GHOSTS IN THE CLOSET

WORKING WITH GHOSTS A GOOD DIVERSION FROM POLITICS AND TOWN FOLLIES

- SON ROBERT BOUGHT ME A GOOD BOOK - REMIND ME WHY I WRITE AT ALL!!!

When I graduated university, in Toronto, I eagerly returned home to Bracebridge, determined to spend the rest of my life in Muskoka. It was the only real mission-statement I’d anchored to, by that point, and as far as career, well, that was yet to be determined. I had a degree in Canadian history, which qualified me for nothing more than self-admiration, and bragging rights with school chums, hunkered down at the local tavern......talking about great expectations. We all had big dreams that’s for sure, and a big thirst. I drank like my hero Paul Rimstead, columnist with the Toronto Sun, and fellow hometowner. He and his sister had launched the famous Beatrice Bugle, as young adults, up near Falkenburg, north of Bracebridge, and Paul became a model for many local writers in waiting. I sort of figured the more I drank, the greater the likelihood my early free-lance submissions, to the local press, would reflect that sage aura of great wisdom...... of being old before one’s time.

Staying in Muskoka, wishing to work in the hinterland of Ontario, cost me my long-time local girlfriend, Gail, who adored her new life in Toronto. That and the fact I was a horse’s arse as a mate, and I over-drank, played too hard, was reckless and insensitive, and was pursuing a career that would destine me, and all who joined me, to endless misery and poverty. Gail was wrong about the misery. She was right to dump a guy like me. I’d have done the same thing but I was the bloke in question. I divorced myself many times in my mind, let me tell you. But the saving grace for me, was in the architectural embrace of an old mainstreet house, in Bracebridge, built by a doctor whose work for the region, I had greatly admired. I moved into the former house and medical office, built by Dr. Peter McGibbon, which looked out over Bracebridge’s picturesque Memorial Park, and the glowing marquis of the Norwood Theatre. To my left, when I stood out on the small balcony, over the front entrance, was the bell tower of the St. Thomas Anglican Church. One block over was Bracebridge Public School and Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, both places contributing to my budding Muskoka appetite for knowledge. Afterall I did become a Bracebridge and Muskoka historian. In fact, the first, however small, meeting of the Bracebridge Historical Society, was held in Dr. McGibbon’s attic.....the place where I would write and write and write. It was the place I would also fill a thousand waste baskets with copy-paper that had two lines of print on them. As a fledgling writer, in a truly neat house, in a great location, I suffered greatly from writer’s stalemate. It would eventually end but the hours of frustration, staring at that huge white page in the typewriter carriage, very nearly drove me to quit altogether. Some folks might say.......and this would be unfortunate because?

This winter I ran into a similar period of inspirational shortfall. I don’t like writing mad, and I despise politics, and by general mis-adventure, I’d got caught up in last fall’s municipal election, working as an editorial / policy advisor for a local mayoral candidate. Made a mistake. Got so worked up I became unceremoniously addicted. The only way out of it was to force myself back into the realm of “my good old days,” writing about anything else......and I mean anything. I even wrote fiction.....which I despise, but to soften it, it was closely biographical. You can read this tome on the Haunted Muskoka site. This has happened before, so I began four other blog-sites as a means of letting off pent-up frustration. I can jump from blog to blog when the need for diversion dictates.

I have one entitled Muskoka as Walden (where I write my landscape pieces), a take off on Thoreau’s “Walden Pond,” and another about the Nature of Muskoka. I have one on historic cookery, believe it or not (on the hobby of collecting handwritten recipes), this one about Gravenhurst for the most part, and one on the Ghosts of Algonquin and Muskoka. I’ve been writing about ghosts for many years now, encouraged by my friend John Robert Colombo, one of Canada’s revered paranormal researchers, and the writer of many, many books on Canadian themes. After I’d contributed to one of John’s books in the 1990's, he suggested I begin to document my own collection of paranormal encounters. He agreed to write the opening column about Muskoka ghosts, for a lengthy series of feature columns I was preparing for The Muskoka Sun. So several years ago, feeling the need to write about something other than politics and current events, I started a biographical mission to properly record all our family’s encounters with the spirit-kind since the 1960's. As John had suggested, many years earlier, it can be an amazing experience, just jotting these stories down.....and he was quite right.

Son Robert, while on a recent business trip to Ottawa, with brother Andrew, found a copy of John’s 1999 book, “Mysteries of Ontario,” and because it had a picture of old dad, on page 53, he decided to buy it for the family archives. I had submitted information about my years living at the McGibbon House, and some of the paranormal encounters experienced during my years as writer-in-residence. It was haunted by kindly spirits. We have numerous copies of Barbara Smith’s book, of Ghost Stories of Ontario, from about the same period, that contains two of our family stories from two houses we had formerly dwelled. They’re not scary ghost stories but ones that were very real to us at the time. Son Andrew factors into one of the stories, of a wayward child, we named Herbie, who made late night visitations to his room at our Golden Beach bungalow.

I was pleased to get this copy of John’s book, which can still be found in bookstores, and online from vintage book dealers....Advanced Book Exchange, for example. I loaned out my signed first edition to another ghost hunter, and never got it back. Maybe one day.

If you have an interest in the paranormal, or in cookery heritage, what Walden Pond and Muskoka have in common, I’d be delighted to share my other blog sites. As for the McGibbon House, I will always hold a special place in my heart, for the house that gave me a lifetime in my chose profession. The haunting was a bonus.

Now my haunt.....and it is certainly a haunted abode with characters like the Curries, is Birch Hollow, in Gravenhurst......a place we are all glad to be!

WORKING WITH GHOSTS A GOOD DIVERSION FROM POLITICS AND TOWN FOLLIES

- SON ROBERT BOUGHT ME A GOOD BOOK - REMIND ME WHY I WRITE AT ALL!!!

When I graduated university, in Toronto, I eagerly returned home to Bracebridge, determined to spend the rest of my life in Muskoka. It was the only real mission-statement I’d anchored to, by that point, and as far as career, well, that was yet to be determined. I had a degree in Canadian history, which qualified me for nothing more than self-admiration, and bragging rights with school chums, hunkered down at the local tavern......talking about great expectations. We all had big dreams that’s for sure, and a big thirst. I drank like my hero Paul Rimstead, columnist with the Toronto Sun, and fellow hometowner. He and his sister had launched the famous Beatrice Bugle, as young adults, up near Falkenburg, north of Bracebridge, and Paul became a model for many local writers in waiting. I sort of figured the more I drank, the greater the likelihood my early free-lance submissions, to the local press, would reflect that sage aura of great wisdom...... of being old before one’s time.

Staying in Muskoka, wishing to work in the hinterland of Ontario, cost me my long-time local girlfriend, Gail, who adored her new life in Toronto. That and the fact I was a horse’s arse as a mate, and I over-drank, played too hard, was reckless and insensitive, and was pursuing a career that would destine me, and all who joined me, to endless misery and poverty. Gail was wrong about the misery. She was right to dump a guy like me. I’d have done the same thing but I was the bloke in question. I divorced myself many times in my mind, let me tell you. But the saving grace for me, was in the architectural embrace of an old mainstreet house, in Bracebridge, built by a doctor whose work for the region, I had greatly admired. I moved into the former house and medical office, built by Dr. Peter McGibbon, which looked out over Bracebridge’s picturesque Memorial Park, and the glowing marquis of the Norwood Theatre. To my left, when I stood out on the small balcony, over the front entrance, was the bell tower of the St. Thomas Anglican Church. One block over was Bracebridge Public School and Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, both places contributing to my budding Muskoka appetite for knowledge. Afterall I did become a Bracebridge and Muskoka historian. In fact, the first, however small, meeting of the Bracebridge Historical Society, was held in Dr. McGibbon’s attic.....the place where I would write and write and write. It was the place I would also fill a thousand waste baskets with copy-paper that had two lines of print on them. As a fledgling writer, in a truly neat house, in a great location, I suffered greatly from writer’s stalemate. It would eventually end but the hours of frustration, staring at that huge white page in the typewriter carriage, very nearly drove me to quit altogether. Some folks might say.......and this would be unfortunate because?

This winter I ran into a similar period of inspirational shortfall. I don’t like writing mad, and I despise politics, and by general mis-adventure, I’d got caught up in last fall’s municipal election, working as an editorial / policy advisor for a local mayoral candidate. Made a mistake. Got so worked up I became unceremoniously addicted. The only way out of it was to force myself back into the realm of “my good old days,” writing about anything else......and I mean anything. I even wrote fiction.....which I despise, but to soften it, it was closely biographical. You can read this tome on the Haunted Muskoka site. This has happened before, so I began four other blog-sites as a means of letting off pent-up frustration. I can jump from blog to blog when the need for diversion dictates.

I have one entitled Muskoka as Walden (where I write my landscape pieces), a take off on Thoreau’s “Walden Pond,” and another about the Nature of Muskoka. I have one on historic cookery, believe it or not (on the hobby of collecting handwritten recipes), this one about Gravenhurst for the most part, and one on the Ghosts of Algonquin and Muskoka. I’ve been writing about ghosts for many years now, encouraged by my friend John Robert Colombo, one of Canada’s revered paranormal researchers, and the writer of many, many books on Canadian themes. After I’d contributed to one of John’s books in the 1990's, he suggested I begin to document my own collection of paranormal encounters. He agreed to write the opening column about Muskoka ghosts, for a lengthy series of feature columns I was preparing for The Muskoka Sun. So several years ago, feeling the need to write about something other than politics and current events, I started a biographical mission to properly record all our family’s encounters with the spirit-kind since the 1960's. As John had suggested, many years earlier, it can be an amazing experience, just jotting these stories down.....and he was quite right.

