Above the Fold News on PEI

There are a lot of things our local newspaper can choose to put above the fold on the front page...things like the H1N1 virus being updated to a pandemic or how about the Iranian elections that took place yesterday?  If those issues are too big, how about the fact that the leader of the opposition will decide today whether or not to challenge the current sitting government and call an election?  Or tonight's game 7 of the Stanley Cup?  Did ANY of these make the newspaper?

Nope.

Instead, our above the fold story today is this:

Bill Shepard of Brudenell celebrates his 50th birthday today, but the milestone event will be much quieter than the news sensation he caused on June 12, 1959, at the hospital in Montague.

Shepard came into the world weighing a staggering 16 lbs., 4.5 ozs. By one year of age, he was 36 lbs. 

The size of the baby was considered almost unprecedented at the time.  His birth resulted in a front-page story in The Guardian, and coverage in newspapers across Canada and the United States.

Dr. Preston MacIntyre, a medical legend in Montague, was the presiding physician as Florence Shepard delivered her ninth and last baby by natural childbirth.  As a thank you to the doctor, the child was baptized William Preston Shepard.

Despite the obvious potential to be a very tall and large man, today Shepard is a normal six-foot-two and weighs approximately 200 lbs.

James Shepard and his wife raised their nine children on the Seven Mile Road near Cardigan. James passed away more than 20 years ago and his wife Florence died of cancer in 1997 at aged 74.

Dan Shepard of Seven Mile Road, a brother of Bill, says their mother was a small woman of Acadian descent, (nee Fougere) from West Arichat, Cape Breton Island.  Dan said this week that he heard lots of stories over the years resulting from his brother’s famous birth.

“There was a guest book at the hospital signed by numerous people,” said Dan. “After Bill came home from the hospital, many people, including complete strangers, came to the house just to catch a glimpse of the newborn celebrity.” 

Another of Bill’s siblings, Stella, also had stories to add. “After Bill came home, Mom was still in the hospital. So Dad had to take Bill to a neighbour to take care of him till Mom got home a week or so later,” said Stella, who was five years old at the time.  “Dad drove Bill in his old truck, using his arm as a seat belt around Stella who was trying to hold on to Bill,” added Dan. 

Bill became a well-known cook in the area, working for 10 years at the Whim Inn in Poole’s Corner. 

After the Whim Inn closed its doors, Bill got employment with the provincial government.

Bill and his wife Aura Lee reside in Brudenell.

Now, I know I might sound cynical here, but this? This?  This is breaking news here on PEI?  Honest to heaven and I do not kid, this is the type of news coverage we get EVERY DAY HERE.

Is it well written?  I think not!  Did you see the sentence that started with James Shepard - who the hell is James Shepard?  I thought the story was about Bill Shepard?  Not until you see the reference to Florance do you think maybe James was the father!  How about the fact that this BIG STORY only quotes his siblings, despite the fact that HE STILL LIVES ON PEI?  Why wasn't he interviewed?  

Makes me think I could get a job at The Guardian.  Clearly they don't require a journalism degree in their reporters.  Ugh.

Robbing Peter, but Not Paying Paul

Four more days until the BIG FUNDRAISER I've been working on the last couple of months.  Four more days until we find out if the record breaking items we've secured for the auction will fetch record breaking bids.  Four more days until I'm unemployed for the summer.  Crap.

It's been fantastic being as involved as I have in this charity - I've been doing work that calls on my talents and plays to my comfort zone.  I've met some interesting people and I've enjoyed working with the employees of the charity.  It's been an eye-opener to understand just how under-funded and under-served this group really is.  

They've survived almost a year of scandal with their former executive director being charged with theft in excess of $5000.  The fact of the matter is, his theft robbed them of much more than just $5000, (and believe me, the dollar amount is much greater than that).  He robbed them of their momentum.  He stole their enthusiasm.  He took opportunity and potential away from one of the most under served populations on the island.  

But he didn't take their determination.  He didn't steal their resolve.  Their dedication to the organization and to each other has been left in-tact.  Fueled by their anger at him, and their dedication to their members, the staff have carried on and continued to move the organization forward.  

Good for them.

Lorraine Hissa

She taught me how to drive a stick.

And the correct way to inhale.

She plied me with enough rum & coke that I haven't had either ever since.

And force-fed me black coffee to off-set the effects.

