I Lived The Life And Times of A Gnome

MEMORIES OF THE AUTUMN I KEPT COMPANY WITH GNOMES AT SEVEN PERSONS' COTTAGE

TRY TO IMAGINE THIS - TALK ABOUT LIVING A FANTASY

     BACK IN THE AUTUMN OF 1979, I THINK IT WAS (IN THE FOG OF AGE), I LIVED THE RESIDENTIAL EXISTENCE OF A GARDEN VARIETY, HONORARY GNOME. YOU READ CORRECTLY. A REPORTER BY DAY, AN OUT OF PLACE BIG GUY IN A LITTLE PERSON'S ABODE. IT WAS DURING A PARTICULARLY ACTIVE DRINKING PERIOD IN MY LIFE, SO IF IT READS A LITTLE PECULIAR, IMAGINE COMING HOME A LITTLE TIPSY, TO A SERIOUSLY DOWNSIZED COTTAGE……IN EVERY WAY. I FELT LIKE GULLIVER AT TIMES, BENDING OVER TO GET IN THE FRONT DOOR, HOPING I WASN'T GOING TO BE WRESTLED TO THE GROUND, AND THEN TIED DOWN, BY THE SMALL IRATE NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS.

     I'VE WRITTEN A FEW OTHER EDITORIAL PIECES, IN RECENT YEARS, ABOUT MY FIVE MONTH OCCUPANCY OF "SEVEN PERSONS' COTTAGE," WHICH I RENTED, WITH GREAT GLEE, FROM EARL AND JESSIE MACDONALD, OF FOOT'S BAY, ON THE SHORE OF BEAUTIFUL LAKE JOSEPH. IT WAS MOST DEFINITELY A MEMORABLE SUMMER. BUT IT WAS THE AUTUMN SEASON IN THIS TO-SCALE ENGLISH COTTAGE, THAT WAS MOST SPIRITED TO A FLEDGLING WRITER, LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION. IN FACT, I HAVE LOOKED FOR YEARS AND YEARS TO FIND A SIMILAR TYPE ABODE, TO USE AS A WRITING RETREAT. NO LUCK. THERE WAS ONLY ONE "SEVEN PERSONS' COTTAGE," BUT BY GOLLY, I GOT TO LIVE IN IT FROM SPRING TO AUTUMN.

     THE SCALE MODEL OF A MUCH LARGER ENGLISH LAKESIDE COTTAGE, SUCH AS MIGHT BE FOUND ON LAKE WINDERMERE, IN THE LAKE DISTRICT OF ENGLAND, WAS SITUATED ON THE LOW SHORE-SIDE, BENEATH TOWERING PINES THAT BORDERED THE COTTAGE ROAD. I EVEN HAD MY OWN MINIATURE HARBOR WITH A TINY DOCK AND A LITTLE BOAT, IN CASE A RESIDENT GNOME WANTED TO GO ON A LITTLE TOODLE OF THE LAKE. THERE WAS EVEN A CROQUET COURSE SET UP ON THE LAWN, JUST OUTSIDE MY BEAUTIFUL SIDE WINDOW, WHICH ALWAYS REMINDED ME OF THE VIEWING AREA, HIGH ON THE STERN OF A GREAT OCEAN-GOING SCHOONER.

THERE WAS A MOOD WITHIN THAT WAS ENCHANTING - AND YOU'D FEEL LIKE A KID IN A CANDY SHOP

     The down-sized English cottage had been built by a neighbor of the MacDonalds, and I was fortunate enough to meet him, when Jessie took me over one day to visit. His was the cottage next door. I always remember the scent of pipe tobacco, and seeing the owner's huge collective of pipes with carved faces, if memory serves. It was this gentleman who had painstakingly built the wee cottage, with amazing carpentry skills. He was an artist as far as I was concerned. The MacDonalds then purchased the property, and rented it out to various folks during the summer months. Earl and Jessie were wonderful people to rent from, and often times I'd wake up in the morning, with Earl rapping on the door, so I'd wake up to see the ducks gathered in the little harbor. He loved that property, and the two of them were great to socialize with, during my brief stay. They knew I didn't have many friends around, so they'd come to tell me there was a lunch for me at their house, and I should come over and relax. I was a poor….and I mean that, reporter, and I ate cheaply if I ate at all. So I wasn't adverse at all to their hospitality. And as Earl promised me it would be a great retreat for a writer, he was absolutely correct. I wrote through the day for The Beacon, and wrote at night for me……first about my lost love, and then eventually, about love left to seek out. I arrived somewhat beaten down by life, but quickly found the bright and cheerful little cottage, had too much spirit within, to nurture sadness.

     It was on misty autumn mornings, living in the gnome-sized cottage, which was a cross between a trip to Narnia with C.S. Lewis and a Robbie Burns experience, in Bonnie Scotland. You could forget where you were. It was the magic of the place. At night, looking out onto the lake, and watching the lights of the boats gyrating across the waves of the lake, made it seem, from the window, as if the house was actually floating as well. To set the mood for me, on that first day when I cross the threshold of this magic little place, a copy of the newly released book, "Gnomes," was on the built-in desk, inside the door. The book was brought to North America in translation by Martha Stewart's husband, who after this enormous success, which made millions by the way, helped with the hugely successful book, "Entertaining," still a milestone book in Martha's mountain of publications. I read the Gnomes book numerous times during that stay on Lake Joseph. Every time I had to hunch over to get in the tiny door, at the cottage entrance, I got a chuckle seeing the gnome book staring back at me. I never arrived at the cottage without expecting to find these tiny souls at home. Enchanted? I learned all about enchantments that season. People coming to see me succumbed to the spell, moments on the property. It was a chick magnate let me tell you, and they always found the keeper of the cottage….me….to be cute and cuddly in the midst of tiny attributes, like scaled-down hearth and fireplace, staircase, small chairs and tables, and even miniature gargoyles carved into the wood mantlepiece. They begged to stay over. I never had it so good. (Of course this only refers to a period of time, as my wife would not like to read this kind of personal anecdote, as it was before we met).

     I stayed until late in the fall that year, until the first flurries came whipping over that chilled lake, and through the barren hardwoods. I didn't mind being huddled under the wool blankets they left me, in the warm glow of the crackling flames in the small but completely adequate fireplace…..where I had a comfortable arm chair pulled close. I'd sit there in this relative paradise, of so many inspirations around me, and settle to a splendid peacefulness, cradling a hot cup of tea made in the tiny kitchen the gnomes found spacious. I never felt alone in that cottage. Not that it was haunted, but because of its character and beautifully aged woodwork, it felt so historic and storied, whether it was or it wasn't. I can remember coming home late at night, and swearing to have heard voices inside. I woke up that way at night, hearing the pitter patter of little feet, that weren't there……or at least there were no bodies to go with the footsteps. But it wasn't an unsettling occupation, and if there were ghosts in that tiny place, they were of the most welcoming variety. I felt at home on my first night, which is unusual for me, as I come from a family of sentimentalists, who hate being separated for long from their cherished residences. As I had just separated from my girlfriend of five years…..after asking her if she wanted to get married……and she quipped, "to who," and strangely enough, Seven Persons' Cottage was a respite to a broken heart. It seemed to know how miserable I was, and by golly, after about the first week, I'd returned to writing in the evenings, something I'd abandoned after Gail gave me the proverbial heave-ho for another guy. Don't you just hate when that happens. That summer, I went from wanting to drink myself into a long term stupor, to restoring my interest in the future…..which I blamed on Gail for stomping into the ground, with the last bouquet I sent her on a reporter's budget. It wasn't much to look at, but it was the thought that counted. Right? Gail came to Seven Person's Cottage once to see how I was holding up, and I guess she was satisfied with the "we can still be friends" thing, and when she left, you know……I felt the gnome-like sensibility bloom from the heart of that place on the shore of a beautiful lake. It was my "serenity now!" It saved me I think. I arrived there feeling like I'd been mauled by zoo animals, my heart ripped out of my chest, and that dear little place, with the MacDonald's kindnesses bestowed, and my Abba record (I only had one record) for my failing turntable……turned my life around in a modest spring to autumn residency. How many of you can say that one of your best friends was a to-scale English cottage, where a great bard should have been holed-up, writing romantic poetry for lost love. I was just a poor bard but I did write poetry.

     The truly curious aspect of design, at Seven Persons Cottage, was that it could easily accommodate seven guests. The most I had over at one time was four, but it was a comfortable arrangement, considering three of them were young ladies, smitten with the pipe smoking writer-in-residence. Yup, I used to smoke my pipe and write. It just seemed important to act like the great writers, even if I was still a bum in the industry. The girls thought I was special. Of course so did my mother. Gail, not so much. The furniture was all small, and like the dining-room table, it had leaves that folded out to accommodate more guests around the table. The bedrooms had bunk beds, and small chairs for reading before bed, and the kitchen had small scale cupboards and a bar fridge that was more than enough for the non-cooker me. It got me thinking, you know, about how much space is wasted and extravagant in the average North American house, when this small (condo size) cottage, made efficient use of every square foot…..such that after awhile, you didn't even recognize it as downsized, unless you went outside, and saw the doll house architecture on a big lot. No space was wasted. We could learn a lot from that cottage design. If I had the money, let me tell you, it would have been mine. I always feel that way about the great places I've lived in my life, and if I owned every neat place that inspired me to write, well, my property tax bill would be in the millions. In Gravenhurst, thankfully, I'm only paying a King's Ransom, for Birch Hollow, as compared to the gigantic lakefront assessment for the little Gnome cottage.

     I used to hate leaving Seven Persons Cottage in the morning, but I was thrilled to arrive back home in the early evening, exhausted but cheerful about the next few hours, sitting by the hearth, having a wee sip of brandy, (the cheapest kind) in Robbie Burns honor, and then typing away until I could compose no more. And when on autumn evenings like this, that I donned my nightcap, and extinguished the oil lamp, it was sort of like The Waltons……as every creak and groan in the old woodwork, seemed to be wishing me a good night's slumber. I retired to bedlam relaxed, contented, and resolved, that if the gnomes should take over the cottage while I slept……I'd be good with that, as long as they swept up their crumbs from those late evening snacks.

     A friend, who I have deep respect, looked at me one day recently, as I spun another of my trademark yarns, and wanted to, I'm sure, ask me if there is a shred of truth to all these collected tales I've offered for public consumption, for all these years as a writer. I suppose it's a case, that unless one sees and experiences it first hand, no amount of convincing will truly make up the sensory deficiency, between story teller, and listener. I would have liked to taken this friend to Seven Persons Cottage, to see the "fantastic" of what I have known as my special enchantments, because me thinks, we all need to know magic exists beyond childhood……and the strange dreams in the recess of sleep. I will occasionally dream about my time at Seven Persons' Cottage, and I will wake up, suddenly, to look around and see if it's true………that I have returned to that quaint little lakeside cottage, that saved my life, way back……and gave me so much to write about. But I find myself feeling good cheer none the less, and know that my Birch Hollow, you see, as a present haven, is the friendly composite of all the fascinating places I have ever lived. It now is as spartan, plain and convenient, comfortable and pleasantly haunted, as I remember from the days when…….I kept company with gnomes on a misty lakeshore in the Muskoka heartland. It may all be fiction, and possibly just a very long dream about the life I have enjoyed. The welts from pinches, tell me I'm not dreaming.

     Thanks so much for sharing this recollection with me today. Please join me for another adventure, coming soon.

