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MUNICIPAL ELECTION IN GRAVENHURST - WHAT HAVE WE BECOME, AS A DEMOCRACY, WHEN ELECTIONS AREN'T IMPORTANT?

NOT EXACTLY THE "WEST WING" IN EXCITEMENT AND POLITICAL ANYTHING; THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE TO WHAT SHOULD BE HAPPENING

     I HAVE BEEN FORCED TO MOVE WRITING LOCATIONS, FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES TODAY, AND IT'S ONLY THREE O'CLOCK. WE HAVE HAD QUITE A PARADE OF MUSICIANS WORKING IN, AND AROUND THE STUDIO, AND THEY DON'T FIND ME SUITABLE COMPANY TO THEIR CREATIVE ENTERPRISE. I GET IT! I FINALLY JUST DECIDED TO COME BACK HOME, TO BIRCH HOLLOW, AND WORK HERE ON THE VERANDAH. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL FOR THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES. THEN, DOWN THE ROAD, CAME THIS HONKING BIG TRUCK WITH AN ELEPHANT'S HOSE HANGING OUT OF ITS ARSE, AND WITHIN SECONDS, THE SUCKING DEVICE WAS DEPLOYED, THE HOSE DEEP IN THE SUBTERANIAN WORLD, WITH A SLURPING, SUCKING NOISE, THAT, IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR COMPARISONS, SOUNDED LIKE THAT OF A BADLY CONSTIPATED JET ENGINE. SEEING AS THERE IS NO OTHER PLACE TO RETREAT TO AT THIS MOMENT, I FIGURE THEY'LL SOON BE ABLE TO SUCK OUT ALL THE BAD STUFF; POSSIBLY, HOPEFULLY, WITHIN TWENTY MINUTES, WHEN I WILL ONCE AGAIN BE ABLE TO HEAR THE SOUNDS OF NATURE. BY THE LOOKS OF WHAT THEY'RE PULLING OFF THE TRUCK, HOSES AND STUFF, I'M EXPECTING IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO FIND SOMETHING POSITIVE, AMIDST THE DIN, TO CREATE SOMETHING READABLE FOR YOU FOLKS. AND DESPITE THE SUCKING AND SLURPING OF SAND AND GUNK, SOMETHING GOOD WILL COME OUT OF THIS, I'M SURE. WHAT THIS MOMENT, SOUNDS SO UNPLEASANT AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE BOG. I'M SURE IT IS A PREVENTATIVE MEASURE, TO KEEP THE RUN-OFF WATER FLOWING DOWN, AND ACROSS THE ROAD, INTO THE WETLAND; SO THUS, IT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY HANDLE HEAVY RAINFALL AND SPRING RUN-OFF, WITHOUT TEARING AWAY THE ROAD, OR THE FRONT OF OUR PROPERTY. THE CATS ARE HANGING OFF THE CEILING NOW, BUT THEY'LL BE FINE, ONCE THIS WILD-SOUNDING TRUCK MOVES OFF TO THE NEXT MANHOLE COVER DOWN THE ROAD.
     AS WE COME CLOSER TO THE CUT-OFF FOR CANDIDATES, WISHING TO ENTER THE UPCOMING MUNICIPAL ELECTION, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, THE ONLY WORD I CAN USE TO DESCRIBE THE EXCITEMENT BUILDING, IS, WELL, NON-EXISTENT. OR IS THAT TWO WORDS? IT'S PRETTY DISCOURAGING TO LOOK AT THE LOW TURN-OUT OF CANDIDATE HOPEFULS, AND I WON'T BEAT AROUND THE BUSH; I WAS KIND OF HOPING THERE WOULD BE MASSIVE RETIREMENT OF PRESENT COUNCILLORS. I CAN FIND LITTLE REASON, TO THROW ANY OF THEM MY SUPPORT AT THIS TIME. AS FOR SOME OF THE NEW CANDIDATES, THERE IS A LACK OF BIG NAMES THAT'S FOR SURE. BY BIG NAMES, I MEAN, THOSE HIGHER PROFILE FOLKS OF THIS TOWN, WHO COULD WHIP-UP A LITTLE EXCITEMENT BY BRINGING THEIR EXPERIENCE TO THE FOREFRONT, TO HELP LEAD OUR TOWN IN A NEW DIRECTION. I THINK "DIRECTION" IS THE OPERATIVE WORD HERE, BECAUSE FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, THE TOWN HAS BEEN CHASING ITS OWN TAIL, AND THE ONLY REAL EXCITEMENT THEY COULD HAVE COME UP WITH, IS IF THEY HAD ACTUALLY CAUGHT IT, AND THEN BITTEN IT OFF. THEY NEVER CAUGHT UP TO IT, BUT IT WAS FUN WATCHING THEM FAIL!
     I DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN BY THE CUT-OFF DATE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS THE 12TH OF SEPTEMBER. SO FAR, WE HAVE SEVERAL ACCLAMATIONS POSSIBLE, INCLUDING THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, AND THERE ARE TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT IT. EVERYONE SUPPORTS THE MAYOR, OR NO ONE REALLY CARES ANYMORE WHO WEARS THE MAYOR'S CHAIN. THERE ARE A LOT OF POLITICAL CRITICS OUT THERE, AND THEY DON'T MIND SHARING THEIR DISLIKE FOR COUNCIL, IN COFFEE SHOPS ALL OVER TOWN, BUT MOST WHO I SPEAK WITH, ARE STIFLED TO SILENCE, WHEN I ASK THEM POINT-BLANK, WHETHER THEY MIGHT BE WILLING TO RUN FOR A COUNCIL POSITION; YOU KNOW, TO PUT THEIR MONEY WHERE THEIR MOUTH IS! THIS IS WHAT I CALL A "CONVERSATION ENDER!" I HAVE APPROACHED QUITE A FEW CITIZENS, I HAVE FELT WOULD MAKE GOOD CITIZEN REPRESENTATIVES. ALL BUT ONE GAVE ME A CLEAR "NO THANK YOU," STATEMENT, IN RESPONSE. THE OTHER ONE IS A FENCE-SITTER. DON'T BLAME HIM. THERE'S A LOT TO THINK ABOUT. THE REASON I DON'T PURSUE IT, AND PESTER THE MAN INTO SIGNING ON TO THE ELECTION, IS THAT MY LUCK ISN'T THAT GOOD. HE COULD TURN OUT TO BE A DUD, AND CAUSE MAJOR CHAGRIN AT TOWN HALL, AND THEN I'D FEEL HORRIBLE ABOUT BEING HIS ADVOCATE. IT'S GOT TO BE A HEART-FELT COMMITMENT, TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY, THROUGH HELL AND BACK, AND LET PRIDE COVER WHAT THE PAY DOESN'T. WITHOUT QUESTION, THE PAY DOESN'T COVER THE AGGRAVATION THAT A COUNCIL POSITION CAN INSPIRE.
     THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS IN THIS TOWN, AND I'M SURE THIS PREVAILS IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES IN OUR DISTRICT, WHO WANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE AREAS, BUT HAVE FULL TIME JOBS, AND POSSIBLY, A RETIREMENT TO ENJOY. A DEDICATION OF FOUR YEARS IS HUGE. THE PROVINCE, IN THEIR INFINITE WISDOM, THOUGHT FOUR YEARS WAS A WORKABLE TERM. YOU KNOW, TO GET PROJECTS DONE. I SEE THEIR POINT, I JUST DON'T LIKE IT, AND MANY EXPERIENCED INDIVIDUALS ARE SCARED OFF BY THE TIME COMMITMENT FOR SMALL WAGES. THERE ARE MANY OF US, WHO RECOGNIZE, THAT UNLESS YOU HAVE A FULL-SCALE CHANGE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOUR IDEAS FOR CHANGE COULD HE REDUCED TO AUDIBLE HICCUPS, BECAUSE YOU'LL BE OUT-VOTED, AND OUT-MUSTERED, EVERY TIME YOU SPEAK YOUR MIND; OR WISH TO PUT FORWARD A PLAN OF ACTION. GOOD LUCK! UNLESS YOU BECOME A SUCK-UP, YOU WILL BE A LAME DUCK COUNCILLOR FOR THE ENTIRE TERM. A LIVE WIRE IS WHAT WE NEED, BUT IF THE STATUS QUO CONTINUES AT GRAVENHURST COUNCIL, HAVING A ROGUE COUNCILLOR, WHILE GREAT IN MY OPINION, WOULD BE SMOTHERED BY THE SAME-OLD, SAME OLD, AS WE HAVE SEEN OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS. THERE HAS TO BE A MAJORITY CHANGE ON COUNCIL, AND ONE POTENTIAL CANDIDATE SUGGESTED, TO ME, THAT IT IS ALMOST NECESSARY, FOR A GROUP OF LIKE-MINDED CANDIDATES, TO POOL THEIR RESOURCES, AND RUN AS A MINI-BLOCK, OR ACTION PARTY, IN ORDER TO WIN A MAJORITY OF THE COUNCIL SEATS. I AGREED THEN, AND NOW, AND FRANKLY, IT'S THE ONE MAJOR REASON THAT I CAN'T SEE THE POINT OF RUNNING FOR OFFICE MYSELF. IF I WAS ELECTED, AND THE REST OF COUNCIL STAYED MUCH AS IT IS TODAY, IT WOULD BE A HOLY DISASTER FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, BECAUSE I AM, BY NATURE, PROVOCATIVE, A LITTLE CONTROVERSIAL, AND I MAKE NO APOLOGY. I WOULD BE FIGHTING WITH THESE COUNCILLORS MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT, AND WITH ONE VOTE, THERE WOULD BE NO WAY I COULD DO ANYTHING MORE THAN EMBARRASS THEM, AND POSSIBLY MYSELF; AND I WOULD HAVE TO BE SATISFIED WITH PROVIDING SPEED-BUMPS BUT NOTHING TO CHANGE THE WAY THIS COUNCIL HAS BEEN OPERATING, (AS ALMOST A TRADITION OF STEADY-AS-SHE-GOES, WITHOUT GOING ANYWHERE IN PARTICULAR). THUS, I WOULD ONLY BE AFFECTIVE AS A CAMERA FRIENDLY COUNCILLOR, WHO WOULD GIVE PLENTY OF PHOTO-OPS TO LOCAL MEDIA, UNDOUBTEDLY, FINDING THAT IMAGES OF ME SLAMMING MY HEAD ONTO THE COUNCIL TABLE, WOULD MAKE NEAT FRONT PAGE INK; OR PULLING CLUMPS OF HAIR OUT, ARGUING POINTS OF VIEW, THAT I CAN TELL YOU, I WON'T SHARE WITH ANY ONE ON THE PRESENT COUNCIL. I COULD PROVIDE ANTICS AND AN UNSPECIFIED ABOUT OF HILARITY TO THE MEETINGS, AND POSSIBLY A DUST-UP WITH OTHER COUNCILLORS, (LIKE YOU SEE ON TELEVISION), TO GRAB A FEW HEADLINES; BUT AS FAR AS POLICY, AND WHAT I PERCEIVE AS BEING POSITIVE CHANGE, I WOULD BE OUT-VOTED INTO NOTHING MORE THAN A MEDIA STOOGE. THIS WILL BE THE CASE, UNLESS THERE IS A HUGE CHUNK OF THE PRESENT COUNCIL REPLACED, WHEN CITIZENS EXERCISE THEIR RIGHT TO FIX UP WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS BROKEN; TO ELECT CANDIDATES THEY FEEL BEST REPRESENT THEIR MUNICIPAL INTERESTS. IF STATUS QUO IS WHAT THEY WANT, WELL SIR, THEN THEY SHOULD FOLLOW THEIR CONSCIENCE. AT THIS POINT, I HAVE NO ONE TO VOTE FOR, PERIOD. AND THAT'S NOT BECAUSE THERE AREN'T CANDIDATES. WHAT WE DO HAVE, IS AN UNREMARKABLE ELECTION. THERE'S NOTHING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT, UNLESS, IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, SOMEONE THROWS THEIR HAT IN FOR THE TWO POTENTIAL ACCLAMATIONS, AND MAKES THIS AN ELECTION NOT A CORONATION.

