BOOKS CAN NOT BE SEPARATED FROM LIFE - SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN, WE AS A SOCIETY STOP READING THEM?
BOOKSELLERS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS ISN'T A GOOD SIGN -
A SHORT NOTE ABOUT GRAVENHURST POLITICS - AND THE LACK OF A GRANDER SENSIBILITY
I LOVE LIVING AND WORKING IN THIS TOWN. I'M DOING IT RIGHT NOW, TO THE FULLEST, IN RELAXATION AND IN PRINT, VIA THIS BLOG, COMPOSED FROM THE VERANDAH OF OUR LITTLE HOME IN THE PLEASANT URBAN WILDS. IT IS AN INSPIRATIONAL PORTAL ONTO THE BOG, OUR BEAUTIFUL TWENTY ACRE WETLAND, SITUATED JUST ACROSS THE ROAD FROM BIRCH HOLLOW. IT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD SANCTUARY, THAT ALSO FILTERS RUN-OFF WATER, BEFORE IT EMPTIES INTO MUSKOKA BAY, OF THE GREATER LAKE MUSKOKA. I ENJOY WORKING ON THE MAIN STREET, IN OUR FAMILY RETAIL OPERATION. I ENJOY FRIENDSHIP WITH THE PEOPLE OF THIS TOWN, AND WE ARE PROUD, AS BUSINESS OWNERS, TO MEET AND GREET THE MANY THOUSANDS OF TOURISTS, AND COTTAGERS, WHO, AS WELL, FIND OUR COMMUNITY SO SPLENDIDLY APPEALING. BUT AS IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST, THE QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE HERE, DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON A WILLINGNESS OF ACTIVIST CITIZENS, NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS AND DETERMINED ASSOCIATIONS, TO FIGHT FOR WHAT IS BELIEVED TO BE RIGHT, FAIR, AND THAT CAN BE SUPPORTED AND DEFENDED BY A MISSION SENSIBLE PROPORTION. IN SHORT, WE HAVE TO BE READY TO FIGHT TOWN HALL. THIS WILL HAVE TO BE THE CASE FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, BECAUSE THE CHANGES COMING DOWN THE PIKE IN THIS OCTOBER'S MUNICIPAL ELECTION, ARE UNLIKELY TO BE IN ANY WAY, PROFOUND ENOUGH, TO END WHAT I CONSIDER, AN UNREMARKABLE REPRESENTATION, AND A COUNCIL UNINSPIRED EXCEPT FOR THEIR OWN VERSION OF PROGRESS. EARLY IN ITS MANDATE, I CALLED IT A CLONE OF THE UPPER CANADIAN "FAMILY COMPACT," THAT HAD TO BE REMOVED BY REBELLION, IN THE 1830'S, FOR THE CAUSE OF INSTALLING RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT, AND I'D LOVE TO LOOK AHEAD AND SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE; I JUST DON'T, AS HARD AS I TRY TO BE OPTIMISTIC.
