Posted on February 11, 2016 under Faces in the Crowd with no comments yet

 

Is it possible for a human to have as many lives as a cat?

Meet Jimmy Statchcook.

Jimmy was born in Goldenville, and at an early age he and his siblings were separated. He lived in many homes and life was never easy.  At the age of ten it was not uncommon for him to walk three miles into the woods, with a gallon of gas and a chainsaw to carve out a living in the forest.

As a teenager, he spent a year and a half in the “San” in the Valley; a victim of TB. Precarious health has followed him around for decades.  When asked to do this story he quipped, “You better do it soon.  I’ve already died seven times.

He is widely known for his green thumb, especially the impressive sunflowers that he grew for years at his home at the corner of Hawthorne and Pleasant Streets.

He is a frequent visitor at MacInnis’ Barbershop, and a regular and loyal volunteer at the Hot Meal program at St. James Church, where he helps to set up the hall.

Jimmy is an armchair philosopher and gives Yogi Berra a run for his money with some of his expressions. He often sits in his recliner before going to bed, pondering the great question, “What is life?” According to Jimmy: “If you wake up in the morning, that’s good.  If you don’t, that’s another thing.”

When asked about his daily routine, Jimmy says, “I plan it the night before; otherwise I spend the next day walking around in circles.”

Asked how he would like to be remembered he says, “I always help people. If someone’s in a jam, I’m there.”

His greatest joy is his brother’s dog. That says something about this cool cat … nine lives and counting.

Posted on February 7, 2016 under Faces in the Crowd with no comments yet

 

One drummer starts, followed by another and another until the sound reaches a thundering crescendo.

Meet the St. Andrew’s Musical Youth Group, under the direction of teacher Morgan Gero.

February is African Heritage Month, and last week hundreds of people gathered at the Bloomfield Center on the campus of St. F. X. to honor and pay tribute to the No. 2 Construction Battalion.  This was a segregated unit that supported the front lines in WW1 by assisting with forestry, building trenches, constructing rail lines and repairing roads.  They did this vital work with pride and determination; brave volunteers who had sought out the opportunity to serve their country. 

After the proclamations and speeches by the dignitaries, it was the children in attendance who moved the audience in voice and music.

The program ended like it started, except the drummers started en masse and ended up with a solo drummer tapping the drum head skin.

Moving.  Magical.  Memorable.

 

Posted on February 6, 2016 under Storytelling with one comment

Pricey Paella

 

 

Ah! The joy of fresh fruit and vegetables.

For as many years as I have been alive, the Canada Food Guide (and my wife!) have been hammering away at me to eat better. I grew up in a family where meat and potatoes were the basis of our diet along with fresh home baked goods … seven days a week.  So it should come as no surprise that making a change in eating habits much later in life is not easy; nor is it inexpensive, as I recently found out.

Back in the day, being a “townie” had some distinct advantages. You could walk to the rink, the Alleys or the Parish Center.  Most sporting venues, educational institutions (and the liquor store!) were all close at hand.  However, we were not nearly as self-reliant as our neighbors in the county.  Many of them grew up on farms, raising beef and chicken and growing their own vegetables.

In our house of ten, most of our vegetables came from a can. I can still see the Jolly Green Giant peering at me as dozens of tasteless peas came tumbling out into the saucepan to be reheated.  Ditto for kernel corn and wax beans.  It was not uncommon to see the entire pantry laden with dozens of cans of the blandest food ever produced on the planet.  An Andy Warhol vignette.  But it was economical, and that was the bottom line.

Not long ago, I decided that it was high time to pay heed to my wife and other nutritional experts. With an ever-expanding waist line and the accompanying high cholesterol that often goes with extra weight, I made some big changes to my eating habits.  French fries – gone.  Ditto for muffins, sweets, potato chips and a host of other treats.  I haven’t abandoned the host … still get that on Sundays!

So these days, it is not uncommon to see our fridge chock full of raw and steamed vegetables. There are containers full of peppers, broccoli, turnip, carrots, avocado, Brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes and cauliflower.  Not surprisingly, I have been dabbling in a lot of meatless cooking and even received an excellent vegetarian cook book at Christmas from one of my daughters.

Last week I decided to make vegetable paella. The first time I had Mexican paella, I thought that I had crossed over into the Promised Land.  It was full of sweet pork, strips of beef, shrimp, scallops and lots of fresh veggies.

My recipe called for onion, garlic, zucchini, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, mushrooms, broccoli florets, carrot, cauliflower florets … and lots of interesting spices; all mixed in with cooked brown rice.

For the record, it was delicious. I was crowing with self -praise to my youngest daughter until she hit me with a left hook:  “Dad, are you aware of the price of cauliflower?”  I am ashamed to admit that while I do quite a bit of the grocery shopping, I don’t pay much attention to prices now that we are back to a household of two.  I hastily retrieved the grocery receipt and was shocked to see the price of one head of cauliflower – $7.99.  For just a moment, I thought about the Mexican paella and wondered if it might be cheaper to go back to the old recipe.

Having driven through California last year, I fully understand the reason behind inflated food prices as a result of the prolonged drought. Not to mention the Canadian dollar. But I didn’t think that I would have to go into debt in order to afford the humble (and often tasteless) cauliflower.

On my next trip to the grocery store, I’m going to check out the canned produce section for old time’s sake. And the local root vegetables.  And while I’m at it, I just might buy a can of Nestlé’s Quick and mix up a cold glass of chocolate milk …. once the bank approves my new line of credit.

It’s back to the future for this lad as I wait out the cauliflower crunch.