My Life and Adventures with cars PART TWO

 My career took me to different companies that all involved driving in some cases involving commutes of over 40 minutes and others that involved fair size sales territories.  Working with my brother in law who was a partner in an ad agency I ended up doing a lot of freelance sales work for a personal client Orange aPEEL  I helped set up wholesalers and then the strategy was to convince some of their retail clients to stock our product.  Fortunately the wholesalers were expanding from a small base in Ontario to a bigger base.  One factor I noticed was that sales declined in the summer and felt one reason was that many of our pet owner  consumers left for cottages.  One of our wholesalers was expanding to cottage country and beyond.  I went on longer and longer trips and eventually overnight.  I went as far north as Kapuskasing, west as far as Sault Ste. Marie and Windsor and as far east as Gananoque and even Ottawa.  Vet clinics were added on expanding the calls I could make.  Read more more on my Ontario expanded driving.

http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/06/travels-of-salesman-part-1-ontario.html 

 My daughter, Heather insisted that she wanted to go to King's College in Halifax.  Nobody in our families had ever been to Halifax, but in fact it enriched us all.  It was agreed that Heather and her mother would fly, but that someone would have to cart some furniture and other supplies.  I asked the boss at Orange aPEEL if he would help pay hotel expenses if I sold in the Maritimes.  Some of our existing wholesalers (mostly ones I had set up) had a toehold in the Maritimes.  It was agreeable to us all.  Heather ended up there for five years and I made two two way trips each year.

An important step in the process was staying in my sister's home in Brossard, on the  south shore of Montreal.  I learned two routes through New Brunswick and looped around Nova Scotia covering most of the vet clinics and pet stores in those two provinces and Prince Edward Island.  A conversation with my brother in law, Ali while in Brossard suggested I would as an anglophone do better in Quebec than a francophone would do in Ontario.  I got some help from a French speaking co-worker, Jacques Major who helped me with an introductory speech and later with a special story aimed at receptionists.  Beyond that my French was pretty pathetic, but could struggle with a helpful francophone who proved to be the majority.  But the bonus was that many clinics hired bilingual receptionists or even better they called in their bilingual boss so I was able to talk directly to the decision maker.  I was able to add in two more wholesalers and one of our Ontario wholesalers expanded in both Quebec and the Maritimes.  One co-worker joked that I was really on a vacation, but in fact I was very busy.   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-3-quebec.html

On my first trip studying maps I found a shortcut to a stop in Windsor, Nova Scotia.  It reminded of where I learned to drive, with hills and curvy roads.  Ironically Windsor was home to Thomas Halliburton whose name was taken for the county where I learned to drive.  Most of the places I called in Nova Scotia were on the ocean and I wondered what was in the middle.  I discovered with one single call that cut across the middle and it turns out the answer is trees.

Read about expanding to the Maritimes.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-two-maritimes.html

At the beginning my trips to the Maritimes were ignoring the bigger audience in francophone Quebec but that too entered my life.  

Car rentals weren't part of my life until one vacation where I had won a trip to Florida.  My father in law advised us to rent a car from Rent A Wreck which we did from the Tampa airport.  Unknown to me the condo manager had not been told of my visit, but even though the car didn't look like a trustworthy person was driving he believed my story, my wife and four year old daughter were grateful.  We visited Disney World, Busch Gardens, Cape Canaveral and lots of other sites.  On my only other trip to Florida we used them again, but my brother in law had to have his towed away.

 On vacations we often flew to a site and rented a car.  From Montreal I rented a Prius, my first experience with an environmentally friendly car.  All I can remember is after returning from Quebec City I had a lot of trouble turning off a loud alarm at my sister's.  Other vacations were to British Columbia.  One time we flew to Vancouver, took a ferry over to Victoria and the next day took another ferry ride to and from Vancouver so my son could compete in a track meet..  Then again we took the ferry back to the airport.  The next time we flew directly to Victoria.  One memorable trip was after we picked up my friend, Bob Stone at the ferry depot in Nanaimo we headed to Tofino, but Bob steered us to the old route that took us by Coombs for a unique retail experience where you could see goats eating grass on top of a store..  We hit Tofino in the off season, but an interesting place.

