Venice statue

While I figure there are quite a few tourists who have a similar photo, I still chuckle when I look at this on. It was taken in St. Mark's Square in Venice.



I'm getting a bit lazy, but I hope you are enjoying my photos.

Storytelling Festival

This is the photo that has pretty much defined the St. Marys Storytelling Festival. It shows Mark Fletcher leading the kids from Holy Name of Mary School down to the flats like a Pied Piper.

I actually saw the photo in my head the day before. Everyone was coming down a hill, so I was able to get a nice camera angle. I persuaded the principal to allow the students to fan out and take up the whole street instead of walking safely on the sidewalk. Then I snapped away. I actually took two shots. This one turned out the best.

It appeared on the front page of one of the sections of the London Free Press's Saturday edition in 2004. Since then, it has been used on numerous posters and publicity opportunities.

What I like about it is the "you had to be there at the right moment" aspect. I love photos that can't be repeated. They capture a moment in time. It also tells a story.

A Winter's Morn

I don't know why I like this, but I do.

The Photo Shoot

I love photos that tell a story. I was at a wedding and quickly shot this one. On the left is the professional. On the right is the very young amateur. Each of them is trying to capture the moment of the joyous occasion.

Amber

In 1999, I had the good fortune to have a contract teaching computer courses at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw, Poland.

While I was there I would pass the time on weekends browsing through the shops, often looking for mementos. When I travel I like to bring back unique items that remind me of each place. Venturing into a jewellery shop, I learned a valuable lesson about amber.

Amber is fossil tree resin. While it can be many colours, it is usually sort of a yellowish orange-brown. I found out that it could be rather expensive, too.

While I was looking at several necklaces, I noticed that there was a bug that had been stuck in one of them. The price was higher than one with clear amber. I asked the saleslady if a mistake had been made. Why should I pay for something with this imperfection? She laughed and quickly told me that it was this insect that had been trapped in the gooey resin that made it all the more valuable. She showed me more pieces containing other species. Each one told a story. The more creatures contained in the amber, the more valuable it was.

Sometimes I feel that my life is like amber. There are many things that have been “stuck” into my story through the years. Others may view them as imperfections. In fact, my amber has lots of things trapped inside. It shows a life well lived. Each speck reminds me of a lesson learned. My character has been built from the sum of all of them. I then realize just how valuable I am.

Happy Family Day

On Monday, Ontario celebrated its second Family Day. The idea was to create a February holiday for the clan to get together and spend quality time. It sounds like a great idea, but is it?

Before I sound too negative, let me applaud the idea. I think it is great that families get together and do stuff. We need more of that. It’s just that I think that the current Family Day needs a bit of tweaking.

I asked members of my ESL class yesterday what they did on Family Day. Most of them spent the day quietly at home. They worked on chores or watched television. None went out and did anything. The same happened in our household. Why?

I live in a small town. When everything is shut down, there isn’t much to do. I went to the YMCA in the morning. Its hours had been reduced so it closed at two in the afternoon. Other than that, only the swimming pool was open. I can’t swim.

If you live in Toronto or Ottawa, there are so many activities that are available to you. You can even go shopping because the Eaton Centre, a vast shopping mall, is considered a tourist attraction. I can’t imagine going to the Ontario Science Centre on Family Day. Wading through the noisy crowds is not my idea of quality time.

I guess I could have gone for a walk, but it wasn’t a very nice day. I prefer to take my strolls in warmer weather.

My guess is that many families did very little together. The kids sat in their rooms watching television or on the computer and the parents did their own thing.

Here are my suggestions to make Family Day a bit more practical.

Make it optional for storeowners. In today’s economic climate, why take away a potential day to make money from people who are trying to make an honest buck? Shopping could then be an option. I would have loved to have gone to a local bookstore and browsed. Another option would have been sauntering through hardware stores looking for that perfect gadget.

Move the day to a friendlier month. February in Ontario is no treat. I know that the timing was chosen to provide a break in the harsh winter, but forcing people to lose a day’s pay, which was my case, in a bleak month adds to the woes.