Son Robert, while on a recent business trip to Ottawa, with brother Andrew, found a copy of John’s 1999 book, “Mysteries of Ontario,” and because it had a picture of old dad, on page 53, he decided to buy it for the family archives. I had submitted information about my years living at the McGibbon House, and some of the paranormal encounters experienced during my years as writer-in-residence. It was haunted by kindly spirits. We have numerous copies of Barbara Smith’s book, of Ghost Stories of Ontario, from about the same period, that contains two of our family stories from two houses we had formerly dwelled. They’re not scary ghost stories but ones that were very real to us at the time. Son Andrew factors into one of the stories, of a wayward child, we named Herbie, who made late night visitations to his room at our Golden Beach bungalow.

I was pleased to get this copy of John’s book, which can still be found in bookstores, and online from vintage book dealers....Advanced Book Exchange, for example. I loaned out my signed first edition to another ghost hunter, and never got it back. Maybe one day.

If you have an interest in the paranormal, or in cookery heritage, what Walden Pond and Muskoka have in common, I’d be delighted to share my other blog sites. As for the McGibbon House, I will always hold a special place in my heart, for the house that gave me a lifetime in my chose profession. The haunting was a bonus.

Now my haunt.....and it is certainly a haunted abode with characters like the Curries, is Birch Hollow, in Gravenhurst......a place we are all glad to be!

WORKING WITH GHOSTS A GOOD DIVERSION FROM POLITICS AND TOWN FOLLIES

- SON ROBERT BOUGHT ME A GOOD BOOK - REMIND ME WHY I WRITE AT ALL!!!

When I graduated university, in Toronto, I eagerly returned home to Bracebridge, determined to spend the rest of my life in Muskoka. It was the only real mission-statement I’d anchored to, by that point, and as far as career, well, that was yet to be determined. I had a degree in Canadian history, which qualified me for nothing more than self-admiration, and bragging rights with school chums, hunkered down at the local tavern......talking about great expectations. We all had big dreams that’s for sure, and a big thirst. I drank like my hero Paul Rimstead, columnist with the Toronto Sun, and fellow hometowner. He and his sister had launched the famous Beatrice Bugle, as young adults, up near Falkenburg, north of Bracebridge, and Paul became a model for many local writers in waiting. I sort of figured the more I drank, the greater the likelihood my early free-lance submissions, to the local press, would reflect that sage aura of great wisdom...... of being old before one’s time.

Staying in Muskoka, wishing to work in the hinterland of Ontario, cost me my long-time local girlfriend, Gail, who adored her new life in Toronto. That and the fact I was a horse’s arse as a mate, and I over-drank, played too hard, was reckless and insensitive, and was pursuing a career that would destine me, and all who joined me, to endless misery and poverty. Gail was wrong about the misery. She was right to dump a guy like me. I’d have done the same thing but I was the bloke in question. I divorced myself many times in my mind, let me tell you. But the saving grace for me, was in the architectural embrace of an old mainstreet house, in Bracebridge, built by a doctor whose work for the region, I had greatly admired. I moved into the former house and medical office, built by Dr. Peter McGibbon, which looked out over Bracebridge’s picturesque Memorial Park, and the glowing marquis of the Norwood Theatre. To my left, when I stood out on the small balcony, over the front entrance, was the bell tower of the St. Thomas Anglican Church. One block over was Bracebridge Public School and Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, both places contributing to my budding Muskoka appetite for knowledge. Afterall I did become a Bracebridge and Muskoka historian. In fact, the first, however small, meeting of the Bracebridge Historical Society, was held in Dr. McGibbon’s attic.....the place where I would write and write and write. It was the place I would also fill a thousand waste baskets with copy-paper that had two lines of print on them. As a fledgling writer, in a truly neat house, in a great location, I suffered greatly from writer’s stalemate. It would eventually end but the hours of frustration, staring at that huge white page in the typewriter carriage, very nearly drove me to quit altogether. Some folks might say.......and this would be unfortunate because?

This winter I ran into a similar period of inspirational shortfall. I don’t like writing mad, and I despise politics, and by general mis-adventure, I’d got caught up in last fall’s municipal election, working as an editorial / policy advisor for a local mayoral candidate. Made a mistake. Got so worked up I became unceremoniously addicted. The only way out of it was to force myself back into the realm of “my good old days,” writing about anything else......and I mean anything. I even wrote fiction.....which I despise, but to soften it, it was closely biographical. You can read this tome on the Haunted Muskoka site. This has happened before, so I began four other blog-sites as a means of letting off pent-up frustration. I can jump from blog to blog when the need for diversion dictates.

I have one entitled Muskoka as Walden (where I write my landscape pieces), a take off on Thoreau’s “Walden Pond,” and another about the Nature of Muskoka. I have one on historic cookery, believe it or not (on the hobby of collecting handwritten recipes), this one about Gravenhurst for the most part, and one on the Ghosts of Algonquin and Muskoka. I’ve been writing about ghosts for many years now, encouraged by my friend John Robert Colombo, one of Canada’s revered paranormal researchers, and the writer of many, many books on Canadian themes. After I’d contributed to one of John’s books in the 1990's, he suggested I begin to document my own collection of paranormal encounters. He agreed to write the opening column about Muskoka ghosts, for a lengthy series of feature columns I was preparing for The Muskoka Sun. So several years ago, feeling the need to write about something other than politics and current events, I started a biographical mission to properly record all our family’s encounters with the spirit-kind since the 1960's. As John had suggested, many years earlier, it can be an amazing experience, just jotting these stories down.....and he was quite right.

Son Robert, while on a recent business trip to Ottawa, with brother Andrew, found a copy of John’s 1999 book, “Mysteries of Ontario,” and because it had a picture of old dad, on page 53, he decided to buy it for the family archives. I had submitted information about my years living at the McGibbon House, and some of the paranormal encounters experienced during my years as writer-in-residence. It was haunted by kindly spirits. We have numerous copies of Barbara Smith’s book, of Ghost Stories of Ontario, from about the same period, that contains two of our family stories from two houses we had formerly dwelled. They’re not scary ghost stories but ones that were very real to us at the time. Son Andrew factors into one of the stories, of a wayward child, we named Herbie, who made late night visitations to his room at our Golden Beach bungalow.

I was pleased to get this copy of John’s book, which can still be found in bookstores, and online from vintage book dealers....Advanced Book Exchange, for example. I loaned out my signed first edition to another ghost hunter, and never got it back. Maybe one day.

If you have an interest in the paranormal, or in cookery heritage, what Walden Pond and Muskoka have in common, I’d be delighted to share my other blog sites. As for the McGibbon House, I will always hold a special place in my heart, for the house that gave me a lifetime in my chose profession. The haunting was a bonus.

Now my haunt.....and it is certainly a haunted abode with characters like the Curries, is Birch Hollow, in Gravenhurst......a place we are all glad to be!

A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT - OF PEOPLE POWER - A TOWN RE-CONCILIATION - IT’S A START - EVIDENCE OF MAKING THE BEST OF IT

Just a bit of providential harking but I nearly got hit by lightning first thing this morning, while out on an amble through The Bog. Jesus, it just came out of an otherwise harmless looking sky. No storm, no warning, just a beautiful misty rain over Gravenhurst. I haven’t run in twenty years but I’ve proven what willpower and a keen sense of self preservation can muster from a pile of old bones and sagging muscles.

I just moments ago, started banging my hairless head onto the computer table, after a brief power-outage swallowed all my morning copy. I survived the near lightning hit, and son Robert was able to recover my copy. I was either supposed to write this editorial or was warned not to by forces beyond, but before something else tries to take me out, here’s a little opinion-piece about a group I’m usually at odds with! Just as a humorous anecdote to a weird atmospheric day, the computer went down again, and when the tears and screaming didn’t fix it for me, Robert once more came to the rescue. I’m not computer literate you see. I just play with this keyboard. Let’s get on with the story Currie.

This morning the section of Muskoka Road, that has been closed due to the unfortunate confluence of road construction, and the recent structure fire that damaged three buildings (two may be hauled down), is being paved, apparently re-surfaced for the benefit of the walking public, if not vehicular traffic. A street mall as a trial? Seems like a good idea! An idea emerging from the chaos of construction and a frightening conflagration.

Point is, the members of the BIA, and those intimately connected to the block-in-limbo situation, made a strong argument, via a bold and compelling on-site protest this week, that with the hardships already endured by the hard-hit zone, the balance of restorative work beneath the surface of the road, should be delayed until later this year. Allowing merchants, adversely affected by both fire and construction, and the closure of the road due to the dangerous architectural state of the remaining buildings, an opportunity to find some commercial saving-grace to prepare for a summer season getting precariously close. With no strict schedule so far, as to when the work on the two remaining buildings will commence, whether a rebuilding project or outright demolition, the road closure was becoming a financial disaster after the fact.

I don’t often agree with the BIA administration, and frankly they wouldn’t think it was important either way, but this latest foray does compel me to credit this particular effort. You can’t help but be inspired by the fact they ruffled feathers, made some demands, (rightly so), and have achieved in this town what some would have believed impossible. They may get a chance to play around with what they have been interested in for years, having a street mall closed to vehicle traffic. I don’t know if this is the full intent but at least in the meantime, it’s a worthwhile experiment for main street business enhancement. And it has generated forth from a rather disastrous situation. As for the town and district going along with this.....it shows, if I’m not being too presumptuous, that negotiation and sensible proportion are still out there in full vigor. It’s not a great situation but for what they have suffered already, from being in a closed zone, they deserve to get whatever breaks they can get right now, on the hair’s breadth of the summer season......which afterall officially begins on the Victoria Day weekend.

