A Small Job ....Major Mess

When Theresa and I decided to install a powder room up in our sun room we thought of the major benefit we would derive from the project. However when you undertake such a plan you have to think just how you are able to get the water and sewage from the top floor to the basement connections.

Many holes had to be cut n the walls, floor and ceiling as well as breaking into the concrete basement floor to make all the connections. What one would think would be a simple undertaking turns out to be a major mess. We hope the work will be completed by the weekend but if not certainly by Monday.

Our workers had to be skilled in construction, electrical, plumbing and drywall. We have used this young man before and he has all the skills. Tradesmen are valuable and can earn a good living when they acquire the necessary skills to do the whole job. In our case it was not necessary to hire a number of tradesmen so the job could be completed in a reasonable time and manner.

I often think that many people who use many years attending university or college and end up without skills for a job should have considered a skill trade and be gainfully employed in a timely manner.

New Family Member

When I refer to our family I mostly mean our immediate members but in this blog I refer to the extended family members. Our extended family is a very large group and growing all the time. My Cape Breton niece and her husband had a family of four and after their two girls grew up to adulthood they decided to enlarge their family by adopting.

They took the brave step in adopting a child from China. I cannot describe the paper work and red tape to bring this child into their home in Canada. They must have done everything in the correct order because their new child arrived home two days ago along with the whole family. With this adoption the family flew to China to be with their adopted son for a two week period during which time they made friends with their new son and became familiar with his needs. It was a time for Isaac, their new son to do the same.

Arriving home as a two year old must be a huge adventure for Isaac but from all reports everything is going well. We as extended family are very happy with having a new member and wish the Mom and Dad all the best in the coming years. Theresa and I are looking forward to meeting Isaac this summer when we travel to Cape Breton for our annual pilgrimage.

In THe Nations Interest

How many times have we heard this statement made when referring to the American foreign policy. Every time the USA has flexed its muscles it has been in their way of justification for their action. Way back they did this in the Banana Republics where American forces were used to support corporations becoming rich at the expense of the local populations. Later it was a normal foreign policy to protect American business interest everywhere in the world.

Canada has during the past eight years developed a policy similar to that of the USA and have the diplomatic corp become advocates for Canadian business interests. Never was this more apparent than the work done by our corp in America for the oil industry.The Whole weight of the corp is being used to influence the USA to approve the building the pipeline between Alberta and Texas. Business interests must be happy to have the millions of dollars of taxpayers money working on their behalf.

There should be a balance in the foreign policy and human rights should hold a high place in our value structure and Canada should return to being a productive partner in the UN and be recognized for what the people of Canada wish........A peace keeping nation.

Big Business Diplomacy

As I predicted our minister of foreign affairs did have his meeting with the corrupt generals in Egypt. As predicted he gave strong signals that Canada backed this dictatorship who have been responsible for many deaths and incarcerations against innocent citizens.In the jail house next to the palace where the meeting took place was a  Canadian whose only crime was reporting on the brutality of the military take over. Egypt now promises a quick trial for this man but at what cost.

This is a new low in our diplomatic dealings in world affairs. Civil rights and human rights are non existent in Egypt at this time and we should not be having normal economic dealings with this country until assurances are made for changes. Our stance on the Ukraine issue is obsolete as we have practically severed all relations with the UN. This is a UN problem and now is developing into a Nato problem. NATO is a military power and their solution would be a military one and we all know that will not happen. Russia has the upper hand in this issue because poor leadership from within The Ukraine caused huge problems by declaring that Russian would not be one of the official languages of the Ukraine.That was practically the first order of business. How bad a decision was that.I gave Russia the wedge to interfere to protect the rights of the minority Russian speaking people of the Ukraine.

We now see the Russian minority in the Ukraine gaining support from within and with Russian help it will be no time before the Ukraine is under Russian influence and possibly control. To put our international  policy in perspective we should see the situations in Africa where genocide is taking place and hardly a whimper from our diplomatic  leaders in spite of the grave need. Children being snatched from their schools, whole groups slaughtered and the African peace keepers overwhelmed because of lack of numbers and equipment.I wonder what the situation would be if the people there were white. I trust that Canada will in the near future return to a great peace keeping nation and will be recognized for our contribution to peace and not a nation who turns it's back on Africa.

New Computer

Theresa has been complaining about her computer for the past few months but it came to a head when she could not retrieve information at tax time.She made her feelings known on a day when Henry and Henry were here visiting. They declared that they would build a computer for her and bring it on line asap. Usually we depend on Peter for such a task as he is a professional and we need him on occasion to right what gets wrong on our several computers.