My Old Writing Days Are Over, Last Typewriter Gone

I GAVE MY LAST TYPEWRITER AWAY TODAY - NO REGRETS…..WELL, MAYBE ONE OR TWO

THE TECHNOLOGY I DIDN'T WANT TO PART WITH…..BUT THE BOSS MISSUS WANTS HER HOUSE BACK

     THE DAUGHTER OF ONE OF OUR REGULAR CUSTOMERS, AT THE NEWLY EXPANDED ANTIQUE WING, IN THE WEE LADS'  MAIN STREET VINTAGE MUSIC SHOP, PROUDLY CARRIED OUT MY LAST MANUAL TYPEWRITER TODAY. IT WAS ONE THAT HAD SOME GLARING WAR WOUNDS BUT WAS ALWAYS A GOOD DISPLAY PIECE HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, WHERE IT REMINDED ME OF PRINTER'S INK AND ALL THE DEADLINES PUTTING THE "PAPER TO BED."  EVEN IF IT'S DESTINED TO COLLECT DUST, AS IT DID HERE, FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES, IT MAY INSPIRE THIS YOUNG LADY ABOUT THE JOYS OF AUTHORDOM. I PROBABLY USED THIS PARTICULAR UNIT, A REMINGTON, I THINK, FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS BACK AT THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE, WHERE I WORKED AS A REPORTER / EDITOR FROM THE LATE 1970'S UNTIL THE LATE 1980'S. I DID USE THIS PORTABLE AT HOME AS WELL, UNTIL ONE DAY, IT SORT OF BLEW UP, AND THE CORD THAT KEEPS THE CARRIAGE MOVING, WAS SPINNING AROUND ITS CYLINDER LIKE A WEED WHACKER. THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME FOR THIS KIND OF MALFUNCTION. THE MOST COMMON FOR ME, WAS THE JAMMED RETURN SWITCH FOR THE RIBBON, AND IF I WAS FORCED TO TAKE THE DAMN THING OFF, AND SWITCH THE REELS, CHANCES ARE SOME KIND SECRETARY WOULD HAVE TO RESCUE ME FROM THE ENTANGLEMENT, AND TEND MY CUTS AND BRUISES. THAT WAS FROM GETTING MAD, NOT JUST FROM CHANGING A RIBBON.

     WHEN WE OPENED THE EXTENSION TO THE BOYS' SHOP THIS PAST SUMMER SEASON, SUZANNE ASKED ME WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO WITH THE OLD MANUALS CLUTTERING THE HOUSE. AS WE WERE HAPPY TO REMOVE THE BURDEN OF ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES FROM OUR RESIDENCE, SUCH THAT WE MIGHT PROFIT FROM THEM EVENTUALLY, SHE ANTICIPATED I WOULD PULL SOME SENTIMENTAL BALONEY, ABOUT NEEDING THE FIVE PORTABLES STACKED IN MY ARCHIVES. EACH ONE HAD A STORY, YOU SEE, AND I RECOGNIZED EACH ONE, FROM A PERIOD IN MY WRITING CAREER. SUCH AS THE "STARVING ARTIST," UNIT, AND THE "I'M FAILING AS A NOVELIST," TYPEWRITER, THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THROWN AGAINST THE WALL DURING ONE NASTY CREATIVE HIATUS. THESE HANDY DANDY PORTABLES, DURING USE, WERE AN EXTENSION OF MY MORTALITY. I CAN'T IMAGINE THE VOLUME OF CREATIVE JUICES THAT FLOWED THROUGH THOSE KEYS OVER THOSE WILD DECADES, WHEN ALL US LOCAL WRITERS WERE STARVING, BROKE, LIVING TOO HARD, SLEEPING TOO LITTLE, AND DREAMING OF THE PULITZER, THAT ALWAYS SEEMED JUST BEYOND OUR REACH.

THIS COMPUTER KEYBOARD JUST ISN'T THE SAME

     If you're not a writer, then I can appreciate why you might find it hard to believe, that a typewriter can hold a spirit. Even after all our years of marriage (all wonderful of course), Suzanne appreciates that if I was ever to pass (she suspects I'm unearthly anyway)……which will likely follow the precise moment I get the call to pick up my Pulitzer, any keyboard I happened, in life, to work on, will start tapping a farewell tribute to the old man, quite by themselves……possibly sounding like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," (my favorite song) but without Judy Garland. Suzanne knows how intense I can be, while working on any writing project, and it's not uncommon for her to interrupt me after about three hours, insisting I have a cup of tea. I used to ask for a beaker of booze. No ice. To say that for those few hours, the writer becomes one with the portable, isn't far fetched or a stretched-out link to the paranormal. The transference of emotion, anger, sadness, joy and ecstasy, via the human electrical grid, goes right through those keys, and imprints the paper…….my soul coursing about like a whirling dervish. She claims to have stood one day, for about a half hour, watching the way I was typing, noticing all my subtle shades of "Zombie" at work. The reason she was watching me, is that I have a miserable affliction, called Temporal Mandibular Joint Dysfunction……..TMJ if you want to look it up……..caused by life-long clenching of the jaw, and grinding of the teeth…..proportional to the stresses in one's life and how the individual handles them. For me? Not so good! I started clenching my jaw as a back-up goalie in hockey; especially tense when I was about to be put in a game, after the starter hauled out on a stretcher due to rough play. They had to unclench my hands from the boards, and haul me over to the net. As for working at a keyboard, Suzanne wanted to see if I was doing both, (grinding and clenching) while working at the typewriter. My team of chiropractors wanted this information, because in my mind, I didn't grind my teeth or clench my jaw……ever, except when my bosses stood behind me while I was typing an editorial seconds before deadline. Then I clenched. God did I clench. If I hadn't done this, and internalized my anger, I'd have stuffed the son-of-a-bitch into my typewriter, and made him the editorial for the week. Don't piss-off the editor.

     By the way, I do want to write a little piece soon, on TMJ, and maybe help some folk identify why they can't turn their heads, open their mouth more than a few centimeters, and explain why they see elephants in pink pajamas, while angrily standing in the grocery store queue. As a trial, if you put fingers in both of your ears, and you move your jaw up and down, and feel a less than smooth movement, (like having a flat side on a dial), it's entirely possible you have a degree of condial  damage. The symptoms. You wouldn't believe them, if I told you. I'll have to explain this later. As a point in question, my medical friends believe I've damaged myself by professional misconduct. Not that I did anything discreditable, except to my body…….my jaw specifically. Suzanne suffers from the same dysfunction, and when we're having bad days, here at Birch Hollow, watch out. It's like the forewarning of the arrival of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. It's that bad. We call them our "owlie" days……but we're not a hoot.

     It is assumed by those studying me, that I was so intense at my creative enterprise, over those old portables, with such horrible posture, that I beat myself up from the outside inwards. So not only have I ruined a lot of heavy duty typewriters, made by some of the best known companies in the world, I also have pretty much ruined what God gave me. I blame God a little bit, because he also made me a writer, but there was no warning label, about the damage writing can cause a body over thirty-five years of typing. I just never figured it would be my jaw that failed. My back should have gone a long time ago, and my legs, where I took a hundred thousand slap-shots, wearing thin goalie pads. Here is this tiny little condial, surrounded by all kinds of nerves and blood vessels, that for me now, looks more like a triangle than a disc……and when it injures the nerves in its vicinity, with all its clacking and grinding, it hurts part of my body that never met a puck, a football tackle, or a sliced golf ball.

     As I watched my new friend, walking out of the shop, with my old typewriter under her arm, I felt some mild relief, that at least I won't have to pound down on those keys anymore, to write a column or blog, and never again have to face a tangle of ribbon, and the ink it leaves in all kinds of places……like Suzanne's newly upholstered parlor chairs……which I find uncomfortable by the way. It was the last of the five manual typewriters of my first thirty-five years as a writer. I sold the first four, and planned to give the last one away as a household decoration. It was the one typewriter I worked on the longest at The Herald-Gazette, and probably the one that had most front pagers written on it………and a couple of failed novels that just didn't cut it with publishers. So I wrote four non-fiction books instead.

     I hope the new owner feels the electricity that still curls around those silent keys, and manifests in good, positive energy long into the future. I laughed over that typewriter, when I was writing my weekly columns, like "Cold Coffee," and "From the Bleachers," and I likely cried over it as well, when I was forced to write a memorial for one of my colleagues, or acquaintances in town. It is a fine memory to me now, how I started as a cub reporter from the Muskoka Lakes - Georgian Bay Beacon, and how I slaved for my art, over so many late night coffees, half buried by crumpled up pages that were discarded because of crappy opening paragraphs. No, I didn't want to chase down the hall, to pull it back, or feel any real sadness, that this part of the writing mechanics is over…..finally replaced by the computer keyboard, that, by the way, sounds nothing at all like a fine old Remington, clacking against inked ribbon, and imprinting onto those whiter that white pages in the carriage. My salvation, I suppose, is that I still happily handwrite at least half of my blogs and columns, before arriving at this infernal contraption, that hums like a barber shop quartet while I'm trying to work. No one else can hear it, but I can. The Remington didn't talk back.

     I have moved on, as they say. Now apparently, I have stepped up the "clench and grind," according to Suzanne, still spying on me after all these years. Not because I'm having an affair, but because she's trying to save me from my creative excesses. I'm doing it more now, than I ever did as a young writer. No, not having affairs. Hurting my jaw. I'm down to just a two lip kiss, because that's as much as I can open my mouth. My conversations are, what she calls, a dull roar and gurgling.

     I never had a typewriter I didn't come to love, embrace, and then beg forgiveness, after I'd spill coffee all over it, or on occasion, messed up their neat black and red ribbons. They were all good luck to me, and as a superstitious chap, I must admit, it was a little tough to look at my typewriter stack…..all five of them, and admit to myself, the physical days of pounding those big fat keys were over. I don't have the strength anymore. It was hard work punching out that copy, day in, day out. Now these tiny, almost invisible keys, don't take more than a heavy whisper to imprint on this wavering screen, and sometimes, with my chunky fingertips, I get many more letters than I was intending……and my family laughs and laughs, and well……so they should. I am a dinosaur learning how to ride a bike. Not a pretty picture.

    Thanks so much for tuning in today, and I hope you'll come back again for a visit. Early next week, I'll write a little bit more about the frustrations of a TMJ sufferer……who is now more of a whisperer than a shouter.

Will The Best of The Best Work in Gravenhurst?

PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR OUR COMMUNITY ISN'T SERVED BY THE GRIP AND GRIN ALONE

THE REPUTATION WE ARE SERVING UP, ISN'T HELPING OUR CAUSE AS A "GOOD TOWN TO VISIT……A GREAT TOWN TO LIVE IN."

     IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A CIVIL SERVANT LOOKING TO UPGRADE YOUR LOT IN LIFE, GET A PAY INCREASE AND A JOB PROMOTION, WOULD YOU CONSIDER THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST AS A GOOD PLACE TO RE-LOCATE? WHAT ABOUT APPLYING FOR A JOB WITH THE MUNICIPALITY? ARE WE ABLE TO ATTRACT THE BEST OF THE BEST? OR HAVE WE BECOME A PLACE KNOWN FOR SHORT STAYS, AND LESS THAN FOND FAREWELLS?

     THE TRULY NEGATIVE IMPACT OF STAFF DEPARTURES IS THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE IT DOES TO THE REPUTATION OF OUR COMMUNITY. AS SOMEONE INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN PUBLIC RELATIONS, AND PROMOTIONS, SINCE I LEFT ACTIVE NEWS REPORTING IN 1990, THE RECENT STAFF PROBLEMS AT TOWN HALL, MIXED WITH SOME HASTY DEPARTURES IN RECENT MONTHS, AND CERTAINLY UNEXPECTED TOWN HALL CHANGES OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, HAS GIVEN US A LOT TO RECOVER FROM……IN TERMS OF HOW WE APPEAR AS A MUNICIPAL EMPLOYER.

     IT IS THUSLY EXPECTED, BUT NOT NECESSARILY WELCOME, THAT THESE SAME STILL-TRAVELLNG EMPLOYEES, ARE ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT OUR TOWN AND REGION. UPON DEPARTURE, WE'D BE HUGELY NAIVE TO THINK THAT THESE DISGRUNTLED FORMER EMPLOYEES, ARE GOING TO MUTE THEIR FEELINGS, IN ORDER TO SPARE OURS.

     PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING, I THINK IT'S LOGICAL TO EXPECT, THAT OTHER CANDIDATES LOOKING FOR WORK WITH OUR MUNICIPALITY, ARE ALREADY GETTING THE HEADS-UP, THAT THIS IS A CAULDRON OF CONTROVERSY. THEY MAY EVEN DO SOME RESEARCH ON THEIR OWN, AND FIND SOME GLARING HEADLINES AND A BLOG BY A GUY NAMED CURRIE, SHOWING THAT ALL IS NOT WELL HERE IN PARADISE. HEADLINES ARE WHAT THEY ARE, AND ENTIRELY RESPONSIVE TO THE NEWS OF THE DAY AND WEEK. THIS BLOG IS A PARALLEL REFLECTION AND REACTION TO THE WHOLE NINE YARDS. BUT I'M NOT ON ANYONE'S PAYROLL SO IT'S HARD TO FIRE ME. BUT KNOWING THAT MY READERS ARE GRAVENHURST LOVERS, FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, I ALWAYS SUGGEST OF THEM, THAT THEY READ THE COLLECTION OF MY BLOGS, NOT JUST THE ONES THAT TAKE SOME SHOTS AT LOCAL GOVERNANCE. IF THEY DO, YOU SEE, LIKE THE WEEKLY PRESS TAKEN BY THE SAME MEASURE, THEY WOULD SEE THAT THE POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES MERGE TOGETHER OVER TIME…….SUCH THAT WE WHO LIVE HERE, KNOW IT'S NOT AS BAD AS ONE OR TWO HEADLINES MIGHT MAKE IT APPEAR.

    THE REAL ISSUE, IS WHAT, IN PROFESSIONAL CIRCLES, MAY DISCOURAGE TALENTED POTENTIAL STAFF MEMBERS, FROM APPLYING FOR JOBS IN OUR MUNICIPALITY. THINK ABOUT IT. OF THE MOST RECENT DEPARTURES AT TOWN HALL, I'VE JUST GOT THIS OPINION, RIGHT OR WRONG, THAT WE WON'T BE GETTING A POSITIVE REVIEW OR A CHRISTMAS CARD. IT MAY SEEM AN OPEN AND SHUT CASE TO COUNCILLORS, AND JUST ANOTHER DECISION RENDERED FOR THE TOWN, BUT BAD-WILL IS BAD-WILL. WHEN WE NEED PROFESSIONALS WITH GREAT CREDENTIALS, CAN WE REALLY HOPE, ON THE LONG TERM, TO ATTRACT FOLKS TO A PLACE, GETTING TO BE KNOWN FOR ITS SHORT TERM EMPLOYMENT STATS? IT'S HAPPENING IN OTHER LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES AS WELL. DO ELECTED OFFICIALS RECOGNIZE THE SCORCHED EARTH SCENARIO THEY'RE CREATING…….WHERE THE BEST OF THE BEST AREN'T GOING TO COME TO A PLACE WHERE THEY'RE LIKELY TO FAIL LIKE THE OTHERS. THIS IS A FUTURE CRISIS, HAPPENING A TAD EARLY.  I HAVE TO AGREE WITH THE ONE-GOVERNMENT FOR MUSKOKA FOLKS, BECAUSE GETTING THE MOST EXPERIENCED AND PROFICIENT HELP, WILLING TO STAY HERE FOR MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS OF A YEAR, IS GETTING DAMN TOUGH…..AS WE HAVE SEEN MOST RECENTLY WITH THE RE-NEWED RELATIONSHIP WITH A FORMER TEMPORARY CAO……..BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE MORE QUALIFIED. I BUY THIS. I LIKE THAT WE HAVE THIS KIND OF EXPERIENCE ON SIDE. BUT IT'S NOT BODING WELL FOR THE FUTURE, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, BECAUSE WE REQUIRE YOUNG TALENTS WILLING TO INVEST IN OUR TOWN FOR THE LONG TERM. ALL WE SEE NOW ARE SHORT TERM SOLUTIONS, AND WE KNOW THE MORAL OF THE STORY, ABOUT STICKING FINGERS IN THE HOLES OF AN OLD DAM, TO STAY DRY. SOONER OR LATER, YOU'RE GOING TO RUN OUT OF FINGERS. BUT YET, THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF WATER.

     AS MY MOTHER USED TO WORRY ABOUT OUR FAMILY REPUTATION, AND WHAT I MIGHT DO TO SCREW UP GENERATIONS OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP, GRAVENHURST MUST START LOOKING AT THE DAMAGE THEY ARE CONTRIBUTING TO, WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING MORE TO SAVE IT, THAN SHOWING UP FOR GRIP AND GRIN PHOTOGRAPHS AROUND TOWN, WHICH FOLKS, HONESTLY, DOES NOTHING TO ALLAY FEARS, OUR TOWN IS A BUDDING DEATH-VALLEY FOR CIVIL SERVANTS ETC. NOT ONLY CAN'T WE PAY THE TRULY BIG BUCKS TO BRING IN THE RISING-STAR BUREAUCRATS, BUT THEY ARE GETTING THE MESSAGE WE EAT THEM FOR BREAKFAST……WITH LEFTOVERS FOR LUNCH AND DINNER. TO EXPECT THAT THESE PROFESSIONALS OF GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION, DON'T TALK TO ONE ANOTHER, IS ABSURD, AND I'M REASONABLY SURE TODAY, MOST CANDIDATES FOR THESE POSITIONS WOULD GOOGLE GRAVENHURST, TO CHECK OUT OUR QUALITIES AND QUANTITIES BEFORE AGREEING TO AN INTERVIEW. ONCE AGAIN, NEWS IS NEWS, AND SEEING AS I DON'T WORK FOR THE TOWN, OR GET A PAY CHECK TO BOOST THE MUNICIPALITY'S IMAGE ABROAD, I MAKE NO APOLOGY FOR TRENDING ON THE MOST RECENT HAPPENINGS AT TOWN HALL. MY FOOTNOTE, OF COURSE, IS THAT I AM A BIG BOOSTER OF THIS TOWN, AND REGION, AND IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO READ BACK A COUPLE OF MONTHS, YOU'D SUSPECT I AM BEING PAID TO PROMOTE LOCAL HERITAGE. PLAIN AND SIMPLY, I ENJOY PROMOTING GRAVENHURST, AND THERE'S LOTS MORE TO COME. BUT I CAN'T FUDGE THE PREVAILING REALITY, AND MUST DEAL WITH IT APPROPRIATELY. WHEN I CHECK DAILY, AS TO WHERE MY READERS ARE, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT SEASONAL RESIDENTS, AND FORMER GRAVENHURST RESIDENTS, LIVING AROUND THE WORLD, ARE CHECKING UP ON HOMETOWN COMINGS AND GOINGS. SO I'M AWARE OF THIS CONSTANTLY. NOW IN FACT. POUNDING OUT THIS BLOG, AT THIS MOMENT, I DON'T WANT A SINGLE READER, ANYWHERE IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE, TO THINK FOR EVEN A SECOND OF TIME, THAT I DON'T LOVE THE PLACE I RESIDE. I WOULD VENTURE, IN FACT, THAT I WRITE MORE PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY, FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION, THAN ANY OTHER GROUP IN OUR TOWN…….ALL ORIGINAL COPY. POINT IS, AS I BEGAN THIS BLOG, PUBLIC RELATIONS IS TAKING A BEATING IN OUR TOWN, BECAUSE OF SOME OF THESE UNFORTUNATE EMPLOYEE EVENTS, WHICH GOES BACK ALMOST TWO YEARS…..BUT IS STILL CLEAR IN OUR MINDS……AND BANKED-UPON BY CURRENT EVENTS. THE TOWN NEEDS TO KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THESE SITUATIONS, BEYOND CLOSING THE DOOR BEHIND FORMER EMPLOYEES. THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE IS STARTING TO PILE UP, BUT I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE COUNCILLORS ARE AWARE, HOW OUR TOWN IS BEING VIEWED THESE DAYS, FOR THOSE WE WISH TO ATTRACT HERE……TO HANDLE OUR ADMINISTRATION. IT WOULD BE NICE TO HIRE FROM THE LOCAL TALENT POOL.

WE DON'T NEED SPIN MASTERS BUT RATHER, SENSIBLE PROPORTION. "WHY CAN'T WE ALL GET ALONG?"

     As I've harped on for quite some time, the bigger problem with all of the above, is that there are still councillors holding out for a miracle, that all the debacles of this administration will cease and go away…..soon. I'm pretty sure, that if I found a councillor who thought this, and believed in fairy dust to correct all that is wrong, I could walk right up to them and say, "Your are deluded," and not be more than a hair's breadth from the hitting the proverbial nail on the head. The need for damage control, also in a proverbial sense, is well…….closing the barn door after the horses have been gone for a week…….and then expecting them to still be inside. The naive quality is okay for some, because there are a lot of these situations arising, they haven't experienced before, as rookie councillors. I don't think two years is enough time to drink it all in, but this term of office, has been more like dunking in the thick of adverse experience; versus a slow immersion, inch by inch, step by step, into the murky centre of the job description. And while I know that many of the problems were rooted in a previous administration, and catapulted into their term rather unceremoniously, trial by fire hasn't shown the most positive results……if it could under any circumstance. There are councillors going home after meetings, and conversations with constituents, thinking……"Why, why did I run for office." I imagine that if there were do-overs, we might see some new faces on council. It doesn't have anything to do with competence, because even the most experienced councillors and staff, are feeling the heat of the past two years, and the wear on their resolve to remain for the balance. So where is the problem rooted, because there is a problem right? 

     If you stick a pressure cooker on a stove burner, and decide to go for a nap, one really wouldn't need a specialist in risk management, to reckon the pot would blow-up in short order. What I sense about Gravenhurst Council, is that individual councillors do want to let off some steam. There are some personal feelings that are being contained, about the municipal experience, that should be known by the public……which, I've got to tell you as a news hound, would give us all a different perspective than we have now, about town problems being left unresolved. I'm not suggesting we need whistle-blowers…..but that would be refreshing. Rather, we need those gnarled old lovers of democracy, who have a voice, to speak up about what's bugging them other than me. Yet for some reason of insecurity, these people won't volunteer opinions in council, or outside, because of the potential of undetermined fall out. Is it an imagined fear? There aren't any dungeons beneath the council chamber? Are there? Does the mayor administer spankings to those who break rank? A rogue councillor isn't put in a stockade, and hit with ripe fruit? Is it an impediment to our right to know? Not everything is unanimous at town hall, and we have seen examples of that, under duress, most recently. There's more. Like the pressure cooker…..one day it's going to blow. I think more likely, it's going to result in a council resignation, and I would hate to see this. I might have a problem with the democracy of council, but I still don't want it to ever end in such a defeat, that generates a resignation. Instead, I want them to have a verbal donnybrook or two, and get some stuff on the table that's been simmering in the wings. Stop worrying about litigation. Stop being frightened by communication protocols. Stop being so darn secretive and retentive. We need open-dialogue around this town, like a super-duper laxative. We're really bound up, and it shows.

     Call me an old fuddy duddy, but I do not believe the tail should ever wag the dog. It's against the sensible proportion of nature, as with a dog, and it's painfully debilitating to the functioning well-being of democracy, in the broadest sense. In government, there is the power of knowledge and experience, and civil servants hold the clear balance of power. So who really calls the shots? There are critics of local government, who adamantly believe, the turbulence today is coming from employees, and not the elected officials. Is this true? If it is, then here's an idea. Fix it! Democracy needs its historic dynamic to function. But I have more than just a hunch, that councillors are aware of the power brokers of this four year term. Are they scared of stepping on these bigger than big toes? I don't mind if it is someone we voted into office……but if it's someone we employ…..well, then it's time to change with the seasons. Take back democracy. Maybe this could be the motto for the next two years, which hopefully will settle town hall down, to a degree or so below controversial. If councillors don't believe this has been a controversial two year jag? Then of course, they should vacate office immediately, and let someone else take over, who appreciates just how vulnerable we are…..and how bad we look in Muskoka……that even One Muskoka is taking the opportunity to pitch downsizing. For once, I'm starting to think they've got a point.

     What the Town has done for us critics, jammed shoulder to shoulder in the peanut gallery, parallels the re-setting of the bowling pins in the alley. We've lost a fair few staff members, and now we are inviting more to apply. So we can watch for ourselves, just how long the new employees stick around. And if, as we suspect, there is something at town hall, causing a major itch, we think we're getting close to finding what's causing it. The best plan, is to fix the source of the irritation now, before we invite more unsuspecting souls, into the quagmire. We will most definitely be demanding accountability, and clear, concise answers, the very next time, we sense unfairness at town hall. At present, we're just wondering what it's all about. In Gravenhurst, it's about all you can do!

     Thank you for joining today's blog. You're always welcome to read along, and comment. Keep your stick on the ice.

