Why rugged individualism is not enough: The case for government and regulation

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

James Madison

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

- James Madison (1751-1836), Fourth President of the United States
From The Federalist [1777]

Ah, there's the rub!  Human beings are not angels and, therefore, government is necessary in an imperfect world.   Government doesn't have to be oppressive and unduly intrusive.  It just has to be there when needed.  It has to be there in times of emergency.  It has to be there to prevent human selfishness and greed from running rampant.  It has to provide a balance against those who put profit ahead of all else, those who would put the lives and health of others at risk in order to make inordinate amounts of money.  Good government protects the welfare and safety of the people from the excesses of unfettered capitalism. 

Americans value rugged individualism.  It is their grand perception of the American dream.  It's the John Wayne mentality.  It's the cowboy creed and it is not without merit.  Self-reliance is an admirable quality and should be encouraged.  Those of the extreme right-wing persuasion, however, advocate individualism to the exclusion of almost everything else.  This is a flawed vision of society, a flawed vision of a nation.  There can be no liberty and justice for all without a sense of community.  As the poet John Donne so eloquently put it:  "No man is an island entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."

Community and individuality are not mutually exclusive.  We are not faced with an either/or choice. Individual initiative and individual responsibility can and do flourish within strong communal bonds.  Ronald Reagan was wrong when he said that government is part of the problem, not the solution.  Government can and should be looked upon as a force for good and not as the enemy.  Just as we should not suppress the human spirit and the need for every human being to have individual freedom, neither should we suppress the human capacity to work together as one in order to solve problems and to assist each other.

A society of conforming robots is not desirable, but neither is a society of great inequity where those in need are trampled on and left behind.  It is sad and reprehensible that in developed nations such as Canada and the United States children go to sleep hungry and people live in abject poverty.  We cannot just shake our heads and say it's too bad that those unfortunates cannot keep up with the survival of the fittest.  Nor can we shrug self-righteously and dismiss the poor and disadvantaged as lazy and unmotivated.

On September 8, 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama addressed Congress to provide details of his proposed American Jobs Act.  I have provided an excerpt from Obama's speech because I believe the words ring true.  They set forth the case for the necessity of government regulation and spending - not excessive and irresponsible spending, but necessary spending.

EXCERPT FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SPEECH TO CONGRESS

We should have no more regulation than the health, safety and security of the American people requires.  Every rule should meet that common standard.  But what we can't do, what I will not do, is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades.  I reject the idea that we need to ask people to choose between their jobs and their safety.  I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow, we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit card companies or rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from shortchanging patients.  I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy.  We shouldn't be in a race to the bottom where we try to offer the cheapest labour and the worst pollution standards.  We should be in a race to the top.  And I believe we can win that race.  In fact, this larger notion that the only thing we can do to restore prosperity is to dismantle government and refund everyone's money and let everyone write their own rules and tell everyone they're on their own, it's not who we are!  It's not the story of America.  Yes, we are rugged individuals.  Yes, we are strong and self-reliant.  And it has been the drive and initiative of our workers and entrepreneurs that has made this economy the engine and the envy of the world.  But there has always been another thread running throughout our history: A belief that we're all connected and that there are some things we can only do together as a nation.  We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the leader who saved our Union, founder of the Republican Party.  But in the middle of a civil war, he was also a leader who looked to the future, a Republican president who mobilized government to build the transcontinental railroad, launch the National Academy of Sciences, set up the first land grant colleges.  And leaders of both parties have followed the example he set.  Ask yourself, where would we be right now if the people who sat before us decided not to build our highways, not to build our bridges, our dams, our airports?  What would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend money on public high schools, on research universities or community colleges?  Millions of returning heroes, including my own grandfather, had the opportunity to go to school because of the GI Bill.  Where would we be if they hadn't had that chance?  How many jobs would it have cost us if past Congresses decided not to support the basic research that led to the Internet and the computer chip?  What kind of country would this be if this chamber voted down social security because it violated some rigid idea about what government could or could not do?  How many Americans would have suffered as a result.  No single individual built America alone.  We built it together.

END NOTE

What has happened to moderate conservatives?  Are they around anymore in Canada and the United States?  Have they gone the way of the dinosaur?  If not, why aren't their voices being heard?  Why don't they speak up?  Why have they allowed the Tea Party types to dominate the political agenda?

Here in Canada, those of the conservative stripe used to be more moderate and reasonable.  We used to have a Progressive Conservative Party.  Now it's the Conservative Party.  As for Red Tories. they are no where to be seen or heard.  Where once we had John Diefenbaker, Robert Stanfield and Joe Clark, we now have Stephen Harper.  What a shame!

- Joanne

Jim Croce: Photographs and Memories of His Life

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

Photographs and memories
Christmas cards you sent to me
All that I have are these
To remember you

From the song "Photographs and Memories"
Lyrics by Jim Croce

The songs we listen to in high school tend to linger in our minds.  They are never forgotten.  That is why I will always remember the impact Jim Croce's music had on me.  When I was in high school in the 1970s, Jim was one of the most popular singers of the day.  He wasn't a flashy dresser and he wasn't given to fancy stage antics or high tech glitz.  Jim had an honest, down to earth style.  He was a blue-collar kind of guy who preferred to wear jeans.  His hair was thick and wavy and he sported a handlebar moustache.  On stage, it was just the man, his music and his acoustic guitar.

Croce told stories through his songs and people related to them.  Of his music, Jim once said: "I kinda like to write songs about things that a lot of people have experience with, 'cause it really makes the songs communicate."

I am paying tribute to Jim Croce today because it is the 38th anniversary of his death.  Jim was only 30 years old when lost his life in a small commercial plane crash on September 20, 1973.  He had just performed a concert at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana and was flying to Sherman Texas. for another concert.  The weather was foggy and the Beechcraft 1E8S plane Croce had chartered crashed during takeoff from Natchitoches Regional Airport when it failed to clear some pecan trees at the end of the runway.  The pilot and all five passengers perished in the accident.  The passengers included Croce, his lead guitarist Maury Muehleisen, his booking agent Kenneth D. Cortose, his road manager Dennis Rast and opening act comic George Stevens.

Just prior to his death, Jim had finished recording a new album.  The album was called I Got a Name and it was released posthumously on December 1, 1973.  Its title track had been featured as the theme to the movie The Last American Hero which premiered two months before Croce's tragic passing.

James Joseph "Jim" Croce was born in South Philadelphia on January 10, 1943 to an Italian-American family.  He took an interest in music at an early age and learned how to play "Lady of Spain" on the accordion.when he was five years old.  He started to become really serious about music as a career while attending Villanova University in Pennsylvania in the early 1960s.  He formed various bands there and performed at fraternity parties and at coffee houses.  In those early days, Jim played anything the people wanted to hear, from blues to railroad music.  He eventually found a job at a Philadelphia R&B station. 

