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EPISODE 375 1957 THUNDERBIRD ON HOIST…PINK1

EPISODE 375    1957 THUNDERBIRD ON HOIST…PINK


alan skeoch
June 2021



I am not much of a car enthusiast but this car got my attention.
All I could see from the passenger seat where we got gas at $1.32.9 cents
a litre was the back tail light.  Unusual. Jutted out and had a fin.

“Marjorie look at that car up on the house.  Odd!”
“It’s a 1957 model.”
“”How would you know that?””
“Says so on the licence.”
“Oh!”
“What is it?”
“Man pumping gas says its a 1957 Thunderbird.”
“Pink”
“Those were the years…the 1950’s…when cars were not bland…turquoise and white…or pink like this.”
“Our old 53 Meteor was Double Brown…others were bright red and white.”
“Same colours as popsicles.”

“Ask if I can go into the workshop.”
“He says you can.”

NOTE   A lot more could be said about 1957.  I think my Uncle Frank Freeman still had
a team of horses for instance.

“Wasn’t there a cosmetic company that gave away pink cars to its best salespeople.?  Mary Kay, I believe.”

alan skeoch

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EPISODE 374 GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLARS…THOUSANDS OF THEM JUNE 2021



EPISODE 374      GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLARS…THOUSANDS OF THEM   JUNE 2021

alan skeoch
June 2021



MARJORIE SKEOCH GOES TO WAR

“ALAN,  we are under attack…can’t you do something.”
“Attack?”
“Thousands…tens of thousands of them…moving down the street…denuding the neighbourhood.”
“What can I do?”
“At the very least you can join me in stamping on them…I have killed hundreds…my shoes are slippery
with their crushed flesh.”
“Good for you, meeting them head on as they come down the street.”
“I think they have killed Hubert Lack’s great oaks…and the oaks next to 
him have been stripped bare.”:
“Ancient trees…100, perhaps 200 years old…stripped…get out here and help.”
“We have the only oak that has survived.”
“They will get it too…unless you start stamping  on them”
“You are fighting a losing war, Marjorie.”
“I am not.”
“They have outflanked you…invading through the grass…hard to spot.”
“Our tree…save our tree…stop your damn talking.””
“Need helicopter spraying…not done this year.”
“Get the wrap around burlap with glue impregnated insulation…seems to stop them a bit.”
“Thousands got over the glue…put defence up too late.””
“What do you want me to do, Marjorie?”
“Go get my other shoes…get my rubber boots…help stamping on them.”

“Did you know they are dangerous to humans?”
“No.”
“Yes, if you get those little feathery stickles in your arm a rash will happen.”
“Danger to kids?.”
“You bet…especially if a child eats one. Serious”
“Damn…there is one coming up my pant leg.”

“Shake the shrubs…they drop down on filament parachutes.”

“Alan, get my flanks…I am dealing with the main onslaught…you get
the sneaky little devils in the grass.”
“Too many, Marjorie.””
“Coward!”
“I read somewhere that the oak trees are strong enough to survive…to set out
new leaves when the Gypsy Moths leave the caterpillar stage.”
“Now isn’t that just like you…to read a book while we are under attack.
You do not deserve to have our magnificent oak.”
“The neighbours are up in arms…calling Stephen Dasko, our councillor.”
“What is he going to do?”
“Next year there will be helicopter spraying.”
“Will there be any trees to spray?
“I think the oaks will recover.”
“Time will tell.  Meanwhile go get my rubber boots…stamping time now.”

NOTE: Helicopter spraying of insecticide does some good but not much.
If insecticide is too strong it will kill too many good bugs…and birds.
The Gypsy moth has been winning the war with property owners
since the Moth first got loose in the 1880’s in Massachusetts.  Some
Gypsy moths, from Europe, escaped from an American laboratory.   Sounds
chillingly familiar to the Covid 19 virus, dos it not?





