A View From The Top with Ted Okkerse

Go Ahead... Pick my Nursing Home

2010-07-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

This year I had the privilege of attending the graduation of one of my granddaughters.

The Leduc Composite High School event was held at the Jubilee Auditorium in

Edmonton.

She is the second of our granddaughters to attend Leduc Comp. and both

have graduated. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the first one.

It was quite a gala affair with the high school band in attendance, who incidentally did a

marvelous job of not only the fill music ahead of the event but also anything

that came afte r w a r d s ,excellent!!

As I am the one saddled with the task of processing the grad pictures for all the

grads in the area, Leduc, Wetaskiwin, Christ the King, Buck Lakeand Pigeon Lake

Regional High School, I sometimes become a bit depressed at the thought that all

these what appear to be nothing more than kids, will soon be running the country and maybe even working at the very nursing home I may soon be residing in. Some of them don’t even look

old enough to be out of grade school.

As the evening progressed, my mind was soon changed. These are bright and

outgoing young adults with new ideas and I must say they seem

to have a greater sense of who they are and the direction theyare headed in than I had at that

young age. When I was a young man, I was unable to express myself in public. These young

men and women are confidently able to step up to the podium and

speak their minds in an intelligent manner. They are also able to sing and play instruments.

They are composers, speakers, singers and mathematicians. They are compassionate not only

about the world around them but of the new ideas that they bring to the table. They are not afraid to speak their minds on any subject. They do not back away from confrontation and believe in a fair exchange of ideas with others. I believe we will be in good hands.

I was also impressed by the inclusion of prayer, not to some indefinable higher power,

but to God. Not only the student body gave thanks but the teachers aswell.

In this day and age, it is not something we have come to expect.

They gave thanks for their parents, their teachers and administrators

and the fact that they live in one of the most fantastic countries in the

world where they have the opportunity to go to school and have the

kind of educations that many in this world will never have. They are truly

a blessed and privileged generation.

After the ceremonies were over and I witnessed the large crowd of

grads throwing their mortar boards high in the air in celebration,

I felt a rather large lump form in my throat. I was proud of my granddaughter

and her circle of friends. I’m sure that at least this small part of the world will be in

better condition than what they found it in.

Kudos to the teachers and to the various schools in the area. I am sure that the feelings

that I experienced during this particular ceremony was repeated many, many times all

over the counties and cities of Leduc and Wetaskiwin. I am sure large, unmanageable lumps

formed in many throats as mothers, fathers, brothers sisters, uncles and aunts watched in pride

as these young men and women all through this area graduated into the next phase of their

young lives to take their places among us as responsible citizens.

Congratulations from all of us here at the Flyer. We are proud of all of you!!

I don’t feel so bad about that nursing home thing now.

Do We Have Value?

2010-07-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

Do We Have Value?

Every time I meet someone on the street, they ask me the same question, how come you don’t write anymore, have you retired? The answer is no, I haven’t retired, I have just pulled back somewhat. I do plan to retire soon but the economy has forced Dian and I to stick around for a little while longer. Having said that I also need to say that one of the main reason’s I have cut back on my editorials is the fact that I really hate being beat-up over them. I’m a real shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy and I believe things should be a certain way and I’m not afraid to tell anyone. As my grandchildren will attest, “grandpa knows it all and has plenty of time to tell everyone about it”. Having said that, I have come to discover a few hard and fast facts. Truth is truth and nothing about that will ever change. Unlike lies, the truth can’t be twisted, bent or stretched in any way. No matter what you do or say, truth will always be truth.

We can tell ourselves that we can lie a little, I mean who hasn’t told a little white lie here and there. We can try to tell ourselves that whatever our spouse doesn’t know won’t hurt them. We can convince ourselves that stealing from a large corporation isn’t really stealing at all, after all we are just taking back what is rightfully ours, I mean they have certainly taken enough from us over the years. We can tell ourselves that abortion is okay, after all babies that small really aren’t persons so it isn’t murder. We can tell ourselves that homosexuality is normal, and what’s wrong with being normal? Therefore why not teach our children that it’s okay to experiment with their sexuality? We can have many out-of-wedlock relationships, I mean really, who does it hurt?

We live our lives to the fullest and enjoy everything that God has put on this earth and never worry about the consequences of our actions. We find it more convenient to live outside of the perceived restrictions God’s truths have place on us. I mean it’s really hard to enjoy life to the max with all the those rules.

The problem is, our bodies and our spirits are designed for a specific purpose and if we live outside of that purpose, there are consequences. If we drink to much and become alcoholics, our body suffers. If we smoke, our lungs suffer, if we over eat, we become obese and our muscles and organs suffer. We are beautifully made but if we do things we are not designed for, we suffer. But we have free will to do whatever we want to do, but the unchanged truth still remains, we can’t live in this manner without consequence. It all comes down to value. Do you value yourself? Do others value you? Do you actually have any value at all?

Existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre wrote, “The existentialist finds it extremely embarrassing that God does not exist, for there disappears with Him all possibility of finding values in an intelligible heaven.. Everything is indeed permitted if God does not exist, and man is in consequence forlorn, for he cannot find anything to depend on within or without himself.”

As stated in the book by Max Lucado entitled; No Wonder They Call Him Savior, Lucado writes. If man has no destiny, the next logical step is that man has no value. If man has no future, he isn’t worth much. He is worth, in fact about as much as a tree or a rock. There is no reason to be here, therefore, there is no value. Our system goes haywire. We feel useless and worthless. We create false value systems. We say that you are valuable if you are pretty or can slam dunk a basketball or snag a pop fly. Perhaps if you have a PHD behind your name or drive an expensive foreign car. Value is now measured by two criteria, appearance and performance. Self worth is measured by accomplishment.

The fact of the matter is, If there is no God then what is the point of our existence, we would be like animals living only to die with no other purpose than to eat, sleep, reproduce and defecate. A bleak existence to be sure.

So why don’t I write more frequently? Truth is, no one wants to be told that the things they are doing are wrong or outside of God’s purpose, especially by me. They want to believe that their particular version of the truth is the real truth. They feel justified in the way they live their lives. No one can tell them how to live, after all we live in a society where if it feels good. We have been told that this is all there is, why live for anything other than today.

When we live in the truth we have worth not only because we exist but because we have been created in the image of the creator and He values us.

I will be trying to write more in future editions. but I find that I am more critical than I should be. I should try to love more and criticize less. We should not have to beat truth down anyone’s throat, after all it doesn’t change a thing. Trying to live by example would be the right way to teach and to instruct but Christ did that and they crucified Him for it. Truth is I’m not anywhere near that good, so what would they do to me?

Ted Okkerse

I’m all choked up.. Uh, Ha!

