“The squeaky wheel gets the grease” means that matters that draw attention to themselves are more likely to be addressed than those that do not.

Many of us are reluctant to complain about things, but in reality, it is important that problems or injustice be identified and brought forward. We can improve our community by suggesting things that can be done better.

At a recent meeting with the mayor, it was suggested that multiple complaints about the same issue often bring that issue forward because of the computerized nature of gathering statistics at City Hall.

I am not suggesting that you verbally attack City workers, but you can effectively bring up a situation and perhaps in the process help others who may have felt bashful about bringing forward the same complaint.

Nothing will be done about a problem until somebody points out that the problem exists. For example if you are having problems in your neighbourhood with garbage, you can make a complaint on the City website. You can phone, write a letter or e-mail.

Whichever method of communication you use, the main thing is to be an effective complainer. Here are some ideas about how to complain effectively.

• Act quickly. Don’t waste weeks fuming over the problem before complaining.
• Be calm; don’t “carry on”. Always be polite. The workers who receive your complaint are also people who live in your community; they deserve your respect not your abuse.
• Ensure your grievance is valid. Sending pointless correspondence with little weight won’t get you anywhere.
• Describe events. Bullet points are useful and make it very clear. If the complaint is long summarize the points for example 10 phone calls two visits, two letters, wrong information, etc.
• A photo is “worth a thousand words”. Use photos to support your complaint.
• Stay positive. Say what you want to happen to fix the problem you are reporting. Be specific and realistic.
• Set a deadline for when you expect to hear back and let them know what you will be doing if you don’t receive a satisfactory response.
• Keep copies of everything you may need if you have to take the matter further.
• Practice complaining. If you think you might become too emotional while complaining, perhaps shouting or crying, you can ask a trusted person to help you practice complaining. This will also help you to gather your thoughts.

Have you ever pondered the origins of peculiar customs and expressions? Let us delve into some intriguing examples.

”Knock on wood”: This seemingly absurd practice may have roots in ancient pagan beliefs. It was believed that spirits resided within trees, and expressing a hope for the future could attract their attention. To ward off these malevolent entities, individuals would knock on wood, thereby physically touching or knocking against a wooden object. This Celtic tradition served as a protective measure against supernatural forces.

”Don’t take any wooden nickels”: This cautionary phrase serves as a reminder to exercise caution and avoid being deceived. Wooden nickels, once circulated as tokens or gimmicks, were not actual currency. The phrase evolved into a way of advising individuals to resist fraudulent schemes and shady deals.

”Mad as a hatter”: This idiom is used to describe an individual who exhibits eccentric, unpredictable, or even erratic behaviour. Its origin can be traced back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when hat makers were exposed to mercury during the felt-making process. Mercury exposure often led to erratic behaviour, earning them the moniker “mad as a hatter.”

”Spilling the beans”: This phrase implies revealing a secret. It likely originated from an ancient voting practice involving beans as ballots. When a bean was inadvertently tipped from the jar, the results were revealed.

”Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater”: This metaphor cautions against discarding valuable components while attempting to eliminate something undesirable. It serves as a reminder to carefully consider the implications of abandoning an entire idea or system, rather than simply dismissing a single malfunctioning component.

”Mind your Ps and Qs”: This phrase could refer to tavern shorthand for pints and quarts. It emphasizes the importance of polite behaviour and mindful speech, particularly in public settings.

“Put a sock in it” is a mildly humorous way of indicating that someone should be quiet. This phrase may have originated from using socks to dampen the sound of early gramophones. It serves as a playful way to silence an individual who is speaking excessively or at an elevated volume.

“Hit the hay” signifies the appropriate time to retire to bed. This phrase originates from the practice of using mattresses as sacks filled with hay. It is a comforting way of expressing one’s readiness to retire for the night and obtain restful sleep.

Having completed this column, it is now time for me to “hit the hay”.

When I started to work for the Prince Albert Daily Herald 45 years ago, most of us in the newsroom had no formal journalism training. Instead, we learned on the job. I had a university degree but it was in science!

