Mamie's Meanderings

Master of None

2010-01-29T20:35:00.002-04:00

I admire people who can focus on one thing and do it well. I know a quilter who has perfected the art of making Celtic knots which she then appliques to exquisite wall hangings, table runners and so on. She even advertises that she is "one of the very few quilt artists specializing in zoomorphics the highly stylized animals seen in 8th Century manuscripts."

Another person I know has made textiles her life's work, and more specifically, how to make dyes from lichens: she has even earned a PhD in this specialized field and has recently published a book on the history of dyeing in England.

I could go on: one friend hooks rugs; another does photography. There are those who focus on decorative painting and develop superb technical skill. Me? I'm all over the place. I like many kinds of hobbies: I write, I quilt, I paint, I golf, I start a blog; I am moderately good at most things I get into, but I am master of none.

I'm a participant. And even though I admire the specialists, I think it's OK to be a generalist too!

2009-06-18T21:37:00.000-03:00

Cape Split

2009-06-18T20:49:00.005-03:00

Ever since I moved to this area I've heard about the challenging hike to Cape Split, half a day's trek over rough terrain, uphill, and kind of wild! But, oh, when you come out of the woods into a meadow at the top and see the vast Bay of Fundy stretching before you and you gaze down from atop the cliffs, it will all be worth it as you relax with your lunch and listen to the gulls cry, and watch the changing tides! But, I've been told, don't go after a rainy period or the bugs will eat you alive, or alternatively, you'll be slogging through oozy black bogs. And don't go on a cold day or a foggy one because you won't see anything out there and you'll be disappointed.

Well, after several attempts to line up a group to go on "just the right day," I found it yesterday: the perfect day, not a cloud in the sky and not too hot, and the perfect group of three amenable companions. We were off bright and early and had the most wonderful day, arriving back home in late afternoon, tired but strangely energized. Perhaps it was climbing over the fallen trees, perhaps it was managing the boggy spots without disaster; perhaps it was simply getting there and back without twisting ankles on the tree roots covering the trail; or perhaps it was experiencing the awesome natural beauty of a stunning area of Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley: the day and the hike were a truly memorable experience.

Revolutionary Road

2009-04-28T22:40:00.003-03:00

The novel I just finished for my book discussion group has the intriguing title Revolutionary Road. The book by Richard Yates was published in 1961, but has only recently been made into a major motion picture starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet. It will be interesting to see how the movie interprets the book, as I think there are many angles and perspectives that can be taken. First, the title: what revolution? is this about some historic era? some grand challenge? some major events? On the contrary, "Revolutionary Road" is a rather "high-falutin'" name for a housing development in Connecticut being settled in the mid-1950's. The two main characters are April and Frank Wheeler and we are drawn into a few months of their lives - their thoughts, their fights, their affairs, their plans, their friends and neighbours, their community and work, their dreams. It's like watching a reality show, and it's not a very pretty picture.

My quick reaction to the characters: I don't like these two people! April and Frank have it all: freedom, two beautiful children and another on the way; health; the capacity to make the world a better place, to establish a loving home; to help build up a community; energy; intelligence. I think, from the point of view of the serious hard-working young parents of today, these two would be considered selfish, self-centered, and self-absorbed; their children should be their first priority, but their attitude towards them borders on indifference and neglect.

Reaction to this book could be different depending on one's point of view. I have been amusing myself thinking about how April and Frank might be viewed by society today.
Sociologists could consider the demographics: the generation in the book is a bit older than the baby boomers, and even the post war generation; they are pre "hippies" and the sexual revolution, yet there are some of those elements 'blowin' in the wind." The move from the cities to suburbia would, of course, be a major theme for study: were (are?) the suburbs the intellectual wasteland depicted in the novel?

Historians could look at the changes that have happened since then in technology and business particularly. Here, we see the beginnings of electronic gadgetry, and also the beginnings of advertising, public relations, marketing and so on.

From the point of view of business people today, Frank's attitude would seem completely foreign and unacceptable: three martini lunches for a junior employee? lazing on the job for months on end? what about the sexism in the office? professionalism? accountability?

Feminists, of course, might take the perspective that April should have been able to have an abortion as she wished; it was her body and Frank had no right to have a say in the matter. April would still be alive had there been safe therapeutic abortions.

Psychologists and mental health people could have a ball with this book. Sympathetic therapists might explore the reasons for April's emotional vulnerability and Frank's insecurity about work in their relationships with their fathers. Mental health professionalls would find much to comment on about the way the mentally ill were treated in those days and would be horrified by the attitude of Mrs Givings (ironic name?) to her son John, as well as to the treatments he was being given institutionally, among them electric shock therapy.

Now, there is much that is excellent about the book: Yates is absolutely superb at accurately depicting his characters; they come alive, they are real. Also I had a sense of deja vu as far as the details of that era were portrayed: little things, like remember how much people smoked?? how it felt to drive in those big old cars? It will be an interesting discussion when our book group meets next week!

Cryptoquotes

2009-04-27T11:09:00.002-03:00

My daily newspaper (which is more or less regular and on time every morning, unlike my poor blog which is so hit and miss)has a cryptoquote to work out each day. They are often little gems that cause me to nod in agreement, smile at a whimsical one, or wryly recognize a truth in an ironic observation. This cryptoquote by Eric Hoffer made me think: "When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other." Oh, yes, most of us are conformists, aren't we? The other day the cryptoquote was from the ancient Greek sage Seneca: "Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for kindness." Really, there is nothing new under the sun about how we should live our lives, is there?

Machinal

2009-02-28T14:33:00.014-04:00

Last night my theatre group went to an interesting play. Machinal was performed by the theatre studies students at Acadia University in the nearby town of Wolfville. We agreed that it was a very gutsy performance from a group of young people. The understanding and maturity they brought to the play was nothing short of amazing and speaks well of the director and the English department at Acadia.

In a nutshell, Machinal by Sophie Treadwell is a play about a young woman who murders her husband and is sentenced to death in the electric chair. It is set in the late 1920's or early 1930's. Apparently, although a work of fiction, it was inspired by the real life events surrounding Ruth Snyder who was tried for murder and executed in this manner in the United States in 1928. Snyder had a lover who helped her commit the crime in order to get insurance money. In Machinal, that's not the motivation. What then is it? Why does she kill her husband? Is she being abused and beaten like Farrrah Fawcett in the movie The Burning Bed? No, not in the slightest. Her husband, while not the most physically attractive man, is the owner of a successful company where she was once employed. Although he is not terribly "empathetic" ( a term bandied about loosely these days), he is not mean or vindictive or a bully. The young woman in the play finds a lover, and in a rather ironic twist, kills her sleeping husband with the vase holding pebbles that was a memento from her lover. Well, we might wonder, why didn't she just get a divorce? why such a drastic 'solution'? Is she emotionally unbalanced? is she a product of her age/the times? did she have a cold domineering mother? or is she selfish neurotic and cold-hearted? These are some of the avenues explored in the play and my group seemed to be quite sympathetic to the young woman. I don't think anyone felt she deserved "the chair"; however, the play left us with a feeling of ambivalence and a strange sense of disquiet.

Ten Reasons for Joining a Book Club

2009-02-15T11:27:00.002-04:00

Recently, my book discussion group, a.k.a. "the Litwits," came up with the ten best reasons for joining our group. This is what we came up with:

Ten BEST reasons for joining LITWITS

10. You will make new friends

9. You will enjoy the exchange of ideas

8. You can keep up to date on new books

7. You will appreciate the scintillating conversation

6. You will be helping preserve a threatened art – reading

5. You will be helping to keep the Annapolis Valley library system in operation

4. You will be supporting “buy local”- Box of Delights and Coles book stores

3. You will have a reason to get off your duff and go out in winter

2. You will get to sample Helen’s sandwiches

And…… the NUMBER 1 Reason to join Litwits……………

1. You will generate future donations for our Book Sale!

If Winter Come, Then Enjoy

2009-02-06T16:51:00.003-04:00

I'm reminded of the saying "if winter come, can spring be far behind?" This old adage may be understood metaphorically, but it rather implies that "winter" is a season to be endured, to be wished away as quickly as possible.

Thousands of people in Canada can't stand winter and leave for the warmer south. There is something to be said for those sentiments and solutions when plans for the day are disrupted by a storm, the wind is swirling the snow into drifts, the streets are too icy for walking, or everything has turned into a slushy mess.

But surely winter must have its good side and it does indeed. Sometimes I even like it better than summer. Right now I'm looking out at a tree glistening in the sunlight, the sky is blue with a few wispy clouds, and the air is still. There's beauty around, it's a good day for a walk or a ski or a drive. What else do I enjoy about winter? It's a fine time for trying new recipes;warming up by a woodstove or fireplace; sipping a cup of hot chocolate; knitting or sewing or painting. Why, it's even a good time for blog entries!

The Miramichi as Setting in Richards' Novels

2009-01-08T10:40:00.005-04:00

David Adams Richards sets his books in an area of northeastern New Brunswick known as "the Miramichi." I grew up in this area, so many of the place names and locales are familiar. However, the Miramichi is a widespread area: it includes the Bay itself and the Miramichi River, the source of which is a couple of hundred miles in the interior. It includes dozens of communities, forests, mines, and agricultural land. It includes fishing villages and two large towns, Newcastle and Chatham, recently amalgamated to be the City of Miramichi.

As I read Richards' novels, I don't look for geographic exactness. I find a vagueness to the setting - there is familiarity and yet the details are not always correct. It is like a remembered landscape with some elements clearer than others, distances sometimes compacted or expanded, a running together of time and place.

In The Lost Highway there is mention of a "giant ferris wheel" seen in the distance across the river. This could only be the ferris wheel at "the Ex," the Miramichi Agricultural Exhibition held in Chatham every August. Yet, although one of the characters in the novel is readying his vegetables to take to "the Ex" (a possibility), I don't think that other details of the locale of the story (a stretch of highway between Bartibog and Burnt Church) support a visual sighting of Chatham which would be twenty to thirty kilometres upriver.

Similarly, Richards uses detail in a rather off-hand way: an arrested man is taken to the Richabucto jail (correctly spelled "Richibucto" although definitely pronounced "Rich-a-bucto" by the locals), but later in the story he is now at Renous (the federal penitentiary). In another instance, a priest has to go to "Millerton" to conduct a service, and, while indeed, there is a community called "Millerton" on the Miramich, it is highly unlikely that a priest from Bartibog would be travelling that far to conduct a service.

I love though how David Adams Richards throws in New Brunswick references that, for me, are highly connotative. In The Lost Highway, Amy, a high school girl, "would not get the Beaverbrook scholarship." There is no explanation to whom 'Beaverbrook' refers, but the "in the know" reader immediately recognizes Lord Beaverbrook, Max Aitken, who grew up in Newcastle and whose statue graces the town square and whose name is proudly displayed at the Lord Beaverbrook Arena. It is little touches like this that make Richards' novels come alive for me.

Richards' use of "the Miramichi" as setting has been called symbolic and mythical and I have to ask myself: what does that mean? what does it stand for? The natural setting itself looms large, often a bleak and hostile environment with winter storms, craggy rocks, dense forests, and perilous waters from which a living must be garnered by the hardy souls who live in the region. And yet "the Miramichi" is embracing and compassionate; it holds its humanity (both the noble and the base, the greedy and the generous) in its bleakness and in its beauty. In Richards' works you get such images as "the great desolate bay," but also the quiet beauty of "as night fell, and the cry of the gulls faded and the shore birds slept, their wings turned inward like miniature pterodactyles on the waves."

Something to think about; who is the narrator?

2009-01-04T15:25:00.003-04:00

Wow, I can't believe I'm on here again! I have been thinking about the book I just finished: David Adams Richards The Lost Highway. As you read the book, you are intrigued as to the identity of the narrator for there are occasional hints such as "our little church" or "Amy my love" or an occasional "I", but in the end, the book does not reveal anything. And yet, we come away with the distinct impression of a real person with strong opinions and beliefs who is telling this story. Here are a few of the opinions of this narrator: He (presumably "he") has problems with the moral relativism of the secular world-view so prevalent today where "approval" and "disapproval" are the criteria for "right" and "wrong," ("call yourself independent but only do and say what your friends do and say") rather than absolutes as set out by the authority of the Church. He (the narrator/ Richards?) does not dismiss the Church and it's apologists so easily, and makes some wonderfully sarcastic comments as, for example about Alex: "he mocked G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis and applauded Dan Brown." Another line made me laugh out loud: "his whole life was as positive as a terribly right-thinking member of the New Democratic Party." You get the impression that he (the narrator/Richards?) sees that as leaving something to be desired. The narrator has little use for those with "a little knowledge," who don't think deeply, who dismiss the past easily, who "blow in the wind."
Richards' books always leave me thinking!

Blame the Spell Checker?

2009-01-03T10:51:00.003-04:00

Is there ever a book that one reads today that does not have spelling errors? I guess the word processor spell-checker is the culprit as the errors are usually in words that are homonyms, but maybe the editors should shoulder some of the blame too! Here are a few from my latest book (Canadian author/Canadian published/Giller prize winner- NO EXCUSE!!).
"Debris littered the sight...." (site)
"...this worked on a plain....." (plan? plane?). I had to read the paragraph several times and "plain" was repeated three times; it's possible that "plane" would work as in"they were discussing the matter on an elevated plane of thought", but it's more likely that the intended word was "plan."
The worst error in this book (to me anyway) is the mis-spelling of a place name: "Richabucto" instead of "Richibucto".

Another New Year's Day

2009-01-01T20:24:00.004-04:00

Another New Year's Day and it seems a good day to get back to my blog. Haven't written for a few months. I think I miss the writing group I was in, the motivation. And yet, I often find myself musing about something and wanting to write. As usual on New Year's Day, I spent the day taking my Christmas tree down and putting decorations away: there is a quietness to the task as I take a second look at several small ornaments collected lovingly over the years. Many are gifts from family or friends: there are the two beautifully smocked balls made years ago by a cousin; Santas from a sister; angels from a sister-in-law; several made by school children. All part of the memorabilia of life!

I am reading the latest David Adams Richards book The Lost Highway. I am fascinated by this writer: just what is he getting at? In this, as in his other work, I can see that he hates hypocrites; he despises pseudo-intellectuals; he questions those who glibly dismiss tradition and the Church; he finds strength and compassion and heroism in the everyday, in the little "insignificant" people. And yet, he is able to cast a cold eye on those same everyday folk: they can be morally callous, ignorant, racist, stupid and narrow-minded as well. In this book I am trying to figure out who the narrator is and I've been writing down a few clues as I go along. More later!!

My Point Exactly

2008-08-11T23:45:00.002-03:00

Just read an opinion piece from The Edmonton Journal that makes the point that East and West (that is, all parts of Canada) must work together on a policy to address pollution and climate change if there is to be an effective solution. The author's contention that the proposed green shift plan could be a start to discussion seems reasonable, but it seems to me that such a plan should be worked out through discussion with the provinces and not imposed by the federal government.