2010-02-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

I have heard several comments during these two weeks about the 2010 Olympics. Comments such as “What a colossal waste of money”, “Why didn’t they use the money to help the homeless?”, “Why couldn’t the money have been used for infrastructure?”
I suppose these are all legitimate questions, but would the money really be better spent on such projects or are the Olympics really worth the money. The Olympic experience is in itself one of the most amazing events for getting the country, if not the world, to pull together in a way almost no other event could.
I am not a sports fan in any way, shape or form, but even I get caught up in the hype and excitement of the games. I even got emotional during the opening ceremonies. I found myself getting all choked up when I saw all those great Canadians making their way into B.C. Place. Anne Murray, Donald Sutherland, Wayne Gretzky, Rick Hansen, Nancy Greene-Raine, Terry Fox’s mom, Betty Fox, Michaelle Jean, and our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. Why I even got all teary eyed when K.D. Lang sang her number, she was fabulous.
What does patriotism cost? What is it worth? Actually many governments have tried to buy it but it can’t be bought because it’s priceless, it can’t be forced it can only be fostered. But when you have it, the country thrives because it’s people are proud to be citizens.
What does it mean to be a Canadian? Is it the beer we drink? Is it hockey, or the fact that we say Eh and some of us wear toques? No! It’s none of those things. It’s the fact that we are a unique blend of cultures, a tolerant mix that have over time become known as a standout country on the world stage. Always ready to help, always ready to stand on guard not only for our own country but also for the rights of other countries. Being Canadian is an experience that other countries can only dream of. In the words of American gold medalist Shani Davis during an interview after his speed skating win, he found it astounding that Canadians are so patriotic, even more so than Americans. We are not usually chest thumpers or flag wavers, but our patriotism runs deep and like our culture and our nature, it is understated, but don't ever think that our pride in our country isn’t deep and ingrained. True Patriot Love is not just part of a song, it’s defines who we are and how we live.
As for the Olympics, it makes me even more proud to be a part of such a great country. Yes it costs a lot of money to host such an event, but the benefits are huge. The infrastructure that was put in place will last for generations to come.
As it was in Edmonton when this city hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1978. The Kinsmen Aquatic Center was added to the Kinsmen Field House to host those games. Commonwealth Stadium also built for the Commonwealth Games, has been home to the Edmonton Eskimos for over three decades. So it was in Calgary. Because of the winter Olympics that were held there, they now have a world class winter playground just on the outskirts of the city.
So it will be in Vancouver.
Do you believe? I do. Anything that can make someone like me actually sit down and watch 10 ends of curling which to me runs a close second to a hot game of Pick-up-Sticks as the most boring game on the planet, is just fine with me.
I may be a hoser, but I love the place. Go Canada!!

Thanks for the Fleas

2010-01-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been getting a bit despondent about not only the direction of my personal life, but also my business life.

Although I’m normally a very optimistic person, of late I am becoming more and more critical of others and also more negative. I have even come to the point where I have actually begun to question God. Not the fact that He exists, but the things, at least in our estimation, He allows to occur. I see all kinds of suffering around me. I see young single moms with little or no support, I see people living on the streets and in below standard housing. I see those who can barely afford the bare necessities of life and can’t even afford to clothe themselves properly and there are those who have so much, it would take a lifetime simply to count it. More and more we see lower income folks unable to afford even the very basics of life.

It makes one wonder why and leads us to question why God would allow these things to happen to His creation.

It’s impossible for us to understand what God is up to. The truth be known, we don’t even understand what we ourselves are up to. We are motivated by self and nothing else. Our own gratification is the only thing that concerns us. If we don’t have what we consider enough of whatever we consider important to us, we are unhappy. Basically our life motivations are pretty well the same as those of a child. If we have what we want, we are happy, if not we are sad. If someone else has to suffer to make us happy, so be it.

No human knows what God is up to but we do know that His ways are not our ways and His motives are not our motives. What we are made aware of through His teachings is the fact that He is wholly motivated by love. His ways are to keep us out of harm and for our own good, but He has given us free will and that constantly gets in the way. Most of us understand that we grow the most as individuals in the tough times. True enough the tough times are far from pleasant, but the easy times offer nothing in the way of emotional growth and spiritual learning. Although tough times are hard to swallow, if we pay attention there is always a lesson to be learned.

Dian and the kids and I went to listen to Pastor Mark Hughs from the Church of the Rock in Winnipeg at the Jubilee Auditorium on Saturday and his sermon touched a cord in me. He spoke on this very thing and as an illustration he used an excerpt from the book, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. In her book, Ten Boom tells about an incident that taught her the principle of giving thanks in all things.

It was during World War II. Corrie and her sister, Betsy, had been harboring Jewish people in their home, so they were arrested and imprisoned at Ravensbruck Prison Camp. The barrack they were in was extremely crowded and infested with fleas. One morning they read in their tattered Bible from 1 Thessalonians (Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus). Betsy said, "Corrie, we've got to give thanks for this barracks and even for these fleas." Corrie replied, "No way am I going to thank God for fleas." But Betsy was persuasive, and they did thank God not only for the horrible conditions they had to endure, but even for the fleas. During the months that followed, they discovered that their barrack was left relatively free of sexual molestation by the Germans and they were even left alone enough to be able to do Bible study, talk openly, and even pray in the barracks. It was their only place of refuge. Several months later they learned that the reason the guards never entered their barracks was because of those blasted fleas. The other barracks were not infested with fleas and they were not as fortunate.

My point is that although we don’t have a clue what God is up to and why He is putting us through trying times, He has His reasons and it will come to our good. So remember to thank Him, not only for the good stuff, but also for the fleas.

KNOWING WHERE WE’RE FROM IS THE FIRST STEP ON THE ROAD HOME

2009-12-15T09:54:00.000-08:00

Just before this Christmas season, I started reading the first volume of the Christian History Project book, “The Veil is Torn”. The project to date consists of 7 beautifully bound books with a final five to be published by sometime in 2010. The project lays out the entire history of Christianity in an easy to understand format including beautiful illustrations and side notes that are easy to understand even for the layperson. I have decided to mention these books at this time because the plight of christianity hangs heaviest on my heart during the Christmas season. Those wanting to learn where we came from and how some of our most cherished institutions came to be would do well to read these volumes. The following is a foreword written by Ted Byfield.

Foreword to The Veil Is Torn
“The most dangerous people, said the twentieth-century Christian essayist G.K. Chesterton, are those who have been cut off from their cultural roots. Had he lived long enough, he would have seen his observation hideously fulfilled. At the time of his death in 1936, Germany, one of the greatest of the Christian nations, had been amputated from its Christian origins and was embracing instead wild doctrines founded on sheer nonsense. Thus deluded, they set off the world’s worst-ever war. People who don’t believe in something, Chesterton also said, can be persuaded to believe in anything. How right he was. Today, we are just such a people. That America, indeed the whole western world, is being wrenched away from its cultural origins has become a self-evident fact. For half a century, our literature, our popular music and drama, the visual arts, Hollywood and much of the film industry have been disseminating a genre of nihilism which debases almost every form of human virtue and exalts sensual gratification beyond anything the senses could possibly fulfill. Meanwhile, the liberal arts faculties of our universities work zealously to cut off the branch they are sitting on, diligently destroying the very foundations upon which the whole concept of higher education rests. The result of all this is a culturally dispossessed people, the very situation in which Chesterton saw such mortal danger. What are our foundations? Though it has of late become intellectually unfashionable to even think it, let alone say it, the fact is that our cultural origins are almost wholly Christian. Our founding educational institutions, our medical system, our commitment to the care of the aged and infirm, our concept of individual rights and responsibilities all came to us through Christianity. Our best literature, our most enduring music, our finest sculptural masterpieces and many of the greatest paintings in every age are those of professed and dedicated Christians. Finally our concept of democracy came to us from the Greeks through Christianity. Is it by mere coincidence that all those nations that have best instituted and preserved democratic government emerged from Christian origins? I don’t think so. The purpose of this series is to describe these foundations, to say who we are and how we got here. That is, to establish our real roots. It has been a long journey, two thousand years, and neither it nor we have been uniformly benevolent. But this is our past, this our family, and knowing who it is and what it has done is the first step in finding our way home.