Over the years, the several companies who owned the Herald offered in-house training for editorial staff. One of the seminar topics was “headline writing”.

As the headline for this column might suggest, there are several steps involved in writing a headline, not the least of which is understanding what the story is about. If a newspaper story is written properly, the essence of the story should be evident from the first couple of paragraphs.

A good headline should be more than just a label for the story. The headline should be a sentence with nouns verbs and perhaps adjectives or adverbs. Label headlines such as, “the crop report” are frowned upon. The verb in the headline should be active. Rather than saying “man is bitten by a dog” the headline might read “dog mauls, man.”

In the 1990s, we were told to use “sexy” words in our headlines. These words contained the letters, S, X, Y or Z for example. The theory was that “sexy” letters captured the attention of the reader. Today while we scroll through endless trivia on our phones, it is often the headlines that catch our attention, such as “I’ll never do this again! “

In the era before electronic media, readers scanned the newspaper headlines in much the same way as we scan our phones today. The headline had to catch attention to entice the reader to take a few minutes to read the story below it.

Another standard for writing a good headline is that it has to “fit”. If the story is presented across four columns of the newspaper, for example, then the headline should also fit across four columns. \When I started work at the Herald in 1981 headlines were written on a slip of paper that was passed to the typesetters in a different part of the building. In order to determine if the headline would fit the space available for it, each letter was assigned a numerical value. For example, a capital W had a much larger value than a lowercase l. During my first few weeks as an editor, I chewed a lot of pencils while writing those headlines. (I chewed those pencils so fiercely that I gave myself a tremendous pain in the jaw. My dentist created a mouthguard for me to wear until the pain went away.)

During headline writing seminar we also learned that putting numbers in headlines attracted attention. You will see this today in social media where people tell you there are “10 top” something or other. You’ll notice that I use the number six in the headline for this column. It’s a lie. I just used the number six to demonstrate another suggested method for writing headlines … alliteration. Over the years I learned people respond well to headlines that repeat consonants or vowel sounds, hence the use of the words “six sizzling steps”.

So there you have it, the accumulated so-called wisdom of my 29 years as a newspaper editor.

A newspaper headline should be factual, it should be active rather than passive, it should catch the reader’s attention, and sometimes it can be fun!

There are so many problems in the world that it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Some people have given up reading the news or watching it on television because it is too disturbing. But trying to ignore the problems won’t make them go away.

Some might throw up their hands and say, “Somebody should do something about it!” Well, somebody can do something about it and that somebody might be you. If you want to be a “somebody”, this is your chance!

Anna Dinsdale is the Community Safety and Well-Being manager at City Hall. She was featured in a recent Prince Albert Daily Herald article discussing the city’s efforts to address homelessness. Among other things, Dinsdale suggested that to make our community a better place in which to live we could talk to our neighbour or pick up garbage. Small gestures like this can help us feel better about the city in which we live and give us a sense of ownership. 

A few years ago, while waiting in the dentist’s office, I read an article about a woman observed picking up garbage in the park on her way to work. It turned out that the woman was a judge. It was one way in which she could help to make a direct impact on her community and it showed me that none of us is too important to do so-called dirty work like picking up garbage. I was inspired by the story and for several years I have been picking up garbage every morning. It has helped me to feel better about myself and my neighbourhood.

I would add to Dinsdale’s advice, “shovel your sidewalk.” The snow season will soon arrive and cleaning the sidewalk in front of your home is a neighbourly gesture that is of great important to many people walking along your street.

My friend Don Horncastle is the coordinator for a local  blind and low-vision support group. With the assistance of paNow, Horncastle made a video showing how difficult it is for a person who uses a white cane to walk on a sidewalk that is snow-covered.

I also find snow-covered sidewalks difficult because they are uneven. I use a walking stick to assist my winter walks, but they would be less stressful if I was able to walk on a snow-free surface.

People who use walkers or wheelchairs also struggled with uneven show-covered surfaces. Baby carriages and strollers may be impeded by a sidewalk that has not been shovelled.

