"Stuff" from T'rono

A lunch time walk downtown is never dull. This gentleman appeared on the corner last week proclaiming himself to be Mr. Toronto and holding a banner with the words Toronto Appreciation Day.

What-up dawg?! He is gallivanting around the country with a banner, a camera and a insulated coffee mug full of ... ah... well ... Poop actually. He calls it "Toronto Sludge" and he offered it as a gift to Newfoundland and Labrador because as "everyone knows we don't have a lot of arable land and this stuff is a "rich multicultural stew"." He didn't get any takers on his gift oddly enough. Maybe it was because anything offered up from Toronto can't be good news; or perhaps it was the fact that the smell from his "stew" was enough to overpower even the infamous funk of "the bubble". Given that "the bubble" is being stirred fresh by bulldozers, the fact that the Toronto version could, not only do battle with our local brew, but in fact overpower it... no small feat for a coffe-mug of treated poo.

The real stink from Mr. Toronto though comes from the fact that he is sponsered by the CBC. Our CBC. With a grant, a bottle of poo and a camera there he goes spending the bucks of Canada's broadcaster.

Of course this is all meant to be a tongue in cheek look at Canada's hatred for our Quasi-New York. The intention appears to be to show how great Toronto is by filming the fall-out of Canada's other cities to make T.O look good in comparison. With a small assortment of professionals and tourists out for their lunch time stroll he finds the one poor unfortunate who has stumbled upon the scene on his way from the booze laden bars of George Street. "and you sir - what do you think of Toronto sludge!"

I'm sure it will be a quality piece of work worthy of the quality of the CBC. If it doesn't work out he can stuff the film into a Horton cup and offer it around the Country as new and improved sludge from Toronto.

Garbage Day in St. John's

Update: For some reason Google has chosen to place this article high on a search for "St. John's Garbage Day" If you are looking for the schedule:
http://www.stjohns.ca/cityservices/garbage/index.jsp Otherwise if you are looking for general sarcasm and sauce, stay where yer at :)


A city by-law to cover garbage with netting starts on the same day as the opening of the food fishery... coincidence?

I think there is a net-makers mafia at work...

Newfoundlander in Canada

My father was born a Newfoundlander. His first child was born a Canadian. Growing up a Newfoundlander in Canada is an ambiguous journey. In school, the textbooks were largely American, TV and entertainment was largely American. I'm not sure I understood that Canada was a separate country from the US. With an adult eye, I'm still not sure there is a great distinction. When the realization of the geopolitical relationship of Canada and the US was finally resolved in my mind I remember feeling disappointed. With the realization that Newfoundland was not a part of The States and that in fact Newfoundland was the adopted child of the Canadian Dominion - disappointment was the closest feeling that could be conjured up.

For the young Newfoundlander in Canada the fact that we had no affiliation with the US and that in fact we had only been with our present country for a couple of decades... It reflected on my own sense of identity. It meant that the childhood heroes; the writers, artists, movie stars, rock singers... were all part of a culture that was not your own. It made the dreams of becoming rich and famous like them suddenly unattainable. Who from Newfoundland was known in Canada, let alone the US? The greater dreams of fame and fortune were suddenly like catching moonlight in a box. It was perhaps the first time that the reality of my future was chiseled in the foundation of my psyche.

So given that I wasn't an American, I wasn't even in my country’s eyes a true and equal Canadian. I was a Newfoundlander, we did not become rich and famous. I was unlikely to become a Walt Disney or Elvis Presley. We came from labourers and fishermen, farmers and loggers. We worked on the sea, in the mines and in The Mill. My father, his brothers and their father worked in The Mill. My future was a flat-topped wooden lunch basket with a sandwich, a tea bag, a Gerber bottle of sugar and a spice bottle of milk. That was my reality. Falling asleep from shear physical exhaustion after supper, thick woolen socks covered with tiny pellets of wool. In steel toed shoes for ten hours of confinement. I don’t know of a ten year old who dreams of that. My pride in my father, my uncles and grandfather now is from a very different perspective than it was then.

Canada was 100 years old when I was born; The province of Newfoundland in Canada a mere fledgling at 18 years. My baby picture has grey centennial coins inside the frame, a goose, a rabbit, a dove. A boy of ten can perhaps be forgiven for not knowing the place of Newfoundland in Canada. Not only did we read American and Canadian books but Canada itself was celebrating its 110 birthday. But Newfoundland only joined in 1949? Canada has had a long history without us; our joining is a footnote.

