Ukrainian Crisis and How We Are Reacting; Andrew Currie's Sessions Concerts At St. James Anglican Church

Andrew Currie's Music will host the above performers at the first "Sessions" event at St. James Anglican Church in Gravenhurst on Friday, May 23rd. Tickets are available our shop on the main street.

We are ready to roll on our Historical Resource Adventure

Owned by our friend Chris Thompson. This a presentation silver tray given to Mary Elizabeth Aitken former proprietor  of Windermere House, by The Canadian Albacore Association, 1961-62. We thank all our friends who allow us to display Muskoka Heritage items in our Gravenhurst Antique Shop.

THE UKRAINE, RUSSIA, NATO, AND HERE WE STILL ARE - SAFE AND SOUND

AS THE CRISIS DEEPENS, AND RHETORIC HEIGHTENS, WHAT COMES NEXT?

     IT HAS BEEN AN EXCELLENT START-UP TO MAY, IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE, HERE IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH MUSKOKA. EVEN IN THE BOY'S VINTAGE MUSIC COMPONENT, IT HAS BEEN CRAZY, AND THE ONLY NAGGING ISSUE, IS WHERE TO GET MORE REPLACEMENT INVENTORY. IT'S A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE, IN ONE WAY, BUT UNFORTUNATE IN THE OTHER. AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HITTING THE RAFTERS WITH INCOMING INVENTORY, IN PREPARATION FOR THE SUMMER SEASON. WHILE WE'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL, IN PART, GETTING HALFWAY TO THE RAFTERS, WE'VE BEEN SELLING AT A FASTER RATE, THAN WHAT HAS BEEN COMING ACROSS THE COUNTER. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY OLD OR USED GUITARS AND EQUIPMENT, YOU WANT RID OF, OR AREN'T USING ANYMORE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO RUN THEM BY ANDREW AND ROBERT. IT'S KIND OF NICE TO REPORT POSITIVE SALES, WHEN MOSTLY, AROUND SOUTH MUSKOKA, YOU HEAR ABOUT POOR RETAIL SALES AND BUSINESS CLOSURES. THE ONLY REASON WE'D HAVE TO CLOSE NOW, IS IF WE SOLD OUT OF INVENTORY ENTIRELY. WE'RE OKAY FOR AWHILE, BUT IT'S LOOKING LIKE A GOOD SUMMER IF YOU BASE IT ON THE EARLY SEASON SIGNS. IF OF COURSE, OUR WORLD LEADERS, CAN CONVINCE THE RUSSIANS TO BACK OFF. IT'S STILL A WEE THORN FOR US IN THE "HISTORY-SELLING" AND "HISTORY RELIVING" BUSINESS, BECAUSE WORLD WAR IS A GAME CHANGER FOR ALL OF US. MANY OF US SELL MILITARY ITEMS, BOOKS AND EPHEMERA FROM THE PERIOD OF WORLD WARS, AND WE TALK ABOUT OUR COLLECTIONS AND INVENTORIES FREQUENTLY, WITH HOBBY HISTORIANS AND EVEN AUTHORS OF THESE RETROSPECTIVE BOOKS. SO EXCUSE US FOR BEING A LITTLE ON EDGE, ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN EUROPE, BECAUSE WE CAN CITE A LONG LIST OF PRECEDENTS, THAT SHOULD MAKE US WARY OF WORLD POWER STANDOFFS. TO SELL MILITARY HISTORIES, AND ACCURATELY REPRESENT OUR COLLECTIONS, WE HAVE TO KNOW THE BASICS OF PAST WARS. SO FORGIVE US FOR BEING A LITTLE PESSIMISTIC THESE DAYS. IT'S NOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE, THAT'S FOR SURE. MOST DEALERS AND COLLECTORS, I'VE TALKED TO THIS SPRING, ARE UP IN BUSINESS AND PURCHASES, AND FEELING GOOD ABOUT THE COMING MONTHS FOR MORE OF THE SAME. I WON'T SAY WE ARE BEACONS OF HOPE, BUT EVEN WITH DEEP SUSPICIONS OF BAD STUFF TO COME, THERE'S A STALWART FEELING AMONGST PROFESSIONALS, THAT SOMETHING GOOD WILL COME OF ALL THIS POSTURING ON THE WORLD STAGE. IT'S JUST THIS "ON THE BRINK" STUFF, THAT MAKES US A LITTLE MORE CAUTIOUS ABOUT INCREASING DEBT LOADS, ON LONG TERM SPECULATION, NOTHING WILL BREAK OUT THIS YEAR. WE DO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE DO BUY, IS WHAT WE CAN LIVE WITH, IF THE MARKET EVER RETRACTED SUDDENLY, BASED ON GLOBAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
