Jumping Over Potholes

Quel Mazzolin di fiori - traditional Alpini song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS38HgcJBaI

Most of you will not understand the words or the meaning behind this song. Hint: it's in Italian. :)

But even those who do understand the lyrics and be able to sing along as well may not get why I chose to use this song for this particular post. 

Stella Alpina - photograph of real thing
Folklore states that this flower is a gift to a
loved one as a promise of dedication.

Well, the Italian heritage is a good part of it but more importantly for me it is the symbol of a happy and simple time in my life where there was beauty and laughter. This is one of the songs that sparked my life long love affair with traditional Italian folk songs.

Not all rainbows and sunshine. For the one thing that was missing, was Dad (Dante). The wearer of the traditional Alpini hat and singer in the drunken choir at family gatherings. 

My mother took on the role of teaching us the language, traditions and songs of Dad's family. For although Mom was also Italian, she was from a different region. She embraced the family heritage and immersed us into it with family, friends and celebrations that made us feel a normal part of our world, despite Dad was not with us.

And that was my life. Two sisters (Sandra and Linda), a brother (Ron), a dog (Scamp) and a Mom (Livia) who was the glue that held us together. But it wasn't meant to stay that way. I wish I had known.

There was a lot I didn't know. 

1) The struggles Mom and Dad endured just to be together - their union was not approved by Mom's mother. They persisted and eloped on January 9th 1960. 

2) I didn't know that Nonna (Italian grandmother, Mom's mom) blamed Dad for killing her son. Dad died on February 17th 1964, in a horrific car/train accident that also claimed the life of his brother-in-law. He left behind a wife with 4 children ranging in age from 3 years to one month old.

3) I didn't know that the lawsuit that ensued lasted for

5 gruelling years and ended in a loss because of an incompetent lawyer. 

4) In 1969 as the last of the trial appeals were being exhausted and Mom tried to return to her profession as a teacher but was denied a position as the rules had changed and she now needed a university degree to go with her Teachers College certification. 

5) We were not well off financially and required assistance at times. I never questioned why sometimes our food came in boxes instead of grocery bags and included toys. 

6) I remember the day after Christmas 1972 when Mom discovered a lump on Ron's neck. Chaos ensued, there were a lot of hospital trips and suddenly Mom wasn't around much anymore. She was with her only son, enduring surgeries, treatments, diagnosis and endless sleepless nights dealing with the new reality in our life. Ron had Hodgkins Disease. Without cancer in the name, it was like the flu that he would get better. We never saw him at his worse. His treatment were in Rochester Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic. We were left behind and in the dark. We wouldn't have understood. We were kids too.

7) When Mom left to go to the Mayo Clinic without Ron we didn't know that it was a nervous breakdown - maybe more?  

But what I did know is that we were loved and we were valued. We could walk out of the house any day with our heads held high. Proud of our family, heritage and the Dad we didn't know. 

If the days weren't sunny, Mom turned on the light with her brightest and biggest smile and we knew it was going to be okay. Her laughter made the worst days seem a little less so. 

Like when I cut my foot and required stitches and she arranged a surprise party for me. Just family singing and laughing. When she got angry and chased us around the house with the wooden spoon until we were in a heap laughing. 

She hit a deer once on her way to Rochester for her own appointment and when she told us about it on the phone, she was laughing. I was so mad at her then but now I remember that laughter as a symbol of her character. She was okay. It could have been worse.

And it got a lot worse. On a day, like today, March 21st, 42 years ago it got a lot worse. She wasn't okay anymore. And my sweet, beautiful sisters wouldn't be either. 

It was March break, there was some snow on the ground. Ron had an appointment in Rochester. Mom turned it into a family trip. We left Thunder Bay late. We stopped for supper at Perkins in Duluth. We called Nonna to tell her where we were. 

An hour later, at 8:55pm, it was the end of life as I knew it. 

In the blink of an eye, the sky darkened like a solar eclipse that wouldn't quit. Mom was 34, Sandra was 13, Linda was 10. They would be no more. 