There have been many reports of children getting rashes from Gypsy moth caterpillars in the recent weeks. Is it dangerous? What are the symptoms and what should you do if you think your child has contracted it? We break down the fast facts to these questions and more below.
  • This rash is typically contracted through direct contact with the gypsy caterpillar or moth (pictured below). If they are found in high numbers, however, their setae (tiny hairs) can travel through the wind or fabric (such as towels, clothing, etc.) causing the same reaction. Additionally, their setae can be found in soil, tree bark, and silk cocoons causing reactions months after.
  • Symptoms include mild to moderate stinging or pain accompanied by welts, vesicles (small, fluid-filled sacs), raised red bumps, and patches of red, scaly skin.
  • These symptoms appear within minutes or hours after contact and last anywhere from one to several days.
  • Contact with mucous membranes (for example, a child putting a caterpillar in their mouth) can cause more serious reactions such as shortness of breath, conjunctivitis, difficulty swallowing, and hay fever.
  • Treatment typically only requires the removal of visible embedded setae. Any that can’t be removed loosen themselves over the next several days.
  • Pain from skin reactions usually subsides within a few hours but can also be medicated with over the counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
If you think your child has come into contact with Gypsy Moth setae, pediatrician Stacey Maslow advises: “Try to remove the hairs as best you can and treat with pain relievers as needed. If any of the more serious side effects start to occur, like shortness of breath, contact your doctor.”

Campbellford & District Horticultural Society

June 13 at 6:19 PM

“The crazed panic over LLD (Gypsy) Moth continues!! It is too late to spray, despite many companies still offering this service or selling the spray. 

Not every caterpillar, moth and butterfly is an LLD moth (see below for some native lookalikes). 

Its gross, but temporary. Leaves will grow back. Focus on keeping your trees healthy with a good soaking of water if there isn’t a good rain, and feed the soil in the dripline of the tree(s)with a thin layer of good compost or other natural fertilizer (not chemical fertilizer, they can screw up the good soil microbes). 

When you see the fuzzy, cream-coloured eggs masses on bark in a few weeks from now, scrape off as many as you can into soapy water to reduce next year’s crop. They are cyclic in population and will peak then crash within the next couple of years.”







Government Spraying of Insecticide


Yes, the Government might spray for Gypsy Moths, and they may even do your property. However, they may not spray enough or use an insecticide that is very effective. This may may not be all bad. If they sprayed something more potent they might kill all the desirable preditor insects such as ladybugs, praying mantis and lacewings, as-well-as other beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies, and even birds and toads. 

Besides, the Government has been spraying Gypsy Moths for over a hundred years, and the moths are still with us and spreading. See our “Fighting The Gypsy Moths” section.

If you want to your property to be protected you might have to join the fight. 

Things That Individual Property Owners Can do Themselves


1. Duct tape and tanglefoot
2. Burlap folded strips
3. Burlap strips sprayed with insecticide
4. Gypsy moth traps
5. Search for and destroy egg masses 
6. Aid the spread of virus fatal to gypsy moths
7. Encourage birds to visit your property
8. Hire a professional exterminator to spray from the ground



Origin of Gypsy Moths in the United States



This section provides information about how gypsy moths came to the United States.






E. Leopold Trouvelot

E. Leopold Trouvelot


Gypsy Moth History


The gypsy moth was brought to North America from France by Mr. E. Leopold Trouvelot. His purpose was to breed hybrid silkworms that would be hardier than the Chinese species and that could be used to establish a silk industry in the United States. By 1865 he had a million caterpillars feeding under protective netting at his home in Medford Massachussets. In 1869 some of them escaped and were apparently scattered by a windstorm. 

By 1881 the gypsy moth caterpillars had become so common in the neighborhood of Trouvelot’s old home, that the villagers in Medford considered them a local nuisance.

The population of gypsy moth caterpillar exploded during the spring of 1889. The year before had been a good one for insects, and gypsy moths had flourished and laid record numbers of eggs. Hatching in April and May of 1889, millions of gypsy moth caterpillars stripped leaves from trees yard after yard and street after street in Medford. Caterpillars covered tree trunks, fences, and sides of houses.

Gypsy moth spread map

Gypsy moth spread map
University of Wisconsin


From this unfortunate start in Medford Massachussets, gypsy moths have now spread to many other portions of the United States 

From 1892 to 1900 gypsy moths were confined to the extreme eastern portion of the State of Massachusetts.

By 1914 they had spread to New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

By 1941 they were in Northeastern Pennsylvania and in extreme eastern New York State.