That is the context of growing up a Newfoundlander in Canada. When Arthur Scammel wrote “The Squid Jiggin’ Ground” as a school project he received a poor grade. Not because it wasn’t a marvelous ditty, a fun reflection of the time and place – but because it was a reflection of his time and place. Newfoundlanders did not write about Newfoundland. Children should write about going to buy candy at the corner market or painting picket fences – not about getting ink in the eye from a Cephalopod. But he did and the song became one of the most recognizable ditty’s of Newfoundland and Labrador culture.

Without a lot of heroes and role-models, without learning our history, our place, despite all of the formal schooling to the contrary I am proud of this place. I am proud of the people who worked hard with smelly wool socks, flat topped lunch boxes and calloused hands. I am proud of the people who fought and died. I am proud of the Rhodes scholars, the artists, and writers who live in Newfoundland and Labrador. Although much of the true context of being a Newfoundland and Labradorian had to be discovered on my own; I am none-the-less grateful for it. Walt Disney never had it so good.

Danny and The White Moose

(This is a bit in the style of Rex Murphy)

The stuff of legends; the genetic anomaly that is the white moose. This albino was once thought to be a fallacy. A mis-identified caribou or the resulting exaggeration of an inebriated outdoorsman. In these days of technology when cell phones have cameras and the world is connected via streaming bits of information from a variety of media, there is not much that can remain concealed. The Giant Squid - the Kraken, The coelacanth and the white moose have all been brought out of incognito. Beware 'Nessy' and the 'Sasquatch', it's just a matter of time.

So there it is, a gosh darn larger-than-life white moose, grandiose and unforgiving of itself. You have to wonder about this living embodiment of Nature's satire. It has none of the stealth of its brethren, unable to disappear into the road-side brush like the stealth bomber of the Central Newfoundland interior. Old 'Whitey' is more in-your-face, he need not cower into the cover of foliage, he may as well just stand in plain view proclaiming "Here I am, I'm not going anywhere, yes I am a Friggin' White Moose and I couldn't give a rat's ass what you think of that."

There is certainly a great risk in being so highly visible in a place where everyone wants to take a shot at you. The parallel can be made between Whitey and our Premier Danny Williams. Danny has gotten more media attention in his short term in office than any premier in the last few decades. Not since Joey Smallwood's telling recitation of a night after eating bad lobster in the song "Like 'e Would" has a premier captured the minds of the public psyche. Like Newfoundland and Labrador's Trudeau, Danny has been seen doing his pirouette all over hell's half acre. He has been on Larry King Live, the New York Times and has been quoted in every two-bit rag from Too-Good Arm to Tumbler Ridge. When Danny dares knock on the granite doors of Big Oil the mainlanders really start to take notice. Aaaah yes Oil, Black Gold, Texas Tea. Everyone uses it, everyone wants it, and Newfoundland and Labrador has it. Apparently taking on big oil is something akin to trying to get an audience with the Pope. Big, powerful and lots of people who will stand up for it, with few daring to stand against it. Danny "the white moose" Williams has dared poke his foot into the door of big oil's boardroom and announce to all "Hey buddy, what's the deal with Hebron?"

He has been compared to Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chevez as if he is a one man show in a province of subversives. Perhaps though if you were to look past Danny you just might catch a glimpse of a herd of half a million. You might be more surprised to see how many white moose there are in that herd. Necks out coaxing him on. "Give-er Danny", we will not hide in the shadows any longer. The white moose is here to stay.

Quality of Character

Apparently there is a high level of financial retribution that is necessary to entice a certain "quality" of person to public life. At least that is what we are told whenever a person in public life needs to justify their pay and perks. There is something about the term "quality" though that I find uncomfortable. If a person has a quality above and beyond another there is an implication that there are people of lesser quality. Similarly the word "intelligence" doesn't sit well in my arse pocket of terms. If quality and intelligence are indeed qualities of a person that can be quantified we become something in the way of cattle, don't we? Pressing through a job interview with a B.Sc. or B.Ed branded on our hip or wearing our income level on a badge that reads "Hello MY NAME IS __ I MAKE __ A YEAR". Of course there are many who would welcome it, but they'll have to be content with having an initial after their name or by wearing their peacock display of bling. Not to devalue anyone's pursuits, acedemic and career goals are noble quests indeed; but success, experience, and education are contexts of your character; not your quality.

