---

whew !!!

IN THIS ISSUE

• Dixie Augusteijn continues her account of a recent memorable trip
• Tony Lewis hasstarted a blog about his heart operation
• Subscribers write about recent technical problems
• Burke Dykes tells the story of the man who hated shopping
• Gerrit de Leeuw forwards this tale about the Newfie painter
• Bruce Galway recommends a clever Honda advertising clip
• Catherine Green leads off the season of hockey jokes
• Jack Peaker concludes his list of Canadian inventions

Dixie Augusteijn resumes her tale of their

ALASKA/YUKON TRIP

We had read of hot springs with an RV park at Takhini, some miles on from Mom´s bakery, and made that our first night´s stop. We had envisioned springs in which we could dabble our toes, but these were swimming pools fed by hot springs; a spot - they said - very popular with the Japanese who come in winter by the thousands to bathe while enjoying the Northern Lights. (Now that is what I call an unusual vacation!)

We reached the park, were directed to our pathway with numbered site, hooked up to water and power, and were ready to arrange ourselves and belongings in the van which would be our home for the next few weeks. The first thing we noticed was that the daylight lasted so much longer than here in the south; I can´t figure out why that should be as after all, they go into complete darkness by the middle of December. Chris tried to explain about the slant of the sun´s rays but my aging brain still doesn´t get it. We were all very tired from the long day and made it an early night to make Dawson the next day.

Before leaving, friends who had made the trip told us of the highlights we should not miss, and also advised the purchase of ´The Milepost´ - a book the size of a large telephone directory - which is updated every year and tells you absolutely everything about what you will see, RV parks and their facilities, distances between places, road conditions, etc. First published as an aid when building the pipeline, the latest revised edition appears yearly about June ever since. With The Milepost we were able to plan ahead, estimate time needed to reach and spend in each place, It was our bible.

Two days certainly would go to Dawson City. I remembered stories of the early gold rush days, when in 1896 gold was discovered on nearby creeks and this small fishing village suddenly - in two years - became the largest city west of Winnipeg, complete with running water, electricity and steam heat, even telephone service. In the part of Ontario I came from, we did not have a telephone until 1912! There was no end to their ambitions - they called themselves The Paris of the North! By 1902 the stampede was over and though the population had shrunk to less than 5,000, Dawson was incorporated as a city with the seat of Territorial Government.

Some people we met - coming from Dawson - recommended the show at Diamond Tooth Gertie´s, a combination of casino and cancan show at Canada´s first legalized gambling hall. We continued following the Klondike to where it meets up with the Yukon at Dawson City and parked right in the centre of Dawson - very convenient - in sight of Diamond Tooth Gertie.

I had my walker for places with a lot of walking but Eliz and Chris - despite my protests - had insisted on bringing a wheelchair. On the first morning we arrived at the Information Centre - me in the wheel chair - where they instead gave us a stronger de luxe padded chair, and in this I was ferried around Dawson. The air was dry but I was glad I had brought long johns and a heavier jacket.

Dawson is not large - now about 2,000 people - squeezed between the mountain and the river, but with its freshly-painted buildings and flowers everywhere, has a lively air about it. A minor sort of gold rush was provoked a few years ago when the old board sidewalks were being replaced and there was a rush for the gold dust which had sifted down between the cracks.

Although our friends had remarked on the flowers, I had not expected them in such quantities and so luscious and large. It must be a gardener´s delight up there, with the long days and stronger light, you must almost see things growing.

To be continued.

Tony Lewis writes about

LIFE AFTER A TRIPLE HEART BY-PASS SURGERY

In the past, it has been easier to send you witty jokes and short stories. This time though, it´s a little more personal - a life blog, after recent triple heart by-pass surgery.

What became unsettling through the recovery phase at the hospital was realizing the age of most patients (closer to 85 than 65, more women than men) and how unprepared they were - single, or as a couple - for their new life after being discharged.

Fortunately, with the help of a good caregiver, recovery here has been mostly straight line, rather than zig-zag.

There´s downtime, which permits quick blog notations for a few friends and family.

If you feel there may be a forum for readers and caregivers to post their thoughts or small life-advancements leading up to surgery day and afterwards, then I hope they will feel free to use my blog as their sounding board.

http://newheartnewstart.blogspot.com/

Ed. Note: Tony has started his blog to tell about his recovery from surgery, and to point out to others who are in the same situation, or their caregivers, the obstacles they can expect to encouter. Even if you do not add your commentary, his blog is well worth reading for interest alone, and may even be a wake-up call for other boomers who may someday be faced with the same problems.

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

You are all aware by now that I am having serious problems with The Tale Spinner, due to the incompatibility of the Mac programs with Microsoft products. Last week I published a letter from Dick Chenot suggesting these problems could be eliminated by having the letters appear only on the two websites that already carry it, with a notice being sent to subscribers that it is available. I asked for readers´ opinions on this idea. Here are some of their answers.

