Camping Up North

We have spent the last two weeks camping, well trailering, north of North Bay and it is a different experience. Up here there are no distractions such as museums, boutiques and restaurants to occupy you especially on a wet day. It is just you, your e-reader, smart phone and laptop ( with or without Internet). Apparently this isn't enough for some who are constantly pacing with nothing to do. I come here to relax fish a little, kayak a little, read a lot and do some hiking oh yeah and take several hundred pictures. I can't fail to understand people who can't shut down the same way on a rainy day that they would on a sunny day, nor do I get the idea that traveling 7 plus hours to just sit in the sun and moan about temperature .

Get out and enjoy people!, listen for the raven, look for the rabbit check out the neat patterns on spider web that is glistening with dew. You don't have to leave your comforts behind but maybe your attitude needs checking at the door.

Got to go I hear the loon calling me.


Live from Marten River Ontario this is my view from a some what balanced mind.

The fanatics that are fans

So I'm reading the tweets after today's Bluejays' loss and it amazes me how a mob mentality can work on social media.

Jays radio pre/ post game host and twitter savie guy, Mike Wilner, was doing his usual fielding of questions ( most of which could have been answered by looking up the jay's official web page ) when things got ugly. These so called Toronto fans ask for an opinion, misquote stats and then do everything but call Wilner stupid for defending his tweets.
Hey You Guys Lighten Up. Yes the boys are 1-6, yes they aren't hitting on all cylinders and yes it is frustrating but HELLO we still have 100 games or so,of a season to go.

True baseball fans understand this and true Jays fans understand that crap happens especially when playing the #2 team in the majors.

The kind of verbal barrage sent across cyberspace that these fans tweeted was for all intents and purposes Bullying. Now Mike is a big boy and he isn't shy in telling people off but even he had had enough and signed off.

It is no wonder we have a hard time discouraging bad behavior in our youth when we can't police ourselves .

Lighten up people if you don't like the product don't watch the product.

Goodbye Dear Friend

On New Years Day sometime after midnight and before dawn a dear friend past away. Marg Dunham was a knitting fiend one who makes another dear friend Kathy look like an ameateur knitter. I was asked to share memories of Marg at her service and through a series of events was also asked to officiate at the service. Here is what I had to say:

I met Marg over 30 years ago and our meeting sounds like a chapter from the Old Testament. Follow this if you can:

I married Beth, who was best friends with my sister, Holly, and Wen. Wen married Dave and Dave’s sister, Gina, married Richard.  Gina knew Dianne, who was married to Pat, and friends with Deb.   Gina would come to London to visit Dave, (are you with me so far?  There will be a test.) Richard’s friend, Bob, came for a visit with Bill, Beth, Gina, Richard, Dianne, Pat, Holly, Wen and Dave.  Bob and Deb became close friends, getting together several times a year in London, Windsor or the GTA. When in Windsor, we needed a home base that would hold 11 people and so we met Bob’s parents, Marg and Earle. So really, I’m not speaking from my perspective but from our perspective. These are our thoughts and memories.

From the first time we met Marg we found a loving mother and wife who was willing to mother all of us equally and share the loves of her life:  Bob, Earle and knitting. Knitting was just an extension of Marg whether at the store, at home, at play, in the car or at Christmas dinner-- those needles were a-clacking. It seems that knitting was so much a part of Marg that on drives to Tweed, Marg would be knitting while in the dark holding up the project to the rear view mirror so that the lights of the car behind would show her how things were going. Marg continued to share her love in the warm hug of sweaters for all our kids...she was rarely seen without some knitting on the go… and we all benefited!

As all our kids grew up you could spot the Grandma "Marg" sweaters, and it was Grandma Marg and Grandpa Earle, (Mr. and Mrs. Dunham wasn’t a happening thing) anyway you could spot the Grandma Marg sweaters on them at Thanksgiving gatherings, Christmas dinners, birthdays … distinctive, bright and wonderfully sturdy.. Usually passed right through a bunch of kids as they grew! I know of one bright red sweater that went through 2 boys and a girl. A signature "waffle weave" pattern adorned many of the kids sweaters.  We all have at least one in a box for our grandchildren.  She was good at special themes… … Will had a Toronto Bluejay, Jesse  A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.and Brenden had one with dinosaurs.  It was a struggle to get it off him long enough to wash it! Kathleen had a baby outfit, that was passed on and now sits in a chest for a third generation of use. It seems nothing could stop the knitting - one time Marg was in the hospital with both eyes patched and still the clack clack clack of the knitting needles could be heard.  When the nurses came in to check on Marg there she was knitting away “blind” so to speak. It seems the only time in recollection that Marg wasn’t knitting was during Bob and Deb’s wedding. 