The Green Shift Plan

2008-08-11T11:30:00.002-03:00

I've been thinking about the federal Liberal proposed green shift plan and doing some reading and listening to both sides of the issue. I do think we need a national plan to address the climate change/pollution problem but this is not it. I think that what needs to be done is a co-ordination of the federal and provincial plans and the development of a policy that is best and fairest for all. A policy developed at the expense of, and without input from the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan simply does not make sense.

A Magical Evening

2008-07-11T12:36:00.007-03:00

Last night I had the most magical experience! I went to a production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town performed by a group with the rather oddball name of Two Planks and a Passion in a wonderful outdoor setting at Ross Creek Centre for the Arts. It was a short drive to the top of the mountain to an idyllic old farm setting, a mixed landscape of cleared land and treed areas, interspersed with ponds and other water features. The centre is becoming known for its creativity and imagination and its constantly expanding programs, both for children and adults, in many fields of the arts.

The play is performed against a backdrop of trees in the early evening: the setting sun filtering through the trees, the rustling poplar leaves and bird calls become part of the setting. So beautiful! The play opens with a scene of small town turn-of-the-century life (the 19th to 20th!), of happy carefree children running about, of town 'characters' going about their routine chores of delivering milk, conducting church choirs, editing the weekly newspaper, or 'policing' the town. With few props and a call to the audience to use their imagination we are quickly drawn into the lives of two families - neighbours - one with a teenage son and the other with a teenage daughter. In the ensuing acts George and Emily will grow up, fall in love and marry. In the midst of all this happiness, however, there is illness, depression, and death to be faced, as we move from the wedding scene in Act II to the cemetery scene in Act III. The play is described in a local review as "emotional and gut-wrenching" and it is indeed that: there is more than one audience member in tears by the end!

We quickly realize that the themes of this play are thought-provoking: we think of family life and relationships, the continuity of the living and the dead, time and eternity, and the power of love. But most of all, the play reminds us that life is short, and we should be grateful for the moments we have - we would do well to be thankful for the everyday wonders, the little 'miracles' and take nothing for granted, especially our loved ones. The play has many memorable lines: the "dead" remind us that "the living" have no idea of the shortness of life; they don't understand. There is great poignancy when Emily asks "doesn't anyone ever realize life when they live it?" and the stage manager answers, "saints and poets, maybe, they do, some."

A Spiritual Plan

2008-06-27T15:01:00.002-03:00

For a couple of months I have been slowly reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth. This book has been featured on Oprah, and, although I haven't followed it, there was an online forum that I am sure was an interesting exploration of Tolle's ideas. Tolle's website has information on the author and information on this and other of his books.

My overall assessment of the book: this is a wise, wise book, a plan for living serenely, quietly and spiritually. In a way, Tolle doesn't say anything new (he relies on the great spiritual teachers - Jesus, the Buddha), but he does come at things in a new way. He especially calls for human beings to live an awakened, conscious life and to discard egotistic behaviour and attitudes. Truly, if the book's ideas were taken to heart and applied to life by many, many peple we would have a new earth! However, one can only begin with oneself: these are the ideas from the book that I am personally trying to remember and practice.

1. Make the present moment your friend, not your enemy (the power of "now")
2. "I don't care what happens" (J. Krishnamurti) (or as my friend Ann says, "better to travel hopefully, than to arrive")
3. Whatever you think others are withholding from you - give (for example, give praise, you will be praised; give forgiveness, you will be forgiven)
4. Do nothing if you are criticized; don't re-act, get defensive
5. You don't have to try to be the mountain - be the "valley" of the universe
6. On difficult days, remember, "This, too, will pass."
7. Be alive to the little simple moments - that is where happiness is found
8. Be aware of your breathing; practice deep breathing several times each day
9. Align yourself often with Presence/the All/the Eternal/God; (choose a contemplative practice - meditation, centering prayer) - "Be still and know that I am God"
10. Put quality into everything you do: your primary purpose is to allow consciousness to flow into everything you do, even, and especially, into the little everyday activities
11. Value old age as having greater consciousness, greater spirituality (potentially)
12. It's not what you do, but how you do what you do that matters: for awakened doing bring one of the following attitudes to the activity - acceptance (for those grudge tasks, routines); enjoyment (discard those optional activities that you do not enjoy); enthusiasm (put your energy into those activities that you love or are passionate about)

Reality Outshines Fiction

2008-04-20T19:49:00.003-03:00

I just finished a terrific book. It's The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor by Sally Armstrong. It's what might be called a historical biography with a touch of imagination thrown in. It's the story of the author's own great-great-great grandmother whose dynasty of descendants numbers in the hundreds today. The story takes us back to around 1776 when Charlotte Taylor, a feisty and determined young woman runs away from her gentrified English family with the family's black butler. They end up in the West Indies where Pad (the butler) succumbs to a fever and dies, leaving Charlotte pregnant. Not officially married, Charlotte nevertheless assumes the role of widow and fortunately makes the acquaintance of a kind older man who runs a trading post on the Baie des Chaleur in what is today New Brunswick's north shore, but which then was basically wilderness. The next 60-some years of Charlotte's life are a fantastic story of survival against great odds, three marriages and many children. Besides being a well researched account of the settlement of the Miramichi, the author weaves in from her imagination many anecdotes and stories that paint a remarkably believable picture of this woman.

An interesting website Charlotte Taylor: Her Life and Times developed by one of Charlotte's descendants contains lots of factual information as well.

An Amazing Book

2008-02-27T11:07:00.002-04:00

I've just finished reading The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - my next book discussion pick. It was the 2006 Booker prize winner, so I guess that says something about the quality, but I was truly amazed by the understanding that a young writer could bring to a work of fiction. Perhaps it is because the author is speaking largely from her own experience of having lived in two worlds - the worlds of the East (India) and the West (England and the United States). Desai was born in India in 1971; her mother is Anita Desai, a well-known author; Kiran was educated and lives in the U.S. Of the themes of The Inheritance of Loss she says:

The Inheritance of Loss is set partly in India and partly in the USA. Desai describes it as a book that "tries to capture what it means to live between East and West and what it means to be an immigrant," and goes on to say that it also explores at a deeper level, "what happens when a Western element is introduced into a country that is not of the West" - which happened during the British colonial days in India, and is happening again "with India's new relationship with the States." Her third aim was to write about, "What happens when you take people from a poor country and place them in a wealthy one. How does the imbalance between these two worlds change a person's thinking and feeling? How do these changes manifest themselves in a personal sphere, a political sphere, over time?"

I think she captured these themes superbly.

A Marvelous Lunch

2008-02-08T17:30:00.000-04:00

How nice it is to be invited out for a special lunch at a friend's house! A glass of wine, a fruit appetizer, a lovely carrot-orange soup accompanied by a multi-grain roll, followed by a vegetable quiche and spinach salad, delicately flavoured with a poppy seed dressing - a most pleasant meal. And to be followed by a custard in a chocolate cup accompanied by sliced strawberries - tis perfection itself! The lunch was a get together for four of us who golf as a foursome on Tuesdays all summer and I guess we're all thinking that winter is beginning to drag and that golf season can't come soon enough. Cheer up..... only two or three more months, ladies!!

A Touching Scene

2008-01-26T21:17:00.000-04:00

Last night I witnessed a touching scene at our local hospital gift shop. A young woman brought an elderly patient in in a wheelchair. The young woman may have been a paid worker or she may have been a granddaughter or she may have been a volunteer. The elderly woman may have been an Alzheimer's patient or she may have been suffering a severe depression. What was moving was the way the young woman spoke softly but without condescension, gently took objects from the shelves and showed them to the lady in the wheelchair. The woman felt the fur of a teddy bear, looked at a tiny baby shirt, smelled a vase of carnations, and "helped" the young woman decide on the purchase of some socks. There was an occasional flicker of interest and a faint smile from the lady in the wheelchair - that seemed to be enough for the young woman; she was not deterred by her companion's rather weak response and continued to cheerfully find things to explore and comment on. Perhaps, I thought, there is nothing terribly remarkable about the scene, but it was pleasing to see such kindness.

What is the law of dreams?

2008-01-22T21:02:00.000-04:00

I've just finished reading Peter Behrens' The Law of Dreams for my next book discussion group. It's a wonderfully evocative title, but what does it mean? In the book, there is a line "the law of dreams is to keep moving." That seems to fit the story: this is the story of movement, of journey. The main character Fergus moves from Ireland in the 1840's to America via Liverpool, England. It's also a people's journey from poverty and famine to survival in faraway places. It's also my family story for I have ancestors who came to Canada from Ireland in those lean years. Perhaps that is why this book resonates so powerfully with me.

It's True

2008-01-17T21:16:00.000-04:00

There's an old adage "you're not getting older, you're getting better." I've just discovered that it really is true. I just had my eyes tested and was told that my eyesight is better than it was five years ago and that the prescription I've been using is too strong. Apparently this happens with nearsighted people as they get older. I wonder if I can see that blackboard from the back of the room now??? Hmmmmm.......if this keeps up I wonder if I can take a few years off my age?

Everything's Relative

2008-01-15T09:11:00.000-04:00

Overnight we've had a snowstorm and it's not over yet with blowing snow expected for the rest of the day. I must remember that there was joy and delight in Baghdad the other day when snow fell there! I will try to think if there is anything positive I can say about the snow - well, er, it's clean looking, it's well, er.... white, it's er....... soft, and well, er........

Carbon Taxes: Coming Soon?

2008-01-11T16:20:00.002-04:00

Well, at least now I have a better understanding of the issue after reading the climate change book. The National Roundtable on the Environment issued a report on Monday, January 7th as to how the government should be responding to the GHG emissions issue in Canada. One of the members of the Roundtable was Marc Jaccard, one of the authors of the book Hot Air: Meeting Canada's Climate Change Challenge so it's not surprising that the Roundtable recommends carbon taxes and cap and trade systems and so on to government. Does this mean we're going to have such taxes soon? NOT!! The government has no intentions of bringing in these taxes anytime soon. And maybe the government is correct. Why?

A number of commentators have pointed out that there is a fatal flaw in the reasoning and recommendations of the roundtable report: none of this will work unless the whole world gets into it together! One commentator calls it sheer lunacy, and to another it's insanity were Canada to act unilaterally. I guess that's the crux of the whole argument, isn't it?

Kyoto Kerfuffle

2008-01-06T20:57:00.000-04:00

The second non-fiction book I've read over the past month or so deals with the issue of climate change, specifically relating to the problem in Canada. Hot Air: Meeting Canada's Climate Change Challenge (2007) by Jeffrey Simpson, Mark Jaccard and Nic Rivers is a very comprehensive look at the whole issue. The book has two parts: the first deals with the science and politics of how we got into the mess we're in and the second part suggests options and solutions for getting out of the mess we're in.

What I found most interesting was a review of the politics over the past two decades! This past year it seemed "Kyoto" became the buzz word, and I, for one, realized I hadn't been paying much attention. Oh sure, I knew Canada had signed a much-ballyhooed agreement, but I thought it was probably one of those pie-in-the sky general goals. But then when I heard environmentalists and others taking up the cry that we must implement measures to meet our Kyoto commitment immediately and the government on the other hand saying that those commitments could not be met, I began to wonder who was right. Was Kyoto a blood sucking socialist scheme to rip off the west or was the government refusal to act a protectionist tactic in cahoots with the oil companies?

Interesting how we agreed to the Kyoto protocol: in the analysis in this book some of the "blame" gets placed on our government (we Canadians!!) trying to stay morally superior to the US - talking the talk grandly abroad but not walking the walk at home. We signed a protocol without any consultation with the provinces or with other stakeholders such as industry and with no plan in place for implementation. In a nutshell, we have agreed to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 6% below 1990 levels in the next four years. If we can't reduce the emissions we can buy credits from a country that has reduced its emissions - for example, Russia has shut down many coal-fired plants due to a slow economy. Do we really want to pay 5 billion dollars to Russia or some other country to buy credits? The authors of this book state that we've 'blown Kyoto' and what we need to do is get on with working out a sensible realistic plan. Reducing our GHG emissions to those levels can even be done but it is going to be a slower process. But we should and must get on with it.

The question is "why?" Why should we do anything in the first place? Is the problem even that bad? The authors point out that we are a large northern country, we transport our goods over long distances, we have a growing population and we need and use fossil fuels for heat, electricity and to support our economy, in other words, our way of life. However, the authors argue, the science in support of global warming affirms that it is not a good thing for Canada. They examine some very compelling reasons why we want less warming, the thinning of the Arctic ice cap and the shrinking glaciers being two of them. One very real menace is an insect, the pine beetle that is destroying the forests of British Columbia. It is spreading eastward and the only thing that will stop it is cold - a good spell of -30 degree Celsius weather on the Prairies is essential, or there goes the boreal forest that stretches from Alberta to Newfoundland.

The authors review all the measures that have been suggested, attempted, and indeed, urged: reducing our use of fossil fuels, improving efficiency, conservation measures, switching to other fuels such as solar, wind and even nuclear, and so on. All are good, but in the final analysis, the authors say these measures only go so far. They argue that what is needed are compulsory measures: only policies that put a price on GHG emissions will work. Yes, we're talking carbon taxes, cap and trade systems, regulations that mean new homes and factories will be built to zero-emissions standards, and so on - in other words, aggressive measures that must begin now.

For an excellent review of the material in the book this article should prove helpful.

A Thoughtful Book

2008-01-06T12:28:00.000-04:00

I've just finished two non-fiction books that I've been reading off and on for the past few months. Since the topics follow from previous blog posts this is my opportunity to pick up my blog again and perhaps get back to writing (in the interests of posting something for my one or two occasional readers!!).

The first book is a good antidote to Richard Dawkins The God Delusion. It's The Language of God:A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief." Published in 2006, author Francis Collins has written a sincere and thoughtful book, quite the opposite of Dawkins' ranting and angry statement. Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, a very respected scientist in DNA research, came to a belief in God very gradually. I quite agree with Collins that belief in God will never come in the form of proofs; it ultimately rests on faith. And yet, I agree with Collins that it is a rational, plausible and even quite probable choice. What arguments for God are most telling for Collins?

For Collins, one of the most telling factors for belief in God is wonder: all humans seem to have a built-in universal longing for the sacred, something outside of themselves, and humanity (without knowing from whence it comes) seems to have a sense of right and wrong - the moral law. I'm reminded of Immanual Kant's phrase: "two things do incline the heart to wonder - the starry sky above and the moral law within." Humans often experience through an altruistic love agape - the knowledge that something was "meant to be," that we were meant to be there for another person, perhaps a stranger, to assist and help through acts of lovingkindness that expect no return.

