The Game Changers

 Pushing my limits on blog frequency this film had to be included.  My long time friend Bob Stone recommended "The Game Changers" (2019)  and it made an impression that will be hard to cast aside.  

Veganism is something never heard of in my youth, but I have met a few people who are or who have attempted to be one.  Cruelty to animals is repulsive and one also learns that climate change is being accelerated by our meat eating habits.  Although those thoughts are impactful our habits are difficult to change.  The thrust of this film is on our health and for men especially on concepts of masculinity.

Arnold Schwartzenegger epitomizes for many of us masculinity personified.  He admits in his body building days eating meat and eggs was a big part of his strategy, but since has studied the issues more closely and has concluded a plant based diet is not only healthier but does not impeded muscle accumulation.  Arnold is one of the executive producers and talks about his conversion.

The quote I remember most and resets our thinking comes from Patrik Babourmian who demonstrates why he has been labeled "the world's strongest man."  Someone commented to him that he was as strong as an ox and he replied "Have you ever seen an ox eat meat?"  For that matter our favorite sources of meat are cows, pigs and chickens.  

The film is narrated and presented by James Wilks a champion UFC fighter.  A few clips of his fights are shown to demonstrate that not only strength, but quickness are required to reach his level.  During the film he introduces us to a wide variety of athletes who have adopted a vegan lifestyle.  Doctors are also brought to explain the scientific logic for veganism. We see football players, track athletes, cyclists and even a champion Grand Prix racer.

Protein is protein, but actually there is a difference between animal protein and plant protein.  Animal protein contains inflammatory elements that are unhealthy.  As is explained a few times our meat sources are like a middle man taking their protein from plants before passing the adjusted protein to us meat eaters.  

We are shown graphs that illustrates the impact of even a temporary vegan diet.  Strength is maintained and even increased.  Speed and endurance are boosted.   One doctor takes three college football players and demonstrates that sexual virility is enhanced with a vegan diet.

Opposed to veganism are economic interests.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/05/cowspiracy-points-out-major-premier.html

Directed by Louie Psihoyos who has one Oscar  for "The Cove" (2009) to his credit and a big shelf full of other awards.  Script was handled by Mark Monroe, Joseph Pace and Shannon Kornelsen.  

Editing such a wide ranging film covering a number of short clips requires expertise.  Dan Swietlik had edited "An Inconvenient Truth"(2006) and "Sicko" (2007) along with many other documentaries.  " (2007).  Stephanie Mechura has edited a number of Frontline episodes and such films as "The Price of Sex" (2011).

The two producers were James Wilks and Jason Pace who will also produced "Eating Our Way to Extinction" (2021).  Executive producers included Pamela Anderson, James Cameron, Jackie Chan, Lewis Hamilton and Arnold Schwartzenegger.

Veganism is a difficult concept to commit to, but I have been tipping in that direction.  Mark Bittman, New York Times columnist is aware of the challenge and has offered a suggestion I have had some limit4d success with--see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/11/vb6-vegan-before-6.html  After watching "Octopus:  Making Contact" (2019) and "My Octopus Teacher" (2020) I was struck by this odd creature having intelligence that I have decided I could no longer eat calamari.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/09/for-me-this-is-year-of-octopus.html

My personal difficulty is I am addicted to the taste and perhaps even more the traditions associated with meat dishes.  It seems animals are subject to humans' sense of fashion.  What to do with all the farm animals as we convert to veganism:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/01/what-happens-to-farm-animals-when.html

Another film that hit me personally was "Escape from Extinction" (2020) We humans are very self centered, often to the point of hurting our survival.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/10/escape-from-extinction.html

All films have some impact on us. One of my motives for blogging is to remember important things.  

The first mention of films I have seen are bolded, partly for my vanity, but also to indicate some familiarity. 

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

My Life and Adventures with cars Part One

A car is a mechanical object, but truly your relationship with it is personal and even intimate.  It is a part of your identity and of your ego   In my case, calculations based on tax returns, expenses claimed, commuting recalled and recreational driving the total is over one million miles (not kilometers) so there is a lot of history that formed me. When we study history we tend to focus on power.  Louis XIV for instance had the power of life and death not only in France, but in colonies and was a significant promoter of the arts that we enjoy centuries later.  But even I have power that he didn't.

A car has given me a feeling of  freedom, but also of slavery.  As a youngster one could appreciate the freedom a car offered.  Without one you were dependent on how far you could walk or on getting someone else to take you where you wanted to go.  The desire for more freedom hit me before having access to a car; http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/02/hitch-hiking-memories.html

My father was a truck driver who was well respected, owning his own company that had four trucks.  He was put on a board of directors for dump truck operators.  He also had the distinction of winning the Canadian Winter Rally in 1960 in his first effort on a day that one of my sisters was born.  Everyone considered him an exceptional driver, but he was a poor teacher.  At age 16 he took me to a nearby parking lot in Oshawa and with a gear shift gave a few instructions.  He admitted that it was very hard on his nerves and no further efforts.

We moved to Haliburton and the high school decided to offer a driving education course and I was among the first to enlist.  My father supported this effort as he wouldn't have to endure beginner mistakes.  They used an automatic gear system and that removed one of my difficulties.  Most of the class passed the driving license test including me at age 18.  I was allowed to drive on special occasions, even a few times with my father.  A couple of these early experiences are recalled.

One, I was so anxious to drive that I agreed to drive our family dog (who had often slept on my bed) to the vet about an hour's drive away in Fenelon Falls.  When we got there I realized the horror of what I had done and asked my mother to drive back home.  Years later I actually made sales calls to this same clinic.

Two, I was asked to take my sister for a high school event on a snowy winter day.  No excuse I put the car in the ditch, but was towed out.  When I confessed at home I was told no more driving while snow was on the ground.  Not the last time I ran a car into the ditch, but a lesson was learned.  

Three.  My Grandmother Coakwell let me drive her car from Oshawa and back for one of her visits to my family.  On one part of the trip I bumped up against a trailer of another car.  She didn't say much at the time, but when my cousins were visiting from Cornwall they told me she had told them.

After high school and while at university I would be given chances to drive on my own in Haliburton. even with snow on the ground.  Then after graduation which I took in January I found it very difficult to get a job.  I am sure my parents were getting exasperated.  Finally I had a successful interview for a social worker position in Barrie, Ontario with the requirement that I had to have a car.  Although my father had always advocated for foreign cars he set me up with his friend who owned Bill Drew Ford in Ajax.  He paid a down payment and road tested the car and in a short run pointed out some minor faults, but felt it was good enough for me.