WHAT'S AHEAD THIS TERM OF OFFICE

     The fate of the Muskoka Centre property, is going to arrive on council's doorstep, sometime in the coming four years. This will test the competence of each councillor, let me tell you, because this is one of the most valuable pieces of development property on the Muskoka Lakes. The challenges of working out a compatIble future use, will be politics right out of the "West Wing," as far as sensitivities and vulnerabilities go; because big money will enter the picture. The balancing act, to keep all parties on side, including the cottager associations, and the permanent population, will demand exceptional negotiation skills, on the part of the town and town council, in order to avoid a fiasco, like happened with the former Roseneath property, in Milford Bay; a lingering spat that drove a huge wedge between seasonal and permanent residents. This is going to be an epic development proposal for Gravenhurst, and frankly, we need more experience on council than we have at present. I'm not the only one sounding this alarm, and it's possibly one of the reasons, some fence-sitters, who would make good councillors, are holding back a tad, sensing this could turn out to be a turning point in local history. It has that kind of weight attached, and only a fool would minimize it, as normal council business. Frankly I'm surprised the cottage associations haven't tried to field a candidate or two, because it's a guarantee that the other side of the debate, will actually have council votes. From my years of experience, it's exactly what I'd recommend. I've been trying to think what kind of development would make all the municipal groups, and citizenry happy; a decision that will have positive spin-off for everyone concerned. It doesn't exist. It is the proverbial two headed serpent; the doubled edged sword. Even if it was designated as public park land, from one end to the other, there will be objections from someone, or some group, whether it's regarding boat traffic, road congestion, or taxpayer expense. This is a big deal in this town, and it has major implications for town council. So if present councillors, who are willing to take-on another term, feel this will be routine business, I dare say, they will be filled with regret when the first sparks fly, soon after the province decides to list the site, to fundraise against their deficit. My hunch is, folks, the province knows what this unloading of lakefront, could cause, when buyers with development plans, begin stepping up. I sort of suspect there are parties interested now, but that's for the investigative reporters to handle.
     I have no reason to believe, social services, and citizen welfare issues, are going to decline, especially now that food prices are escalating, and gas and oil expenses, are beating the last few nickels out of our pockets. I have never been truly satisfied that town councillors, were as up to speed on these issues, as they should be, but in the next four years, they should expect to be confronted with some major issues this way; because the only way the numbers are going to change, is if the poorest amongst us, decided to uproot, and move to another community. I predict we're going to see the number of financially challenged people to increase, and that's a direct result of price escalations everywhere else. What prices are going down? Will this coming winter be less severe, and cost less for oil, natural gas, and electricity? Will the price of meat go down? Rentals apartments? Will they become more affordable? Gas for your car? Insurance costs? Taxes? If you happened to be financially challenged now, there's little chance of recovery, without a major infusion of opportunity. As a realist, I can't see that we have that flood of opportunity headed our way, or any major reduction of costs anywhere. Up, up and away. So councillors will have to deal with poverty, and its implications, and from what I understand, the initial conundrum, will be collecting back taxes; which by the way, is a pretty accurate way of determining just how well we're doing as a home town, on the economic front. It's not possible, for councillors to dodge these social / economic realities. We'd all like to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but seeing one now, would mean you were delusional; especially looking at the short term improvements that would make it more comfortable and affordable to live here.
     I also believe, there are far too many citizens in this town, who have given up on town hall entirely. They don't care about town council. They don't even know who their council representative is, and what they do for their pay cheque. They don't care about who's mayor, deputy mayor, or who's playing right field. They don't ask anything of council, because they expect to be ignored, or sluffed-off as unimportant. Can't say I blame them. Over time, like a wound that heals over with slivers still in the flesh, most of us have just buried our disdain, and come to worry less about officialdom, and prefer working around what local governance has to offer in support, or to the contrary. They have come to disrespect council, as their representative body. They work at free enterprise, wishing to have as little to do with town hall as possible. Councillors would disbelieve this to be the case, because as a group, they seem content to paint the room in which they dwell, making themselves happy in a colored bliss. In other words, local governance, as it exists to day, for most citizens of this town, is irrelevant. Except garbage pick-up, conditions of the roads, and taxes. As far as leadership, and heralding progress, give me a break. There is nothing for us average folk to get excited about, and the town's propaganda, the result of their deluded thinking, is just wasted money, and wasted staff time. We believe what we see, not what they tell us is in our best interest. I have never seen a town so in-love with the art of propaganda, without having a clue how to pull it off, such that it would be even slightly believable.
