Senior Living Magazine Vancouver Edition December 2010 by INSPIRED 55+ Lifestyle Magazine

DECEMBER 2010

Vancouver’s 50+ Active Lifestyle Magazine

Carving a Life Path

Artist Peter Forbes

Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jim Robson

36 Hours in the Nation’s Capital

�� Senior Living Housing Directory is a valuable online resource for seniors and family members looking for alternative housing to match their desired lifestyle, or medical/mobility needs. Over 500 senior residences and housing communities throughout BC are listed in this comprehensive directory. Compare services, amenities, and prices. Sort your selection by region, or type of care. This directory is published by Senior Living, a monthly magazine distributed to approximately 850 locations across BC.

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Senior Living’s online searchable senior housing directory is a perfect complement to its semi-annual senior housing special editions in February and August. Senior Living also publishes a 128 page book called “To Move or Not to Move? A Helpful Guide for Seniors Considering Their Residential Options.” We have sold over 3,000 copies of this book. No other magazine we know of has such a comprehensive, interconnected group of housing resources. For more information about any of these products or services, call (250)479-4705 or toll-free 1-877-479-4705. Or email ofﬁce@seniorlivingmag.com

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To order, please send cheque for $20.12 ($14.95 plus $3.95 S&H & taxes) payable to Senior Living. Please include your clearly written shipping address, phone number, and name of book you are ordering. MAIL TO: Senior Living 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria BC V8T 2C1

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DECEMBER 2010

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Publisher’s

hen I was growing up, a trip to town to do Christmas shopping demanded careful preparation. It took hours going store to store, selecting the items for which we had come. What we didn’t buy in the stores, we bought by mail order. My sister and I spent weeks pouring over the Eaton’s and Sear’s catalogues deciding what we wanted for ourselves and what to buy the other members of our family. After finally placing the order, we waited in anticipation, a week or more, for the items to arrive at the local depot. Today, a single store often carries everything – from electronics to clothing, home furnishings to gardening – making a store-to-store trek unnecessary. Striking off every item on my list in one fell swoop leaves me feeling efficient, but gone are the feelings of anticipation, longing and wondering. It’s the same with Christmas cards. I recall, as a kid, when the fireplace mantle couldn’t hold all the cards. We’d end up draping cards over heavy string swagged across the picture window, attached to the living room curtain rods. It was a visual and tangible reminder of the number of people who were thinking of us that year and wishing us all the best. Today, the cards delivered by the mail carrier are few. No need for a mantle or swagged string because we’ve discovered that it’s cheaper and quicker to send an ecard or a greeting by email. As much as I appreciate the efficiency that technology affords us today, there was something comforting and soul-affirming in the Christmas rituals of the past. I think it was because we gave ourselves the gift of “time.” Time to plan, time to anticipate, time to wonder, time to savour… This year, along with the many wonderful gifts I give, and receive, I hope time to be among them. Happy Holidays. 2

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FEATURES

COLUMNS 4 The Family Caregiver

6 Through the Forge

by Barbara Small

Peter Forbes uses his skills and imagination to carve out a life he loves.

16 Forever Young by William Thomas

8 Passionately Creative

27 Ask Goldie

Author and creativity coach Donaleen Saul.

by Goldie Carlow

10 Our Usual Hello

30 Have Fork, Will Travel

Hockey Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jim Robson.

by Sally Jennings

12 A Cat for All Seasons

A long-time friend remembered at Christmas.

31 BBB Scam Alert

13 Holiday Gift Guide

32 Reﬂections: Then & Now

by Lynda Pasacreta

Gift ideas your friends and family will love!

by Gipp Forster

14 Belly Laughs

Stand-up comedians Andrea Carr and Eve Weimer.

17 Rebooted

Adapting to a new computer comes with its frustrations.

20 Budget Travel = Rich Experience Cut the cost of travel by staying in people’s homes.

22 A Natural Artist

For Ilsoo Kyung MacLaurin, artistic interest didn’t blossom until after her retirement.

Cover Photo: Artist Peter Forbes carving a barrel top in his workshop. See page 6. Photo: Kevin McKay

24 36 Hours in Ottawa

Luxury and history in the nation’s capital.

28 Navy Ambassadors

Naden Band continues to entertain and bridge gaps. Senior Living (Vancouver & Lower Mainland) is published by Stratis Publishing. Publisher Barbara Risto Editor Bobbie Jo Reid editor@seniorlivingmag.com Copy Editor Allyson Mantle Ad Designer/Coordinator Faye Holland Advertising Manager Barry Risto 250-479-4705 Toll-free 1-877-479-4705 sales@seniorlivingmag.com Ad Sales Staff Mitch Desrochers 604-910-8100 Ann Lester 250-390-1805 Mathieu Powell 250-589-7801 Barry Risto 250-479-4705 WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

Head Ofﬁce Contact Information: Box 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria BC V8T 2C1 Phone 250-479-4705 Fax 250-479-4808 Toll-free 1-877-479-4705 E-mail ofﬁce@seniorlivingmag.com Website www.seniorlivingmag.com Subscriptions: $32 (includes HST, postage and handling) for 12 issues. Canadian residents only. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Senior Living is an independent publication and its articles imply no endorsement of any products or services. The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. Unsolicited articles are welcome and should be e-mailed to editor@seniorlivingmag. com Senior Living Vancouver Island is distributed free throughout Vancouver Island. Stratis Publishing Ltd. publishes Senior Living Vancouver Island (12 issues per year) and Senior Living Vancouver & Lower Mainland (12 issues per year). ISSN 1710-3584 (Print) ISSN 1911-6403 (Online)

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DECEMBER 2010

THE FAMILY CAREGIVER

Visiting During the Holiday Season

isiting friends and family over the holiday season can be a time to reconnect with those we haven’t been in touch with much throughout the year. Visits can be enjoyed and appreciated, but they can also add additional demands and stress to already overwhelmed family caregivers and care recipients who are frail, elderly or ill. Whether you are visiting someone else or others are coming to your home, or whether the visit is for an evening or for an extended stay, here are some tips to help reduce stress and allow everyone to enjoy this time together.

them to contribute, and give the care recipient an opportunity to interact with someone new. Don’t feel you have to “entertain” your visitors. Sometimes simply spending time together is enough. Remember to take time to have some fun, share and laugh too.

BY BARBARA SMALL

giver nor care recipient becomes too exhausted. Offer to help with chores, errands or other holiday-specific tasks, such as shopping, baking and decorating. Allow the caregiver to get away and have some free time. Perhaps give him or her a gift of a lunch out, a trip to the spa or a chance to attend some holiday events. Express your appreciation to the family caregivers. Simple recognition of their time and effort may be enough to make caregivers feel more appreciated and help them stay strong, healthy and better able to continue to SL provide care.

Visits can be enjoyed and appreciated, but they can also add additional demands and stress to already overwhelmed family caregivers and care recipients.

If you are the primary caregiver, and hosting the visit:

Let visitors know in advance what to expect. If they have not visited in a while, prepare them for any changes in the care recipient’s health, behaviour or appearance. Explain your daily routine, and let them know the best time to visit. Ask for and accept help. Make a list of what needs to be done. If someone asks what they can do to help, respond with specific requests. Focus on people’s strengths. Some visitors are happy to help with personal care, while others would prefer to grocery shop or clean the gutters. Wong at theinwar AllowFrank others to share the caregivmemorial in Chinatown. ing. This can give you a break. Allow 4

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If you are the visitor:

Make arrangements well in advance. Even if you are only coming for a short visit, call ahead to ask the caregiver what time would be best. When is everyone’s energy strongest? When are people resting? For longer visits, ask whether it would be better to stay with them or elsewhere. Resist the urge to advise the caregiver about what they should be doing differently. Remember what happens during your visit may not be the same as day-to-day care. Often the ill person will rally forth when visitors come. Plan to visit in small groups for short periods, so that neither the careWWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

Next month: The Importance of Empathy in Caregiving

Barbara Small is the Program Development Coordinator for Family Caregivers’ Network Society located in Victoria, BC. www.familycaregiversnetwork.org

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ome and enjoy the enchanted forest at The Pacifica Resort Retirement this holiday season, where local businesses will showcase their personalized Christmas Trees. This fundraising event for the CKNW Orphans’ Fund will run until December 15th. Cast your vote for your favourite tree with a minimum $2 donation. Each vote will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a gift basket at the Pacifica Resort Retirement Christmas Open House on December 15th from 2-4 p.m. Located in South Surrey, The Pacifica offers an all-inclusive lifestyle with luxury hotel-style amenities for daily comforts and convenience with the option of independent and assisted living. Please join us in celebrating the holiday season while fundraising for the CKNW Orphans’ Fund. Admission is free. The Pacifica Resort Retirement Living, 2525 King George Blvd., Surrey B.C. For more information, call 604SL 535-9194.

The Government of Canada, specifically Veterans Affairs, is behind a national campaign to communicate with seniors the importance of fall prevention. Falls account for the majority of injuries amongst seniors in Canada. $2.4 billion is being absorbed through health care each year across the country as a result. But more than being an issue of economics, preventable falls cause unnecessary pain and mobility impediments for seniors who could be leading a better quality of life had a few simple tools been put in place. Accessibility Solutions is the North Shore’s new medical equipment and supplies retail outlet – carrying a wide range of support accessories to accommodate seniors wherever they are in regards to mobility needs and potential risk factors. Store owner Syed

Haider and operations manager Mel RussellTaylor are eager to share their knowledge of innovative ideas to prevent slips and falls in both the home and while out and about. They look forward to helping seniors and caregivers identify specific areas of concern. “We do a verbal walk-through with them as to where they think the issues are,” Mel explains, adding they also work directly with community therapists and other professionals on behalf of their clients. Accessibility Solutions employs a team of trades people to handle all points of custom installation – from electrical to plumbing. And the staff at Accessibility Solutions is committed to ensuring their customers are provided with a clear timeline throughout the delivery and installation process – which can often be stressful. “We make it easier by keeping them informed with a detailed list of the scope of work.” But in order to get to the delivery and installation steps, one must first find the product that is best suited to accommodate their daily chores, personal activity level and areas of vulnerability. Sometimes finding the right product is not as simple as dropping into the store to chat with staff since mobility is often already an issue. Instead, Accessibility Solutions will come to you for an in-home demonstration. In-home demonstrations can be very helpful because the end user has the advantage of experiencing how equipment will operate in its usual environment. Some walkers, wheelchairs and scooters, for instance, are much better suited for smaller spaces than others. In addition, there might be cost efficient and risk reducing solutions which are obvious to the demonstrator that had not been previously considered by the client. A non-slip coating over slippery floor or carpet in heavy traffic areas, for example, might be all that is needed when the homeowner was considering higher priced renovations. Making the decision to uproot from, say, a two-storey family house when stairs become difficult can cause much anxiety for seniors.“Often people think there are no options. We can offer them solutions to stay in their homes.”