My job involved driving around a section of Simcoe County that included Collingwood and Wasaga Beach that later became holiday destinations.  I also visited home, my old university, my friends and even to Montreal.  But the job didn't last and I ended up back home.  While there I enrolled in a night course at York University and took turns with a co-worker, but occasionally went on my own.  On one such occasion  I was approached by a young man in a mall parking lot who unusually I didn't brush off because he made some sense. At that point I agreed to join the CAA (Canadian Auto Club).  One of the smartest decisions I ever made.  They have rescued me many times for  battery and other assorted problems. ONce they towed my car from Toronto to Burlington and another time from Ingersol to Burlington and few other times shorter distances.  I also used their travel services from time to time.  A short while ago they sent me a certificate for being a loyal customer for 50 years.  Once in Halifax my brakes failed on a Saturday night with my wife and daughter and they steered me to where I could get help. I certainly got my money's worth and a lot of peace of mind.

I felt if I wasn't able to get another job I could at least sell the car and pay back my parents.  But my education wasn't finished.  I learned that I owed more on the car than it was worth.  My parents picked up some of the slack and felt having a car might help me get my next job.  They were right, but it took six months and finally I got a job and after a brief stop in Toronto ended up working from a Hamilton office.  I drove all over the Niagara Peninsula and Burlington with occasional trips to further areas.

This job lasted more than a year until I decided to switch jobs and started a longer career in newspaper circulation that involved recruiting, interviewing and training carriers and taking carriers out canvassing for new customers.  

One incident was unexpected.  While taking out youngsters out I would drop them at one end of a long street and wait for them at a further end.  Usually I sat in my car listening to the radio or doing some paper work, but at one stage I decided I should get out for exercise and to keep closer watch on the carriers.  On this one occasion when I got back to my car a car turned sideways to block my car and scared me.  I felt relief a few seconds later when a police car with warning lights on.  It turned out that someone had decided I was a peeping Tom.  The police were reassured I was ok, but then another moment of embarrassment resulted when I was asked to present my driver's license and my signature was missing.  They were also embarrassed and merely asked me to sign it.

I was in newspaper circulation for well over a decade and in some ways kept up a connection tied to other jobs.  I got involved in making deliveries of store copies and even carrier bundles.  I worked in Oakville, Kitchener-Waterloo, Etobicoke, Brantford and Hamilton.  Some of this involved commutes and supervising managers.  When the Etobicoke paper decided to de-emphasize paid circulation I was forced out, but given a healthy amount of money.  

For a couple of years I worked selling office supplies for two different companies mainly working in Hamilton and Burlington that included nearby small towns and reinforce my interest in maps. I drove a lot on the job.

I should confess that I had one big fault shared by many others at the same time.  Alcohol entered my life around university time, but not a concern while driving my parent's car.  However when I got a job and started settling down it was very common to join friends at parties or bars and drink and drive home.  I was conscious that I was not as good a driver after drinking as I otherwise would.  Not sure when the concept of designated driver hit my social circle, but I believe I would have been in my late forties or early fifties.  When my daughter got her license she became a designated driver for us and later my wife and I split turns being a designated driver.  It is frightening how much danger I inflicted on myself and others.  One intermediate step was to hold a New Years Eve party as I told myself to avoid not only drinking and driving, but dealing with more than usual drinking drivers.  A tradition that spans over 20 years with many good memories.

Another life style activity was sleeping in cars.  Only a few times before I did settle down.  My friend Bob Stone who is much bigger than me and drove a small sports car would a few times end up with the two of us sleeping in his car.   I also slept in my car a few times rather than impose on other people.  

In my twenties I had a tendency to drive over the speed limit and got caught.  But I learned a life license when I was called in and complained about the last ticket.  The examiner merely explained I should think about the times I didn't get caught.  Read more:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/08/what-have-you-gotten-away-with.html

Another side of my reckless youth was driving through bad weather.  When I worked in Simcoe County that seemed more prone to heavy snow I once drove from Collingwood through a storm when the provincial police had been taken off the road.  Lots of bad weather to contend with which actually attracted me when I discovered as a salesman it was easier to talk to decision makers during weather that not only discouraged retail customers, but also competing salesmen.  The worst drive was from Chicoutimi taking a "short-cut" over unplowed winding roads.

In Oakville one of my co workers was Rick Hill who became a good friend.  He had been a mechanic and also had a license for body work.  One of his leisure activities was pretending to buy cars with the idea of beating down the price.  On one occasion he came with me to an auto dealer and knocked the price down within about one minute.  After that it was tougher, but he got the deal much better than ever I could have.  At different times Rick helped me get some painting and other body work done at reasonable pricing. 

It is difficult to track every car that I bought, but most were held for years with new models at beginning, but more used cars later on.  Some were problems and others were very good.  For awhile I owned a van in order to make newspaper deliveries, but it didn't have a side window and I had a minor accident as a result.  Rick installed a side window for me.  My favorites were Honda.  I remember one salesman who had persuaded me to buy a car, but I wanted to delay as we were going on a plane ride to Florida in a very few weeks.  He got the bright idea to pay for airport transport which did make our trip much easier.  The same salesman later sold my wife a used car that his wife was driving.  I got more productive miles from the Honda than any other car.

Being non mechanically inclined a big concern was finding a mechanic I could trust.  An example of what to avoid was a mechanic I dropped into near where I worked in Etobicoke.  He had my car on a hoist and had me come over and shake something underneath.  He said I should not even drive home.  I did and the next day checked with a mechanic near where I lived and he laughed--he asked me if I had been asked to shake some parts underneath and told that is what they are supposed to do.  Another mechanic told me I had a serious problem requiring attention and a few days later my car was hesitating as had been predicted and I ran into Halton Honda who pointed out a sparkplug connection had not been tightened and when I asked how much I owed, he laughed and said he couldn't charge for something like that.

I did find a number of mechanics worthy of trust and I needed them because I drove a lot.  Delivery runs required stop and go with lots of idling and I drove on a lot of rough roads.  But I got a big break that I became conscious of when my sister in law Lorri got married to Kerry.  My brother in law Len, the emcee pointed out the family was not only gaining another member, but a mechanic.  Kerry was a matter of fact mechanic telling one what needed to be done and how much urgency was required.  One time after I went for some minor mechanical operation he told me I needed new tires and I replied that I would talk to my boss, meaning my wife.  I waited a little longer than expected and realized he had put on new tires.  This was at first a little annoying and I would have been furious if anyone else had done such a thing.  But I realized if he thought I needed new tires, I actually needed them and he probably saved my life.