     Pretty soon, there will be a notice published in the local media, about an upcoming all-candidates meeting, likely at the Opera House. No word about a sponsoring agency, but I have my suspicions it will be the same as four years ago. If history repeats, the citizens of this community, will have the opportunity to mail in their questions, to be vetted in the most undemocratic way possible, so that really tough ones, will be eliminated before any council-hopeful gets nervously befuddled at the microphone. Most likely, there will be no "open microphone," because organizers would suspect some radical citizen, might actually unleash a sensible, and relevant question, about local governance. Heaven forbid democracy should enter into a municipal election. What anarchy might be unleashed, by placing an open microphone, for constituent questions! Live.! From the floor! Every citizen eligible to vote, should boycott such a non-debate.
     Let me put it this way. Every single person running for municipal office, should withdraw from any such all candidates' meeting
that disallows questions from the floor. I will never attend an event again, that is supposed to be democratic, but denies freedom of speech, and access to candidates, in a democratic forum. Even if I was to decide to run for council, at the last minute, (you never know) I would not attend such a meeting, and yes, it would be in protest. Do you suppose the media could care less? I'd like to know this. Last time, the media had no interest whatsoever, and accepted this compromise of democracy, instead of running a front page editorial; as I would have in the same circumstance; and I would have been right for doing so. Will candidates refuse to participate in such an event, not welcoming uncensored questions from the audience? Not bloody likely. This should piss everyone off, who values democratic privilege. Think about the suffering in so many countries in this world, of citizens who would cherish the democratic privileges we have at our beck and call. So when it is denied, and freedom suppressed for no good reason, to me, it invalidates the entire election process. The only thing newsworthy or insightful after the all candidate meeting, afterall, is either at the discretion of the media, or with candidates who buy advertising to promote themselves.
     Who would you hire to run a mulit-million dollar corporation? Think about it, when you get your election ballots. Do we have the talent, and experience, in council hopefuls, at present, to successfully run our corporation? I don't feel comfortable at present, and certainly hope, that by time the final hour elapses, for council registration, that more qualified corporate leaders, put their names out there, for the benefit of our community.
     I have, to this point, opted out of registering, because I am not qualified, plain and simple, to run a multi-million dollar corporation, at least in a profitable way. I have no problem admitting this. I wish others could, instead of screwing up, and then blaming everyone and everything else for their failures. There are some however, who will never admit it, and we all will suffer as a direct result. This will be a hugely challenging four year term, and with over-budget issues hanging over our heads, we should be holding someone to account. Can you believe the town blames being over-budget in public works, on the heavy snowfall this past winter? For God's sake, we live in a region with a long history of brutal winters. A sensible plan, is to always over-budget for snow removal. The weather reality is, this is going to happen again soon. The taxpayer is going to pay for this under-estimation, one way or another. Shall we try the status quo thing for another four year term?
     Feel like you could lead us into the future? I'm always willing to share some insights, and back a worthy candidate, no matter what the position. We need a council that doesn't manufacture reasons for putting stop signs where they're not needed. We don't need Council being in the entertainment business, at the Opera House, when a board of directors would do a much better, more informed job. We don't need a council that waffles, and we sure as hell need to fully appreciate what money we're pissing away, with roof-work, because I don't think we're getting good value for our tax investment.
     But what we need most, are brave women and men to step forward, and text the taxpayers' resolve for change. You might be surprised at how an election can go from a snore-fest, to a full "broom-sweeping" celebration; out with the old, in with the new!
     Thanks so much for joining me today. It's great to have you along for the ride.


