AUTUMN SEASON IN MUSKOKA IS SPECTACULAR - THE ENCHANTED SOLITUDE THAT BRINGS US BACK TO MOTHER EARTH
THE STRANGE, WONDERFUL SPIRITS THAT DWELL WITHIN NATURE
BUT THEN, THERE IS THIS CRISIS OVERSEAS, AND HOW TO PREPARE FOR ITS ESCALATION
WILL THE UKRAINE FALL? WILL NATO COME TO ITS ASSISTANCE WITH MILITARY INTERVENTION? OR WILL THE THREAT OF A WORLD WAR CAUSE NATO TO BACK AWAY FROM CONFLICT?
CRISIS. THERE'S NEVER BEEN A TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE SO CALLED CIVILIZED WORLD, THAT CRISIS WASN'T EITHER HAPPENING OR ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IN THE SPRING, I WROTE QUITE A FEW EDITORIAL PIECES, ADMITTEDLY OUT OF DURESS, ABOUT THE CRISIS BETWEEN THE UKRAINE AND RUSSIA, TRYING SOMEWHAT, TO EXPLAIN FROM RECOLLECTION, WHAT A SMALL CHILD OF THE EARLY 1960'S, KNEW ABOUT THE "COLD WAR". THE TERM MY PARENTS USED TO DESCRIBE WHAT WAS HAPPENING BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES, RUSSIA AND CUBA. WHAT MY PARENTS, AND NEWSCASTERS OF THE TIME, REFERRED TO, AS BEING "ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS TIMES SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR!" I JUST CAME TO THINK OF ALL WARS AS HAVING BEEN "COLD," AS I HAD NO REAL CONCEPT OF WHAT IT MEANT IN THE POLITICAL SENSE, OF MILITARY "STAND-OFF" AND "IMMINENT DANGER".
BACK IN THE LATE SPRING, OF THIS YEAR, I PREDICTED THEN, THAT THE RUSSIANS WOULD EVENTUALLY INVADE THE UKRAINE, AND MOST EXPERTS NOW AGREE, THIS HAS HAPPENED, DESPITE WHAT THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SAYS TO THE CONTRARY. I DON'T FEEL GOOD ABOUT BEING RIGHT, IN THIS CASE, BECAUSE IT'S A FRIGHTENING REALITY; WHICH IN ITS FULL BURDEN OF HORROR, IS CURRENTLY BEING EXPERIENCED DAILY, BY THE CITIZENS OF EASTERN UKRAINE; SOME UNFORTUNATES, WHO HAVE BEEN EITHER KILLED, WOUNDED, OR DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES, AND NORMAL, PEACEFUL LIVES. THEY HAVE A MUCH CLOSER VANTAGE POINT, TO ASCERTAIN JUST HOW BAD IT'S GOING TO GET, FOR THEM, UNLESS A NEGOTIATED PEACE ARRIVES SOON. I HAVEN'T MUCH FAITH IN THE RUSSIAN INTEREST TO RETREAT, SO PEACE IS UNLIKELY. IT'S ALL A TERRIBLE STRESS ON WORLD PEACE. BUT WHEN YOU SPEND AS MUCH OF YOUR LIFE, IMBEDDED IN HISTORICAL RESEARCH, AS I DO, YOU BECOME A LITTLE CLOSER TO PRECEDENTS, AS THEY HAVE OCCURRED IN THE PAST; SO IT DIDN'T TAKE ANY STROKE OF GENIUS, TO PREDICT RUSSIA WAS GOING TO INSTIGATE A WAR, IN ORDER TO GET BACK WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS THEIR RIGHTFUL TERRITORY. I REALIZED, EARLY ON, THAT THIS CRISIS WAS GOING TO, NOT ONLY BRING BACK THE POLITICAL CHILL OF THE 1960'S AND 70'S, BUT CREATE A RISK-FACTOR, THAT WOULD PUT US ON THE BRINK OF ANOTHER WORLD WAR. TODAY, ONE SERIOUS OVER-STEP, BY THE RUSSIANS, OR BY NATO FORCES, AND THE NEW NORMAL WILL INVOLVE WAR PREPARATIONS AROUND THE GLOBE. IT HAS TO BE WHAT RUSSIA WANTS, BECAUSE IT'S OBVIOUS, THEY ARE WILLING TO TAKE WHATEVER RISK IS NECESSARY, TO ACHIEVE THEIR ANNEXATION OBJECTIVES. SANCTIONS MAY BE WORKING BUT NOT IN THE WAY WE WOULD ALL LIKE. THEY CAN CALL IT WHATEVER THEY WANT, LIKE A WELCOMING COMMUNITY PICNIC BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES, BUT THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN THIS AGGRESSION BEFORE ON THE PART OF RUSSIA, KNOW THE WORSE IS YET TO COME. NO MATTER HOW THE ARTIST PAINTS THIS PREAMBLE SCENE, IN EASTERN UKRAINE, WE HAVE A WORLD WAR CLOSER THAN WE HAVE HAD, SINCE THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS. I THINK WE WOULD ALL BE SHOCKED, TO KNOW JUST HOW LITTLE PROVOCATION IT WOULD TAKE, TO START A WAR IN EUROPE. NO AMOUNT OF MINIMIZING IT, OR WISHFUL THINKING, IS GOING TO CHANGE RUSSIA'S STRATEGY, AS RELATES TO WHAT THEY WANT RETURNED, AS THEIR RIGHTFUL TERRITORY. THEY CAN'T ACHIEVE THEIR OBJECTIVES WITHOUT LOSS OF LIFE. THE QUESTION IS, HOW MUCH ARE THEY WILLING TO SACRIFICE, BECAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE, IT WILL BE IN THE MULTI-MILLIONS, IF WE ENTER THAT HORRIBLE PERIOD OF ALL-OUT WAR.