Another similar break was when a nephew, Ryan started his own body shop, Enfield Body and there were occasions when little dings needed repairing and rust dealt with. Not only did he give relatives discounts, I felt I could trust his judgments.  Pictured to the left with his daughter Emma.

Before moving on, my sister's eulogy at my father's funeral hit me.  Like many sons who felt restrictions were unfair I held some resentment of my father, although I had overcome most of that before his death.  My sister, Rebecca recalled that my father, the truck driver loved to take different routes to see something different.  She also noted a pilot note that he was thrilled to have piloted me on an airplane flight when I was under a year old.

There was a big change in my life and cars played a big role that took me to the Maritimes and Quebec.  Check Part Two here  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/02/my-life-and-adventures-with-cars-part_21.html

Ending 2017 in New Zealand

We had planned for almost half a year for a trip to New Zealand to spend our Christmas  holidays with our son.  Getting somewhere is always a part of the story.

A big part of the trip is the weather.  Global warming or climate change has become part of our lives, but even so as winter approached us in Canada we were hopeful we might not have to deal with the snow and the cold.  A fairly mild fall seemed promising, but remembering other years we decided rather than chance a risky trip to the Toronto Airport we would spend the nite before in a Toronto hotel and take a shuttle over.  As it turned out our instincts saved us from a high tension drive to the airport and shoveling and freezing.

We woke up on the second day of official winter to a fairly heavy snow storm.  A much better trip to the airport came with the Comfort Inn shuttle.  The driver had a good sense of humour.  We arrived good and early.  We thought we had things under control by going through security well ahead of time,but it turned out we got confused before realizing our boarding gate was in the opposite direcion requiring a lengthy walk involving two flights of down escalators and two flights of up escalators.  A five hour flight was delayed about an hour and was a trial run for our trip across the Pacific

Arriving in Vancouver we met an old friend, Bob Stone.  I have told many that my closest friend lived over 3,000 miles away.  I met Bob a little before grade 7 with Cub Scouts that neither of us belonged to for very long.  Our friendship really developed in grade seven, but we went to different high schools, then I moved for two years to a rural area about a two hour drive away.  At the time of the move we had quarreled and it seemed like that was the end of it all.  Bob was very disciplined and had bought a car while still in high school to have his own independence.  He drove and I hitch-hiked (http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/02/hitch-hiking-memories.htmll) and our friendship survived.  When it came time to choose universities he chose Queen's (for its engineering program) and I chose Guelph because it seemed to have a unique system.  We kept in touch and for a year or two he actually occasionally visited me while he really visited his girl friend Adrianne who attended Waterloo.  She eventually transferred to Queen's.  We spent a lot of adventures together which might be a subject for another set of blogs.  After I graduated my first job was in Barrie, Ontario and I ended up boarding with Adrianne's parents.

We each were the other's best man when we got married. Years later Bob ended up in Vancouver while my life revolved around Ontario.  Years pass and contact thinned out.  A brief revival when our son Michael went to University of Victoria on Vancouver Island.   For one of our visits Bob actually was working on Vancouver Island and for another he ferried over to Nanaimo and we had a trip together to Tofino with an interesting side trip at Bob's suggestion to Coombs.         .

All this to make our meeting in Vancouver a little more meaningful for us.  Adrianne trying to get ready for Christmas (it was on December 22nd) joined us at the airport and helped guide us to a Bill Reid sculpture that used to be on the Canadian $20 bill.  Visiting them years earlier I had been interested in the Haida culture and later on one of our trips to visit our son we had seen the sculpture. Anyhow that was mostly an excuse to catch up.

The Vancouver Airport impressed us as at first it seemed more casually friendly but had a lot of unique features including a Haida theme that still interested me.  The stop over lasted a few hours, but we next launched the trip across the Pacific.

My experience traveling is fairly limited, but Air New Zealand made an aggravating long, inevitably cramped flight into a positive part of the trip. Every airplane has the problem of finite space limiting their ability to make a profit.  Air New Zealand worked hard to provide a positive experience.  Their staff was most helpful.  We enjoyed the food and the wine included in the fare.  I had watched the web site and looked forward to watching a number of movies.  After psyching myself to watch the movies I was at first put off that my seat which we upgraded to have more leg room didn't have a seat in front of it to provide a screen on its back.  It turned out that by hiding a flat screen (and also an eating tray) in the left arm rest I was able to see my movies.  On an air flight there has to be communication with the flight staff and several times our viewing was interrupted to give us some useful information.   Their inflight safety instructions are based on a humorous video.  We had a few interesting conversations with the staff and one fellow passenger, Tom who was visiting his sister in Wellington.  He was from England, but had been living in Vancouver for about a year.

Some of the first things we visited were at natural parks in Auckland.  We visited areas called reserves and went for a walk.  Haley pointed what locals call New Zealand Christmas trees.  Much closer to my son's home is the Panmure Basin.  More trees, birds and we stumbled on a very nice hotel. (a future resource?).

Christmas in the southern hemisphere presents some challenges.  A lot of our northern themes are based on snow and early darkness. Consequently few Christmas lights are seen but Michael took us to a neighborhood that has taken up the challenge--Franklin St in downtown Auckland.  A lot of creativity on display.


Christmas was a quiet private affair.  Sharon and I agreed this trip was our present for each other.  Skyped with Heather back in Ontario at a family gathering.  We had brought a few gifts from back home.

I wasn't sure if they celebrated Boxing Day, but they certainly do. Sharon and I ended up at Sylvia Park Mall and it was crowded.  We ended up buying gifts for two nieces and one future nephew as well as ourselves and a few others.  Very impressive mall.

Next we were driven to Tauranga (fifth largest city in New Zealand) with a few interesting stops along the way.  Owharoa Falls and an Oceana Gold abandoned minefield in Wahi.  Bought some souvenirs. Only went up Mt Maunaganui part way and marveled at the sheep grazing.  In Tauranga itself we found Thai Thani 2 near the water with very good food and service.  Later in Paeroa we felt ignored in our first restaurant and moved further down the street to get very good service from Kumar's with nice touches in the food. The chef came out to clarify one of our requests.  They kindly played my favorite Tamil song that is number 1 with my iTunes list on their video machine.

We became aware of Waiheke Island on our previous visit and in the meantime developed a keen interest   It turns out to be more interesting once we arrived.  It is larger than we realized and has a lot of natural beauty.  Apparently it has a population of about 8,000 year round, but in the summer holiday season (January) it blooms to about 40,000.  It is a 35 minute ferry boat from Auckland and about 2,000 commute for work.  We went on our first wine tour and were taken for tasting to three wineries, including one certified organic. Apparently organic does less harm to your body.  We ate at the last one, Passage Rock outdoors.  Our group came with people from Britain (parents visiting a daughter who also came), three long term women friends coming for a wedding and two women from New Jersey.  The tour guide, Grant told us he felt dairy was cruel for cows, but ate dairy anyway while feeling guilty.  A lot of good conversation.

