While our children may not want to hear about it, those of us in our middle years are enjoying ‘it’, yes that three letter word: SEX. My 28 year old daughter for example, feels entirely free to discuss her sex life with me, but I am forbidden to express anything to her about my sex life, beyond saying that it happens.
Love in the middle ages
Sex is definitely not just for the young. Maturity can bring pleasures that were absent in youth. For example – most mature couples are past the reproductive stage of their lives. Either one or the other has had permanent surgery (vasectomies for men, tubal ligation for women), or menopause has arrived, and ovulation has ceased. Therefore, there is no need for contraceptives, and most couples in a monogamous union chose not to use any form of condom. This means there are more opportunities for spontaneous love making and not ‘waiting for the right time’ and many middle aged couples don’t have young children, so have no fears of being ‘discovered’ or interrupted. In addition, as they get older, men generally take longer to reach orgasm and both sexes have picked up a few tricks along the way, resulting in increased pleasure to both parties.
Another drawback to enjoying ourselves when we are young is that in our youth, we tend to be much more conscious and critical of what kind of shape we are in, but as we get older, there is generally more acceptance of how we look, and the knowledge that a loving partner doesn’t harbour a media-induced notion of how we should look. (I personally like a little belly on a man to give him that ‘teddy bear’ feel). I have heard it said that “what looks good, doesn’t necessarily feel good between the sheets”. In fact, I recently heard a radio announcer on 97.3 the Eagle in Campbell River say that only his wife or a mortician should see him naked.
You may have seen the CIALIS commercials, which I find quite hilarious; about the couples who went strolling, antiquing or were constantly redecorating until their sex life was re-kindled with the help of this drug. While I don’t know all the implications of taking CIALIS, I like to believe that the benefits outweigh the risks, even if those benefits are simply in helping people achieve closeness.
We often hear that sex is favourable to our health. When my father developed prostate cancer several years ago, I started to do some research on the reasons it can be so prevalent in middle aged men. Apparently, one thing that contributes to prostate problems can be the decline in sexual activity as men get older. It has to do with fluids and carcinogens getting backed up in the system, and these can be released through ejaculation. This seems to make perfect sense, and ladies, if your partner seems less than willing these days, tell him that it is all in the name of a good cause – cancer prevention. If that doesn’t motivate him, then try slipping CIALIS into his coffee. (I’m joking of course; he should see his doctor first!)
I found a terrific article http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16282622/ that discusses sexual activity tests made on middle aged men and offers more than enough reasons why sex is good for us, especially as we get older. Here is a brief synopsis:
That should motivate a few of you to go running to the bedroom!
I will admit it, I love the Weather Network. Each morning it assails me with its perky jazz music that sets the tone to my day, and as I get ready for work, I listen to the announcers tell me about the snowstorms in Newfoundland, the floods in Manitoba and the fires in Quebec, knowing that these disasters don’t touch me in lovely Lotus Land (Vancouver Island, British Columbia) where all I am challenged with weather-wise is an unusual amount of rain and a little wind now and then.
Best of all, are the cherished moments when Chris St. Clair gives his special report. St Clair has that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that intrigues the female viewer (or at least yours truly). I have imagined how fascinating a date with a man who so glibly spouts forth wisdom about the weather would be, especially as weather is one of the most potent topics of conversation for we Canadians. My imagined date with St. Clair would go something like this:
(We are in a fine dining seaside restaurant, with lots of windows and a spectacular view of the ocean.)
Server: “And can I interest you in wine with your dinner”.
“Certainly”, says suave St. Clair , “we’ll have a bottle of the Golden Beaver Merlot”
“You know, Kasha”, he says as he turns to me, “these wines of the Okanagan Valley owe their excellence due to the weather”.
“Is that so”, I reply (tell me more…)
“Yes, you know it’s the hot dry growing season that produces the right conditions for fruit growing, just as the temperate, wet conditions here on the island result in such lush gardens”.
I nod.
“Weather”, he reveals conspiratorially, “is at the root of everything…”
I hold my breath.
“The food we eat, the air we breathe, the conditions we wake up to everyday.. what do we owe it all to?”
“The weather” I reply (yeah, one point for me). But there is more to come.
The server overhears us and quickly slips in his two cents worth.
“Did you two hear about that major tornado in Ontario yesterday. It lifted up a barn; can you imagine?”
“Absolutely”, states St Clair with authority, “Tornadoes are the most powerful storm on earth”.
“Really”, I whisper (this is music to my ears)
“Do you know how these most potent storms form?” I shake my head. “Warm moist air currents will rise up (yes!) to the intersecting cold currents (I’m with you) from a thunderstorm. (Wow!!) and form a funnel cloud. (Heart be still!)
If this funnel cloud touches the surface of the earth…”
“OH STOP!” I exclaim.