After a stint in the United States Army, Jim returned to Philadelphia and taught special education at a high school before deciding to give his music career another chance.  On August 28, 1966, he married Ingrid Jacobson.  Jim and Ingrid performed as a duo and sang the songs of Ian and Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez.  Eventually, they began composing their own music.

In 1968, on the advice of record producer Tommy West, the couple moved to New York City where they played the coffee house circuit.  In 1969, they recorded an album titled Jim and Ingrid Croce.  For the next two years, they promoted their album, performing at small clubs and colleges. 

Disillusioned with New York, Jim and Ingrid returned to Pennsylvania and settled in the countryside town of Lyndell in Chester County.  On September 28, 1971, their only child was born, a son named Adrian James Croce, known as A.J.  During that time, Jim worked in construction and did some studio work in New York, mostly background for commercials.

Croce's big breakthough came in 1972 when he signed a three-record deal with ABC Records.  That same year, he released two albums, You Don't Mess Around with Jim and Life and Times.  The title track from You Don't Mess Around with Jim was released as a single and it reached the U.S. Top Ten.  Another song from the album, "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" became a huge hit.  By August of 1973, "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" was the #1 song in the United States.  Jim toured the country and appeared on television several times.  He was a guest host on the then-popular late night music program The Midnight Special. 

To watch  video of Jim singing "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" on The Midnight Special, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OoixlAe-qY

Jim Croce's "Time in A Bottle" was featured as the theme in the opening and closing credits of the ABC made-for-television" movie She Lives!, which aired on September 12, 1973.  The next day, radio stations across the U.S. were inundated with requests for the song.  Jim would never see "Time in A Bottle" climb to the top of the charts.  He died only eight days later, another in a list of singers and musicians who have been killed in accidents while travelling on small planes.  The list includes Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, Rick Nelson, John Denver, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Otis Redding and Ronnie VanZant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines of the group Lynyrd Skynyrd.

END NOTES

Ingrid Croce owns and operates a restaurant dedicated to her late husband.  It is located in the historic Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, California.  It is called Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar and it was opened in 1985.

Jim and Ingrid's son, A.J. Croce, is a musician.  He is an accomplished songwriter and pianist.  On September 28th, just eight days from now, Adrian will turn 40 years old.  According to his website biography, A.J. lost his eyesight temporarily in early childhood due to a brain tumour.  From the ages of four to ten, he gradually regained his vision.  A.J.'s website refers to a wife and children, but does not mention any details such as names, dates or ages.

- Joanne

Doris Day is back!

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

Doris Day lives a quiet life near Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.  She's 87 years old and has long been retired from show business.  For years, she has dedicated her life to the welfare of animals.  The Hollywood legend, however, has just released her first collection of new songs in 17 years.  It's called My Heart and was produced by Doris' late son, Terry Melcher.  The CD includes a track, "Happy Endings," performed by Melcher, and recorded before his death in 2004.  Day has also included a poignant, spoken- word introduction to her son's song.

Melcher, a record producer and musician, was Doris' son by her first husband, trombonist Al Jordan. When he was about ten years old, he was adopted by Day's third husband, Martin Melcher, and took his surname.  After battling melanoma cancer, Terry died on November 19, 2004 at the age of 62.  During his career, Melcher worked with The Beach Boys, The Birds and Ry Cooder.  He also co-wrote the Beach Boys' popular "Kokomo" from the movie Cocktail starring Tom Cruise.

Of her deceased son, Doris told Britain's Daily Telegraph: "I miss my Terry every day.  But I keep him here and I'm so happy that he's singing on the album.  I used to love to hear him sing and he should have done more things."  She said, "I get mail from his friends all the time saying he had so much talent and he was always laid back.  He didn't push himself.  He was such a good guy and I loved him dearly."

The Daily Telegraph published a Doris Day interview with Paul McCartney.  Doris and Sir Paul became friends about ten years ago when McCartney visited her home in Carmel Valley, California to discuss her animal rescue efforts through the Doris Day Animal Foundation.  McCartney, an ardent vegetarian, and Day, have a mutual interest in animal rights.  In the Daily Telegraph interview, Doris told McCartney that she just loves "animals, babies and music" (She didn't specify in which order).  To read the McCartney/Day interview, click on the link below.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/8733533/Doris-Day-and-Paul-McCartney-in-conversation.html

My Heart was released in Austria and Germany on September 2, 2011, the United Kingdom on September 5th and in the United States on September 12th.  Its remastered recordings span from 1951 to 1994 and do not reflect Day's present voice.  In an interview with the UK's Yorkshire Post, Doris explained how it was brought to her attention that the recordings were in storage and that Sony wished to release them.  She admitted to having some "misgivings" at first, but liked them after they were remastered.

My Heart made it into the top ten charts in Britain, debuting at No. 9 and outselling Lady Ga Ga and Bruno Mars.  Doris Day made history by becoming the oldest artist to reach the top 10 in Britain with previously unheard material.  Tracks on the album include "You Are So Beautiful (To Me)," the Joe Cocker hit from the 1970s, and classics such as "My Buddy," which Day sang in the 1951 film I'll See You In My Dreams.   Also included is "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries," Terry's favourite of his mother's recordings, and "Ohio," form the Leonard Bernstein musical Wonderful Town.  Ohio just happens to be Doris' home state and she was raised there.

The Cincinnati-born Day, whose first hit was "Sentimental Journey" in 1945, revealed to the Post that she does not listen to much current music.  She did, nevertheless, express a liking for Canada's own crooner, Michael Buble.  She remarked, "I think Michael Buble is marvellous but perhaps that's because he sings in a style I'm so familiar with."

To listen to a BBC interview of Doris Day speaking about her album, please click on the link below.  This is her website on which occasionally records messages for her fans.

http://www.dorisday.com/


- Joanne

EDITOR'S UPDATE (April 11, 2014): Doris Day celebrated her 90th birthday greeting fans and posing for photos.  She was born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio but there has been a public dispute about whether her actual birth date is April 3, 1922 or April 3, 1924. Throughout her career, Doris has given her birth year as 1924.  However, census records and her biographer (David Kaufman) cite 1922 as the correct year of her birth.

Since Doris considers April 3, 1924 to be her birth date, she decided to make her first public appearance in years at her 90th birthday party.  She was the surprise guest of honour at the birthday celebration in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California on Friday, April 4, 2014.  Fans from all over the world were invited to attend the event, although it is uncertain whether there had been definite plans for Doris herself to show up.  

The party took place at Carmel's Cypress Inn, owned by Doris since the 1980s.  It was held to benefit the Doris Day Animal Foundation and Peter Marshall, who hosted The Hollywood Squares, was the emcee.  Fellow animal lover, 92-year-old Betty White, conveyed birthday greetings to Doris via video.