A truck driver (for unknown - to me - reasons) hit us from behind as we travelled down the interstate. The crash was spectacular and continued as we were pushed down the road for 250 feet before becoming airborne for an additional 80 feet and finally plunging 13 feet, taking a 180 turn to land on the roof of the car. The transport truck finally dislodged when we became airborne and landed on the other side of the divided highway. 

Seconds really. And then, Linda is crying and pleading for help. Mom tries to console and says "Don't breath". Sandra is silent. That is all.

A tugging on the sock of my foot. I crawl in that direction, leaving the inferno that had me mesmerised. My brother. A vision, standing there with one sock in his hand. We climb the embankment and watch the flames, not completely aware of what we are seeing. We speak. Maybe we don't. We rise to go back to get others. We are stopped and made to go into the police car. 

Racing to the hospital, we pray. Our prayers are not fulfilled.

In the hospital being treated for the injuries I suffered, I answered the question "Why". Mom died, because Dad wanted her to be with him. They loved each other so much and worked so hard to be together. Sandra died, because - well, you know how parents are with first-borns. Dad knew Sandra best and missed her. Linda died because she was only 1 month old when Dad died and he wanted to get to know her. 

That was my Mom's attitude coming through. Could be worse. I told myself, at least I had my brother. I wasn't alone. 

It took a long time to accept my new life, my fate. A lot of years wasted on anger. A lot of time fighting back against the hurt. Knowing "Why" doesn't mitigate the pain. It just means that the demons you fight are within you, because you have no one to blame. 

I thought I had it together but in reality I was punishing myself, denying myself a life I deserved. 

It wasn't easy, because while I managed to jump over some potholes, I fell into others. 

A little more broken and a lot more stubborn I crawled out again and again until finally an angel came into my life and made me realize that I am okay and I can make a difference. I can be proud of who I am again, I can be loved and I have love to give. And with that I found that my heart had love for another child. My blessings. 

It's been easier since that time to see that the dark cloud above me had some very bright stars in it shining down on me. Including, my brother Ron's - who joined them in 1984. I get now that darkness is okay, because it lets us appreciate the light of day. 

But a balance would be nice. 

The power of positive thinking kicks in and I am reminded that the first day of spring, while a sad day for me, is a day when we will see longer days with more sunshine and less dark. I need to remember that. Still.

Time does not heal. It makes remembering easier...sometimes. On a day like today I let the tears flow. 

Stella alpina
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leontopodium

So Let's Go - An Evening with Alan Doyle

So Let's Go - Alan Doyle

So Let's Go is the new CD release from Great Big Sea former frontman and founder Alan Doyle. Alan Thomas Doyle! 

By coincidence, "Let's go" was the first full sentence my baby girl uttered some 26 years ago. And being Mothers' Day it all seems to be falling together that I write today. When you can't spend the day with your children on Mothers Day the next best thing for me is to spend the day with music. Wait that's every day...lol!

Alan Doyle and I at his book launch in Dartmouth Oct 2014

I bought my tickets for Alan Doyle back in November of last year when they first went on sale. Up early with the alarm set I was clicking furiously to nab a couple of good seats. I had no idea who the other ticket was for but the show was 6 months away. There was lots of time to decide and the person who joined me was a great pick for she has the love of music like I. We have shared a lot of musical experiences, with more on the horizon. 

A personally signed book for me

It was birthday last November when a friend told me that Alan Doyle would be at a book signing in the area if I was interested in going. My son (God bless his soul) sent me early birthday money so that I could buy his memoir and get it signed. What a thrill that turned out to be! We got to hear Alan reading from his book and I'm tell you that his voice and accent was so captivating that when I read the book for myself I could hear his voice in the back of my mind. 

Where I Belong is a fabulous read. One of those books, I couldn't put down. Alan Doyle and I grew up in the same era but with lives as different as night and day. All right I admit that he is younger than I am. But growing up in Petty Harbour, as he did, was nothing like my existence with indoor plumbing in the bustling metropolis (in comparison) of Thunder Bay. It's funny how no matter what we think about it as adults, home is home. There is always an attachment to this place where your life began. I recommend picking up Alan Doyles book for a light summer read and some personal reflection on growing up in a small fishing village in Newfoundland. The man and the music were born there. I should note that this is not a memoir of the band Great Big Sea. The story ends before the musical wave of GBS broke.