I FEEL AS IF A DUMP TRUCK WAS JUST LIFTED OFF MY SHOULDERS. I'VE KNOWN GOD, AS A GOOD FRIEND, FOR MANY YEARS, SO IT WASN'T HIS COMPASSION, THAT LIFTED-OFF MY ADMITTEDLY SELF-IMPOSED LOAD. IN REALITY, AND REAL TIME, IT WAS READING THE PAPER, AND THE PRE-ELECTION PROPAGANDA, THIS WEEK, THAT SUDDENLY CLUTCHED HARD AT MY MORAL FIBRE, MAKING ME FINALLY REALIZE, THAT THERE'S SIMPLY NO WAY OF REFORMING HOW THE TOWN GOVERNS ITSELF. WITHOUT A DOUBT, WE HAVE A TOWN FULL OF "ENABLERS," AND ENABLING ASSOCIATIONS, THAT FORGIVE MISADVENTURE AT TOWN HALL, FAR TOO EASILY. EVEN SUPPORT IT, WHEN IT'S PROVEN THEY MADE A MISTAKE. IT IS, OF ALL THINGS, A FORGIVING TOWN, OR DO I SMELL A HARDY CROP OF APATHY? GADS, IS THIS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE LIBERATED FROM ONE'S OWN OBSESSIONS? I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS A DECADE AGO, LIKE RECENTLY UNLOADING A LOT OF OTHER DEAD WOOD, THAT WAS BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF WHAT I ONCE THOUGHT, WERE RUGGED, BROAD SHOULDERS. THE CANOE-CARRYING KIND OF SHOULDERS. AS FOR MY CONCERNS ABOUT THE FOLKS GOVERNING THIS TOWN, I FOUND OUT THAT I WAS MORE FRAGILE WITH MY POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY, THAN I WAS UP TO, PORTAGING A CANOE A MILE THROUGH BUSH AND SWAMP. I KNOW, AS HUNDREDS OF CITIZEN CONCUR, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE TOWN'S GOVERNANCE MODEL, BUT WE JUST CAN'T, AS HUMAN BEINGS WITH LIVES TO ENJOY, DEDICATE THE PERSONAL TIME AND EFFORT, TO REFORM WHAT FAULTY LOGIC HAS CREATED, OVER YEARS OF WALL BUILDING, FOR A SAFE, COMFORTABLE, CONTROLLED BASTION OF STATUS QUO, AND STURDY COMMONPLACE; WHERE THE TOWN IS NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER WRONG. EVEN IF IT IS PROVEN WRONG, "BITE ME," WOULD BE THE FIRST LINE OF ANY APOLOGY. COUNCIL OPERATES IN ITS OWN UTOPIA, AND THE TRAGEDY OF THIS, IS THAT THERE IS NO UTOPIA. SOMEONE SHOULD REALLY TELL THEM! ONE DAY, COUNCILLORS WILL LEARN THIS, BY THE HAPPENSTANCE OF COMPLETE, NO TURNING BACK, MISDIRECTION, AND IT WILL INSPIRE CHANGE BY NECESSITY, AND POSSIBLY BY FORCE. IT WILL BE PROFOUND, AND FAR REACHING. COUNCILLORS ARE OUT OF STEP, AND IN THE WRONG DECADE. THE CHALLENGES THEY'RE GOING TO FACE THIS COMING TERM OF OFFICE, WILL CORRECT THAT, FOR SURE; AND OVERHAUL THEIR STODGY WAYS BY EVENTUAL CITIZEN REBELLION. IF THEY THINK I'M A DOOMSAYER, TRUTH IS, JUST ASK MY MATES, I'M A HUGE GRAVENHURST BOOSTER, ESPECIALLY IN PRINT, AND A DIE-HARD OPTIMIST, WHO IS NOW REALLY DISCOURAGED BY THE LACK OF ENTHUSIASM FOR IMPROVING THIS TOWN. THE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOUBLE, AND FOR MAYOR, THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN AT LEAST THREE TO FIVE CANDIDATES. WITHOUT QUESTION, THIS IS A LACK OF INTEREST IN THE TOWN, BLARING FOR ALL TO SEE. WHAT HAVE WE BECOME, THAT SO FEW CARE TO GET INVOLVED? COMPLAIN YES, CORRECT AND REVISE, NOT SO MUCH! THIS IS WHAT GOVERNMENT INDIFFERENCE IS ALL ABOUT.
