A Visit to the 9/11 Memorial

We enjoyed a 5 day vacation in New York City this August. I booked the trip mainly because I wanted to see Come From Away on Broadway and that was a memorable highlight of the trip. I went to NYC with our daughters in 2008 and while some things were little changed, we explored several areas that were new to us. A city this big is impossible to cover in a few days

We spent a morning in the area of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The design of the museum, grounds and the adjacent Oculus centre is beautiful and highly symbolic. I saw several visitors expressing raw grief and I wondered at their loss and connection to the site. There were thousands of messages incorporated in the exhibits and they spoke of love, courage, sacrifice, forgiveness, and resilience. The best of human behaviour often shines in times of great loss and one could not help but be moved by the stories that were featured. America appears as a divided, unhinged country from my view in Canada, but we talked with many rational and thoughtful people in Manhattan who do not mirror their leader in attitude or behaviour. 

I will watch the midterm election results with interest tomorrow but whatever the outcome, I will remember with hope the good will that was represented at the memorial. We tend to forget the past so quickly. 

Here are a few pictures of the area. I would highly recommend taking the time to visit New York City. We went on a bus tour that offered some scheduled events as well as daily drop offs in the city which gave us plenty of free time to explore on our own. There were school-aged children in our group and I commend their parents for giving them a good introduction to the city.

Large fountains mark the foundations of the original twin towers. The names of the victims of the attack are inscribed here.

The Survivor Tree, replanted outside the 9/11 memorial, speaks of resilience in the face of adversity. I am carrying a Love is Stronger than Hate tote bag purchased at the museum.

The Oculus houses a transportation hub and the Westfield mall. Tour guides were available to explain the symbolism of the interesting building. 

The windows of the Oculus frame the new WTC tower. The light on the floor shines where the original building fell.

Whimsical Diversions

The old man on the dementia ward held a cabbage patch doll, a boy, dressed in a blue sweater and overalls. I watched as he cupped the doll’s head in his hands and stared lovingly into its face. 
“My little boy, my dear little baby,” he said as he raised it up and kissed its forehead before bringing it to rest on his shoulder. The tenderness he showed toward the doll was very real and touching. 

As a child I truly believed my toys came to life when I wasn’t looking. I was influenced by Enid Blyton’s books and delighted in the magical world of fairies, pixies and elves and goblins. I tried to believe in Santa for as long as possible, if not for myself, for my younger brothers. I still like to imagine little woodland creatures living under a Mayapple leaf or inside a Jack in the Pulpit wildflower. I would like to be one of Tolkien's almost immortal elves.

I watched the French movie Amélie for the first time this summer. I loved the scene where Amélie takes her father’s garden gnome and sends it with a stewardess friend on adventures around the world. In July, CBC carried a fun news story about a lady in British Columbia whose garden gnome was stolen. The “thieves” returned the gnome weeks later with a hardcover photo book of its adventures through western United States and into Mexico. So when I saw a garden gnome in a clearance sale for under $10 at a hardware store in September… I bought it. 

Mr. Gnoddy is a bobble head gnome who has been quite busy since he came to our home. He has his own Instagram account and has found many other travelling gnomes online. When our dog sees Mr. Gnoddy, she knows it is picture time and generously poses beside him. He has been to Montreal, Quebec City, Gatineau, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and several places in between. He is going on his first flight in January. Perhaps he will be able to publish a photo book as well. 

Rein Poortvliet was a Dutch artist who is best known for his paintings and books about animals and gnomes. A Gnome’s Christmas is a delightful story book about the traditions of these little people. The larger volume, Gnomes, was a best seller when it was published in 1977. It reads like a fanciful biology text and may raise some interesting questions from younger readers.

Adults who follow whimsical diversions, from Beatrix Potter to J.R.R. Tolkien and many in between, have enriched our lives with interesting literature and art. Like the old man in the hospital, these make believe characters represent something true and memorable within us. We are never too old for imagination and play. 

Summertime

Lake Manitou, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada- view from our cabin

My childhood summer memories are spread across two hemispheres and much travel. I was born during a summer thunderstorm in January and my Christmas break from school was also our summer holiday. I remember trips from Durban to northern, higher, cooler altitudes during the hottest season as well as weekends at the beach on the Indian Ocean. I had no sense of seasons in South Africa.