The people I talked to who liked the idea had kids who participated in winter sports. Family Day is the perfect weekend to hold a hockey tournament or skating competition. Wouldn’t it be great, though, if I traveled with my kids to another city or town that we could go strolling through the vibrant downtown between games instead of being holed up in a motel room?

I feel that in theory Family Day is great. Let’s just adjust it a bit so it gives people many more options of what they can do, especially if you live outside the main cities.

The Heron

OK, so maybe I'm getting a bit lazy. I'm approaching 500 articles that I've cranked out in the last year and a half or so. Some are pretty good; some are horrible. That's the way life goes. You have days of inspiration. Others are pretty mundane. Some are discouraging. Some of you have followed my chronicles faithfully. A few just dip your toe in the water as you pass throught the Internet. I have appreciated any comments that have been made. I have not had to censor anyone - I certainly will not allow anyone to show disrespect or be crass. Not everyone has agreed with what I have said, which is fine.

This all leads me to the fact that I am going to upload some of my photographs from time to time.

I remember a professor of mine at the University of Alberta, Dr. Oh. He asked the question, "What is the difference between a professional photographer and an amateur?" His answer was "A business card." Some people have a good eye for composition, but everyone is capable of taking a shot or two that is interesting.

I will share with you some that I have taken that I think are pretty good.



What I like about this one is that all of the conditions had to be just right to take it. The sun, the sky, the bird and I all had to be perfect to make this happen. It was taken at sunrise. The sky was cloudless. The bird blends into the tree. It almost looks like a black and white photo.

It’s Gone

Ok, it’s over. Another Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Many of you have bought some chocolates or flowers. Maybe you even took your honey somewhere to eat. There are many ways to express your love. And that’s my point.

Now that the big day is over, have fun expressing your love in other ways. Use your imagination. Give the whole you, not the you invented by Hallmark.

Love is an action verb, which means that it means doing something. Saying it is important, but if the words “I love you” are merely said with no visible sign other than the words, your love is about effective as an echo.

Let’s look at the phrase “I love you.”

First, there’s the “I” part. This means that if I truly love somebody, I give me. To me, that means the very essence of who I am. It is not smothering somebody like a tidal wave with gifts money can buy, but offering the deepest part of me.

Next, there’s the love part. As I said, make it an action verb. Do stuff.

Finally, there’s “you”. If you are like me, that means that you are not perfect, but it is great to feel you are loved in spite of all your flaws. My feeling is that for a love to be grand, the you has to be the very essence of who you are. If you truly love somebody back, you offer yourself. It’s easy to love the best part of me. I know I am truly loved if somebody loves all of me.

This love stuff sounds difficult! I think so. That’s why I like Valentine’s Day. It gives a time to reflect on love and to just give it. Maybe it starts with a box of chocolates and a store-bought card, but it can grow from there.

I hope you have many more Valentine’s Days this year.

Because It’s There

Sir Edmund Hillary, the man who first climbed Everest, was once asked why he did it. The answer was “because it’s there.” It is a line that many motivational speakers have used to inspire their followers. Set a goal. Keep your eye on it. Work your way towards it. Achieve it.

In today’s world this may not be as easy as it seems. What do I mean?

We live in a world that is changing rapidly. Students are being taught skills that might not be necessary in the future for jobs that might not exist.

For example, I worked in television until the mid-eighties. I figure if I went back to that profession I would have to be retrained. Certainly the theory of television production would still be there, but the technical side is totally different. When I started in 1972, we were using two-inch videotape. When I left in 1987, three-quarter inch cassettes were the norm. Now everything is digital.

How do you predict where you are going when where you are going might not be there when you arrive? What do you do if your target keeps moving?

Rather than planting your roots in the soil, perhaps it will be the person who reacts to change the best, like a surfboarder, who will drink the victor’s champagne. People used to work for one company for most of their lives. Now this is the exception rather than the rule.

Like the microsecond images in a music video that keep raining down to be processed by our brains, much of our time will be spent sifting through the input. We will then have to quickly act upon it before the next onslaught of information.