Later on, Marg was immensely proud of her grand-daughter, Laurie.  When we got together she would tell stories of what Laurie was up to.  We don’t even want to imagine how many sweaters Laurie owns

One of the biggest lessons Marg, & Earle taught us all was the idea of 'pay it forward'. They always made sure when they picked up the tab for something, and they did pick up the tab most of the time, we would be reminded that we would have the opportunity to do this for someone else. When Marg & Earle hosted Richard & Gina’s rehearsal dinner, it was extremely kind of them to open their home and their bar to the bridal party, with little thought for themselves. Now into our adult years, we have all been able to emulate their behaviour with the idea that maybe some day, these young people that we help will show kindness to someone else.  

Another of Marg's talents was an explosive laugh - when she laughed it came from the tips of her toes. But as we are all family when she decided to tell us off, her eyes would flash and she'd address us, all of us, every single one of us  - no holds barred and playing no favourites.

Marg was a die-hard Tigers fan - loved them no matter what kind of year they'd had! She could talk baseball passionately with you… as long as you did not diss her Tigers! However I can tell you that she would follow the Bluejays when the Tigers weren’t playing, although come to think of it she did try to lure Beth and I to the dark side with a couple of trips to Detroit to see the Tigers play.
Marg was always a bright light in our group of friends. She was always riding the highs even during the lows. She was dearly loved and will be dearly missed, so, I paraphrase when I say,  here’s to a friend who was like family and family who are like friends.  With memories like these we should not be sad, we should continue to celebrate the life of Marg Dunham.  We will meet again in life, in death, in life beyond death - God is with us, we are not alone." Isn’t that right, Marg?

Oh and that test I told you about- here it is ....... Who was Holly married to


(the answer to the quiz is Wes, and no he wasn't mentioned in the opening) 

I have a strong Christian background and I firmly belief that as Christians we will all be reunited in heaven. So Marg has started this journey a head of me along with John, Isabel, Dad, and our Grandparents and our friends parents

So Bon Voyage Marg, we will see you again, oh and please say hi to everyone and we shall see you soon.

Charity -clarity? Clear as mud

This morning's paper brings disturbing but not surprising news, people using the local food bank is up 25% this Christmas time. But doesn't stop there, LIFE*SPIN have 508 families registered for gifts, and 288 on a waiting list. Toys for Tots haven't got as many donations as last year and more clients etc etc etc. We live in one of the greatest, richest countries in the world and yet we have a housing crisis not just in Attawapiskat, but in most of our aboriginal communities and we have people who are living under bridges everywhere. Where have we gone wrong? or have we gone wrong? Is it our lust for money, and material things? Is it our desire to live in the moment and not save for a rainy day? Does it matter what the reason is? The real question is what do we do about it?

We can do do the band aid solutions, stock the food bank, sponsor a family, join an "Occupy" type movement but it that doesn't find the cure. We need to take a hard look at how we run our programs, do we need programs, should we raise our minimum standards?

THIS IS NOT AN US VS THEM ISSUE  for who is us and who is them? Most of us are just 3 weeks from being another statistic, another % point in this social downward spiral. WE need ideas and solutions. Affordable housing, nutritious food, and clothes on our back should be basic human rights not perks from dwindling jobs. Where do we start? Do we need to start at the grass roots level or immediately through the government? What we don't have is time! If I had the answers to these questions I wouldn't be ranting here, If I had the answers I would be running the province, country or one of the famous NGOs, but I don't have the answers only the questions.

In the meantime I ask you to think about sponsoring a family this season, add a can to the food bank, drop a toy off or help build a house and think about the solutions to the questions.

I have changed the name of my blog, may be this is more original than the 3+  others who had the same title as mine, but probably not.

So it is Black Friday and people are going in droves to the US of A to save $$$. But what are they really saving? Unless you live in a border city, you have to drive (for me an hour), spend gas, and spend time in line at the border each way. Then you have to hope that the product you bought is legal to bring back, (not all electronics and appliances have the proper testing and certification) and that it won't break down (a number of warranties are valid when crossing the border). But more than that the dollar you spend down there may be the dollar that keeps your neighbour employed, it may be one more bed that is closed at the hospital, it may be less week knocked off EI, one less year of Canada Pension or Old Age Security and it maybe one more bridge that starts to fall down. We have  a higher minimum wage, a higher welfare assistance and fewer subsidies. If you think that it is better to shop in the , then  WHY DON'T YOU MOVE THERE!

protests

So a judge has finally decided that the Occupy movements do not have the constitutional right to stay in public parks overnight. It is about time that somebody put some common sense into this movement. The judge has said that there is plenty of time and avenues open to the movement to make their protests heard between 7 and midnight.  The message they bring is valid and needs to be heard but it is far from needing an Arab Spring or a Civil Rights Movement to have their voice heard. What I find amusing is that during the court fights the occupiers were using the very 1% (lawyers, newspaper execs, technology giants) to get their message across. Perhaps you have to use the system to fight the system but if that is the case where were these people during the elections. Occupiers keep pushing the message it needs to be heard but like mud slinging political ads you run the risk of losing those that  sympathise with your cause