Off On The Wrong Foot

While the Irises continue to bloom, the world's eyes seem to be on B.C. these days as yet more feet are showing up on the shores of our fair province. Forgetting about the fake foot found in Nanaimo yesterday, there have been five so far. Theories abound, but no answers, yet. Were they hands, the explanation might be too much football. An often used play in that sport is the hand off.

But the real issue for me, what really got me off on the wrong foot today, was the Federal Liberal Party's new Green Plan. They are taking a page right of Green Gordon's playbook and the key phrase here is "revenue neutral". Our heating fuel and our electricity will be taxed to death in exchange for a few percentage points decrease in income taxes. Industries can buy, sell, or trade 'carbon credits' and what is the bottom line of all this insanity? We will prevent global warming! I could blog on the fallacy of this thinking for the next four years, but suffice it to say that this is lunacy in its purest form. These carbon taxes are inflationary and no amount of rebates or tax cuts will make up for the increase in the cost of living for each and every Canadian, let alone change the weather. I thank God that these Liberals are not in power, and the idea is so far, just that, an idea. When our provincial carbon tax hits in a few weeks, and the feds see the backlash, they will re-think this insanity. Already, the polls are showing 60% of British Columbians are opposed to it. Meanwhile, we are still in a record setting cold June.

A New Kit

I have been browsing through a British publication dedicated to Digital Photography. They call a photographer's collection of cameras, flashes, tripods, lenses, etc. his 'kit'. I have been toying with the idea of a new kit for some time now. To get really serious, one needs not only a great camera, but a few very expensive lenses and some new software programs to take advantage of the RAW format that allows the photographer to be super creative. As hobbies go, this is not as expensive as, say golfing, over the long term. Here is the problem. I want to get back into golfing in my retirement, and I just know that after a few years, the constantly changing technology in photography will 'force' me to purchase yet another new 'kit'. How can one continue this mad cycle with retirement income? Excuse me while I rush off to work.

A Memorial

Today I attended the memorial service for Eugene Reimer. Not only was it a wonderful tribute to Eugene, but it was also very God honouring. There were many recognizable faces in attendance and it was a credit to Eugene that he was not only well known in his community and province, but that he had an impact on so many lives. The tributes given to him by his nephew Colin, his children, and Rick Hansen were written and delivered in such a way as to inspire. His accomplishments as a disabled athlete are unparalleled. To see more, go here.
http://www.mem.com/Story.aspx?ID=2486096

A Glimpse Into the Future?

Look at the picture and imagine for a moment that the vehicle is not a flat bed truck from the forties, but a Cadillac Escalade or Dodge Ram 2500 Cab Plus of 2008 vintage. As the price of fuel skyrockets, will this be our future? I get the sense that life for all of us will be changing very rapidly in the next few years. Market forces will help alleviate some of the problems, but overall, things will have to change and change quickly. China, always referred to as a sleeping giant, has been roused and the impact on the world is being felt in a much greater way than any of us expected. A producing nation soon becomes a consuming nation and with its billions of people, it is proving to have an insatiable appetite. America, the mother of all consumers, will be taking a back seat very soon. And it will not be in a Hummer.

Hazy Daisy

Those of you who read ODB probably now think that I am a plagiarist. Truth be told, I did not read the Sunday entry until this morning and it was then I realized that my post on Father was so close to it that it looked like a copy. Pure coincidence, I assure you. The premise is not unique so that two authors would come up with the same idea on Father's Day is not really a stretch.

My Father's Day was the best. The loveliness of my life and my favourite son took me out for a really great Father's Day Brunch at a very popular local restaurant and we were very fortunate to even get in without a reservation. The day was sunny and bright and I later walked to my own father's home where I had a good long visit and gave him his annual new shirt. He liked it, or so he says. How could he not. It is blue like his other three. We then went to my favourite daughter's for the most wonderful BBQ on the patio. The chicken and shrimp skewers were done to perfection and after loading up on not one, but two amazing deserts, we had a good long soak in the hot tub, grandsons and all. I love my family and spending time with them is the best a father can do on 'his' day. Thanks, you guys, it was wonderful.

Father

Patient

Loving

Kind

Supportive

Mentoring

Forgiving

Longsuffering

Admonishing

Honest

Trustworthy

Protective

Helpful

Attentive

These are but a few of the desired characteristics of a good father. I am afraid we all fall short of the ideal. The most important task a man will ever have is raising his children, yet he enters into the job with virtually no experience. What he does have is the inclination to mimic his own father, the intelligence to glean the good aspects of that, and the resources to strike out on a new path if that is what is required. But, keep in mind that we all have two fathers. The perfect one, our Heavenly Father, is the one we should try most to emulate. Matt 5: 48

Stick Out Your Tongue and Say Ahhh.