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Arts & Entertainment

Through the Forge STORY AND PHOTO BY KEVIN MCKAY

eter Forbes had searched for his niche for years when he happened upon a picture of a carved wine barrel top. The picture led him to where he is today. “It was an epiphany,” he says. “I took one look at that picture and thought to myself, ‘this is it.’ I was making signs at the time but millions of people can make signs. I knew I needed to be unique and, if I did this, I could be.” Many years ago, when he was still a young man, Peter’s artistic talent blossomed. To his credit, he realized he did not have the necessary life experience yet to turn art into an occupation, let alone a career. “I was working up on Grouse Mountain at the time and had become one of 6

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the shift supervisors for the trams,” says Peter. “I had all these paintings and was allowed to display them in the gallery for a show. I sold all of them in one weekend. I knew I had ability because I had always been doodling, but I also knew I had nothing to say yet with my art.” Peter’s chutzpah is evident, and it showed up in how he became employed at Grouse Mountain. Under the legal drinking (and serving) age, he applied to work at the old chalet with the use of some creative exaggeration on his job application. “I told them I had formerly been the cocktail waiter for the Canadian Ambassador to Holland,” says Peter. “While this was not true in the strictest sense, I had lived with my parents there for 10 years when my father worked for WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

the Canadian government. The manager told me I had the job and that I should go home, get changed and come back for my first shift of work. When I got there, they wanted me to set up the chalet restaurant for dinner. I had no clue what to do, but did the best I could. When she asked me why I had set everything up wrong, I told her that was how we did it in Holland!” Now, certain he needed experience in order to realize his potential as an artist, Peter did what so many young people did in the late 1960s and early 1970s: he hit the road. After travelling to the Rockies and working on the railroad for a time, he returned to Vancouver with money in his pocket, wanderlust in his heart, and no idea where to go. He sat down in a travel agency and noticed a poster on the

Arts & Entertainment

wall of a beautiful village. “I told the agent I wanted to go to that very spot,” Peter recalls. “She didn’t know where the village was either, but we looked closer and realized it was a small town called Irapetra in Crete.” Three days later, he was standing there looking down on that village, completely alone, far from home and unable to speak the language. “I wandered down, wound up staying for weeks and absolutely loved it. I had a wonderful time.” A dictator ran Greece at the time, and when he arrived at the airport, it was overrun with soldiers. “I was scared but, as it turned out, they liked tourists and their money, so I was tolerated.” From Crete, Peter travelled through parts of Africa, Europe and Turkey before he returned home to Vancouver. He gained some of his all-important experience during those days. “I saw beggars and stepped around dead bodies on the street,” he says. “I learned to eat anything put in front of me. I discovered travel is great, but it doesn’t get any better than the Lower Mainland.” While running a restaurant, Peter married one of his waitresses, only to see the marriage end after a year and a half. Instead of drowning his sorrows, he signed on for some sailing adventures. As he

prepared for his second voyage, aboard a boat a Seattle man had built himself, Peter was asked to help finish some detailing. “This fellow handed me a chisel and asked me to finish the end of his teak railings,” he recalls. “I had never held a chisel in my life. I took a couple of shots at it, and the chisel slid through the wood, and it just felt right. I decided on the spot that the book was full and it was time to let my creativity out.” Peter went to work for a company making signs where he taught himself to be a woodworker; pretending he knew what he was doing, while trying not to cut off any limbs. It was while working as a sign maker he chanced across the photo of the carved barrel that set him on his career path at long last.

Even before he saw that photo, many people had told Peter he should run his own business. He set out but not without overcoming some hurdles. “I’m a right-brain thinker, so math is not my thing, but I can carve,” he says. “Like everything I do, I taught myself how to [carve] because if you learn from someone else you invariably pick up some parts of what they do. First, I had to learn how to keep the barrels together. Then, once I had mastered how to carve the barrels, I had to learn how to market myself. I started in British Columbia with the wineries. I used a few tricks I learned along the way to WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

get to the key people in the organizations and started getting some jobs. People got to know me and my work. Now, I’m hooked and will only work for myself. I finally like my boss.” Peter set up shop in the shadows of the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge, where he makes each design unique and individual. An old-fashioned tradesman, Peter takes pride in his workmanship, which has included jobs for wineries, restaurants, companies and many individuals. The only barrel carver in Canada, he knows of two others in North America, though their art styles are very different. Peter laughs and admits, “My tools are mostly chisels, but I will use anything sharp including my wit!” In addition to carving, Peter creates beautiful custom signs and still paints, though mostly for himself. He has done some writing and intends to write more when he is older. About the creative process he says, “People ask me to teach them to carve. I can teach them the skills, but not imagination. What I am doing to a piece of wood is removing everything that is not the bear, like native carvers do. I have an affinity with them and the Thai carvers.” “If a big chunk of wood blows off while you are working on a piece, you just look at it until it reappears as something else. They will ask me how I came up with it and I just tell them I didn’t – the wood SL came up with it!” To view more of Peter’s barrel carvings and custom signage or to contact him, go online to www.barrelcarving.com

DECEMBER 2010

Author Proﬁle

PASSIONATELY CREATIVE STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARY ANNE HAJER

onaleen Saul came of age in the idealistic sixties and, even now, 40 years later, she remains true to the spirit of those times, her life shaped by her personal beliefs and principles. She was the eldest of three children and, as her father was in the RCMP, the family moved frequently. “I’m naturally introverted and, as a child, I was shy, so [moving] was difficult,” she says. “But it also strengthened me. It forced me to connect to my inner resources. It gave me a broader vision of life – an outsider’s perspective.” Growing up, Donaleen did not question the conservative attitudes of the postwar era, but that changed when she went on to post-secondary education. “I was lucky enough to attend university in the 1960s when a lot of conventional ideas were being questioned – when intense conversations at political meetings and in the cafés were as important a source of learning as the classroom. That was the beginning of my journey.” At university, Donaleen’s world expanded – intellectually, socially and personally. She became a student radical, participating in women’s consciousness-raising groups. She also met and married her first husband, although the marriage did not last long. “I loved him,” says Donaleen, “but I felt confined by the conventions of marriage and so we parted.” Donaleen earned her teaching certificate at university, and spent four years teaching junior high school in Edmonton. She loved working with her students, but again felt confined by the school culture. She was disappointed by the disconnect between the ideas she had explored in teacher education and what she encountered in the classroom. “I lived with a bunch of hippies and radicals in a co-op house,” she says. “We were sure the revolution was just around the corner. I didn’t have an ambition to move up the social or professional ladder. I felt a huge urge to pursue a creative, less constricted life, and so I ended up leaving the profession. It wasn’t without tears, and it wasn’t without hope that I would one day return. But I never have. But I’ve continued teaching beyond classroom walls.” Although Donaleen never returned to the public school system, in one way or another, she has remained an educator all her life. Her association with the Edmonton artistic community in the ’70s led to an award-winning career in scriptwriting for children’s educational TV. She has taught at the Vancouver Film School and in the Langara College Continu8

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ing Studies Department, developing classes and workshops aimed at a range of audiences. Some of her courses, such as From Heart to Hand: Journaling to Heal and Where Mystics Walk: Scribing the Spiritual Journey have arisen out of the insight she has gained in her own journey towards self-awareness. One of the stops along this road was time spent in a psycho-spiritual commu-

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nity, where the emphasis was on self-discovery and spiritual exploration. Another was the months of study at the Center for Journal Therapy in Denver, Colorado, where she earned certification as a Journal to the Self instructor. In Donaleen’s creative writing courses, which include, In Your Own Write, Get It! – in Writing and Write a Wild Horse, she attempts to help her students discover and release the creative force within. A professional writer herself, Donaleen specializes in educational writing and has penned curricula, promotional material and articles for school districts in the Vancouver area, as well as for GT Publishing and the Canadian Education Association. She also brings her unique gifts for synthesizing many voices and viewpoints to her scribing work for Simon Fraser University’s Dialogue Programs. However, she is choosy about whom she accepts as clients, saying, “For the most part, my writing for hire has focused on physical/mental/emotional/spiritual health, learning, relationships, death and dying, and topics related to human/societal/environmental evolution. I am only interested in working with clients who serve the greater good.” In 2004, Donaleen suffered the devastating loss of her brother to suicide. She used journaling as a tool in working through her grief, and then wrote a book, Did You Know I Would Miss You, as a way of reaching out to others facing a similar loss. It is a guide that has been used by churches, bereavement groups, hospices, therapists and other individuals and organizations in helping people cope with grief at the death of a loved one. Busy as Donaleen is with writing and teaching, she’s managing to find time for expressing herself through music. “I’m a joyful member of the alto section in the Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir, which I love,” she says. “I had to audition to get in, and I’m very proud that I made it!” And what of the future? At an age when most people think of retirement, Donaleen feels she is just getting started. “Now that I’m in my sixties, I feel more passion than ever for my writing and for creativity in general, which is why I’m embarking on a career as a creativity coach. I’m particularly interested in working with people over 50. They have the time for creative endeavours and, even more importantly, they feel called to pursue them at this SL stage of life.”

