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The
Squamidian Report – June 5 / 21
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#993 From Beth From Nova Scotia Sus From Russ The Ontarion
Hi All, Suddenly its June, how did that happen? In a lot of ways its still ‘same old, same old’ as life slowly moves forward but in many areas across this country and around the world, there seems to be more of an optimistic outlook. I would think that many of us will have had our second shot by the end of the month, or soon thereafter. With the exception of the crazies, nut-cases, and idiots who don’t believe or don’t care about anything except themselves, we’ve all felt like we were carrying weight of the world on our shoulders. We’ll soon be able to relax a bit. I’m not sure I’m ready to throw away the face masks. I’ve gotten used to wearing them, don’t mind wearing them, and when in public I know I’m not making anyone uncomfortable. A real up-side is that no one can tell that I’m frowning at them, or smiling, or making a face. Its all hidden from view. I do have some concerns that any of the provinces that are moving toward opening up are doing it too fast, for political reasons. But thats just my opinion, so lets move on to other topics. Sue and I rode down to Horseshoe Bay last Sunday morning just for the enjoyment of it. This new, little motorcycle doesn’t seem to mind carrying a passenger, has lots of pep and power. Given that she’s such a small machine compared to my old, big, Harley, the seating is a bit tight but thats ok. We are good for short rides, even day trips as long as we stop once in a while to stretch our legs. And, because the tiny peanut fuel tank has a rather short range of somewhere around 250 km, and because our old, warn out bladders have a much shorter range than that, we would make lots of rest stops. ‘The Bay’ is almost exactly 50 km from our house so its an easy ¾ hr ride that doesn’t require rest stops. Once there we simply pick up a coffee from one of the coffee shops that are open and then sit by the propeller and enjoy the view. The propeller, for those who are not familiar with ‘The Bay’ is a large ship’s propeller mounted over a fountain for tourists and other to look at. Mind you, it’s been over a years since they actually had water in the fountain because they don’t want to attract anyone but thats ok. Its normal for other riders to come by and we normally run into friends or acquaintances. We can enjoy a bit of a visit while staying distanced. Then at some point we mount up and ride home. The interesting thing about riding there and then back is that because we are going on the same highway but in the opposite direction, the scenery is totally different. Going south, the Sound is on our right as the highway clings to the mountain sides. We get glimpses of Vancouver Island, Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast, and so on. Heading north back toward home, with the Sound on our left, we see the Coastal Mountains ahead and around us. Always kind of nice. We ran into a sprinkle of rain on our return ride. That was the first rain the new bike was asked to ride in but it wasn’t an issue and we wear protective riding gear. That also wasn’t the first time we’ve been to ‘The Bay’ on the new bike but simply the first time I’ve mentioned it here. And now that those saddle bags are on the bike, we have somewhere to put a few items instead of trying to stuff them into our pockets. * This week’s musical indulgence is another of my own original compositions, a song that I wrote way back about 6 years or so ago. I just videoed the video version the other day but the audio version is simply the same mp3 file that you would have on the CD I sent you 6 years ago. I’m including it’s link simply for comparison, and because I can. The song, ‘Peaks Against The Sky’ is basically about comparing the constellations in the night sky with the mountain peaks that surround us out there. (There are obviously constellations and stars in the day time sky as well but we can’t see them due to the light pollution from the sun). The mountain peaks form familiar patterns, just as the stars do. So, to me at least, it all makes sense. Oh, by the way, it has come to my attention that those of you with slow Internet connection have a problem with my videos. Their file size is large making for long download times. So, I have started adding another link as seen below that will take you to the same video, only in a much smaller file size and viewing size. This would also be useful for smart phones etc. As well, if this smaller file size is preferred by most, I can always simply switch to just that method. Hope this helps. ‘Peaks Against The Sky’ Audio Version From Way Back In 2016 Low Resolution Small Size Video Version For Slow Internet Connections doug **** From Beth Here are a few pictures of our garden. It’s much bigger than we’re used to. I’ve planted tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes, peas, carrots, lettuces, kale, squash, zucchini, ground cherries, eggplant and beans. Gale has planted some tomatoes and basil as well. We have loads of rhubarb. The red currants look like they will produce a lot of berries. Hopefully the birds don’t get to them first. There’s also a ton of raspberry canes. I’m not sure what our yield will be this year, as there was a LOT of cleaning up the patch to be done. Our new peach trees has a total of 5 tiny peaches starting. Our new apple trees have been a tasty treat for the the gypsy moth caterpillars, unfortunately. Hopefully they’ll be ok. Who knew I’d be loving all this gardening. Hopefully my enthusiasm (and my back) stay the course.
Beth **** From Nova Scotia Sus Well we got the word, after a month off, that all salons and barbershops outside of the Central Zone (Halifax & Dartmouth) are allowed to reopen as of June 2nd. Almost all of our cases in Nova Scotia are in the Central Zone which is where our highest population is. As soon as the word from our premier was announced my phone never stopped ringing, Nice to be so needed and appreciated but the next few weeks I will be overworked. The good news is all of my clients have had their 1st vaccine and some their 2nd so we should all be safe to continue. We still have to wear masks and only one customer at a time in the shop. I hope we can go back to the good old days soon.