     THE GOOD NEWS, OF COURSE, WAS THAT THE "OBSERVER" HOSTAGES, IMPRISONED LAST WEEK, BY PRO-RUSSIAN ACTIVISTS, ON SUSPICION THEY WERE SPYING FOR NATO FORCES, WERE FREED TODAY. IT'S NOT MUCH TO FEEL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT, BUT IT'S A START. WE ALL APPRECIATE THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE AND TRAGIC.
     WELL, FOR STARTERS, THE ESCALATION OF TENSIONS IN THE UKRAINE, AND THE RECENT DEATH OF INNOCENTS CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF WHAT APPEARS TO BE A BUDDING CIVIL WAR, HASN'T CHANGED MUCH OF NORMAL LIFE AND TIMES, HERE IN SMALL TOWN ONTARIO. MAKE THAT SMALL TOWN CANADA. I'M SURE THAT IN THE CITIES OF NORTH AMERICA, THERE ARE UKRANIAN COMMUNITIES, PROTESTING THE RUSSIAN INTRUSION IN THE CRIMEA, AND THE PRO-RUSSIAN AGITATION, GOING ON THR0UGHOUT THE COUNTRY IN CRISIS. BUT IN THIS COMMUNITY, DESPITE THERE BEING THOSE OF UKRANIAN ANCESTRY, THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY OUTRIGHT, VISIBLE, PUBLIC PROTEST. IT ISN'T TO SUGGEST, THAT THERE AREN'T FRIGHTENED PEOPLE AMONGST US, WHO ARE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION, THESE DAYS, TO THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF THIS RUSSIAN INSPIRED CIVIL WAR. THERE ARE CITIZENS HERE IN MUSKOKA, WHO STILL HAVE FAMILY IN THE UKRAINE, OR IN THE BALTIC REGION OF EUROPE. SO IT'S LIKELY THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING IN SILENCE, WHILE THEIR HOMELAND IS BEING TORN APART BY RUSSIAN AGITATORS, AND PRO-RUSSIAN ACTIVISTS, WHO ARE COUNTING ON AN INVASION TO OCCUR, TO JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS. WE KNOW THESE PEOPLE FROM SOCIAL AND BUSINESS INTERACTION, BUT WE DON'T APPRECIATE FULLY, HOW WORRIED THEY MUST BE, ABOUT THE WELFARE OF FAMILY CAUGHT IN A DIRE SITUATION.
     A WEEK AGO, SATURDAY, I WROTE A BLOG (OR SKETCH) ABOUT OUR TOWN, AND ITS DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES, DURING THE MODERN DAY RENEWAL, OF THE FORMER "COLD WAR;" PLUS A RETROSPECTIVE, ABOUT THE TENSIONS OF NORTH AMERICANS GENERALLY, IN THE ERA OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, OF THE EARLY 1960'S. OF COURSE, A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OUR POPULATION TODAY, WASN'T BORN YET, AND EVEN THE REFERENCE TO "THE COLD WAR," IS KNOWN MOSTLY FROM HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY CLASS; BUT HAS LITTLE ACTUAL RELEVANCE TO OUR MODERN LIVES. THERE ARE A LOT OF US HOWEVER, OF THE BABY BOOMER RANK AND FILE, WHO DO APPRECIATE HOW DELICATE RELATIONS WERE WITH RUSSIA, FOR MANY DECADES, FOLLOWING THE STAND-OFF OVER CUBA. WE APPRECIATE WHAT IT MEANS NOW, AT THIS MOMENT, TO HAVE SUPER POWERS SQUARING OFF, OVER THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA, SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, AND POTENTIALLY, THE EASTERN AREA OF UKRAINE ANY DAY NOW, WHERE THOUSANDS OF RUSSIAN TROOPS HAVE BEEN POSITIONED, FOR THE PAST THREE WEEKS. WE GET A NERVOUS TWINGE, WHEN WE HEAR ON THE NEWS, THAT NATO FORCES ARE BEING STRENGTHENED IN NEIGHBOR COUNTRIES, LIKE POLAND AND ROMANIA, WITH BATTLESHIPS POSITIONING IN THE BLACK SEA. WE HAVEN'T SEEN A BREWING CRISIS LIKE THIS IN MANY DECADES, AND I'M AFRAID MOST CANADIANS ARE UNAWARE, JUST HOW PRECARIOUS IT ALL COULD BE, SITTING BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES. THE POINT IS, EVEN THE HIGHLY REGARDED MILITARY STRATEGISTS ARE WORRIED ABOUT THIS ONE, AND IT SHOWS ON THEIR FACES, WHEN DISCUSSING THE "WHAT IFS" THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.....JUST IN CASE RUSSIA DECIDES TO SEND TROOPS INTO THE UKRAINE; WHICH SEEMS AN INEVITABILITY, DESPITE WARNINGS FROM THE UNITED STATES AND GERMANY, REPRESENTING NATO FORCES ON STAND-BY.