Great Big Sea burst onto the mainstream musical scene in 1995 with the release of Run Runaway from the album Up. Their first album which was self-titled and self-produced was released in 1992 and included several traditional folk songs as well as original compositions and although it produced no chart topping hits at the time it did lead to a recording contract with Warner Brothers Canada. The climb to the top was not a gentle slope however and included extensive touring about the land which could include up to 300 days a year. Two decades later and 10 full-length releases among other projects and the band is now on hiatus. I missed my chance to see the whole band, but I have seen 2 of the founding members solo performances.

I was a fan from my first experience with the lively, move your body to the music and sing along style of Up. I was drawn to the East Coast traditional folk music that spoke of water, sailing and fishing...and rum! :) Alan Doyle has a voice that I wish I could hear whispering sweet nothings in my ear and when he speaks with that devil may care spirit and Newfoundland accent...it's all there.

And that is how the Friday night show at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium started. Alan walked onto the stage alone, carrying a red Solo cup, he approached the microphone and began to talk to the assembled masses like he was welcoming us to his home. He then broke into song. Just him, no instruments but that velvety smooth voice with the long hair framing his face and that ready smile. You feel the passion in the words. You are drawn into his world as you, too, Dream of Home. 

The Beautiful Gypsies were the back up band that soon joined Alan on stage and what an amazing assemblage of musicians. Cory Tetford on guitar is a name I am familiar with because of his association with the band Crush and his other stints with Barney Bentall and other musicians. And a beautiful smile and ready wave to an eager audience member! ;) Kendel Carson is a very talented fiddler and singer who was a part of the Paperboys, and Belle Star. I was mesmerised watching her, worried that her long blonde locks would get tangled in the bow or the strings. The hair was flying, the feet were tapping, there was energy in her performance. Kris Macfarlane took the sticks to the skins as he had done for many years with Great Big Sea. He has spent more time looking at my backside than anyone else, quipped Doyle. Plucking the string on the bass is Shehab Illyas a multi-talented filmaker, composer, photographer and musician from Halifax. And finally there was Todd Lumley who alternated between the horizontal keys on the keyboard and the vertical ones on the accordion. Todd Lumley was a member of the Canadian alternative rock band The Waltons (1987-2001) and also Hawksley Workmen. 

The Waltons along with 54-40 and Spirit of the West are sadly severely underrated Canadian bands. Love them! Always and forever. 

The show which marked the final stop on a North American tour celebrating his second solo album, was high energy and interspersed with thoughtful ballads. And fair warning future audience members, Alan does not like to be the only one in the house rocking it out! But with so much of the music being top-tapping infectious you can't help but want to join in the dance. So when Alan like a preacher raises his arms for his flock to stand, they do...nay they jump up ready to dance! The set list was planned perfectly for a great mix of audience participation and always beautiful music. 

Young and old and everything in between, couples, partners, friends and groups. The full house was stomping and clapping, hands in the air, singing along. But it wasn't just fans in the audience, in Halifax (his home away from home on the mainland) Alan's friends and family joined him. Yes, the "fairest in the land" was in attendance. How proud she must be watching her hubby on stage. And jealous listening to all the "I love you's" screamed at him? Could've been me? 

In a recent newspaper article (Metro News) Alan was quoted as saying, "I loved all my time playing music in those rooms (referring to smaller area pubs like The Lower Deck) and I always thought it was a really beautiful thing to be the powerhouse of an Atlantic Canadian pub." He still is and has that power, but now his pub is a little bit bigger. His fans are greater in number and the love fest shows no signs of slowing. Thankfully!  

Taking no hiatus, Alan will soon be on the road once again, supporting The Barenaked Ladies. But before that look for him at Music Festivals happening near you. Thunder Bay, I'm jealous.

On a personal note, I want to thank my best musical friend, who has given me the courage to pursue my musical passion as a solo listener, a duet or with a band of merry followers. Thanks Debra. I am grateful.

*As always, please do not steal my words or pictures. Thank you. 

The drum kit with that iconic self-portrait Alan draws :)

Alan Doyle come out with his red solo cup to greet the audience and wow them with a solo performance.