Blaming The Media, Why Not?

BLAMING THE MEDIA FOR FANNING THE FLAMES - OF PUBLIC ANGER

SPECULATION IS AN ACCELERANT OF MISINFORMATION

     THERE WAS AN ACQUAINTANCE I KNEW, QUITE A FEW YEARS BACK, WHO WAS LOCKED IN A WEEK BY WEEK BATTLE WITH THE LOCAL PRESS. I MET HIM SOCIALLY, ONE AFTERNOON, AND I FELT COMPELLED TO ASK HIM HOW THE PRESS WAS TREATING HIM……BUT KNOWING FULL WELL, IT WAS A ROUGH RELATIONSHIP. I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO WHACK ME FOR ASKING.

     THE CHAP CONFESSED THAT HE WAS AT THE END OF HIS TETHER, WITH THE NEWSPAPER, AND WASN'T SURE WHAT TO DO NEXT. HE LOOKED AT ME FOR ADVICE. BY THIS TIME I WAS OUT OF THE NEWS PROFESSION, BUT I MADE AN OFF-THE-CUFF SUGGESTION. "STOP WRITING LETTERS TO THE EDITOR!" HE LOOKED AT ME, SHOOK HIS HEAD, AND SAID, "I JUST PAID A LAWYER TO GIVE ME THE SAME ADVICE."

     EVERY TIME HE GOT MAD AT A NEWS ARTICLE, WHICH WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIM, HE'D FLY OFF THE HANDLE, SO TO SPEAK, AND GRAB UP A PEN AND A PAD OF PAPER. HE WAS HELL-BENT ON RETALIATION. INSTEAD OF CONTACTING THE NEWSPAPER, AND OFFERING TO DO A FULL INTERVIEW TO PRESENT HIS SIDE OF THE STORY, HE TEMPORARILY PLEASED HIMSELF, BY SENDING AGGRESSIVE NOTES BACK TO THE EDITOR. EACH LETTER WAS ACKNOWLEDGED IN THE VERY NEXT FRONT PAGE NEWS STORY…..AND IT WENT ON AND ON. I ASKED HIM BLUNTLY, WHAT HE FELT HE HAD TO GAIN, BY FANNING THE EDITORIAL FLAMES. THE NEWSPAPER WASN'T DOING ANYTHING WRONG, IN EDITORIAL CONTENT, AND THERE WAS NOTHING LIBELOUS TO JUSTIFY A LAWSUIT. HE JUST GOT IT IN HIS HEAD, THAT INSTEAD OF ARRANGING A SIT-DOWN SESSION WITH THE EDITOR, TO DISCUSS THE ISSUE IN FULL DETAIL, IT JUST SEEMED MORE GRATIFYING TO LAUNCH THESE SHORT SCUD MISSILES (LETTERS TO THE EDITOR), AND HOPE THAT IT WOULD HIT AT THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE PUBLICATION. WELL IT DIDN'T. EACH NOTE SENT TO THE PAPER, JUST MADE THINGS WORSE AND MORE CONFUSING. READERS WERE GETTING A REAL TREAT HERE, AS THIS SOAP OPERA RAN ITS COURSE.

     EVENTUALLY, HE TOOK THE ADVICE, AND STOPPED CORRESPONDING ALTOGETHER. THE MATTER PASSED, AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE IT NEVER CAME UP AGAIN. I'VE ADVISED MANY FOLKS, WHO'VE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE MEDIA, HOW TO COPE WITH WHAT APPEARS TO BE AN ADVERSARIAL EDITOR. THEY DO EXIST. JUST NOT AROUND HERE THOUGH. MY ADVICE IS STILL ROUGHLY THE SAME, REGARDLESS OF AN EDITOR'S MEAN STREAK OR UNFATHOMABLE BENEVOLENCE. GIVE AN INTERVIEW. BE HONEST, LAY IT ALL ON THE TABLE (AT LEAST WHAT YOUR LAWYER TELLS YOU IS ALLOWABLE UNDER THE LEGAL CIRCUMSTANCE), AND PLACE SOME TRUST IN THE EXPERIENCE OF SOMEONE WHO HAS ACHIEVED EDITORIAL STATUS.

     THERE ARE EDITORS AND REPORTERS WHO WILL BE INTENT ON PRESENTING A NO HOLDS BARRED PROFILE OF SOME EVENT, OR SITUATION YOU MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED. IF CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS BROAD SWEEPING FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, (YOU MAY NOT BE USED TO) GET A LEGAL OPINION BEFORE ATTENDING THE INTERVIEW. ESPECIALLY IF YOU PLAN ON INVOLVING OTHER PEOPLE IN THE REVELATIONS, OR PRESENTING UNFOUNDED ALLEGATIONS…..WHICH IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA. SOMETIMES INTERVIEWS LIKE THIS, WILL INVOLVE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS, AND CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.  QUITE A FEW HAVE BEEN BUDDING POLITICIANS AND SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS, FACED BY AN UNEXPECTED NEGATIVE SCENARIO, THEY WISH TO RESOLVE. I'M GLAD MY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE MEDIA CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE, BUT MY ANSWER TO THEIR QUESTIONS IS ALWAYS THE SAME. "PHONE UP THE EDITOR, AND WITH OR WITHOUT A WITNESS, (YOUR CHOICE), OFFER TO DO A FULL INTERVIEW ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR NEWSWORTHY CIRCUMSTANCE." THERE IS A LONGSTANDING FEAR, THAT IF A REPORTER GETS A HOLD OF SOMETHING JUICEY, THEY TURN INTO RAGING VAMPIRES, OUT FOR BLOOD. IN ALMOST ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT I'VE OFFERED THIS AS ADVICE, I'VE NEVER HAD A SERIOUSLY NEGATIVE OUTCOME; ALWAYS BETTER THAN IF THE PRESS WENT ON THEIR WAY WITHOUT A FULL FILE FOLDER OF INFORMATION. ERRORS IN NEWS STORIES ARE OFTEN THE RESULT OF SOURCES BEING UNWILLING TO COMMUNICATE THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY. IN MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE LOCAL WEEKLY PRESS, EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS ARE QUICK TO SPOT LIBELOUS MATERIAL, AND IT IS REMOVED FROM PUBLISHED STORIES TO PROTECT ALL WHO ARE INVOLVED, INCLUDING THEIR OWN MEDIA OUTLET.

     

COUNCIL SHOULD TAKE THIS ADVICE

     When I suggest to local council representatives, that they should consider creating friendly relations with the media (and the public generally) to stop-up the endless stream of embellishment and speculation, about what is going on at town hall, they always look at me as if I'm the devil's advocate. Much as if I'm actually pushing them toward the inferno, of a raging media scrum…….which honestly in Gravenhurst would be dialed down to a thin, thin scrum. Pretty much a one on one. Still there is a reluctance, no matter how small the media presence, to avail themselves for interviews, because there is this idea that one wrong word, taken out of context, could put them in an above-the-fold news story. Councillors generally, possibly after the media scrutiny regarding the recreation centre allegations, early in their four year term, seem a little tense about stepping too far away from the protection of the mothership…… town hall. I don't think their concerns about the media, if there is distrust, are justified based on the news coverage over the past half decade. There have been some big news stories involving town council, but frankly, nothing in my opinion, that would rank even a tenth of the fervor of my vintage in the community press, in the 1980's……when competition between publications had bared teeth all the time. Honestly, I always thought this was a good thing for the constituents, because they got more investigative reporting than they would have with only one paper serving the community.

     I think council looks upon the media as a nosey neighbor.  They want to keep some things about the operation confidential, as is their requirement, but they worry the press would print it, if they could find it, even if it meant looking through town hall waste baskets. It's really not like that, at least in this bailiwick. Still there is a nervousness about what might make it to print, or in this case, cyberspace, and what impact something negative might have on the seaworthiness of town hall. The assumption that no press is good press is just silly. Just as someone who will say the opposite, that any press is good press. I would advise any elected official, to begin on day one of their campaigns for office, to saddle-up to the local reporters, for print and electronic media, and spill the beans. Be honest. Share your story, your ambitions, values, and objectives, if successfully elected. Once in office, don't shun the media because someone told you it would be dangerous to reveal all the cards you're holding. The person offering this advice, obviously hasn't been connected to the media. I have. Many politicians have exceptional working relations with the media, and all sides benefit from honest, fair treatment, in good times, and bad. You don't need to look further than Toronto City Hall, to appreciate just how bad it gets, when politicians decide the media are a bunch of a-holes. There's no turning back from this public stance, but you certainly forfeit a change of the press climate, in your favor from this point. How many councillors and civil servants have felt the a-hole thing about me…….and I'm one of their supporters…..most of the time. I don't have to be called names to know how many councillors feel. They don't like being criticized, and I don't like being critical……if I have a choice. I would love the opportunity to talk to, and possibly interview each and every councillor, for this blog site, if they'd give me the time of day. I'd like to ask them responsible, timely, insightful questions, but I won't unveil them before the interview. I'd love to report on their stories, and overviews of the first two years of one of the most difficult council terms in Gravenhurst history.  They can take pot shots at me if they wish. If they think I've been unfair in the past, I'd welcome their rebuttals, and I wouldn't dream of censoring their reviews of my blog. It's only fair. If I can suggest they hide behind council protocols, to avoid meeting the press regularly, then they can accost me about editorializing from afar……insulated by the outer limits of cyberspace. Gads, that would make me a cyber bully, if their assessments are correct.

     I will not be flooded by responses. Maybe a couple of councillors might sense this to be an opportunity to test my theory, that co-operation with the media isn't such a bad or scary thing. It is no cake-walk to be an elected official anywhere……especially in Gravenhurst these days. There have been a lot of shingling circumstances in the past two years, where overlapping events have made governance a daily walk over hot coals. It's with this appreciation, that I have asked many times, for council to consider the idea of hosting a serious public meeting, at the Opera House, to answer constituent concerns in an open forum……where questions aren't censored, and time strictly regulated for making presentations. If it goes all night…..it goes all night. I think the outcome, and the show of goodwill, would vastly improve the prevailing lack of faith that has been building for almost two years……that we elected the wrong people to office. I don't believe this is the case, but that's not how many citizens see it today. Thus, a public meeting, might provide a bottom line that pleases everyone…….and reduces the political tension for the balance of the present term of office.

     The way to treat the media is the way to treat the public. By being open and honest, and relying a lot less on cliches and literal facades, to cover what we all know, is important council business, that we should know about……because, by golly, we just might be able to offer a hand to help. The media isn't out to head-hunt. They are out to inform the public, about what their democratically elected council, is up to……whether it is controversial, or just a walk in the park bylaw. We want to know. The media is trying to fulfill this request for information. I'm sorry to say this, but the fly in the ointment, is that council isn't sharing what it should……..when it should. This isn't just a perception.  But it is something that can be corrected and certainly improved upon, if the desire for change exists at town hall.

     Thank you for visiting today's blog. You're always welcome to visit and comment.

Gravenhurst Council Isn't a Bad Seed

GRAVENHURST COUNCIL ISN'T A BAD SEED - JUST NOT GETTING THE BEST ADVICE

A GENERAL RELUCTANCE TO INVESTIGATE PUBLIC PERCEPTION IS THEIR FAILING

     I WANT TO IMPRINT THIS AS A "BLOGGER RECORD," SO I DON'T HAVE TO REPEAT IT IN TWO YEARS, WHEN THE NEXT MUNICIPAL ELECTION ROLLS AROUND. I DON'T BELIEVE GRAVENHURST COUNCIL HAS OPERATED, OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS (ALMOST), WITH ANY SERIOUS DISREGARD FOR MUNICIPAL REGULATIONS OR PROVINCIAL LAWS…..THAT WOULD CAUSE ME, AS A CITIZEN, TO FILE AN OFFICIAL COMPLAINT ABOUT WRONG-DOING. I DON'T FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST, OR ANY DEVIATION FROM NORMAL PROCEEDINGS THAT WOULD MAKE ME EVEN REMOTELY SUSPICIOUS OF SCANDALOUS GOINGS ON AT TOWN HALL.