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Donaleen’s creativity workshop/support group, The Promises We Made to Ourselves: Fulfilling our Creative Dreams in Later Life is scheduled to begin in the New Year. To learn more, visit donaleensaul.com WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

DECEMBER 2010

Hall of Fame

Our Usual Hello

“I

Hockey Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jim Robson in his home ofﬁce. 10

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STORY AND PHOTO BY KEVIN MCKAY

’d like to pass along our usual hello to the hospital patients, shut-ins, pensioners, the blind...” is the beginning of a refrain familiar to generations of hockey fans in British Columbia, as said during every game by Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Robson. From the time the Vancouver Canucks entered the NHL in 1970 through to the end of their run to try to win the Stanley Cup in 1994, Jim called almost all their games on radio and many on television as well. From that season until the end of the 1998-99 season, he continued calling games on television until he retired from broadcasting. Well-respected and admired by many of his peers, Jim was a consummate professional throughout his career, renowned for his knowledge, preparation, wonderfully smooth voice and for being a true gentleman in every sense of the word. Jim’s path to the broadcast booth started when he was eight years old. “In 1943, it was the end of the backyard rink when my family moved from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan to the Fraser Valley,” he says. “There were no arenas around except for the Forum and Queen’s Park Arena.” Even as a boy of six, Jim wanted to become a hockey announcer and, in 1952, he arranged to do an audition for Bill Hughes at CKNW radio. “He told me to write a letter to the seven radio stations around B.C. and said I could use his name as a reference,” Jim recalls. “I got my first job

at CJAV in Port Alberni at 17 writing commercials. That summer, the sports announcer left for a job in Chilliwack and I was asked if I wanted to take over. My first on-air work was doing sportscasts. Then, in the fall, I started doing play by play for the Alberni Athletics basketball team.” Jim also started playing for the local baseball team. One day, in 1958, while talking to one of his teammates on the bench, he learned this player’s relative was looking for an assistant sportscaster at a station in Vancouver. Jim wrote to the sports announcer, Bill Stephenson of CKWX, and started working as his assistant that September. During those years, the station covered the Western League Vancouver Canucks, the BC Lions football team and the Vancouver Mounties baseball team. Jim called a lot of baseball and a little hockey until Bill left in 1960 leaving him to call most of the games for the football (through 1965), hockey and baseball teams until the NHL came to Vancouver in 1970. Rival station CKNW acquired the broadcast rights to the NHL Canucks, so Jim changed stations and continued to broadcast the team. “I called the last game in the old Forum and the first game in the Pacific Coliseum in January 1968. I called the first-ever Canucks NHL game, October 9, 1970, but not on the radio. It was my television debut, coast to coast for Hockey Night in Canada. It was a thrill to do that,” says Jim. “My first NHL game on the radio was a game in March 1970 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Oakland Seals.” Though Jim enjoys all sports, hockey became his favourite. “I found football the most difficult and hockey the most enjoyable,” he says. “It is a great game. I admire hockey players and always stress to people talking about other sports and athletes how good a skater you need to be to play hockey. It means there is an additional skill involved. The other sports the players make natural moves, but for skaters it is all different. I got to know a lot of people and made many lifelong friends.” The Vancouver Canucks only made it

to the Stanley Cup finals twice and both times Jim Robson was along for the ride, describing every play to his listeners. Ultimately, however, that memorable run in 1994 was one of the reasons he stopped calling the games on the radio. “By June 1994, I was tired right out,” he says. “I’d been doing broadcasting for a long time, starting in 1952, and I had been travelling with teams since 1960. So, I figured it was time. The Vancouver teams had so much travel over the years. And as we got deeper into the playoffs, the pressure was building and I worried about making a big mistake and calling the wrong player for a goal or something.” Jim was prepared to step away from the grind of calling every game on the radio but he was not quite ready to hang up his microphone for good. “Pat Quinn was in charge of the Canucks then, and he told me they were going to separate the television from the radio, moving away from the simulcasts they were doing in those days, where they would just use my radio call to go with the pictures on the television,” Jim recalls. “Pat could see the potential revenue source this could be for the team. I figured if I left the radio, I could do about 25 games a year on television, which is a lot easier.” Always humble and never one to seek the limelight, Jim went out on his own terms. After five years of calling the games exclusively for television, Jim retired from broadcasting. “I was approaching 65 and didn’t tell anyone except my wife,” says Jim.

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“I just did my last game and that was that. There will be no comebacks. For me, when you retire you stay retired. I like to tell people now that I am busy doing nothing.” One way Jim reached his listeners was through his “usual hello.” “That was stolen from a long-time announcer at CKWX named Cal George,” says Jim. “He used to have a daily radio program and he always used it at the end of his show. I picked it up and started using it on Mountie games and WHL Canuck broadcasts around 1960. We got so much reaction to it over the years, many very touching letters. I received letters written in braille and even received a lovely scroll from the prisoners in a maximum security prison in Aggasiz.” When Jim started doing more television work for Hockey Night in Canada, he was told not to use the call out. “So, I just went ahead and did it anyway,” he says. “Every time I did, I would hear a big cheer from the [production crew] working down in the truck because they all considered themselves shut-ins as well. It was important to make it general and not single out individuals but there were times I tried to make it special for someone. I remember visiting with a blind boy and I told him to listen to the game and that when I made the announcement that evening, I would be thinking about him.” Today, there are many great announcers, but few touch as many lives as Hockey Hall of Fame member Jim SL Robson.

DECEMBER 2010

Lifestyle

A CAT FOR ALL SEASONS am said to be an incarnation of Dr. Doolittle. Although I don’t speak to animals, they nevertheless seem to like me. A cat sitting outside a house will run up to me when I walk by on the sidewalk, cry “meow, meow” and insist on rubbing against my legs. Meeting a dog, well, it comes with that hip-swaying, tail wagging sideways and toothy grin that dogs call a smile and translates to “I am so pleased to meet you” – rarely anything unfriendly. I love most critters, and dogs and cats seem to be attuned to my attraction and fondness. With such a pedigree, it wasn’t too difficult to convince me that my six-year-old daughter needed a kitten for Christmas. That was in 1977. The cutest little black, mostly Siamese she-fur-ball came to be a pal to Snoopy, our Beagle; a dog that believed in the peace and love of the days and enjoyed cuddles with a cat. Loved and spoiled by the family, they provided many Norman Rockwellish photo ops. Naming the cat was surprisingly easy. My little girl liked “Skana,” the name of the then new baby orca at the Vancouver Aquarium. To prevent confusion between the cat and the whale, we suggested a one-letter change to Shana – even better! Shana grew from kitten to cat, but was still just a compact little thing, somewhat shortish but higher on the rump, jacked up like a hot-rod with large rear wheels. She was not into shredding upholstery, but climbing up on a carpet wall hanging was considered legal. Fur black and shiny like a freshly polished boot, a small white patch on her chest, she would stare and give an insolent swish of her tail when reprimanded, as in “come and make me, big boy!” Although free to roam outside, she never pulled disappearing stunts and didn’t provide us with offerings of dead birds or mice. Often she would just sit in the backyard, watching birds pecking the ground, without that typical tiger-crouch slithering of a real carnivore. But then again, she had unusual tastes for a cat: almost anything given by hand, she would eat with relish. Bits of carrots, green peppers, peas, grapes cut in half, apples; our friends had to see to believe it. The years went by. My little girl grew; we moved twice, her mom died, I remarried and moved house once more. Big girl, then 18, left home in 1989 for school in England, and Shana became our cat. Cats live 14-16 years, on average. But Shana, 10 years later in 1999, was still with us, albeit slowed by age, quite frail and so thin that when lying on her side she looked flat, like roadkill. Her life included a bit of kidney problem, special diet and lots of sleep, the usual for a 22-year-old feline. Whenever my wife and I left to travel, either a family 12

SENIOR LIVING

member or a hired house-sitter stayed at our place and cared for Shana. For a trip to Australia in early 2000, however, we had no luck finding anyone to house-sit and decided to kennel Shana at our local vet’s clinic, accommodating only a few cats and providing veterinary care as needed.

Photo: George Zador

BY GEORGE ZADOR

We left several phone numbers where we could be reached by the kennel and some people caregivers. We were the mainstay of not just an old cat but also several similarly aged and frail humans as well – my mother, aunt, mother and father-in-law. A couple of weeks after landing in Sydney, we had a message left to call Dr. so-and-so, and not immediately recognizing the name, we were certain it had to do with my mom or aunt. It was Shana’s vet; sorry to tell us that she was in bad shape, he could perform some heroics, but it would be a kindness to help her into cat heaven. We gave him permission to euthanize and then cremate the remains, and cried shamelessly over the loss of this old friend. But my God, 23 years old, nine lives rolled into a long one. What did we expect? Returning home, we were presented with a small box containing Shana’s ashes and a statement of $580 for “services rendered.” Now, 10 years later, the box of ashes still sits on our bookSL shelf: far too valuable to bury!

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Holiday

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Happy Holidays! DECEMBER 2010

Humour

Belly Laughs BY DEE WALMSLEY

They weren’t then, but now they see themselves as a team, constantly bouncing ideas off each other. A vegetarian, Andrea is an animal lover and activist, who will rescue any stray she finds lurking on Surrey’s streets. She lives with a menagerie of cats and dogs too numerous for her property owner to discover. She will, however, give up a pooch should the right adoptive family decide to call.