I WORRY MOST THESE DAYS, ABOUT HOW WE, ON THE HOME-FRONT, WILL DEAL WITH THIS CRISIS, IF IT REACHES THE LEVEL OF WORLD WAR. I KNOW WHAT COMMUNITIES DID TO ASSIST THE ALLIES, AND CANADIAN SOLDIERS, BUT WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TODAY. I DON'T BELIEVE MANY CITIZENS IN OUR COMMUNITY TODAY, HAVE MUCH INTEREST IN SUCH SPECULATION, BELIEVING, THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN, PEACE AS WE KNOW IT, WILL DISINTIGRATE IN THIS FASHION. IT IS ALARMING TO RECOGNIZE, THAT WE ARE SO FAR REMOVED FROM THE ACTUALITY OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN OUR WORLD, THAT WE FEEL NOTHING CAN HURT US, IF CONFLICT ESCALATES IN THE UKRAINE. IF YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO THE DAILY NEWS, YOU WOULD REALIZE THAT CANADA HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY VOCAL AGAINST THE RUSSIAN AGGRESSION, TO THE POINT OF DELIVERING MILITARY SUPPLIES, AIRCRAFT, AND PERSONNEL, TO THE REGION, AND STEPPING UP WITH NATO, TO BOLSTER MILITARY PRESENCE IN NEIGHBOR NATO COUNTRIES. THIS IS SERIOUS. IT MEANS THAT WE ARE NOW INTIMATE TO WHAT MAY, OR MAY NOT HAPPEN IN THE UKRAINE, AND REGION, MAKING US FAR CLOSER TO UNPLEASANT REALITIES, IF THERE WAS A SUDDEN SHIFT TOWARD A LARGER MILITARY ENGAGEMENT. IN AN INSTANT, OUR REALITIES, AND ACTUALITY, COULD CHANGE IN A MOST TRAGIC WAY. OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF MILITARY AGE, WILL BECOME OF INTEREST TO A GOVERNMENT, THAT AT PRESENT, HAS A LIMITED, PEACE-TIME COMMITMENT OF PERSONNEL; MEANING, THAT A LARGER ENGAGEMENT, WILL EVENTUALLY DEMAND MORE ENLISTMENT TO BOLSTER THE RANKS IN ALL AREAS. IT MAY BE THE BUDDING WAR SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT IT IS A LOT CLOSER, IN THIS REGARD, THAN WE MAY REALIZE. THE IMPACT IS GLOBAL. IT'S NOT JUST TWO COUNTRIES EXCHANGING FIRE, WITHOUT THE IMPLICATION OF DRAWING OTHER COUNTRIES INTO THE MIX. THIS COULD SOON BE A CONFLICT BETWEEN MANY COUNTRIES, AND IT COULD SO EASILY JETTISON INTO A WORLD CONFLICT, WITH JUST ONE SHOT FIRED BETWEEN NATO AND THE PRO-RUSSIAN AGGRESSORS. KEEP IN MIND, A PASSENGER JET WAS DOWNED BY PRO-RUSSIAN MILITANTS. MANY SAW THIS AS AN ACT OF WAR. I CONCUR.
I DREAD THE DAILY NEWS THESE DAYS. I VERY MUCH FEAR, WE SHALL BE TERRIBLY ILL PREPARED, AS A COUNTRY, COMMUNITY, AND NEIGHBORHOOD, TO HANDLE THE SUDDEN IMMERSION INTO WAR-PREPARATION. WHAT WILL OUR COMMUNITIES DO TO ASSIST THE WAR EFFORT? SIX MONTHS AGO, THIS SAME OVERVIEW, SEEMED TO SOME OF MY DAILY READERS, AS AM OUTRAGEOUSLY WILD OVER-STEP, OF WHAT WAS ACTUALLY HAPPENING IN THE UKRAINE. TODAY, IT'S NOT BEYOND THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY, THAT WE WILL FIND OUT WHAT A MODERN AGE WAR LOOKS LIKE, UP CLOSE, AND HOW FAR IT CAN STRETCH BEYOND AFFECTED BORDERS, WITH THE ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY, LONG RANGE MISSILES, AND THE RECKONING OF MISSILE DEFENCE SHIELDS. IN SOME WAYS, AN OLD HISTORIAN LIKE ME, HAS SURRENDERED HOPE, THERE IS GOING TO BE A PEACEFUL RESOLVE TO THIS PRESENT CRISIS. IT MANY WAYS, RUSSIA HAS BEEN WORKING TOWARD THIS RETURN TO OLD POLITICS, FOR MOST OF SEVERAL DECADES. I CAN'T SEE THEM CHANGING THEIR RESOLVE AT THIS STAGE OF AGGRESSION, WHICH MANY BELIEVE HAS ALREADY BEEN THE "CROSSED" POINT OF NO RETURN. THE IMPLICATIONS WILL BE HUGE, FOR EVERY CITIZEN, WHO WILL FEEL LESS SAFE FOR A PERIOD OF YEARS; AND BE COMPROMISED IN SOME FASHION, AS A DIRECT RESULT. FOR ONE THING, THE WEIGHT OF A STRESSED ECONOMY. IMAGINE ONCE AGAIN, LIVING WITH WAR-TIME RESTRICTIONS, AND HAVING TO USE RATION CARDS, TOKENS, AND VOUCHERS, FOR FUEL AND FOOD PROVISIONS. ARE WE READY FOR THIS KIND OF CHANGE? HOW FAST CAN WE ADAPT TO A NEW NORMAL, MUCH LARGER AND MORE DEVASTATING, THAN ANYTHING WE'VE SEEN BEFORE? THIS ISN'T A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE SCRIPT. IF RUSSIA DOESN'T BACK AWAY, AND RETREAT FROM THEIR PRESENT SUPPORT, OF THE AGGRESSORS IN EASTERN UKRAINE, THERE WILL BE A WAR. IF NATO COMES TO DEFEND THE UKRAINE, WITH MILITARY ASSETS, AGAINST FURTHER INVASION, IT WILL QUICKLY BECOME A SPIRAL OF WORLD WAR. I NOW DESPISE THE NEWS REPORTS, BUT NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO AVOID THE TRUTH. WHILE MOST OF US WILL ADMIT, TO LIVING FOR THE MOMENT, AND NOT HAVING MUCH INTEREST IN THESE SPECULATIONS ABOUT WAR, AND ITS FALL-OUT, IT REALLY IS ENCUMBANT UPON INDIVIDUALS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR OPINIONS, TO KNOW HOW TO ADJUST TO THIS POTENTIAL "NEW NORMAL," WHICH BY THE WAY, DOESN'T REQUIRE OUR PERMISSION, TO IMPOSE ON OUR LIVES AND VALUES. HOW MUCH WILL WE PAY FOR THE FREEDOM WE ENJOY TODAY? WILL WE FIGHT FOR ITS PRESERVATION, JUST AS CANADIANS HAVE IN PAST CONFLICTS? IN EASTERN UKRAINE TODAY, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, CITIZENS ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR FREEDOM, AND LOSING IT! MILE BY MILE OF THEIR HOMELAND. OF COURSE WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING? LIKE IT OR NOT, WE ARE GOING TO BE IMPACTED BY EITHER ANOTHER PROLONGED PERIOD OF COLD WAR, OR A MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE ACTUALITY, HOUR TO HOUR, OF MILITARY CONFLICT.
