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The
Fire Starter
Shuswap
Kindling for both your imagination and your fireplace
Volume 18
The
Farewell Issue
Feb 2015
Fresh · Healthy · Food
Sharon Toews
and Mike
Gregorig and
their kitchen
on wheels. Left:
chicken tacos.
Right: Thai
prawn salad
rolls with peanut
sauce
Moveable Feast in Scotch Creek
N
ot much happening
in Scotch Creek in
winter. Half the
population has fled; the
other half is depressed. At
least Ecotreats is open. At
least you can still get bacon
and eggs at the Park Store
and a beer at the pub. Not
really the time of year you’d
open a restaurant—is it?
But there, in the snow,
along the Scotch Creek
straight stretch, is a new
green food truck, with the
name Be Teased, serving
up sandwiches, tacos, soup,
and chai lattes and doing a
surprisingly brisk business.
Sharon Toews is well known
for her tea varieties in local
stores and at area farmers
markets for the past five
years, but teaming up with
chef Mike “Chippy” Gregorig
has added a whole new
dimension to the business.
Mike is a trained chef.
He studied at Vancouver
Community college and
worked at the Sandpiper
Golf course on the Harrison
River for five years. He
spent some time working
for film crew caterers and
then came inland to work at
the Quaaout Lodge on Little
Shuswap.
A tour of the truck reveals a
professional stainless steel
kitchen packed into the
tiny space: an eight burner
propane stove, two ovens,
refrigeration, double sink,
you name it. It took thirteen
months to get the whole
thing up and running and
inspected. Sharon and Mike
are spending the winter
ironing out the kinks and
developing the menu before
the summer rush begins.
All the food is freshly made
from scratch. Sharon and
Mike say they are interested
in sourcing their ingredients
locally, but it’s difficult
because they are constrained
by health regulations that
do not allow, for example,
ungraded eggs and meat.
However they plan to
grow their own herbs and
tomatoes in the summer and
are interested in talking to
any local producers who may
have produce to sell.
Now here’s the genius:
almost all of their recipes
use tea as an ingredient.
For example, the prawns in
the salad rolls are poached
in “Sunrise” tea (green tea
with toasted brown rice).
The lime dressing for the
tacos and the smoothies all
contain “Matcha” green tea
powder.
In the summer, besides
maintaining their current
location, Sharon and Mike
plan to park at the Friday
Nights Live Market and
the Celista Hall Farmers
Market. They are also
available for catering.
Imagine how great that
would be for your family
reunion.
and cold outside, Sharon
and Mike invite you to
call or text your order in
and pick it up when it’s
ready. If you “like” them on
facebook you will receive a
mouthwatering photo of the
day’s special on your feed.
When I visited the truck,
Mike was preparing his
special for the next day
which included a bacon
cheddar burger, Caesar
salad, French onion soup
and a cherry pie which
came out of the oven before
my eyes. Sharon and Mike
will offer fresh healthy food
with a daily “comfort food”
special. The menu also
includes some vegetarian
and gluten free items.
Be Teased
250 572 5753
www.beteased.com
3491 Squilax-Angelmont
Hwy
Goodbye
Winter Doldrums,
Hello NIA
p. 4
Adios Madness,
Hello Slow
p.5
Good Riddance
Rape Culture,
Hello Hope for the
Future
p.8
Farewell
Four Wheels,
Hello Two
p.9
To the Winds,
Caution,
Hello Sailing
p. 10
Goodbye and Hello.
There’s a Hug for
Both
p11
Goodbye Sister 23
Hello SD83
p.12
For now, because it’s winter
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 1
!
!
!!
"#$ %"
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*+,
!-.-/01"0
Editing, layout and design
Patsy Alford
Proofreading
Mary Ghaffari
Diane Smith
Advertising Sales
Mary Ghaffari
Website
Chris George
Contact
Patsy Alford
250 955 2978
[email protected]
2386 Onyx Creek Rd.
Magna Bay, BC V0E 1M7
2000 copies printed on 80%
recycled paper with vegetable
inks
painting by Lynn Erin
Farewell to the Fire Starter
From the Editor
The farewell issue.
I think the scantiness of this issue
is going to be your first clue.
The Fire Starter was always a
lousy business; it never earned
anyone two dimes (except Black
Press, and even to them it was
peanuts), but I never thought of
it as a buisness. I always thought
of it as a creation—a collaborative
creation. That was enough for
me. And as long as we were on
the upward curve of learning and
discovery, as long as writers kept
writing and sending me their work,
and the juice was flowing, it was
more than enough—even when it
was hard. And sometimes it was
hard.
I want to extend my sincere
thanks to Patsy Alford for
making the Fire Starter possible.
From professional grade layout,
to coordinating advertising, to
editing submissions, and even
distributing the papers, Patsy
has put countless volunteer
hours into this humble rag. It
was a workload that couldn’t be
sustained indefinitely, in fact it
is remarkable that she was able
to keep it going for this long.
I also want to thank all the
readers. The adage goes that
“a writer writes” but I think
it is more accurate to say that
“a writer is read”. Without an
audience there isn’t much point
to writing. What a gift to a writer
– casual or professional – that
we had the latitude to contribute
what we wanted and to know
that people were reading what
we wrote. Thank you.
Dear Patsy and all the
Fire Starter Contributors,
I have always looked
forward to the breadth and
warmth of the Fire Starter
articles. It has spanned
from the intellectual,
through quirky and homespun to courageous, at
times presenting strong
viewpoints. Bravo!
Thank you ...thank you. You
should all be proud. I will
miss it.
Nancy Parkinson.
Larissa Lutjen
O
ur department is holding
strong at twenty-two members.
Anyone who may be thinking about
joining one of the departments,
feel free to come to a practice and
see what we practice and learn. We
practice every Tuesday night from
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.. If you would
like information please phone one
of the departments.