“What”, asks St. Clair, “what’s wrong?”
“This is too much for a first date,” I manage to say, heart pounding, “I think we should change the topic”,
“But darling”, says my weatherman as he reaches across the table and covers my hand with his, “There is no other topic”.
For those interested in Yorke Island and BC’s coastal defence, my book about Yorke Island has just been published! See link below for full story:
http://kasha.ezabu.com/2012/05/12/434/
Article follows:
A trip to Yorke Island is not for the faint-of-heart. The stretch of water off Sayward that surrounds the island is known to be one of the most dangerous in Johnstone Strait (between Vancouver Island and the BC Mainland). Yorke Island is situated six kilometers northeast of Sayward, where the strait meets Sunderland Channel. However, if you are in the hands of a good skipper like Ron Rennison, who knows the area and has been there many times, you are off to a good start. Yorke Island is worth a visit especially if you are a military history buff, as it was once a gunnery outpost created to be the first line of defence against a possible attack from the Japanese during World War II.
Once you get there (and fortunately for us it was a calm day), you will discover that there is no way in which to actually land on the island. There is no dock or place to tie up a boat. That was my first surprise. My second was when my host and guide Ross Keller, who had brought along his nephew Nick Bowman, told me they were staying till Monday. “What”? I was only prepared for a day trip and couldn’t picture myself shivering in the open with no sleeping bag. Then they reassured me that ‘Captain’ Ron would be back for me at whatever time I requested. It was early, so I figured 2pm would be good and give me enough time to explore and learn about this unusual place.
Ross then threw his two person dinghy in the water (see photo) and we commenced our shuttle to shore. I managed to get out of the dinghy without getting wet (unusual for me, as I can never seem to climb out of a kayak without getting well soaked) and Ross perused the shoreline to see how we would get to the trail. Normally, this part wouldn’t have been a challenge, but a very large tree had uprooted itself over the winter and blocked the beginning of the trail. It was clear that we were going to have to clamber over the upended tree’s exposed roots and clumps of dirt in order to reach the trail, or bushwack; so that is what we did.
The trail was quite visible after that and Ross commented that the team from Sayward Futures, out-of-work forest employees, who had been organized to make improvements on the island, had done a great job tidying up the trail. It was wide and comfortable to follow, but fairly steep. It wasn’t long before we encountered our first evidence of the World War II occupation of the island, a shell of a building that was once the officer’s quarters. (see photo) There was more to come.
At the top of the trail, the real gems of its history are revealed. Yorke Island is small (55 hectares) and slopes steeply upward from shore. Here the military placed their observation posts, at about 200 feet above the shore, in strategic positions that would offer an unobstructed view up and down the strait. And these were not just flimsy shelters. It boggles the mind in fact, to imagine how these poured concrete structures were ever put up under such difficult circumstances, when there was (and still is not) any infrastructure, amenities or even resources on the island . One of the biggest challenges was to provide enough water, as Yorke Island has no fresh water supply (and I was thankful I had the foresight to bring my usual bottle of the precious stuff). Along with the 250 to 300 troops, there could be as many as 200 construction workers there at any one time. As the military deemed that each man should be provided with one gallon of water per day, a huge amount had to be delivered and stored there in a 50,000 gallon (200,000 litre) tank. While those campers among us might think that several outhouses would suffice, there was a concern over cholera – which had been known to develop where several people were crowded together in unsanitary conditions, so flush toilets with adequate washing facilities were assembled.
Ross’s favourite place is the Observation Post. Like a pair of kids in a tree house, he and his nephew scrambled up onto a rickety bench then squeezed through a slat in the wall. Was I supposed to follow? Not to appear cowardly, I did, and found myself on a sort of platform that offered a magnificent view of the strait facing west. But this was not all, Ross figured I should attempt the next phase, which would offer an even more fabulous view, and with his help I managed to crawl up the ersatz ladder that led to the roof top of this building. Although not particularly comfortable with heights, I had to admit that the climb was worthwhile. I could see why Ross was excited about camping here.
After a picnic lunch on the heights, we continued on our tour, with Ross
Yours truly inspecting the barracks
explaining the purpose of the various buildings and gun ports. We then headed down a very steep and dry, crumbling slope to the west shore and stopped to investigate the buildings that once housed the gigantic generators. For anyone who has ever seen the power generated at a mine site, it is comparable. The generators are no longer there, but were a necessary apparatus for a war time outpost when light might be required at a moment’s notice in case the enemy was spotted.
The dining hall and camp area were at the bottom of this hill, and Ross was thrilled to find evidence in the form of an artifact – a half pottery bowl with the Sovereign stamp, that had been unearthed by an uprooted tree. We then went down to the shore, which involved more clambering and hopping over the rocks, then followed the shoreline back to our landing spot.
