© theother press e Opinions | Saw You Kerry Evans Opinions Editor The first time I saw him I fell in like. His tall, dark, and handsome frame with his blue baseball cap always turned backwards, his blue mountain equipment co- op jacket, and his green backpack—he was a vision of lovely man candy. He was a big fan of the library and while I knew where the library was, I didn’t frequent the joint. But if I was going to get noticed, I was going to have to make some sacrifices. So day after day I would park my rear end down at the table across from him and pretend to work on homework. After about two months, I asked him to watch my stuff while I went to the bathroom. He said “yes” and I said “thanks.” That was the extent of our first conversation and I use the term “conversation” very loosely. That semester came and went with no further con- versations. The next semester, he had a class right next to mine and we would always look at each other, but there would be no facial expressions or words exchanged. I looked at him because he was so good- looking, and he probably looked at me out of annoy- ance. We both still spent time in the library, and one day my friend had a brilliant plan. Later, it would be something I would regret but at the time it really was a great plan. She wrote a note saying that I thought he was hot and seemed like a nice person and why didn’t he call me sometime. As she walked over to him | knew that it was actually a very bad idea, so I grabbed my stuff and headed for the exit. I turned back, just once, and as I did I saw her pointing to me and he was looking right at me. My library days were over. Science Matters by David Suzuki Needless to say he did NOT call me. The plot thickens. One night I have some people over: my friend, her husband and some of his friends. I get to talking to one of the girls and we discover we both go to Douglas. She mentions the lack of quality men at Douglas and I agree but mention my one exception. Miracle of miracles - she knows him. They are in the same program. She gives me his name, his likes and dislikes and then I bring up the note. Oh, she’s heard all about the note. I tell her the story and beg her to tell him I am not crazy. Give me a chance to explain. I am all excited now. He will know it was all a mistake. We will laugh about it together. Good times are here again. Skip to the next day when I discover my camera has gone missing. I have a suspect but I want to ask this girl because she was in the room where the camera was. So I look for her at the school but I can’t find her. I sit at a table in the cafeteria and wonder what I should do. Then in walks my “school boyfriend” which is the name me and my friends called him before we knew his name. I am courageous and I walk right up to him and ask him if he can pass a message on to this girl. He surely must be wondering how I know they are in the same class but he says “sure” any- way. So I pull out a piece of paper and a pen and start to write a note. Then I am thinking that he must be thinking that really I am writing a note about him because I am crazy. I hope he read it because I really didn’t say anything about him in it. Anyhow, the girl Garden tools shouldn't poll . June 2003 calls and doesn’t know a thing. I also ask her if she said anything about me to him and she said no. I think this girl wants him for herself; oh well. Highlight of this paragraph: I got to stand next to him for about two minutes and he smelled great. Then he graduated. I secretly hoped he failed a class and would have to stay back just one more semester so I could finally talk to him. Think back to September when the Other Press took over the concourse with sumo wrestling. am manning my corner of the sumo mat and I see my “school boyfriend” walk by. I almost wave because I am so excited. He looks at me in that old familiar way—you know, like please stop stalking me. Then he just kept going. I never saw him in the school again. He must have just been picking up tran- scripts or something. I miss him. I walk around the halls and hope he'll pop up, but I know he won't. Wow, I reread this paragraph and I sound really crazy which is actually fairly accurate. You know I saw him a couple of months ago at Cactus Club, and I almost stopped to say “hi” because I feel like I know him. He looked surprised to see me. For the record, that is my favourite restaurant, I wasn’ stalking him. What you should take away from this little anecdote is that I am a romantic, I am determined, and I am not intentionally a stalker. Maybe he will come across this article and start stalking me. Shhhhhhh...a girl can dream. It’s spring, and that means Canadians are finally able to spend more time out- doors, in our parks and our gardens. In past years at this time, I’ve warned readers about the indiscriminate use of herbicides and pesticides. Today, it’s heartening to see municipalities across the country, and the entire province of Quebec, taking steps to reduce the unnecessary cosmetic use of pesticides. But many people don’t realize that other activities are also complicit in making our gardens sources of pollu- tion and toxins, rather than health and recreation. The biggest problem is the lawn mower - specifically, the standard, two- stroke gasoline lawn mower. Most Canadian homes have such a machine. They are cheap, convenient and the engines last forever. But they are also a serious source of air pollution. When I mention this problem to some people, they scoff. How could a mower with such a little engine be a problem? They don’t even burn that much gasoline! The problem is, they burn both gasoline and oil, and they do so very inefficiently. In fact, using a standard gas mower for one hour emits the same amount of common air pollu- tants as driving a car for almost 600 kilometres! And these days lawn mow- ers arent the only noisy culprits. Weed trimmers, lawn edgers and those things I hate the most - leaf blowers - have become staples in many Canadian garages. All these machines together create a cacophony of noise and pollution. Added up, they are responsible for about five per cent of Canada’s urban smog. In addition, homeowners and gardeners spill small amounts of gaso- line and oil onto the ground during each fill. Because of their frequency, these spills really add up, contributing to both ground and surface-water pol- lution. The most frustrating thing about this problem is that it is so unnecessary. Much like the indiscriminate use of pesticides, many homeowners continue to purchase and use inefficient, gas- powered tools out of habit or igno- rance. Of course they don’t want their children breathing air filled with toxic particulate matter, but it never occurred Page 10 e http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca to them that this is what happens when they mow the lawn with a standard mower. At one time, there weren't many options to the two-stroke engine. Today, there is a tremendous variety of low or zero-emission garden tools on the market. Electric lawn mowers are suitable for most lawns, and recharge- able electric mowers offer the conven- ience of being cordless. Leaf blowers, lawn edgers and weed trimmers are also all available with electric motors. True, the electricity needed to run these machines is often produced by burning fossil fuels at a power plant, but that is much more efficient than running thousands of little gasoline engines. Even modern four-stroke gasoline mowers are far less polluting than their two-stroke cousins. Push mowers may seem old-fash- ioned, but they are making a come- back. Modern push mowers are engi- neered to cut grass easily, without too much effort. They are quiet, emission free and a good way to get exercise. In addition, they cut the grass into smaller pieces, which can be left on the lawn to decompose and slowly release nitrogen back into the soil, eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers. Canadians are reassessing their lawns. Since the 1950s, a big, carefully mani- cured lawn has been regarded by many as a sign of success and prosperity. Unfortunately, lawns suck up a dispro- portionate amount of water and fertil- izer, and the trend of keeping them completely weed free necessitated the use of chemical herbicides. In our obsession with uniformity and perfec- tion, we created the equivalent of park- ing lots—large, empty spaces virtually devoid of life. That's changing as Canadians become more aware of the problems associated with lawns and lawn tools. Some are choosing to replace all or part of their lawns with drought-resistant, low-maintenance alternatives. Others are simply grabbing a push mower, breathing the fresh air, and enjoying the peace and quiet. To discuss this topic with others, visit the discussion forum at .