Eat Together

Celebrate Together

Photo: Jennifer MacKenzie/Alamy Images

atch a performance of the comedy caper “Cowslip Corners” and you’ll enter the wacky world of comedians Andrea Carr and Eve Weimer. Life begins at 40? Not for these saucy seniors. Life has been one long ride with a few bumps along the way, which will surely turn up in future skits. The pair met while taking a comedy course at Lafflines Comedy Club in New Westminster. Andrea, suffering with health issues, decided she’d had enough of traditional medicine, remembered the old adage “laughter is the best medicine” and enrolled. Eve, the jet-setter, worked at Air Canada for 28 years in administration. She grew up in Walden, Saskatchewan in a blended family of 13 kids – 11 of them boys, which may have forced her into developing a keen sense of humour. The Cowslip Corners sketch evolved after the two gals, booked separately at Yuk Yuk’s in Vancouver, had their time cut when the MC mistakenly thought they were together.

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Both women enjoyed working together on Cowslips: a way for Andrea to convince her audience to look at what’s on their dinner plates. Where did it come from; how was it treated; and do humans really understand the industries practices? “It’s not easy to use comedy for the ethical treatment of animals,” say Andrea, who’ll continue to try. An accomplished writer and author of Single Parent’s Voice, a book dedicated to all the single mums on welfare, Andrea also wrote a newspaper column on the same topic. Working with atrisk kids, she wrote and directed a play called Our Place, Curb Kids, as a fundraiser for their drop-in club. This winter, she will be cracking the study books as she takes on the new task of special needs assistance in public schools. When Eve isn’t kayaking, swing dancing and being Nanny to her four grandkids, she reads and writes poetry. She has just entered a contest with her latest poem entitled “Solace of the East Beach Grizlee,” inspired by a bear statue donated in memory of “Lee” Slavin on White Rock’s East Beach promenade. If the sun continues to shine keeping this snowbird home, computer keys will fly as she and Andrea work their way through a proposed variety show, a television talk show, more skits, stand-up comedy and fulfilling their bucket lists. Andrea would love to meet Ellen Degeneres, another animal activist, and visit Ireland to soak up some suds and Irish humour. Seventy-two-yearold Eve wants to learn how to make bread and kayak in the South Pacific – either activity should make for a night of belly laughs from Vancouver’s Yuk Yuk’s to Port Coquitlam’s SL Second Storey Theatre.

DECEMBER 2010

FOREVER BY WILLIAM THOMAS

A Long Overdue Apology

s there anything that defines carefree youth better than a kid peddling a bike aimlessly down the street? I was once that kid, speeding through puddles with my feet straight out to the sides, bumping along the train bridge over the Welland Canal, cruising by the drivein at dusk, negotiating a tricky dirt path to John’s Lake to go fishing. Hair blowing in the wind, maybe a piece of cardboard clipped to the spokes, giving it the sound of a motor – I’d ride that bike all day. With a clamp on the right cuff of my jeans to keep them from being caught in the chain and my jacket ballooning out the back from the wind, I was an explorer on a two-wheeled time machine. Today, of course, I’d need a helmet, a cellphone, a certificate from a young riders’ safety program and diploma from a training wheels school. Honestly, can you believe there’s a camp that graduates kids from training wheels to two wheels? In my day, you learned how to stay upright while riding a bicycle once you got tired of bleeding. Right about the same time as the scabs on your knees and elbows healed and the stitches were removed from your forehead, you became very proficient at cycling. Back then, a kid might as well be caught wearing a training bra as spotted with training wheels on his bike. We had beater bikes and we rode them at top speed. Once you learn, you’ll never forget how to ride a bike. Unless you hit one of those cement pylons headfirst. What’s that saying: the best thing to do if you fall off a bike is immediately get back on? Easier said than done when your head is caught between the spokes and you’re running low on air. 16

SENIOR LIVING

Yes, we were a daring, okay, a dumb ass bunch of kids misusing bicycles for questionable purposes including getaway vehicles. Finally, I saved enough money delivering the Toronto Star Weekly to buy a brand new bike. It was a Sunshine: cherry red with gold trim and a chrome-plated chain guard. It was a beauty and it went like a bat out of hell. I was the only kid in my neighbourhood to own a brand new Sunshine bicycle. That is, until Ricky Van Loon got exactly the same bike a few days later. I was crushed, but I never said a word. I was tooling around the village on a hot summer’s day when I caught up with the Hilton boys riding like a posse with pipes over their shoulders. “Hey! What gives? Wait up.” A half dozen hobos lived in a camp in the bush behind the John Deere factory. They had built tin huts around a campfire and a picnic table. The trains slowed or stopped there as they approached the bridge over the Welland Canal and the hobos boarded the boxcars like it was their personal subway service. They didn’t bother anybody in the village and one old guy, Fred, was kind to kids. My mother occasionally gave him a sandwich. But the Hiltons claimed they’d been ripped off by one of them and today justice would be done. We laid our bikes in the brush beside the tracks and the Hilton boys set up their weaponry. Two of them held steel pipes on their shoulders with a steel ball inside while the other two lit the wicks of the cherry bombs stuck in the back ends of the pipes. Suddenly there were loud explosions WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

and big ball bearings were careening off the metal shacks of the hobo camp. It took them three more rounds of artillery before the hobos came charging out of the camp with clubs and axe handles, six of them coming over the tracks like marines at Iwo Jima. The Hiltons dropped their weapons and were running alongside their bikes in full retreat. I was slow off the mark and then I got a branch caught in my back wheel. I was a few feet away from the clutches of the biggest and fastest of the angry hobos when I peddled my brand new Sunshine into overdrive. I got away but apparently the tramps got a good look at my bike. After dark, the hobos used their newly acquired pipes to cruelly beat a brand new Sunshine bike to death. They left it on the front lawn, a smashed-up heap of shiny metal and shredded tires. That is, Ricky Van Loon’s front lawn. My new Sunshine was locked in my garage. The hobos left a clear message but with a kid who was clearly not involved in the raid. Ricky Van Loon’s brand new Sunshine bicycle was crushed, and I never said a word until now – sorry Ricky. But if you’d bought a different bike than mine, none of this would have happened. (Don’t even think about it, the statue of limitations on a crime like this ran out 50 years ago.) And Rick, I hope you’re taking better SL care of your things these days. William Thomas is the author of nine books of humour including The True Story of Wainﬂeet. Visit his website at www.williamthomas.ca

Rebooted I

didn’t want to shop, but the Toshibas were dying. One had viruses that wouldn’t heal; the other had keyboard letters that wouldn’t work. The day I lost my “s,” I hit the streets. The four shoppers in the second-hand laptop store were like me, past middle age and wore Gore-Tex jackets with hiking boots. After the two PC young technicians answered my questions about Seoul and Beijing, each confessed he owned an Apple at home. Next, at the new London Drugs, the salesguy with long hair and a blue shirt that strained at the buttons, waxed poetic on the elegance of the MacBook Pro. In his pitch, he described the trip to the Apple Store in the Pacific Centre as if it were the Taj Mahal. I am a boomer, a cougar, not a mallrat. In my worldview, fashion outstrips humanity, and sales steal souls. Nevertheless, something had to be done. I switched my hikers for leg-fitting black leather boots with a Cuban heel. I entered the wide threshold of stale air and florescent lighting. Twenty feet into the coffin-shaped store, I could sniff the hormones of MacGeniuses. There were gaggles of blank-faced 20-somethings touching devices in the pumped up cacophony of the place. I bumped bodies as I inched further into the core. The security man was the only one who made eye contact. I smiled at him. He grinned back. His fingers raised the microphone away from his mouth and he mumbled, “I’m PC.” My mouth dropped. My cheeks red-

dened. “Hmm.” Was he saying he used a personal computer or that he was politically correct? Could this digitalaged man be interested in an analog like me? He winked at me. “I’m Billie. I make sure that no one leaves with unpaid...” “How’s it going?” Ty, the curlyhaired 20-something Apple Store glamnerd interrupted our meeting with his cool Apple talk. Yes, they do have their own protocols.

His soft sell left my mind picking through apples: the Beatles’ green apple logo; bobbing for apples on Halloween; the sinful apple Eve picked. There it was on the aluminum laptop, the backlit white apple missing one bite saying I’m the fairest of them all. I unzipped my wallet. I purchased a computer for more than twice the price of a new PC with Windows 7. I gulped as I bought a printer too. Three months into it, I am a member of this iCult, which involves iPhoto, iWorks, iTunes, iWeb, iGotta get out of it. When I empty the trash of MacBook, the artificial sound of paper crunching comes from the speaker. I want to slap it silly for thinking it’s so smart. And when the application icons bounce on the dock at the bottom of the screen WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

Lifestyle

BY PATRICIA MORRIS

– and won’t stop until I do something – I want to send them to their room without dinner. So far, I’ve met with 12 trainers who trade me off as punishment. Those MacKids don’t always agree on their “work arounds” but each of them is a true devotee. With skin that never sees the light of day, they spend their days off playing with their iPads. Their pasty skin never sees the light of day. For the extra $100, these youngsters guide me through the “intuitive” hell of Mac OS X Version 10.6.3 and listen to my confused frustration. At each one-on-one appointment, I rant about the horrors of my files with the same transfer date and the jumble of my photos. I always greet Billie who laughs at my jokes. I tell myself to breathe deeply. But when I boot the bloody machine, the on-button blows its sound and makes my eyes tear. My fingers want to move like they used to on the PC. Is it asking too much for the Mac to be able to do what I used to be able to do? It makes me want to throw the machine out a window. However, there are “No Windows on Premises” in the Mac store. Life without windows is dim. My arthritic fingers can’t use the trackpad. The new printer demands expensive ink. I thirst for a sip of that sacred Kool-Aid. The drink that will make me say “Hallelujah” Mac and convert me into someone who will stand in long lineups outside the Apple store. I’m not there yet, so I hold Billie G, my security man very close. At least he knows where and how to push my right-click button. SL DECEMBER 2010