Ted Byfield”

(used by permission)

These words, written by one of Alberta’s most outspoken publicists Ted Byfield, ring even truer at the advent of this holiday season. A season when Albertans, Canadians and for that matter most of the western world, flock to mega malls and box stores by the millions to fulfill thier jaded Christmas fantasies with things they can’t afford and don’t need. With few exceptions most have forgotten why we celebrate Christmas and have gone so far as to totally replace the name of Christ himself with an X in an effort to eliminate any reference to our Christian roots. We are teaching our children that things of the material world rather than spiritual fulfillment will bring happiness and success to thier lives. But as with all material goods, emptiness soon follows and the void has to be filled over and over again. We have rushed headlong into the abyss of the material world and forsaken our very history. We have forgotten why we are here and what our real purpose is. God’s only Son laid down His life to pay for our transgressions and paved the narrow road to eternal life with His own blood. This is not a celebration of material goods, this is the celebration of the birth of Christ. He is our only fulfillment, He is all we need.

Ted Okkerse

Why let sleeping dog lie when it's so much fun poking them?

2009-12-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

I observed with horror the events surrounding the “Tiger” incident this last week. I am not mortified by the actions of Mr. Woods but of the media coverage and the reaction of the general public. I find it appalling that three major newspapers in Edmonton, and I’m sure every large paper in every large centre in North America, featured the same hashed and re-hashed information about the man, including private emails, phone records, arguments with his spouse right down to the size and type of the golf club she used to whack his car. How low have we sunk as a society when the most important item on the front of our most prestigious newspapers, TV news reports and radio talk shows in the country have nothing better to report than the very private trials and tribulations of a so-called celebrity. It seems that we as a society some how feel violated because someone we had looked up to because he knows how to swing a golf club has fallen from the high pedestal we have placed him on. My goodness, is that the best we have to offer? Who the heck are we that we expect that this man, a golfer, owes us an explanation and a public apology for transgressions he perpetrated against his own family? It must be that it makes us all feel better about the skeletons in our own closets when we see others fail. I listened to a talk show the day that the story broke. People who called in where absolutely incensed that he would do such a thing, after all he seemed like such a nice guy. What makes them think that he is such a nice guy, they don’t even know him. They have no more of an idea of what he’s like than he knows what we are like. The man you see on TV and in magazines is a fabrication of the media and that is all. The real issues of the day seem to be all but forgotten. Take the so-called “Climate Gate” issue for instance. It is being largely ignored by the main-stream media. Apparently they find the lie too big to be true. Some so-called right wing newspapers are reporting on it, but because they are considered right wing they apparently have no clout or credibility with the main stream (small l) liberal world view regurgitated over and over again by larger, more influential media outlets. The fact that many so-called top climate scientists have been caught in bold faced manipulation of the facts doesn’t seem to be a big thing. As a matter of fact there are those who seem to think that a few lies here and there will not make any difference. There are many reputable scientists that still agree that the climate change models presented conclude that we are doomed to a fate worse than death. The only problem is that most of the skewed findings have been used world wide, even by honest researchers, putting into question the whole climate change model presented by even honest climatologists. Maybe I have my priorities backwards folks, but when will the scientists that lied and manipulated this data present us with an apology? When will they come forward and admit that they have skewed information in an effort to mislead the public. This is not a sports figure. These are people who are using public research funding, our tax dollars. And they are deliberately lying to divert more dollars from us, the taxpayer, into the coffers of phoney researchers in an effort to perpetuate the lie. Having said all that, I firmly believe that we are responsible for our environment. We have dominion over the earth and it’s flora and fauna, however that doesn’t give us the right to abuse that power. As stewards of the earth, we have a responsibility to conduct ourselves in such a way as to protect what we have been given dominion over and change is necesary and will will come. As for Tiger, leave the guy alone. If there is an apology forthcoming, it should be to his children and his wife. We have no right to expect anything from him except to sink that long putt and that’s all.By the way, our editor Brian Hahn promised to leave the Climate debate alone, but I didn’t.

Good Things Do Happen

2009-11-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

Whenever we read the news it seems that for the best part we tend to focus on the bad rather than the good. I guess good just isn’t sensational enough. Especially when it comes to kids, adults seem to be under the impression that they’re all bad or at least heading that way. But you know what? They’re not. As a matter of fact I think most kids are great. It’s just that the bad ones just stick out like sore thumbs.

This Halloween evening, the night of all nights when one would expect that if kids were going to do bad things, that would be the one night where bad would be the norm. Saturday evening (Halloween) Dian and I were not able to be home and we were in a bit of a pickle as to what to do about the dozens of kids, young and old, that normally stop by our house for the usual supply of Halloween goodies. I decided to take a leap of faith. We had a 2.5 gallon plastic pail just over half full of candy that we were going to give out. I devised a small paper sign and taped it to the top of the pail. It read; “Please help yourself. Please don’t be greedy as there are other’s besides yourselves”. I put the pail on the front porch of the house with the lights on and left for Camrose.

Several hours later on the way home, Dian and I were speculating on what the result of our little experiment might be. At the very least we were certain that all the candy would be gone and that would be fine, after all we did buy it for the kids. I for one was sure that not only would the candy be gone, the pail would also be nowhere to be found. I mean after all, what could be better for a little hoodlum than a ton of candy in a convenient carrying case?

The truth was far more astounding than the fictional scenarios we had built up in our minds. As we drove up to the house not only was the pail still on the porch, almost half of the candy was still in the pail! They did dig through the goodies to remove all the smarties though.
It reminded me of my morning Bible reading in the book of Matthew, that I should have had more faith and that we should not be judgemental of others.

Matthew 7
Judging Others

1."Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

2. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

4. How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

5. You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Thanks to the kids that came. It was a lesson learned for me.
Ted Okkerse

Ted and Dwayne’s Fantastic Fruity Adventure

2009-09-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

I never would have believed it if someone had told me it was going to happen and even seeing it with my own eyes, I still find it hard to comprehend, but there it is, I’ve turned domestic.

Harvest time has come upon us here in the valley and the time has come to try and deal with the huge quantities of fruit that are not only on our property here but also growing wild just about anywhere you look. Be it apple trees which seem to be around every bend in the road or huckle berries, thimble berries, goose berries, plums, pears or whatever else you may want to think of.

The trouble with all this abundance is the fact that it has to be dealt with and time is of the essence. If the produce sits too long it very rapidly become comes food for whatever gets to it first, be it bears, deer, hippies, or whatever kind of produce grabbing characters may happen to come along. Although it is very badly out of character (after all I am a bricklayer, not some kind of mommie’s boy), last week I was forced to deal with an abundance of plums and pears. Never in my life have I done any canning and I certainly didn’t have any intentions of starting, however with a bit of pushing from a bachelor neighbour I decided to give it a go. After all fruit is free and I am Dutch and saving money is what we do.

The real money saving started with a trip to the local canning store in Castlegar to get the needed supplies such as pectin, sugar, spices, lids, rings, lifting devices, canners, and little magnetic thing-a-ma-bobs for lifting hot jar lids out of the water without actually losing any skin to scalding water. And the list goes on. At this point the savings come to about -$63.00 and I don’t actually have any canning done yet. However the real savings started when my son in-law from Leduc showed up on his Harley. Being a rig worker he decided that no real job can be started or even contemplated without a lot of thought. Thought being what it is requires lots of quiet and concentration according to Dwayne which by the way is best done on his Harley. Being that one of the best Toy Runs in the country is held this time of year in this area, we hooked up with a thousand other bikes in Castlegar and after a fine breakfast headed on the road to Nelson the first stop on the run. Savings at this juncture total -$113.63.

We reached Nelson shortly before 11:00 am and after talking to some other biker types we discovered that the annual Hills Garlic Festival was on and you know you can just never have enough garlic. So after a 60 km. ride along Kootenay Lake and great lunch at the Kaslo Hotel overlooking the lake, we headed over the mountains to New Denver and the Garlic Festival. Savings after this little adventure added up to a whopping -$173.87.