All in all, it had been a great day. Ron arrived with his boat at the prescribed hour and on board were his wife Sharon and Robert Theoret, a former photographer with National Geographic, who was scouting out good shots of eagles for his photo library. As Ron said when we got back to Kelsey Bay, his greatest concern is for the safety of visitors to the island. So far, no tour operator has endeavoured to take groups of people there, although the Campbell River Museum has conducted a tour and Marine Links provided the transportation for last year’s 70th anniversary trip. The year prior, Ross brought two war veterans John Rorison and Bill Lewis, who had been posted to Yorke Island during its years of occupation. Ross’s dream is to eventually bring people there on tours, but in the meantime it remains a remote and not easily accessible place, which of course, adds to its intriguing charm.
Harry and Cathy Thurston
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing author Harry Thurston, who has had a long career as an environmental writer and as a poet, contributing to such well know publications as Equinox, Audubon and Harrowsmith. He recently completed ‘The Atlantic – A Natural History’ which should be out later this year. He and his wife Cathy, who hail from Nova Scotia, are staying at the Haig-Brown House until the end of March this year (2010) as part of the Writer In Residence program, organized through the Campbell River Museum. As Writer in Residence, he has been busy mentoring other writers and speaking at events like the Words on the Water Festival.
Thurston feels quite at home in the Haig-Brown House and is well acquainted with the writings of Roderick Haig-Brown, Campbell River’s famous author, who wrote extensively on conservationism and who was strongly influenced by his natural surroundings and by living next to the Campbell River. Thurston feels that Haig-Brown was “ahead of his time, and underappreciated”, discussing environmental theories that were 30 years ahead of any ‘environmental movement’.
Thurston is a writer who has also been strongly influenced by his surroundings, having grown up on a saltwater farm on the east coast, and from a young age observed the link between progress and the devastation of his beloved fishing spot near his childhood home. Currently, he and his wife live by a river near the community of Tidnish Bridge, which is on the isthmus connecting Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Although geographically the locale of their home and that of the Haig-Brown House differ (their area being flat, and the Tidnish River is more placid than the Campbell River) yet Campbell River is reminiscent of home – the nearness of the ocean, the same issues facing the environment linked to ”forestry and the protection of the forest” and fishing.
Thurston has travelled extensively throughout his career, living in different parts of Canada like Guelph, Ontario where his wife Cathy completed her masters degree in Child Psychology. With their divergent careers, (Cathy Thurston was the Regional Director for Mental Health in Nova Scotia) she wasn’t always able to travel with her husband, but now that Cathy is retired, this opportunity in Campbell River has allowed them the spend time in another community together.
“One of the most remarkable places I ever spent time in” says Thurston, was close to home, on an island called Sable Island, located 300km south of Halifax. Sable Island is about 40km long and roughly 2.5 km wide (and takes its name from the French word for sand). It is known for the numerous ship wrecks that are buried in the sand there, that appear and disappear with the shifting of the sands, and for its population of about 400 wild horses, commonly known as Sable Island ponies. Thurston says that although they are referred to as ponies, many are quite large. He was there on assignment with Audubon to do a story about a Tern colony, (Thurston has a background in biology) but ended up writing what he refers to as “an impressionist piece”.
This would come as no surprise to those who know Thurston has a prose writer, which he refers to as a second career apart from his journalistic career. He began writing prose in university, when he was studying biology, and at one time he both published and edited a poetry journal. In fact, while at the Haig-Brown House he held a well received workshop on prose writing. His latest prose project, that he has been working on while at the House, is entitled ‘Lost River’, which consists of a group of fictional stories dealing with fishing and our relationship to the natural world.
Perhaps a time when the two writing careers converged was during his sojourn in the Sahara desert, when he stayed at an intriguing oasis called Dakleh, that had been continuously occupied by human beings for over 400,000 years. Although he went there initially in the late ‘80’s a to write a feature article for Equinox he “realized then, that this is a book”. He returned in 2000 and archaeologists were there conducting a long term study. While it may have seemed incongruous for a coastal person who normally wrote about the enironment to be writing about an archaeological project in the desert, for Thurston “this is an environmental story – it’s a story about the use of water”. On the Dakleh Oasis Project website, it is stated that “The environment is seen as one of the most important influences on all human activity”.
Yet the science was not all that intrigued the author. “The desert has a horizon like the ocean with undulating dunes like waves” he explains, and the beauty of the desert was so inspiring, that he “wrote a poem every night.” His wife Cathy was able to join him there for part of the sojourn and was fascinated to find remains of sea life in the form of shells and fossils in the dry sands. In fact it has been said that the sand surrounding Dakleh predates the history of the Sahara.