The prolific Iris is dominating the views in our garden these days. This is their season and their kind of weather. Viewing this flower from all angles brings a keen awareness of its complexity and beauty. We have several that are sprouting jet black buds, but upon opening, the petals become a deep and solid purple. I would have made a good Bee. I am fascinated by the inside workings of the blossoms and am often caught gently peeling back the delicate folds of the flower to reveal the variegated yellow and black veins that are no doubt designed to lure pollen laden insects to the inner sanctum. I sometimes wonder if the bees simply stop at times, and marvel at the vibrant colours, on their way to do their task.

Pansies Love Company

It looks like my post of yesterday attracted a bit of attention. It was very high in the 'Google search' for Pierre P. who was lambasted for being honest. There were some hits from Ottawa so I am wondering if the 'correctness Nazis' will be at my door soon with a gag order. If I hear somebody say something outrageous, stupid, or even hateful, I will ignore him/her but will defend their right to have the freedom to say what they want. If I do not, I have no right to demand that I be heard when the right of free speech is taken from me. Great ideas are born of vigorous honest debate where the freedom to say what is important to the issue is valued. Fairness and good taste have degenerated into political correctness and we are all the poorer for it.

Courage to Speak

Sorry, no 'terryography' photo today, but something I came across in the news and something to balance it from my email buddy 'Ray'.

Another firestorm on Parliament Hill yesterday as Prime Minister Harper gave an official Government apology for something none of us did. The sad case of native abuse at gov't/church schools keeps raising its ugly head. On the heals of the apology, a Conservative MP put his foot in his mouth with remarks regarding spending in the Ministry of Indian Affairs, or whatever they call it these days. Following a few quotes from Pierre Poilievre, I will post an article that will counter the political correctness that pervades our country and stifles truth in debate.

Pierre: "That gets to the heart of the problem on these reserves where there is too much power concentrated in the hands of the leadership, and it makes you wonder where all of this money is going.
"We spend 10 billion dollars -- 10 billion dollars -- in annual spending this year alone now, that is an exceptional amount of money, and that is on top of all the resource revenue that goes to reserves that sit on petroleum products or sit on uranium mines, other things where companies have to pay them royalties.
"And that's on top of all that money that they earn on their own reserves. That is an incredible amount of money.''

"Now, you know, some of us are starting to ask: 'Are we really getting value for all of this money, and is more money really going to solve the problem?'
"My view is that we need to engender the values of hard work and independence and self reliance. That's the solution in the long run -- more money will not solve it."

Now, here an article in its entirety about an aboriginal who is outspoken in his views of this very thing.

Speaking to a large aboriginal conference and some of the attendees, including a few who hold high office, have straggled in.'I can't stand people who are late, he says into the microphone. Indian Time doesn't cut it. 'Some giggle, but no one is quite sure how far he is going to go. Just sit back and listen: 'My first rule for success is Show up on time.''My No. 2 rule for success is follow Rule No. 1.''If your life sucks, it's because you suck.''Quit your sniffling.''Join the real world. Go to school, or get a job..''Get off of welfare. Get off your butt.'He pauses, seeming to gauge whether he dare, then does.'People often say to me, How you doin'? Geez I'm working with Indians what do you think?'Now they are openly laughing ... applauding. Clarence Louie is everything that was advertised and more.'Our ancestors worked for a living, he says. So should you.'He is, fortunately, aboriginal himself. If someone else stood up and said these things - the white columnist standing there with his mouth open, for example - you'd be seen as a racist. Instead, Chief Clarence Louie is seen, increasingly, as one of the most interesting and innovative native leaders in the country even though he avoids national politics.He has come here to Fort McMurray because the aboriginal community needs, desperately, to start talking about economic development and what all this multibillion-dollar oil madness might mean,for good and for bad.Clarence Louie is chief and CEO of the Osoyoos Band in British Columbia 's South Okanagan . He is 44 years old, though he looks like he would have been an infant when he began his remarkable 20-year-run as chief. He took a band that had been declared bankrupt and taken over by Indian Affairs and he has turned in into an inspiration.In 2000, the band set a goal of becoming self-sufficient in five years. They're there.The Osoyoos, 432 strong, own, among other things, a vineyard, a winery, a golf course and a tourist resort, and they are partners in the Baldy Mountain ski development. They have more businesses per capita than any other first nation in Canada .There are not only enough jobs for everyone, there are so many jobs being created that there are now members of 13 other tribal communities working for the Osoyoos. The little band contributes $40-million a year to the area economy.Chief Louie is tough. He is as proud of the fact that his band fires its own people as well as hires them. He has his mottos posted throughout the Rez. He believes there is no such thing as consensus, that there will always be those who disagree. And, he says, he is milquetoast compared to his own mother when it comes to how today's lazy aboriginal youth, almost exclusively male, should be dealt with.Rent a plane, she told him, and fly them all to Iraq . Dump 'em off and all the ones who make it back are keepers. Right on, Mom.The message he has brought here to the Chipewyan, Dene and Cree who live around the oil sands is equally direct: 'Get involved, create jobs and meaningful jobs, not just window dressing for the oil companies.''The biggest employer,' he says, 'shouldn't be the band office.'He also says the time has come to get over it. 'No more whining about 100-year-old failed experiments.' 'No foolishly looking to the Queen to protect rights.'Louie says aboriginals here and along the Mackenzie Valley should not look at any sharing in development as rocking-chair money but as investment opportunity to create sustainable businesses. He wants them to move beyond entry-level jobs to real jobs they earn all the way to the boardrooms. He wants to see business manners develop: showing up on time, working extra hours. The business lunch, he says, should be drive through, and then right back at it.'You're going to lose your language and culture faster in poverty than you will in economic development', he says to those who say he is ignoring tradition.Tough talk, at times shocking talk given the audience, but on this day in this community, they took it and, judging by the response, they loved it.Eighty per cent like what I have to say, Louie says, twenty per cent don't. I always say to the 20 per cent, 'Get over it.' 'Chances are you're never going to see me again and I'm never going to see you again.' 'Get some counseling.'The first step, he says, is all about leadership. He prides himself on being a stay-home chief who looks after the potholes in his own backyard and wastes no time running around fighting 100-year-old battles.'The biggest challenge will be how you treat your own people.''Blaming government? That time is over.'