By 1981 they were all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

They have now spread to many other states, including Michigan and Wisconsin, as shown on the map on the right.

Gypsy Moths are now also in Virginia, West Virginia and Oregon. How did they get to Oregon? It is believed that they hitchhiked on a car or truck.

They continue to spread. 

Follow this link to see efforts over the years to rid the country of Gypsy Moths: Gypsy Moth Wars

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EPISODE 373 THE DEATH OF POISONOUS PARSNIP PLANT JUNE 2021

EPISODE 373     THE DEATH OF POISONOUS PARSNIP PLANT    JUNE 2021


alan skeoch
June 2021




Were we overcautious?  That thought occurred to me as I waited for Andrew to arrive
with his jump suit and rubber gloves…and a lethal knife to cut the  throat of
the poison parsnip which had overtaken the perennial garden.  Seemed to
me that the plant had been growing elsewhere with minimal attention.

Then I took another look at the injuries the wild parsnip did to exposed flesh.
Huge gross fluid filled blisters.   The chemical that oozed from the wild parsnip 
is the same or very similar to the chemical oozes from giant hogweed. Capable
of causing blindness and even death.

Andrew arrived.  Dressed in coveralls… no exposed flesh;  Like a skilled  butcher
he slit the throat of the parsnip and carefully stuffed all of the plant into a large
plastic bag.   “we could just leave here and lt the sun look it but better for uou
to put it in the garbage.”  Then he was gone.   I could have done that myself.

The root was large…a parsnip.  Apparently  the root is edible.   Should I open
the bag and get the root.  Boil the parsnip up into some kind of parsnip soup?
Then serve it to friends?     

Hold on!   I will throw the plastic bag on Brad Schneller’s lawn!   He likes parsnips.




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EPISODE 373 POISONOUS PARSNIP … DO NOT TOUCH …extreme danger

EPISODE 373     POISONOUS PARSNIP  – EXPLOSIVE GROWTH…DEADLY PLANT…LOOKS LIKE QUEEN ANNE’S LACE


Alan skeoch
June 19, 2021



“Alan, look what grew in the perennial garden.  Is it a flower or a weed?”
“Not sure…looks sort of like Queen Anne’s Lace but twice the size.”
“Should we pull i out or let it flower?”
Quite stunning to look at.”
“Are you sure it is not Hogweed…the killer of the fence row.”
“Don’t touch it just in case.   Hogweed sap can make a person blind…even kill.”
“Too small for Hogweed.”
“Give Andrew a call.”

“Tempted to pull it out…to cut it at the base.”
“Do not do a bloody thing.”
“The plant grew fast…seems it was so small and now it is 3 feet high and getting higher.”
“Scares me.”
“Give Andrew a call now.”
“I will need pictures…”
“Pictures?   PICTURES!!!”
“Give Andrew a call now.”


“ANDREW,  There is a STRANGE plant growing in centre of the garden…looks
like Queen Anne’s lace but bigger and greener.”
“Do not touch it Dad…get away.”
“Why?”
“”Wild Parsnip..for sure…sap will burn your skin…REALLY BAD…GET AWAY FROM IT.”
“But the plant is in the centre of the perennial garden.”
“I will get it tomorrow…need to be careful…gloves, mask, long pants…need to
dig up the wild parsnip roots as we’ll.”
“Marjorie is worried about her perennials.”
“Danger, dad…real danger…the sap can torture…”

How did it get here?    Wild parsnip loves disturbed ground.  Gardens..road shoulders…hiking trails.




EVIDENCE…NO JOKING MATTER…LOOK AT THE BLISTER WHEN THIS LADY
ACCIDENTALLY FELL INTO SOME POISONOUS PARSNIP.  DO NOT TOUCH THE PLANT
WITH BARE SKIN…TAKE PRECAUTIONS .

alan skeoch




At first, Murphy said she

At first, Murphy said she “didn’t think anything of it.” (Charlotte Murphy)

WARNING: ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES

A Vermont woman who received the equivalent of second-degree chemical burns to her legs after falling into a wild parsnip plant is warning others about the dangers of the seemingly harmless herbage.

Around the first of July, Charlotte Murphy, of Essex, Vermont, was traveling to the southern part of the state for her internship with a local artist. When she stopped on the side of the road, she lost her footing and fell into the plant, breaking it, causing the sap from the wild parsnip plant to come in contact with her bare legs.