After touring the Garlic Festival we got mighty thirsty because garlic flavoured beer just wasn’t what we had in mind. We left New Denver in search of a watering hole and found just what we were searching for in the small town of Silverton. We left Silverton and headed on back to Winlaw after making a stop in the town of Slocan to pick up supper and snack supplies that would enable us to do more heavy thinking about the canning situation. Savings -$211.43.

Now it really was time to recoup some of our losses by doing some serious canning. Sooo... the next day we spent the entire time canning. You know it wasn’t actually all that bad. I think women may have something there, it was kind of fun. We ended up with 15 pints of spiced plum jam, 17 quarts of canned golden plums and 12 quarts of canned pears in brandy. Now you may think that isn’t much but as far as I know, you just can’t buy those kind of homemade preserves anywhere for any price. That’s actually a good thing because those 30 some quarts cost me about $300.00 and at those prices who could afford them?

Wait a minute, I forgot to count the fuel for the bikes.

Feel the Burn

2009-08-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

The area where Dian and I have decided to retire lays right smack dab in the middle of some of the best holiday areas in the country. I didn’t come to this particular spot for that reason, as a matter of fact I wasn’t even aware of that fact when we found this place. Besides the fact that next to the Okanogan it is one of the best fruit and vegetable growing areas in western Canada, it also boasts great fishing, hunting, hiking and swimming. This time of year, no matter where you turn, there is fruit growing. There are apple, pear and plum trees in every ditch and in every yard. Truly a land of plenty.

One of the charms of this area I recently became aware of is the Slocan river, which flows just a short distance from our acreage. Of course I knew of it’s existence but what I didn't know was that it is nationally renowned for being one of the best tubing rivers in the country. Tubing is one thing I had never done before. The river is quite short as rivers go, stretching from Slocan Lake to the Kootenay River, a distance of about 30 or so km. as the crow flies. I don’t really know how far the river meanders but I do know that in places it can take up to four hours to float five or six km. The river offers a bit of everything for everyone from slow drifting to shooting rapids near the junction of the Slocan and the Kootenay. There are places to rent kayaks and tubes and enthusiasts come from all parts of the country.

The particular stretch of river near our place is of the slower more mundane variety, just right for older folks and beginners such as yours truly. The last time we were in Edmonton we found a huge tube at Costco fit for up to five adults. It is the tubers dream, a veritable floating island just over ten feet across. It boast comfortable seating for five, six drink holders and two built in coolers. The part of the river we decided to brave runs between two bridges and takes a good four hours to complete. Our granddaughter and her boyfriend were down for the weekend so a tubing we did go. Now you all know just as well as I do that older folks such as myself and likely yourself, could never begin to take advice from younger less knowledgeable teenager types. After all, what do they know, why they’re barely dry behind the ears and we have years and years of pent up wisdom and knowledge just waiting to be dumped on youngsters such as themselves, right?.. Wrong....

Still echoing in my ears three weeks later are the very words from my granddaughter, “Grandpa, did you bring any sunscreen? I have some if you would like to use it, you could get burned, after all it’s 35 c. and that afternoon sun can get really brutal.” But the wizened reply came. “Don’t be silly, I’ve never been burned, I used to work in the hot sun all day long years before you were born.” Besides what harm is there in a little burn?

Three hours later I decided that covering up my shoulders and legs would be a prudent thing to do, however my lower legs would be just fine, after all they are dangling in the water.
The other words still ringing in my ears are those of the doctor in the Medi-Clinic in Nelson the following day, “My, my, those are second degree burns on those legs, must be terrible painful,” here is a prescription for some painkillers.” “Some Polysporin will bring some relief and keep off your feet and keep them elevated for a few days.” ”For goodness sake, why didn't you use some sunblock”?

Does anyone have any relief for a badly bruised ego?

Marching Around Naked

2009-06-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

As some of you may or may not know, I have taken a three month sabbatical to prepare our eventual retirement property in the Kootenays of British Columbia. Our place is located right in the heart of what used to be known as Sons of Freedom territory. The Sons of Freedom was a breakaway sect of Doukabors that had some very different ideas and were active in the area around Castlegar, Nelson and up into the Slocan. The biggest concentration being in Krestova and Crescent Valley. I don’t really know a lot about what was going on, but they seemed to have some issues with the government of the day. Their protests hit the media on a regular basis and usually took the form of marching around naked, burning their homes or blowing things to smithereens. I’m not really sure what if anything that really accomplished in the end analysis, but it sure made for some fine media coverage.

As most of the women that marched around in their birthday suits were of the older and chunkier variety, I’m sure a lot of young boys of that era thought twice about getting married becoming confirmed bachelors and still are to this very day. Most of the population of the area still consists of predominantly Doukabors with a good smattering of Hippies and old draft dodgers from the ‘70s with a few newcomers such as displaced Albertans and other assorted foreigners.

Having said all that, the neighbours thus far seem to be a great bunch. I’ve met quite a few and especially the Doukabors are very outgoing and ready to help with whatever they can at the drop of a hat. They do have a few peculiarities that set them aside from the imports. They hate to waste anything! Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing, you know the old saying, “waste not want not”. The only problem is that eventually you run out of room to store things. Not only that, “where do you draw the line”? I mean really, at the place we bought which is just over 4 acres, most of the area around the buildings is taken up with bits of wood, kindling, jars, cans, windows, boxes (cardboard and wood), bottles, old insulation, wiring, plumbing, old drawers (not the kind you wear), rusty shovels, hoes, pitch forks with no handles and even scythes, (whoever has one or knows what they are, stand up, you’re older than me) and the list goes on and on. But on the bright side, I could start a second hand store, except for the fact that everyone in the valley likely has two or three of whatever I might have in stock.

By and large, the older folks such as the two sisters that owned our place, didn’t believe in painting anything such as homes, outbuildings sheds or garages and as such most everything is in a sad state of repair. Either that or the thought was, if it was painted in 54’, why should it be painted again? It just so happens that one of the houses on our property was built somewhere around the 40s, and I’m sure that most of the material in it was salvaged from some former home or homes in the area. It’s in pretty tough shape. We decided that it really wasn’t worth saving so we called the local fire department to see if perhaps they would like to use it for fire practice and burn it down for us. The next day a nice young fellow named John who is the Fire Chief for the town of Winlaw came down to look the situation over and decided that the next fire practice would be a good time to burn the old girl down.

As it happened, the old house used to be heated by stove oil which is about the same as diesel fuel, and an old tank next to the house had a couple of hundred litres of fuel in it and the Fire Chief wanted it empty before the burn. I didn’t know what to do to empty the fuel. I mentioned the problem to my nephew across the road and he said, “no problem, we’ll just call some of the neighbours and see if they would like to have it.” Two short calls were made and by the time I walked home the block to may place, that tank was dryer than a popcorn you know what.

Some of the locals have gotten wind that the house is going to be burnt and rumour has it that before the fire department lights it up, there will be nothing left but an empty shell. They tell me that it will be akin to a school of piranhas attacking a sick cow trying to make it across the Amazon. I don’t know how well I’m going to fit in here, but I do know that I managed to save the empty tank for myself and I did salvage a door, some electrical fittings and some copper plumbing.

Maybe I’ll change my name to Okkersnoff.

Have a Heart Michaëlle, I mean, Really, Have a heart

2009-06-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago Michaëlle Jean, Canada’s Governor General, started a fervor when she ate a piece of raw baby seal heart during a traditional Innuit feast. The act has sparked everything from anger from animal rights activists to pride in our country and our Governor General from down home rednecks like yours truly. Everyone has jumped into the fray including Paul and Linda McCartney of Beatles fame.