I’ll try to catch you up on the
happenings at the Scotch Creek/
Lee Creek Fire Department. In
January 2014, we purchased
a second Water Tender. This
addition and the certification from
the Fire Underwriters Surveyors
for a Tanker Shuttle Accreditation
has lowered the fire insurance for
most of the residents of Scotch
Creek.
On July 26, 2014 we celebrated
our thirtieth anniversary as a Fire
Department. A plaque was given
to the Woolford Family for their
donation of the land on which the
fire hall now sits. On October 31st
we held our annual Halloween
Party and Fireworks. From my
vantage point despite the weather
we had a healthy turn-out.
We are looking at a couple of
parcels of land in Lee Creek to
build a sub hall. With any luck we
should have purchased the land by
the end of 2015.
Art Stoll
Fire Chief
Scotch Creek/Lee Creek F.D.
We have been at this exactly
three years. In that time, fiftysix different people contributed
content by way of writing or
art. Seventy-three businesses
supported the paper with their
advertising, and thousands of
people must have read it because
we put tens of thousands of papers
out there, and where are they now?
Ashes, one suspects.
And speaking of Black Press. I
know what you think: Evil Empire,
right? But the folks at Black Press
in Vernon are just more nice
people like you and me, and they
were really good to us. At first they
were very patient while I learned
to submit a printable document,
and then they mixed a special
can of Fire Starter Red ink, so it
would be the same every time.
Many thanks to Wayne, Angel and
Sharon.
!"
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A million thanks to all who played
along. I am going to miss it. I am
not going to miss it.
Photos by Patrick Hughes. “The Sublime and the Ridiculous.” Both traits we
aimed for at the Fire Starter.
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 2
Scotch Creek/
Lee Creek Fire
Department Report
In July 2014, we purchased a
Command pick-up. The use of this
vehicle is to transport members to
the Shuswap Fire Training Centre
for their classes. This vehicle is
also used primarily by the Fire
Chief for unofficial inspections
of commercial properties,
burn complaints, and for fire
investigations within the CSRD.
There are a lot of reasons why we might see an early spring election despite the attempts of Peter Mansbridge to nail down our PM to a negligible
fall fixed date law.
1). The Mike Duffy trial and serious allegations linking to the PM’s office.
2). The bump the Conservatives received from the Ottawa shooting and moving security to the forefront.
3). Spring would be on the heels of a feel good tax-cut budget.
and finally:
4). The oil price plunge may have a disastrous effect by fall (too many eggs in one basket)!
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 3
Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski
T
hrough
every
season,
Nia devotees
swing through
the doors of the
North Shuswap
Community Hall
to turn, turn,
turn in dance.
We step out
onto the smooth
floor where
stories from
decades past lay
coiled, waiting
to rise with the
drumming of our
bare feet.
Nancy Parkinson is our gentle yet
powerful instructor and outside of
class time she spends fifteen to twenty
hours a week practicing routines,
exploring music, and creating new
choreographies. That said, one of
Nancy’s mantras is “your body’s way.”
She maintains that “No one in a Nia
class is ever doing exactly the same
thing nor is there any right or wrong.”
There are three levels of movement
and as Nancy explains, “People flow
between levels and are encouraged
to weave their own creativity into the
movements.”
When I asked Nancy about the
origin of Nia she replied, “The Nia
technique was developed by Debbie
and Carlos Rosas in San Francisco
in the 1980s. They had been running
a highly successful aerobics studio
for ten years, when they began to
question why aerobics resulted in so
much injury. They wondered if the
then popular motto, ‘No pain no gain’
really led to true fitness. Perhaps
there were alternatives to robotic
repetitions, demanding movements
and joint-pounding jumps. They began
to explore and take classes in various
disciplines of dance, martial arts and
healing arts like yoga. The concepts
and principles they developed led to
one of the first fusion fitness classes—
the Nia Technique—now taught by
over 2000 teachers in more than 45
countries worldwide.”
I asked Nancy how she trained as an
instructor: “My friend Evelyn Kury
and I travelled to Portland, Oregon
and trained with none other than
Debbie Rosas. We felt so lucky because
Debbie brought in four other incredible
trainers for the session. The days
were long—often twelve hours—and
dynamic, and Ev and I, who thought
we were in shape, felt daunted at
times. Yet the class brought together
Freedom Through Nia
people from all over the world,
from such far-flung places as South
America, Germany and Dubai and
through dance we all became friends.”
These days Nancy stands on stage
conducting our movements with her
own. Her joy is infectious. At times
a mischievous cherub, she teases us
into dancing beyond our own limits,
into using our bodies in ways that are
both natural and healing—ways that
ultimately surprise us.
Nia movement rides the range from
yin-soft to yang-hard, to the beat of
an unruly bronco of world music.
Nancy talks more about the melding of
various techniques:
“Debbie and Carlos merged nine
classic movement forms, gathered
from within each of the three areas
of dance, martial arts and healing
arts. In dance they looked to jazz for
playful energetic moves, and wove in
the emotional and dramatic elements
of modern dance, along with the
circling airy moves of Duncan dance.
In martial arts they brought together
the poetic flow of tai chi with the
powerful dynamics of tai kwan do
kicks and punches and added in the
graceful spirals of aikido. The healing
arts combine the Feldenkrais concepts
of readjusting physical patterns
with the Alexander techniques that
stress effortless movements and the
wonderfully far-reaching benefits of
yoga. They did all that and then freed
us with the concept of Free Dance.
They encouraged us to let go and
‘make it your own’.”
Regularly in Nia we challenge our
own vertigo with spinning and when
I catch sight of the other faces in the
hall, invariably they are smiling. After
class I ask other dancers what they
like about Nia:
“It gets me centered and grounded,”
Alice Brideau replies, and then with a
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 4
smile adds, “And joyful!”
When I ask Sylvia Cierpka she
answers readily, “Nia is balancing
and you feel a spiritual connection
afterwards.” She pauses. “I come from
the Pranic Healing Community and
Nia is healing.”