Filtered Information (Warning: Rant)

We all know what inflation is, and we have felt its sting of late. Our Federal Government is giving us filtered information and they got caught in a lie this week. How often have you heard that inflation is only 2 - 3% and you have wondered why it is deemed to be so low? We are being lied to to make us think that the economy is better than it really is. The way they come up with such a low number is they factor out food and fuel! Yes, the two things that are going up faster than all other living expenses are factored out of the inflation calculation! The real figure, some say, is around 10 - 12%. A few days ago, the Dept. of Finance announced that coming inflation would rise because of food and fuel costs. Duh! They speak out of both sides of their mouths. What are they going to do? Factor it back in?

I was merrily piling on the condiments to enhance my chicken burger the other night when something caught my eye. It was the pickle jar marked "Safeway Brand" The bread and butter pickles were good but I almost gagged when I read in bold letters on the label, "Product of India". I am all for the farmers of India earning a living, but that is not the point. Think of it. The huge demands on oil and oil by-products are driving the fuel prices skyward, and here we have an ocean going container ship driven by 5,000 litres of bunker fuel per hour to deliver pickles to the local Safeway store when we can grow perfectly good cucumbers (aka pickles) right in our own valley! People, read your labels and protest. If enough of us do so, it WILL make a difference.

And, get ready to pay yet another tax on your fill-up at your local gas station in July. The asinine carbon tax will take effect and it will be inflationary. Commerce will pass on the increase costs to the consumer as they must. I will be too. But don't worry, it is revenue neutral. You will all be receiving a cheque any day now for $100 to offset this increase. If it were only to offset the increase in the gas, fine, but who offsets the increase in everything we purchase because commerce is passing on their increase to us? It is wildly inflationary and it will be with us for all time. Like the deficit reduction tax on the gasoline, even though we are not running deficits. Like the income tax, which was introduced as a temporary tax during the war to 'help out'. I could go on but my blood pressure will not allow me. I do know that the carbon tax will not change the weather, and will not get people out of their automobiles. How cruel to penalize us for driving when there is no alternative provided. The Ministry of Children would take your kids away from you if you punished your little Johnny every time he ate a cookie, but the only food you ever provided him was cookies.

There now. I feel much better. I think I will go have a pickle sandwich.

A Man of Great Accomplishment

Early this morning, Eugene Reimer passed away. Reading the front page article in today's paper will make it obvious that he was a man of great accomplishment and an inspiration to many. He was a world class athlete, and yet I found him to be a humble individual. I first met him many years ago when he asked me to do some work for him. He then recommended me to the rest of his family and I have had off and on contact with him for many years since. I last saw him at a memorial service for a mutual friend. We chatted for at least an hour, a most enjoyable experience. I was saddened to hear in February that he was hospitalized due to a stroke. More recently, I had heard that he was not doing well, and only days later, I contracted to re-decorate his suite in the Towne Centre Tower, which had been sold by his family. They said he would not be coming back. Today, I learned of his death. I read it on a notice board in the lobby of his Condominium Tower as I was coming down from his suite. He will be on my mind every minute as we complete the job for the new owner.

Yes or No

Someone sent me a wise saying the other day and I was thinking of it this weekend as I spent a great deal of time with my growing grandsons. They are soon getting to the age when they will make some very important decisions that will have far reaching results in their lives. Decisions that all of us have had to make, some with regret and others with great satisfaction. The lack of wisdom and experience in youth makes it difficult, but it is true that the entire outcome of life of a human being depends on saying 'yes' or 'no' uttered several times between the ages of 16 and 25.

