MRI

The machine was a monster. My Dr. ordered me to have a MRI to better judge the treatment of my arthritis. He thought there might be a wait but told me to volunteer to go any time if a cancellation was made. I received a call the day after but I was not home. I missed the chance but a few days later I received another call so 8 days after my request I was on my way to the hospital.

I really did not know what to expect but filling out the sheet made me a little nervous. One question asked me if I was claustrophobic. All my nervous thoughts were laid aside when I entered the cubicle to prepare for the 30 minute experience. Taking off all my clothes except my shoes and underwear and donning a robe which covered half my body was not pleasant but being laid out on the sliding bed and pushed in to the small cave was a experience. The operator asked if I wanted a cloth over my eyes before entering and told me if I experienced difficulty she was right there to help.

I barely fitted the slot and with my hands by my side I felt very vunerable. What to do if a fly lands on my face. I was told not to move. I closed my eyes and tried to think of something but already I felt uncomfortable. As I was pushed further in she announced the show would begin. Bang and the noise started. For minutes I was moved, bombarded with unnatural sounds and generally unable to have a nap. It was over and when I was pulled out she told me I was only there for 17 minutes and the machine broke down. I had to go back in after the small repair job and this time I knew what to expect. Thirty minutes later it was all over.

It is remarkable what this experience did for my health. My Dr. will receive a report containing information vital to his diagnosis. Technology is wonderful.

Childhood Friends.

Theresa and Carol were school friends all the way from grade one to Senior Matriculation. Their lives were interwoven as the village they lived in was made up of some few hundred people. One school met the needs of all students from grade one to grade 12. They were in the same class, went to the same church and had many of the same friends.

After high school they studied for three years to obtain their RN at the same hospital in Moncton and their friendship continued. After nursing school their paths went in different directions but their friendship remained. Meeting at various times for reunions and visits to their home area in New Brunswick enabled them to catch up on the important gossip and up to date information about mutual friends.

Theresa went across Canada to live on the West Coast for many years and Carol settled in Oklahoma. Again they kept in touch by letter and phone and later by email. They always had things to talk about and time spent together brings a level of joy only friends experience.

A few years ago there was a hundred year anniversary for their old school and I was present to observe the bond established among this group of friends from their class. It was evident that Theresa and Carol had kept their friendship alive and I was introduced to the many people that came together to celebrate a school that bonded so many.

This year Carol is visiting us here in Ontario and I try to stay out of the way as the two friends share special time. They will store up enough memories to last until the next meeting. Having long time friends is a gift many do not have and it is unfortunate as friendship is priceless. I would judge Theresa and Carol to be true Childhood Friends.

Our Queen Is Home

Today our Queen has returned to Canada for the 22rd time. Queen Elizabeth has been our head of state for nearly six decades. Her age was not an issue as she walked down the steps from her plane accompanied by her 90 year old husband. They looked great with her perfect poise and wonderful smile in a downpour as only Nova Scotia can have.

She will be touring Canada for a number of days and will help Canada celebrate the 100Th anniversary of our Navy and the 400Th anniversary of a famous chief of the Micmac Nation. The pomp and ceremony at Halifax would bring a tear to a glass eye as her majesty spoke to the people gathered to welcome her. Local artists sang and danced and the politicians had their photo ops. All in all I feel so close to the institution of the royal family and the stability it lends to our system of government I have an emotional melt down. The playing of the national anthems and the reviewing of the guard of honour makes me remember the debt we owe our service men and women who are dieing even now for their country.

Our system of government is not perfect but it the best we have and we owe so much to those who fought and died in it's defence. Our Queen heads a loose confederation of states called the Commonwealth of Nations and it embraces more than a quarter of the world's population. This group of countries once made up the British Empire but since nearly all the colonies have become independent without bloodshed ( the USA was an exception ) there remains a relationship unique in this world.

I feel good that our queen is back in Canada and remember in 1948 that she and Philip came to Sydney in the royal yacht Britannia and I stood close to them as they addressed the school children in Cape Breton. Since then I saw the queen several times and always treasured the moment. The royal presence is less important now because our immigrants are from countries where royalty is not respected in the same way as people from the UK.

I trust her visit will help us to be more united as she tours across Canada. If she comes close to Oakville I will be there cheering for our Queen.

The Day After

There is always a gamble that you will have problems when you risk. The G8/G20 was not a risk, but a calculated move knowing what would happen. These meetings are always a focus for groups to air their feelings. This was the perfect venue for dozens of peaceful marchers to demonstrate. There were crowds of hundreds and sometimes thousands who marched, sang, shouted but never broke the law. Their voice was ignored by the media who gave all the attention to the few hundred criminals.

The massive show of force by police was unable to control this element and the innocent law abiding demonstrators were sometimes brutalized by police. At one point over thirty people who were on a corner waiting for a bus were detained and taken into custody. Some of this crowd were tourists, teenagers and workers trying to get to work. What nonsense. Another group of 400 were surrounded and detained in a street surrounded by police for from 3 to 5 hours. It was raining and lightening was in the area. This caused problems for many as there were no bathrooms or drinking water and they were never told why they were detained until their release.

