The Hoarders of Virtue – Part 2

December 14, 2023

On July 19, 2023, Bronwyn Schuster, publicist for the Denman Island Bus Service (DIBS), wrote to Mike Van Santvoord, publisher-editor of The Islands Grapevine (TIG),

“I will be choosing alternate avenues for articles and advertising for the various community projects I am involved with until you create an editorial policy that holds the vulnerable members of our community in higher regard.” TIG’s Mike Van Santvoord replied to Schuster the same day saying,

“Your threat to take business elsewhere will have no effect on TIG’s editorial policies.” and, “The foundational principle of democracy and social justice is a free press. In my view, the response to speech you do not share, should be more speech.” And, “I have attached the TIG editorial policy for your convenience.” Following TIG’s publication of “Threats, Lies, and the Misuse of Public Funds”, on August 10, 2023, Schuster posted a response on Denman social media that same day,

“I realize now how my language was threatening, and were I to write that email today, I would have worded my concerns differently.” In reality, DIBS had stopped advertising in TIG in May 2023, as had some of the advertising from the other non-profit organizations Schuster publicized. It was only then that we realized the fullness of the coordinated boycott. That same August 10th, 2023 day, Van Santvoord received an email from Anthony Gregson, Chair of DenmanWorks Economic Enhancement Society (DW), saying,

“I regret to say that by a resolution of the Board, you are removed as a director with immediate effect.” and, “All contractual arrangements with visitdenmanisland.ca are immediately terminated.” Notably, Gregson didn’t speak with Van Santvoord prior to these decisions, or explain any specific allegations of wrongdoing on Van Santvoord’s part. Remarkably, Gregson added,

“Bronwyn Schuster overreached herself,” and, “Denman Works recognizes that DIBS contractor Bronwyn Schuster, while entitled to an opinion on Grapevine editorial policy, had no right to use her position to threaten a withdrawal of advertising.” There were no consequences for Schuster, and they did not resign as they should have. In publishing “Threats, Lies, and the Misuse of Public Funds” Team TIG had responded to a threat by Schuster, and had not criticized Gregson, Sam Borthwick, or DIBS. The members of Team TIG have always enthusiastically supported DIBS, and had offered sponsorship money to DIBS, an offer that has received no response for 2 years, and still a standing offer.

Why was Van Santvoord served the ignominious consequence of being fired from the DW Board, and his job managing the visitdenmanisland.ca website? And why were the bylaws of DW ignored by Gregson in doing so? Van Santvoord wasn’t offered the opportunity to speak with the DW Board prior to a vote to remove him as is required, nor has he ever been offered an explanation from Gregson and the DW Board for these dismissals. Mike Van Santvoord did nothing wrong, or in contravention of DW or its bylaws. His positions must be fully restored as a result of any fair and just review of the facts.

In last week’s TIG, we published “The Hoarders of Virtue” to highlight the lack of transparency and accountability in the publicly funded domain. DW stopped publishing their meeting minutes in 2018, and Gregson is serving as Chair past his 4 year term limit, “at the pleasure of the Board”, as described in Agenda item No.5, a Special Resolution of the unpublished agenda and general meeting minutes from just prior to DW’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), in March of 2023.

DW and Gregson have not made a sincere effort to communicate publicly with Denman residents, and actively recruit his replacement by publicizing the need for renewal of DW’s Board. This was recently foolishly described by a DW member on Denman social media as “begging and pleading” and as a “thankless job”, even while the DW “working chair” is a paid position. While only Board members Gregson and Van Santvoord attended the AGM, the other Board members were recorded as absent. As Denman residents, DW members Sharon Clarke, Bill Engleson, and Pam Willis attended the AGM meeting by Zoom call, to constitute a voting quorum. On August 10, 2023, Van Santvoord replied to Gregson’s notices of dismissal with,

“Nothing related to my position as a Director or Board member of DenmanWorks was employed in anything to do with my private business.” and, “I am not required to discuss my private business with you. It is your conflict of interest that you have seen fit to remove me from the Board on false and fraudulent grounds.” As Team TIG has previously reported, Schuster admitted to covertly acting alone, having not shared their threatening correspondence to TIG with Gregson, Borthwick, or the DIBS Committee. Gregson replied on August 16, 2023 to Van Santvoord with,

