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The Days of Cut Your Own Tree - A few decades ago, it was common place in Muskoka to head out to the nearest piece of Crown Land and cut down your own Christmas Trees. Then we moved into an era of going to a Christmas Tree Farm with saw in hand and toured the rows of cultivated trees until the perfect tree jumped out before our eyes! Now, in most occasions, we head to the local Canadian Tire parking lot where Rotarians are selling tightly bound trees conveniently wrapped to fit in the trunk of our car. Times have changed greatly and the Christmas Tree adventure can be wrapped up in a matter of minutes rather than making it a family adventure on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Stick with your family tradition and find a Christmas Tree Farm and head out with the family and enjoy the day and fresh air creating your own Christmas Tree Adventure.
Here’s the remains of one of those tree lots along the Barkway Road in Gravenhurst, Muskoka. (PHOTO BY FRED SCHULZ)
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THE WONDERFUL COMMONPLACE OF A RURAL CHRISTMAS - TOWN, VILLAGE, HAMLET OR CROSSROADS
IT'S NOT ABOUT HOW ELABORATE THE FESTIVITIES ARE - BUT THE JOY ATTACHED - THE INHERENT, LOVELY KINDNESSES BESTOWED
REPORTING, AS A PROFESSION, TAUGHT ME TO BE AN AGGRESSIVE VOYEUR. EVER WATCHFUL FOR SUSPICIOUS STUFF. I'M NATURALLY CURIOUS, SO I FIT THE PROFESSION PERFECTLY.
I DON'T LOOK THROUGH MY NEIGHBOR'S BEDROOM WINDOW, OR USE BINOCULARS, TO CHECK OUT THOSE WHO SUN THEMSELVES, ON THE DECKS OF ABUTTING PROPERTIES. BUT I AM WATCHING YOU FROM AFAR, AS AN OLD STUDENT OF HUMAN NATURE, AND MAYBE EVEN CLOSE-UP, IF WE'RE IN PROXIMITY OF ONE ANOTHER. WHAT WAS ONCE A PAYING GIG, HAS MORPHED, AS THEY SAY, INTO A GENERAL CURIOSITY EVER MORE. I GET HUNG-UP ON STORIES THAT HAVE INTRIGUING FACTS, AND TRUTHFULLY, I CAN'T HELP PURSUING LEADS, UNTIL I UNDERSTAND THE FULL RAMIFICATIONS OF THE NEWS. IT'S LIKE SUZANNE WORKING ON ONE OF HER HUGE PUZZLES SHE ALWAYS HAS ON THE GO, HERE AT THE HOMESTEAD. EVERY ONE WHO WALKS BY, FEELS COMPELLED TO PUT IN A PIECE OR TWO, OR EVEN MORE. I'VE EVEN FINISHED HER PUZZLES, AFTER SHE'S GONE TO BED, AND THAT, SHE SAYS IS "IRKSOME." SOME THINK IT'S A BAD HABIT, HANGING ON TO THIS NEWS SLEUTHING HOBBY; EVEN MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY. "YOU'RE RETIRED FROM THEN NEWSPAPER TED...IT'S TIME TO HANG-UP THE NOTE PAD AND PEN." TRUTHFULLY, I'D RATHER GIVE UP MY OTHER VICES THAN QUIT HUSTLING COMMUNITY NEWS. I'D SOONER QUIT THE TWENTY-FOUR BEER I HAVE EACH AND EVERY YEAR. THAT USED TO BE A LIGHT WEEKEND REFRESHMENT.
GENERALLY IT'S A HARMLESS PURSUIT, THIS STORY-QUESTING, BUT MY OBSERVATIONS DO OCCASIONALLY WIND-UP IN BLOGS LIKE THIS.....WITHOUT THE IDENTITIES OF THOSE I'VE OBSERVED BEING REVEALED. WHY WOULD I? WHAT PURPOSE WOULD IT SERVE? I WANT TO KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT OUR CITIZENRY AS POSSIBLE. IT MIGHT GIVE ME AN ADVANTAGE SOMEHOW. AS AN HISTORIAN, IT'S CALLED "ACTUALITY," AND IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT WHEN STUDYING REGIONAL IDENTITY. HISTORY IN THE MAKING. GETTING THE GROUND FLOOR VANTAGE POINT, AS HISTORY UNFOLDS. SEEMS PRETENTIOUS AND ARROGANT, WOULDN'T YOU SAY, AS IF I'M DOING SOMETHING UNIQUE AND SPECIAL, WHEN IN FACT, MOST OF US ARE VOYEURS IN OUR OWN SUBTLE WAY. THERE ARE LOTS OF EXAMPLES OF WATCHFUL (OR NOSEY) PEOPLE HAVING SAVED THE DAY, IN SOME HAPPENING SORT OF WAY.