Collins quotes from many people I admire, among them Annie Dillard. I love Collins' quote from one of Dillard's essays: "What have we been doing all these centuries but trying to call God back to the mountain, or failing that, trying to raise a peep out of anything that isn't us?" Dillard seems to be saying that the primitive worldview found God or "the holy" in the natural world everywhere; advanced civilizations lose that view but still the search continues - we seem to have a spiritual need, a reflex that is not content to exist in materialism only. What's it all about? We long for "The More". There are many ways to voice this impulse: the Christian might say "my soul is restless until it rests in Thee."

Collins is very much like Dawkins when he writes his scientific material. You can see that both are at home in their fields of expertise, and not only knowledgeable and sure, but passionate and excited about evolutionary biology and genetics. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the science in both books! Unlike Dawkins who goes to great lengths to keep science and religion at arm's length, Collins, not surprisingly, makes many connections between the scientific and spiritual realms. For example, when Collins writes of the beautiful mathematical equations which describe the natural world, he notes that we may even think of this beauty and complexity as "God's language," its elegance a source of the awe and wonder that we so associate with God.

How is evolution dealt with by Collins? Like Dawkins, Collins is definitely an evolutionist and he cautions against those who deny scientific fact in favour of literally using the Bible to date the earth's development in terms of centuries rather than eons. These people not only deny science but make it more difficult for the rational argument for religion to be accepted. And yet, since we don't know how and when the world began there is no reason not to suppose that it was set in motion by a creator God. Logically, the Big Bang requires a creator - physicists can explain everything that happened from the micro second of the Big Bang forward; they cannot explain that extremely tiny instant of beginning. Collins is at pains to explain that having an element of mystery in how the world began is not, of itself, a good reason for belief in God; better reasons are in the unfolding of creation with a seeming sense of purpose and with precision and with the care of an active presence that is very much involved with us.

I liked the Collins book (although perhaps not as much fun as reading Dawkins!). But he is balanced in his approach and seeks a both/and view of science and religion. "Science is not the only way of knowing. The spiritual worldview provides another way of finding truth." I couldn't agree more.

Good Help is Hard to Find

2007-10-21T16:10:00.000-03:00

Am I really getting back to writing on my blog? It has been awhile since I have posted anything. I have been reading several political blogs - I guess that's what keeps me busy when I have computer time. More about the ones I find interesting sometime!

Lately I've been getting some work done in my yard. Sometimes it seems that it's hard to find the painter or carpenter or home handyman or mechanic who can be trusted to do a good job at a fair price. And did I ever find a gem of a gardener! What can you say about someone who takes pride in a job well done? who is personable and knowledgeable? who goes above and beyond expectations in completing a project? Why, I guess you hire him (or her) back another time. I'm already thinking about the hedge he is going to put in for me next spring!

My book discussion group met and we're reading our first book of the "new year" (the new year always starts in September for me) - The Other Side of the Bridge by Canadian author Mary Lawson. I really enjoyed Lawson's first book, Crow Lake, and in fact reading this one was my suggestion. From what I remember of Crow Lake it was about two brothers; so is this new book. Both are set in Northern Ontario, Crow River features prominently in the new book. Themes? Well, again similar: if I had to pick one of Lawson's themes I guess it would be "what is the measure of a man?" and, as she works out in her books - all the brainpower and education in the world cannot make up for integrity, responsibility, dependability and hard work in whatever field one chooses or that one finds oneself in due to circumstances.

There is a tenseness to both books. Although Lawson writes in this easy to read style, there is something gripping about her narration: as you read on and on, through minute details of everyday life, you are suddenly hit with the dramatic moment, the twist of fate, the coincidental happening that you know will lead on inevitably and inexorably to a conclusion that is almost fore-ordained.

Two books about brothers and Lawson dedicates this last book to her two brothers. Hmmm -- it will be interesting to see if the book discussion group makes anything of that!

Just Do It

2007-08-14T21:36:00.000-03:00

Just do it. Great slogan. Something like: never complain, never explain. Or - "Never retreat, never explain, never apologize - get the thing done and let them howl" (Nellie McClung, 1873-1951). Do you ever find that a slogan like that gets you through a day, a difficult task, an obligation? Or perhaps even gets you started on a hobby or into opening a book you've been meaning to read? For months I had been unable to get back to my painting although I wanted to. Then one day a few weeks ago after taking a two day workshop that helped me get motivated, I sat down at my easel and said to myself "just do it." Now, I can't stop, I want to draw and paint every day. Hope this keeps up!

Nostalgia

2007-06-13T20:06:00.000-03:00

The next topic in my writing group is 'nostalgia'. A number of thoughts come to mind. First, what is nostalgia? I think of nostalgia as a momentary longing for the past. I checked one dictionary and the meaning given was "the state of being homesick," or "a wistful abnormal yearning for a return to a past period or condition." There's a kind of sentimental side to nostalgia; one is usually nostalgic about something one felt deeply about. There's a bittersweet aspect too; we know we can't ever go back to that past time, and, even if we could, we know in our heads that it probably wasn't all that wonderful (that is, no more wonderful than our present), yet we love to dwell on it, deliciously torturing ourselves with trying to remember it, relive it or recreate it.

What triggers nostalgic moments? Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, a line of poetry, a painting, a photo - almost anything could evoke nostalgia. I think for my generation, music (and here I date myself by saying early rock and roll) is a powerful reminder of the past - the "when we were young" time. Sometimes you can see this when our aquafit instructor puts the "old rock 'n roll" CD on: here you have a group of (mostly) women of a "certain" age singing along with Elvis to "Don't Be Cruel" or to the the Everley Brothers "Wake Up Little Susie." One of the favourites seems to be "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" - a rather fun little ditty that was popular around 1960. This song usually causes someone to remark something like "I'm back in Grade eight"!

The other evening I was driving along behind an antique auto, a 1958 Ford Fairlane, white with gold trim, in mint condition. The driver was handling the car with skill, almost it seemed to me as if he'd had a love affair with that vehicle for the past 50 years! Did I know someone in the past who drove a 1958 Ford Fairlane? Did I spend a few nostalgic moments as I drove along? Did I experience a moment of intense longing, a wistful yearning for another time? I'll never tell.

Interesting Words

2007-06-12T16:20:00.000-03:00

If anyone has checked in to my blog lately they will think I have given it up it's so long since I've posted! It has been a dry spell but now I'm brimming with ideas again.

Have you noticed that some authors use the most interesting words? I just learned three new ones from Julian Barnes, author of Arthur and George, a super book I just finished reading for my next book circle gathering. I don't know about you, but I needed a dictionary! And these words were really all there.........

febrile - "against the febrile exaltation of the bereaved" (febrile means "feverish") (gee, that's a new one on me!!)

rumbustious - "she loves her large generous rumbustious brother" (rumbustious means boisterous, uproarious) (guess I could have guessed the meaning of that one from the context)

mephitic - "the mephitic air which hangs around his soul" ( mephitis is a noxious emanation, especially from the earth; mephitic is the adjectival form) (a perfect use in the context of the sentence)

Well, there you have it: three interesting words - febrile, rumbustious, mephitic

An Engaging Read

2007-05-24T20:39:00.000-03:00

Just finished a good book. It's Ami McKay's The Birth House. It's lively, it's different in style, it's well-researched with much historically accurate detail, and it's an altogether delightful first novel. That's my opinion. My book group discussed the book two months ago and I wasn't able to go at the time, but I heard that the book was given a rather mixed review with some being disappointed. Yes, I agree, it did seem a little far-fetched with the author pulling in every possible historic event of the years from 1917 to about 1920: the war, the suffragette movement, the Halifax Explosion, a Boston molasses company blown up (true - someone checked!) and so on all in the same book. But, hey, why quibble? It was possible.

The book was on the best seller lists for several months and most people have probably heard the author's intriguing story: she and her partner had moved to the small community of Scots Bay, Nova Scotia from Chicago and found out that the old house they'd bought with a view to renovating was actually once the home of the local midwife and was known locally as the birth house. There's lots of information about it on the author's website as well as all kinds of other interesting bits and pieces.

Fascinating to me and lending an air of authenticity was the local interest of the setting: I can see the line of the North Mountain in the distance from my kitchen window and the many small communities mentioned in the book are just part of the local area around here. However, I wouldn't ordinarily like a book expressly because there were local place names in it. The book would have to have some sort of universality in its theme. I'm reminded of the works of David Adams Richards with their setting on the Miramichi in New Brunswick. There's a familiarity to Richards because his books are set in the area in which I grew up, and that adds an extra dimension for me as I read them.

One of the charms of The Birth House is that it's written as a diary or journal. But, in addition to the written journal entries the author of the journal (the main character, the midwife Dora Rare) has inserted many clippings from the local newspaper, quirky old advertisements from magazines, letters and so on. Thus, it's more of a scrapbook than a journal. This reminds me of an on-going project being carrried out by one of the professors in the Womens Studies Program at nearby Acadia University . She is interested in how women have kept scrapbooks to record and save their family history and as a means of collecting pertinent details of their experiences. About a month ago I was interviewed about a few of the scrapbooks I've kept for various reasons and I spent an interesting morning in conversation about the topic. Art, it seems, imitates life. Or is it the other way round?

Food For Thought

2007-05-16T20:46:00.000-03:00

Last week I was reading Noam Chomsky's 2003 work Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance. Chomsky is a leading US intellectual, an activist, although cosidered a "dissident" in some circles. He must surely be a thorn in the side of the Bush administration.

There were a number of points in Chomsky's book that I thought were overly one-sided: there can be fear-mongering on the "left" as well as fear-mongering on the "right," however, overall it is a hard-hitting analysis of US foreign and domestic policy that traces its historical development from the end of the Second World War right up till today's involvement in Iraq.

Chomsky says that what the US wants - its stated strategy - is permanent global hegemony, with force if necessary, and, he warns, this threatens the survival of humanity eventually because it can only lead to an escalation of hostilities between the US and those countries that become its unwilling "victims."

We can only hope that Chomsky is wrong and that it is not an "either/or" choice. Does Chomsky hold out any hope? Yes, against the world's only military superpower, he holds that there is another superpower and this is world public opinion. Thus, our only option is to educate ourselves about the aims of the US, present alternative viewpoints, speak out against violent solutions, and influence (in any way we can) the American populace that has little understanding of how it is being manipulated to support an outrageously costly militarization at the expense of social programs.

Chomsky believes that the only solutions against "terror" are addressing underlying grievances, seeing things from the other side's perspective, trying to find honourable solutions, mutual respect, and applying to ourselves the standards we impose on others. (An example of the last might be that if the US does not want other countries to have "weapons of mass destruction," it must be willing to get rid of its own.)

Chomsky does point out that it is not the American people but the the policies of the US government that are at fault. His argument is that the US is hated (and feared) by much of the world because it supports corrupt and brutal governments and opposes political and economic progress which is opposed to its own interests.

Green

2007-05-02T11:53:00.000-03:00

There is so much "green" talk on the news and in conversations around town these days! Green has become the new synonym, the short form for any and all environmentally friendly, ecologically conscious effort, plan, or undertaking from supporting an anti-idling campaign to buying local produce to not using pesticides.

I was thinking of "green" as just the colour green, as I was driving home from town this morning and looking at the trees around here still in their winter greyness! It seems that spring is late and cold this year - that is, the real spring with green leaves and flowers and everything bursting forth in colourful profusion! It just hasn't happened here yet and I say "bring it on"! Let us have green! Nile green, emerald green, that lovely yellow-green of new growth! It's time!!

A Line of Poetry, A New Book

2007-04-24T22:04:00.001-03:00

Today as I browsed through a book display a line in a book of poems by Canadian Steve McOrmond caught my eye. In Primer on the hereafter, Ormond writes of contemplating the ruins of a church and as he does so he is struck by "the power of religion to give the infinite a name." I thought to myself, "yes, that is it, that is it, it is all about "language," about embodiment, about incarnation, about naming. As I continued my browsing in the bookstore I was taken with the title of a new book: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. The author is Francis D. Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. Glancing through the book I notice that Collins refers to the work of another scientist Richard Dawkins author of The God Delusion, the recent book that makes the case for atheism. It will be interesting to look at Dawkins and Collins together and I hope to do some posts as I read this new book.

Whew!! First I have to get through the several other things I have on the go! Right now it is Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day. I hope to have this finished for my next book discussion meeting.

Lunenburg

2007-04-18T11:24:00.000-03:00

Wacky Weather Woes

2007-04-17T20:58:00.000-03:00

Today I was in Lunenburg for a medical appointment. It's about and hour and a half drive from my home in the Annapolis Valley and cross country from me on the Atlantic coast. For several days we've been under the influence of a huge nor 'easter that is bringing heavy rain and strong winds, especially to the coastal communities. Today I hoped to take some photos of the town and its wonderful harbour and some of the interesting buildings. Lunenburg is a heritage town, a protected UNESCO historic site and a great place for browsing. Alas, with the driving rain and wind this afternoon, the closest I came to a streetscape was this quick picture taken from the parking lot of the Fishermen's Museum!

My Latest Painting

2007-04-13T11:48:00.000-03:00

My Latest Painting

2007-04-12T21:35:00.000-03:00

Here is a pic of my latest painting - a 12 x 14 acrylic titled "Jasper Park in Fall" - in which I've tried to cpture some of the beauty of our famous Canadian Rocky Mountains. I did the painting from a reference photo I had taken near the Jasper Park Lodge in September about ten years ago.

Serendipity

2007-04-12T20:46:00.000-03:00

Do you notice happy coincidences? fortuitous meetings? Do things just seem to fall into place for you? They very often do for me, or, perhaps it is that I tend to be aware of or find them worthy of note or remark. The dictionary defines "serendipity" as "the faculty of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for," and I just had one of these serendipitous little incidents. I'll explain.

I know there are newer ways of accounting practice but an organization for which I am the treasurer uses a ledger for record keeping, and today as I was bringing the ledger up to date by copying debits and credits in from the cheque book, I failed to leave two spaces for the end of the month of March to record month and year totals and went on to enter about ten entries or more for April. The thought of applying whiteout to correct all those entries was maddening, yet not doing the book correctly was more than my perfectionistic self could take. Looking at the entries, I noticed that I'd recorded one of the first April ones in the wrong order (fortuitously? lucky happenstance?), so all I had to do was whiteout the entries on the two needed spaces, reverse the order and squeeze in an entry in between two others and everything else fell into place. Instead of correcting ten or twelve lines it only involved correcting two - and all because I'd made a recording error in the first place. Serendipity!