She's held my hair back while I up-chucked rum, coke & black coffee.

She's the reason I was late for my curfew (honestly, that's my story & I'm still sticking to it)

She fought the unfair rules for granddaughters that didn't apply to grandsons

She's raised two kids, mostly on her own

She's creative & funny

She's one of the hardest working women I know

Today she turns almost 50 

But not quite

At least not this year

Happy Birthday 'cuz!

Anticipation...Making Me Wait

Yesterday I was going to put in the garden...all 15 of those tomato plants plus the peppers, fennel, carrots and peas and all the other vegetables I have standing by waiting for their moment in the sun.  But, given that I live on an island in the Northumberland Straight whose weather is controlled by the ocean's temperatures and given that those same temperatures plummeted last night to near freezing (yes, you read that right) I opted to wait. 

Only problem is, the forecast doesn't show it warming up in the foreseeable future!  So I'm in a bit of a pickle as it were, or I would be if I could plant those damn cucumbers!  Most of what I'm planting takes a minimum of 70 days to mature...so by the time I get them in the ground, it's going to be Sept. or Oct. at the earliest before we can enjoy our home-grown food.  Patience has never been one of my virtues so you can only imagine how pleased I am at this turn of events.

On the good news front...the French Lilac I planted last year is in full bloom!  Isn't it pretty?

Monday, Monday

Ah, Monday, Monday...After a FULL weekend of visiting with old (for him) and new (for me) friends, working the land (ie slave to the lawn), weeding, weeding and more weeding and then cultivating the garden, planting rose bushes and peonies and  the whole movie marathon thing (go see the new Star Trek it is AWESOME!)...well, it seems I didn't have time to think about or write anything blog worthy.  I suck.

So instead I'm posting a picture of Friday's sunset at Argyle Shores on the south side of the island.    This is what surviving the winter is all about here on the island in the Northumberland Straight.  A lovely bonfire rivaled in colour by the brilliant sunset.

 

Did I mention it's gardening season here on the island?  For us that meant prepping the soil for our tomato & pepper patch - which really involved the one whom I adore getting out there with shovel, spade & hoe and tilling bags of manure & compost into the soil then organizing it all into beautiful raised beds.    But for the guy that owns the field behind us, "prepping the soil" means something entirely different:

Ah, potato season will soon be upon us!

Week 1: No Crap for Kim

Week One of my new health & wellness program, titled "No Crap for Kim" has gone exceptionally well.  After indulging in such glorious things as ooey-gooey chelsea buns for my birthday, followed closely by copious amounts of home-made coconut macaroons, not to mention the newly discovered "whoopie pies" it seems that my ever-expanding back-end is now taking up residence on the front end of my body.  Yes, my ass has circled my hips and is setting up shop on my abdomen.

What is a girl to do?

Well, rather than start the usual starve myself and really screw up my metabolism further program I've been known to do a time or two, this week I decided it would simply be better if I took baby steps.  Step one, cut out the crap.  We love our crap in this house and there's no better place to enjoy crap then one is on a 7000-km road trip.  SmartCorn, pretzels, whoopie pies - the lot.  We were on vacation and you all know when you're on vacation those calories don't count.  Except when you get home from vacation and they've taken up their own postal code on your thighs.  Shit.  Not again.

So baby steps.  Right.  Our house is now a crap-free zone.  Except for the two bags of tortilla chips in the cupboard for the company I thought we might have last night but instead we went to their place and since it was so late didn't make the guacamole and so yeah, the chips are still here.  But I'm pretending they act like ice-cream to my body and shred my innards and I'll tell you there's no better deterrent from eating something than having it make you sick.  So, tortilla chips now officially make me sick.  I'm pretty sure if I say it enough it will be so!

Crap-free.   Healthy breakfast, monitor the amount of breads and keep it to two servings a day.  Lots of vegetables and a couple of servings of lean protein.  It's all fairly easy.  Except for the 4-o'clock crazies.  Seems my body can only go 4 hours without being fed - so that's easy with breakfast at 8am and lunch at noon - 4 hours all's good.  But then, we don't eat dinner here until the one whom I adore comes home and most nights that's somewhere between 7 & 7:30pm.  So right, that would be 7 hours between feedings and let me tell you, that is simply too long for me to bear.  I get cranky.  I get really tired.  I have even been known to be a tad bit petulant when STARVING.  

