Family Visits

I understand that - when Dad left the East - his family had no idea where he went nor what happened to him. He traveled west looking for work and even 'rode the rails' which became a common practice during the Great Depression. Dad did give us an outline of that period in his life - but not the details. We know that he found himself in Matsqui (across the Fraser River from the town of Mission) and worked in the harvesting of peas for a farmer in that area.

Also we know that he lived for a while with a trapper who had a shack on the bank of the Fraser River at Mission (that was when Dad learned how to make pancakes, donuts and bread - years later it was always Dad who made pancakes when they were on the menu for Sunday breakfast - on other Sunday mornings Mom prepared the usual eggs, bacon and toast).

Dad was quite a raconteur but could be sparse with the details at times. Eventually Mom persuaded him to provide her with the addresses of his family and it was she who informed them as to Dad's whereabouts and his well-being. Thanks to that connection we were visited by two cousins who had enlisted and who then passed through B.C. while on their way to military service in and across the Pacific.

The first to drop by was Gerrard (Gerry) Brule who was the oldest son of Dad's half-sister, Berenice and her husband  Edgar. He was in the Army Signal Corps and was being sent to Australia to serve with the Australian army.

After Gerry left we had a second visitor - Raymond Cadieux - who was the oldest son of Dad's half-brother Georges Cadieux. I do not recall which branch of the military Raymond belonged to nor where he was going.

Years later - after we had moved to the 'Finnegan house' Raymond reappeared and he was accompanied by Violette. Dad knew that Violette was NOT his wife so he expressed to Raymond his discomfort at having someone living in our home who was not legally married to his companion. Raymond's response was that Dad couldn't talk as - since he and Mom had been married by a United Church of Canada minister instead of a priest - he wasn't "legally married" either! Naturally, this conversation was conducted out of earshot of we kids so I do not know what Dad said next - but Raymond and Violette did stay with us - and in the room that was behind the kitchen stove.

One thing that Raymond and Violette had in common with Mom and Dad was a love of card games so  many an evening (as well as weekend afternoons) were spent in playing those games.

If you have read the blog that precedes this one, you are aware of the neighbors - the Ricord family. They also loved card games so they would come over and join in.

In that family there were two boys who were entering their teenage years and who were becoming very aware of the attractiveness of females.

Violette was a large buxom woman who was fond of colorful clothing. She was very well endowed in the area of her bosom and she wore tight fitting dresses with the neckline quite low.  Archie and Donald would come over to watch the games being played and would stand behind Violette's chair so they could 'see down in the valley' - especially when Violette had to reach for another card from the deck which was in the middle of the table. 

While I was in Ottawa I was able to visit with the Brule family a number of times. By then Gerrard (Gerry) was married and living in the Toronto area suburb of Pickering with his wife and two daughters. When Mom visited me in Ottawa in the summer of 1975 we visited that family.

In the meantime Raymond and Violette moved to a house in the community of Ladner which is situated on the south bank of the Fraser River and near where it flows into the Strait of Georgia. Violette had cancer and passed away. It was only after that sad event that I saw Raymond again - when I became the Pastor of MCCVancouver he heard of that somehow and began attending our Sunday evening service.

After I moved to Victoria I never saw - nor heard of - him again.   

Party Time!

One of the titles drawn from the coffee can at the 'Memoir Writing Group' yesterday afternoon was 'A Party' which gave me ideas for this blog.

I have never liked parties very much although - when invited - I usually attend.

In 1951 or '52 Dad was able to rent - and then purchase - the Finnegan House which was at the corner of Kaptey Avenue and  Finnegan Street back up on Dawes Hill.

At that time our maternal grandparents were still living in the house near the Ruskin Dam which Granddad had built after his previous home had been destroyed by a fire. When Granddad passed away a bungalow a block away from our house - at the corner of Montgomery and Kaptey Avenues - came on the market and Grandma used the equity from the former house in order to purchase it.

Our new house was a lot more commodious than any of the houses in which we had lived. There were 8 rooms (living, dining and kitchen - as well as  the 'spare room' which was off of the kitchen - and four bedrooms on the upper floor). A few years after we moved into there Dad decided upon some renovations. The 'spare bedroom' on the main floor was awkward - actually, it was right behind the stove so, if there was a fire, there would be little chance for any occupants to escape from it. In consultation with a contractor it was decided to close the wall behind the stove and then to remove the west wall of that room which made what was a small living room into a larger 'L-shaped' room. The TV was placed in front of the refurbished east wall and then to move the piano from the southeast corner to where it backed onto the stairwell which led up to the bedrooms.