Well the computer was built and delivered asap as promised and the Henry's shared the best part of a day transferring all the valuable information on Theresa's machine.My promise to the boys was a rib dinner and I did deliver but no time was wasted as much time was necessary to complete the task. I supervised the entire time and actually learned a great deal but for the most part their conversation was all Greek to me. We are so fortunate to have a number of family who bail us out when we have difficulties.

Living in the computer age makes it imperative to either learn the technology or have someone close to help. I am determined to get with it and get up to speed. My daughter Lynda spoils me by writing down the procedures but it mostly works and I am determined to correct this embarrassment.

Post Traumatic Stress

There is a terrific amount of interest in the condition of post traumatic stress. I first heard of this condition as it related to soldiers under the command of the famous General Patton of the USA. He entered a hospital and declared the men there under doctors care because of battle fatigue were yellow and cowards, striking one in the face with his fist.He was reprimanded and battle fatigue became known as post traumatic stress.

Personally I encountered PTS while working in Nunavut as a coroner.Nunavut has few doctors and trusted citizens are appointed to perform this duty.I was one of those and served while I was there. The first few calls that I had were for accidents and two suicides.I dealt with these events well but suffered extreme stress not trained to deal with this aspect of the job. One morning when I had a special visitor to my home ,my daughter Lynda I was late for work as we had a breakfast in our own time.Suddenly I had a call over the radio phone that there was an accident near my home and to get there quickly.

The accident was only a block from my home and when I arrived I found out that a four year old child  was killed by a water truck which drove over the child when he slid under the back wheels. I assessed the event and wrote the facts and took pictures as I had to do and bag the body and take care of the scene. I met with the family and appeared to be OK.I decided to go home to write the report and as I entered the house I had a meltdown. This child was known to me and was a frequent visitor with his father to my home. Through tears I wrote the report and sent it off to Yellowknife as demanded. I straightened up and while Lynda was with me I was OK.

Two days later I suffered deep depression and sadness. It was a feeling I never experienced before because I lost control of my feelings. I received a call from the chief coroner in Yellowknife and after asking how I felt he had me on a plane to the hospital in Yellowknife.I received a debriefing and counselling from the lady specialist. I stayed there for three days and returned home to Ikaluktutiak. I was OK in the true sense. The help I received was all I needed.

The second time I suffered the same feeling was after failed surgery which gave me PTS because of a near death experience. I relate these stories so people will try to understand how readily our men and women in uniform could suffer PTS because of the experiences they endured. These are for the most part young people and it should demand that the government who put these people in harms way be responsible for their care and recovery. Their stress would be many times greater than I suffered so we should be accepting that they get the care they require. This condition has taken many lives of our military and it has to stop.

An Easter Family Gathering

We have had quite a few family gatherings but this one was the largest and one of the most exciting. First of all it was the last day of university for three of the grandchildren. They all did very well this year and now are planning their next years agenda. Our youngest daughter has been working very hard finishing her masters and will complete the mammoth task in two weeks. Glenda worked full time and carried a full load of courses during the school year and during the summer. She will be relieved of stress and plain hard work and will be rewarded at graduation later in the year. Everyone was excited about their progress.

The event that caused the most excitement was Meghan announcing her engagement to Jamie. We were all expecting this sometime but it was a surprise just the same. Doris was with us and for 96 she sure enjoyed the outing , especially the feast of turkey and ham with all the trimmings. Except for Troy everyone was there and along with boyfriends and girlfriends we numbered 23.

Lynda and Peter were our hosts again and it is becoming  major task to prepare everything for this ever growing group. As usual stories were shared and being Easter there was the traditional Easter Egg hunt and although there are no children it would seem that the room was filled with kids as everyone tried to find at least one egg.

The Ukraine.....Lost To Russia

Most of the western countries strongly supported the people of the Ukraine when they revolted and cast off the corrupt government of the day. This government was leaning to the Russian block because of ties to their needs for oil and gas. There was a huge number of Russian speaking people living in the Ukraine as well and Russian was the official language.

The Ukrainian leadership were propped up by the verbal support from the European Union and probably thought there would be both monetary and military support in the early days of their freedom.All the time Russia was planning for a takeover and they succeeded in annexing Crimea almost without a real gesture from the west except to speak in loud voices to get some political value at election time.The USA is not prepared to go to war nor are the powerful European countries. English Banks are filled with Russian cash, French business is selling billions of dollars of military equipment and Germany receives a third of its carbon needs from Russia.Are they going to do more than speak out and ruin a good thing?