     IF I HAD TO MAKE A COMMENT ON COUNCIL'S TWO YEAR REPORT CARD, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY, THEIR BIGGEST SHORTFALL IN GOVERNANCE, IS AN UNWILLINGNESS TO INVESTIGATE THE NEGATIVE IMPACT THEIR DECISIONS CAN MAKE ON A LARGELY UNSUSPECTING, TRUSTING COMMUNITY. SUCH WAS THE CASE WITH THE COSTLY REPAIRS TO THE TOWN HALL ROOF, THAT DIDN'T GET MUCH MORE COVERAGE THAN IF A FLOWER PLANTER WAS KNOCKED OVER, AND IT HAD TO BE REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE. THE RECREATION CENTRE OVERHAUL WAS LIKE A MARX BROTHERS' SKIT…..CHECK OUT "THE HAT GAG," AND SEE IF YOU CAN FIND ANY PARALLELS. IF IT WASN'T SO DAMN EXPENSIVE, WITH THE PLETHORA OF ERRORS, WE MIGHT HAVE CHUCKLED AT THE SUCCESSION OF OOPS AND DO-OVERS, AND THEN THERE WAS A GIANT POROUS FLAW WITH THE ROOF. NOTHING CHEAP. THE ATTITUDE THAT SUCKED WAS, "IT IS WHAT IT IS." MEANWHILE, OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, THERE ARE A LOT OF RETIRED ACCOUNTANTS, ENGINEERS, CONTRACTORS, ARCHITECTS, AND FORMER CIVIL SERVANTS WITH THE GOVERNMENT, NOT TO MENTION RETIRED POLITICIANS, WHO DIDN'T BUY ANY OF THE EXCUSES. COUNCIL AS A WHOLE, DECIDED THAT IT WASN'T REALLY IMPORTANT WHAT THE CONSTITUENTS THOUGHT, AND CONTINUED TO PROVIDE SUMMARY, AMUSING ANECDOTES EACH TIME THE PRESS GOT WIND OF ANOTHER DEBACLE. WHAT DEBACLE? OR WHICH ONE IN PARTICULAR, BECAUSE THERE WERE MORE THAN ONE, BUT SQUEAKING IN UNDER A BAKER'S DOZEN.

      I HAD SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME, HOW THEY TOOK AN ELDERLY LADY, TO SEE ONE OF THE MOVIE-NIGHT PRESENTATIONS, HELD AT THE REC. CENTRE, DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER, AND IT WAS LIKE A MONTY PYTHON GAG…..TRYING TO GET HER INTO THE AUDITORIUM, AND THEN OUT OF THE FACILITY, WHERE THEY'D TRAVEL UP AND DOWN THE WRONG WAY…..THAT FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, LOOKED LIKE THE RIGHT WAY. THERE HAVE BEEN LOTS OF FOLKS DISMAYED BY THE ROUTE TO THE AUDITORIUM. NOW IF THERE WAS A DO-OVER ON PLACEMENT OF THE AUDITORIUM, ME THINKS IT WOULD BE IN A DIFFERENT, MORE CONVENIENT LOCATION. AND REMEMBER, THE WISE AMONGST US, DECIDED THAT BARGE CONCERT RAIN OUTS WEREN'T IMPORTANT DESIGN AND SIZE CONSIDERATIONS WAY BACK WHEN. THE RESULT? THERE ARE NO RAIN RE-LOCATIONS OF THESE CONCERTS. THE ROOM IS TOO SMALL, IT'S ON THE SECOND FLOOR, WITH AN INADEQUATE ELEVATOR TO HANDLE AUDIO EQUIPMENT, AND IT IS TOTALLY INADEQUATE FOR A MUSICAL GROUP TO ACTUALLY SOUND GOOD. THE TOWN POSITION, AS WE KNOW IT, HAS BEEN….."EVERYTHING IS GOOD…..AND MONEY WELL SPENT." IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING A CULT WOULD PUT OUT AS A MEDIA RELEASE. THE HAIGHT BEQUEATH WAS THE SAME. "WE'LL DO WHAT WE WANT WITH THE MONEY….END OF STORY." HOW'D THIS WORK OUT FOR COUNCIL? NOT SO GOOD. THEY CAME UP WITH A GOOD DECISION, ONLY AFTER THEY WERE REMINDED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SENSIBLE AND NOT SO MUCH.

THEY SHOULD SEEK OUT ADVICE

     When I used to cover the Council of the Township of Georgian Bay, back in the late 1970's, I can always remember, Mayor Joe Jacques, turning to me one night, the lone reporter in the press gallery, and asking my opinion on several council matters. Of course I was dumbfounded, because I didn't think protocol allowed for a guy from the local newspaper, to be commenting on a matter before council. In hindsight, geez, I think Mayor Jacques was ahead of his time. Some would say, he was behind his time, because it was something that would have been more common back a half century, when the towns and villages were much less bound-up with restrictions and protocols……and there was wiggle room to negotiate. The bottom line for most of us constituents, is that we want the common sense, responsible decisions, that we can all talk about over coffee, or a glass of wine….or while selecting magazines at the drug store, as being in our general best interests. Currently, it's quite the opposite, and there's a growing anger about what is perceived as council incompetence, blended with arrogance that……"we can govern our way through this mess." In any of the messes thus far, this hasn't been the case, and some citizens are stacking up the alleged errors in judgement, and I've got to tell you, it's looking pretty bad……point by point. But it is what people are talking about, and I'm pretty sure much could be mitigated, if council wanted to clear the air……and hold a "Q. and A." at the Opera House……where citizens would be allowed to interact, without censorship, (like was imposed during the all-candidates meeting two years ago), and be able to take their concerns public…..in a forum where answers could be judged, without having to turn a newspaper page. Gravenhurst Council has created their own burdens, by not seeking advice from some of our retired politicians, who I very much trust, to get some public relations help, on creating trust and understanding, regarding the troubling list of concerns dating back to the early weeks of their administration.

     There is still time. What is the down side of letting the public voice their opinions…..ask their questions? I get yelled at and criticized all the time, and it hasn't killed me yet. I think Gravenhurst constituents might be very encouraged, to see a council willing to be graded on their two year performance…..up close and personal. I believe it would be the kind of damage control that isn't sculpted and presented by in-house media folks, trying to dull the sharp edges. I think there would also be those in attendance, who might applaud council participants, for the work they have done, to overcome serious obstacles, and regain control of near-catastrophic circumstances, from main street fires, to police investigations. While councillors themselves might be pleased by their performances, to get this far without resignations, the truth is, the public overall, is deeply suspicious something is wrong at town hall. They're not buying the "everything's fine" scenario. So for their benefit, and to clear the air, it would be refreshing indeed, if councillors thought enough of democracy, to invite the public to a little conversational get-together…..which would be a giant olive branch at a very critical time. You just can't use the media to put out every fire. We start a few on our own, to go with the others.

     I don't dislike any of our Gravenhurst councillors, and I would never challenge their integrity or honesty, to represent our community respectfully, and with the best intent. Still, like having a deep sliver, and not digging it out at the time it becomes a wound, the heal-over effect doesn't make the sliver irrelevant. It can make it worse. Council has blown-off the public, as being somewhat of a nuisance, in their pursuit of our democratic institution……and the privileges it provides the elected few. While they may be coloring inside the lines here, it's still too close to the edge, for many of us to sit and watch another two years of "we did it our way…..even if you didn't like it." At some point folks, the constituents have to "like" what the elected body is doing. Or they get rid of them at the next election. While we have talented, intelligent members of council, they have acted as a mutual admiration society for the most part, despite the fact the anger against them has been mounting. It's not that I haven't been trying to warn them, about storm clouds on the horizon. The headlines of the past few weeks, have just fertilized the seeds of discontent, and it's true……some would like to see resignations from council. I'm not an extremist, and I would never suggest this now. Moreso I might advise, it's time to smarten up, and take a close look at the problems that have surfaced in the past two years……and if resolution could have been handled better, with more respect for constituent demands. Once again, the Haight bequeath was right up there on the list of debacles. How could council have ever thought that paying down the town debt was the right way to go on this? Talk about coffee shop outrage. Two years ago, the outrage was with a former council, and the talk was about the bright lights, who were running for the new council. A lot of bad water has gone under the proverbial bridge since then.

     In my world…..my Gravenhurst, I want the present Gravenhurst Council to carry-on. I want them to toughen-up, get out and meet their constituents, and ponder some of the helpful comments from people who want to inspire change………not impose it like a military coup. I want them to appreciate, that being elected didn't mean we planned to muzzle ourselves for their four year term…..or that we were leaving it all up to them to make our beds each night. We wanted to be participants at the all-candidates meeting and we were denied. It was an example of muzzling the constituents from asking questions that would evoke strong reactions. We got none of that…..and I've alway felt, it was the candidates who dropped the ball on this night. They should have refused to go on that stage, unless the public was able to ask uncensored questions, of the people who were vying for elected office. Democracy suffered that night, and has for the past two years, seemingly been an echo of the country we used to live in…….where freedom of speech was actually important.

     I admit to thinking that Gravenhurst Council is guilty of being naive. I won't ever suggest I don't trust their capabilities. But I just don't like their ridiculous non-committal "I'll tell you a week Friday," messaging that paints the scene, as if in a movie backdrop, "everything's all right," when clearly it isn't. I don't believe this makes them dishonest, but not as reality-committed as they should be, especially in this situation at present.

     I'm not leaving town. I want to work with these folks, to make this a better place to live. I'd rather lock arms with these people at the helm than lock horns.

     Thank you for joining today's blog. Please come back and visit with me again.

Report Criminal Activity To The Police, Help Our Town

REPORTING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND CRIME TO POLICE WOULD BE HELPFUL

MANY REFUSE TO GET INVOLVED

     THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE, HAPPILY RESIDING IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHO COULD TAKE A BITE OUT OF CRIME BUT THEY OUTRIGHTLY AND ADAMANTLY REFUSE TO GET INVOLVED. THEY DON'T WANT TO MAKE TROUBLE OR BE SINGLED OUT AS A SNITCH. THERE ARE HOMEOWNERS WHO HAVE HAD THEIR CARS AND TRUCKS BROKEN INTO, AND OTHERWISE DAMAGED, WHO DECIDE TO SWALLOW THE LOSS, AND VOW INSTEAD TO LOCK THE DOOR OF THE VEHICLES FROM THAT POINT ON……UNTIL THE NEXT TIME THEY FORGET TO LOCK UP.

     AND THERE ARE BUSINESS OWNERS WHO WRITE-OFF SHOPLIFTING, AND SIMPLY REFUSE TO MAKE A CALL TO THE POLICE, TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED, OR BEEN HAPPENING FOR SOME TIME. THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT THEY BELIEVE TO BE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, AND WHILE IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE TO BE RELUCTANT, TO STEP OUT ON THAT THIN BOUGH, OF SPECULATION, THERE ARE OCCASIONS WHEN A SIMPLE HUNCH, HAS STOPPED A MAJOR CRIME BEFORE IT COULD TAKE PLACE. MOST ARE CONCERNED ABOUT RETRIBUTION, AND WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF DRUG DEALERS GET WISE, ABOUT WHO PASSED ON A TIP TO THE POLICE. CRIMINALS TODAY COUNT ON YOU BEING INTIMIDATED. IT'S PART OF THEIR BUSINESS PLAN.

     THE PROBLEM FOR THE ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE, IS THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A COMPLETE PROFILE OF THE CRIME THAT GOES ON IN THIS TOWN, BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE KEEP THESE EVENTS TO THEMSELVES. I'VE TALKED TO NUMEROUS PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO CALL THE POLICE, EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE SUFFERED A MAJOR LOSS OF POSSESSIONS FROM THEIR CARS. "IT WON'T DO ANY GOOD," THEY SAY. "THEY NEVER CATCH THESE PEOPLE ANYWAY." OR, MY FAVORITE, "IF THEY DO CATCH THEM, I DON'T WANT TO GO TO COURT TO TESTIFY AGAINST THEM." SHOPKEEPERS WILL OFTEN REMARK THAT GOING TO COURT TAKES TIME AWAY FROM THEIR BUSINESS, OR THAT PROSECUTING THE THIEVES COULD MEAN SERIOUS RETALIATION AGAINST THEIR STORES. ARGUABLY, THEY HAVE A POINT. IT'S MORE THAN POSSIBLE, THAT CRONIES WITH THE PERPETRATORS WILL TRY TO SETTLE THE SCORE. ON THE OTHER HAND, WE CAN'T LET THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT TAKE OVER DODGE.