But first, Kate Brookfield sums up the problems she has been having with The Spinners: I like getting the Spinner as an e-mail message and I have been saving them to file for years. But since you started adding URLs and pictures, I find it too much bother to follow up on them. The hyperlinks in the e-mail version do not automatically open up my browser so I can quickly check them out. It involves selecting the URL, copying it, opening my browser and pasting the URL. Too much bother.

In this week´s issue, I only got the words ´Warbler´ and ´Grosbeaks´ and no pictures, not even a URL to the picture. I had to go to the on-line version to see the birds being described.

Ed. Note: Kate does not here mention the question marks that appeared in many people´s copies, but had said previously that she had received them, but easily got rid of them using search and replace.

Charles King writes: I continue to read and enjoy the Spinner, question marks and all. After more than six decades of writing and editing, I have no difficulty reading between the punctuation blips.

Don Henderson: This edition arrived with question marks. I think it must be a preference you have set on your machine by accident. I prefer the look of the e-mail edition to the on-line one.

Doris Dignard: As long as I can read it, and I can, I don´t much care what it looks like. I do love Don´s comment about you possibly not being sure of yourself....ggg. I´m inclined to believe that if this did not come by e-mail, that I might eventually drop off. So keep it coming in any form whatever.

Geoff Goodship: If you are at an either/or choice, it´s obvious that e-mail will retain more readers than parking the Spinner on line. There are hundreds of sites that urge me to read their info on line, but I don´t ´listen´. The web edition certainly has a place, particularly if you want to look up older issues.

Irene Harvalias: Websites are great, but I like getting my Tale Spinner on e-mail. It´s there, and I read it without having to go anywhere else. So if it´s not too much trouble, just keep on doing it the old way. If it ain´t broke....

Jack Peaker: I did not get any question marks. Please do not change the newsletter.

And last but of course not least, Rafiki, who had not received the last two issues: Newsletter #42 was perfect! No. 43 was full of question marks but the pictures were showing. Thanks again for sending them to me, and I´m glad it is only computer problems. I always get concerned about your health because I want you to live to 100 so I can enjoy the newsletters! Your newsletters are such a blessing and I sincerely do look forward to them each week.

Thank you to all who wrote, and thank you especially for the kind words of encouragement. I have appealed to the only Mac expert I know, Tom Kyle of Winnipeg, for help in resolving these problems, and he is working on it. In the meantime, I will limit the Spinners to plain text, with URLs only in stories of which they are a part. And the Spinners will continue to appear on your desktops every Saturday morning - with any luck. ;)

Burke Dykes tells the story of

THE MAN WHO REALLY HATED SHOPPING

Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are retired. Mrs. Fenton insists that he go with her to Walmart. He gets bored with all the shopping. He prefers to get in and get out, but Mrs. Fenton loves to browse. Here´s a letter sent to her from the store.

Dear Mrs. Fenton:

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and may ban both of you from our stores. We have documented all incidents on our video surveillance equipment. All complaints against Mr. Fenton are listed below.

Things Mr. Bill Fenton has done while his spouse was shopping in Walmart:

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people´s carts when they weren´t looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the restrooms.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official tone, ´Code 3´ in housewares ... and watched what happened.

5. Aug 4: Went to the Service Desk and asked to put a bag of M&M´s on layaway.

6. Sept 14: Moved a ´CAUTION - WET FLOOR´ sign to a carpeted area.

7. Sept 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he´d invite them in if they´d bring pillows from the bedding department.

8. Sept 23: When a clerk asks if they can help him, he begins to cry and asks, ´Why can´t you people just leave me alone?´

9. Oct 4: Looked right into the security camera; used it as a mirror, and picked his nose.

10. Nov 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, asked the clerk if he knows where to find the antidepressants.

11. Dec 3: Darted around the store suspiciously loudly humming the "Mission Impossible" theme.

12. Dec 6: In the auto department, practiced his "Madonna look", using different size funnels.

13. Dec 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled "PICK ME!" "PICK ME!"

14. Dec 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumes the fetal position and screams "NO! NO! It´s those voices again!!!!"

And last, but not least ....

15. Dec 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, "There is no toilet paper in here!"

Gerrit de Leeuw sends this story about

THE NEWFIE PAINTER

Garge, while not a brilliant scholar, was a gifted portrait artist. His fame grew and soon people from all over the country were coming to him in Gander for paintings.

One day, a beautiful young woman pulled up to his house in a stretch limo. She asked Garge if he would paint her in the nude. This was the first time anyone had made this request. The beautiful lady said money was no object; she was willing to pay $50,000.

Not wanting to get into trouble with his wife, Garge asked the lady to wait while he went in the house and conferred with Lena, his missus.

In a few minutes he returned and said to the lady, "Would be me pleasure, ma´am. Missus says it´s okay. I´ll paint ya in da nude, but I has ta leave me socks on so I has a place to wipe me brushes."