We do pay for quality in a person's work though; we choose our dentist, our restaurants, our contractor based on a price and an expected quality based on that price. If we accept the idea that there is a price paid for quality, can we expect that $100 000 - $150 000 for an MHA's salary (along with all the magnets and pins one can load into their Escalades) would produce for us some nice prime government officials? What we get instead are a selection of thieves and rogues who cry out of the left side of their mouth when hospital beds close in their riding but puff Cuban cigars out of the right.

These, hopefully rare few, do so with the kahunas to say they represent us. Paid by each of us. Paid well with incentives and perks because that is what this quality of person deserves. What sort of guarantee I wonder comes with a Grade-A rogue? So What do we do about it? A public inquiry? What do we get for our cash from a public inquiry? What did we get from Gomery? Some well paid lawyers, perhaps an extra Jag or two in Ottawa. Some months of repetitive news distracting from the more important issues of the day. Who really gives a rat's ass where the finger points at the end of the day! The finger should be pointing to the cash! The hands should be holding someone by the feet shaking the change from their pockets.

I want my money back... and at least a fridge magnet for my troubles.

Pins Magnets and Limited Edition Rings - Everything Must Go

Act of Remembrance

I had wanted to write a piece about the 90th Anniversary of Beaumont Hamel and the dichotomy of the July 1 Holiday... but I find it difficult to put to words. With July 1 vast approaching I will offer this simple act of remembrance:

"On July 1, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme in World War I, 800 soldiers of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment rose from the British trenches and went into battle at Beaumont-Hamel, nine kilometres north of Albert in France. The next day, only 68 men answered the regimental role call. 255 were dead, 386 were wounded, and 91 were listed as missing."

On Saturday July 1 at 8:50am in Ottawa there will be a rare acknowledgement of Newfoundland and Labrador's exceptional role in the battle of the Somme. "Canada Day" overshadows this darker day in this province. On this, the 90th Anniversary of Beaumont Hamel - Remember...

Rebranding Memorial University

It is puzzling sometimes how the pillars of acedemia can come up with some pretty stunned and useless ideas. The print shops that produce letterheads must be grinning all the way to the bank. I guess a pain in the arse for some people is the bread and butter of others.

Don't feel bad for Betsy there, the CONA/Trades and Tech/Cabot Institute cow looks like Dennis Rodman.

Reflections from the Waterfront

The lady that passes me has the soft round small featured face that tells of her Irish heritage. She has light freckles on her cheeks and as she nears she smells like the cinnamon and vanilla of the downtown shop. A scent of rose perfume lingers as she passes.

By the harbour, the fishing boats are tied up. Short gentlemen with red cheeks share a joke as they busy themselves with metal and rope that appears abstract and featureless but their care for it suggests importance. The shops behind are playing Dick Nolan which drifts on the wind like time. The sounds growing faint as they are stolen by the breeze. A shop that has sculptures, painting and crafts has the doors wide open and the smell of a kiln is in the air. A group of young people sits with their legs folded and exchange sketchbooks of drawings. The art has themes of the ocean, sails, love and lust.

A man in a black suit with a conference badge hanging on a string drops a looney into the open guitar case of a tired looking gentleman who is channeling Johnny Cash through his guitar strings. An older couple wearing Old Navy shirts are asking a guy in front of the coffee shop when they can expect to see icebergs. The conversation shifts to capelin and he tells how the silvery fish will soon begin their annual ritual along these rocky shores. He tells of standing in the ocean having your ankles messaged by thousands of silvery bellies as the ocean tides turn into a living wave for a brief moment before tossing its cargo onto the shores to die. The elderly couple smiles discreetly wondering if the man might be having a bit of fun at their expense.

A shop full of books tells of this place; of history, politics, love and war, art and nature, the Beothuck and Innuit. “The Woman who Mapped Labrador”, “Newfoundland at the Crossroads”, “The Way of the Sea”, “The Labradorians”, “This Marvellous Terrible Place”. The door is held open by smiling faces for tourists who often appear uncomfortable with the instant familiarity. Seasoned visitors return the smile and talk openly and freely about the weather, politics, the war. There is an inherent safety in being open in these parts. An unguarded familiarity among strangers that is at first uncomfortable but then embraced.