‘Island of the Blessed’ (the title is taken from Herodotus) is the book that was born out of his research there. “People gravitated to that place” because it is an aquifer (a porous deposit of rock containing water that can be used to supply wells); but today that source “is being tapped aggressively” for the purposes of modern agriculture, and Thurston predicts “it’s possible that its history of occupation is coming to an end”. In ‘Island of the Blessed’, he writes that “An oasis… is also an island, a place with definite borders and finite resources. Survival depends upon wise management of those resources, for there is no way off this island.”
And in the following poignant analogy, which sounds like pure poetry to me, Thurston concludes: “The oasis is a microcosm for the challenges we face globally. Earth is an island of fertility in outer space.”
If you would like to hear Harry Thurston in person, he will be speaking at the Heriot Bay Inn on Saturday, March 27, an evening event which will include dinner. You can call the Inn directly to make a reservation – 250-285-3322 . If you are unable to hear him in person, the following is a condensed version of the above interview from the Kasha’s Corner Audio Series: Click Here to Play Interview with H Thurston.
In July this year, photographer, author and mountaineer Philip Stone of Quadra Island will be leading a group, which will include such notables as Ron Quilter, from the Ministry of the Environment and Andy Smith of BC Parks, into Strathcona Provincial Park to replicate the expedition lead by the Honourable Price Ellison in 1910 and celebrate its centenary (The Strathcona Centennial Expedition). It was due to Ellison’s recommendations that Strathcona was designated a provincial park, the first in British Columbia.
Philip Stone himself has explored Strathcona Park extensively over the past 20 years and has written several books on hiking on Vancouver Island. (He is currently the owner and editor of the Discovery Islander and WildIsle publications.)
Stone has always been drawn to mountains. Growing up in Newfoundland, he has wonderful memories of hiking excursions with his father, who introduced him to the outdoors. When the family moved to England, Stone pursued rock climbing and ice climbing, and took the Outward Bound instructor’s course. While there, he heard about Strathcona Park Lodge and Outdoor Education Centre on Vancouver Island, and wanting to return to Canada, he went to work there in 1988.
He started out assisting on the rock bluffs and eventually became a full outdoor instructor. As a natural extension of his work, he spent considerable time in Strathcona Park (approx 10km from the Lodge), honing his mountaineering skills and exploring the many trails the park has to offer.
“I remember clearly my first view into Strathcona Park, from the south col of Mt. Colonel Foster. It was June 1988 and looking south into the park; everything was still cloaked in a blanket of snow. What struck me right then was what a seemingly endless sea of peaks there were.” (Philip Stone, Island Alpine xii)
Elkhorn Mountain and Strathcona peaks beyond - courtesy Philip Stone
It was at this time that the concept for the Strathcona Centennial Expedition started taking shape. Stone read the recently published book by local author Wallace Baikie ‘Strathcona – a history of British Columbia’s first provincial park’, and he was immediately intrigued by the park’s history. Initially he had considered marking the 100th anniversary of the William Bolton expedition of 1894 with his own expedition but didn’t have the resources. He was aware, however, that the Price Ellison 1910 expedition centenary was in the not too distant future, and the idea of replicating Ellison’s journey was put on the backburner.
A few years later, Stone moved to Quadra Island where he knew other people affiliated with the Lodge like Rob and Laurie Wood of Read Island and Lindsay Elms who wrote about Strathcona Park in ‘Beyond Nootka’. He says that he “made a conscious decision” to pursue photography, and this eventually lead him to get into the publishing business and buying the local newspaper. In the meantime, he wrote a guidebook to the Crest Crags climbing routes of Strathcona Park. Beginning in 1998, he also produced a magazine ‘Wild Isle’ that was geared to the growing audience of outdoor enthusiasts and whose contributors were “people from the outdoor community”. Then by 2003, he completed and had published ‘Island Alpine – A guide to the mountains of Strathcona Park and Vancouver Island’, a book that had taken him 15 years to write.
When asked how he initiated his current project, Stone explained that the first step in making the expedition a reality was to “write to the Premier”, and that “the SPPAC (Strathcona Provincial Park Advisory Committee) and BC Parks have been vital in getting the profile needed to have it recognized as an official reenactment’.”
Now that the wheels have been set in motion, the Expedition is looking for sponsors. Stone has always had an active interest in preserving the park and through raising awareness of the park with this expedition, hopes to establish a legacy fund. As he says, “Ecologically speaking, it is incredibly rich and diverse…scenery wise, it is comparable to Banff”.
It was this comparison to Banff that first excited interest in the park, with hopes of making it a popular holiday destination. The Ellison expedition was undertaken at a time when the 19th century attitudes were still prevalent in terms of looking at natural resources as something to exploit. Although Strathcona Park was viewed as a nature preserve and ‘set apart as a public place and pleasure-ground for the benefit, advantage, and enjoyment of the people of British Columbia’. (Strathcona Park Act March 1, 1911), there were ambitious plans to build a railway into the Buttle Lake area and to construct a resort in the tradition of the Canadian Pacific hotels, like the one at Banff.
