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Page Twelve, PHOENIXHope for G o w an u sAction at LastThe special four-page insert in the PHOENIX this week on the Gowanus Canal comes just after a major decision by the state to, at last, make serious efforts to bring about a change in the condition of the canal and just before the first major public meeting on the canal issue sponsored by the Ad Hoc Committee to Clean the Canal.After thousands of words of conversation about the canal and probably an equal number of promises, the prospects of something really happening now have never been better. The area has just elected a new assemblyman and a new state senator, both of whom campaigned on the issue of the canal. Our City Councilman is the Majority Leader and one of the most powerful men in the Council. Added to this, the efforts of grass roots groups %u2014 block associations, civic groups, political and church groups and others %u2014 are now starting to increase. Taken together, there seems to be no way action won%u2019t occur.We certainly hope so. The future of the South Brooklyn area depends on action that will clean up both the canal and the physical blight it has caused in the surrounding neighborhoods. We look forward to action and we expect to see our local officials put their collective shoulders to the wheel to see that what the local neighborhoods want to get done does in fact happen.Dial 911While Brooklyn Heights Trade Board President Louis Lewis reports dissatisfaction with the service rendered by 911, the emergency number, in a letter to Mayor Lindsay (see %u2018Letters to the Editor%u2019). We encountered no such difficulty last Sunday night when reporting a fire. Although the emergency line was answered immediately, that was a moment of doubt, prompted by the memory of Lewis%u2019 bad experience.In an emergency, minutes and seconds make a crucial difference. It is therefore imperative that the emergency line is always answered immediately and we hope that Lewis' letter will prompt the Mayor to take action.In the meantime, it is a very good idea to keep a list of local emergency numbers%u2014the fire department, police, hospitals, ambulances%u2014posted close to every phone in your house or business%u2014just in case you%u2019re not as lucky as we were last Sunday night.Do you have something to say?W %u00ab w e lco m e y o u r co n trib u tio n s tothe PHOENIX C o m m unity Forum P a geP refer 500-750 word le n g th .Send Y o u r M a te ria l to: E d ito r,P H O E N IX , 132 C lin to n St., B ro o k ly n .The Peter PrincipleBY PETER J ROBERTSThe invitation did not follow eventhe most rudimentary forms ofetiquette. It was typed rather thanengraved. It clearly was a carboncopy rather than being printed onfine stationery paper. It was notfolded correctly and there was noRSVP at the bottom. Emily Postwould have thrown it out thewindow, but then I was not Mrs.Post by any stretch of theimagination. I was in fact personnumber 111-44-9370 with the draftnumber 31. This invitation camefrom none other than one %u201cRichardNixon,%u201d who is the President of theUnited States of America, and theletter is known in popular circlesas a %u201cdraft notice.%u201d The pleasureof my company was requested fora gala held by a firm known as the%u201cArmy%u201d and it was to last for aperiod of two years. I had been tosome long parties but never one ofsuch a duration.For those of you who are notfamiliar with the %u201cArmy%u201d it is anold well established firm withoffices both in this country andoverseas. They specialize in largecatered affairs and are knownthroughout the world for quite a bitof extravagance at times. Like somany large corporations thesedays, it keeps close ties with thegovernment and many politicalleaders in this country.Lest the reader get the wrong idea,such %u201cinvites%u201d from Mr. Nixon arenot granted to everyone. Indeed,one must pass a series of testsbefore one can join the affair.One must, first of all, be a male.Women%u2019s liberation to the contrary, females are barred fromgetting drafted. The selectiveservice system (the group thatdecides who goes to the party andwho does not) is still as sexiest as ismuch of the country. Althoughchampions of the movement, likemyself, have consistently fought toget women drafted, they stillrefuse to accord them equal rights.No doubt, someday that barrier toowill fall, but it shall be a strugglenevertheless. We shall overcome.Having passed that test, bymeans which I shall not go into, thenext obstacle that separates themen from the boys is that ofphysical soundness. Now it hadalways been my belief that mybody, such as it was, would neverpass the rigors of the physical thatthe SSS was known to give. While Iwas not a sickly child, I was not awell one either. But the day inwhich I was to take the test, thestrangest thing happened. Nothingwas wrong! My ears were fine. Myeyes, twenty-twenty. My feet werenot flat and my back was as soundas a rock. As it turned out, I was inbetter condition than a prominentNew York football quarterbackwho gets $10,000 for shaving onT.V. That, surprisingly enough,was not much comfort to me at thetime and it still is a food for thoughteven today.Having proved that my body waswell suited for the affair, 1 next hadto show that I was of goodcharacter. Indeed, the Army didnot take any Joe off the street,although at times it may seem thatway. I had never been a communist although I did read a bookabout Marx one day. I had neverwanted to overthrow the government, and even if I did, I have notthe foggiest idea about how onewould go