In past years Paul and Linda have been seen laying on the ice during the annual seal hunt extolling the plight of the poor baby seals that they consider are being brutally murdered. They have even gone as far as comparing them to human babies in their zeal to bring their plight to the international stage.

So what’s it all about? Is it really about cruelty to animals? Is it about arachic killing methods or is it about warm fuzzy feelings towards a certain species? It’s interesting to note that the greater portion of the protest is coming out of Hollywood. Most of the protesters being entertainers such as Paul McCartney and Heather Mills McCartney, Brigitte Bardot, Morrissey, Rolf Harris, Richard Dean Anderson, Charles Aznavour, Kim Basinger, Juliette Binoche, Pamela Anderson, Martin Sheen, Mogwai (band), Pierce Brosnan, Paris Hilton, Sara Quin, Loretta Swit, Rutger Hauer, John Paul DeJoria, Ed Begley, Jr., Dave Foreman, Farley Mowat, Linda Blair, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. These I’m sure all have degrees in animal conservation. Although I love watching them on TV and the big screen, I believe that for the best part the majority of them don’t have a clue about the real world that the rest of us smucks have to live in.

I did a bit of digging around on the internet just to get a feel of what others are thinking of the situation. I found a blog site with a comment that pretty well sums up the mentality of people living in large cities that have no idea where food actually comes from:
Seriously! Why don't they just go to Fisherman's Market or Rubio's!? That's soooo gross! That poor baby seal! Why did those dumb mean Eskimos have to do icky stuff like this?? Gahl! Stephanie, Torrance, USA

Well Steph, what about the chicken, pork, beef, veal, or whatever it is that you consume, where in the heck did you think that it comes from? What about the two sunnyside up chicken embryos with a side of sliced fried pork belly you had for breakfast this morning?

Do you suppose it all just comes from some big factory where it grows in big vats and it is shaped and formed and put into packages for your convenience? No Steph, it all comes from some poor dumb animal that was killed just so that you and those like you can eat and be dressed. Is it done humanly? Take a trip to a commercial killing plant sometime and open your eyes to the real world. We are carnivores of the highest order, as a matter of fact if you check the food chain, you will see your own smiling face at the top of the heap.

Did anyone ever wonder what the reaction to the seal hunt would be if they, the seals, actually looked like toads instead of cute furry little critters with big soulful eyes? I can tell you that no one would care. As a matter of fact on March 29th of this year there was a mass killing of cane toads in Queensland, Australia. The toads are a nuisance and in an effort to control the situation, even school kids were enrolled in the toad round-up. Prizes were given out for the largest number of toads gathered. The toads were then killed and ground up to be used as fertilizer in the sugar cane fields. No one batted an eye, not one comment was made in defense of the toad.

It’s all about emotion and nothing else. The seals are cute, so it goes to reason that they have to be saved. Toad are gross so kill them. While most of those on the emotional side of the coin have little or no conservation background or knowledge, I found one who has considerable. Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997) was renowned worldwide as a pioneer of marine conservation. He had this to say in regard to the seal hunt protest, "The harp seal question is entirely emotional. We have to be logical. We have to aim our activity first to the endangered species. Those who are moved by the plight of the harp seal could also be moved by the plight of the pig - the way they are slaughtered is horrible." There is talk that our Governor General will be participating in an actual harp seal hunt during the next season, I only have this to say: “Club one for me Michaëlle.”

THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK

2009-05-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

I take my hat off to the Alberta Government for the steps they have taken to ensure that parents rights to raise their children the way they see fit is being upheld in the Alberta school system. A new bill introduced by the Alberta government proposes mandatory notification of parents when classes will be discussing evolution, sexuality or sexual orientation, as well as allowing the parents to opt their children out of these classes should they find them offensive or inappropriate for their children. An organization by the name of Egale Canada immediately took offense to the notion that parents would be in control of the direction of their children’s education. They are particularly concerned about what they call LGTBQ (Lesbian, Gay, Trans gendered, Bi-sexual and Queer) students. (By the way, I didn’t make that up). The organization seems to be particularly concerned about students from religious families that may have alternative sexual tendencies and face pressures from parents and religious leaders thus confusing them and creating roadblocks for their future sexual fulfillment and happiness. According to Helen Kennedy, Executive Director of Egale Canada. "The impact that this will have on the early development of young LGBT persons from religious families, already in an extremely difficult situation, could be catastrophic." Egale Canada is Canada's LGBT human rights organization advancing equality, diversity, education and justice. I just don’t understand, when did parents actually give up the right to guide their own children in moral and spiritual issues? When did teachers or for that matter any public school educator become experts on teaching our kids anything other that the curriculum that we used to be taught as children, how did we ever survive? How did we ever learn that we actually are male and female? If Egale Canada is standing up for the advancement of equality, diversity, education and justice for LGTBQ (Lesbian, Gay, Trans gendered, Bi-sexual and Queer) students, who is standing up for the likes of the religious community? Egale Canada claims to stand up for equality and justice but they appear to want to exclude anything that they dont’ agree with or don’t understand. I don’t understand why evolution, a theory that really has never been proven is being taught as fact. If theories such as evolution can be taught in schools, why can’t religion, and I don’t just mean Christianity, I also mean Muslim, Judaism, Buddism and such. Give our children the full spectrum of human belief. Give them the chance to choose their own belief system, not just what the education system and for that matter, Egale Canada deems appropriate. I believe it’s only right that if children are going to be taught one world view over the exclusion of all others, parents should have the right to pull their children from those classes. In reading the Edmonton Journal, I came across an interesting tidbit on this issue. A fellow from Ontario by the name of Roy Grandy wrote in an opinion that states: “Oh the shame! I truly (niavely, it turns out) thought Canada was a bastion of enlightenment. Alberta is planning to pass a law excusing studenst from classes where the subjects of evolution or homosexuality are being discussed. This is a huge step back to the dark ages of religious censorship and persecution, and a dangerous precedent. Shame on all of us, but especially on Alberta.”
Wow Roy are you ever right on the mark there, the only problem is the fact that you have it backwards. Instead of going back to the religious types persecuting those of alternative thought, we now have the shoe on the other foot. Those of alternative thought are now persecuting anything that doesn’t fit in their little pigeon hole that they call their world. It just bogles my mind that so-called forward thinkers such as Ole’ Roy seem to accept anything that fits into their own idea of what is right or wrong. However they have no intention of ever accepting or even considering anything that might shake their beliefs. They have no problem jumping on the religious persecution bandwagon never giving a thought to the freedoms of any group that does not believe as they do. Roy! When you talk about a dangerous precedent, you weren’t just kidding. You’re teaching persecution 101. I don’t really care for our provincial government a whole bunch, but bully for them on this one. What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander.