Spring Cleaning

2007-04-11T20:18:00.000-03:00

Well, there is something to be said for doing your own spring house cleaning. Yep. It hurts. You're aching all over from the moving, the bending and the reaching, and your hands are cracked if you're like me and you hate wearing rubber gloves. But, by doing the job yourself, rather than hiring a cleaning service, you do get to sort things out, declutter, and organize things as you go along. Don't get me wrong: cleaning services are nice and I wouldn't turn down the offer of having a maid on a regular basis were the good fairy to send one my way! However, there are many positive things about being a do-it-yourselfer: you save money; it's good exercise; and there's a lot of satisfaction in the accomplishment of getting the job done.

As you get the heavy duty vacuuming and floor cleaning out of the way, you can turn to really doing a job on that bookshelf you've been meaning to spruce up or to those files you've planned to tackle for some time now. If you're in the right mood - and for me, that is when I am not clamouring to be doing something else - decluttering, especially sorting through the paper accumulation, is a rather pleasant way of spending a few hours. With a supply of new file folders and a recycling box nearby, it's gratifying to begin to see order emerge out of chaos!

Beautiful Nova Scotia

2007-03-22T20:50:00.000-03:00

Here's a picture taken yesterday in Margaretsville on the Bay of Fundy. This lighthouse has been an image much painted by artists in the area.

Too Late

2007-03-20T13:22:00.000-03:00

I've finished the book by Paul William Roberts, A War Against Truth. If there is anything that seems clear from Roberts book four years into the Iraq war, it's that some of the truth he speaks of is just now coming to light among the American people themselves as returning soldiers speak of how ill-prepared they were, how they were unsure of what they were fighting for, how or why. Revved up to think they would be greeted as "liberators", and that they would be in and out of Iraq in a matter of weeks, never mind months and now years, then dismayed to find they were met with derision, hate and open defiance, the ordinary soldier has been painfully caught in the middle of a political course of action that has had disastrous consequences.

Roberts points out how there was very little understanding of the people at the beginning. Yes, there were many people who would have hailed the Americans as liberators at the beginning - yes, indeed, Saddam's regime was brutal and can't be defended- but the American soldiers had no training and no understanding of how to work with the potentially sympathetic individuals and groups. He gives examples from his own aquaintance of people who were alienated by having guns poked in their faces and cursed at by baby-faced soldiers. In one of his examples he tells of an Iraqi who helped the Amerticans by sharing information and leading them to a mass grave and to some of the key players in Saddam's regime. Much damage was done because the man was never thanked properly or recognized in any way. If the soldiers involved had understood something of Iraq culture they might have capitalized on making that man and others like him allies, instead of turning them into enemies, and the whole situation into a real liberation and not an occupation.

Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned from this for the Canadians in Afghanistan: as Roberts says, perhaps the biggest problem in the world is "trying to shove ideologies down each others throats." I understand that the Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are working with the people and I think that is a good thing.

One Angry Man

2007-03-09T12:54:00.000-04:00

I'm into my second major non-fiction book in a month. I've been reading Paul William Roberts A War Against Truth: An Intimate Account of the Invasion of Iraq. Roberts is a Canadian journalist who writes for magazines like Harpers. I'd already read his early 90's book The Demonic Comedy:Some Detours in the Iraq of Saddam Hussein, so I knew that Roberts, like no other journalist, had a great deal of interest in the Middle East, not to say insider information and contacts. I also knew that Roberts' writing tended to be anecdotal, laced with irony and black humour, but that underneath it all it would be written with heart. I also knew Roberts to be a very "left wing" commentator and not at all reticent to speak out against the war in Iraq (I think that's clear from his use of "invasion" in the subtitle).

Paul William Roberts has a Masters in literature from Oxford, and I would classify his books as creative non-fiction in that he makes use of many literary references - snippets of poetry from Yeats and Auden; poetry and prose bits from ancient and modern Persians; quotes from authors as far ranging as Mark Twain to Noam Chomsky. But the book, as well as being a personal account, is well researched and documented with many footnoted references.

This is one angry man and one angry book! Writing between March 2003 and 2004, with an "epilogue' written in 2005, Roberts goes so far as to say that George Bush should be impeached for going into Iraq; he calls the Bush administration "mass murderers" for their bombing of civilians; says that they should all be tried for war crimes for their breaking of countless Geneva Convention protocols; warns the people of the United States to wake up to the fact that this war is costing them as taxpayers $431 billion per year; and makes the plea to the world's people that nothing can ever be accomplished by war - ever.

Roundup: Some Final Thoughts on Dawkins

2007-02-19T14:44:00.000-04:00

This has been a provocative book and it's been an interesting exercise to think about it and write on it during the reading. Surprisingly, there is much that I agree with in The God Delusion.

For starters, I think there is a lot of truth in such statements as "one of the truly bad effects of religion is that it teaches us that it is a virtue to be satisfied with not understanding." As a former student of theology (a discipline much-maligned by Dawkins) at a college whose motto is "faith seeking undrstanding," I've been exploring, reading, studying, thinking about, and yes, even questioning my beliefs for many years.

Another area where I think Dawkins makes some good points is on the religious indocrination of children. It's certainly true that many lives have been ruined because of childhood threats and descriptions of a literal "hell" and that people have lived their lives in fear of what might happen if they didn't follow this or that religious rule or practice. And yet, I have no problem with parents bringing their children up in a particular faith provided it is introduced and presented in a loving manner. As at least one religious educator has said, unless you have been taught some basics as a child what can you later re-evaluate, possibly reject, or perhaps embrace with an adult understanding?

I agree with Dawkins on most of what he says about fundamentalist religion - whether Islamic, Catholic, Southern Baptist or whatever. However, I don't agree with him that all religion needs to be jettisoned. I don't think Dawkins gives enough weight to mystical experiences (it's not enough to just say such experience is hallucinatory!), nor do I think he properly looks at the importance of myth and symbol to what it is that religion is all about. Neither does he look at the Eastern religions at all.

Dawkins says "feelings and truth" are not the same thing. But, I might add, "facts and truth" are not the same thing either! In his final chapter, he almost "undoes" his whole book when he talks about the queerness of quantum physics with it's speculation about parallel universes and so on and about how little we as humans actually know for sure. Why embrace atheism when you just could turn out to be wrong?

Who Designed the Designer?

2007-02-17T13:33:00.000-04:00

Dawkins' chapter "Why there almost certainly is no God" is an interesting one, especially from a scientific perspective for it deals with the exciting and awe-inspiring story of the improbability of our being here at all. Dawkins comes alive in this chapter and shows us that he not only knows his science from a Darwinian biologist's point of view, but he is clearly in love with his subject and communicates not only his expertise, but his fascination and excitement.

Darwin's theory of natural selection is the elegant and plausible answer to explain how we evolved very, very gradually from the simplest life forms to the myriad plants and animals now on earth. It is such an amazing "happening" that life ocurred at all: conditions had to be absolutely right, we had to be on a "friendly" planet out of billions, and however improbable it may seem - something happened once to "start" life: pure luck, chance, "something" got us started. Dawkins avers that at this point we can't explain that, but there is no reason to think it was God, in the sense of a supernatural being who "designed" and "created" everything.

We are constantly in awe at the beauty and perfection in living things, let's say a butterfly's wing or a human eye, or some other incredible adaptation. It is easy to see that many religious people and theologians of an earlier age posited the belief that such perfection could only have come from "the great Designer," God. But, according to Dawkins, it's not probable that this was so for two main reasons: one, we are still left with the question "who designed the designer?" and two, the "person" or "being" who could do all that designing must have been extremenly complex and thus statistically improbable. I would have to agree that thinking there is a being who is "out there" somewhere, "capable of continuously monitoring and controlling the individual status of every particle in the universe," cannot be simple, and is highly unlikely.

So, I guess I would have to agree with Dawkins that this conception of God does not make sense. (Of course, many would say, "why does it have to make sense?"). My only questions at this point are but what if God is not in any way a being? not a "he, she or it"? What if God is more of a quality? What if God is that elegant law of physics yet to be discovered? What if God is not "out there" at all but in everything that is? What if God is not a being, but being, or the ground of all being? What if God is that which calls us on to possibility, to change, to growth? What if God is a concept, a metaphor for our deepest spiritual longings?

In any case, even if the concept of God as "designer of the universe" is improbable, I'm not about to give up my love of such poems as "God's Grandeur"!

"The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out like shining from shook foil"
- Gerard Manley Hopkins

Believer or Atheist:: A Range of Possibility

2007-02-16T19:47:00.000-04:00

Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion places human judgement about the existence of God on a 7-point scale ranging from #1 - strong theist (100% sure of God's existence) to #7 - strong atheist (100% sure that God does not exist), with #4 - impartial agnostic (exactly 50%). For the "strong theist he posits the words of C.G. Jung: "I don't believe, I know."

Where do I place myself? Oh, I'm happy to place myself in the strong theist category along with C.G. Jung (or, if not quite as strong, close to it!). I've read that line of Jung's before and it resonated with me. Jung also had an inscription placed over his doorway in Latin that translated to "Bidden or unbidden, God is present." But, and I think it's a very important "but," Jung had a very broad understanding of God and religious belief, and his work on dreams, on myth and symbol (which I think is the only way of getting at religious truth) is tremendously important. Jung believed in the "collective unconscious" as the source of archetypal symbolic figures such as the anima, the shadow and the hero and so on that are found in the psyche. He was curious and very much interested in scientific exploration.

Dawkins dismisses Jung as a crackpot I imagine! (If I remember correctly he says Jung had books on his shelf that exploded with a loud bang.) But what of Joseph Campbell? I looked in vain in Dawkins' book for mention of Joseph Campbell, whose work is synonymous with the study of myth in religion. Dawkins is quick to ridicule such Christian "beliefs" as the virgin birth, but Campbell explains that "the mythic image of the virgin birth refers to the birth of the spiritual life in the human animal" (An Open Life: Joseph Campbell in Conversation with Michael Toms).

I don't think it's enough to just say the core beliefs of Christians are mad, ridiculous, insane and so on! That the New Testament is factually dubious, that the virgin birth is a legend, that the Old Testament is definitely not history, that there was no literal creation 'in seven days' and so on: there are many religious Christians who would agree on these points. But on many points of belief or doctrine one has to look at the historical development and the meaning behind the statements.

I cannot think of the author's name right now, but in The Gifts of the Jews we are led to appreciate the evolution of belief in one God from the gods who dwelt in rocks and in specific places to God who walks with mankind (Abraham). You would think that Dawkins, being such a firm Darwinian scientist could see some of the evolution of ideas without being so one-sided! Oh, sure, the Old Testament God is sometimes a petty, unjust, racist, bloodthirsty tyrant, but he is also the One who leads the Israelites out of bondage, who never gives up on them, who is healer and consoler and shepherd. Actually, now that I think of it, one could probably say that the whole history of religion is a great evolutionary epic!

Just as I Suspected

2007-02-14T11:21:00.001-04:00

Continuing on with Richard Dawkins book The God Delusion I took a little look at some book reviews, interviews and other commentary. Apparently, not only Dawkins, but also Sam Harris and E.O.Wilson have recently published works that some consider 'the new atheism,' a more argumentative, no-holds-barred stance that seeks actively to discredit or hold up to ridicule religion in general, not only belief in a particular concept of God. Some call this group 'evangelizing non-believers' - how is that for irony? Just as I suspected, there would be book reviews as in this one by Robert Lee Holtz of the LA Times and interesting interviews as this one by Gary Wolf
that I have printed out to read.

Dawkins Limits His Arguments

2007-02-11T15:02:00.000-04:00

Getting into the first couple of chapters of The God Delusion the first thing we find out is that Dawkins does not like to see the word "God" used too broadly. He limits "God" to "supernatural creator." One of my favourite books God in All Worlds, Lucinda Vardy, ed., contains passages from many culturally diverse thinkers and, in these passages, God is understood in countless different ways, "supernatural creator," being one of many.

Secondly, he limits his definition of a religious person by excluding those like Einstein and other scientists who espouse a kind of pantheistic reverence towards the complexity of the universe and awe at the mystery. Dawkins calls these people religious non-believers, but did they call themselves atheists? Rudolph Otto in The Idea of the Holy explains that the religious impulse begins with the sense of wonder, the mysterium tremendum, and myth and ritual begin as responses to the experience in all cultures. Dawkins says the main reason people belong to any religion is simply because their parents did and they were taught to believe as children. I daresay that is so for most believers today, but that doesn't address "why religion?" in the first place. Someone remarked that if there is no God we would have had to invent one. I suppose Dawkins doesn't count as "religion" the spiritual beliefs of aboriginal peoples? How does Gitchi Manitou arise in one culture and Yahweh in another and so on? Karen Armstrong in A History of God begins in a different way: she says human beings have always looked for a system that gives meaning and value to life and most cultures have sensed something beyond ourselves, commonly known as the divine or the sacred. Thus, the idea of God is what exists, a word that attempts to describe what is beyond words, beyond thought, not definable. Armstrong notes "people dubbed atheists deny a particular conception fo the divine." The particular conception, the "delusion" according to Dawkins is that "there exists a superhuman, supernatural intelligence who deliberately designed and created the universe and everything in it, including us."

Dawkins tells us that he is attacking everything supernatural, from fairies at the bottom of the garden to God. There is nothing that is not purely physical in the universe, and that cannot be explained naturally (given, of course, that there is much that hasn't been explained yet). I am looking forward to reading this book from a science perspective but I also recognize myth, symbol, metaphor, creative imagination, the non-rational (not irrational), art, aesthetics and so on as other ways of knowing.

Am I Deluded?

2007-02-08T20:10:00.000-04:00

OK, I'm going to read Richard Dawkins The God Delusion, currently the number one selling book in Canada. Richard Dawkins is an atheist and he expressly states "if this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down." Well. That sounds like a challenge. As I read the book I will be posting comments: on what points will I agree with Dawkins? on what points will I disagree? can he convince me to be an atheist?

Let's start with the introduction. He begins with the line, "I didn't know I could," meaning many people think they have no choice in the matter. They simply have never realized that they do not have to go on believing what their parents did or what they were taught. Well, I have long ago given up that sophomoric idea: I know I could give up on religion tomorrow, I could choose to be an atheist. But the question is do I want to?

Dawkins mentions the John Lennon song Imagine. That's a song I love and yes, Lennon does sing "imagine a world without religion too" - and of course, we all agree that we could do without the crusades, the wars, the hatred, the witchhunts and all the various atrocities committed in the name of religion. But I think Dawkins misses the irony here for we can find as many true and good and beautiful things done in the name of religion, and dichotomy is everywhere. I'm not sure we can see everything in an either/or way.

Next Dawkins points out that "the magnificence of the real world ... can fill the real role that religion ... has usurped." I sort of see his point here, but again I don't think it must be either/or. Why not "both/and"? I love the real world. I am as much in awe over Carl Sagan's "pale blue dot" as the next person! It gives me goosebumps to think that on this little speck of the universe everything that's ever happened and everything that's ever going to happen to us takes place - all of what makes us human, all of what makes us, "us." And since energy is never lost, only changed or transformed, even the physical matter of of our being is here somewhere. I love Annie Dillard's comment that the dead are here on planet earth and there are more of them than us living ones. The Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh understands this and tells us constantly to be mindful - we are the clouds and the ocean and the minerals and the forest. It's all connected and all one. Oh dear, I fear these are just very spiritual (religious) thoughts: surely Dawkins can not be against this kind of religious thinking?