NOW, THE CHRISTMAS STORY, IF YOU HAVE ONE TO SHARE
IT'S MY OWN CHRISTMAS PASSION! I WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS. HOW DOES YOU FAMILY PREPARE FOR THE SEASON? ARE YOU A BIG-TIME HOME DECORATOR, OR DO YOU BELIEVE IN MODEST PROPORTION? A FEW DECORATIONS TO SET THE MOOD BUT NOTHING EXTRAVAGANT? TRADITIONAL DECORATIONS, ANTIQUE TREE ORNAMENTS, HUGE FLORALS, OR DO YOU RE-INVENT CHRISTMASES FROM, SAY, THE NINETEEN FIFTIES, OR SIXTIES, AS YOU REMEMBER THEM AS A CHILD? DO YOU FEEL UPLIFTED EMOTIONALLY TO DECORATE, "MAKING RATHER MERRY," OR LIKE MANY, DOES THE SEASON INSPIRE BOUTS OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND LONELINESS? IT IS THE SEASON OF EXTREMES, THAT'S FOR SURE. BUT I THINK THE EXTREMES OFTEN WORK OPPOSITE TO WHAT WE MAY BELIEVE. THE CHRISTMAS SEASON IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN STRANGE AND UNPRECEDENTED BENEVOLENCE PEAKS, FOR THOSE WHO NEED ASSISTANCE FEEDING THEIR FAMILIES, AND PUTTING PRESENTS UNDER THE TREE, FOR THEIR CHILDREN. COMMUNITY SUPPERS, AND CHURCH CONGREGATIONS, BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITIES, AND OF COURSE KINDLY NEIGHBORS, REACH OUT TO THOSE ALONE AND DEPRESSED ABOUT CHRISTMAS. IT'S NOT A PERFECT BLANKET OF AFFECTION, BECAUSE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PEOPLE WHO ARE UNDETECTED, OR WHO, FOR ANY NUMBER OF PERSONAL REASONS, PREFER TO REMAIN ALONE; SUFFERING THE INHERENT HARDSHIPS OF THE HEART; CONTRARY TO WHAT IS GENERALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS MOST FESTIVE TIME OF THE ROLLING YEAR.
I FIRST GOT INTERESTED IN THE COMMONPLACE OF CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS IN OUR REGION, WHEN I WAS EDITOR OF THE BRACEBRIDGE HERALD-GAZETTE. IT WAS MY JOB, ABOUT THIS TIME EACH YEAR, TO PLAN OUT OUR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S ISSUES IN ADVANCE. THEY WERE USUALLY FILLED WITH FEATURE COPY ANYWAY, BUT IT TOOK QUITE A BIT OF COAXING TO GET OUR REPORTERS INTERESTED IN SOFT COMMUNITY NEWS; LIKE PROFILING THE CHURCH AND SCHOOL CHRISTMAS CONCERTS; BAKE AND CRAFT SALES, AND COMMUNITY PARTIES. SO WE TRIED TO TAP INTO ALL THE EVENTS GOING ON, AROUND THE DISTRICT, THAT WOULD MAKE INTERESTING CHRISTMAS-TIME READING. I'D BE ABLE TO BANK ENOUGH FOR THE HOLIDAY ISSUES, BUT WHEN IT CAME DOWN TO THE SURPRISES OF PRESS DAY, THERE WAS OFTEN THE NEED TO BLOW-UP THE BEST PHOTOS (OR ANYTHING) TO KILL EXTRA SPACE.....WHEN THE EDITORIAL COPY HAD BEEN SWALLOWED WHOLE, IF THE PAPER HADN'T REACHED AT LEAST SIXTY PERCENT ADS, TO FORTY PERCENT COPY. IT'S KIND OF HARD TO EXPLAIN, BUT IT WAS A KILLER FOR STAFF WRITERS. THE PUBLISHER WANTED A BIG ISSUE FOR CHRISTMAS, EVEN IF THE AD COUNT WAS DEFICIENT. WHAT THIS MEANT, WAS THAT INSTEAD OF RETREATING FOR A FESTIVE PINT EARLY, WE'D BE FORCED TO WRITE WELL INTO THE NIGHT, TO MEET OUR EDITORIAL OBLIGATIONS. MANAGEMENT WANTED GOOD AND WHOLESOME READING BETWEEN THE ADVERTISEMENTS. REMEMBER CHRIS? THE PRESS DAY PANIC! I STILL GET THE WILLIES ON TUESDAYS, AND I HAVEN'T BEEN DAY TO DAY IN THE EMPLOY OF A NEWSPAPER SINCE THE 1980'S, WHEN I HAD A MULLET TO GO WITH MY TRUCKER'S CAP.
BUT FOLKS, THERE WAS SO MUCH MORE GOING ON, IN THIS ANNUAL CHRISTMAS RUSH FOR NEWS AND FEATURE STORIES, THAT WE COULDN'T OFFER OUR READERS. BENEVOLENCE THAT WASN'T TO BE MADE PUBLIC, OR USED AS FEEL-GOOD FUNDRAISING HEADLINES. WHAT I HAD ACCESS TO THEN, WHEN STORY LEADS WOULD COME TO MY DESK, REPRESENTED A HUGE AND UNANTICIPATED WAVE OF BENEVOLENCE, THAT HAD NO LINK TO ANY FUNDRAISERS, OR FOOD BANK DRIVE FOR SUPPLIES. IN FACT, THE MANNA FOOD BANK IN BRACEBRIDGE HAD JUST OPENED, I BELIEVE, BECAUSE MY COLLEAGUE, JUDITH BROCKLEHURST, IF MEMORY SERVES, DID ONE OF THE FIRST STORIES. I'M A LITTLE FOGGY ABOUT THIS, AND JUDITH PASSED AWAY NOT SO LONG AGO, SO I'M RELYING ON THE SKIPPING GEARS OF MY MEMORY. WHAT I KNEW ABOUT, BUT WAS OFF LIMITS TO REPORT ON, WAS THE WORK OF INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT MUSKOKA, WHO BECAME "SECRET SANTAS," OVER THE HOLIDAYS. THE KIND OF BENEVOLENT CHARACTER, WHO WOULD DELIVER A CHRISTMAS TREE TO A FAMILY THEY KNEW, WHO COULDN'T AFFORD ONE; AND THE SAME FOR HAMS AND TURKEYS THAT MYSTERIOUSLY TURNED UP PRIOR TO THE BIG DAY, FOR THOSE OF MODEST MEANS. THE SAME AT THE FOOD BANKS. WONDERFULLY KIND INDIVIDUALS WHO INSISTED ON REMAINING ANONYMOUS.
IF YOU ARE ONE OF THESE SECRET SANTAS, DOING GOODWILL IN SECRET, OR KNOW SOMEONE ELSE WHO BESTOWS KINDNESSES, THANK YOU, AND THANK THEM!