Canada is a fly on the wall but has a large Ukrainian population so the PM and Baird can cry out their support for political gain but as far as real help...forget it. This matter in the Ukraine has been botched from the first and it is all about the money. We will see more UN motions and some meaningless sanctions but as far as standing up and making a real stand we will wait a long time.

The west is a toothless tiger without the USA and it's military might and we may see Russia playing a larger role in Empire building in the future. Lesson learned. As in the Ukraine, Syria and others.... we should shut our mouths and not support uprisings unless we intend to help the people in real terms...something we have not done in a formalized way through NATO or thUN.

Harper Government Hypocrisy...Once Again.

The Harper Government under Mr. Baird's  foreign policy has once again shown just how hypocritical Canada or should I say the sitting government really is. During the past week our Canada has decided to withhold their membership commitment of $20,ooo,ooo to keep our country in good standing in one of our longest standing and important international federations of countries , The Commonwealth of Nations. This action has been taken because the chairman of this organization is from Sri Lanka.Mr. Baird made this decision because of reported human right violations in that country.

Today Mr. Baird is travelling to Egypt to meet with the Canada-Egypt Business Council. He will be sitting with the military and business people a mere stones throw away from hostile prisons holding thousands of men, women and young people who were protesting during the recent uprisings against a corrupt government. Confirmed reports of ill treatment and torture in that place also houses a Canadian reporter who was arrested because he was reporting on the conflict.

Mr. Baird will be accepting hospitality with some evil people while they discuss ways for more Canadians to invest in projects in Egypt. Here are two cases...both countries have a poor record on human rights but one, Egypt is involved in a business relationship. It is all about the money and this Harper Government places helping rich companies above democracy and ethical conduct.

This government has reached new lows when it comes to foreign policy as it has become a advertising and support group for big interests and not the wishes or will of the Canadians who used to be proud of our involvement in the world and were even handed when it came to it's official foreign policy.What a pity.

Muscles Without Going To The Gym

While shopping today Theresa and I viewed a special for Nova Scotia

 mussels. Two boxes of 2.7 kgm worth of live mussels for under $12. seemed like an easy way to cook supper.We decided to cook all of the blue beauties and we did. I was reminded of my youth when our family often travelled to one of Dad's beaches where we could dig clams and pick muscles. Sometimes we just made a fire and cooked this treat in a large pot. Using ocean water and no other embellishments made us aware of the natural treasures found on our shores in Cape Breton.

It probably looked weird  to see our family armed with tire irons and buckets moving over the beach at low tide looking for that tell tale squirt of water indicating the presence of a clam. When you knew how to capture the sweet clams by using the tire iron to release the hard shelled fish from its hiding place you were rewarded with one of natures great treasures.

These family outings were not as frequent as we would have wished but they left an iron clad memory of happy times from the past. When we travel to the Maritimes nearly every summer we try to have as much shell fish as possible and any other fish as well. The large grocery stores are beginning to stock many of the fish dishes we love and our medical people say they are good for us. You really don't have to belong to a gym to have muscles.

Playing Golf With A Wife

Many men I know will not play golf with their wife for a number of good and bad reasons.Theresa never played golf until we were married and showed an interest. I saw trouble as a learner of this game can disrupt a foursome on a course where the other three can manage a reasonable game.

We started out with playing by ourselves on a nine hole course where there was little or no pressure. Like anyone else she had her moments and we were forced to play with good golfers and somehow managed to finish the game with a little dignity and some red faces.

I decided to get Theresa some lessons for her birthday and John really helped her with a package deal where he taught her how to drive, chip and putt. Her game increased in structure to the point where she joined a ladies group and played every week.We became comfortable with playing with strangers and enjoyed our outings to the point where golf is one of our main outdoor games.

On our recent road trip we played on a beautiful long course and Theresa was handling the game very well. Her score was the best ever and when we came to the 18th hole we faced a 500 yard par 5. Theresa made three great shots to get within 137 yards.On her fourth shot she hit a three wood and when the ball hit the flag stick it remained within 15 inches of the hole. That was the greatest game of her life and I was very proud of her ability.Of course she wanted to be recognized and I made a fuss but the quiet reward was the fact that I loved even more to play golf with Theresa.

Doris..A New Beginning

Today our home was changed forever as our family of three was reduced to two. Doris has failing health and needs more attention than Theresa and I can provide. Our house is the main problem as we have five levels and this means stairs everywhere.