Tramp tracking, a recently learned term took us up and down through bush and cliffs.  We also visited a world ranked olive oil business, Rangihoua and bought some of their products.   Finished off our second Waiheke day at Red Crab Thai overlooking water.  They were about to close, but kept open for us and some others that came afterwards.

On a trip to Matakana we visited the Honey Center in Warkworth, and a nearby Donkey Sanctuary where we fed carrots to the four legged residents.  In Matakana we encountered very heavy traffic all headed to another Market and afterwards dined at the popular Rusty Pelican. On the way back we walked a trail at the Parry Kauri Park.  The Kauri tree is a remarkable huge tree that had been cut by early settlers almost to the point of extinction before it was appreciated for its unique versatility.  It is making a comeback.

One complaint from travelers is that they can't seem to get off the beaten path and learn what the locals really like.  Our son had discovered a local market after hours.  It was in the underground parking at a large plaza.  Exotic ethnic foods at very good prices as well as variety of merchandise.  Another day we went to a Sunday morning market in Takapuna and bought some more goodies.

New Years Eve was the first time in over 20 years we have not hosted a house party.  After dining at a restaurant (Portofino) we were dropped down by the Sky City, listening to some music (by Sons of Zion, a reggae band I now listen to) and wandering around over to Queen St.  Crowds everywhere with a focus to the midnite fireworks from the Sky City tower.  It was spectacular and I wish I knew how to use a better camera.

With my son and Haley as guides we found two more great restaurants; Misashi, with Japanese cuisine in Milford and later in the day at Portofino with Italian food in Howick.

It may seem like we are uncommonly lucky in our choices, but really that is misleading.  This is one of my more unique holidays largely because of the efforts of my son and his girlfriend Hayley.  They asked what we wanted, did research, made reservations and found some new treasures for us.  Hayley helped track down a book I was looking for.  We were driven around for hours.  One goal of a vacation is to enjoy new experiences and we certainly did that.  Some of my most memorable holidays have come about because a family member or close friend moved.  This is how we explored Halifax, Montreal, Victoria and Vancouver.  It is not without some pain, but people go where they have some sort of interest.  You renew your connection and gain a better understanding of some distant location.

To check out the other half of our vacation check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/01/starting-2018-in-new-zealand.html

My attitude on profanity over the years

How does one talk about this topic without actually swearing?  Swearing has been an integral part of my life seemingly forever, but part of me wants to protect what little image I have left.  My assumption is that most of my readers have used curse words at one time or another, but a few of you might not want that too widely known.  For me I do not wish to offend anyone, but swearing is a cultural practice whose role has changed over my lifetime.

When I was very young I was unconscious of it, probably because my elders were politically correct enough not to get carried away in front of an infant.  I can only guess when I first heard anyone swear and it was probably a young peer trying to act tough like an adult.  The word "hell" was considered a forbidden word, but it was probably the first swear word I ever heard.  The word has long passed into everyday usage, but it was a bit daring and subject to parental correction in my youth.

That gets to the essence of swearing.  It is theoretically forbidden, but lets people express either anger or sophistication.  It can be provocative, an insult and often humorous.  The elements of culture that serve the purpose of swearing come from sex, excrement, and religion.

Telling on siblings or classmates was a pleasure on its own, but had a double pleasure of getting away with swearing if you could say you were just quoting.

In my early teens I joined Sea Cadets and found myself in a culture that revered swearing.   It came from the top, (officers) bearing in mind that at the time they were all male.  At the bottom (where I was) swearing was a sort of art form where the different cadets tried to out do one another in their inventiveness.

My father was a truck driver, but until I was more in my middle teens I never heard him swear and for the most part I never heard him swear in front of my mother or my sisters although he often used strong words.  It was sort of a rite of passage when he felt free to swear in front of me and my younger brother, Marshall.

Amongst friends it was almost like a contest to see how inventive we could be and how boisterous.  I took some pride in doing well in this regard.  If we felt safe we would yell it and this could sometimes get unwelcome attention.  My father informed me that I once upset my mother when I got together with my friends.

In high school (Oshawa Central for grades 9 to 11) I had a lot of Polish friends who delighted in teaching me Polish swear words.  A few years later I learned some Italian words and was surprised that my grandmother in law would occasionally use a famous Italian gesture.  Sometimes I admit we thought it was cute to swear in their native tongues as a way of insulting some people.

Moving to university expanded my awareness of the role of swearing.  In my residence was a Chinese student who at first was reluctant to swear, but after awhile he really got carried away and seemed to have a greater feeling of acceptance.  Ironically he wouldn't tell us the Chinese equivalent as it was "too terrible," but in English he had no problem.

Also in my residence was a Royal Military College transferee to Guelph to be with his girl friend.  Both seemed very prim and proper.  I only remember one time being in a group with him without his girl friend.  He came close to setting records for swearing making an effort to bond with our group.

A lot of swearing was used in connection with sex.  As young boys become aware of sex they are amused to use swear words and in a very real sense objectifying females.  I had a mother, grandmothers, sisters and classmates and I realized part of my relationships were compartmentalized. When it really dawned on me that I might want to be friends I needed to not only curb my language, but realize there is, for lack of a better word, humanity.  Gradually I realized that many young women (and older) also used swearing partly as a bonding tool, but also I suspect to talk about us males behind our back.  It used to be a mark of gentility not to swear but now it has gone through the era of projecting sophistication to just being normal.

I remember listening to George Carlin in mixed company about the seven forbidden words.  It was not only entertaining, but enlightening.  Swear words have power, but only if you care.

In the last decades I have enjoyed watching foreign movies, but relying on subtitles to follow the plot and characters.  I think at one point the written word having more power (because it is more permanent) some translators were reluctant to use the literal translation.  In Bollywood, English is very common and while there were some English swear words they sometimes seem to have been mellowed in the subtitles.  This is not the case so much anymore and I supposed I could learn to swear in even more languages, but I am content to get the idea.

When I was out of university and looking for a job I visited some friends and ironically they celebrated my appearance by drinking to excess, although I did not indulge.  A parent got upset about my influence and when my closest friend Bob Stone told me my first reaction was to swear.  I have never forgotten his reaction, "with a university education is that the best you can say?"  Swearing does type you and that made me think I would rather be typed in some other category.