WELL, I FINALLY FOUND OUT WHAT WOULD TURN ME OFF LOCAL POLITICS, AND KEEN POLITICAL WATCHING, IN THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST; FOR GOOD! I'VE BEEN SWEARING OFF BIT BY BIT, ANYWAY, OVER THE PAST YEAR, BECAUSE OF WHAT I SEE AND HEAR OUT THERE, THAT I DON'T LIKE. NOT WANTING TO INCREASE MY BLOOD PRESSURE, HAVE A RIP SNORTER OF A HEART ATTACK, OR PULL THE LAST FEW STRANDS OF HAIR OFF THE FRINGE OF MY HEAD, IT'S SO MUCH BETTER TO "THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS," AS PETER PAN ONCE ADVISED, PREPARING WENDY AND SIBLINGS, FOR THE MAGICAL FLIGHT TO "NEVERLAND". I JUST COULDN'T GET ON BOARD WITH OUR PRESENT TOWN COUNCIL, AND BY THE LOOK OF THE SLATE OF CANDIDATES, FOR THIS OCTOBER'S ELECTION, THINGS AREN'T GOING TO CHANGE MUCH FROM THE PAST EIGHT YEARS OF POSTURING, SIDE-STEPPING AS IF A BALLET, AVOIDING PUBLIC SCRUTINY, SENDING THE RIGHT MESSAGE, MEDIA HANDLING, EXCESSIVE SPENDING AND OH YES, ROOF REPAIRS. OH SO MANY ROOF REPAIRS! AND REMEMBER THE GREAT "SKOKIE" CAPER, WHEN THEY (TOWN COUNCIL) VOTED TO KICK THE POOR LITTLE WINTER FELLOW'S CARNIVAL OFF THE MAIN STREET? THAT WAS THE HANDIWORK OF THIS PRESENT COUNCIL. OH YES, AND THE STOP SIGNS THAT APPEARED AT AN INTERSECTION THAT WAS OKAY WITHOUT. ABSURD. WHY YES IT WAS! BUT THEN, WHAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT TO OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, WAS THAT THEY THOUGHT, AND BELIEVED IN THEIR MINDS (BECAUSE THIS IS ALL THAT MATTERS), MAYBE EVEN HEARTS, IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. MAYBE THERE WOULD BE A PARADE IN THEIR HONOR. WE CALL THIS BUSY-WORK. MAKES THE TIME PASS QUICKLY. LOCAL POLITICS, WHICH I ONCE FOLLOWED ALMOST AS A HOBBY, HAS BECOME WEARISOME, PREDICTABLE, UNINSPIRED AND A LITTLE NONSENSICAL. THEY JUSTIFY THEIR MISTAKES, AND MISDIRECTION, AS "JUST" OUR INTERPRETATION AND OF NO CONSEQUENCE. "LITTLE" MAY NOT BE THE BEST WORD HERE. FRANKLY, IT'S TAKEN THE TURN AT THE CROSSROADS I'VE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT. YUP, THE SCREENED QUESTION FORMAT, ONCE AGAIN, FOR THEIR ALL CANDIDATES MEETING AT THE OPERA HOUSE. THE ONLY REASON I'D ATTEND IS TO HECKLE. YOU KNOW THEN, HOW I'D HAVE TO BE REMOVED FROM THE BUILDING. IN SHACKLES, WITH A POLICE ESCORT. OF COURSE, I'D LIKE TO SEE CANDIDATES BOYCOTT THE MEETING, BUT THAT WOULD TAKE COURAGE, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY WOULD VIEW THE STIFLING OF DEMOCRACY AS HARSHLY AS I DO. APPARENTLY WE'RE CLEVER ENOUGH TO SEND SOME QUESTIONS IN FOR A PANEL'S REVIEW, AND WITH WITS ENOUGH, TO FIND THE OPERA HOUSE, AND A SEAT TO WATCH THE STAGE SHOW FROM, BUT CERTAINLY NOT TO ASK A QUESTION AT AN OPEN MICROPHONE. THAT WOULD BE TOO DEMOCRATIC. IMAGINE THE CARNAGE, (OH THE HUMANITY), IF CONSTITUENTS WERE ABLE TO ASK THEIR OWN QUESTIONS WITH THEIR OWN VOICES. THAT WOULDN'T BE COOL, BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO KEEP THE HOOPLA DOWN TO A DULL ROAR. HEAVEN FORBID A LOOSE QUESTION SHOULD PASS THE "CLEARING" PROCESS, AND IMPACT THE COMFORT ZONE OF THE CANDIDATES, VYING FOR TOWN COUNCIL. I GIVE UP! I'LL REBEL IF THEY TRY TO SWIPE "THE BOG" OR RAISE OUR TAXES IN THE COMING FOUR YEARS. BUT NOW, WITHOUT TREPIDATION, I CAN FINALLY IGNORE TOWN COUNCIL, AND ITS WHACKY COMPONENTS, TO LET SOME OF OUR OTHER SELF-PROCLAIMED GOVERNMENT WATCHERS, AND CONCERNED CITIZENS, REFORM, REVOLUTIONIZE, OR CODDLE....OR JUST LET THEM DO WHATEVER THE HELL THEY WANT! IT'S WHAT THEY DO ANYWAY! THE BELL-WEATHER FOR ME, YOU SEE, WAS WAITING TO SEE, IF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND ASSORTED OTHER MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS, WOULD BACK ANOTHER PANEL-CONTROLLED, QUESTION-SCREENING, ALL-CANDIDATES' MEETING, (IN OTHER WORDS, A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL LOVE-IN) THAT FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR CONSTITUENTS, BUT SANITIZED TO SUIT....WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHO!