Returning from lunch past small corner pubs that smell of lobster and scallops. A green envelope in my hand on which is scribbled “Why I love this place?” It is rhetorical.

Wag the Dog

The news media is a funny animal. In its claims of journalistic integrity it is non-the-less influenced by agenda and bias. The weeds of opinion propagate from it and are nurtured at the womb of public opinion where it grows. In the public eye truth is elusive. Media broadcasts to its audience blindly, not knowing who is listening or how they will respond. Like coins thrown on a sidewalk we cannot tell who will pick it up or how it will be used.

This is why it has become increasingly important to view with a critical eye. To take pause and look at the stuff under a microscope. A great deal of it is fast-food for the mind, quick and immediately gratifying but in the long run not altogether healthy.

Consider a relatively benign article that has just cropped up on the CBC website. It lists housing prices changes from May 2005 to May 2006.

Here is a sampling of average MLS home prices in May (with year-over-year changes in brackets):
* Calgary: $358,214 (+43.6%)
* Edmonton: $242,936 (+22.9%)
* Halifax-Dartmouth: $210,225 (+7.6%)
* Montreal: $219,433 (+8.2%)
* Ottawa: $260,219 (+4.7%)
* Quebec City: $150,324 (+6.9%)
* Regina: $142,147 (+10.3%)
* Saint John, N.B.: $129,844 (+12.3%)
* Saskatoon: $162,279 (+11.5%)
* Nfld. & Lab.: $133,541 (-1.2%)
* Thunder Bay, Ont.: $118,804 (-9.0%)
* Toronto: $365,537 (+5.5%)
* Vancouver: $518,176 (+23.7%)
* Winnipeg: $159,801 (+12.5%)
* Canada: $303,836 (+12.9%)

A quick look at these numbers will tell you one thing. Newfoundland and Labrador was
only one of two places with a decline in housing prices. The overall story tells how the average house in major markets has topped $300K. In this context Newfoundland and Labrador may be implied to have poor economic growth when we this as an economic indicator. But let's put it under the microscope of scrutiny. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is compared against urban centres in the rest of Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador is the only listing that has provincial stats against urban areas. The unfiltered picture of this economic indicator would have included the City's of St. John's in this comparison and the provincial stats with other provincial stats. Of course this unbiased table would have to throw the -9% from Thunder Bay back into the mix and give us a lower figure for Ontario.

So what's on the go? Is the CBC guilty of a conspiracy against this province to put some sort of negative spin on things that relate back to us, or are they simply very poor analysts; comparing apples to bakeapples? And does it really matter? This is little more than a whining complaint of this beleaguered province unless you are inclined to take the media and public opinion seriously.

Does it matter that organizations have used the face of a whitecoat seal in contrast to the furrowed brow of a fisherman with a club?

Does it matter that The Globe and Mail is sprinkled liberally with stories of down-east handouts in contrast with stories of success for money to fund Bombardier in Quebec?

Is it important that touching stories of textile factories closing are not written with the same pen as the story about handouts for fishermen?

I guess it mostly depends on whose hand is on the tail that is wagging the dog. Perhaps equally as important, what the dog had to eat before all the wagging was started to begin with. Sooner or latter someone’s bound to be dumped on. My hopes are that on occasion it will happen to the hand that wags the tail.

Our Connection is Down

It's not always easy staying connected. The enjoyment of grabbing a book and finding a comfortable place to lay your buns does wonders for the brain fog that accumulates over the long winter months.

Here's a quick list of some underappreciated Newfoundland and Labrador literature for your summer reading material.

1. Norman Duncan's "The Way of the Sea". First Published in 1903
2. "Them Days" Magazine out of Labrador http://www.themdays.com
3. The "Newfoundland Quarterly"
4. "Wild on the Crest" One of the best collections of Newfoundland and Labrador Poetry ever assembled. Look for E.J. Pratt, Micheal Crummey, Otto Kelland and many others.
5. "Newfoundland at the Crossroads - Documents on Confederation with Canada" Edited by Dr. J. Fitzgerald.
6. "The Woman who mapped Labrador" the latest incarnation of this remarkable story of the exploration of interior Labrador that started with "Lure of the Labrador Wild"

Spottin' Mainlanders

There's something a little odd about some of the visitors we have from our sister provinces. Around this time of the year We'll be at a gas pump throwing our wallet into the gas tank, or perhaps at a Horton's feeding the addiction - and then we hear it... "Lard tunderin' Geeze ol Man". It is distinctive and immediately identifiable: Tourists from the Mainland.