All of this leads to stress. Hopefully the technology we are creating will help us deal with this rapid change.

The person standing on top of the mountain will be the one who can manage change and the mountains of information the best and take advantage of it.

Babe

I have been working with Ray and William to try to get the 1949 Tip Top Tailors team in Softball Canada’s Hall of Fame. It won the 1949 World Championship. We’ll see what happens.

In order to get the submission together, I have had to contact two of the four remaining players on the team, Ray and William. I've used the name William, but everybody calls him Babe, including me.

Over the months I have developed a special relationship with both of these men. While they could have rested on their laurels, they haven’t. They have given back to the sport much more than they have taken out of it.

Babe has shown me the amount of love he has in so many ways. The greatest example I see is the love for his wife.

About fifteen years ago, she had a stroke and has been unable to speak. Faithfully he goes to visit her almost every day. He remains dedicated to her when many more would have given up. He finds a way to fit other activities around seeing her. This is a priority. There is no sign of regret or bitterness in his voice. I’m sure he would love to have his wife’s health restored, but he simply goes on playing with the cards he is dealt.

It’s easy to show love when everything is going great and you are on top of the world. Babe has taught me that true love is something that reaches out and touches somebody when it involves sacrifice.

“The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends.” Babe personifies this verse.

Barry Hearn

Barry died on Tuesday. Throat cancer took him down.

He owned the ice cream place in town. On a warm summer evening, many in town would congregate there, enjoying the treats and catching up on the news.

I got to know him through the hockey club in town, the St. Marys Lincolns. Barry was on the committee to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary. So was I.

What I remember about him was the stories he told about the people who had come through his life. You could tell that he loved people. He rarely had anything negative to say about anyone.

Apparently the teens who worked at his ice cream shop were treated with great dignity, too. Barry was always interested in their lives.

As much as he might have loved people, you could tell that he touched many lives. I was told that the line at the afternoon visitation extended out the door of the funeral parlour. I went on the Friday night and I was in line for about half an hour. What a testament to his life! I can only hope that my life will be as significant to those around me.

Where Are The Protesters?

There is supposed to be a ceasefire between Palestine and Israel. Jews have stopped bombing targets in Gaza. Yet, Hamas continues to send missiles into Israel.

What’s happening here?

If Israel was wrong in invading the Gaza Strip after months and years of being attacked by this terrorist group, isn’t Hamas equally as wrong for refusing to respect the ceasefire? Is it more justifiable killing Jews than Palestinians? I think not!

But where are the protesters? Where are the people on the street urging Hamas to stop? Why aren’t they there?

The way I see it, you either believe in peace or you don’t. Working differences out solves problems, which means getting together and discussing the issues instead of bombing innocent people.

Meanwhile, many stay silent. Silence is the worst way to solve any issue. Disagreements are a part of life. Running away from them means failing to deal with them. They don’t go away, but remain often to resurface in other ways. If Hamas and Israel can’t sit down and talk, then it demonstrates a total lack of love and respect for each other. As Barack Obama said, we may agree to disagree, but at least we are talking.

Yet, silence is the way the world often responds. We were silent when Jews were marched to the gas chambers in the Second World War. We were silent during the killing fields of Cambodia. We are silent today about the atrocities that are going on in many parts of Africa.

Meanwhile Jews in Venezuela and other parts of the world, people who are trying to lead peaceful existences, are being attacked for Israel’s position on Palestine. Funny that after 9-11 people were rightfully warned not to paint all Moslem’s with the same brush. Is this comment not equally valid for all? It appears that it isn’t.

I wonder if we show our concern and love when it is convenient, when it is easy and not pushing up against resistance. A few weeks ago, it didn’t seem much of a problem for people to march against Israel’s attack on Gaza. I guess the Canadian winter is too cold now for people who abhor violence to do something about what is happening all around the world now. We would rather give lip service about how we abhor violence, love peace and love people without doing anything about it.

