Black Friday

The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase; if you pursue happiness you'll never find it.
  - C. P. Snow

This year in Canada we seem to have a new “special” day, Black Friday.  Now you would be justified in thinking that this has something to do with a collapse in the stock market or the day when dozens of people get fired from your workplace.  But no, it turns out to be an import from the United States.

As most of you no doubt know, the US celebrates Thanksgiving every year on a Thursday in late November.  You can tell this because there is more than one NFL football game on television that day.  Also because there are people popping up everywhere in what is supposed to be pilgrim garb. The day after US Thanksgiving, which is usually a Friday unless you ate and drank too much and didn’t wake up until Saturday, is what is considered to be the first day of Christmas shopping.  Almost no one works on this day, preferring to take a day’s vacation and make it a four day weekend.  So, since they are unable to eat more or stand their in-laws any longer, people go shopping.  This day has become known as Black Friday, presumably because it is the day when stores start making a yearly profit. 

I’m not against Christmas shopping; after all, there is a biblical precedent in the story of the Magi bringing gifts.  But I do believe we have got a bit carried away with the idea.

One of my favourite Christmas ornaments shows a cartoon figure of a woman carrying several large packages, looking somewhat harried and with the title, “Spirit of Christmas stressed.”  I like it because it seems to express what too many people go through at this time of year.  There is the rush to be the first to get their shopping done.  When people ask me whether I have my Christmas shopping done yet, I ask them if it is Christmas Eve already.  There is also the quest for the most Christmas presents, or the most expensive.  This seems to mostly affect parents and grandparents, who seemingly try to outdo each other for the honour.  How many toys and gizmos can you buy your four month old?  And most of all, these days, there is the ever greater quest for THE BARGAIN!  Bargains used to arrive starting on Boxing Day (a day that is not a holiday in the US) when shops would try and get rid of unsold merchandise.  Now it starts a month before Christmas with Black Friday being one of the biggest such days.  Who knew that the Magi’s legacy would be a sixty inch HD television?

Some may say that this is my annual rant against Christmas, but it really isn’t.  I love Christmas.  I’m as prone to giving and receiving gifts as anyone.  But my issue is that it needs to be kept in perspective.  Breaking the bank for Christmas makes no sense whatsoever if it impacts your financial health for the rest of the year.  Rushing out to be the first to get that big ticket item only adds to the stress of what should be a joyous occasion. 

I like to shop for the ones I love, even if they don’t give me a hint about what they might like.  I try to remember the religious significance of the season.  I enjoy hearing from people who I probably never hear from for the rest of the year.  And when it comes time for me to go Christmas shopping, I will go with patience and a smile on my face.  I will greet everyone with a hearty “Merry Christmas”.  I will forgive the impatient shopper who pushes ahead of me in line.  I will be kind to the tired, stressed sales clerk.  I will then return home, go down to the basement, enter a soundproof booth and scream curses at the whole unfortunate experience.

Until then, happy shopping.

Every crowd has a silver lining.
  - Phineas Taylor (PT) Barnum

A Sordid Little Affair

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
  - George Orwell

The break-in at the Watergate Hotel in 1972 was not necessarily a big deal.  One political party spying on another prior to an election was but a sordid little affair.  That was until there appeared the spectre of a cover-up after the fact.  Who was behind it all?  Was it directed by the White House?  If so, who in the President’s office knew about it?  The initial affair became irrelevant.  Rumours and hints begat a Special Prosecutor.  A White House staffer started to talk.  The President’s two main advisors resigned.  Then came more revelations and denials. Do any of you remember Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook” speech?  And everything ended when a sitting President of the United States was forced to resign, something that had never happened before or since. It was undoubtedly the biggest scandal to ever hit Washington. All because of a sordid little break-in at the Watergate Hotel.

Another sordid little affair, this time involving improper expense claims by a Canadian Senator, is now demanding our attention.  And as with Watergate, the revelations of wrong-doing now go far beyond the two or three Senators originally implicated.  The focus of the scandal has now shifted from the Senate to the Prime Minister’s office.  The PM’s Chief of Staff has already been forced to resign.  And the PM keeps on repeating his version of the “I am not a crook” theme. 

Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.
  - Claud Cockburn

What finally got at the truth in the Watergate case was when the Special Prosecutor got the courts involved and people had to start answering under oath.  Although lies were still made and facts not revealed, eventually enough of the truth came out to identify those responsible for the cover-up.  And this in turn, eventually led to the President himself.  And in my opinion, this is what must happen in Canada.  However, it will be harder to accomplish in our form of government.  With all power in the hands on the PM, who may or may not be implicated, there is no one else to call in a special prosecutor or convene a judicial inquiry.  Nor does it seem that there is any way of getting in front of the courts unless a criminal indictment or a civil suit is brought forth.  The only one who may raise a civil case is probably Senator Mike Duffy, but I suspect that he isn’t too keen about the idea since he does not know who the defendants might be or what they may throw back at him.  So the only avenue left would be a criminal matter.  The RCMP seems to be heading that way with the recent disclosure of their Information to Obtain (ITO).  The most likely target for this is probably Nigel Wright.  They may also include Senator Duffy.  This would be a good thing no matter the outcome of these court cases.  This would at least force people to answer under oath and may get answers much closer to the truth than we have now.

For those of you who like conspiracy theories, how’s this for a scenario.  The PM and his staff, in order to get his plans for Senate reform moving (it has been sitting in limbo for two years), come up with a scheme to embarrass a few Senators and make the whole Senate look bad.  Question some Senators’ expanse claims because the public thinks only about money matters.  Everything is to be done quickly and quietly except for controlled disclosures.  And then things start to go wrong.  Someone comes into information they were not supposed to.  One of the Senators baulks at playing along.  He doesn’t want to be out of pocket.  And then things went even more horribly wrong.  Think about it.  The Watergate break-in was only supposed to get a bit of intelligence information about the opposition’s strategy.

Politics is made up largely of irrelevancies.
  - Dalton Camp

Short Snappers

Short Snapper postings will appear on this blog site from time to time.  They are made up of short, one paragraph observations of events or phenomena.

            The entire country, even continent, seems transfixed with the episodes of the Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford.  News coverage of his trials are carried by CNN and every news outlet in Canada daily.  On-line polls in almost every city ask what should be done with him.  My view, however, is that Rob Ford is Toronto’s problem and he must be dealt with solely by that city.

            Our beloved leader . . . er, Prime Minister, Steven Harper, has had a knack over the years of pulling something out of the hat when his government is under attack.  Often this has amounted to something quite outrageous, such as proroguing parliament.  It will be interesting to see what he offers up in the next couple of weeks to take the heat off the Senate situation and the incessant questioning of the Leader of the Opposition, Tom Mulcair.

            As you drive down the road, do you ever wonder why BMW does not put turn signals in their cars?  If they do, however, include this feature, why don’t BMW drivers use them?  Maybe it has something to do with their complicated iDrive system.  It can be quite disconcerting to drive near one of these car/drivers.

            China is once again under attack.  This time it is for actually liberalizing some of their rules.  The poor country just can’t win.  (Stay tuned for a future blog on my views of China.)

            A new platform for video games was released this week, and of course it engendered great excitement.  But did you ever think about the amount of ingenuity, imagination and talent goes into the constant development of new games and platforms?  Can you imagine how much good could result if that much ingenuity, imagination and talent were turned loose on real problems like climate change or medical research?

Lest We Forget Part 3

You know, they could be all around you.  They may live on your street or in your neighborhood.  There are two on our street and two more who were once part of the group.  You may run into them in the grocery store or the gym.  They may be sitting next to you in the beauty parlour or the bus.  Who are these strange creatures?

They are military spouses, that’s who.  And in many ways they are the ones who also need remembering on Remembrance Day.  They are the real heroines and heroes behind so many of our military personnel and veterans.  I say spouses whereas some years ago I would almost exclusively have spoken of wives.  But today there are military women who are supported by their husbands.  But whatever the gender, they all must be remembered and honoured.