In the meantime Grandma made new friends - mainly from the Women's Auxiliary at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch in New Westminster. Soon she asked Mom and Dad if she could host a party for her Legion buddies in the increased space of our reconfigured living room.

These new friends were widows of World War I veterans. Most of these women were British - Grandma did not like to associate with any people who were NOT British! - and two of them were originally from Scotland. How these 'Old Girls' loved to party!

We had a telephone but the next door neighbors did not so members of that family were often over at our house so they could make telephone calls (or we would run next door for one of them to answer an incoming call). They were a musical family so they fit right in with our family and Grandma's guests.

I was in my late teens by this time and Alda was already dating 'Happy' Crandell so the three of us were there as well.  'Happy' was his nickname and it suited his personality very well. At the party he was wearing a shirt that glittered in the lamplight - also, he was wearing a pair of 'leopard' briefs under his slacks which one of these old gals spotted - and then the chase was on.

More than one of the older ladies wanted to wear the shirt and to have a good look at those briefs so he ran with them chasing him (he was afraid of what could happen if one of these 'Old Girls' actually caught him!). It was hilarious. The only neighbors who would have been disturbed by the raucous laughter were the Ricords and most of them were already with us.

I know that there were other social gatherings which were held at our house but this party - and one or two others which followed - are the only ones which I remember.

I don't believe that I have a photograph of that living room but - if I find one - I will scan it and place it here.

Out Late

I attended a small film showing on this past Friday (it was a 'mini Film Festival') and the title which I have given this blog was the title of one of the films which was screened. 'Out Late' refers to older LGBT people who did not 'come out' until later in life.

As two gay men - friends of mine - are one of the featured couples, they invited me to attend. They knew that the screening would be followed by a 'Question and Answer' period with the questions coming from the audience. As they were not sure as to the reception the film - and its content - would have, they wanted some folk present who had seen the film previously and were supportive. I have seen the film about their relationship a few times already but another showing proved interesting - and 'No!' there were not any negative comments.

As I was present already I sat and watched a second film in which an acquaintance from Jamaica is featured quite prominently.

I have heard of the vicious homophobic reactions laid upon LGBT people in the Caribbean nations and this film - 'An Abominable Crime' - overtly shows this (the same type of reaction is being encountered in African nations like Uganda and Nigeria). In the United States of America and in Canada we are very aware of negative feelings expressed by fellow citizens who do not understand who and why we exist. Fortunately, the laws in Canada and the US do not tolerate negative - and dangerous - reaction so - while we may encounter incidents of homophobia - we do not seem to be in the same danger as that expressed towards  LGBT people in the Caribbean and in Africa. However, the film has made me more aware of potential danger and - therefore - the need to be more alert.

Yes, I have met 'homophobes' here but we have not witnessed the atrocities committed in the Caribbean and in Africa. The question that I have been silently asking myself is "Why not?". The film gave me the answer.

While I am aware of TV evangelists and their hateful dogma I have never felt threatened by it. In Jamaica and in Africa the threat is very real!

This pains me no end.

I refuse to watch these TV evangelists and - if I encounter one while walking down the street - I am prepared to answer their slurs and their misinformation.

The narrator in the film "An Abominable Crime" quite clearly states the source of the problem in Jamaica and in the other Caribbean and African countries - it is due to the hateful bile of these preachers from afar.

Today is Sunday and I was in my church this  morning and listened to a sermon that was positive and uplifting - not one that was full of hate.

I believe that this is what the God of us all intends - not the negativity which tries to deny the natural lives of others who live differently because that is who they/we are!

Walking In A Winter Wonderland

I began to work on this blog a few hours ago. However, my fingers slipped on the keys and what I had typed disappeared - even to the draft! So I will try to be more careful this time!

Eastern Canada can be subjected to harsh winter storms and cold weather but this winter of 2013/14 is the coldest and harshest that I have experienced since moving here in 1989 - nor did I experience anything like this while I lived in Prince George, B.C.; Bell Island, Newfoundland; nor Ottawa, Ontario.

Not once but twice we have been beset by an Arctic Vortex - something that I had not encountered before! What is an 'Arctic Vortex'? I have heard two explanations.  The first was that more than one storm system developed and then merged over the north pole and then came south. The first of these systems was the coldest and it was felt as far south as Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. The second - while still cold - was not as harsh as was the first one.

The second explanation was that - instead of moving along the usual route from west to east, the system  (actually, in the end, there were at least three of them) formed in Siberia and then came over the North Pole and down upon us.

It doesn't matter which explanation is the correct one - they were all very cold!  