Presenting a compelling, forceful and yet sensibly balanced argument, for the immediate re-paving of this section of main street, shows the kind of business moxie we can all benefit from.....and despite the history of bickering and nit-picking from one end of the street to the other, something exciting has emerged from the rubble of discontent. “We’re mad as hell....and we’re not going to take this any more!” When applied in the right way.....and timing has a lot to do with it, positive change arises like a glorious phoenix........and that’s what this humble scribe saw after sunrise, manifesting in his home town. It’s the kind of evidence that shows us all, including the town, that there is a point where necessity and opportunity outweigh the methods and politeness of gentle, formal protocol. We’ve all tried that, and at best it’s usually a poor, slowly achieved, half-outcome, making us feel we got something..... but not much for our efforts. After seeing how this situation has been resolved, at least temporarily, I’m beginning to think we’re going gonzo here, in this conflicted burg, just south of the 45th parallel of latitude. Citizens and business-folks now seem quite prepared to deal with the challenge of straightening up this present mess at town hall. And they’ve certainly commanded the attention of town hall. They’ve made demands, and seen at least some positive resolution. Protest may be a last resort but for many of us, there’s no other choice, standing in a sort of suspended animation at this crossroads of a town past and present.

It’s the kind of determination we’re going to need in full harvest, to recover from the present unfortunate realities. The BIA has, in a small but significant way, shown us the importance of getting involved, and refusing to succumb to circumstance. After the dust settles here, the one true advantage we will have achieved, as a business community at the very least, is a clear and strong new voice, and the working frequency from the mainstreet to town hall, which will ensure keen regard from our elected representatives. Thank you for demonstrating how we should all honor and respect democratic privilege.

I hope it works out for them. I trust we can take some inspiration from the BIA determination, to help solve other dilemmas we find ourselves faced with in 2010.

I’m calling in the resident computer expert to get this latest tome online. Will he make it? You tell me! Always like to hear from readers.

History in the Making

“NOT INFREQUENTLY HISTORY IS FOUND TO BE CORRUPTED IN ITS VERY SOURCE. IF AN ORIGINAL NARRATIVE IS FALSE, OR EXAGGERATED IT MAY EASILY HAPPEN THAT THE MISTATEMENTS IT CONTAINS WILL BE REPEATED FROM AGE TO AGE BY A SERIES OF UNCRITICAL WRITERS.” DR. WILLIAM DAWSON LESUEUR.

Folks are talking about tax revolt! Canadian style impeachment! Expectations are of big changes coming! It’s the talk of coffee shop bull sessions, and in stalled line-ups at grocery stores; animated talks about citizen-action and about a lack of faith in even this new town council. Should we blame them? We don’t know who to blame if anybody at all. All we know is that stuff is happening, and those who enjoy working on puzzles, are finding this an interesting time to fill in the blanks. I couldn’t, in good conscience, print all the wild stories I’ve heard since last Thursday, when the Star brought allegations to our attention. I’ve felt very strongly about anchoring onto something solid, and letting the wind blow. It’s the finding-something-solid thing that’s posing a wee problem. What you may have thought was solid, isn’t really! Of course our faith is shaken. But nothing, since Thursday, is giving us any confidence in town hall. I can only hope what’s happening there is better than the word on the street!

The speculators are digging for gold, and there is nothing from town hall to allay fears of an impending implosion. They understand what investigation means, just not why there is a gag order, from somewhere or other, stopping up administration of this town, taking responsibility for reaching out to constituents, who feel, rightly so, abandoned and disenfranchised.

FROM ME TO YOU

If, as you might think, I’m full of pomposity and bluster, then I would tell you I live in a bigger house than a subdivision bungalow. If I wanted to present myself as an expert, and not an underling, I would never admit that I still crave learning and new experience. If I was the jack-ass some believe, sooner or later I’d realize how ridiculous it was, to expect my actions would ever be considered worthwhile and constructive. As pompous as I might appear, or unscholarly as you might critique, I must retire myself to this pursuit none-the-less, and believe with my heart and soul, that it is infinitely better to be a seeker-of-truth, than one who has given up in its very existence.

I was confounded this afternoon, about whether to drift away from the turmoil spinning away in Gravenhurst, or get an early start on my next column about Tom Thomson, for a new publication I’ve joined up Almaguin way. Admittedly exasperated, trying to wrestle with latest developments here, it would probably have been time well invested, to put myself in Thomson’s canoe for a paddle through the lakes of Algonquin. I was that close. Reaching for my Thomson notes, I first had to move my dog-eared copy of “A Critical Spirit,” which includes numerous important essays by W.D. LeSueur, a writer/historian, of which I have enormous respect. I tend to get sidetracked easily these days by anything that isn’t political, as such. So I started to read a few passages. LeSueur, in case you’re new to my blogs, and tomes of local history, was the bloke responsible for naming our community in the summer of 1862. He chose the name “Gravenhurst,” based on the title of a book by British poet/philosopher William Henry Smith. LeSueur, when not debunking the work of established historians and philosophers, he didn’t like, was working with the federal postal authority, and assisting fledgling communities name their new community post offices. In essence he was playing the “history maker,” as in numerous cases, he rejected submitted names, granting instead, storied titles that had a wealth of provenance. LeSueur has been described as one of the country’s most accomplished scholars, and a historian with a dogged determination to set the record straight. He got himself into a lot of hot water by challenging historical facts, and re-writing what was long held as milestone heritage.

I started browsing through the text, as I do almost monthly, and I found several passages that do sum-up how I feel about fact and presentation......as an historian....as a Canadian, feeling at this time very conflicted by the actions and reactions of all levels of government. Here is one passage I’ve often used when addressing the importance of accuracy in statements made.

“Not infrequently history is found to be corrupted in its very source. If an original narrative is false or exaggerated it may easily happen that the mistatements it contains will be repeated from age to age by a series of uncritical writers, and thus pass into unquestioned, not to say, unquestionable tradition. Count Frontenac, in a despatch to the French Government, gave a greatly exaggerated official report of the Lachine massacre. Charlevoix took his word for numbers and details, and Charlevoix’s account has become classic. It is in all the popular histories. But how do we know that Frontenac exaggerated? Through the careful researches of the late Hon. Justice Girouard in parish registers. Not half the number reported by Frontenac as killed were missing after the disaster. In this case there were motives for misrepresentation. There was the ever-operative motive of trying to impress the French Government with the dangers to which the colony was exposed, so as to get more liberal supplies in men, money and material; and there was a special motive on the part of Frontenac who had just been sent back to Canada for his second term as Governor, of showing how terrible a calamity had overtaken the colony in his absence. Denonville, the retiring Governor, had just a few weeks before, ordered the abandonment and destruction of Frontenac’s favorite fort of Cataraqui, and this did not help put the two men, who already differed greatly in temperament and principles, on better terms.” The chap who named our community, wrote the authoritarian biography of Frontenac, for The Makers of Canada series.....should you ever want some light reading.

Please read on:

“Every student of Canadian history will remember Father Rochemonteix’s criticism of the Relations des Jesuites, a series of annals which, on the whole, like the rest of the world, he highly esteemed. He said in effect that they consisted of carefully selected incidents of a particular character and significance, and did not, therefore correctly reflect the normal life of the country. What the good fathers had mainly in view was to interest their countrymen in the work of the missions of Canada.” In other words, it is supposed by some, that one should never let fact ruin a perfectly good story.

As my bible of history and its critical overview, I am drawn like a moth to a lamp, by LeSueur’s poignant assertion that:

“Criticism should be the voice of impartial and enlightened reason. Too often what passes for criticism is the voice of hireling adulation or hireling enmity. Illustrations of this will occur to everyone, but there is no use in blaming criticism, which, as has been said, is an intellectual necessity of the age. The foregoing remarks have been made in the hope that they may help to clear away some prevalent misconceptions by showing the organic connection, so to speak, that exists between criticism as a function, or as a mode of intellectual activity, and the very simplest intellectual processes. Such a mode of regarding it should do away with the odium that in so many minds attaches to the idea of criticism. Let us all try to be critics according to the measure of our abilities and opportunities. Let us aim at seeing all we can, at gaining as many points of view as possible. Let us compare carefully and judge impartially; and we may depend upon it.... we shall be the better for the very effort.”

Prior to the municipal election, in about September, I offered this statement by LeSueur, in part to explain my own method of dealing with fact, as I am presented, and how I see situations manifesting.......based on what has happened in the past, and what in all likelihood will occur once again. I am a perpetual critic but very much in the spirit of one of Canada’s best known critics. When accepted thought was that Firebrand William Lyon Mackenzie, was the pivotal activist central to the Rebellion of Upper Canada, LeSueur noted instead that Mackenzie, a wee bit of a tool and bungler, wasn’t as much a mover-and-shaker, as had long been held by Canadian historians; and that the rebellion would have occurred even without him. Mackenzie’s kin, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, was so upset by LeSueur’s debunking, that he was able, with a massive power play, by protracted litigation, to shelve the book for decades. It was eventually published, long after LeSueur’s death, and what it served, was to welcome diverse approaches and criticism of accepted thought. The world didn’t come to an end. Mackenzie is still considered a father of rebellion, and LeSueur finally got his chance to put the Firebrand in a different light. Now it is a sought after reference book for other studies on Mackenzie.