Considering the great deal of natural beauty and uniqueness of this province it is unfortunate that most tourists do not get that experience. We speak about how areas of the province get neglected in tourism promotional material but sadly more tourists visit George Street than Gros Morne. Perhaps there is a little bit of appeal to the lowest common denominator when it comes to marketing the province. A visitor can travel coastal Labrador, or fish The Big Land for the best Lake Trout and Char in the world. They can do battle with the great Atlantic Salmon on the Exploits, Gander and Humber Rivers. They can visit fiords, and follow the footsteps of Maritime Archaic, Beothuk Indians, and Dorset Eskimo. They can surround their boots with living waters of capelin. Icebirds, whales, and seabirds, roughed coasts and friendly people raising their voices in song. They can do all of this and more; but most do not.

I'm speaking of that particular breed of tourist who treat the experience like they were sent here on a dare. They only hope to take from the experience a story of how inferior the Newfoundland and Labradorian is. Fortunately they represent a small few but when you find one you'll know it. He will be the one teasing the waitress by ordering cod lips, or squid burgers. He'll be speaking in a very poorly executed Newfoundland and Labrador dialect and possibly accompanied by a Beavis and Butthead counterpart chuckling like an old Evinrude outboard.

Still not sure if you've meet one? They are commonly seen taking each others photos in front of the sign pointing the way to Dildo, or having their photo taken dry-humping the silver ladies in front of the St. John's convention Centre. They are the ones who undergo the now infamous Screech-in and actually belief it entitles them to the claim of being an honorary Newfoundland and Labradorian; entitled to use the term Newfie, if only in jest.


From my own experience this particular brand of visitor comes from other parts of the dominion. I have spoken to Europeans and Americans who have none of these preconceptions and biases. Ah well, all in good fun I guess. For the record "Dildo" is the wooden pegs used to keep the oars of a dory in place, and the ladies hunched over in front of the Convention Centre is a statue of respect to the women who helped to build this land. And just between you and I... the dialect is entirely fabricated, we only speak like that when mainlanders are around. It's all part of the master plan, "Confuse and Conquer", our version of "Shock and Awe".

So welcome fellow Canadians to Newfoundland and Labrador! Lard Tunterin' Geeze Cocky I'll see ya on Garge Street, we'll have a Swally of Screech.

Disappearing Newfoun..... and Labrad..

I was sipping an afternoon coffee, battling the 2:30 dragon, when a heavy thud brought me abruptly back to time and place. My co-worker holds a thick stack; "New phone book", he says, then continues his delivery of what two months ago must have been a small forest. ...but that's a blog for another time.

Looking at the sparkly new cover absent of dog ears and coffee stains I had a passing glance at the photo mosaic that has the new Aliant symbol emblazened across it. I remember a time when the new phone book would have a calendar-esque photo of some beautiful part of the island or Labrador. Whatever happened to those great Newfoundland and Labrador photos? It occurred to me that they disappeared around the same time as the tagline "The Home Team" was dropped... Which was also around the same time that Newfoundland Telephone became NewTel and then Aliant. No sign of Newfoundland and Labrador to be found.

WalMart stores are popping up like piss-the-beds. We have Home Depot, McDonald's, Pier 1, Old Navy... all the stores we have looked at with wide-eyed wonder for years on our diet of American media. One day on the way home from picking up the latest Dan Brown, Steven King or JK Rowlings book we pass a little store where we used to buy The Independent, Them Days and The Newfoundland Quarterly and wonder to ourselves "Gee when did that close?"

I know that our little phone company has spread it's wings and left the nest, picking up companies, making new friends. I guess it's not fair to expect it to retain it's Newfoundland and Labrador identity. But I still can't help but lament the loss of another little piece of our culture. I'm picking on Aliant a bit, I'll blame the thud of the phone book and the resulting coffee drool on my shirt for that. Truthfully though the phone company represents a greater trend. The degrading of a way of life. Years ago when I saw fences being made with railroad ties and sheds being made from fishing boats I knew there was something amise. A change in the air of the kind that makes Bob Dylan take pen to paper.

