The Squamidian Report – Aug. 28 / 04
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Also in this issue:
Going back to the dirty Thirties
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Our desperately needed and very welcome rain moved in last Saturday about noon. We watched as the wall of cloud advanced up the Sound, in off the ocean. We were in town at the time picking up dog food. As the wall moved in, the Sound disappeared along with the mountains on each side. Then as the rain started to fall where we stood the Chief disappeared. As we headed north up the highway we drove out of the rain. We stopped at CTC and as we came back out the wall overtook us again, along with the rain. I needed gas so I went up to the stations at Garibaldi Drive and it started to rain again while we were there. It was just starting to rain up at our place as we got home. You could almost hear the trees and shrubs and lawns squealing with orgasmic delight.
Most of our weather comes in off the ocean, after all, that’s what is up wind of us. When it moves in from the southwest or south it moves right up Howe Sound and the lower levels of the air mass are squeezed together as the Sound narrows toward its top end. This causes the clouds to do interesting things, moving in several directions at the same time. Often the incoming clouds will meet air that is sliding outward through the Squamish Valley, down from the high country. This air and its clouds will usually stay on the west side of the valley as the incoming ocean air slides past on the east side. The end result is confused clouds gliding around all over the place as if they had little destinations of their own. Makes for interesting observing.
Due to our solid rock terrain around here, rainfall tends to run off through the various watershed areas quite quickly. It can’t soak into the ground to any useful extent. And because most of our rivers are relatively short, they react quickly to rainstorms. After a couple of days of rain and showers the Mamquam was running high and fast. Within a day of the more steady rains ending it was back down to its normal level. For some reason that river had changed from its normal crystal clear blue green colour to a milky silt colour during the last week or so of the drought. As the water level dropped back to normal after the rains, it cleared up and went back to its normal colour.
It is kind of interesting how numbers can be misleading. This has been another very hot dry summer out here with hundreds of forest fires raging throughout the province. Yet, after three or four days of rain we have set a new rainfall record for August making this the wettest August on record. There are now fires and mudslides in the same areas.
We seem to be back into a cool moist weather pattern now, which is just fine. No one around here even seems to notice the auld shower. Kids play in the street, people tend to their lawns and gardens. Life goes on.
Kind of a funny but sad thing. There is a kid on our street that is a bit slow. One evening as I was leaving to take Yogi to the river for his ‘quality time’ this kid came running up to the van trying to get my attention. He was sounding the alarm that he had spotted a bear roaming around on my lawn. It was of course just old Yogi doing his thing but he is big and furry and black and the kid didn’t take the time to look too closely.
****
Going back to the dirty Thirties.
Since we had no close neighbour children to play with our companions were the animals. The summer when I was 4 we had only been on the farm a few months. My dad was very good with horses so when anyone got a horse that they just couldn’t handle they would sell it to my dad (real cheap). That summer he had gotten a beautiful sorrel called Queenie. Apparently she was pretty wild (most grown men were afraid of her). For haying my dad, my uncle Earl worked together from farm to farm.
This day they were working at our home so when the men stopped working for dinner at noon the extra 2 teams were put into our horse stable because dad’s horses wouldn’t wander off. This particular day the stable door must have been left open and Queenie got into the yard. I was very fond of horses and not afraid of them so when I saw Queenie in the yard I caught her tail and pulled up my feet, so I had a lovely ride, swaying from side to side hitting each back knee as she walked across the yard to get a drink of water.
I guess my mother looked out and called dad but he just said to keep quiet – as long as the horse didn’t get startled nothing would happen. When my arms got tired I just put my feet down again and let go of her tail. I never even got scolded as I think they figured it might make me afraid around animals. The only animals I didn’t like and was afraid of were pigs. But that is a story for another time.
****
Last
week two of my friends and I flew to Salt Lake City to visit a friend who was a
former resident of Kitchener. Heather
and her husband Richard are Mormon and when an opportunity arose last year,
they decided to move to Utah and now call South Jordan, a suburb of Salt Lake
City, home. Before she moved, Heather, our
friends Karen and Karen & I
got together regularly to make cards and to scrapbook, two hobbies which are
very prevalent in the Utah area due to the nature of keeping family records in
albums and the genealogical skills of the Mormon faith.
Along
with shopping for scrapbooking supplies, we
toured Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City and another day drove
high into the Wasatch Mountain Range to look for Robert Redford’s home and his Sundance Empire. (We didn’t see
him but found his gateway and the Sundance Resort!)
For
weeks before we left Kitchener, many e-mails were written back and forth as to
what activities we could manage in the three full days we would be there. Heather mentioned that we could go to a
rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir held in the Tabernacle each Thursday
night and open to the public. I was
just thrilled to hear this and was looking forward to attending that practice
almost as much as shopping at the many scrapbooking stores in the area. I imagined this huge choir, standing in
front of those marvelous pipes and tried to wish away the time before August 17th
actually arrived.
