Posted on July 11, 2016 under Storytelling with 3 comments

Old Glory

 

If this happens to be your very first trip to my Week45 website, let me assure you that this is not a typical post. Far from it.  My columns are generally non- political and non- controversial. They are usually upbeat, optimistic and tinged with humour. But occasionally, something  just sticks in my craw and I have to get it out.

Pardon me while I rant.

Are we witnessing the unravelling of the U.S.A. in real time?

America is deeply divided along political lines, and racism is rearing its ugly head again. Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s not that it ever went away, but we see it more openly and instantly with the advent of social media. It would be too simplistic to point the finger at one person or one event, but disenchantment and disillusionment are rampant.

Politics is gridlocked. Even when reasonable policies and new initiatives make sense, the two major political entities act like children in a playground when things don’t go well.

Guns.

Sorry, but I just don’t get it. Yes, Americans have the right to bear arms but the ability of just about anyone to arm themselves with guns, rifles and semi- automatic weapons defies logic. Why should any ordinary citizen be given the right to purchase an AR 15, or its derivative to gun down defenseless people?

Hostage taking is ubiquitous. It sometimes seems that politicians are being held hostage by the NRA.

The carnage in the past week has been plain awful as it was in the previous week, and the one before that. We are becoming inured to the devastation due to the sheer frequency of these events. We are keeping television networks’ ratings up along with advertising revenue.

Pathetically and almost inexplicably, gun sales soar after each incident.

According to a study conducted in 2013, the U.S. has an average of 88 guns per 100 people and there are 10 gun related deaths per 100,000 people. Japan has less than one gun per 100 people ( .6 ) and has .6 gun related deaths per 100,000 people.

( http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/09/19/u-s-has-more-guns-and-gun-deaths-than-any-other-country-study-finds/ )

More guns do not make America safer.

Sandy Hook. 20 Elementary school children…

Guns and Politics.

George W. Bush went to Iraq in 2003 on an ill-advised and ill- fated mission, looking for weapons of mass destruction (WMD).  He could have saved thousands of lives and billions of dollars by looking no further than his own country.  There are over 300,000,000 guns in the U.S. with a population of roughly 325,000,000 people. The WMD are on every doorstep and nothing, not the killing of innocent children, innocent black people or innocent cops seems to stop the carnage.

Racial profiling.

I am not an expert on racial profiling, but it does appear that an inordinate number of black people (mostly male) are subject to treatment by law enforcement officers that would never happen if the same person were white. This is not uniquely an American problem but when it occurs daily, we sit up and take notice.

Income inequality.

The gap continues to widen between the haves and the have nots. Something has to give. This phenomenon is not restricted to the U.S. You can feel the frustration smouldering.

Hatred and fear.

Some presidential candidates are preying on fear, leading to a rise of nationalism, homophobia  and xenophobia not seen in a very long time. Very scary stuff. Xenophobia is described as an intense and irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries. Funny thing. Most Americans come from immigrant stock, the last time I checked. Canada is not perfect but we are welcoming immigrants and refugees in record numbers.

The mortar is crumbling on a once proud country.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

“ I am a man who loves fun. Have fun in life and if it isn’t fun, make it fun.”

Meet John Graham-Pole

He was born in his parents bed in Devonshire, England in 1942, the youngest of four siblings. After their parents divorce when John was three, he moved to Weston near his maternal grandmother who played an important role in the family’s upbringing. His mother had a Masters Degree in Fine Arts but bowing to the custom of the day, stayed home to raise her children.

He was sent to a private boy’s school at twelve. In the first semester he was summoned home on a pass and taken to the hospital to find his mother in poor health. He found it odd she should give him his birthday present two months ahead of the actual date. The next time he was called home, he learned of his mother’s death. The trauma of his father leaving home and the premature loss of his mother left an indelible mark on the young boy.

Against the odds,  John ended up studying sciences at London University having been schooled in the classics in his high school years. His rugby coach asked him what he wanted to do with his life. “ I want to cure cancer,” was the reply.

He did a stint in medical oncology but the trauma of watching most of his patients die was too much to bear, evoking the memories of his mother’s death from cancer with each one he lost.