The most interesting rental experience came after my car was called to garage and I was told they needed it for a few days.  This happened at the start of the Easter weekend when I was supposed to leave for Halifax.  I had well over 100 sales stops planned.  We couldn't get hold of any rental cars that had any available.  Someone suggested try an airport and we were able to rent one from the Toronto Airport and with not that many choices I ended up with a high performance car.  My son was thrilled when I brought it home and the next day I left.  I soon found it could accelerate much faster than my car and I found myself passing other cars, even long streams on two lane highways.  When I met my daughter she was disappointed that wouldn't let her drive it because of rental rules.  When I returned it they at first tried to charge me for all the extra mileage (about $800 as I recall), but they reverted to original agreement considerably cheaper.

Backtrack a little.  On my previous trip to Halifax my daughter had a beginners permit and had taken driver education.  The lens on my glasses came out about 8 in the morning.  Anxious to get going I had my daughter drive to the next town,  Truro where I got my glasses fixed and I realized if I let my daughter drive I could make my sales calls a little bit better prepared.  I made lots of calls and finally decided around 5 pm or so in Edmonston I would take over as it would soon get dark.  Reaching my sister's I remembered my brother-in-law's original instructions and although I was too confused to use them, this time coming from the opposite direction I did remember.  The next day we got early and left as the Montreal rush hour was in full swing and Heather drove through that.  Again I made lots of calls and when we reached Toronto we again hit very heavy traffic.  Heather handled it very well.  Shortly after our trip when Heather went for her license test the tester pressed for time asked her if she had any highway experience and after she explained she had driven most of the way from Halifax, including three rush hours he let her get the license on her first effort. 

My career has wound down.  Towards the end I found myself once a month delivering newspapers (The Rider, a horse lover publications) over a wide area.  It was my idea to set up a number of librairies spread over four counties.  Another thing happened when one of the partners' mother needed a ride to visit her husband each day in a retirement home.  We had an interesting conversations and I learned to play a game she was fond of.  The game was trying to figure out what vanity plates meant. I got to the point where I could sometimes ask a driver.  Read more:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/driving-with-miss-jane.html

Some of you may have duplicated some of my favorite drives and others looking for something interesting.  Here is a list of some of my favorites.

When I decided to make a few sales calls to Sydney, Nova Scotia I saw two routes so I took them both.  One was the old highway with lots of winding and lake views.  Rita McNeil had a stop along the way.  The other way was a modern highway that wasn't at all boring. At one point I stopped at Baddeck which overlooks Bras d'or Lake where Alexander Graham Bell flew the first airplane in Canada. 

The normal route to Halifax had been done a few times and I needed to expand my sales efforts so looking at a map discovered the Atlantic side of New Brunswick which meant driving a little further through Quebec past Rimouski one could head down to Campbellton, New Brunswick through Matapedia country that was another hilly, curvy road with lots of trees.  Very entrancing.

Switching coasts and under the guidance of Bob Stone, we decided to seek out Tofino.  Bob suggested we take the old road that included Coombs with a most interesting retail store.  Along the way we passed Port Alberni (earlier I had interviewed Bill Robinson, a famous basketball player from there) where a tsunami had once reached.  Tofino is a backpacker's ideal.   The three of us stayed overnight.

In Ontario I became attached to Picton in Prince Edward County.  Mostly I approached it through Belleville, but on one occasion curious about a different route out of Kingston I discovered there was a ferry boat ride to the town of Picton.  Just my idea of a quaint village with lots of pleasant landscape in an out.

Another pleasant drive was from the town of New Liskeard which sits on Lake Temiskaming lead to Hailebury with the lake on my left the whole way.  Only one time I approached New Liskeard through Quebec on the other side.  Also scenic.

In case you missed it link to Part One:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/02/my-life-and-adventures-with-cars-part.html

The Arab Winter

The Arab Spring is looked upon as a tragic failure.  At the time there was much hope that dictators would be thrown out, but also some fear that fundamentalists would gain power.  It was not totally a failure and not without lessons.  Noah Feldman explores it.