L-R: Todd Lumley, Kris MacFarlane, Cory Tetford, Shehab Illyas, Alan Doyle, Kendal Carson

Getting the crowd going

A pause for a beverage and a chat :)

Singing with passion

I was able to get a guitar pic, set list and venue poster! :)
Now I must persue some signage...

Alan Doyle
http://alandoyle.ca/
Cory Tetford
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush_(Canadian_band)
Barney Bentall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Bentall
The Paperboys
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paperboys
The Waltons
http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/W/Waltons.html
Hawksley Workmen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawksley_Workman
Kris MacFarlane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_MacFarlane
Shehab Illyas
http://www.shehabillyas.com/
The Waltons
http://www.maplemusic.com/artists/wal/bio.asp
54-40
http://www.5440.com/
Spirit of the West
http://sotw.ca/
Halifax, Metro News
http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/

Without a Yesterday There is No Today and No Tomorrow

Remembrance Day - Bryan Adams

In school I dreaded history and geography classes. One teacher, affectionately known as "Turkey" made geography fun but my grades were a reflection of my limited comprehension. I passed but without a lot of pride in my C grade. It turns out that I am primarily a "hands-on" (kinesthetic) learner. When I left my hometown of Thunder Bay Ontario and started to physically explore the world and my country, I began to understand and retain the information. Suddenly I could identify more than just the homeland boot in Europe. "Turkey" would be so proud of me. I still want to do much more exploring of the European nation for there is so much I don't know still. And still hoping for my Norwegian cruise someday! ;)

Love of history came about in a very different way. There are way too many anniversaries of births and deaths that take up space in my memory that adding more numbers was not to be. And there didn't seem to be anyway that I could physically go back in time to learn my way. But all those deaths that I endured, gave me a faith in the spiritual being. That faith became curiosity and a desire to learn about time before there was me.

I didn't know my dad, I certainly don't remember my dad but I still felt his love. My dad died when I was 2 years old. I don't really know when I heard of the concept of re-incarnation but even before I knew what it was or meant I had a firm belief that the family dog, Scamp, was with us to protect us. I believed that their spirits were one - my dad and the mongrel we loved. Pretty radical thinking for a good little Catholic girl. I think my mother would have been tolerant but my grandparents would have flipped a gasket. 

Beyond that, I truly believe that my father spoke to me (yes from beyond). I was about 7 years old. Too young and too sheltered to make this stuff up. I wrote about my some of my spiritual experiences in stories that I will link to at the end of this missive.

Understanding the significance of my early childhood unworldly experiences allowed me to accept the possibility for real, and allow the sensations to come forth. And that's how history became an important part of my life. 

As a kid, Remembrance Day was a day that families of all denominations gathered at the cenotaph and watched the soldiers march. I didn't have relations that were part of the military in the wars. I stood solemnly because of the sacrifices that were made by others so that I could live free in Canada. It was important even if it didn't hit my own home.

My grandfather only shared two stories of the war. Both occurred when he lived in Italy as a young father. One was being forcibly taken from his home as his wife and young children looked on. I don't know why this happened or if he spent time as a soldier (beyond the mandatory 1 year service all Italian boys were forced to do - if that). The second story he shared was hearing a deafening noise and looking up to the sky to see it blackened with the shroud of hundreds of planes flying in formation. It was a frightening sight. I have never heard any other first hand accounts of war service beyond the anonymous veterans that used to come to school and talk to us.

At some point, attending Remembrance Day services at church or at the memorial became more than I could emotional handle. In fact, I was so overcome that I was physically removed from the midst of a service to seek comfort privately. Compassion, empathy or a feeling of spiritual connected-ness, I don't know. But something had stirred deep within my soul.

As I said, I didn't have a personal family connection to any of the wars we were supposed to learn about in school. There was no reason I should feel so deeply saddened. Yet I was.  I began to believe that maybe there was a connection - somewhere in history that I wasn't aware of. I'm still not.

But I have developed an interest in history. You can go lie on a sandy southern beach...I want to explore the trenches of France and see Vimy Ridge for myself. I want to know where my parents parents met and what their life was like. I want to know about the prostitutes and innovators of years gone by. I want to see the primitive tools and more than anything I want to know the stories. Without a yesterday we have no today and no tomorrow.