“The board may proceed as it sees fit. You are not entitled to a hearing nor is a special meeting of members required.” and, “There is nothing about “cause” in the contract for VDW (visitdenmanisland.ca website). The contract simply says that the contract can be terminated on 14 days notice at any time”, ignoring B.C. Labour laws pertaining to wrongful dismissal. Previous offers and attempts to settle these matters privately have been rebuffed

We are demanding both a full and transparent public accountability for the wrongful dismissals, and the complete restoration of Van Santvoord’s positions on the DW Board, and managing visitdenmanisland.ca, followed by a thorough public apology by Anthony Gregson and his resignation as DW Chair. Gregson’s actions have caused TIG and its contributors damages to reputation and loss of income, and TIG will be looking to be compensated for these damages, should Van Santvoord and TIG not be served an honest and just resolution to these matters from Gregson, and the DW Board, Ember Hutchens, Robert Newton, Julie Geremia, Caitlin Fogarty, and Laura Pope.

Ima’s Kitchen Updates

December 14, 2023

We just got informed that Bronwynne’s shoulder surgery will take place on January 8th. We have three baking weekends (Friday baking and farmers market) left until then. We will be baking on the following days :

—December 15th and 22nd

—January 5th.

If there is enough demand for stocking up on bread, we will look into adding a midweek baking day throughout this time. Also stay tuned for pop up evenings (pizza, falafel..)

After Bronwynne’s surgery, rehab will take 3-5 months during which she will not be able to work. For the first month yogi will be off work as well in order to assist in all the day to day tasks around the house and to make sure her recovery goes as smoothly as possible! After that, we have made plans for some friends and family members to come help yogi run the bakery and ice cream production to some extent in order to make income!

We are not as yet sure what our business will look like over 2024 but will keep you updated as we navigate this challenging chapter of our life!

We would like to thank you all, again and again, for your support throughout our years on island and look forward to whatever comes next, and are excited to keep making your tummies happy!!

Take care, from Bronwynne, Yogi, and June

Help Us Re-Build for the Future

December 14, 2023

DS&MS

Denman Seniors and Museum Society

denmanactivitycentre.ca

Help Us Re-Build for the Future

A Year-End Message from the Denman Seniors and Museum Society

To Our Denman Community:

The Denman Seniors and Museum Society is a registered charity that runs the Denman Activity Centre and the adjacent Denman Island Museum. The Centre contains a fitness centre, lounge and gymnasium. It is a busy hub where people play pickleball, badminton, and table tennis, attend fitness classes, and participate in community events such as the Remembrance Day ceremony.

The facilities are available for rent and host everything from the famous Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival to individual celebrations of life to weekly meetings for a number of groups. Most recently, the gymnasium and lounge were used – along with the Denman Community Hall – for the popular Denman Island Christmas Craft Faire. This year’s event attracted hundreds of visitors who patronized both local craftspeople and Denman Island businesses.

The Museum saw an increase in visitors and local residents this past summer. You couldn’t miss the huge beach garbage monster created by Liz Johnston that towered over the Museum entrance, along with Jean Coburn’s beautiful shell-based dress, and Helen Mason’s dress made entirely from cigarette lighters that had washed up on our beaches. Thanks to the Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards (ADIMS) who provided the guest summer display. Guests also enjoyed a presentation by Andrew Fyson, in which he described his circumnavigation of Denman Island, and generously donated a copy of his book.

August 31 marked the end of the fiscal year for the Denman Senior and Museum Society and it marked our first full year of post COVID-restricted operations.

That happy milestone was marred just a month later when we experienced a serious leak in the large roof over the fitness centre and gymnasium. In addition to our planned replacement of the museum roof, we now had to replace the roof of the gym on an emergency basis. This required us to deplete our reserves, which had been set aside for future major projects such as replacing the roof of the lounge and renovating the washrooms.