Kameen Bentley offers another
perspective, “I’ve played sports and
have done all sorts of exercise classes
and this is the absolute most fun I’ve
ever had. I love it because it’s about
health and not ‘buns of steel’. Its
awesome stress management and its
body, mind and spirit.”
Michelle Dunn expresses the beauty of
the Nia community being created with
her deceptively simple statement, “I
like dancing together.”
Due to other commitments Carol
LaBoucan had been unable to attend
Nia for months and I asked her what
she has missed about it:
“The sisterhood,” she says without
missing a beat. “Emotionally I feel
uplifted after a class. Also Nancy
brings a very spiritual aspect to Nia.
So it’s physical, body awareness,
senses, visualization. And I love
that Nia is a different experience for
everyone.”
Last but not least I asked Carl
Chaplin how he felt about being the
only man in class. “I feel honoured,”
Carl said. “I’d rather be dancing
with these ladies than
watching hockey on TV.”
That said, Nancy was
quick to point out that in
the Nia world there are
plenty of male dancers
and instructors.
Regardless of gender
nearly every dancer goes
barefoot in Nia. As Nancy
W
J.S. Child
says, “Going
barefoot allows
your toes to grip
and your arches
to strengthen,
and your foot to
flex and roll the
weight along
it smoothly as
you move. The
many receptors
in the foot also
send feedback
to the brain
that helps to
keep you from
slamming your
foot down as
you might do
in shoes, causing stress on your knees
and hips. My instructors told me that
Nia changed their feet and I now know
that to be true for me as well.”
I ask Nancy if she has anything to add
to round out the picture of Nia. “Well,
you might dance to a 70s song, or a jig,
or a little hip hop, or a salsa all in one
class. You will never be told to touch
your toes eight times, but you might
see the reflection of the moon and stars
in a pool and raise them back into the
sky. Your mind and imagination will
work out just like your muscles. You
might become a baby penguin looking
for its mom, or a dolphin cresting
out of the ocean with your arms.
This could well be followed by some
powerful kicks, shouts and punches
that leave you feeling like the toughest
kid on the block. You will always
finish by honouring all the dancers
in the room. People do not need any
experience to attend a Nia class.
Nevertheless, no matter how many
words we use, it still remains that a
Nia class needs to be experienced to
really get a sense of it.”
And what does Nia mean some may
well ask? Take your pick—Nonimpact
Aerobics, Neuromuscular Integrated
Movement, or Nancy’s favourite, Now
I Am. Definitions aside, the movement
is the message and the message is joy.
For the innovative Fire Starter and
all those who gathered kindling for its
imagination—Now It’s Adieu.
! " #$%
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S is for SLOW
e all seek to survive on this sacred sapphire sphere that is
now almost smothered by swift synthetic silver satellites.
It spins in synchronicity with the swooping solar system,
centered by a single shining sun. All submit to the slipstream of
a spectacular swirling spiral, seething with a sparkling swath of
stars, spanning to a singularity. The sheer scope, a scale sublime.
So long a stronghold for this special slice of life. Its sturdy
subatomic structure has shifted subtly and steadily through
season after season. Not even science can squarely scrutinize,
surmise, or summarize its secrets.
If serendipity smiles, some of us select to self-servingly scour the
seven seas in search of a savoury stimulating sense of satisfaction.
If instead, she shrugs or sneers, some may be sentenced to stress
and struggle in the sullied subdivisions of suburbia. Subjugated
and stupefied by this spellbinding soliciting sirens of swindle. The
speechifying shysters selling us the slick swank of sin and the
seductive steel of the status quo.
Sadly, still others are shut out. Shackled shoulder to shoulder,
scared and sinking into sewer of our success. So many starve
and strain, scavenging for a smidgen of scraps in the spoils
and squalor, simply to squeak by on the sliding scale of slavery.
Scarcity in spades.
Even as we speak, smoke, smog, smut and scum splashes, slops,
spews and spills, staining once silken sands and squandering the
stormy stratosphere. Oceans acid. Ozone scorched.
Species scatter or cease to exist as we shamefully
shrink and shatter their sources of sustenance and
shelter. The scandalous snapshots of our situation
stink! Surely now, we should steer this see-sawing,
so-called Earthship to the salient shore of self sacrifice.
Soundly surrender our stubborn, sceptical, selfish
sensibilities and stick to the subject of which so much
can be said: stewardship.
I suggest that while sagacious scholars strive to solve
some significant issues systematically, we should
not stand by slothfully like stone statues. Let’s start
staging spirited seminars that shine the spotlight on
sensible solutions of sustainability. Even sitting in small
semicircles in social settings, with a symbolic show of
hands, subscribe to the SLOW MOVEMENT.
Please survey the substantial, superlative script of stuff
a scribbled society can assign to serve… It goes as
follows:
Surprising Slow Movement Suggestions
• Share spare space and all sorts of stuff
•Stockpile, stack and store standard staples for safe keeping
•Shovel and seed soil
•Stare silently at the sky
•Seek out sage seniors and seers
•Sit in on a sit-in
•Scribble and scribe in studios
•Stop splurging on sugar and stupid stuff
•Scrimp and save for a secluded sabbatical
•Sell your SUV or swap for a subcompact
•Sing strange songs solo
•Summon self-restraint
•Spot silver linings sooner
•Sprout sprouts
•Sometimes stay standing still
•Steer steeds, skis, schooners, scooters, skates, big unicycles
•Study smart subjects
•Steer clear of synthetic souvenirs
•Stir stockpots (soup and stew)
•Support scrawny saplings with sticks and
strings
•Stroll slowly, savouring every second
•Shorten schedules
•Shop selectively
•Start street shindigs
•Secure your spiritual soul with sincere servitude to society
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 5
Community Cultural Calendar
Sponsored by the Celista Hall Coffee House
Mehrnaz Ghaffari
A
ll good things must come to an end. Well, not exactly in this case. Just
because you won’t be reading about the Shuswap music and art scene
in the Fire Starter or looking up a last minute event in the paper’s
Community Culture Calendar, it doesn’t mean they aren’t happening!