This Friday we have 6 one day old laying hens arriving and the next week 18 day old meat birds arriving. I was hoping the lockdown would go for another month like last year so I would have more time to tend to my chickens. Oh well we will manage. I do sell more eggs when I am working so that's a good thing. Sometimes I panic when we have too many eggs and not enough people to buy them. I've been known to drop eggs off to neighbours just to keep them moving at no cost to them. The chickens do pay for themselves now. The money raised pays for all their feed, straw etc. and all the eggs we can eat. We send dozens of eggs to work with our step daughter, who is a nurse, to share with her co-workers at the hospital. Hey Doug I just love the song Across the Great Divide. I learned it years ago from my brother Warren and his wife Rochelle. They did it as a duet very nicely. I have the words all typed out with the chords so I will be prepared if I ever get out there to do a duet with you. I've been practicing singing with you on your audio version. I have very slow internet so the video versions take way too long to download, as much as I like to see you singing it is almost impossible. Keep up the good work! Uncle Russell my favourite dessert is lemon pie too!! I make it fairly regularly and usually end up eating most of it myself. Luckily I tend to wear it off with all the exercise I get from gardening and outside projects we are doing. Take care everyone, Sus **** From Russ That's not my wife..... She
died
in Cambridge Memorial Hospital in 2010 – I’m still in
mourning. Three-diamond engagement ring missing. The
note
triggered an unpleasant memory of a very sad occasion: The Funeral Director accepted no responsibility; “We saw she was wearing her Wedding Ring, but there were no other rings on her fingers when we prepared her body for viewing” he purred. “Have you checked with the hospital?” he asked, passing the buck. “Well – no! I just noticed it here – now, when I touched her hands!” I was both angry and hurt – I think I was crying. My mind began to ‘retrace her steps’ – hmm – ‘suspects’ – hospital staff? There was no autopsy, so no Coroner involved. I was never told the cause of her death! Who could have removed her ring? How about the guys who received the body when it was released by the hospital and drove the “Dead Wagon” to the undertaker? Who else had access? Who? I bought the Wedding and Engagement rings as a “set”, from People’s Credit Jewellers on King Street in Kitchener about 1950. We were married in 1953. It took me 3 years to pay for the rings – was earning very little at the time. Bobbie was very specific about what she wanted when she was ‘nearing the end’; I.e., holding white Roses in her clasped hands – coffin open for the ‘viewing’ – she’d written her own obituary – Funeral Service with Communion at Trinity Anglican Church in Cambridge, etc. Still haunting me to this day – who would steal a ring from the finger of a corpse? Who would be so low down? For shame! Beyond imagination! I hope the thief has bad luck for the rest of his/her life! “Revenge is mine”, sayest the Lord. Things don’t look the same when ‘viewed through tears’. Maybe that’s why Bobbie didn’t look the same (never saw her dead before). When I touched her hands for the last time, looking at the white Roses – did a tear cloud my vision? Could I have missed the Engagement ring? Was it still on her slender, cold ring-finger? Bobbie often used to say, “I’ll never take off my Wedding Ring”. And she never did – except for having the Jeweller clean it occasionally. Not so with the Engagement ring – that came off regularly to avoid harming, or losing it when working in the garden. Could the missing ring have fallen off accidentally – while still in hospital – did it go out with laundry? Maybe my suspicion of ‘theft’ comes from my police background. Hmm. Maybe. Uncle Russ. Sgt. Ret. Det. Div. /Y.B. **** THE ONTARION REPORT Hello everyone! Well, we not only had our first rainy day in a while but I had another event filled day by spending it in the St Mary’s Hospital operating room with my friendly surgeon! I found last week that I once again have more Cancerous spots on my shiny scalp! Once again I had the pleasure of enjoying having a doctor gouge pieces out of my scalp to send to the pathology lab for tests to see if it is indeed more cancer. I will now have to wait for three weeks to get the results of these tests. OUCH! One of life’s most painful happenings is having someone dig holes in your head because of these sore spots from sun damage. If I’ve learned nothing else from this painful experience, it’s to be sure to wear a hat when out doors even if it is a cloudy day! No more sunbathing for me “EVER”!!! Well, it’s been a long while since I just let my imagination flow and write about whatever came into my pea pickin’ little mind so here goes nothin’! Every time I hear from Uncle Russ about him riding his trike along the cottage trails of his area it reminds me of my bike riding years as a kid. My favourite bike was a single speed 24 incher that my dad purchased from a co worker at Burns Meats when I was about 10 years old. He brought it home and it didn’t look like much but after he sanded the old paint off the frame and all and painted it a flashy red with white fenders it became my pride and joy! I would be willing to bet I put a few hundred miles on it each summer for about the next 4 years! I road that little red beast from dawn till dusk and sometimes later every sunny and sometimes rainy day all summer! Most of the other kids I knew had bright shiny new bicycles and some of them had multi speeds as well but they still didn’t seem to be able to keep up with my trusty little red beast! The one thing my beast had going for it was the fact that nobody wanted to steal an old used second hand bicycle! I remember riding that bike every