We now need to re-build our capital reserves in case of another emergency and also to enable us to maintain our building on an ongoing basis.

This building plays an important role in serving the social, recreational, cultural and economic needs of our community members – of all ages. We therefore ask you to consider playing a role in maintaining this valuable community asset. You can do so by making a tax-deductible donation to the Denman Seniors and Museum Society.

To make a donation you may:

Mail a cheque to Denman Seniors and Museum Society at Box 28, Denman Island, B.C., V0R 1T0
Drop off your donation in the mail slot of the office door
Send an e-transfer to dsmsbookkeeper@gmail.com
Make an online donation through CanadaHelps.org

Salt in our Tears

December 14, 2023

When I wrote “Soul in a Bowl” a few weeks ago, I spoke of how simple are the ingredients for bread and then reeled them off. Only after publishing the piece in The Grapevine did I realize I’d neglected to include the salt. Oh my, the salt. I dismissed it at first, rationalizing that bread- makers just know that salt is an essential ingredient, but that tiny omission has continued to bug me.

What would bread be without salt? What would our world be without our tears?

We take pains to revere the sweet – sweet talk, sweet food, sweet rides, sweet times. We value the sweet. When have we ever heard: “Oh that was so salty of you to say that or do that”? We seem to be a culture addicted to the sweet, be it found in our ice cream or our narratives. We want things to be nice, to be good, to be happy. We don’t want pain or sadness to get in the way of the sweet times. Even more so during the Christmas season.

Salt is underrated. It’s true that too much salt, like too much sweet, is not a good thing.

We react against an overdose, our bodies reject it. Hearing the stories of health workers under siege in Gazan hospitals drinking intravenous solutions because they had no water to drink makes us cringe, knowing that IV fluids are saline solutions. We are not built to drink salt water.

Yet, salt is an essential part of our lives, and to me, it’s a good metaphor for the complex mix of life today. Like salt in our bread, inclusion of the painful aspects of existence is a necessary part of “full catastrophe living” (Jon kabat-Zinn).

Every day right now brings fresh tears, salty tears. Hearing that Christmas is cancelled in Bethlehem, the very home of Christmas, is a good reminder that this is not an ordinary year. We are witnessing ethnic cleansing in Gaza which is within the State of Israel. And we are witnessing a real genocide – not a “possible genocide” – facilitated by the US, unfolding before our very eyes. And yet our western media are mainly focused on excoriating the Mayor of Calgary because she refused to join a Hanukah candle-lighting ceremony that became recast as a “pro-Israel” event. (It is not lost on me that she is a woman, and a woman of colour at that.) Or publicly hammering the (again, women) Presidents of Harvard, MIT & Penn who got caught by a congressional committee in a trick question surrounding the Palestinian peace & justice slogan “From the River to the Sea”. The mendacious idea of naming that a call for genocide of Jews distracts from the real genocide on Palestinians in Gaza. The framing of all criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic continues, as does the smokescreen of vilifying people for not condemning Hamas atrocities “enough”. I don’t like Hamas or what Hamas did on October 7^th. Journalist Jonathan Cook calls it “a slave revolt”. ALL warfare includes atrocities; ALL murder is bad; ALL lives have equal value. But for Israel and its supporters, all lives apparently are not of equal value, considering the vastly disproportionate number of people killed so far in revenge for October 7^th. How many is “enough” to compensate?

Weeping for the dead and injured is a normal human reaction. If we stop shedding tears for the more than 18,000 Palestinians killed so far in the mad rampage on Gaza right now, if we don’t shed tears for the 1,200 killed October 7^th and the hostages held in Israeli prisons and in Gaza, we lose a precious bit of our humanity. If we look away, knowing what we know, in favour of keeping things upbeat, “don’t bring anybody down”, we also kill off a part of ourselves.

Part of being fully human and having well-being in our dark blue world (Elizabeth Fischer, may she rest in peace) is being able to hold a whole range of emotions, and not be engulfed by them. It is to move away from blaming, denying, excusing, justifying, rationalizing, and instead, facing reality.