Not only has it been a pleasure to put this section together every couple
of months, albeit a tiny bit tedious—one little mistake and folks could go
out to the wrong venue on the wrong day or time!—but I’m always in awe
of the many and varied cultural activities taking place in this neck of the
woods year round. From great music at the much loved community halls, to
stimulating art shows at SAGA in Salmon Arm, to the Roots and Blues Festival
and active local theatre, there’s never a lack of quality entertainment in the
Shuswap. I encourage our readers, moving forward, to look up local events
and entertainment via other community papers, online through social media,
or on the SAGA website which lists all current and upcoming cultural events
at www.salmonarmartscentre.ca/participate. Another great way to keep
connected is by signing up on email lists at venues you frequent or simply
keeping your eyes open for an old fashioned flyer at the marketplace or on a
bulletin board near you!
At this point I will take the opportunity to say that after completing this piece
for our final issue, I will be taking the remaining Fire Starter Papers in my
possession out of the burn pile and stashing them away somewhere safe. Call
it personal archiving, or nostalgia if you will, I will miss the bi-monthly ritual
of writing for the paper and working with the one and only, amazing editor
and founder of the paper, Patsy Alford and the rest of our crew. Since I have
been dealing with many of our advertisers as of the last couple of years, I
would like to take the time to truly thank from the heart those who supported
our paper…you know who you are and as Patsy has said before, we couldn’t
have done it without you! For those who were going to get back to me or
were thinking about it…well, what can I say! Last but not least, as I’m not
great at farewells, I will only say to our readers near or far—be well, until we
meet again…
MUSIC
FRIDAY NIGHT COFFEE HOUSE @ Celista Community Hall
Still time to catch a few more concerts! Local North Shuswap talent as well as
guest performers will light up the hall in February and March
Fri Feb 20 & Mar 20 – 7:30pm
$4/ticket at door
Contact Jim LeDuc: 250 679 2174
www.northshuswapcommunityhall.ca
SUNNYBRAE COFFEE HOUSE
Sat Feb 14 & Sat March 14, 7:30pm
Music lovers will enjoy this celebrated coffee house with talent both local and
from afar.
www.sunnybraecommunity.ca
JAZZ
Feb 12
The Dharma Dolls
Tanya Lipscomb : Vocals
Melina Moore : Vocals
Judy Rose : Vocals
Jim Leonard - keyboards
The Dharma Dolls will seamlessly combine their musical styles to sing their
way through the worlds of opera, jazz, pop and original compositions for one
unforgettable display of song, surprises and sass.
Feb 26 : The Jazz Handles
Neil Fraser : Guitar
Bill Lockie : Bass
Brian Pratt-Johnson : Drums
Admission by donation
Time: 7:00pm
Location : The Banquet Room of Shuswap Chefs Restaurant, 551 Trans
Canada Highway. (One building east of Tim Hortons in downtown Salmon
Arm.)
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 6
ART
SAGA PRESENTS
www.salmonarmartscentre.ca
250 832 7921
70 Hudson Ave NE Salmon Arm, BC V1E 4P6
FILM
Feb 20 - 28
Shuswap Film Society presents the Shuswap International Film Festival. Full
schedule and details at www.shuswapfilm.net
CITIZENFOUR
Wed Feb 4, 7:30pm
Shuswap Film Society presents this film from Germany/USA documentary at
Salmar Classic Theatre
TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT
Sat Feb 7, 5pm
Shuswap Film Society presents this film from Belgium/France/Italy film at
Salmar Classic Theatre
Tue Feb 10, 3pm-4pm
Artist Trading Card session - Everyone welcome
IOLANTA/BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE
Sat Feb 14, 9:30pm
Presented by Metropolitan Opera Live on Screen at the Salmar Classic
Theatre *Shugo participant
GAME ON - Coffee Break & Artist Talk
Feb 19, 2-4pm
Mingle with some of the exhibiting artists in “Game On” at SAGA. Enjoy
locally roasted organic coffee and fresh baked cookies
GEMMA BOVERY
Sat Feb 14, 5pm
Shuswap Film Society presents this French film at Salmar Classic Theatre
REEL LUNCH AT THE ART GALLERY
Feb 21 & 22, 11:30-1pm
At SAGA, for $7 you get homemade soup, Blue Canoe bread & cookies,
locally roasted coffee and the company of wonderful people.
CHINESE PUZZLE
Sat March 14, 5pm
Shuswap Film Society presents this US/France/Belgium film at Salmar Classic
Theatre
March 7 to 28 - Opening Reception Fri March 6, 7pm
SAGA presents PUPPETS, PEONIES AND COMMUNITY PLAYS: The Art of
Engagement by Cathy Stubington
An installation of works created by Cathy over the last number of years that
engaged all ages in art-making and performance.
WILD TALES
Sat March 21, 5pm
Shuswap Film Society presents this film from Argentina/Spain @ Salmar
Classic Theatre.
COFFEE BREAK
Thurs March 19, 2-4pm
Salmon Arm Arts Centre invites everyone for “Coffee Break” @ SAGA. Enjoy
coffee and cookies, and discuss the art of community engagement with Cathy
Stubington.
Courtyard Gallery Presents
Painting Classes 2015
Paint! Paint! Paint!
This is the year you have decided to work on your painting skills.
Courtyard Gallery in Enderby is offering a 7-week painting class just for you.
Bring your oils or acrylics to this class and build on your knowledge and
experience.
Learn about the various techniques and mediums available in oils or acrylics.
Work on your own paintings with the guidance and coaching of professional
artist, Tatianna O’Donnell, who has over 25 years painting and teaching
experience.
www.tatiannaodonnell.com
Dates: Wednesday, February 11 to Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location: 904 Maud St., behind Courtyard Gallery, Enderby
Cost: $150 for all 7 sessions
Contact information: [email protected]
Become an Associate member of Enderby Artists Initiative and receive a 10%
discount.
