Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader

This last month was an interesting mix of adventures. Besides a few lovely concerts, one of which I narrated (The Sound of Austria), I came across a few concerns that we must pay attention to. As you might know, the government is trying to pass Bill C-51 that will severely hamper our choices for healthcare products. We know already who is behind this. There is just too much money out there that the big drug companies cannot muscle into, so they are trying to make it so that they have a bigger stake in the alternative health industry, by having the alternative guys regulated right out of business, which will leave us with only drug choices that are mostly harmful to the body. There is practically no chemistry concocted out there that is not alien to the body and therefore has side effects, even if there are some beneficial attributes to them.

It is clear that sometimes only the chemistry set will produce quick enough results to save a life; but we should always have choices for our own health, our own bodies. It is definitely time to take a stand and demand that we have those choices. Pussyfooting around the issues will not help.

We are having an article in this publication that tells you what you can do to help safeguard the choice we now have. One of our regular clients, NAKA, whose products we all have enjoyed and found to be helpful, has put an informative ad into this paper too. Please make sure you follow up on this and put your 2 cents worth into the equation. If we are not alert and defend our rights, they will be taken away from us. This bill has to be prevented now. We cannot wait to have it put into use and then work on undoing it. It takes too long and is too costly. Reversing something is always harder than preventing it!

Human nature is such that it often does not recognize the necessity of something until it is too late. I cannot stress enough the importance of this particular issue. It would serve as a precursor to more regulations that would rob us of any freedoms whatsoever and make slaves out of us to big corporations. We have lost already so many battles in the fight for choices of all sorts because of our own complacency. Let us not pass up this chance to make a difference in our own futures.

But enough of that for now. I trust you to do the right thing! It does not take much time if you follow the instructions.

Let me turn to something more pleasant: Spring and the weather, which I find very lovely. A mild spring allows for nature to develop slowly. With the cooler weather we could enjoy tulips up to this very first week in June. Our front page displays a shot of tulips in my garden. They started out white with just barely a purple rim at the edge and ended up looking like a fantastic water color. What a metamorphosis, from almost puny looking to opulence. This year spring reminds me much of the year we first arrived, 1968. It was hard to get used to then, but now it is a more preferred choice to spring then the subsequent short and hot ones we had after that.

It was suggested to us that we should change our front page to the format other papers follow. However, we disagree and therefore are asking your opinion: Should we become like everyone else and publish bad news on the front, or do you prefer the pure aesthetics we have become known for on our front page?

I hope you choose our current option because we rather enjoy the search for something beautiful in our lives and like to share it with you.

There are a few community events this coming month. Please consult the ads for schedules. For more information on other topics you can also go to our refreshed website.

One more thing: I had the honor of narrating for the Toronto Choral Society a concert, "The Sound of Austria" at Eastminster United Church on the Danforth, under the baton of Geoffrey Butler. I was happy to see a few friends and acquaintances from various quarters. I would like to thank them for showing an interests and I am so glad that they enjoyed the offering. It is not that often that we have an opportunity to sing the praises if our respective heritages. Luckily Austria , Switzerland and Germany have quite a bit to offer in the arts and culture department that shows up all over the Canadian landscape, but quite unobtrusively and without big fanfare. Thus it is particularly rewarding if we can so openly promote our heritage.

I am hoping for more opportunities like this and hope you turn out in big numbers.

Let us all have a wonderful and fulfilling summer!

Sybille Forster-Rentmeister