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MAINLAND DISTRIBUTION LOCATIONS - CONTINUED SOUTH SURREY ARENA SOUTH SURREY INDOOR POOL SOUTH SURREY REC CENTRE STRAWBERRY HILL LIBRARY SUNRISE PAVILLION SURREY GARDENS / SURREY VILL SURREY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL SURREY CENTRAL SKYTRAIN STN THE CHEMISTS PHARMACY TOM BINNIE PARK COMM CENTRE WESTMINSTER HOUSE WHALLEY LIBRARY WHITE ROCK/ S SURREY PUBLIC HEALTH UNIT VANCOUVER 1 KINGSWAY LIBRARY 29TH AVE SKY TRAIN STN 411 SENIOR’S CENTRE AMICA AT ARBUTUS MANOR ARBUTUS MALL BARCLAY MANOR BC WOMENS HOSPITAL BREAD GARDEN BRITANNIA ARENA / LIBRARY BROADWAY & BURRARD WALK IN BROCK HOUSE SOCIETY BURRARD SKYTRAIN BUS STOP - 750 BROADWAY CAPERS - 2285 4TH AVE CAPERS - 1675 ROBSON ST CAPERS MARKET CARE MEDICAL CENTRE CENTRAL MARKET - 830 THURLOW CHAMPLAIN HEIGHTS COMM CNTR CHAMPLAIN HEIGHTS LIBRARY CHOICES MARKET - 1202 RICHARDS CHOICES MARKET - 3493 CAMBIE ST CHOICES MARKET - 2627 16 AVE

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LIFEMARK PHYSIOTHERAPY LITTLE MOUNTAIN NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE LONDON DRUGS - 1187 ROBSON MAIN ENTRANCE RACK MACDONALDS PRESCRIPTION & MEDICAL SUPPLIES MAIN ST SKYTRAIN STN MAPLE MEDICAL CLINIC MARPOLE COMMUNITY CENTRE MARPOLE LIBRARY MEDICAL CLINIC - 1280 GRANVILLE MERCATO MALL MID-MAIN COMM HEALTH CENTRE MT PLEASANT COMMUNITY CENTRE MT PLEASANT NGHBRHD HOUSE NANAIMO SKY TRAIN STN OAKRIDGE LIBRARY OAKRIDGE SENIOR’S CENTRE O’KEEFE SENIOR LIVING APT PARKVIEW TERRACE PHARMASAVE 595 BURRARD PLATINUM CARE RAYCAM COMMUNITY CENTRE RENFREW COMMUNITY CENTRE RENFREW PUBLIC LIBRARY RENFREW SKY TRAIN STN RICHMOND/VAN HEALTH UNIT RILEY PARK COMMUNITY CENTRE RILEY PARK LIBRARY ROUNDHOUSE COMMUNITY CENTRE ROYAL CENTRE MEDICAL RUPERT SKYTRAIN STN SHANNON OAKS SHOPPERS DRUG MART SIDNEY MANOR SINCLAIR CENTRE SORRENTO MARKET STADIUM SKYTRAIN STN

S GRANVILLE PARK LODGE S GRANVILLE SENIOR’S CENTRE SOUTH HILL LIBRARY SOUTHVIEW HEIGHTS AND TERRACE ST PAUL HOSPITAL STRATHCONA COMMUNITY CENTRE STRATHCONA LIBRARY THUNDERBIRD COMMUNITY CENTRE TROUT LAKE COMMUNITY CENTRE UBC HOSPITAL VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY VGH EMERGENCY WATERFRONT SKY TRAIN STN WEST END AQUATIC CENTRE WEST END SENIORS NETWORK WEST POINT GREY PUBLIC LIBRARY YMCA COMMUNITY SERVICES WEST VANCOUVER AMICA AT WEST VANCOUVER BUS STOP 2002 PARK ROYAL BUS STOP 2051 PARK ROYAL GLENEAGLES COMMUNITY CENTRE HOLLYBURN HOUSE SUPER VALU WEST VAN MEMORIAL LIBRARY WEST VANCOUVER COMM CENTRE WHITE ROCK HOME INSTEAD PACIFIC CARLTON STARBUCKS - 1730 152ND STREET SUNNYSIDE MANOR THE PENINSULA RESORT RETIREMENT LIVING WHITE ROCK ACTIVITY CENTRE WHITE ROCK MUSEUM & ARCHIVES

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DECEMBER 2010

Travel & Adventure

Budget Travel = Rich Experience BY POLLY TAFRATE

y husband and I received an invitation to a family wedding – an “April in Paris” affair. Of course, we wanted to go, but could we afford it? We had enough frequent flyer miles for a round trip flight, but the staggering accommodation prices had us stumped. A friend told us about her affordable travel club, which offers reciprocal home stays to fellow members throughout the world. The club is called Evergreen, but there are others (see sidebar). Annual dues are nominal. Some have a small gratuity payable to the host family, and most include a continental or full breakfast along with the lodging. We joined and soon received a directory listing the members. Now, all we had to do was plan our trip, and contact members who offered their homes in places we hoped to stay. With the money we would save on hotels, we’d be able to do more than just attend the wedding. Because Evergreen didn’t have host homes listed in each location we planned to visit, we also joined another similar club. Our flight landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, where we’d reserved a rental car. From there, we drove about an hour northeast to Rouen, our home for the next few nights. Our host family, an elderly couple, who were tickled to have North American guests, warmly welcomed us. Our room was clean and comfortable with twin beds and a bathroom down the hall. After we settled, our hosts sat down for a chat and gave us insider tips not found in any guidebook. The next morning, after a wonderful French breakfast of warm croissants and steaming coffee, we explored the charming, medieval city of Rouen. Cathédrale de Notre Dame looked vaguely familiar to me, but it wasn’t until I saw a poster for sale on the street that I recognized this as the church Monet painted so many times. The outside of the cathedral was sand-coloured and reminded me of a sandcastle at the beach. Inside, the stained glass was most spectacular. After we left the church, we wandered along cobblestone streets to the place where young Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, supposedly as a heretic. A lovely display of vivid pink flowers commemorates this spot. A place our hosts suggested was the workshop/store of the famous Rouen blue ceramics. A few women were hard at work painting this delicate porcelain. Of course, I couldn’t resist buying a few small pieces, which the owner carefully wrapped for safe travel. Our next two days were spent enjoying the wedding festivities in Paris, but we did manage to squeeze in a quick trip to the Louvre Museum and drive past the Eiffel Tower. Saying goodbye to our gracious hosts wasn’t easy. They’d made our first home stay a wonderful experience! Now, we were headed to Normandy in northern France. There, 20

SENIOR LIVING

The author and her husband in Paris.

Canal lined with bikes in Amsterdam.

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Hand Rouen porcelain, Rouen, France

our hostess, Monique, a widow who relished company, greeted us just as warmly. Our room had a double bedThe withGreat an eiderdown Wall comforter. That evening, Monique drew us a map of the important sites, noting where to park and suggesting good places to eat away from the tourist frenzy. She recommended spending a morning in Bayeux at the Tapestry Museum, a UNESCO site. Our first stop in Normandy was the famous beach, which we’d seen in many documentaries. The cold and raw wind blowing across the English Channel may have contributed to our spine shivers, but I doubt it. Envisioning the scene in 1944 when almost three million troops crossed the Channel and landed at this beach made us sombre and reflective. The highlight of our next stop at The Visitor’s Centre was a film on the D-Day invasion. Parents proudly talked about their boys, read some of their letters and showed their photographs. I wasn’t the only one leaving the auditorium with tears on my cheeks. Even with all this preparation, we weren’t ready for the sight of the cemetery, where symmetrical rows of white crosses and Stars of David mark the graves of the young men who died. We wandered among the rows, reading where these boys were from and the dates they died. We’d bought a few flowers from a vendor and laid them at random graves with a short prayer – just to remember. When it was time to leave, we bid a sad farewell to our charming hostess and set off for Brugge, Belgium. Francoise and Pierre were our new host and hostess and they were just as welcoming as those at our first two places. They left for work early every morning, but that evening they showed us a refrigerator stocked with all kinds of tempting goodies we could cook for breakfast. I was a bit apprehensive about cooking in a European kitchen, but I soon mastered it. This time, our room had a double bed and an ensuite. For the next few days, we strolled around this perfectly preserved medieval city, also a UNESCO World Heritage site. One afternoon, we enjoyed a scenic ride along a canal, taking in Brugge from the water. This city is famous for handmade lace and we were able to watch a few women working this delicate craft. The tough part was deciding which pieces to take home. Brugge is also known for its chocolate and we made certain to taste and buy our share.

All too soon, we were packing our bags again for our last stop, Oudorp, Netherlands, a short drive from Amsterdam and the gardens at Keukenhof. We arrived at the home of our jovial host family in the late afternoon and knew immediately we were in good hands. That first evening, they suggested we all go out to dinner – Dutch treat, of course – where we feasted on a pot of fresh mussels and pommes frites. The next morning, we drove to the gardens, delighted that this “April in Paris” wedding coincided with the blooming of the seven million flowers in this spacious park. The flowers were creatively planted with swirls of brilliant colours in every hue imaginable; a place one must see to appreciate. The following day, our hosts insisted on showing us Amsterdam, another picturesque city where there are more bicycles than cars. Together, we took a canal boat ride, visited the Anne Frank House, and had a quick peek at the Van Gogh Museum. All too soon, our European vacation was over. We were sad to leave, but our hosts cheered us up the following morning over breakfast when they announced they’d decided to come to Canada for a visit this summer and asked if they could stay with us. We were more than delighted and started regaling them with sightseeing ideas. Our memories of Europe are phenomenal. And the experience was made that much richer by the people we met and the SL warm and inviting homes in which we stayed.