In our desire to fit into the Canadian family have we lost something of ourselves? I lament the loss as I finish my remaining Starbuck's Guatemala Antigua.

Air Canada's Map of Canada

Faces of Race/Racist

The dichotomy of views about Newfoundland and Labradorians has always surprised me. The amount of brave, artistic, creative, and inspirational people in this province is incredible. Yet the perception, especially from our Canadian Sister provinces is nothing short of hateful in all too many instances.

The article below on seashepherd.blogspot.com illustrated this duality of thought very well. A couple of other links on the topic are thrown in for good measure:


Face of a Racist and Faces of a Race - "The Good Shepherd"
http://seashepherd.blogspot.com/2006/05/face-of-racist-and-faces-of-race.html


Canada's "N" Word - previous post on Newfoundlandincanada
http://newfoundlandincanada.blogspot.com/2006/03/canadas-n-word-with-readings-from-book.html

Terms of Endearment - Myles Higgins
http://freenewfoundlandlabrador.blogspot.com/2006/03/from-newfies-to-niggers-and-other.html

Newfoundland Heros - Averill Baker
http://www.ganderbeacon.ca/index.cfm?iid=1232&sid=8712

Forrest Gumping on an April Afternoon

A couple of things sparked this blog. Myles of Freenewfoundlandlabrador asked "Who is a Newfoundlander to you?" and a column by the lovely and talented Averill Baker about "Newfoundland Heros". For regular visitors please excuse this bit of sentiment - must be the sudden burst of sunshine. I'll return to my regular bitterness in future blogs.


The people that we met as we go through life each have an effect on who we become. Their influences become our own. Like a modern day Forrest Gump some of the situations we find ourselves in, and the people we meet along the way are as important to our lives as the pathes we follow.

***

While in high school I had the great fortune of having a set of teachers who were very proactive in bringing the world to a sheltered inland rural community. "Education Week" this was the time when the textbooks were closed and we took the opportunity to peer up from our desks and into the real world. It was during one of these academic interludes that a gentleman by the name of Arthur Scammel was introduced to our class. You should know the name, if you don't you will surely know his simple ditty of Outport Newfoundland life in the words of "The Squid Jigging Ground". Mr. Scammel was a man in his eighties at the time. Rumours of his demise had been greatly exaggerated; he was alive with a spirit that few of us can attest to.

When Mr. Scammel was a young student he wrote The Squid Jigging ground as a school project. His teacher did not receive it favourably. This was a time when textbooks came from England and we learned about another country's culture. Come to think of it I'm not sure it was different when I was in highschool except that the shining example of England was replaced with the influence of our neighbour to the South as we were taught from American textbooks. From Mr. Scammel I took away the pride in being able to say that I heard The Squid Jigging Ground sung from the shaking and whispy breath of the man himself, and more importantly an understanding of what it is to be a Newfoundland and Labradorian in the context of being surrounded and infiltrated by the powerful influences of Europe, the U.S., and from our foster parent Canada.

***

When I had completed my academic career I had a brief stint as a delivery driver. One of my routes took me into Shea Heights. There is a dichotomy about Shea Heights; it is famous for the beautiful view overlooking St. John's from the South Side Hills. This beauty is at the surface of a place that has a dark and horrible secret that is the unsolved murder of Dana Bradley. It is also the birthplace of one of Newfoundland's great hockey stars Harold Druken, and one of the most recognizable Newfoundlanders of all time the late Ed "Sailor" White. I met Ed on a number of occasions on my runs. He was a man who was physically ominous. His body round and thick, his face a living testament to the life he had led. On his forehead was the scars of the past, when blood was the entertainment of the day he would slash his forehead with a sharp object concealed in his palm and let the blood run over his face for the covers of magazines. What I took away from having met him though, is how the heart of a lamb can beat in a lion. Frailties exist under the strongest face. We should not be quick to judge people on their lifestyle choices, careers, looks or any other surface factor. The depth of a man or woman is worn in the heart.

