production of saliva. And there’s more good news: Xylitol, an ingredient in my favourite brand and used in European chewing gums such as XyliFresh (available in town at some specialty food stores), is a nonfermentable sugar alcoho! that may possibly protect teeth. ” But, as in all things, moderation in chewing is advised. Even though chewing gives our jaw muscles a good workout and con- - ditioning, overdoing it may lead to a problem known as TMJ Syndrome (Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction). One of the - most common causes of TMJ is clenching and grinding of the teeth. Vigorous, prolonged chewing may have the same effect. Even though gum has become a good guy, and smoking is no longer considered sophisticated, even though chewers like Chewy ’ defy convention and break with stereotype, the stereotype image still sticks. Gum chewing clings to its bad guy image. Bruce Hallsor — Sharon Pratt Bruce Hallsor,: -gon of Mr.. and Mrs, Bob Halisor of Terrace, was married to Sharon Pratt, daughter Of Mr. and Mrs. John Pratt of New Westminster on Saturday, August 4, 1990 at St. Giles United - Church in Vancouver. The couple are now living in Victoria, where the groom is a caucus researcher In the Parliament buildings and the bride is attending the University of Victoria. ‘ i —;, TT Grand Opening SALE — Sept.12, 13, 14, & 15 Pick your discount - 15 - 30% OFF All summer, fall and winter merchandise. And with our remaining summer stock already discounted 50%, you could save up to 80%! Win daily door prizes - fine knit sweaters. Rose’s Ladies’ Fashions at the inn of the West, -4620A Lakelse Ave., Terrace . phone 635-4550