EDITOR'S UPDATE (April 4, 2017):  The mystery surrounding Doris Day's actual birthdate has finally been solved.  The Associated Press did some investigating and obtained a copy of Doris' birth certificate from Ohio's Office of Vital Statistics.  The birth certificate indicated that Doris Mary Kappelhoff was born on April 3, 1922, not 1924.  Therefore, she turned 95 years old yesterday, not 93.  Doris took the news in stride and issued the following statement: "I have never paid much attention to birthdays, but it's great to finally know how old I really am."  

The revelation also means that Doris is only a few months younger than her friend, Betty White.  Betty was born on January 17, 1922.  


EDITOR'S UPDATE (May 13, 2019): Doris Day passed away on May 13, 2019 in Carmel Valley, California.  She was 97 years old at the time of her passing.

Denny McLain: The last 30-game winner

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

When you can do it out there between the white lines, you can live any way you want.

- Denny McLain

Let's enjoy another baseball memory.  Let's return to Tiger Stadium on September 14, 1968.  It was 43 years ago today that Denny McLain won his 30th game of the season for the Detroit Tigers.  There were 44,087 fans in attendance as the 24-year-old right-hander became the first major league pitcher in 34 years to achieve 30 wins.  In the crowd was Dizzy Dean, the man who had accomplished the same feat for the St. Louis Cardinals back in 1934. 

Denny McLain's 30th win was not an easy one.  There was high drama in the Motor City that day as the Detroit Tigers came from behind to defeat the Oakland A's by a score of 5-4.  A game-winning run by Willie Horton in the bottom of the ninth inning sealed the comeback victory for the Tigers.  In the midst of the celebratory mob scene, there was a poignant moment as Dizzy Dean embraced a triumphant McLain.

Denny McLain went on to achieve a remarkable 31 victories that year against only 6 losses.  1968 was truly his dream season.  Unfortunately, it wasn't long after that magical season that everything went downhill for the talented pitcher.  In fact, his life turned into a nightmare and he found himself in prison. 

Nothing, however, can take Denny's 1968 achievements away from him.  McLain had an amazing record that year and he took the baseball world by storm.  In addition to his stellar 31-6 season, he boasted an ERA of 1.96.  He was the league leader in victories, winning percentage (8.38), complete games (28) and innings pitched (336).  Not too shabby, eh?  How many pitchers throw 28 complete games in a season anymore?

The awards amd accolades just kept on coming for Denny McClain in 1968.  He was selected as American League All-Star.  He won the Cy Young Award and he was chosen as the Most Valuable Player in the American League.  His Detroit Tigers went on to win the October Classic and he received a World Series ring. Oh yes, and if that weren't enough, the Associated Press named him male athlete of the year.  At the age of 24, Denny McLean was sitting on top of the world.

Dennis Dale "Denny" McLain was born on March 29, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois.  He attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago and was initially signed by the Chicago White Sox.  The Detroit Tigers selected him off waivers and he became a major leaguer in 1963 at 19 years old.  In 1965, his breakthrough season, Denny posted a 2.61 ERA and a 16-6 record.  Although it was practically impossible to top his extraordinary 1968 season, McLain continued to excel in 1969.  He won another Cy Young Award which he shared with lefty Mike Cuellar of the Baltimore Orioles.  Both pitchers had 24 wins. 

1970 was the year that everything began to unravel in the life and career of Denny McClain.  In February of that year, Sports Illustrated featured McClain on its cover with the blaring headline "Denny McLain and the Mob: Baseball's Big Scandal."  His problems began to mount after he found himself the subject of an investigation by a Detroit grand jury for possible involvement in gambling activity.  When he admitted to investing in a bookmaking operation, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended him indefinitely on April 1, 1970.  Although the suspension was removed on July 1, 1970, McClain's woes continued as his conduct became quite bizarre.

The Detroit Tigers suspended Denny twice during the 1970 season for incidents such as pouring buckets of water on a couple of Detroit sportswriters and carrying a gun on a commercial airliner.  He only played 14 games that season posting a record of 3 wins, 5 losses and a 4.63 ERA.  During the 1970 World Series, McLain was traded to the Washington Senators, a trade which Bowie Kuhn later described in his autobiography Hardball: The Education of a Baseball Commissioner as "a foolish gamble" on the part of the Senators.

Subsequent events proved Kuhn's assessment of the trade to be quite correct.  Denny spent one season with the Washington Senators and it was a disaster.  He was in continual conflict with manager Ted Williams who had objected to the trade and did not approve of McLain's lifestyle.  Denny was not pleased with Williams either.  In fact, he and four other Washington players formed the "Underminers Club" and dedicated themselves to getting Williams fired.

On the mound, Denny McClain's 1971 season was absolutely miserable.  Plagued by a sore arm, he became incapable of throwing fastballs.  He recorded a whopping 22 losses to go along with his 10 wins.  In two years, Denny had gone from leading the American League in wins to leading it in losses.  Little wonder he was traded to the Oakland A's after the 1971 season for journeyman pitcher Jim Panther and prospect Don Stanhouse.  Stanhouse would go on to have success as a closer for the Baltimore Orioles in the late 1970s.

Denny McClain's major league career came to an end in 1972.  The two-time Cy Young winner was traded to the Atlanta Braves after five unimpressive starts for the Oakland A's.  He made his final appearance in the big leagues on September 12, 1972 against the Cincinnati Reds.  He was sent into a tie game in the ninth inning and allowed three runs without retiring a batter.  How's this for irony?  The last batter McLain faced in his career was Pete Rose who also became embroiled in a huge gambling scandal.

The Atlanta Braves released Denny McLain during spring training in 1973.  After a couple of stints in the minors in Des Moines and Shreveport, Denny decided to retire from baseball.  He was only 29 years old.  It is interesting to note that he came out of retirement to play a season in the Intercounty Baseball League here in Canada.  In 1974, McLain was a pitcher, shortstop, first baseman and catcher for the London Majors at Labatt Memorial Park in London, Ontario.  Due to his arm problems, he only pitched nine innings for the Majors.

During his post-baseball years, Denny McClain's downslide continued.  In 1985, he was sentenced to 23 year in prison for drug trafficking (cocaine), extortion and racketeering.  He served 30 months before winning an appeal.  His conviction was overturned and he was released.  In the 1980s and early 1990s, between his incarcerations and his rehabilitation programs, McClain made appearances on various radio and television shows in the Detroit area. 

