Gene Domagala is not only a key volunteer in the Beach, an individual who helps out with all sorts of charities and non-profit organizations – a “utility man” as Bob Murdoch from Centre 55 calls him – he is also one of the most knowledgeable individuals about the Beach. So in late December we had covered the western end of Queen Street East; today we were going to have a look at the eastern and northern end of the neighbourhood.

We met again at the Beaches Library, a great meeting point right in the heart of the Beach, at the intersection of Queen Street and Lee Avenue. Gene let me know that he had been notified this morning that the furnace of a local resident in the East end of the Beach had broken down, so our neighbourhood tour would also have to be a “mission of mercy” to deliver a few portable heaters to this family in need. So the first thing we did was to pick up three space heaters and drive into the east end of the Beach close to the Balmy Beach Club to drop off the heaters at a stately older home. Gene promised to be back later today to deliver a few additional heaters in order to make sure that the pipes in the house would not freeze since the furnace would not be fixed until tomorrow.

Gene explained that the Beach community is equipped for these sorts of emergencies; there are always a few extra heaters floating around, and Centre 55 keeps about 10 sleeping bags for critical cases when someone needs to stay warm overnight. A network of people looks out for their neighbours and makes sure they stay safe and healthy, even in the deep freeze that Toronto has been in for the last few weeks.

Since we were already in the east end of the Beach we decided to start our explorations right there. Gene explained that about 120 years ago there was a little village here with a local pastor whose name was H. Dixon. He started a tent church (literally a church located in a tent) and ran it from about 1880 to 1907. The tent church could hold as many as 500 people. Reverend Canon Dixon, as he was respectfully referred to in later years, was committed to ministering to the poor and founded missions and soup kitchens for the homeless. This tent church was later to become a permanent building – St. Aidan’s Church, which just recently revived Canon Dixon’s legacy with its participation in the Out of the Cold Program.

We drove down on Balsam Street, and Gene showed me six houses that originally date back about 110 years, beautiful wooden clapboard properties with unique architectural features. At the bottom of Balsam Avenue is the former Alexandra Hotel Annex, today a private residence. Gene explained that about a century ago there were substantial homes along the bottom of Fernwood Avenue which used to be called “Lakefront Avenue”. The Alexandra Hotel had more than 30 rooms, and two free standing additions were built: Annex 1 and Annex 2. The entire complex was a summer hotel and featured a boat house at the waterfront and little cottages in the back. In the 1890s tourists would come from downtown Toronto by streetcar to enjoy the beautiful waterfront experience in Toronto’s Beach neighbourhood.

Most of these buildings were torn down around 1929 or 1930, but the old Alexandra Hotel Annex remained and recently underwent a beautiful renovation. There were several influential historic figures in this area: Sir Adam Wilson – the first elected mayor of the City of Toronto, a prominent jurist and a major landowner in the Beach; Reverend Dixon; James L. Hughes who was also the Chief Inspector of the Toronto School Board, and John McPherson-Ross, the Mayor of East Toronto which included Balmy Beach.

Our historical tour continued toward another historical intersection in the Beach: the intersection of Maclean Avenue and Queen Street. In the second half of the 1800s Alan Maclean Howard was one of the major landowners in the area. An interesting detail of his history is that his father was a clerk at the law courts in Toronto for 51 years, and his son held the same position, also for 51 years. A relative of Alan Maclean Howard was the first Postmaster of Toronto and a United Empire Loyalist.

Gene explained that Howard was a bit of an eccentric: he imported Guernsey cows and showed them at various agricultural exhibitions. He also had three large ponds with Peking ducks on his country estate which was called Glen Duart. Driving up on Hambly Street, Gene pointed out that this street at one point was supposed to be as wide as Spadina Avenue. Our drive continued north along Lee Avenue where Gene mentioned that this was the western end of another major estate in the Beach: the Glen Stewart Estate, owned by Alfred Earnest Ames. This self-made millionaire was the youngest president of the Toronto Stock Exchange, and at that time many successful stockbrokers and business people had beautiful mansions on Sherbourne and Jarvis Streets in downtown Toronto. In addition, they would also have summer homes in the Beach.

The Glen Stewart Estate starts north of Williamson Road, while south of this street was the location of the Glen Duart Estate. Ames had bought the Glen Stewart Estate in 1899 from a certain Walter Stewart Darling who was a minister in the area. Alfred Earnest Ames also had two duck ponds on his estate, and a white picket fence surrounded the entire expansive property. A twelve foot embankment bordered the property east of Lee Avenue, this embankment was later levelled after Ames had sold his property and it was divided up into a residential subdivision. The Glen Stewart Estate ended at Kingston Road.

The main entrance to the Glen Stewart Estate was on Glen Stewart Crescent where Alfred Earnest Ames’ residence was located. Gene took me to the property which is a large mansion that has been converted into a multi-unit apartment building. The mansion has lost quite a bit of its former glory, but when you look at it closely you can still picture the beautiful and imposing villa that it once must have been. In 1906 Canada’s Governor General stayed here for one week to attend the Queens Plate held at the old Woodbine Race Track, an event that attracted thousands of horse-racing fans from around the country.

Behind the mansion is a steep drop off, and in the ravine below the crest Alfred Earnest Ames built one of the first golf courses in Toronto in 1920. Before the construction of the golf course this part of the property had consisted of woods and ponds. Alfred Ames’ stables were located just below the crest on Long Crescent.

A small dead-end street called Leonard Circle is the former location of the Glen Stewart Estate’s ponds, and some of the houses on this street are actually built on stilts, a necessary construction technique due to the marshy ground. The ponds went all the way to the north end of today’s Williamson Road School, and Gene explained that around 1912 at least three or four boys died in the pond. The back entrance of the school was the main entrance to the palatial Glen Stewart Estate. The houses west of Lee Avenue were not part of the Glen Stewart Estate; they were built in the 1920s while the houses east of there on the former estate were put up in the 1950s.

Southwood Drive, the extension of Main Street south of Kingston Road, was the borderline between the Glen Stewart and the Glen Duart estates. East of Southwood Drive there was only bush. When Alan Maclean Howard moved out around 1915, the property was subdivided and houses went up on Glen Manor Drive East. Today’s Glen Stewart Ravine was the location of several ponds that were located on the former Glen Duart Estate. Gene added that the ravine should really have been called the Glen Duart Ravine since it was part of Alan Maclean Howard’s estate.

As we were driving south along Glen Manor Drive, we stopped at the natural ice rink that is maintained by local Beach residents. Gene introduced me to Thomas Neal, a local real estate agent, who dropped by a few years ago to take his boys skating and realized that the rink had been closed down due to municipal funding cuts. Together with Brock Grant, another neighbour, he decided that the community would run the rink itself, and ever since then the two men with the help of other neighbours, have been maintaining the natural ice rink on a daily basis.

Brock and Thomas take turns, and Thomas alone spends about five hours a day maintaining the ice rink. When I got there Thomas had just hooked up a big hose to the water supply and was spraying the rink with water which was freezing fast on this chilly day. After every snow fall he and several like-minded volunteers come out to shovel the rink. Now there are two sides to this natural ice rink: one side is designated for hockey players and one side is for pleasure skating. Thomas said that even Guy Lafleur once visited this natural ice rink. He added that he loves maintaining the rink, it is great for the kids, and at night the facility turns into a beautifully lit venue.

The community spirit is strong here, and Thomas Neal is just another example of how regular citizens pitch in and help out in the Beach. I let Thomas continue his work, and returned to Gene who pointed out a wooden bridge that crosses the Glen Stewart Ravine which has been there since 1915. The bridge will be replaced by a new model in the near future, but Gene, with his love for history, adds that he would love to hang on to the original one.

Ivan Forrest Park, at the southern terminus of the Glen Stewart Ravine, was named after a Parks Commissioner of the City of Toronto from the Second World War. Alan Maclean Howard’s ponds were finally diverted into pipes which carried the water into Lake Ontario. Further north, the natural part of the Glen Stewart Ravine stretching towards Kingston Road has not changed much throughout recent history. Gene explained that the ravine is a favourite destination of naturalists and bird lovers because of the large variety of bird species and indigenous plants.

From the Glen Stewart Ravine we crossed Queen Street southwards and arrived at the former location of the Scarborough Beach Amusement Park, a development that was started in 1906. The former owners of this parcel were the Sisters of St. Joseph who ran the “House of Providence Farm”, a specialized school for people with disabilities, in this area.

Revellers would come from the city in street cars of the Toronto Railway Company; these used to turn down on Scarborough Beach Boulevard. A giant velodrome used to be located just west of this street, and the street car would end at the bottom of Scarborough Beach Boulevard. Further south near the Hubbard Apartment Buildings used to be the midway with a giant Ferris wheel and 125 foot high tower that was lit nightly with thousands of electric lights. The tower was also used for a variety of stunts by different performers. The Scarborough Beach Amusement Park also included a quarter-mile long roller coaster ride, and different attractions such as a “Tunnel of Love” and a “Shoot the Chutes” flume ride. The first boardwalk in the Beach ran from the Hubbard Street apartment building to Fernwood.

At the bottom of Scarborough Beach Boulevard is a historic plaque that tells the story of the amusement park. As an expert in and advocate of local history, Gene Domagala has been lobbying for historical preservation in the Beach for many years, and was able to get six historic plaques installed in this area. The plaque commemorating the Scarborough Beach Amusement Park is one of them.

After the amusement park closed down in 1925 the land was bought up by developers; among them were the Price Brothers, a team of Toronto-based real estate developers who created more than 200 houses in the area, among them a whole section of architecturally unique fourplexes characterized by their front porches and arched verandas. Several of these fourplexes on Wineva Avenue have been listed on the City of Toronto’s Inventory of Heritage Properties as a result of their unique design.

Our drive continued further east, and at the intersection of Maclean and Queen Streets Gene pointed out a historical property: the elevated building behind the Beacher’s Café is actually the original location of Alan Maclean Howard’s residence, although it has been modified a great deal over the years. Gene had been looking for it for a long time and could not find Howard’s original house. He realized that the street numbering on Queen Street had changed several times, and he had finally found the original house of Alan Maclean Howard. We drove north of Maclean Avenue and arrived on a winding, hilly road called Pine Crescent. This is the only area in the Beach where there is brick pavement. Gene explained that several neighbours came together and pitched in to get a historic reconstruction of brick pavers installed in their road. At the top of the hill is a beautiful private residence called “Pinecrest” which dates back to 1902 and was designed by renowned architect Charles Frederick Wagner, who had also created the well-known Inglenook property on Waverly Road.

Across the street is a mansion formerly owned by Joseph Harris, a member of the Canadian Parliament. We then drove up towards Kingston Road, past Glenn Gould’s birth house on Southwood Drive. Glenn Herbert Gould (1932 to 1982) was a celebrated Canadian pianist and became especially well known for his recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach’s keyboard music. Gene added that Gould was almost better known in many countries around the world than he was in Canada. A historic plaque educates visitors about the life of this outstanding Canadian musician.

Once arrived on Kingston Road we drove by the Notre Dame Convent which also houses a local Roman-Catholic school. This area used to hold the car barns for the Toronto Street Railway Company. We drove into the neighbourhood north of Kingston Road and turned left on Swanwick Avenue. Gene started explaining to me that this entire area used to be called the Village of East Toronto. Just up the street were the largest freight yards of the Grand Trunk Railroad which included marshalling yards, coal storage facilities and a roundhouse. The area near Gerrard and Main Street was a center of railroad activity in the late 1880s until the early 1900s. About 300 to 400 workmen were employed here, and many of the houses were built for these railroad employees. In total the Village of East Toronto had about 5000 residents.