Then
two days before we were to leave, Heather telephoned. Her husband’s business partner was over visiting them and upon
hearing of our pending arrival, told Heather that occasionally, members were
encouraged to ask visitors to take part in the actual practice, especially if
they were from other faiths. Would I
like to do this? All I had to do was
e-mail a resume which would more or less prove that I had enough musical ability
to pick up a piece of music and sight read and follow a conductor. That was
probably the quickest e-mail I ever wrote.
I was ecstatic. It wasn’t until
we actually arrived that Heather handed me an email which told me that I had
been cleared and to meet Heather’s friends at Gate 28 of the Tabernacle at
7:15, Thursday August 19th.
So, the
evening arrived and Heather’s friends Jon and Larraine ushered me into the
choir area just down the hall from Gate 28.
I had watched other members arriving and using their pass cards to enter
the building. Larraine explained the very extensive and very complicated &
difficult process to actually become a choir member. (Just type ‘Mormon
Tabernacle Choir’ into a Google search to see what I mean.) She showed me the cupboard where each
member’s music was stored and I collected my pile of books, folders and sheet
music for the evening. I was seated in
the front row just behind the organ.
Larraine introduced me to another soprano, Carol who would be my guide
through the evening.
The
whole choir area was buzzing with conversations, the sounds of the orchestra
warming up, various people walking around the outer fringes of the choir area,
technicians preparing for taping. It was a busy place. The conductor for the evening was Associate
Director Mack Wilburg. All of a sudden
we were called to attention and just like that, we began ‘All Things Bright
& Beautiful”. I was enveloped by
‘surround sound’…it was like being caught in a huge wave of sound and it
swirled and resounded and you just had to sing along with it. When a crescendo was brought to a sudden
end, the sound kept rolling and rolling……… out over the empty seats and then
stopped by just hanging in the air.
There was a precise moment of silence and then we all relaxed. It was all I could do to keep from yelling,
“WOW”!!
The
evening proceeded too quickly. The
conducting and teaching was amazing. I
heard the conductor say, ”‘How can you understand what I am saying unless you
are looking at me?” and “Altos, don’t
make me have to ask the sopranos to help you!” and “Brothers and sisters, you
are all such musicians…you know what to do at Bar 29 without me telling you.”
The
music was varied. At one point I was
stumbling over Latin syllables in an arrangement of “Jubilate Deo” and in the
next all the sopranos were whistling the melody to “Turkey in the Straw”. Carol was kept busy not only finding her own
music but helping me as well. After the
conductor made the sopranos and altos work for 5 minutes repeating and
repeating one musical phrase, we finally ‘got it’ and the men applauded very sincerely.
The
public was allowed into the practice at 8:00..I think there were 1 000 in the
congregation. There were almost
350 in the choir. Announcements were made about the next tour,
a letter from a student in Afganistan was read and we were led in prayer by a
choir member.
Then,
much to my utter surprise, I was introduced, as a guest. I had to stand up and remain standing while
a bit of my resume was read. After the
practice, some members came over to chat.
They had been in Canada on their missions. One gentleman had lived in Toronto and had traveled to North Bay
Cochrane and Moosonee. One lady had
been in Quebec City and Ottawa.
All of
a sudden it was 9:30. We had been
singing almost the entire two hours and it was hard work but so enjoyable. As we filed out into the choir room,
Larraine said she wanted to give me a remembrance of the evening and I am now
the owner of a CD entitled ‘Consider the Lilies.”
At one
point during the evening, I had given my arm a little pinch. That was a good thing because I still can’t
quite believe I had such a terrific opportunity as I did singing with the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I’ve played
that CD so many times this past week…..!!
****
THE ONTERION REPORT
AUGUST 28TH 2004
NUMBER 1---- Congratulations
Al for sticking it out and standing up for your future! It’s great to hear that
things are back on track for you and your co-workers. All the best in the year
to come!
I know that many people have a dislike for unions but in your case it showed just how badly the big companies can beat up on their workers if the workers aren’t organized. You stood your ground and you came out on top. Maybe you and your fellow union members will gain considerably next year. At least this year you were able to keep things relatively stable and establish grounds for justified increases in wages and benefits in the future. Good luck in the years to come!
*
Rain rain go away come again another day! In fact, take your H2O to BC where they could really use it! I like a little variety in my weather but this summer has been such a mixed bag that it’s been hard to define which day was “Summer”! I think I saw it a week ago Wednesday if I’m not mistaken! Oh well, it could be worse I guess we could be having Maritime weather. Sorry Sus! I think I’ve said that before.
I’m sure we and the rest of eastern Canada will have a glorious Fall to make up for the lousy summer we had. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed anyway!