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FOR MORE INFORM ATION: www.evergreenclub.co m or call 1-800-9622392. Similar international travel organizations: www.affordabletrave lclub.net www.hospitalityclub.o rg www.globalfreeloader s.com (people over 40 ) Home exchanges: www.seniorhomeexc hange.com www.homexchange.c om

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DECEMBER 2010

Arts & Entertainment

A NATURAL ARTIST A

t age 65, Artist Ilsoo Kyung MacLaurin enthusiastically returned to school, graduating from the University of British Columbia Bachelor of Studio Art, after retiring from her nursing career in 2002. “I really didn’t want to graduate because I loved the university world so much,” says Ilsoo. “I wanted to stay on there.” Young classmates admired her art and dedication. Instructors would say to her: “When I retire, I want to be just like you.” Born in Korea, Ilsoo was separated from her family during the Korean War when she spent a year as a prisoner at the tender age of 12. It’s not surprising that she subsequently chose nursing as her profession and found a way to give back to her homeland through her career – and now through her artwork. Ilsoo often uses her artwork to raise funds for charitable causes, like North Korean orphans’ programs that provide essential nutrients to children to prevent malnutrition. As a retired neo-natal nurse, the welfare of children is a cause close to the heart of this artist. Ilsoo claims she never had an artistic inclination as a child. It was only after she retired that her artistic interest blossomed. “After a car accident, I no longer wanted to do any heavy lifting and I decided I wanted to learn how to paint,” she says. “I signed up for a one-nighta-week art class. After the second lesson, the instructor said to me, ‘you’ve painted before, haven’t you?’ I had to reply, ‘No, I haven’t. I don’t even know how to hold the brush.’” When people began to buy her paintings, Ilsoo was inspired to continue with her art education. Art classes at 22

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Ilsoo Kyung MacLaurin arranges her Korean dancer sculpture

Simon Fraser University subsequently followed and, later, she completed a full degree at the University of British Columbia Bachelor of Studio Art. While at Simon Fraser, she created a fantastic floor-to-ceiling tree sculpture made of used books – a sculpture that ended up on display at the SFU Library entrance. Today, living in Ladner near the Fraser River, Ilsoo is highly influenced by nature. “I love artists like Lauren Harris, Tom Thomson and especially Cézanne,” she says. Cross-cultural experiences are also explored in Ilsoo’s multimedia art including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, video, photography, digital imagery, performing art and installation works. In her most recent works, she used the art-making process to draw attention to the environment and contemporary environmental issues. Another of her artistic adventures involved an artist-in-residence assignment in Australia at a dance centre. WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

Photo: Bev Yaworski

BY BEV YAWORSKI

“Every morning I would get up at 5 a.m., walk about half an hour to a nearby lake, take photographs at sunrise and then come back to the dance centre to work on my paintings,” says Ilsoo. One of her dance photographs is now stored with the National Library of Australia. Maintaining an amazing flurry of activities and a remarkably upbeat, cheerful attitude, Ilsoo volunteers at Malaspina Printmakers on Granville Island, works part-time at Richmond Public Art Gallery, volunteers at Vancouver International Airport as a “Green Coat” greeter welcoming passengers, and continues to create new art pieces. Teaching acrylic painting at McKee Senior’s Centre and travelling to Korea to exhibit her art have also been on her active retirement calendar. Ilsoo tries to mount at least one major solo art show a year. In September 2010, “Spirit of Down Under” was presented at the Tsawwassen Longhouse Gallery. Featuring images from

her Australia trip, this over-30-piece installation included paintings and photographic images. Ilsoo used the painting process with references to the tradition of landscape painting to capture the beauty of the land and trees. Her surrounding landscape also serves as a backdrop to her daily life within her adopted homeland.

Wishing you a holiday season filled with

Comfort & Joy and a New Year brimming with

Wellness & Vitality ™! From all your friends at Amica Mature Lifestyles

First Snow – photograph taken by Ilsoo Kyung MacLaurin.

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“I also wanted to convey the darker side of the landscape,” she explains. “I am concerned with confronting the more troubling realities of environmental pollution that pose a threat to nature. I hope the exhibition showed a way to contemplate how humans can intervene on the land they live on, and allow the viewer a glimpse of the challenges that we must face together as a society.”

Next Month in Senior Living...

Winter Cottage – acrylic painting on canvas.

Ilsoo’s next show will be February 2011 at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC, Vancouver. For more information about her art, visit her online SL at www.ilsookyung.com

Fitness & Recreation Whether surﬁng, climbing, walking, working out at the gym or taking classes at the rec centre, boomers and seniors are making ﬁtness a regular part of their lives. WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

DECEMBER 2010

Travel & Adventure

36 Hours in Ottawa

BY JANE CASSIE

n Canada’s capital, our governing nexus, the centre of parliament, the Maple Leaf flaps proudly from many a flagpole. But if you think this vibrant city is all about pageantry and politics, you may want to take another look. Better yet, come along with us on this 36-hour whirlwind visit to Ottawa and discover a few of its must-see gems. Friday 3 p.m. – A ROYAL RETREAT We check into The Fairmont Chateau Laurier, a regallike beauty that’s steeped with turrets, history and service, conveniently tucked into the city’s pulsating hub. Following in the footsteps of dignitaries and duchesses, we revel in the luxury and even go for the glitz - a fourth floor Fairmont Gold experience complete with pedigree perks like breakfast buffets and evening canapés. 4 p.m. – OTTAWA OVERVIEW Walking tours are offered year-round, and even during these chillier months, it’s a great way to become acquainted with this city’s past and present treasures. Bundled in woollies and with Craig MacDonald leading the way, we stroll

8 p.m. – AMAZING GRAZE ...One of which becomes our gastronomy stop for the evening. Nestled in the heart of the ByWard Market is Murray Street, a favourite eatery that’s earned accolades for its charcuterie fare. Chef Steve Milton and his culinary team create pâtés, terrines, chutneys and other regionally inspired specialties. The quintessentially Canadian menu is complemented by a lineup of microbrews and fine local wines. Yum! Saturday 9 a.m. – PARLIAMENT AND POLITICS After fueling up on the Fairmont’s morning spread, we’re stoked to see the sites and it seems befitting to start with the one that’s up front and centre. Though skeptical about doing a ho-hum government tour, we discover this is anything but! Neo-Gothic arches embrace the impressive copper-roofed structures that sprawl over an emerald lawn. Behind these majestic walls, the grandeur continues. Gleaming marble, stately limestone, ceilings of stained glass. Like mice of the Pied Piper, we follow our guide, Eric, and get a Coles Notes overview – from the devastating 1916 fire that destroyed the original edifice, to today’s noble Senate Chamber, where the Head of State schmoozes with parliament. Centre Block is where most of the action takes place, even for the dozen felines that shack-up behind this hallowed hall. To the east of this cat sanctuary is the whispering wall that doesn’t permit the sharing of secrets, and topping it off is Peace Tower, a view-boasting perch that provides one pretty city panorama. 11 a.m. – GLIDE ON THE WORLD’S LARGEST RINK Sandwiched between the Parliament buildings and our getaway gem is the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that links Kingston to Ottawa. During these winter months, 7.8 kilometres of this pristine waterway is devoted to those who like to lace up and skate. The super-sized rink stretches all the way from the downtown core to Dows Lake, making it the largest in the world. A pedestrian pathway hugs up to both sides, so even those without blades (like us) can get in on the action. If you visit in February, Winterlude offers even more!

Photos: Brent Cassie

by famous landmarks and learn about Ottawa’s colourful traits - everything from political characters and legendary founders to its architecture and eateries.

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2 p.m. – IT’S TEA TIME BACK AT THE CHATEAU Dainty sandwiches, lox with cream cheese, cranberry scones and thick clotted cream – they’re all served on fine bone china and with sterling service. If this beloved British ritual doesn’t make you feel like a queen, nothing will. Although once a hoity event, Zoe’s Lounge eliminates all pretentious airs. We arrive in our tourist duds and feel right at home when raising our pinkies. It’s a feast that’s literally steeped with tradition and one that gets our vote!

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4 p.m. – GLEBE TROTTING A short taxi ride away is Glebe, once a turn-of-the-century blue-collar community, now trendy and terrifically hip. Boutiques, bookstores and shops border the tree-lined streets and, when it’s time to dine, the options are awesome - Wild Oat for the health conscious, Flippers for the fish lover, New Nupur for spicy Indian fare. After much deliberation, we opt for a regional favourite in nearby Old Ottawa South. 6 p.m. – ONE TERRIFIC TAILOR - er...uh...TAYLOR John Taylor made his mark on our capital as the chef of Domus Café by utilizing fresh homegrown ingredients to create his regional fare. And like any good thing, it took off. Fortunately, for foodies like us, he’s opened Taylor’s Genuine Food and Wine Bar, a nosh spot located just beyond Lansdowne Park. Seafood from Lake Erie, veggies from the local market, in-house-prepared pancetta, sausage, and terrines – each artistically presented dish is a fusion of flavour.

Sunday 9 a.m. - MEANDERING MUSEUMS Ottawa is one cultured capital! With 29 museums to choose from, and limited time left, we opt for three of the bigwigs. The Canadian Museum of Civilization retraces

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DECEMBER 2010

Page 24, The author looks over the breakfast spread in the Gold ﬂoor lounge at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. Page 25, The Rideau Canal transforms into the world’s largest skating rink. Left, Neo-Gothic arches embellish the Parliament. dral Basilica, it’s the stunning architecture, a symbol of its prestigious past. This city’s oldest standing and largest church, and seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa, is recognized as a national historical site. Light filters through the panes of stained glass to an impressive nave that’s canopied by gothic arches, bordered by terraced galleries and anchored by a stunning altar - definitely a place that inspires the spirit!

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a thousand years of Canada’s history and provides us with a “Face To Face” forum of prestigious people who have shaped our nation. At the Canadian War Museum, we check out everything from Canada’s military timeline, war art and battle scenes to its eco-green grass roof. And at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC), we ooh and aah at the finest collection of Canada’s visual arts in the world. Crowned by headsets and meandering through its palatial galleries and Great Hall, we get the commentated audio scoop by well-versed radio voices and Canada’s former governor general, the honourable Adrienne Clarkson. 2 p.m. – NEPEAN AND NOTRE-DAME Both of these must-see landmarks offer different Ottawa perspectives. From Nepean Point, just behind the NGC, the vista stretches all the way to Gatineau, Quebec. And within the sacred confines of Notre-Dame CatheWWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

3 p.m. – BY THE WAY... Don’t miss the ByWard Market! Up to 175 vendors set up shop at this open-air venue and, even in the cold of winter, it’s bursting with business. We saunter the aisles where bistros butt up to boutiques, arts and crafts play together and veggies, fruits and flowers brim over with abundance – it’s an amazing menagerie of savoury delights, inviting scents and colourful sights. And like the rest of our 36-hour Ottawa soirée, SL it’s full of surprises!