For fifteen years Doris has been a vibrant member of our small family and lived an exciting life. She travelled everywhere we went and proved to be an excellent traveller. While driving to Florida we were on the road for 18 hours and Doris never closed her eyes as she was afraid of missing something. While in Florida she walked every day and swam for 40 minutes in the pool exercising and loving the fun.

For the six months down south she never suffered any pain from arthritis and was a model of health for a 90 year plus old lady.When she could no longer come with us to Florida her health became an issue but only as an aging person. Baking bread, doing dishes and cleaning around the home kept her busy.Family gatherings gave her that special feeling as my daughters and son made her feel special.

Theresa had a special gift as only a few are able to claim because a daughter-mother relationship under the same roof for fifteen years was truly wonderful. Doris trusted Theresa with everything and Theresa in turn was able to share that trust in so many ways.

I personally thought living with Doris as a natural thing as she was with us for all the years we were married.Today we took Doris to her new home and spent the day helping her to get settled in. Our home is about ten minutes from her new place and our family will do its best to visit and preserve that family relationship intact.I will miss her greatly as she shared many moments with me in the kitchen preparing food. We wish her contentment and happy times sharing her final years with professional care and a loving family.

Pensacola

America has hundreds of training facilities for its armed forces.Pensacola must rank as one of the oldest and largest as it is home to the naval air wing. Here the men and women who make up the air wing of the navy train and prepare themselves for their role on air craft carriers and more.

The facility is huge and security is high. Every morning at eleven o'clock the Blue Angles train and welcome visitors to watch and be amazed at the show these talented airmen display.Theresa and I attended the show and for forty five minutes we were thrilled, shocked and entertained . Their training is a prelude to the many shows that these airmen provide across America and Canada.

A highlight of this base is its museum. 300,000square feet of vintage and modern aircraft used over the years at that base.One hundred and fifty actual planes displayed within the museum. I was in my glory and Theresa was thrilled to see first hand this wonderful display

This day was a highlight of the Alabama Adventure..

Oh..I went To Alabama With My Golf Clubs In My Van

Theresa and I decided on a road trip rather than going to a resort or a cruise. We chose Alabama instead of Florida because information I picked up from friends and articles I read about the beauty and cultural benefits of a visit to that place. We left with our van packed and bicycles hanging out from the back of our van and drove ahead of the predicted ice storm.

For the first time in my life I had a small issue when crossing the border to the USA. Everything was normal until he asked to look in the back of the van. He asked me to roll the window down and I had accidently put on the child safe lock and had difficulty in conforming to his order. His demeanour changed and he came to the van door and asked me if I owned the vehicle. I answered in the positive and he questioned me as to where we were going I explained that we were going to visit friends and so on.

Next he asked if I had anything that I was taking into the USA. It was evident I did but he centered in on alcohol. I had stopped in at the duty free and picked up several bottles of cheap rum. He asked if we could not buy it in Florida.He sort of threatened us by saying he could send us over to the tariff office and pay a duty. I said nothing and finally he gave us back our passports and we were on our way.

We kind of smiled at the welcome but were determined to not let this to be a problem with our happiness at the beginning of our road trip. We sped along with our maps and interest in seeing as much of the countryside as we could. We travelled down to Kentucky and stayed for the night and enjoyed a great meal at a local restaurant. We knew that the next day would bring us to warm weather and maybe even a game of golf. We felt free of all stress and about to enjoy our 15 days of travelling in new areas and experiencing new places.

Dotham Alabama

This city tucked in the south east corner of Alabama is the medical center for a large region of Florida,Georgia and of course Alabama. A quiet city with beautiful trees and parks and the last place you would expect to find Theresa and myself. We decided to stay in four or five towns or cities in the panhandle and coastal Alabama to experience the culture and golfing and meet locals to tell us about their towns history. This was a hotbed of civil war days and landmarks abound.

We wanted to experience the golf course and Theresa made arrangements for an afternoon game. The cost was the first shock being under $25 with a cart and the friendliness of the staff was amazing.The courses we played were natural and the game was played over the geographic landscape without much tearing up the ground to make it look perfect.Long and wide fairways made it possible to play a whole game without losing a ball.

I travelled through this area before but never stayed in the state. We decided to stay for three days in each town and it was a good decision. We drove on the back roads and were surprised at the care taken to make the area beautiful. Flowers and trees were everywhere and town bylaws protected the large and 200 year old oaks. Homeowners were not permitted to cut a branch without permission. We never saw garbage or trash along the roads even in rempte areas and care was taken tomaintain the natural beauty.

We loved our first three days but decided to move onto a city on the beach noted for their white sand and warm water.