A majority of Canadians once used to live in small communities with lifestyles, professions and ideals that are all but lost to most of us today. The migration to the big cities has carved the headstone for many rural communities. It's not unusual for a small outpost to be inhabited by primarily senior citizens - the younger people having moved on to find work in less traditional manners. 

When the last of the residents passes on, who will be left to tell the stories of life.  We chuckle to ourselves when we see a post like the picture here online. But while that piece of history may be more pop culture than anything else, it is still important to remember the past. It was George Santayana that said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Sometimes I suppose, repetition can be a good thing. Do it again and again until we perfect it. But war is not one of those things. 

2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the first world war. For Canadians, November the 11th is the day we collectively stop to remember. Today, at the 11th hour I will be standing with many others silently remembering. I'll hear the 21-gun salute and with every bullet I hear, I will remember the veteran saying "You want to hear the crack of the bullets flying over your head because when you don't, you're dead"

There are many national and international projects on the go that are intent on remember those that sacrificed for our democracy. I encourage you to look some of them up. Maybe you can help.

1. A FACE FOR EVERY NAME. Bringing life in stories and pictures to every name on the stark white headstones in the graves of the fallen.

2. THE MEMORY PROJECT. Ensuring that the fallen are never forgotten and keeping their memories alive.

3. Support your veterans. Buy a poppy, say a prayer, say Thank you. With the passing of time, there are very few surviving WWI veterans left. Sadly, every day we are forced to inscribe the name of another soldier killed for his country. 

Links to posts mentioned above
Something Tells Me You Are Here with Me :) 
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3


Credits:
George Santayana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Santayana
Los Angeles Times, by Henry Chu, June 28, 2014
http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-world-war-one-20140628-story.html#page=1
History Learning Site - World War I
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sarajevo_assassination_1914.htm
World Atlas - Metropolitan Populations
http://www.worldatlas.com/citypops.htm
Costs of War
http://costsofwar.org/article/us-and-allied-killed-and-wounded
First World War
http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm
CBC kids facts pictoral
http://www.cbc.ca/kids/the-feed/world-war-i-by-the-numbers-infographic
A Face for Every Name
https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Face-For-Every-Name/669030663155269?ref=stream
The Memory Project
https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/memory-project-joins-minister-veterans-affairs-commemorate-sacrifices-canadian-forces-year
Record breaking poppy sales
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/record-breaking-pace-of-poppy-sales-leading-to-shortages-1.2826988

FOR THE RECORD, I AM VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED TO WAR.

Leaving by choice...or not

Hard Road - Sam Roberts Band

Loss is a different feeling for everyone. Everyone feels loss in a different intensity. And there are just as many types of loss too. In less than a week I have been moved by two very different types of losses in very diverse ways. Leaving by choice and leaving with no choice.

Loss of a loved one is probably one of the most profound. In this case, loss can refer to death, divorce or missing. There can be some measure of hope in the case of missing but the pain of that loss can go for a lifetime if no answers are ever found, if no questions are ever answered. 

I have experienced more than my fair share of death of family members and can speak with some credibility there. And in my humble opinion, divorce is much harder to cope with than death. Death is a finality and with that lack of hope, we can process the grief and move on with our lives. The pain never goes but we learn to live with it and without those we love. 

In a divorce situation the loss can impact our life in similar ways. A person we love is no longer with us. We will always wonder if it was us, if maybe we had done things differently, if we had said, if we hadn't said. Ex-partner bashing is not something I personally engaged in, nor did I sugar-coat the truth. The fact of the matter is that if I consistently undermine and belittle an ex-partner, what does that say about me and my choices. If a childs parent is so unworthy that you can't say anything nice about them what does that say about the child that is half of that alleged so called waste of space. 

Whatever came of a once important relationship, it is crucial to remember that you did once see some goodness in that person. And your children have inherited some of that as well. Just because they aren't right for you anymore doesn't mean that they aren't okay for someone else. And they can have them ;) I divorced for a reason and I respect the decision I made. I hope that my children have been able to come to terms with their sense of loss in the least impactful way possible.

