I couldn’t resist bundling up and taking my camera down to the lake shore in front of my apartment building early this morning. It was a frigid -17C but the sun was trying to break through and the wind was whistling fine snow over the breakwater. Stunning.
I have been curiously surprised that every time I watch the rescue video of that crane operator stuck out on the boom above a raging fire in Kingston I choke up.
Maybe I am just getting soft in my old age. But there is something very gripping and touching about one human being rescuing another from probable death. It is all the more remarkable that the rescuers were helping a total stranger. (Although the fellow dangling below the helicopter seems to have gotten most of the attention! there was a virtual squadron of Emergency and rescue people involved in making this happen.) I know it is their “job” but they seem to have done their “job” without questioning the risk to themselves. We owe these people a huge thank you for keeping us safe.
What touches me most is the reassurance that we humans can respond without question when we see one of our own in mortal danger or in need. We are constantly bombarded with news reports about mankind fighting and cheating, manipulating and hurting each other . With this incident, we are reminded that at the core we can be good. I am grateful for that reminder this week. It is an unexpected gift to be reassured that we can and will look after each other.
Anyone using the internet has seen the touching photos and videos of animals braving danger to rescue one of their own. The African Buffalo that save one of their young from lions and a crocodile are dramatic and heart-warming. For me, the heroic aerial rescue that happened right here in my home town is as spectacular.
Photos from Kingston Whig Standard, CKWS TV and YouTube.
This is an article that I wrote which was published in the Kingston Whig Standard on Saturday June 22, 2013.
The pupils in Mrs. Pare’s class at Glenburnie Public School are ending the year on a high note and children in a rural Kenyan school are also celebrating, thanks to the generosity of their Canadian peers.
In May, I visited the Glenburnie School class to talk about Africa. They had been reading a book called Alexandria in Africa by Eric Walters. In the book, Alexandria, a young teen from a privileged background ends up in Kenya and sees the challenges of people who live with much less. The Canadian students became both curious about the way people live in Kenya and also motivated to do something to help children living in communities that are not as fortunate as we are.
I showed the Glenburnie kids pictures of my many Maasai friends, told them how traditional Maasai people live, showed them Maasai beadwork and ornaments and photos of my goat, Veronica, whose family is ever growing in fields near the Rift Valley.
We also talked about schools in other regions of Kenya and, in particular, about the S.P. Geddes Early Childhood Development school in a little fishing village on the shore of Lake Victoria.
Through donations to CanAssist from my 93 year-old Dad and some of his friends and family, we have been able to fence a schoolyard, put in latrines and build a couple of new classrooms at this rural lakeside village. In appreciation, the community named the school after my father and when I visited them last February they even plunked a six-month old boy in my lap and said “Meet little Stewart Geddes.” You can imagine how wide my smile was and how excited I was to share this news of this Kenyan namesake with my father when I got home.
Although the village school has two classroom buildings, the older one needs repair and they have absolutely no furnishings. The children learn sitting on mats on the floor – a dirt floor in the older building. CanAssist hopes to remedy that soon.
When the Glenburnie students heard about this they decided that they would like to help out. They started a “Dimes 4 Desks” campaign at the school, set up a table at the school Fun Fair, took tin cans and jars around to other classes to collect dimes and told their neighbours about their project to help African children. One of the students made a video/powerpoint presentation (which can be seen on the CanAssist website).
Last week I went back to the school and they made me guess how much they had raised. I was astounded when the figure reached $1100. I wondered, “If 24 grade four students could come up with $1100 in a month collecting dimes, how much could the same number of adults raise collecting toonies?” Does anybody out there want to try?
I relayed the good news that the Kenyan school will soon be able to purchase desks and chairs and soon received a photo of the kids at the school preparing a thank-you sign for their friends in Glenburnie. I can only imagine the excitement of the children in her class when Mrs. Pare shows them this personal thank you from Africa.
The children at Glenburnie School told me that they had learned a lot about Africa in the last month. And I learned too. These kids proved that with teamwork and enthusiasm goals can be met. They proved that small financial contributions can mount to accomplish something significant if everyone contributes a bit and shares the load. The smiles on their faces and their delight at being able to help others has buoyed me up for the ongoing work that CanAssist is doing in East Africa.
As Gavroche in Les Misérables says “This only goes to show what little people can do!”
Today was the first day of summer according to the calendar.
This evening the Lake Ontario was calm and there were lots of people out enjoying the longest day of the year for us. Sunrise was this morning at 5:22am and sunset at 8:53.
I went out to enjoy the evening and, once again, had to pull out my phone for some photos, all taken within a 10 minute walk from where I live. How I do enjoy living in downtown Kingston.
Kingston City Hall from the Confederation Basin
Behind City Hall. I grabbed a coffee from Starbucks and sat at this table for a while just soaking up Kingston.
King Street from Market Square behind City Hall.