I'D FIND OUT ABOUT THESE ACTS OF GENEROSITY BY HAPPENSTANCE, AND STREET GOSSIP. THERE WERE CUSTOMERS AND READERS WHO'D JUST MENTION, IN PASSING, THAT A LOCAL BUSINESSMAN, FOR EXAMPLE, HAD PAID OUT OF POCKET, FOR RESTAURANT DINNERS, FOR THOSE DOWN ON THEIR LUCK, OR WHO HAD SENT DINNERS, WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS, TO SHUT-INS, WHO COULDN'T GO OUT AND SHOP IN THE TEETH OF INCLEMENT WEATHER. THESE EARTHBOUND ANGELS ARE STILL OUT THERE, AND FROM WHAT I KNOW TODAY, THE WARM BLANKET OF GOODWILL THEY WRAP AROUND OUR COMMUNITIES, IS BIGGER AND MORE COMFORTING THAN EVER. WHAT INSPIRES THESE ACTS OF GENEROSITY? WHY DON'T THEY WANT RECOGNITION FOR THEIR GOOD DEEDS? WERE THESE AMBASSADORS ALWAYS THIS GENEROUS? OR DID THEY HAVE AN ENLIGHTENING MOMENT IN THEIR LIVES, THAT INSPIRED THEM TO SHARE THEIR GOOD FORTUNE WITH THOSE IN UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES? IT'S NOT FOR ME, OR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW. THAT WOULD SPOIL THE WHOLE PURPOSE TO THEM. IT'S THEIR PRIVILEGE TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS, BUT THANK GOD WE HAVE THEM AS CITIZENS OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
A LITTLE DICKENS AND THREE GOOD SPIRITS
AS A HUGE FAN OF THE WORK, WRITTEN BY CHARLES DICKENS, AND SPECIFICALLY THE STORY, "A CHRISTMAS CAROL," I ASK QUITE VOLUNTARILY, ALL ON MY OWN, TO BE VISITED BY THE SAME THREE SPIRITS, AS ATTENDED THE MISER, EBENEEZER SCROOGE, THAT CHRISTMAS EVE, LONG, LONG AGO. MY MOTHER FELT THIS WAY WHEN I WAS A KID, AND I WAS JAMMED INTO A CHAIR, IN FRONT OF THE TELEVISION, TO WATCH THE FILM VERSION OF THE BOOK, ALWAYS THE ONE STARRING ALISTAIR SIM. NOTHING ELSE WOULD DO! I CAN NOT REMEMBER A SINGLE YEAR OF MY LIFE, THAT EBENEEZER SCROOGE'S TRANSFORMATION, FROM CURMUDGEON TO BENEFACTOR, WASN'T PART OF MY CHRISTMAS TRADITION. MY BOYS GREW UP THE SAME WAY, AND THE VERY SAME OCCURS AT BIRCH HOLLOW IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO CHRISTMAS EVE. I WILL WATCH IT AT LEAST TWICE IF NOT MORE EVERY CHRISTMAS, AS A MEANS TO IMPROVE MYSELF AS A HUMAN BEING. YES, I HAVE SOME CURMUDGEON CHARACTERISTICS. ASK SOME OF MY FORMER WORK COLLEAGUES. SO AS FAR AS CHRISTMAS SEASON UPGRADES, I HAVE COUNTED ON CHARLES DICKENS STORY, AND OF COURSE MY CHRISTIAN VALUES, TO RE-BOOT THE OLD CURRIE, INTO A KINDER, GENTLER SOUL. I WISH I DIDN'T NEED THESE SEASONAL UPGRADES, BUT I SLIP DEEP INTO A BUSINESS MENTALITY OVER THE YEAR, THAT ADMITTEDLY, OVERPOWERS ONE TO WEIGH PROFIT, THOUGHTLESSLY ABOVE THE GRACES OF GOODWILL, THAT SHOULD ALWAYS SPRING ETERNAL.
DESPITE THE RIGORS OF BUSINESS COMPETITION, AND THE DOGGED DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED, AND ALL THE EXCESS BAGGAGE THAT GOES ALONG WITH TOUGH ECONOMIC REALITIES, IT'S DIFFICULT TO AVOID THE PITFALLS OF DOG-EAT-DOG BEHAVIOR. SOMETIMES IT ALL STARTS LOOKING LIKE A COMMUNITY-WIDE GAME OF "SURVIVOR," WHERE ALLIANCES AND BETRAYAL ARE PART AND PARCEL OF THE DAILY STRUGGLE, TO PREVAIL AND PROFIT. WHEN I WAS A REPORTER, I SAW THIS FIRST-HAND, BECAUSE THE ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT, OF OUR NEWSPAPER, WAS CONSTANTLY APPROACHING ANY WRITER, WHO WASN'T WORKING ON SOMETHING, TO ATTEND INSTEAD (OF BEING IDLE), A LOCAL MERCHANT OR INDUSTRY, FOR A SEASONAL PROMOTION. WE HATED THAT WITH A PASSION, BUT WHAT IT DID, WAS OPEN OUR EYES, AS CUSTOMERS AS WELL AS WRITERS, TO JUST HOW NERVE WRACKING BUSINESS SURVIVAL WAS IN OUR SEASONAL ECONOMY. THEN AND NOW. THERE'S BEEN A WHACK OF TURNOVERS IN HUNDREDS OF STOREFRONTS SINCE THEN.