*
There isn’t much new around KW lately. The most exciting thing to happen was the cancellation of a 40 year tradition in the form of the Santa Clause Parade. It was on the news last night that the organizers were unable to raise the $20,000.00 required to produce this annual favourite. It appeared to be the end of an era and they even interviewed a little girl on CKCO who was in tears after hearing the sad news. However, tonight on the CKCO news they announced that several service clubs headed by the Lion’s Club are taking over the task. This is certainly good news for the children of KW. I was fortunate enough to have been the driver of a float in this and other local parades for several years in the 70’s and 80’s and I’d hate to see it come to an end. Aaaaaaaaahhhhh….yes, remembering back to my days as a float driver! Hmmmmm… seems to me there were many happy moments during those parades that I can think back on now with great fondness. For instance, there was the time when I was privileged to have several Olympic Gold and Silver medal winners on my float.
It was a Santa Clause parade and we were waiting at the corner of King St N and University Ave for the start in Waterloo. It was 7am and the parade didn’t start to move until 9:30am. While waiting, someone walked up and tapped me on the shoulder and offered me a coffee. I turned around to see Victor Davis with his hand holding a coffee and smiling. I thanked him and immediately shook his hand and congratulated him on his Olympic wins! I believe he had won 3 gold medals that year for his amazing swimming abilities. He even allowed me to hang them around my neck to feel the weight and of course the thrill of wearing such famous items. It’s just too bad nobody had a camera to record the event. They are much heavier than you would expect and of course they are “Brilliant Gold”! I will never forget that moment and can only imagine how it must have felt to Victor to have won these incredible trophies. Vic was from Guelph and that city named a swimming complex after their Olympic Hero. Unfortunately later on that winter he was killed while in Quebec. The victim of an auto incident, I won’t say accident because he was deliberately run down by a bar patron with whom he had had an altercation earlier in the evening. All in all, a sad situation and a tragic end to such a young, talented Canadian life.
There is one more parade memory I’ll share with you all before I go. It was during the Oktoberfest Parade of I think 1977 or 78, I’m not sure but no matter. I was asked to drive the German Club’s float. It was a 25’ flatbed farm trailer decorated with all of the different clubs Coats of Arms. There were 8 “T” bars sticking up out of the floor of the float, one for each of the club’s “Princesses” to hold on to so they wouldn’t lose their balance while standing on the moving float. I was driving a 20 horse power lawn tractor that was hidden under a wooden structure to make it look less Micky Mouse. It towed the large float quite easily I must say. Of course this float was the center piece of the parade since it carried the candidates for Miss Oktoberfest. October being a cold month that year made it necessary to drink several cups of coffee before the start of the parade to keep oneself warm. Little did I realize the effect they would have on me during the duration of the drive. By the time we got trough Waterloo and were entering the Kitchener down town area, I was feeling the pressure on my bladder. I thought “It’s ok, I can do this, I can make it to Cedar St to the porta-potties with a little discomfort no problem”! Well, as I entered the intersection of King and Benton Sts, the parade marshal ordered me to halt and sit there for a few minutes until the rest of the parade caught up a little. Of course, the more I sat still, the more I had to pee. This intersection, for those of you who may not know, is one of the largest and best viewing areas on the parade route.
There were probably around 3000 people lining the 4 corners of the street at that point. I decided I could wait no longer. I reached down out of sight and turned off the key of the tractor and made a comment something like “Damn! This thing just stalled”! I then slinked under the cover of the decorations and knelt on the road and began to pee. Of course I was parked on the center crown of the roadway and not a manhole in sight! This pee was one of those that just would not quit. Isn’t it amazing how 3 little coffees can turn into 5 gallons of urine? Well, I could hear the crowd starting to titter and then it turned into full scale riot laughter. The stream had run about 50’ from my position all the way over to the feet of the spectators at the Eaton’s corner of the intersection. The Princesses by this time had started to chant in unison “We know what you’re doing, we know what you’re doing” and of course the parade marshal was yelling at me to get the hell moving. As I emerged from under the decorations to take my seat on the tractor again, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause! It was a site to behold and my face was redder than the traffic lights that were flashing on the corners. As I drove away, I was wondering if I’d make it through the “river” without having the tractor stall from the flood! I was amazed at how much my little bladder had held. I knew it was futile to even try cover up what had just happened but I made some lame utterance such as “Boy, that rad is really dripping” or some such nonsense. What a laugh we had at the float drivers party after the parade. We all gathered at the home of my friend Ed Herringer who was the designer and builder of about a dozen of the floats in the parade that year. He said that “IF” he’d ever allow me to drive a float again in the future, he’d be sure to make it one that I could drive from inside and had a 5 gallon pail between my legs! Hahahaaaaaaa..! I guess I asked for that!
I did drive in several more parades but made sure that I didn’t drink anything at all before the trip down King St.
I hope I didn’t gross any of you out too much this week! It’s been a fun evening rehashing the events of my parade driving years. I actually broke out in laughter a couple of times while remembering the details. (Carole thinks I’m nuts)
Thanks for tuning in again and I’ll talk to you all again next time in THE ONTARION!
Bye for now… GREG.
PS: Something to Think About>
You are educated if you can do what you ought, whether you want to or not!
****
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Have a good one..
the
doug