We see, of course, the Silver Cross Mother every year at the Remembrance Day ceremonies, representing mothers who have lost children to war.  But we never see a Silver Cross Wife.  Most people have no idea what it is like to lose a spouse in their young years, often with a family to raise and explain why Mom or Dad is not coming home. 

But the real story is with the day by day and year by year experiences of these spouses who see a service member through an entire military career.  They start the life with optimism and enthusiasm.  Unlike the military member, there is no basic training for the spouses in their new life.  They are not told how to withstand the long absences.  They are not told how to react when they hear of death or disaster; how to tell the children why Dad or Mom can’t be there for their school graduation; how to understand what often sound like inane or stupid orders from their spouse’s senior officer; how to give birth without their husband; how to support other military spouses when they need help; how to uproot their homes every couple of years because their spouse has just received a new posting.  And they don’t tell you that you will have to do this year after year for as long as your spouse chooses to stay in their military career.      

“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.”
  - Calvin Trillin

But the really amazing thing is that so many military spouses do all that and more.  They run the household. They cook the meals. They manage the household budget.  They pay the bills and do the shopping.  They get the kids off to school every morning and get them to bed every night.  They don’t complain (much) when the biggest snow fall of the year arrives two days after their soldier or sailor deploys for the winter or for a year.  They referee the sibling arguments.  They get everything ready for the next move and then unpack everything at the other end.  They attend the parent teacher interviews that you can’t.  They keep the small, daily disasters a secret from you when you’re away.  They don’t turn to you for help when the furnace breaks down because they know exactly what to do, or know someone who does.  They do this all by themselves because you are busy fighting terrorists or pirates or helping out in a natural disaster; because you are doing your job. And for some of them, the day comes when they have to tend to your damaged body or mind, or they have to arrange to have you buried.  They truly are heroines or heroes.  They deserve our praise because they allow your soldiers, sailors and airmen to protect your country.  So when you shake the hand of a person in military uniform, give their spouse a big hug too.

So here’s to Mary and Barb, Lynne and Verna and Pat and Monica and Bev and Marlene and Alice and Sue and Denee and John.  God bless them all and so many more.

“If the Navy had wanted you to have a wife, they would have issued one.”

Numerous Navy Chief Petty Officers when I was a young officer

Lest we Forget Part 2

The following poem was sent to me by a fellow Kootenay survivor, Burt Tiffin.  Burt was a hero of the Kootenay disaster being eventually credited with saving the lives of eight men by rescuing them from the main cafeteria which was full of thick, acrid smoke. But he never got proper recognition for that deed.  Burt and I got to know each other during the writing of my book, “We are as One”.  We continued to correspond for the next couple of years until he passed away in early 2012.  He told me of the cruel fate that had been assessed him when he was forced out of the Armed Forces in 1974, five months short of being eligible for a military pension. Sounds familiar based on recent headlines.  Burt died still fighting with Veterans Affairs for adequate treatment.  So here’s to the memory of Burt Tiffin – sailor, hero, poet.

Final Quest

I hope there’s a place way up in the sky

Where sailors can pass when their end is nigh

A melancholy place where they’d lend an ear

For a friend or comrade whose memory is clear

A place where no doctor or lawyer could tread

Nor a management type would e’er be caught dead!

Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke,

Where folk love to sing loud, and enjoy a rowdy joke.

 

There must be a place where old sailors go,

When their legs feel unsteady, and their gait kinda slow,

Where the liquor is old, and the women are young,

And songs about sailing and dying are sung.

Where you’d see all the mates you’d sailed with before,

And they’d call out your name, as you pass through the door

Who would buy you a drink if your thirst was bad,

And relate to others, “He was a good lad.”

 

Through the mist and din, you’d spot an old guy

You had not seen in years and thought he had died.

He’d nod his old head and grin ear to ear

And say, “Welcome my son.  I’m proud that you’re here!

For this is the place where true sailors come

When the battles are over and the war is all done.

They’ve come at last to be safe and alone,

From the government clerk and management clone,

Politicians and lawyers, the Feds, and the noise,

Where all hours are happy and these good ol’ boys

Can relax with a cool one and a well-deserved rest,

This is Heaven my son, ‘Your Final Quest.’”