Gene added that many of these employees were rather transient, they would often move from job to job, depending on the opportunities that presented themselves. There was a problem with the freight yards, however: the steep gradient from downtown Toronto to the Village of East Toronto necessitated three locomotives, three firemen and three engineers in the moving of the trains. Because of this unsuitable topography the CN freight yards closed down in 1908 and relocated to Belleville and Etobicoke respectively, a move that plunged the area into a serious long-term economic decline.

We continued our drive and stopped at Centre 55 where Gene briefly connected with Bob Murdoch. The Meals on Wheels deliveries were in full swing, and Bob and several of the volunteers had their hands full. From there we continued to Gerrard Street where we briefly dropped in at the offices of the Beach Metro News. The new edition of the paper had just been printed, and several of the captains had come in to pick up their many bundles of paper to pass on to their volunteers who look after the street delivery of the paper. As Gene also volunteers as a captain with the Beach Metro News he picked up his bundles of paper, and then we continued our historic drive.

Our conversation went back to the historic significance of the Main and Gerrard area. Gene added that there were three major intersections in the Beach: Queen and Lee, Queen and Beech as well as Main and Gerrard. He explained that the area featured a farmer’s market and a mix of smaller townhouses and nicer homes. At the corner of Enderby Road and Gerrard Street is a house that used to be owned by a man named Donald George Stephenson. He was a lumber merchant with a physically imposing appearance who was also the mayor of East Toronto. He was well known for his overspending ways, and in 1894 he built a series of row houses on Norwood Terrace, but ended up accumulating major debts and in the end he pulled a disappearing act to escape his creditors.

Behind Norwood Terrace today is the Main Street Bridge which used to be a wooden trestle bridge during the 1920s, spanning eight railway tracks. The area around Main Street was a thriving commercial hub with its own farmer’s market, diverse retail stores and several theatres. One of these theatres was the Ideal Theatre which today is a local retail store. The YMCA used to be on the other side of the intersection where the Ted Reeve Arena is today. Several banks were located at the Main and Gerrard intersection. A hospital and a library were nearby. This was the real centre of East Toronto.

From this area we drove south to the intersection of Main Street and Benlamond Avenue, another historical centre. Gene explained that Main Street used to be called Dawes Road in this area. Following Benlamond Avenue into an old established neighbourhood that used to be blocked to the public by a gate, Gene told me about the business owner duo of Benjamin Morton and James Lamond Smith who were both bankers with the Bank of Upper Canada. They were major landowners in this area. Swanwick Avenue, a local street, was named after Mary Swanwick Morton. Together these two business men created the first golf course in Toronto in 1871 near Woodbine and Coxwell Avenues, just north of the St. John Norway Cemetery. On Glen Oak Drive near Norwood Park there are several large stately homes dating back to the 1940s and 1950s. There is no through traffic in this area, and this little nook is virtually unknown to most Torontonians. The house of Edward Lyall Morton, Benjamin Morton’s son, is in this neighbourhood, and some of the nicest houses are located on small side streets at the edge of an escarpment with a beautiful view over the Beach and Lake Ontario.

We came back out on Benlamond Avenue where the food bank at Calvary Baptist Church was in full swing. Gene added that this church features a beautiful stained glass window. Reverend Sneyd collected windows from bombed out churches in Europe after World War II and put them together into one giant stained glass window that was installed in the 1970s. We then drove east on Lyall Avenue, and Gene informed me that the first 60 houses on both sides of the street are actually protected as part of a designated heritage area. These homes were built for middle class families who had settled here permanently in contrast to some of the other lower income housing that was built for the more transient population of railway workers. Gene pointed out a unique feature of this neighbourhood: several street corners have houses with large front yards, an unusual sight in Toronto’s older high-density neighbourhoods. Gene referred to them as the “fifty-fifties”: the front yard measures fifty yards by fifty yards, and the houses are set in from the street.

Our next brief stop during our tour was at Malvern Collegiate, a venerable educational institution since 1903. Malvern is one of Toronto’s top academic high school and counts such illustrious graduates as Glenn Gould, Robert Fulford and Don Getty. Other celebrity students at Malvern include Norman Jewison, Alex Trebek, Keanu Reeves, Kiefer Sutherland and Jack Kent Cooke. The impressive library wing addition on the west side of the building opened in 1987 and features a statue that dates back to the First World War.

From here we headed down on Hannaford Street to Kingston Road where Gene showed me a local convenience store that used to be “Ritches Dairy” – a stone insert in the building’s façade still testifies to the agricultural heritage of this area. Gene added that about a dozen dairies were located here about a hundred years ago, and he explained that there was nothing on the south side of Kingston Road until the 1940s.

As I type these words, the liturgical season of Lent is two days away. Traditionally, this 40-day prelude to Easter Sunday served as a period of intense prayer and fasting for converts to the Christian faith. Over the centuries, both the Byzantine and Roman Churches formalized liturgical calendars, adding ecclesiastical rules and traditions – including mandatory fasting, ritualized worship, and alms-giving.

It should be noted, however, that gloominess and deprivation has never been the true focus of Lent – repentance, growing in holiness, and an appreciation of grace have always been central themes. An Orthodox Vespers hymn proclaims, “Let us begin the Lenten time with delight… let us fast from passions as we fast from food, taking pleasure in the good words of the Spirit…now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the time of repentance.”

The Romans 14 Argument

Of course, the Reformed or Baptist rebuttal to such a practice is that, biblically, we are called to live that way all the time. Throughout the entire Bible, we are exhorted to live lives worthy of the calling we have received (Ephesians 4:1), be alert and self-controlled (1 Thessalonians 5:6), and to walk in continual repentance (“keep short accounts with God’, as my pastor would say). We are to practice self-control and the other fruits of the Spirit all year long, and not just for the six weeks between Mardi Gras and Easter. In no other church will you find the emphasis placed on daily Scripture reading and private devotional prayer (the ubiquitous “quiet time”) that we Evangelicals do. In fact, many non-liturgical churches do not hold Good Friday services – the meaning of the Cross is a daily reality in the life of the believer. Furthermore, is not every day considered alike (Romans 14:5)? Therefore, the spirit behind Lent (repentance; reflection on the Cross; spiritual discipline) is one that we should continually live out.

In addition, doesn’t mandating spiritual practices negate the whole purpose behind them? Isn’t this what the Pharisees were doing? If you force someone to fast or abstain from meat by telling them they are in sin if they “break the rules”, haven’t you just put them under another type of bondage? Besides, we are free of all dietary restrictions under the New Covenant. And, we Protestants might argue, the personal repentance and corporate solemnity is something we practice each time we observe the Lord’s Supper, which is often reduced to an empty ritual in more liturgical settings. We don’t need to set just 40 days per year aside in order to “act holy”.

In theory, of course, this is true. Notwithstanding these arguments, there is an uncomfortable truth besetting much of modern American Evangelicalism: what used to be known as “discipline” is now derisively termed “legalism”.

Christian Liberty is Not a License to Sin, so….

Paul Washer, among others, has discussed our general spiritual laziness at length. As the demographic group that legitimized the wearing of flip-flops to church, we Evangelicals collectively miss the “reverence” mark. In general, so much emphasis has been put on grace over the past two generations that little is spoken about sanctification in the modern Church. In the early 20th century, Deitrich Bonhoffer coined the term “cheap grace” to describe the apathetic lack of conviction among the “how-much-can-I-get-away-with-and-still-get-into-heaven” crowd. Many of us truly desire to live for Christ, and while we may be quite sweet, there’s no denying that we’ve gotten soft. Hence the term “Evan-jellybean” – and no; I did not make that up.

To put it bluntly, we Evangelicals (even of the more Reformed variety) are not notoriously good at self-discipline, perhaps because we’ve had verses like Romans 14:17, Ephesians 2:8-9 and Galatians 5:1a drummed into us ever since we first walked the aisle in an alter call. But we tend to downplay the second half of verses like the one just cited: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1; emphasis mine). Repeatedly, Paul states that the believer is not to be “mastered” by anything, but is to live a life of self-control. This is a theme that comes up again and again when counseling Christians struggling with addictions.

Produce Fruit in Keeping With Repentance – Matt. 3:8 (…and self-control is a fruit of the Spirit)

So what does this have to do with Lent? For starters, we humans are creatures of habit. Developing, or “putting on” God-honoring practices is something that we develop by repetitive, deliberate practice (Ephesians 4:22). It makes sense to pursue a deeper relationship with Christ (which presupposes obedience to Him) both individually and corporately with the rest of the Body (Hebrews 10:24-25). I assume that Lenten observances took hold partly because, in the early European Church, most Christians were illiterate and therefore small group Bible studies were out of the question. Believers who had limited access to the logos, the Word of God, did not have much to go on in terms of ‘personal conviction’ (another of our favorite terms). Necessity probably dictated a standardized, corporate means of practicing the spiritual disciplines. (Subsistence agriculture may have also played a practical role). While the ordinance of Lent is not biblical, the principle certainly is.

Making it Personal….

Okay, I have the 5 Solas down and I dig Spurgeon. So why would a dyed-in-the-wool, Calvinist-leaning Baptist like myself be considering the potential spiritual benefits of Lent this year? To answer that question, let me quote the (very Reformed) Jerry Bridges in “Respectable Sins”:

“What is self-control? It is a governance or prudent control of one’s desires, cravings, impulses, emotions, and passions. It is saying no when we should say no. It is moderation in legitimate desires and activities, and absolute restraint in areas that are clearly sinful…..Biblical self-control is not a product of one’s own natural will-power. Biblical self-control…covers every area of life and requires an unceasing conflict with the passions of the flesh that wage war against our souls (see 1 Peter 2:11). This self-control is dependent on the influence and enablement of the Holy Spirit. It requires continual exposure of our minds to the words of God and continual prayer for the Holy Spirit to give us both the desire and power to exercise self-control.”

Discipline in Time Management

Bridges touches above on two disciplines that are necessary to cultivate self-control: prayer and Bible reading. These are usually, to some degree, disciplines lacking in the Christian’s life (including mine). Developing a commitment to one’s devotional life obviously need not happen during Lent. However, reflection and prayer is the whole purpose behind the tradition, so the discipline of time management seems a logical area to surrender to God during this period. If you have gotten lax in your prayer life, you will regress spiritually. There are only two possible directions in the Christian life: forward, or backward. Especially if you are involved in ministry, all the activity has to flow out of your private life before the Throne.

Being undisciplined with my time has a direct impact on my spiritual life. When I am not at work or involved in the immediate needs of childcare, I am much more likely to write, read Christian blogs, listen to podcasts or even just hang out on Facebook than I am to read the Bible these days. I’m not proud of that, but it’s true. Add ministry and an upcoming certificate course in biblical counseling into the mix, and without a dynamic prayer life I will be dead in the water (not to mention wide open for spiritual attack). Squeezing intermittent prayer in around frenzied activity will leave anyone defeated and sucked dry. If there’s a season tailor-made for repentance and discipline, why not take advantage of it? I am planning to get back into a daily schedule of study, prayer, and limit “screen sucking” time in favor of more productive endeavors – such as keeping the house clean!