For the sake of our children, we need to try to make sense of insane militarism on our own time. Children aren’t equipped to hold the kind of grief a true reckoning stirs up. Because of our privilege, the accident of our birth and where we reside, it’s incumbent upon us to appreciate and be thankful for the immense natural beauty that surrounds us, especially at this time of Solstice, to be grateful for the safety & relative security of our families & communities, and for our very real freedoms compared to so many others.

And we can deepen our humanity by opening our hearts to the suffering in Gaza right now and taking action to demand an end to the killing and the beginning of the hard but necessary work of finding a way through to justice and peace. This we can do. Yes, there are Christmas lights to put up, baking to do, many distractions to keep us ever so busy, but can we not spare a few minutes each day to write/call/petition/protest our government and its complicity in ethnic cleansing, its cowardice at the UN? To truly savour life’s sweetness, we need to honour and include the salt. After all, Christmas is cancelled in Bethlehem.

Only Truth And Clear Seeing Can Lead Us To Peace And Harmony

December 14, 2023

DEC 9, 2023

Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):

The Independent has an article out titled “Inside a southern Gaza hospital: Screaming orphaned children, amputee toddlers and the stench of rotting flesh,” which begins as follows:

“A badly burned toddler screaming for the mother he doesn’t know is dead — and screaming because doctors do not have enough painkillers to relieve his suffering. An eight-year-old boy whose brain is exposed as bombing damaged parts of his skull. A teenage girl, her eye surgically removed, because every bone in her face is smashed. A three-year-old double amputee, whose severed limbs are laid out in a pink box beside him.

“And in the background is the stench of rotting flesh as maggots ‘creep out of untreated wounds’.”

These horrors are all caused by a genocidal onslaught that is being backed to the hilt by the US government, who just single-handedly blocked a UN resolution demanding a ceasefire to end this nightmare. Instead of focusing on the unfathomable depravity of all this, Americans are being propagandized into worrying about a completely fictional epidemic of university demonstrators chanting for the genocide of Jews.

But for all the efforts to spin, justify and distract from the mass atrocity Israel and its allies are perpetrating in Gaza, more and more people are opening their eyes to what’s happening, and are ceasing to fall for the propaganda any longer.

This is largely because for the last two months the horrific images described in text by The Independent have been cascading down our social media feeds in jarringly graphic photos and videos. Those who’ve only been peripherally aware of Israel’s actions in Gaza may find those descriptions astonishing, but for anyone who’s been following the Gaza massacre it’s just a verbal description of what we’ve been looking at since October.

It’s much, much harder to propagandize the public into accepting military atrocities when they have decent visibility into how those atrocities are actually manifesting as they inflict themselves on human flesh. In an age where photos and videos of events can go viral within minutes of their occurrence, and in an area where it’s still possible to upload some footage onto social media, it’s far more difficult to persuade people to believe this is anything other than what it is.

If everyone on earth could really truly see what’s happening in Gaza, and actually viscerally grasp and appreciate what they were seeing, the killing would end tomorrow. It would end tomorrow because the entire world would force an end to it by any means necessary. These atrocities would no longer be tolerable by humanity’s collective consciousness once they had been fully seen.

And really all of humanity’s problems are like this. If everyone could really see and deeply comprehend how horrific war is, war and militarism would end immediately. If everyone could really see and deeply comprehend how insane and self-destructive ecocide is, ecocide would end immediately. If everyone could really see and deeply comprehend the horrors of poverty, abusive prison systems, police brutality and institutional injustice, these things would no longer be permitted to exist in our society.

Seeing is all that’s required for humanity to begin moving out of dysfunctionality and towards health. That’s true regardless of what scale of humanity you’re talking about, from the largest problems of global civilization right down to the subtlest dysfunctionality in the inner processes of the individual. Once enough seeing has happened, the dysfunctionality cannot continue.

Corruption and malfeasance doesn’t stop until it has been exposed to the public. Abuse doesn’t stop until the abusiveness has been clearly seen for what it is and brought to an end. Addiction and other self-destructive behavior patterns don’t abate until the inner dynamics which drive them have been brought into consciousness and seen clearly. Self-realization only occurs when there’s been a clear seeing into the nature of awareness and perception.