In Canada, I enjoy the marked change of seasons but prefer the transitional ones, fall and spring. My perfect calendar would include two months of May and two of September, sacrificing November, December or even July. Some of our best holidays have been in September and October.

Lake Huron at Goderich, Ontario

I love the months we can sleep with the bedroom window open and when going outdoors is comfortable and convenient. Canadian winters are beautiful, treacherous, long and unpredictable. In our area of Ontario, summers are hot and humid and mosquitoes and other biting insects keep me away from my favourite trails. We have stayed in summer cottages in central Ontario where mosquitoes, black flies and deer flies have left us with scores of welts and sleepless nights as whining insects buzz in our ears.

Common Loon on Manitoulin Island

In my opinion, the only place to spend an Ontario summer vacation is on a LARGE body of water where insects are kept away by lake breezes. I love the beaches on Lake Huron and we vacationed at Southampton for several years when our children were small. Now, we usually spend a week on Manitoulin Island, the world's largest freshwater island in Lake Huron. The sound of waves, the call of the loon, the full moon on the water at night all speak the best of summer to me. A Muskoka chair, a good book and a cup of tea at the water's edge is a picture I keep in my mind on stressful days at work.

Inukshuk on the shoreline of Lake Huron at Goderich, Ontario

One thing I would advise my 20-something year old self would be to settle and work in a community on one of the Great Lakes. We are within 1 to 2 hours driving distance of Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron but I would love to experience their moods every day, not just in the summer. Perhaps that will still happen. 

Sing, Sing a Song

Street Performers, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Birds sing, frogs sing, cicadas sing, mice sing, humans sing. Even if we think we are not musical, our hearts beat and our nervous systems hum. Each community and culture has a musical identity and we learn the nuances of our native rhythms, scales and tones at a very young age. Musical memories are long lasting and are often seated with emotional memories. Learning is enhanced when it is put to music and children learn the alphabet and numbers quickly to song.

Communities are increasingly diverse with a rising number of popular musical genres. My childhood home was filled with music. We all took music lessons and practiced our instruments in the living room. When records were played, everyone shared the experience. Dad listened to classical music on the radio every night after we went to bed and we went to sleep hearing the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin. Now, we are plugged into our individual iPods and seldom share music together. Once in a while I listen to my daughter’s playlist and try to make sense of “ska”, “metal” and other alternative songs that are as familiar to my brain as speaking Punjabi. My brain is too set to become fluent in new language or music styles.

Singsongs in Miramichi NB and Twillingate NL

This past summer we went to Newfoundland, the only Canadian province we had not visited. Newfoundland culture is unique as geographic isolation has allowed language and music to change at a much slower pace than the rest of North America. Communities on The Rock are often remote and all generations work and play together. Newfoundland kitchen parties are common and we attended a couple of them. The events have live music with instruments that range from guitars, fiddles and keyboards to spoons and ugly sticks. There really isn’t much distinction between audience and performers as everyone is free to sing and dance along. I loved Newfoundland and its people and their spontaneous, joyful musical expression.

Every Friday afternoon, a group of “Newfies”, who now live in Ontario, come to the hospital for a singsong with the patients. They play from a book (words only) with at least 100 songs and take requests from the audience. It is a transplanted kitchen party and they sing for a couple of hours at least. I took a patient with early onset advanced dementia to the auditorium when they were singing  “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver. 

“Peter, Paul and Mary,” he said as he sang the words. 

I am always amazed at music memories people retain. Each week we have a drum circle where patients choose a rhythm instrument and sing simple, familiar songs. Even if they don’t know the words, they can carry the beat.

We risk losing a shared musical community in our diverse urban world. The best music experiences link us with others. Christmas carols and songs are one of the few genres of music left that are widely familiar across generational groups in Western culture. Give me a kitchen party, a street party, a performance in a park or a singsong in the hospital. Give me a song I can sing and play too. 

Music on the street in old Montreal PQ

Sing, sing a song

Sing out loud

Sing out strong.

Sing of good things not bad

Sing of happy not sad.

Sing, sing a song

Make it simple to last

your whole life long.

Don't worry that it's not

good enough for anyone

else to hear.

Just sing, sing a song.

Joe Raposo

Travel Misadventures and Lessons Learned

Tea at Pearson Airport

My recent trip to Mexico started out as routine as any trip can be. I am aware that flight changes, misdirected luggage and weather delays are not unusual occurrences for the average traveller. I know the procedures at security and immigration checkpoints and my travel documents are organized and readily available. I once lost my boarding pass at the security area of the Las Vegas airport and after getting another one printed at the airline desk, found it in the sleeve of my coat. The taking off and putting on of shoes, jackets, belts, scarves, laptops, loose change and cell phones at assembly line speeds is confusing enough even if you are not selected to go through the full body scanner.

Regional Mexican Airline

Last month my brother and I landed in Mexico City and went through immigration and customs. Before we entered the non-secured area of the airport to get our next plane, we had to go through a final security check. We were last in line and put our carry on luggage in the grey bins to be scanned. My brother was questioned by one of the four or five employees there about something in his bag and had to open it up for further inspection. I was watching him, my attention diverted as I waited for my things to come through the scanner. We were finally cleared and less than five minutes after leaving security, I noticed my passport was missing. I quickly got permission to re-enter the security area and re-traced my steps with a supervisor. I realized that I had my passport up to the time I was at the security scanner. The supervisor told me with finality, “Your passport has been stolen.” I felt sick but there was nothing more I could do. 

Fortunately I was able to get onto the regional flight using my drivers license as photo ID. I emailed the Canadian Consulate in Puerto Vallarta that night to report my missing passport and to ask direction about what to do next. 

Canadian Consulate Puerto Vallarta 

The staff at the Canadian Consulate were very, very helpful and friendly. It takes four weeks to get a new passport in Mexico but a one time use Emergency Travel Document can be issued in two days with the appropriate documentation which includes:

• a police report
• four passport photos
• a completed passport application 
• four references
• $87.00 - the price of a new passport
• photo-ID, in this case my drivers license which had to stay at the consulate

All these things had to be taken in person to the consular office and then I had to return the day of travel to pick up my papers. I was told that it is not unusual for travelers to lose documents at the Mexico City airport. In fact, all the security police there had been fired in August 2012 because of corruption and drug trafficking. I am not sure who was hired in their place! The consular staff recommended that I change my return flight and leave from Puerto Vallarta rather than going through Mexico City again. 

Driving back to Tepic with my nephew

I am very thankful for family who were ready and able to help me travel to Puerto Vallarta twice, a 6 hour return trip by car from their home. My nephew drove us in my dad’s car and was my translator when we had to get the police report and photos. He knew his way around Puerto Vallarta well and we made good time. My brother kindly changed his return ticket too which cost us both an extra fee. The entire process would have been very stressful if I had to use buses and taxis to get to the necessary appointments. I am also very thankful for the people who acted as references for me. I chose people who would be easy to reach by telephone but I did not expect that they would be asked to provide a physical description of me including my eye colour, age and height. 

 My brother and nephew. Why did I leave my purse on the car when I took this picture!?!!

My papers were ready the day we left and I was very happy to make it back to Canadian soil. But in every airport, Puerto Vallarta, Chicago and Toronto, I was removed from the regular immigration and security lineups to have my documentation verified which took extra time. I applied for a new passport right away when I came home and received one in five days. I was warned though that if I lose this one, I cannot get another until after April 2015 which is when my stolen passport would expire. 

I had one other problem arise. My credit card was cancelled because the issuer noted an out of country transaction and we hadn’t informed them of travel plans. I never contacted our credit card issuer about travel plans for our last five trips and had no problems. 

What did I learn, and what will I do differently?

• I had my passport number (and all other important numbers) in Dropbox but I will make sure I have a scanned copy of all my documents in the future in cloud storage.
• I will have the phone number/email of the nearest Canadian Consulate with me
• I will hold my travel documents in my hand when I go through security. 
• I will ensure that my wallet is in a zipped inner section of my handbag. My passport was in an outer pocket of my handbag and was easily accessible.
• I will be alert for diversions that take my attention away from by belongings
• I will have two pieces of photo ID besides my passport. I had no photo ID during my stay in Mexico as my drivers license had to be turned in at the consulate
• Keep your clothing and luggage simple. Traveling with a tablet rather than a laptop computer is better in security as you can leave a tablet in your bag. 
• Technology make things easier! Internet access is vital if you have a problem like this. My nephew tethered my iPad to his iPhone to get me internet access in Puerto Vallarta. If he had not been there, I should have purchased a SIM card for Mexico. My brother had international cell phone access but I did not. If I travelled alone I would make sure I had phone/internet access at all times. 
• Install Skype on your mobile device. I was able to call a Canadian 800 number free of charge on Skype to get my credit card reactivated. Canadian and USA toll free numbers cannot be accessed by land line in other countries. 
• If you ask friends to be references for a travel document, do them a favour and remind them of your eye colour, height, workplace and age. 
• Inform your credit card carrier about your travel plans. This can be done online. 

View from the Consular Office in PV

Mexico gets plenty of bad press and is infamous for corruption. But theft can happen anywhere. I read a similar account of a passport theft in security at Heathrow Airport in London England. In the big scheme of things, my lost passport was a minor inconvenience. Dealing with an accident or illness, or losing all your ID and luggage would be far more difficult and stressful. It is best to be prepared for the worst scenario and to have a backup plan before you leave. 

Happy New Year!

From the shores of the Pacific Ocean near San Blas, Mexico

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

One of Santa's spies seen in a sycamore tree in Copley Square, Boston MA

I don't have any recollection of Santa before the age of seven or eight and by that time I was old enough to know he likely wasn't real. I do not remember putting out a stocking when we lived in South Africa. I remember Mom decorating a palm branch and spending the holiday at the beach with our family. An over-dressed Santa didn't seem to be a big part of a summer-time Christmas but when we returned to Canada, my brothers and I anticipated his arrival with great excitement. We listened to the radio to hear NORAD tracking his sleigh and woke up early to open our gifts.

Santa sign in Boston's North End

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge MA has many Santa portraits available in prints, books and other gifts. We really enjoyed this stop on our trip last week. The artist captured the magic of a child's Christmas imagination in many paintings. Norman Rockwell published many poignant Christmas pictures which capture an adult's heart too.

Our children sent hand-written letters to Santa and I still have some of them in a scrapbook. Today's child has email and texting options as well and Santa has to keep up with the latest technology! After all there are three stages in life;- you believe in Santa, you don't believe in Santa and you are Santa.

gonna chk my list 2c 

if ur nawT or nice

bgfgs!!!!!! hhh

sc

Christmas Vacation

This month is different than most Decembers. It is unusually warm and sunny unlike last year's prolonged winter storms and heavy snowfalls. My husband and I decided to take a week's vacation in New England as our gift to each other and we are now in Boston. (He is at a Boston Bruins' hockey game and I am at the hotel where I splurged and spent $12.95 for 24 hours of Internet) The weather is spectacular!

On the way here today we visited Stockbridge MA and the Norman Rockwell Museum. The altitude was 3000' and there was a light snow cover. There is no snow at all in Boston and the ocean was beautiful this afternoon under clear skies. And if the days were longer, one could believe it was October.

This is my first post from an iPad. The blogging app will take a while to get used to!

Canadian Summer

My cousin and her family just returned from a week at a cottage near North Bay, Ontario. I love this picture and she kindly allowed me to post it here. It shows everything I enjoy during our Canadian summers...water, beautiful skies and sunsets, bonfires and good company. And the moon is just a spectacular bonus.

Western Canada Slideshow

I took hundreds of pictures on our trip across Canada and am still in the process of organizing them. I put about 300 of them in this 20 minute slideshow for people who may be interested in a broad overview of the territory we covered. (The imbedded slideshow does not appear to work well on this site. Here is the link to the movie on You Tube. I will have to try and fix this page after work.)

Vacation Postcard #12

Totem at Duncan BC

"Indian Art broadened my seeing, loosened the formal tightness I had learned in England's schools. Its bigness and stark reality baffled my white man's understanding...I had been schooled to see outsides only, not struggle to pierce."  Emily Carr, GROWING PAINS

Vacation Postcard #11

Harbour Seal, Victoria BC

I can think of 100 reasons why I would like to live in Victoria or somewhere on Vancouver Island...

Vacation Postcard #10

Our lodgings on this trip have been comfortable but unremarkable. Yesterday we pulled into 3 Valley Gap Chateau just outside of Revelstoke BC for the night and wished we could have stayed in this scenic spot for a week. The gardens were beautiful and the mountains rose above us on all sides. On a seemingly vertical rise of rock behind the hotel, we spotted a black bear. In the morning there was a female and two cubs in the same spot.

Vacation Postcard #9

We visited Lake Louise AB this morning under heavy, grey skies. The mountains were beautiful and the masses of Icelandic Poppies blooming around the Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel caught my attention. I have never seen poppies in so many colours.

Lake Louise AB

Vacation Postcard #8

View from the top of Sulpher Mountain near Banff, Alberta

We finally reached to Canadian Rockies and spent the day around Banff, Alberta. I have never seen these mountains except from an airplane. We took the gondola to the top of Sulpher Mountain. The grey skies finally opened and sunlight illuminated the snow-covered peaks. It is very cold here and I would have welcomed a winter coat. Some people arrived in shorts and t-shirts. My husband walked all the way to the peak of Sulpher Mountain but I turned back after going 3/4 of the way because of the cold wind and freezing drizzle.

The walk to the peak of Sulpher Mountain

Vacation Postcard #7

We are at the Calgary Stampede all day today and I will not be on the internet this evening. We stayed in Medicine Hat, Alberta on Wednesday night and the entire front lawn was taken up by a colony of  "gophers". Gopher is a general term used for a number of burrowing rodents and I do not know what exact species this is. The hotel receptionist told us they were not prairie dogs. They were amusing to watch but I am sure no one would want 100 or so living in their yard.

Vacation Postcard #6

The Calgary Tower

We had dinner tonight in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Calgary Tower. The weather is sunny and warm and the view was beautiful. As we ate we watched the crowds gather to watch William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, leave the nearby Hyatt Hotel and travel the short distance to the BMO Centre near the grounds of the Calgary Stampede. We will spend the day tomorrow at the stampede. And here is a little bonus...

Top left: Yours truly with DH            Top right: BMO Centre, the Royal entourage and welcoming bands
Bottom left: Calgary Saddledome    Bottom right: Glass floor of the Calgary Tower

Vacation Postcard #5

A visit to CFB Moose Jaw - Maryse Carmichael second from the left

It is getting harder to pick one highlight each day for my postcard feature. We saw so many interesting things today and I will write more later. My husband received money for a trip from his workplace as a bonus for 20 years of service.We wanted to go to Western Canada and considered driving ourselves, but the distances are great and it would be very tiring to do the trip in 2 weeks. So we signed up for a bus tour with Great Canadian, a company based in our own city and hoped we would like it. So far we have been very pleased with the tour guide, driver and our accomodations. Today, we had a surprise luncheon at the 15 Wing Moose Jaw, also known as CFB Moose Jaw. One member of the forces sat at each table and discussed their job, answering our questions as we ate our meal. We had the privilege of meeting Maryse Carmichael, the Commanding Officer of the CAF aerobatic team, the Snowbirds. In 2001, she became the first female pilot to fly with the Snowbird team. She spoke to our group and was warm, personable, very intelligent and had a fine sense of humour. We do not live near or know anyone associated with the Canadian Armed Forces and found today's presentation to be very interesting and a highlight of the day.

Vacation Postcard #4

Red River at The Forks in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba

My initial impression of Winnipeg when we arrived last evening was not great, but I changed my mind after a tour of the city this morning. Canadian history would have been so much more interesting if we had taken field trips to each province. We stopped in St. Boniface near the tomb of Louis Riel and viewed the famous Esplanade Riel pedestrian bridge crosses the river. The steps lead to the river walkway which is obviously flooded at this time. The Assiniboine River is in flood due to above average rainfalls this year and the Red River is also very high for this time of year. (Wikipedia has all the details here)

P.S. My computer time is limited to public internet locations in the evening so I will have to catch up on other blogs when I get back to Ontario.

Vacation Postcard #3

Northern Ontario Mascots

We finally made it to the Ontario-Manitoba border this afternoon, 1823 km from our home. It is exactly the same distance from our house in south-western Ontario to Jacksonville, Florida. We are spending the night in Winnipeg, Manitoba and go on to Regina, Saskatchewan tomorrow.

Many northern Ontario communities have decreasing populations as some pulp and paper mills and other industries have closed down. The economy is definitely hurting in many locations and summer tourism is very important for local businesses. Some towns have famous (or infamous) mascots which remind me of statues of patron saints or deities in other countries like Mexico. Today's postcard shows some mascots we met along the way.

Top left: The Wawa Goose- Wawa, Ontario
Top right: Maximillian Moose- Dryden, Ontario
Bottom left: Family of Bears- Sault Ste Marie, Ontario
Bottom right: Husky the Muskie- Kenora, Ontario (a very beautiful town!)