***

Not a Newfoundland and Labradorian but one of the rare exceptional Canadians that makes us all wave the flag was the late Terry Fox. When Terry started in Newfoundland there was not a lot of initial reaction to his story. St. John's is a city that sees so many firsts - and the spring of the year is often a time when some adventurer with an odd homemade boat or plane will leave from here to mark his or her name in the history books - to cross Canada, North America, or the Atlantic Ocean. Sailers, rollerbladers, rowers, pilots we see them all. So we can be forgiven in Newfoundland for initially not taking notice of a runner from Vancouver. As Terry began to continue along the TCH people started to realize the conviction of this man - children started to mimic the famous "fox trot". One of my favourite TV shows was the Six Million Dollar Man. I thought for sure that this mechanical leg must give him some qualities of a superhero. I watched the news as he hit some of the smaller communities in Eastern Newfoundland, finally a decent reception somewhere around Gander and Gambo. I ran with him through our town, he was amazingly ordinary – he could have been anyone. The last vivid memory was from the next summer when I read the headline of an American newspaper in a roadside vending machine with the headline Canadian Runner Dies During Marathon of Hope. From Terry I learned what an indemitable spirit could accomplish. I don't think I need to elaborate...

***

...and lastly for now, my "Jenny". We have known each other since we were ten and I can't remember not loving her. She has worked since she was about fourteen. Her work ethic allowed us to build a life when my own live’s faults and trials would have seen me on Desolation Row. Lesson learned: The connection that two people can make in the centre of caos.

There are many more people and places of course where a wide-eyed and ignorant BNB has made his cameo and drawn influence. Cassie Brown, Annie Troake, Mary Dalton, Christopher Pratt, Lisa Moore, Bernice Morgan, EJ Pratt, my mentors, my father, my sister and my late mother. I have been but a spectator. I thank them for their influence on my life and the lessons of how we have fought to live here and why we continue to do so.

...but here's your bus. Thanks for the company. You can take the chocolates.

Some Final Thoughts on Costco and the Activists

My letter to Costco and their reply. Long story short - This hateful and hypocritical animal right's group is full of poo. If that comes as a surprise to you, we should also talk about Santa and the Easter Bunny...

I am a Costco Member in St. John's. Please answer for me simply
if this statement is true:

"After discussions with *** ******* Conservation Society, Costco's
senior management team have decided to remove seal oil capsules from the shelves of their St. John's location, their only store in Canada where the capsules were available."

Please answer my inquiry.

***

Thank you for emailing Costco Wholesale.

From time to time over the past few years, Costco has carried an over the counter product in its pharmacy in the St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, location that is a byproduct of oil derived from Canadian seals. It is a product that is requested by members in that one location.

Costco has been urged over the years to discontinue the product by various parties, notably by the *** ******** Conservation Society, who are opposed to the seal hunt in Canada.

Costco has never taken a position on the controversy between various parties and the Canadian and Newfoundland and Labrador governments regarding the seal hunt. We have consistently made it clear to all parties that we do not take political positions, and our actions should not be misconstrued as such.

On March 1, recognizing that the sale of the seal oil capsule product was limited to a single location in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and in light of the very small dollar value of the sales in a single location, Costco made a business decision to discontinue the item. The item has not been carried in any of Costco's 346 locations in the United States.

While there were conversations with the *** ******* Conservation Society, the decision to discontinue the product had nothing to do with the *** ******* Conservation Society. Our decision to place or pull a product from our shelves is never based on politics. Each item must stand on its own commercial merits.

In its March 30 press release, the *** ******** Conservation Society falsely stated that Costco had removed the product from its shelves across Canada (it had been carried in only the St-John's location) and that this action was intended by Costco as a statement of its opposition to the seal hunt (Sea Shepherd knew that we were intending no such statement).

As a direct result of the *** ******* Conservation Society's actions, Costco has been made an unwilling participant of the media blitz surrounding the Canadian seal hunt, and has faced a firestorm of protest from its members in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as from the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, protesting the removal of the product.

As a result of member demand in the only Costco location where Omega 3 seal oil capsules were sold, we informed the appropriate governments and our members of our intent to restore the product to that single location. We recognize that some outside of Newfoundland and Labrador may wrongly construe this as a political statement; however, our decision to restock the product in St. John's is consistent with our company policy of being guided solely by the commercial merit of an
item.