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EPISODE 372 meeting of the castlefield institute June 17, 2021 (John Ricker presiding)

EPISODE 372    MEETING OF THE CASTLEFIELD INSTITUTE  JUNE 17, 2021  JOHN RICKER PRESIDING


alan skeoch
june 17, 2021




This is John Wardle…creator and manager of the relatively unknown Castlefield Institute, an organization
that discusses and makes suggestions concerning world events some of which threaten our very existence.

Most of the time, however, we just enjoy each others company   We laugh a lot which is a good sign.
And every one seems to have an opinion some of which are astounding…i.e. brilliant.  Many are just
plain silly.   Silly and delightful.  We have a good time.

alan



And this is John Ricker in whose honour the Castlefield Institute was created.  John Ricker has suggested to John Wardle a disparate assembly of 
people to join him in monthly discussions.






“Mmmmmmmmmmmm!”   (read below to understand the Mmmmmmmmmm!)



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EPISODE 372 THIS EUCLID DUMP TRUCK MAKES OUR VAN LOOK LIKE A DINKY TOY…COAL MINING CONTROVERSY 1990’S OHIO




EPISODE 371   STRIP MINING IN OHIO


alan skeoch
June 2021

See if you can find Andrew in this picture.   Behind the Euclid are heaps of rubble that was once a dense and beautiful
Caledonian forest.   Why destroy the forests of Central Ohio?  Imagine the scale of destruction this Euclid could wreak.
A few loads like this and our farm in Southern Ontario would cease to exist.   Can you guess the economic justification
of using these Euclids?   What is being sought under the Osage Orange groves?  Under the Shagbark Hickory trees?
Under the top soil?  Under the subsoil?



Mining is not pretty.  Strip mining is especialy ugly….extremely so.

We had good friends in central Ohio back in the 1990’s and spent several 

 week-ends driving down to their farm outside Zanesville.   To us it was
a new world in many ways…sometimes a startling new world.

For instance Osage Orange trees thrived and in the fall dropped bushels
of aromatic smelling warted fruit the size of baseballs.  The Osage Orange
trees, however, were not so pleasant as they were covered in spikes the size
of hypodermic needles.

Perhaps the most startling thing  however was not the work of nature.
It was the opposite.  Beneath the lovely forested hills of southern Ohio
are seams of coal. Layered parallel to the ground.  These seams vary from
60 to 120 feet below the ground…technically called overburden.

To get access to these seams of coal it is easier to strip the hills of
their trees, shrubs, plant life with bulldozers.    Then use gigantic
scoop shovels that, in the 1990’s, were bigger than some apartment
buildings.

The  damage done to the hills and valleys of southern Ohio
by these strip coal mining operations is hard to describe.  Best
seen visually in the picture of one Euclid dump truck that is so
large that it makes our truck look like a Dinky Toy.

After strip mining is complete the coal companies are obligated
to put top soil back but the end result robs central Ohio of
its former beauty.

alan skeoch
June 2021

When is it economic to strip mine in Ohio?
  • Generally it is economic to strip mine when there is a 20:1 ratio of overburden-to-coal seam, meaning, for example that a three-foot coal seam can be surface mined economically when the overburden is up to 60 feet. However, at some surface mines in Ohio, highwalls of up to 200 feet high remain where five-foot-coal seams have been extracted.


Just a few pictures below.






In the 1990s, a new form of surface mining,mountaintop removal, became more common. This more invasive method provides access to coal that would’ve been left behind by traditional strip mining. In recent years, tensions over mountaintop removal have risen between those wanting to boost the state’s diminishing coal industry and activists wanting to protect the environment.



wiki-wyoming-coal-mine.png



One final thought:  WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR CIVILIZATION WHEN WE HAVE CONSUMED ALL THE COAL AND
OIL DEPOSITS?
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EPISODE 370: ONE DAY IN JUNE 2021 (JUNE 16) FREEMAN/SKEOCH FARM, WELLINGTON COUNTY, ONTARIO)

  EPISODE 370:    ONE DAY IN JUNE 2021  (JUNE 16)  FREEMAN/SKEOCH FARM, WELLINGTON COUNTY, ONTARIO)

alan skeoch
June 13, 2021

Today I quit work early in the morning.  Too nice a day to work.  So I spoke
to myself.  “Alan, why don’t you try to capture this day on he farm.  Forget about
all your old machines.  Forget about weeding.   Forget about appointments.”