Mastering our Appetites

Elsewhere in the chapter, Bridges shows how a lack of discipline in one area of life weakens resolve in others (he uses the example of constantly indulging his craving for ice cream), and so ultimately all areas in which we have a weakness are spiritual issues. He writes:

“I’m not trying to lay a guilt trip on those who enjoy ice cream or soda pop, or even those who go to Starbucks every day for their favorite coffee drink. What I am addressing is our lack of self-control – a tendency to indulge our desires so that they control us, instead of our controlling those desires.”

Years ago, I listened to a very articulate and godly Orthodox priest explain to his congregation one of the purposes of Lent in this area. Although I certainly would have some theological differences with him, he did make a good point: we modern people have become so accustomed to excess in all things, that gluttony has become the norm. He was not speaking exclusively about our eating habits, although that is certainly a big part of our “consumerist culture”. If we think this over-indulgence doesn’t affect our spiritual lives, we are kidding ourselves. Lent is a period where we can voluntarily strip away that excess, and cling to what is truly life-sustaining. The rigidity of the fast (a practice upheld in Scripture – see John Piper’s “A Hunger for God” for a discussion of fasting), is symbolic of the believer’s absolute dependence and yearning for God and His will.

I was reminded of that sermon yesterday, after a weekend of indulgence….a restaurant meal to celebrate a birthday, followed by pizza and cake at my daughter’s “real” party; the requisite chocolate of Valentine’s Day, capped off by copious leftovers from the church missions bake sale….while thousands starve in Haiti. Eating is, of course, morally neutral – but how much overeating is permissible before a lack of self-control becomes evident? As one who counsels eating disordered women (and a former bulimic myself), I realize this is a sensitive topic, and I wish to tread carefully. Jack Hughes states in his excellent 5-part series, “When Eating Becomes Sin”:

“Nevertheless, because the Bible addresses eating, indulgence, self control, self discipline, gluttony, and other related sins, we need to be able to address this topic without fearing men.”

Most of us, if we are honest, could use a bit of restraint in our eating habits – if only for the sake of becoming more self-controlled and disciplined people “not enslaved by all kinds of lusts and pleasures” (Titus 3:3). While self-denial for its own sake is not the purpose of Lent, Jesus’ comments in Matthew 6 make it evident that fasting is a normative part of the Christian life. Lent just brings it into the collective consciousness, and what is a private discipline may be done corporately – or individually. The most important thing to remember about fasting, no matter how one chooses to fast, is that the heart attitude is what’s most important. Fasting without praying is simply dieting. There is no inherent merit in forgoing food, and the purpose is never to see how long you can actually go without eating. Fasting means seeking a deeper repentance and stronger fellowship with your Savior that takes precedence over food or other activities (see John 4:34). It is not a mark of uber-spirituality.

The weeks before Resurrection Sunday can be whatever one makes of them – a journey of growth and reflection; increased adoration and appreciation of Christ’s redeeming love; and a specific season to pray more regularly and practice the other spiritual disciplines. For some, it will inevitably mean a list of “do’s and don’ts”; rule upon rule, an arbitrary month-plus of waiting until the Marshmallow Peeps come out in the stores and they can eat chocolate again without the slightest twinge of guilt. Observing Lent is not mandatory, but it’s as good a time as any to get back to the basics in our walk with the Lord.

Personally, this Evanjellybean wants to be able to say with Paul, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified,”(1 Corinthians 2:2), and to that end I intend to turn away from apathy and get back into the habit of pursuing God with a passion…as I did in my early years as a Christian. Nope, I won’t morph into a vegan this month, and since I don’t drink or watch TV, the cliché things to “give up” are no longer options. Instead, I plan to spend more time with God, and cultivate greater discipline in 1) how I spend my time (less Internet; more Bible study); 2) my eating habits (can a person really live without junk for 6 weeks? We’re about to find out); and 3) a daily commitment to prayer – which is an incredible privilege, and not a burdensome chore. Of course, there is grace when we fail, and God’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9); but we have the promise that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). What is the reward?

Friendship with Himself.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

Long ago, movie directors mastered the technique of creating a convincing fight scene. Bodies crash to the floor.. chairs are upended… viewers are treated to closeups of terrified or furious faces… and the punches thrown are enough to make us wince and close our eyes. (No more of those prissy punches that fooled nobody in the early films – sneaky camera angles to hide the fact that the fist didn’t really connect; loud thuds to suggest a knockout punch when anybody could see it wouldn’t knock a gnat out of its flight path.)

Movie-goers are treated to multiple camera angles and sophisticated sound effects. We feel as though we’re right in the middle of that fight.

Authors have it a lot harder. How can you throw the reader in the middle of the scene and feel every punch? How can you show the action without falling into the trap of sounding like a school kid enthusiastically detailing a fight, punch by punch; kick by kick?

There are just two things to keep in mind.

1. Remember you’re a writer, not a choreographer.
2. Pack your fights with EMOTIONAL punch.

That’s it. So simple – yet so effective.

What does a choreographer do? Plans a series of movements, step by step. He/she teaches the people performing the movements how to perform each one, and then how to put them together into a smooth routine.

Too many fight scenes in books look like a choreographer’s notebook. You’ll see something like this:

Briggs planted a right hook on Smith’s chin. The other man reeled backwards, his arms windmilling. Briggs followed up his advantage, breathing hard. In quick succession he landed several more punches on Smith’s body.

Smith fell to the ground and rolled away. “Bastard!” he grunted, and rolled again to avoid a well-aimed kick from Briggs. Cat-like, he leapt to his feet and circled Briggs, not taking his eyes off his nemesis.

“Come on!” Briggs taunted, darting in to land another punch then ducking back out of reach. “Is that the best you can do?” He feinted and laughed.

Infuriated, Smith attacked. Briggs danced back and around Smith, and in two deft moves had him on the ground, one arm up behind his back.

“Had enough?” he panted.

There are so many things wrong with the above scene it’s hard to know where to start. In brief:

• We have no idea who the viewpoint character is. We seem to be looking on from a distance. That means there is very little emotional involvement from the reader. To really involve your reader, do everything you can to make sure he or she ‘becomes’ the viewpoint character. If he gets hurt, so does the reader. If he loses… so does the reader.
• The writer is “telling” rather than showing. A did this then B did that so A did this in response and B followed up with this… boring! (Can you see the choreographer at work?)
• The writer uses the characters’ names a lot: “Smith” and “Briggs”. This tends to add distance too. The problem is that both characters are men, so constant use of “he”, while not so distancing, can be confusing. It’s easier to avoid these problems if you are deeply in the viewpoint of one of the characters.
• The excerpt is filled with tired old expressions such as “in quick succession he landed two more punches”; “a well-aimed kick”; “cat-like, he leapt to his feet”; “in two deft moves”. Expressions like this save the writer from doing much work – they roll off the tongue so easily because they’ve been around for so long.

How do you avoid these pitfalls and write a fight scene that works?

You forget (for the most part) the physical punches and add emotional punch. Get deep into the viewpoint of one of the characters – preferably the main character; the one the reader really identifies with. This way, readers look out through the eyes of that character. They desperately want him to win; they feel every punch. Therefore, there’s a lot more emotional investment in the outcome of the fight.

Most writers seem to feel that fight scenes have to be filled with fast movement, grunts and moans and shouted epithets to telegraph the action. They feel that if you stop to tell the reader what’s going on in the head of the main character, this slows things down too much.

That certainly can be the case… but in the hands of a skilled writer, tension actually builds when the action is slowed down. You need to remember that time-on-the-page is not the same as real time. Since you can’t actually show the reader what is going on in real time as you can in a movie, you have to compensate by spending some time in the mind of the main character. Show us the character’s thoughts. Show us the character’s emotions. Help us to “feel” our way into the fight.

The easiest way to show how this works is to use an example from a published book. Here’s a fight scene from ECHO BURNING by Lee Child (Bantam Press, 2001). The hero, Jack Reacher, tries to avoid the fight… and the tension builds beautifully until he is forced into a confrontation.

The guy was wearing a white tank-top shirt and he was eating chicken wings. The wings were greasy and the guy was a slob. He was dripping chicken fat off his chin and off his fingers onto his shirt. There was a dark teardrop shape right between his pecs. It was growing and spreading into an impressive stain. But the best bar-room etiquette doesn’t let you linger on such a sight, and the guy caught Reacher staring.

“Who you looking at?” he said.

It was said low and aggressively, but Reacher ignored it.

“Who you looking at?” the guy said again.

Reacher’s experience was, they say it once, maybe nothing’s going to happen. But they say it twice, then trouble’s on the way. Fundamental problem is, they take a lack of response as evidence that you’re worried. That they’re winning. But then, they won’t let you answer, anyway.

“You looking at me?” the guy said.

“No,” Reacher answered.

“Don’t you be looking at me, boy,” the guy said.

The way he said boy made Reacher think he was maybe a foreman in a lumber mill or a cotton operation. Whatever muscle work was done around Lubbock. Some kind of a traditional trade passed down through the generations. Certainly the word cop never came to his mind. But then he was relatively new to Texas.

“Don’t you look at me,” the guy said.

Reacher turned his head and looked at him. Not really to antagonize the guy. Just to size him up. Life is endlessly capable of surprises, so he knew one day he would come face to face with his physical equal. With somebody who might worry him. But he looked and saw this wasn’t the day. So he just smiled and looked away again.

Then the guy jabbed him with his finger.

“I told you not to look at me,” he said, and jabbed.

It was a meaty forefinger and it was covered in grease. It left a definite mark on Reacher’s shirt.

“Don’t do that,” Reacher said.

The guy jabbed again.

“Or what?” he said. “You want to make something out of it?”

Reacher looked down. Now there were two marks. The buy jabbed again. Three jabs, three marks. Reacher clamped his teeth. What were three greasy marks on a shirt? He started a slow count to ten. Then the guy jabbed again, before he even reached eight.

“You deaf?” Reacher said. “I told you not to do that.”

“You want to do something about it?”

“No,” Reacher said. “I really don’t. I just want you to stop doing it, is all.”

The guy smiled. “Then you’re a yellow-bellied piece of shit.”

“Whatever,” Reacher said. “Just keep your hands off me.”

“Or what? What are you going to do?”

Reacher restarted his count. Eight, nine.

“You want to take this outside?” the guy asked.

Ten.

“Touch me again and you’ll find out,” Reacher said. “I warned you four times.”

The guy paused a second. Then, of course, he went for it again. Reacher caught the finger on the way in and snapped it at the first knuckle. Just folded it upward like he was turning a door handle. Then because he was irritated he leaned forward and headbutted the guy full in the face. It was a smooth move, well-delivered, but it was backed off to maybe half of what it might have been. No need to put the guy in a coma, over four grease marks on a shirt. He moved a pace to give the man room to fall, and backed into the woman on his right.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” he said.

The woman nodded vaguely, disoriented by the noise, concentrating on her drink, unaware of what was happening. The big guy thumped silently on the floorboards and Reacher used the sole of his shoe to roll him half onto his front. Then he nudged him under the chin with his toe to pull his head back and straighten his airway. The recovery position, paramedics call it. Stops you choking while you’re out.

Then he paid for his drinks and walked back to his motel…

Of course, this scene just shows a quietly escalating fight and it shows a hero who has the ability to take a fight to a quick conclusion. You’re going to have to use a slightly different approach if you have several people involved and if you have a fast and furious fight with two more evenly matched aggressors. But the principle is the same.

Don’t let the reader watch the fight from a distance. Get them into the skin of the main character, privy to his thoughts and his emotions. Let readers feel the impact of fists and feet; let them experience the adrenaline (or irritation, depending on the level of provocation). Then your fight scenes will pack the kind of punch you want.