WE NEED TO PREPARE OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS FOR THE TERRIBLE TRUTHS ABOUT WAR, THAT THEY HAVE BEEN SO COMFORTABLY INSULATED, SUCH THAT IT IS ONLY A MENTION IN HISTORY CLASS. THERE IS NO ESCAPING THE NEED TO EDUCATE OUR YOUNGER GENERATION, TO WHAT POTENTIALS EXIST OUT THERE, THAT CAN CHANGE THEIR LIVES IN LESS TIME THAN A FULL HEART-BEAT. THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE, WHO WANT TO START A WAR. ONE OF THESE TIMES, THEY'RE GOING TO SUCCEED. AND THEN, WE WILL ALL BE PART OF THE WAR EFFORT, TO BRING ABOUT PEACE ONCE MORE.
MY OWN GREAT ESCAPES FOR TEMPORARY PEACE OF MIND
NOTE: I WROTE THIS (PIECE BELOW) BEFORE I COMPOSED THE TOP PORTION OF TODAY'S BLOG. I DON'T WANT READERS TO THINK, THAT MY IDEA TO ESCAPE WAR REALITIES, IS TO QUICKLY JOG INTO THE BUSH, AND HIDE THERE FOR THE DURATION OF WHATEVER CONFLICT, IS BREWING AT THE TIME. IF THAT WAS THE CASE, I'D BE IN THE BUSH TWICE AS FREQUENTLY, AND FOR LONGER PERIODS. THERE'S A LOT TO WORRY ABOUT, IN THIS WAY, AND THE BUSH JUST HAPPENS TO BE MY CHOICE OF PACIFIER. YOU SEE, I JUST HAPPENED TO HEAR THE NEWS ON THE CAR RADIO, IN TRANSIT, BETWEEN HOME AND SHOP, AFTER I'D WRITTEN WHAT IS PUBLISHED BELOW; AND I FELT IT INCUMBENT, TO AT LEAST RE-VISIT WHAT I'D BEEN WARNING ABOUT, OVER SEVERAL MONTHS THIS PAST SPRING. IT'S LIKE HAVING A BALLOON TACKED ONTO YOUR BACK, JUST OUT OF REACH. YOU CAN TRY TO ESCAPE IT, BUT NOTHING EXCEPT THE BALLOON POPPING, WILL END THE UNWELCOME COMPANIONSHIP. I WILL CONFESS, THAT I DO GAIN SOME MEASURE OF ADDED PEACE, ON THESE NATURE RETREATS, REGARDLESS OF THE BURDENS CARRIED; AND ONLY MINUTES SPENT, IMMERSED IN THE COVER OF THE WOODLAND ABOVE THE BOG, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, WILL HAVE THE MOST AMAZING, RESTORATIVE INFLUENCES, THAT I FIND, HONESTLY, I JUST CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT. ONE THING IS FOR SURE. I WOULD BIND-UP AS A WRITER. NATURE IS MY MUSE. AS FOR THE STRESSES OF THE DAY, MY VERY GREAT JOY, IS TO BE SO CLOSE TO THE WILD, OPEN SPACES, OF THE GREEN-BELT OF THE BOG. I THINK OF THE FOLKS OF THE UKRAINE, AT THIS MOMENT, WHO HAVE LOST THEIR FAMILY HOMES AND NATURAL SANCTUARIES, THE PEACEFUL COUNTRYSIDE, AND GOOD NEIGHBOR COMMUNITIES, AND HAVE BEEN FORCED TO FLEE FOR THEIR LIVES. I DON'T TAKE THIS PRESENT PEACE GRANTED. THIS IS FOR CERTAIN. I TUMBLE EFFORTLESSLY BACK INTO MY YOUTH, WHEN IT SAVED ME FROM A DULLED IMAGINATION, AND STUNTED SENSES. I FOUND THE GOOD GRACES OF SOLITUDE, AND I RETURN TIME AND AGAIN, LIKE AUTHOR DAVID GRAYSON, IN HIS BOOK, "ADVENTURES IN CONTENTMENT," WHO FINALLY, ONE DAY, LOOKED UP FROM THE WORK OF SCULPTING STRAIGHT FURROWS, WHICH HE HAD BEEN PLOWING SO PERFECTLY, ON HIS PASTURE, TO THEN SEE A MAGNIFICENT, SPRAWLING HORIZON, AS IF IT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE HAD NOTICED THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD AROUND HIM. WE ALL NEED, FROM TIME TO TIME, TO TRUST OUR URGES; THE NEED TO DISCOVER THE TRUE WEALTH, AND HORIZON OF LIFE, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE. BEFORE WE CAN NO LONGER ENJOY THE FREEDOM OF DISCOVERY.