Seeing is crucial to ending dysfunction at every scale of human life. That’s why Julian Assange figured that the best way to help the world would be to find a way to make it easier for the public to see what’s going on behind the veils of secrecy that the powerful enshroud themselves with, and that’s why Assange is now currently in prison. Those who want more health and harmony are always trying to find ways to make things more seen, while those who want to preserve the status quo of domination and dysfunction are always trying to keep things hidden.

In this sense we actually are kind of looking at a struggle between light and darkness, because there is an ongoing battle between the impulses within our species to make things seen and the impulses to make things unseen. On one side you have real journalism, true education, authentic activism and dedicated inner work trying to bring the unseen into the light of awareness, and on the other side you have government secrecy, censorship, propaganda, Silicon Valley algorithm manipulation and the war on journalism trying to obstruct and obfuscate the truth from the public eye. Those who desire peace, health and harmony will always find themselves on the former side, while those who desire domination, destruction and exploitation always find themselves on the latter.

That’s why Israel has been systematically exterminating journalists, artists and academics in Gaza, and why it tries to restrict internet access and communications as much as it can get away with. It’s why the US empire is imprisoning Julian Assange and continually working to control what information the public sees online while hiding a tremendous amount of its activities behind government classification. It’s why the abusive husband works to isolate his wife from her friends and family and tells anyone who says anything about his abusiveness that it’s none of their business. It’s why when we sit in meditation there are forces within us which squirm and flail around rather than allow stillness and inner clarity to set in. Humanity is in a constant struggle with itself — between staying hidden and becoming a truly conscious species.

But we can’t hide from ourselves forever. Already more and more cracks in the walls are appearing, and the light is streaming in through them. The aspects of our species which want to remain hidden are leaving fingernail marks on the floor as the aspects of ourselves which want to be seen are dragging them kicking and screaming into the light of consciousness.

There can only be one winner in this fight. We’ll either become a conscious species that is guided by truth and lucid understanding or we’ll kill ourselves by nuclear war or climate catastrophe in our frantic efforts to remain hidden. Either way, the tower of lies and secrets is coming tumbling down eventually.

My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. Go here to buy paperback editions of my writings from month to month. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.

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Shucking Oysters: Paper Bag Blues

December 14, 2023

Whenever one of us comes back from the local grocery store, my partner and I like to play the, “How much did this bag of groceries cost?” game. Ever the optimist, I didn’t do well at first. But now, my strategy is to add $30 to $40 to what I think the price should be and I win the game often.

Last year, our food costs reached the highest in 41 years. Since 2020, we all are aware how pretty much everything has gone up. (Prices and emotions.) It’s crazy. Gas and other commodities go up and down, but groceries seem to go up and stay up.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, they blamed supply chain disruptions, labour shortages, changes in consumer purchasing patterns, poor weather in growing regions, higher input costs, higher wages, and so on. Why it’s hitting us with such impact, is that these conditions and pressures all happened at once. The perfect storm.

Canada’s Food Price Report for 2024, warns that staples like produce, meat and baked goods will still go up and up. Dairy and fruit only 3%, while seafood will be 5% more expensive. One can imagine what a whole crab will cost next year. Do I hear $53? Baked goods have already increased 8% last year, next year add another 7%. Do I hear fruit smoothies for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

We’re all changing our grocery shopping habits. We’re shopping at more stores for bargains and buying more generic store brands. At one time, the Comox Valley Record was fire starter in our household. Now, I obsessively read the inserts to see what’s on sale before we go into town. I used to be embarrassed caught shopping at Costco versus let’s say, Edible Island. These days, when we go to Costco, we see at least one person from Hornby. It’s become a badge of honour. Bulk is cheaper.