 My interest is partly due to the influence of a brother in law, Ali Bouanba, a Muslim from Morocco.  He married my sister who I always thought the most independent minded of all my siblings.  One Christmas I asked my sister what would be a good present for him and she suggested a particular book.  I bought the book a few weeks ahead of time and decided to read it.  It was about Palestinians and although I had been a bit sympathetic this opened my mind.  I didn't get to know him until years later when on trips to Halifax I took a stop on the south shore of Montreal where my sister's family lived and over years went out of my way to drop by.  He illustrated Arab hospitality at its best.  On one trip I remember meeting some friends that had come from Ali's birth place, Safi, Morocco.  The friend was a banker working in Quebec.  I enjoyed the conversation.  Like Ali, Abdul was at least tri-lingual speaking Arabic, French and English.  Their five year old son seemed surprised I didn't speak French.  On another trip Ali made a suggestion that changed my life.  He pointed out  that a Quebec francophone trying to sell in Ontario would not do very well, but an Anglophone like myself could make a go of it in Quebec and he proved to be correct.   Read:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-3-quebec.html

Noah has an understanding of Arabic and spent a few pages to point out that there was a feeling of Arabness that were part of the thinking, but that the dynamics broke down to national boundaries.  In most cases the underlying goal was merely to get rid of an autocratic ruler.  Essentially the Arab populace was looking for jobs, freedom and social welfare, not necessarily democracy.  American failures in Iraq weakened its image in the Arab world.

Egypt, the largest Arab country was successful in ridding itself of the dictator Mubarek, but then two years later threw out his replacement and returned to a military dictatorship.  Noah identifies a number of the population that played a role:  Islamists, military and the Egyptian liberal elites.  He claims the Muslim Brotherhood played little in the initial protests, but that in fact they were the most organized of any political faction.  In effect the liberals were the major part of the Tahrir Square protests of 2011 after which the military decided in their best interests to force Mubarek out as it turned out they resented his son who was slated to take over the dictatorship.  Elections were forced and Muslim Brotherhood were best suited to win control of the government.  Unfortunately although they won by only a slim margin they were not inclined to involve other political factions and in turn infuriated the liberal elites.  Although democratically elected, Morsi had lost the support of enough Egyptian people that the army felt confident enough to replace Morsi with their own choice, Sisi.  My summary is admittedly over simplified but in essence is what happened. 

Syria has been ruled for several decades by two members of the Alawite sect.  Alawites are only 15% of the population and thus they have been careful to maintain control.   France when it ruled over Syria played one ethnic group against another.  Syria gained support from the Soviet Union and later Russia and when Israel attacked the P.LO. in Lebanon they had American support, making the battles a proxy war. Not willing to make concessions to the majority Sunnis, Assad was able count on support of Russia and Iran when he turned the conflict into the Syrian Civil War.

The Syrian Civil War freed up Sunni areas and elements organized into ISIL or ISIS to capture this area and later expand into Iraq.  They attracted Muslims and Arabs from all over the world who saw their goals as a sort of Arab Utopia.  Violent elements controlled the movement, but eventually attracted opposition from the Russians, Americans and Kurds.  They too failed at least in part as they were unwilling to consider the wishes of the people already living in the conquered areas.

Tunisia where the Arab Spring originated when Mohammed Bouazizi burned himself to death in protest the circumstances were more favorable.  Tunisia lacked oil wealth that concentrated wealth to particular individuals and had traditions that favored both democracy and secularism.  Different elements sought consensus.  Two assassinations shook the situation, but in some ways spurred the search for consensus.  By 2014 Tunisia became the first functioning democracy in the Arab speaking world.  It is still precarious because the economy did not significantly improve, meaning unemployment was still a concern.

The author has told us the failures of the Arab spring, but feels although discouraging there was one success (as of the writing).  Examining the differences to suggest future efforts.  He thinks the winter may last a long time, but eventually another spring will come.  The rest of us need to reflect on the fragile Tunisian success and do what we can to nurture it.  This is only a crude summary of what Noah Feldman wrote.

The BDS Movement

The BDS Movement  (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) might not have been noticed quite as much if there weren't concerted efforts to make it illegal.  The goal is for Israel to withdraw from occupied territories, removal of the barriers at the West Bank, full equality of Arabs in Israel and to promote the right of return by the Palestinian refugees.  Israel claims Arabs enjoy equality in Israel and that the movement is anti-Semitic.  Both Israel and the United States have made efforts to make the BDS illegal and use national resources to reject. 

