The Squamidian Report – Sept. 9 / 06
Issue #223
Also in this issue:
A Letter Passed On By Sheri
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Any of you who watch the Weather Cannel on TV know that it has been a pretty dry summer out here on the ‘wet’ coast. Daisy Lake up just this side of Whistler is more like Daisy Puddle right now. It’s almost empty. What is usually a large expanse of ice green water is now bare rocky dry lakebed with small rivulets of water between the higher spots. During wet periods, the dam is almost bursting at its seams as it strains to hold back the water. Right now the water barley touches the bottom of the dam. Any water entering the lake from the many streams and small rivers is needed to keep the outflow and hydro generation flow going.
And over in Tofino on Vancouver Island they are virtually out of water. They almost had to shut down over the long weekend and would have if they hadn’t been able to truck water in from Ucluelet. With no rain since early June their reservoir has dried up. The town had tried a few years ago through a referendum to build a larger reservoir or increase the capacity of their current one but an over zealous faction of the environmental movement squashed that idea. They would not permit the removal of any trees or the disruption of any watercourses. Now Tofino is up against the wall. Shortsighted stubbornness has almost forced the town to shut down. The extremists are probably quite happy with the situation but it simply can’t work in the real world. Tofino now has no choice but to enlarge their water capacity. All this in a place that normally measures its rainfall in feet per month rather than inches.
*
Blackberry picking is an adventure in itself. But no self respecting west coast freezer would be complete without a supply of the berries stashed away for off-season savoring. So we headed out and picked a half decent amount. Picking blackberries is however no picnic, it is a battle of wits between the diabolical berry plants and the brave but doomed pickers. For you see, while the berries hang in thick abundance they are almost impossible to reach. The plants surround and guard them with long sharp thorn covered branches. Think of a raspberry plant on steroids and then give it some bad attitude and then put it in a bad mood. As you reach for some berries the branches reach for you. If you are very quiet and move very slowly you can fool the plants for a short time but they soon catch on and begin to retaliate by slowly moving in behind you and when your attention is on your picking, they close the trap and you are painfully snagged. I learned through hard experience that if you wear a hat it would act as a decoy and draw their attention away from you body. When they strike at the hat you can often but not always duck away and make your escape. But in the end, by the time you have enough berries picked, you have paid a price for said berries in blood. So all I can say is, “enjoy those blackberry pancakes”.
doug
****
Editors Note: You may recall a while back
that we had been getting some first hand updates on the life of a Canadian
soldier serving in Bosnia from Sheri, the daughter-in-law of two of our
readers, Judy and Brian. The following has been sent in by Sheri for our
education and interest.
A
Letter Passed On By Sheri
I received this email from one of the guys
serving in Afghanistan. I thought you would like to read it and
maybe publish it in your Family paper. I received permission from
Peter to do so. He is going to keep sending me these
"memoirs". I know that when we went to Bosnia, your
family was very interested in what was going on. Well this is a
little different, he isn't "blood" but "family" none the
less.
Sheri
Subject: Holy Surreal Batman
Welcome to Afghanistan........
That ' s about the only words I can use to
describe the last 24 hrs or so.
It was a regular workday; I think I put in
about 11 hrs on Saturday. Everything was routine after work as well,
on the way to my shack I stopped at Canada House for a bottle of water and a
smoke before jumping in the shower. After I was somewhat clean and
refreshed (you are never truly clean in Afghanistan) I went to call home and
use the Internet. I looked at my watch and it read 2136 hrs, I said
right on, I might get a half decent sleep tonight, so I headed back to my
weather-haven, opened up my laptop and began to watch a movie.
Approximately 20 mins into the movie I
felt myself starting to dose off, when all of a
sudden BOOOOOOM, I think I jumped about 4 feet off of my
bed. I thought to myself, was that what I think it was, and then I
heard the sirens, so I knew for sure that the base had been rocketed. Like
a good soldier I followed my immediate action drills, grabbed my frag vest, put
on my helmet and crouched down beside my bed. When the sirens
stopped I performed a check of our tent to make sure everyone was accounted for
and then I proceeded to the gathering point to report on our
situation. Needless to say when I got back to my room it was a
little difficult to get to sleep, I was sweating and shaking like a madman,
after all it was my first rocket attack. I can only hope that they
get easier from here on in.
So it ' s Sunday September 3rd and after a
shitty, jittery sleep I went to work as usual. While trying to email
around NSE HQ to find out about HLTA DAG procedures for the troops, a message
popped up on my screen stating that all comms were now closed until further
notice. What is a clerk without e-mail and a phone, so I went for a
smoke and to see how long this was going to last, when I overheard that usually
when comms close it means that someone was injured or even worse killed. I
went back into my office to work on some spreadsheets when the Sergeant Major
came in and told everyone to meet at 1300hrs in the rest area.
I made my way to the rest area and I could
hear the radio playing in the background, you will never guess what friggin'
song was on, it was "Landing in London" by Three Doors Down, (now if
any of you have seen that Tribute to the soldiers on youtube.com or putfile.com
you know what I mean) Freaky eh!
So the MWO told us that details were still
sketchy but we had lost at least four brothers this morning, one of whom, WO
Rick Nolan was the husband of our MAINT PL Wpns Tech, I think it was at that
moment that I finally realized.................. WOW, I am in
Afghanistan.