I HAD NUMEROUS EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES, WHEN BUSINESS OWNERS WOULD BEGIN SOBBING, AS THEY COMMENCED EXPLAINING BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURES....WITH A SENSE OF REGRET AND APOLOGY I DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW. OF COURSE, DURING MY YEARS, WE HAD SEVERAL ECONOMIC CALAMITIES, WHERE MANY BUSINESSES COLLAPSED UNDER THE STRAIN OF DEBT AND LOW REVENUES, THE RESULT OF NATION-WIDE RECESSION. IT WASN'T ALWAYS THEIR MISTAKE OR SHORTFALL THAT CAUSED FAILURE. I WASN'T EQUIPPED TO HANDLE TEARS FROM PROPRIETORS, I WAS PREPARING TO PROMOTE IN OUR PAPER. THEY'D LOOK AT ME, AS THE LAST RESORT, TO GAIN BACK SOME NEEDED MARKET SHARE. GOSH, THAT WAS A LOT OF STRESS ON ME, TO WRITE SO FAVORABLY, THEIR ENTERPRISES WOULD ROUND THE CORNER, AND BEGIN TURNING A PROFIT. I ALSO RAN INTO SOME OWNERS WHO WERE IN DENIAL, FIRST OF ALL, AND WOULD ACCUSE THE COMMUNITY OF FAILING TO SUPPORT THEIR BUSINESS, ASSESSING ALL THE BLAME TO OTHERS; INSTEAD OF ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN SPIRAL INTO FINANCIAL DISTRESS. AND YES, MOST OF THE TIME, THE ADVERTISING MISSIONS WERE AIMED AT SAVING BUSINESSES, AND AS WAS OFTEN THE CASE, THEY OWED THE PAPER, MONEY FOR PAST ADS; AND IN ORDER FOR THEM TO GATHER ENOUGH TO PAY US BACK, THEY NEEDED ANOTHER AD AND PROMOTIONAL ARTICLE FOR MOMENTUM. I CAN HONESTLY SAY, I DID NOT SAVE A SINGLE BUSINESS, BECAUSE OF THE GENEROUS ARTICLES I WROTE FOR THESE PROPRIETORS. AT LEAST HALF, AS I RECALL, SAVED THEMSELVES, AND THAT HAD TO DO WITH THEIR OWN RECLAMATION, NOT MY PROMOTION. SOME ANGRY OWNERS BECAME LESS ANGRY, AND CUSTOMERS FOUND THEM MORE ACCOMMODATING. THEY FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES WITH OBSTACLES IN THE WAY, AND PART OF THAT WAS TO LOOK AT BUSINESS, FROM THE CUSTOMER'S LEVEL INSTEAD. IT'S A FORMULA I LEARNED FROM THESE SURVIVORS, THAT WE STILL PRACTICE AS STORE POLICY OURSELVES. IT WORKS. TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS AS YOU WISH TO BE TREATED.
I ALSO DISCOVERED IN NUMEROUS INTERVIEWS, THAT ONE OF THE AREAS OF FINANCIAL DISTRESS, IRONICALLY, HAD TO DO WITH, OF ALL THINGS, EXCESSIVE BENEVOLENCE. THEY COMMITTED TOO MUCH OF THEIR REVENUE, WHICH WAS WEAK, TO COMMUNITY CHARITIES. THEY BACKED BASEBALL AND HOCKEY TEAMS, FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, WHICH HURT THEIR BOTTOM LINE. AT CHRISTMAS, I KNOW FOR FACT, QUITE A FEW OF THESE BORDER-LINE BUSINESSES WERE AMONG THOSE PRIVATE CONTRIBUTORS, WHO GAVE SO GENEROUSLY TO HELP THE COMMUNITY, AT THEIR OWN PERIL. SOME OF THESE DIDN'T SURVIVE. I EXPECT THEY FELT THE COMMUNITY WOULD RESPOND POSITIVELY, AND SUPPORT THEIR BUSINESSES. SOMETIMES THE EXACT OPPOSITE WOULD HAPPEN, AND THEIR SHOPS WERE CLOSED FOREVER.
AS FOR OTHERS, THOSE BUSINESS PROPRIETORS, WHO CLENCHED AND GROUND THEIR TEETH, ENDURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, WITH A "HUMBUG" ATTITUDE, LOATHING THE PARADE OF FUNDRAISERS HAMMERING AT THEIR DOORS, THE CRUST WAS THICKER TO BREAK THROUGH. I GOT MAD AT THESE INTERVIEWS, BECAUSE THESE COLD HEARTED BUSINESS-TYPES, SEEMED SO REMOVED FROM THE GIVE AND TAKE OF ANY COMMUNITY DYNAMIC. THE LESS FORTUNATE EXIST. EVEN IF YOU DON'T SEE THEM, OR KNOW THEM PERSONALLY, DOESN'T MEAN THEY ARE FIGMENTS, OR FICTIONS OF THE BLEEDING HEART. IF I WAS TO HAVE ASKED ABOUT THEIR CONCERNS, REGARDING PROVISIONS FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE IN TOWN, THEY'D HAVE REACTED LIKE SCROOGE. "WHAT ABOUT THE POOR LAW? IS IT NOT IN FULL VIGOR." "THE POOR HOUSE, DEBTORS PRISON?" THEY'D REMIND ME THAT THEY WERE STILL IN BUSINESS, AND THOSE OF GREAT GENEROSITY, (BUT NO BUSINESS SENSE), WHO GAVE TILL IT HURT, KILLED THEIR CHANCES OF FUTURE PROFIT. BANKRUPTCY BY GENEROSITY. WHAT A LAUGH. WHEN I GOT BACK TO THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE, AND HAD TO WRITE THEIR BUSINESS FEATURES, WELL, I DIDN'T DO A PARTICULARLY THOROUGH JOB, AND WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A GLOWING REVIEW, BECAME A STORY A LITTLE BIGGER THAN A CUTLINE. "HUMBUG RIGHT BACK AT YOU!"