The cause is known and for most people who consider themselves progressive liberals it is admirable enough.  Like a lot of people when I hear and believe negative things about individuals and companies I try to make a conscious decision not to support.  Other people want to take a strong stand and some of them are organizers and others looking for an organized effort.

Up until past my university years I would tell anyone who asked, that "Exodus" was my favorite movie.  I barely knew any Jews, but somehow came to admire them and how they had overcome the Holocaust.  I still grapple to understand the horror of  their ordeal.  I have watched several movies that focused on the Holocaust from many different angles.  It is horrifying to read about people who deny the Holocaust.  It not only is anti-Semitic, but also indicates rationalization (guilt feelings) for expressing hatred.

A few things happened over my adult years to change my perspective  At work I remember talking to a secretary at work about Hallowe'en.  I was telling her that I had to get home early to protect my home from tricksters.  She surprised me by saying as a born again Christian they could not celebrate Hallowe'en.  I have always considered myself secular, but Lynn was someone I liked working with and accepted her offer to read a book about Armagedden.  There seemed to be a lot of logic, but really twisting the meaning of Biblical words which I just could not accept.  But I came to understand and more frequently heard or read references to the second coming of Christ.  I kept a few details in mind such as there would be the anti-Christ who would seem to have the answers (could that be Donald Trump?), Israel would have to be run by Jews again and there was something about ten tribes that would play a role and that the true believers would ascend to heaven.

I gradually became aware of the role this belief played in American politics and other nations.  They seemed very protectionist of Israel, but at the same time saw Jews only as necessary for the prophesy.  The Palestinians were in the way and needed to be stomped down.  The fact that they resorted to terrorism only proved how undeserving they were.  Arab states and Muslims were suspect as they always seemed to be using the supposed Palestinian injustices to inflict terror on the rest of us.  Many Christians just wanted to protect the holy sites. 

The Arab oil boycott of the west was mostly seen as inconvenient.  One good thing that came out of it was a movement in part led by Jimmy Carter (who is my most admired president) who preached conservation.  Of course Ronald Reagan ridiculed the idea and reversed course.

Another factor emerged when my sister, Rebecca married a Muslim from Morocco.  She was actually married in an inter denomination ceremony.  It was over ten years and two daughters later that she decided to convert.  She is one of the people who I both love and admire.  I had come to admire Ali as well and he gave a different view of Palestinians.  He was careful not to speak against Jews and in fact pointed out to me that he would seek kosher food when halal food was not available.

My reading convinced me that the Palestinians had been taken advantage of.  While I could still admire what the Zionists had accomplished against heavy odds I began to realize they did so at the expense of the Palestinians. And the more I heard and read the more it seemed the Palestinians were being dismissed and discriminated against.  The media in my neck of the woods was almost totally picturing Palestinians as backward, dishonest, violent and undeserving.  The Israelis are pictured as besieged, but very innovative.  Perhaps there is an element of guilt from many Western countries that had allowed anti-semitism to prosper and helped set the events of the Holocaust.

After a television appearance I read a book by Peter Beinart.  It made me realize there is a lot of politics behind the support of Israel.  Check out  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/crisis-of-zionism-book-review.html

By now you realize I am sympathetic to the Palestinians, but there is more to it than that.  I am not much of a boycott participant.   I have completed two books by Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli and have started his most recent book.  He has the best understanding of what it means to be a human of any one I am familiar with.  I am not willing to give up that.  An investment counselor was recommending a mutual fund and thought one of its highlights was that they included Israeli stocks--although like anyone else I wanted to make the most money for the least risk,  passed on it.  I watched and appreciated many movies from Israel http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/05/youll-find-arabic-and-hebrew.html  particularly the ones that seemed balanced.

My experiences with boycotts are very limited.  As a Canadian one example was when Heinz decided to stop processing tomatoes from their Simcoe, Ontario plant.  I had driven through Simcoe numerous times as part of my sales job.  I remember consciously actually driving by the plant with a distinct, but not unpleasant smell of the ketchup plant.  French's, better known for mustard, picked up the slack and I have made it a point of buying their ketchup (which happens to taste pretty good).

I was too young or disinterested to think about the anti apartheid boycott.  I am proud that Canada did participate unlike United States and the United Kingdom.  Thinking what would I buy from South Africa?  Never thought of diamonds or gold.  A little later did enjoy eating Granny Smith apples and have since enjoyed South African wines, but think of them as post Mandela (one of my very favorite heroes).