     THIS ATTITUDE, AND THE DESIRE TO SUCK-UP THE LOSSES, OR WRITE THEM OFF AS A COST OF DOING BUSINESS, MEANS THAT THE OPP DON'T GET THE DATA THEY NEED, TO GET AN INSIGHTFUL PROFILE ON WHERE THE CRIME IS OCCURRING, THE FREQUENCY, MATERIALS BEING STOLEN, AND HOW THE THIEVES OPERATE. THIS IS ALL IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO POSSESS, IN ORDER FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE UP AGAINST OUT THERE. WE'VE ALWAYS REPORTED THEFTS, AND WE'VE HAD TWO MAJOR ONES FROM OUR VEHICLE, AND SEVERAL FROM OUR MAIN STREET SHOP. IN ONE OVER-NIGHT RAID ON THE SHOP, A THIEF MANAGED TO ESCAPE WITH GUITARS AND SOUND EQUIPMENT, WORTH MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE POLICE, WE WERE ABLE TO GET NINETY-EIGHT PERCENT OF THE STOLEN PROPERTY RETURNED. BUT IT TOOK A CO-OPERATIVE EFFORT. WE DID OUR PART, BY CONTACTING EVERY HOCK AND PAWN SHOP IN THIS REGION OF ONTARIO, AND SLIGHTLY BEYOND. THE OPP FOLLOWED UP ON ALL INFORMATION WE COULD GATHER, AND EVENTUALLY, WE FOUND THE RIGHT VIDEO FOOTAGE FROM THE PAWN SHOP OF CHOICE, THE THIEF SELECTED TO UNLOAD THE HOT MERCHANDISE. ANDREW AND ROBERT WERE ECSTATIC TO HAVE FOUND THE EQUIPMENT. A MAJOR LOSS LIKE THAT, ON A NEW BUSINESS, COULD HAVE PUT THEM IN SERIOUS PERIL. THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER THEFTS THAT WE COULDN'T RESOLVE AS EASILY OR EFFICIENTLY, BUT THIS PARTICULAR STORY DID HAVE A HAPPY ENDING……AND THE BOYS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP THEIR GRAVENHURST BUSINESS UP AND RUNNING. AND THEY'VE MAINTAINED A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OPP, EVER SINCE……AND THEY WILL TELL YOU, THAT IT IS A GOOD AND SOLID NETWORKING TO PREVENT CRIME. OCCASIONALLY THEY DO GET FOLKS TRYING TO SELL THEM STOLEN INSTRUMENTS, AND THIS IS RESOLVED QUICKLY, AND INSTRUMENTS ARE RETURNED TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS. THE FREQUENCY HAS INCREASED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, AND DESPERATION FEEDS CRIMINAL AMBITIONS.

     THERE ARE TOO MANY CITIZENS IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHO REFUSE TO GET INVOLVED, IN CRIME BUSTING. THEY WILL COMPLAIN TO NO END, ABOUT THE LACK OF POLICING THAT APPARENTLY CONTRIBUTES TO THESE BREAK-INS AND GENERAL THEFT, BUT THEY WON'T TAKE ANY PROACTIVE MEASURES TO STOP THE ESCALATION OF CRIME IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. IF WE BANDED TOGETHER, AS WITH THE FORMER "NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH" PROGRAMS, WE COULD CERTAINLY LET THIEVES KNOW, WE INTEND TO PROTECT OUR ASSETS…..AND WORK HAND IN HAND WITH THE OPP……TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY FOR THE BETTER.

WE DON'T LIKE TO ADMIT WE HAVE A PROBLEM IN THIS TOWN WITH CRIME, DRUG USE AND UNDERAGED DRINKING

     As we often are out late at night, driving between entertainment venues, where our sons work, as sound technicians, you get to see some of the ugly moments most only read about. We've seen so many impaired teenagers out there, and watched donnybrooks right in plain view, between those who have had a lot to drink, and those who have had an enormous amount to drink. We had our front window of the store smashed out by several intoxicated young lads, who wanted to see what a shattered window would look like, in the middle of the night. We've know people who saw it happen, and ran the other way, thinking they might get blamed for it. For most of the night, our inventory was exposed to whoever wanted to risk putting their arm through the openings between shards of glass still clinging to the frame. Neighbors heard the smash, and we know they suspected it was our window that was broken, and yet they did nothing. It wasn't until the next morning, that another tenant of our building, phoned to let us know our store was open to the elements. It was pretty disheartening, and yes we did wonder all that day, whether we had made the right decision to locate our shop in Gravenhurst. What made us most concerned, was that so many knew about it before we did, but wouldn't phone either the OPP or us. They left it to someone else to look after, and if it hadn't been for another tenant, we might have gone most of that Sunday the same way……grab what you can……smorgasbord style.

     There are drug deals taking place all over our town, and it's been happening for a long, long time. The problem is that the OPP don't see everything that goes on in our town…….and if we want to control this brisk trade, and keep our town safe and law abiding, it is necessary to, at the very least, phone in a tip…….to reveal what you saw, or think you witnessed. Maybe it goes nowhere. On the other hand, potentially it can be used to map out and prepare a strategy for an eventual drug raid. And where there is a brisk drug trade, and budding addicts as a result, so goes break and enters, petty theft, and physical assaults. We've had customers arrive at the store, so stoned and intoxicated, we've had to usher them right back out……with a warning not to return. We advise police if we are concerned the item they intended to sell may be stolen property. As the OPP helped us in a time of crisis, we feel it is incumbent to work with them, to stamp out this undesirable criminal core.

     We had a resident in our neighborhood a few years back, who was not only using drugs, and buying them locally, but was drinking and driving absolutely hammered. He was a menace on the road, and he simply didn't care about threats, of phoning the police. I stood in the middle of the road one night, to get him to slow down, and he sped up. He wasn't a very bright fellow, and after giving us all the middle finger, over about three weeks of residency, we waited for the night he left "pissed to the gills," and knowing he always returned home shortly after he left (for his nightly drug pick-up), the OPP were called by his neighbors, and all they had to do was await his return trip. With priors, he was no longer a resident of our street. He needed treatment, but it was jail as a first step. The citizens of the neighborhood took action, to co-operate with the police, and our road safety was conserved.

     I'm not sure what Gravenhurst councillors know about the crime situation in this town…..it's true measure, and how the drug trade is affecting our youngsters. I think it's something worth their time, to companion research with the OPP, especially appreciating the spin-off violence and crime that comes from drug addiction. I'm sure there are a few who don't believe the problem is all that serious. These folks need to wake up and smell the proverbial coffee. There are mini gangs operating in town, and they have a hand in questionable activity, and certainly violence inflicted on those who cross them. There are many social problems interconnecting here, and they are not getting any better. Alcohol abuse in town is substantial, and it leads to drinking and driving, vandalism, petty crime and domestic violence. We see a sunny, historic little town, during the day, but we don't always view what is going on in the bewitching hours……..but the OPP do. Big city crime is in our fine Muskoka town, and we aren't going to have any choice, but to either live with the consequences, or fight back, by helping the police do their job effectively.

     Is Gravenhurst worse-off than Bracebridge, Huntsville, Parry Sound or Orillia, based on population? That's a question Gravenhurst Council might ask of the OPP some time, to see if this blogger knows his stuff, or is just another "sky is falling" kind of guy. We do need to know the crime breakdown. The public should have this information. Maybe it would stir a few more stalwart homeowners to get involved, and re-establish the foundation of Neighborhood Watch, to protect our community from the criminal element. It doesn't mean you contact the OPP every time someone you don't know, knocks on your door…..or just because you see a stranger in your neighborhood. But when you see someone in your neighbor's car, who apparently arrived there by bicycle….I think then it's worth a call. We spotted a thief in our neighbor's car in the wee hours, and we contacted the police immediately. Guess what? Just missed him / her by seconds. But we know how they carried out their house to house visits, which began with an early evening scouting mission, to see what was available. These folks are still operating on our streets. Time to take that big bite out of crime. Please help the OPP help us.

     Thanks so much for joining today's blog. Please visit again soon.

Thank You to The Ontario Provincial Police

IF YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS WERE POLICE OFFICERS……WOULD YOU FEEL DIFFERENTLY ABOUT SEARCHES?

WE ALL WANT CIVIL LIBERTIES, AND WE WANT TO FEEL SAFE AS PART OF THAT FREEDOM

     I AM A RELENTLESS CHAMPION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES. YOU DON'T HAVE TO COMPANION WITH THIS BLOG FOR TOO LONG, BEFORE YOU READ SOMETHING ABOUT THE RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY IN THIS COUNTRY, THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE FREE PRESS, THE RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND ALL THOSE CHERISHED QUALITIES AND QUANTITIES OF BEING CANADIAN. I DO HAVE A FEW INCONSISTENCIES, TO SOME OF MY FRIENDS, PARTICULARLY WHEN I TALK OR WRITE ABOUT THE "POLICE" STATE SOME REFER TO, AS THE NEW AND ENCROACHING NORMAL. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT GOT SO BADLY OUT OF CONTROL, WITH THE POLICING BODY AT THE G-20. MANY OF THESE SITUATIONS AND ABUSES HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED, AND I IMAGINE THERE ARE MANY MORE ISSUES STILL BEFORE THE COURTS. BUT HAVING WATCHED THE LIVE COVERAGE OF WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT DAY IN TORONTO, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I WOULD HAVE HATED HAVING ANY OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS SERVING AS POLICE OFFICERS, TRYING TO DEAL WITH WHAT MANY OF US FELT WAS WELL, WELL BEYOND A PEACEFUL PROTEST. THERE WAS INTENT ON THE PART OF THE PROTESTORS TO INFLICT PAIN AND SUFFERING….AND BURNING STUFF.  MANY INHERENT RIGHTS OF ANY DEMOCRACY ARE FORFEITED, WHEN AN ACT OF PROTEST INVOLVES ROCKS AND FLAMING BOTTLES HURLED AT STOREFRONTS. THOSE WHO WISH NOTHING LESS THAN TO INFLICT CARNAGE AS THEIR ACT OF REBELLION. AS CANADIANS WE WANT TO BE PROTECTED FROM THIS KIND OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. WE DON'T WANT OUR HOMES AND BUSINESSES TO BE DESTROYED BECAUSE OF RIOTING, JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT. WHO SPEAKS FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE SERIOUSLY COMPROMISED DURING THE G-20, WHO HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH EITHER THE PROTEST, OR THE POLICE……BUT JUST HAPPENED TO GET CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF UGLY EMOTION?

     IN RECENT WEEKS, IN THE LOCAL PRESS, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, ABOUT WHAT IS PERCEIVED TO BE ILLEGAL, UNWARRANTED SEARCHES OF VEHICLES, WHILE PULLED OVER AT RIDE SPOT CHECKS, LOOKING FOR DRUNK DRIVERS. IT'S TRUE THAT POLICE OFTEN MAKE OTHER DISCOVERIES, WHEN THEY PULL VEHICLES OVER FOR THESE CHECKS, INCLUDING DRUGS AND WEAPONS…..CERTAINLY ON A PROVINCE-WIDE TALLY THIS COULD BE RESEARCHED. THIS SHOULDN'T SURPRISE ANY ONE, EVEN FOLKS IN OUR SMALL MUSKOKA COMMUNITIES, WHO ARE HAVING TO DEAL, MORE AND MORE, WITH CITY-LEVEL CRIME AND VIOLENCE. THE ISSUE IS WHETHER THE POLICE, IN THIS CASE, THE ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE, SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CONDUCT A TOTAL VEHICLE SEARCH, WITHOUT CAUSE, AT A RIDE CHECKPOINT. IT'S ONE THING TO BE LOOKING FOR DRINKING DRIVERS AND OPEN BOOZE, BUT FINDING, BY GOLLY, A MEATY STASH OF DRUGS AND ACCESSORIES, IS I'M SURE A BONUS. THE INCIDENT IN QUESTION, REVEALED NO SUCH ARTICLES.  NOTHING REMOTELY ILLEGAL. NO BOOZE, DRUGS, OR FIREARMS. A MAJORITY OF THESE MORE INTRUSIVE SEARCHES HAVE POSITIVE OUTCOMES. DOING A FULL CAR SEARCH DOES SEEMS A LITTLE EXTREME, I MUST ADMIT, BUT NOT KNOWING THE CIRCUMSTANCES, ONE JUST ASSUMES THERE WAS SOME MOTIVATION THAT INSPIRED THE MORE EXTENSIVE INTERIOR INVESTIGATION. THIS WILL OBVIOUSLY COME OUT AFTER THE INQUIRY.