Denny and his family suffered a tragedy on March 20, 1992 when his eldest daughter, Kristin, 26, lost her life in a car accident involving an impaired driver.  She had been living in Florida and was moving back to Michigan when she was killed near the home of her parents.  After his daughter's death, McLain and some partners purchased the Peet Packing Company, a meat packing plant, in the town of Chesaning, Michigan.  The company went bankrupt and in 1996 Denny was convicted on charges of embezzlement, mail fraud and conspiracy in connection with theft from the employee's pension fund.  McLain was jailed for six years although he maintained that he was unaware of the shady dealings.

In 2007, Denny McLain published his autobiography, appropriately titled I Told You I Wasn't Perfect.  The book was co-written by veteran Detroit sportscaster and author Eli Zaret.  Now 67 years old, McLean lives in Pinckney, Michigan with his long-suffering wife Sharon (some sources spell her name Sharyn), the daughter of Hall-of-Fame baseball player, manager and announcer Lou Boudreau.  They couple married on October 5, 1963 and had four children: the late Kristen, Denny Jr., Tim and Michelle.  They divorced in 1998 but later remarried.

Despite his struggles and his personal demons, Denny McClain was a great pitcher.  He had a career record of 131 wins, 2 shutouts and a 3.39 ERA.  He struck out a total of 1,282 hitters.  One can only wonder what he would have achieved without his personal problems and the pain and inflammation of a torn rotator cuff.


DENNY McCLAIN TRIVIA

* Denny plays the organ and the "Denny McLain Quartet" appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1968, accompanied on the guitar by fellow pitcher and Word Series opponent Bob Gibson.

* Denny wore #34 during his first two seasons with the Detroit Tigers in 1963 and 1964.  During the remainder of his time with the Tigers, from 1965 until 1970, he wore #17.  He also wore #17 with the Washington Senators in 1971 and the Oakland Athletics in 1972.  During his brief stint with the Atlanta Braves in 1972, he wore #30.

- Joanne

The Infamous Edwin Alonzo Boyd

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

Edwin Alonzo Boyd was born in Toronto on April 2, 1914.  Four months after his birth, World War I broke out in Europe.  Ed's father, Glover Boyd,.was an electrician and was employed by Eaton's department store.  Glover joined the army in the summer of 1915 and served overseas during the earliest years of his son's childhood. When he returned home in 1919, he worked as a lumberer in the Muskoka woods.

In 1920, a second son, Gordon, was born to the Boyds and Glover decided to search for work closer to his family in Toronto.  Accordingly, he answered a recruiting ad and was accepted as a police constable with the Toronto Police Department.  Glover Boyd was to remain with the force for a quarter of a century.

Two more children followed Gordon, a son named Norman and a daughter, Irene.  Gord and Norm contracted scarlet fever in early 1930 and the family was quarantined.  In March of that year, Ed's mother, Eleanor, died of the disease. Ed was only 15 years old when she passed away.  After her death, he dropped out of school and left home.  As a youth, he drifted across Canada and had some minor run-ins with the law during the Depression years of the 1930s. At the age of 22, he served time at Prince Albert Penitentiary in Saskatchewan for robbing a gas station.

During World War II, Boyd joined the Canadian Army as an infantryman. While overseas, he married Doreen Mary Frances Thompson and the couple had three children.  After the war, he returned to Toronto with his British war bride and found employment as a streetcar driver. Unhappy and bored with his job, this son of a police officer turned to crime.

Boyd with Doreen and children

It will be exactly 62 years ago tomorrow, on September 9, 1949, that Edwin Alonzo Boyd committed his first bank robbery.  Operating as a lone bandit and wearing a disguise, a drunken Boyd robbed a branch of the Bank of Montreal in Toronto.  Armed with a pistol (a Luger he had taken from a dead German soldier in France), the inebriated thief escaped with $3,000, a princely sum in those days.  Acting alone and with the help of accomplices, he committed six more robberies before being captured and imprisoned in Toronto's Don Jail.

Boyd's mugshots.  He was described as 37 years old, 5'7 3/8 ", slim build, black hair (grey), blue eyes 

It was in the Don Jail that Boyd met Leonard "Tough Lennie" Jackson and Willie "The Clown" Jackson (not related) who were to become his partners in further criminal activity.  Lennie Jackson, an ex-hairdresser from Niagara Falls, had an artificial foot (he lost his foot in a railway accident) and the three men escaped from prison on November 4, 1951 by concealing hacksaw blades in Jackson's prosthetic device.  The trio of  convicts used the blades to saw through the bars on an outside window.

After their escape, a fourth man joined the band of thieves.  His name was Valent Lesso (alias Steve Suchan).  The group committed four more robberies in four months and was dubbed "The Boyd Gang" by the press.  Although "Tough Lennie" Jackson was the real leader, it was Edwin Alonzo Boyd who was better looking and more charismatic.

The Boyd Gang engaged in further bank robberies and on March 6, 1952, two of the gang members, Steve Suchan and Lennie Jackson, shot and killed police detective Edmund Tong, a crime for which they would later hang.  They and Boyd were soon apprehended, but escaped from the Don Jail a second time on the night of September 7, 1952.  Once again, they used hacksaw blades hidden in Lennie Jackson's wooden foot along with a cell key they had created from the palm print of the original. 

The exploits of the Boyd Gang made sensational front page headlines.  On September 8, 1952, their escape was also detailed by anchorman Lorne Greene (of Bonanza fame) on the first news telecast of the new CBC television network.  Ten days later, some men were seen at a barn in the Don Valley, about 24 km. (15 miles from the prison) and the Boyd gang, except for Boyd himself, was captured there without incident. 

Edwin Alonzo was later found at the rented flat of his brother Norman.  Police had kept the flat under surveillance and obtained a key to the back door from the owner.  They watched from a neighbour's home as Boyd moved into the flat.  At the break of dawn, they entered the house and captured Boyd and his wife while they were still sleeping in bed.  Norman, who was sleeping in another room, was also apprehended by police. 

The Toronto Nugget reported that "Edwin Alonzo Boyd, Canada's Public Enemy Number One, surrendered meekly with his henchmen to two suburban detectives, ending the greatest criminal man hunt in the Dominion's history."

In 1952, Edwin Alonzo Boyd Boyd was given eight life sentences while Willie Jackson received a thirty year sentence foe his crimes.  Both men served their time in Ontario's Kingston Penitentiary and both were released in 1966.  On December 16, 1952, the last rites were administered to Steve Suchan and Lennie Jackson.  Nor long after midnight on the morning of December 17th, they were executed, hanged back to back.

Boyd was originally paroled in 1962 after spending 10 years in prison, but was returned for four more years due to parole violations.  After serving 14 years, the notorious bank robber was released on lifetime parole.  He then moved near Victoria, British Columbia where he lived under an assumed identity and drove a bus for disabled people.  He remarried and devoted himself to the care of his disabled wife, Marjorie, whom he had met on the bus.  Edwin Alonzo Boyd died in British Columbia on May 17, 2002 at the age of 88.