LeSueur reserved particularly harsh criticism for writer’s like Stephen Leacock, who he accused of perpetuating popular history, much of it bordering on fiction...... moreso than his glossy histories being sculpted, as LeSueur believe they should have been, from newly uncovered, uncompromised fact. While it’s accepted that some historians took the short way from here to there, LeSueur was deeply concerned what these liberalities were going to cause students, and researchers, down the road......when they were confronted by deviations and misinformation, all contributing to a general misunderstanding of the history of this country. If anything LeSueur has made me far more self-critical about what I record, what I enter as observation, and a sincere reckoning with how my work, my summaries of situations, will be viewed in the future. The last thing I want, is to be credited for bending truths and purposely misrepresenting issues, and situations I encounter along the way. I loathe to be corrected, so I beat myself up many times, before any blog or editorial print copy, is ready for public consumption. From my own editorial days with Muskoka Publications, I have stayed the course. It’s been a long and wearying learning curve but I never took a short cut.

I am ready to address my readers, as the town should be communicating with their constituents.

I love this town for what it has contributed to my family’s well being. It has been a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family. I have always taken a sincere interest in its history, and unlike some who re-locate here, from other communities, our family learned about Gravenhurst from the work of historians past and present. I find myself, in many situations, these days, feeling as if I must defend the history of this community, as some others have decided to re-write it to suit themselves, their perspectives, and vested interests. I have found my contemporaries rather silent on the issues, as if they’re quite exhausted always having to correct what has been misrepresented or misunderstood. Although I have never been one to shy away from a challenge, or to step up in defense of home and neighborhood, I must admit to being frustrated by the way town hall operates these days, and for the past decade, showing such profound disconnect with the desires of the population......from the sale of Gravenhurst Hydro to moving the town hall. The aura of town hall, especially now that it has moved from the downtown core, seems as distant as Oz some times, and the way it is operated generally, gives one the feeling we’re getting the finger with the welcoming wave.

I have been at odds with town hall for years, and I must consider this before pronouncing that this latest debacle troubles me......considering I’m halfway to “troubled” to begin with, just thinking about tax bills and land grabs. What I want to suggest, via this rambling ode, is that despite the misconception we can be bedazzled by evasive, rounded, sculpted explanations, instead of fact, or its appreciation as being important......, truth is, our citizens are smarter than town hall assumes. I do think, unless they stop treating us as fools, they will experience the wrath of a population, vocally unhappy with its current representation. Admittedly, we should all be patient. We should let the process proceed. We should be open minded and conciliatory, keen but not vigilante-keen. We should all be prepared to consider the facts, and judge fairly the actions of our elected officials, to handle this present conundrum. Still, and no one will take this away from us, we will have occasion to review and assess the governance, we’ve had through this difficult period. So it seems imperative for council to get one thing straight......we’re not going to accept spin or fobbing-off for long, before our determination for change becomes evermore acute. That is fact.

I’m jumping in Tom Thomson’s canoe now. It’s the place, at this moment, I most want to be. Looking at the scenes he witnessed, the feel of water current, waves and wind, in such a magnificent land as this. I’ve got research to do, columns to write, and well, subjects I’d rather pursue, than taking it upon myself, to instruct local council, on how it should treat its citizens. It’s time for others to demand fair play, transparency and effective, responsive officialdom.....so we know where we stand.....if we can afford to stand here for long, and just how much money we’ve got left, if any at all, to traverse into the future.

I’m committed to Gravenhurst. Hopefully we all are!

THE PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO KNOW - WHEN THEY FEEL LIKE IT!!!!

Despite being aware, for some time, that all was not well with the progress of a large town building project, and that a national newspaper was sniffing out a story, you’d think someone at town hall would have recognized, very clearly, a public relations disaster was about to occur.

A pre-emptive media release, about a pending investigation, would have been a credible way of showing constituents here, town hall thinks we’re worth the effort, and can handle bad news. Jesus, I think we’re getting used to bad news these days. If we had been afforded some basic, re-assuring information that we should expect a full range of future inquiry, the angry community might have only been mildly pissed.......instead of wanting resignations and heads to roll.

While we members of the rank and file citizenry, clearly understand the legal issues surrounding the allegations, and all personnel, confidential matters at town hall, we also, as stunned as we apparently are in their opinion, can handle some information without imploding. Time and again we have to read about our town’s nuances courtesy someone else’s digging. While they probably have dozens of reasons why they didn’t think it important to re-assure us, they had the matter under control, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever, for council not to have insisted on issuing a press release to us prior to the first front-page jaw dropper last Thursday. Our press release came in the form of an investigative report published by the Toronto Star. Then again on Good Friday, and once more yesterday.

I was kind of hoping the town would have issued a press release to the Gravenhurst Banner, for today’s issue, as kind of state of the union address, to let us know what’s going on with our home town governance. While we can handle sensitive matters of allegations, and judicial inquiry, personnel matters etc., we can’t handle a lack of the most basic protocol between any town hall and its citizens. It is a huge sign of disrespect and one that will cause damage to relations far down the line. It is foolhardy to believe we’re mad cause we’re always constipated. We’re mad as hell because of the way we are generally ignored, when in fact we have a perfect right to know when our town is in crisis........because maybe, just possibly, we have the way and means to assist, as we always have, to work with, instead of against, the folks apparently in charge.

The fact we have to read about the welfare of our town in the press, without anything more than published answers to a reporter’s questioning, coming from our elected officials, means they are way behind where they should be at a time like this. They need media relations. They need to face up to constituents, not hide behind words like “investigation,” as being the reason we can’t be more forthright. We don’t want a media relations officer to spin stories but to help us understand all the implications of what is about to come......before we get the very next bit of enlightenment from the national press. If it irks them to have all this rampant speculation banging around in their community, filling their respective in-boxes, here’s an idea......give us what you can.....give us what will prepare us for what is about to happen.....and give us the assurance that we have a fully committed council, gung-ho to meet the upcoming challenges. Forgive us if we’re suspicious here.....but that’s what happens when information is choked at the source, on the mistaken belief, it will make things worse. Not true! It can’t get too much worse than at present. We’ve been trained to watch the press for our freedom of information. Apparently, this is the way it must be.

Sensing but not acting upon concerns that may have gone back a number of months, means to me, at least, that town hall either couldn’t care less about transparency, or felt that somehow they could “duck” and it would pass like a pound kidney stone. Or they could handle it all internally and we’d be spared the negative connotations. I can’t imagine a staffer or councillor not being aware of a reporter nosing-about. Even before this media foray, there was probably enough information to start a little pro-active, pre-meditated something or other, that would inform us of the Tsunami about to hit our shore. I think being partially informed is better than being uninformed. In this case, it would have cause unrest but most of us would have respected the honest attempt to spare us the shock of a front-pager for the nation to see. Even as an historian, I hate retrospective statements like....maybe we could have handled it better, or we didn’t think it would happen like this! We can be sensitive, proactive, compassionate and educators. We can be a particularly nasty group when we are treated with disrespect. There is a chance here, for council to come clean with us, about what they are doing to stabilize and correct the situation......or shall they continue to leave it to the media to work on their behalf.

So, if the Toronto Star had not raised allegations........most of us know that answer. It would have been handled internally!

A TIME WHEN WE WOULD SAY - WE CAN’T AFFORD IT! WIPE THE TEARS AWAY AND STEP-UP THE FUNDRAISING - OR AGREE TO WAIT UNTIL WE HAVE MONEY

Very few people, these days, seem to worry about the burden of debt. The “live-for-the-moment” era has put so many folks in economically vulnerable situations. The credit they’ve received from lenders, and credit card issuers, has, for many customers, been irresponsible and entirely reckless. We look at the United States and the credit crunch there, and heave a sigh of relief that Canadian banks have never acted in this fashion......to give money to those who are at high risk of not being able to pay back what they owe. BUT! It’s also the fact that many borrowers are simply not admitting all the debt they have, or revealing the suspected insecurities of their employment, when applying for lines of credit, car loans and mortgages. They take out mortgages without really understanding all the implications, and the risk they’re assuming. Today, paying off the mortgage is something beyond reach anyway.....so most just consider it renting from the lending institution......and exercise their credit cards to buy themselves frills. Frills that, by the way, devaluate faster that they’ll ever be paid off.

The kicker here, is that real estate values drop periodically. If you’ve borrowed on the froth of an over-heated market valuation, then you most certainly don’t want to hear about any bursting of the bubble. Real estate can’t continue its ridiculous climb. Wage increases and employment doesn’t warrant the valuations, and sooner or later, there will have to be a settling period. Young people are getting priced out of the market, and first time home buyers have been a huge reason behind the most recent market surge. Still there is an urge to buy what we can’t afford, and deal with the consequences at a later date. I’ve been up close and personal to that “later date,” and let me tell you.....it’s a bastard!

I’ve lived it folks, so I’m pretty much an expert on the pitfalls of being over-extended. My boys have grown-up appreciating what the fluctuations of the economy can do to those who don’t pay attention to debt management. Suzanne and I got caught up in the house-flip bonanza of the late 1980's and early 1990's. We had sold two houses and were about to sell the third, when the recession hit like a real estate tsunami. To get the house prepared for re-sale, we spent quite a bit of money re-decorating and sprucing up the grounds. At the same time, I went from having four means of income down to one in a matter of months, due to recessionary fears and downsizing. Suzanne was in a car accident.....not her fault, and the automobile that should have been written-off wasn’t, and we had to live with a car that developed every expensive problem there-after. It cost us a fortune but we still had a car loan, and no dealership on earth wanted an accident-car.