Meat prices are expected to increase up to 7% next year, above the increases in 2023. Last week, two organic chicken breasts from Thrifty’s were for sale for $24! It’s insane. And if you think becoming a vegetarian will be cheaper, think again. The Food Report indicates little relief by switching to steamed veggies and rice for dinner.* “With produce, and in particular vegetables, we are expecting a weaker dollar which will actually make imports more expensive,” lead researcher Sylvain Charlebois said.

Across Canada, food price inflation from 2021 to 2022 averaged about 10.5%, from a high of 11% in Quebec to a low of 9.2% in BC. Before you start celebrating, a recent study says BC has the highest cost of living in Canada. In the Westland Insurance study, BC topped the rankings as it was the third-most expensive or higher in buying and renting real estate, an airline ticket, public transportation, dental services, healthcare, clothing and hotel accommodation. (The average house price in BC in 2022? A mere $996,460 – more than double the national average of $490,520.)

And then we have “shrinkflation,” a covert tactic that companies use to subtly reduce the size or weight of a product to save money without increasing the price. A less commonly known form of shrinkflation is where a company swaps ingredients for cheaper alternatives, or adds water while decreasing other ingredients.

ED Smith’s Pumpkin Pie Filling, for example, used to list vegetable oil as the third-largest ingredient. In the new version, vegetable oil has been moved to sixth place. And taking its place at third? Water. It’s pumpkin soup not pumpkin filling.

Experts say that when a product package has been redesigned, it’s a red flag that shrinkflation may have occurred as well. Here’s some downsized products masquerading behind a “new and improved” package design CBC Marketplace noted: Wheat Thins Crackers, Kraft Heinz’s Original Kraft Dinner, Liberté Yogurt, Tropicana Orange Juice, Campbell’s Chunky Soup, Lays Chips, Armstrong Cheese, and many more. All have shrunk. The Minimalist period. More is less, or is it more not less, more or less?

In Canada, when companies shrink products, they are under no obligation to let consumers know about the change. In Brazil, there are actually laws in place to inform consumers of changes to a product’s weight. Companies must state how much was in the product before and after the change. And the information must remain on the label for six months.

Town trips are already a bit of a marathon. Now, we not only have to read every grocery flyer for the sales, go to seven retail outlets for the bargains, bring our own scale to weigh every product, we also have to be alert to new packaging designs. It’s a good thing they have shopping carts, we’ll need them for the binoculars, the scale, the tape measure, and a magnifying glass. Yes, it may extend the time we spend in the stores, but what’s another hour and a half? Just make sure you stay hydrated and make it an adventure.

*Or grow your own and eat seasonally I’m told, though even this now has its challenges, from feed and seed costs to erratic climate seasons and events. Nettles and oysters?

Evolutionary Reconciliation: Part 6

December 14, 2023

istockphoto-172856538-612x612 — "Two groups of people approaching each other over a chasm, ready to shake hands."

“Unfortunately, the Sapiens regime on earth has so far produced little we can be proud of. We have mastered our surroundings, increased food production, built cities, established empires and far-flung trade networks. But did we decrease the amount of human suffering in the world? Time and again, massive increases in human power did not necessarily improve the well-being of individual Sapiens and usually caused immense misery to other animals.” (Yuval Noah Harari) And along with the immense suffering of other animals, we must also include the demise of forests, oceans, skies and future generations. “The Animal that Became a God” is the title of the afterword in the book Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, and sums up his thesis that modern “successful” humans and their empires are self-made gods, seemingly not accountable to the limits and dangers of pleasure, dominance and comfort. The big question is how do we reconcile our need for cooperation, sustain a healthy respect for difference with our unconscious inner conflicts?

Tools that help me whenever I am engaged with a person and especially when I am wanting to counterattack in a conflict include:

– Emptying myself of all preconceived ideas about who the other person is; interview the person as if for a podcast with no need to win, persuade, convince or resolve the issue at that very moment

– Relaxing my body and counting to 8 as I exhale twice as long as my inhalation

– Reminding myself that empathy “plays the largest part in our understanding of what is inherently foreign to our ego.” (Freud) Noticing that I have gotten caught up in defensiveness, I am always free to let that go and return to the moment. If not possible, ask for a time out

– Speaking slowly, using the bare minimum of words, with a focus on feelings, needs, kindness, honesty, respect and curiosity

– Offering up a guess about the other person’s feelings and needs

– Remembering that the need to belong, to be loved and to contribute, when acknowledged, can overcome the fear of rejection and the fear of intimacy. I can attempt to assist the other person to return to these wholesome intentions by naming possible unmet needs behind seemingly unrelated accusations.