The Windigo Spirit

2007-02-06T14:45:00.000-04:00

The strange native spirit windigo figures prominently in Three Day Road. What is it? An excellent site The Windigo tells us that it can be many things and take many forms from being a supernatural demon to the spirit of cannabalism to a personality disorder. Seeing the windigo or being overtaken by the windigo is often associated with loneliness, with winter, with hunger. In the book the windigo spirit is certainly associated with evil, with human beings overtaken with madness. Applying this to the broader context of humanity we can see that the windigo spirit is present in the world in countless ways: serial murders; power and domination over others; mindless killing; savage acts. Someone once remarked "man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn."

And yet, just as native lore talks of the windigo, the savage beastly presence, it speaks of its antedote - the circle of life. It's interesting and very, very sad that Xavier and Elijah travel a road that leads from innocence, goodness, and life to a world of brokeness, the killing fields of France. It is truly "no-man's land" and it's made more poignant by the native boys having little understanding of why they are there fighting this white man's war. Young and spirited, good hunters and trappers in their forest home, they are eager to use those skills. and use them they do, becoming snipers of the highest calibre. There is heroism here, to be sure, but also craziness. Xavier retains a lot of himself in the process, but the windigo spirit overtakes Elijah as he disintegrates more and more into a killing machine, glorifying in his exploits and taking pleasure in the carnage.

In the end, only Xavier returns, a mere shell of a man. We are left wondering whether Niska the medicine woman's power will be enough to overcome the evil that has been done to him and through him, or whether this is his "three day road." Being an optimist, I opt for the healer, and the author suggests that ending with images of two young boys playing by the great bay, perhaps Xavier's sons.

A Tale of "Hell and Healing"

2007-02-04T11:35:00.000-04:00

The book I'm now reading for my next book club meeting is Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road. A comment on the cover by Louise Erdich calls it "a masterful account of hell and healing." It is indeed that. Against the backdrop of the First World War (the hell), the gradually unfolding story of two young Cree boys and Niska (the healer) evolves.

The story opens after the war with Niska meeting one of the boys, her nephew Xavier Bird, at a railway station somewhere in Northern Ontario and heading with him by canoe into the bush. Xavier is largely incoherent and on morphine and has returned with only one leg. We don't know what has happened to his friend Elijah Whiskeyjack. But gradually the two, Niska and Xavier, tell the story, alternating voices as if in oral storytelling, although perhaps the voices are simply the voices of memory speaking to us. Xavier and Niska, back and forth, telling episodes of the war, episodes from childhood, stories of hunting and trapping in the bush, stories of the residential school at Moose Factory, and very gradually, the story of what happened to Elijah. There is a measured cadence to the story which takes place over a three day canoe trip - a trip that may well be Xavier's "three day road, " in native spirituality, a metaphor for that final journey, death.

The book was nominated and shortlisted for a number of awards, both Canadian and International, but it is not an easy book to read as the author holds nothing back in his descriptions of the war. There is page after page of brutal, horrifying and graphic detail. But like no other book on the First World War that I have read has the reality of the experience affected me so strongly. It is stunningly, yet bluntly told, as are the scenes of what it was like for aboriginal people to live through a winter of near starvation, when the windigo was known to come and when another kind of killing had to take place. "Sometimes one must be sacrificed if all are to survive," Niska tells Xavier.

I find "the three day road" to be a haunting spiritual image for the final journey. There is much about the number "three" that is connected with myth and magic, spirituality and religion in all cultures, so we can make connections between what the story reveals of native lore and the Judeo-Christian tradition. I kind of wonder if the nuns and priests who went to bring Christianity to the Indians even tried to see those connections. I am sure the good ones did, but it depresses me to think of the repression and downright cruelty that was done to native people by some sadistic individuals in the name of religion.

Everyday Foibles and Extraordinary Heroism

2007-01-30T20:07:00.001-04:00

I've just finished readng Vincent Lam's Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner. It's a remarkable first book, a series of short stories about a group of doctors, taking us through "how to get admitted to medical school," to how doctors deal with not only the tedium of everyday life but the ethical dilemmas and moments of life or death drama. I think that what makes the book so interesting is that Lam is an emergency room physician, and it's not often that we find doctors who have an avocation as creative writers. Thus, although it's a work of fiction, we can't help but think of it as an insider's glimpse into the world of medicine. The picture is not altogether a pretty one: the doctors we meet are no more and no less human than the rest of us. There are moments of altruism, of heroics, as when Chen breaks the glass to insert Fitz's IV line when both are isolated SARS patients thus saving a nurse from having to contact a SARS patient in a very risky manner. Then there are the other moments when we know the medical staff have been less than stellar in their patient care and attention because of tiredness or distraction. The stories are also about personal relationships - friendships that last and those that go sour; falling in, and out of, love; what makes people tick. I think I read that the book is being made into a TV drama. It would make a good show.

CCP

2007-01-17T22:48:00.000-04:00

An argument as to why the CCP cannot be defended in principle.

An Intriguing Title

2007-01-15T20:27:00.000-04:00

"Saving Fish From Drowning" is the intriguing title of the book by Amy Tan that I've just finished reading. It's based on a little story told of some fishermen who are taking fish out of the water and placing them gently on the grass where of course they succumb to a natural death. But the fishermen insist that they are not killing the fish, simply saving them from drowning. So do the intentions of the fishermen make all the difference? The point Amy Tan is making is that intentions, however well-meant, will have consequences, and the consequences may be not so good for the recipients! Immediately, some thoughts from world situations come to mind: for example, one country's interference in the affairs of another can backfire when there is no understanding of the culture, traditions and current political climate. Intentions: wanting to bring "democracy" to a country may be easier said than done (Iraq???) In America, freedom of speech is a given; in Burma, NOT!! The tourists in the book find that out in a hurry!

Another major theme in Tan's book is that "evil in the world almost always comes out of ignorance, " and this I would say is nowhere more in evidence than in ignorance of religious beliefs and practices. In Burma (the book's setting) there is a very strong animism which sees spirits in the natural world. These "Nats" may be dismissed as simply beliefs in magic and superstition but when one learns that appeasing the Nats with offerings is a rite, a form of "prayer," perhaps, it is a way of obtaining "merit," of, in some way, making a connection with the spiritual "Merit was better than food. Merit was hope." This made me think of the Catholic doctrine (I think it's a doctrine anyway, or, at least, a traditional practice) that one can earn or amass merit through "indulgences" earned by the saying of certain prayers. For the literal minded, indulgences are expressed in "years" and the years would be deleted from one's expected time in "purgatory," perfecting oneself for entry into heaven. Sort of like earning time off for good behaviour - in advance. (Of course, this became a real problem at one point when people got carried away and took the practice to extremes of buying and selling; we all know this was the final straw for Martin Luther and led to the Reformation!!)

But wouldn't it be a better world if we all looked for the similarities in religious practices rather than the differences?

An Answer to One Question

2007-01-15T20:10:00.000-04:00

Thinking about one of the questions in my last post "what would be the problem with a CO2 increase anyway since that is what plants need for growth?" I happened to find one answer in the gardening column "On the Vine" by Carla Allen in my local newspaper The Advertiser. Just a small point perhaps but one that I have been missing in many of the discussions I have been reading: that is that certain kinds of weeds like poison ivy and ragweed are flourishing and thus making life more miserable for allergy sufferers. She says that ragweed produces 10 times the amount of pollen in CO2 enhanced conditions. Interesting. Allen's article continued to speculate on other problems gardeners might face in a warmer climate.

Trying to Sort it Out

2007-01-14T20:01:00.000-04:00

Lately one of my "obsessions" has been reading online commentary on global warming / climate change. Trying to be fair and balanced I have looked at a number of different sites especially with a view to being more informed as our politiicians ramp up the environment as the issue in Canada at the moment. Secondly, with all the rather freakish weather we have been having this winter "global warming" as a cause has been on everyone's lips, rightly or wrongly.

What have I learned? What conclusions have I come to? Well, for starters, the question is not whether there is global warming or not. There is. The question(s) are to what extent? is it rapidly changing the planet as we know it and all for the worse? how much of it is caused by human activity such as emissions from coal fired plants and the burning of other fossil fuels? if we are causing it can we then alter the pace by curbing our energy consumption or is it too late? what can one country do acting alone if the issue is global? have there been other periods when the earth was this warm and is, then, warming and cooling simply the way our universe evolves (think of geological ages when dinosaurs walked through swamps later to be followed by ice ages)? are there other factors besides human activity that are causing global warming (some climatologists cite changes in the sun's activity, earth tilt, and so on)? if global warming is going to happen anyway without human activity, perhaps the question should be are we ready to adapt to this changing world? what plan do we have? why is CO2 considered such a 'bad' emission when even the most elementary science tells us that green plants need CO2? Some people might say "so what if we have a warmer greener world? isn't that better than a colder one?"

Now, trying to sort out and find answers to these questions and other related ones is not so easy. I think to a great extent the issues get mixed up in people's minds. Certainly we need to work on reducing pollution of all kinds in our country: we all want to know that we are breathing clean air and that the water we drink is pure. We aren't happy here in the Annapolis Valley when we get an air inversion in the summer and smog drifts into our area to the extent that we get the dubious distinction of being called "the tailpipe of North America." I'm concerned when I read reports of contaminated rivers and when I hear of the extent of pollution in the Great Lakes.

Personally, we have been reusing and recycling and working on saving energy for years and we want to continue to do so. We need to promote alternate energy sources - solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels and so on. I hope the farmers in my agricultural area get excited about the production of biofuels; I don't personally know much about this but from what I have read it sounds exciting and a good use of less productive land. An easy way for most of us to cut our energy consumption is to switch to the new fluroescent light bulbs; we have made the switch to those in many of our light fixtures and find they work well.

New Year, New Books

2007-01-11T10:45:00.000-04:00

Where does the time go? Here it is almost the middle of January and I haven't posted anything for the new year. Well, for those who may stop by once in awhile to see if I've added anything new, "Happy New Year, one and all!" I must say for me that the time after a holiday period when one gets back to the routine is generally satisfying. Is that how it is for you?

This month I have already met my writing group and next week my book discussion group will meet. We are reading Amy Tan's Saving Fish From Drowning, the story of a group of American tourists in modern-day Burma, or rather, Myanmar. Customs, superstitions, prejudices, ignorance, trigger happy guards, the "ugly American," the do-gooder, they are all there in a hilarious mix where adventure or mis-adventure is just around the corner. I'm enjoying the book, one of those that makes you occasionally laugh out loud! And I love Amy Tan's writing - similies and metaphors are woven so intricately into her work. One image comes to mind: describing a night sky she says 'above them was a colander of stars.' I really love that image, it seems so perfect!

The book I read just prior to this was A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. It's the story of a the life of a teenage girl in a small Mennonite community. Nomi is questioning the values and beliefs of the community at a point where her mother and older sister have been ex-communicated. Part of the story involves her search for answers, for trying to make sense of things. I found it somewhat "over the top" in it's recounting of Nomi's rebelliousness - her running around, defiant behaviour at school, experiments with drugs; it got a bit boring as it was just one incident piled on another all the time. It was not always easy to remain sympathetic to her as a searching individual. And I know a number of Mennonites and girls from such communities - I'm not sure all would have such an unflattering and unfair view of things.

For Christmas, a book I received was Giller prize winner Vincent Lam's Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures. It's a book of inter-connected stories about the medical world - a sort of insider's view. I'm looking forward to reading it.

A Christmas Thought

2006-12-23T21:17:00.000-04:00

So what is the Christmas story? Let's think about the well known details for a moment: a baby, born in a stable, to a virgin, visited by shepherds and wisemen or magi or kings who follow a special star, surrounded by angels, and destined to be the Saviour of the world. Myth? Fantasy? Wonderful "story" but "just a story"? I like to think about the meaning of the story and that is simply that we are loved by God, that God enters our world to be with us and to care for us. We are gifted, graced and blessed by the presence of God and the Christmas story tells us that by means of symbol, and every detail does not have to be taken literally. Joseph Campbell tells us that all religions speak in metaphor and symbol but also that all religions sometimes mistake the symbols for the realities themselves. So, when it comes to differences in religion, what is it that we have to "fight" about? Is our story better than your story? is our myth better than your myth? is our truth better than your truth? Or are we all celebrating the same reality, the same Mystery? the same truth?

It's Happening Again

2006-12-20T12:12:00.000-04:00

The feeling of Christmas: what is it for you? how is it found for you? when does it come? For me the first feeling associated with Christmas usually comes around the first of December with a "Bah, humbug, do we have to go through all this again??!" Then the details gradually get taken care of - the cards get mailed; the out of town presents get bought, mailed and wrapped; the dinner gets planned; the tree gets trimmed and it happens again: positive feelings begin to take over. For me, this usually happens with the trimming of the tree as I listen to Christmas music. The beautiful sentiments of the Christmas carols usher in a time of nostalgia and reflection.

December: Darkness and Light

2006-12-11T10:23:00.001-04:00

Yesterday afternoon we were driving back from a trip to the city and we were treated to a clearing sky and a most spectacular sunset as we travelled west. The time was about 4:30pm. I found myself pondering December's early evening darkness as we near the winter solstice, this year in North America on December 21st. The winter solstice is often called "the shortest day of the year" in the Northern hemisphere for it is the day of least daylight and earliest sunset. The winter solstice has long been considered a special time and major festivals including Christmas and Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, are celebrated near this date. In pre-Christian times the winter solstice was a time of magic, and many customs and traditions of today go back to that time. For Christians, the four weeks prior to Christmas are called Advent, and are often marked by the lighting of candles in an Advent wreath. Whether one is religious or not, this is the time of year for Christmas lights. Yesterday, we stopped for supper and arrived home to our neighbourhood, now lit by many Christmas light displays, some quite elaborate. It seemed not only joyful and anticipatory, but somehow, too, brave and magical.

Favourite Quotations

2006-12-01T20:24:00.000-04:00

Do you have a favourite quotation, perhaps a motto that guides your life? I don't think I could pick one favourite as I have dozens that I like and that are very meaningful to me. In fact, I have the habit of writing my favourites in small books and I've been collecting them for years. Perusing one of my books I see that little adages from Ann Landers such as "when life hands you a lemon, make lemonade," appeal to me. More profoundly, certain Scripture verses are dear to me. This one from the Old Testament kind of says it all and provides a guide for living as a pilgrim on the journey: "And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8). Speaking of kindness there are other lovely quotations. The first sentence of the "Sam Te Ching," a Chinese children's classic says, "We are born into this world with a kind nature." And a lovely quotation from Dr. Theodore Rubin reminds me that "kindness is more important than wisdom and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom." Then there was the famous line by Blanche Du Bois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" - "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." I've often thought that along the way we all must "depend on the kindness of strangers," from time to time. Great line, isn't it?