about it. I was never inthe SDS or the DAR or a groupcalled the ZBO which is so important and secret that they willnot tell you what the letters standfor. I had never burned the flag,nor was I from Massachusetts, astate for one reason or another, isnot held in good stead by the peoplein the government these days. Ihad never been arrested, nor did Iadmit to having any dirty thoughts.They told me that they would checkabout the dirty thoughts, which hasgiven me not a little room forconcern lately. As it turned out, Ipassed that part of the exam also.But the real test is left up to luck.One has to win the lottery held bythe government, or else one has nochance of getting drafted. Well, Ihave never come close in the NewYork State lottery, and my luck atthe OTB is nothing to write homeabout, but in the draft once I cameup with a quite respectable 51. It isthe only thing I have ever won.Of course, one still has a choiceeven after the letter from Mr.Nixon arrives. Despite the fact thatthere is no RSVP at the bottom, itis more or less understood that onewill be able to participate in theaffair and it is a brave soul indeed,who disappoints Mr. Nixon. He is,after all, a hard man to put off oncehe gets an idea in his head.Some have gone to Canada orSweden. Both of those places wereout for me. In Canada, I would belost as I know but 13 words offrench and they have to do withgoing to the food store. And I havethe worse luck with blondes, soSweden was out. Some %u201cfriends\mine offered to cut off a finger ortwo of mine, thus making it impossible for me to fully participatein the fun that was in store for me. Iam rather attached to my fingers,however, and I have a greataversion to pain, even in its mildestform so that too was out too. Oneshrink offered to write a lettersaying that I was mentally unfit forthe life of the Army, but hereagain, I had reservations, s I didnot want to be Brooklyn%u2019s answerto Tom Eagleton.There was one answer to theletter which I chose at last. TheNational Guard, that body of mendevoted to protecting Brooklynfrom Staten Island, neededreplacements. In three days Isigned on the dotted line and sentmy regrets to the Draft Board.I soon will be leaving for a 17week period of basic training. Thusit will be impossible for me tocontinue to write these little ditties,except perhaps on a sporadicbasis. I hope the 12 people whohave been reading my thoughts forthe last few weeks will understand.The place I will be staying has thecharming name of Fort Jacksonand lam told by persons who seemto know what they are talkingabout, that it more than lives up toits name. Until June then, 1 wishyou well and leave you with thecomforting thought that I, andother like minded men, will be onthe front lines of freedom defending you from the red tommieh n rrls.YMCA WeekThe Prospect Park %u2014 Bay Ridge VMCA, 357 Ninth Street, w ill celebrate National YMCA Week, January 21 %u2014 28, with open houses and free activities throughout the week.The public is invited to see members of current Y classes perform gymnastics, scuba, karate, judo and other activities. Spectator passes are also available for the Y%u2019s varsity basketball and volleyball matches on Friday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m.Guests will be able to use the pool, gym, track, and weight room during the week from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday.The following letter to MayorLindsay was sent to the PHOENIX.Defar Mayor Lindsay:We wish to bring to your attention an episode of criminalm ism anagem ent which mighthave led to the tragic death of achild on Wednesday afternoon,Jan. 3, 1973.mPUBLISHED EVERY WEEK BYAD VO C A TE PRESS, IN C ,R obert B u rk e io n e s , P re s id e n tM ic h a e l A . A rm stro n g , P u blisher132 C LIN TO N ST.,B R O O K LY N 11201ICL. O-frl %u2014IWOiCuite Champions HouseEditor%u2019s Note: The PHOENIXreceived the following letter fromBrooklyn Councilman Tom Cuite toRobert Schur, Deputy Commissioner, Dept, of Rent andHousing Maintenance, HDA:%u00abRe: 224 Dean Streetj Block 196, Lot 23I -r > %u00bb T ! i i t t : _ t %u2014 : _ r v : _ 4I JDLiCI l i l i i H i l l i x i o t u i t v u i o u t v tDear Commissioner Schur:Italian brownstones.In view of the above, it appearsthat the proposed demolition of thisbuilding is pointless and all stepsshould be taken to restore andrehabilitate this fundamentallysound structure. It would appearthat the Administrator could be%u2014 %u2014---~ .J nr. n w n n n L .n JI C rtnftA M li a i u v u MO U M. VVV%u00ab v VV. M t.U W K/VVV.V.l309 of the Multiple Dwelling Law toaccomplish this purpose.Please advise of the contemplated action to be taken byyour office.The subject premises, a 4-storybrick multiple dwelling is under anI Unsafe Building order, No. 762-72.Not only is the building in a Very truly yours,basically sound condition, it also isI in a historical landmark district, Thomas J. Cuite,directly in uie middie of a block Vice Chairmanwhich contains a row of Greek and City CouncilOutside the Variety Store onMontague St., Brooklyn Heights, amother noticed blood streamingfrom an infant%u2019s mouth and theface turning blue. She screamed,drew a crowd. The undersignedimmediately ran into his store andtried to call %u201c911%u201d %u2014 for 10 minuteswithout getting an answer.The child was given mouth tomouth resuscitation and althoughbleeding, started breathing agam.A kind motorist took child andmother in his car to a hospital.We thought you should knowabout this situation and dosomething to remedy it.Sincerely,j-iOUiS Lewis, PresidentBrooklyn Heights Board of Trade