FROM THE ARCHIVES

Doctor Livingston I presume. Photo by Rob Currie

THE HAUNTED HUDSON RIVER VALLEY? THE HAUNTED MUSKOKA LAKELAND?

     I HAVE BEEN READING WASHINGTON IRVING'S FASCINATING TALE OF THE "STORM SHIP," OVER THE LAST FEW HOURS.....A FICTIONAL STORY ABOUT A TIME IN HISTORY, WHICH TOOK PLACE, SOMEWHERE ALONG THE HISTORIC HUDSON RIVER, WHERE MY ANCESTORS HAD SETTLED IN THE COMMUNITIES SPREAD OUT ALONG ITS SHORE. ON THE DUTCH SIDE OF MY FAMILY, THE VANDERVOORTS WERE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PROPERTY OWNERS ON THE EASTERN SEABOARD, AND WHEN THERE'S A FAMILY REUNION, WE NEED MORE THAN A FEW BOWLS OF POTATO SALAD AND COLESLAW. I THINK THEY WERE THE CITIZEN RESIDENTS OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, AS WELL. SUZANNE HAS DONE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH, AND SURE ENOUGH, MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE, WAS A CULTURAL LINK BETWEEN THE DUTCH AND GERMAN SETTLERS OF EARLY AMERICA. MAYBE IT'S WHAT HAS DRAWN ME TO THE WORK OF WASHINGTON IRVING FOR SO MANY YEARS NOW. I KNOW THAT WHEN I WAS FINISHED MY RESEARCH WORK, ON THE NAMING OF BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO, AFTER HIS BOOK, "BRACEBRIDGE HALL," I NEVER SHELVED MY IRVING BOOKS FOR LONG. I USE THEM ALL THE TIME, IN FACT, OFTEN FOR JUST READING ENTERTAINMENT. HE HAS MANY STORIES INVOLVING THE DUTCH SETTLERS......AND IT REMINDS ME OF THE GOOD OLD DAYS. I JUST WASN'T THERE TO GET THE FULL BENEFIT. IRVING LETS ME KNOW WHAT I MISSED. I KEEP TELLING SUZANNE THAT WE'RE GOING TO CRASH ONE OF THE FAMILY PARTIES ONE OF THESE DAYS. OF COURSE, THEY DON'T KNOW ME YET. THAT'S COMING.