 

Adaptation by Burt Tiffin, 27 September, 2010

Lest We Forget

With so much going on in Canada and around the world, it is hard to figure out what to blog about.  However, with November 11^th fast approaching, let’s talk about remembrance.

In my calendar, there are three remembrance dates.  There is November 11^th, the actual Remembrance Day.  Being Navy, there is also the first Sunday in May, Battle of Atlantic Sunday.  And for me and a few other survivors, there is October 23^rd, the anniversary of the explosion and fire aboard HMCS Kootenay in 1969.  That latter remembrance day is probably the most important for me.  I don’t always get to the memorial service in Halifax, but I always remember.

But let’s look at the other two remembrance days, in particular, what they remember. 

November 11^th, of course, came out of the carnage of World War 1, and the date was made to coincide with the date of the armistice of that war.  The remembrance was expanded after the Second World War to include that conflict.

The Battle of Atlantic Sunday was added to the roster of ceremonies after the Second World War to honour the Navy and Air Force veterans who fought the longest battle in any war.  Without victory in that battle, and it was a near run thing, Great Britain would have lost that war, possibly even before the United States entered it.  It was the biggest and longest battle that Canada fought during that war.

It is good to remember the man and women who participated in those wars, particularly those who sacrificed their lives.

But there is a problem when those remembrances of yesterday linger as the realities of today.  It is true of far too many Canadians that those remembrances are all that they know about our armed forces.  They still think of our army as fighting their way across North-West Europe or up the boot of Italy. And they still think about our Navy as escorting convoys across the Atlantic Ocean.  More than the people of any other country that I know, Canadians really don’t understand their armed forces in the modern world, and this has been true for most of the past one hundred years.  We remember soldiers, sailors and airmen during wars and then forget about them except on one set-aside day.  But we don’t know what they do or why.

We likely are more attuned to the army because of Afghanistan and their peacekeeping past.  And we recognize the air force because of things like the Snowbirds aerobatic team and the controversy over the F-35 acquisition.  But the Navy . . . that is another story.

“Why do we need a Navy?”  “Why do ships cost so much?  Can’t we just buy them from the Koreans?”  What does our Navy do?”  You see these sorts of questions in the press every time there is a mention of a Navy story.  What has our Navy done recently?  Just last week, one of our Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDVs) intercepted two vessels carrying drugs on their way to North America.  This was part of an operation that the RCN has been carrying out with the United States over the past several years.  Most of the operations take place in the Caribbean, but this one was on the Pacific Coast.  Canada was one of the first nations to send warships to fight pirates off the coast of Somalia.  We have had a continuing presence there for well over five years.  HMCS Charlottetown was a key component in supporting the no fly and interdiction flights over Libya during that country’s civil war to ouster Mohamar Khadafi.  Canada also sent two warships to Haiti after their tragic earthquake, and these ships provided immense help to the Haitian people in the first weeks after the tragedy. Your Navy is busy doing all kinds of things around the world.  Too bad more of us don’t recognize and support that.

By the way, the ships used during these operations were all designed and built in Canada.  In all cases, they are doing things that they were never designed to do.  But the flexibility built into them has allowed them to excel at these tasks.  Canada is bracketed by the roughest parts of the world’s two greatest oceans.  The stories of the bad weather conditions encountered by our escort corvettes and frigates during North Atlantic convoys are well known, but the North Pacific can be even more difficult to survive.  Our ships need to be rugged and seaworthy.  They have to be able to survive and work (fight) in the worst conditions.  Not many countries build frigates and destroyers that can do that.  There was a time when I was in the Navy when US Navy ships were not allowed to go north of 40⁰ in the Atlantic, which is well south of Halifax, during the winter months. We do it all the time. I have seen situations when the only ships, out of a multilateral force, that could successfully refuel at sea were Canadian ships. 

We need ships that are tough enough to meet our needs.  We need ships that are adaptable enough to undertake the unknown tasks of the future.  And yes, we do need a Navy!