BUT WHEN YOU MINDFULLY STRIPPED AWAY THE LAYERS OF RESISTANCE, AND INDIFFERENCE, AND INFLATED EGOS, TO INVESTIGATE THEIR SENSITIVITIES, IT'S AMAZING WHAT BENEVOLENCE A REPORTER COULD FIND LURKING IN THE SHALLOWS BENEATH. BUSINESSES AT ODDS WITH ONE ANOTHER, BAD NEIGHBORS AND UNSPECIFIED FOES, CAN ACTUALLY FIND A WORKING RELATIONSHIP THAT BENEFITS EACH OTHER, AND THE CUSTOMERS THEY SERVE. POLITICAL ADVERSARIES, AND THE INJURIOUS PLAY OF "POLITICS" NEVER REALLY SERVES ANY OTHER PURPOSE, THAN AS POINTLESS REVENGE AND SELF SABOTAGE, THAT INEVITABLY SPREADS THROUGH THE CITIZENRY, LIKE AN OUT OF CONTROL VIRUS. DISSENSION, AT TIMES, SEEMS THE COMMONPLACE IN OUR COMMUNITIES, AND YOU NEED A GUIDEBOOK, TO TRULY APPRECIATE JUST HOW FAR THE CONTAMINATION HAS SPREAD.....FINDING OUT ABOUT "WHO ISN'T TALKING TO WHO," AND WHY, "WE'LL NEVER GO INTO THAT SHOP AGAIN!" THERE WILL BE FOLKS WHO DENY THIS HAPPENS IN OUR TOWNS AND VILLAGES, BUT IT IS DELUSIONAL TO CONTINUE DENYING, THAT OUR GREATEST HARDSHIP TO OVERCOME, IS THE PETTY DIFFERENCES THAT AT TIMES, LIMITS WHAT BENEVOLENCE CAN DO, AS A CORRECTIVE MEASURE. I'VE KNOWN UNFORTUNATE SITUATIONS SO INGRAINED, THAT THEY COULD EASILY BE CONSIDERED CEMENTED INTO THE FUTURE, OUT OF A RAW SENSE OF VICIOUS ILL-WILL. AS DICKENS WROTE, IT'S AT THIS FESTIVE TIME OF THE YEAR, THAT WE SHOULD COME TOGETHER, TO HELP THE LESS FORTUNATE....AS WANT IS SO PROFOUNDLY FELT. AND IT FEELS SO GOOD TO MAKE AMMENDS.
AT TIMES, WE HAVE FOUND OURSELVES IN EXACTLY THIS POSITION; AND WE HAVE NEEDED, ON MANY OCCASIONS, TO RE-VISIT THOSE ENCUMBRANCES, TRYING TO BYPASS WHAT HAVE BECOME SERIOUS OBSTACLES, TO OPERATING A LOCAL BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE. OUR FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTER FLAW, ACCORDING TO OTHERS, IS OUR FIERCE COMMITMENT TO INDEPENDENCE. WE'RE NOT FOLLOWERS. WE ARE TRADITIONALISTS, AND PRACTICE THIS AS THE GOLDEN RULE OF BUSINESS. WE ARE LOYAL TO THE OLD WAYS, LIKE DICKENS CHARACTER, FEZZIWIG, AND OUR BUSINESS LOCATION HAS BECOME A GENTLE MEETING PLACE, FOR CITIZENS AND CUSTOMERS, WHO REMEMBER THE WAY IT WAS.....CONNECTING SOCIALLY AND CULTURALLY, COMFORTABLY AND CASUALLY, IN THOSE GRAND OLD MOM AND POP SHOPS WE USED TO KNOW AND LOVE. THE GENERAL STORE. PLAYING CRACKER BARREL CHECKERS. THE TELLING OF TALL TALES. BIG FISH STORIES, AND THE LIKE. BEING INTERESTED IN EACH OTHERS STORIES. CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR FAMILIES AND THE LATEST NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS. ALL COMMONPLACE TO THE WAY THIS TOWN, AND YOURS, MATURED OVER THE CENTURIES. THE "RAW RAW," OF OUR HOMETOWN, BEING BETTER AND MORE PROSPEROUS THAN ALL THE OTHERS IN THE WHOLE WORLD. PRIDE. NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!
TO SUGGEST THERE IS A BIT OF DICKENS GOING ON HERE, WE WOULD ARGUE INSTEAD, "THERE'S A LOT"! WE'VE HAD MANY CRITICS WHO FEEL THAT WE ARE TOO TRADITIONAL, AND TOO MUCH OF A GOOD TIMES HANG-OUT, FOR OUR OWN GOOD. WELL, FOR US, IT'S A LIFESTYLE! AND WHILE WE ARE STILL A MILLION BUCKS SHY OF BEING MILLIONAIRES, WE'RE OKAY ACHIEVING THE GRADE OF MODEST INCOME. WE LOOK FORWARD TO COMING TO THE SHOP EACH DAY. IT'S AN EXTENSION OF OUR FAMILY HOME. JUST ASK OUR CUSTOMERS' OPINION ABOUT THAT! BUT WE HAVE TOO MUCH FUN TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT WE MAY SUFFER AS FINANCIAL DISADVANTAGE. AS LONG AS WE MAKE ENDS MEET, WE'RE GOOD WITH THAT. WE WON'T DENY HOWEVER, OUR OWN NEED TO ADJUST OUR ATTITUDES. WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES GETTING ANGRY ABOUT THE LATEST POLITICAL POWER PLAYS, AND THE SHUNNING EXERCISES WE KNOW ALL TOO WELL, WE WILL RETALIATE IN SOME FASHION, OR BETTER...., SIMPLY WITHDRAWING FROM THE FIRING LINE, BEFORE THERE ARE ANY SERIOUS CASUALTIES. NONE OF US FEEL AT ALL WELL, WHEN OUR OPINION OF HOME TOWN, IS CORRUPTED BY THE MISCHIEF OF A FEW; OR AS A NASTY COME-BACK, WHEN WE ARE SHUNNED, BECAUSE APPARENTLY, IT'S THE (MISGUIDED) WAY TO GET EVEN WITH THOSE WHO DON'T FOLLOW THE PROTOCOLS. SOME YEARS, WE NEED TO BE "DE-SCROOGED," NUMEROUS TIMES, TO IMPROVE OUR OWN ASKEW POINTS OF VIEW, AND EXTINGUISH HOT TEMPERS WHEN THEY BEGIN TO FLARE-UP AGAIN. WE GET TOO CLOSE TO SOME THINGS, OF WEIGHTY CONTROVERSY, TO BE ABLE TO SEE ANYTHING ELSE; OR ENTERTAIN A MORE PRODUCTIVE COUNTERPOINT; IN LINE WITH WHAT WE ADOPT STEADFASTLY, AND TYPICALLY, AS CO-OPERATIVE PARTNERS. YUP, WE ALL NEED TO RE-CONNECT TO THOSE SPIRITS THAT OFFER SOULFUL RECLAMATION.....THAT INSPIRE BENEVOLENCE WHERE ANGER ONCE STOOD IN ITS PLACE. IF EVERY BUSINESS OWNER IN THIS TOWN, OUTSTRETCHED A HAND OF GREETING, TO ONE AND ALL, IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON, WHAT A HARBINGER THAT WOULD BE, OF A MORE PRODUCTIVE, NETWORKING NEW NEW YEAR. A KINDER YEAR.