LET THEM BURN DUNG

2009-05-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

In a recent article written by Elisabeth Rosenthal that was taken from the New York Times News Service and appeared in the Edmonton Journal April 26th, fingers were pointed at the most impoverished people of our world.
The article featured a picture of a small family huddled around a dung and stick fired cook stove constructed of stone and covered with a piece of metal. The children are dressed in what appears to be underwear and T-shirts and no shoes. There are no signs of any kind of furniture, wall coverings, floor coverings, nor utensils with which to actually cook or eat with. The picture was taken in one of India’s poorest areas in a village named Kohlua. The village has no cars and little electricity. The normal culprits cited in the “Global Warming” debate are almost nonexistent.
But are these poor smucks who live in this village free from the finger pointing of crazed environmentalists? Not likely. These poor folks who consider themselves fortunate if they
happen to come across an extra piece of dung or a few small sticks to fire their cookstoves that
evening, are being targeted by rabid environmentalists that are ready to put an immediate end to the “Black Carbon” that they are emitting while cooking their meager evening meals.
Its interesting to me that it always seems easier to put the blame on those that can’t fight back. For that matter I don’t even think that those being accused of this heinous crime, are even aware that they are being targeted by the pollution police. I seriously doubt that they are able to read. And further if they could read and actually had a newspaper, they would likely burn the paper as fuel for their cookstoves. Further in the story the brilliant Climate Scientist, Veerabhadran Ramanathan purported to be the brains behind this latest revelation, is proposing that all the stoves in India be replaced with more efficient modern units that give of less black carbon emissions than the old stone units. In his words “Black Carbon” is responsible for about 18% of the planet’s warming compared to 40% for carbon dioxide (which incidently is not being emitted
by anyone in Kohlua because they can’t afford it).
The questions that immediately come to mind are; if they have updated stoves, what are
they going to burn that will reduce emissions? Who will pay for the fuel? Who will pay for the
stoves? If they are issued new stoves by some benefactor at an estimated cost of about $30
US., why would they not sell them and use the money to buy food or clothing for their families?
In doing some research on the subject, I came across other article by this imminent climatologist. In his article he gave percentages that make clear who contributes what in the way
of “Black Carbon.”
42% Open bioass burning (forest and savanna burning).
18% Residential biofuel burned with traditional technologies.
14% Diesel engines for transportation.
10% Diesel engines for industrial use.
10% Industrial processes and power generation, usually from smaller boilers.
6% Residential coal burned with traditional technologies.
Soooo... This tells me that 18% of the so called “Black Carbon” is produced by those nasty people trying to eke out a living in the impoverished villages of India and other third world countries. As “Black Carbon” makes up only 18% of the so-called Global Warming debacle anyway, this means that the inefficient stoves used by these poorest of the poor make up only 3.24% of the carbon that is supposedly causing global warming. This leaves us with an interesting number; 97.26%. That is the percentage of carbon based and carbon dioxide not emitted by the poor of the world. Not only do they not create much carbon, that they also don’t throw anything away; no plastics, no metals, no cardboard, as a matter of fact they waste nothing. We on the other hand have turned waste into an art form. Small third world countries could live quite comfortably on what we throw away. Its’
actually shameful that we as a society would have the gall to point fingers at folks living in
such a manner as to have a carbon footprint so small it could only be described as a “Carbon
Finger Print” while we carry on as if there’s no tomorrow when it comes to our planet.
I am far from being a global warming advocate but I do believe that we need to take much better care of the resources that we have been given the care of. I’m sure Ramanathan had a greater effect on the environment just traveling to that poor village to examine their plight than those poor folks have in a lifetime. I certainly believe in reducing our “Carbon Footprint,” but I for one would like to leave a size 13 foot print on the rear ends of some of these characters that come up with this garbage.

JUST A RANT

2009-04-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

It’s been some time since I wrote anything for the paper, so I thought it was about time that I put pen to paper so to speak and do a bit of a rant. I don’t know whether it’s my age or just that the whole world around me is gradually going nuts, but I notice that no one seems to have any regard for any kind of rules or authority anymore. I tend to drive at what some used to consider just a bit on the fast side, you know, just over the legal limit. Not much, but if the limit is 100, then I like to set my cruise on about 108 or so. But now instead of keeping up with the traffic, I seem to be gumming up the works. Guys, girls, old men and old women are streaming by me like I’m a clot in an artery. Nobody signals or shows any kind of common courtesy for the other drivers on the road. The goal is to get there as soon as possible no matter what the cost or consequences. The other day I was driving east on the Anthony Henday when a young lady (I call her that for lack of a better word) was trying to merge into my lane from the right. She made no attempt to speed up or to slow down as we approached the point where the two lanes merged. I was unable to move into the left lane because of other traffic so I held my course just to see what she was going to do. She continued to hold her speed up till the time when a collision was almost imminent, then at the last moment, she slammed on her brakes and pulled in behind me. She then proceeded to pass me while giving me the one finger salute for taking the lane that she thought was rightfully hers. It’s not just traffic either, it seems to me that people feel that they are somehow entitled. It doesn’t seem to matter whether or not that whatever they are doing is dangerous to themselves or others, It’s their right to have what they feel is coming to them by whatever means required to get the job done. Take for instance snowmobilers, this year we lost 22 people in avalanches due to the fact that they were in areas that they were warned not to be in because of the high risk of avalanches. We lose thousands each year due to drug overdoses and auto accidents. We lose many more in quad accidents, Seadoo accidents and motorcycle accidents. Nobody wants to wear seatbelts nor for that matter buckle in their kids, wear helmets or obey the speed limits. We just keep burying the dead and mourning the loss of our children. It seems that the majority of the populous feel that rules are not only there to be broken, they are also silly and restrictive. The truth is that rules are there to protect society from harm. These rules when followed, allow us to do the things we like to do but within guidelines that keep deaths down to a dull roar. Seatbelts historically save lives as do helmets and following the rules of the road. Last week the latest victim was claimed by a drug overdose. A normal, everyday, nice, 14 year old died after ingesting an overdose of Ecstasy at Rock n’Ride, West Edmonton Mall’s youth party that happens every Friday night. Drugs apparently run rampant at the venue but everyone appears to be powerless to stop this kind of garbage from happening. Well meaning parents continue to send their children and the drug dealers that frequent this place are more that happy to ply their trade in child maiming drugs. Can we stop this from happening? Of course we can, but unpopular steps have to be taken, steps that society seems to think are unfair to the poor criminal, steps that would curtail the freewill of children and steps that would put the onus on parents to control their kids and become responsible as parents. But parents too feel entitled to a certain life style and kids just seem to get in the way. Rules and responsibility, bah! Who needs them. Life is short, who cares about consequences. Besides, punishment is for the victim, not the criminal.

Why Not Harpermania?

2009-02-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

I was driving to Edmonton last week and got a rare opportunity to listen to the radio. As luck would have it, I was tuned to Charles Adler, one of my favourite talk show hosts. I find Adler a no-nonsense shoot-from-the-hip kinda guy. To me with my redneck stance on most everything, he just kind of goes right to where I live.
On tap for the hour was the press conference during American President Obama’s Canadian visit. Questions where limited to two from the Canadian press and two from the American press. And I have to say right up front that I have always been a Harper fan, I find the man articulate and intelligent. But I as the question period progressed I became more and more enamored with our Prime Minister. As the questions rolled in, (and there were more than 4), I found that Harper’s answers were more detailed, smoother and easier to understand. I do however believe that we will have one of the most productive and co-operative periods in Canadian-American relationships seen in recent history. Don’t misunderstand me and think that I don’t care for Obama, I just find that he is not living up to the “Rock Star” image that his groupies have saddled him with. Although I do like the man, I believe that an Aardvark could have run against George W. and won hands down. Obama didn’t need policies and platforms, he just needed the good looks God gave him and a pulse.
I’m okay with the whole thing, but what rankles me is the fact that Canadians are lining up in droves to worship the American President. These “Rock Star” groupies seem to be star-struck by this good looking youngish charismatic leader. I’d like to say that I can’t remember when an American President has garnered so much attention from the Canadian public and press alike but unfortunately I am old enough to remember the Kennedy years. Although I was only a teenager and a young one at that, I remember well that although he was martyred, but even he didn’t live up to the hype that surrounded him and I don’t believe Obama will either. When was the last time Americans worshiped a Canadian Prime Minister?
As I watched the CBC coverage of the event on the evening news, I was disgusted by the fact that our national media service, the CBC barely even mentioned that Harper was in attendance. Why are we as Canadians paying for the CBC to embarrass us to that extent?
Some factions have elevated Obama to the status of the Saviour of the world, the Messiah if you will. Let’s get real folks, he’s just a man and he puts his pants on one leg at time just like the rest of us.
If we as Canadians are going to worship anyone, perhaps we should be looking in our own country and leaving American Hero worship to Americans.
I still remember Chretien sitting with George W. and seeing the obvious look of “Why am I sitting here with this guy who speaks out of both sides of his mouth in two languages and you can’t understand either one”. on Bush’s face.
This definitely did not occur with Harper and Obama. On a scale of 10, I would give Obama a 7, but I would give Harper a 8.5.
Ted Okkerse

