Well, hi again, yahoos and yahoo-ettes (and those with fancier titles in life). And happy birthdays to two countries I love. It’s Canada Day where I was born and about three days shy of Fourth of July in one I’ve come to care about some. So happy birthday, as well, to the States, from a son of an appreciative neighbour with some investment this side of the border, eh?
In honour of both the apparent love of the readership for critter stories and my pride in the maple leaf, we’re leading off this week with this one about a Canadian leatherneck turtle tagged in Halifax some while back and turned up in the waters off Columbia, South America. The Canadian Sea Turtle Network (CSTN) tagged 11 of them off Halifax.
The CSTN has since removed that tag from the one who showed up down there and yep, by going down there and doing it and studying that turtle to see how she'd taken the trip. That turtle was a lady named Nuevo Esperanza. I know that wasn’t lost on Ottawa. It’ll be interesting to see how it resonates beyond the pale.
I’m also tempted to wonder what Lady New Hope is going to do down there but it gets a little busy around here so I can only assume that, being Canadian and all, she’s got her reasons, and she’ll get back to us.
This Canadian lady leatherneck turtle comes from a quietly strong land and one with a great deal of patience in the face of the unappreciative. She has a vision of a simpler world and for all her struggles to actualize it within her own boundaries (Quebec, sigh), she has achieved more than enough domestic success to justify promoting it quietly to a southern neighbour especially, who could benefit from the perspective.
There is also a stark reality behind this worth remembering on the independence day of two contiguous neighbours. If Canada’s strength must be measured by the sons and daughters who have fought and died for the former British Empire and then beyond, given the percentage, her record for walking her talk for democracy, freedom, equal rights, and a clean planet are unimpeachable.
As vast as Canada is, there is not one square kilometer of that panoramic yet relatively sparsely settled and often icy and tempest-tossed land that is not consecrated in the blood of her citizens, from Inuit to French Canadian to all the others she’s taken in under the shadow of a French statue a bit south of her southern border. Canada may be a ‘small land’ and her people a modest one. But as I love both countries, she can be as passionately devoted a friend as she can an implacable enemy. I’m glad America is one of her best buds. If you’d like to learn more about Canada, here’s a good place to start. So and stuff and moving right along, eh?
And about the time that America celebrates her 222nd birthday (I used 1787 because that’s when the U.S. Constitution was ratified), a Seattle native will arrive in Boston to add a bit to that city’s population. His name is Ivan and he’s a fur seal who, despite some opportunities locally, doesn’t seem to have found a mate here on the West Coast. We’ll miss him but behind wishing him the best of luck on the “other coast,” we’ll be some humbled by the realization that as much as we’re proud of the Pacific Northwest, it does not work for everyone. Take care of him, Linda, and remind him to occasionally write home.
Well, it had to happen sooner or later, and it’s going to be a real blow to a couple of generations raised on the power of positive thinking and daily affirmations. A new study by Canadian psychologist Joanne Wood and reported in Psychology Today found that for those with high self-esteem to begin with, saying things like “I am lovable” tended to reinforce an already healthy ego.
But for those at the other end ~ those who, for one reason or another had an extremely low opinion of themselves ~ these affirmations did a lot more damage than good by reminding them that if they needed to say things these to themselves, about themselves, it’s because they were NOT okay.
Quite frankly, I’ve been skeptical of pop psychology ever since a mental health care professional counseled a lady rape victim friend of mine and a guy I served with in Vietnam to keep reliving the traumatic experiences until the pain went away.
What a flipping crock. It just made it worse. They didn’t need to remember that stuff and when they started putting good memories between themselves and the bad, they got better. Why am I somehow not surprised?
This past week, the world of man – woman relationships also got a rather seismic jolt in the United Kingdom when the Daily Mail Online’s Victoria Lambert revealed that men who married women 15 – 17 years younger added years to their own life. However ~ and this is a BIG however ~ the same study showed that those younger women died earlier than those of their peers who married people closer to their own age. Ms. Lambert’s story also has some very practical tips for both genders on extending both the duration and the quality of their lives and I found it, if for no other reason than that, worth the read.
It also comes as no surprise to learn, from an article in Environmental Health News, that far more premature babies are born in areas of heavy traffic, like freeways and neighborhoods adjacent industrial parks. The numbers sent a chill through me. Pregnant women living in the worst traffic-generated pollution were 128 times more likely to deliver too early. American author Pearl S. Buck contended that "If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all." To me, the wakeup call couldn’t be much clearer.
On a lighter note, for those of you who enjoyed Ann Landers or the advice columnist in your high school newspaper, here’s a blog that delivers the amiable maternalism of Ms. Landers, the slightly off-centre humour of Erma Bombeck and the ingenuousness of an unreconstructed romantic with no axes to grind. The name of this blog is Ask Barbie, Advice Columnist. Enjoy, then?
And finally, we’re totally delighted to report that Seattle, Washington’s Green Bike Project is more than living up to the expectations of it. In a story headlined “Green Bike Project reduces congestion, changes lifestyles” Seattle Post-Intelligencer Online reporter Scott Gutierrez reported that the program involved 25 area employers and some 265 people.
It was a pilot project whose future funding is at issue but I’ve a strong hunch it’s attracted the attention of Bill and Melinda, Paul Allen or other community benefactors, agencies and associations. Seattle may be slow to actualize a good idea (light rail) but this particular city is even more reluctant to give up one. The Emerald City is convinced that biking to work is good for all concerned so, one way or another, that’s pretty much how it’s going to be from now on.
That’s it for this week, folks. Once again, thanks for the ear. Take care, stay well and God Bless.
Rusty
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The Tomatoman Times – a life commentary blog with the blended stylings of John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Jack London and Will Rogers. Poignant, at times rancorous but very contemporary and ultimate celebration.
Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean – Live from the smallest record store in North America. Canadian humor, entertainment and commentary at its maple leaf best. Popular on National Public Radio in the States.
Ask Barbie, Advice Columnist. -- a blog that delivers the amiable maternalism of Ms. Landers, the slightly off-centre humour of Erma Bombeck and the ingenuousness of an unreconstructed romantic with no axes to grind.
Sightline Daily (formerly Tidepool) – The “United Press International/Reuters of the American West/ Updated and informative news shorts with links to the source. It’s editors draw from a coverage area which includes Alaska, British Columbia,California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington. Update and informative collected news shorts from. They also put out an excellent weekly environmental edition.
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