     HAVING TWO LADS WHO WORK LATE IN THE EVENINGS, AT ENTERTAINMENT VENUES LOCALLY, I OFTEN GET STOPPED BY OFFICERS DOING THEIR ROUNDS, AND AT RIDE LOCATIONS, AS THEY ARE, AT THAT TIME OF NIGHT, LOOKING TO PULL INTOXICATED DRIVERS OFF THE ROAD. I HAVE HAD OFFICERS FOLLOW ME HOME, AND BLOCK ME INTO MY OWN DRIVEWAY, TO PREVENT ANY POSSIBLE ESCAPE, TO MAKE SURE I'M NOT SOMEONE DRIVING FOR LOCAL BREAK-IN-ARTISTS…..AND ACTUALLY BELONG TO THE HOUSE I'VE ARRIVED AT…..AND OWN THE VEHICLE IN MY CARE AND CONTROL.

UNTIL IT IS OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS POKING THEIR HEADS IN THOSE SUBJECT VEHICLES

     In my driving life, which began at age sixteen, in the District of Muskoka, I have been stopped by officers of the Ontario Provincial Police probably a hundred or more times, at various checkpoints, particularly during the Christmas holidays, and never once, have I felt my rights were violated, even when the officer put his flashlight beam into the back of the car, and into the passenger compartment. As a long time reporter, we used to do seasonal feature articles on the drinking and driving initiatives, launched by the OPP, to get intoxicated motorists off the road. We used to join them at the spot-checks, to watch how they conducted the stops and questioning, and even then, I never saw a search of a vehicle that was rudely conducted, or unwarranted. A lot of drivers start mouthing off and that doesn't help their cause, if they wish to be released quickly after basic questioning. I've watched officers remove impaired drivers from vehicles, and we've reported on road-side sobriety tests, and again, I never witnessed anything that wasn't within the officer's rights to perform, and to seize. The abuse they take is extreme, and while there are cases of excessive use of force, to arrest suspects……by and large, what I have witnessed, is a very gentle approach to policing our streets. Getting spit launched to the face, being called a "pig," and assaulted frequently, doesn't seem to draw much interest from the public…..or cause critics to adjust their opinions. Searching any car can be a deadly enterprise. Do we think about that when we're filing grievances, assessing that our rights were violated. What about the policeman's right to get home safely, to his or her family?

     As to whether there might be guns in the car, or other weapons that could kill an officer, I ask those who feel our civil liberties are being eroded, if their own flesh and blood, was behind the badges of attending officers, would they feel the same about the rights and privileges to potentially conceal arms. Or if those weapons were not detected, and they were used in a violent crime, that killed one of your family members. There are many examples of this occurring, and those who write these ill-informed letters should do their homework, and statistic gathering, before they pen hateful letters about our police services…..as intrusive and bothersome as it may seem to some.

     I was the reporter back in the early 1980's, on a bitterly cold winter day, who stood out at the Port Sydney / Utterson intersection of Highway II, the morning after Constable Rick Verdeccia was shot and killed, and dumped off the side of the road. I watched as the officers searched for casings from the bullets used on the ambushed officer. I can't describe the truly horrible feeling I had, appearing like a vulture at this very sad scene unfolding……but I stayed because it was the public's right to know. Bad things happen in Muskoka too. The suspect would go on to shoot another police officer just north of Orillia. This individual would have shot anyone who got into his way, even at a drinking a driving checkpoint. He was intent on using his weapon. It also was the case he killed a gas station attendant north of Huntsville. He didn't look like a bad guy. But he was!

     From my first days as a cub reporter for the Muskoka Lakes-Georgian Bay Beacon, I covered the police beat. I visited the Bala detachment every Monday morning to consult the police blotter, and through the rest of the week, I followed cruisers to accident scenes, fires and sometimes, when they had unruly mobs at local entertainment venues. I saw a lot of things that changed my mind about what it means to be a police officer, especially here in the quickly changing rural area of the province. When I began working in Bracebridge for The Herald-Gazette, we took turns covering the OPP and Court, and let me tell you, what an eye opening experience……that clearly demonstrated to me, that big city crime isn't confined to "the big city." We've had a fair number of murders in this region, and some that are still unsolved. I mentioned in a previous blog, that I happened to see crime scene photos of an executed chap here in Muskoka, and his head came to rest on my column from that week's edition of the H.G. Well, I had a reader, and lost one.

     I also wrote, some time ago, about being followed home by an officer, well after midnight, last spring. I had gone to pick up Andrew from the Opera House, where he is employed, and I was supposed to meet him at our music shop across the road. The officer spotted me turning onto the main street, northward, and stopping in front of the old Muskoka Theatre, where Andrew was standing outside. We went up the main street, made a couple of turns to get to our homestead here at Birch Hollow, and we noticed the cruiser had pulled up close behind us. I didn't pull over because he didn't put on the emergency lights, or in any other way, indicate to me I was supposed to stop. When I pulled into the driveway, the cruiser blocked me in. I warned the boys to make themselves visible outside the car, as it was our home driveway, and keep hands away from pockets and doing anything inside their jackets, that might appear as if they were reaching for a gun. It was late, dark, and we didn't want to cause any alarm to the investigating officer, who was obviously just doing his job.

     The officer took only a few steps toward us, and politely wished us "good evening," and then he asked me who I was! As I heard my name coming over his police radio, I was pretty sure they knew the vehicle belonged to a Mr. Currie, but who was I? Once I confirmed that I was indeed Ted Currie, and that this was my home, and these lads were my boys, Andrew and Robert, he at once apologized for stopping us. His reason, by the way, was that we had taken the long way home. He was correct. I did do this, because the boys and I were talking, and I just decided to add a couple more streets to our route homeward. As there had been a lot of break-ins reported in our neighborhood, and a vehicle sighted accompanying the thieves, he just decided to follow up on the one vehicle that was taking the long way home.

      I refused to take his apology. That's right. I told him that his apology wasn't necessary, as he was just doing his job, and because we have had break-ins of our car and store in the past several years, it's precisely what I want to happen in our town. Not to become a police state. But for officers to be able to do their job……with the assistance of citizens who are the beneficiaries of "crimes-stopped" and "criminals-apprehended." Absolutely no need for an apology. In fact, it gives me confidence that the Ontario Provincial Police are doing their job in our municipality. On another occasion, only a few weeks later, I was stopped at our shop to pick up both boys this time. A cruiser had been checking on some teens doing some pushing and shoving further up the street. He fixed up that situation and then did a loop-back  of four or five blocks, and came up behind our vehicle, parked in front of the shop. He asked if there was any problem, at that moment, he could help with, and I answered politely, "Everything is fine officer….this is our family's music shop, and we're just unloading some instruments inside." He had probably checked out my plate and knew who I was…..or should have been. He recognized the boys in the doorway, and wished us a good night.

     As I spend a lot of nights throughout a year, after midnight, on the road, I am always pleased to see numerous patrol cars monitoring our streets. It hasn't eliminated crime, because that would take many more officers and preventive programs we currently don't have…..but from what I see out there, almost every day, the police presence is having an impact…..and a positive one.

     There will always be those who cry foul because they perceive the police have over-stepped their authority. In some cases this may be true, and it's why there is a channel to pursue these allegations. All I can say, as a reporter on the beat, for many years, is that I have never once, in many stops, been unfairly treated by the Ontario Provincial Police. On once occasion, I was actually saved from a mob of angry spectators, at an accident scene in Milford Bay, while I was taking photographs. Officer Terry Kidd said calmly, "Mr. Currie, I think we'd better let these people cool down a bit……so come here and sit in the back seat for a few minutes." He was right. They wanted to destroy my camera, and seeing as it was hanging off my neck, it could have got pretty nasty and there were only two officers at the scene looking after traffic control.

     Honestly, if you had loved ones wearing those uniforms, standing out there in full view at RIDE checks, wouldn't you worry about the very next car to stop, with a person inside concealing a firearm…..and what the intent might be on the spur of the moment. Maybe it's a car full of open booze, that is concealed, that might, only a few minutes later, be involved in a head-on collision, where there are people you know amongst the deceased. How are these officers going to feel, knowing they had given that car a pass, on initial inspection. When you think you know how tough their job is, think again, because chances are, you're wrong. Maybe those folks who pen letters about civil liberties, should go on a ride with the officers, on a resort night, here in Muskoka, to see just how bad it can get in paradise.

     Support our police friends. Help them with information, to solve crimes. Report suspected impaired drivers. Report car break-ins, and store thefts, even if it takes time out of your busy day. And now and again, thank them for helping us have a safer, crime reduced community.

     Thank you for joining today's blog. Please visit again soon.

SOLITUDE IS WHERE YOU FIND IT.

SOLITUDE IS WHERE YOU FIND IT.

PEACE AT BASS ROCK

        TOOK A MOTOR TRIP UP TO BRACEBRIDGE THIS WEEKEND TO VISIT SOME OF OUR FAVORITE SECOND HAND SHOPS. SUZANNE AND I DECIDED TO TAKE A SPIN DOWN TO BASS ROCK ON THE MUSKOKA RIVER, A SHORT DISTANCE FROM WHERE MY PARENTS LIVED AT THE BASS ROCK APARTMENTS. IT IS WHERE WE WENT SWIMMING AS KIDS AND WHERE WE FOUND HIPPIES AND DRAFT DODGERS BACK IN THE LATE 60'S AND EARLY 70'S. TODAY WE JUST FOUND A LITTLE LEFT OVER SOLITUDE SO WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT. HERE IS A LITTLE STORY ABOUT BASS ROCK.

Shortly after I arrived in Bracebridge, back in the mid 1960's, I was looking for those inspirational places to hole-up when times got tough. Even as a kid I was enthralled by long walks in the Muskoka woods, and lengthy vigils by lake or riverside, to calm the restless beast within. I was a kid on the prowl. I was an adventurer. When I had a day free of my fetters, the school in particular, I was off and roaming not long after daybreak. I didn’t waste time and I didn’t consider it wasteful in any way, to find myself in a comfortable portal, looking out over my new hometown, or the nature that cradled it in pine forests and rock-exposed hillsides. I was as much, living in one of the Group of Seven art panels that I used to drool over in the school textbooks.

I found Bass Rock, on the Muskoka River, a wonderful place to hide-out from mother’s Saturday list of chores, and the perfect retreat when I was in trouble for actions and subsequent reactions, brewing within the neighborhood. I was a bad little bugger and believe me, I was often in need of a cooling-off area. They were self imposed "time-outs," you might say, to borrow from today’s parenting jargon. I returned home many times in the low-light, to avoid my pursuers young and old. My favorite hide-out was just below the Bass Rock rapids, where the wonderfully smooth rock shore, comforted the travel-weary "Tom Sawyer" types. There were trees to hide behind and shadows to disappear into, should some of my contemporaries give up my sanctuary to adversaries. What began as a kid’s relationship with a really good retreat, from the alleged misdemeanors of the day, became a place where I came to dream and compose. It was quite common to find me there at almost any time of the day or night, staring out over that sparkling Muskoka water, reflecting mindfully on the magic of the starscape, at night, or brilliant sun on hot summer afternoons. It was a wild place in the early spring, as the force of the current pounded water through its narrows. A romantic place to bring a young lady, to impose some poetry and grandiose expectations. In the moonlight it was magnificent, and its universality made its way into my landscape writing for decades.