An early brochure about the park makes glowing references to its attractions: ‘There are no venomous snakes, and no wild animals from which danger may be apprehended. In most localities flies and mosquitoes are nearly absent, and will not interfere with the trout fishing.’
While this idealized version of the park might have eventually attracted the general public, Strathcona never did become the ‘Banff’ of Vancouver Island and despite a mine being built in the park in the 1960’s there has been relatively little development. Stone hopes that the current expedition will raise awareness of the park and help preserve its natural state. He will be presenting a talk about the upcoming reenactment at the Campbell River Museum on April 17, and you can find out more on his website: http://www.wildisle.ca/strathcona-park/expedition/
With Stone in the lead, the Strathcona Centennial Expedition is an event that will be making its own history.
Lissy Rauber
It took a great leap of faith for Lissy Rauber to give up her 12 year job with Sure Copy in Campbell River just over three years ago and devote herself to the healing arts as a full time occupation. The turning point happened in 2007, when she discovered a unique healing therapy called ‘begradrigung’ in Germany (where it originates) or alignment.
When you first experience ‘begradrigung’, it is difficult to tell if you are experiencing anything at all. But that is the point – it is a non-invasive spinal alignment where the practitioner doesn’t even have to touch the patient, yet can achieve results similar to what can be achieved by a chiropractic treatment. While it doesn’t claim to replace chiropractic treatment, this treatment has often helped individuals for whom all other treatments have failed.
Lissy lives in Black Creek, and is the only practitioner of this unique alternative therapy in the North Central Vancouver Island area, and may well be the only practitioner in British Columbia. Lissy came to the area from Germany 15 years ago, and says now that “I never dreamed that I would be practicing the healing arts”. But through a series of seemingly preordained events that occurred over the past seven years, she arrived at doing what she does today – incorporating the alignment technique she learned three years ago with acupressure and healing touch.
When asked what kinds of results people can expect, Lissy explains that before she does the alignment, she observes the difference in the length of her patients’ legs. Often, one leg will be shorter than the other. She works on the person’s area(s) of discomfort with acupressure, then does the alignment. After the treatment, Lissy again compares the difference and in most cases, the legs become even. She has seen people who were ‘out’ by as much as two inches. While they may not think anything has happened during treatment, it is usually a few days afterwards when the changes really begin to take affect.
One of her most dramatic and immediate experiences recently however, was with a woman who had been bedridden and suffering in pain for several months. Her doctor didn’t know how to help. The woman was carried into Lissy’s treatment room by her husband. After the treatment, she was able to walk out on her own two feet, only needing her husbands support. This lady’s doctor was so impressed, that she began referring clients to Lissy.
Lissy has also helped people to give up orthotics, as once their legs are an even length, they don’t require any lifts in their footwear to even up the balance. Many who suffer from chronic back pain find that their symptoms have disappeared, and Lissy has helped hyperactive children to settle down by getting them back in balance. She not only helps people though, she also helps horses.
Sunny and Lissy
Horses were in fact, her first patients. Lissy owns a beautiful fourteen year old gelding named ‘Sunny’ who she was hoping to train for competitive jumping. While he possessed all the required physical attributes to be a good jumper, his disposition was once anything but sunny. Baffled by his quirky behaviour (he was unpredictable and generally aggressive), she took him to a horse whisperer, who confirmed that he was indeed a difficult horse. Lissy felt there must be an answer however, and decided to take courses in acupressure.
She practiced on her horse, and began to see some improvement. It wasn’t enough though, and she continued to search for something that would have immediate results. “I have always been attracted to the unknown”, Lissy said, and when she encountered Beryl Thielman, a friend who does healing with crystals, she began to get a sense of where she was going. She investigated alternative healing methods and gained an understanding of how the body’s energy works and the importance of the chakras (seven energy centres located in the body from the bottom of the spine to the top of the head). She took a course in Reiki and became a Reiki master, and received training in healing touch.
It was also around that time that a friend introduced her to the book ‘The Secret’ (an inspirational book that encourages people to believe in their ability to shape their own destiny), and Lissy sensed that she was close to discovering something very important. Then the answer came. “My parents were watching a program from Germany”, Lissy related, “They got very excited and thought it was what I should do.” The broadcast was about a miraculous, non-invasive spinal treatment that was causing waves among chiropractors and orthopedic doctors around the country because of its spectacular and measurable results.
Around this time, she and some friends went to visit a tea leaf reader in Nanaimo. This reader told Lissy that she should quit her present job (she was then still working at Sure Copy) and her new endeavour would burst wide open. She also predicted that she would go to Germany.