“Just take a walk.  Make the walk into an episode..”
“Good idea, but readers like a purpose.”
“Purpose…shhhhmorpose.”
“No, they need a challenge.”
“Challenge…shhhhmallenge.”
“Let me give them just one thing to look for.””
“What?”
“See if they can find the thistles that are taking over the flax and sweet clover field.”
“Look for thistles?”
“Thistles….ssssmmistles.”

The thistles are about to disappear beneath the blade of the Bobcat bucket.

alan Skeoch

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EPISODE 369: OLD PICTURE FREEMAN FARM … GRANDPA, ERIC, DAD (SPIFFY OUTFIT), LADDIE…OLD VERANDAH 1943 PERHAPS



EPISODE 389   OLD FREEMAN FARM…GRANDPA, ERIC, DAD (SPIFFY  OUTFIT), LADDIE…OLD VERANDAH 1943 PERHAPS
                          (SOMETHING IS OUT OF PLACE IN THIS PICTURE…WHAT IS IT?)


alan skeoch
June 2021

Take a look at the picture below.  Something is out of place…does not fit…odd.  What is it?
No, it is not the cat’s bum.  No, it is not the dog Laddie trying to persuade granddad to teach
him to smoke a pipe.   No, it is not the decrepit back stairs.   Wise up.  Look closer.



Laddie, grandpa, Eric, and the cat all fit and are in harmony with the shape of the back porch.
The odd thing is Dad.  Red Skeoch looks spiffy.  Sort of odd for a man whose job was building Truck tires
at Dunlop Tire Company in Toronto.

Look at the new hat…a sleek black fedorah..and the suit.  Spiffy.    Why is he dressed like that?

The answer is simple.  Dad is en route to the horse races somewhere in Ontario.  We had no car.
So getting to the races depended upon special busses leaving for the track at Fort Erie or in New York
State at Batavia.   Close by , however, were many Toronto racetracks also serviced by special 
busses…Thorncliffe Park, Woodbine, Dufferin and another near Mimico.  Those special busses always
seemed jammed with men like Dad.  Many were Chinese which was how Dad came to speak Mandarin!
Dad’s version of Mandarin which is called Gibberish .  His Chinese gambling friends liked dad even
when he was outlandish.  At least my memory of them involved smiles… 

Why so spiffy?   Because dad liked to live a second lifestyle .   He had friends everywhere it seemed.  
One friend let him into the high class part of Woodbine track…or Fort Erie.   He dressed to fit the image
of the Club House class.  When he took us to the track his instructions were always the same. “Look straight
ahead boys…walked right through the ticket gate with me…I have a contact taking Club House revenue…Do
not look anywhere but straight ahead.  If someone yells, keep moving.”

Now this picture was taken before he started taking us with mom to racetracks.   Eric must be out
5 or 6 years old which puts the picture around 1944.   Why wasn’t Dad in the army like so many
of our relatives?  Too old.  His work was also a necessary war industry.  Armies moved on rubber tires.
Dad married late in life “because no woman would have him” some said.
But that was not true.  He attracted people\le even with his offhand manner.  He was one of those people
who were charismatic.   Charming.  Disarming.  Impolite….always searching for the golden ring on
the merry go round of life.  He made our life as his kids fascinating.  

He made the life of collection agencies from Finance companies challenging.   Mom often had to
pay off his debts.  She loved him in spite of his failings.  Whenever he got into trouble her comment
was “Oh Red, you fathead.”

THE PICTURE

No, I do not know how he got from the farm to the racetrack on that day…Gray Coach bus
stopped at Silver Creek.   And Uncle Frank could be relied upon to rev up the Model A or
Model T to get him there.

