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whew !!!

IN THIS ISSUE

• The editor´s story about life in a logging camp is continued
• Kate Brookfield posted this story about an endangered whale
• Marilyn Magid tells the tale about a redneck
• Jack Peaker forwards this story about two seriously-ill patients
• Gerrit de Leeuw sends this one about Ole and Clarence
• Miriam Ockenden claims it is possible to grow old gracefully
• A science prize is won by a book about electricity

The editor continues her story of

LIFE IN A SMALL LOGGING CAMP IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

It was my sister´s and my job to carry all the water for the camp from a small creek which seemed a great distance from the house, especially in the winter when we had to break a trail through the snow. (It wasn´t really that far, as I found when I revisited the site many years later.) I split all the wood for the house, which I rather enjoyed and became quite good at. (One Christmas I got a single-bitted axe to replace the double- bit I had been using. I was happy to get it.) My sister had to carry the wood into the house and stack it. In addition, we were expected to set and clean off the communal dining table, and help with the dishes. We also swept the rough wooden floor, which didn´t make much difference. (Caulked boots are murder on wooden floors.) For these chores, we received five cents a day, a fortune we spent in Eaton´s catalogue or on our rare excursions to town.

We took correspondence lessons from the Department of Education in Victoria. These lessons were much more thorough than those we later received in elementary school. We had to rewrite every story in the readers in our own words (with a little help from Mother); we had math and spelling and history, all meticulously marked by dedicated teachers. In addition, they sent us library books which would be considered far beyond the scope of students our age today: after a spate of King Arthur stories, which Nell and I vigorously emulated with boiler lids and home-made swords, Mother asked that they send somthing a little less stimulating. The grounding these lessons provided put us ahead of the other students when we left the bush and went to school in Salmon Arm.

With only each other to play with, Nell and I improvised most of our own amusements. We built a small log cabin modelled after the big one, for which we cut and notched the logs as we had seen the men do. We saved peelings from potatoes and apples and preserved them in jam cans (which eventually blew their lids when the stuff fermented.) We swam all summer long, and ran the booms, and played in the boats and canoes, all without lifebelts, of course. We swung out over the creek in a swing the men built us, and wandered through the bush, and played on the ice in the winter. (I sometimes wonder if Mother was trying to get rid of us; or perhaps she didn´t know what we were up to. If my kids had done some of the things we did, I´d have had kittens.)

We were given a runt pig for a Christmas present one year. She weighed six pounds. We called her Betty, after the neighbor who gave her to us, and played with her and rode her and teased her until she became so big she could no longer be considered a pet, but rather, food. The day they butchered her, we left home. We refused to eat her, of course, and I suspect that was the beginning of my aversion to eating red meat. We also patted the huge horses, and gingerly held up sugar lumps for them to eat. Once in a while we were allowed to sit on them and ride a short distance. The ground was a long way off, and it was like straddling a large barrel, but we loved it. We also had rabbits, which eventually mated with wild rabbits and produced timorous little babies which we never succeeded in taming. We also had a dog, which tried to "kill" every tree that was felled, endangering himself and annoying the men. We used to stand small trees back up and push them over for his amusement - and ours.

We got some of our toys from Eaton´s catalogue. The pigs ate one of Nell´s dolls, and she was so distressed that Mother had to sit down and order another doll immediately. Of course, it was weeks before it arrived, and when it did come, it was a poor substitute for the lost one. But she loved it and called it Annabelle. Most of our toys were home-made. Uncle Albert made us a toboggan by steaming a piece of board in a boiler of boiling water. It wasn´t much of a toboggan, but it slid. We whittled our own swords and arrows, and fashioned bows from saplings. We also whittled boats and made whistles from twigs and built houses from log ends on which we nailed gunny sacks. (Looking back, I am amazed at the tools we were allowed to use - axes and knives and hammers and saws. Maybe she really was trying to get rid of us.)

To be concluded

Kate Brookfield posted this story about

THE WHALE

If you read the front page story of the SF Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines.

She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so badly off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her ... a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around - she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate ... to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.

Marilyn Magid forwards the story of

THE REDNECK´S SISTER

Billy Bob´s pregnant sister was in a terrible car accident and went into a deep coma. After being in the coma for nearly six months, she wakes up and sees that she is no longer pregnant.

Frantically, she asks the doctor about her baby.

The doctor replies, "Ma´am, you had twins! A boy and a girl. The babies are just fine."

"After all this time," she says, "do they have names?"

"Yes, ma´am," the doctor says. "Your brother came in and named them."

The woman thinks to herself, "Oh no, not my brother... he´s an idiot!" Expecting the worst, she asks the doctor, "Well, what did he name them?"

"The girl is Denise," says the doctor.

The new mother says, "Wow, that´s a beautiful name! I guess I was wrong about my brother. I like Denise."

Then she asks, "What´s the boy´s name?"

"Denephew."

Jack Peaker shares this story about

THE TWO PATIENTS

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room´s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm among flowers of every color, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn´t hear the band, he could see it in his mind´s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could bemoved next to t he window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, andafter making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Moral: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Gerrit de Leeuw sends this story about

OLE AND CLARENCE

Ole lived across River from Clarence, whom he didn´t like at all. They all the time were yelling across the river at each other. Ole would yell to Clarence, "If I had a vay to cross dis river, I´d come over dere an beat you up good, yah sure, ya betcha, by golly!" This went on for years. Finally the state built a bridge across the river right there by their houses.