We had our antique business as a remnant, and I’ve got to tell you, it was the most stressful period of our lives. Two kids, a huge mortgage, car loan, credit card debt and a wonky car and both workplaces ten miles down the road. The most common site on the roadways of Muskoka, back then, was our red Oldsmobile on the side of the road.....and the driver smacking his head repeatedly on the steering wheel. The real horror for us, was that, for about five years, we lived in fear of the very next tag on the front door when we got home after work. We had all the colors of the rainbow in “last notice” warnings. We had grave concerns about our ability to hang onto our house, which had devalued to about $120,000 from the $140,000 or so we had paid only a few years earlier. Our grace here, was that we had put twenty-five percent of the purchase price as a down-payment. If not, I’m pretty sure the bank would have asked for a re-assessment. If that had been the case, it would have been a walk-away situation without question. We didn’t have a prayer of paying any more as downpayment. From the real estate gambler to the pauper in such a short span of time. There were thousands upon thousands of folks in similar situations. Many did lose their homes. One of the ways I made money, with some tragic irony, was operating our antique shop, selling off consignment collectibles, from folks who were struggling to make ends meet......and those who had lost their homes but had a few pieces of furniture to sell for travelling money. It was a sad yet remarkable period. A learning curve that stretched for miles and years. There were a lot of grasping-at-anything folks back then, and it kept us in the black throughout this period. I went from having a small inventory and no money to re-purchase, to having an over-flowing inventory of great stuff, that belonged to some really stressed-out people. We had buyers and they got money. I guess we helped one another through some dark days.

This may seem like a convoluted way to enter a discussion about municipal over-spending and government debt-load. I got thinking about it over the Easter weekend. I reminisce frequently, as important lessons learned, how we nearly experienced financial calamity, because we forgot some very simple fiscal rules and realities. We had some lean holiday weekends, let me tell you, and none of it was the result of anyone else having influenced us.....to do stupid things. We just got cocky. So much so, that we forgot all about who and what was controlling the world economy. And it wasn’t us. I imagine there are many millions of Americans feeling the same way. Of course it was too good to be true. Fantasy is compelling.

When we feel empowered, sometimes it’s a positive, but it can be a negative, and an expensive one. Municipalities in our region have definitely felt empowered, and have thought less about the negative potential of their actions. I see in them a recklessness to enter extreme debt, abandoning sage advisories from those who understand risk management.....who appreciate the need for frugality and rainy-day funds.

Back in the old days.....not ancient, but more recent history, citizens got the idea for something in their community, and held meetings to determine the level of support. What that support meant, ranged from volunteer representation on a committee overseeing the project, being ready to pitch-in as a builder, painter, interior decorator, roofer, or landscaper. It could mean manning fundraising booths at special events throughout the year. It meant a huge commitment of time and patience, drumming up donations to help offset costs. Although it didn’t mean money wouldn’t have to be borrowed, to get the project started, it was a manageable amount to repay.....and there was a strict schedule on how this was to be done. We are reading a lot about large, outstanding amounts left for fundraisers, in Muskoka generally, and the inability to meet pay-back obligations they took on, to forward the project. This didn’t happen a while back. The citizens wouldn’t allow a debt to remain unpaid.

Today we are too quick to borrow large sums of money, with very little conscience about how the hell it will ever be paid back. Oh, there might be a benefactor or a substantial bequeath from an estate. Or on the other hand, maybe there will be a lingering recession, and many folks will stop donating, in order to offset their own household debt instead. We borrow money as impulse, when in fact, we should insist on targets, like in my day, when we didn’t go begging without cash and commitment to match our enthusiasm. It is the reason we have recreation centres and arenas. Further back in time, it was even more weighted on the good-hearted generosity of the citizens, with less dependance on town hall to fund everything, all of the time. As one of the founders of the Herald-Gazette Rink Rat Hockey Club, and the still operating “Loveable Losers Hockey Tournament,” in Bracebridge, we helped raise money to buy the town a new ice-resurfacer. We were always helping out the community in this fashion.....if we didn’t like the way something was operating, we offered to contribute by holding a fundraiser. Of course the town kicked in money, as it should have, but many groups were quick to help their hometown acquire better equipment and facilities. It doesn’t matter what town it is.....the same goes on today. There are many generous folks and groups doing yeoman’s work helping us achieve goals.

The difference is, it might require a much greater commitment, for us to be able to save our communities now, some in nose-bleed level of prolonged debt. It’s bring fundraising to a whole new level. Yet when you add up the collateral damage of interest being charged on the debt....folks, this isn’t a good thing at all. We’d rather have the interest-money to use for other upgrades.

The citizens have stood back and watched, and read about, the over-spending of our own town council, here in Gravenhurst, for quite a few years now. Some of us have complained silently, or in bull sessions on various street corners or in coffee shops, without any organized attempt to protest our increasing debt-load. The still youthful Ratepayers Association had as its origin, this building dissatisfaction with the town’s free-wheeling and tax burdening. Yet even when the town was clearly aware citizens were deeply concerned, and angry about tax increases and borrowing extravagances, there seemed to be very fleeting regard for what we believed was sensible proportion. Unnecessarily nervous, is what councillors thought of us! We were just overly cautious folks. Not really in touch with the new age of borrow, borrow, and borrow! The accounting predictions might suggest we’re in pretty good shape despite all the doom-saying. Well, I for one don’t feel any compulsion to abandon my gut instincts.....earned by experience and so many years of trial and error, and......these instincts now tell me we’re in too much debt for our own good. Look at us provincially, nationally, globally! While the speculators continue to draw us in, with promises of better times coming, I think it’s time to fall back on that old standard.......of how much coin is jingling in your pockets.....and it’s what you’ve got to work with.

Over the next four years, the Town of Gravenhurst will be forced to wrestle with massive debt-load.......just as District Government needs to address crisis. Taxpayers generally, in this region, can not afford to carry the burden we have now. Businesses are closing. Jobs are disappearing. And clients for social assistance aren’t dwindling. Food bank visitors are increasing annually. As local government, sitting in their new town hall.....which we couldn’t afford, contemplates the new realities of over-spending......and what they may wish to finance in the future......they must familiarize themselves with the people they represent. They must take a few moments to talk to the Salvation Army about the critical importance of the food bank to many citizens of our community......and understand how many amongst us, are in financial crisis......and accept it as part of the new protocol of awareness they have clearly over-looked in the past two council terms.

We have a chance to put hometown values first. If the town continues to operate as it has, we will suffer greatly in the future. The world economy is in dire straights.....and it is not the time to be facing the massive debt we have been burdened with in this town, this region and this country. As individuals who got caught up in a recession once, and suffered greatly yet survived, there’s nothing as destructive to family, health and home, as the misery of poverty. We deserved our dance with fiscal disaster. Some get pulled in without having made a financial mistake. Others are carrying on the burdens of generations, not being able to escape their fetters. Maybe we are a small percentage of the population. I’m willing to bet, the percentage is rising. This may soon be reflected by more folks not being able to pay their taxes. Or buy groceries.

There is every reason now, not only cutting projects and dumping the tax burden onto property owners, to smarten up about the true costs of debt carrying......at a time of still-low interest rates. They will change. And so will our complexion trying to cope with it all!

The Bear Sleeps No More

STANDING UP FOR OUR COMMUNITY - WE’VE BEEN INSPIRED BY CRISIS - ONE AFTER THE OTHER - WE’VE BEEN ON THE SIDELINES FOR FAR TOO LONG

On the day we began our fight to “Save The Bog” several years ago, as the Town of Gravenhurst thought it would be a sure money-maker (possibly to invest in a new town hall), selling it off for residential lots, my anger peaked when I was blown-off, dismissed, ignored by numerous council members.....who had the gall later, to say our persistence to save a wetland nearly gave them ulcers. We asked, right from the beginning, for an on-site visitation by council, to see for themselves what they were deeming surplus property. We had one confirmed visit and one unconfirmed. The rest sort of let us know they knew the place well enough, not to require a meeting on the property, or to stand toe to toe with ulcer-makers like us. The fact that they thought of me, and our family as intrusive, and unworthy of their time, brought out the old “Shane” in me.....and although I’m bigger than Alan Ladd.....let me tell you folks.....there was know way I was going to be casually dismissed. They couldn’t believe I wouldn’t go away. My wife feels the same way most days. I’m like a fungus with remarkable staying power.

I made a comment.....no a clear statement, that I would personally seek the resignation of any council member, who would vote on such a contentious environmental issue, without a full appreciation of the property being sacrificed. Which by the way is a small but significant acreage in the Calydor Subdivision, that filters a huge volume of run-off water, from a large area of the urban town, before it drains into Muskoka Bay. The bottom line is that, the town backed down, and changed their perspective on the property. It helped that we were able to count on assistance from the Ratepayers Association and cottager associations who phoned in support for the conservation effort. Councillors had to know they were being studied closely, and weren’t going to get away with anything remotely cavalier, or profoundly arrogant, by snubbing those who truly care about the quality of life in this community. When we heard the news that the bog had been taken off the surplus property list, we were ecstatic. They would have been too, if they’d appreciated what would have come next. We had garnered huge support from well beyond our neighborhood and town in fact, and many offers of financial support if the matter had gone further. It wasn’t a show of force for something frivolous. It was a demonstration that citizens can accomplish a great deal when they organize and push back, when they feel their elected officials are fobbing them off.