Then a strange thing happened. She was driving by the nearby Timberline Resort one day and felt compelled to go into the driveway. As it happened, the owner was delighted to see her as she had a guest from Germany, Susanna Seng, who oddly enough, was a practitioner of the spinal alignment (begradigung) that Lissy had just heard about. Amazingly enough, Susanna was also certified to train others in how to do give the treatment. The training was only available to students who were Reiki masters, as Lissy was, and while it certainly appeared that Lissy had been destined to meet her, she would have to go to Germany to take the training.
At the time, she knew she couldn’t afford to go, but again, destiny intervened. She was visited by a friend whose wealthy sister was visiting her from the States. As Lissy already had a reputation for helping horses with her current methods, this sister felt immediately that Lissy shouldn’t miss the opportunity to get training in the alignment treatment. She booked the flight to Germany for Lissy, using her excess number of air miles. Lissy’s parents also felt that she was meant to get the training, and her father paid for the course.
Lissy stayed in Wetzlar (near Frankfurt) for three weeks with Susanna, learning one on one how to do the alignment. Upon returning home, she immediately incorporated this training with her existing techniques and came up with her own name ‘Helarion Energetic Alignment’, to distinguish her approach from that of others. (Helarion was a fourth century saint and healer). She has found that patients benefit most when she works on their areas of pain or discomfort first with acupressure, then completes the treatment with the alignment. Most people respond to the alignment after just one treatment, and if they need further attention, Lissy will do follow up session using acupressure and Reiki .
She continues to work on horses, who can suffer from misalignments from carrying people on their backs.
Treating a horse
In people, she has seen blockages released in the spinal column, knock knees straightened, sloping shoulders and crooked necks brought back into proper alignment.
To contact Lissy and make an appointment call: 250-337-1845. She works from her home at 2138 Miracle Beach Drive from Monday to Wednesday, is in Campbell River on Shoppers Row on Thursdays, and does treatments in Courtenay on Fridays.
In case you have never heard of Cougar Annie, she is known as a feisty character, a pioneering woman who survived four husbands and lived in the isolated wilds of the west coast of Vancouver Island at Hesquiat Harbour in the early 1900s. Annie was a survivor who grew a terrific garden in inhospitable territory and was famous for the number of cougars she shot while defending her territory and her family. When I first met Dr. Pam Aldis, she put me in mind of Cougar Annie. Pam didn’t seem to mind when I told her so, in fact she said that if she had lived in Cougar Annie’s era, she believes she would have lived as Annie did.
Dr. Pam, now retired, lives in the wilds of Merville with her two cats, and two students she rents rooms to. Her warm and inviting West Coast style house sits on a seven acre property with the Tsolum River running through it.
Dr Pam Aldis at home
She is regularly visited by ducks and other wildlife, but instead of cougars, raccoons are the pest that she defends her goods against, with the help of a shotgun. Pam is no stranger to shooting. At the tender age of eleven, while on the family farm in Norfolk England, Pam was given a shotgun by her father. (She still has the shotgun-a 410, today and uses to shoot grouse with). Although Pam did become a doctor while still in England, she developed all the tools for survival at a young age, and like Cougar Annie, today lives off the land in many ways.
Pam’s life started out as an adventure. She was born in Malaysia just before the advent of the Second World War. For safety, her family was shipped off to Australia, except for her father who became a POW. In fact, he was among those who built the bridge over the River Kwai (a story which was made famous by the 1957 film ‘A Bridge On the River Kwai) “My father was Alec Guinness”, Pam told me – a personage pivotal to the story and the building of the bridge. The family was reunited when the war ended, and a wealthy uncle helped them settle in England on a farm.
When asked what made her decide to become a doctor, Pam said that as a young child, she was asked to assist in the birthing of a calf and realized that she wanted to do something like this for a living – but not quite. She wanted to be able to talk to her patients, so instead of becoming a veterinarian, she decided to apply to study medicine. Although the family could not afford to send her to school, Pam was able to get a scholarship and was accepted into the prestigious St Bartholomew’s Medical College, attached to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. ’Barts’ as it is commonly known, is in fact the oldest hospital in Great Britain, established in 1123.
As can be imagined, there were not many women studying medicine in the 1950s (10 women to 90 men) and she says that the female students relied on each other for study support. After graduating and practising medicine for one year in England, Pam decided she wanted to try another country, and her father suggested Vancouver or Victoria (where he had visited), as English was spoken there. Pam came to Canada in 1964 and found work at Vancouver General Hospital and established a practice there for ten years. Although she was a family physician, she delivered over 120 babies every year as she found that pregnant women often preferred a female doctor. Pam met her husband (who was also a doctor) in Vancouver. They frequently visited Vancouver Island during those years and had a ’shack’ at Ship’s Point in Fanny Bay. When an opportunity came for her husband to practice in this area, they made the move here.