Courtyard Gallery,www.courtyardgallery.ca [email protected]
778-4430529
THEATRE
2x2
February 20 - March 7
Shuswap Theatre presents these Two One-Act Plays, Two Directors: Jewel
by Joan McLeod, directed by Elizabeth Ann Skelhorne, and My Narrator by
Norm Foster, directed by Kate McKie. For more info and show times please
visit www.shuswaptheatre.com or contact the theatre @ 250 832-9283
41 Hudson Ave NW, Salmon Arm, BC
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Baking Contest
ANNUAL SHUSWAP PIE BAKING CONTEST
Sat Feb 21, 10-11am @ the Picadilly Mall
Haney Heritage Village presents the annual Shuswap Pie Baking Contest.
Bring your pie to the Piccadilly Mall between 10am and 11am to enter. After
judging, pie slices can be purchased for $2.50 with proceeds going to the
Heritage Village. For more info contact Haney Heritage Village below.
www.salmonarmmuseum.org
250 832-5289
MEETING
Notice of Annual General Meeting
The Voice of the Shuswap Broadcast Society, operator of CKVS-FM community
radio, invites all VSBS members and other interested persons to attend the
Annual General Meeting at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, February 24, 2015. Join us
at the Downtown Activity Centre, 451 Shuswap Street SW for a review of 2014
and election of Directors.
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 7
As Long as We’re Saying Goodbye,
Let’s Have a Farewell to Rape Culture
Kindness
Celia A. Nord
W
e know who they are, though
I am choosing not to say
their names out loud or type them
here. We know their stories well.
The hacker who uses his eager
minions and fans to support a sex
conspiracy theory, making him not
accountable to rape allegations;
the international banking icon
who escapes accountability in the
rape of a female hotel cleaner;
the radio show star who manages
to assault and abuse women for
decades while people turn a blind
eye; the comedian whose thirtyplus accusers (and counting) have
now come forward. At last, the
victims are feeling safe enough to
tell their stories. These accused
men have things in common, most
particularly positions of power
that are supported by those who
admire them and considered them
untouchable, or at the very least,
rely on the money that comes from
their association with these people.
Somehow, listening to the female
rape apologist hurts
just that much more.
It is understandably
tough for survivors
of sexual assault
and rape to come
forward and make
claims against
people in positions
of power, but this
can sometimes also be the case
in their own communities. Many
communities and families protect
abusers by quickly dismissing
allegations. Sometimes it must
seem like it is easier for community
members to believe that women
and children make up or exaggerate
their stories than to perceive their
family or friend as a rapist. Sadly,
most of these types of crimes ARE
done by family and friends. The
stranger-rapist is a very rare
individual indeed, accounting for
only twenty percent of rapes. It is
also a known fact that survivors
of sex crimes can have skewed
memories of the traumatic event,
likely due to PTSD. Because of
the nature of the crime, victims of
sexual crimes are treated differently
than other crime victims. Imagine
if a woman who had been knocked
down and had her purse stolen was
grilled on the stand by the defense
lawyer, about her lifestyle, what
she was wearing, whether she was
asking for it etc.
False allegation of
rape is no more
common than false
allegations of any
other crime, about
four percent.
Jay Leno said an
interesting thing
recently. He and his
wife Mavis work with
oppressed women
in the Middle East
where he says it takes only two
women to make solid rape claims
against a man, but over twenty-five
to do so here. Why is that so? Well,
apparently we all have different
forms of patriarchy in our countries.
There is no doubt that many Middle
Eastern countries perceive and
objectify women very differently
than we do, and yet in our so-called
progressive country,
I am as likely, or
even more so, to hear
rape apology clichés,
especially coming out
of the Left.
If I hear one more
“innocent until
proven guilty” cliché’
surrounding rape
allegations, I’ll
scream a little more
inside and say this
again, “What if you
were robbed and
assaulted, and the
response from the
police and friends and
relatives was, “What
were you wearing?
Were you drinking?
Your attacker is
innocent until proven
guilty, you know! You
could ruin that young
man’s life, you know.”
What if he was never
caught and never
tried...does that mean
he IS innocent? That
it never happened?
False allegation
of rape is no more
common than false
allegations of any
other crime, about
four percent. Only six
percent of accused
rapists see jail time
in our country and
the US. Now, in
the wake of all the
recent allegations, it
is time to step up to
the plate and believe,
support and vindicate
the victims of rape
and sexual assault,
whether the event
occurred as children
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 8
or adults. Fortunately there are no
statutes of limitation for crimes of
a sexual nature in OUR country,
though there are in the US.
There is a term for all this and
we call it “rape culture.” It is a
symptom of the patriarchy that we
live in, which oddly, is why there IS
hope. This is not something that is
biologically determined but rather
learned behaviour. The patriarchy
is a system, or as Allan G. Johnson
puts it, “An It, Not a He, a Them,
or an Us.” This means that we, as
members of this system can work
together to make change and break
down the building blocks of rape
culture. Now is the time to work
towards saying, “Farewell to Rape
Culture.” Who’s with me?
Bonnie Hunt’s daughter Kaitlin
died on February 11, 2014. When
the first snow fell this winter,
Bonnie had trouble finding
Kaitlin’s grave marker which was
level with the ground. Bonnie told
her friend Kerry Barnhardt (seen
above). Bonnie says, “A couple
of weeks later Kerry came to my
house with a wonderful gift.” Kerry
had transformed an old bird house.
She covered the outside walls with
birch bark and put moss around
the entrance hole. She made the
roof from bamboo and added a
box on the front for birdseed and
under that she hung a cage with
suet in it. She attached the whole
thing to a small table Kaitlin’s
boyfriend had made out of an
unusual tree branch. On the back
of the table Kerry fixed a brass
candle holder with holly berries
in it. Bonnie says, “I found this
to be a remarkable random act of
kindness. It was a gift for me, for
Kaitlin and for nature.”