Granddad was poor, respectable, welcoming.  He liked Dad in spite of his tendency to scam
those around him.   We loved him.

alan
(another Red Skeoch story)
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EPISODE 358 “WHERE DID YOU FIND ALL TOSE PICTURES FOR TE EPISODES, ALAN” “IT WAS NOT EASY”

EPISODE 358    “WHERE DID YOU FIND ALL THOSE PICTURES FOR THE EPISODES, ALAN” “IT WAS NOT EASY”

alan skeoch
June 2051

This is my family:  Mom, dad, Eric and I.  We laughed a lot.  Did not know we were poor.
Actually we believed we were rich.  And we were correct.  We were rich.

WRITING STORIES WITH PICTURES 2021

Dan Bowyer wondered why there were no pictures with the rather crude story about the Fireman’s Lift.
He liked both and has responded to every episode, many of which paralleled his life. Then
The Mississauga Library System wanted permission to replicate my pictures.  Others were surprised
I was able to illustrate the 357 stories with pictures.  How was it done?

Getting pictures to fit the stories is not easy.  Some stories took me several days to find pictures.  But pictures
were necessary to establish that the stories are authentic.   

HOW I GOT SO MANY PICTURES


1) From elementary school to the present time I have been a camera enthusiast.   Initially using 
cheap little plastic cameras that always seemed to leak light to the more sophisticated pocket cameras
available today.  My best cameras have been and are the 
Sony 1.8-4.9/10.4 – 37.1 with Zeiss lens.  They take a lot of abuse and do fit in my pocket even if
the weight threatens to pull my pants down. I dropped one ..broke it…cost $500.  Uttered a few
choice expletives and bought another camera.  

2) I saved negatives and pictures in cigar boxes even when a kid.  Then I began making slides….35 mm.
Last year , 2020, I looked at the boxes and boxes of slides that no one would ever see.  There must be a way to get
slides in digital form.   First, I bought a cheap replicator…not good due to dust.   Second, I discovered a
company that copies slides professionally.  At a cost.   Was it worth spending 50 cents to $1 a slide and same
for negatives. ?  I decided to spend the money.  Well over $1,500 so far…not cheap.  More to do. Threw away lots.

3) All converted pictures and slides come back to me in a stick form and can be injected
into my computer like the vaccine is to our arms.   Then Spin them like a slot machine … images rolling by.

4) Reams and reams of pictures … over 1,500 images. saved.
Lots of work.   I also have several thousand images put into my computer from my cameras.
Sometimes I go searching for images to fit the stories.  Sometimes an image triggers a story.

5) Then each picture is photo shopped to improve it…lights up dark images….crop images
to highlight a particular theme.   Lots of work.   Sometimes it takes a whole day to put things together.
Sometimes several days.   It is a challenge to do a Story a Day but an enjoyable challenge.

6) To me a story has to have both a written script and lots of illustrations.  One without the other just
does not feel right.

7) DOES ANYBODY READ THE STORIES?  AM I JUST WASTNG TIME?


Who reads the stories?  No one?
That question occurs to me.  I know, however, that some people in isolation like
having a story a day.  My sister in law, Anne Hughes, told me yesterday that she looks
forward to my story every morning with her coffee.  She and her husband are cloistered
in a tiny home.  They can no longer drive.  My stories help which pleases me.

8) Do the stories go beyond my friends?  It is wonderful to get an email from persons I do not
know who have found my stories on the internet.  Yesterday I got  note from a young man who spends summers at  Paradise Lodge on
the Algoma Central Railway… a person I do not know.  He loved those wilderness stories about
Wart Lake, mining exploration, wolves, lightning and Marjorie arriving with our cat and her sewing
machine.  We had lots of wolves . We had no electricity.   So many notes like that.
Victor Poppa’s grandson for instance…writing a play about Victor.  I hoe he will Remind me to send some
more pics…lost his email.  Then there is Dr. Norm Paterson, my former boss in the mining
exploration days who sends notes often.   On and On.  Letter from Belgium, Australia, England,
Ireland…from the far corners of Canada like Mayo Landing , Whitehorse, Anchorage Juneau

Then so many notes from people who have had similar experiences but have lost
the pictures.   Lucky for me that mom had kept some black and white pics of our childhood.

Missing pictures?  Lots of them.  I wish we had more pics of dad wasting his money at racetracks
…wasting his money but sharing the experience by sneaking us in to tracks when we were young or
setting us up as scam artists selling gamblers day old racing forms.  Did we really do that? Or is it
imagination.  No pictures to prove or disprove.