I'M SORRY IN A WAY, BECAUSE I DID HAVE A CHANCE TO RUN FOR COUNCIL, AND I OPTED TO AVOID A FOUR YEAR, NO HOLDS BARRED FIGHT TO GIVE BACK TOWN GOVERNANCE TO THE CONSTITUENTS. NOW IT'S UP TO THE CITIZENRY TO FIX THIS COUNCIL UP; OR LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING A COMMUNITY OF COMPLAINING PACIFISTS.
WHAT'S UPCOMING FOR THE AUTUMN SEASON, AND RESEARCH SOON TO COMMENCE
AS A RESEARCH PROJECT, FOR THE COMING FALL AND WINTER, AND FOR FIRESIDE READING, I PICKED UP A GOOD CONDITION COPY OF THE 1997 LANDMARK COMPENDIUM, BY PARANORMAL EXPERT, HANS HOLZER, ENTITLED "GHOSTS - TRUE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE WORLD BEYOND," PUBLISHED BY BLACK DOG AND LEVENTHAL, OF NEW YORK. COPYRIGHT BY ASPERA AD ASTRA INC., 761 PAGES IN HARDCOVER. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THIS "USED" (ON THE REBOUND) SINCE 1997. THAT'S HOW CHEAP I AM. I HAD A CHANCE TO BUY A COUPLE IN VINTAGE BOOK SHOP, FOR THIRTY TO FORTY DOLLARS, BUT NONE THAT WERE IN PARTICULARLY GOOD CONDITION. THIS ONE WAS PURCHASED IN ORILLIA FOR EIGHT BUCKS. DARN RIGHT, IT WAS SENSIBLE TO WAIT. THIS IS WHAT MY FATHER USED TO SAY ABOUT EVERY NEW PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY ON THE MARKET. WHEN COLOR TELEVISIONS HIT THE MARKET, HE PLAYED THE WAITING GAME, UNTIL PRICES WENT DOWN. WELL, YOU KNOW THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. WE FINALLY GOT A COLOR TELEVISION, ONLY BECAUSE HE GOT TIRED OF WAITING, AND WANTED TO SEE HIS MONTREAL HOCKEY TEAM IN COLOR. SO WE PAID THE STICKER PRICE. THE SAME WITH MICROWAVE OVENS. HE WAITED, FOR LONG AND LONG, AND THEN WOUND UP SPENDING MORE MONEY, THAN IF HE HAD BOUGHT IT FIVE YEARS EARLIER, BECAUSE THE LARGE MODEL HE WANTED, HAD MORE OPTIONS TO SUIT HIS COOKING INTERESTS. SO LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. I'M REALLY HAPPY WITH THIS BOOK. WE'VE HAD ANOTHER GHOST ENCOUNTER, IN OUR FAMILY, INVOLVING SOME INTERRUPTED RECORDING THE BOYS WERE DOING AT HOME. IT'S LIKE A SECOND VOICE BEGAN SINGING ALONG WITH THE MAIN SINGER, AND A LARGE RUMBLE, AND DRUM BEAT OCCURS, WHERE THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE BEING PLAYED, AND NO ONE ELSE SINGING. NOT TO MENTION A SHADOW THAT PASSED BY, AT AROUND THE SAME TIME, AS THE ULTRA SENSITIVE MICROPHONE PICKED UP THE ADDED VOICE AND DRUM BEAT. SO I'M GOING TO BE RESEARCHING ANY PARALLEL INCIDENTS, WHERE GHOST SINGERS AND MUSICIANS, ARE INADVERTENTLY RECORDED BY HIGH TECH EQUIPMENT. SHOULD BE FUN. THAT'S RIGHT. PARANORMAL RESEARCH IS NEVER DULL, BUT ALWAYS INTERESTING.MAYBE WE COULD TAPE GHOST PERFORMERS, AND PUT OUT A CD IN TIME FOR HALLOWE'EN.