If we don't want people to settle their differences with violence we have to accept alternatives.  Every person who has a dime to spend has some power.  Once they spend that money they have lost some of their power, but the choice should be theirs.  Yes, there should be exceptions--we should not be able to physically harm someone or denigrate them. 

Israel is forgetting its values.  They have suffered at the hands of degenerates, but now they are causing great suffering that to me is counter productive.  I know there are significant elements that want to bridge the gap, but they don't seem to dominate.  Hatred and ignorance are very difficult to deal with, but others have found ways

Critics are welcome to do a counter boycott if they really want, but they have absolutely no right to impose legal restrictions on people who  feel the merits of the cause.  I think what needs to happen is more effort to reconcile the Jews and Palestinians.  Biblical prophesies can be interpreted any way that suits someone else.  The Qu'ran is interpreted very widely.  To me the boycott and such efforts to encourage Israel to take a fairer treatment of the Palestinians is a worthy cause and those that want to delegitimize it are the immoral ones.  Politics and money are a big part of the problem.

looking back on 2016

The end of a year seems to be a good time to reflect back on the past year reminding myself of the good fortune I enjoyed.  Also to reflect on those who left, why I miss them and help me better appreciate those still here.

My brother in law Ali Bouanba died unexpectedly in the summer months while visiting his family in Morocco.  As he lived in Brossard, Quebec I didn't see him enough.  From my perspective the most important thing about him was that he made my sister happy.  The second most important thing is he helped raise two exceptional daughters, my nieces Leila and Samia.  As a high school and university teacher Ali impacted a lot of people.  He had an impact on me by opening up my opportunities.  He encouraged me to make sales calls to francopones in Quebec.  As a salesman I had the usual fears of rejection, but speaking in a language I am mostly ignorant of was truly scary.  It worked and led to seeing more of Quebec (and better excuses to visit my sister's family). Ali was fluent in English, French and Arabic. His tea ceremony was quite entertaining and his daughters loved to show it off.  I remember long walks with him leading the family around different parts of Brossard.  He always was good to talk with.  To read more about how he helped open up Quebec for me:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-3-quebec.html The photo above is a family shot with Ali in the middle between his wife and youngest daughter.

Louis Petrov was the master of ceremonies at my wedding.  I was able to acknowledge him as an inspiration at another wedding he attended where I was the master of ceremonies.  He had been on business trips to Argentina and other parts of Canada. He was chairman for the committee to get artificial turf for his beloved Hamilton Ti-Cats.  I was invited to a surprise party organized by his wife, Vera  with Croatian friends from youth although he was Serbian.  His mother, Lena was like a fifth grandmother for me.

My Aunt Mary Coakwell died this past December in Oshawa.  I feel more than a bit guilty.   My aunt and uncle in Cornwall had previously died about this time of year and I had recently decided to email my brother to see if he knew what was up with my Aunt Mary and cousins.  The next day he emailed back that he had just seen her obituary as she had died a few days before.  She was the last of my aunts and uncles on my mother's side and for most of my life she lived right across the road from my Grandmother Coakwell in Oshawa so at an early age I saw her fairly often.  She married my mother's only brother, Harold and had given birth to Karen and Jerry, my cousins who are roughly the same age as myself.  I remember she always had a smile and seemed glad any time we visited.  When my mother died we gathered at her place and as it happened with one of my wife's Ukrainian aunts, Vera, wife of Louis Petov who  had traveled to Oshawa for the funeral.  My Aunt Mary who was my first Ukrainian aunt had her mother with her and encouraged Aunt Vera to talk to the mother.  After my Grandmother died and my brother moved to Brooklin I really lost touch, except for a few weddings and funerals although I do remember Aunt Mary and Uncle Harold visited my mother when she was in the hospital in Cambridge. https://www.arbormemorial.ca/mountlawn/obituaries/mary-coakwell/1692/

Aunt Betty Rotigliano was married to Uncle Tony, Nanny's youngest brother.  Died Christmas night.