Today I had the opportunity to hear more feedback regarding the situation at our newly restored (almost) recreation centre, that’s been getting a fair amount of news coverage in recent days. What I’ve found, is a genuinely interested....and certainly agitated group of friends and neighbors, some who haven’t had a municipal grievance in decades, others who read the papers for entertainment, not to inspire conniptions. I’m impressed by the chatter of concerned citizens who want to know more. Folks who stay as far away from controversy as they can, who now are peeved by embarrassing press coverage.....and that their taxes are going up due to recreation centre problems. Hundreds of residents of our town, having family roots firmly planted in the generations of community builders past, are deeply upset by the whole winter’s toll of bad news; whether it has been the chagrin of downtown businesses, the tragic mainstreet fire, a huge tax increase for 2011, and this latest bit of adverse news to make the front page. And I’m very pleased that the folks I’ve talked to, while upset with current events, are sensible in proportion, when they say with some tiny prick of venom...”Someone’s got to pay for this!” Not one person, I talked to today, suggested any sort of angry protest or march on town hall. I heard that yesterday.

When we rallied against the sell-off of the bog, it was a simple and persistent information sharing with town hall. When I was told by one council member to relax and enjoy the summer, I made it clear, abundantly so.....that we would indeed be most delighted to relax, when council dropped the proposal. We maintained polite pressure, and let our elected officials know the height and breadth of our position to protect the wetland. I had a length of chain and a lock, and a tree in mind, to attach myself. I’d been boning up on my Zen meditations, so that the sound of a chainsaw wouldn’t frighten the bejeebers out of me. I think they believed I would do it. My impression was they didn’t like the idea of facing the national media......like now. With us, we had our plan of defense, drawn up and ready to go, within hours of the first newspaper mention that the Calydor acreage was being considered surplus. They certainly didn’t like the fact we were so well organized, and had a better plan than they did. My headlines read “Wetland to be sacrificed to fund new town hall.” I was the horse’s arse let me tell you. No Christmas cards from council that year.

That’s why I’m so pleased today, to find citizens who are tuned-in to what’s going on in their town. I remember reading comments by several councillors, pointing out poor attendance at public meetings, on many occasions in the past. They frequently and mistakenly equate the low numbers with disinterest in the community’s well being. I really think they believe the public is less astute and less interested.....and thus, won’t really be much of an imposition pushing through certain aspects of council business.....like honking big tax increases.

Then comes along one of those revelations, one of those “last straw” situations, and the sleeping bear comes roaring back to life. As I’ve written about before, I loathe the idea of any kind of nasty, retaliatory protest that might seem appropriate to some citizens at this moment. While I certainly do believe this is the time for present members of council to appreciate just how well informed their constituents are, the critical issue here, for a positive outcome, is that we allow investigators to shed light on allegations. I had bad vibes yesterday about some looming over-reactions, and how terribly contrary this would be to an already precarious and complicated situation. Council, I’m pretty sure, recognizes by now, the folks they represent are pissed, and they will demand accountability for their role. It would be unwise to the extreme, for our elected officials now, to suggest we “chill.” We will be patient, I believe, but we won’t be treated as if we can’t handle the truth.

The signs are good, that the citizens of Gravenhurst, who have had a rather difficult winter all told, have been invigorated to a sharp point by recent affairs, and it means, to me, we will be part of the solution to what ails us presently. We are not a vigilante group.....we are hometowners who care deeply for our friends and neighbors, and the good name of this community. It is true that many folks in this town have felt helpless to change political will.....to hold back massive tax increases,....to save forests and lowlands from development, and to create pro-active goverenance that does give a crap about mainstreet maladies. I think we are seeing a turn-around in this town that will clearly imprint citizen values, and expectations, on the town hall that we have paid for. Make no mistake, the sleeping bear slumbers no more!

Allegations Are Yet To Be Proven - So Chill

REMEMBER WE’RE DEALING WITH ALLEGATIONS - STEP BACK, COOL DOWN AND LET THE EXPERTS CARRY ON THEIR INVESTIGATIONS

I have talked to a few people in the past several days, who are seriously confused, angry and a tad spiteful about recent newspaper coverage, relating to problems at the new recreation centre. There was another front-pager in today’s Toronto Star, regarding the alleged financial problems, facing the revamped arena and new pool facility. I’ve heard that many citizens are outraged and want immediate answers from town hall. We don’t need vengeful actions here.....no yelling and screaming to make a point.......just the appreciation that investigations of this magnitude take time. Town hall, and councillors, while this investigation gets underway, will have little or no choice but to answer to authorities first......and while this might seem added disregard for the citizenry at large, this is where patience, understanding and compassion must play a role. Staff and councillors must feel pretty crappy right now, and like us, they care about the town they work for, and reside......and I truly believe they’re as angry about the turn of events as we are.....stuck on the so-called “outside looking in!”

While a majority of folks here in Gravenhurst, were stunned to read about the allegations, first on Thursday, and then again this morning, most appreciate that there must first be a thorough inquiry by forensic auditors, and at present, and for some time to come, we’re going to require patience and sensible proportion with all involved. The situation presented, while compelling, and important for us to know, is inconclusive and contains allegations, that must be investigated and proven. Having heard some angry retorts from ratepayers in the past 48 hours, and feeling they have already made up their minds about wrong-doing, we must surely appreciate that harsh responses, vengeful thinking and irresponsible reactions, will only make things more complicated for all concerned. If we’re as fair a society as I think we are, and a caring, resilient home town, we must appreciate the privilege of innocence until proven otherwise. For everyone implicated in this crisis, we must place democratic rules of order above shoot-from-the-hip accusations, and treat allegations as such. Not yet proven as fact! So before marching on town hall in protest, while certainly a democratic right, think about the consequences of fanning the fire.

Town Hall will get a lot of blame for this unfortunate situation, and I have expressed some of my Council Critiques in many, many previous blogs......published on my site long before this current event. This week, our suspicions have been cut to the nerve, by the media exposure, and we are entitled to be angry. We are not a wealthy community despite what some overseers think. The increases to taxpayers coming, will be brutal to many families, and all those on fixed incomes. When we read about taxes and alleged fiscal mismanagement, it’s to be expected protest will be aggressive. I caution my friends however, feeling justified to ask for resignations from council, that it is infinitely more important, to follow the steps here, and realize that everyone has a right to a fair hearing. My suspicion is that some critics have tasted blood and they will want immediate action, and it may mean firings and resignations. I’m hoping that those who read my blog-site, will be sensible and allow investigators to do their job, before pronouncing individuals guilty based on allegations and innuendos. Seems compelling information but there are many steps of investigation first to prove or disprove the claims made.

Following the mainstreet fire, several weeks ago, the number of conflicting stories coming from the so-called informed amongst us, were outrageously out of proportion, and most were factually inaccurate. Hearsay is a dangerous thing right now, and I’m sure a few folks are assuming roles of judge and jury, passing around information that is wrong and incredibly hurtful, at a time when we all feel the vulnerabilities of our little town here in South Muskoka. I will never deny the right of free speech. I’ve lived it my whole life. But I know the dangers of hateful, spiteful lashing out, by those who believe it is their democratic right to express themselves.....even if they are completely wrong. I urge all those defenders of democracy to think before they assess blame, and handle fact responsibly. While they believe they know what’s going on.....most don’t, and what they perpetuate is a prejudice that will hurt us more than a ten percent tax hike.

Of course I’m mad at these allegations. I won’t suggest for a moment that I’m not mad at town council for a number of budgetary impositions. But I must sit back, and refrain from all urges to hurl blame at individuals, and let the good folks who know more about accounting than I do, give me....give us all, the accurate low-down.

While it might seem a good idea, at the time, to make a smart ass comment to a councillor or town staff, grocery shopping or at a community event, cause it takes a load off your chest,......I beg you, as one agitated citizen to another, to reconsider and refrain from personal attacks. I’m sure they’ve already experienced some feedback. We owe them the opportunity to the same fair hearing as the project managers. We would ask the same for ourselves, if we were in their position

Recreation Centre Crisis

WE ALL HAVE A LOT TO LOSE WITH RECREATION CENTRE CRISIS - MOB RETRIBUTION ISN’T THE SOLUTION - FORENSIC INVESTIGATION IS ONLY COURSE OF ACTION

There is only one way to diffuse the anger building in our community, following news of the alleged Recreation Centre kick-backs, reported yesterday in an “above-the-fold,” front-pager, published in the Toronto Star. By the way, we owe the Star thanks for providing transparency on an issue many ratepayers had been complaining about for months.....without any real critique back from council, other than the most basic frosting-over, to give us the opinion the grand opening would be well worth the expense and the months of delay. Won’t it be delightful! Not now! That bitter pill of truth is, like they say, hard to swallow.

The details of a debacle, in the making, are all presented for our perusal, and more than a few of us hometowners were gnashing our teeth......in part, because the critics of the project, our watchers in the woods, had suspicions early-on, the cost of the project was out of control. Many ratepayers, although supportive of the plan for the new pool, and new recreation services, were pissed about the problems associated, the delays, and the ever-increasing excuses and justifications for the new costs associated. I suspect the most oft-heard remark yesterday, was the statement; “I told you so!” Or “What did I tell you?” The next most important question was, “Say, do you have any newspapers left?” “Sold out!” was the reply!