     WELL, THERE HASN'T BEEN ANYTHING RELEASED BY THE FEDERAL, PROVINCIAL, (NOW READYING FOR A SPRING ELECTION), OR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS, THAT ADVISE US TO DIG FALL-OUT SHELTERS, AND ORGANIZE CIVIL DEFENSE ASSOCIATIONS, SHOULD A WAR IN EUROPE BREAK OUT. MAYBE I'M JUMPING THE GUN, SUGGESTING SUCH A THING; WHAT WOULD A CIVIL DEFENSE GROUP DO IF A WAR DIDN'T OCCUR? MIGHT THEY BE TURNED INTO A SERVICE CLUB FOR POSTERITY, OR GIVEN NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT ASSIGNMENTS, AROUND SOUTH MUSKOKA? I UNDERSTAND THE RELUCTANCE TO GET PEOPLE RILED UP, AND FEARFUL, BUT IF WE HEAR ONE DAY, THAT SHOTS ACROSS THE BORDER HAVE BEEN FIRED, WITH CASUALTIES, IT MAY NOT BE TOO EARLY AT ALL, TO THINK OF THIS EVENTUALITY. NO ONE WANTS TO THINK NEGATIVELY, OR SUBSCRIBE TO END OF THE WORLD SCENARIOS, OR TO DWELL ON SUCH HORRIBLE REALITIES, HERE NOW, IN THIS BUDDING, BUT RAINY, SPRING SEASON IN BEAUTIFUL MUSKOKA. TALK ABOUT SURREAL. IT JUST SEEMS TOO FAR AWAY, AND NOTHING MORE THAN STRANGE FICTION. WE'RE JUST TOO FAR REMOVED FROM THE DEVASTATION OF WORLD WAR, AS OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS HAD TO COPE, AT HOME AND ABROAD. WE KNOW ABOUT WAR, JUST NOT A ALL-CONSUMING EVENT THAT WOULD FORCE EACH OF US TO CONFORM TO A NEW, LESS BOUNTIFUL LIFESTYLE. IMAGINE RATIONING FOOD AND GAS, TO ASSIST WITH THE WAR EFFORT. IF WAR DOES ERUPT, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN, AND IT COULD BE A LONG AND GHASTLY EVENT. THE HARDSHIPS WILL BE SPREAD AROUND.
    IF YOU WATCH THE NEWS, AND SEE THE CARNAGE IN THE UKRAINE AT PRESENT, IT'S NOT HARD AT ALL, TO FORESEE A COUNTRY-WIDE CIVIL WAR. THIS WOULD JUSTIFY A RUSSIAN MILITARY INVASION, (WHAT THE PRESIDENT OF RUSSIAN HAS BEEN WAITING FOR) AND THE QUESTION MOST ASKED THESE DAYS, IS HOW NATO FORCES WILL RESPOND. ANY RESPONSE COULD IGNITE A HONKING-BIG POWDER KEG, AND A FIRESTORM, OF SCIENCE FICTION PROPORTION. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US; OR SONS AND DAUGHTERS? IT IS THE BIG TURN OF EVENTS, THAT HAS THE WEIGHT TO CHANGE HOW WE LIVE FOREVER AFTER. IT'S JUST A LITTLE CONFUSING, TRYING TO TIME THIS OUT, BECAUSE SO MUCH IS HANGING BY A THREAD, AND THERE ARE HOLES IN THE SAFETY NET. AT TIMES I THINK I SHOULD BE HOARDING SUPPLIES JUST IN CASE, OR THINKING ABOUT WHERE WE COULD GO TO FIND A SAFE HAVEN. THERE IS NO REAL SAFE HAVEN IN A NUCLEAR WAR, IS THERE?
     IN GRAVENHURST, BRACEBRIDGE, HUNTSVILLE, AND MUSKOKA GENERALLY, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED WHATSOEVER, BY THE POTENTIAL OF WAR. THERE ARE NO PARADES PROTESTING THE RUSSIAN INTERVENTION, AND I HAVEN'T SEEN A SINGLE BANNER, MAKING ANY REFERENCE TO THE PRESENT CRISIS. THERE IS CERTAINLY NO OUTRIGHT INITIATIVE TO FORM A CIVIL DEFENSE CORP, OR APPOINT LIGHT WARDENS, AND SET UP RED CROSS KNITTING GROUPS. THERE IS NOTHING ANXIOUS ABOUT THE MAINSTREET SCENE, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, AND IF THERE IS WORRY ABOUT WORLD SECURITY, IT ISN'T SHOWING UP IN ANY CITIZEN AMALGAMATION. OUTSIDE OF REPORTING THE NEWS AT REGULAR INTERVALS, THERE IS NO ADVISORY ABOUT EMERGENCY BROADCASTING, THAT MIGHT TRANSPIRE, IF WAR WAS TO BREAK OUT. THE LOCAL MEDIA? I'VE GIVEN UP EXPECTING ANYTHING FROM THEM. EVEN BUSINESS AT THE SHOP HASN'T SHOWN ANY REACTION TO ANYTHING GEO-POLITICAL, AND THERE HASN'T EVEN BEEN A WORD VOLUNTEERED IN CONVERSATION, DEVOTED TO WHAT IS GOING ON, THIS HOUR, OR THIS PAST WEEK, IN THE UKRAINE. POSSIBLY IT'S MORE A CASE OF PUBLIC RESIGNATION, TO THE REALITY, WE HAVE NO POWER TO HALT THE CONFLICT, OR EVEN SET ABOUT AS NEGOTIATORS, TO BRING PEACE TO THE REGION. I THINK MANY ARE PURPOSELY OBLIVIOUS, SELDOM LISTENING TO, OR WATCHING THE HOURLY NEWS REPORTS. THEY GLANCE AT THE NEWSPAPER HEADLINES, BUT REFUSE TO PAY A DIME, TO ACTUALLY BUY ONE OFF THE NEWSTAND. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THAT THEY DON'T CARE, BUT MORE SO, BECAUSE THEY FEEL HELPLESS TO DO ANYTHING TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY, THAT WILL COME IN THE WAKE OF CONFLICT. ASKING THESE FOLKS IF THEY ARE AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL COLLATERAL DAMAGE, HERE IN CANADA, THEY PROBABLY ARE AWARE OF THE FALL-OUT ISSUES, BUT ARE LIVING FOR THE MOMENT, THE DAY, THE WEEK, THE MONTH, AND HOPING FOR THE BEST. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WHAT'S THE POINT OF WORRYING TO THE POINT OF GETTING ULCERS, AND THEN HAVING THE WHOLE ISSUE RESOLVE A FEW WEEKS DOWN THE ROAD. I'M NOT WILLING TO SURRENDER MYSELF TO IGNORANCE, BUT I DO KNOW WHEN TO DIVERT MY ATTENTION, FOR THE SAME OF GOOD HEALTH.
     I CAN'T CLAIM IN THIS BLOG, THAT WE HAVE LOST ONE CENT OF RETAIL SALES, HERE AT OUR SOUTH MUSKOKA SHOP, PROPORTIONAL TO ANY SENSE OF FEAR, THE OUTBREAK OF WAR WILL KILL THE WORLD ECONOMY. AND FACING REALITY, IT COULD! IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL. ACTUALLY, THIS ISN'T QUITE TRUE. WE ARE WELL ABOVE LAST YEAR, IN SALES, ACCORDING TO OUR ACCOUNTANT, AND THE HOLES ON THE SHELVES, AND WHERE ANTIQUE FURNITURE USED TO BE, VALIDATES THIS AS WELL. I'VE TRIED TO BRING UP THE CRISIS IN THE UKRAINE, WITH SOME OF OUR CUSTOMERS, WHO STOP TO VISIT THE WRITER IN RESIDENCE, BUT LARGELY THEY ARE TOO DARN CHEERFUL AND LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST, TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING A HALF WORLD AWAY. I'M NOT REALLY SURE, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO IT, WHAT I EXPECT FROM THESE FOLKS, OR FROM ANYONE IN THIS REGION, REGARDING THE NEW CENTURY "COLD WAR." THERE CERTAINLY ISN'T ANY EVIDENCE OF TREPIDATION ABOUT CARRYING ON WITH LOCAL RECREATIONS, INCLUDING THE HUNT AND GATHER OF ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES. BUT THEN, RESPECTFULLY, I BEGAN THIS SERIES OF OBSERVATIONAL PIECES, IN A SMALL WAY, TO DOCUMENT THE PREVAILING SENTIMENTS OF RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO THE ONTARIO HINTERLAND. OUTSIDE OF COMMON COMPLAINTS, IN PASSIVE CONVERSATION, ABOUT THE PRICE OF GAS, HOME HEATING, AND FOOD, NONE OF WHICH CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO PROBLEMS IN EUROPE, THERE REALLY ISN'T ANYTHING TO STIR THE POT, EVEN WHEN IT COMES TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A JUNE PROVINCIAL ELECTION. BORING!
     CUSTOMERS TALK ABOUT THEIR COLLECTIONS, THEIR HOME DECORATING PLANS, GARDENING, THE COTTAGE, FAMILY MEMBERS, AND PROFESSIONS, PLUS WEATHER OVERVIEWS, BUT NOTHING THAT WOULD SUGGEST, THEY BELIEVE WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF NUCLEAR WAR. OR ANY WAR, FOR THAT MATTER. OF COURSE, I HAVE BECOME CLEARLY AWARE, THAT MANY ARE APATHETIC TO WHAT MIGHT EXIST OUT THERE, THAT COULD HURT THEM IF THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES WERE TO PREVAIL. WHAT DOESN'T HURT THEM PRESENTLY, DOESN'T STIMULATE THE IMAGINATION. LAST WEEK, I BELIEVE, I NOTED, THAT IF CANADIANS WERE ASKED TO LIST THEIR TOP TEN CONCERNS, FOR THE BALANCE OF THIS YEAR, ROB FORD'S WELFARE IN RE-HAB, WOULD RANK HIGHER ON THE SCALE, THAN WORRIES ABOUT THE EVENTUALITY OF WORLD WAR III. I DON'T THINK IT WOULD MAKE THE TOP TEN, OR EVEN TWENTY IMMEDIATE CONCERNS, AND THE SAME WOULD HAVE HELD, IF THIS QUESTION WAS ASKED PRIOR TO THE EVENTS OF 9-11; EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE WARNINGS THEN, SOME MAJOR TERRORISM EVENT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. I SUPPOSE WE ARE JUST CONSUMED THESE DAYS, BY WISHFUL THINKING, BELIEVING WE CAN WARD OFF BAD THINGS BY POSSESSING A POSITIVE OUTLOOK. IT'S OUR SHEILD AGAINST BAD STUFF FLUNG OUR WAY. I WORRY ABOUT THE HIGH LEVEL OF APATHY, BECAUSE IT MEANS WE WOULD TAKE MUCH LONGER TO ORGANIZE, TO ASSIST A WAR EFFORT, FROM THE HOMEFRONT PERSPECTIVE, SHOULD IT EVER BE NECESSARY.