Sara M
Customerservice@Costco.com

A Wolf in Sheep's (faux fur) clothing

Note: I wrote this bloody quick so excuse any rambling, grammar or other bits of weirdness. I told myself enough with the animal hypocrites and racists 'leave them to their little utopian world' - but allow me to get this out of my head and into the keyboard before my head pops...


Remember the old bugs bunny cartoons with Fred and Ralph; the sheep dog and coyote? We have something akin to that in the animal rights movement. Except that the wolf (coyote) in sheeps clothing claims also to be the shepherd. Weird or what?

Case in point Dr. Danny Penman - all the charm of a little Harry Potter. Came over here to observe the seal hunt, an impartial observer - but listen closely - he uses the lingo of the extremists "baby seals", "slaughter", "the rest of the world". Got the old Spidey sense tingling so I did a web search. Among the articles I found was an article from the Daily Mail saying how bad Sushi was for you - toxic, cancinogenic and even fattening! Another about the seal hunt which he describes as appaling... No strong words like that though when he walks up to our local news with the "please ma'm, I want some-more" look on his face.

Most interesting though is the article I found here where it describes how he used a pseudonom to buy the materials for chemical weapons. Should we be concerned about this? He was buying them as an experiment to write a little piece perhaps get on a chat show or two... no harm done. We can take him for his word right?

I never condone violence and that is where myself and these shepherds of compassion differ. I wonder though if it would not be beneficial for humanity to give them a legislated "cuff up the side of the head"? Not to be violent, more like your daddy did when he caught you with that cigarette.


Chemical weapons for fun and entertainment:
http://cranialcavity.net/wordpress/index.php?p=44

http://www.people.co.uk/petsandpeople/tm_column_date=12032006-name_index.html
(Look for the KO article)

Sushi is Evil! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/dietfitness.html?in_article_id=381958&in_page_id=1798&in_a_source

Boycotts vs Bull Shit

Just about a fortnight has passed since Newfoundland and Labradorians were told that Seal Oil Capsules has been removed from the shelves of Costco. Just about a fortnight since we were told that the whims of a racist had removed the Newfoundland product from the shelves of St. John's. If you had visited Costco today though you could not have entered the store without having to sidestep the cases of the product smack-dab in the entrance way. A couple of bottles of the capsules also sit neatly at each cash register. There is an obvious statement that Costco is making:

We have heard and we have responded.

It is rather interesting to me in considering this local Boycott of Costco. The effects were large enough for anyone to notice. All but empty parking lot at the store, line-ups for canceling memberships. Newspapers, openline shows filled with the buzz about Costco. Funny that the Capt. claims in his correspondance that Costco can expect "some (limited) Fallout in Newfoundland". Observe the limited fallout. The effects of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians was loud and clear - and the response was just about a couple of weeks in the making. I find it interesting because I look at this Boycott and compare it to the farse of a Boycott that is supposed to be making a dent in the Canadian Seafood industry. The seafood Boycott has been ineffectual. Why? Because it is based on Bull Shit. Restaurants that are not aware they are on a Boycott list, others that never serve Canadian Seafood anyway - this is their idea of a Boycott. The price of seal pelts is better than ever, support for Canadians in favour of a well-managed hunt is stronger than ever. What Boycott?

One of the clearest indicators of the ineffectiveness of the extremist rhetoric is during their big day of action to protest sealing on March 15. The hype would have us believe that we could expect something resembling the fall of the berlin wall. Instead there is a brief mention of the couple of dozen people with signs here and there throughout the US and Europe. Something like 60 people in Washington? That's not a protest, give me any day of the week and I can get you a couple hundred people together for a photo on the waterfront in St. John's.

Now the KKK posse is angered that the "N" race has won the Costco battle. They are countering with an all-out Boycott of Costco. I'm not even sure who I'll be routing for on this one. Costco in all other locations except St. John's deserves a good kick in the sack for listening to the racist ramblings of a biggot. At the very least if this was some big mis-understanding like they initially claimed they can take a swap to the pills for not denouncing the stupid statements right off the bat.

I suspect though that Costco need not shake in it's Vinyl Boots over the KKK posse. If their Costco boycott has as much affect as the Seafood boycott, Costco is in for a great year. An honest Boycott beats one based on Bull Shit any day of the week.

57 Years in Canada

... and the squeeze is still on