(c) copyright Marg McAlister

Introduction

The chief purpose of the collection of these free verses

Is to eulogise the immediate past and seventh Secretary-General

Of the United Nations, Busummuru (Dr.) Kofi Annan.

In the opinion of this author, Dr.Kofi Annan

Is not only a hero, but a universal peace-maker,

An adept, a philosopher or perhaps, even a saint as well.

These verses constitute a modern version

Of traditional African praise singing poetry

In honour of deserving African heroes

In the true sense of African tradition.

The wisdom of our African ancestors

Is reflected in this proverb which says:

“If the palm fruit of your farm is not meaty

Or fleshy enough,

It is you yourself who must munch it

In such a ravishing fashion,

That others may even envy you.”

One question that has always tormented

My mind clockwise is:

Do we have African saints?

Do we have African philosophers?

Do we have African geniuses?

If yes, how are they documented for posterity?

If No, why not?

I am tempted to postulate that

If we, Africans do not know what is good for us,

Others may be prompted to dictate to us

What is bad for us.

It is high time Africans began to identify,

Recognise and acknowledge

Their own philosophers

So that come next 500 years,

The world will refer to them as African philosophers

As it’s being done today to Greek philosophers.

This anthology is to establish Kofi Annan

As an African philosopher

But not to deify him.

Like the Master Jesus the Christ

Himself has demonstrated beyond doubt,

That no human being is perfect,

May I take the liberty to paraphrase him?

Let the one amongst you

Who is not entitled to his own opinion

On this planet of freedom of opinion,

Be the first to raise his first finger

To fire the first bullet of blasphemy

Against his fellow human being!

Even today after over 2000 years,

There are people in Jesus’ own natal town

Who do not believe his was the Messiah.

But that does not negate

What he had been,

What he came to do for man kind

And the fulfillment of his mission on earth.

Peace and Love be with you all.

KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT

ALL ye citizens of Ghana,

All ye citizens of Africa,

All ye citizens of the world,

Who value human ingenuity,

Pay tribute to Kofi Annan,

The immediate Past UN Secretary-General;

For if he is not the second Moses

He must be the second Christ.

Kofi Annan is a humble soul

Kofi Annan is a philosopher

Kofi Annan is a modern prophet,

Sent unto the modern world

To shape the Creator’s vision

For the direction of His creation.

Kofi Annan has fulfilled his mission

In the United Nations

For the advancement of mankind .

With one voice, let’s chant in unison:

Kofi Annan the Great, Aaaayeeeeekoooooo!

Kofi Annan, we hail you

Kofi Annan, ye ma wo mmo

Kofi Annan, mie do dzaa nawo

Kofi Annan womli daboshi

Sande zua, Kofi Annan!

We thank you a thousand times

Ye da wo asi piiiiii

Mie da apke nawo kakakaka

Wo yio adom waaaaa

Mungoooode korei!

Kofi Annan, you,ve done

Great honour to Ghana

Kofi Annan,you’re

The pride of Africa

Kofi Annan,you’ve polished

The image of the black race

Kofi Annan,you’ve sacrificed

Your very life for human kind

Kofi Annan, you are a man

In whom the Creator is pleased,

For your service to humanity.

BUT FOR YOU

Kofi Annan, you’re a man of peace

But for you,

The world would’ve witnessed

The third world war

But for you,

Rwanda would been worse;

But for you,

Darfur would have been worse;

But for you,

Iraq would have been worse;

But for you,

Kosovo would have been worse;

But for you,

Israel and Palestine would been worse

But for you,

DR Congo would have been worse.

But for you,

East Timor would have been no more

But for you,

Liberia would have been no more;

But for you,

Sierra Leone would have been no more

But for you,

Bosnians would have been no more

But for you,

Haiti, Iran and Somalia

Would have all been no more!

Kofi Annan the Great,

You’re the tiny sparkling spark

That ignites the taper of world peace.

But for you,

The world would have experienced an inferno

Human suffering would have been worse

Refugee situation would have been worse

Children’s anguish would have been terrible

Women’s ordeal would have been horrible

Men’s gnawing of the teeth would have been miserable.

TERRORISTS’ PHOBIA

Kofi Annan the Great,

You’re the only man on earth,

World class terrorists fear most

You’re the only human being

Who commands the respect of

First class terrorists of our time

But for you,

Global terrorism would have been worse

But for you,

When the 9/11 occurred,

Multiple-9/11s would have followed suite

Throughout the face of the earth

On this planet of technology;

But for you,

When the World Trade Centre was gone,

The Pentagon would have gone

The seven wonders of the world would have gone

The pyramids on earth would have gone

All world heritages, preserved by UNESCO

Would have been going, going, and gone!

Oh, Kofi Annan the Great,

Humanity must bow before you

America must be grateful to you

Europe must be thankful to you

Asia must pay homage to you

As for Africa, she must carry you in a palanquin

As a true royal African King;

For you’re peaceful, graceful and blissful.

TRADITIONAL AFRICAN AKWAABA

Oh Paramount Chiefs of Africa,

Armed with the golden sword of victory;

Stand up in your palanquins or on your horses

And dance adowa, agbadza, kpanlogo and dambai

To say a profound AKWAABA to

Busummuru Kofi Annan the Great,

The supreme King of Kings of Africa

On his triumphant return to Africa;

For he has survived the guns of Kigali.

Busummuru Kofi Annan the Great,

Has outmaneuvered the bullets of East Timor

And dribbled the non-existing weapons of Iraq.

Hail Kofi Annan the Great;

For he has fought a deadly battle and conquered.

Our African ancestors say:

“If you haven’t been to the war front,

You’ll say people didn’t fight.”

Oh Queen-Mothers of Africa,

Armed with white handkerchiefs,

With your naturally endowed backs,

Vibrate your smooth bumps,

And exhibit your talent to the tune of

Adowa, Agbadza, Kpanlogo and Dambai.

Spray white powder onto the grey hairs of your son;

After all, it’s you who harboured him

In your womb for nine moons

And laboured in pain to deliver him

Unto the world with wisdom.

Oh noble Mama of Africa,

Your son, Busummru Kofi Annan the Great,

Has returned home with honour .

Kofi has come back home for good,

After over 40 years in the wilderness.

What a noble prodigal son he has been,

For his sojourn was for a good cause.

Present him with a calabash of water;

For his journey has been a long one.

Hug him with jubilation and say unto him:

“Kofi-ooo, aaatuuuu!” “Wo ye barima ampa!”

OKuni-ni Kofi, Oye Osagyefo ampara ampara!

You’re a brave man indeed! You’re a warrior!

CRUCIFIXION

Kofi Anna the Great,

Like Jesus the Christ,

Had had his fair share of crucifixion

In the execution of his mission.

When Jesus the Christ spoke the truth,

Wasn’t he vilified and crucified on the cross?

When Kofi Anna the Great

Questioned the legality

Of the invasion of Iraq

Wasn’t he vilified and crucified as well?

When his adult son was reported

To have erred in oil for food saga,

Didn’t the international media

Jump to conclusion,

Scrutinise and malign him?

Wasn’t he accused of complicity?

But like Jesus the Christ,

Kofi Annan the Great

Was acquitted and discharged

For no wrong doing.

Yet some people prefer Barabbas to Jesus.

Oh, Kofi Anna the Great!

Aren’t you the Christ of our time?

Aren’t you a universal man of peace?

Little wonder you won the Nobel Peace Prize

For Peace while in office?

You’ve gallantly carried your cross

Like the Master Jesus the Christ.

Those who may fail to recognise you today

Will dance and hail you tomorrow;

They will chant Hosanna

Halleluiah in memory of you

Two-thousand years to come;

Peacefully proceed on your retirement

And relax your soul with contentment

THE BIRTH OF KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT

One holy Friday in April 1938,

One charming Mama Africa,

Chosen from among other

Loving Mamas of Africa,

Like the Holy Mama of the world,

Humbly went on her knees

And presented him to the world

Free of charge and out of love.

Oh blessed black Queen of Africa!

Whether on the moon or in the tomb,

You harboured him in your womb

For long, long nine moons.

You laboured in severe pain

But delivered him in joyful gain.

You infused his being with wisdom

That he must lead slave souls to freedom.

Oh Mother of African saviour!

In the kingdom of heaven

Dwells your reward.

Kofi Annan the Great drew his first breath of life

In the city of gardens in the kingdom of Ashanti,

And became a living soul on the soil of Ghana.

His innocent Papa of Africa

Like holy Papa the Kapinta,

Never suspected he was a sower of a tiny seed

That was to become a mighty tree;

The fruits of which was to feed

Beasts of forests and birds of heavens.

Oh Papa Africa!

Father of African saviour,

In the kingdom of heaven

Dwells your reward.

Oh Kofi Annan the Great!

You’ve honoured your Papa and Mama,

Long, long shall be your life,

As commanded in the Commandments of Moses.

So Be It – It is done!

AS ABOVE SO BELOW

Kofi Annan the Great,

Like the infant Jesus the Christ,

Lived among ordinary children in Ghana.

His education began in Oguaa in Africa

And ended in Minnesota in America.

Oh Omniscient Creator of heaven and earth!

Could there be any accident in Divine plans?

Is what’s written not written?

And as Above, not so Below?

Our African ancestors say:

“It is the Creator Who enthrones Kings.”

In 1997, the world endorsed him

To complete five remaining years

Of Africa mandate begun by

Dr. Boutros-Boutros Ghali of Egypt.

No sooner did he complete the five-year tenure

Than the entire globe was on its knees,

Pleading with Kofi Annan the Great

To help govern the world for another five years.

Why so?

Kofi Annan the Great was a man of Peace

His commitment to World Peace was clear

His devotion to duty was superb

His leadership quality was beyond compare

His human relation was outstanding.

Kofi Annan the Great was an icon of a soul

With sustained and humane diplomacy,

He restores trouble spots to normalcy.

Like the Master Jesus the Christ on the sea,

Whenever he raises up his hands, calm returns

To most stormy lands of conflicts and wars.

He did it in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Lebanon and Congo.

Kofi Annan the Great is a human being,

As such he has his human limitations

Thus America disobeyed him and went to Iraq

The consequences are crystal clear

Sudan rejected his pleadings and massacred Darfur

Posterity will be the best judge

Like the Master Jesus the Christ,

Kofi Annan the Great has accomplished

His mission for which the Creator created him.

Into the hands of another UN Secretary-General,

Kofi Annan the Great relayed the torch

For the United Nations Secretary-Generalship

On December 31, 2006.

THE FIVE COMMANDMENTS OF

KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT

On Monday December11, 2006,

As part of his preparations to vacate

The UN royal throne, in the spirit of democracy,

Known in Ga as “mokoaya ni mokoaba,”

He delivered one of the most inspiring

Speeches in human history.

That speech was the epitome of wisdom

With which his coconut was pregnant,

Indicative of his links with the wisdom

Of his ancestors of African tradition.

The venue was at the Truman Library,

Missouri, United States of America.

In the highlights of that terrific speech,

Which was released by his office on the Internet,

Kofi Annan the Great left a legacy to humanity.

That legacy which he himself simply termed as lessons:

Hear him:

“…When you leave one home for another,

There are always lessons to be learned.

And I had more to learn when I moved on

From Minnesota to the United Nations-

The indispensable common house

Of the human family, which has been

My main home for the last 44years.