Someone suggested pediatrics. John was terrified of sick children but fell for them at first sight. At the age of 34, he became Britain’s first fulltime pediatric oncologist . He and his first wife adopted two children during his five year stint in Glasgow.

But before John could help others heal, he had to do his own healing, to resolve those emotional scars. He says psychologists and social workers were his salvation.

A trip to a conference in the United States changed the trajectory of his life. He ended up spending thirty years of his working career at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He led the establishment of the first pediatric stem cell transplant consortium in the United States.

Spending long hours with sick and dying children, he quickly saw how children sang, danced and made art, even in their darkest hours. He became the driving force behind the University’s Arts in Medicine, which has in the past twenty-five years brought artists of every imaginable stripe into Shand`s hospital to offer comfort, joy and healing. He began clowning as his own art form and can still produce a bag of tricks when called upon.

At one of the many conferences John planned and spoke at, a lady from Antigonish was in attendance. His future wife, Dorothy Lander,  had just gone through the death of her own husband and was interested in the whole idea of healing through art. They were married in 2006 and have since called Antigonish home.

It didn’t take him long to make his presence felt in his new home town. As one of the co-founders of Arts Health Antigonish ( AHA !) and a board member of the Antigonish Heritage Association, he is involved in a myriad of activities, lending his creativity and energy to countless causes.

He includes writing and cooking among his passions.

“ I want to die young at an advanced age,” says John.

Both seem laudable and achievable goals for this amazingly talented “young old” man!

 

 

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

 

“ I am a man who loves fun. Have fun in life and if it isn’t fun, make it fun.”

Meet John Graham-Pole

He was born in his parents bed in Devonshire, England in 1942, the youngest of four siblings. After their parents divorce when John was three, he moved to Weston near his maternal grandmother who played an important role in the family’s upbringing. His mother had a Masters Degree in Fine Arts but bowing to the custom of the day, stayed home to raise her children.

He was sent to a private boy’s school at twelve. In the first semester he was summoned home on a pass and taken to the hospital to find his mother in poor health. He found it odd she should give him his birthday present two months ahead of the actual date. The next time he was called home, he learned of his mother’s death. The trauma of his father leaving home and the premature loss of his mother left an indelible mark on the young boy.

Against the odds,  John ended up studying sciences at London University having been schooled in the classics in his high school years. His rugby coach asked him what he wanted to do with his life. “ I want to cure cancer,” was the reply.

He did a stint in medical oncology but the trauma of watching most of his patients die was too much to bear, evoking the memories of his mother’s death from cancer with each one he lost.

Someone suggested pediatrics. John was terrified of sick children but fell for them at first sight. At the age of 34, he became Britain’s first fulltime pediatric oncologist . He and his first wife adopted two children during his five year stint in Glasgow.

But before John could help others heal, he had to do his own healing, to resolve those emotional scars. He says psychologists and social workers were his salvation.

A trip to a conference in the United States changed the trajectory of his life. He ended up spending thirty years of his working career at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He led the establishment of the first pediatric stem cell transplant consortium in the United States.

Spending long hours with sick and dying children, he quickly saw how children sang, danced and made art, even in their darkest hours. He became the driving force behind the University’s Arts in Medicine, which has in the past twenty-five years brought artists of every imaginable stripe into Shand`s hospital to offer comfort, joy and healing. He began clowning as his own art form and can still produce a bag of tricks when called upon.

At one of the many conferences John planned and spoke at, a lady from Antigonish was in attendance. His future wife, Dorothy Lander,  had just gone through the death of her own husband and was interested in the whole idea of healing through art. They were married in 2006 and have since called Antigonish home.

It didn’t take him long to make his presence felt in his new home town. As one of the co-founders of Arts Health Antigonish ( AHA !) and a board member of the Antigonish Heritage Association, he is involved in a myriad of activities, lending his creativity and energy to countless causes.

He includes writing and cooking among his passions.

“ I want to die young at an advanced age,” says John.

Both seem laudable and achievable goals for this amazingly talented “young old” man!