There is a mob-anger growing out there which had its wick, and fuel enriched, by at least seven years of poor governance, before this present council term. They got the ball rolling on this recreation centre re-vamp. They’re the same folks who got us a brand new town hall we couldn’t afford, and gave away the old town hall at taxpayer’s expense. Those council years.....that I hope councillors then don’t forget, saw our community spend well beyond its means.....and those we hoped would bring sensible proportion to council, rarely found a soapbox to stand upon, to let us know about objections and opposing opinions. It was pretty much, this is the way we’re going to do it.....so shut the hell up. At least that’s what ratepayers believed was happening. Reporters got to see what was transpiring at council and committee meetings but didn’t get those one-on-one interviews, where questions were the privilege of the press. Can we blame the press for not requesting these interviews, particularly from those who showed contempt or general disapproval for certain matters of council business? Or should we be looking at councillors in general, who disagreed with the whole demeanor of council but refused to let the public know their true feelings.......that they may not have wished to present during a council meeting, but would have disclosed in a personal, no holds barred interview?

Very few councillors, if any at all, took a reporter aside, and offered to do an full interview about their disdain for the system that existed. Just because an objection at the council table didn’t change a particular vote, didn’t mean a councillor couldn’t take an objection to the public via the local media. While I understand matters of confidentiality and council’s legal obligations with certain information, being a councillor is not the same as being a disciple in a cult. There were many opportunities to vent objections but very few extended past the council forum. The same holds today. Toronto councillors are pretty savvy when it comes to venting. Why not here?

The problem now is that new councillors are being unfairly dumped into the previous council’s quagmire. While it’s logical that these recently elected councillors knew the poop was about to hit the fan, one can sympathize with them, knowing full well how bad it was going to look on the town generally. I would rather have had the Mayor and Council let us know an investigation was inevitable, but I understand the difficulty, in legal terms, of approaching such a complicated situation without legal advice. As for adopting the latest tax increase, it’s unfair to suggest council at large has committed a dastardly deed. What choice did they have? We needed a budget passed, and regardless whether we got hosed or not, we have to accept that this will be a retrospective year to remember.....and that a majority of the crisis, and budget numbers, are directly proportional to the handiwork of a previous council. Here is the group that will be grilled by investigators. I’m getting the impression a few former councillors feel it’s the burden of the new council. Well, that is true. But what don’t they understand about the word “forensic,” and how it will be applied in the future, when it comes to a complete audit of this......and possibly a few other restoration projects that might require a guiding light. As for the taxpayers, if money is owing to us, we want it back. As soon as possible. Before the next budget deliberation.

My advice is that councillors past and present offer the co-operation and insight that is required, to get to the bottom of this unfortunate situation. It is impossible and unnecessary, at this point, to place blame on one person, one group, or an entire town council. It is necessary for the citizens of this town to demand a full enquiry, and welcome all intrusive forensic investigation, to uncover the root cause of the present crisis. It is this co-operation of present and past municipal staff, and elected officials, we are looking for, as ratepayers, to show us the respect we deserve. Whether as some critics claim, it is the present council at fault, for not informing us sooner about the suspicions they had, early in the term, .......in my years of experience as a reporter, I would never be so shallow as to believe, the present council proceeded with any attempt to deceive the ratepayers a crisis was about to spill its banks. I think instead, they were holding the handle of a tempest, and understandably nervous about the implications on a battle-weary community,........ of the painful and embarrassing truths of a milestone community project crashing around them. Those council members re-elected from previous council terms, do face more scrutiny and that’s to state the obvious. In all, my concern now is that transparency be the operative word.....so that we, the stakeholders in this town, have a clear view of all that went on with the recreation centre revamp. Not that we don’t like the Star but we’d like our municipal residents to address us, in person, and let us know with no uncertainty, they are willing to shoulder the full responsibility for correcting what problems have occurred in the past. If ratepayers sense that there is an unwillingness to address these issues, in a public forum, just as the downtown revitalization was handled, then we know something needs to be changed at town hall. I’m pretty sure, in this case, the citizens would be looking for numerous resignations.

Like many other folks in this town, which I adore, our family will pay the tax bill. We will grumble and fuss like every other year. This year we will feel entitled to vent a little more and a little louder, because of the $1.8 million dollar add-on from the recreation over-run. What we will end our rant with.....is simple and non-aggressive. “We want this fixed. We want restitution to be made to the taxpayers. We want those responsible held accountable.”

Gravenhurst Recreation Debacle

GOING NATIONAL - GRAVENHURST - FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS - AND YES, THERE IS SUCH A THING AS BAD PUBLICITY BEING BAD PUBLICITY!!!

Front page exposure in the daily press!!!!!! And a two-page spread inside!!!!! All about Gravenhurst. It was a Friday for the history books. It wasn’t a promotion of Gravenhurst, by the way. It wasn’t something a potential tourist might gobble up, and then decide to visit our Ontario burg. It was memorable however, the result of a fairly damning piece of news about the refurbished recreation centre. And why its escalating costs have local ratepayers......you and I, looking for a way to stop the bleeding before we’re dry as a bone.

I’ve read the Toronto Star article three times over the day. I honestly wish it was one of those situations, that fault rested with everyone else.....just not our local council. And while blame for letting things get out of hand isn’t dumped on mayor and council, in the front-pager, it’s clear our elected officials should have stuck their oar into the situation long before this stage of crisis. They are, afterall, in place, to make sure we don’t get screwed. That we get good value for our tax investment. From what I have read, and this is only part of the story, the horse has been gone from the barn for a long, long time. I hate retrospective governance. Closing the door now is just protocol. If the Toronto Star hadn’t initiated research, and presented this detailed article, would the Town of Gravenhurst have uncovered the same information.....and if they did, would it have been made public for us to consume? I’m not confident of this. While it’s bloody embarrassing for the town, we owe gratitude to the media for making it public. I’m sure newspaper sales in our region were brisk today. Word on the street is that this is a clear case of “forced transparency,” imposed on council, like it or not, where the media is letting an elected body know what’s going on in it’s own house. I’m sure they were co-operative with the press. They should have been wildly intrusive watching this project from the get-go. If it was their private money, on their own project, bet they would have paid closer attention......and screamed out sooner and louder.

THE PRESSURE IS ON - NO FOBBING-OFF FOR COUNCIL - IF WE’RE ON THE HOOK - SO ARE THEY!

One ponders in these tumultuous local governance days, whether the pay is worth it! Consider all the chagrin being heaped onto the shoulders of municipal representatives! Even as a self-professed tight-wad myself, I believe our regional reps are under-paid. By time this coming four year term of office has concluded, these poor sods, when it comes down to a fair hourly wage, won’t be clearing much coin at all. “Workload and worry!” Possibly this title could be composed into a viral-hit song and dance number, for internet entertainment, well suited as an overview-theme for the coming term of office. Most citizens of this community won’t shed a tear however, because of the tax burdens they’ve been expected to shoulder, as directed by these same councillors. As for the headlines in the national press most recently....I have an idea we’ll be hearing a goodly amount of moaning in the coming weeks. Maybe some screaming.

Although it’s the kind of weight that every mayor and councillor should expect, and welcome as a challenge, when they “throw their hat into the ring,” to run in a municipal election, they inevitably seemed stunned when rapids appear suddenly from tranquil waters. Few of them believe, in their abundant non-clairvoyance, it can get this “ulcer-bad.”

Well, I tried to warn council hopefuls, before last year’s municipal election, that the coming four year term in Gravenhurst, and Muskoka generally, was going to be a son-of-a-bitch for those looking for remuneration, without having too many strings attached. There is too much debt, too many tapped-out ratepayers, and controversial empire building with our money, to stomach, without a little extra gnawing of the innards. So when the latest G-8 spending, and federal economic stimulus funding investigations, made headlines about Gravenhurst and Muskoka, well, you had to know it was a “train” that was going to arrive at the station on fewer wheels but a full head of steam. No one should be surprised by the carnage that happens next.

A few of us who stay up on the news, and have a little background with the press, realized that the Muskoka spending bonanza was going to inspire an investigation sooner or later. While the issue of reckless G-8 spending was being bandied about last spring, it was obvious there would be, at the very least for the patient amongst us, an eventual auditor’s overview that would expose something or other that would implode John Q. Taxpayer. The “Fake Lake” in Toronto got most of the press. We knew the spending review in Muskoka, would make the “Fake Lake” look like a single toilet in a sea of porcelain. Outside of a few letters to the editors, and the fact the local press wasn’t pissing into the wind, trying to poo-poo G-8 spending in progress, the sage watchers in the woods, just figured....hey, the fan’s on, and sooner or later it’s going to hit in a giant turd of controversy. If you think Gravenhurst and Muskoka generally are getting some bad press now.....wait until the new government is sworn-in after the May 2nd election results are known. Nothing like starting off a new term of office with a plethora of issues that aren’t going to be fobbed-off easily. I don’t care how competent the spin-folks are, those involved in this G-8 spend-fest, and the economic stimulus project, at least here in Gravenhurst, are going to face a nasty inaugural month of Parliament, if not more. For Gravenhurst, and Muskoka generally, it’s simply not true that there’s no bad publicity.

The unfortunate reality is that Gravenhurst has been swirled into this big flush, and will be part of the national headlines that will do considerable harm to a region that thought it was a great thing to host the G-8.......and a great honor being awarded economic stimulus money .to build a fine new pool. You mean you didn’t remember what your grandma told you.....about “if it’s too good to be true......don’t be a dumb ass.....it probably is too good to be true.” As I recall, with the exception of Lake of Bays turning down a building project (for a future central archives), all the municipalities were running around, tripping over themselves, trying to get a few bucks as good hosts, and a region deserving economic stimulus. Right? The only problem is, when the press finally decides to investigate projects like ours. Yup, the stuff beyond the ground-breaking “grip and grins,” the mid-construction photo-ops, the press release diarrhea, and the eventual ribbon cuttings that seem to always make at least page three in coverage. In this most recent instance of unkindly national focus, Gravenhurst may not be as pleased as they should be, when they attend the much-looked-forward-to, ceremonial, bands-a-playin’ recreation-centre opening, later this year. We may, at this point, have to wear bags over our heads, with all the controversy taking our burg from coast to coast in a most unflattering way. Wrong-doing? It sure looks like that, but I’m sure there’ll be lots more information bleeding forth in the coming weeks.