"BOOKS CAN NOT BE SEPARATED FROM LIFE. THEY RECORD IT, OR INTERPRET IT, WHETHER THE AUTHOR IS CONSCIOUS OF IT OR NOT," HEADS THE SECTION OF THE 1934 "POCKET UNIVERSITY," ENTITLED "LIFE IN BOOKS," IN THE LARGER CHAPTER, "ON BOOKS AND READING."
"THE THING I LIKE ABOUT BOOKS AND PLAYS, IS THAT ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. ANYTHING!" THIS QUOTE WAS TAKEN FROM EDNA FERBER'S NOVEL "SO BIG." THE CHARACTER, SELLIN PEAK, EXCLAIMS THIS TO HER FATHER IN THE STORY. "YOU NEVER KNOW, WHEN IT COMES TO READING BOOKS."
"NO DIFFERENT FROM LIFE," ANSWERED HER FATHER, WHO HAD SEEN A GOOD DEAL OF THE SATIN AS WELL AS THE SEAMY SIDE OF IT. 'YOU'VE NO IDEA THE THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU, IF YOU JUST RELAX AND TAKE THEM (BOOKS) AS THEY COME....I WANT YOU TO REALIZE THAT THIS WHOLE THING IS JUST ONE GRAND ADVENTURE. A FINE SHOW. THE TRICK IS TO PLAY IT, AND LOOK AT IT, AT THE SAME TIME.' 'WHAT WHOLE THING,' SELINA ASKED, A LITTLE PUZZLED. 'LIVING. ALL MIXED UP. THE MORE KINDS OF PEOPLE YOU SEE, AND THE MORE THINGS YOU DO, AND THE MORE THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO YOU, THE RICHER YOU ARE. EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT PLEASANT THINGS. THAT'S LIVING. REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, GOOD OR BAD, IT'S JUST SO MUCH,' HE USED THE GAMBLER'S TERM, UNCONSCIOUSLY, 'JUST SO MUCH VELVET'."
"MISS FERBER'S LIFE HAS BEEN LIKE THAT - RICH TO THE POINT OF LUXURY IN CONTACTS AND EXPERIENCE. SHE KNOWS SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE, AND SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF BACKGROUND, THAT SHE APPRECIATES THE VALUES IN THEM ALL, AND WHETHER SHE IS WRITING ABOUT THE NORTH SHORE OF CHICAGO, OR A HARNESS FACTORY, OR A DUTCH FARMING DISTRICT, OR A NEW YORK STUDIO OR THE GREEN ROOM OF A THEATRE, HER STORY RINGS TRUE. SHE IS A WOMAN TO WHOM SURFACE MEANS LITTLE, BECAUSE SHE KNOWS WHAT IS UNDER IT. ONE OF HER BEST STORIES, 'THE GAY OLD DOG,' ILLUSTRATES THIS. IT IS THE STORY OF JO HERTZ, A CHICAGO LOOP-HOUND 'A PLUMP AND LONELY BACHELOR OF FIFTY. A PLETHORIC, ROVING EYED, AND KINDLY MAN, CLUTCHING VAINLY AT THE GARMENTS OF A YOUTH, THAT HAD LONG SLIPPED PAST HIM. JO HERTZ, IN ONE OF THOSE PINCH-WAIST BELTED SUITS AND A TRENCH COAT, AND A LITTLE GREEN HAT, WALKING UP MICHIGAN AVENUE, OF A BRIGHT WINTER'S AFTERNOON, TRYING TO TAKE THE CURB WITH A JAUNTY YOUTHFULNESS, AGAINST WHICH EVERY ONE OF THIS FAT-ENCASED MUSCLES REBELLED, WAS A SIGHT FOR MIRTH OF PITY, DEPENDING ON ONE'S VISION."
FERBER WRITES, "THE GAY-DOG BUSINESS WAS A LATE PHASE IN THE LIFE OF JO HERTZ. HE HAD BEEN QUITE A DIFFERENT SORT OF CANINE. THE STAID AND HARASSED BROTHER, OF THREE UNWED AND SELFISH SISTERS, IS AN UNDERDOG. THE TALE OF HOW JO HERTZ CAME TO BE A LOOP-HOUND SHOULD NOT BE COMPRESSED WITHIN THE LIMITS OF A SHORT-STORY. NO ONE ELSE COULD HAVE COMPRESSED IT WITHIN SUCH LIMITS (AT LEAST NO ONE EVER DID) EXCEPT MISS FERBER."