If we say we love the people in Africa, for example, and they feel no effect of that love, aren’t we just kidding ourselves? I feel that indifference can be worse than hatred. Love is an action word, and it means speaking out and sharing honestly how we feel, even to those who oppress us.

That’s why I still dream of having Johnny V’s Rock and Roll Weekend For Peace on the Internet. The idea came from an idea of mine that started with this question: What if you had a party, invited the whole world and everyone came?

I want to have an Internet party, spread the word that is happening and invite everyone to tune in. People will show their webcams. Palestinians will be dancing on the same screen as Jews. Hindus, Moslems, Christians and atheists will share a common cause. Everyone regardless of their beliefs will come together for peace.

If anybody can put me in touch with somebody to help make this happen, let me know.

I Believed

I woke up the other morning and the first thought on my mind was Shania Twain. It was like her face was right in front of me and suddenly the first few lines of the following poem flew into my head. I immediately ran down to my computer and wrote them down. It was before five in the morning. Do you like these lyrics? I hope so, but even more, if you can get them to Shania, I hope she likes them even more.

I Believed
I believed (I believed) that you were a man that I could trust.
You’re with her (you’re with her) and all of our dreams have turned to dust.
What went wrong? Why did you have to treat me badly this way?
What went wrong? Now I’m searching my heart for the perfect words to say
That I love you still in spite of what you’ve done
That I hope you will work on the love that we’ve begun
So many hours I sit and think of you
But I need your help – tell me what I have to do
To make it all go away.

I believed and I can believe once more
Because believing means that you are really sure
That there’s hope for tomorrow, let’s forget about today
Come join me now and we will find a way
To make it happen

I am human. (Oh, so human) Yes, there are times when I made mistakes
I’m not perfect (not perfect at all), see I bleed and you know that my heart aches
I don’t stand a chance, though, as long as she’s with you
Don’t stand a chance when your feelings for her are new
Give it time and will she become more like me
You’ll see flaws and maybe you will begin to see
That may be we can save what we had
You got to want it. You got to want it really bad
We can make it right again.

I believed and I can believe once more
Because believing means that you are really sure
That there’s hope for tomorrow, let’s forget about today
Come join me now and we will find a way
To make it happen

Super Bowl Sunday

I’ve got to get a life! Every year Super Bowl Sunday comes around and I usually watch the game alone.

Marie tries hard to make me feel like I’m watching in a room with a bunch of jocks, but when she can’t name one player on either team, it’s not the same.

Not only that, when I asked her what she was thinking of for dinner, you could tell that she wasn’t thinking like a guy. She was planning a stir-fry, something healthy. Now every self-respecting man knows that a Super Bowl meal has to have things like pizza, onion rings and wings. Any that is thrown on a grill is permissible, too. Bean sprouts, tofu and vegetables are definitely not on the menu.

Fortunately, I got her interested in a romantic movie and she didn’t feel like making supper, so I told her to rest and I would make it. You guessed it, pizza!

We had to go out this evening, so I knew I wasn’t going to watch the whole game. We had a half an hour to spend. Marie decided she would join me to keep me company. Great, I thought, at least I didn’t have to watch the game alone. She promptly came in and fell asleep in the chair.

I’m not angry with Marie at all. Not everyone likes football. In fact, for most of the season, I don’t like it, but this is the Super Bowl.

We got back early enough for me to catch the final five minutes or so. Fortunately, a lot of the excitement happened in those fleeting moments. It certainly was an exciting game.

Tomorrow she will probably ask me who won, but the way she figures it, there are many more important things in the world than the outcome of a football game. Come to think of it, she’s right. But for one night my hope is next year I will be surrounded by a bunch of the guys and forgetting about all of the things that are more important.

St. Marys

Ah, move to a small town and get away from the rat race, they say. I think they have it all wrong, whoever they are.

The way I see it, you are a rat in a maze either way. The only difference is that in a city you have a much bigger maze than in a small town. A metropolis gives you the anonymity to lead a sane life. What do I mean? Here are some examples.