IF YOU GO: Check out these websites when planning your trip: www.fairmont.com/laurier www.ottawatourism.ca/ www.ottawawalkingtours.com www.parl.gc.ca/vis www.murraystreet.ca www.rideauheritageroute.ca/en/ www.winterlude.ca www.civilization.ca www.warmuseum.ca www.gallery.ca www.notredameottawa.com www.byward-market.com

Photo: Jason van der Valk

ASK

Goldie

BY GOLDIE CARLOW, M.ED

Dear Goldie: When I read the letters women write to you, I get the impression many of them live in fear and are truly afraid to take the bull by the horns and live the life they desire as we men do. What is the problem here? It seems to me men and women have many equal opportunities these days. –R.C. Dear R.C.: Yes, it is true that many women, especially older widows, are afraid in today’s society. Sometimes, older women living alone can become targets of unscrupulous criminals. Generally speaking, it can be safe for older women who are on their own, but it is vital that they have a close support system. Usually they can remain in close contact with family and friends. If this is inconvenient, some arrangement with a neighbour can prevent dangerous situations. Women should not live in fear, but good common sense can prevent disaster. Dear Goldie: I have recently moved to beautiful Victoria. After many years in Toronto with family and a wide circle of friends, I now live with one son who is often away on business trips. I feel quite alone. I won’t use the word “lonely” because people are very kind, however, I do miss close companionship. What can you suggest? –L.J. Dear L.J.: Change of residence to a new city is particularly challenging for seniors. Victoria, however, is a city with many senior organizations, so you should not feel alone for too long. If you keep an eye on the daily newspaper, you will

Senior Peer Counselling Centres (Lower Mainland) New Westminster 604-519-1064 North Vancouver 604-987-8138 Burnaby 604-291-2258 Richmond 604-279-7034 Vancouver West End 604-669-7339 Coquitlam – Tri-Cities 604-945-4480 Vancouver Westside 604-736-3588

see many social events geared to seniors. Also, most churches now have a coffee hour following the service. I know of many friendships that blossomed there. Victoria has a large senior population. When you visit local restaurants, it is common for another senior to start a conversation. Of course, you have to be prepared to reciprocate, if a friendship is to develop. Be alert for other seniors SL who may be in need of companionship too.

Goldie Carlow is a retired registered nurse, clinical counsellor and senior peer counselling trainer. Send letters to Senior Living, Box 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria, BC V8T 2C1.

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DECEMBER 2010

Arts & Entertainment

NAVY AMBASSADORS uring the past year, the Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific played in venues at home in Victoria and as far away as Thunder Bay. More commonly known as the Naden Band, this naval music ensemble of 35 members performs across the country and around the globe. This year, the Canadian Naval Centennial was especially important for the Naden Band: they toured the country in support of the celebration with the intent of bringing the navy to Canadians. But the year isn’t over yet, and there are still opportunities to see the Naden Band play in Victoria and Vancouver. Formed during the Second World War, just a few decades after the Canadian Navy came into existence, the band was a way to boost civilian and military morale. They held dances, played in concerts, on the radio and in parades. They also helped raise money for the war effort by holding War Bond Drives in Western Canada. The Naden Band’s role as navy ambassadors in Canada and abroad continued as the decades passed. In 1991, the band travelled to Vladivostok, Russia and officially became the country’s first foreign visitor after the Cold War. Petty Officer (second class) Edith Eaton, who plays clarinet for the Naden Band, looks back on this trip as one of her most significant performances. “We can go into a place where we don’t speak the same language,” she says. “I had this experience when [the Naden Band] was in Russia. The music was the common language. It broke the ice.” In 1994, the band was one of five military bands cut from the federal budget. Reinstated three years later, its role in the Canadian Navy is just as important today as it was when it was formed. Within the concert band, the Naden Band has several smaller ensembles made up of band personnel, such as a jazz quintet, a parade band, and “Salty Soaks,” an eight-piece Dixieland ensemble. The ensembles perform for a wide variety of occasions including sporting events, fundraisers and cocktail parties. While the official mission of the Naden Band is to provide 28

SENIOR LIVING

support for the Canadian Forces, members of the Naden Band agree their primary goal as musicians is to bridge the gap between military personnel and civilians. Through this form, they’re able to bring the Navy to the citizens. “We are goodwill ambassadors,” she says. The Naden Band’s secondary goal is also to remind civilians that there are plenty of incredible jobs in the navy. Edith has played with the Naden band in Victoria since 1989. She played clarinet in high school, then attended the University of Ottawa and had the opportunity to play with the Ceremonial Guard. Edith moved on to New Brunswick and played with the Stadacona Band of Maritime Forces Atlantic, and then to Victoria, where she now resides. “I feel very lucky to play my clarinet every day,” says Edith. Each member’s primary job is rehearsal and performances, but they also have secondary duties that keep them busy in their role as navy ambassadors. Edith, for example, was also the Naden Band’s project manager for the navy’s Centennial Road Show, which took place from May through October of this year. Ticket sales from each performance were donated to regional charities. As project manager, Edith identified cities for the band to visit, booked venues and contacted potential sponsors. Ultimately, the road show was a success and the band played several sold out concerts. The band’s performance in Edmonton at the Winspear Centre on Friday, July 23rd was especially moving for Edith because at least two-thirds of the audience wore red to the concert. “It’s wonderful to be a part of that sort of thing, and feel the bond that a city can have when they unite in a common goal,” says Edith. This Christmas, the Naden Band will unite with the Salvation Army in another common goal, the annual Christmas Toy Drive. Petty officer (first class) Michael Broadley, the Naden Band’s lead trumpet player, has been involved with the band for over 33

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Photo: Carol Barton

BY CANDICE SCHULTZ

years. He also spent time playing in Calgary and at Royal Roads. As a senior member of the band, Michael enjoys meeting new musicians and revels in their excitement about their new career. “I enjoy mentoring them and passing on my experience,” he says. One of Michael’s favourite memories as a member of the Naden Band occurred in 2002 when Queen Elizabeth II dropped the ceremonial first puck at a Vancouver Canucks game. As a member of the Naden Band, Michael was proud to play amongst the royal trumpets that introduced the ceremony. Michael stood next to Wayne Gretzky and the British monarch on the red carpet while she dropped the puck. This was her first attendance at a hockey game in 51 years and part of a 12-day tour across Canada that celebrated the 50th anniversary of her rule. Michael played in the first Salvation Army Toy Drive more than 30 years ago, which didn’t have the same turnout that it has today. As word spread, the Salvation Army Toy Drive grew and the band extended the run from one night to three, and added a show in Vancouver. The band also plays a closed matinee in Victoria for school children. “It’s wonderful because the kids enjoy it so much,” says Edith. As someone who has been involved in the Salvation Army Toy Drive since the beginning, Michael believes strongly in how important the concert is to so many families. “We all remember being children. To imagine being a child without gifts, going to school and listening to the other children talk about what they got for Christmas, it would be awful,” he says. “It’s imperative that we have this toy drive to help the needy families. The important thing to me is to light up a child’s face.” Edith agrees. “It’s part of our Christmas tradition [in Victoria]. We’re so pleased to have the toys go and make Christmas a little bit brighter for those who need it.” Giving back to the community is just one way that the Naden Band helps the navy connect with civilians. Like Edith, Michael feels lucky to spend his days playing music, knowing how important his role is as a navy ambassador. “Being the face of the navy is our most important role, and so is the connectivity between the civilian and military world,” says Michael. “People can relate to music. People can’t always understand ship manoeuvres. I think that as a musician in Canada, it’s one of the most rewarding jobs you can have. We don’t just play symphony, jazz or rock ‘n’ roll in the clubs. We cover SL all aspects of music.” Vancouver Christmas Concert In support of The Salvation Army Toy Drive (Please bring an unwrapped toy) Where: Vogue Theatre, 918 Granville Street, Vancouver. When: December 9, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for children. Box Office Info: Tickets on sale now at the Vogue Theatre Box Office 604-569-1144, or online at www.voguetheatre.com Box office is open daily; call for hours. WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

DECEMBER 2010

Have Fork, Will Travel BY SALLY JENNINGS

any years ago in England during the war, my mother and grandmother scrimped and saved their rations to get enough ingredients to make Christmas puddings. They made the puddings in October to give them time to ripen, but when Christmas came, the puddings were mouldy and unusable, the product of poor quality ingredients in wartime. Some years later, my family lived in Malaysia and one Christmas when my grandmother was visiting from England, she and my mother sweated away in 30-degree heat making a traditional pudding according to Great-Aunt Polly’s recipe. The Chinese cook, “Cookie,” was fascinated. Before dinner, mother pointed out the brandy to pour over the pudding and told Cookie to light it before bringing it to the table. When the cold consommé and roast turkey had been eaten, he whispered urgently to her that he couldn’t get the brandy to light. She said, “Never mind, Cookie, bring it in just the same.” He placed the pudding in front of my father for him to serve it, while at mother’s end of the table were fruit salad and mince pies. Father served out 12 portions, which Cookie passed round. My father was the first one to taste the pudding. He grimaced and said, “Something’s wrong with this pudding!” Cookie brought in the bottle of “brandy” he had used: Shell Teepol cleaning fluid, a new product that my father had been given to try. Cookie thought he would keep the best brandy for after-dinner drinks. Luckily, we could safely eat the fruit salad and mince pies. It was yet another memorable Christmas.