EVEN FROM THOSE CHILDHOOD ADVENTURES, HIKING ALONG THE BANKS OF BURLINGTON'S RAMBLE CREEK, CLIMBING THE SMALL TREES, AND BUILDING RAFTS TO SAIL TO THE SEA, I HAD DAILY NEED TO CONNECT WITH NATURE. THOSE FIRST YEARS, GROWING UP IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO, I WOULD RETREAT TO ANY PLACE WITH A FEW TREES, AND THE SOUND OF TRICKLING WATER. MY PARENTS SEEMED TO KNOW THEIR CHILD WAS EXTRAORDINARY IN THIS SENSE, AND WOULD TAKE ME ON WEEKENDS, TO ALL THE REGIONAL PARKS, WHERE I'D SPEND HOURS AT THE LAKESHORE OR POND-SIDE, LOOKING FOR TADPOLES AND FROGS. MY MOTHER COULDN'T ENDURE ME IN THE APARTMENT FOR VERY LONG, SO WITH AMPLE WARNINGS ABOUT STAYING AWAY FROM DEEP WATER, AND HIGH TREES, SHE'D USHER ME OUT THE DOOR. "HAVE A NICE MORNING," SHE'D SAY, AS I TRUNDLED OUT INTO THE HALL OF THE NAGY APARTMENTS, UP ON HARRIS CRESCENT, WITH BOOTS ON MY FEET, AND A HAT OF SOME KIND. MY MOTHER WORRIED CONSTANTLY, THAT I WAS GOING TO CATCH MY DEATH OF COLD, IF I WENT OUT WITHOUT WARM HEAD-WEAR. POINT IS, BOTH MY PARENTS SEEMED TO KNOW, THAT LIKE A CREATURE OF THE WILDS, I NEEDED MY DAILY OUTDOOR TIME, AND SOMETIMES, THREE TIMES AS MUCH AS ANY OF MY SCHOOL AND NEIGHBORHOOD MATES. AND I WAS OKAY WITH BEING ON MY OWN, ALWAYS FEELING THAT NATURE WAS MY CHUM, IN ALL ITS CURIOUS REALITIES. THERE IS NO QUESTION, I WAS HAPPIEST WHEN I WAS PLAYING IN THE RAVINE, OF RAMBLE CREEK, AS IT TRICKLED THIS TIME OF YEAR, OUT INTO LAKE ONTARIO. I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO GO PAST THE LAKESHORE ROAD BRIDGE, OVER RAMBLE CREEK, BUT I DID, ON OCCASION, BREAK THIS RULE. THE CLOSER I GOT TO LAKE ONTARIO, THE MORE I WOULD SMELL LIKE DEAD FISH. WHEN I CAME BACK HOME FOR LUNCH OR DINNER, MERLE COULD TELL EXACTLY HOW CLOSE I HAD COME TO THE BRIDGE, AND IF I HAD PASSED IT, HEADING TO THE OPEN LAKE. MY CHILDHOOD CHUM, RAY GREEN, AND I, AND SOMETIMES HIS SISTER HOLLY, WOULD OFTEN DARE OURSELVES TO PASS BENEATH, AND SAMPLE THE FARE OF LIBERATION, ON THE LAKE SIDE.
MERLE, YOU SEE, HAD TWO DISTINCT WORRIES ABOUT MY CROSSING THIS THRESHOLD, ON RAMBLE CREEK. FIRST OF ALL, THE WATER ON THE GENERALLY SHALLOW CREEK, WAS DEEPER BENEATH THE ROADWAY CROSSING, AND COULD DROWN A CHILD QUITE EASILY. COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE TRICKLING WATER COURSE, DRAINING AROUND FLAT SLABS OF ROCK, WE USED AS BRIDGES, THE MOST THAT COULD HAPPEN IN THE AUTUMN SEASON, WAS TO GET A SOAKER. I GOT A SOAKER-A-DAY FOR MY ENTIRE CHILDHOOD, SPENT UP ON HARRIS CRESCENT. NOW THIS WOULD CHANGE, IF THERE HAD BEEN A STORM. OR DURING SPRING MELT. THERE WERE ABOUT TEN DAYS EACH YEAR, NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS WERE NOT ALLOWED NEAR THE RAVINE, BECAUSE THE CREEK WAS SWOLLEN WITH RUN-OFF, FROM A LARGE PART OF THE COMMUNITY, DRAINING TOWARD THE LAKE. I CAN'T SAY FOR SURE, IF MY MOTHER FELT THAT LAKE ONTARIO WAS AS BIG A THREAT, AS MUCH AS THE PRECARIOUS LEDGE-WALK, IN THE CONCRETE CONDUIT UNDER THE ROAD. I KNOW RAY AND I USED TO BUILD RAFTS TO SAIL ON LAKE ONTARIO, BUT THERE WAS NO WAY OF EVER NAVIGATING WHAT WE BUILT, DOWN THE LENGTH OF RIVER TO THE LAKESHORE ANYWAY. I THINK MERLE JUST FIGURED, WE'D PROBABLY STEAL OUR WAY TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROADWAY, THROUGH THE TUNNEL, BUT HAVE LITTLE INTEREST IN THE ACTUAL LAKE, WHICH I THINK WAS ABOUT A FOOTBALL FIELD LENGTH, AWAY FROM LAKESHORE ROAD.
EVEN TODAY, I WILL STAND ALONE DOWN IN THE BOG, ACROSS FROM BIRCH HOLLOW, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, GETTING A SOAKER, AND MUDDY SOCKS, AND CHEERFULLY IMAGINE MYSELF BACK IN CHILDHOOD; WATCHING THE MINNOWS IN THE STILL POOLS OF RAMBLE CREEK; AND SOMETIMES IT'S TRUE, THAT I CAN HEAR RAY GREEN RUMMAGING THROUGH THE BRUSH, LOOKING FOR ANOTHER SMALL LOG, OF FALLEN FOREST, TO STRAP TO OUR RAFT, THAT BY THE WAY, WOULD FALL APART THE MOMENT WE TRIED TO SLIDE IT INTO THE WATER. THE WATERCOURSE ISN'T THE SAME AS RAMBLE CREEK, BUT IT'S THE SOUND OF THE TRICKLING WATER, THAT STIRS MY IMAGINATION. I NEED THIS WETLAND, JUST LIKE I NEEDED THE RAVINE OF RAMBLE CREEK, BACK THEN, AND BAMFORD'S WOODS, AFTER WE MOVED TO MUSKOKA IN THE MID 1960'S. I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE, TO LOSE THIS INTIMATE CONTACT WITH NATURE, THAT HAS BEEN SO MUCH A PART OF MY VERY EXISTENCE, FOR LONG AND LONG. I COULDN'T IMAGINE WORKING AS A WRITER, WITHOUT THIS FREQUENT IMMERSION, IN A VARIETY OF WILD PLACES, AND NATURAL CIRCUMSTANCES. I CAN'T CONTEMPLATE THE DIFFERENCES IN MY ATTITUDE, OF NOT HEARING THE BIRD-CALLS, THE CHATTER OF RESIDENT SQUIRRELS, THE CAWING OF VENERABLE OLD CROWS, HIGH IN THE TALL PINES, AND THE WHISPER OF WINDBLOWN FIELD GRASSES, WEAVING TOGETHER IN SONG, LIKE THE GENTLE, DELIGHTFUL STRUM OF A HARP. I WOULD FEEL DEPRIVED, IF I NO LONGER COULD HEAR THE WIND IN THE PINES, OR THE SOUND OF TINY, INVISIBLE CATARACTS, TUMBLING ALONG THROUGH THE SMALL DARK HOLLOWS OF MATTED GRASSES, AND FALLEN, DECAYING BIRCHES; IN AND AROUND THOSE CENTURY PINES, THAT CAME CRASHING TO THE GROUND DURING A SUMMER STORM. WHAT A GREAT LOSS NOT TO HEAR THE INHABITANT CRICKETS, OR SEE THE BUTTERFLIES BOBBING OVER THE LOWLAND; THE BEES BUZZING AROUND THE WILDFLOWERS, WITH A HUMMINGBIRD IN WAITING. THERE IS A HEART BEAT, AND SOUL, TO THESE WILD PLACES, THAT WE FAIL TO ACKNOWLEDGE, LET ALONE BENEFIT FROM, IN OUR HARRIED, STRESSFUL LIVES. IT IS THE VERY REASON THESE PLACES ARE CONSIDERED EXPENDABLE BY THESE SAME PEOPLE, WHO HAVE NEVER TAKEN THE TIME, TO ALLOW ITS MAGIC INTO THEIR LIVES.