Ole´s wife, Lena, says, "Now is you chance, Ole, vhy don´t you go over dere and beat up dat Clarence like you said you vould?"

Ole says, "OK, by yiminy, I tink I vill do yust dat." Ole started for the bridge, but he sees a sign on the bridge and he stops to read it, then he turns around and comes back home.

Lena asked, "Vhy did you come back?"

Ole said, "Lena, I tink I change my mind ´bout beatin´ up dat Clarence. Dey put a sign on da bridge dat says ´Clarence is 13 ft. 6 in.´ You know, he don´t look near dat big vhen I yell at him from across da river."

Miriam Ockenden forwards these somehow familiar stories about

AGING GRACEFULLY

A very elderly gentleman, (mid nineties) very well dressed, hair well groomed, great looking suit, flower in his lapel smelling slightly of a good after shave, presenting a well looked after image, walks into an upscale cocktail lounge. Seated at the bar is an elderly looking lady,(mid eighties). The gentleman walks over, sits along side of her, orders a drink, takes a sip, turns to her and says, "So tell me, do I come here often?"

An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%. The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again."

The gentleman replied, "Oh, I haven´t told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I´ve changed my will three times!"

Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says. "Slim, I´m 83 years old now and I´m just full of aches and pains. I know you´re about my age. How do you feel?" Slim says, "I feel just like a new-born baby."

"Really? Like a new-born baby?"

"Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants."

An elderly couple had dinner at another couple´s house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen. The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, "Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly."

The other man said, "What is the name of the restaurant?"

The first man thought and thought and finally said, "What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know ... the one that´s red and has thorns."

"Do you mean a rose?"

"Yes, that´s the one," replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, "Rose, what´s the name of that restaurant we went to last night?"

Hospital regulations require a wheelchair for patients being discharged. However, while working as a student nurse, I found one elderly gentleman - already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet - who insisted he didn´t need my help to leave the hospital. After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let me wheel him to the elevator. On the way down I asked him if his wife was meeting him. "I don´t know," he said. "She´s still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown."

BBC science reporter, Rebecca Morelle, wrote about the 2005 winner of

THE AVENTIS PRIZE

A book that details the discovery of electricity and how it has changed our lives was penned by David Bodanis. The social science lecturer had been strongly tipped in advance to take the prize, which is now in its 19th year.

Mr Bodanis was presented with a ?10,000 cheque at a gala dinner at the Royal Society in London.

Born in Chicago, Mr Bodanis has spent much of his adult life living in France and England. He has authored several books, including best-seller ´E=mc 2´ , the story of Einstein and his famous equation.

"It´s such a treat to win - it is a genuine surprise," he told the BBC News website. "Many people take electricity for granted, but there´s electricity everywhere: there´s electricity in our brains; there´s electricity in our planet; there´s electricity powering our civilisation; the Sun burns by electricity. With the book, I wanted to open up the door and show what´s actually there."

Steve Jones, professor of genetics at University College London, who sat on the judging panel, said: "This is a science book for the people."

The renowned science communicator Simon Singh called the book: "A technological odyssey complete with heroes and villains, triumph and tragedy - a true scientific adventure."

BBC TV presenter Nick Ross chaired the judges. He said: "This book is wonderfully accessible - it´s a huge canvas but it reads like a novel, with twists and turns that would make a fiction writer happy to have been so inventive; and opens up a universe of facts that would scarcely be credible in an imaginary tale. It´s simply a very good read and if you have little or no interest in electricity, after reading this you will have."

Jay claims that power bars are not as effective as

SURGE SUPRESSORS

They are basically like a power bar. Only devices plugged into it will be protected; it has to be between the power outlet and the device it protects. Anything with computer chips in it is vunerable, but who cares about microwaves? Computer chips use *very* low voltages and can be screwed up if a large spike comes down the line. It seems too that houses, apartments, etc., have surge supressors near the power box, but only for large spikes, and they may not work fast enough to protect sensitive devices.

THIS WEEK´S RECOMMENDED SITES

You may remember my mentioning the Spirit Bears on Vancouver´s streets. Miriam Ockenden sends this website which tells about the bears:

http://www.spiritbearsinthecity.com/index.php?content=overview_vanc.html

Jack Peaker suggests some

INTERESTING WEBSITES

Urbanism: http://www.theboxtank.com/

Ocean: http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/

Art/kids: http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/

WHY DO THE ENGLISH DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD?

Jay writes: I was watching an English movie, and it struck me that the four passengers in the car were tootling along in what should have been the fast lane (North America) and were actually driving in the slow lane. I *know* they keep left, but I wondered why so much of the world drives on the right and other parts drive on the left (Australia, Japan, England, and India, etc.)

So I went to http://www.ask.comand asked. Here´s a nifty explanation:

http://www.amphicars.com/acleft.htm

"What a wonderful life I´ve had! I only wish I´d realized it sooner."