Please Don't Bury Me - John Allan Cameron

(this version includes an introduction

song starts at about 1 minute mark)

Back to the experience of loss in the form of death. Although five immediate family members have died on me at various times, I was either two young to remember or unable to attend a funeral. People just assume that I am familiar with the customs and practises. But I am not. The one funeral I attended impacted me in ways that I struggled to cope with and in some sense still haunts me. At 22 it was not my desire to pick my brothers casket. Nothing in your life prepares you for that. 

I feel loss and a most overwhelming sense of compassion and empathy for someone I know that has lost a loved one. It's not because I necessarily know the person who has passed but I know a relative. I don't pretend that I understand their pain but I do feel their pain. And I feel it most profoundly.

But what is the right thing to do? When it is a friend or acquaintance and you don't know the family at all. I want to show support but I struggle with funerals and traditional services. I don't completely agree with the modern day burial practises that have become more business and less necessity. Environmentally I would prefer alternatives. 

If I don't attend a funeral, please don't take it to mean anything more than I would like to show support but need support myself to get through it. I can't think of anyplace that I feel more alone than in the middle of a funeral gathering. Sorry.

Maybe it was enduring so much death when I was young, but it's never been a topic I shy away from. Many sunny summer days were spent at the graveyard planting flowers and tending the mausoleum. There was some comfort found there. The only time that my family was together. Death is a part of life and when your time comes if you have preferences, you must communicate them.

I did that when my children were about 8 and 9 years old and we were on a family car trip. They were all that was left of my family. They had to know. A story on the news radio was a perfect segue to begin to share my choices. Keeping it age appropriate, I told my kids that I was not to be buried but cremated instead. They couldn't keep my ashes because I didn't want to be halved or fought over. So they promised that they would go to my hometown of Thunder Bay and sprinkle my ashes on the nose of the Sleeping Giant and see if he sneezes. They laughed and never forgot their Mom's strange request. Of course now that they are older we were able to discuss more details like costs of services and spending money on a celebration of life. Party! 

How Many Miles - Kim Stockwood

   
How many miles from home are you? Leaving home (your birthplace) is a loss in itself. Everything you knew and counted on was at home. Stability and security. You had friends all over because you had to meet and interact with so many different people during school and activities. 

If you lived in a community for most of your years growing up and then moved quite far away you will understand when I say that it is like ripping a piece of your heart out. Everything you encounter is suddenly strange and unfamiliar - the comforts of home, the friendly faces, all left behind. I did that exact thing (as many do to pursue higher education) however I never again returned. The closest I have lived to my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario since high school was 1000 miles. Milton, Oakville, Georgetown in Ontario and Bridgetown, Coldbrook and Halifax, Nova Scotia. It took me 30 years of moving about before I finally felt like I was really home - here in Halifax. Why? I don't have a good explanation for that.

But I do understand the need for being on the move. Just recently a friend I met recently decided to move back home. After 10 years on the east coast she is headed for the opposite coast. A place that she still calls home. She was feeling a loss for that home she left and the only way to ease her pain was to return. Her departure is a loss for this neck of the woods for she was instrumental in engaging people in the community and introducing them to local cultural events. 

I hope she finds happiness wherever she may land. It's not easy to intentionally lose everything that is of comfort to you. To pull yourself up by the roots and go to where nobody knows your name and everything is different from when you were there before. I know...I did it. Too many times. But sometimes you have to try on a lot of pairs of shoes before you find the ones that you can live in and with! :) 

Hometown for me represents loss and with all the loss there is nothing there for me anymore. My friend is going to family she left when she wanted to pursue higher education. Now its time for her to return. 

I have found my "home" in the heart and soul of the people of the beautiful city of Halifax in Nova Scotia. Someday I may understand what my innate drive is that brought me here in the first place or I may not. I have found peace and I have found kindred spirits and I can always go back to visit the pieces of my heart that I left behind. 

Marching Into April - No Joke!

End of the World - Great Big Sea

On Saturday March 29th we commemorated another Earth Hour. From 8:30-9:30 local time, we shut off lights in an attempt to help the planet breath a sigh of relief. In 2007, a movement was started in Sydney, Australia to bring awareness to the ever growing concern of Global Warming. And please understand that Global Warming means way more than just the temperature of the earth going up. Believe it or not rising temperatures is the reason we have more intense weather patterns and more snow. Yes even more snow is because of warming temperatures on earth. 