Pam learned to hunt on Vancouver Island from a neighbour at Ship’s Point who was known to the family affectionately as ‘Grandpa Reynolds’. Pam maintains enormous respect for Reynolds, (who has since passed away) and says that he was a true outdoorsman, with extensive knowledge of wildlife and the Vancouver Island wilderness.For many years, she and Reynolds travelled together to the best hunting areas of the island – Sayward and Port McNeill, and Mt. Washington, where they camped and hunted for deer, elk and bears. Although Pam has never shot a cougar, she has seen them up close and says they are a truly beautiful animal. Pam would also never shoot a goose, as they mate for life.
In terms of her career, Pam was initially not quite so fortunate. She was unable to find a position in Courtenay as the medical community did not look favourably on female physicians at that time. Instead, she worked in Campbell River for one year and enjoyed the hospital and the people she met there, then went to work at CFB Comox in 1975. Eventually, she opened her own practice in Courtenay on 6th street, and was joined by another female physician. In her late 50’s, she split her practice with another female MD and they each worked three days per week.
During these busy years, she raised two daughters, one who now owns an organic strawberry farm in Royston and with whom Pam shares a sizeable garden, and the other who is following in her mother’s footsteps and will shortly be practicing medicine.
Bear skin gracing the wall of Pam's home
Pam retired in 2005 and since then has been able to pursue her other passions full time - hunting, fishing, gardening, mushroom hunting and travelling. Now at age 70, she still makes forays over to the mainland with new hunting partners to hunt black bear, which she says is delicious meat if you get a spring bear. The fat rendered from the bear apparently makes great pastry. She also still likes to hunt mule deer and moose. Judging by her kitchen and her well stocked larder, good food is important to Pam. She refers to wild meat as ‘orgasmic’ and believes in the health giving properties of it. And this is one doctor’s opinion I certainly would not disagree with!
You may have heard about the pending cuts to area crisis lines and the concerns of those who answer these lines. I believe their concerns are legitimate, and despite the argument from VIHA that a central phone number will serve adequately, I think it will only serve to increase the sense of alienation many experience today. A person in Campbell River or Port Hardy who is experiencing personal trauma, might feel an increased sense of despondency when they learn they are speaking to a person in downtown Victoria, who has no sense of the local milieu. We have to wonder too, if this central line can handle all the calls.
A disturbing trend today is the increase in the number of businesses and organizations that use automated operators to ‘vet’ their calls. I am certain you have experienced this – whether calling a bank or telephone company or government line – you cannot get through the electronic sentry without giving vital information first. You usually need some numbers handy, like an account or social insurance number, and you had better be clear what the call is about, or you will not get directed to the right place. Often, there is no option to speak with a ‘live’ operator. You must get your facts straight first.
Recently, I had to call Acer computers regarding my laptop, and was told before doing so, that I should have the serial number on hand when I called, and that it would start with an LX. As usual, an automated, pleasant, though disembodied voice answered and inquired whether this was a service or sales matter. We ascertained that it was Service and I was asked to describe the problem. There is a crack in the lid, which translated into ‘broken component’, for lack of a better choice. Next ’she’ asked me for the serial number, and this is where the trouble began.
I was told that the number would have 11 digits. I quoted the only number on the bottom of my laptop that started with LX, but which in fact has 22 digits. This was not acceptable. I was to asked to speak more clearly and slowly. I complied and repeated the sequence again. Once again, the voice was not happy with the number and suggested I try to get service online.
I tried the phone number again, hoping that it was some sort of glitch. The same ‘lady’ answered, identifying immediately that I had already called. I found this a little disconcerting, so when asked if it was about the same problem, I said ‘no’, believing I could trick ‘her’ into putting me through to a real person, and I asked for Sales this time. Again, I was confronted with having to repeat the serial number. I had searched in the meantime for an eleven digit number on the bottom of my laptop thinking this might be part of the problem, so tried a different number. No, it didn’t like this one either.
I gave up on the phone and went to the Acer website. There was a hyperlink there to an email for service which I tried, but was told it was broken. I found a different link which took me to a page where once again, I was asked for my serial number. I inserted the LX sequence again, but it didn’t like that.
This time, I was diligent and inserted all seven sequences of numbers found on the bottom of my computer, but none of them worked. I finally found a description of the serial number which said it could be from 11 – 23 digits long, so I tried the LX number once again, and voila! It worked! On the next page, however, I was told I had to register before I could get help. So I filled out the registration form. I hit the NEXT button at the bottom, and it brought me back to the registration page again. I reviewed it to see where I had gone wrong, couldn’t find anything and there was no message, so hit NEXT again. Back I went to the same page. After trying this one more time I gave up and decided to try one of the other ‘800′ numbers found on the site.