END NOTES

* Edwin Alonzo Boyd was the subject of an episode of the CBC biographical series Life and Times.  Boyd's biography contains interviews with the notorious bank robber himself during the months just prior to his death.  His  ex-wife, his daughter and his adopted son also speak out on the program.  During the interviews, Boyd, the man known as the "Gentleman Bank Robber" chillingly confesses that he "did a few things that could have got me hung."

* I have obtained some of the information in this piece from a book entitled Edwin Alonzo Boyd: The Story of the Notorious Boyd Gang by Brian Vallee.  I recommend the book to those who want to read further about Edwin Alonzo Boyd and the Boyd gang.


- Joanne

Where do people live the longest? Reflections on age and longevity

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

We turn not older with years, but newer every day.

- Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), American poet
From an 1874 letter

Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world according to a recent study conducted by the department of Global Health Policy at the University of Tokyo.  The results of the study appeared in Lancet, the highly respected British medical journal.  Several factors, such as an increase in female literacy in the ealy 20th century, were cited as reasons for the improvement in child survival rates.

The report found that a Japanese child born within the last few years will live to an average of 86 years of age.  It attributed this longevity to several factors including universal health care, better education and a healthy lifestyle.  It credited government investment in public health during the 1950s and 1960s with lowering mortality rates for infectious diseases among children and adolescents. 

The study also be noted that having certain drugs covered under health insurance lessened the number of deaths due to strokes, one of the major reasons for the continual increase in Japanese longevity after the mid-1960s.

Government investment in health care and education leads to beneficial results.  The results of this report should be required reading for those who want to cut and slash education spending and oppose public health care.


REFLECTIONS ON AGE

Rowan Atkinson, the British comedian who is best known for his portrayal of the bumbling Mr. Bean, announced that he is too old to play the character anymore.  Atkinson, who is 56 years old, said in an interview in Australia that he has a feeling that he probably won't play the part of Mr. Bean again.  "Never say never," he remarked, "but I just feel I'm getting too old for it.  I've always liked Mr. Bean as a cartoon-like figure, who doesn't really age much."  He added that he's always seen Mr. Bean as "an ageless and timeless being and I'm clearly not ageless and timeless."

As a fan of Rowan Atkinson and his Mr. Bean persona, it saddens me that he may never play that role again.  Yet, I realize he can't portray the Bean character forever.  The problem lies in determining how long an actor or athlete should continue performing.  Should they, as the poet Dylan Thomas put it, "rage against the dying of the light" of should they, as Kenny Rogers sang, "know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away?"

Many athletes continue way past their "best before" date  because they love their sport and they enjoy competition.  Even when they are past their prime, they still have a desire to compete.  Some are willing to adjust and make changes, if possible, to extend their careers.  In baseball, older pitchers become knuckleballers or closers.  Older position players assume the role of designated hitter. 

Who has the right to tell star athletes how and when to retire?  I know that If I were an athlete, I'd want to finish my career in the same manner as baseball great Ted Williams.  Williams went out in a blaze of glory by hitting a home run in his final at-bat on September 28, 1960.  How's that for a grand finale?

Hockey's Lanny McDonald also ended his career in glory.  The Alberta native is considered a local hero in Calgary for leading the Calgary Flames to their one and only championship in 1989.  McDonald retired after hoisting the Stanley Cup and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Entertainers can have much longer careers than athletes.  Singer Tony Bennett, born August 3, 1926, is still performing at the age of 85.   Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones is still strutting on stage at 68.  Jagger, who was born on July 26, 1943, once famously remarked, "I'd rather be dead than singing 'Satisfaction' when I'm forty-five."  You certainly changed your mind about that, didn't you, Mick?

Paul McCartney and the late John Lennon composed a song that asked "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I'm Sixty-four?"  McCartney, born June 18, 1942, is now 69 years old.  In October of 2006, not long after he turned 64, the former Beatle remarked, "In one old people's home they changed the words of the song to 'When I'm 84' as they considered 64 to be young.  I might do that."


Some of the most prominent world leaders are septuagenarians and octogenarians.  Here is a list of them:

Queen Elizabeth II (85 years old, born April 21, 1926)

Pope Benedict XVI  (84 years old, born April 16, 1927)

The 14th Dalai Lama (76 years old, born July 6. 1935)

Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India (78 years old, born September 26, 1932)

Raul Castro, President of Cuba (80 years old, born June 3, 1931)

Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe (87 years old, born February 21, 1924)

King Abdulla of Saudi Arabia (born 1924)


Here are some great quotations on the subject of age:

The man who works and is not bored is never old.

- Pablo Casals (1876-1973) Spanish musician and composer


It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.

- Spoken by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark (screenplay by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman)


Every man desires to live long; but no man would be old.

- Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
From Thoughts on Various Subjects (1727 edition)


The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
From The Picture of Dorian Grey [1891]


So much about age is relative.  Swiss tennis champion Roger Federer recently turned 30.  He was born August 8, 1981.  In the sport of tennis, Federe is a greybeard, a grizzled veteran.  There is always some up-and-coming 17-year-old ready to challenge.  If, however, Federer were a 30-year-old politician, he'd be considered a greenhorn, too young to be a national leader.

- Joanne

The NHL failed to protect Sidney Crosby

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2011

Sidney Crosby is a mere 24 years old, but it seems as if he has played in the NHL for ages.  Sid the Kid was born August 7, 1987 (that's why he wears number 87 on his sweater) in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  and grew up in nearby Cole Harbour. 

Crosby has achieved much in the sport of hockey and as an athlete.  He already has a Stanley Cup ring and an Olympic gold medal.  Since he launched his NHL career at the age of 18 in 2005, The Kid has scored 215 goals in 412 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Sid was awarded the Art Ross Trophy, the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Trophy for 2006-07 and was named captain of the Penguins on May 31, 2007.  He became the youngest team captain in NHL history at 19 years, 9 months.  When he led the Penguins to a  Stanley Cup victory in 2009, Crosby earned the distinction of being the youngest captain ever to win the championship.  He was just 21 years old when he hoisted hockey's holy grail.

In comparison, Bobby Orr was 22 when he won a Stanley Cup ring with the Boston Bruins in 1970.  Wayne Gretzky was an old man of 23 when he won his first Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers in 1984.  The Great One was captain of the Oilers when they won their first championship and his playing days lasted much longer than Orr's.

Bobby Orr was just 30 years old in 1978 when he was forced to relinquish his hockey career.  Due to repeated injuries to his left knee, Orr was unable to continue.  Bobby played six games of the 1978-79 season for the Chicago Black Hawks before informing them he was no longer fit to play.