Jane Goodall passed away this year. She was a “somebody.” She dedicated her life to the study of chimpanzees. Her ground-breaking work revolutionized our understanding of primates. In a farewell interview she said, “Your life does matter and every single day you make a difference in the world.”

Chatting with your neighbour, picking up garbage or shovelling the sidewalk aren’t Earth shaking, but they provide you an opportunity to be a “somebody” and make a difference. 

On this day in 1855, American businessman Isaac Singer patented a motorized sewing machine that went on to be a household name across North America. Singer wasn’t the first to market a sewing machine, but he made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of what became a multinational businesses, the Singer Sewing Machine Company.

According to Wikipedia, the first sewing machine was designed by Charles Wiesenthal, a German-born engineer, working in England. His machine, patented in 1755, consisted of a double-pointed needle with an eye at one end. In 1790 the English inventor Thomas Saint invented the first sewing machine design. His machine used the chain stitch method in a single thread. Saint’s machine was designed to aid in the manufacturing of various leather goods, including saddles and bridles, but it was also capable of working with canvass, and was used for sewing ship sails. Although his machine was very advanced for the era, the concept would need steady improvement over the coming decades before it was practical enough to enter into wider use.

The first practical and widely used sewing machine was invented by Barthelemy Thimonnier, a French tailor, in 1829. His machine sewed straight seams using a chain stitch like Saint’s model. He opened the first machine-based clothing manufacturing company in the world to create uniforms for the French army. However, the factory was burned down, reportedly by workers fearful of losing their livelihood.

The earliest sewing machines were operated by turning a hand crank to move the needle up and down. Singer and his partner, Elias Howe, created a foot treale to power, the sewing machine, freeing up both hands for sewing.

In 1921 Singer introduced a portable sewing machine with an electric motor. The sewing machine, whether it was powered by a treadle or an electric motor, became a feature of almost every home in North America at a time when most people sewed their own clothing.

Today, other sewing machine companies have overtaken the popularity of Singer but the basic principles patented in 1855 remain the same. Happy birthday Singer, sewing machine.

I love the magnificent transformation of trees in autumn. The gold and red leaves are like a party dress for the last celebration of summer. All too soon the leaves fall, the branches are bare, and we enter the long dark winter. These last few golden days before winter are a treasure.

Joni Mitchell’s song Big Yellow Taxi contains the line, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” There are so many things in life that we take for granted until they are gone, no longer available to us.

The other day at breakfast, we were talking about what we are like when the lights go out and we no longer have access to electricity. Apparently Canadians use more electricity per capita than any other nation. We are so accustomed to having this easy energy source that when electricity is not available to us, we almost don’t know how to live our daily lives.

It’s ironic! Many people living today grew up in an era where there was no electricity available to them. I’m part of the baby boomer generation, but I remember when electricity came to the farm. It was a time of great celebration.

I recall a lengthy power outage on a warm June day a decade ago. People flocked to the cafeteria at the hospital, which had auxiliary power and were able to get their morning coffee. Only the Co-op service station on Marcus Road had a generator to run the gasoline pumps.There were lineups blocks long to buy gasoline. Many people needed to keep the car motor running in order to charge their mobile phone. How dependent we are on technology!

A saying older than Joni Mitchell is, “you don’t miss the water till the well runs dry.” There are so many things in life that we take for granted, including our loved ones. Sometimes it’s not until someone has died that you realize just how much they provided for you, how important they were in your life

Maybe it’s because the leaves are falling from the trees, and the sun is setting earlier that  I am lethargic and morose. With the leads falling, I think of the people who have contributed so much to my life over the years: teachers, parents, clergy, my 

Guide leader, my instructors at university, the people with whom I worked for decades at the Prince Albert Daily Herald. If I failed to thank them at the time, I hope they know how much I appreciated their support.

I also think of the classic song Autumn Leaves that contains the lyrics, “but I miss you most of all, my darling, when autumn leaves begin to fall.”

My daughter-in-law passed away recently after a valiant fight with cancer, for the third time. She is a true angel. I miss her dearly.