Bruce Galway sent this story while I was in Ottawa, and I´m not sure I ever sent it back to New Westminster. I´ve just rescued it from my Saved file in Shaw´s webmail, and believe that even if you have seen it before, it is well worth seeing again. It takes a few minutes but it´s worth it. Be sure to read the info first, then watch the clip.

AMAZING AD

And you thought those people that set up roomfuls of dominos to knock over were amazing. There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in the film. Everything you see really happened in real time, exactly as you see it.

The film took 606 takes. On the first 605 takes, something, usually very minor, didn´t work. They would then have to set the whole thing up again. The crew spent weeks shooting night and day. By the time it was over, they were ready to change professions.

The film cost six million dollars and took three months to complete, including full engineering of the sequence. In addition, it´s two minutes long, so every time Honda airs the film on British television, they´re shelling out enough dough to keep any one of us in clover for a lifetime.

However, it is fast becoming the most downloaded advertisement in Internet history. Honda executives figure the ad will soon pay for itself simply in "free viewings" (Honda isn´t paying a dime to have you watch this commercial!)

When the ad was pitched to senior executives, they signed off on it immediately, without any hesitation - including the costs.

There are six and only six hand-made Honda Accords in the world. To the horror of Honda engineers, the filmmakers disassembled two of them to make the film. Everything you see in the film (aside from the walls, floor, ramp, and complete Honda Accord) is parts from those two cars.

The voiceover is Garrison Keillor. When the ad was shown to Honda executives, they liked it and commented on how amazing computer graphics have gotten. They fell off their chairs when they found out it was for real.

Oh, and about those funky windshield wipers. On the new Accords, the windshield wipers have water sensors and are designed to start doing their thing automatically as soon as they become wet.

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/honda.php

It´s almost time for hockey stories, so here is one from Catherine Green:

HOCKEY IN ALBERTA

Two boys are playing hockey on a frozen pond in Red Deer, Alberta, when one of the boys is suddenly attacked by a crazed pit bull. Thinking quickly, the other boy takes his hockey stick, shoves it under the dog´s collar, twists it, and breaks the dog´s neck, saving his friend.

A reporter is strolling by, sees the incident, and rushes over to interview the boy. "Young Flames Fan Saves Friend From Vicious Animal" he starts writing in his book.

"But I´m not a Flames Fan," the little hero replies.

"Sorry, but as we are in Alberta, I just assumed you were," says the reporter, and he starts writing again. "Oilers Fan Rescues Friend From Horrific Attack," he writes in his notebook.

"I´m not an Oilers fan either," the little boy says.

"Oh, I assumed that everyone in Alberta was either for the Flames or the Oilers. What team do you root for?" the reporter asks.

"I am a Maple Leafs fan" the boy replies.

The reporter starts a new page in his notebook and writes: "Little Bastard from Ontario Kills Beloved Family Pet"

Jack Peaker sends this list, which is a continuation of his post about

CANADIAN INVENTIONS

o JAVA programming language

o Jet Ski

o Jolly Jumper: An essential parenting tool, this "helpful harness" hooks on a door frame and lets active babies bounce for hours without spilling their parents´ Caesars.

o Lacrosse: Originally played by the Algonquian Indian tribes in Canada´s St. Lawrence Valley (who considered it a religious rite and warrior training), lacrosse is North America´s oldest organized sport. The Lacrosse Hall of Fame is in B.C.

o Lawn sprinkler

o Light bulb: Contrary to many history lessons, the first electric light bulb lamp was patented by Toronto med student Henry Woodward, who in 1875 sold a share in the patent to an American (and son of a Canadian ex-pat) named Thomas Edison, who obviously ran with it.

o Paint roller

o Prosthetic hand

o Snowmobile

o Snowplough: Note the proper spelling

o Snowblower

o Short-wave radio

o Square-head ("Robertson") screwdriver

o Standard time: Though critics dubbed it "against the will of God" in 1879, Canadian Sir Sanford Fleming introduced the concept of international standard time zones. Today, British relatives still call way too early on Sunday mornings.

o Superman: The world´s most famous superhero -- and ironically, enduring symbol of American strength -- was co-created by Canadian Joe Shuster and American Jerome Siegel.

o Telephone: Debate about which country can claim the phone still rages, as Alexander Graham Bell moved from Canada to the states while actively working on it. Diplomatically, he said at the time, "The telephone was conceived in Brantford (Ontario) in 1874 and born in Boston in 1875." Canada is happy to be the land of conception.

o Trivial Pursuit (as well as Scruples, Balderdash, Pictionary, and Yachtzee): Q: Does cold weather breed multimillion-selling board games? A: Looks like it, eh?

o YMCA: The first one opened in Montreal in 1951, the second in Boston a month later.

o Zamboni: You know, those things that smooth the ice in skating rinks.

You can also read this newsletter online at http://members.shaw.ca/vjsansum/and http://www.nw-seniorsonline.org/stories.html

Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking; where it is absent, discussion is apt to become worse than useless. - Count Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) (1876-1948)