Wayne Gretzky retired from the game in 1999.   He was 38 years old when he played his final NHL game in a New York Rangers uniform at Madison Square Garden.  Gretzky told sports journalist Scott Morrison that his last game in New York was "my greatest day in hockey."  He said, "Everything about the sport of hockey as a kid, driving to practice with mom (Phyllis) and dad (Walter), driving to the game with mom and dad, looking at the stands and seeing your mom and dad and your friends, that all came together in that last game in New York."

At the age of 24, Sidney Crosby is now at a crossroads in his life and in his career.  In February of 2010 he thrilled Canadians by scoring the winning goal in the gold medal game between Team Canada and Team USA at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  There was great celebration across the land as the pride of Cole Harbour led his country to Olympic gold.  On New Year's Day 2011, however, Sidney was hit by David Steckel of the Washington Capitals during the second period of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor game at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field.  He left the ice in severe pain.

To watch a video of Steckel's blindside hit on Sidney Crosby, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8cQxJvgeJA

Sidney participated in Pittsburgh's next game on January 5, 2011, but again left the ice after his head was pounded into the boards following a hit by the Tampa Bay Lightning's Victor Hedman.  He has not played a game since and has suffered from post-concussion syndrome. 

Perhaps Sidney Crosby has achieved too much too soon.  If he were never to play another NHL game, what would he miss out on?  He already has a Stanley Cup ring and an Olympic gold medal?  He's financially set for life.  Athletes, however, do not think that way.  They continually set new goals for themselves and they want to compete.  Their competitive nature is such that they will place their health in jeopardy.

Sidney Crosby has said that he wants to return to the ice.  His agent, Pat Brisson of CAA Sports, has adamantly denied speculation that Croby has suffered a setback in his recovery.  Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero has told reporters that Sidney "has progressed really well this summer" and that the centre is expected to return to Pittsburgh for evaluation prior to the opening of the team's training camp on September 17th.  It remains uncertain, however, whether Sid will be in the lineup when the Penguins open their regular season in Vancouver on Oct. 6th.

The harsh truth is that Sidney Crosby will probably never be the same again.  He will always fear getting hit and experiencing another concussion.  I am certain, though, that he will make every attempt to resume his career even though it will be impossible to dismiss what has happened.  It would be wiser for Sidney to retire now, but he won't do it.  His heart won't let him because his heart is in the game.  It is also true that the NHL has too much invested in the young man to just let him walk away from professional hockey too easily.  He is one of the league's premiere players, a bona fide star.  Yet, the NHL has not done enough to protect the Sidney Crosby's of the game. 

David Steckel did not receive a penalty or a suspension for his blindside hit on Sidney Crosby.  Why not?  As Crosby himself said, "I know it's a fast game and I think everybody understands it's a fast game - I've been hit a thousand times - but when you get hit like that there's nothing you can do.  Those are things that hopefully (the NHL) pays more attention to.  It's easy to say that being in this situation, but those two hits - looking back I can't say I should have done something different or had my head down.  I wouldn't change anything."

The NHL will only have itself to blame if Sidney Crosby's career is cut short or if he suffers another concussion.  It should have imposed very severe penalties on blindside hits a long time ago.  Perhaps if it had, Steckel would have thought twice before blindsiding Sidney Crosby.  For shame, NHL!

- Joanne

Hurricane Irene: Another natural disaster is no coincidence. It's climate change!

SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011

As I write this, Hurricane Irene is wreaking its havoc.  Here in Toronto, we are not in the path of this terrible storm.  We will escape Irene's wrath.  For that, I am eternally thankful.  Others, however, will not be as fortunate.  They will not escape the ire of Irene.  Sadly, many have already felt the impact this natural nightmare.  They have fallen victim to its voracious appetite for destruction.

Irene is yet another disaster in a record disaster year.  According to an article by Stephanie Pappas on the website LiveScience.com, the hurricane is poised to be the 10th billion dollar disaster of 2011, breaking 2008's dubious distinction of having a record number of billion-dollar disasters in a year. 

In March of this year, Japan experienced the most powerful earthquake in its history.  Its recovery from that disaster will take years.  There is also a  humanitarian crisis in Eastern Africa of immense proportion.  Millions are in danger of starvation due to drought, particularly in Somalia. 

According to a report realeased by the National Climatic Data Center (August 2011, prior to Hurricane Irene), damage from national disasters in the United States surpassed $35 billion this year.  While it is certainly true that populations have increased and property damage has become more costly, it is also true that the disasters have become more severe and more frequent.

Here in Canada, my own province of Ontario was recently hit by a tornado.  On the afternoon of August 21, 2011, a devastating storm touched down on the beautiful town of Goderich on the eastern shore of Lake Huron.  A 61-year-old man was killed and 37 others were injured.  Power lines fell and roofs were torn off houses.  Century old trees were uprooted instantly. 

Along with summer floods and tornadoes, this year has been chalk full of natural disasters.  The impact on human lives and the economic costs are staggering.  The world has been reeling from one crisis to another.  The reason is climate change.  The evidence is mounting.  Climate change deniers refuse to believe it.  They don't want to believe it.  Perhaps, now that a hurricane has closed down New York City, the economic heart of America, maybe they'll think twice.  It's starting to hit close to home - right in their own wallets.  Unfortunately, it will take much more than the disastrous events of 2011 for those diehards  to see the light. 

- Joanne

Houdini's Amazing Stunt

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2011

No prison can hold me; no hand or leg irons or steel locks can shackle me.  No ropes or chains can keep me from my freedom.

- Harry Houdini

On this day, 104 years ago, the legendary escape artist Harry Houdini performed one of his most amazing stunts.  It happened on August 26, 1907 at San Francisco's Aquatic Park.  With his hands handcuffed behind his back and with over 75 pounds of ball and chain locked to his body, the great illusionist plunged into San Francisco Bay.  He escaped from his shackles in 57 seconds.

The following words about Houdini appeared in the San Francisco Examiner on August 26, 1907.  They were written by Ashton Stevens.

Everybody will tell you how he does the trick, but no two bodies will tell you the same way.  He is as mysterious as salad, and yet, apparently, as ingenious as a detective. 


NUMBER 16 HOUDINI FACTS AND TRIVIA

* Harry Houdini died on Halloween.  He passed away on October 31, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan.  His appendix had burst and he died from peritonitis, an inflammations of the appendix.

*  Houdini claimed to have been born in Appleton, Wisconsin.  He was actually born in Budapest, Hungary and immigrated to the United States as a child.

*  Houdini was Jewish, the son of Rabbi Mayer Weisz. 

*  When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Houdini tried to enlist in the army but was rejected because he was 43 years old.

*  Harry and his wife, Bess, did not have any children.  They married in 1894 and Bess became his  stage assistant.  She died in California in 1943 at the age of 67.



Houdini and Bess


*  Houdini was diminutive.  Most biographers estimate his height to have been only 5 ft. 5 inches.