Duncan Morris
Take Back the Streets
A
nyone who has ever walked
down a promenade in the
UK, a malecón in Latin
America, a boulevard in France,
or any number of European
pedestrian shopping areas, will
share a common memory: a feeling
of strolling about leisurely and
relaxed. Outdoor pedestrian
walkways almost certainly create
a charming atmosphere where
people might stop and carry on
conversations with store owners
or neighbours. These quiet streets
with a minimum of motorized
traffic almost always contain small
green spaces where children might
throw a ball or swing on communal
swings. Many of these charming,
old streets and boulevards were
created long before the automobile
roamed the Earth. Canada is
a relatively “new” nation and
as such many of our cities and
towns were largely laid out and
designed by engineers whose
lexicon emphasized “systems”
and “networks.” Streets and
roads were viewed primarily as
“local,” “collector,” or “arterial,”
and mostly deal with daily car
volumes, lanes and permissible
speeds. This impersonal view of
our neighbourhood short changes
us of what the older civilizations
have in spades: a heightened sense
of community.
Where did we go wrong and how
can we get the train back on the
rails? Let’s start by rediscovering
the meaning of these byways and
streets that once belonged to the
people that lived on them. The
word “avenue” in the UK meant
A typical European pedestrian avenue where people not automobiles cruise at
their leisure.
“a wide, usually double treelined path or driveway through
grounds to a country house or
monumental building.” Later this
simply became “a spacious road
lined by trees.” Here I think of
many streets in Oak Bay, Victoria
(our little corner of the UK) where
the deciduous canopies of the
tree-lined streets meet gracefully
high above the asphalt. The term
Boulevard has a similar history.
When city walls or fortifications
became obsolete, these ramparts
of an earlier time were reclaimed
by the people and were converted
to wide promenades. Later in
many parts of Europe they became
fully landscaped—accommodating
small parks and green spaces.
The resulting effect encouraged
people to meet, congregate and
socialize. These green spaces
and promenades found inside the
city core, generated a new class
of early Europeans referred to
as “the boulevardiers.” A classic
example of such a boulevard is
the iconic Champs-Élysées in
Paris.
It may not be possible or even
practical to create a mini
boulevard or a “Boston Commons”
in the heart of Salmon Arm, but
by careful planning and vision
we could employ many of these
successful European design
elements in most of our large
and small cities. Our community
plan could easily embrace a
philosophy of innovation where
gradual ownership shifts from the
automobiles back to the residents.
In the accompanying photograph
you can see a bicycle/pedestrian
avenue in Nurnberg, Germany.
This wide, tree lined thoroughfare
runs from the down town centre
(Zentrum) to the suburbs.
The resulting quiet, relaxed
atmosphere of people and bicycles
invites you to sit at an outside
café under the green canopies
and take it all in. We too can
incorporate many of these subtle
design principles in our own town
planning without major expense
and with minimal inconvenience.
The creation of a short two block
pedestrian-only section in the core
is easily achievable. By employing
three-way intersections and curves
we can slow neighbourhood traffic
and make automobiles aware of
pedestrians. Vancouver’s West
End has many streets where traffic
is limited to residents only.
When four lanes are available,
we could give one to the people.
Similarly, when six lanes are
available, give two lanes to the
people. Create bike and walking
paths connecting the down town
shopping and businesses to
parking areas. Encourage people
to park their automobile away
from the centre thus reducing
congestion and pollution.
By employing some of these basic
European techniques we too can
take back the streets from the
automobile and restore a sense of
community in our neighbourhoods.
And as a result, we as a
community will be better for doing
it.
References:
Allan G. Johnson
1997 “Patriarchy: An It, Not a He, a
Them,’ or an Us.” In, The Gender Knot,
Temple University Press, Philadelphia,
PN. http://www.umass.edu/wost/syllabi/
spring06/johnson.pdf
Sexual Assault Statistics in Canada:
http://www.sexassault.ca/statistics.htm
)
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!"
#$"%
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 9
Christina Blower
M
A Passion for Sailing
y passion is sailing. In 1981 I took my
husband out for lunch and said, ”Dear,
I bought a sailboat today.”
And he said, “But dear, you don’t know
how to sail.”
And I said, “I bought a book too.”
And so it began. I had bought a
fourteen-foot Invitation. The first day on the
lake, a friend of mine who knew how to sail,
went out with me. We sailed across the lake
and back and then she jumped off. I was
heading across the lake by myself, and if I
didn’t want to hit land, I had to figure out how
to come about—and I did.
Some time later we bought a Bombardier
4.8 which was a daysailer made for fun and
excitement. We had a spinnaker and a trapeze.
I would be hiked out, my body stretched out
as far as it will go to offset the lean of the
boat caused by the wind in the sails, with my
husband harnessed to the mast by the trapeze,
almost parallel to the water, only his feet on
the gunwales. The boat would hum along the
waves. It was like flying.
If you have lived on the Shuswap, you know
how quickly a storm can come up. When the
wind came up and all the motor boats headed
for shore, we would dash to our sailboat and
head out. Most of the time this would turn into
a great sail. In August of 1984, this turned out
to be a disaster. That was the year hurricane
force winds hit the Shuswap. We got to the
middle of the lake when we had our first
capsize. My husband got back in the boat and
managed to loosen the sails before he got tossed
out again. We tried to right the boat three or
four times, but each time she went over and
turtled. We were hanging on at each end of the
boat while it rolled continuously from upright
position to turtle.
The wind would push on the centerboard and
bring it upright, complete with wet sails, and
when it would be pushed over again. The wind
was so strong, it was blowing the top of the
waves off. We could not hear each other from
one end of the boat to the other. Dr. McLaren,
who lived just down the lake from us, braved
the wind and waves in his motor boat and came
out to rescue us. However, we felt we wanted
to stay with the boat and eventually the boat
made it to shore with us still hanging on. There
was little damage to the boat and we were
very thankful to be alive. Without lifejackets
we probably wouldn’t have made it. We got
back home and built a fire on the beach and
celebrated life with our friends until the wee
hours of the morning.
