A genuine carved canoe and a thing of beauty. Even the seats are fitted in a traditional way. Note the carving marks inside and the repair.
Lately I’ve caught myself bending toward writing rants about local social injustices. I have just deleted an entire page that was snow-balling toward a collision with the thought police. I have also reminded myself that my ire was being based solely on information from the media. Recent experience with the emu and the policeman once again confirmed the inaccuracy of news stories. What was reported and what I saw while experiencing the actual story in first person were rather different. Once I worked with a colleague to rebuild a British DeHavilland 1936 Mk I Tiger Moth which belonged to a local doctor where we lived in a remote Rocky Mountain community. The media got wind of the story and soon was reporting about a British doctor who flew mercy missions in his antique biplane. The account was absolute fabricated rubbish. If the story had a dog sled lashed to one wing it could not have been more ridiculous. My point is about how we tend to form opinions based on what we are fed by the media and how we can get fighting mad over gross inaccuracies and blatant lies. So, chill out dude!
When I finished high school I was offered a journalism scholarship. I am happy to report that I took a summer job and instead turned it into a career. Still I recall the five W’s. Who, what, why, where, when. Those foundations for all journalism seem to have gone into the ditch. I sometimes watch TV news stories and am not informed of where or when the event occurred. Sometimes the reporter’s name is not given. Creative interpretations of an event are offered which have nothing to do with an objective coverage of the truth. I am enraged when a person who has just lost a child or spouse is grieving in front of a camera. That is wholly irresponsible and unconsciously gormless.
Clearly, media’s first priority is to entertain. Tabloid mentality cares little about honesty and accuracy. Get ratings, sell ads, abandon truth and accuracy. We swallow it all as sugar-coated dung. If I interview you saying that you like little boys who are kind to animals, respectful of their parents and old people but I quote you as saying that you “Like little boys,” have I been honest or ethical? There are two important federal elections coming up in North America. The drums are already beating. Remember nature’s simple formula of two ears, two eyes, one mouth.
A friend in the US sent me some political statistics. I’m always suspicious of numbers put forward by anyone. We all know how they can be manipulated to serve an argument in any direction. One figure however, leapt out at me. The US has 5% of the world’s population and 66% of the world’s lawyers. There’s something to chew on! I’ve often considered lawyers to be a breed of parasite that has a life cycle which needs to make enough profit to get into politics. Once in office they make more laws which in turn justifies more lawyers.
Yesterday the weather was fair, the wind was calm. I was long overdue to renew my grasp on certain points of reality. In the wake of selling ‘Seafire’ I had the opportunity to purchase a very nice used inflatable boat. A local shop was having a sale on new outboard motors and for the first time in my life I splurged and bought one. No more tinkering with some else’s cast-offs. The new motor, of course, had a few glitches but I’ve sorted them out and can confidently leave the shore. I have a boat which I can deflate and roll-up to transport with me wherever I go. It is very safe, so long as I stay inside it. That can be difficult in lumpy waters, the boat is very rough-riding but everything is a compromise and, that is what life jackets and harnesses are for. Any day on the water, rough or not, is better than a smooth day ashore. It was wonderful to spend a few hours exploring little nooks I’ve passed by for years. The photos are all from yesterday.
This old log stood on end above the little beach where I took my lunch break. Postal Station F, Penalakut Island.
This canal, dug between Clam Bay and Telegraph Harbour separates Thetis Island, on the north, from Penalakut Island. It has mostly filled-in again but provides a handy shortcut for little boats at high tide.
“Being on a boat that’s moving through the water, it’s so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what’s important and what’s not.” … James Taylor
I avoid news as much as possible. Good you have water travel again.
Yes, “It’s true that “No news is good news.” One of the joys of having a boat is being able to go beyond the habits of media addiction. The world seems to keep turing without hearing the latest blither.
There must be a way to cook something on top of the outboard while you’re toodling around?
How about “Kicker Weiners?”
I am horrified at news reports too Fred. When I studied journalism in the late 70s, it was the same criteria, but our order of importance was: who, what, when, where, why and we had a sixth, how. Those criteria must be answered in your first paragraph of your story. There were a few others, like you never said “dead body” as that is redundant. You never called anyone elderly unless they were in their 80s. Today they call people elderly in their 50s in our local paper which I follow online. People jump all over the reporters for doing so in social media comments, but the story is not revised to drop the word “elderly” because the stylebook and all common sense has gone by the wayside. Last Monday a 9-year old girl was mauled to death by three pitbulls. Her 12-year-old brother witnessed the mauling. They were biking together near their home and the neighbor’s three pit bulls broke the flimsy fence and attacked her. The trio went for the throat. The father saw the aftermath. The news media interviewed the father Tuesday morning. The scene was so horrific that all first responders were given counseling … the grief-stricken father said he was heartbroken for his Emma but could not say a lot more as he was still in shock and crying while in the interview. My radio station advertised it as an exclusive interview … I give this ratio station, which just passed its 99th anniversary last week, loads of credibility, but this time, touting such a interview was in poor taste.
Linda:
I was appalled the other night to realize how callous I was getting to daily reports, of murders, gangland shootings, random and not random drive-by shootings, sexual assaults, car crashes and then a story on a video game competition which was nought but explosions, gore and beating. Then we go to the movies to watch more violence as even more entertainment. We wonder why we have mass shootings.
I remember cowboy movies, Popeye, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, The Roadrunner and they were all violent and the victim always came back to life.
We are indeed one bunch of sick puppies! And yes, I remember how… if the 5 W’s didn’t cover it. Stick to the squirrels!
Fred
At least three or four times a week we have a barricaded gunman (or gunwoman) situation in nearby Detroit. Often it’s a disgruntled neighbor, a ticked-off former boyfriend and they lock themselves in the house, taking a hostage, with guns going off. We had two last week. A few days ago two guys called for a tow truck in the middle of the night. The tow truck driver arrives and they hijacked the tow truck and left him behind. Then they head to a convenience store with an ATM machine and proceed to drive though the door with a heavy truck – this happens routinely. That’s the stupid stuff. The horrific stuff happens way too much. The world is going to h*ll in a handbasket and it’s only going to get worse. I’m no Pollyanna.
God, I miss my boat!
Well you have the new one at least, but Jack has to stay home unfortunately … I guess you worry his nails might puncture it?
One of the joys of having poking about in a little boat is having Jack along. Little boats are his supreme joy and so mine.
I was just going by the picture of the boat – I wasn’t sure it could hold the two of you. Jack is adventuresome, like his dad.
Jack the Ripper all the way.
Jack is young at heart – good for him. He always looks happy when he is near the water.