Instead of sweating over a hot stove, I recommend a completely different recipe: Orange Chocolate Truffles – a great gift for others and a treat for you. 4 oz (114 g) of milk chocolate, in pieces 2 oz (57 g) of grated plain dark chocolate or powdered cocoa 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk 1 oz (30 g) of butter 1 orange (for the zest) 1 lb (454 g) of icing sugar Your choice of Cointreau, brandy, crème de cacao or orange liqueur. In a mixing bowl put the pieces of chocolate, butter and condensed milk. Put the bowl into a larger bowl of hot water to soften the chocolate and butter. Stir until well blended and smooth. Grate the rind of the orange and add to the mixture. Stir icing sugar gradually into the mixture until it is firm enough to roll into balls without sticking to the fingers. We wouldn’t want that to happen! Adjust icing sugar and liqueur to get the right texture. This could take hours if you are diligent! Make balls about the size of a walnut (or a mouth) and roll in grated plain dark chocolate or powdered cocoa. Put the balls on waxed paper on a baking tray and put in the fridge to harden. Then wait (if you can!). SL Sally Jennings is a writer, editor, tour guide. She has lived and dined on ﬁve continents, with no regrets. pto_edit@yahoo.ca

Senior Living Vancouver is available at most Recreation Centres and Libraries in the following municipalities: • VANCOUVER • BURNABY • NEW WESTMINSTER • WHITE ROCK • NORTH VANCOUVER • LADNER / TSAWWASSEN • PORT MOODY • COQUITLAM • PORT COQUITLAM • SURREY • RICHMOND • WEST VANCOUVER • LANGLEY • ABBOTSFORD • PHARMASAVE STORES THROUGHOUT BC

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Call 1-877-479-4705 for other locations. 30

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Photo: Caroline Mufford

ORANGE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

BBB Better Better Better Better

Business Business Business Business

Bureau Bureau Bureau Bureau

SCAM ALERT

BY LYNDA PASACRETA

Holiday Season Swindles

he winter holiday season is prime time for scammers to take advantage of unsuspecting, overspent shoppers. Protect yourself from becoming a victim by being informed on how these frauds typically work. Like most new scams, seasonal scams usually share components with their old counterparts, but often employ a simple new twist. The Better Business Bureau warns consumers to be on the lookout for the following three holiday schemes this year: 1) Holiday E-Card Scams Electronic cards are a great, inexpensive way to stay connected to friends and family during the holiday season. The downfall of e-cards is that they require the receiver to either click on a link or install software in order to view the card. Criminals sending fraudulent e-cards to unsuspecting users often embed viruses, spyware, malware and trojans in these links and software. How can you protect yourself? Common signs you have received a problematic e-card in your inbox include receiving it from an unknown sender or generic sender (such as a “friend” or “relative”), spelling mistakes in the email or those with an attachment. To protect yourself, make sure you never open an email, click on a link, or download software from an unknown source. Never open an e-card that comes with an attachment and be sure you install and regularly update antivirus and spyware software.

2) Counterfeit Electronics Purchasing discounted electronics online or via classified ads may seem like a great way to get a costly product at a reduced rate, but be warned that the promise of low-cost electronics often comes with the price of being ripped off. Cellphones, computers and gaming devices are only a few of the counterfeit electronic gadgets being produced and sold. Counterfeit electronics may be less expensive and work relatively well, but they are often made with faulty parts, substandard circuitry and may pose a safety hazard. How can you protect yourself? The simplest way to avoid purchasing counterfeit electronics (while saving some money) is to look for seasonal sales at reputable electronic stores. To find a trustworthy brick and mortar or online electronics dealer visit mbc.bbb. org and search by “type of business.” When you purchase a product, make sure you understand the refund or exchange policy and get a receipt. To determine if an electronic device is legitimate or counterfeit, check the product, packaging and instruction manual to make sure it is CSA international certified, contains all its listed components (i.e. cables, batteries etc.) and that it hasn’t been damaged or tampered with. 3) Fake Charities Holidays are the best time of year for charities to fundraise, and a great time of year for con artists to pull on the heartstrings of unsuspecting victims by pretending to represent a charity. Many WWW.SENIORLIVINGMAG.COM

fake charities mimic legitimate charities in their name, cause and services. How can you protect yourself? Protect yourself by planning who you will donate money to this holiday season. If you decide to donate impulsively, write a cheque to the organization, not the person fundraising. Ask for a receipt with the name and contact information of the charity. Never give out personal or banking information and don’t fall victim to high-pressure fundraising tactics. If possible, research the charity before SL you make a donation. For more information on protecting yourself during the holiday season and throughout the year, visit mbc.bbb.org

Lynda Pasacreta is President of the Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C. www.mbc.bbb.org To contact Lynda Pasacreta, e-mail president@mbc.bbb.org

SOLUTIONS

ORGANIZING SIMPLE

��

�� DECEMBER 2010

MEMORIES

Photo: Krystle Wiseman

Reﬂections THEN & NOW

BY GIPP FORSTER

or the older, Christmas is like a giant bouquet of Our five senses tickled by what once had meant so much. As parents, we watched our children experiment with flowers – each memory a separate bloom to remind us of the many different people we have magic, as they held fast to the impossible, and believed in been, and the long journey we have travelled. the impossible. It not only commemorates the birth of that special child so As we shared with them the true story of Christmas, we long ago, it also celebrates the valley of the child when we watched their eyes fill with the wonder of goodness. We dwelled there and believed there, and put together what one were their guides. day would become memory there. And as they began to transcend from little to big, we did Popcorn strings, blazing hearths, and the smell of pine or not encourage or coax them to stay just a while longer in that fir or spruce permeated the room, teasing us to believe we place of soft sacred music, or red striped candy, or cuddly were actually in the forest. Plus, there were those unforget- stories, or wish lists, or chimneys and animals that could fly. table delightful smells of minced pies, tarts, gingerbread men Or to stay a while longer by the manger and hold the child without fear of dropping him. and all kinds of delicious treats Then, suddenly, you are coming from the kitchen. Christmas stockings weren’t bought grandparents and you finalChristmas stockings weren’t bought in stores then! Instead, ly notice your bouquet has in stores then! Instead, Dad’s socks Dad’s socks served well to grown. And the blooms call served well to hang on the mantle hang on the mantle over the you to remember. Not only fireplace or on the bedpost, that you were a child, but also over the ﬁreplace or on the bedpost. which offered an extra thrill that your children were chilto think that the great man dren, even though they now himself would enter your bedroom late at night, leaving you have children of their own. simple treats to be discovered in the morning. So, with more Christmases to look back on than look forI can still feel the strings of tinsel as they draped through ward to, we nurture our bouquet with smiles and fondness my fingers, and how I was taught each year to place them and tears and joy. gently – not throw them – so they could be reused the folWe hold favourites in this bouquet of Christmas memories. Brightly coloured roses of the times that brought great joy! lowing year. The Salvation Army Band played on our street under the Orchids for when we left the noise and excitement to stare up streetlamp. I remember thinking that my parents were kind at the stars. Violets for those times we looked back in search and generous when they went out to give a nickel or a dime to of home. Daisies for when we insisted on being lost and wonthe army dressed in blue and red. dered why we were not found. So many varieties, so many But each year as I grew older, a little of the Christmas fan- dreams now held by memory. Christmas is a wonderful time! In the beginning, it is a tasy faded. Time challenged us – it told us to leave childish ways behind and not be sensitive because that was not the way journey forward. Toward the end, a journey back. As we stop of men. Girls could stay there longer, but boys were taught to to plant a flower of memory in each Christmas past, we hope flee from tears as fast as they could; and where once Christmas our children and their children and their children after them will go in search of our garden, as they venture back to plant had been our master, we became the masters of Christmas. As still more Christmases came and went, we began to tip- their own. May each bouquet join and be one, so when the toe back just a little when we thought no one was looking. wind of history sings, it will be a glad and joyous song! SL 32

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To Move or Not to Move?

BC EDITION

A Helpful Guide for Seniors Considering Their Residential Options

Published by Senior Living

JANUARY 2009

14.95 Buy it now! �

REG. PRICE: $

ONLY

9.95

If you are a senior who has been wondering lately whether you should consider moving - either because you find the maintenance of your current home more difficult due to diminishing ability or energy, or you simply want a lifestyle that allows you more freedom and less responsibility - then this is the book that can help you ask the right questions and find the solution that is right for you. • What residential options are available? • Define your current situation - What residential option is right for you? • How to research and assess Independent and Assisted Living residences. • What do Independent, Assisted Living and Complex Care facilities have to offer? • How much does it cost to live in an Assisted Living residence? What subsidies are available? • Thinking of moving in with family members? Questions to consider before making your decision. • Are there any other residential options besides Independent, Assisted Living and Complex Care facilities? • If you choose to stay in your own home, what are your options and what should you plan for? • Who can help you decide what you can or cannot afford? • Funding sources available to seniors - tax deductions, housing subsidies, home care subsidies, equipment loan programs, renovation grants, etc. • Selling your home - how to find the right realtor or relocation services to assist your move. • Downsizing - Where do you start? How do you proceed? • Adapting your home to meet your mobility needs - tips and suggestions • Hiring home care services; do it yourself or hire an agency? • Legal matters - how to make sure you receive the care you desire should you not be able to communicate due to some incapacitating condition • AND MUCH MORE Advice from professionals who are experts in the area of assisting seniors with their relocation

questions and concerns. A handy reference guide for seniors and their families wrestling with the issues around whether relocation is the best option. This 128-page book provides helpful, easy to read information and suggestions to help seniors and their families understand the decisions they need to make.

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Mail to: Senior Living Box 153, 1581–H Hillside Ave., Victoria BC V8T 2C1 Shipping rates apply to British Columbia addresses ONLY. To have book mailed to addresses outside of BC, please call Senior Living 1-877-479-4705 for shipping costs. Please allow 2 weeks for shipping.

Read my article on the Senior Living website at www.seniorlivingmag.com