In 1994, we bought a twenty-five-foot Hunter
sailboat. We could travel up Seymour or Anstey
Arm and stay overnight. I remember clearly
one night sitting in the cockpit on Anstey Arm
watching the millions of stars overhead and
saying to Steve, “Even if we won a million
dollars in the Lottery, I could not think of
anything that would be better than this.”
Of course it wasn’t always smooth sailing.
One of our first trips out overnight was up
Seymour Arm. It started out as a beautiful
day with clear skies and moderate winds. We
watched helicopters bucket up water from the
lake for forest fires. When all of a sudden, out
of nowhere, we saw huge black clouds appear
behind us. We quickly changed to a storm sail
and headed for shore to find a sheltered bay.
We pulled into the bay at Albas Falls which
had protection from one side. We got the sails
down just in time; the wind hit us and pushed
the boat right over on its side. Having a lead
keel of 1800 pounds brought it right back up.
However within about ten minutes the wind
shifted and hit us from the other side.
Our anchor dragged and we were heading for
shore, and the motor wouldn’t start. Before we
hit shore we did get the motor going and the
anchor up and headed for the middle of the
lake. Our plan was to head back to Horseshoe
Bay in St. Ives which we knew to be a safe
anchorage. However, it was a long way and
the wind had increased with rain and hail.
Lightning, both sheet and forked, was all
around us. There we were in the middle of the
lake, the only boat and with a metal mast. The
wind was so strong behind us that although we
were heading one way, our flag was flying the
opposite way.
What happened next is unexplainable! All of
a sudden, out of nowhere, we spotted a canoe
with two people in it, going in the opposite
direction. The waves were four to five feet high
and the canoe was calmly riding the top of
them. We did not think they could survive in
this storm, but then they were gone. A ghost
canoe?
We did make it to Horseshoe Bay and anchored
beside a larger boat with a higher mast. The
lightening show continued for another hour or
two. We were grateful to change into warm, dry
clothes and have some warm soup and a bit of
spirit.
The next morning all was calm, but as we
headed home we saw the destruction on the
shore: several trees down on homes and also
a large cottonwood down on the beach at our
property. Back home safely, we checked to
see if there was any
news about a canoe
and people in it
drowning. There was
not. In reading the
Shuswap Chronicles,
there are many
instances when
a storm came up
quickly and people
drowned. Draw your
own conclusions. We
also bought a new
motor that starts
right away.
We have enjoyed
many trips in our
sailboat on the
lake and also trips
that really got our
adrenaline going.
Alas, as we have
aged we have sold
our boat, but the
memories remain.
Dale Bush
I
Down on the Corner
HUGS
t happens when expected and occasionally
when unexpected. It often happens with
friends, family and in some cases, with an
acquaintance or even a stranger. There are
rewards and benefits from doing it, but you can
never do it by yourself. Have you solved this
little riddle? I am talking about hugs and the
act of hugging.
I am a practising huggologist. I accepted that
many years ago, and people who know me are
often the recipients of my enthusiastic physical
show of affection. I am a hugger because I was
a longhaired bearded hippie in my youth and
it was a peaceful and thoughtful greeting and
with the exception of the long hair, or any hair
for that matter, it is still my preferred greeting.
I will still shake hands but with some arthritis
in my dukes it can be painful, but as with a
handshake you can tell a lot about a person by
their hugs. Hugs are used to show friendship,
love, affection, brotherhood and sympathy
without the use of a single word. A hug can be
worth a thousand words, I should use that line
in a Country song. A hug is a great gift to give
and to get because one size fits all and they can
be easily customized—and easily returned.
How hugs are received or given depends on
the level of intimacy with your fellow hugger.
If your fellow hugger is a fellow, your hug will
be different than if your fellow hugger is a
girl, in theory, but it is a more accepting world
these days. A hug with a lover might involve
a bit of hip action and extreme closeness,
but if you get a hug with some hip action
and unusual closeness from your gramma or
Aunt Ethel, I would hit the road Jack! A man
will hug another man and there is a trend to
pat the back and shake a hand as well these
days… unless there was a touchdown or a goal
was scored, and then hugs will be freestyle
with some lifting off the ground and a lot of
cheering. A celebratory hug of joy is totally
different than a conciliatory hug of sadness
and it is all about emotion, respect and how
familiar the huggers and huggees are with
each other. A funeral hug is obviously going
to be different that a wedding hug, although I
have been at events where it is hard to tell the
difference. I can tell the difference between a
bear hug, which is a manly robust hug, and a
bare hug which can still be manly and robust
but in a different sense.
to achieve true hug status and I also believe
that enthusiasm is contagious in the world of
huggology. An enthusiastic huggee will transfer
that enthusiasm when participating in the next
hug as a hugger, or at least that is my theory.
Hugs have been studied and one thing the
smartypantsknowitall guys say is that hugs
are indeed healthy, physically and mentally.
Physically, there are chemicals in the body
that can be released with a hug, oxytocin
levels can relieve stress and serotonin levels
can affect happiness. Physical tension is
reduced and one’s self esteem increases with
a simple hug. Those smarypantsknowitalls
have used the word “synergistic” in
association with hugs, and that means
the sum is greater than the parts. Simply
stated it means 1+1=3, and that is a win win
situation even with confusing math. In all
my four years of grade eight, I constantly
tried to convince my math teacher Mrs.
Dunlop that 1+1=3, if only I could have told
her it was a synergistic formula I could have
missed all that time in detention.