I can remember coming to its shores when I was bursting in love and arriving in its comforting embrace after being dumped and feeling lost in life. I’ve sat on these rocks in quiet contemplation, in moods of desperation, anxiety churning my stomach, and then arrived here on so many other occasions, joyful and contented, having made copious notes about this healing place in the heartland. I’ve sat on the trunk of that fallen tree, and talked with the love of my life about marriage and family. I’ve sought this place out when at a loss for inspiration, and have been fulfilled generously by experience celebrated here. It is the one identifiable place that has inspired more stories than even this portal at Gravenhurst’s Birch Hollow. I’ve written hundreds of outdoor essays, over the past 35 years spent exploring Muskoka, that I can trace back to some lonely but thought-provoking hiatus upon its smooth and mossy contoured rocks. I’m so glad I found this place as a child.....and as it shielded and nurtured me then, it has inspired and comforted me ever since.

It is with some irony that my mother and father, who decided to move their young family to Muskoka in 1966, decided to make their last abode.... a residence on the bay of Bass Rock. As we were closing up their apartment recently, after the death of my father Ed, his wife having died a year and a half earlier, I stood for a few moments on the bank of the Muskoka River, watching as the currented, silver water, gurgled-up against the ice-clad shore,..... enthralled, as a child in heart again, to witness the pinery enclosure being brushed everso lightly by the January wind, as if by an artist’s brush.......a caress just enough to release the snow from the burdened boughs, in a crystalline spray down over the water. My parents loved this place....... because of the river’s gentle and soothing flow, the picturesque qualities of these giant pines and Muskoka rock. Even in death’s shadow, this sanctuary was the heaven on earth I had always thought, and it softened the heartache of loss, as it had always done as a companion. It was still the healing place.

The High Cost of Defending Democracy

HARD LESSONS ABOUT THE HIGH COST OF PRESERVING DEMOCRACY -

NOT EASY FOR A VETERAN'S FAMILY TO WATCH IT COMPROMISED, AGAIN AND AGAIN

     MY FATHER ED, GOD REST HIS SOUL, NEVER SPOKE TO ME ABOUT THE REASON HE ENLISTED IN THE NAVY, DURING THE EARLY GOING OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

     BUT MY MOTHER DID. IT WAS A MEMORABLE DISCUSSION, WHILE ED WAS ON A BUSINESS TRIP TO TORONTO. ACTUALLY, IT WAS A SHORT TIME BEFORE MERLE WOULD SUFFER A LIFE THREATENING BOWEL OBSTRUCTION, A STROKE AND A HEART ATTACK, ALL ON THE OPERATING TABLE WITHIN ONE HOUR OF CLIMBING ABOARD. IT WAS PROVIDENTIAL, I SUPPOSE, BECAUSE AFTER THIS, POOR OLD MERLE HAD LOST MOST OF HER LIFE MEMORIES, AND CONVERSATIONS WERE SHORT BUT STILL SWEET.

     I WAS IN MY FIFTIES. SHE WAS IN HER 80'S. THAT'S A LONG TIME TO WAIT, TO BE TOLD THE TRUTH, CONSIDERING SHE COULD HAVE HAD THIS SAME CONVERSATION WITH ME WHEN I WAS FIFTEEN OR TWENTY-TWO, OR MAYBE EVEN AT THIRTY-FIVE. I GUESS SHE FINALLY FIGURED THAT AT FIFTY-THREE, I COULD HANDLE THE PERSONAL INFORMATION. ED, YOU SEE, DIDN'T THINK I NEEDED TO KNOW. I WAS ALWAYS A FLAG WAVING, DEMOCRACY OBSESSED YOUNG LAD, AND HE KNEW I HAD AN EMBELLISHED OVERVIEW OF HIS SERVICE FOR HOME AND COUNTRY……AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF COURSE. I HAD PIECED TOGETHER SOME INCONSISTENCIES WITH THE ENLISTMENT STORY, AFTER HEARING BITS AND PIECES OF CONVERSATIONS, WHEN FRIENDS CAME OVER AND THE TOPIC TURNED TO WAR SERVICE.

     IT'S NOT THAT MY FATHER HAD BEEN IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW OR ANYTHING, AND IF HE HAD, MAYBE HE WOULD HAVE JOINED THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION INSTEAD….WHERE IT IS SAID YOU COULD LOSE YOUR IDENTITY……AND EXCESS BAGGAGE. AS I HAD BEEN TAUGHT IN SCHOOL AND IN CANADIAN CIVILIAN LIFE GENERALLY, OUR ENLISTED MEN JOINED THE WAR EFFORT TO PRESERVE DEMOCRACY, AND THE FREEDOM WE ENJOY TODAY. "FOR THE LOVE OF CANADA," I MAY HAVE HEADLINED AN ESSAY ON MY DAD'S STINT IN THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY. I SUPPOSE NOW, MERLE MAY HAVE FELT I WOULD HAVE LOOKED ON MY FATHER DIFFERENTLY HAD I KNOWN THE TRUTH. THE REAL INCENTIVE HE HAD TO ENLIST.

     SHE EXPLAINED HOW ED ENLISTED WITH A FEW OF HIS CHILDHOOD FRIENDS, ONE DAY WHEN THE MOOD STRUCK, THAT ADVENTURE AWAITED OUT THERE IN THE BIG WIDE WORLD. THEY WERE FOLLOWING HUNDREDS OF OTHER YOUNG ADULTS, CAUGHT UP IN THE FERVOR, TO KICK HITLER'S ASS OUT OF EUROPE. YET ACCORDING TO MY MOTHER, AND SHE HAD NO REASON TO LIE, ED ENLISTED BECAUSE HE WAS JOBLESS, BROKE AND HUNGRY. ED WAS A SKINNY WRETCH OF A MAN, THEN TURNING EIGHTEEN. HE HAD BEEN A MAN BY RESPONSIBILITY FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE THAT, WHEN HIS FATHER ABANDONED HIM AND HIS THREE BROTHERS, AND A WIFE AND MOTHER, WHO SUFFERED FROM SERIOUS BOUTS OF DEPRESSION. AND WHO WASN'T ADVERSE WHATSOEVER, TO JUST DISAPPEARING WHEN THE MOOD STRUCK. IT STRUCK OFTEN.

A SURVIVOR IN MANY WAYS; BUT A LOVER OF DEMOCRACY UNTIL THE END

     Ed (Ted) was a survivor of Toronto "The Good," that wasn't so kind much of the time. The son of an Irishman, he had a notoriously bad temper, and I suppose the navy thought that was okay as a characteristic. He'd box bare fisted, and he used to show me as a kid, how he'd damaged his knuckles in impromptu boxing matches on the streets, and on ship when the mood or circumstance struck. His nose looked as if it belonged in a boxing museum. He was a thin, underweight tempest in a teapot. So I wanted to believe he joined the navy like Popeye, to protect the good from the clutches of evil. I used to tell my chums that Ed was the model for Popeye. I was proud of my father, and like many of us war-obsessed lads, (who read everything we could about the great battles), we had these images of our kin that were based largely on the fiction we borrowed from either Hollywood or comic books.

     "Your dad, and so many of the other mates he knew from Cabbagetown, were in the same position. Times were hard. The jobs were part time, and low paying, and it seemed to Ed as if he would be stuck in poverty his whole life," she said. "He saw the navy as a way to save himself…..by putting himself in harm's way. It's ironic, but that is why he enlisted. To save himself from the mean streets, where there wasn't much hope of getting out otherwise. He liked Toronto, but as he had grown up impoverished, he could see that it also was closing in on the rest of his life. He decided, with a lot of other fellows…..all nice kids, to join this great adventure. Quite a few of those naive kids didn't come back. They signed up you see, to save themselves, but died instead."

     Ed had been in and out of orphanages throughout his childhood, and he had been sexually molested by those who claimed to be his guardians, whether at summer camps for the poor, or in foster care, which he dreaded, mostly for his younger brothers that he couldn't always defend. The youngest boy had been so badly mistreated, he was institutionalized as insane, in his early teens; and was only released for the last two years of his life……which was probably at about 70 years of age. Some today might, under their breath, have labelled my father as "damaged goods," with too much trauma to rehabilitate. The navy didn't worry too much about enlisting an angry young man, as it might be helpful fighting the German war machine. It's true. Ed felt he had nothing to lose, as so much had been taken from him. So as far as death-defying courage, his was just day to day temperament, trying then to survive what he had endured as a child, being abandoned by his father, then his mother…..left to fend for his brothers, abandoned while they played ball in the park. No, he didn't enlist to fight for the preservation of democracy. He joined, like a lot of Canadian youth, because they were desperate to improve their lives…..and funny thing that…..they chose a war to make that happen.

     Merle would add to this, that the war was a good thing for Ed, because it pre-occupied him with other things……life threatening work, for one. She said he let his inner rage out, when he was manning the "twin oerlikon" anti-aircraft guns, trying to take German aircraft out of the sky. I don't know how many "kills" he had, because he would never talk about it……didn't want to dredge up a life he wished to leave behind. I often wonder when he'd wake up at night sweating, and startled, if he had been re-living some enemy attack, like the torpedoes sent by lurking u-boats following his convoy. There were many times, when I wanted to confront him about his excessive drinking, and whether he was still haunted by what he had witnessed and performed back then. What a stupid thing to ask. I wanted to make it my business, but he made it clear, this was intimate knowledge, for him and him alone to deal with. When a doctor, shortly before the end of his life, said with a trace sarcasm that Ed had an alcoholic's liver, as he stood there, hands on hip, with a silly smirk on his face, I wanted to leap over that gurney and throttle him. How dare he diminish this man's life, by suggesting he was a garden variety rummy, who had senselessly abused himself. Then you see, I thought about the democracy and freedom thing, and it made me even madder. I really wanted to ask this tool, if he had any idea what my father had been through in his lifetime…..because I was pretty sure the doc hadn't been rubbed by history, as had my father in so many horrible ways. The doctor had made his judgement. Just another old drunk. He even said it while Ed was cognizant of what was going on. This doctor had no idea the tempest that was churning in my teapot, and how Suzanne saved him from a protective son with just enough Irish blood to make a dent……on the end of his arrogant nose.

     My father joined the war effort because it was a paying job. It was the way to escape, at least temporarily, the vicious circle of poverty, he had known at home. Cabbagetown in the 1940's wasn't better than Cabbagetown in the 1930's, 1920's and back as far as you like. Ed had no good reason to hang around the neighborhood, and as Merle said, the only reason his mother was upset about him enlisting, was "Who will look after me?" "In the Navy, your dad got three square meals a day, which he wasn't getting otherwise," Merle told me. He got a wardrobe, a place to live rent free, a ration of rum, and a chance to see the world through the eyes of a sailor-man. "He didn't think about getting killed, even when some of his buddies were, when U-boats blew their ships up," she added. "He knew how to internalize fear, and he did it all of his life, except when it came to going to hospitals or the dentist. Then he was full of fear."

     As a fervent believer and defender of democracy, I suppose Merle thought that I'd think less of my father, knowing that he didn't enlist specifically to fight for its preservation. She was wrong of course. I was proud of my father for all the obstacles he had overcome in his life, not just the war years, and we did have many chats about democracy in our later years' coffee-time chats, while Andrew and Robert played with their Dinky Toys and Lego on the floor of their apartment. Ed was a survivor of many threats to life and limb. From childhood in fact. He may not have signed up with the fervor of a democracy-fighter, but he fought bravely for his country. He was a proud Canadian. I remember seeing him, covered in a dusting of newly fallen snow, standing at the cenotaph, in Bracebridge's Memorial Park, with his few remaining veteran mates, and thinking to myself, how little most of us know about the tremendous, life-altering sacrifices made then…….so our governments today, can proclaim with hubris, their democratic right to tamper with the freedom, chaps like my father guaranteed with their lives. I can get very mad, very fast, when I read, or hear about, the latest desecration of what I have come to know as democracy……and what so many brave young Canadians fought for……to improve all our lives for decades to come.

     My father wasn't a war hero. He enlisted initially, to improve his life. That may be hard to fathom but I know it's true. But in the heat of battle, his fight was against evil. Admittedly, evil meant many things to my dad, but I know he recognized that if evil won this war, our country would be lost. He believed it was worth fighting, and if need be….., to die for. I owe it to the old bugger, to stand up for democracy. So if I seem to come on a little strong, these days, about what is undemocratic in this country……well, it was seeded in my childhood. I am a fighting Canadian with deep roots…..and an "old salt" on my mind.