Gordie Howe was a hockey player who I was slow to appreciate.  It was a regular tradition to watch Hockey Night in Canada, but that was mostly the Toronto Maple Leafs playing four other teams in a cycle while Montreal who we seldom saw did the same thing from Quebec.  During playoffs we watched the better players more often.  I had a few friends who were Gordie Howe fans and the more I saw him the more I was mesmerized.  As an adult I was fortunate to work with a company that used Gordie as a product endorser and following that I was a able to involve him in a fund raiser.  He was quiet, modest and considerate.  To read a bit more on Gordie and some other  celebrity brushes.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/01/brushes-with-celebrity.html

Gwen Ifill was just some one I watched on tv.  She was a rarity, a newscaster who could ask penetrating questions and you could never be quite sure what her politics were.  She projected a positive outlook, no matter the circumstances.

To balance off, we had the pleasure of greeting two new members of the family.  David and Krista brought us Hannah, born May 31st.











while Ryan and Renee brought us Emma Ryley November 12th











Over the many years we have celebrated our anniversary in different ways.  Often just a night out at local restaurant, sometimes we have taken trips such as to British Columbia and New Zealand.  This year we took the GO train to Toronto to do some shopping at the St Lawrence Market and a trip to the Ripley's Aquarium which was really mind blowing.







We always try to have a theatrical experience each year.  This year we visited Lighthouse Theatre in Port Dover for a Norman Foster play. (check out http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/09/norm-foster-bard-of-cottage-country.html  'Blind Date" was a spontaneous play at Theatre Aquarius.  A lot of laughs and little pondering from both.

One of our favorite  restaurants relocated.  Culantro Peruvian Cookery started in a small facility in walking distance.  They moved into bigger facilities and fixed it up.  We went to a special nite--really interesting delicious food, guitar and flute duo  See and hear a small part of the enjoyable evening.  https://www.instagram.com/p/BG0WAIjQkfV/

Supercrawl suffered through moderate rain, but much less severe than last year.  Good crowds.  For me a hi-lite was Circus Orange, but enjoyed much of the music, especially the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra with The Medicine Hat.  Enjoyed a meal at another classy restaurant on James North, The Lake Road Restaurant.  Chocolate on James with a nifty ice cream creation.

The Superwalk for Parkinson's was by one count my 8th.   I would like to believe my effort makes a small difference, but the goal seems so far away.

2016 was another Olympic year.  Always a big deal for me.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/09/olympic-impressions-for-2016.html


The Can Am show was held in Markham for the second year.  Again I saw many of my clients and a number of prospects. Found out what Extreme Cowboy was all about.  Learned about an interesting book I followed up with  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/05/the-power-of-horses-to-heal-riding-home.html

My first Serbian wedding.  Trevor and  Maricca.  Some delicious food.

Another joy of life is eating out.  Some enjoyable meals were had at Mesa, Acclamation, Ancaster Old Mill,  Brux House on Locke St.  Hamilton Hakka Indian and Chinese Restaurant  The Crepe House in Port Dover, the Lake Road Restaurant,  Romano's, Nonna's  After a Blue Jays' game we enjoyed Firkin's Pub at the Flatiron Building.  Farmer's Market has new eateries such as Pokeh, Divine Mexican Treats and Nam Nom Bahn Mi Eatery are three we have enjoyed.


Johannes Linstead, a Juno award guitarist, on the street during Art Crawl brought by Chocolate on James.  For the second time bought one of his albums.  To get an idea of the fun:  https://www.facebook.com/ChocolatOnJamesHamilton/?fref=ts









We usually wind up the year with a gathering of friends for food, drink and talk.  This year we were joined with my sister Rebecca and our neighbour Glen.








I spent a lot of time watching movies amounting to over 300.  Read the highlights http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/12/film-memories-from-2016.html

Another indulgence is reading.  My favourites:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/12/books-i-am-glad-i-read-in-2016.html

The 3 most popular blogs were 1) about the American election:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/10/october-surprises.html

2) a movie from Spain on Netflix:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/11/7-anos.html

 and 3) a book review about "Pandemic":  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/11/pandemic.html

I hope you all had a good year.  Next year could be even better!