Lots of patio restaurants busy this evening.
City Hall from Market Square
From the roof of my apartment building.
This afternoon I rode the Red Rider from one end of Kingston (Lake Ontario Park) to the other (Fort Henry). Kingston today was just so vibrant. Stunning, bright blue sky and lake – both punctuated by patches of white – fluffy clouds in the sky and the odd whitecap blown up by the lake wind. Fresh breeze to make it comfortable. Peonies and strawberries on the market. Downtown and all the parks full of people outdoors enjoying the day.
My fantasy of passing a jocky cyclist in lycra pants sweating her way up Fort Henry hill came true. Trouble containing my grin as I pulled out to pass her on the hill.
Pulled out my phone along the way to take some photos that I will let speak for themselves.
Spring Turnips at a stall on the Kingston market.
Kingston City Hall
Lake Ontario Park shoreline
Kingston from the Fort Henry Hill
More music…
Today, actress and humanitarian, Glenn Close will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. Yesterday afternoon I was lucky to be able to attend a lecture that she gave at the university which was based on the work that she has been doing with Bring Change 2 Mind– an organization she founded to help reduce stigma associated with mental health problems.
My first notice of Glenn Close was when she was in the movie The Big Chill – a film made in 1983 and also starring other favourites of mine, William Hurt and Kevin Kline. I saw the movie in the Dream Theatre in Monterey, California. The theatre was small and the seats were actually from cars – big and bulky. They gave you the feeling that you were at a drive-in – the perfect venue to see this movie. I have vivid memories of that evening etched indellibly somewhere in my brain. The Big Chill will remain a favourite movie of mine,more for the venue than the film and certainly for a very attractive Glenn Close.
But I digress.
Although she alluded to some of her movie and acting experiences in her talk, it was really about the work she has been doing to try to reduce stigma associated with mental illness. Some of her work is with a Queen’s professor, Dr Heather Stewart who holds the Bell Canada Mental Health and Anti-Stigma Research Chair at Queen’s.
The talk was very personal and often touching. Close has a sister who suffers from Bipolar Illness and a nephew who has Schizophrenia. For years, they went untreated. Everyone just thought they were “difficult” or acting out. Her sister had two suicide attempts as a teen. The family was fed up with their aberrant behaviour. In time, they realized the root of the problem was much deeper.
Close related the statistic that 2 of 3 people in North America with mental illness avoid getting treatment, often because of the stigma attached to their problem. She also said that one in four of us is touched by significant mental illness in their friends, family or themselves. None of us are immune, or so separated from people suffering from Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Illness, PTSD or any other significant mental illness.
The gist of her talk – we have to accept mental illness like we do Diabetes or Cardiovascular Disease, not make it shameful or hidden and encourage access to appropriate care for people who suffer from it.
Glenn Close answers questions from an audience member with hearing impairment. He had to get close so they could converse and she engaged him one-on-one.
As a Health Care professional, I have to wonder if our system is actually up to this task. We often talk about “difficult” patients – people that the system has trouble dealing with because of their manipulative behaviour, poor compliance, anger issues or being demanding. I wonder how many of these “difficult” patients suffer from mental illness. How many of our patients who are non-compliant, aggressive and drug seeking actually have depressive illness or PTSD? How many of our patients with Eating Disorders have been victims of abuse in the past – sexual or emotional? If they or their problems seem “difficult” to us, how “difficult” must it be to be them?
And how are these patients often portrayed? Check out this short Public Service Announcement made by Glenn Close and her professional colleagues from the crew of the TV series “Damages”. ( Close revealed that the crew donated their time to make this short promo film after one of their own committed suicide… and none of them recognized his depression.)
Last month I was admiring the courage and openness of Angelina Jolie. This week it is Glenn Close. And it is not their celebrity that awes me, it is their determination to use that celebrity to bring notice and change to social issues that are often overlooked or hidden. They are putting their talents and good fortune to work to improve well-being. I am impressed with their integrity and openness and their determination to “do something” about important social issues.
Read more about the work Glenn Close is doing to reduce stigma in mental illness here: 
Movie stars seem to loom “large” in our imagination. Glenn Close is actually surprisingly petite – probably not more than five feet four in height. I discovered that she shares her birthday with my brother (March 19) and my year (1947). As with Angelina Jolie, I am available for lunch any time.
Earlier in the month I posted a blog about the dilemma faces by African girls who attempt to cope with the monthly need for sanitary pads with no money to purchase them.
Here is a video of Mama Benta Odhiambo of Kanyala Little Stars on Rusinga Island, Kenya outlining that need.
I have also written a complementary article for the Kingston Whig Standard published on April 4, 2013. If you are interested, here is a link to that article.
Outside the Kingston Brewing Company
I really enjoy living in Downtown Kingston.