     IGNORANCE IS BLISS. FOR A MOMENT HOWEVER, THINK ABOUT THESE LOOMING POTENTIALS, IF YOU HAPPENED TO BE LIVING IN COUNTRIES CLOSE TO RUSSIA, AND BORDERING THE BLACK SEA; WHERE A NAVAL BATTLE COULD TAKE PLACE AT ANY MOMENT. WHEN YOU SEE THOSE CITIZENS OF THE UKRAINE, LAYING IN POOLS OF BLOOD, AND JUMPING TO THEIR DEATHS FROM BURNING BUILDINGS, PURPOSELY SET ON FIRE, CAN YOU PUT YOURSELF IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE WORLD, WHERE NOTHING IS SAFE, AND NO ONE IS GUARANTEED THEY WON'T BE THE NEXT CASUALTY OF INDISCRIMINATE KILLING. WHEN IT IS IN SOME OTHER COUNTRY OF THE WORLD, WE FEEL SAFE AND PROTECTED. THE PREVAILING CONFUSION HOWEVER, IS ONE OF PERSPECTIVE; ACCEPTANCE THAT WE HAVE A RARE SITUATION UNFOLDING THAT INVOLVES WORLD SUPER POWERS. WITH THIS COMES ENOUGH EXPLOSIVE POTENTIAL, TO REDUCE THE WORLD POPULATION BY MANY MILLIONS. IT'S DIFFERENT THAN THE BAY OF PIGS CRISIS, BUT NO ONE, NOWHERE, SHOULD UNDERESTIMATE JUST HOW DANGEROUS IT IS, AND HOW CLOSE, IN MINUTES OF MISSILE-THRUST, WE ARE FROM A CATASTROPHE OF UNIMAGINABLE CARNAGE.
     THIS IS THE 3RD OF JUNE, 2014. AT THIS MOMENT, THERE IS NO INDICATION A WORLD WAR IS GOING TO BREAK OUT TODAY, TOMORROW, OR NEXT WEEK. I DON'T KNOW HOW WAR WAS PREDICTED, PRIOR TO THE FIRST AND SECOND WORLD WARS, AND I'M NOT SURE WHICH OF THE MILITARY EXPERTS, AND POLITICAL CRITICS TO BELIEVE NOW, ABOUT JUST HOW CLOSE, OR FAR AWAY, WE ARE FROM SUPER POWER WARFARE. SUZANNE FEELS COMFORTABLE BUYING GREEN BANANAS, AND I'VE ONLY GOT A SHORT-HANDLED SPADE, SO IT WILL BE BACK BREAKING TO DIG A SHELTER DEEP ENOUGH, TO SAVE OUR FAMILY FROM A NUCLEAR WARHEAD. WE HAVE A PANTRY, BUT THE SHELVES ARE BARE AFTER THE LONG WINTER. WE'VE GONE THROUGH MOST OF THE COAL OIL FOR OUR OLD FARM LAMPS, AND I'VE ONLY GOT A TWO LITRES OF KEROSENE LEFT, FOR OUR PORTABLE HEATER. I THINK WE HAVE A COUPLE OF TINS OF TUNA, AND ONE OF SALMON, A COUPLE OF DOZEN EGGS, BECAUSE SOMEONE JUST GAVE THEM TO US; AND A LOT OF CONDIMENTS THAT WE COULD ALWAYS SPREAD ON SLICES OF BREAD, IF WE WERE EVER STARVING. OBVIOUSLY THEN, I'M MORE HOPEFUL ABOUT A RESOLUTION THAN I AM A DOOMSAYER, FEARING CEASELESSLY THAT THE END OF THE WORLD IS A FLASH AND BOOM AWAY. I'M RESIGNED, INSTEAD, TO REACT WHEN THE TIME COMES, AND IF THAT MEANS KISSING MY ASS GOODBYE, THEN SO BE IT. BUT IF THEY REQUIRE A CIVIL DEFENSE CONTRIBUTION, DOWN THE ROAD, WE CURRIES WILL BE QUICK TO SIGN-ON, TO HELP THE COMMUNITY AND THE WAR EFFORT. THEY PROBABLY WON'T WANT A GUY WITH A WONKY HIP, TO JOIN THE INFANTRY, BUT MAYBE I CAN HOBBLE AROUND AS THE LIGHT WARDEN, OR WATCHER FOR AIR RAIDS, SITTING IN A HIGH TOWER WATCHING FOR THE ENEMY'S APPROACH BY LAND OR AIR. OF COURSE, I'M NOT SURE THAT A MODERN WAR WILL REQUIRE ANY OF THE ABOVE. I IMAGINE IT WILL BE AN AERIAL DEMON WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT. DRONES WITH A PAYLOAD.
      YET NO MATTER WHAT, IT'S NOT UP TO US; BUT WE WILL BE INTIMATELY INVOLVED, IF AND WHEN TENSIONS REACH THAT CRITICAL TIPPING POINT. WHERE SOME CRITICS, AND THE UKRANIAN INTERIM PRESIDENT, FEEL WE ARE POSITIONED, AT THIS VERY MOMENT OF WORLD HISTORY. WHAT ARE THE SOOTHSAYERS, THE MEDIUMS, CLAREVOYENTS, AND SPIRITUALISTS THINKING ABOUT, THESE DAYS, REGARDING MANKIND'S FUTURE ENTERPRISE. WHAT DO THEY FEAR THE MOST FOR HUMANITY? THE BIG BANG. OR WILL OUR POLLUTED LAND AND AIR KILL US FIRST.
      I'M NOT A GLOOMY FELLOW AS A RULE. BUT I KNOW THAT LIVES ARE BEING LOST RIGHT NOW, AND THERE IS A STRONG POTENTIAL, OF THOUSANDS MORE FATALITIES IN THE UKRAINE IN THE COMING WEEKS, BASED ON NEWS OF THE DAY. OF THIS, WE CAN'T AVOID LOOMING REALITY, IT WILL SPREAD IN OUR DIRECTION.