I CAN REMEMBER ONE SUMMER DAY, QUITE A FEW YEARS BACK, ARRIVING EXHAUSTED AND HOT, AFTER A LONG DRIVE, UP TO THE TEA LAKE DAM, IN ALGONQUIN PARK, AND REFUSING SUZANNE'S INITIAL OFFER TO SET-OUT LUNCH; SO THAT FOR A FEW MOMENTS, I COULD SIT DOWN ON A ROCK, BY THE SOOTHING WATER FLOW OF TEA CREEK, OVER THE SMOOTH ROCKS, WHERE CANADIAN LANDSCAPE ARTIST, TOM THOMSON, ONCE USED TO STAND, TO FLY FISH BELOW THE DAM. FOR ABOUT A HALF HOUR, I SAT THERE, WHILE THE BOYS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, LOOKED FOR MINNOWS IN THE SHALLOW POOLS TRAPPED IN THE ROCKS; AND SUZANNE RESIDED AT A PICNIC BENCH, OVERLOOKING THE WATERFALL, KNITTING OUR WINTER SOCKS. I BECOME ENTRANCED, AND I BENEFIT FROM EVERY MOMENT IN THIS SELF IMPOSED EXILE, TO INSPIRING PLACES LIKE THIS. THE SOUND OF A TRICKLING CREEK, IS ALL I NEED, TO REMOVE MYSELF FROM THE STRESSES OF MODERN LIVING. THE INTRUSIVE REALITIES OF THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD, NOT GETTING ALONG, AND PERPETRATING TERRIBLE ACTS OF VIOLENCE, ON THEIR OWN NEIGHBORS.
I HAVE LONG POSSESSED A VERY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ABOUT NATURE, THAN EVEN MY OWN FAMILY; WHO DO OCCASIONALLY QUESTION MY INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR THESE HINTERLAND ESCAPES. I FIND IT ALL SO SPIRITED AND FULL OF MEANING, BEYOND WHAT MOST WOULD SEE AS TREES, ROCK, WATER, AND CREATURE INHABITANTS OF WILD PLACES. I READ IT, AS ONE WOULD SIT DOWN WITH A GOOD BOOK. I FIND MANY HIDDEN MESSAGES, AND SOURCES OF CREATIVE ENTERPRISE. I RETURN FROM THESE VISITS, FEELING AS IF I COULD WRITE A BOOK, ABOUT WHAT I'VE WITNESSED. THIS IS A GOOD THING. AT A TIME LIKE THIS, IT IS A PRECIOUS RESOURCE.
SINCE THE MID 1970'S, I HAVE USED THESE NATURE ESCAPES, AND WHAT I HAVE GARNERED FROM THEM, TO CULTIVATE THOUSANDS OF STORIES AND COLUMNS FOR THE LOCAL, AND REGIONAL MEDIA. THEY ARE NOT AS PROFOUND AS WHAT DAVID GRAYSON HAS LEFT US WITH, IN HIS "ADVENTURES IN CONTENTMENT," OR WHAT DAVID THOREAU WROTE, FROM HIS INSPIRATIONS, LIVING IN HIS TINY CABIN, SITUATED ON THE SHORE OF HISTORIC WALDEN POND. BUT UPON REFLECTION OF A LIFETIME'S WORK, I REALIZE NOW, THAT MY ABILITY TO WRITE ANYTHING OF MERIT, HAS HAD EVERYTHING TO DO, WITH MY OWN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE. I REMEMBER ONE PERIOD IN PARTICULAR, ABOUT A DOZEN YEARS AGO NOW, WHEN I WOULD WRITE FROM MY DESK ON THE VERANDAH, AND ACTUALLY FALL ASLEEP IN MY CHAIR; BECOMING A TRADITION, OF ACTUALLY CURLING UP ON AN OLD SOFA, AND SPENDING THE NIGHT. I MADE IT ONE YEAR RIGHT TO DECEMBER, BEING WRAPPED IN TWO SLEEPING BAGS AND A WOOL BLANKET. NOT BECAUSE MY WIFE KICKED ME OUT OF THE HOUSE, BUT THAT I NEEDED TO BE OUT THERE, TO EXPERIENCE MUSKOKA THROUGHOUT THE HOUS OF THE DAY. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC PERIODS OF MY LIFE, AND IT WAS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL, TO MY IMMERSION IN SOMETHING THAT GOT MY CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING. I NOW CAN LOOK BACK ON THIS CREATIVE PERIOD, AND RECOGNIZE THAT IT WAS BASED ON A LUSTFUL APPETITE, FOR MORE INSPIRATION, AND THE FACT, I HAD FINALLY SURRENDERED MY QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL; BECAUSE I HAD FOUND IT, AS I HAD WHEN I WAS A CHILD, IN THE BOSOM OF NATURE ITSELF. I CAN ONLY TRULY FEEL AT PEACE, WHEN I AM CLOSE TO WILD PLACES LIKE THE BOG; AND PICTURESQUE LANDSCAPES, LIKE THE LOCATION OF THE TEA LAKE DAM, IN ALGONQUIN PARK.
IT IS WHY I PURSUE THIS SEEMINGLY TIRESOME, WORN-OUT, FRAYED-AROUND-THE-EDGES, STORY-LINE, THAT PURPOSELY PARALLELS WASHINGTON IRVING'S TALES, OF THE HAUNTED HUDSON RIVER VALLEY. TO ME, MUSKOKA IS WITHOUT DOUBT, A HAUNTED, MYSTICAL LAKELAND, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE A THING TO DO WITH GHOST SHIPS, PHANTOM SAILORS, APPARITIONS, OR MANIFESTATIONS OF THE PARANORMAL. IT IS WHAT I HAVE FELT FROM THE BEGINNING OF OUR RELATIONSHIP. I HAVE NEVER BEEN LEFT UNFULFILLED IN ITS COMPANY.