"BUT IT IS READING, NOT WRITING, WITH WHICH WE ARE CONCERNED AT PRESENT," REPORTS THE TEXT. "FOR THE PROPER ENJOYMENT OF IT, ABSOLUTE INTELLECTUAL HONEST SEEMS TO US, ONE OF THE TWO ESSENTIAL BITS OF EQUIPMENT. NO ONE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THE BOOKS THAT HE (SHE) LIKES, WHATEVER THEY MAY BE."
"BESIDES HONESTY, THE OTHER ESSENTIAL BIT OF EQUIPMENT, IS FRIENDLINESS. 'WHOSO TOUCHES THIS BOOK,' SAID WALT WHITMAN, SPEAKING OF HIS OWN 'LEAVES OF GRASS,' TOUCHES A MAN.' THEY ALL - ALL BOOKS, WE MEAN - WERE WRITTEN OUT OF A FRIENDLY IMPULSE, EVEN THOSE THAT ARE MOST CYNICAL AND BRUTAL. THE FACT THAT A BOOK IS WRITTEN MEANS THAT THE AUTHOR HAS HAD AN EXPERIENCE, IMAGINATIVE OR OTHERWISE, WHICH HE BELIEVES IS WORTH SHARING WITH THE REST OF MANKIND. HE WRITES PARTLY (PERHAPS), TO RELIVE HIS OWN FEELINGS, BUT HE HAD IN MIND ALL THE WHILE, A SYMPATHETIC LISTENER; THE LISTENER WHOM AUTHORS USED TO ADDRESS IN THE GOOD OLD COURTLY DAYS AS 'GENTLE READER.' MISUNDERSTOOD AS HE MAY HAVE THOUGHT HIMSELF, THE AUTHOR, WE MEAN, - HE YET HAD AN IDEA THAT SOMEWHERE OUT IN THE WORLD, THERE WAS SOMEONE WHO WOULD SYMPATHIZE, WHO COULD APPRECIATE HIM, FOR JUST WHAT HE WAS. FOR THAT PERSON HE WROTE; FOR THAT PERSON HE WILL ALWAYS WRITE - WHICH LEADS US TO REMARK THAT THIS IS WHY THE QUALITY OF BOOKS, WE HAVE, DEPENDS SO LARGELY UPON THE QUALITY OF THE READERS, THAT ARE WAITING FOR THEM."
"THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE WRITTEN BOOKS HAVE ALL BEEN MEN AND WOMEN OF FLESH AND BLOOD, LIVING IN A WORLD PRETTY MUCH LIKE THE ONE WERE ARE IN NOW, UP AGAINST PRETTY MUCH THE SAME PROBLEMS, 'FED' WITH THE SAME FOOD, HURT, WITH THE SAME WEAPONS, SUBJECT TO THE SAME DISEASES, HEALED BY THE SAME MEANS, WARMED AND COOLED BY THE SAME WINTER AND SUMMER,' THAT WE ARE."
AUTHOR JOHN MACY WROTE ABOUT READING, NOTING "WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED, THAT WE KNOW WHY WE READ. WE MAY ASK ONE FURTHER QUESTION: HOW SHALL WE READ? OUR ANSWER IS THAT WE SHOULD READ WITH AS MUCH OF OURSELVES, AS A BOOK WARRANTS, WITH THE PART OF OURSELVES THAT A BOOK DEMANDS."
MRS. BROWNING ONCE WROTE, "BY BEING UNGENEROUS, EVEN TO A BOOK, AND CALCULATING PROFITS - SO MUCH HELP, BY SO MUCH READING. IT IS RATHER WHEN WE GLORIOUSLY FORGET OURSELVES, AND PLUNGE SOUL-FORWARD, HEADLONG, INTO A BOOK'S PROFOUND, IMPASSIONED, FOR ITS BEAUTY, AND SALT OF TRUTH, TIS THEN WE GET THE RIGHT GOOD FROM A BOOK."