     WASHINGTON IRVING WAS VERY FOND OF TRADITION AND ITS PRESERVATION, AND HE WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THE OLD FOLK STORIES FROM HIS AREA OF RESIDENCE.....AT SUNNYSIDE, NEW YORK. "THE STORM SHIP," IS ONE OF THOSE EXAMINATIONS OF FOLK TALES, PUT INTO A SHORT STORY, WITH A RICH HISTORIC TEXTURE......SO WELL WRITTEN, YOU CAN FEEL THE STORMY MIST THE SHIP SAILS THROUGH, WITH ITS CAST OF ODD DUTCH CHARACTERS MANNING THE SAILS. I WILL RE-VISIT THIS STORY IN COMING BLOGS, BECAUSE IT DOES RELATE TO WHAT MANY FOLKSTORIES CHARACTERIZE HERE IN MUSKOKA. JUST NOT WITH SCHOONERS. MORE SO WITH PHANTOM STEAMSHIPS, ROW BOATS AND CANOES. I'VE GOT ONE ABOUT THE PHANTOM RAILWAY EMPLOYEE, WHO WALKS ALONG THE TRACKS NEAR FALKENBURG, WITH A LIT LANTERN. THERE WAS AN EMPLOYEE KILLED ON THAT STRETCH EARLY IN THE 1900'S.

     I HAVE FOR LONG AND LONG, FOUND PARALLELS BETWEEN WHAT IRVING WROTE, BACK IN THE EARLY 1800'S, RELATED TO THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF NEW YORK AND THE HAUNTED HUDSON RIVER VALLEY, (LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW), AND MY OWN RESEARCH ABOUT THE FOLK TALES TOLD HERE SINCE PIONEER TIMES. WHILE VERY LITTLE WAS RECORDED, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO IRVING TO DOCUMENT AND RE-TELL THEM, FOR THE SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS SINCE. BUT I HAVE HEARD ENOUGH, TO ASSESS, THAT MUSKOKA MIGHT ALSO HAVE BEEN A WONDERFULLY RICH GARDEN TO HARVEST, IF ONE HAD THE INCLINATION TO WRITE A BOOK OR TWO. I'M WORKING ON IT, AT LEAST THE BEST I CAN, BUT IT IS A PROGRESSIVE THING, AFTERALL. WHAT EVENTUALLY HAPPENS, IS THAT FOLKS, WHEN READING THE PREAMBLES, WILL OFFER UP STORIES FROM THEIR FAMILIES, ABOUT LORE THAT HAD BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH THEIR FAMILIES......SOME OF IT WITH DISTINCT EUROPEAN ROOTS. THE EARLY HOMESTEADERS, YOU SEE, BROUGHT WITH THEM THEIR OWN CULTURAL SUPERSTITIONS, FOLK STORIES, VIEWS ON THE PARANORMAL, AND WHAT MAY BE CONSIDERED THE EXTRAORDINARY. THEY HAVE BEEN PASSED ON IN MANY FAMILIES, AND THEY WILL ONE DAY BE HARVESTED.....AND HOPEFULLY BY ME.

     WHILE VARIOUS GHOST STORY AUTHORS FOCUS ON PARTICULAR ENTITIES THAT HAUNT THE HOMES AND BUILDINGS OF OUR COMMUNITIES, I AM VERY MUCH OF THE OPINION, THAT THE BIGGEST HAUNT OF ALL, IS ALMOST TOTALLY NEGLECTED. AND THAT IS THE NATURE AROUND US.....OF WHICH, ADMITTEDLY, WE MOSTLY NOW (TODAY), ONLY KNOW WHAT THE BOTANISTS AND ECOLOGISTS TELL US. IN IRVING'S DAY, AND BY HIS OWN ADMISSION, THERE WAS A WORRY THAT SCIENCE WAS DESTROYING THE SECRET, HIDDEN WORLD OF "THE FANTASTIC." THAT THE BOTANIST, IN DISSECTING A FLOWER, AND KNOWING EVERYTHING ABOUT IT, WAS BY FACT, AND DETECTION, BASICALLY TRAMPLING THE CREATURES UNSEEN, AND UNKNOWN, THAT HAUNT NATURE DAY AND NIGHT. THE BOTANIST SAW NO HARD EVIDENCE OF FAIRY RINGS AFTER MOONLIGHT REVELS, AND WORRIED NOT ABOUT PHANTOMS, APPARITIONS, HOBGOBLINS, THE FAIRY-KIND, AND ASSORTED BANDY-LEGGED WEE BEASTIES, SAID TO EXIST WHEN NO MORTAL IS IN THE VICINITY.