Those who seldom swear are taken more seriously when they do.  They must either be very angry or trying to fit in.  I would hope that most of the times under stress I could resist swearing, but admit that I am not always that cool.  If you are frustrated reading about swearing without any actual swearing take a quick trip to any schoolyard at recess and you will get your fill.

My First Two Jobs

My mother-in-law likes to say "if I knew then what I know now things would be different."  Although some people claim they wouldn't change a thing, I think as we get older my mother-in-law is right.  Life is a continuing educational experience and what I know now is because of what I did then.  Most of my career has been told in my blogs, but my first two jobs  have been avoided partly because neither of them lasted very long, but any first experience is important to what happens next.

Out of university I was pretty naive.  Thinking I was smart enough that anyone would benefit from hiring me.  I didn't really have the marks to prove it and would now agree marks definitely prove you have discipline and focus.  Really I didn't understand the process of getting a job.

After a number of applications and interviews I slowly became aware that there was not a great demand for my services.  I was based in Haliburton, a rural area and spent a lot of time at my Grandmother's in Oshawa (near Toronto) whenever an interview seemed likely.

With no car I often hitch-hiked including for job interviews.  On one of my hitch-hiking trips I heard about the concept of a social worker.  I had majored in sociology, done a small amount of volunteering in a boys reformatory plus I had even been given a short trial at a home for emotionally disturbed children so this sounded feasible.

This social worker idea focused my efforts and resulted in writing to over 100 agencies in Ontario.   I decided to say that I wanted to further my education in their field and that turned out to be the right thing to say

An appointment in Belleville that I hitch-hiked to gave me a better idea of what to expect.  Shortly after I had an interview in Barrie where my best friend, Bob Stone's girl friend Adrianne lived.  Everything went smoothly.  My father arranged for me to get a car and insurance and I was able to board with Adrianne's parents.  Ironically she was taking a summer job and staying with Bob's parents in Oshawa.

Social work was a very new experience to me.  I had had little awareness that Children's Aid existed or needed to exist. A lot of the job was routine and I went with other workers as they visited clients and for awhile an experienced worker would accompany me when I visited my clients.  Mostly it was to talk with adoption applicants and foster parents.

I was responsible for a few young children and one I remember because he ran away from his foster parents.  In the short time I had talked with him, he was very quiet and he was put in a foster home (not my choice) with a couple who had mostly fostered babies.  Well they were hockey parents and did everything they could to get my young boy involved despite an obvious lack of interest.  After bringing him back from Toronto we found another home for him.  He was so quiet I didn't really empathize very well with him until after a court session when he was rejected by a step father (his mother had died).

A lot of my time was spent dealing with adoptions and I remember reading lots of confidential information about babies up for adoption and prospective parents.  Simcoe County was where there were more people wanting to adopt than we had babies, so a lot of the babies came from further away.  I was struck with the variety of situations that led to a baby being available.  Often the description of the father was very vague, although not always.

The most difficult responsibility was advising on family relationships.   At one time I was expected to try to bring back together a couple that had separated after having a child and then each married other partners, although both claiming to love each other and their child.  What I thought was a routine call to another social worker in another city led to an unannounced meeting with the father.  The situation was unresolved when I left, as there were legal complications.

On another occasion  it was suggested to me to separate a wife from her abusive husband.  It seemed straight forward, but she was reluctant.  An appointment was made to talk with her husband and I was greeted by a very drunk man who threatened to throw me into a snowbank.  I was rescued by a police officer who ironically I had previously approved as a foster parent.  The next day the abusive husband after an overnight jail stay visited me in my office to apologize.

I was not really involved with physical abuse, although my imagination could stir lots to fear.  It was amazing how some people felt intimidated by me, but I gradually realized they were fearful of losing contact with their children or in other cases they were anxious to adopt or become foster parents and needed my approval.  Trying to be fair was sometimes stressful.

As part of my agreement I took a night course in psychology at York University.  The long range goal was to get a social work degree  Enjoyed the course and got a good mark  Drove with another young worker Bruce and enjoyed his company, even going on a double date at one time.

After about 6 months  I was told I was not working out.  I sometimes didn't feel comfortable on the job and no doubt my supervisors could spot some of my deficiencies.  I was given time to look for another job and assured they would give a good reference (confirmed by one employment agency).  On the whole I enjoyed working there and my fellow workers.  Looking back I think my naiveté was a big factor.  Telling other people how to deal with their marriage seems incredible from a guy who at this stage couldn't hold onto a girl friend for very long.  With a different supervisor who knows what might have happened, but I don't regret working there or leaving although the rejection hurt.  I came to appreciate a greater variety of humans and learned some of the basics of living on my own.

Another frustrating six months of unemployment mostly living with my parents who had thought I had flown the nest.  I learned to appreciate how many unemployed people must feel; humiliated, insecure and a mooch, in my case, off my parents. All sorts of applications and interviews and then ironically getting a job I had applied for near the beginning of my unemployment.

I had applied for a job from a classified ad that was perhaps a bit misleading, but heard nothing for close to 6 months.  Told later they didn't like university grads who thought they knew it all, but were indecisive.  Ironically what got their attention was that I was from a small town and most of their successful employees were as well.  They seemed to like me and while listening to half a typing test they announced that was good enough.  Later I appreciated they weren't concerned about accuracy, but speed was important.

The head office was in Toronto, but within a very few days an opening happened in Hamilton and because I had no loyalties to Toronto they thought I could fill an urgent need.  As it happened my  sister Pat and her husband lived in nearby Burlington and I ended up living with them for several months.  This decision changed my life in a big way.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/09/hamilton-ontario-was-not-my-first-choice.html

Mapping was one of the skills to learn.  They had maps for different cities and over time I collected my own maps.   Brewer's Retail surprisingly had one of the most useful maps.  Our office was responsible for Hamilton, Burlington, Brantford and the Niagara Peninsula, but often I would go further if some other office needed help.   I got to love maps and prided myself on finding my way around places I had never been to before.

It took me awhile to learn the job, but I got better over time.  I was encouraged to hire part timers to write up reports so I could make more inspection calls.  I hired my sister  and my girl friend (who I married a bit later).  My girlfriend was surprised to do a report on one of her closest friends, Judy who I had not met, but later became our maid of honour (and the source for my blog title).  Another report was on a house across from my future grandmother in law and one block from where I now live--the house had been involved in two fires (but none since).  Meeting my future wife in an odd set of circumstances obviously changed my life.  You can read more:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/08/how-i-met-my-wife.html

Reports had two important factors--incriminating things and speed.  Some insurance employee wanted the information to make a decision.  Some reports were not looking for bad things, but to confirm a customer deserved a discount.

