Wherefore & Why:

by Peter Johnson

Sometimes, we encounter people who are so overlyassured of their knowledge of all things, that they can be overly so—or as a lady friend once said, 'overweening'---she was an English major, as opposed to an English Major. (overweening • \oh-ver-WEE-ning\ • adjective. 1: arrogant, presumptuous 2: immoderate, exaggerated. At times, more humility and less hubris can go a long way towards making us all better people.

To achieve my goal,--'To Help Make North Gremlins

Less 'Over-Weenies',--I have compiled the following:

Useless Trivia: A dime has 118 ridges, a crocodile can't stick out its tongue, a dragonfly has a 24-hour lifespan and a goldfish's memory is all of 3 seconds.

Now cats! Well, there's an interesting critter: cats have 32 muscles in their ears.

That's right, 32! Two and two-thirds dozen muscles to NOT use when you call.

That many times. it will act like it can't hear you when you are trying to get it back into the house late at night.

The same number of genes to make up their disinterested, people-ignoring nature. Are cats overweening by nature?

And still with the Animal Kingdom, snails can sleep for three years. Just a small point here: how do you tell if it is alive, let alone sleeping? They don't really dash about at the best of times. Next, if you are being consumed by a shark, you can take some solace in the fact that it is the only fish that can blink both of its eyes. How about the eyes of an ostrich? They are bigger than its brain—it has a relatively small head, so it's brain is not enormous. Is your brain getting bigger?

Gangsters Anyone? According to Al Capone's business cards, he was a furniture salesman. He grew up in Brooklyn, and had only a middle-school education. He had a scar on his face...thus the nickname. He got it in a fight, in a brothel of all places. Isn't fighting in a brothel kind of counter-productive?

Mr. Capone found Chicago weather to be too cold, so he set up shop in Florida. Does this sound like someone else who loves being in the news? Scarface—Al, was eventually convicted, not of being a crook, but of income tax evasion. Again, the parallels are eerie... uncanny ..strange. (okay, enough with the synonyms).

Words at Your Fingertips, Spelling & Language: There is a dearth words in English that rhyme with: 'month', 'orange', 'silver' and 'purple' (to correct this, my mother made up 'burple'-she defined it as the colour of a hiccup). On your key- board, the longest word that can be typed using only the left-hand keys is 'stewardesses'; with the right hand?

'Lollipop'---sweet!

Random Stuff: Our eyes are always the same size throughout our lives, whereas our ears and nose continue to grow. Babies are born without kneecaps. (I thought I was trapped inside a woman's body... then I was born.) You can't keep your eyes open when you sneeze. 'Dreamt' is the only word in this language ending in 'mt'. Leonardo da Vinci, who invented almost everything, also took care of scissors...which has no singular form, by the way: like trousers, stairs, clothes, goods, belongings, earnings—to name a few.

That completes my list of useless, pointless factoids. I look forward to hearing from the appropriate member of council regarding my nomination as “Nominal Nurturing Citizen of the Year for Networking with North Grenvillans to Overcome Over-weenie-ness”.

I am not being facetious when I say that I will humbly hang the award in a prominent location...next to my well-thumbed Oxford English Dictionary. Be well Weenies.

NGCT to put on “The Admirable Crichton” May 24 – 28

submitted by Steve Wendt

During the COVID years, the North Grenville Community Theatre had quite a slow period. Our fixed expenses continued but we couldn't put on shows, so we had no ticket revenues. We couldn't rehearse and even when restrictions were relaxed, our audiences were still reluctant to come back to performances. We needed to do something big.

We decided on “The Admirable Crichton”. This show was written by J.M. Barrie, a few years before he wrote Peter Pan. It was a hit when it was first produced, and we thought it was time for a revival. With a cast of about 25 plus people working on the set, costumes, sound and light, lots of people were able to get involved.

This play really looks at the question of who should run things. When the play opens, we are in an aristocratic manor house in England, where everyone knows their place. Everyone that is except Lord Loam, who has strange ideas about equality. He decrees that once a month, the wealthy people should serve tea to the servants. No one enjoys the role reversal. Then Lord Loam has another ideawhen the family goes on a tropical cruise in their yacht, his daughters will have to share a single maid. Chaos ensues, and only the trusty butler, Crichton, can set things right. Only then can we get through Act 1 in reasonable shape.

Unfortunately, there is a storm at sea and the ship is wrecked. The survivors are washed ashore on a desert island. A new society is formed, and everyone has to work for their dinner. But who will lead? The aristocrats are quite help- less on the island but once again, Crichton rises to the challenge. Two years pass and life is good. It is almost Utopia and then – a ship is seen. What will our people do, stay in their new home, or go back to England? Only Crichton knows.

We started regular rehearsals for the Admirable Crichton in January. We have some actors coming from quite a distance across the region and winter storms caused several schedule changes. We ended up rehearsing in four locations. With a cast of 25, it has been a real challenge trying to get everyone together in one place.

A special challenge for this show is the need to change scenes rapidly. From the Manor House to the Island, and then to the new Island house, we needed moveable set elements and ways to keep the audience print.promo.clothing

Do you want to make a real difference in your community?

Do you want to help shape mental health and addictions care? This opportunity may be for you!

Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health (LLGAMH) supports people living with addictions and mental health issues. It is a publicly-funded Agency Each year, LLGAMH cares for more than 5,000 clients.

Board Of Directors Recruitment

We are looking for volunteers to serve on our Board of Directors. This Board fosters diversity and broad community representation. Board members bring a variety of skills to the table. More importantly, they bring a passion for improving the quality of mental health and addictions care in our region.

As a governance Board, these committed volunteers are responsible for key areas such as strategic planning, quality CEO oversight, and financial stewardship.

To learn more about LLGAMH please visit llgamh.ca

To apply online, visit llgamh.ca/board-of-directors.php before May 31, 2023 entertained during transitions. Something had to be done. Our set designer got creative and put a lot of things on wheels.

Many of our performers are new to the Kemptville stage. We are very grateful that so many are joining us. Although the Admirable Crichton is not a musical, we asked our actors if any of them wanted to sing or play an instrument in the performance. To our delight, seven said yes, so we do have a few musical interludes.

Rehearsals are always fun. In fact, that's the whole purpose of community theatre, fun for the cast and crew and, we hope, fun for the audience. We hope a lot of people will join us at the theatre.

The Admirable Crichton runs from May 24 to May 28 at the Urbandale Arts Centre. All the performances are evenings except the Sunday afternoon. Tickets are available online at NGCT.CA and at B & H Your Community Grocer.

UCDSB Ward 7 Trustee Larry Berry steps down

submitted by UCDSB Communications Department

Larry Berry recently informed the Board of Trustees that he is resigning from his position of Ward 7 Trustee of the Upper Canada District School Board for personal reasons. Mr. Berry won his seat in 2018 and then was acclaimed for a second term in 2022. We wish Mr. Berry and his family well.

Last night, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously in favour of accepting the resignation and proceeding with an appointment process to fill the now vacant seat. In accordance with the Education Act, the appointment must be completed within 90 days.

The Board will be identifying a timeline for application and an interview period over the coming days.

For more information about the role of Trustees or becoming a Trustee, please visit https://www.ucdsb.on.ca/ our_board/board_of_trustees.