The French and the Pickerel Rivers.

The French and Pickerel Rivers flow,
Because of the season's melting snow.
Rushing down in the early spring,
Along the shoreline it leaves a ring.

The lichen on the rocks rubbed bare,
As high as the ice was piles up there.
As May warms up, and Black Flies abound,
It's not the place to linger round.

They'll get into your hair, and into your eyes
Under your watch straps, and onto your thighs.
The'll make you wish, that your were far gone,
Until the month of June, begines to dawn.

The month of June, the mosquitoes brings forth
Their always a problem when your up in the North.
If West Nile killed a Polar Bear at Metro Zoo,
Just think what can be done to you.

Do not be discouraged, and do not fret,
It's still the very, best place yet.
Put on repelant, and get outside,
Because in the North there's no place to hide.

If my information, you would like to get
The spring and the fall are the best time to set.
In front of a fire, inside or out,
Of this I'll say no others can doubt.

Count your blessings and have a good time,
Your only here once, and that dosn't rhyme,
Unless the cadence I screw up, real bad.

Anyway you get the idea, get out and experiance the North and on your way up Highway 69 200 Meters south of the French River Bridge is a great information centre drop in and have a look.

Allan

Dr. Pill

Dr. Phil a T.V. psychiatrist was put on T.V. largely with the help of Oprah Winfrey, the popular Talk Show Host from Chicago.
I was up at the cottage last week during Moose season and in the evening some one turned the TV on, and it was the Dr Phil show, and it happened to be about some senior citizen who tried to run over her son in law with her SUV.
Dr Phil said to the son in law there is no use in prosecuting the mother in law because she is probably mentally ill, and they are now letting murderers, and rapists out of prison after 10 months, because they have no room in the prisons.
This was quite interesting to we tuned in the next day where we were treated to a program about female teachers having sex with there 15 year old male students.
The case that interested me was one where a 25 year old female teacher, was having sex with a 15 year old boy.
The teacher lost her job, and was going to be treated as a pedophile , and be sentenced to up to 18 years in jail, and put on a pedophile list, and this seems insane to me.
Dr. Phil then calls the woman's original husband to the stage, who explains how mortified he was, and that he had since married and fathered a child.
The husband says he is concerned about what his child will hear about his former wife when the child gets older, the child being presently about 8 months old.
Dr Phil advises the former husband that he has nothing to worry about because the American public has A.D.D. attention deficit disorder and all will be forgotten in a couple of weeks, then Dr. Phil does something inexplicable, he asks the husband about the book he has written on this vary topic concerning his ex wife.
Am I completely stupid, or is there something wrong here, the only reason the guy came on the show was to sell the book, highlighting his ex wife's indiscretions, and then worries about his kid finding out.
There were two of these stories mentioned by Dr Phil, the previous one being a 22 year old teacher with a 15 year old boy, with not much of an age difference, and she was eligible for an 18 year jail sentence as well, and Dr. Phil was not to worried about that, although he seemed sympathetic to the idea of the murderers being let go, after 10 months because of the lack of room in the prisons.

What interests me is the parents of the boys who are concerned that their boys will forever be traumatized, BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT, are you assholes for real. These kids probably went to their friends bragging about this.
A normal young boy of fifteen has a permanent erection, what is it you want him to do with it.
I read a year or so ago how some guy said that Dolly Parton had sex with him when he was fifteen and was traumatized by it, are you people for real.
I guess that I am retarded, or something, but if that had happened to me I would have kept my mouth shut, and been forever grateful until the day I died.
I realize this is not a politically correct stance because I believe there is a justifiable double standard here because I don't think the same thing would or should apply for a man teacher with a female student, unless it could be proved the female student was a predator.

To consider the female teacher any thing more than inappropriate, and send her to jail for this is insane.
What if the older woman is not a teacher, or what if, the sexual partner is the equivalent age, would that not sexually traumatize the young boy as well, then the 15 year old girl should be sent to jail, get real people 15 year old boys have very strong sexual urges and only in the very rare case could they be traumatized by normal sex.
The one way I guess a young boy of fifteen could be sexually traumatized would be, if he was Gay, then these right wing politically correct nitwit ts would cheer for the teacher.

The families of these boys, lets face it really want to sue the School Boards, probably for a college fund for the kids, what a neat way of providing for your future, a great lesson to these kids
You and the other right wing nuts, would rather the young man, and I use that term intentionally, would rather he make a 15 year old inexperienced girl pregnant, so you could deny her an abortion, than have an experienced female initiate him, with less of a degree of chance that she get pregnant.

Dr Phil you are so full of shit, it's coming out your ears, why would the boy be traumatized at all if he is ready, and there is a way, and maybe you don't know about it, to indicate he is ready.

So many real serious important issues out there and look who you pick on.

The teachers.