On Sunday morning a few weeks back  there was an ice storm too. This disrupted the street car service (the ice clung to the overhead wires) so I had to look for an alternative route to get myself to church. I decided upon the ride on the east/west subway to Pape Station and then to take a transit bus down to near Gerrard Street East. However - I forgot one salient point - the bus route traveled down a small valley and the streets leading to the church were all uphill.

I chose the busiest street but still the sidewalks were treacherous. I slipped and fell once and the walk took me at least twenty minutes which is twice as long as it should have taken! The attendance at the service was diminished by the weather conditions but it was still an uplifting experience. After church I returned downtown on the bus that had been put into service to compensate for the lack of streetcars. That vehicle got me to Church Street and brunch without mishap.

Some years ago city council passed an ordinance telling property owners and managers to clear sidewalks of snow and ice. The city owns a large fleet of plows for the roadways and smaller vehicles to clear the sidewalks. However - while the snow is pushed into banks along the side of the walkway, the same thing is not true for the ice underneath. It is still cold outside and - when I go for my daily walks - there are areas where I have to be very careful - there is ice there.

The picture postcard of snow scenes always show pristine white piles of the stuff. In the city the reality is that there is a mixture of salt and sand that is spread in an attempt to clear ice which makes the snowbanks look like piles of granulated brown sugar! 

I have no photos of the view outside during this month of January but I will post a few from other years. It looks pretty - but it is C-O-L-D!!!!

St Mary Street on the south side of this building looking west to Victoria University/College

                                           The courtyard on the south side of this building.

                    The statue of King Edward VII on horseback in the middle of Queens Park 

Michael in Vancouver - look what you are missing, my friend!

One of the romantic poets wrote the following, "When winter comes - can spring be far behind?" Some comic responded with this short phrase, "You bet it can!'


 

Memory

I love the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats' which I watched again the other evening - and, especially, the singing by Geraldine Page of "Memory". This particular piece of music always resonates with me.

When "Cats" first began a 'run' at the Queen Elizabeth Theater in Vancouver, some of the songs - and especially "Memory" - were on the hit parade. One evening my flatmate and I visited a friend and, while we were there, another friend of our host appeared. This man could play the piano and sing and the song that I remember him playing was "Memory".

As the end of the run of "Cats" approached a special performance was scheduled for a Sunday evening which was a fund raiser for the AIDS Committee of Vancouver. As my  roommate was HIV positive, he was given tickets for that performance.

It was great watching the production and recognizing the various characters as they appeared on stage. I do not recall who played the role of Ghrizzabella(?) - the elderly cat who sings "Memory" in the show - but she was great.

At the end of the performance many of us went to a dance bar some blocks from the theater for the 'After Hours Party' where we had the fun of discovering which actor/actress played which part. Only one of the cast members was easy to identify - the older (and large) black man who was 'Old Deuteronomy' in the play - he was the only black in the cast!

The pitiable job that I had at that time was as a door-to-door salesman. The day after the performance - Monday - I was sent to South Surrey. At one of the doors I met the housewife and could not help but notice the cats which were around the place. I mentioned to the lady that I had seen the production of "Cats" the previous evening and the lady responded by saying that she and her family had gone into Vancouver to see a performance a week or so before I had.

Instead of me trying to promote whatever product it was that I was supposed to be selling - all we talked about was "Cats" - both the stage performance as well as the four legged variety that she and I both had as pets!

"Memory!"

Meet Me At Timmie's!

I have posted blogs about restaurants, fast food in Food Courts and the like. However, I have not written about coffee shops in particular which have become my favorite place to head to when I get the mid-afternoon "munchies". Here in Toronto and - I believe - in most if not all North American cities - are coffee shops catering to the need for a beverage and a quick snack and in Toronto there are chains of coffee shops. The most commonly encountered are Tim Horton's.

In the 1940s and '50s Tim Horton was a star player with the Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team and - when he retired from playing hockey - he opened a Tim Horton's Coffee and Doughnut Shop. It was so successful that he opened others  here in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario. Now the franchise can be found in every Canadian province and in many of the US border states.

A few years ago more than one person thought up the idea of driving across Canada stopping for refreshment only at a Tim Horton's and that became the idea for TV advertisements sponsored by the chain.

The complex in which I am living faces onto Bay Street. About 2/3 of a block north of here is a large Tim Horton's and - three blocks south - can be found another (albeit smaller) franchise. Both are open 24 hours a day and are almost always busy.

What do I order when I visit? A coffee and a doughnut and - sometimes - either a sandwich or a bagel with cream cheese filling. I take these items to a table from where I will have a view of most of the eatery and people watch.