Happy Chickens

2009-01-16T15:07:00.001-08:00

Once again Dian and I spent some time at Winlaw, B.C.. For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with what Dian and I have been up to, here’s an update. As we are both coming of retirement age, me considerably closer than Dian, and have decided to buy a small plot of land in the Slocan Valley. Winlaw is at the south end of the valley, about 45 km. from Nelson. We were there for about a week. As Dian’s mom lives in Trail, which is just a few more clicks down the road, we spent a few days with her as well. We had originally gone down to winterize the place as it has two small homes on it. After our visit with Mom, we decided to spend some time at the place. We borrowed some bedding from my nephew Ben and his wife Muriel, who live across the road from our new place. We put a few logs in the woodstove to warm the place up and left for Ben and Muriel’s. Instead of making supper at home, we all decided to go into Winlaw, (pop. a hand full of souls plus a few dogs and cats) and have a bite to eat in the local restaurant. You have to understand that Slocan is the place where a lot of the U.S. draft dodgers and hippies ended up after the sixties. You can almost smell the grass grow, if you get my drift. But all that aside, it’s a great place, very laid back, extremely friendly folks, but just a bit more on the earthy side than what we are used to here in this part of the country. Anyway, we walked into the restaurant and lo and behold, there was a three piece blue grass group playing some real good down home stuff that I haven’t heard for years and years. To my surprise and probably his, a friend who I hadn’t seen for years was on guitar. He looked up and saw Dian and I walk in and he stopped playing, introduced us to the small crowd, told them who we were and the fact that he had known me for forty years. How time flies when you're having fun. As the whole area is very organic, the menu tends to have a lot of organically grown features including veggie burgers, veggie lasagna and pizza. I personally make a real lousy vegetarian. If it doesn’t have some big chunk of meat on it or in it, I don’t feel like I've been fed. As I scanned the menu for something dead, my eye fell on an item that kind of suited my fancy, Happy Chicken. The waitress, dressed in the style of the area, which consisted of a hand knit dress, leg warmers, knitted cap and some kind of home made muckluks, came over to take our order. Ben and Muriel both ordered the soup de jour, some kind of veggie thing that was actually very tasty. Dian ordered a BLT and a side salad. I went for the “Happy Chicken.” I asked the waitress, “what the heck is a happy chicken?” She replied that the chicken was organically grown in an environment that was not only free of chemicals but it was also a free range chicken, meaning that it had never been fenced in, free to roam so to speak. I pointed out to the waitress that I found it a bit odd that so happy a bird would find it’s way onto my plate, nicely quartered, done a light golden brown and sprinkled with paprika. I suggested that while it was quite a tasty morsel, it didn’t appear to be all that happy. Although I am a bit of a redneck, I do think that we should be careful about what we eat, and where it’s been prior to landing on our plates. However, sometimes I think we just carry everything we do to the extreme and we don’t always practice what we preach. Although there are huge amounts of fruit trees in the Slocan, none of it is being sold in the local stores. The fruit comes mostly from Washington or Ontario, and in some cases even from the nearby Okanagan. It is predominately grown by large producers who do use pesticides and artificial fertilizers. But the cherries, pears, apples, plums and even peaches and nuts, that grow in the Slocan lie rotting on the ground. Go figure! You know folks, that chicken might have been happy on some level, appreciated only by fowl themselves, but I’m pretty sure I saw that waitress at the meat counter in Safeway in Nelson just the day before.

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HUH!

2009-01-15T03:32:00.000-08:00

In last ‘Sundays Edition of the Edmonton Sun, I found an article about a fellow in Mexico, Professor Antonio Vazquez Alba. Vazquez that claims to be Mexico’s “Grand Warlock”. As the so-called “Grand Warlock”, he is well known for making predictions each year since 1980 by using tarot cards. His record seems to be considerably less than accurate, as a matter of fact, his record is described by most people as “Spotty”. Last year Vazquez predicted that oil prices would be stable, Hilary Clinton would become the president of the United States, Cuba's Fidel Castro and singer Britney Spears would die. Ooops... wrong on all counts. Apparently for 2009 he predicts that Spears will continue to triumph (nice recovery) and the United States will pull their troops out of Iraq in 2009 and send them to the border with Mexico in an attempt to expand it’s territory. Let’s not hold our breaths on any of these, okay! Even though what I have read on the man is quite amusing, the fact that he actually appeared in print in a large daily newspaper troubles me a great deal.
At a time when we see more and more media outlets shy away from things religious, more and more of these kinds of bits of filler news are hitting the press. It just seems strange to me that fellows like this get press coverage, but bible truths are strictly taboo. I have recently started reading a pair of books by Josh McDowell entitled “Evidence That Demands a Verdict”. The books go into great detail about the authenticity of the information and events in the Bible. One of the most astonishing parts of these books deals with the Messianic prophesies. The Messianic prophesies are the writings in the old Testament that predicted the events that would occur and lead up to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. If our hero Vazquez, the warlock had been involved in making these predictions, no one would ever have been able to figure out that Christ was coming. It’s a good thing that God Himself inspired the writing of these prophesies and not some guy from Mexico. The Old Testament of the Bible written over a one thousand year period contains several hundred references to the coming of Christ, (The Messiah, thus the name Messianic prophesies) of these, ALL have come true, not just one or two or spotty at best, but ALL!! Detractors will say, “Yes but, some of these prophesies can be applied to just about any great world figure”. That may be true for some of the prophesies, but definitely not with all. The common wisdom being that if you predict enough stuff, eventually something has to be correct. However realizing that there are mathematical equations for calculating probabilities, McDowell consulted with one Professor Peter Stoner who has written a book called “Science Speaks”. In his book Professor Stoner applies the laws of mathematical probability to the fulfillment of the Messianic Prophesies and concludes that the chances of one man fulfilling even eight of the Prophesies calculates out to be 1 chance in 1017 or 1 chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000. Given the fact that the birth of Christ fulfilled 61 major Messianic Prophesies, brings that figure to unimaginable heights. That is not even taking into account all the dozens of minor Prophesies concerning the birth of the Messiah. But fakes like Vazquez and others of like ilk, continue to be featured in our daily servings of news, while the real good news of God’s gift to mankind, the Christ child, is relegated to a dusty shelf reserved for fairy tales and other children's stories.
Go Figure. Ted Okkerse

Christmas Stuffing

2008-12-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Every Christmas for years and years, Dian and I have been going on a diet just before the holidays. This year we have decided to throw the whole thing in the trash, pig-out with a vengeance and let it all hang out.

Let me back up just a bit and qualify myself before I continue.
As we get older, we tend to round out a bit, especially around the middle. I used to think that this was caused by a combination of old age and overeating. How wrong I’ve been!! I was watching the news last week, you know the small “L” liberal news that we are growing accustomed to, when a small snippet from the “what the heck” file caught my attention. It was a report stating that scientists have added one second to the atomic clock. The reason given was that the earth is slowing down ever so slightly and the second needed to be added to make up for the time lost by the slowdown.