The police had a difficult job but there were bound to be mistakes made. Our police showed restraint and courage but there were problems with their plan. We trust they will learn from this. The biggest surprise came when without notice our provincial government gave police the unusual right to detain anyone without cause or charges being made if they so wished. Most of the 600 or so were released after detainment without charges being made. Our civil rights were breached. The announcement of this cabinet decision will be made today or tomorrow, several days after the conference. Authorities will make excuses for their unusual behaviour but for every Canadian this conduct goes totally against our civil liberties. We did what we as Canadians riled against when others countries used similar behaviour in quelling disorder.

The conference made a good point in advising countries to get control of their budgets. It is voluntary of course and we'll wait for this to happen with elections coming and the political leaders have to be accountable to their voters. The G8 had an opportunity to tax our financial institutions but of course the G8 protects big business. This tax would have been insurance against bank fail ours and situations like we had in the USA, Greece and Spain. The wealthy financial institutions again are protected by we the people. Other than that not much was said about world poverty, global warming and the environment. As a matter of fact not much of anything was done that is binding. The leader of France will host the next meetings and he announced that it will cost one tenth of the money used in Canada for the same purpose.

In spite of what took place in the last while I am proud to be a Canadian and I am sure there will be time to analyze this mess and maybe it was worth it, only time will tell.

Risky Business

Yesterday was a sad day for Toronto and for our country. Our Billion dollar security was not able to stop criminals from doing what they do best and that is committing outlandish mischief. Mischief is not the correct wording for criminal behaviour and the few hundred criminals who mingled with the ordinary protesters gave us a black eye.

I saw many ordinary citizens doing what they are entitled to do and that was protesting issues and policies that they want to publicize. Grandmothers for grandmothers, coalition against poverty and some fifty other groups marched and behaved well. With the city locked down in such a ridiculous manner it begged for trouble by those seeking mischief. It became a challenge and was well organized and became a nightmare for the police authorities.

In Huntsville area where the venue was isolated and easy to police there was little trouble other than a few signs and small group activity. Having this in Toronto was a huge challenge and our police authorities did the best they could under the circumstances. No amount of police force could look after such a difficult task. With the inner city actually locked down the perimeter to be looked after is huge.

It is too late to say I told you so but people in charge will find a better venue in the future for their photo ops. I feel sorry for the innocent owners of property who found themselves in harm's way through no fault of their own. The government already said they would not be responsible for damages but that might change. I am sure the City of Toronto will like compensation for damages to their police cars and so on.

Was it worth the money? Time will tell but until then we can assess the good and bad and become armchair quarterbacks on this issue. I know where I stand and hope I am wrong for Canada's sake.

Spring In Ikaluktutiak

About this time of the year spring begins in the Arctic. Everyone has one thing on their mind, Arctic Char. The char move from the fresh water lakes to the ocean. During the winter these fish hardly move as they go into a semi hibernation. They live off their body fat and lose up to a third of their weight. These fish have a clock which switches on and they move to the opening of the lakes where in a few short days the ice will melt and rush like a torrent to the sea.The Char follow the melting water and can be seen in great numbers.

Local Inuit capture these fish on their way to the sea and eat some fresh but dry many for use the following winter. When the Char reach the sea they eat non stop on Tommy Cod and shrimp. Their body mass gain up to a third and all this in about 8 weeks. While at sea the Char swim in great numbers along the shoreline seeking food. Inuit use nets to again catch Char for the winter. On one occasion I was with a friend who was pulling a net after only a half hour in the water. It contained nearly a hundred fish.

These fish average about 10 pounds but larger fish are caught as well. Inuit women are skilled at cleaning and cutting the fish for future use. Families will use hundreds of pounds of this food. It is a great source of protein and even babies chew the dried fish. The same happens with caribou when the migration begins. Inuit will not hunt caribou during the calving season.

While I lived in the Arctic , Char was a staple in my diet but I preferred to freeze the fresh Char but I did dry some. The Inuit have a great way of freezing Char . I wondered how they froze the fish without having freezer burn. They dip the whole Char in water and let it freeze. They do this several times until the fish has a thin coating of Ice completely over its body. The secret is to freeze the whole uncut or ungutted fish. This really works.

This season of the year brings out whole families and before the rivers are open they will jig through the ice. This social behaviour is best shown when part of the catch is given to the elders and needy. This is true of all food gathering whether it be fish, berries, caribou or bear. Everyone gets a share of the bounty. This enabled this society to survive through the years. The fun of living in the Arctic for me was survival for the Inuit. Spring was fun in Ikaluktutiak for me but serious business for the Inuit.

Excitement

Our oldest daughter has the ability to walk into a room and change the dynamics instantly. This is because of her ability to talk and gain the floor. This last few weeks were different. She usually is able to do fifteen things at a time but as of this week she was bogged down. It is not enough that she is going to Africa in a week with her daughter to help build a school with Free The Children, but she also has a graduation for her youngest. On top of this, her job requires her to write not one but two newsletters - and she bought a cottage.

One or two of these items have some people in a tizzy but she always said she works better under pressure; well she is under pressure. She must have forgotten the mess of sorting out papers for a mortgage and purchase of property in Parry Sound. She and her husband dropped in to pick up a rain barrel and some tools for their trip to the new digs this weekend. She must have done her homework as she appeared to be calm as a cucumber. In addition she is taking a two day work holiday at their new cottage. This is the way my oldest works - calm, cool and collected. She earned the time off. Enjoy.