FUNNY THOUGH, THAT THE PREVAILING REALITY, IS THAT MANY WHO SUFFER FROM THIS SELF-IMPOSED IMPASSE, WITH NEIGHBORS AND COLLEAGUES, IN INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS, ARE BENEVOLENT IN EVERY OTHER WAY, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR; BUT FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGIVE AND FORGET THE ASSUMED, OR ALLEGED MINOR TRANSGRESSIONS OF THEIR CONTEMPORARIES. WHAT GREATNESS WOULD BE ACHIEVED WITH AN OLD FASHIONED HANDSHAKE AND SLAP ON THE BACK, TO WISH A "MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR." HOW REFORMATIVE THESE SIMPLE GREETINGS ARE, IN THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMASES PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. MOVING MOUNTAINS ISN'T AS DIFFICULT AS IT SEEMS. CHARITABLE CITIZENS MOVE THEM ALL THE TIME! BUT BECAUSE WE DON'T SEE THEM BEING MOVED, AND WHO IS PROVIDING THE INITIATIVE.....WE ASSUME IT MUST HAVE BEEN OUR WORK THAT DID IT! THIS HAS BEEN OUR DELUDED WAY OF THINKING ABOUT THIS TOWN. THE REAL HEROES ARE UNSUNG. WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THEM? IN DIRE STRAITS ME THINKS!
WE HAVE WONDERFULLY KIND AND CARING CITIZENS IN OUR MUSKOKA COMMUNITIES, AND CHRISTMAS DOES BRING THEM OUT IN DROVES, AND THANK GOD FOR THIS. BUT WE COULD DO BETTER. MANY OF US COULD BECOME EVEN MORE CONSIDERATE AND BENEVOLENT, OVER THE COURSE OF EACH YEAR, DESPITE THE PETTY GRIEVANCES, AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS, THAT HOLD US BACK. THERE IS MUCH THAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH CO-OPERATION AND NEIGHBORLINESS, THAT WOULD TRULY SPREAD THE CHRISTMAS MESSAGE, OF GOODWILL ON EARTH....MORESO AT HOME. CHARITY, THEY SAY, STARTS AT HOME. COMMUNITY WELL BEING, DEPENDS ON IT. AND IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, THEN PAY ATTENTION TO THE SUBTLE ACTS OF GENEROSITY HAPPENING IN THIS COMMUNITY, DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON; PUBLIC, AND THEN WHAT YOU HEAR THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, AND IMAGINE, HOW DIGRESSIVE AND HURTFUL IT WOULD BE, WITHOUT THESE CITIZEN KINDNESSES BLANKETING OUR TOWN.
IT ONLY TAKES A HEARTFELT CHRISTMAS GREETING, AND A HANDSHAKE OF FRIENDSHIP, TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN PERCEPTION......A HALE AND HEARTY "HELLO," TO BREAK THE ICE, AND SET THE MOOD. YOU CAN CLAIM, AS A PROMOTIONAL ADVANTAGE, THAT YOU ARE A "FRIENDLY TOWN," BUT WE ALL KNOW, ACTION IS FACT, WORDS "THE FACADE." WE'VE GOT ENOUGH FACADES.
I WILL ALWAYS CELEBRATE THE COMMONPLACES OF CHRISTMAS.....FOR ONE THING, THE TRUE JOY OF BEING PART OF A CHARMING, WARM AND INVITING HOMETOWN; AND OF COURSE, A BEAUTIFUL HOME REGION. BUT IT'S ALL OF LESSER SIGNIFICANCE, IF I CAN'T SEE AND EXPERIENCE THAT WE'RE OF THE SAME MINDSET, HEART......AND DESIRE, TO MAKE IT A MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR ALL CITIZENS. NOT JUST OURSELVES AND A SELECT FEW. AS JACOB MARLEY OFFERED SCROOGE, AS A DEATH-BED CONFESSIONAL, "MANKIND IS OUR BUSINESS." THEIR COMMON WELFARE, IS OUR BUSINESS.