     IF THERE IS ONE THING, ABOUT THE MODERN GENERATION, AND THE WAY OUR OFFSPRING ARE BEING EDUCATED, THAT WORRIES ME CONTINUALLY THESE DAYS, IT'S THE DIMINISHED FOCUS ON, AND STIMULATION OF IMAGINATION; WHICH FOR MANY YOUNGSTERS HAS BEEN STUNTED, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE APPRECIATION OF NATURE.....WHAT IS SEEN AND WHAT REMAINS UNSEEN......TO BE SPECULATED UPON, BASED ON KNOWLEDGE OF THE OLD TALES, AND TIME HONORED TRADITIONS. IN FACT, IN 1819, AND THEN IN 1822, WHEN WASHINGTON IRVING PUBLISHED HIS TWO INSTALLMENTS OF "THE SKETCH BOOK," THE SECOND IN THE FORM OF "BRACEBRIDGE HALL," IT WAS HIS ADMITTED WORRY, THAT THE TRADITIONS OF ENGLAND, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THOSE OF ENGLISH ANCESTRY IN AMERICA, WERE BEING SENSELESSLY ABANDONED, QUICKLY AND RECKLESSLY, AS IF THERE WAS NO CONSEQUENCE IN DOING SO.  THEY WERE CERTAINLY BEING ABANDONED IN A NEW LAND, AND IN THE FANNING OUT OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, THE BELIEF IN THE SUPERNATURAL SEEMED IRRELEVANT. IT WAS APPARENT TO IRVING THAT IT WAS A GREAT SHAME, TO DISMISS THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE CULTURAL NECESSITIES OF SOCIAL CHARACTER.....GENERATION TO GENERATION, AS WE SHOULD ALL BE PROUD OF OUR CONNECTEDNESS TO CULTURAL HERITAGE; ESPECIALLY ITS RELATIONSHIP TO NATURE.

     IN THE COMING WEEKS, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN THIS REGION, I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE A NEW EVALUATION FOR MUSKOKA........BASED ON SOME OF THE PARALLELS IRVING FOUND WITH THE HISTORIC HUDSON RIVER VALLEY. WHILE ITS SETTLEMENT HISTORY GOES BACK MUCH FURTHER, IT IS THE MAGIC AND ENCHANTMENTS OF THE REGION, WHERE I FIND THE RICHEST PARALLELS.....THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN THOROUGHLY EXAMINED BY CULTURAL HISTORIANS. I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT MUSKOKA, IN THIS FASHION, FOR THIRTY-FIVE YEARS, BUT THIS WILL MARK THE FIRST TIME, IN A SUCCESSION OF CHAPTERS (BLOGS); THAT WILL, HOPEFULLY, AT IT CONCLUSION, ARRIVE AT SOME SECURE STARTING POINT, FOR EVEN MORE AGGRESSIVE RESEARCH BY FUTURE HISTORIANS.....AND AUTHORS, WHO SEE MUSKOKA, AS I DO......AS A VERY INSPIRING, ENCHANTING AND HAUNTED PLACE ON EARTH. THOUSANDS OF ARTISTS AND WRITERS HAVE FOUND IT SO, SINCE THE MID 1850'S, AND AS FAR AS "STORM SHIPS," YOU'D BE SURPRISED WHAT FOLKS HAVE SEEN AND HEARD EMERGING FROM THE MUSKOKA FOG. MUCH MORE COMING.

Not so spooky encounters with those who have passed

One such instance of a possible spirit encounter that comes immediately to mind, involved my father-in-law on the eve of his passing.

My wife had been at the hospital in Bracebridge, Ontario for most of the sunny day in October, awaiting what was inevitable. Her father was slowly succumbing to a serious heart condition and it was a matter of hours before he was released from this mortal coil. I was looking after our young lads here at our Gravenhurst home, sitting out on the deck looking over the beautiful woodlands we call The Bog. We were talking about their grandfather's circumstance when all of a sudden a small brass bell (which had once hung on the verandah of the family cottage on Lake Rosseau), rang everso lightly. We all heard the faint ping of brass but there was no one standing close by or any chance it was accidentally hit. I have no recollection why I said it aloud or why I related it to the ring of a bell but I whispered immediately to the boys, "Your grandfather has just died." In less than five minutes the phone rang and it was Suzanne calling to let us know her dad had passed. Coincidence? The work of the spirit world? A message from the deceased? Or just the tieing together of what we find convenient, wishful truths at that precise moment. It makes it a tidy bit of legend when we credit such things with paranormal intervention, when in fact it could have been a bug bouncing off the bell, at around the time my father-in-law succumbed. Still, keeping this story in mind as you read on, you will find many other stories that happen in a similar unanticipated, unexpected, quite impromtu way that seems a tad more than mere coincidence. Do these things happen to us because we're open to possibility? I think the messages are received, as John Edward, the well known medium has maintained, when we validate that those who have passed can communicate with the living. We have always been receptive but we don't spend our time questing out spirits from their eternal peace. They find us when they feel so inclined. And we pay attention, let me tell you.