Back before the crap free zone that is now our home, the 4-o'clock crazies might be averted with a peanut butter sandwich or half (or a whole) bag of tortilla chips or something equally as not healthful.  This week I've substituted those with a small handful of almonds mixed with dried cranberries and guess what?  This small little snack sustains me long enough to get to the dinner hour without the crazies.   Thanks mom for the suggestion.  Oh, and guess what?  When you only have a HANDFUL, they don't incite a riot in your intestines!  So it's all good.

Week 2 of No Crap for Kim will involve getting more active.  I'm not sure yet what that looks like, but today it looks like a walk on the beach and several hours of gardening.   If you have any suggestions on how to work more activity into my day (because really, sitting on the sofa blogging cannot be called "active") send them along!  I can use all the help I can get!

Circling Sharks

If you've read my profile you'll note that I am currently living on an island in the Northumberland Straight (look it up) and while here my employment status is defined as "under".  Under-employed that is.  You see, we moved to this little berg for the career of the one whom I adore making the assumption that with my vast and varied talents that I could/would land a job in a blink of an eye.  After-all, I have before.  In fact, the last time I actively looked for work was 21 years ago.  Let me tell you folks that's a long time to be in the position of being "sought-after".   Much to our surprise (mine, his, ours) my landing the "big one" here hasn't been quite so easy.  

So, here we are - him working extra super long days and the occasional weekend making changes, transforming his department, leading a team, having an impact (in a positive way), getting rave reviews and accolades.  Me, I'm getting by doing any number of different things I can to either make some money or make a difference.  Earlier this year I was able to do both with a short-term contract teaching at the local college.  It damn near sucked the very life out of me, but it was a pay-cheque and had the added bonus of teaching me a couple of life and career lessons.   But with the end of the school year came the end of the contract and now with summer almost officially here, there will be no news on any future contracts until school is back in session in the Fall.

Most recently, I've been spending my time volunteering.  With the exception of Vancouver & Jasper, I have volunteered in every community I have lived in over the past 20+ years.  I've spent hours rocking "crack" babies at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital and I've taught "Saturday" school to a group of Atlanta's inner-city youth.  I've supervised an after-school program at the Maui County YMCA (you know, the one in Hawaii) and I've been a volunteer whale-watching guide for the Pacific Whale Foundation.  Here on the island in the straight I volunteer with three organizations in a variety of capacities: as an in-school mentor to a young girl with socializing challenges, with the VIP hosting committee of the Canada Games Council and as the Auction Sub-committee Chair for the annual PEI Special Olympics Celebrity Sports Festival & Fundraising Gala.   To that, add: keeper of the house, cleaner of the laundry, cooker of the meals, payer of the bills, runner of the errands, occasional cutter of the grass and tenderer of the garden.  Oh, and the blogging thing.  Let's don't forget about the blogging thing, because really...really?  It makes me VERY happy to spend a part of my day writing.  

With all of this I'm keeping plenty busy.  And I'm really satisfied.  Yes, I'd like to improve our financial status by working even part-time, but overall, I'm making life on the island work for me and subsequently for the one whom I adore as well.  I'm really enjoying the work I'm doing and believe me when I tell you it is work.   I'm meeting new and interesting people and I'm starting to learn all about the world of not-for-profit and how in some cases it's vastly different than the for-profit organizations I've always worked for.  Perhaps most surprisingly is in how many ways the two are very much the same.  Regardless, I'm really enjoying the work and the people and making a contribution to the greater island community.  

It's all good.

Really.

But then, yesterday when I was being grilled by a friend of ours about my career prospects for the summer why did I feel like I'm not doing enough?  Not looking hard enough for a job?  Not talking to enough people?  Not being in the right place at the right time?  Not enough of the time anyway?  Why did one person's relentless questioning make me feel that what I'm doing isn't important because there isn't a pay-cheque attached to it?  How did feeling so good about the work I'm doing so quickly devolve into feeling so worthless because I'm not contributing equally to our household finances?  Why would that conversation make me feel so damn bad about myself?  Why does what this one person thinks matter so much to me?

I guess it's because like sharks circling around chum, our friends are constantly on alert for any signs that we not happy here and might leave.  But I have to say that when the time comes for us to leave the island it will NOT be because I haven't found meaningful work.  I have.  I'm just not getting paid to do it.  

Yet.