“Today, I want to talk particularly about five lessons

I have learned in the last 10 years,

During which I have had the difficult

But exhilarating role of Secretary-General.

“…My first lesson is that, in today’s world,

The security of every one of us is linked

To that of everyone else.

Security must be collective and indivisible.

If we should pay merely lip service to

Inspiring ideas, and later do violence to

Simple justice, we would draw upon us

The bitter wrath of generations yet unborn.

And when I look at the murder, rape and starvation

To which the people of Darfur are being subjected,

I fear that we have not got far beyond ‘lip service.’

The lesson here is that high-sounding doctrines

Like the “responsibility to protect”

Will remain pure rhetoric unless and until those

With power to intervene effectively –

By exerting political, economic or,

In the last resort, military muscle –

Are prepared to take the lead.

“…My second lesson is that we are not only all responsible

For each other’s security.

We are also, in some measure, responsible

For each other’s welfare.

Global solidarity is both necessary and possible.

It is necessary because without a measure

Of solidarity, no society can be truly stable.

And no one’s prosperity truly secure.

That applies to national societies –

As all the great industrial democracies

Learned in the 20th century –

But it also applies to increasing integrated

Global market economy we live in today.

“…My third lesson is that both security

And development ultimately depend on

Respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Throughout history, human life has been

Enriched by diversity, and different

Communities have learned from each other.

But if our different communities are to live

Together in peace, we must stress also

What unites us: our common humanity,

And our shared belief that human dignity

And rights should be protected by law.

In short, human rights and the rule of law

Are vital to global security and prosperity.

“…My fourth lesson – closely related to the last one –

Is that governments must be accountable

For their actions in the international arena,

As well as in the domestic one.

Today, the actions of one state can

Often have a decisive effect on

The lives of people in other states.

So does it not owe some account

To those other states and their citizens,

As well as to its own?

I believe it does!

As things stand, accountability

Between states is highly skewed.

Poor and weak states are easily

Held to account, because

They need foreign assistance.

But large and powerful states,

Whose actions have the greatest impact

On others, can be constrained

Only by their own people,

Working through their domestic

Institutions.

“…My fifth and final lesson derives

inescapably from those other four.

We can only do all these things

By working together through

Multilateral systems,

And by making the best possible use

Of the unique instrument bequeathed

To us by Harry Truman and his contemporaries,

Namely the United Nations.

In fact, it is only through multilateral

Institutions that states can hold

Each other to account.

This applies particularly

To the international financial institutions,

Such as the World Bank and

The International Monetary Fund.

Developing countries should have

A stronger voice in these bodies,

Whose decisions can have almost

A life-or-death impact on their fate.

And it also applies to the U.N.

Security Council, whose membership

Still reflects the reality of 1945,

Not of today’s world…”

This vital legacy which,

Kofi Annan the Great himself,

Summed up as “Five Principles”,

Essential for future conduct

Of international relations are:

1. Collective Responsibility,

2. Global solidarity,

3. The Rule of Law,

4. Mutual Accountability and

5. Multilateralism.

With the power vested in me as Free Verse Poet,

Of the Twenty-first Century,

Like Moses of yester years,

I hereby invoke Article One of my poetic license

To poetise

And characterise

His vital principles as

THE FIVE COMMANDMENTS

OF KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT:

One:

Thou shall be responsible for each other’s security.

Two:

Thou shall grant everyone the chance to benefit from global prosperity.

Three:

Thou shall bear in mind that security and prosperity depend on human rights and the Rule of Law.

Four:

Thou shall ensure that all states are accountable to each other in their international conduct.

Five:

Thou shall not use multilateral power to suppress the poor and the weak, but to Be fair to all in the world of globalization.

Long live Kofi Annan the Great,

Long live Ghana,

Long live Africa and

Long live United Nations!

In ordinary daily conversation when someone observes that a friend, family member or colleague “has a complex” about something, we generally mean that they seem to have a “sore spot” about the subject, or that they seem to have a recognizable pattern of reactions when certain situations or subjects arise.

These are good layman’s observations which capture two of the most central qualities of what psychologists call “complexes”

1. They are developed around psychological wounds.

2. They have a repetitive, stereotypical quality.

Carl Jung describes complexes

The first psychologist to describe and discuss this psychological phenomenon was Carl Jung. Jung wrote about what he called “feeling-toned complexes of ideas”. The phrase was later abbreviated to “complexes”.

His original description however, adds an important further detail to our understanding of the complex.

3. Complexes have a particular emotional tone or value.

Complexes can be personal or impersonal.

There are certain situations which are so common and universal in human experience that in all times and all places, human beings seem to have evolved complexes of ideas and behaviors around them.

Archetypal complexes are not personal. They arise around essential human experiences such as leadership, romantic love, death, birth, the image of the hero, the trickster, the wise man or woman, the child and many others.

• Our organized emotional and behavioral responses to these concepts suggests that they are inherent or instinctive patterns of reaction in human beings.

Personal complexes have both a universal and an individual aspect

Sigmund Freud’s famous Oedipus and Electra complexes describe the universal tensions within the parent-child relationship as the child becomes aware the limits and restrictions in regards to their intimate relationship with their opposite sex parent. The intensity and problem producing quality of this universal experience will vary depending on the real life characteristics of the parents and the family situation.

• Fears of losing love and support of parents, feeling inferior, feelings of competition with siblings or peers, fears of being rejected or outcast from the group are universally frightening situations that need to be defended against psychologically by all human beings.

Because complexes are organized around a particular emotional tone, they can be positive or negative.

For example:

• A positive mother complex expects all older women or “motherly” figures to be loving and helpful, but a negative mother complex treats all the women who trigger it as bad, demanding or dangerous.
• A complex about authority can automatically treat authority figures positively as saviors or, negatively as exploiters.

How does a personal psychological complex develop?

A personal complex is a defense system that we develop after an emotional injury. It is a set of ideas, attitudes, expectations, behaviors… and the feelings that accompany them… that we unconsciously hope will avert a similar disaster in the future.

The typical behavioral strategies developed within complexes are common strategies of human relating:

Pleasing, appeasing, avoiding, aggressiveness, competition, withdrawal and many others.The difference between using interpersonal strategies inside and outside of a complex is that once they begin to function within a complex they become automatic and stereotypical. The same response appears in every triggering situation, whether it is appropriate and helpful or not.

Several complexes can be activated at any one time.

You may function perfectly normally with most people around a meeting table at work but if you have a “sister complex” (about being competitive with your historical sister), that complex runs like a computer application under the surface and turns itself on automatically when you have to speak to a particular female colleague.

• You may behave competitively with her without realizing it….even while you are being perfectly reasonable with everyone else.
• You could at the same time have a father complex operating which affects your responses to your supervisor and an abandonment complex that kicks in when your ideas are rejected.
• You could have an inferiority or a superiority complex also running which color your interactions with others in a self-critical or self-aggrandizing way.

It is easy to see how having activated complexes can cause no end of interpersonal strain and misery.

“Everyone knows nowadays that people ‘have complexes’. What is not so well known, though far more important theoretically, is that complexes can have us.” – C. G. Jung (1948, para 200)

Complexes are originally well intended and aimed at protecting us from pain and danger.

But as they become automatic and autonomous they can cause no end of trouble because when a complex is activated we do not really control it.

Jung said, “An activated complex puts us momentarily under a state of duress, of compulsive thinking and acting”. (Jung CW 8 pg 96)

A well-developed complex can collect around itself enough memories, experience and feelings that it can begin to function like a partial or “splinter” personality. If the triggering situation is strong enough it can even sometimes temporarily hi-jack the ego. This state is called “identification with the complex” and in this situation the worldview of the complex temporarily takes priority. When we emerge from one of these states we may say:

“I have no idea what got into me”,”That was so unlike me”or “I don’t know what possessed me!”

These reactions capture the sense that we have responded from a part of ourselves that was not actually under our conscious control. There are even times when we cannot fully remember what we said while we were influenced by a complex, or we may have a sense of having been “watching” ourselves say and do outrageous and uncharacteristic things.

When we see another person captured by a complex we may see a noticeable change of expression, of posture or of tone of voice and say, “He was not himself.”

A complex is a distorting lens.

In order to maintain it’s integrity as a splinter personality and to carry out the protective mission which is it’s reason for existing, the filter of a complex will screen out or dismiss as unimportant any new, confusing or contradictory information and will prefer to concentrate on those situations which support it’s world view.

This is why a person who is in the grip of a complex is so maddeningly impossible to reason with and so rejecting of contradictory information offered by others.

A woman who is in the grip of a complex about men’s infidelity will never feel reassured by her husband’s claims of love and assurances that he will not leave her, no matter how many ways he proves himself.

Identify the characteristic components of your particular complexes.

As you start to examine experiences that you notice or that are pointed out to you as strange, you will probably notice that they always seem to occur in particular circumstances, such as….

• When your partner is leaving for a trip
• When you have been criticized for something
• When you experience or suspect rejection

…or with a particular sort of person.

• Trying to please or interest a “fatherly” type of man
• Being jealous or competitive with a certain kind of woman.
• Feeling “weak” whenever faced with an authority figure

As you become able to predict when you may be triggered, you become empowered to choose to take another kind of action or to disregard the impulses from your complex.

Two other signs that someone is captured by a complex:

• The emotions expressed seem overly intense for the situation that triggered them
• Language is peppered with absolutes and extremes: “always”, “never”, “Nobody ever”,”everyone always”

Recognizing the experience “after the fact” is helpful because it permits you to engage in “damage control.”

The more skilled you become at identifying your complex-driven behavior, the quicker you will be able to say “I did it again” and take action to repair the situation by apologizing, explaining or trying again in a different frame of mind.

Because complexes both fight to survive and arouse fear and resistance when we try to examine them, it is often helpful to work together with an outside person.

It is necessary to uncover and face these automatic responses because a complex can act like a poorly trained attack dog, snarling and snapping at (or inappropriately cuddling up to) friend and foe alike, causing terrible disruptions in your relationships with friends and colleagues which are based on out-dated fears, feelings and reactions.

A psychologist, counselor or trusted friend can help you identify patterns of response that are hard to recognize from inside and will support you in experimenting with alternative ways of dealing with your fears.

NB: If your therapist works in a cognitive-behavioral model (CBT) he or she may be more familiar with the term “schema” which is another way of talking about the same phenomenon.

As you begin to oppose your complexes with conscious understanding and choose effective real-world strategies to deal with the “dangers” that complexes were developed to handle, they will lose their power because they lose their necessity… and you may have the pleasant experience of having your long-standing complex-driven problems collapse like a house of cards.

When it comes to RV campgrounds, there is nothing more fun and free about having the opportunity to travel the country in search for a new life or simply an outdoor adventure. For those who are retired, it can be rather fun to visit sites out there that they may have never visited before. Now recreational vehicles have been around for some time, but are more popular today than ever before. As camping has become a very common hobby that many people take part in, understanding the needs pertaining to RV camping is more important than ever.

For starters, RV camping provides you a chance to do something different for a change. There may be some of you who have never actually gone camping. If, this is your first time, knowing what to look for in RV campgrounds is a critical piece to having a great outdoor experience. Here we will cover a full checklist of what to look for and what to bring to your RV campgrounds. Also, for those that may not own an RV, you can easily opt to rent one by looking online for some great deals. This will give you a chance to see if the RV life is really for you without the huge investment.