– Investigating our shared values can diffuse conflict

– Tuning into my own needs, I can ask for a time out to protect my integrity and prevent possible escalation

– Forging support with trusted allies and being quiet in nature can help to balance out self-doubt that can arise from a tense relationship.

Inquiring into the bigger questions surrounding human relationships can also assist me to step away from my own agenda. How can we make peace with our egos which drive us to find fault in someone’s words, keep score and try to win every argument? Do humans create unnecessary conflict because deep down, we feel unhappy and are trying to find happiness? Do we fuel disharmony because we are confused about the true source of happiness? Do we confuse normative conflict with abuse because we think engaging with normative conflict will cause us unhappiness? Is being prone to inciting relational conflict a learned behaviour? Is learning to confront normative conflict a desired, evolutionary leap forward?

Letter to the Editor – Alex Allen

December 14, 2023

Re: Letter from Riley Donovan, SSI, regarding Helen Grond’s article on the Rogers Tower proposal on Hornby Island.

Not to quibble, but the proposed Tower is 206 feet high, not 258 feet.

The Rogers Tower consultant, Mr. Brian Gregg, did hold a virtual “community consultation” meeting on December 8, 2022, from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Wrong time of year when people were on the road again. And it was clear that the community was not satisfied with the virtual format and wanted an in-person meeting. Staff deferred to Mr. Gregg’s concerns from his previous experience on Hornby. He was referring to the in-person Telus Tower meeting which he described as “disorderly” and had “security threats.” (Kind of how BC Ferries feels about in-person meetings lately.)

A large group of Hornby Island community members were not happy then and are obviously not happy today.

In September, we passed a motion that “the Hornby Island Local Trust Committee request staff to work with [the] applicant Rogers on a report regarding steps the applicant has taken to date and their consistency with the Model Cell Tower Strategy.” In other words, get back to us, now that you know we had a model tower strategy protocol. Do the wider consultation and give us a report back.

At this time, it looks like we will not hear from the proponent until the new year.

Regards,

Hornby Island Trustee Alex Allen

Aunt Marie

December 14, 2023

April 3rd, 2007

Work today without the chipper saw us going to the B.M.X. track in Nanaimo. There was further landscaping work to be done, although I concentrated on removing all of the detritus that we had piled up in the tree line from our last visit almost three weeks ago now.

Marie, the woman who manages the park and coincidentally happens to be Fur Dog’s aunt (he wasn’t shitting!), had arranged for a delivery of a big waste bin for us to load up with all the leaves, bramble and branches. Richard and Charles oscillated between the piles and the bin with wheelbarrows while I feverishly worked my pitch-fork in loading them up. It took the whole of the day but we got it all off the ground and into the bin which was damn near full by quitting time. In fact, Marie will likely need another bin to cart away all of the other waste collected by the remainder of the crew, who were busy working away on the other side of the track.

Marie is quite a nice woman. Aside from being Furry’s aunt, she was also a foster parent to a good many others. When I asked her about Fur Dog’s claim that they were related, she confirmed and then asked me if I knew Wayne Turner. The name didn’t ring a bell for me but it turns out that this was the guy who unfortunately hung himself down at Wilkenson Road last month. Marie shared that she was his foster mother. How sad. The guy was 31 years old and apparently had just been dumped by his girlfriend and the mother of his child. He was found in segregation hanging from his bed sheet. Bummer.