A lot of what I learned came by accident.  Part of the routine was asking an insurance customer  details such as if they drove to work   The form given to me told what they were insured for and soon found that many people said they didn't drive to work or that they only drove a short distance.  I got confused somehow and one day skipped the first part and asked instead how far they drove to work.  Amazingly many people incriminated themselves by giving me the distance, even though they were not insured to do so.  Later I came to appreciate that in many cases an insurance rep had given them a lower rate by encouraging them to fudge some details.  As a salesman years later I appreciated that how you word a question and how you sequence them can make a lot of difference.

One experience that left a lasting impression was with an irate insurance holder.  He owned a business on a highway in a rural area.  Right off the bat I knew he was not insured properly and he resisted my questions.  I thought I was doing him a favour and pressed him for routine answers.  But he became angry and I left without most of my questions being answered.  I was so upset that without realizing it I spun my tires so that a rock flew out and broke a window.  He contacted the police, but he was so distraught he gave a very poor description of me.  I found out about the window when my head office complained to me and then investigated.  It turned out that he just couldn't accept that an important insurance company would send someone so casually dressed that he thought I was not legitimate.  I was ordered to get some new more professional clothes which I did.  This taught me the importance of first impression appearance and although no one would mistake me for a fashion expert I have mostly dressed relatively formally compared to other staff wherever I worked.

Another negative experience I had was when I was sent to an address where I learned the subject had died.  His widow assured me that it was not a problem and I left after apologizing.  Later she complained about me to the insurance office whose fault it really was.  Over the years I have had  similar experiences, but perhaps have handled them better.

We were evaluated on incriminating information, but also by how many inspections we could turn in how quickly. This often meant taking short cuts if someone was difficult to contact.  At one point I felt too intrusive and unhappy that I was causing many people to pay more.  It was pointed out that honest people pay for dishonest people and I could see a few examples of that.  But then in other ways I felt dishonest, particularly where we took short cuts and just finished a report, (almost always non incriminating) just to get rid of it and get our pay.

I was offered a promotion to my home town of Oshawa, but had already decided I wanted out.  On one of my inspections I had learned about newspaper circulation jobs and felt that was more in line with my interests and talents.  I stalled and a few months later I got a job that led to a career with newspapers.  I had admired my boss who told me I should do what is best for me, but when I gave my notice he was very quick to dismiss me although I had told my new employer I needed two weeks.

There was more interaction with people on this job than when I was a social worker.  I traveled a lot more and developed a liking for it.  I developed a love for Hamilton that previously was at the bottom of my list.  I reinforced my interest in basketball with an opportunity to see  N.B.A. game in Buffalo.  Most importantly I met my wife.

A start on my newspaper circulation is at:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/08/my-career-in-newspaper-circulation-part.html

Getting a job depends on a lot of things--what you have to offer and what is needed.  Finding the right or at least an acceptable opportunity.  Making an impression.  Experience is respected, but it only comes from doing things.  The interviewer is trying to read your character and if they don't like it they won't give much credit to your qualifications.  If they like your character that might make up for a lack of ideal qualifications.

During my unemployment I had been accepted at two different teacher's colleges and at a community college, but in the end walked away from them.  I was definitely interested in teaching and had even done about three days of supply teaching.  About 30 years later the Teacher's Pension Fund tracked me down after several moves on my part to send me a cheque for my pension contributions plus interest amounting to about $40.  I might have been better off becoming a teacher, but I felt I had been too big a drag on my parents and opted for a job when one finally became available.

The photo is my home and where my decisions led me.

"Crooked Arrows" brings back memories of lacrosse

Having watched quite a number of sports movies over the years the general theme is that of an underdog overcoming tremendous obstacles (always against an arrogant champion) to win the grand prize at the last second.  "Crooked Arrows" follows that pattern.  Sports movies are full of cliches, ordinary acting, but also exciting action and "Crooked Arrows" was not much different.  Originally I reserved it at the library, but saw so many negative reviews I cancelled it.  I recently spotted it on shelf when looking for a time filler.  Glad, as it brought back some memories.

The special features were as interesting as the movie.  I never played lacrosse, but for a few years I followed it very closely.  I always fancied myself an appreciator of native culture and the special features reminded me of that connection.

The Oshawa Green Gaels came to town when I was in high school and very involved with track and basketball.  I didn't know how unique they were for a few years, but their excitement registered strongly with me.  They believed in the importance of fitness that allowed them to execute a fast break style like the Boston Celtics.  One of my favourite players was John Davis who was a phenomenal scorer.  As years went by some of my school mates joined, such as Charlie Marlowe, Joe Krasnjy and Larry Lloyd.  A particular favorite was Gaylord Powless and years later I met a sister and brother at a party hosted by my friends Bob and Adrianne Stone.  Bob had joined me in watching many of the games.

In another blog I told the story of hitch-hiking (http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/02/hitch-hiking-memories.html) and looking for a place to stay overnight near Huntsville.  Picked up by one fellow I rambled on about some of my interests and it turned out he was a Green Gael who played on a few of their championship teams.  He told me this very casually, but more importantly found a cheap place for me to spend the night in his home town of Dwight.

A prime reason for their success was Jim Bishop who was an advocate for fitness.  He recruited players who could execute his fast break strategy.  Eventually he went on to be involved with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL and also to help start a pro lacrosse league.   His team, the Green Gaels won the Minto Cup, the Junior lacrosse championship for Canada 7 times and had been voted Canada's top amateur team a few times.

The Green Gaels eventually became boring, not because they lost any skill, but because they won so many games often by lopsided scores that there was little dramatic tension in most of their games. There was still excitement at how they could work a fast break and the skills of all the players.

After a few years of watching the Junior Green Gaels I watched the senior Brooklin Redmen and saw  what most people see about lacrosse.  Although demanding a high level of skill it can be rougher than hockey.  These games tended to be lower scoring, but in some ways just as exciting.

I moved and went to university and got away from lacrosse except reading newspaper reports.  After a few job changes I found myself working for the Etobicoke Guardian in the circulation department.  One of the teams they covered was the Etobicoke Eclipse, a lacrosse team and I saw a chance to use one of their games in a sales contest.  At the time I was writing a newsletter and had developed a crossword puzzle that encouraged my carriers to find the answers in the newspaper and also the newsletter itself.  I got the sports reporter, Howard Berger to agree to put one of the answers in his column.  At the game I had arranged to have a photo to be taken with one of the top players and a contest winner.  The Eclipse chosen was Adam Oates who went onto to be a prominent hockey player for the Boston Bruins.