spring down to the old Farmer’s Market located behind the original Kitchener “City Hall” the first nice day of spring to purchase my bicycle license. In those days every kid had to buy the bike license and have it affixed to the frame just behind and under the seat! This license was mandatory in those days so that you could identify your bicycle if it ever got lost or stolen. Also each summer there was a scheduled day for all the kids to attend a Bicycle Rodeo also at the Farmer’s Market! This was a day of skill testing to make sure you knew the rules of the road and how to obey them when riding one’s bicycle on the city streets! The Kitchener police department (as uncle Russ may remember) would supervise this event and when you completed the prescribed course on your bicycle for the day, you would be awarded a ribbon to show your compliance with the rules of bike riding! Every kid would proudly display their ribbon for at least a few days after attending this course. This was a mark of distinction in those days and very few kids road their bikes without having attended this event! Not like today’s bike riders, you know them, the ones that never stop at a stop sign or even think of performing proper hand signals when turning a corner. In fact we still have those who ride their bicycles on the sidewalk when they should be riding with proper law abiding decorum on the city streets! I can’t remember ever hearing of a bike rider these days that has been cautioned by a police officer for not following the rules of the road while riding on city streets! Have you ever heard of anyone receiving a ticket for improper conduct during an outing on their bicycles? This just never happens these days! I’m surprised that we don’t very often hear of a bike rider being injured due to their lack of use of proper bicycle etiquette but judging by the way most riders ignore the laws I’m amazed that we don’t hear of one serious injury or death per week these days. This is especially true with the gaining popularity of bike riding during this pandemic we’re in the middle of! I remember when I was a kid, riding down to Duke St across from one of Kitchener’s original fire halls to visit a bicycle shop called Schippling’s Bicycle’s and checking out all of the latest “Sports Bikes” that I could not afford to buy but liked to look at just for fun! This shop was just a few doors away from Cal’s Barber Shop where a gentleman by the name of Cal Mills used to cut my hair (When I had some)! My dad would drop me off at Cal’s and than come later to pick me up after about an hour or so with my new Buzz Cut! While sitting in the chair in Cal’s waiting my turn to get buzzed, I’d watch patiently out the window hoping that I’d see the shiny red Fire Trucks suddenly light up their red beacon lights and come screaming out of the big doors of that fire hall. It seemed that Duke St was a very interesting place to be on a Saturday morning or afternoon on a sunny summer day. I attended Cal’s barber shop right up until I got married and Carole volunteered to cut my quickly receding hair line for free! As there was no reason to pay a whopping $5.00 to have my thinning hair line clipped when my loving wife was willing to cut it for free, I stopped going to Cal’s every couple of months to have him do the same job! Of course that also put and end to my watching the shiny red fire trucks bust out of the old fire hall as well! I think having experienced the excitement of that as a kid may have been partly responsible for my eventually winding up applying for the fire department job shortly after Carole and I got married. Of course there were other contributing factors to that decision but deep down in, there was a secret desire to ride those shiny red trucks in person, not just in my childhood imagination! Also, when we were kids in pubic school , one of my classmates and friends was Brian Kumer whose father Burt was a captain on the Kitchener Fire Department! That was also a factor that caught my interest in the fire service! Brian used to tell us how cool it was that his dad could ride those big red trucks and get paid to do it! That also was an incentive to aspire to be on the fire department when one grew up! Getting back to the origins of this weeks write up (The Red Beast bicycle) it was due to the mobility it afforded me as a youngster that allowed me to travel all over Kitchener and Waterloo to experience all aspects of life outside of the North Ward we lived in and imagine myself as part of many of the businesses and professions I saw while riding my Red Beast! When you’re a kid, your first mode of transportation is of course, your feet and legs. Then you graduate to riding your bicycle that gave you much greater freedom to get around! Eventually you turned 16 years of age and if finances allowed, you were able to obtain a driver’s license and once in a while you got to borrow Dad’s car to impress your buddy’s on a Friday night out to the local Drive In food joint or theatre! From that point on , you saved enough money from the usual part time job to buy your first junker vehicle and that meant almost total freedom of mobility! If all went well after graduating from High School you could start a more lucrative career and eventually afford as decent and reliable vehicle and so on and so on through life! Imagine that, all this starting with nothing more than a simple single speed used bicycle for a 10 year old kid! I’d just like to say a belated thank you to my mum and dad for scrounging up enough of their hard earned dollars to get me that used single speed old red bicycle all those many years ago! If you were only still around to see what you started with that kind gesture! That’s about it for this week folks! Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report! Bye for now … Greg Something
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