ACID RAIN AND THE CHALLENGE OF A MAYOR TO HIS COUNCIL

IT ENDED IN RESIGNATION IN THE TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES

     I REMEMBER THIS PERIOD WELL. I WAS A ROOKIE REPORTER, FOR THE MUSKOKA LAKES-GEORGIAN BAY BEACON, COVERING THE TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES. THERE WERE MEETINGS HELD EVERY SECOND MONDAY, AT THE TOWNSHIP HALL IN PORT CARLING.

     MAYOR BOB BENNETT WAS NEVER ONCE, IMPATIENT WITH ME, AS I LEARNED THE PROTOCOL OF MUNICIPAL REPORTING. HE COULD APPEAR STERN AND UNAPPROACHABLE, BUT MANY TIMES, HE WOULD TAKE ME INTO HIS OFFICE, FOR AN INTERVIEW……THAT HE WOULD ONLY GIVE TO ME. I GOT QUITE A FEW EXCLUSIVES BACK THEN, AND TIPS ON OTHER MUNICIPAL NEWS OF THE WEEK. MAYBE HE SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS, BUT HE DID ANYWAY. I FOUND HIM A KINDLY CHAP, WHO WAS SINCERE AND UP-FRONT WHEN OTHER LOCAL POLITICIANS WERE EVASIVE AND RELUCTANT TO GO ON THE RECORD, DURING INTERVIEWS. I KNOW WHY BOB GOT FRUSTRATED WITH THE COUNCIL, DURING THIS PERIOD. I UNDERSTOOD WHY HE FOUND HIMSELF OUTDATED AND REDUNDANT, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD JUST WON RE-ELECTION. HE HAD A COMPANY (COUNCIL) OF FENCE-SITTERS, AND THEY HAD NO WILL TO PUT THEMSELVES IN DANGER, BY STEPPING BEYOND THE SAFETY OF THEIR OWN STATUS QUO. THIS WOULD EVENTUALLY BE THEIR UNDOING, WHEN THE ROSENEATH CONTROVERSY ERUPTED, AND THEY FOUND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO STAY NEUTRAL AND KEEP THEIR JOBS. WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS A SAFE DECISION, ON A RE-ZONING, NEARLY COLLAPSED THEIR COUNCIL WITH RIGOROUS PROTEST FROM THE MUSKOKA LAKES ASSOCIATION.

     "THE MAYOR , IN THE PAST, HAD ALWAYS BEEN ACCUSTOMED TO HEADING COUNCILS WHICH HAD PUT THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE FOREFRONT AND HE WAS BITTERLY OPPOSED TO HIS PRESENT COUNCIL'S ATTITUDE. HE EVEN MENTIONED TO THE PRESS THAT COUNCIL HAD AN ATTITUDE OF SELF-HELP, AND THE PUBLIC BE DAMNED."

     THE QUOTATION ABOVE WAS WRITTEN BY FORMER MAYOR, BOB BENNETT, OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES, IN HIS BIOGRAPHICAL WORK, ENTITLED "BINDLE STIFF." I REMEMBER BEING PART OF THE PRESS GANG BACK THEN, WITH LOU SPECHT, BILL COLE AND GAR LEWIS, FROM CKCO NEWS, AND WE KNEW BOB WAS GETTING RESTLESS, AND HIGHLY AGITATED ABOUT THE LACK OF CO-OPERATION REGARDING THE PRESSING ISSUE OF ACID RAID.

     "IN AN IDLE MOMENT THE MAYOR HAD WRITTEN UP A FORM OF RESIGNATION. IN HIS LETTER OF RESIGNATION, HE HAD OUTLINED MOST OF HIS COUNCIL'S FAULTS AND HE WAS NOW CONTEMPLATING SERVING THE RESIGNATION ON HIS COUNCIL. HE HAD HELD OFF BECAUSE OF HIS RECENT INVOLVEMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, WHICH HE WAS HOPEFUL IN CHANGING," WROTE BOB BENNETT, REFERRING TO HIMSELF AS "THE MAYOR."