Part of the Oshawa Green Gaels' success came from the involvement of Gaylord Powless who learned his lacrosse in Oshweken, a Mohawk reservation near Brantford.  Gaylord was honoured as Canadian Indian athlete of the year at least once.  In "Crooked Arrows" the main tribe associated with lacrosse was Onadaga in upstate New York, another branch of the Six Nations.  I became aware they consider themselves a sovereign nation and lacrosse was a sacred game.  The movie showed a concept of lacrosse having almost a religious meaning for the players.  

"Crooked Arrows"would be enjoyable if you either like lacrosse or would like to understand native American culture (really both sides of Canadian/American border). For me it was personal.

OVERBOOKED and thoughts on tourism

In a world where robots and low income workers are sucking up jobs, tourism is a growth industry.  It creates jobs, cash flow and meaning to a lot of people.  But and a big BUT, author Elizabeth Becker points out there are some serious concerns.

A lot of what I read was about exploitation of workers and environmental and cultural problems.  In the United States cruise business, the owners have exempted themselves from American laws so they can hire foreign workers at greatly reduced wages.  Some tourist destinations are so popular that the masses of people cause serious environmental damage as well as diluting their cultural uniqueness.  Tourists at Angkor Wat area have lowered the water levels so much that foundations have weakened.

Many nations have caught onto the idea that attracting tourists is a great way to provide jobs and tax revenues as well as helping foreigners to appreciate their country better.  Voluntary transfers of money from rich nations to poor nations does tend towards greater international equality. Unfortunately too much of a good thing creates stress.

To the author the two most ideal examples were France and Costa Rica.

France, is the number one international tourist destination.  Way back in 1936 France was the first nation to have a two week paid vacation.  More than most nations France invests money into culture and a lot of tourists have come to respect their homage to artists and writers.  They have developed a reputation for one of the best cuisines and vinicultures in the world and it is supported by boosting agriculture which also makes the countryside more pleasant for rail and motor rides.  Tourism support is important even in tough economic times.

Costa Rica is a small country without an army.  They have taken an approach that emphasizes nature. Many of their rivals try to cram as many people into a cruise ship or tour bus hiring cheap foreign labour.  Costa Rica uses its natural parks and encourages small tourist groups with local trained guides and staff.  Eco-tourism is important to other countries such as in Africa.

United States was a major tourist destination, but is now trying to catch up.  The Republicans under Newt Gingrich used their power in the 1990's to downgrade tourism as they felt it was not proper for the government to involve itself.  It had been planned to emphasize the tourism opportunity offered by the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but even though Newt Gingrich represented Georgia he and others forced budgets to be reduced as much as possible at this time.  Not long into the George W Bush tenure, 9-11 shifted everything and the biggest concern became security with tens of thousands of security staff being inserted into the tourist process.  Barrack Obama was criticized for flying to Europe to support an Olympic bid for his home town of Chicago.  He and many others were shocked that Chicago was the first city to be eliminated from the finals.   An investigation uncovered that foreigners were very reluctant to visit the United States as there was too much awareness of humiliating treatment of incoming tourists at entry points.  America has a lot to offer and the situation is slowly turning around as the Democrats feel the government has a strong role to play.

A basic problem is cramming too many people into limited facilities.  One of advantage is that such efforts make it more affordable, but too many people bundled together make the travel experience more superficial and harmful.  Placing restrictions on vacation enjoyment for environmental reasons is seen by some as elitist.  A partial solution might be education--both for those guiding us and for tourists. Elizabeth Becker likes the idea of locally more thoroughly trained guides who can give more value and deserve more compensation.  We have all heard of the ugly American and the author now says the problem is more exemplified as the ugly Chinese tourist.  Traveling is an opportunity that we can all appreciate better when we understand cultural differences should be celebrated not diminished.

One fact that surprised me was that travel agents are making a bit of a comeback.  Most people search the inter net and are able to make all sorts of arrangements that seem to save money.  Like anything else important, an expert travel agent can help make your travel time more enjoyable and respect financial restraints.  Specialization is one key strategy for agents.

Traveling has played a strong role in my understanding of the world and my own country.  When my best friend, Bob Stone moved to Vancouver I got a chance to see a distant part of Canada I had vague ideas about.  Many things were enjoyable, but one thing that struck me was the ferry boats.  I didn't realize how big they were or how critical for linking the largest city with the provincial capital. When my son, Michael decided to go to school in Victoria that widened my understanding of Vancouver Island when I ventured outside Victoria and my friend Bob joined my wife and I to enjoy Tofino and Coombs.   What I remember of Coombs was goats eating grass on top of a store.

While visiting Victoria I learned that advertisements don't always guide you to the best experience.  I learned about my favorite restaurant, Pagliacci from a guide book with no ads and later was directed to another favorite one, Ferris Oyster Bar by locals we encountered on a walk.  My daughter Heather decided to go to school on the other coast, in Halifax.  Discovered another great city and learned other great places like Cape Breton and Yarmouth.  On a sales trip I discovered Ile d'Orleans just off Quebec City with a very lovely culture.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-3-quebec.html

I have also visited United States and pretty much always enjoyed myself including New York City, Florida and Las Vegas.  I was surprised to read in Elizabeth Becker's book that most of the tourist workers in Las Vegas are unionized proving you can be fair to workers and make money.

Living most of my life near the Great Lakes (Oshawa, Hamilton) I actually lived in Haliburton, a popular cottage area and learned to appreciate its good points.  Later I spent short time in Port Dover, Port Stanley and Wasaga Beach, enjoying them.  Local vacations are usually easier on your budget and time table, but they offer relaxation and learning opportunities too.

On an international scale I have visited Cuba four times, all at the same resort and each time expanding a little bit beyond to include Havana (fascinating in many ways), Veradero downtown, a cave and sailing for the first time.   Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/03/my-silver-wrist-band-visit-to-cuba.html

 

 More recently went to New Zealand which had me out of my time zone and hemisphere more completely than ever.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/07/new-zealand-part-1.html

Money is the big limitation for traveling, but it is one of those opportunities that make one want to extend their resources.  My son, Michael has been to many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa and has a much better idea of how other people think, what they live with and has seen many beautiful things.

Many of these vacations were important enough to my psyche I have written blog posts on them.

A few summary thoughts.  Tourism is a wonderful thing.  You don't have to go far to to learn something new or to enjoy yourself.  Ideally you are looking for two way conversations with people who have a different perspective or view something beautiful.  Tourism is a logical way to spread money, giving many people a meaningful job. Tourism cannot be easily outsourced, but too much can be duplicated as when shopping malls and theme parks seem too much alike.

HITCH-HIKING MEMORIES

Hopefully my kids think this is another boring blog.