A Special Community of Women

2006-11-27T16:21:00.000-04:00

I belong to a number of different groups and I like to think of each of them as a little community. Some of the groups I belong to are small and organized for a particular purpose - for example my book discussion group meets every six weeks or so to share opinions on a current book. Some of my groups are part of larger communities - for example, my membership in my local hospital auxiliary connects me to other "auxilians" in my province and nationally. Some of the groups I belong to are traditional groups and ones to which my mother belonged, so in becoming a member of them I also feel connected to my mother and the past. The Catholic Women's League of Canada is just such a group.

It seems to have been a tradition in most Christian churches to have a women's group; in fact, before the women's movement of modern times church groups were the prime way in which women came together. Today women's church groups take different forms. The Anglican and United Church Women's groups are two I'm familiar with locally. Someone I'm sure will correct me if I am wrong but I think both of these groups are independently formed in the local church and are not connected to a national organization. In my church we have a group of women who form a local community of the Catholic Women's League but we are also part of a large national organization. The Catholic Women's League (CWL) currently has over 100 000 members; members of the local group are connected to the National group through a website, publications including a magazine, and through the personal contact of members. There are local groups that are formed into "diocesan" councils and then into provincial groups. This keeps the lines of communication open and thus, there is a kind of coherence throughout the League. One can be a CWL member in Alberta and find the same sort of group in Nova Scotia, adhering to the same values and goals.

I am most impressed with the group of women who form my local CWL community: they are definitely on the stairway to heaven for the good deeds they perform for their church. The group is constantly asked to put on receptions for various events and they do so cheerfully. In the wider community they contribute time, money and effort to the women's shelter, the young offenders centre, the special care homes, the VON's program for seniors and the schools. They are a "service" group but they are also a prayerful group who seek to grow spiritually, and time is set aside at meetings for prayer and reflection. In case this sounds dull I must add that in this particular group there is abundant fun and much laughter at get togethers. Each member is recognized for her talents, and the contributions of all, no matter how small or large, are generously applauded. They are a very special community of women and I'm proud to be a member.

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

2006-11-16T18:48:00.000-04:00

"The heart is a lonely hunter" is the title of a book and a great line. It makes one think of how each person searches in his or her own way for what will bring fulfillment and happiness. As I finished My Sister's Keeper I thought of this line. We are all a mix of emotions and we can't figure out what makes us all tick. I started the book out despising the mother and the lawyer, and giving up on the brother Jesse and, indeed the father Brian for his rather cowardly response. By the end of the book I found that my judgements were somewhat modified - the characters, like the issues can't be seen in black and white terms: the shades of gray are all there. It will be interesting to hear the responses of others to this book.

Reciprocity

2006-11-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

Know what the meaning of "reciprocity' is? In Canada it's a weather related term in which Easterners 'stick it to' Westerners when they are having great weather and the Westerners are freezing; the reciprocity happens when the reverse is true and the Westerners are basking in sunshine whilst a giant blizzard is raging in the East.

Here is a picture taken on November 11th here in Nova Scotia, above average temperatures, and a beautiful day for walking a golf course wearing a sweater.

My husband sent a series of pictures to friends out West since they are having a stretch of particularly nasty below-normal temperatures and we've been enjoying their comments. Here's a sampling: " You should see the snow here. It looks more like Christmas than Christmas!" "Rub it in, eh?" And "Enjoy! Sometimes we get the good stuff and you guys get hammered."

Reciprocity!! You just know they will be having wonderful weather when we are snowed under and I'm sure they will let us know!

Some Further Reading Thoughts

2006-11-13T18:40:00.000-04:00

Well, a couple more hundred pages along: one new character has been introduced - Julia, a court-appointed "guardian ad litem" whose responsibility it is is to see that a minor gets a fair trial and is not unduly influenced or coerced beforehand by his or her family. A new twist has developed: Julia was once in love with Campbell Alexander, the lawyer, and was jilted quite unexpectedly. It was a case of "poor girl from big Catholic family" (her) meets "rich boy from socially conscious yacht set"(him) and she believes that that is why she was dumped. It remains to be seen if that was the reason or if there is more to this. Also, Julia has a twin sister Isobel (Izzy) so we have some parallels (or potential parallels) developing with Anna and Kate.

At this point I still cannot find myself sympathetic to the mother: she is called "a martyr" by her own childless sister Zanne and that role does seem to fit her well - even though the author writes countless pages about what it means to be a mother (how one can walk over hot coals for one's child, etc. etc.). Brian calls himself "a coward" but he has made the move to take Anna to the fire station temporarily, so it seems he is able to stand up to his wife. Anna herself wavers back and forth with her decision to go to court to prevent the transplant of her kidney to save her sister's life. (It is interesting that a friend and I were just talking of a situation involving her adult son who is in the process of preparing to donate a kidney to his ailing wife. My friend does not want her son to do this. Kidney transplants are not to be taken lightly. Interesting. ) The brother Jesse is still trying to get noticed - as an arsonist! Since his father is a firefighter it's an ironic choice of criminal activity, but somewhat far-fetched I think.

So far, we have not heard directly from Kate herself. A better picture of her is developing and I am beginning to like her more as a person. In spite of the many interventions, she is still often in a great deal of pain. Does there come a point where she doesn't want to continue with these medical "cures"? At sixteen, she may be wondering if she has any control over the treatment of her body or if she must always do what her mother believes is right. How does she feel about the transplant? Does she feel that it is her right to have her sister donate a kidney? Does she take it for granted? How strong is the bond between the two sisters?

Stay tuned!

My Sister's Keeper

2006-11-08T23:25:00.000-04:00

I'm about 100 pages into the book I'm currently reading for my book discussion group and with 300 more pages to go I'm going to write out a few thoughts about the story and characters and see if I change my mind later. The book is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Blurbs on the book cover tell me it's about a current moral dilemma, that it is full of insight and so on. One interesting comment says it is a "tense, high-concept piece of women's fiction." Hmm? Chick lit? I don't usually enjoy books that are specific to one gender, but will reserve judgement on that aspect for now.

The story is about a teenage girl, Anna, who is literally keeping her older sister Kate alive. Kate has leukemia and Anna has been the one to give her transfusions, bone marrow, and other interventions. Anna's match to Kate was ensured before birth by her parents and a geneticist. Almost like Kazuo Ishiguro's clones in Never Let me Go Anna seemingly has one purpose in life - to give of herself physically to someone else. But as the story begins, Anna is in revolt and has hired a lawyer to get her body back prior to the demands of her parents that she give a kidney to Kate.

Each chapter of the book is told by a different person -so we have a melange of points of view - which makes for interest. So far we have met Anna, Jesse (a brother, the oldest sibling), Sara (the mother), Brian (the father) and Campbell Anderson (the lawyer). Kate has not "spoken" yet in her own words.

Now, for my opinions so far:
The mother: I can't stand her. Who in their right mind makes one child save another's life? Will the author be able to make any case for this mother as a loving individual? Does she not realize the terrible consequences of focusing on one sick child at the cost of "losing" two? Isn't there a time when it comes for letting go? Anna and Jesse: I am sympathetic. Amazingly, Anna is still torn with love for her mother and sister and wanting her own independence. The tension in the book is set up by her ambivalence. And the "lost" Jesse, the maverick oddball intent on getting himself killed or imprisoned, what does he want? Perhaps just attention? the need to feel wanted and worthwhile?Brian (the father) so far, sensible, steady and relatively fair. And yet, Sara doesn't make these family decisions on her own. So what does that say about him?
In the words of Anna they are "a mixed up family not saying what we ought to and not meaning what we do." Cameron Alexander (the lawyer): so far, I don't like him for some reason. Why is he always dissembling about his dog Judge? Why does he have a service dog? Is he blind? If so I must go back and re-read to see if that is clear. Why can't he give an up-front answer instead of his smart-ass quips as to why he has a service dog: "I'm nearsighted. The dog helps me read the road signs," or " I have SARS. he's tallying the people I infect." And, finally, Kate: her character, as revealed by the others (so far) - spoiled, self-centered, nasty and manipulative - altogether unlikeable; it is hard to feel sorry for her even though she is dying.

I wonder: how will things develop? Will I change my mind? More, in a week or so when I finish reading the book.

Ahh, They Were Kind of Cute

2006-10-31T20:39:00.000-04:00

Just finished with the annual visit from the ghosts and goblins. In spite of my griping in my previous post, I must say I enjoyed the trick-or-treaters this year. Perhaps because it was a nice night and not cold, rainy or windy, everyone seemed in a happy mood. The costumes were wonderful and the children were appreciative and polite. I had a few laughs at some of their comments. There was the little four year old who informed me confidentially, "I'm not really a unicorn; I'm a person dressed as a unicorn." And two bubbly ten year old girs who arrived arm in arm were quick to point out that "we're joined at the elbow - well, not literally." In case I should perhaps be worried? And then there was Honest Eddy who let me know that "this is not my first bag." Ahh, they were kind of cute! Happy Halloween!

Not My Favourite Holiday

2006-10-29T21:17:00.000-04:00

Here we are again with autumn winds swirling leaves about, time changing from daylight to standard, and the annual festivities of All Hallows Eve about to begin. Have you ever wondered what the point of the time change is as you look out your window and find that it's dark at 5:30 pm when only yesterday it was dark at 6:30pm? Oh, I know we get the extra hour of morning light, but it almost seems that the point of the time change is to have it dark early for the little kids to make their Halloween rounds. Here we go again - right in the middle of supper - "Halloween Apples!" or "Trick or Treat!!" - I'm never ready for the first blood-curdling scream. I expect we'll have about one hundred visitors in all shapes and sizes, and although every year I do get "into it" and ooh and ahh and look impressed by the costumes of the little tykes, I also find it an evening I could do without. Running up and downstairs for a couple of hours is not my idea of fun. Scrooge said "Bah, humbug"to Christmas; sometimes I think I'd like to say "Bah, humbug" to Halloween! Anyone with me?

A Delightful Interlude

2006-10-24T22:08:00.000-03:00

Today a friend and I were on the golf course and it being a rather cool fall day we had the course to ourselves with plenty of time to spend an extra minute or two observing two squirrels chasing one another up, down, and around a tree. It was amazing that they could tear around with great speed and sure-footedness. We watched for several minutes only a couple of feet away and the squirrels seemed to be totally oblivious of us so intent were they in their pursuit of one another. We could not figure out if there was some reason for the activity or if they were racing around simply for the sheer joy of it. Or was it a game? One minute one would be "the pursuer" and the other "the pursued" and suddenly "the pursued" would make a quick move to a lower branch and become "the pursuer. " They kept changing every few seconds and it was absolutely fascinating to watch. As well, it was funny, and the more we laughed at the antics, the better the show became. It was a delightful interlude in our golf game and a moment to treasure.

The Importance of Routines

2006-10-18T12:00:00.000-03:00

I haven't really started my fall and winter exercise routine which involves going to the pool for aquafit three times a week. The routine is: get up at 7:45, pack the swimming bag, dress, have breakfast and leave for the pool around 8:45 to be in the water shortly after 9:00 for a class that starts at 9:10. This morning I woke up without the alarm and thought since I haven't been for awhile I should get back in the swim of things (pardon the pun), so got up, packed the swimming bag, dressed and sat down to breakfast, and.................. took a look at my watch only to see it was now 9:15, instead of 8:15!! Too late to even think of going! Well, maybe that will teach me to set the alarm and begin the routine again................................... how about next week? I must make a promise to myself...... it's about time!

A Correction

2006-10-15T10:57:00.000-03:00

Ooops! In a previous post I said McEwan had been nominated for the Booker prize several times, but unlike Isiguro, had not won it. I was wrong. He has been shortlisted three times and won the Booker prize for Amsterdam in 1998. For complete information on McEwan and his books vist his website. Lots of interesting facts, links, reviews, and literary critiques!

My Cup Runneth Over

2006-10-13T12:14:00.000-03:00

My cup runneth over! I have just finished - in succession - two excellent novels. This is also my second time reading Saturday by Ian McEwan and I found myself as interested as I was the first time I read it.

Saturday is the story of just one day - a day 'off' for London neurosurgeon Henry Perowne. Perowne wakes up early to the disquieting view from his window of a plane on fire coming into Heathrow Airport. Although later on we find out that this was not terrorists, the unusual happening seems to set the tone for a day of reflection about family, about limitations, strengths and weaknesses, about aging, about the state of the world. Perowne is a good man, a family man, a doctor, a saver of lives. He is limited in his knowledge of the arts and literature but his daughter Daisy, an about to be published poet, is educating him, and his son Theo, a blues musician, shares his love and passion with him. He has a loving relationship with his wife, a lawyer.

It is an "ordinary" day: Perowne plans to play a game of squash, go to the market to buy ingredients for a family supper he will make, visit his mother in a nursing home, and stop in to hear his son play. His driving around central London is disrupted by a massive anti-Iraq war demonstration and he (partly through his own lack of attention, or, perhaps, obtuseness) has a car accident involving some young toughs, one of whom has a neurological condition that, as a brain docctor, he recognizes. The accident will have unforeseen consequences, the ordinary day leading on "to a place you never dreamed of and would never choose - a knife at the throat" of your wife.

I think McEwan is a wonderful writer. He is a master of observation and research. His portrait of an Alzheimer's patient is very touching. I was struck by the line where he observes that it is important to keep photographs for "it's always useful to have solid proof that the old have had their go at being young." His details about neurosurgery are amazing. Apparently he spent months observing (his description of the doctors' change room reminded me of my studies in ethnographic observation) and the picture he creates rings true. I read that he went back to his mentor for confirmation of one detail when his book was on its way to publication; something had to be corrected in his description and he dutifully made the change. I also liked the details he shared about music, food, the house (that is apparently like his own house), literature and so on. And how wonderful that poetry (of all things) will save the day. What a touch of genius (and a coup on the part of the English literature majorMcEwan) to use Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" as the poem and how ironic that it's author is not recognized.

Perhaps what I will mostly take from this book is a feeling of awe about the human brain - after all, to all appearances here is a kilogram or so of soft looking matter. McEwan makes us think: how can it hold thought and colour and words and sounds and memory and meaning? "Can it ever be explained how matter becomes conscious?" And can it ever be appreciated just how fragile it is - what tiny anomaly can cause Huntingdon's or Alzheimers? how even with the protection of hard skull it can be damaged? how the tiniest slip on the part of the neurosurgeon can lead to oblivion?