You may well ask what the connection to that spare tire around my middle this might have. It’s quite simple really, it’s a matter of basic physics. The earth is a large magnet. This is what keeps us from falling off the bottom of it. However, this magnet is very strong and if it wasn’t for the fact that the earth spins creating a centrifugal force, we would probably be crushed by the gravitational pull. So... this means that all things being equal, as long as everything stays the same, we stay the same.

That said, with this slowdown, the delicate balance between centrifugal force and the constant pull of the earth’s gravity has been upset creating a slightly stronger gravitational pull. This increase in gravitational pull is what I know for certain, is what is causing this large swollen area around my middle. As a matter of fact, this explains the pot belly a lot better than the two extra helpings of fried chicken the other night, it also accounts for the wrinkles and the triple chins that are starting to fight for position around my ever growing neck.

As the loose skin, which starts to occur after one reaches the age of fifty, is pulled downward by the greater force it causes that loose skin to gather in the oddest places. Areas such as the neck, knees and the backs of your arms are the natural collection area for this access of loose skin.
This effect is especially noticeable when one sits, as more pressure is now being put on one’s posterior regions causing a noticeably embarrassing spread.

This self-same force is also to blame for a lot of other complaints of our aging population. Increased blood pressure, increased cholesterol levels, loss of hair because hair is not able to over come the increased gravitational pull. It also accounts for sore feet, aching backs, creaky knees and hips.

So there, I have given all of you the excuses you need to be able to pig-out this Yule-Tide without having to worry yourselves about silly stuff like trans-fats, cholesterol and sugar levels. Now you can just have that extra chocolate, that extra piece of pie, that extra helping of turkey and gravy. It’s not your fault. By the way, this also covers having that one drink too many, after all, with all that extra gravitational pull, when you fall down that increase in weight will keep you safely on the floor.

Merry Christmas everyone!! And have a great New Years. And God Bless. Stay tuned for more baloney in the new year.
Ted Okkerse

Apples of Gold

2007-11-29T15:19:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we wonder if our lives actually mean anything to anyone other than ourselves and those of our immediate acquaintances and families. Are we just a waste of time?
Sounds kind of somber, but I got to thinking about this when Dian and I were talking one evening and she mentioned that there are times that she gets fatigued listening to callers at her job. Also in my job as editor of the paper, I sometimes reach the point where other people’s issues drive me to the point of distraction and I can only imagine the pressures that a pastor of a large parish must come under, constantly having to listen to people’s problems. There certainly have been times of late where throwing in the towel and retiring a bit early is starting to look
better and better. Load up that big trailer of ours and just head south for the winter bmonths, lay in the sun with the rest of the snow birds down in Texas or Florida, sucking on a long cool
drink. Getting on the links a couple of times a week, riding our bikes anytime we want to and leaving other people with their issues and the cold Canadian winters behind.
But is that what we were placed on the earth for? I remember watching an old movie some time back that asked the question, “am I my brother’s keeper?”
and the conclusion was that, “Yes, you are your brother’s keeper”. We are placed
on this earth to help others, but as in my job as editor of the paper and Dian’s job as a telehealth nurse, the ways that we help are at times so subtle and undetectable and frustrating, that’s it’s hard to realize that we actually help at all.
We like to see big results in our work. The miracle fix, the instant cure, the revelation, the phone call from an admirer and so forth. However, fixes usually
come in micro increments and are akin to watching grass grow, or paint dry. But we have to continue to try and affect people’s lives because there is no way of knowing what small action or what kind word or deed will turn the tide in another person’s life.
The question is, how many lives do we have to affect to make our lives worthwhile? One, two, thirty, a hundred? Is there a quota, or do we only have to affect one person? If we help anyone,
will we ever know that we did, and in what way?
In my position I am fortunate in that I do get the odd phone call of encouragement that lets me know that yes, I did have some effect, or no, I just made someone angry and I need to apologize
and eat some humble pie. But what about others with less public positions?
Are they any less important? Are they less valued and less able to help and influence others? On the contrary, we all influence others in large and small ways. Just because your job is what
you might consider menial, your attitude could have a profound effect on those around you. Sometimes just a kind word or a smile can be a very powerful tool that will change lives.
Treating others with kindness and understanding doesn’t require a great deal of skill and you don’t have to have a PHD to speak a kind word to an elderly person or a child. Others are molded by the actions of those around them and kind words and smiles lead to kind words and smiles. It says in the Bible that kind words are like apples of
gold.
When I think of what effect we have on others, I always reflect back to that old movie that they always show at Christmas, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, staring Jimmy Stewart. In the movie he
reaches a low point in his life and tries to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge, He is saved from committing this foolish act by his guardian angel, who shows him what effect his life has had on the people of the small town he has lived in all his life. It’s a real eye-opener to him.
If it were possible to do that in real life, and we were able to see the direct result of our lives, the reality would come as a real shock. However, that will never happen.
In the meantime, one must continue smiling, speaking kindnesses and just being the best person that one can possibly be and realizing that, yes you are having an effect and yes your smile is
being passed on and your kind words are, “Like Apples of Gold”.

Multiculturalism, Who Cares?

2007-11-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

Does multiculturalism mean we have to treat everyone that’s from nsomewhere else special? Would they treat us special if we went to where they come from?
Do we as Canadians have a culture? If we do, what is our culture? Or is our culture one of subjugating ourselves to other cultures? Does being multicultural make us less than we are, or better because of our tolerance? Or do we just appear foolish to others who have strong cultures?
What the heck is a culture anyway, and why do we have to have one? Multiculturalism is a much tossed around word these days and here in Canada we think that we are in the forefront of the protection of Multicultural rights.
For every minority group that springs up to complain that their rights are being trampled or ignored in one way or another, a finely honed team of lawyers appears ready to leap into
action to defend the rights of the culturally downtrodden and beat the Canadian majority back into multicultural vsubmission.
The French have their multicultural rights entrenched in Canadian law, so there is no question about their legitimacy, but what about all the rest? How far can what little Canadian culture there really is be diluted before it ceases to exist altogether. I tried to figure out what Canadian culture really is.
Is it the fact that all over the world we are known for the word (or what ever it is) 'Eh”? Is it the fact that we play football differently than any other part of the world? Is a Canadian defined by the wearing of a touque, or is that toque or perhaps tuque? Who knows, the internet accepts all
spellings, but outside of our country few know of it’s existence and most don’t care.
Are we known by our national game, lacrosse? Has any of us actually watched a game of lacrosse, and if we did would we care more about Canada?
Are we beavers, maple leaves, and maple syrup? Or are we hockey at it’s finest when we aren’t
beaten by the Americans, Swedes, or Russians?
Is being Canadian, loving our own heroes such as Terry Fox, Marilyn Bell, Wayne Gretzky,
Gordie Howe, J.A. Bombardier, Timothy Eaton, Toller Cranston, John Candy, Sam Steele,
Billy Bishop, Georges Vanier, Wilf Carter, Oscar Peterson, Tommy Douglas, Mackenzie King,
Maude Abbott, Rick Hansen, Michael Fox, my God, I’m almost out of breath. I didn’t realize there were so many and I have only scratched the surface of Canadian heroes.
When I came to this country from Holland with my parents in 1952, along with my sister and brother, we didn’t even know we had a culture to preserve. But low and behold after 55 years of no one caring, we still speak dutch when we want to, we still love Dutch cheese and herring and all those other little idiosyncrasies that make the Dutch Dutch. The good thing is, no one had to defend my right to retain my national heritage or identity. So why are we trying so hard to defend everyone else’s.
I really don’t care if minorities want to retain their heritage, who am I to hold them back?
All I really want is for them to leave me to my heritage and to respect my right to my view of Canada.
I love my life here, they can learn to love their version of it as well.
Ted Okkerse