To give some perspective just before this past Christmas my company, OKD Marketing asked each of their employees to provide a secret to be used for a Christmas party. I chose to say that I had hitch-hiked 15,000 miles. Talking to one of the young organizers I had to clarify why I had used miles instead of kilometers. The government had started a conversion program when I was indulging in my hitch-hiking career and when I started making my calculations it was far easier to use miles. That dates me and to some extent dates hitch-hiking.

I can’t remember when I started hitch-hiking. I do recall friends (including Bob Stone) encouraging me and I could not have been older than 16 (I think a little younger). In the beginning most of it was going around and near my home town of Oshawa.

I became conscious of danger, but at the time it seemed distant and very unlikely. I have ridden in cars and trucks with hundreds of strangers and feel they all had benevolent intentions. What encouraged me to overlook the danger was FREEDOM.  No car, little money and a keen interest of what was on the other side of the fence seemed a lot more important.

My parents just before I was to enter grade 12 decided to move from the urban city of Oshawa to the rural area of Haliburton, about a two hour drive away. I decided to see my old friends. I also realized that my new friends lived a lengthy school bus ride away. Then I went to the University of Guelph and found new horizons.

Always alert to information I discovered one helpful tool was using a sign with my destination on it.

Going from Guelph to Oshawa or Haliburton meant going around Toronto. On one occasion I was stopped by the police and given a fine that certainly hurt.  I learned you are not allowed to hitch-hike on a controlled access highway.  I was able to use some of the ramp areas, but they greatly reduced the pool of possible drivers.

On a long weekend, I started out from the University and did fairly good until I got to Toronto where there was a traffic jam. Nobody wanted to stop, but finally I got a ride that at first unnerved me. It was a fellow I knew as a bully in Haliburton. He had gotten a job in Toronto and was going home for the weekend. It was an awkward time for me. There weren’t that many university students from my high school class and he was a high school drop out. However people change.

The scariest ride was with my younger brother Marshall when we both decided to visit friends in Oshawa from our home in Haliburton. We got picked up by a group of young men with the driver hitting over 100 miles per hour on many stretches.  Just naming the places doesn’t really give you a picture of how scary it really was. The rural roads for the first half of the trip are very curvy and hilly. Later I learned they were visiting a lawyer in Oshawa regarding a very serious auto accident.

In Haliburton the students and teachers come from a very wide area. One of the teachers offered me a summer job doing handy work. I ended up hitch-hiking most of the time in both directions, sometimes smelling of grass, splattered with paint or a few times with insulation fibres in my skin, but it was easy.

Hitching a ride in Haliburton I got picked up by a fellow from Hamilton who told me I lived in “God’s country.” He described a scene that sounded horrific and looking back I realize he was describing the inside of a steel mill and not the city itself.   Nonetheless it turned me off the idea of ever working or living (or even visiting) the city that I now live in and love. He was right though, Haliburton is “God’s country.”

A trip from Guelph to Haliburton again took me around Toronto.  Rides seemed to be short with long waits between. An unusual vehicle driving by was a truck pulling a house, obviously going very slow. It passed me several times before the driver stopped to offer a ride. He said he would have given me a ride earlier, but he felt I would get there faster with other drivers.

For a few trips I traveled from Guelph to North Bay and back.  For a few legs of the trips I used a train pass, paid for a bus ride and got a ride from a friend of a friend. He lived in St. Catharines and thought that Guelph Line was on the way to Guelph (only in a very indirect manner). I had no idea, but headed north. The irony being that not too many years later I drove the same exit to visit a girl friend (now my wife) and also more recently for my job. I was very lucky as one driver spotted my sign and realized I was way off course. He was driving about half the distance to go home, but decided he would visit his sister in Guelph. Lucky for me as otherwise I would have been totally lost.

An unusual trip for me was from North Bay to Haliburton. At Hunstville there is a cross over to a road going to Haliburton. It was very late and I thought for the first time I had better find a place to stay overnight. However I had very little money and no connections. I decided I would hitch-hike all night and if necessary sleep in a ditch. I got picked up by a fellow and got talking.  I had been a very big fan of the Oshawa Green Gaels (who won several national lacrosse titles) and talked about a lot of different players, some of whom I remembered had come from Huntsville.  It turned out one of the players I talked about was the driver. He asked me how much money I had and then took me to a boarding house and talked the landlady into letting me stay overnight (she actually kicked her husband out of a bed). I think my lacrosse playing driver may have sweetened the offer, because I only paid $3.00 for my overnite stay in Dwight.

The next morning was another memorable one for me. A fellow and his wife were up from Windsor as he had heard the fall colours were very spectacular. They certainly were on that day and he stopped beside the road and asked me if I minded if it he took a photo of his wife with my sign against some of the trees and fallen leaves. He said he was “high on fall colours.” I had barely noticed fall colours before but with his enthusiasm I have since appreciated them a lot more, especially since I don’t get to see them as often in such a spectacular fashion.

Out of university looking for a job. On one of my trips someone suggested a particular line of work that I had never thought of before.  Based on the enthusiastic suggestion I applied to agencies all over Ontario. I got a response from one in Belleville who was interested to interview me. An almost totally new route for me that took me a couple of hours to do. I didn’t get that job, but it did help me understand better what was expected and I got hired for a similar job a few weeks later.

You meet a wide variety of people hitch-hiking and hear a lot of different stories. One I remember was one fellow who had discovered Greek music (he wasn’t Greek) and had me listen to a lot of it. It didn’t bore me at all and in fact was just another example of opening a door.

My first visit to Kitchener was done by hitch-hiking. On a Saturday with a friend we hitch-hiked for no particular reason except looking for something different.  I was impressed enough that later I sought out a job in Kitchener.

I hitch-hiked in all kinds of weather. Sometimes hot and sweaty, sometimes rainy. The worst I remember was winter weather, cold and snowy. I have spent hours in that kind of weather. To keep myself going I would keep saying my ride had just left and would be by within a short time. Eventually I did get a ride and sometimes some people felt it was a merciful thing to do in such weather. I learned later on that bad weather is not always a bad thing.  

While at university I saw a movie that involved young people hitch-hiking across Europe and had the line that if I ever get a car I will never pass a hitch-hiker. I kept my word for a few years, but eventually fear became a factor. A job, a wife and kids all made me look at the matter a little differently. Also "In Cold Blood" left a strong impression.

I regret that today it is not always advisable to trust people to do the right thing. There is nothing wrong with hitch-hiking. I am happy to help out others and am very grateful that so many people helped me and gave a lot of interesting experiences and truly enriched my life.