RV Campgrounds Essentials

Some of you probably have not tried RV camping, so try to make sure you have everything you need and that you know what the campground you will staying at has to offer. As long as you are prepared, it should not be a big deal venturing out into camping. Depending on the campgrounds various amenities will dictate what you will need to bring.

For everyone that will be going on the road trip, please be sure that they have an outline of the agenda. Either friends or family; be sure they carry maps as well.

You will need to carry a sufficient supply of both cash or travels checks and credit cards. Be sure that you know what types of payments the campground accepts. You will need to know if they require a deposit and if they provide refunds due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

Determine how the campsite spaces are designed in the grounds you intend to visit. Are they pull through or back in.? This becomes very important as it will determine how easy it will be to access based on the length and size of your RV.

Be sure that everyone carries a cell phone. Be sure to bring charging cords and extra batteries if applicable. A tablet, iPad, or even a laptop is a great idea as well. You will want to check if the campground offers Wi-Fi or even cable for your television.

As part of your RV campgrounds checklist, see if the facility has a camp store. If so, find out what they offer as far as medicines and first aid. You should already come prepared with an appropriate amount based on the number of campers on trip. Don’t forget any prescriptions for those that need them.

Check to see what kind of power sources are provided. Most campgrounds for RV’s will provide electrical, water, sewage, and even cable or satellite for televisions. Knowing that will determine what type of lighting you should bring. Torch type lights are good, since they use fuel and help to repel bugs.

Speaking of bugs, do not forget to carry cans of bug spray. Bug spray with Deet in it is the most effective against mosquitoes. You can also bring mosquito nets or even an electrical bug zapper to set outside the RV.

If the campgrounds have a pool, it’s likely you will spend a lot of time in the sun. Be sure to bring plenty of sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, and cover-ups to protect you from getting overexposed or even burned.

Since much of the heating you will do while camping is fuel or propane based in an RV, it is important to know if your RV campgrounds offers propane refills or gasoline for both the RV/ truck and any generators you will be using.

Likewise, see if the camp store sells firewood. Many areas do not allow firewood to be brought in from other regions due to possible insect related infestations that can seriously harm the native woodlands. Therefore, if you are planning a campfire, you will need to source your firewood locally.

Check to see if the RV campgrounds has any kind of mechanical repair shops or parts supplies. It is not unusual to experience a breakdown of some kind during your camping trip and you would like to know what is available and/ or close by. That said, it is a good idea to bring items like: tire pump, pliers, pressure gauge, trailer jack, extra fuses, and a complete tool kit. A roadside kit that includes flares and caution cones could also come in very handy.

Your camp store should sell RV related gear like jumper cables, tape, and various fluids. You should also be able to find camping gear to include folding chairs and cookware, should you have forgotten anything. If you are planning on fishing or hunting, your RV campgrounds will normally offer any local license or permit required along with bait and tackle.

Your RV checklist should include items like bed sheets, towels, toiletries, pillows, blankets, and paper supplies. See if your campgrounds have laundry facilities so that you have the ability to clean any of your clothes or linens. The camp store should sell paper products; like toilet paper and paper towels.

Speaking of food, find out if your campgrounds has any hot/ ready to eat food on site or do they only offer traditional groceries. Either way, you will want to be sure to know how to replenish your food and beverage supply during your trip. Don’t forget things like ice, storage bags, coolers, and even dish soap for clean up after meals.

As for clothing, be prepared for any kind of possible weather. Just because it ma be hot and sunny wear you start your trip does not mean that is what the weather will be like where you decide to actually camp. In can get rather chilly in the mountains, even in the summer, and rain is always a possibility. Be sure to have rain coats, ponchos, and umbrellas available.

If you are wanting to take pictures and you are worried about getting your camera wet, check the camp store for waterproof disposable camera. Yep, despite the digital age, they do still exist. Also, be sure to have plenty of batteries, chargers, and those SD cards to store your photos or videos on for your digital camera.

If you are planning on taking your four-legged friends on the trip with you, be sure to check the RV campgrounds rules and regulations. Find out what the leash rule is and if there is a size or breed restriction. If you are good to bring them then be sure you have all of their food, treats, chew toys, medication, blankets, and a cage if needed.

The best possible thing to do is to plan in advance, in a stress-free manner, so you don’t miss out on any part of your RV campgrounds checklist. You will also want to get your RV thoroughly inspected prior to any trip; better to be safe than sorry.

Camping is meant to be a fun leisurely experience, especially for those that enjoy the outdoors. It is a great way to see the open road and all the wonderful destinations this county has to offer. It is also an economical way to it without the airfares and hotel costs associated with travel. Not to mention the way you can meet new people, see new places, and experience new adventures. So, be sure to take plenty of pictures or lots of video and share the journey with those that were not fortunate enough to go along for the ride. The road is all yours.

Many boats and ships, large and small, making their way north or south along the waterways between the Great Lakes and the Bahamas in the winter of 1988/1989 were noted in the log of the yawl Windermere. It was a record of vessels, each scurrying about their business or pleasure, that touched the lives of Windermere’s crew; each with its own story to tell. Some hurried by, manned by professional crews and urged on by commercial pressures; others, bent on pleasure, raced south ahead of the weather to be in the Bahamas by Christmas. Some, moving at a more leisurely pace, were content to get to Florida for the winter. Still others had already been there, done that, and were making their way north in the Spring to escape the heat that soon would envelop the south.

There are many vessels out there, and the journey South provides one with an opportunity to see boats and ships of every size and shape. Some, like the Queen Elizabeth II, look gigantic from the deck of a sailboat! Others, such as the small canoe with three occupants paddling along the busy and sometimes churned up waters of the Erie Canal and the one and two-man kayaks in the remote Exhumas, surprise one by just being where they are.

Tug boats on the Hudson River were a never-ending source of wonderment, as they pushed or pulled their great loads up or down the swift and tidal Hudson River. One tug was seen towing a chain of barges with cranes etc on them that stretched at least a quarter of a mile in length! Another tug was seen pushing a block of twelve barges upstream in the Hudson River. Even in this modern age, the waterway obviously remains an important commercial means of moving bulk materials.

In another important category were the sailboats and power vessels. We met and spent time with the crews of several. If a long voyage at sea is a lonely affair, a cruise from Toronto to the Bahamas via the Inland Waterway is anything but. There were so many new and wonderful things to see and people to meet.. Much of the enjoyment of such a voyage comes from time spent with others along the way.

Following is a partial list of boats, warships, ocean liners, ships, power boats and sailing vessels encountered by Windermere that winter. There were many, many more that were seen or contacted, but when one is busy with the business of navigating there is insufficient time to record in the log book everything that one sees . Some vessels were just sights along the way, while others were an integral part of the cruise.

Generally, they are listed below according to where they were first encountered. A brief note is attached to some of the vessels that were of more interest in one way or another. Many listed below indicate no specific date. That either implies imperfect record-keeping by Windermere’s skipper, or that they were part of the great fleet of boats that sit out the winter in the relative safety of Elizabeth Harbour in George Town, The Exhumas, Bahamas.

All the boats listed below were , in one way or another, part of that snapshot of history between Aug, 1988 and June, 1989. Perhaps you were one of those persons in a canoe or racing skiff on the Erie Canal, or maybe you were aboard the mighty QE II on Tuesday, May 9th, 1989, when she docked at Nassau in the Bahamas? Maybe you were aboard the Paul Townsend as she made her way westward across Lake Ontario on Aug 3rd, 1988, or perhaps one of the many sailors who cruised south during the winter of 1988-1989.

You might have been at the Annapolis Boat Show in Oct 1988, or on the beach at Staniel Cay, Bahamas for Christmas Day, 1988. Or were you on Ashley’s Daddy’s Boat? (What a wonderful name for a boat! A bit long, but catchy!). Perhaps you were on that aircraft carrier in the Hampton Roads, headed out to sea on Oct 17, 1988 with its protective helicopter riding shotgun. Were you on one of those hardy tugboats, pushing or pulling “blocks” of barges on the Hudson River in August, 1988? Or perhaps a crew member of one of the many pleasure boats that makes the cruise of others so enjoyable?

Or perhaps, just perhaps, you were the mysterious lady on the VHF radio somewhere near Nassau who pretended to be Nassau Harbour Control when we called to request permission to enter the harbour. She had picked up some of the nautical jargon and was convincing at first, but something in her manner gave her away as a potentially dangerous fake.

In some way or other, our paths crossed that winter far away from ice and snow! This article is dedicated to each and every one of you, mariners all!

Frenchman’s Bay:

• Aug 02, 88 Parras , Port Credit ON, Norman and Kate MacSween. Norman, from Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, was a sailing buddy on Lake Ontario for many years, and who had made the journey south twice before we got around to going.

Lake Ontario (In Upbound Shipping Lane)

• Aug 02, 88 Paul Townsend : Lake freighter, whose officer on the bridge gave us a position check on the long day and night crossing of Lake Ontario from Frenchman’s Bay to Oswego, New York.

New York State Barge Canal System:

• Aug 08, 88 Two racing skiffs at Robb Island
• Aug 08, 88 The Boat , a large houseboat, near Robb Island
• Aug 08, 88 Galewin , near Robb Island
• Aug 08, 88 Halcyon , near Robb Island
• Aug 08, 88 Kittie West II , 25 ton tour boat, moored on south side, near Van Styck Island
• Aug 08, 88 No Nukes , Bridge E8 just past Lenore Mohawk Park Marina
• Aug 08, 88 Cream coloured canoe (3 people) near Buoy 57, just past Lenore Mohawk Park Marina
• Aug 09,88 Captain J . paddle wheeler used as a restaurant, formerly located at Port Credit, ON
• Aug 09,88 Ashley’s Daddy’s Boat , 30′ power boat, near Albany YC NY, out of Frenchman’s Bay, ON headed south.
• Aug 09,88 Miami , a cement plant boat near Buoy G51, Hudson River
• Aug 09,88 Dana II , a Canadian boat going north
• Aug 09,88 Mobil , a barge, near Buoy R 22
• Aug 11,88 Rebecca P , tugboat,upbound pushing a barge
• Aug 11,88 MyLinda B & Ashley’s Daddy’s Boat anchored just north of West Point
• Aug 11,88 Mister Allen , tugboat pushing a barge upstream
• Aug 11,88 Buchannan 12 , pushing a block of eleven barges upstream
• Aug 12,88 Lady K, a lovely trawler, just south of Bear Mountain Fixed Bridge, Hudson River.
• Aug 12,88 Tug B pushing a block of barges upstream
• Aug 12,88 Marzanne IV
• Aug 12,88 Circle Line vessel . Called me asking if he was on the Harlem River (?)
• Aug 12,88 Intrepid , US aircraft carrier and two unidentified ocean liners in New York Harbour

New York City to Norfolk

• Aug 14, 88 Apogee , moored at Shrimp Box, Manasquan, NJ
• Aug 14, 88 Ensenda , moored at Shrimp Box, Manasquan, NJ Peter Holbrun , Puerta Rico. He sailed every winter from Connecticut to Puerto Rico, offshore all the way. He had come into Manasquan to repair a mast. His rigging was all gavanized steel!
• Aug 16, 88 Trump Prince ss, moored near the casino, Atlantic City. We anchored within 100 yds of her. A small runaboat manned by two security guards patrolled her from end to end.
• Aug 20, 88 Oh Tee ,at Chesapeake City, Rupert Cheeseman and Muriel. Out of Port Credit. Invited us on board for cocktails. Very nice
• Aug 21, 88 Nurnberg Atlantic , Hapag Lloyd, a container ship heading home to Europe, in the Chesapeake Canal. She looks like a city block as she approaches!
• Aug 21, 88 Tug ” Drive r” pulling “Interstate 70”
• Aug 21, 88 Bestes , a large motorsailer, docked in Annapolis, Bob and Beckie Baker, en route to Daytona, ex area manager for Pan Am. Very kind and helpful. Beckie drove us to the Giant Supermarket, which was the largest we had ever seen.