Three Beautiful and Three Sad Things

2006-10-11T12:23:00.000-03:00

I happened across a blog called Three Beautiful Things in which the blogger daily writes of three things - sometimes ordinary, sometimes quite extraordinary, that have made her pause and think of the beauty in the everyday. It's a lovely site and others are challenged to begin their daily lists. Well I don't think I will do this everyday, except perhaps mentally, but here are three beautiful and, just for balance, three sad things from my trip running errands this morning:

The three beautiful:
* the sales clerk's face at the shoe store as she bent down ever so solicitously to help the elderly woman
* a display of fluorescent pink, green and yellow footwear that brigtened my mall walk
* the woman whose arm I bumped accidently and who said "sorry" at the same moment as I

The three sad:
* the young man who stands behind his display of cell phone covers at the mall kiosk and stares at the counter all day
* the professional from whom I received a cheque - who spelled my name incorrectly
* the falling leaves of autumn

Science Fiction

2006-10-08T19:00:00.000-03:00

Not being a science fiction fan, had I noticed some of the comments from reviewers of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never let Me Go such as "alien worlds," "an inadvertent science fiction classic," and "science gone awry," I probably wouldn't have bothered to read it. I would have missed a wonderful book.

Yes, Never let Me Go is about science gone awry but you hardly notice that it is anything but real, the story is so touching and so simply and beautifully written. Only a few pages into the book you will know that the characters are clones. The story is told from the point of view of Kathy, now a "carer," looking back on her early life growing up at a boarding school type of complex with friends Ruth and Tommy. The story follows the three as they move on to their young adult lives.

In many ways the children's growing up is "normal." But as you read on, little by little, you find that they know just who they are and what life holds for them. Like the people around them, we find the tragic dimension in knowing that they have been created for one purpose, for donations - transplants to others - and that their lives will be short, and we feel this dreadful sadness for them. ("Oh, you poor poor things.") And yet they seem to accept their lot in life with a quiet resignation and a sense of purpose. Perhaps this is how it would be for human clones. I wonder.

Anyway, Ishiguro makes it believable, just as if they had grown up in any other kind of life. For example, had they grown up in a slum perhaps, knowing no other kind of life, it might be reasonable to have low expectations and be resigned to a life of hardships with few perks. Or if you grew up in an orphanage it would be reasonable that a great deal of your "education" would come from other children, although of course guardians would be present. Parallels abound: the children as they grow up turn to their peers for comfort and knowledge; they often pick up wrong information from their peers and interpret it incorrectly; rumour and myth are as much present as fact. In their teens sex becomes an outlet for closeness and belonging.

Although they do know in a general sort of way what their future holds there are bits of hope - hope that one day one of them may have a career or that the inevitable will be delayed for those who are in love. These kinds of ideas are fueled by rumour and wishful thinking: in one very touching sequence the group goes in search of Ruth's "possible," the person from whom she was cloned. A woman in an office has been picked out and this seems likely as Ruth has talked about her dream career of being an office worker. Of course nothing (except disappointment) comes of the match.

Dimly, the children recognize that art and creativity have something to do with making them real - or, in some way reveal to others their "souls." This is a crucial point in the novel and, of course, is the big dilemma, morally and religiously speaking, about human cloning. Would cloned individuals have a soul?

Books On The Go: Two Wonderful Writers

2006-10-05T09:26:00.000-03:00

I've got two books currently on the go: Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and Ian McEwan's Saturday. The next read in my book discussion group is Saturday - I read it once over a year ago and I thought it was an excellent book then. My problem now is that I've forgotten the details of the book, so to do it justice, I should reread the whole book. But, I'm a fairly slow reader and I can't leave Ishiguro. I have never read a book as quietly suspenseful with just the right undercurrent of a touching (but quite horrific "brave new world" type) story of growing up different. A comment on the book cover says it is "a page-turner and a heartbreaker, a tour de force of knotted tension and buried anquish." I wish I had said that!

Both Ishiguro and McEwan are contemporary British writers whose books have won or been short-listed for numerous awards. Ishiguro won the Booker prize in 1989 for The Remains of the Day and this novel Never Let Me Go was short-listed in 2005. McEwan hasn't yet won the Booker prize, although I expect he will. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki in 1954, moving with his family to London in 1960. McEwan was born in 1948. Both authors, interestingly, are English literature majors and I think they both appreciate good writing as well as a good story.

Well, back to the books!

Ingonish Inspiration

2006-09-28T19:08:00.000-03:00

Today my friends and I in our little sketching group decided to put some of our paintings up for sale at our local hospital art gallery. For the past several years we have been talking about art, working on paintings together, taking classes and going on sketching trips. We finally decided we were ready to try exhibiting some of our work

We're not professionals, but there are many other amateur painters who exhibit and sell. The nice thing about the venue where we put our work is that a good percentage will go to our local hospital if we sell.

Here's one of my paintings. It's 12 x 16 and done in acrylics, a medium I enjoy working in. I based it on a photo I took on a trip to Ingonish in Cape Breton. I call it "Ingonish Inspiration" as the cape in the background is in actuality somewhat different from that perspective. Yet, Cape Smoky is not too far from Ingonish, so I I have taken some artistic license to include it. In my painting I've tried to capture something of the sound of the ocean pounding against the rocks. The morning is cool, clear and crisp and I am finding the contrast of sold rock and gentle waves lapping in against warm sand mesmerizing.

The Cat From Hell

2006-09-26T23:22:00.000-03:00

The alarm is sounded: "there's orange kitty again!" and the chase is on! The daily battle of wills - or wits - begins. I cannot believe the two year old cat that visits our yard and deck constantly in his daily hunt for birds! He is totally impervious to "scat, shoo, get lost kitty!" and even the garden hose on jet stream dows nothing to discourage him. He sits under a tree near the deck and watches the finches at the feeders until we chase him away. A few minutes later he is back We have taken to tossing an old running shoe at him, and even though we miss by a mile, that does cause him to go running across the yard. As he nears his owner's property he stops, sits down and proceeds to lick himself - the manner can only be interpreted as pure insolence. Oh yes, he belongs to one of the immediate neighbours.

What to do? Complaints fall on deaf ears - "he's just being a cat." Apparently there are by-laws against nuisance animals and if a complaint is laid the animal control people will come out and trap the animal humanely. The owners will then be asked to keep their animal on their own property or risk having it permanently picked up. But no one wants to make the 'official' complaint; we must think of the neighbours' feelings. If "good fences make good neighbours" I think an even better adage should be "people who take responsibility for their animals make good neighbours"!

Speaking of Marathons

2006-09-25T10:31:00.000-03:00

One usually thinks of marathons in terms of running or skiing or cycling or something physically taxing. I just participated in a three day bridge tournament that had all the earmarks of a marathon written all over it! Can three days of sitting at a bridge table playing cards be physically tiring? Yes, when you aren't getting enough sleep because your brain is working overtime! Yes, when the event is competitive!

The yearly tournament I participated in on the weekend was a "sectional" sponsored by my local and we had some 600-plus tables of bridge played on the weekend involving over 150 players from around our area. In the world of duplicate bridge there are club level games, then sectionals, followed by regionals, the "CAN-AT" and then the NABC tournaments that are North American wide and attract thousands of players for week long events. The next big NABC is going to be in Hawaii and some of the players from here are making plans to go. What fun! To participate in something you have a passion for and have a vacation in Hawaii at the same time!

So what attracts these players? Some (few) just play for the fun of it, but most of those going to tournaments are after masterpoints. Collecting specific numbers of masterpoints equates to various levels of achievement. Different coloured points are needed to move from level to level. Black points are collected at club games, silver at sectionals, red at regionals and gold at the NABC's. Occasionally there is a "STAC game - sectional tournament at the club level" or a "Gold" game at the club level, but they are quite rare. If players want their red or gold points they have to go to the bigger tournaments. Keeps things hopping all right!

So, a player moves up from rookie to junior master to sectional master, to regional master and then to life master. Achieving "life master" status is considered a major achievement but there are levels beyond - bronze, silver, gold and diamond. Before the weekend tournament I had enough points for 'regional master' but I needed a couple more silver points to achieve that status. I'm not sure, but I think I just may have earned enough in Sunday's team event! Here's hoping!

Pears

2006-09-20T10:16:00.000-03:00

I am experimenting with pictures and picture sizes. I have resized this picture and I hope for some feedback that it is OK. Thanks, Agneta, if you are checking on it!

Golden Days

2006-09-17T16:01:00.000-03:00

Every year at this time a wonderful quote I once read always comes to mind. Archibald Lampman wrote in Harper's Magazine in September, 1893: "Thus without grief the golden days go by, So soft we scarcely notice how they wend, And like a smile half happy, or a sigh, The summer passes to her quiet end."

Today was one of those golden days. It was warm and sunny and there was no wind. I went for a walk and took a series of pictures that seemed to capture some of the beauty of the day. I visited an orchard and took some pictures of pears hanging from the trees. I then went on a walk through a lovely nature trail that the owners of one of the farm markets near me have developed through their woods and orchards. I noticed a few red and yellow leaves here and there and masses of goldenrod and wild asters everywhere. Returning to my yard, I saw that my neighbour's sunflowers were all turned my way, so it seemed like a good idea to capture them!

My Garden

2006-09-17T09:06:00.000-03:00

Another picture for practice!

My garden is showing "end of summer" signs now, but it has been a lovely season for gardening here in Nova Scotia.

Annapolis Valley Apple Orchard

2006-09-16T20:49:00.000-03:00

The other day my book discussion group met at a wonderful locale: a working farm in the Annapolis Valley with animals and abundant peach and apple orchards. I took this picture from my car window as I drove along the country lane towards the house. The decorative rural mailbox with the house number and name do look perfect under the apple tree.

Out of the Wreckage

2006-09-10T14:27:00.000-03:00

I have just finished reading The Wreckage by Michael Crummey and my book discussion group meets this week to talk about it. My first thought is that there will be some people put off by the language, but I can't say that I found that disturbing. Like most books written today there is an emphasis on realism. Without looking at any book reviews or hearing comments from others, I would like to set out here my own thoughts on the book.

I found Crummey's first novel River Thieves a fine read, an interesting piece of historical fiction and a gripping novel. I think The Wreckage suffers a bit by comparison: I had a difficult time getting into it and the historical detail, although there, is sketchier. But the wonderful third part of the book makes up for the earlier slow going: I found it totally engrossing.

In the last part of the book Crummey sets the scene beautifully in the wreckage of Little Fogo Island; here, where only sheep now come to graze in the summer, the truth comes out. I found myself moved to tears as Mercedes and Wish, the pair of long-separated teenage lovers, come together as seniors to dance the dance of memory and renewal after some fifty years of lives lived very differently but each with their pain and hardship.

The wreckage of Little Fogo Island mirrors the wreckage that is Wish Furey and, more subtly, Mercedes Parsons. Wish recalls an old prayer, "take away my heart of stone," and we wonder can he be rehabilitated? can he ever feel again? love again? can he believe in God ever again? Throughout the book we have come to know of the fierce love and loyalty of Mercedes but will it be enough to handle the truth of Nagasaki, Wish's secret guilt? More subtly, Mercedes is "wrecked": no longer the teenage beauty, her plump matronly body, gray hair and broken face are only the outward reminders of a bitterness she seems to be holding onto since the death of her older cherished daughter and the disappointment of a younger daughter who only irritates her. Will Wish see through it to find the spirited girl he once knew? For both, will the choices made long ago be, if never fully understood, at least forgiven?

A wonderful ending with the crazy Aunt Lilly who brings that moment of laughter and acceptance that it is a mad, mad world and all you can do is laugh at the absurdity of it all, move out of the wreckage and grab onto whatever bit of happiness and love you can find for whatever time you have left.

Labour and Leisure

2006-09-06T10:58:00.002-03:00

Just a few thoughts on Labour Day with the weekend just passed. I've often thought it wasn't called "Labour Day" for nothing - it seemed that it was always the weekend for work, work, work! Cleaning up the cottage, last minute back-to-school buying, getting back home, having that last end-of-summer barbeque - whatever - everyone seemed busy. This past weekend was no exception for us - we had wood to stack, a yard and garden badly in need of sprucing up and so on with the chores. But, I am thinking, why are we retired people, supposedly "the leisured," picking this weekend for all that work? It led me to thinking about the routines we all seem to want and need.

I read a quote by Phyllis McGinley that set me thinking. She wrote, "it is the leisured, I have noticed, who rebel the most at an interruption of routine." As I thought about that I realized that I was really preparing to get back to my fall retirement routine by doing the Labour Day weekend chores, just as I would be preparing for my career of classroom teaching in my working life. But, with one difference: this retirement routine is one I have chosen / selected. It is made up of a balance of activities that I enjoy or that enrich my life in some way (or at least I think they do when I don't become overwhelmed by too many commitments) - exercise, reading, writing, painting or quilting, bridge, volunteer work, house and garden, clubs and friends. I like this routine and I almost do "rebel" when it is interrupted by a long weekend!! In my working life, however, any interruption in the routine was welcomed with joy! Then, my routine was not a chosen one in the short term - it was regulated by timetables, pressures, stress, and almost minute-by-minute decision making. I guess that is the big difference. And looking back on it all, I think I will embrace my retirement routine with gratitude! MMM.....let's see now......should I pour that second cup of coffee before I head out? or should I just stop at Tim's?

Changing Routines

2006-09-02T07:41:00.000-03:00

Does your routine change with the seasons or, like mine, change with the school year? I must still be there - in the classroom - because every September I am thinking of getting back to things and I am never fully ready to leave my summer "vacation." In the next few weeks my fall activities will get going again: next week my book discussion group meets and I haven't started reading my book; the week after my writing group meets and I haven't started writing my piece; my twice weekly bowling begins the middle of September and I'm not ready to give up my golf; the Wednesday night meetings start again and I'm not in the mood to give up my Wednesday evening bridge game. The funny part is that as soon as I get into the fall routine I will miss having to give it up for the Christmas break!!

Summer's End

2006-08-28T15:01:00.002-03:00

I'm looking at a charming quilted cushion with an appliqued house and two trees and the embroidered words "Home Sweet Home." Today home indeed feels sweet after a week away on vacation. Only a week, but it felt longer with several different things crammed in. Our week started in New Brunswick with a family celebration for our 40th Anniversary. It was great to be with sisters, brother, nephews and cousins. This was followed by a three day trip to a golf resort on Prince Edward Island. Two rounds of golf at challenging courses in the beautiful surroundings of the Rodd Brudenell River Resort will be remembered in the years to come. Driving, exploring the countryside and spending time visiting various relatives and friends in Nova Scotia filled the remainder of the week. It was a good week for travel - almost the end of summer. The traffic seemed moderate and people seemed relaxed. The weather has changed to be noticeably cooler (and much more to my liking) and fall is in the air.

I've Been Had!!!