More Poppies

On Terryography the Poppies grow

Between the blog posts, row on row.

So I like Poppies. I can't help it. What's not to like about a Poppy. It starts with that fuzzy little bud that hangs down in a dejected sort of way. If you are impatient, you can pry the bud apart to tell what colour the Poppy will be. When it does open, it reveals soft delicate petals that are almost transparent in their delicacy. When the blossom has fulfilled its purpose, the seed capsule appears and as it dries, becomes a Poppy seed shaker. Picking plenty of Poppies to plant, perfects your garden. Just don't plant the white ones!

Lady Of The Lake

The Lady of the Lake, who stands among the Lilacs, has a serene and comely countenance, ageless in her beauty and untiring in her duty as a purveyor of water. Is it the fountain of youth upon which she stands? As the seasons change, her quiet charm remains unchanged. She cannot say the same about those who pass her by. We were once youthful, as she is, and now we can only envy her unchanging state. As I pass by and gaze upon the tranquility of her eternal youth, I must remember that right now I am younger than I will ever be.

Age and Wisdom

This afternoon, I had a long and interesting visit with someone from my past. Wisdom is born from experience and she has both. I thought of other elderly people who have shared their stories with me and I thought of the saying : "The person who considers himself too old to learn something has probably always been that way." There is no end to learning, and therefore no ultimate goal to be reached when it comes to wisdom. Admitting that when one is eighty eight years old, and still has not figured everything out, is indeed wisdom.

Iris

Right now, our garden is full of blooming Iris, but a few days ago, I found this lone bloom on the warm side of the house where anything planted seems to be happier with reflected light and additional heat from the stucco wall. I do not know if it materialized, but snow was forecast for the Kelowna Connector today. It is cold! When I think of the other extreme, hot and dry with extreme water restrictions, I think I much prefer this weather. As I write, our furnace came on, and that with a gas fireplace going in the sitting room. I am going on record as not complaining about it. I have no control and it would make it impossible for me to complain when the inevitable hot days of summer come upon us.

Poppies

We are told that when God created us, we were created in His image. I was always hoping He was more handsome than me, but seriously, what is it about us that is a likeness of Him and why would he do that? I believe that some of the attributes that we as humans have in common are the likenesses the Bible talks about. To list a few: our capacity for love, our sense of justice, our creativity, our yearning for friendship, and our sense of humour. I have never met someone totally lacking in humour, although I have come close. I think he has made us somewhat like him so we have some inkling as to what he is like. If he was totally unknown to us, we would perhaps only fear him, or at best, not want to know him. I believe God is demonstrating his sovereignty and his sense of humour these days. With the help of David Suzuki and Al Gore, it seems that most of the world has fallen into the belief that we are heading for Global Warming and that we, as humans can somehow control the weather if we just do this or that. Jesus disciples exclaimed, "What manner of man is this that the wind and the waves obey his command?" This was when Jesus calmed the storm simply by uttering a few words. This spring, he is causing unseasonably cold temperatures as if to say, "It is I who am in control of the very nature I created!" I find this both awe inspiring and humorous at the same time, although I don't think David and Al are laughing right now

Done Ridin'

What do you do with an old bicycle that no longer has any use and is too rusty, rickety and old fashioned to even give away? You prop it up in your garden and plant flowers around it and in it. Perfect! This reminds me of putting an old horse out to pasture, or letting a old retired guy play on the golf course everyday. Everything old can have a purpose, even if it is simply to help conjure up old memories. The Regiers have an abundance of 'old things', more than you will ever guess. As I was made privy to some of their thousands of treasures, I was bombarded with old memories, awash in nostalgia. There was a problem however. I recognized too many of the items which meant that I had to admit that I too was old.

Fences

I like rustic fences and this is one of the most unique I have ever seen. Does it delineate a border? Is it meant to keep some one or something in or out? Is it simply a decoration? Like a cedar split rail fence, it seems to be there just for the sake of looking like someone decided to take a natural element and arrange it in an unnatural way, just to give the garden some aesthetic appeal. If this is so, I would say, "mission accomplished."

When The Light is Right

I was told that when the light was right, and it changes at different times of the year, this is the best spot in the garden. It was stunning and I was running back and forth, trying different angles, playing with the settings on my camera, and then the magic moment struck. All twelve photos were very poor, and then this one, with just the right aperture setting, and at just the right moment, was gifted to me. It was only a few seconds later, the deep shadows invaded the glen and it was just a pretty twilight scene with not really enough light to get a good photo. It once again reminded me of the sweet moments in our lifetimes, the ones that come but rarely, but must be savoured and cherished in our memories.