It may just be a word, a sensation, aroma in a room, a reaction to a piece of music or a scene outdoors that often reminds us of days with loved ones now passed. Usually we are reminded of some incident that occurred, vividly recalling the time and place, and we often pause and ponder whether there is a subtle message within. Was it just a sentimental moment? Or did someone on the other side feel compelled to remind us of a commitment we once made, or a promise yet to be fulfilled. As one example, I was sitting in the yard one afternoon in the fall of 2007, when all of a sudden I said to Suzanne "Witch Hazel." "I have no idea why this came to my mind......does it ring a bell with you?" She didn't have an immediate answer but the more we thought about it, many suggestions were made about where this would have come up in our respective lives. While there was no conclusion it did make us talk about the old days of Suzanne's family in the Ufford and Windermere area of Muskoka.....dating back as far as the 1870's family homestead. Was it a mission inspired by the other side to link us with some important detail we needed to know? We have no idea to this day but every now and again the plant name will pop up as if to remind us to keep up the quest.

I probably validate the spirit-kind more than most people I suppose, and I frequently will make some one-way chatter with old chums of mine, when I'm suddenly reminded of their unretiring characters. If I'm looking for an old book I need for some research project, I may seek the help of my old book collecting buddy, David Brown, ( I wrote his biography following his death in the mid 1990's), and on many, many occasions, possibly a few days later, I will eventually find the book I was looking for. Rather than making adament claims that "No of course, Brownie couldn't possibly have helped me from the spirit-world," I just take the book and thank Dave as if he was fully responsible. Reminds me of the old anecdote about the woman who complained to a friend that her mentally stressed son thought he was a chicken, and when the friend said that she should tell him bluntly he was to cease the nonsense, the mother replied, "I would but we need the eggs." If Dave Brown can help me find a book I need, because that was his specialty amongst the living, well folks, I'm going to chatter away and take what breaks are afforded me. That's pretty much the slant of this series of blogs on ghosts and spirit-kind I have encountered. It's not to convince you that ghosts exist but rather to explain why we, the Curries, have been able to walk so freely, happily and communicative amongst them for all these years. We're not mediums and we've never been to a seance. We do read a lot of books about ghosts and the paranormal but I couldn't even quote you one line that convinced me of ghost/paranormal existence.

Much of it goes back to having parents that refused to quash expectation, and who nurtured free thought and unrestricted privilege to challenge anything we felt was mired in doubt, inaccuracy and complacency from counter-point. Suzanne's parents and mine never once discouraged us from full investigation, and in fact, gave us the moral courage to take giant steps where others chose modest proportion, and caution every step of the way. We celebrated fantasy as we embraced freedom, and it made us cunning investigators, who might well have squeezed through the small door that opened to Alice's Wonderland, or snuck in line to get the first enchanted step along the yellow brick road (ahead of Dorothy) on the way toward Oz. And if we had come upon the midnight revel of the wee fairies in these enchanted Muskoka woodlands, we would have instinctively and by knowledge known, to watch only in silence, respectful of the full rights and privilege of legend and lore.

My favorite author, Washington Irving, once wrote that he was disappointed that science was dissecting all the fantasy from the world, into only what could be precisely identified, documented and thusly and finally attributed to the life of individual species. Irving thought that it would be a terrible corruption to those traditions and fantasies, if mankind was to give up on things like fairies and the existence of other enchanted wee beasties that emerge occasionally from the mist of such haunted places as dark, historic woodlands; from beneath rickety old bridges, and deep caverns in the rock grandeur of moss covered hillsides. Science, he thought, should not be the only source for information, and it certainly must not be the initiative to abandon expectation and fantasy, or believe for one moment that there are no such things as phantom sailing ships on the Hudson River, or a headless horseman who seeks the noggins of unsuspecting weak-willed mortals. He thought enchantments had their place in this world, and I have taken his advisory to heart all these years, and have never been disappointed in the immersion and fantasy, I have been privileged to experience......by being open to possibility, and believing as an eternal child, that the universe is a very fascinating, dynamic place afforded to mortals in which to dwell.