ON THIS DAY IN 1920 THE NINETEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION BECAME LAW GIVING WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN NATIONAL
 ELECTIONS

THE NINETEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex. 

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

American women fought long and hard for the right to vote.  So did Canadian women.  Here in Canada, women were given the right to vote in federal elections when An Act to confer the Electoral Franchise upon Women was made law by the Canadian Parliament on May 24, 1918.  The law came into effect on January 1, 1919.

In the U.S., the House of Representatives passed the Nineteenth Amendment on May 21, 1919.  Two weeks later, the Senate followed suit.  Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1919, signifying the agreement of 3/4 of the states.  It became official when Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920 - exactly 91 years ago.

U.S. President Barack Obama declared August 26 "Women's Equality Day" in a proclamation issued by the White House yesterday.  In his declaration, Obama said, "I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in this country."  Obama said the Nineteenth Amendment "tore down the last formal barrier to women's enfranchisement in our Nation and empowered America's women to have their voices heard in the halls of power."

According to a statement by U.S. Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, women now represent one in four state legislators, 17 members of the 100-member U.S. Senate, three of the nine justices on the American Supreme Court, 74 generals in the armed forces and 7 cabinet positions in the Obama Administration.

- Joanne

We will miss you, Jack Layton

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011

I woke up to the sad news yesterday that Jack Layton had died at the age of 61.  His passing was a great loss to Canada.  Whether one agreed with his politics or not, the man was inspiring.  Even his fiercest political critics had a grudging respect for his sincerity and his dedication.

In the last election campaign, although stricken with prostate cancer and a broken hip, he displayed a feistiness and a determination that earned him much admiration.  Smiling Jack connected with the Canadian people and he seemed more energetic than his healthier adversaries. 

Elections campaigns are gruelling, even for the fittest of candidates.  Layton must have been in incredible pain.  Yet he soldiered on, waving his cane, and appeared to gain energy as the campaign progressed.

Jack's campaign style paid dividends.  An orange NDP wave swept through the province of Quebec and the party rode that tide to an unprecedented number of seats throughout the country.  When the votes were counted on May 2, 2011, Layton found himself the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.  He and his party were perfectly positioned to form a future government.

Not long after Jack's greatest political triumph, he was diagnosed with a new and virulent form of cancer.  Canadians were shocked by his gaunt and sickly appearance as he informed them of the devastating news.  The fighting spirit was still there, but the gravity of his illness was quite evident.

Now Jack Layton is gone and we'll never know what he could have accomplished as Opposition Leader.  He had his cake, but he never had the opportunity to eat it.  With Jack's absence, the Canadian political landscape is oddly bereft and littered with question marks.

In 2009, I saw Jack and his wife, Olivia Chow, at a fundraising gala for an organization called Toronto ALPHA (Association for Learning and Preserving the History of World War II in Asia).  Toronto ALPHA was founded by Dr. Joseph Wong and its goal is to promote peace and reconciliation through knowledge of historical truths.

At the gala, Jack and Olivia presided over an auction to raise money for ALPHA.  I was impressed by the duo's enthusiasm and their tenacity as they attempted to auction items to help the cause.  They were utterly determined to get the highest bids possible.  Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to speak to either one of them that night.

It's difficult to imagine Olivia without Jack.  They were such a team and they always seemed to be having fun.  They looked so genuinely happy together.

The last months of Jack Layton's life can only be described as a profile in courage. He set an example for all citizens, especially those battling cancer. In his final poignant letter to Canadians, he wrote: "To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don't be discouraged that my own journey has not gone as well as I had hoped.  Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease.  You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future."

Rest in Peace, Smiling Jack.


PALINDROME TUESDAY

Palindrome: A word, phrase, number. verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward.

Here is the usual list of ten palindromes for a Tuesday.

1.  Anne, I vote more cars race Rome to Vienna.

2.  Some men interpret nine memos.

3.  Dee saw a seed.

4.  Del saw a sled.

5.  Feeble Tom's motel beef.

6.  Yawn a more Roman way!

7.  Rise to vote, sir.

8.  Otto made Ned a motto.

9.  Pets never even step.

10.  Ma is as selfless as I am.


- Joanne

Enchanting Prince Edward Island and Cavendish Beach

MONDAY,  AUGUST 22, 2011

I have just returned from a visit to the Maritimes.  In Prince Edward Island, my husband and I stayed at a cottage in Cavendish.  Although I've been to P.E.I. before, I never stop tiring of its natural beauty.  More and more, I realize why Lucy Maud Montgomery was so enamoured of her island home.

Cavendish Beach enchanted me with its red sandstone cliffs.  Here are some photos I took of the beach on a delightfully sunny day.  We were fortunate to enjoy such ideal weather during our visit.  We were told that it was the first week of really good weather they had had all summer.

 

Below are some other pictures taken in the Cavendish area.  They illustrate the lush greenness of the island.

We visited Prince Edward Island National Park where the Anne of Green Gables house is located.  Below are some photos of Lucy Maud Montgomery beloved Balsam Hollow Trail and Haunted Wood Trail.



Haunted Wood Trail





- Joanne 

Halifax Harbour on a Sunday afternoon

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2011

Sunday was bright and sunny in Nova Scotia's capital city.  It was the perfect time for two tourists from Toronto to take a leisurely stroll around Halifax Harbour.  There was plenty activity, including a busker's festival.  Unfortunately, my husband and I arrived just as the jugglers and others were finishing up for the day.

We passed the afternoon gazing at the sailboats, snapping photographs and sipping lemonade.  We also had a lengthy discussion with a native Newfoundlander.  The man was sitting alone and we struck up a conversation with him.  It seems he now lives in Manitoba and is quite excited about the return of the Winnipeg Jets.  In fact, he was wearing a cap with the Jets' new logo.  Yet, during the course of the conversation, it became evident that Newfoundland is still in his soul.

Here are some photos of Halifax Harbour that I would like to share with you.  I hope you enjoy them.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this fiddler.



Jugglers packing up



We are now at a cottage in P.E.I., the gentle island.  We are staying in the Cavendish area, right in the heart of Anne of Green Gables country.  It is so peaceful and enchanting here in Canada's smallest province.  Prince Edward Island has a population of about 142,000 people whereas my home province of Ontario is home to over 13 million.  I will report to you again as soon as I have the opportunity.


- Joanne

Why this Torontonian loves Maritime Canada

SUNDAY, AUGUST  14, 2011

Consider this my paeon of praise to the Maritimes, a .love letter to Maritime Canadians m someone who has lived in Toronto her entire life.  I have only one direct link to the Maritimes.  My uncle married a wonderful woman from Cape Breton Islnad.

Thank you Nova Scotia for Sidney Crosby of Cole Harbour and Anne Muuay of Springhill.  Thank you for The Blue Nose and Peggy's Cove.  Thank you for the Cabot Trail, a taste of the Scottish Highlands in Canada. 