I SHALL AGAIN, AWAIT EAGERLY, MY DATE WITH CHARLES DICKENS THIS CHRISTMAS. I'M ALREADY REVIEWING MY OWN BENEVOLENCE, AND I'M RUNNING A LITTLE LOW.....SO I EXPECT I'LL NEED ANOTHER VISIT WITH THE CHRISTMAS SPIRITS. AS CHRISTIAN AS WE THINK WE ARE.....WELL SIR, IT'S NOT ALWAYS SO. BUT THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT!
IF YOU CAN SPARE A DONATION TO THE SALVATION ARMY FOOD BANK, OR ONE OF MANY FUNDRAISERS BEING HELD TO ASSIST THE LESS FORTUNATE, IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THERE ARE A LOT OF SHORTFALLS OUT THERE.....AND WE'VE GOT OUR WORK CUT OUT, TO MAKE IT A MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR ONE AND ALL.
THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BACK IN NOVEMBER OF 2011, AND PART OF THE STORY INVOLVES TWO OF MY OLD REPORTING COLLEAGUES, AT THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE. JOHN BLACK PASSED AWAY RECENTLY, BUT HIS KINDLY NATURE WILL LONG BE REMEMBERED IN THIS TOWN AND THIS DISTRICT.
CHRISTMAS IN MUSKOKA-
MORE LIKE ENGLAND, THAN THE CANADIAN WINTER WE EXPECT - BUT WE'LL SURVIVE THE WARMTH - AND BE INSPIRED BECAUSE IT'S MUSKOKA-THE-BEAUTIFUL
I STEPPED OUTSIDE THIS MORNING, CHATTED WITH OUR RESIDENT SQUIRRELS HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, AND REMARKED TO SUZANNE HOW MUCH IT FELT LIKE THOSE DAYS I SPENT IN ENGLAND……NOTTINGHAM IN PARTICULAR, PLAYING AROUND ROBIN HOOD'S LEGENDARY "SHERWOOD FOREST." THAT WAS IN THE SPRING SEASON, BUT IT FELT VERY MUCH LIKE THIS COOL, DAMP, ON-THE-VERGE OF RAIN KIND OF MORNING. I FOUND IT INVIGORATING THEN, AS I DO NOW, BUT AS FAR AS EXPLAINING IT…..I CAN'T. WRITERS ARE A STRANGE LOT THIS WAY. IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT GRAY AND RAINY IS GOOD FOR THE CREATIVE ENTERPRISE. ESPECIALLY HERE IN MUSKOKA, WITH CHRISTMAS A MATTER OF ONLY WEEKS AWAY…..AND NO WHITE STUFF. NO SNOW BANKS. NO SLIPPERY ROADS. NO SNOWMACHINES. GADS! ALTHOUGH I'M NOT A BIG SNOW FAN, I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO OUR LOCAL ECONOMY. WE'VE GOT A MILLION SNOWMOBILERS OUT THERE, ANXIOUSLY WAITING THE SNOW-THAT-STICKS.
Back in the early 1980's, I was editor of the former Herald-Gazette, and it was a time of incredible rivalry between the newspapers of the day….in a small market area. It was a highly charged and exciting period, because it was at a time when every staff member was fighting hard for the home team. It made us far more competitive than if we didn't have a competitor trying to best us at every turn. On press mornings, when The Herald-Gazette and The Examiner hit the streets, let me tell you, both editors had to deal with the stories they didn't get….the news scoops that went to one paper but not both. I can remember my publisher being quite vocal about these shortfalls, while I had to defend reasons we missed stories, and how possibly we got sidetracked by the scoops that we did get…..that the Examiner didn't. But do you know, for all the stress of competition for the largest circulation, both papers were pretty fair examples of quality effort, both in composition and editorial…..and even down to the advertising department, there was an unbelievable amount of blood, sweat and tears, getting one up on the other paper……..most of us benefitted in so many ways because of the aggressive grudge-match between papers. If you honed your editorial skills then, you got the advantage of one of the best teaching environs in the province…..with the exception of course, being waged, as it is today, between the Toronto dailies.
One Christmas season, back in about 1981-82, I can't remember exactly now, but we had a serious lull in the action. It was like a schooner on the open sea, its sails without nary a breeze to stretch the canvas. Maybe we just surrendered and didn't know it, but it was the slowest period for news and feature-gathering I can remember. It was the winter that snow didn't arrive until well after Christmas. It was an English Christmas landscape, the old-timers used to tell me while out on the hustings. "I remember it during the war years young fella," a veteran might offer, seeing me wandering down the street, camera in hand, looking for any spot news for the front page…….or any other page, because the "pickings were slim to none." I may have even asked this gent to allow me the privilege of taking his photograph, and seeking a few printable quotes about the weather stalemate. No matter what our publishers wanted to see of captivating, paper-selling headlines, it was pitiful, and for weeks very little happened to change our fare. It's not like we were wishing for a fire or a major accident, a robbery or shooting, to give us some front page ink, but a reporter isn't worth much, kicking dust on a dry sidewalk, looking for breaking news……and there being not much more than tumbleweeds blowing in the wind.
At the same time, I was getting frustrated generally. I was broke most of the time, drinking my rent money because it made me feel good, and many of my associates were feeling exactly the same, and looking elsewhere to re-locate. It's like that in the news profession. Some success experienced is like cocaine. You know there's more and you have to get it! Reporters like the rush of getting a scoop, and being involved in big news stories. Although I didn't need breaking news to satisfy me, it was required if I wanted to keep my job. I at least had to keep pace with the competition reporters, and that's why we hit the tavern together…..just to shadow box about the news of the week……usually on press night, after the papers were "to bed" as it's referred when the pages are being printed. We tricked them a couple of times, when our paper was still in production, and we ran like mad from the hotel, to make a few phone calls, to copy their lead story. They did the same to us, at times, but bought us a round for our chagrin.