WRITING, AN UNINTENTIONAL WORK OF LITERARY ART
"It was necessary to take clothing to a poor family living about twelve miles back in the bush. I carried the clothing in a potato sack on my back; walking on the ice. A few miles out, I left the lake, taking a short-cut to my destination through thick bush where there was no trail and the snow was very deep and soft. Even with snowshoes on, I sank deeply at every step, and the labour in walking was great. The bundle of clothing was heavier than I had thought, and seemed to be growing heavier every mile. I felt as if I could never reach the house; all my body and all I carried seemed to be made of lead, which reminds one of the onset of the flu.
At length I came to the clearing, with the house only some 200 yards distant; but I was now so bent, and dragging my shoes so painfully, that I must have taken a half-hour to cover those 200 yards. For very shame, I did not want anyone in the house to see me - The Tramp - in such shape; but no dog barked, and I reached the door unobserved. I was dazed, but I braced myself and knocked. Surely I got the heartiest of welcomes from the lady of the house, for she was a country-woman of mine. They put the best they had on the table, and I began to feel better. I was glad I had brought the clothing when I saw the children half-naked and hiding from me, behind the cracked and battered old stove. But now they said I must not go away without something in the sack, although I never thought of them finding anything. Then I saw the daughter running after a goose, and when I next looked, the goose was dead; and next it was being plucked and next, it was being dropped into the bag. My previous condition should have warned me not to take it; although it was lighter than the clothing had been.
"I put on the snow-shoes again and went along new broken, and a little better trail; then down on the lake ice, all level and straight for home. But it had been thawing all day and the snow was turning to slush. My shoes and legs again felt like lead, and the feeling crept up my body. In the sack there seemed to be a leaden goose, which rolled and swung from side to side, at every step, and night was coming on. Then I knew that I should soon faint; something that had happened to me once before on the trails. I no longer thought of home but the nearest house, and I made for the it; stopping, dragging on, stopping, expecting the fainting to come; but somehow I reached the shore and the hard-beaten path to the house. I threw off the sack of goose, turned my feet out of the shoes, and left them there on the ice. Something no woodsman would ordinarily have done) As I tried to climb the steps of the verandah, I felt again the feeling of deep shame, but through the lighted window, I could just see the settler's end of the table, and himself sitting at it, at supper with his family. And sure no better of truer Churchman, or of a kinder heart, in my Mission. They realized that I had been near to death that time. During the night the foxes had been all around my leaden goose, as their tracks showed, but they never touched it. And when we had it for dinner some days afterwards, it was not a bit leaden."
The passages above, were taken from the regional Ontario book, "Gillmor of Algoma - Archdeacon and Tramp," the story of Gowan Gillmore, as prepared and edited by E. Newton White, and published by the Diocese of Algoma, and the Anglican Church of Canada, in 1967. Archdeacon Gillmore spent considerable time tramping about, in the woodlands of Muskoka and Rosseau, including many visits to Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Port Carling, Windermere, Utterson, and Falkenburg on his mission work. This is one of my favorite books, in a sea of books, and it was written by a missionary, known as "The Tramp," in his journal, that was never meant to be published. It is a wonderful story, and despite the hardship, and precarious life he led, serving the needs of the citizenry, a beacon of inspiration shines through his entries, about the good he found in the poorest, most humble of the resident population.
It was not an award winning book. It wasn't picked up as a book-of-the-month title, and it never hit the million seller mark, because only a small number were printed. Yet his writing is as delightful, and alluring, as any of the best known authors of his time, up to and including the present. Sometimes, even long time book sellers, like ourselves, can forget how exceptional local writers have been, over the centuries, creating at home in our district. One of Canada's well known authors, Max Braithewaite, wrote the book, "Lusty Winter," while living in his cottage on Brandy Lake, near the Village of Port Carling. As I have noted many times, author Wayland Drew, wrote numerous books, living in a nicely treed, newer neighborhood, in the Town of Bracebridge. Well known Canadian journalist, John Ibbitson, wrote one of the finest Muskoka based novels, "The Landing," which was reflective of his youth growing up on Gravenhurst. I would like to profile some of this outstanding writing creativity, in the coming weeks and months, in what I consider, a very literary environs from which to create. Algernon Blackwood wrote from a cottage portal on Lake Joseph. Lucy Maud Montgomery, did the same in Bala. The list is a long one. We should know about this.
Thank you so much for visiting with me today.
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