In life, there are people you encounter that you don’t like. In a small town, you keep bumping into them over and over. Like a jack-in-the-box, they appear at the post office, in the grocery store and in restaurants. You just can’t avoid them.

Everybody knows all about you, too. For example, my sister and her husband decided to move to St. Marys. I went to the bank and one of the tellers knew all about it. What is unusual is that I barely knew the woman and she really didn’t know my sister very well.

When I lived in Ottawa, there was a vast selection of people to choose from for friends. Here there aren’t so many. Also, many already have a full slate of buddies they have had for years. It is difficult for you to break the barrier and get inside somebody’s circle.

The hardest part is having to make choices about the folk providing you with services.

I go to Mike’s Barber Shop. He is a regular, old-fashioned barber. None of this hair styling for me. However, even if I wanted to change, I couldn’t. I would be terrified of meeting Mike downtown sometimes and having to explain my absence. In the big city, you can disappear into the woodwork like a termite.

Every time I walk by Stacy’s Pizza, I wonder if Jen Stacy is wondering why I never buy from her.

I have had personal and association accounts in almost every bank in town. I don’t want to show favouritism, do I?

We eat at both Chinese food restaurants and both pubs for the same reason. We have been to almost every auto repair shop. Since we now have a Chrysler and a GM product, we can settle on one dealer and everyone will understand. We aren’t making a choice. The cars are.

Down the line it goes, shop by shop, business by business. Trying to show support for everyone and making sure your allegiances are spread around. It seems that there are at least two of every type of store. You have to make a choice and everyone seems to know your decision.

I have one big problem though and that is the last decision I will have to make on this earth. You see, we have two funeral parlours. When I die, I will have to use the services of Ball’s or Hodges’. Both owners are fine men. Both assist greatly in the community. I just don’t want to go through eternity having one of them disappointed in my decision and the whole town knowing which one I chose. Now guilt like this would never happen in a city.

Either I have to move back to the city or to a smaller town where there is only one of everything.

The Impossible Dream

I like writing poems from time to time. Once in awhile I read something that I wish I had written. Today is a good example. I hope you enjoy it.

The Impossible Dream
from MAN OF LA MANCHA (1972)
music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

A Little Bit

A little bit of everything equals a lot of something.

We were talking about dieting and the problem with buffets. Some have so many selections. You want to try everything, so you have a little bit of everything and soon you find that you have a lot of something. You overeat.

I don’t know if anybody has said this before, but when I blurted this out, everybody felt that something profound had been said.

In today’s world people often want instant success. In most cases this doesn’t happen. You have to do the little things right and keep adding.

While I am not an accomplished guitar player, I have been working at it. I didn’t start until I was thirty-eight years old. There was a long period when I didn’t play it at all. Since I have been supply teaching, I have been practising whenever I can, sneaking in sessions at recess, lunch and during prep periods. Slowly, but surely, I have been getting better. Chords that used to be a mystery are suddenly within my abilities. I have a lot of improvement still to do, but I enjoy discovering new music I can master.

So don’t be discouraged. Keep at it, even if you are doing just a little bit. Put all of those little bits together and you could have something very special.

Mr. Winters

When I was growing up, Jim Winters was the pitcher on our softball team. Almost every day in the summer, he practiced for about an hour to become better. After Christmas and until the snow went away, he would try to find someplace indoors to work on his technique once a week.

I was the right fielder on the team, but the catcher didn’t want to help Jim in his routine. I was asked and decided to help.

I remember the first time we went over to the backstop at Edithvale School, three blocks from where I lived. For an hour I squatted then stood up. Up and down and up and down I went. By the time I went home, I could barely walk. I was so sore I crawled halfway.

Often we would go to Jim’s house after practice. It was there that I came under the influence of Jim’s father, James K. Winters.

Mr. Winters was a successful lawyer. He eventually became a Queen’s Counsel, a title of honour that was discontinued in Ontario in 1985. This is all stuff I didn’t care about or learned later on in life. To me he was simply Jim’s dad and the closest thing I could observe of what a dad could be.