And nice to get notes from friends…to rekindle friendships in spite of the pandemic. Russ Vanstone and
his bees; for instance…..too many people to name.  I know some people do not read the stories.  a couple of months ago
I started to delete names because I felt I was cluttering up the emails of those who do not respond.  There was a
hue and cry … so I have not deleted yet,  And will not.  So many of my former students are on the list. We
speak as peers now.  Jeannette Chau even nominated me for a Mississauga literary award.

JUST THE BARE FACTS…LOOK AT THAT GRIN!



8)  Should I worry if the story and the pictures do not reflect well upon me?  No,  I am too old to 
worry about my appearance, my language, my.mistakes,  I try to be self effacing.  Who the hell
wants to read about personal heroic exploits.  Better if the stories have a more earthy touch.  Like
when Floyd Faulkner nick named me Fucking Al on that Groundhog River job in Northern Ontario.
It was a compliment.    Voltaire’s novel Candide has been a big influence…i.e. the naive innocent
facing the best of all possible worlds. Remember Voltaire’s conclusion?  “If this is the best of all possible
worlds, what then of the others?.”

THIS STORY BELOW SHOWS HOW IMPORTANT PICTURES ARE … WHO WOULD BELIEVE IT OTHERWISE?

9) Here is a mini story.   A story made in gentler times.  Today our behaviour
on an Air Canada flight to Iceland and then Toronto might lead to big time trouble.
But  in 1965 we were just entertainment … young and foolish.  If I told the story without
the pictures you might think it was a fabrication.


PHOTO 1:  Marjorie, my brother Eric and I had been drinking a pint of Guinness
in the Dublin lounge waiting for our flight back to Canada.  We were joined
by a Catholic priest and his father.  Nice men. Might have shared a second pint.  Innocent enough
Lots of people drink Guinness.  We boarded OK.  But once in the air the Guinness
did funny things.  We started to giggle.  Marjorie wiped my brow with whipping cream
or was it mashed potatoes?

PHOTO 2:  I maintained I was sober until I found this picture in my camera.
Apparently the pilot came back to check us out.  He borrowed my camera to get
this magnificent shot.   Pictures might remind you of Jack Lemmon and Shriley McLean
in Days of Wine and Roses.


PHOTO 3    Our Air Canada pilot was called by the stewardess to check us out.
He realized we were just young and silly.  Then he borrowed my derby hat for 
this picture which I managed to take.  My brother and I had bought derby hats
at an antique market.  The seller insisted that mine had belonged to Sir Ernest
MacMillan whose initialS were inside.   The derby hat looked good on the 
pilot who was a laid back kind guy.  What a great pilot we had on that flight.

ABSENT PHOTO 4:  Eric was busy proposing to the stewardess much to her amusement.
I have a picture to prove it but wanted to keep this story brief.

PCTURES TELL A STORY

Each of the pictures below could be a story…should be a story…will be a story.

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episode 163 WE TOOK THE KIDS TO IRELAND…JUST BEFORE THEY LEFT THE NEST…GLAD WE DID (around 1980)

EPISODE 163   WE TOOK THE KIDS TO IRELAND… JUST BEFORE THEY LEFT THE NEST…GLAD WE DID

alan skeoch
June 2021

CHILDREN have a tendency to grow older…to grow up.  When they hit those late
teen age years they often leave the nest no matter how comfortable that nest has
become.  Marjorie and I knew that.  Most parents know that.  We knew it would happen
soon so we tried to capture them for this fling to Southern Ireland where I once
worked as you may remember in earlier episodes.



We landed in Shannon on the Irish west coast…rented a car…and then
I said “Let’s find a pub and get a pint of Guinness right away.”

I still remember Marjorie’s response because it was so out of character.
“Well Alan, I hope visiting pubs is not the main part of our trip with the boys?”

At which point I looked at the boys and they looked at me.  We grinned
and soon found a pub.  






WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO READ A STORY ABOUT OUR TRIP?

