Posted on December 4, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

PLEASE JOIN ME THIS EVENING AT PEOPLE’S PLACE LIBRAY AT 7:00 P.M. FOR THE LAUNCH OF MY NEW BOOK:

“WEEK45: FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FOIBLES”

REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED.

Posted on December 2, 2014 under Storytelling with no comments yet

Conducting my own research with my granddaughters

 

 

A day rarely goes by when we don’t hear something in the media about ground-breaking research.   An announcer breathlessly declares that some obscure university has followed thousands of participants and has reached some startling conclusions.  The study is usually funded by government, or worse; by private industry which has a lot to gain by results that point to a particular product or service.

Useless research ranks right up there with suspect polling.  In this millennium, election results in Canada and beyond have left us all scratching our heads as candidates, who were doomed to the scrap heap in the media, miraculously won after being far behind in the polls.

I was mulling these things over the other day after hearing the results of a study about infants.  I know a little bit about this subject, having played a role (supporting cast) in raising four of them.  I am also a grandparent three times over so I am witness to child rearing a second time around, albeit from a more comfortable vantage point.

So here are some of the results of recent research projects that have left me shaking my head in awe.  Babies who are rocked by their parents and grandparents are more content and grow up better adjusted.  Now that’s a shocker.  And how about this stunner: kids who are well nourished learn better and faster.  This was a $500,000 study.  Seriously.  And, wait for this, children who are read to as infants and toddlers do better when they arrive at school.  I am flabbergasted.  I am so relieved that this study took many years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to reach this amazing conclusion.  Somehow I have to believe that the dedicated volunteers who devised and implemented the Read to Me! program in Nova Scotia knew instinctively that kids and books belong together.

The only thing more preposterous than government funded studies is those done by private companies, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry.  All of their research eventually concludes that more drugs are the answer.  Don’t you just love the ads on US stations that tell you the merits of a new wonder drug, only to find out that the side effects include the possibility of dizziness, nausea, heart palpitations, sweating, shortness of breath, rash, amnesia, stoke, heart attack and , in rare, cases, death.  Yup.  I’m ready to step up and try some of that, especially when the research has been conducted by a reputable company funded by big pharma.

I have a much better suggestion that would save years and millions of dollars. I have done my own research.  All it took was thirty-two years sitting at the kitchen table.  After reading hundreds of stories and realizing how much research is either self-serving or redundant, I have concluded that investigators could have saved themselves and the tax paying public a lot of grief.

They could have simply picked up the phone and asked my wife, or any of her peers.

Posted on December 1, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Saying goodbye to the sweets for awhile

 

 

I had never consumed a Krispy Kreme donut until our recent trip to Florida. It was interesting watching them produce them right in front of you. It was even more interesting eating  them! But, alas, that was the last sweet that I’ll put in my system until Christmas day arrives.

Which brings me to a story I’m working on about “moderation.” Aren’t you just sick to death about everyone telling you to do things in moderation? I watched a very interesting video on the weekend (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6U728AZnV0 ) about the perils of long distance running, something I did for eight years. It would appear that everything we do and everything we consume is bad for us, if we do it to excess. The exceptions to this might be red wine and dark chocolate. Sounds like a balanced diet to me! “A Question of Balance” might be a good title for a story , which , by the way, is the title of a Moody Blues album from 1970. I saw this band in Las Vegas many years ago , well past their prime and they were still awesome.

I also have a story coming up about some other interesting research projects. I have found that incredible amounts of money are spent on research which comes to some painfully obvious conclusions.

Of course, today is December 1^st. and the mad rush has officially begun. Like you, I saw a fair bit of footage from the “Black Friday” sales in the U.S. and other countries. It looked more like the running of the bulls in Pamplona. I wonder what people in sub-Saharan Africa , who are lined up for a bag of flour at a relief station, would make of this. Sorry to all you die hard shoppers, but I find those images ( both ) quite disturbing. The gap between the haves and have nots continues to widen. Oops, there I go pontificating again.

The outdoor decorations are starting to emerge like the first kernels of corn in a popcorn popper. I will dutifully put ours up on the weekend. In the upcoming story “ Deck Orations,” I explore the tradition of decorating for the Christmas season. Some people go to incredible lengths while others ( like us ) , take a more minimalist approach. Actually, that’s being charitable. Our children have consistently scorned us for the meager effort we put into decorating for Christmas. Until they come to our rescue and do it themselves (!), we will continue to be among “the worst decorated houses” in Antigonish.

Don’t forget that I am available to come to your homes ( or offices ) during the Christmas season to entertain friends or clients. I will do some readings from my books and even sing a few Christmas tunes. I will bring some books for sale that would make a relatively inexpensive gift… and great reading material for the bathroom!

Later this month ( Boxing Day ), I will embark on a transcontinental trip ( by car ) with my son, Peter.  The ultimate destination is Victoria, B.C. but our route will take us through the southern states, California and back up into Canada. ( Approximately 9,000 km. )  During this two week period, expect mostly stories from the road. Looking forward to the geography lesson.

Have a great week and hope to see you at one of my launches this week.

P.S. Because of recent changes to Facebook, the only way that you can be sure to receive my posts is to go to my website and become a subscriber through e-mail. ( at the bottom of my home page ). It’s old fashioned… but it works.