TEXT OF TERM OF REFERENCE 1) f) OF CHRISTMAS, 1988 REGISTERED LETTER TO THEN-U.S. PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN:

'Regrets (For Terry Anderson and innocent victims and losers everywhere)'

As if life drawn by Hallmark of nearing another year done,
Of pastoral, browned snow, indifferent crows, and yet one

There walked apart the lone man, one of many of colors and ages
With lines in his face furrowing forgotten blank pages.

You might ask how to see one's feelings
as all hearts beat with a common purpose.
'Twould be for a blind man to discern crowd from lions
In the midst of a circus.

And, strange as it is, the one had no grasp of his own life.
For years his family was blank walls and loneliness was his wife.

But for the price of a card and a stamp sentiments became a sound-bite
Easy to send out to all men created equal,
now a thousand pinpoints of light.

Some bled pricking holly and mistletoe
or having one season's drink too many.
Some wept with new shirts and sweaters
(While others lacked any).

But near the heart of the crowd where the card come-to-life should mean most,
One bled with regrets
With pain and frustration his hosts.
And he wept to himself, left to decide why he lives
(Knowing already his hosts entertained him not for his own laurels
A strange set of rules, indeed, for a win-or-lose game of morals)
...But for what all write on the card and to all what it gives.

Regrets, pains, or frustrations--
What's the difference?, he said,
And with no one to answer, he attacked his tormentor--
It was the thoughts in his head.

But with the dispute settled,
once more he escaped with his dreams,
The indifference of the crowds
meaning less than to others it seems.

And perhaps on the path to the mountain
he met fallen friends from before,
Who'd sung songs to all of us of joy, regrets, frustration,
and life meaning more.

But again, you should ask,
in surveying the mingling crowds down below him
(As all of us wake to remember such seasons are but interims),
Whether they sing together near the mountain summit
of the road one must climb
Or if he's but a chesspiece on the road
still only beginning the rest of his lifetime.

Regrets are a question that require an answer.
What matters most are the people...
Not Vixen, Donner, and Prancer.

They'd have you believe regrets are only for losers.
The scars of the manipulated by the hands of the users.

But scars do mark the victim, serving no common purpose
and helping none.
For all lost souls--who was it that said:
"Out of many, (the) one"?*

Gordon C. Wong (December 3, 1988)

Reagan rapped by hostage

News Service

LOS ANGELES-For his 41st birthday, U.S. hostage Terry Anderson recorded a video knocking the White House for its inaction on his detention.

But an angry U.S. President Ronald Reagan said the tape, released yesterday in Beirut, was dictated by Anderson's "barbarian" captors.

"I don't think that was Terry speaking," Reagan said. "I think he had a script that was given to him. When I was given a script, I always read the lines."

In the five-minute video, Anderson accused U.S. officials of having been more concerned with the plight of the trapped grey whales in Alaska than in winning the release of American captives in Lebanon.

Anderson also said Vice-President George Bush negotiated with terrorists in the TWA hijacking and in the Iran-Contra scandal, and he rapped Bush and Democrat Michael Dukakis for ignoring U.S. hostages while campaigning in the presidential race.

"Whichever candidate wins the election, remember an unyielding refusal to deal with the matter is not going to make it go away. It is not going to free us."

+The Pentagon said yesterday U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. John McKeel, 35, held hostage for 444 days in Iran eight years ago, is being honorably discharged because of psychological problems he suffered from his captivity.

(text of November 23, 1988 The Province article)

*-I BELIEVE I SHOULD ADD THIS 1999 FOOTNOTE: IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, THIS REFERENCE IS THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS PHRASES IN WORLD HISTORY--E PLURIBUS UNUM...THE MOTTO OF THE UNITED STATES.
INCIDENTALLY, IN HIS JANUARY 14, 1999 OPENING STATEMENT AT THE CLINTON IMPEACHMENT TRIAL, U.S. CONGRESSMAN JAMES SENSENBRENNER QUOTED IT, TRANSLATING IT AS: "OUT OF MANY, ONE."

HERE IS ANOTHER CASE WHERE PERHAPS IN FUTURE IT WILL BE UP TO (IN THIS CASE) CONGRESSMAN SENSENBRENNER TO CLARIFY IF HE WANTS TO "ARGUE" WHICH TRANSLATION (AND CONTEXT) BEST REPRESENTS THE TRUE GOALS IN CONTINUING AND COMPLETING THIS "INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC WORK...ON A DIRECT BASIS" FOR THE WORLD'S CHILDREN.
...SOMETIMES DIFFERENT "VIEWS" CAN BE EQUAL IN VALUE AND SHOULD BE EQUALLY RESPECTED.

DON'T THINK THE WISDOM OF THOMAS JEFFERSON IS PASSÉ YET IN WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO FROM YOUR GOVERNMENT? LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD: TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE TO SIGN MY GUESTBOOK.

TAKE YOUR NEXT FOOTSTEP HERE.