I can walk everywhere. I almost feel annoyed when I have to get in the car. With the amount of air travel that I do I can’t claim to be saving the planet from the changing climate but I hope that the exercise of daily walks is keeping me a bit fitter.
The city core is lively and entertaining throughout the year, with lots of great restaurants, coffee shops, patios, the Lake Ontario waterfront and the start of the 1000 Islands of the St. Lawrence River.
Many outdoor events are held over the summer – concerts, buskers and music festivals, triathalons, parades – but Canada Day celebrations that happen in the centre of the city every year are something that I really look forward to.
On July 1, the streets start to hum early in the morning with people dressed in red and white heading to the streets and parks around the Market and City Hall. The annual “parade” down Princess Street is just a gathering of happy Canadians who are out in the July sunshine waving Canada flags and celebrating the birthday of the country they are proud to live in.
This year the waterfront was the scene of a re-enactment of the Flight of the Royal George – one of the largest war ships on the Great Lakes in 1812. On a blustery November day, 200 years ago, the Royal George was chased along the shoreline of Lake Ontario by American ships who wanted to capture it as a trophy.
Eventually the chase ended right in front of Kingston Harbour. In fact, the last battle took place exactly in front of the place where I now live. And on July 1 this year, it became the site of a re-enactment of the whole chase, complete with cannons firing from the ships and several sites along the shore.
Unlike what would likely have been a dreary November day, the re-enactment took place under sunny skies with great gusts of warm summer wind to propel the ships along. The boom of cannon fire both from the shore and the ships echoed out over the city and the shoreline was lined with tourists and Kingstonians who were there to enjoy the re-enactment.
As in the real battle 200 years ago, the Royal George escaped unscathed and those pesky Yanks were driven back into submission.
The historic re-enactment was both entertaining and a reminder of the history of the very property that is now my home. What a great way to celebrate Canada’s history with other Canadians. And the bonus? We won the battle!
Canada Day in Kingston tops off with a fireworks display over Point Frederick. The downtown core swells again in celebration as hundreds – no, thousands – of people gather along the lake shore to watch the colourful explosions burst over historic Fort Henry.
And once again – lucky me. The best view in town happens to be from the rooftop of my apartment buidling.
It’s Father’s Day and I want my Dad to know that I am thinking about him.
I don’t know who posted this old photo to the Internet. It was taken in the summer of 1920 on the porch of a house called Marnoch where my Dad spent many happy times as a child. I came across it quite by accident a few weeks ago. It startled me to find a photograph of my grandparents taken almost 100 years ago as I Googled the family name. I wondered, as I looked at it, what the people in the picture would think about the longevity of this family gathering photo, made even more indelible in this digital age.
The man at the left is Alex Porterfield, my Dad’s uncle. My father’s middle name is Porterfield and mine is Alex. So this guy who had no children of his own lives on in spirit.
My grandfather is the thin man sitting beside Alex. His nickname was “Sliver”. He was a blacksmith in Belgrave, Ontario, a little town north of Clinton. He and my grandmother would have been about the same age as my kids are now when this picture was taken.
The man in the centre is Peter Porterfield, brother to Alex and Mary. He lived in British Columbia and seldom came to Ontario. He must have been making a summer visit.
The woman seated near the middle is Maud (Code) Porterfield. She was a favourite of my Dad’s and vice versa. I have an old clock that comes from her place. She had a wonderfully shaky voice like Katherine Hepburn and I loved visiting her house in Wingham when I was a child. Her other claim to fame is that her great niece is Alice Munro. Alice writes about her aunt in several of her stories. Aunt Maud is quite accurately and lovingly portrayed as Alice’s “Aunt Charlie” in the story “The Ticket” in her book “The View from Castle Rock”. I treated myself by rereading that story last night. Aunt Maud and Aunt Sadie appear in many other stories written by Alice Munro.
My grandmother is the woman standing on the right side. She looks stern in the photo. But I remember her as a sweet, dear little woman. The older woman seated beside my grandmother is her mother, my great grandmother, Mary Stevenson.
So where does my Dad fit in, you ask? Well look behind the man in the centre. Partially hidden, on the porch is a pram. In the pram would be my father who at that point was only a few months old. So this is the first photograph where my father appears…sort of…92 years ago. And he is still going strong in 2012.
In fact, thanks to his generous support of a community in Kenya, there is now a Stewart Geddes School in Osiri village, not far from the mainland ferry dock heading to Mbita. I am proud of Dad’s generosity toward this little school. Last year, his gift to them through CanAssist was to build latrines and fence the school yard. Just last month he donated funds to build two additional classrooms for the school. They report to me that the kids at the school are amused by having this strange “mzungu” name for their school, an honour that they offered to him in recognition of his support. And because of his help, the young children in this remote, neglected community will have a chance to start their education.
Happy Father’s Day, Dad. Your example of concern for the welfare of others has contributed to who I am today.
johnageddes 