On this particularly rough patch, of "no news," we knew we had to get creative. Creative is not a good policy in the reporting profession, except if you're talking about approach, not invention of story lines. One afternoon, just after Christmas, John Black, Brant Scot and I, took off in the car, with the intent of coming home, later that afternoon, with some useable photographs and story leads. John was driving. Gravenhurst's John Black, was without doubt, one of the finest photographers I'd ever worked with, and having him driving us around was always an adventure. When he spotted something of interest, he'd pull over, grab his camera gear, and leap out of the car, and run (with camera swinging wildly) down into a field or bog, before we had a chance to inquire "why?" Photographers are like that, and this guy got some spectacular spot news and feature photographs during the years I worked with him. Brant Scott was both a good photographer, who had a keen eye for news-type situations, and a deep-seeded passion, for turning over all stones he was suspicious of, in his day, and I can't tell you how many times this guy saved the that week's paper……..coming up with award winning stories and amazing news photographs……to fill the large amount of white space I worried about each week. The front page in particular.
The competition between the publications was hard on us. But these were our training years in the industry, after all, and it was better for us than if we'd been working in a one-paper region. Yet we did find ourselves a tad tired, especially at this top of the year……the snowless Christmas season. So as the three of us kidding and story-spinning reporters, rambled down the backroads of Muskoka, looking for anything that would make a good feature photo, the bare hills and woodlands had a natural allure, of course, but nothing that stood out as a feature news flick. We travelled for miles and miles, and saw lots of old tractors and farm equipment, grassed over in the fields, some interesting barns and split rail fences, but the Christmas season demanded something more than a pastoral scene. After a dozen sharp corners, some steep inclines and deep declines over this Muskoka topography, we came over one hillside, and there it was……and we couldn't believe our good fortune.
In the hollow, beside a typical barn and out-buildings, was a frozen farm pond. Gads. And there was a hockey game going on, with local kids. It was a winter scene without the snow, that said so much about our region, and the will to undertake seasonal entertainment……snow or not. You know, we stood on that hillside for a long time, looking down on that truly Canadian landscape, with hockey players, and a few figure skaters, spinning in the small ice surfaces of the connected ponds. The sunglow was amazing, and we seemed almost mesmerized the the tranquility of it all. I can't say what it meant for them, although we have talked about it several times over the years, but for me it was the beginning of a new relationship with my home region. From being frustrated and anxious all the time, I found something that made it all calm and enjoyable. It was when I stopped to take a deep breath of this beautiful rural atmosphere, I was hit by a giant fist of truth and consequence…..that I had been ignoring, and sustaining myself with a city-crazy life;….. while at the same time, living in a place that should have been so much more restorative and inspirational. I mostly saw the inside of buildings, newspaper offices, municipal halls, board rooms, courthouses and, yes, the town drinking hole. I was outside only to traverse between work and recreation gigs. That's it! It was my own re-birth I think, as a human….. who had been an "oh so" hard living, hard drinking, always working…..always broke, soul-less member of the workforce. I worked at a job I liked, but didn't love because of the pressure to out-perform the competition…..every week. My wage wasn't enough. Nowhere close, to paying me for sleepless nights, and churning stomach, that had me popping antacid tablets like peppermints.
I don't recall how long I stood on that hillside, watching John, down below, take some photographs of the afternoon skaters. It was like something Norman Rockwell would have depicted, and it was both nostalgic and romantic. It was a personal discovery for me, that I needed to exit from news reporting. This is what I wanted to write about, and promote of our region. What I write today for my two favorite publications, "Curious; The Tourist Guide," and "The Great North Arrow," has its roots buried into that farm hillside, above the frozen ponds…..bathed by sunglow and human enthusiasm for life. It was the commencement of a relationship I've had with landscape writing, for thirty years. I'm not a painter, although it is one of my top ten wishes, but I can paint everso humbly with a few well chosen words. From that farmstead afternoon, in the midst of a most powerful image of winter in Muskoka, I have dedicated myself to my own freedom of the press, and launched my own campaign to tell others about what Muskoka has to offer…..the weary, but hungry spirit.
Brant and John knew that I only ever had one foot in reality, the other entrenched in the realm of vivid imagination……and they allowed me my folly. But we were good friends, and they were the best mentors I could have ever asked for, to help me, on this occasion of discovery, leave a discipline that was killing me……and not softly. By this curious manifestation, of which I can only now believe was providential, I lived to see 2011…….still taking those calming motor trips into the countryside, looking over each hill, and around each corner, for that remarkable discovery……that sets the spirit free in an adventure words can't possibly describe.
John Black and Brant Scott were my two closest friends back then…….before we started building our respective families. They were incredible journalistic talents, at a time when the competition was thick enough to hack with a hatchet. There wasn't much down time, and we were exhausted and frustrated by things we couldn't muster, or better stated, correct. I needed them more than they needed me, that's for sure. I might have been editor of the paper, but these chaps carried the weight. I was so excited to see John's pictures of the farm rink, and I think Brant and I both wrote columns about the afternoon outing. While they moved on to the next news challenge, and embraced competition, the seed was planted with me. I wanted a change. It took a while to figure it out, and I certainly didn't quit that month, or for months after this. But I knew my future was writing feature material, local history, and about things encountered by happenstance, along those marvelous winding roads of our Ontario hinterland. I look back today……well, I made the right decision, and I'm getting more requests for submissions each month. Still a poor writer but getting by!
Both Brant and John have had good careers and just as many exciting opportunities and highlights as I have…..but I don't believe they pay too much regard, now, to that afternoon hiatus, on a barren hillside…..overlooking an old farm…..waiting for winter to break over the horizon.
Having an English morning here, in Gravenhurst, is just as wonderful as ever. Just breathe in that invigorating air…….and take a wander in the misty woods…..along a winding path that leads to nowhere in particular…..but peaks the curiosity none the less.
It's Christmas time in Muskoka.
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