I called it and was told that the number was out of service, and to call a different number. It wasn’t the same number I had tried earlier, so I still harboured a flicker of hope that I would get through to someone. And guess what? Yes, it was my same old friend who answered, and ’she’ immediately recognized me and was certain I had called earlier. By this time I was running out of patience and found myself yelling to a robot, that ‘YES, IT IS ME AND YES I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, YES IT IS A BROKEN COMPONENT!!!”
I proceeded once more to give the serial number and miracle of miracles, the voice said “I will repeat this back to you”. Yahoo! I thought , I have finally broken through the barrier. ‘She’ repeated the number back correctly, then I heard a sort of whirr and buzz and was told quite abruptly – “We are sorry, we are currently experiencing technical difficulties, please call back later”.
At this point I laughed. This was good enough to be made into a farce. I was frustrated, but not desperate and could deal with it another day. A crisis is quite a different thing though – it needs to be dealt with immediately, and let’s hope VIHA does the right thing and recognizes that many of us need a live and caring person at the other end of the line, and this is no laughing matter.
Raphael (first husband) and me, Lodge honeymoon 1981
Perhaps you remember the series “The Best Places to Kiss”. I think the series or travel book came out about ten years ago. In any case, we have a locale very close to us that seems to inspire romance … Strathcona Park Lodge and Outdoor Education Centre. From the name of the place you might wonder – where is the romance in outdoor education? There is no ‘retreat’ anywhere in the name and seldom in the promo, or ‘romantic getaway’ or any of those key words that might lead one to believe this is a place to get cozy in, let alone meet someone who inspires romantic feelings.
However, behind the façade of the strictly touristic and outdoor pursuits is a veritable Love Boat. Not only do people taking courses meet, but there is a frequent incident of staff meeting staff, and the consequences that ensue.
Over the past couple of years, I assisted Myrna Boulding, the co-founder of the Lodge, with a book about the beginnings of the Lodge up to 1986 (Survival, Strathcona Style). As we researched and talked to many former staff, it came out that we had compiled quite a list of people who met each other at the Lodge. In fact, at the reunion (celebrating 50 years) at the end of June this year, a number of former staff mentioned that they thought a whole book could actually be dedicated to ‘who met who’ at the Lodge!
If you have never been associated with the Lodge, you might wonder what could inspire so much blossoming of romance. I have a theory. One part of it is fairly obvious – you have 50 to 70 staff persons, who on the whole arrive single, year after year, and who live and work together in close proximity. If they aren’t standing next to each other in the kitchen making cookie dough, then they are on an out trip together, thrown together to face the elements in the wilds of nature, and forced to depend on one another for survival. The result is people falling in love – right, left and centre. The accommodation for the staff at the Lodge is for the most part ‘cozy’ – and for those of you who read real estate listings, you will know what I mean. As many of the staff don’t own vehicles and often stay for days or weeks without venturing into town, social occasions are frequent – which includes dances, beach fires and climbing expeditions. It is summertime, and there is a festive feeling in the air.
Upper Campbell Lake, early morning
Some people part ways once the season is over, but some leave together and start a life together in the outside world. The result of these unions is a phenomena Myrna refers to as “Lodge Babies’. Lodge babies are a unique group who hold pretty much just one thing in common – their parents met at the Lodge, and what pleases Myrna more than anything is to meet ‘Lodge Babies’ years later and to employ them as quickly as possible.
Part two of my theory is that there is a particular ‘energy’ at the Lodge. Rob Wood of Maurelle Island, (who has many years affiliation with the Lodge) in his book ‘Toward the Unknown Mountains’ explains this particular phenomena.
He says that “the place itself is quite likely a ‘power spot’. Located exactly at the junction of the geometric axes of two big mountain valleys, it has the classic Feng Shui properties of a health-giving balance between the Yin elements, represented by the valleys, and the Yang elements represented by the slight rise within the valley and the high peaks all around. The Druids would probably have built a stone circle here, the Buddhists a temple. The ‘euphoric high’ that people gain just from being there and the truly magical effect of the synergy generated is manifest in the frequently spirited music and dancing…”
Oil painting by Rosalind Finch
The oil painting here of the view from the Lodge into the Elk Valley, illustrates what Rob is talking about.
I firmly believe in this energy, (having experienced it first hand) and aboriginal peoples the world over share beliefs about magical places that inspire healing or feelings of goodness. I was struck with the love bug twice during my two separate sojourns at the Lodge. I met the father of my two children there in 1981 (so yes, I have two lodge babies) and I met my current main squeeze there in 2001. Someday, Myrna may write about the love that blossomed at the Lodge, in the meantime, the Lodge has become an enormously popular destination for weddings. So not only are couples meeting there, but they are taking their vows there. Does that mean the ‘Best Places to Kiss’ are outdoors?
‘Nature lovers’ seem to think so…