Allan


Allan

Aunt Marian

Aunt Marian was a really special woman. We are going to miss her terribly. We have so many fun pictures of her at the cottage that we are going to add them here. They show her smile and fun loving sense of life that she shared with everyone!! Allison

Marian Jacobsen

Three years ago when we were in Australia, Marian Anne's sister, and Dot. Speceter planned a trip to England where they would all meet, stay with Dot who lives just outside London, and go on a tour of the British Isles. England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, which they would also invite Maureen Anne's other sister who lives in Vancouver. Maureen, Anne, and Marian meet at Dot's. house in Dagenham where Marian drops a bomb shell on them. Marian tells them that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given 18 months to live. That had the effect of a kick in the stomach, but only for a few minutes because, they all quickly realized that, that was not the time to seem down. The Gang as I will refer to them went on to do all the things they planned and had a great time. As it was nearing the end of the time in England though Marian was starting to falter a little. Anne offered to stay on until Marian had to go home, but she would have none of it and insisted that Anne come home, which she did reluctantly. When I picked her up at the airport Anne broke down telling me about Marian. Marian took a turn for the worse and her son Carl had to come to Australia and help her get home. She kept getting worse and it was decided that because it looked so bad Anne and Maureen would try to get to Australia to be with her. Flights were are to get but Anne had one booked to Vancouver where she would meet up with Maureen and they would go on to Australia together. Anne's flight to Vancouver was booked for Friday Oct 6/06 when we, Amanda, Bo. A. David A. Ron M. and myself were going to be at the cottage for thanksgiving and to shut off the water. While we were up at the cottage Friday night, while Anne was in the air we got a call from Carl in Australia that Marian had died. Marian's next big trip planned was to Canada because she wanted to see it in the summer. Both times she was here was in March for her mothers 80th and 90th birthdays, when it is always cold.
When Marian came over the fist time with her husband Rod, we decided to try to get down to the cottage on a snowmobile, which we borrowed from Lyman N. The weather was great, the sun was shinning the whole time, it was about 20F during the days and a good time was had by all,as evidenced by the accompanying pictures. It was Rod's first time out of Australia and he had never seen snow before, so it was all new.
Marian had a difficult time of it going to Australia in her early 20's with a husband and 2 young kids, the travails of going from Sydney to Perth in an old beat up car, with good spirits. I am almost reminded of Steinbeck's Ma. Joad. Marian Went on to raise a good family all of them successful with good family's of their own, and that is no small accomplishment in these days.
Marian worked at a variety of low paying jobs in order to keep her family and herself which took it's toll, but always in good humour and great courage. She was an inspiration to all who knew her, and will be greatly missed by family and friends alike. We in Canada are sorry you won't get to see Pickerel River in the summer, but know you are in our thoughts, and may it always be summer where you are now.
Allan

Battening down the hatches

We Amanda and Ron Mitchell, and myself, went up to the cottage this weekend, and David and Bo came up Saturday Thanksgiving Weekend, which is a tradition. We shut off the water pump after filling 3, 45 gal plastic barrels with water, for when we go up hunting, so that we don't have to carry water up from the river, which is a long slog. It is also good to have a little extra water in the spring time so we can start without having to carry it for priming the pump. On the way we dropped Anne of at the airport who was going to Australia to be with her sister who is very ill in Rockingham W.A. She had a stop off in Vancouver to hook up with her sister Maureen and they were going to travel together. Friday night Oct 6/06 we got a call in the evening from Marians son Carl, that she had just died, and Anne at that time was in Vancouver. Anne and Maureen left Vancouver Sunday night for Australia, and I just got a call from Anne this morning Oct 10, 8:30am that they had arrived about 3 hours ago. After we shut down the pump we went back in the bush to put a roof over the deer stand we made last year, so if it rains while up there at least my sandwich won't get wet. Sunday we had a great turkey dinner and had an uneventful return home Monday morning.

Hyprocrisy

Hypocrisy- Simulation of virtue or goodness The Oxford Dictionary 5th Addition.

There is a lot of talk in the news media about Rep. Foley in the USA and the two year cover up by the Holier than thou Republican Leader Hastert. This is the Party of the Religious Right, Pat Robertson, Gerry Falwell, where are these guys now.

I am reminded of watching the PBS programme "Now" with David Brancaccio on Sun Oct 1st in which he was interviewing a Republican Senator who was decrying the overblown influence of the Religious Right on his party, and by way of instruction a video clip of a Right wing evangelist was preaching a sermon with a couple of other ministers on the stage throwing out the occasional Amen. The minister was preaching of the evils of homosexuality, with the camera focused on the speaker, but drifting occasionally to his backers on the stage, sort of in the background, one of who, was rubbing the other's thigh. It kind of makes you wonder, what would these guys be doing without a camera around. Oh well maybe it was like an innocent pat on the ass one football player gives to another, but in view of Foley, who knows.

Deviation

Deviation- Deflexion of compass-needle in ship, divergence of optic axis from normal position, one who departs from strict communist doctrine. Oxford 5th addition.

Nothing about sex in there people, so I guess it's safe to say I am going to deviate. That is to say, that cottage life is going to come to a temporary end in mid November until mid April, and nothing of note happens in Richmond Hill Ont. at any time never mind the winter, unless you are interested in the effect of bone chilling cold on the brain.

There were many interesting events, I was a party to , participated in, and unforgettable characters, I knew over my 40 years on the railroad. The deviation is that I am going to fall back on those times and try to recall some of the more memorable ones, at least until the ice clears out of the river in April.

The cast of characters is many and I will attempt to be as truthful as I can, but in some cases the names will be changed to protect the guilty.

I appreciate any feed back so feel free to pass this blog on to all who might be interested.

Allan