2006-08-14T15:39:00.000-03:00

I've been had by the irrepressible "Canary" who at writing group the other day told us we should all have read the wonderful poems of that famous Saskatchewan author Sarah Binks! Feeling just a little ignorant about not knowing such an icon of Canadian literature I decided to 'google' and found Sarah to have been the creation of one Paul Hiebert, a Manitoba professor who wrote a book called "Sarah Binks: The Life and Times of a Little Known Poetic Genius." I read elsewhere that Sarah, albeit unconsciously, considers the trivial a fit subject for lyricism, and we in turn find the incongruity in her work hilarious. Apparently there have been several Amazon reviews which took it for granted that Sarah was real! For myself, I haven't had such a good chuckle in ages!
Sarah Binks

Written by Paul Hiebert
Afterword by Charles Gordon

		Category: Fiction - Literary; Fiction Publisher: New Canadian Library Format: Paperback, 184 pages Pub Date: April 1995 Price: $9.95 ISBN: 978-0-7710-3453-4 (0-7710-3453-9)

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Paul Hiebert’s critical biography of the wholly mythical but irrepressible and irresistible Sarah Binks, “the Sweet Songstress of Saskatchewan,” who gave her life to poetry and died a martyr to the muse, is a hilarious analysis of her career and influences, along with a memorable selection of the poet's tenderest, most inspiring writings.

This masterpiece of satire won the 1947 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.

How Does Your Baby Grow?

2006-08-13T14:53:00.000-03:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a 1st Birthday party and it was delightful. My sister-in-law, one of the grandmothers, and I, a great-aunt, along with several other relatives and friends were invited to the special occasion. I'm not sure that the birthday girl herself knew what was going on but she sure enjoyed herself. Her guests were 6 or 7 other one or almost-one year olds and their parents plus a couple of older children. Everyone had a wonderful time watching the babies interacting - or should I say NOT interacting. I was interested in observing the characteristics of this developmental stage of growth.

The babies seemed to be at the stage of growth where they were pleased and happy to have others of their age nearby, but they were satisfied to look and observe one another, then proceed to engage in a solitary activity - exploring a toy, for example, or scuttling across the floor to search for something new. I noticed that most of us had brought gifts marked "12 months" - the toys seemed remarkably appropriate with buttons to push, noises to listen to, and soft things to cuddle. Apparently, this is an age for squeezing and hugging soft toys, and when a little rag doll was opened the birthday girl immediately hugged it, and curled up with it on the floor.

The occasion wasn't without its hilarious stories and moments. A birthday cheque received a few days prior to the party will have to be reissued as the birthday girl "ate" it. Luckily, the evidence was found in shreds and most of it accounted for. One of the guests was a very good natured but determined little "mover." He kept his mother chasing after him constantly. We all agreed his mom wouldn't be needing any additional exercise for a while. Gathered round the birthday cake placed on the coffee table, this same little guy kept us in stitches as he sampled the icing with his fingers.

My observations: too cute!! But what a lot of work raising a baby!

A Perfect Day

2006-08-10T16:43:00.000-03:00

If there is such a thing as a perfect day, I would have to say I enjoyed one yesterday! The locale was splendid. We sat high on a deck on a clear sunny summer day overlooking a stunningly blue Annapolis Basin. The company was congenial - seven women joined by common interests of writing and visual art and the expression of creativity in gardens and home decor. The food was delicious: curried rice and shrimp, salmon pasta, Greek and spinach salads, and quiche. Coffee and tea and desserts followed. A very tasty homemade blueberry flan, fresh fruit and a spoonful of chocolate mousse left us all sitting in the sun with sighs of satisfaction. It was the annual summer gathering of the writing group I belong to. And, oh yes, we shared recent writing: there was poetry and science fiction, suspense, a thoughtful bit of character fiction, and a very funny satirical spoof of literary criticism. Call it what you want - a mini-retreat, a summer get together, a day in the country - it's one I will relish and remember, a perfect day!

Progress: What is That?

2006-08-04T20:10:00.001-03:00

I have been thinking lately about change and time and progress, not only in my own life but in more general terms. This morning's paper headlined the news of four more Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. One wonders if any headway at all is being made there. And then with the outbreak of hostilities in Lebanon, it just seems that there is little hope of people settling their differences and learning to share this earth peacefully. I'm reminded of the words of Eccleisiasticus in the Bible - something to this effect: a generation comes, a generation goes, the sun rises, the sun goes down, all is weariness, and there is nothing new under the sun, and all is vanity, vanity, can't do anything about it. These same passages do go on to tell us that there is a time for everything (a time to be born, a time to die, a time to mourn and a time to celebrate and so on), so perhaps we can take some encouragement that there will be some progress eventually!

A Bit of This and That

2006-07-26T10:55:00.000-03:00

Maybe this blog post should be called "of shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings"! It will be a bit of this and a bit of that as my mother used to say about dinner.

We have had a great break from the routine with company here for the past few days - former colleagues and friends from out west visiting the east coast for the first time. The weekend weather was cloudy with some heavy showers but warm and not at all unpleasant. Yesterday dawned with a fabulous sunny breezy day with low humidity - a perfect day we all agreed. We accompanied them in to Halifax where they will spend the next few days "seeing the sights" before moving on to other parts of Atlantic Canada to explore.

I've finished Barbara Kingsolver's book of essays Small Wonder" and I will be continuing to watch for new work from this thoughtful author. Kingsolver refers to Wendell Berry as that "great prophet of our age" and although I have never read him I did a little research and discovered a whole group of writers who are very concerned about environmental issues. Many of their articles can be found in Orion magazine and can be found online. Orion - including these writers and others - is concerned with how we might live "justly, wisely and artfully on Earth." I would say that Kingsolver, as a biologist, would first of all want us to realize that we are not above the animals but part of the animals! She says "our religious and cultural history is to deny, for all we're worth that we're in any way connected with the rest of life on earth." Reminds me of Ishmael by Daniel Quinn in which the gorilla teaches that "man" must assume his/her role as great leader/teacher from within the animal kingdom.

Now, what about blogging as dangerous to your health/ livelihood??? I've been reading about the blogger who was fired after writing about her workplace - anonymously - on her blog. Apparently, she is now suing her employer. Frankly, I can't get too enthusiastic about her case. I'm not quite sure how anyone thinks they can "let it all hang out" - however anonymously - on the 'net without taking some responsibility for what they report, pictures they post, and opinions they give! Are there not limits to personal freedom? What do you think Canary? Mulberry?

A Lively Scene

2006-07-18T22:06:00.000-03:00

I spent Sunday afternoon in downtown Halifax along with a few hundred other locals and tourists. I started my afternoon off at the casino with my husband, then met my nephew for a walk and a look at the lively scene. The downtown area was filled with people enjoying the sunny afternoon - strolling the waterfront boardwalk, lazing the time away at the open area patios, or for the more adventuresome going out on one of the many harbour cruises available. I missed seeing the osprey diving for a fish but it looked quite impressive as it perched on a high pole overlooking the water. We strolled up to Spring Garden Road and caught a bit of the free Sunday afternoon concert, a part of the Atlantic Jazz Festival on all this week. A Gospel group were entertaining at the Festival Tent and although we didn't catch their whole session they seemed to have quite an appreciative audience! Wandering on up the street we went in a small cafe and picked up some wraps and took them over to a bench in the Public Gardens where we enjoyed our tasty lunch and sat and watched the ducks on the pond and marvelled that the Gardens had recovered so well from the devastation of Hurricane Juan just three years ago. We continued our walk, agreeing that downtown Halifax is a most interesting spot for a walk on a lovely summer day. And I got to know my nephew just a little bit better as our conversation meandered on through a variety of topics!

Who Knew???

2006-07-14T06:59:00.000-03:00

When I started keeping a blog, I had no idea I was going to be using "a revolutionary communications tool" and joining about 20 million people worldwide who blog!! The other day in the Business section of my local paper The Chronicle Herald there was a review of a recent book by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, Naked Conversations. Apparently blogging is the most effective means of marketing ever and many companies are using blogs as a way of communicating with their clients directly. The interactive nature of blogs means that they can get feedback quickly. Blogs have the potential to be the "most powerful word of mouth delivery mechanism to date." Wow!! Who knew?? Maybe I can use my blog to sell my paintings??? Well, first I have to get a digital camera and get some pics on here and then I'd have to get more visitors and then.......... Oh, yes, dream on, Mamie!!!

Some Beach, Some Where

2006-07-08T21:09:00.000-03:00

Summer time and the livin' is easy. Not! There are lawns to cut, weeds to pull, gardens to water, bugs to combat. Reminds me of a "Betty" cartoon where Betty comes in all in a frazzle about her day out in the garden and says "it's a war out there and I think the bugs are winning." Ah, yes, summer: not enough rain, lawns and gardens need constant watering; too much rain , outdoor activities are ruined. Then there's the heat! Well, "it's not the heat, it's the humidity" has to be the most accurate description of what's wrong with summer! Uh, oh, did I just say something was actually wrong with summer? Did I actually have the nerve to suggest there might be nicer times of the year? Horrors, that's anathema, hang her high!! You can't ever complain about summer. You'll just get someone saying "enjoy it; before long it will be cold again." What does the song say? "Some beach. Some where."

Enjoying Painting

2006-07-04T22:46:00.000-03:00

Lately I've been enjoying painting with acrylics and I feel like I'm on a bit of a creative binge, having completed several paintings in the past few weeks! I thought it might be interesting to read some articles on "creativity" and in browsing around I came across this quote from Paul McCartney about painting on a creativity website: "Painting is a magical process that I like where you conjure something out of nothing....you can go into a trance while you're doing it, so it's a nice contrast to real life." Interesting comment. But I think I understand what he is getting at. Absorption in the task of painting or drawing is a very "right-brained" activity, one where you simply lose yourself. Betty Edwards wrote a book on drawing that has become somewhat of a classic in which she explored what it is to draw on the right side of the brain and the act is somewhat "trance-like." But I think McCartney is mistaken when he says "it's a nice contrast to real life." Maybe this is the real life!!!!

Happy Birthday Canada!

2006-07-01T22:04:00.000-03:00

Can't let the day go by without a blog comment on Canada Day. Don't you think it's great that there are a lot more overt signs of patriotism in Canada today than in the past? I love the kind of quiet pride people are showing in our country now. It goes deeper than the joining in the singing of "Oh Canada" and waving and wearing the maple leaf; it has more to do with gratitude for our wonderful country, pride in our institutions, values and freedoms - a collective sense of identity and wanting to celebrate that.
Happy 139th Birthday, Canada!!!

"A Fist in the Eye of God"

2006-06-29T15:00:00.000-03:00

One of the essays in Barbara Kingsolver's book is titled "A Fist in the Eye of God" - an interesting title for an essay on genetically modified crops. Some years ago a women's group that I belong to had a study group on such issues as bioengineering and genetically modified foods and the (not so) brave new world of the by-products of this rapidly expanding industry. I wish that I had read this essay by Barbara Kingsolver then - I would have understood the key issue better.

The problem in a nutshell with these new crops is that they "don't play by the rules." And what are these "rules"? They are the rules of natural selection that have been going on for millions of years. You can call that Darwin's theory or you can call that "God's plan" if you wish. But when a crop is grown - for example, corn - that is resistant to various diseases it soon spreads its pollen to native crops, which now become contaminated and weakened. One large company sells seeds for a crop that grows abundantly but that produces no viable seeds, meaning, of course, that farmers must buy more seeds the next year. Don't think this industry isn't driven by profit. Interestingly I just read an Associated Press news article dated today, June 29th - Monsanto's third quarter profit jumped seven-fold! Monsanto is the biggie in this business.

Kingsolver is quick to point out that science is science and what it can do is make discoveries, provide knowledge. How the knowledge of science is used becomes a matter of ethics, and is one of the concerns of religion in a broad sense. As a scientist, a biologist, Kingsolver is fully committed to natural selection. In some American schools Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection is still being taught as "one theory" as if there were many of equal weight to choose from. This is providing a disservice to students who should be taught not less, but more, real science.

And yet, she says, we must tread lightly when it comes to modifying seeds. It is wise to treat nature with "the reverence humankind has traditionally summoned for entering places of worship. a temple, a mosque or a cathedral."

I'm enjoying reading a balanced, thoughtful, but passionate writer.

What's a Little Rain?

2006-06-24T21:29:00.000-03:00

Today I participated in a Golf Fore the Cure event organized by the Ladies Division of my home golf club Ken-Wo in Nova Scotia. The proceeds from our particular charity event will go to the Cancer Patient Navigation Program. This wonderful program assists people who might otherwise be lost and/or confused in accessing programs and assistance that might be available to help them cope with their illness.

Unfortunately, the actual game, which was to be a two-lady scramble was first delayed, and later cancelled because of heavy rain. However, the afternoon passed quickly indoors with hastily organized activities including a putting contest and a karaoke for would-be entertainers. There were many draws for door prizes and a fun auction. The event concluded with a delicious meal and I don't think anyone went home unhappy with the day. In fact, there was a wonderfully warm feeling of friendship, engendered by the afternoon of meeting one another off the golf course, and of course of having participated in a worthy cause.

What's that saying about inconviences being opportunities?

A Haunting Story

2006-06-23T15:47:00.000-03:00

The first essay in Barbara Kingsolver's book that I'm reading is titled "Small Wonder" and it recounts a haunting little true incident that happened some years ago in Lorena Provence in Northern Iran. A little boy, a toddler of 16 months, wandered off from his nomadic tribe and was found three days later in a cave being nursed by a she-bear. Kingsolver says we can hear this story and think it preposterous and beyond believing or we can see it as a little miracle, a "small wonder," or maybe a parable on mothering instincts. We can imagine a baby crying, and a lactating mother bear who has perhaps just lost her own cub. If we add to that the knowledge that we mammals share almost all of the same DNA code it is not so hard to understand.

Or we can see it as evidence of God if we so choose. Kingsolver writes, "God is frightful, God is great, you pick. I choose this: God is in the details, the completely unnecessary miracles sometimes tossed up by the stars to guide us."

For an abridged version of the essay by Kingsolver see the Orion reprint.

Grist for the Mill

2006-06-21T16:24:00.000-03:00

I've started two books, two very different books, one a novel, one a collection of essays. The novel is The Age of Longing by Richard B. Wright, the Canadian author whose 2005 novel Adultery was the subject of an animated discussion in my book club this past year. Interestingly the main character in this earlier (1995) novel is also a book editor. The other book I am reading off and on was published in 2002 and is a collection of personal essays by American biologist-turned-writer Barbara Kingsolver. I've previously read two of Kingsolver's novels, The Poisonwood Bible and Prodigal Summer, both strong books that left me with a lasting impression. Her essay collection takes its title Small Wonder from the first of many pieces written over several years in the reflective non-fiction style I find so compelling.
Grist for the blog mill!