Norfolk to Miami

• Oct 18, 88 Joy , 37′ in Great Bridge, an Arlberg 37, Bob & Mimi, experienced at sailing south, Admiral of the Fleet for Joy, Helvetia and Windermere right down to Darby Island in the Exhumas.
• Oct 18, 88 Helvetia , in Great Bridge, George and Ruth (a Swiss couple) Also part of the “Joy” fleet.
• Oct 23, 88 Aeolus , Apawawahka , Anxious, BrandyTyme , Hero in anchorage at Town Creek, Beaufort, NC
• Oct 27, 88 Aeolus , Rhapsody , Joy & Helvetia in anchorage at Little River anchorage
• Oct 27, 88 Carpe Diem , who started later than most each morning, and overtook us and pretty well every one else in front of her, going south like a bat out of hell.
• Oct 30, 88 Island Express , a tug , just outside of Georgetown
• Nov 11, 88 Windswept , Cheoy Lee Yawl 35′ (?) at Peck Lake, (a lake that should be renamed the “Devil’s Punchbowl”)
• Nov 17, 88 Retriever, came by and attempted to get Windermere off sandbar with its wake, the towed her off for $25.
• Nov 12, 88 Raven, calling to warn Joy of sandbar
• Nov 22, 88 Tropical Storm “Keith” hits us at Fernandina Beach
• Lee 35″ (?) (Helped us find an anchorage near Peck Lake)

Nassau Harbour:

• May 09, 89 Queen Elizabeth II , as she manoeuvered with bow thrusters (no tugs!) into her slip at Nassau Harbour.
• May 07, 89 White Fin , a beautiful white flush decked yacht flying the White Ensign, Nassau Harbour

The Exuma Islands, Bahamas:

• Elohsa , North Easton Ma, Bob & Helen
• Peace of Mind , Elmsdale, NS, Ahna & Del (An ex-submariner, very knowledgeable with Atomic 4 engines)
• Companeros , Ottawa Chuck & Isabel
• Jolan Jolan , Puerta Plata, Dominican Rep Rosa & Bruce
• Orn . Fairfax, Va, Orn and Lyce
• Tapa Wingo , Toronto. Bruce & Carol
• Helvetia , Bourne, Ma, George & Ruth (Sailing companions from Great Bridge to
• Brandy Tyme , Ottawa, Bob and Carol
• Bimbo , a large catamaran with a wonderful skipper and crew.
• Alouette . Bromont. PQ, Ben
• Lady Play , Eden, NC Jim & Mary
• Temptress , Spokan, Washington, Marianne & Larry
• High Hope , Minnesota, Peter & Audrey
• Orion , Hamburg, Germany, Karl & Gerda
• Benchmark , Jon & Cindy Komark, Rita & Sloan, Fort Myers.
• Alouette , Ben Berneche, Bromont, Quebec.
• M/V Grand Master , mailboat Nassau to George Town, Exhumas.
• Dec 20, 88 Prairie Wind , trawler, Jack & Miriam, Pam & Bill (with the young Windsurfer who loved Northers with 20 plus knots of wind.)
• Mar 23, 89 Benchmark , N. Fort Myers, Jon & Cindy (Helped us at Lee Stocking Island)
• Mar 27, 89 Golden Dawn , Sam (Brought us grouper etc at Lee Stocking Island). On his way back to Nassau to drop off guest.
• Mar 28, 09 Pagan Knight , Daytona Beach, Roger Luddini & Judy (Sailing companions from Little Stocking Cay to Nassau)
• Mar 28, 89 Happy Two , Ken (Brought us grouper etc at Lee Stocking Island) Ken told me that this winter was absolutely the best in the past ten years. “It’s not always as nice as this!”
• Apr 04, 89 Catmini , new catamaran just bought in Annapolis , Jean Pierre & Chantel and Janak, Geneva
• Apr 04, 89 Four kayaks (3 singles and two doubles) Sailing near the Royal Dundas caves in the Exhumas.
• Apr 04, 89 Huntress , a Wellington 40+, Ft Lauderdale, Barbara & Morty Engel (ex SORC racer) 48′ Wellington c/w washer & dryer on board!
• Apr 04, 90 Piece of Mind, Alma & Dell , Little Farmer’s Cay
• Apr 14, 89 Camper Nicholson 31 Hull No. 107 , skipper Richard.
• Apr 14, 89 Sea Sharp , guests on board came over for a couple of gallons of gas in exchange for beer.
• Apr 20, 89 New Shoreham II (A cruise boat (At Paradise Bay, near Conch Cut, came right up to the beach and disharged it passengers through a bow ramp!)
• Apr 23, 89 Nicasophia, at North Warderick Wells.
• Apr 23, 89 Airborne , at North Warderick Wells.
• Apr 23, 89 Janice L , Bob & Nita, Asst Wardens of the Exhumas Underwater Park., at North Warderick Wells.
• Apr 23, 89 Vagabundo, at North Warderick Wells.
• Apr 23, 89 Sea Hawk , at North Warderick Wells.
• Apr 23, 89 Teel, at North Warderick Wells.
• Apr 23, 89 Quetzal , Cayman Islands, at North Warderick Wells.
• Apr 23, 89 Sierra West , at North Warderick Wells
• Apr 25, 89 Mariah , a Tayana 37″ , Randy (a US military officer single-handing out of the Chesapeake) Cocktails on Pagan Knight at Hawksbill Cay)
• Apr 25, 89 Susan , at Hawksbill Cay
• Apr 27, 89 Two French boats, Milharjo, Beneteau (43?) , and one unnamed. (With couples who always strolled the decks in the nude.) at Norman’s Cay
• Apr 27, 89 Wavedancer , Corbin 39, with three gorgeous nude girls aboard, Norman’s Cay
• Apr 27, 89 Joint Venture , Pearson 424 Marty the dentist, at Norman’s Cay
• Apr 27, 89 Amy Liz , a green steel ketch 53ft, at Norman’s Cay
• Apr 27, 89 Somewhat , power boat, Mobile, Alabama, at Norman’s Cay
• Apr 27, 89 Coral Reef II, a large research vessel anchored at Norman’s Cay.
• Apr 29, 09 Paradise, Shenanigan, Popeye, Semantha, North Star, Ma Jabe, Speedy, Flying Rebel, Lone Star, Windborne, Pleiades, Nikki Loraine (Passport 42ft), Zest, Undersea Hunter, Bobalou,
• Marianna Sue, Western Star, Little Spirit, Weewatin, Deep Diver. all at Norman’s Cay.
• May 01, 89 Tuff Stuff , Steel boat JNF 38, Montreal, at Allen’s Cay
• May 01, 89 Chri OD , Dufour, France, at Allen’s Cay
• May 01, 89 Miss You , trawler, White River Jct, Vermont, at Allen’s Cay
• May 01, 89 St Elzher , classic ketch, Canada, at Allen’s Cay
• May 01, 89 Heron I , a small dark blue sloop, Kenora, Canada, at Allen’s Cay
• May 01, 89 Nickie Lorraine , 40+ft sloop, San Francisco, at Allen’s Cay
• May 01, 89 Slo Pok , 31 ft sloop, at Allen’s Cay
• May 06, 89 Sundancer , a 60ft + ketch crewed by charter passengers (all around 20 – 25 yrs old) set sail at 21:50 and headed out of Nassau’s eastern entrance.
• May 10, 89 Susan M , Kingston at Gun Cay
• May 10, 89 Longtai l, at Gun Cay
• May 24, 89 A Pearson Yacht, Skipper Steve(?) near Peck Lake, who offered us help when we were still grounded at high tide.
• May 26, 89 Ragtime , Gulfstream Fla, a beautiful classic raised trunk cruiser, overtaking us in a hurry just north of Wabasso Hwy Bridge at 09:42.
• May 26, 89 Duke , at Vero Beach
• May 27, 89 Nils , French skipper Francois, who had been cruising for 4 years in the Mediterranean, South America and Florida.
• May 29, 89 Moyie , Classic 31, Barrie, Ontario, at Cape Canaveral
• May 31, 98 Escape , 31ft. Couple in their 70’s, at Cape Canaveral

There were, of course, many other boats afloat and close by at the time. We obviously didn’t record them all. But this list is an interesting snapshot of a short period in time when sailors passed one another during the day “like ships in the night”. Were you there?

If you want to play pro hockey, NHL Draft has to be your destination, and top nhl prospects are harvested by NHL Scouts. How is it then, that in hockey, NHL draft is just like what you’d see on Wall Street, or Bay Street? NHL Scouting for the 2010 Entry Draft brought 400 top NHL prospects from around the world to be dealt and traded like commodities. NHL Draft is relative to the stock market, as NHL scouts are to farmers, and an NHL prospect is to a farmer’s grain. Every NHL scout prides himself upon the product of his trade: Top NHL prospects. Just like the stock market, first round trading has been less than predictable in 2010.

National Hockey League Entry Draft History

National Hockey League teams used to sponsor NHL prospects without any order of fairness. Sponsorship was all based on NHL scouting and first come, first served. NHL scouts poured over what was called the Hockey Breeding Ground, primarily small town northern Ontario, sponsoring amateur teams and players.

First NHL Draft Ever

Following the examples set by pro leagues in other sports, in 1963 Clarence Campbell organized the first NHL draft proceedings in Montreal. The draft was open to 16 year old NHL prospects only, and they couldn’t already be sponsored by a National Hockey League team. Once drafted, players still couldn’t be contracted by a team until they turned 18. Drafted players either went to tryout schools or were assigned to a National Hockey League sponsored junior team.

The first National Hockey League Draftee ever, was Garry Monahan from the St Michael’s Juveniles of Toronto, and he was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens.

In the recent past, the first NHL Draft picks were:
• Taylor Hall (2010 Edmonton Oilers);
• John Tavares (2009 NY Islanders);
• Steven Stamkos (2008 Tampa Lightning);
• Patrick Kane (2007 Chicago Blackhawks).

National Hockey League Universal Amateur Draft

The NHL Draft system that began in 1963 was still routed in the sponsorship system whereby previously sponsored players were protected from being drafted by another team in the new draft system, but in 1969 the first modern draft transpired unaffected by the old sponsorship system. It was called the Universal Amateur Draft in which junior hockey players born before 1950 were eligible. These first NHL Prospects had to be at least 19, and not necessarily from North America. 1969 was the first year a European was drafted by an National Hockey League team. From 1969 onward, teams selected draft prospects in reverse order of prior season placement.

2010 Entry Draft

In the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes get the most selections: 11 each. The Florida Panthers and New York Islanders get 10 each. The Dallas Stars only get 4 picks, the fewest of all teams in the 2010 NHL Draft.

Nine of the first 10 NHL Prospects drafted in round one of this NHL Draft came from the CHL, and 17 of the 30 draftees in the entire first round of the NHL Entry Draft, came from the CHL.

If you are planning your route to the show, it would be helpful to know which leagues commonly get scouted by National Hockey League scouts, and most often lead to a career in the league right?

2010 NHL Entry Draft Prospects In Round One

The first 30 NHL Draft Prospects drafted by National Hockey League teams on the first night of the NHL Draft on June 25, 2010 were:

1. TAYLOR HALL – Edmonton Oilers NHL Scouting report #2 from OHL – WINDSOR
2. TYLER SEGUIN – Boston Bruins NHL Scouts report #1 from OHL – PLYMOUTH
3. ERIK GUDBRANSON – Florida Panthers NHL Scouting report #4 from OHL – KINGSTON
4. RYAN JOHANSEN – Columbus Blue Jackets NHL Scouts report #10 form WHL – PORTLAND
5. NINO NIEDERREITER – NY Islanders NHL Scouting report #12 from WHL- PORTLAND
6. BRETT CONNOLLY – Tampa Lightening NHL Scouts report #3 from WHL – PRINCE GEORGE
7. **JEFF SKINNER – Carolina Hurricanes NHL Scouting report #34 from OHL – KITCHENER
8. ALEXANDER BURMISTROV – Atlanta Thrashers NHL Scouts report #11 from OHL – BARRIE
9. MIKAEL GRANLUND – Minnesota Wild Scouting report #1 in European Skaters from FINLAND – HIFK
10. DYLAN MCILRATH – NY Rangers Scouts report #17 from WHL – MOOSE JAW
11. JACK CAMPBELL – Dallas Stars NHL Scouting report #2 North American goalie from USHL – USA U-18
12. CAM FOWLER – Anaheim Ducks NHL Scouts report #5 from OHL – WINDSOR
13. BRANDON GORMLEY – Phoenix Coyotes Scouting report #6 from QMJHL – MONCTON
14. JADEN SCHWARTZ – St. Louis Blues Scouts report #28 from USHL – TRI-CITY
15. DEREK FORBORT – LA Kings NHL Scouting report #9 from USHL – USA U-18
16. VLADIMIR TARASENKO – St. Louis Blues NHL Scouts report #2 in European Skaters from RUSSIA – NOVOSIBIRSK
17. JOEY HISHON – Colorado Avalanche NHL Scouting report #55 from OHL – OWEN SOUND
18. AUSTIN WATSON – Nashville Predators NHL Scouts report #14 from OHL – PETERBOROUGH
19. NICK BJUGSTAD – Florida Panthers NHL Scouting report #13 from HIGH-MN – BLAINE
20. BEAU BENNETT – Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Scouts report #32 from BCHL – PENTICTON
21. RILEY SHEAHAN – Detroit Red Wings NHL Scouting report #22 from CCHA – U OF NOTRE DAME
22. JARRED TINORDI – Montreal Canadiens NHL Scouts report #38 from USHL – USA U-18
23. MARK PYSYK – Buffalo Sabres NHL Scouting report #7 from WHL – Edmonton
24. KEVIN HAYES – Chicago Blackhawks NHL Scouts report #26 from HIGH-MA – NOBLES
25. QUINTON HOWDEN – Florida Panthers NHL Scouting report #19 from WHL – MOOSE JAW
26. EVGENY KUZNETSOV – Washington Capitals NHL Scouts report #3 in European Skaters from RUSSIA – CHELYABINSK
27. MARK VISENTIN – Phoenix Coyotes NHL Scouting report #4 North American goalie from OHL – NIAGARA
28. CHARLIE COYLE – San Jose Sharks NHL Scouts report #24 from EJHL – SOUTH SHORE
29. EMERSON ETEM – Anaheim Ducks NHL Scouting report #8 from WHL – MEDICINE HAT
30. BROCK NELSON – NY Islanders NHL Scouts report #25 from HIGH-MN – WARROAD

**Surprise draft pick: How does a 34th ranked NHL Prospect get to be the 7th player picked in the NHL draft? Maybe the Hurricanes like figure skaters, er, I mean, maybe they value skating technique very highly.

2010 NHL Entry Draft Surprises

After the first three draft picks in 2010, there were many surprise round one picks. Among the surprises was that Phoenix Coyotes were able to select defenseman Brandon Gormley from the Moncton Wildcats at No. 13. Gormley was ranked sixth in NHL Scouting rankings.

“We had Gormley very high on our draft list and didn’t really pay a ton of attention to him, because we thought he’d be gone in the top five or six picks,” Coyotes GM Don Maloney said. “As soon as we saw him sliding… as soon as he was at 10, I started hitting the phones very hard. I was offering our second-round pick to move up and grab him, and we liked Fowler as well.” He added, “That, for us, was found money.”

That statement right there is what the NHL Draft is all about. Money. Business strategy. Very much like Wall Street.

Installing a pre-cast concrete stairway to your home’s basement is actually quite an easy project for the advanced do-it-yourselfer or anyone that can coordinate a couple of sub contractors. Doing so will add a water tight weather proof egress to your basement that, in many cases, is necessary to comply with local building codes during a remodel. Either way, this newly added entrance will add much more function to your home and your basement.

First of all it is probably a good idea to explain what pre-cast concrete is. Pre-cast concrete is simply concrete that has been mixed, formed and vibrated in a very controlled “plant” type environment and then delivered or trucked to its final destination and installed. Despite the fact that some pre-cast concrete products are much thinner than conventional “poured in place” applications does not mean that the pre-cast products are any less quality and to the contrary they are usually much more durable.

In order to orchestrate this project you are going to need a hole dug, a doorway opening cut into your foundation and the actual pre-cast concrete bulkhead delivered and installed. Your first step is to locate a pre-cast concrete product dealer. A pre-cast concrete dealer can be located in your local phonebook, or better yet, your online yellow pages. Once you have located a reputable dealer you need to visit the pre-cast manufacturers showroom, which usually consists of a giant field full of stairs, bulkheads and culverts. You need to choose the size and style that is right for your project. A standard pre-cast bulkhead will generally cost less than $1000 and this includes the steel bulkhead cover and installation.

Once you have chosen the right product be sure to ask for a worksheet or specification sheet that comes with your particular product. This “spec sheet” will tell you how much digging needs to be done and what size doorway your concrete cutter needs to cut in the foundation. The digging can be done using several methods. You can dig it by hand with a pick and shovel (not recommended), you can rent a small excavator (cost about $300) from a tool rental outfit and use the machine to dig it out or you can call a professional excavation contractor and have them dig it out for you (cost between $300 and $500). I highly recommend hiring a professional excavator for this part of the project. This process will take a professional less than a few hours and you can shop around for the best price. Please Note: Be sure to notify your areas “DIG SAFE” program and have them come out and locate any hidden underground utilities before you start your excavation. Also, keep in mind that your excavator will have to remove and dispose of about 50% of the dirt that he/she removes from the hole because the bulkhead to be installed will take up about that much volume of space. If this is not feasible, you may be able to use this dirt somewhere else on your property or you may be able to give it to one of your neighbors. Either way, fill dirt is a very needed and sought after commodity. Hence the old saying: Phil Dirt…the most wanted man in America.

Once the hole for your bulkhead has been successfully dug out and the portion of the foundation that needs to be cut is exposed you need to clearly layout your cut lines with a measuring tape, a bright yellow lumber crayon and a 4′ level as instructed on the spec sheet. Now it is time to call a professional concrete cutter and find out what their pricing and availability is (cost is usually $425+/- to cut and drop the piece). They will charge you approximately an additional $100 to jack hammer the piece into manageable pieces and up to $500 to remove the piece from site. In order to avoid the break up an disposal charges, simply have your excavation contractor dig a “grave” for the concrete at the bottom of your excavation. This way you can just bury it and save yourself some time, money and hassles. Explain to the concrete cutter that you need a standard doorway for a bulkhead. Ask them how much they charge and when they can schedule your job. Ask them for a morning appointment. You are going to have to coordinate the concrete cutting and the bulkhead installation so that as soon as the concrete cutter is done the bulkhead is immediately installed. So you can now schedule your bulkhead delivery and installation for about 12 noon. Most pre-cast concrete product manufacturers will do the installation for you at no additional cost or it is included in the price.

I recommend calling each of your sub-contractors a day prior to their arrival just to verify that there are no scheduling conflicts. This will minimize the amount of problems that will occur and give you plenty of time to reschedule each subcontractor if one of them runs into a problem.

As soon as your bulkhead and metal bulkhead cover have been successfully installed you will need to “back fill” or replace the dirt that was removed from the hole. This can be done by hand with a shovel by an experienced “do it yourselfer” or you can make arrangements to have your excavation contractor return once the installation is complete and do the backfilling for you. It is always a good idea to allow this dirt to settle before adding your topsoil or planting any grass or flowers. The ground around the bulkhead should be settled pretty good after several heavy rain showers.

Well, good luck and if you choose to tackle this project congratulations. For more information on this subject just do a search for “pre-cast,” “concrete cutting” or “bulkhead.” As always please feel free to check out our website below.

(c) Copyright 2007 New Hampshire Concrete Cutting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Khartoum is the capital city of Sudan as well as of the Khartoum State. It was born to the country in the year 1821 later to become an Anglo-Egyptian garrison. According to some authentic sources, the word 'Khartoum' is said to have been derived from the Arabic word 'Al-Khurtoom'. In English, this is translated as 'the end of an elephant's trunk'. The name probably came about due to the narrow land running between the Blue Nile and the White Nile. It is at the meeting point of these two rivers that the city of Khartoum is situated. The division of the Niles has taken the Sudanese capital to exist in three parts which are recognized as; Khartoum proper, Khartoum North and Omurdman. Here is the city got its nickname, 'The Triangular City'.

The city of Khartoum is eminent among the Arab League as well as the entire African continent. This is what leads it to often become a host to important meetings where governmental leaders reach out through their Khartoum flights. In 1821, the Egyptian ruler, Ibrahim Pasha, better known as the son of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, founded Khartoum as an outgoing station for the troops of Egyptian Army. What was originally a military settlement grew into a trading center where the infamous Slave Trade was also carried at large. Some troops of the Egyptian Army, who believed in a Sufi Sheikh, Muhammad Ali's being a Mahdi (Mehdi), started to cordon off the city of Khartoum. It was on 13th March 1884, that the Mahdist part of the Egyptian Army led a full scale battle against the British who were fighting back to regain control over the city. Consequently, the Anglo-Egyptian garrison received heavy destruction and an anomalous massacre. As a result of the battle, the Mahdists emerged victorious to which the city, immediately fell after the battle. This Mahdists' victory of 26th January 1885 lasted nearly 13 years when they were defeated by the British on 2nd September 1898 who successfully gained control over Khartoum. This battle was a highly bloody one which very shake Omurdman. In 1899, Khartoum was declared the capital of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and later of the Republic of the Sudan, on independence in 1956.

A number of theories have been popularized regarding the planning of this city. Some say its design has been inspired from the Union Jack to portray the power of British while others regard it as a rather defensive one. The latter school of thought has it that the grids and diagonal streets have been designed to allow machine guns to easily run through the city without hindrance.

Ever since Sudan has gained independence, a highly negative image of Khartoum has co-implemented with its significance in many aspects. Where on one hand, Khartoum is well providing the fact that Sudan has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the city has seen many terrorist incidents. Those of 1973, 1998, 2005 and 2008 are particular infamous. However the US cruise missile attacks that destroyed a pharmaceutical factory in retaliation to the bombings on US embassy in 1998, resolved in ruining the factory, now a tourist attraction. Khartoum hosted the 1978 summit of Organization of African Unity which later became African Union. The 2006 summits of African Union and Arab League were also hosted by Khartoum.