So anyways, during our morning coffee break, who should drive by on the road adjacent the park but Fur Dog! His timing was intriguing given my mentioning him to Marie earlier in the morning. We were all sitting around the crummy enjoying our coffee when off in the distance we hear this guy screaming, “Yo! Crew#2!” We all look over to see the Big Dawg in canine-like fashion hanging his head out of the passenger side of a little beige Corolla station wagon as it rolled down the road. Rick Greene then remarks, “what a heat bag car!” Prompting fits of laughter from the guys.Truer words have never been spoken. If I were a cop I’d pull over such a ride. Especially with the likes of Furry bellowing out the window as he was. I know the world is a big place but moments like this conspire to challenge this notion. The Big Dawg has left the pound but he doesn’t see fit to stray very far. Perhaps we’ll see him rejoin the doghouse one day. (“Don’t do it Sean!”)

Part of the benefit of working at the B.M.X. track is that Marie makes a point of treating us with Dairy Queen for lunch. Milkshakes and fries are definitely a bonus for us jailbirds. Were someone to tell me that I’d be enjoying such fare as I was heading off for a prison term, I’d say they were out to lunch. As it is, we had D.Q. take out for lunch. Nice!

Phoenix Riting! – December 14th, 2023

December 14, 2023

The Christmas Pizza Party at the Hall on Saturday evening was lovely, if sparsely attended. That part was surprising; I expected a huge turnout, but Hornby can be unpredictable that way. The Hall was beautifully decorated, and Santa was of course available for photo ops. At the beginning, there were more folk with children, thanks to Santa’s presence. Yes, I did get photos with Santa. And no, I did not sit on his knee. I managed to score a piece of pizza before it all disappeared; when I went back for seconds, quite early on, the pizza had vanished. I wished for more (my wish was granted later).

Pat Mullan was there playing Christmas tunes; including my own song, apparently, though that was before I arrived. We hung out, sipped drinks, munched pizza and cookies, and smiled. Then the Anonymous Six took the stage. Turns out they weren’t all that anonymous; they were Dr. Laura, John, Cath, Paula, Holly and a gentleman from Denman called, I think (forgive me if I get this wrong) Andrew.

At first, I confess, I found the music irritating, though I could tell it was well executed. These were quite complex and challenging pieces to sing, and no less challenging to hear for the first time. I’ve had this experience on my first deep listen to classical pieces; I grew up with homemade country, folk, and later rock music, so I’ve had to learn how to hear certain types of music. It felt like fingernails scratching at the blackboard of my brain. I stayed with it and slowly my experience shifted. The scratching, it seemed, was opening new mental grooves and by the third or fourth piece I began to appreciate the beauty and complexity of these a capella six part choral pieces. By the end, I was captivated by the sublime loveliness of these intertwining vocal lines.

It is so rewarding, that joy of a new musical discovery. Dr. Laura tells me they would like to do other performances, and if so, I shall be there, with my newly etched grooves ready to enjoy.

It was a mixed bag of an evening for me, as my autistic social anxiety was on top. I am an excellent masker but occasionally my mask slips and I realize only later that whatever I just said was probably ill timed, inappropriate, or hadn’t made sense in context. So often, what’s inside my brain is out of step with the world around me. When that happens, all I can do is walk away and hope it didn’t come across too badly. I’ve tried apologizing and explaining–but that makes things more awkward! It’s not easy navigating the world with a weirdly wired brain.

I did have a wonderful time despite, I imagined, leaving a few shaking their heads as I walked away. If you ever wonder, “What did she mean by that?” I plead, nothing, I meant nothing, I simply forget sometimes that I’m all alone in my world. The world others share is one I can visit, but not live in. It’s exhausting but I love it, I love people. I try not to be too annoying. Mostly, I think, I succeed.

There were other highlights to the evening. A raffle was held, and I purchased a ticket at the last minute, on impulse, and was rewarded by winning the $50 gift certificate for pizza. Yay more pizza! There was dancing afterward, and I had a blissful time until my brain made me slide out the door and go home to hide from my anxiety. On top of everything else, the Moon was in Scorpio.

My song is now streaming on all the platforms–YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and many more I’ve never heard of. If you haven’t had a listen yet, and you’d like to, just search ‘Phoenix Bee Something About Christmas.’ I do hope you like it!

That’s what I think, what do you think? Email me at phoenixonhornby@gmail.com