Thank you Prince Edward Island for Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables and P.E.I. potatoes.  Thank you for being the Cradle of Confederation where the idea of a country called Canada was conceived at the Charlottetown Conference of 1864.

Thank you New Brunswick foe your Acadian heritage and culture.  Thank for the famed Reversing Falls and Magnetic Hill.

Oh yes, thanks Maritimers, for your seafood, especially the clam chowder.

I am writing this from the beautiful city of Halifax, Nova Scotia where my husband and I are vacationing this week.  I will keep you posted in the days ahead and I will share pictures with you.  We are leaving for Prince Edward Island tomorrow.

- Joanne

Why the comics are good for you

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011

As a lifelong comics aficionado, I can attest to the sheer joy of reading cartoons.  When I pick up the newspaper, I quickly turn to the comics page.  I need my comics fix before I tackle the hard news.  During the worst of times, the comics are guaranteed to boost my morale.  Pure fun and harmless escapism is what they offer.  At the very least, they provide a gentle release from the fast pace and the stress of life in the 21st century. 

Since the first successful comic strip, Mutt and Jeff, appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle over a century ago, comics have delighted newspaper readers and made their day a little bit brighter.  Back in November of 1907, Chronicle cartoonist, Bud Fisher, began drawing a daily comic strip titled "Mr. Mutt."  Mutt was tall and gangly and he enjoyed playing the horses.  It wasn't long before Fisher created another character whom he named Mr. Jeff.  Jeff was a diminutive man who wore a top hat and resembled a dishevelled Monopoly Man.

Bud Fisher turned Mutt and Jeff over to another cartoonist named Al Smith in 1932 and Smith drew the strip until two years before it ceased production in 1982.  Although it isn't popular expression anymore, "Mutt and Jeff" is a term used to describe a couple consisting of a tall and a short person: eg. "The Mutt and Jeff duo have been together for ten years."



Mutt and Jeff


Another expression inspired by a cartoon strip character is a Dagwood Sandwich.  The term originates from the popular long-running cartoon Blondie.  Blondie's husband, Dagwood Bumstead, has a penchant for making huge multi-layered sandwiches with a wide assortment of fillings.  By the way, Blondie was created by American cartoonist Chic Young and first appeared in newspapers on September 8, 1930.  Chic Young drew Blondie until his passing in 1973 after which his son, Dean Young, took over control of the strip.  Dean continues to write Blondie and has collaborated with a number of artists over the years in drawing the strip.

A Dagwood Sandwich

Comics cannot be simply dismissed as mindless entertainment for the masses or bubblegum for the soul. Bill Watterson, author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, put it best when he said, "True, comics are popular art, and yes, I believe their primary obligation is to entertain, but comics go beyond that, and when they do, they move from silliness to significance."

Many immigrants have learned English by reading the funnies and comics have also served as an educational tool for generations of children.  Some cartoonists use their strips as a forum to promote an opinion.  For biting political and social commentary, look no further than Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury.  Doonesbury is so controversial that some newspapers have run it on their opinion pages and, over the years, it has provided a daily chronicle of American politics with its brand of satiric humour.

Some people enjoy comics because there is a certain comfort and a feeling of security about following the adventures and escapades of the same character for years.  Fans really care about their favourite characters and become engrossed in their follies and foibles.  With the notable exception of Canadian cartoonist Lynn Johnson's For Better or For Worse, most comic strip characters remain the same in age and appearance - although some character have undergone an update in hairstyle and clothing over the years. 

After almost 111 years in the same comic strip, Blondie's fair tresses have not turned grey.  Dagwood still sports the same unruly haircut and Mr. Dithers is still his boss.  Elmo the paperboy has never grown up.  Neither have the children in the comic strip Family Circus, although their mother's hair has been given a more modern style.

Lynn Johnson took a different approach to her comic strip.  She aged the characters For Better or For Worse in real time.  Johnston, a woman in a male-dominated field, has enjoyed unprecedented success  as female cartoonist.  For Better or For Worse began in 1979 and fans followed the adventures of the Patterson children - Michael, Elizabeth and April - as they grew into adulthood.  There were even deaths in that comic strip.  The family dog, Farley, died heroically after saving April from drowning and the childrens' maternal grandmother passed away. 

For Better or For Worse was supposed to end its run on August 31, 2008.  Lynn Johnston, however, announced that instead, she would take the story back almost 30 years to almost its beginning.  The strip would continue with a combination of repeats and new material.

Whatever your age, whatever your economic status, you can enjoy the comics. They are easily accessible to all, not just to an elite.  Devotees are passionate about their favourite cartoons.  They begin their morning by savouring the comics along with their breakfast.  Reading the comics is an integral part of their day and it brings them unconditional happiness. 

Comics are affordable and they're not detrimental to your health.  They put a genuine smile on your face and unlike junk food, they are non-fattening and cholesterol free.  For the price of a newspaper or a click on the Internet, they're all yours to enjoy.

I have to admit that I prefer my comics in the traditional newspaper format, although it is difficult to reach a younger generation that way.  In an effort to reach a wider audience, therefore, comic book distributors have made it possible to view comics on mobile devices, tablets and various electronic gizmos.  You can order screen savers and comic strips to view at your leisure, but no matter how and where you read them, comics remain one of life's non-guilty pleasures.  So here's to the funnies!  If you have children, encourage them to read the comics.  Just don't tell them it's good for them.


RIDDLE ME THIS

Why wasn't Jack hired to work in the delicatessen?

Answer:

Because he couldn't cut the mustard


SPORTS

Baseball

Congratulations to third baseman Brett Lawrie for blasting his first career grand slam last night here in Toronto.  Lawrie's grand salami let the Blue Jays to an 8-4 victory over the Oakland A's.  The 21-year-old Canadian has not been in the majors long, but has certainly wowed Blue Jays fans.  Boy, was the kid happy!  He was so elated that he could hardly contain himself.  It was great to see and if he remains healthy, he could have a stellar career ahead of him.

Horse Racing

My congratulations also to jockey Luis Contreras.  The 25-year-old native of Mexico is wowing fans at Woodbine Racetrack here in Toronto.  Last Sunday (August 10), he rode six horses to victory on a 10-race card.  One of those wins occurred in the third and final jewel of Canada's Triple Crown, the Breeders' Stakes.  Pender Harbour, with Contreras aboard, won the race by a nose.

With that victory, Luis Contreras made Canadian thoroughbred racing history.  He became the first jockey to win all three Canadian Triple Crown events with two horses.  Contreras guided Inglorious to victory in the Queen's Plate on June 26th.  Inglorious did not race in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, which Pender Harbour won with Contreras in the saddle.

- Joanne