A few days ago  a good sized group of Oriental girls came in, were lucky to find a fairly large table which was not occupied, gathered there and - as more and more friends arrived - began moving empty chairs to the chosen table. There are no items on the menu that can be classified as 'Oriental food' so they each ordered what many of the rest of us were consuming, sat and began chattering with each other - as all young people can chatter - while consuming their chosen items.

Occasionally I will get the 'late night munchies' and walk up there for a snack and - even at that late hour - I am not alone. What do I order? Usually either the plain bagel with cream cheese or the 'turkey/bacon/club' sandwich, a medium coffee and a 'chocolate dipped' donut. Up until a year or so ago egg salad sandwiches were also on the menu but they - along with chicken salad - were dropped. I suspect that it was due to more danger from food poisoning from those ingredients than from the usual fare like turkey/bacon/club, grilled cheese and the like.

The Tim Horton outlet down the street is very near the Provincial Government offices so the lineups at the serving counters during the lunch hour are daunting.

The chain with a similar name are the 'Timothy's World Coffees' shops. They are franchised and the owners of one franchise are friends of mine so I walk over to there on many an afternoon. Along with a wide range of different types of coffee, there is tea, cakes, cookies, squares and - yes - even sandwiches to order (I like the egg salad and the feta cheese ones).

While at Tim Horton's the other customers usually are strangers to me while - at Timothy's World Coffees - often I know other patrons so visit while enjoying the coffee and whatever munchies I have chosen for that day. Of late fresh made soups have been added to the menu at Timothy's and I love two of them - Cream of Potato soup with bacon bits and Split Pea soup with ham.

Yes - those coffee outings are rather hard on a tight budget but the upside is that I am not becoming a hermit but am socializing with others.

What's In A Name?

Always I have been fascinated by names of people and their ethnic backgrounds, Living in Canada one is surrounded by people who are - practically - from everywhere. My ancestors - and the ancestors of  most of my friends - are Caucasian. However - I am happy to say - there are more and more friends and acquaintances from every background imaginable.

My first name is Ernest which was the name of my maternal grandfather while my middle name - Charles - was the given name of my paternal grandfather. Alda's first name - Laura - is the same as her maternal great grandmother while her middle name (Alda) is that of her paternal grandmother. Always she has been known as Alda and - as that name is unusual - she has met very few women who have the same name.

The third of we siblings is Babs. Her given names are Gladys Jean - the first name is the same as our mother's and - like Mom - she was born during the Christmas season. I have no idea what induced Dad to name her 'Jean' as well as there are/were no other 'Jeans' in our family. 

The fourth to come along was our late brother Daniel George who was named after Dad (Daniel) and after Dad's half-brother (George). Always Dad was known as 'Dan' while our kid brother was 'Danny' which enabled us to be clear as to whom we were speaking to and/or about.

Our family name has always intrigued me - what is/was the derivation?

During my teen years  I took piano lessons from a Miss Lacasse who - as far as we could tell - was not a close relative to our branch of the family. However, she had conducted some research and told me that three brothers had immigrated to Canada from France during the early days of settlement. Two of the brothers died while the third one sired a family. All of us in Canada with the 'Lacasse' (or de la Casse) surname are descendants from that one man.

Who he was and where he lived (Quebec or New Brunswick?) are unknown.

The family which Alda married into is sur-named Poirier. As the French word for 'pear' (the fruit) is 'poire' I assumed that the name referred to the fruit. After moving to Toronto I met a man whose surname was also 'Poirier'. He had undertaken some research and discovered the answer.

Many many centuries ago a young man had traveled from Great Britain to Normandy where he met and fell in love with a young woman whose father owned land upon which was an orchard including some pear trees. In those days a young man with no dowry would not be allowed to marry into a family who had 'landed' status. The owner of the orchard liked the young man so he thought up a way for him to be an eligible suitor for the daughter - he ceded to him a part of the orchard which contained some of the pear trees. Thus the name 'Poirier'!

I have no idea as to whether this explanation is valid or not but it is certainly romantic!

Neither I - nor my late brother - have direct descendants while both of my sisters do. One of them has a daughter - Teri - who married Paul Denis and gave birth to Nicholas and then Leah and it is the last name to which I wish to refer.

My maternal grandmother's mother was Jewish and - I believe - one of her names was Leah. One member of the family - who belongs to one of the Christian sects - did object to the Jewishness of the name but was overruled. Leah is mentioned in the Old Testament and it is a beautiful story so - as far as most of us are concerned - and as this grandniece is beautiful too - we are proud of her and firmly believe that she was well-named.