Quickie refresher of high school science. Moisture is collected from the surface of the earth by evaporation. Collecting in clouds and then falling as precipitation. Rain or snow depending on the season. An increase in the sun power will cause an increase in the amount of evaporation. And it has to fall in the form of rain or snow or a combination of.  

And yet, every time that an uncharacteristic cold snap or snow fall occurs people jump on the "So where is the Global Warming Now" band wagon. It frustrates me, partly because these are fairly intelligent people and partly because there is even one person who considers this mentality as valid. Where is Global Warming when we find ourselves bracing for yet another Snow-pocalypse? It is right outside your frost covered thermal paned window. It is the intensity and instability of the weather patterns we once thought were normal. Global Warming caused Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The frequency and intensity of naturally occurring storms is multiplying at alarming rates. Hurricane Juan hit Nova Scotia in September 2003. The province was barely recovered from the that slap by Mother Nature when she let White Juan loose in February 2004. White Juan left behind 95.5 cm of snow in Halifax in one 24 hour period. That's 37+ inches. More than the yard stick that decorated the blackboard ledge in school. Three feet! Half the average persons height! 

But even that was several years ago now. What amazes me more than that storm is the fact that although wind gusts of 124 km/hr were reported, I can recall at least 4 days this past season that wind gusts reached or exceeded 100 km/hr. Almost seems norm now. Batten down the hatches indeed!  

Have we gotten used to bundling up and grumbling? How about this comic relief for you. In 1999, the city of Toronto (no stranger to snow) called in the Canadian Army to help it dig out when 27 cm of snow fell. That's right 27 cm. Seems a little over the top all things considered including that there was already significant snow on the ground - nothing new really. Sometimes it is not the amount of snow but the speed in which it falls that have some of us with the shovel at the ready feeling over-whelmed. Where do you put it all? Check out this link for some remarkable, record setting storms that have hit the Winter Wonderland known as Canada. 

I don't mind snow and despite all the dire warnings that had us shivering in our boots in fear more than cold, I think that here (at least) it was a fairly mild winter. A snowfall/blizzard would close schools and snarl traffic for a day and my friends would hear the doomsday predictions and send message to prepare and stay safe and warm. Snow would fall, clogging streets and usually blowing to make things barely visible past the edge of the balcony. Two days later we would be in plus zero temperatures and everything would be melting away. Only one day did I turn back from a walk because the wind chill was freezing my eyes. And there were a few days in January where just a light jacket if anything was required.

I get winter. I grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario. School wasn't cancelled, you walked. There was a lot of activities that you could participate in and enjoy more with the falling of snow. Snowmobiling, skiing, tobogganing, making ice forts, ice mountains to slide down (skeleton without the sled and helmet). Everybody had several pairs of mittens and long johns and Nipigon nylons. You wouldn't think about going out without being properly dressed for the conditions. We embraced winter and all it had to offer.

It is increasingly hard to do that when ski hills are closing because the seasons unpredictability just couldn't support them as viable businesses. Neither could the economy where people didn't have the exorbitant costs to involve entire families in sport. Plus electronics and modern conveniences mean there isn't a lot of need to venture out. So we don't. It's easier to curse under our frozen breaths then to go out and enjoy the cloud that landed on earth. I spoke to someone from Iceland recently who suggested that we were all wimps here. Life didn't stop for a few snowflakes. Chains were put on tires and schools and businesses stayed open. Just another day with more solid precipitation. 

The winter of this generation sucks. Cold is one thing, wind chill is another. You can dress for and play in 3 feet of snow. Wind chill and freezing rain gets right to you bones and crystallizes your blood. When it's a real winter, it's cold and you can dress for it. When you have a thaw mid season, you pine for the heat as if the season ended, then Mother Nature's fury hits again. It's miserable to walk in slush that soaks your socks and the ice that has come with the freeze the next day. Ain't no boot that is waterproof enough for that or provides the grip for ice rinks. That's why we skate :)

Several days after the ice on-slaught,
these branches well exposed to sunlight
are still thickly coated in the Greater Toronto Area. 