Good point.   Why would you want to read a story about our trip? Plan your own trip.  Perhaps you  have plans
to travel there when this Covid 19 scourge ends.   One of my ex-students Jeannette Chau, whose
husband, Michael, is Irish, asked “Do you think Ireland is still like the Ireland you found
back in 1960…then again in 1965…then again in 1980…then again and again.”
Yes,  I really think Ireland keeps its charm.   The violent past is present but it
sure is not a downer for tourists unless you are looking for a fight.  I think we have
been to Ireland seven times.  Each time memorable.  Pleasant.  Boisterous.

Kids like calves grow into adults.  We tried to catch our kids when they were
on the cusp of adulthood.


I wanted to share my Irish adventures crawling through the 100 year old Knockmahon
mine…with the boys.   More than a tourist venture…an Adventure.



There were several ancient adits to the mine open on the cliff face along
the south coast near Bunmahon, County Waterford.   The local people knew about them but few others
did.   crawling on our stomachs and walking bent over was not something Marjorie
wanted to do again.  She had been here with my Brother Eric and I way back in 1965
when the boys were just a gleam in our eyes.   Marjorie did not think of the crawling
as an adventure.   I think she thought it was just a bit foolish…and dangerous.
Which was true.


Today, in 2021, the old mine is celebrated and the area is described in tourist
brochures as the Copper Coast.  Tours can even be arranged.  Not quite the same
as our explorations.


In 1960, Dr. Paterson entrusted me as a Field Man for Hunting Technical and Exploration Services…doing a geophysical survey for
Dennison Mines of Canada in Ireland just to see if it was possible to re open the old Knockmahon
mine.  He trusted me.  I never violated that trust.  There is something special about trust.

HURLING MATCH…ON THE BEACH IN WESTERN IRELAND

Ireland is a tourist heaven.   Easy to meet people and often replete with simple joys such
as when the boys joined a hurling match on an Irish beach.   The young Irish lad
was so enthusiastic describing hurling to big boys like Kevin and Andrew.  He was
very cute.





Old stone houses without roofs are plentiful.  Their history is often disturbing.


We stopped for dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy in Bunmahon.   In 1960 we rented
part of their rambling house as living quarters for our team.   Mrs. Kennedy became
a house mother.   A previous mining team had not been as gracious as we were she said.

While waiting for my equipment to arrive in 1960 a strange thing happened.   Kevin Behan and his family
looked after me. No relation to Brendon Behan. Their kids were great.  There warmth endures to this day.   Our son Kevin does not even know that this
is his namesake.  
The Dublin days are described in earlier episodes.

Mrs. Behan, suggested I go to see THE QUIET MAN with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara which played continuously in a Dublin theatre.
After seeing the film I thought that Ireland could not possibly be like the move.   I was wrong.  My Irish experience was exactly like the movie
I recommend you find a copy … you will enjoy it even if for the second or third time.

Once upon a time a man…a kind of monk…lived here in the little domed structures many of which are common on
the Dingle and other west coast places.



Here is the Kenneay family as found in 1960.  Gerald, the little boy, was handicapped as you can see.  He was a never ending
joy.  Followed me around a lot.  The whole family was wonderful.   Mrs. Kennedy kept me informed about proper behaviour and
insisted I go to mass on Sundays even though she knew I was Presbyterian.  She was correct.  Being at mass made me belong
to the community.  Our employees delighted in throwing Holy Water my way as I exited the church.   


This is just a snippet of our visit to Ireland around 1980.   It should be enough to make you wish you were with us.   Just finding the pictures has
transported me back in time.

I said at the beginning of this story that Marjorie and I knew our days with the boys were numbered.  They would soon 
carve out their own lives.  But they would not ever forget us.

Sure enough, a year or so after this Irish trip both boys left.  It was Oct. 7…damn close to Marjorie and my birthdays (9 and 16) that
the boys left.  Kevin headed for a job as an English teacher in Slovakia just as Czechoslovakia broke apart and the Berlin Wall was collapsing along with the Soviet Union.
Andrew and his friend Keith took off the opposite direction heading for Pacific Islands and then on to New Zealand and Australia…travelling
west with a variety of cars destined for scrap yards.  They stopped in Los Angeles to visit Victor Poppa (Last Flight of HX 313 episodes).
Victor carved wooden side windows for the car wreck they had at the time.

Guess what?

Both boys returned.

alan skeoch
June 2021