If you are interested you can check out the previous year that had its share of interesting things:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/12/memories-from-2015.html

TRAVELS OF A SALESMAN PART 3 QUEBEC

My sister Rebecca in Brossard, Quebec fed me and provided a place to sleep during my many trips to the Maritimes.  It is embarrassing to recall that when she was living by herself before having children my father and some of my siblings visited her.  Years later she mentioned how important that was to her as she didn't know many people in Montreal and her husband  Ali was out of the country.  I didn't visit, with my only excuse being I was busy doing other things.  I felt we had a good relationship, but it was mainly because of her efforts visiting her family in Ontario.

When it became self serving such as trying to save some hotel expense on a trip to the east coast it became easier to visit.  Both Rebecca and her husband Ali were very hospitable, in fact setting a standard few people would match.  As years went by and I had to travel back and forth to the east coast I made more visits.  Ali suggested that even though I didn't speak French I would have an easier time trying to sell in Quebec than a francophone would in Ontario.

In fact I used to set the alarm for around 3 a.m. so I could make it to Fredericton before it was too late in the day to make a sales call in English.  Driving past a population base of millions for the opportunity to sell to a population base of hundreds of thousands doesn't seem the best use of gas and time.  I had earlier signed up a Quebec veterinarian wholesaler with national distribution, but had only approached affiliated Ontario and Maritime clinics.  As time went by there developed a few other links.

Jacques Major, a fellow employee at OKD,  wrote an introductory speech in French.  Later he helped me adapt a story I told to win favour with receptionists.

I boned up on a few French words and was supported by French labeling and literature.   Calling mostly on veterinarians I was pleased to learn that there was usually at least one person reasonably fluent in English and often it was the veterinarian owner.  Speaking to the chief decision maker was not nearly as common on my other calls so this became a bonus.  There wasn't smooth sailing all the time.  I stumbled on lots of calls where I didn't make myself understood, but really only had one very negative experience because of my poor French.  I won't go into that, but every salesperson who makes cold calls has to deal with fear of rejection or of looking like an idiot and my Quebec experience provided a lot of realistic opportunities to deal with that.

My first call was on the south shore off Quebec City in Levis and it turned out to be a difficult French conversation.  I had been trying to relate how effective our solution was to get rid of skunk odours.  When I followed up they had actually bought my product as a floor cleaner and were very pleased.  I ran into many English speakers of various levels of fluency and mostly made myself understood.  I was moderately successful not only in increasing sales, but actually picking up stories of successful users that helped me in other markets.  Eventually I called on well over 200 Quebec clinics.

As an outsider to Quebec I had very vague ideas.  I knew Montreal was a major cosmopolitan city.  I knew Quebec City was a popular tourist destination.  I had heard other names, but they held no uniqueness for me.  Like any other province of millions of people Quebec has lots of unique (and very interesting) identities.

At one point I did more than just make calls along the route to the Maritimes, but actually spent a week at a time in Quebec.  From Rebecca's house I could make calls to about a three hour driving range that included Quebec City and Sherbrooke.  I went beyond that staying overnite in motels visiting Lac St Jean.  On trips to Ottawa I visited Gatineau.  On trips to northeastern Ontario I visited Rouyn Noranda.

I started to realize and enjoy that Quebec culture is very rich.  I listened to Celine Dion in French, but also learned of other Quebec singers.  I have since realized  that a lot of Quebec movies are first class and enjoyable.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/09/french-canadian-films-are-world-class.html

Starting where my sister lived, in Brossard.  It was part of a string of communities that are grouped as the South Shore.  I was impressed with the local library and the system of walking trails.  I was dragged to a lot of shopping areas and found many of them enjoyable.  I had my car's oil changed at a particular fast lube place on three different trips in Brossard.  I eventually spent time selling on the north shore (which included Laval where I had sold some other things on the phone).

Favorite places included Sherbrooke, Victoriaville, the Beauce (south of Quebec City), Riviere du Loup.  I was able to circumnavigate Lac St Jean and wished I could have done it more slowly.   Ali had biked around the lake as a university student.  <Correction:  Ali atually hitch-hiked>Quebec City is one of the most interesting cities in all North America and I am glad I was able to go back without the pressures of sales calls. Montreal is a cosmopolitan city with a lot of interesting things--one that comes to mind is the market on Jean Talon.  The South Shore is also a very pleasant place.  This brief list of names by no means exhausts all the beauty of Quebec.