No, I wouldn’t blame a sitting Gravenhurst Council-member, from entertaining thoughts of resignation. Especially those members who were re-elected and had been a part of the recreation funding debacle from the planning stage. While I have a certain admiration for those folks who agree to stay with the ship, to weather the storm to come, it’s going to be very difficult to sidestep responsibility, or hand the bill over to the taxpayers, without enduring relentless scrutiny and public criticism. The Council of 2010 has a lot of explaining to do. As for throwing them under the bus......I’ve been advising this rigorously for the past two months, because the blame simply can’t be heaped onto the newbies. Their fault, if any, is being too kind toward the previous council.

A lot of governments these days, except in Egypt, Libya, etc., get away with “bullshitting” the citizenry. But sooner or later, it just doesn’t over-ride the issues at hand. The public starts demanding accountability and the press lets loose the hounds. What we have here is an issue that has been appropriately and necessarily exposed, that both Gravenhurst and the wider Muskoka are going to pay for, in tarnished reputation, for many years to come. The historians are making copious notes. If we thought we were rural with a teflon coating, well, we’re certainly still rural, but now we know some poop does stick.

I feel sorry for council newcomers. I feel sorry for the old gang of 2010 to be honest. I think that most of them were ill-informed about day to day stuff, and just assumed that those intimately involved would guide the ship safely to port. Ignorance is not bliss in this case, and they will be tarred by the same brush. Fair or not, they were able to question and micro-manage and if they chose not to delve beyond the spin, “and sure.....everything’s just fine,” reports, then they represent what is wrong with governments everywhere. They did not represent us as they should have.....because we, the citizens of this municipality, don’t deserve the national headline barrage we’re about to get.

You would have to have been in a state of suspended animation....literally frozen in time, (and presently re-animated), to have missed the sound of the distant train rumbling down the track. The taxpayers of this town, or any other town or city, will not graciously accept a potential ten percent tax hike.....in part due to over-runs, errors, and over-spending on new town hall facilities. Our consequential shortfall, was not knowing about other misadventures we’ve just recently become aware of, at our newly refurbished recreation centre. Are we really angry? We’ll wait to see what the evidence is, and how the resolution is handled in the coming months. Most of us feel more validated about our suspicions than startled to a sparkling enlightenment.

Without the privilege of hiding behind a single rock or tree......they’ve all been bulldozed, Gravenhurst Councillors, past and present, are either going to be our pillars of strength......representing the integrity of our community, or get unflatteringly jammed together, in the town hall exit, like the Three Stooges, fleeing in a comedic tumble of humanity from their pursuers. I’d like to think they will take their medicine, smile, and develop a new appreciation for the responsibilities of public office. We might even be owed an apology...or a few.

Of course it seems unfair. Council has had a rough start to their four year term of office. As a regional historian, I do think it is one of the most contentious periods in our short history. While we like to enter projects with a clean bill, and great expectation, present councillors were ill-advised by their supporters.......if they weren’t lectured, in advance, about the looming reality of a brutal reckoning with tax issues at the very least.....the handiwork of the previous council. I advised a few council hopefuls that they would be looking at four years of constant criticism from taxpayers, angered by the large annual increases......increases that have to occur to meet shortfalls in revenues and interest on debt, we shouldn’t have incurred in the first place. They still ran for office so I assume this warning didn’t cause them a missed heartbeat or seven. Add to this ongoing issue, the unfinished mainstreet restoration inconveniences, taking a toll on the local business community, a large fire in the commercial heartland, and delays in clean-up or re-building decisions, that have kept barricades up and motoring customers befuddled......sure, it’s a tough morning to be chipper. To say stuff is wonky, is surely an understatement. But life’s like that. Whether it is a “shingling” analogy or a “domino effect,” you choose to describe the calamity of inter-connecting current events, it is still better than getting slammed by an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear disaster in a few cruel moments of reckoning. So we should be able to cope with this overlapping of unpleasant, challenging situations. Of course, we’ll just have to wait and see....won’t we?

Should we blame the new interest, in both Gravenhurst and Muskoka on the mud-slinging crossfire of the Federal Election? Is it just the case we’re caught in the middle of a bigger, national power struggle? I think that’s fair to say. But regardless of the election call, the auditor’s final report on the G-8 budget regardless, would have situated us in the vortex of swirling do-do. We accepted the money. Now we have to accept the criticism of being naive. Naive to the reality the G-8 was going to be controversial, at the time, and for years after. Toronto got the violent protest and the carnage associated with civil disobedience. Muskoka. We got a protestor. We let the blackflies handle that one. And we got some really swell stuff for being good hosts.

In the meantime, we’ll be eager media watchers....to find out just where we stand in the grand scheme of national politics......national misadventures! How many council members today, with psychic knowledge of how 2011 was going to swirl away, would have kept their hats in the ring if given a chance to back-out?

It’s one thing to have a local cub reporter jamming a pen and notepad in your face, or hitting you on the end of the beak with a straight-armed microphone, for a quote or two, but quite another thing to be forced into interview-mode with the sharks of the national media......especially at this hugely critical time of election crisis-finding, and being able to represent the state of affairs effectively, honestly, and without a hint of shyness...... knowing a million viewers are also judging the outcome.....and our communities here in Muskoka!

I don’t envy them at all.

THE ARTFUL REMINDER OF HISTORY - THE ANTIQUE HUNTER ON THE PROWL

To head my blog submissions, this morning, (Gravenhurst and Nature of Muskoka sites), I wanted to publish the image of two wonderful Canadian landscapes, painted sometime between the 1860's and 1880's, by a British artist, named W. Cosford. We found these two large canvases in a small but interesting antique shop, situated in downtown Orillia, Ontario. Suzanne and I are both attracted by early Canadian paintings, and art generally, and these fit beautifully into the old homestead here at Birch Hollow. Of course we had to move ten other works to get these two large canvases situated, in the perfect light.

Since I was a kid, I was attracted to original art. Even though my family only had two original paintings, a seascape by T. Looksooner, and an autumn pond-scene by W. Kranley, they did the work of an entire gallery, inspiring the Currie kid. When I was home sick, I can remember laying on the couch staring at these two interesting and inspiring images. The seascape was perfect for a fever, and for a feeling of liberation if I was tired of being confined at home. The autumn scene was calming and soothing, when I had a stomach ache or a sore throat. Those two modest paintings, now hanging in my office, are still inspiring me today. I can’t tell you how many hundred times I’ve pulled back in this office chair, frustrated by something or other in a story-line, and attained the same liberation and calming influence, as I’d found as a youngster...... knowing next to nothing about art and the folks who create it for our benefit.....yet as if jumping onto a magic carpet, letting them ease me from my fetters, into the wide open world.

The two Cosland paintings (one on each blog site) have already worked their magic on a needy writer; and they are precisely what I like to view when on some wild historical mission, as I have been most recently. Paintings like this.......not the bombastic forays of politicians, (all we hear and view these days) remind me of how it all truly began in Canada, and the haunting beauty of the wilderness that has inspired so many artists and writers over the centuries. Seeing as most of my large book collection deals with history, my reading is adequately backed by vintage art images. My collection of Hudsons Bay Company inspired “Beaver” magazines is never far from reach, and these lakeland scenes are the perfect in-house recreation, when we can’t get out in the canoe for a traverse of a Muskoka or Algonquin Lake ourselves.

While I’ve never really figured out whether I’m a writer first, antique dealer second, or the other way around, both careers began at roughly the same time. Truthfully, when I’d get mad at writing, especially looking back at my frustrating years with the local press, antique hunting was a great way to break away from the office stresses. When I’d run out of money or the means of transport to get to all the antique auctions and markets, writing about antiques would suffice. For quite a few years, when I couldn’t get to sales, for whatever reason, I’d write about them, and collecting generally. I’m still writing an antique and collectible column, for a new publication in the Almaguin area, known as The Arrow. Writing and collecting have long been crossing paths since my first year of university in Toronto. That was the fall of 1974.

As I’ve mentioned previously, in this and other blogs I write (Nature of Muskoka and Walden just for two), like the kid staring at paintings for inspiration, the two professions most often appear as oil and water. On days I want to antique hunt, I’ve got no interest in penning a simple sentence. I might borrow some inspiration from the day’s travel, but you wouldn’t find me at a roadside parkette, penning some tome, with a pine flat-to-the-wall cupboard hanging out the back of the family truckster. As for writing, I don’t work off-site any more. I used to, in my ambling poet days. Today I like the comforts of my office, and the inspiration afforded me by wonderful art pieces, like those of W. Cosford, who has offered me a most wonderful glimpse of Canada once.

This is now officially the season of antique hunting. The winter’s harvest was better than I expected. On weekend jaunts I was able to find better pieces than usual. I just didn’t find the volume of collectibles we typically find out on the hustings, which we sell online and at summer season sales. I’m hoping for an action-packed yard sale and auction season in Muskoka. So for the next six months or so, the blogs will be greatly reduced in size and frequency, and the political-critiques a tad gentler. Antique hunting season is the time of year when the bear leaves the den.......contented by the winter’s hiatus, eager to fill the void of hunger. For this antique hunter, I’m on the prowl and enjoying every moment of this liberation from the routine of....well, being of the writer-kind.