Value and freshness
Groceries * Liquor * Lotto * Post Office * Movie rentals
250-955-2253
Store Hours: 8am - 8pm (7 days)
Liquor Store: 9am - 8pm (7 days)
Post Office: 9am - 5pm (Mon - Sat)
Open 7am to 8 pm Mon - Sat
8 am to 8 pm Sundays
Scotch Creek
250-955-0868
Some smartypantsknowitall guy has even
timed hugs and has determined that all the
benefits of hugging don’t really “kick in” until
the eight second mark, which can seem like
an eternity if you are hugging a reluctant
huggee. Eight seconds is not that long a time,
and if there are benefits why are we not all
hugging more…and longer?
Some old Greek guy
named Anonymous said,
“A hug is the shortest
distance between two
friends,” so I think we
should all make that
short trip and enjoy some
freestyle huggology—for
at least eight seconds
per hug. I wonder if they
tested group hugs?
Hugs to readers of
this wonderful little
newspaper with a bit
of ‘tude. Hugs to the
supporters of free speech
and hugs to Patsy Alford
and to the staff of the
Fire Starter. It’s been a
blast and…Please Live
Long and Prosper in
Peace and Harmony.
Believe it or not, there are some people who
do not hug, and there are valid reasons. I
think shyness might be a number one reason
for a lack of huggatude or huggability, and
there are folks who
simply do not like
their personal space
invaded. You have
seen them; they
stand with their
Complete Drywall Services
arms folded as you
rush towards them
Taping
with wide open arms,
Texturing
just full of hugs, and
Boarding
then they frown as
Free Estimates
you near the moment
of… huggosity. I have
a rule that a hug
Ken Smyth (250) 679 3980 Lee Creek, BC
must be welcomed
KEN’S DRYWALL
QUALITY COMES FIRST
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 10
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 11
LIGHTER READING
Letter from the Radical Feminist Underground
The last month has been frustratingly stagnant.
Rather than exciting, surreptitious activism, we’ve
been bogged down in boring, never-ending talk. The
debate has been about, of all things, Pink Shirt
day.
You may have heard of it? A day in February when
everyone wears pink to show we disapprove of
bullying? It started when a boy was bullied for
wearing a pink shirt and his friends responded
by showing up to school the next day all in pink
shirts. Sounds great, right?
Sister 11 didn’t think so. She wanted us to wage a
Re-Think the Pink Shirt Campaign. Her reason was an
interesting one; she argued that a single day where
everyone is “allowed” to wear pink is not addressing
the real meaning of “pink,” which made it so toxic
for the boy who wore it in the first place. As she
put it, “it isn’t a matter of enforcing arbitrary
gender rules about colour, it is about enforcing
much deeper rules about gender hierarchy. The
meaning of ‘pink’ is that femininity is frivolous
and trivial. We teach kids early that it is beneath
boys to identify with pink girl things.”
Consequently, Pink Shirt Day does nothing to
question the underlying assumptions about gender
which is the foundation of most bullying. Most
often boys are bullied for failing to conform to
masculine norms, and girls are most often bullied
based on how they are valued by boys (if they are
deemed undesirable, or—paradoxically—for being both
unavailable and too available).
I was swayed by her argument. After all,
the equality movement has validated women’s
participation in areas that had been male dominated
far more than it has encouraged men’s participation
in areas that had been female dominated. A good
deal of homophobia seems to be about men breaking
the fraternal code that says “we will be united in
disdaining the foolish world of women!” And lately
the goal of real equality can seem like little more
than a quaint, old-fashioned notion. Many people
have returned to sexist stereotypes with smug
satisfaction; as if to say, “we tried that equality
idea but you see now that girls-will-be-girls and
boys-will-be-boys, just as we always said.”
Sister 11 proposed that we start a grassroots
movement for a Black Shirt Day one day before Pink
Shirt day. Black, as a truly gender neutral colour,
would show a renewed commitment to gender equality.
And as the colour representing power, darkness
and death, it would make a strong statement about
bullying as a practice of violence against the
less powerful. It seemed like Sister 11 had general
support from the group until we started putting
together the media package.
The Shuswap Fire Starter, Feb/Mar 2015 - 12
At that point Sister 19 voiced her disagreement.
She is from a different generation and stated that
she is unconcerned that pink is considered a girl
colour because she feels girls can be proud of being
unique. She was very moved by the story of the kids
banding together to show support for their friend.
And, more to the point, she threatened to singlehandedly undermine any anti-Pink Shirt day campaign
that we might wage.
This caused quite a commotion in the underground.
“Threatening” and “undermining” are anti-social
behaviours that are not to be tolerated within the
RFU. But were Sister 19’s words truly aggressive or
just bad manners? Some sympathized with her arguing
that she was simply asserting a right to her
own understanding of equality versus difference.
Perhaps Sister 11 was to blame because she was the
one being critical and pushing an agenda that was
not necessarily supported by the rest of the group?
Hence the month of talk, talk, talk as we tried to
work around the disagreement. By default, Sister 19
has managed to get her own way—after all, a campaign
delayed is a campaign denied. We won’t have time to
get the grassroots on board before February 24, the
day before Pink Shirt Day. Sister 11 is angry that
her idea was cast aside, but she is even more hurt
that her analysis about the hierarchical meaning of
pink did not prove convincing to everyone.
More than failing to get your own way, failing to
make yourself heard—feeling that your peers do not
understand you—is a state of terrible suffering for
the person who feels misunderstood. It can undermine
an otherwise happy, functional group. So for now we
keep talking.
Until next time, stay strong and fight on!
Sister 23, Zone 2
PS. [a couple weeks later]. Well, I don’t know if
it was the lack of action that got to me or the
good timing of a letter from my old architectural
firm, but I’ve decided to leave the underground.
It took a fair amount of work for my friends at
Puny, Elfin and Ween to find me. After the economic
downturn of 2008, there wasn’t much demand for my
work designing miniature Prairie Style bungalows,
abd this influenced my decision to join the RFU. But
they tell me that dollhouse start-ups are booming
again. I’m sure going to miss my sisters and the
good work we did. My advice? There are plenty of
problems in this world, choose one and work on it!