"They need fathers who stick around"

Lorrie Goldstein has published a new column that is certain to be controversial; not with me but with the usual crowd who are offended by common sense.

You can listen to him discuss it here @ 34:20.

85 Years Young

My Uncle Hector turned 85 years old today.

My mom (his sister) & I took him out for lunch.

A Little Family History

I came across this web page from the Czech Radio Service discussing General George S. Patton. Some people are not aware that he and his 3rd Army penetrated into the Czech Republic, a few hundred kilometres east of the German border.

A few months ago I learned from my Uncle Horst, the younger brother of my dad, that Patton is the reason for my very existence!

My dad and his family are ethnically German but he grew up in a region called Silesia, most of which was ceded to Poland after World War 2. In 1945 he was just a young teenager. When the Russian Army was advancing towards Germany, all German civilians were moved further west, toward the center of Germany.

My uncle told me how they were moved by train from town to town. They eventually made it to a town called Haid, in the Czech Republic (it is now called Bor). There, one of my uncles, Gunter, was killed. He was just eight years old.

Eventually the family - my grandmother and her 2 remaining sons and 3 daughters - were brought to a town called Mies (since renamed to Stříbro), also in the Czech Republic.

Uncle Horst explained how they kept looking towards one road coming into Mies from the east, expecting the Russians to arrive at any moment. But suddenly a string of military vehicles entered from the west. It was Patton's Third Army! If this had not occurred, their fate would have been much worse and I would have never been born.

My dad's family were able to catch one of the the last few trucks out and were taken right to downtown München. Six years later, he saw little future for his homeland so he boarded a freighter and came to Canada as a refugee.

Here's a famous speech of Patton's, though spoken by actor George C. Scott:
He was tough and probably unfair at times, but he sure got things done!

18th Child

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar just had their 18th child.

The Duggar family hail from Arkansas and even have their own show on the TLC Network.

My friend, Mike, who sent me this story, seems pretty shocked by it. But you know how carbon credits are all the rage nowadays? You fly somewhere and pay someone to plant a few trees to compensate for your use of carbon on the flight? Well, in my mind Mr. Duggar has a de facto "child credit" arrangement with me & Mike. Both of us have zero kids, Mr. Duggar has 18, so collectively we each only have six. And I don't know about Mike, but I'm not even asking for a cent.

It was a lot of work, but somebody had to do it. No need to thank me. :-)

P.S. Hey Mom, you now have six grandchildren! Oh by the way, can you look after them next Saturday evening? I have a hot date.

Montreal Visitor

Mon amie, Micheline, kept herself very busy this summer running three Laura Secord stores in Montreal. She was exhausted so decided to come out and visit my mom & I for a week.

Summer BBQ

I had the great pleasure to host a family & friends at a BBQ, giving me a chance to introduce (or reintroduce) Danny. Ages ranged from 2 to 84 and [I think] great fun was had by all!



If you think I look more than a little exhausted, you'd be correct. You try entertaining wee ones with boundless energy for several hours! Uncle Wobert [sic] was in fine form!
Being the ingenious guy he is, Danny found a highly effective way to create a huge number of water balloons.
They were the absolute hit of the party, especially amongst the younger set!

Visit to Uncle Hector

Before returning to Vancouver, we stopped in to visit my mom's brother, Hector. For 45 years he lived out in a beautiful area of Richmond but recently sold his home and moved into an assisted living residence in Ladner. We were all concerned about how this change would affect him. So far, everything appears to be going fine.

Some Ladies in My Life

I don't usually post photos of my family, but I had to make an exception for this one. It's a photo of my Mom (L) and my Tante (Aunt) Gisela. It was taken last month at Vancouver's airport, just before Gisela and her husband, my Uncle Horst, flew off to Deutschland (Germany).


Horst just e-mailed it to me. I don't recall which of us actually took it!

A Little Glimpse Into American Family Life

Here's a little video I just put together for some wonderful friends of mine in Oregon:

Day 3: Portland, Oregon

Today was definitely a "family" one; not my family but that of my friends. Erik was out fishing on the coast so Ginette and I and her kids joined her neighbour, Stacy, and her children. We headed up to the expansive and beautiful Washington Park in SW Portland.

We initially made a B-Line for a large children's playground. This gave the kids (and Uncle Rob) a chance to burn off any excess energy.

We then strolled over to the magnificent Rose Garden.




Later in the day was wonderfully mellow, just hanging out and playing with the kids. For dinner, Ginette invited over her mom and we had delicious spaghetti, made from fresh tomatoes from their garden.

Because I had to catch an early morning flight the next day, I opted to stay at a hotel near the airport. Ginette drove me downtown, where I caught the Max Red Line to PDX.

Spanglish

I had long wanted to see this movie and finally did so last night. It was absolutely delightful. I wasn't actually aware of the precise story beforehand and was perhaps even more surprised and charmed by it as a result. My great interest in Latin culture undoubtedly has a lot to do with the year I spent in Mexico City in 1996-97 and my subsequent relationship with a beautiful Mexican woman and her young son in the years following. The story of Spanglish is completely different than mine but hit many personal chords nonetheless.

In a nutshell, the movie is about a beautiful Mexican woman (played by Spanish actress Paz Vega) who moves to Los Angeles from Mexico when her daughter is quite young. Eventually she accepts a job as the housekeeper for a wealthy white family. On the surface the movie is about the clash of cultures but it's really more the clash between a down-to-earth, balanced, hard-working poor woman and a nutty, self-absorbed, and shallow wealthy woman. On a broader level it illustrates why so many in the West are desperately unhappy and lost in their lives.

It reminded me of why I felt so comfortable living in the Latin culture and why I can never go back to getting involved with the neurotic junior sisters of the antagonist; women that, sadly, I meet too often here in Vancouver.