One of the biggest legacies came from a trip to Quebec City where I had a limited window because of commitments to travel elsewhere.  I had mapped out my calls to veterinarians and was curious about the proximity to some tourist attractions--old Quebec and the Montmorency Falls.  I felt railroaded in a morning rush hour and ended up going through old Quebec and then later looking for a clinic to the east found myself driving by Montmorency Falls.  I knew I had missed a turn and had to turn around. At that point I noticed Ile d'Orleans.  It just looked like a lot of trees, but people were driving over the bridge.  My curiosity was aroused.  When I got back home I did some research and became even more fascinated.

For one of my milestone birthdays my wife asked me what I wanted.  I decided it would be nice to visit my sister in Brossard and make a holiday of it.  I was no longer visiting Quebec on business.  I suggested we could go to Quebec City.  Even then I was planning on a side trip to Ile d'Orleans.  We stayed in a Quebec City motel and of course visited the famous old Quebec.  I felt like I was dragging my wife to Ile d'Orleans and was very disappointed at my first two planned stops as they were not open or we couldn't locate them.  I was ready to admit defeat, but my wife's attitude was we were already there and might as well continue to circle the island. Her boss had once done a bicycle tour of the island.  The next stop less than ten minutes later (and not planned) turned out to be very delightful.  It was a bakery with very different and wonderful pizza.  Further down the road we ran into some boutiques and then a fabulous chocolate place.  We bought some local wine.  We had dinner beside Montmorency Falls which was another wonderful meal with a beautiful view.  A year later we decided to spend 4 days on Ile d'Orleans at a bed and breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Back in Montreal my sister gave us a tour of Montreal that would have been more enjoyable if I wasn't so tired.  Did have some of the famous Montreal bagels and saw old Montreal.  When I go on my sales trips I don't always see the most scenic sections.

Talking to Peter Cotton (my cousin Donna Stewart's husband) I started to tell him where my favorite drive was and it turned out we both agreed on a road to Beloeil, just off the Trans Canada Highway. Something about the particular houses along the river.  Peter had been involved with the design of some restaurants along the harbour in Halifax that I also enjoyed.

While staying with my sister's family I got involved in some of their routine.  On several occasions went on long family walks.  I remember on a couple of occasions going with my niece Leila delivering newspapers in the morning (something I had done a great deal of in a previous job).  Leila helped me visit a Montreal cat show where I couldn't always make myself understood.  Samia, my sister's other daughter had developed an interest in Tae Kwon Do.  I had picked her up from a practice and attended one competition.  That developed into a passion for both Samia and her mother, both of whom got black belts.  Samia has competed at a high level internationally.  I also remember enjoyably socializing with friends who had originally come from Ali's home town of Safi in Morocco, both at their home and my sister's.  As usual they were all at least tri-lingual including their 5 year old son who couldn't understand why my French was so poor.  He thought everyone in Canada spoke French.  One year I was invited to attend an Eid dinner which is the traditional end to Ramadan. Often I got to enjoy some really good Moroccan cuisine eaten in a unique style, plus other interesting menus plus an impressive tea ceremony put on by Ali.

I like to think of myself as an opportunist.  We all think that if only the right opportunity would offer itself our fortune would be made.  It happens for some people.  What most of us do not always realize is that there are always opportunities and some of them are mind blowing.  But we aren't always looking for them so they either go unnoticed or sometimes sooner or later someone else discovers them.  I am glad that I took an opportunity to explore Canada's most unique province and get to visit my sister's family more often.   I owe it to my brother in law, Ali who encouraged me with his one observation and his many acts of hospitality.  I am grateful to Jacques Major who gave me a very helpful tool and opened up the door to life changing experiences.

The photo at the top is of the bridge going to Ile d'Orleans.  I probably never would have seen it if I had not missed a turn and realized it when I saw the Montmorency Falls.  My wife, Sharon took that one.  The second photo is at a bed and breakfast in Ile d'Orleans where we met two couples from Brooklyn New York that were very enjoyable company.  The photo at the bottom is Montmorency Fallls which is actually higher than Niagara Falls, but much narrower.  You can see a pedestrian bridge over the top of the falls which my wife walked across.

You can read about Part I, my travels in Ontario at http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/06/travels-of-salesman-part-1-ontario.html Part 2 recounts my travels in the Maritimes at  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-two-maritimes.html