What I like most about him was the way he analysed situations, especially our softball team. We would be going into a series against a tough opponent and he would weigh all of the evidence and come to the conclusion that we deserved to win more than the other team. It wasn’t just that we were going to win, but it justice was to be done and the sun would rise in the east tomorrow, we had to win. It was as simple as this.

His confidence, encouragement and assurance helped a kid like me who had to work at my self-image. I grew up figuring that I wasn’t worthy of what I desired. I had to be satisfied with what I got. Although I sometimes still fall into this trap, I have gotten into the habit of telling myself that I do deserve the best. But it is more than a habit now. I know it is true. While I know that I am not perfect, I realize that I have been blessed with many talents. Even better, I have the opportunity to share them with others. I’m pretty special!

Letting Go

I’m not sure if I learned a valuable lesson this week. I guess you could say that I learned it in theory, but I’m not sure if I passed the practical work.

Sometimes in life I just do things because I feel they should be done. Recently I decided to send in an application form to Softball Ontario to have the 1949 Tip Top Tailors softball team inducted into the Softball Canada Hall of Fame.

I was given some contact names, told where to get the nomination forms and instructed to put a package together.

Putting together a portfolio consisting of events that happened almost sixty years ago isn’t easy. I made one trip to Toronto to visit Ray, one of the four remaining players. I also called Babe, who is also in his eighties.

Ray gave me some photos of the team. Babe sent some more photos and some newspaper clippings. The rest of the information came from the archives of the Toronto Star.

When everything was complete, I mailed it to my contact in St. Thomas who was going to present it to Softball Ontario. He received it and had a couple of questions.

Then the lesson started.

I started to fret. Negative thoughts filled my head. I kept going over various scenarios of “what if” and became anxious. One night I woke up at 3 am and sent an email with more information to my contact in St. Thomas.

Then I thought, “This is ridiculous!” And it was. I had done everything I could. My submission was very thorough. It wasn’t in my hands anymore, yet I refused to let go. I was imagining all sorts of problems before any decision was made.

On Saturday night I received an email from the St. Thomas contact. In it he stated that there were seven submissions to recommend to Softball Canada for the Hall of Fame and the one I put in was ranked the number one priority.

I was pleased, of course, but I was also embarrassed. I thought of all the energy I had wasted on something I couldn’t control. I had put myself through a lot of beating up for no reason at all. I had assumed something without giving others the chance to react to my nomination.

Sometimes the more we want something, the more we reach out and try to influence it. While I would have felt an injustice would have been done if this team had been rejected, I have to accept the fact that it is not my decision.

You would think I would learn this, wouldn’t you? It is a hard lesson. As I said, I passed the theory. I understand that what I say is true. It’s the practicum that is the difficult part – actually allowing things to happen that are beyond your control. I should realize that I have better things to spend my energy on than things I can’t change.

As the saying goes, “Lord, allow me to change the things I cannot accept, and to accept the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference.” It’s the third part of the equation for which I need a large dose.

The Interview

I recently had an interview for a job. I really want it. If I get it, I believe it will utilize all of the talents I have. I can only wait patiently for now.

I said something talking on the phone that I thought was rather profound and I will share it with you.

You can give up on what is on your mind. You can't give up on what is in your heart.

That is where I am right now. I have matters on my heart that just don't go away. I have a sense of destiny in my life and I believe things happen for a reason.

For example, I want to make a film or a documentary. The dream doesn't go away. If I get this job, it might mean that the opportunity to do this might present itself. However, if I am not chosen for this position, it doesn't mean this matter will disappear.

At times I review these things pressing on my heart. They seem crazy, impossible and illogical, yet they don't go away. They teach me patience. I wait. I have learned in life that everything doesn't depend on me.

For example, I may feel totally qualified for this position. I may be the best candidate by far. Feeling this way is important, but regardless of how I feel, the decision isn't mine to make. I have to accept the fact that others will make the decision. Hopefully I have said all of the right things. Somehow a still, small voice will tell them the name of the person they seek. I really hope it is mine.