WHEN I WRITE ABOUT THE SIMILARITIES OF THE MUSKOKA LAKELAND, TO WHAT WASHINGTON IRVING LOOKED OUT ON, IN HIS DAY, OF THE HISTORIC HUDSON RIVER VALLEY, IT IS A SINCERE OVERVIEW, BASED ON COMPARISONS OF TRADITIONS, LEGENDS, AND NATURAL ACTUALITIES. I HAVE COME TO LOOK UPON MUSKOKA IN THE SAME MANNER; AND I FIND IT VERY FULL OF DELIGHTFUL HAUNTINGS, MORE PRECIOUS THAN ANYTHING ELSE I HAVE BEEN EXPOSED AS A WRITER. IN SOME MINOR WAY, I FEEL THAT I HAVE ARRIVED AT A PLACE AND TIME, THAT I CAN MORE THOROUGHLY ENJOY ALL THAT THIS GENEROUS HINTERLAND HAS TO OFFER.
FOR THE PAST HOUR, I HAVE AGAIN POSITIONED MYSELF ON OUR VERANDAH, OVERLOOKING THE WILDFLOWERS OF THE BOG, AND FEELING VERY COMFORTABLE, LISTING TO THE AFTERNOON BREEZE RUSTLING THEM ALONG THE RIDGE ABOVE THE BASIN. I REMEMBER THE SAME CALMING SOUND, ON MY APPROACHES TO THE RAMBLE CREEK RAVINE HALF A CENTURY AGO.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING TODAY. I NEVER TAKE YOUR SUPPORT FOR GRANTED. PLEASE ACCEPT MY HUMBLE THANKS FOR YOUR DAILY VISITS.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
WHAT OF THE UNKOWN, FASCINATES YOU? OR IS EVERYTHING KNOWN AND UNDERSTOOD. CAN SCIENCE EXPLAIN EVERYTHING?
"IF GOWAN GILLMOR KNEW ALL THE CONSTELLATIONS, HE ALSO KNEW ALL THE PLANTS AND FLOWERS OF THE NORTH COUNTRY. HIS EYE FOR BEAUTY WAS VERY KEEN, AND HE COULD CLEVERLY ADAPT THESE THINGS IN ALL THEIR RANGE TO HIS SERMONS IN THE MOST VIVID TERMS. SURVIVORS OF THE CHILDREN OF THOSE DAYS, CAN WELL REMEMBER THE WAY IN WHICH NATURAL PHENOMENA, AND WILDLIFE WOULD CREEP INTO HIS DISCOURSES. AN ALBERTA LADY, ONCE OF GRAVENHURST, HAS TREASURED MEMORIES OF HIM IN HER CHILDHOOD. ESPECIALLY SHE RECALLS A SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS CONCERT WHICH HE OPENED WITH A MOST FASCINATING ACCOUNT OF HIS APPROACH TO TOWN, AT DUSK (AFTER MANY MILES TRAVELLING ON FOOT), THAT EVENING, AND SEEING THE 'EVENING STAR,' RISE OVER GULL LAKE, 'WITH FAIRIES ACCOMPANYING IT.' 'HE HELD US SPELLBOUND'."
THESE OBSERVATIONS ARE CONTAINED IN THE BOOK "GILLMOR OF ALGOMA - ARCHDEACON TRAMP," BY E. NEWTON WHITE. THESE OBSERVATION AS NOTED BY A FORMER STUDENT, WERE MADE EARLY IN THE 1900'S. WHAT'S INTERESTING, IS THAT THE ARCHDEACON REFERENCED "FAIRIES," TO CHARACTERIZE THE SPARKLING ENCHANTMENT THE EVENING STAR CAST DOWN TO EARTH. A BRILLIANT AND DEDICATED MAN, WHO HIKED ALL OVER THE DISTRICTS OF ALGOMA AND MUSKOKA, HE WASN'T ADVERSE TO REFERENCING THE SUPERNATURAL……AS WITH THE FAIRY-KIND. HERE WAS AN ANGLICAN MISSIONARY, GIVING CREDIT TO FAIRIES, WHERE GOD MOST DEFINITELY PLAYED A PART.
IF EVER ANYONE COULD ATTEST TO THE ENCHANTMENTS OF OUR REGION, IT WAS GOWAN GILLMOR. "MANY OF GOWAN'S TALES COULD ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS 'TALL.' HE JUSTIFIED HIS WAY OF DEALING WITH FACTS AT SUCH TIMES, BY SAYING THAT IF NOVELISTS AND POETS WERE RIGHT TO USE FICTION TO ENTERTAIN, OR INFORM, SO ALSO WAS HE. AND WE MIGHT ADD THAT LISTENERS, CHILDREN OR GROWN-UPS, WHO COULD NOT TELL HIS TRUTH FROM HIS FICTION, WERE TO SAY THE LEAST, ON THE GULLIBLE SIDE. HE NEVER MEANT TO DECEIVE ANYONE, BUT HE WAS KNOWN TO SAY THAT SOMETIMES HIS STORY-TELLING WAS SPOILT BY SOME PEOPLE'S EAGERNESS TO BELIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE," WRITES NEWTON-WHITE.