     "HE WANTED TO ESPECIALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE ACID RAIN FALLOUT PROBLEM. HE HAD A SENSE OF THE TERRIBLE DISASTER SUCH ACID FALLOUT WAS HAVING ON HIS AREA. HE COULD SEE THAT THE LAKES WERE DYING, THE CRAYFISH WERE ALMOST NON-EXISTENT IN THE LAKES. HE HAD USED THEM FOR BAIT TO CATCH THE LOVELY LAKE TROUT FOR WHICH HIS AREA HAD ONCE BEEN FAMOUS. NOW THERE WERE VERY FEW LAKE TROUT AND THE GOVERNMENT HAD POSTED WARNINGS ABOUT EATING THOSE FEW PEOPLE MIGHT NOW CATCH. THEY WERE BEING REPLACED BY OTHER COARSER AND MORE RESISTANT FISH, SUCH AS PIKE AND OTHERS NOT NEARLY AS EDIBLE."

     HE WRITES, "THE MAYOR HAD GIVEN A SPEECH ONCE TO A SMALL GATHERING OF LOCAL BUSINESSMEN, AND WHEN HE FINISHED THERE HAD BEEN A STONY SILENCE. HE HAD BEEN OUTLINING SOME OF HIS VIEWS ON ACID RAID PROBLEMS IN THAT AREA (TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES). SOME OF THEM HAD COME UP TO HIM LATER AND CHIDED HIM FOR TRYING TO SCARE AWAY THE TOURISTS SO BADLY NEEDED IN THEIR AREA. THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, THE MAYOR HAD BEEN TAKING RAIN SAMPLES, AND HE HAD A CONFLICTING OPINION WITH THE HIGHER LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT, WHICH CLAIMED MOST OF THE ACID RAIN, FALLING IN HIS AREA, CAME FROM THE CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL ARE TO THE SOUTH (UNITED STATES - OHIO VALLEY). HIS OWN SAMPLE INDICATED A MORE LOCAL SOURCE TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF HIS AREA, WHERE A HUGE SMELTER WAS LOCATED. AGAIN THE BUREAUCRATS HAD POINTED UP HIS LACK OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, AND SAID HE WAS MISTAKEN. HOWEVER, THERE WERE SOME OUTSIDE OF THE GOVERNMENT, WHO HAD VERY GOOD ACADEMIC TRAINING IN RELATED SUBJECTS AND AGREED WITH HIM. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT MOST OF THESE PEOPLE WERE EITHER EMPLOYED BY THE GOVERNMENT OR FIRMS WHICH DEPENDED ON THE GOVERNMENT FOR CONTRACTS. THE MAYOR HAD SPENT A CONSIDERABLE SUM OF HIS OWN MONEY ON TESTS OF THE ACID AND THE RELATED PROBLEM OF MERCURY WHICH WAS NOW FOUND TO BE LEACHING OUT OF THE ROCKS AND KILLING THE FISH AND OTHER LIVING ORGANISMS IN THE LAEKS AND RIVER."

     "PROBABLY THE MAYOR BELONGED TO A GENERATION WHO TOOK THEIR PROMISES MORE SERIOUSLY, ALTHOUGH HE DID THINK THAT SOME OF THE OTHER COUNCILS IN THE SURROUNDING MUNICIPALITIES DID HAVE MORE CONSCIENTIOUS MEMBERS THAN THOSE ON HIS COUNCIL." BOB BENNETT FROM HIS BOOK, "BINDLE STIFF." (PUBLISHED IN 1985)

     THE BOOK IS ACTUALLY ABOUT MR. BENNETT'S YEARS AS A YOUNG ADULT, SPENT LIVING AS A HOBO, AND TRAVELLING ALL OVER NORTH AMERICA ON BOX CARS. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING BOOKS ON HOBOS I'VE EVER READ, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME, BECAUSE I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH BOB, AS A REPORTER, AND LATER AS A FRIEND, WHEN WE'D MEET-UP AROUND THE DISTRICT. THE LAST TIME I TALKED TO HIM WAS AT AN ART CAMPBELL AUCTION SALE, IN THE EARLY 1990'S, ON BEAUMONT DRIVE IN BRACEBRIDGE. HE WAS STILL BITTER ABOUT HIS FIGHT WITH INCO, OVER THE MATTER OF ACID RAIN, AND ABOUT THE COUNCIL HE FELT LET HIM DOWN, AS MAYOR, WHEN THE FIGHT GOT UNDERWAY. WHAT HE IMAGINED AS THE TOWNSHIP FIGHTING INCO, TURNED OUT INSTEAD, TO BEING A CITIZEN ACTION, AND IT DID NOT GO IN HIS FAVOR. BUT WHAT BOB BENNETT DID, REGARDLESS, WAS SET DOWN THE PLATFORM, FOR RECOGNITION OF THE ACIDIFICATION OF OUR LAKES, WHICH SO MANY OTHERS CLIMBED ATOP, TO MAKE THEIR RIGHTEOUS CLAIMS ABOUT PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT. MP, FOR MUSKOKA-PARRY SOUND, STAN DARLING, WAS A POLITICAL DYNAMO WHEN IT CAME TO REPRESENTING THE ISSUE ON PARLIAMENT HILL, AND WHETHER OR NOT HE EVER REFERENCED THE DOGGED WORK OF BOB BENNETT OR NOT, HAVING KNOWN BOTH MEN AT THE SAME TIME, I KNOW FOR FACT, THAT THE SABRE RATTLING OF THE MUSKOKA LAKES MAYOR HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT IN MUSKOKA GENERALLY, AND ON MR. DARLING, AS OUR REPRESENTATIVE IN OTTAWA.