A pre-Christmas ice storm paralyzed a large part of Southern Ontario and a vast number of people were stranded at airports and train stations and 400,000 were without power. Some for nearly a week in the dead of winter with turkeys ready to be stuffed into an oven to feed masses. In the age of cell-phones and internet the Twitter-verse was awash with requests to report downed lines and emergencies online. Easier said then done when a) you can't read the Twits with limited battery life on said phone or b) no power at all to charge the cellphone or the cordless, desktop or tablet. And those people will pay for the inconvenience. Granted they didn't have to pay for the hydro they didn't use but they will pay for the clean-up and repair costs with skyrocketing bills from here on in. Say what? :( 

Memories are short and people like to remember the winter of 2009-10 because it was the winter that wasn't. We got used to not having a real winter. When it came back this year, we had been lulled into a sense of complacency and we weren't ready for the severity. I don't think that it helps when weather forecasters and the media hype up a bit of a snowfall by using words like Snow-mageddon, Snow-pocalypse, Snow-icane or Weather Bomb. Oh wait, so accustomed we have become to the hype and panic started by the media meteorologists that when I heard of the Weather Bomb on it's way, I assumed it was more of the same. That one though, is a legitimate phenomenon and can occur with snow or rainfall. Another new weather phrase that we added to our daily lexicon this year is Polar Vortex. The Polar Vortex of 2014 swept central Canada and held it in its icy grips with fingers that reached far into the southern states that didn't know how to deal with the flurries that ultimately caused traffic and travel nightmares and general chaos. So remarkably cold was this winter that a contest was held to determine the worst in the country. The link has some great graphics, information and reveals the winner. Spoiler alert it is Winnipeg also know as Winterpeg!

One day in the winter of 2013-2014 there were weather
warnings posted across the county - simultaneously!

Newfoundland had some houses that had been buried to the eaves with snow. Nova Scotia had the roof blown off buildings and one completely flipped over. Prince Edward Island became the worlds biggest snow fort. New Brunswick-ers still wander with snow shovels in their hands at the ready for the next dump. Quebec and Ontario dealt with far below average temperatures with wind chills added that froze them solid and in southern Ontario, everything that stood still or blew in the wind was covered with inch thick ice. Manitoba and Saskatchewan had snow falls and wind chills that they still haven't thawed out from. Alberta has had a rough year all around and the massive snowfalls just added to the clean up still not complete from the summer floods. British Columbia had colder than expected temperatures as well. Good to live on the coasts of the country this winter for sure. Even the northern territories were spared the frigid temps of central Canada. I chuckled when I saw cities in the north warmer that Toronto, Ontario. Rob Ford and all his hot air couldn't stop the cold shoulder. 

So all you naysayers who poo-poo Global Warming, just remember that Mother Nature is fictitious, the February scapegoat (groundhog) is just a rodent and the seasons will continue to change and worsen. Autumn extends into winter, winter is still hear and we call it spring. Summer starts later and goes past the traditional fall season. Mud-slides that shouldn't be will, tornadoes will be more frequent and stronger. Winter wear and tools will be needed in the southern states, and we will soon need SPF 100 in the sun. It wasn't that long ago that you could go outside and play all day in the sun with no sunscreen and not get burnt. Now 10 minutes max and your fried. 

I was disappointed with the lackluster attitude towards Earth Hour this year. I did my part, but what we really need is a collective attitude adjustment. A lifestyle change. It has always been an important issue for the me (the wasteful abuse of the planet and its resources), so I made a lifestyle choice. Lights were rarely left on in unoccupied rooms when my kids were little, because I chose to teach them to shut them off. It's a habit that we can learn. They did. I won't suggest we were perfect but we tried. It's a start. 

credit where credit is due:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/4-facts-about-earth-hour-1.1331421
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Juan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Juan
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/blasts-from-the-past-canada-s-worst-snowstorms-1.1370387
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/22/canada-ice-storm-travel-chaos-power-outages-as-massive-storm-hits-ontario-quebec-and-maritimes/
http://globalnews.ca/news/1208476/who-had-the-worst-winter-in-canada/
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/geekquinox/winter-2013-2014-report-card-did-grade-canada-172923296.html