After a sombre Sunday, I awoke Monday
morning looking forward to a better day, but it was not to be. I was
having a smoke at about 0630 hrs just before I was to go shave, when the
Sergeant Major came up to me and said "Wake everyone up, No time for
shaving, eating or dilly-dallying get to the shop ASAP." So I
went to my tent and did as I was told, and made my way to my office expecting
some not-so-good news. When I got there it was actually worse than I
had imagined, there had been a friendly fire incident involving the Americans
in which 1 Canadian Soldier had been killed and somewhere around 30
injured. Needless to say it wasn't a good day.
So in the next coming nights I will be
experiencing another first, one I don't care to experience or wish upon anyone
else, I will be attending a Ramp Ceremony at the Kandahar Airfield to see the
bodies of our fallen comrades off to their final resting places.
I hope the next update I am able to give
is one of a happier note.
Peter Larsen
Pte Larsen P.J.
NSE MAINT PL CLK
TFA R2 KAF
Loc 5718
****
Hello everyone!
We’re enjoying another beautiful sunny 25c day here
in KW. It’s supposed to be raining this evening but that’s hard to believe. I
know we’re only two weeks short of fall but it sure doesn’t seem like summer is
over. I hope this nice stuff lasts till the middle of December and then we have
a 6 week winter. Wait a minute! I’ve got a new snow blower that’s in need of
something to do sitting in my shed. I guess an investment like that deserves
some attention. I just hope winter doesn’t set in too soon.
We spent a couple of days in Long Point Beach at
Carole’s cousin’s cottage this week. It was a lot of fun and a trip back in
time. We used to spend a couple of weeks each summer at a cottage a block away
from Carole’s cousin’s place back when we were kids and I distinctly remember
her cottage being there and looking just as it is now, back then. It was a trip
down memory lane to go stay there. Long Point beach isn’t much different today
than it was back in 1958. The arcade is still there in the same place but it’s
been rebuilt and of course has modern games in it rather than the nickel
machines we played back then. Their cottage was built in 1947 and I don’t think
it’s been renovated since. Perry and Heather are the owners now and Perry told
me he bought it in 1985. He said that he thinks the siding (Cedar) was put on
it sometime in the 50’s and the original covering on the walls was
“Insulbrick”. Insulbrick was an asphalt shingle type of material that was
popular in the mid 20th century. The cedar looks old but is in
perfect shape. It gives the cottage real character, kind of a bush cabin look.
The inside is all cedar including the floor planks and definitely hasn’t been
changed since new. Carole and I enjoyed the stay and visit but came away wanting
to take a run at that place and clean it up from stem to gudgeon! Man is it a
diamond in the rough! It’s covered in cob webs outside and just needs to be
pressure washed and tidied up on the exterior. They put a new metal panel roof
on it and installed a new stainless chimney and wood stove. That’s the extent
of the renovating they’ve done. Because it is in original condition and has the
original everything but the roof, the inside has that dank old cottage smell
and looks the part. It’s definitely time for them to pitch the furnishings and
give it a make over. I know they are totally happy with the way it is but
that’s where we differ. Carole and I could immediately see what an improvement
could be achieved with a couple week’s work and a few dollars. Well, maybe a
few “thousand” dollars but nothing outrageous. Many of the surrounding cottages
are new due to a lake overflow back in the late 80’s. Some were shifted right
off their foundations and onto the road behind them 100’ away. This building
was on 4’ stilts and managed to avoid being affected by the flood. They of
course are today still looking new with modern siding and windows etc. Perry
and Heather’s cottage is just in need of an overhaul in our opinion but don’t
get me wrong, I’m not criticizing them or their choice, merely commenting on
the possibilities that Carole and I can see. We had taken a drive down to Long
Point on a mild day last winter just so I could show Carole where I used to
spend my summer vacation. I wanted to see what it looked like now too so it was
an interesting day. While there we spotted two cottages on the same stretch of
beach that Heather’s is on that had “For Sale” signs in the windows. I wrote
the number down and intended to place a curiosity call when we got home but somehow
forgot. We figured these units would be somewhere in the 45 to 75,000 dollar
range. They really don’t look like much and to be truthful, they need a real
overhaul. This time when we were there, I mentioned them to Perry and the one
is still for sale. He told me that they would be in the $175,000.00 to
$200,000.00 range right now. I almost flipped! He said it’s not the cottage but
the plot of “Lakefront” land they sit on that holds the value. I could then see
what he was saying but it still shocked me to hear the price. He told me his
place had been recently evaluated for tax purposes and they placed a value of
$276,000.00 on it and his taxes are just under $6,000.00/year. His cottage is
much more substantial than the tiny one for sale down the road. I’m sure with a
reno like Carole would like to do to it the place would bring a lot more than
the recent evaluation on the Real Estate market! Anyway, ours is only
speculation and they are not thinking of renovating or selling the place so we
just have to be happy for them and support their enjoyment of their cottage.
Who knows, maybe the right deal will come along for us some day and we’ll make
the leap but, until then we’ll be content visiting once in a while and
imagining the possibilities.
That’s all I have in mind this week. Thanks for
tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next time in The
Ontarion Report.
Bye for now…
Greg.
PS: Something To Think About>
The hardness of the butter is proportional to the
softness of the bread.
****
The Family and the Squamidian sites:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca
Have a good one..
the
doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.