     BOB WAS AN INTELLIGENT, AMBITIOUS, COMPETENT MAYOR, WHO FOUND HIMSELF MERGING INTO AN ERA THAT WAS BRINGING ABOUT TOO MUCH CHANGE, TOO QUICKLY, MOVING A SMALL REGION INTO SOMETHING MUCH LARGER IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT. IT'S TRUE WHAT HE FELT, ABOUT BEING OUT OF PLACE…..AN OLD TIME POLITICIAN IN A MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE PERIOD OF CHANGEOVER……PARTICULARLY IN ATTITUDE. BUT BOB KNEW WHAT WAS COMING DOWN THE PIKE, AND IT WASN'T LONG, BEFORE, AND FROM THE SIDELINES, HE WATCHED THE TERRIBLE YEARS OF POLITICAL TURMOIL, WHICH BEGAN IN EARNEST WHEN THE PROPOSAL WAS MADE, TO RE-ESTABLISH A MAJOR RESORT ON THE FORMER ROSENEATH PROPERTY ON LAKE MUSKOKA, WHICH PITTED LOCAL COUNCIL, AND TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS, AGAINST COTTAGER ASSOCIATIONS……SOMETHING THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY LEAD TO THE INVOLVEMENT OF SEASONAL RESIDENTS RUNNING FOR MUNICIPAL COUNCIL SEATS BACK IN THE 1980'S…..TO ENFORCE THEIR PRIVILEGE OF INPUT, IN REGIONAL GOVERNANCE. I THINK BOB MAY HAVE FELT OKAY ABOUT HAVING RESIGNED JUST PRIOR TO THIS DIVISIVE PERIOD IN TOWNSHIP HISTORY.

     I HAVE OFFERED THIS LITTLE EDITORIAL RETROSPECTIVE, NOT BECAUSE IT MIRRORS THE PRESENT DEBACLE IN THE VILLAGE OF BALA, REGARDING THE NEW HYDRO-ELECTRIC INSTALLATION, APPROVED FOR THE FALLS…..BUT BECAUSE IT CLEARLY ILLUSTRATES WHAT PASSION FOR THE MUNICIPALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT CAN DO TO A POLITICAL CAREER. IT'S ROUGH OUT THERE, BEING DEDICATED TO THE WELL-BEING OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS, BUT FACING THE REALITY, THAT THE ODDS CAN BE STAGGERING TO THE CONTRARY…….AND IN THE CASE OF THE DIVIDE IN THIS CHARMING LITTLE WATERSIDE COMMUNITY, IT IS MILDLY REMINISCENT OF WHAT PERSONAL SACRIFICES HAPPENED IN THE EARLY 1980'S. BOB KNEW HE HAD RUN OUT OF THE WILL TO BATTLE COUNCILLORS ON THE ISSUE OF ACID RAIN, AND STANDING AS A COMMITTED COUNCIL, TO CHALLENGE INCO. I HOPE IT DOESN'T END THE SAME WAY, AS IT DID BACK THEN, BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE IT WOULD SERVE ANYONE'S BEST INTEREST. I DO SEE A LOT OF SIMILARITIES TO THE DAYS I WAS SITTING IN THAT COUNCIL CHAMBER WITH MY COLLEAGUES, WATCHING HISTORY IMPRINT IN THE MOST PROFOUND WAY. I WAS THERE ON ELECTION NIGHT, THAT FIRST YEAR COTTAGERS TOOK THEIR PLACE IN MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE, AND THERE WAS AN UNMISTAKABLE PALL. YET IT TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TOWNSHIP, AND ACTUALLY CREATED BETTER RELATIONS BETWEEN PERMANENT AND SEASONAL RESIDENTS, AND MUNICIPAL COUNCIL. WHAT HAD SEEMED LIKE A RIFT THAT WOULD LAST FOREVER, AN ORDEAL BY FIRE, ACTUALLY FOSTERED A NEW AND IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALL THE STAKE-HOLDERS.

     I WOULD STILL RATHER LIVE AMONGST PASSIONATE FOLKS, THAN BE MIRED IN THE COMPLACENCY OF THOSE CELEBRANTS OF STATUS QUO, AS THEIR MANTRA; ESPECIALLY DURING THOSE PERIODS OF UPHEAVAL, WHEN THERE IS A GREAT NECESSITY TO CHALLENGE WHAT APPEARS, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, TO BE BEYOND CHALLENGE. I HAVE BEEN IN THESE POSITIONS MANY TIMES IN MY LIFE, AS BOTH A REPORTER AND PROTESTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, AND I SHALL NEVER FORGET THOSE WHO STEPPED BACK, WHEN THE GOING GOT TOUGH……BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T FEEL SAFE AND SECURE, STANDING UP FOR THEIR PRINCIPLES…..STANDING BY THEIR NEIGHBORS, WHEN THE SHOW OF SOLIDARITY WAS NEEDED THE MOST.

     IN BALA, I HOPE THERE IS AN EVENTUAL RESOLVE, THAT WORKS TO HEAL THE FEELINGS OF THOSE FIGHTING WHOLE-HEARTEDLY, ON EITHER SIDE OF THE DAM ISSUE. IT WILL TAKE MANY DECADES, I'M SURE.

     THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY.