T r a n s f o r m e r

S p i d e r m a n 3

G a m e w a l l p a p e r ( silent Hill 3 )

The "spiritual practices" of sea kayaking and trail running

Growing up in my house meant that books on the coffee table would include Hogben’s Mathematics for the Million (a scholarly primer on everything mathematical), F.J.M. Farley’s Elements of Pulse Circuits (huh?!), Maurois' The Life of Alexander Fleming and Scott’s Poetical Works. Thing is, they weren’t just there for display like many expensively illustrated and oversized coffee table books – amongst other “classic” titles, they were being fondly read and re-read!

Makes me feel a little intellectually “thin” when I look around our house at my current “reads” – a newly arrived Runner’s World and an August edition of Sea Kayaker Magazine, a well-thumbed Mountain Equipment Co-op and LL Bean catalogue, and oh yes, my current favourite (a 20 page brochure!), Explore the World – the University of Toronto Alumni Travel Program 2010. (“Hey Joan, we can both go to Tibet for $17,000! OK, so we’ll go camping instead – hey, for $15 a night and just an hour from home that ain’t bad! Yeah, we’ll do Tibet next year!) Mmm, just noted another good “read”, the Panago Pizza flyer – you gotta love the "delicious" pictures!

To be fair though, come late evening, the real books do come out. I will share that I am currently enjoying the classic 1978, and originally self-published novel, Once a Runner, by John Parker while Joan reads the last few astonishing chapters of Born to Run by Chris McDougall.

Anyway, once when report card time was looming and I felt I needed to “massage and prepare” the home front, I devised a strategy that would involve positioning myself at the dining room table with Mathematics for the Million open at the chapter titled: "How Logarithms were Discovered". (As if I really cared?!) The look my father gave me, without breaking stride, revealed clearly that the scenario was as believable as Martians landing on the driveway of our east Toronto suburban home - and bearing gifts of Cheezies and Mars Bars! Ah well, seemed like a good idea at the time…sigh. Flunking math in first term, Grade 9, did not lend much credibility to my “posing”. (Yup, there was a fair amount of father-son tutoring after that episode!)

The books and magazines we find in our homes and favourite reading places often reflect where we are in life. They may also reflect who we yearn to be and what we strive to do to put into place our own personal dreams and aspirations. The running books and magazines you'll find at our place reflect a desire to “run and not grow weary” as Christopher McDougall, and other writers, have convinced us our bodies were made to do (and before my middle-aged body fails me - or I fail it!). In addition, I share with many these days a deep and compelling need to increasingly connect with nature, to be “outside” as often as time and schedule permit. Nature is changing around us and it would seem that we must know her if we are to work together to preserve and protect her. As an aside, Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods, speaks to the increasing health and behavioural problems experienced by today's children - who are, sadly, spending less and less time out of doors. He has coined the phrase, "nature-deficit disorder", I think we need to listen-up here.

Paddling on the local waters or running on the nearby trails bring a sense of peace, not unlike traditional spiritual practices like contemplative prayer or walking the labyrinth. Paddling and running has been this for us for a very long time. My vocation requires at least some understanding of what it is to nurture an internal peacefulness and serenity and so it has always been a priority to find the avenues that lead to where there may be, at the very least, a touchstone. Some who share my vocation seem harried and distracted and, to be honest, so anxious about so many things. The well-loved Biblical story of Martha and Mary speaks to this. Mary could have been seen to be avoiding her responsibilities as a host, she could even have been seen to be lazy – she, however, knew in her heart what was really important in life.

Central to my oh-so-limited understanding of the “purpose of life” (now there’s a topic!) is a desire to unwrap the gift of life in meaningful ways that it might be celebrated as fully as possible. For me, the “gift of life” is dramatically revealed in the depths of the forest, amidst the inter-tidal life along the shore, and in the yearning for the deepest connections to the natural world as is possible. Therefore, there must always be time set aside to pursue this pathway to peace. If in doubt about this, just follow the footsteps along the forest trail or the paddle eddies on the ocean’s surface. Of course, there are many other paths. It would be wonderful to hear of the paths you have found.

I suppose that may account for the books and mags you will find around our place these days - in many ways they represent a spiritual practice, and insomuch, are deeply meaningful.

Hey, that veggie pepperoni pizza in the flyer sure looks good! And, actually, Mathematics for the Million might (might!) just be a pretty good read!

Peace,

Duncan.

G l as s e s s

Aladin Wallpapers

India is a land of myths and legends. From here comes a fantasy adventure, 'Aladin' is a modern re-imagining of the classic tale of 'Aladin and The Magic Lamp'.

Aladin Chatterjee in the city of Khwaish, an orphan who has been bullied since childhood by Kasim and his gang. But his life changes when Jasmine him a magic lamp - because it lets loose the genie. Desperate to grant him 3 wishes and seek the end of his contract with the Magic Lamp, the rock-star Genius makes Aladin's life difficult until the real threat looms on the horizon. The ex-genie Ringmaster wants to kill Aladin. Why ?, No answer to that. To Find the Answer watch the movie when it hits theaters. Till Then, enjoy these beautiful Wallpapers of Aladin. These Wallpapers are of Resolution 1280 X 800.

*ing...
Amitabh Bachchan as Genie
Sanjay Dutt as Ex-Genie Ring Master
Ritesh Deshmukh as Aladin
Jacqueline Fernandez as Jasmine
Director : Sujoy Ghosh

A couple of my favourite paddlers...

Just for fun, I thought I'd share a couple of pics of a couple of my favourite paddlers, taken this past summer. The lovely lady on the right is my 92-year-old mother who, with my father introduced their only child (me) to a variety of self-propelled outdoor sports as he was growing up - including sea kayaking. On the left, is our good friend, Bob, who has had the good fortune of being featured in the 2009 Vancouver Island Vacation Guide - a full page yet! As will be evident, Mum and Bob also share a love of ice cream. Joan and I had an ice cream but neither one of us have ever been featured in a glossy, colour magazine! But I'm not jealous. OK, so, yes I am!

Back in early 1973, just after he retired, my father decided to build a kayak in the basement of our home - no fancy composite materials, no rudder or skeg, just a simple wooden kayak. An accomplished sailor, swimmer, and rower for many years - the idea of a water sport utilizing the double bladed paddle must just have appealed to him. In the summer of '73, we celebrated the "launch" of his turquoise and white craft in the pristine waters of Papineau Lake in the Madawaska Valley, where we had enjoyed our island cottage for many years. The "christening" was performed as per British Merchant Navy procedure (Dad would have insisted and as a candidate for the ministry in a liberal tradition, I felt I needed to be open to such ancient and festive traditions), so yes, a good time was had by all! In the photo below, my mother is in the front - not sure where her paddle is but she is clearly waving triumphantly to the gathered and cheering crowd on the beach.

Completely "bitten" by the idea of kayaking, it wasn't long afterward that Joan and I acquired our first kayaks (fibreglass singles) designed and manufactured by Emile Maschek, who I believe had Olympic connections back in the 1950's. We enjoyed them for many, many years while acquiring a small fleet of kayaks including an expedition Nautiraide (French), a Klepper (German), a whitewater kayak whose manufacturer I've forgotten, and our current Current Designs GT and GTS. It all began with a simple wooden kayak, built with love, patience, and the hope that it would float (and track straight!) - I must say that it did both rather well. We sold the cottage many years ago now and I think the kayak must have gone along with the sale. Too bad - it was a 'classic". My Mum, although no longer able as she once was, still smiles when we mention the possibilty of a "paddle".

Now Bob, who came to sea kayaking some years after the three of us, has had the good fortune of becoming the "poster boy" to all those who dream of multi-day wilderness paddling in our magnificent island environment. But I forgive him (haha!) and, bless his soul, he was amongst those wonderful folks at Midlands in Calgary who presented us with the best going away present ever when we moved to the Island almost seven years ago - two brand new graphite paddles, still in use, and still highly prized.

With thanks to my parents for the "paddle eddies" that became paddle memories,

Duncan.

"Mama said there'll be days like this"...

..."There'll be days like this, my Mama said." Great tune! It's like listening to Gnarls Barkley or Shawn Colvin (she's got a great "unplugged" version) singing "Crazy" - an absolutely driving rhythm that's so cool and a song that Rolling Stone magazine named "a best".

With "Mama Said", I'm instantly transported to Grade 6 when the Shirelles, one of the early 60's rock 'n roll bands, sang this song that topped the charts. Of course, there may be some faithful readers who are too young to remember! My contemporaries and cohort might have shared the experience of attending a school dance and feeling the early adolescent heart beating with an accelerating pace as the DJ/chaperon (a faithful teacher or parent - hopefully not your own parent!) played "Soldier Boy", another memorable Shirelles' hit, on a freshly minted "45" - while you worked up your nerve to actually "cross the floor" to ask that pretty girl, who sat at the desk in front of you, to dance. I might have made it a half dozen steps across the gym before retreating back to the safety of the other guys who agreed that it was way better to stick together than risk almost certain rejection! And during those traumatic adolescent years, when there was rejection or when things just didn't turn out the way you dreamed they would, well, like the song said: "Mama said there'll be days like this!"

Such is life. It's a bit of a "given" that some days will meet all of our great expectations and other days, well, they just won't work out the way that we'd hoped. Reminds me of a recently planned paddling trip that we'd looked forward to with anticipation - filled with the promise of a day’s adventure!

We packed up the dry bags and loaded them into the HMKTV ("High Mobility Kayak Transport Vehicle"), strapped the kayaks into the secure embrace of their cradles, detoured via the "drive thru" window for the mandatory take away coffee (always rather "risky", given the limited opportunities to "go to shore"), boarded the ferry to our favourite Gulf island, drove to the designated launch spot - and after all this, found ourselves sidelined! The wind was up - big time! This turn of events was not in the “forecast” -weather or otherwise!

The adrenaline, which had been building over the past several hours, had nowhere to go but into a desperate attempt to discern a strategy on how we could, despite the conditions, launch through the increasingly foam-capped, wind-driven waves that were crashing menacingly onto the rocky shore - without destroying our kayaks or ending up looking rather silly for trying in the first place. The latter was probably guaranteed as a number of folks had parked and were watching with interest to see how heroic (or incredibly dumb!) the two paddlers (us) might prove to be. In the end, we opted not to launch - thus preserving our boats, our egos, and our perfect record for staying out of the evening news! Well, whatever...we were sidelined, and after all our preparations, I felt a little grumpy about that.

Now I know full well that just because the wind comes up and you can't go paddling - that's no reason for a sad face. It's a pretty insignificant thing and, to be honest, I do know that, in the scheme of things, stuff like that doesn't matter one bit. I was, therefore "over it" before Joan had to reel me in, which occasionally she has to do. Hey, there's already enough misplaced angst and energy over "burnt toast" issues in the world - situations that don't warrant our emotional energy or our time. Like the song said, "Mama said there'll be days like this" - that's a given and how we react to such circumstances is the important thing.

After a recent conversation on a similar subject, a friend sent me a video of Darryl Worley, singing "Sounds Like Life to Me". As with a lot of country music, Darrly's lyrics reflect with honesty and clarity some of the everyday issues that folks wrestle with in life. Oh, I suppose, those who don’t like this music genre will raise an eyebrow - of course, you don't struggle with these matters. Yeah right, as if! Smile. I think that for most, our days can be an amalgam of joys and heartaches, high expectations and unexpected disappointments, dreams fulfilled and dreams on hold. As the words in the song go, "sounds like life to me."

Struggle, though, has another persona. Or, maybe it is our response to struggle that changes the face of life's "speed bumps". The way we deal with difficult circumstances can, indeed, reveal an inner courage and determination, stamina and endurance, patience and calmness - all waiting for their moment in the sun. The late Dr. George Sheehan, runner, cardiologist, philosopher and friend to all who would test their ability to endure, quoted psychologist William James saying that “sweat and effort and human nature strained to its utmost and on the rack, yet getting us through alive, is the sort of thing that inspires us". I believe that the inspired heart and mind are a good match for life’s struggles. The inspired heart and mind, triggered by a positive, confident, and measured response to difficult issues and situations, exudes a warm glow that burns away the fogs that would envelope us. We know that “Mama said there’ll be days like this.” Even the most difficult days, understood as part of the fabric of our living, hold the potential for surprising revelations of strength and resiliency.

We couldn't paddle that day. We did, however, find a marvellous trail to run along on which fresh salal berries and blackberries provided the most sumptuous, refreshing (and unexpected) treat. Much better than going home grumpy.

Duncan.

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