"SOME OF GOWAN'S BEST KNOWN STORIES ARE DIFFICULT TO RECOUNT AT SECOND HAND. THEY WERE TOLD ON SO MANY OCCASIONS TO MANY VARIETIES OF HEARERS - YOUNG, OLD, CRITICAL OR OTHERWISE; WITH THE NEED TO APPEAL TO AS MANY INDIVIDUALS AS POSSIBLE, AND THE POLITICAL NECESSITY OF NOT BEING TOO SPECIFIC AS TO LOCALITY. AS WITH ALL HIS TALES THEY DEPENDED GREATLY ON THE MATCHLESS GIFT OF A TRUE IRISH STORY TELLER. TAKE THE WOLF-STORY; AND WE MUST ADMIT AT ONCE THAT CANADIAN WOLF HISTORY AFFORDS BUT THE REMOTEST PRECEDENTS, EVEN IN ALL ITS VARIATIONS," NOTES THE BIOGRAPHER. "IN THE NORTHERN BUSH ON A COLD WINTER'S NIGHT, GOWAN WAS TRAVELLING ON SNOWSHOES AND FOUND THAT HE COULD NOT REACH HIS DESTINATION BEFORE VERY LATE. HE DECIDED TO LIGHT A FIRE AND SLEEP IN THE SNOW. BEFORE HIS FIRE WAS GOING HE HEARD THE DISTANT HOWL OF A WOLF, THEN ANOTHER AND ANOTHER. BEFORE LONG THE CRIES WERE COMING FROM ALL DIRECTIONS - AND CLOSING IN! SOON THEY WERE FORMING A FAIRLY CLOSE CIRCLE AROUND HIM. THEIR EYES AND FANGS AND SINISTER MOVEMENTS IN THE DARKNESS WOULD BE DESCRIBED WITH TELLING EFFECT. THEN A LARGE WOLF, EVIDENTLY THE LEADER (AND IRISH IT WOULD APPEAR), SLIPPED TO THE FRONT, EYED GOWAN VERY CLOSELY, SNIFFED, THEN WHEELED SUDDENLY TO THE OTHERS: 'OCH! THAT'S ONLY OLD GILLMOR! LET'S GO, B'YS,' AND THEY VANISHED. ONCE, IN A CHILD AUDIENCE, THE SUSPENSE OVER, A BRIGHT ONE ASKED, COULD HE NOT HAVE CLIMBED A TREE? BUT THAT WOULD NOT HAVE HELPED; THE WOLF-PACK KEPT A TRAINED BEAVER FOR JUST SUCH EMERGENCIES."
"ANOTHER STORY EXAMPLE CONCERNED A CORPSE; AND WAS NOT QUITE AS MACABRE AS IT SOUNDS. GOWAN WAS VISITING A LONELY SETTLEMENT IN THE BUSH; A PLACE UNKOWN TO HIM. HE HAD BEEN WALKING ALL DAY, AND WAS TIRED. AT DUSK HE CAME TO A DARK AND GLOOMY LOOKING HOUSE WHERE HE ASKED FOR SHELTER FOR THE NIGHT. THE MAN WHO CAME TO THE DOOR LOOKED WORRIED AT HIS REQUEST; AND CALLED TO HIS WIFE. THE TWO HAD A WHISPERED DISCUSSION, AND THEN THE MAN SAID GLUMLY, 'ALL RIGHT, YOU CAN STAY. BUT YOU WON'T LIKE YOUR ROOM.!' WHEN GOWAN WENT TO HIS ROOM LATER, HE FOUND IT BITTERLY COLD. LOWERING HIS VOICE HE WOULD SAY SOLEMNLY, 'AN' WHAT D'Y THINK WAS IN THAT ROOM? A DEAD BODY!' AT THIS HE WOULD PAUSE WHILE HIS LISTENERS WOULD GASP AND ASK HIM WHATEVER DID HE DO? 'WHY, I BLEW OUT MY LIGHT AND WENT TO SLEEP OF COURSE.' THEN, WITH ANOTHER PAUSE, TO LET IT ALL SINK IN, HE WOULD ADD IN A RELIEVED VOICE, 'IT WAS JUST A DEAD MOUSE Y'KNOW!' YEARS AFTER TELLING THIS YARN TO A SOMEWHAT IMPRESSIONABLE PERSON, SHE REMINDED HIM OF IT. BUT THE ARCHDEACON LOOKED GENUINELY HORRIFIED. 'OH,' SAID HE. 'I OUGHT NOT TO HAVE TOLD YOU THAT ONE."
NEWTON-WHITE ALSO NOTED, OF THE ARCHDEACON, ON ONE OF HIS MAJOR WALKING MISSIONS, HE WITNESSED "THAT INFREQUENT APPEARANCE TO EARTH OF HALLEY'S COMET, WHICH WAS THEN 'A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT." "THE REFERENCE TO THE COMET CAME AT THE TIME WHEN IN THE DIARY (HE KEPT) THERE BEGAN TO APPEAR SUNDRY NAMES AND NOTES OF THE STARS; SOME EVIDENTLY FOR SERMON USE. THE STARS HE SPOKE OF AS HIS FRIENDS, AND HIS PARTICULAR ONE WAS 'ARCTURIS.' IN WHIMSICAL IRISH, HE WOULD ASSERT THAT WHEN HE DIED ONE OF THEM WOULD BE HIS -AND WOULD ACTUALLY POINT OUT WHICH ONE."
IN THE EARLY SETTLEMENT YEARS, AND THE ONGOING DECADES THAT SAW HEAVY IMMIGRATION FROM OVERSEAS, THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA INHERITED A LOT OF "OLD COUNTRY" LORE, MORE THAN JUST REFERENCED BY THE BORROWED NAMES OF VILLAGES IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND, FOR LOCATIONS IN THE HOMESTEAD GRANT LANDS OF ONTARIO. AS WILL ARCHDEACON GOWAN GILLMOR, MUCH OR HIS IRISH BACKGROUND, OF LEGEND, LORE AND TRADITION, MADE ITS WAY TO OUR REGION…..AND AS YOU HAVE JUST READ, THESE STORIES WERE TOLD AND RE-TOLD IN HIS SERMONS, AND CONVERSATIONS FOR MANY DECADES. THE DIFFERENCE WAS THAT HIS IRISH BACKGROUND AND THE WORK HE WAS DOING IN MUSKOKA AND ALGOMA, MEANT THAT MANY OF THESE FOLK STORIES HAD OLD COUNTRY PATINA, IN A PIONEERING REGION OF A NEW LAND. THIS WAS JUST ONE MAN, SPEAKING TO HUNDREDS IN THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA. THERE WERE MANY OTHERS, WHO SIMILARLY SPREAD VERSIONS OF OLD LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS, AMONGST THE NEIGHBOR SETTLERS……WHO COULD WELL HAVE BEEN OF DIFFERENT CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS……ICELANDERS NEIGHBORS TO DANES, NORWEGIANS, SWEDES, IRISH, SCOTTISH, ENGLISH, DUTCH AND GERMAN. AND WHEN MARRIAGES OCCURRED BETWEEN THESE ETHNIC GROUPS, THE FOLK TALES AND SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS CHANGED AS WELL. OF COURSE, THIS WAS LIKE ANY PIONEER REGION IN THE COUNTRY, BUT IT BECAME CHARACTERISTIC OF LIFE IN OUR REGION IN THOSE FIRST FIFTY YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT. IF YOU WERE TO ADD THIS TO THE AMPLIFYING EDITORIAL PROMOTIONS, OF THE MUSKOKA DISTRICT, BEING PUBLISHED IN AMERICAN ADVENTURE BOOKS, LIKE "THE SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE," AMONGST MANY OTHERS, MUSKOKA WAS DEEMED AN ENCHANTED PLACE, LONG BEFORE GOWAN GILLMORE BEGAN WALKING THE TRAILS FROM OUR DISTRICT TO ALGOMA AND BACK…..AND SPINNING THOSE FASCINATING TALES OF LIFE IN THE WILDS.
"POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS ARE FAST FADING AWAY," WROTE WASHINGTON IRVING, IN HIS BOOK, "BRACEBRIDGE HALL," CIRCA 1822, IN A STORY TOLD BY THE FICTIONAL CHARACTER, GEOFFERY CRAYON, VISITING WITH SQUIRE BRACERBIDGE AND FAMILY, ON HIS ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE ESTATE. HE CLAIMED THIS WAS THE CASE, "OWING TO THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, AND THE BUILDING INTERCOURSE KEPT UP THROUGH THE COUNTRY; STILL THEY HAVE THEIR STRONG HOLDS AND LINGERING PLACES, AND A RETIRED NEIGHBORHOOD LIKE THIS IS APT TO BE ONE OF THEM. " IRVING HIMSELF, OF COURSE, WAS A DEFENDER OF THESE SUPERSTITIONS, AND OLD FOLK TALES, TRADITIONS AND LEGEND; IN ENGLAND AND AT HOME IN AMERICA, WHERE HE WORRIED THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITAIN, HAD ADVERSELY INFLUENCED MANY FROM THAT RICH CULTURAL ANCESTRY, TO ABANDON THESE PRECIOUS, TIME-HONORED FORMER BELIEFS, THAT HAD ROOTS MANY GENERATIONS DEEP. WHAT IRVING DID, SOMEWHAT LIKE THE LATER ARCHDEACON GOWAN GILLMOR, WAS TO EXPOSE THESE TIRED OLD TALES TO NEW PUBLIC SCRUTINY, TO SEE HOW A MODERN AUDIENCE WOULD REACT TO AN ANTIQUATED STORY. AS IRVING SOLD MANY BOOKS BECAUSE OF HIS PASSION TO PRESERVE FOLK HISTORY, THE ARCHDEACON EQUALLY HELD MANY LOCAL AUDIENCES SPELLBOUND, WITH STORIES ABOUT NATURAL ENCHANTMENTS HE HAD FOUND ON HIS TOWN TO VILLAGE HIKES….AND THE REMARKABLE STORIES HE HAD HEARD TRAVELLING HOUSE TO HOUSE, IN HIS FRIENDLY BID TO EXTEND PRAYER TO THOSE IN NEED.
WORKING AT THE HERALD-GAZETTE OFFICE, ONE DAY, I LOOKED UP FROM MY TYPEWRITER, TO SEE CANADIAN WRITER, SYLVIA DUVERNET STANDING AT THE CORNER OF MY DESK, WITH A COPY OF HER WELL KNOWN BOOK, ON THE MUSKOKA ASSEMBLY; A WRITER'S SUMMER COLONY BACK IN THE 1920'S AND 30'S, ON LAKE ROSSEAU'S TOBIN'S ISLAND. THE ASSEMBLY BROUGHT IN MANY OF THIS COUNTRY'S BEST KNOWN WRITERS, INCLUDING POETS AND NOVELISTS, AND MANY PHILOSOPHERS, WITH A KEEN FOCUS ON MODERN RELIGION. SYLVIA, THE MOTHER OF MY COLLEAGUE AND WRITING PARTNER, TIM DUVERNET, A MUSKOKA SUN PHOTOGRAPHER AT THE TIME, WAS AN EXPERT ON THE MUSKOKA ASSEMBLY, AND I HAD BEEN WORKING ON A FEATURE STORY ABOUT THE WRITER'S RETREAT, FOR ONE OF OUR PUBLICATIONS. SHE BROUGHT ME A COPY OF HER BOOK, WHICH I STILL HAVE, AND PROVIDED SOME INSIGHTS ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE TO MUSKOKA, OF ALL THESE WRITER-KIND BEING INSPIRED BY OUR ENCHANTED LAKELAND. I ASKED HER WHY SHE FELT MUSKOKA WAS SO ATTRACTIVE TO WRITERS, ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS IN PARTICULAR. WITHOUT EVEN MOMENTARY PAUSE, TO CONTEMPLATE MY QUESTION, OR WHAT COULD BE CONSIDERED EVEN A SLIGHT DELAY, IN A BUSY NEWSROOM FULL OF STRANGE GOINGS-ON, AND AS IF SHE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A QUESTION I WOULD ASK, SHE ANSWERED; "TED, AS YOU SHOULD KNOW, MUSKOKA IS A VERY SPIRITUAL PLACE ON EARTH." SHE ALSO EXPLAINED, THAT IT WAS MY MISSION TO FIND OUT WHY."YOU'RE A WRITER," SHE SAID. "YOU'LL FIND THIS OUT ON YOUR OWN QUEST; IT'S SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO DISCOVER YOURSELF, BY GETTING OUT THERE, AND BEING PART OF THE MUSKOKA EXPERIENCE." THAT WAS IN THE VERY EARLY 1980'S. I'VE FOLLOWED HER ADVICE EVER-SINCE, AND I DO BELIEVE HER ASSESSMENT WAS CORRECT. MUSKOKA IS A VERY SPIRITUAL PLACE IN ITS ALLURE…..AND I DO BELIEVE MANY HAVE FOUND THE SAME…..LIKE GOWAN GILLMOR, TRAVELLING THE MUSKOKA PATHWAYS FROM WELL BEFORE THE TURN OF THE 1900'S, OVER THE FOUR SEASONS…..FARMSTEAD TO SHANTY, LUMBER CAMP TO COMMUNITY HALL.
TOMORROW, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO WASHINGTON IRVING'S "STORM SHIP."
OUR FAMILY FRIEND, SYLVIA DUVERNET, RECENTLY PASSED AWAY. SHE WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT HER TIME SPENT IN MUSKOKA, AND WAS A PROLIFIC PROMOTER OF THE ENCHANTMENTS OF THIS BEAUTIFUL REGION ON EARTH. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE ADVICE SHE GAVE ME. I HAVE BEEN ON THE ODYSSEY OF DISCOVERY, SINCE SHE POINTED THE WAY. OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO THE DUVERNET FAMILY OF TORONTO AND PORT CARLING. SYLVIA WILL LONG BE REVERED AMONGST WRITERS IN MUSKOKA.
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