* * * news & views continues to grow and change . In this issue , you will find both a story about the International Council on Active Aging ( ICAA ), and ( with the ICAA ’ s permission ) a tipsheet from their extensive bank of information for seniors . Both are thanks to the efforts of the Wellness Committee , and its chairperson , Mary Checkley . Information from the ICAA will be included in every issue of news & views from now on .

Diane Britton , who has written such a good column on food and nutrition has let us know that beyond the five articles she has just sent us , work and family considerations will not permit her to continue as a columnist . She will be much missed .

We hope to add regular financial information for seniors , too . As well , replies to the recent survey about news & views contained some excellent ideas for new features , and we will be considering each of them at editorial board meetings in the coming months .

Several of you commented in that survey that the paper is too shiny . Curiously , when we changed the format of the magazine , we also changed to a matte paper . ( If you compare our glossy cover to the interior pages , you will see the difference .) I suspect that the problem is in the ink that leaves a shine in both the print and the illustrations , but we will try to address that issue , too . Incidentally , the new paper we are using costs no more than the paper used in the old format — a point that a number of you wondered about .

Because I have only had the survey results for a few days , I will write about them at greater length in the next issue .

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When I was a kid , it cost five cents to mail a local letter , and six to post it to distant realms . I fully understand that those were the days when a buck-an-hour was a pretty good wage ; but , nonetheless , with Saturday delivery , 100 % door-to-door delivery in urban centres , rural post offices in communities as small as Royal Park , and speedy service to the far reaches of the Dominion via sorting in mail cars , six cents was a great deal . At that time , Canada Post was a department of the Canadian government subsidized by taxpayers and was regarded as a necessary service to Canadians . Now , as a Crown corporation , ‘ service ’ has pretty much disappeared .

Times have changed , and I know that . Post offices in most countries are hurting badly because of our electronic world . Personally , I used to write regular letters to my friends , and I used to send out up to fifteen cheques a month — all by Canada Post . Now , I do both my banking and staying in touch with friends using the same computer on which I am writing this article . Very few stamps for me now .

Part of the reason I am abandoning Canada Post is for convenience . The other part is their reputation for truly foul service for which they have laboured hard .

Since I moved to my present address in 1996 , I have been a ‘ community mailbox ’ person . No door-to-door delivery for me . In summer months , it ’ s not so bad , even when I walk to the box in the rain . Besides , I remind myself , my rural cousins have been doing this sort of thing for a long time .

Unfortunately , most of the time my trip to the mailbox is pretty nightmarish . Last year ,

In My Opinion continues on page 31 .

Spring 2014 9