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IN THIS ISSUE

• Verda Cook is well on her way home by train
• Kate Brookfield writes about their long journey to Taiwan
• David Harris remembers a cross-country trip in an old car
• Shirley Conlon forwards some unusual questions for Dear Abby
• Catherine Green tells of a thoughtful birthday present
• Betty Brightwell wonders if cold water really cleans dishes
• Carol Hansen, Bruce Galway, and Tom Williamson forward URLs

Verda Cook has reached Edmonton on their return journey,

EXPLORING CANADA "THE CANADIAN" WAY

Our overnight reservations were for the Rosslyn Inn and Conference Centre located near the station, where we spent a very quiet and peaceful night. On the morning of September 28 our rental car was delivered to the hotel. Another adventure was about to begin.

Before leaving home, we had promised our son and daughter-in-law that we would stop at their former house and take some photos as they were anxious to see what changes the new owners had made. Along the route there were familiar sights. We drove down Whyte Avenue, where the riots took place following the Stanley Cup playoffs; on 97th Avenue we passed familiar shops, then drove down the street to where we had spent annual vacations with our son and family.

Leaving Edmonton, we headed south to Calgary where Stanley and I would spend five days with our youngest son and family, and John and Catherine would spend time with a granddaughter and niece.

In Calgary we had the privilege of watching our granddaughter´s ballet class; we spent time in the park on the jungle gym, and attempted to fly a kite during a wind storm. We planted hardy spring bulbs which I had brought with us from our garden. One day was spent exploring the town of Cochrane, famous for its homemade ice cream. Here Catherine and I discovered a quilt shop and became lost in exploring fabrics, designs, and pieces of art in the making. We were so intrigued that we were unaware we had actually spent one hour in this shop, leaving John and Stanley bored on the street.

We appreciated every day we had with our family but time passed quickly and all too soon it was time to return to Edmonton. After breakfast on the third of October, we tearfully said a good-bye to our granddaughter as she left for school. Saying good-bye is never easy.

Driving north we had our last view of the mountains at Bowden. A week before, the mountains had some snow, but now they were completely covered. Our early morning departure from Calgary was intended to have us arrive in Edmonton before the rush hour, but the anticipated heavy traffic between Calgary and Edmonton did not materialize and so we arrived at the VIA station much earlier than planned.

The train arrived on schedule at 5:30 p.m. As Silver and Blue riders, we were allowed to board ahead of other passengers. The station attendant told us that the train was 28 cars in length. Our car was second to last and it was suggested we ride the golf cart to the train. The sun broke through the clouds briefly, but the air was very cold.

Dinner was served at 6:00 p.m., with candles and flowers on each table. We were offered a choice of Atlantic fish chowder or chicken and wild rice soup, or Caesar salad. The entree was a choice of prime rib beef roast, or chicken, or halibut steak, or pizza, served with vegetables. For dessert we had a choice of chocolate torte cake or deep dish apple pie with whipped cream. The servings were very large, so we all asked for half portions, and even then did not always eat the entire meal.

After dinner we went to the dome to watch the northern lights dance across the sky above the flat prairie landscape. Unfortunately, some low-hanging clouds prevented a good view. It was very interesting to sit in the dome and observe the train snaking across the prairies. As the train wound around a curve, the lights of all the passenger cars could be plainly seen.

Next morning, after almost a week of grey skies, we woke up to sunshine. We went to the dining car around 7:15 a.m., where we had a choice of eggs, hash browns, bacon or sausage, served with toast or a muffin, or hot cereal with maple syrup and a cinnamon bagel, or an omelette with feta cheese, or blueberry pancakes, or cold cereals with juice and toast.

During breakfast we watched a muskrat swim across a water slough; shortly after, we saw white-tailed deer in a nearby field. We had left Alberta and entered Manitoba, and the landscape kept changing. Up to Brandon the landscape was flat; east of Brandon there were gently rolling hills and small woodlots. Flocks of migrating geese were everywhere. Two weeks ago when we were traveling west, the trees were in full leaf; now the majority of trees were bare. At Portage La Prairie, central point of North America, the landscape changed again to small rural properties with gardens, as well as nurseries.

We entered the town of Elie, where on June 4, 2007, a devastating F5 tornado roared through the area. Most of the buildings had since been repaired or rebuilt, but we passed fields and fields of hay bales stacked high - many torn apart. I wondered if this was damage from the tornado.

When we arrived in Winnipeg at 11:30 a.m., our friend was again at the station to spend the layover time with us. Having more time now, we decided to go upstairs and sit in the cafe. At 12:45, we had to re- board the train. Our walk to and from the station was pleasant; the air was warm and the approximate half-mile walk was good exercise.

At Winnipeg, engines were serviced, cars were cleaned and checked. At every station where a stop was more than half an hour in length, water holding tanks were re-filled, garbage was removed and fresh linen brought on board. Where a stop was forty-five minutes to one hour in length, the coaches were swept and windows washed.

To be continued.

Kate Brookfield has found time to begin the story of her latest adventure because she has been confined to her apartment with a miserable cold:

CANADA TO TAIWAN 2008

On January 8th we left Canada, friends, snow, and the prospect of a long cold winter to spend a year in the tropical island of Taiwan. Six months earlier, we visited Taiwan for a week to make arrangements for my husband´s contract to do a year´s research in the Earth Sciences department of Taiwan´s prestigious Science Research Institute, Academia Sinica. A report of this summer visit was in the Spinner with a link to photos. If you cannot click on the link, copy and paste it into your browser.

( http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/brookfieldorama/Taiwan02?authkey=MVsnfB_VtDY)

Mike decided to take early retirement in Canada and accept the position in Taiwan. Preparing for our departure took a lot of time and energy, particularly for me, as I decided this was the time to do a major clear out. By January 8th, our bags were packed and the house was clean, tidy, and ready for tenants. We were on our way!

Instead of flying directly to Taipei, we took the opportunity to wind down and relax before we had to settle into a new life and culture in Taiwan. From Toronto we flew to New Jersey, where we took a Silver Jet flight to the UK. Silver Jet is an airline company that has refurbished its planes so that all passengers enjoy club class service. Although we had to wait four hours for our flight, it was no hardship in the comfort and quiet of a luxury lounge with full internet connection, free drinks and snacks.

The six-hour flight to the UK was comfortable: efficient and quick service of meals, plenty of leg room, seats that went into horizontal position for sleeping, and individual screens for our choice of movies, TV, or music.

In the UK, we stayed with family and took a side trip to Istanbul. It was Mike´s first visit to a city he has always longed to see because of his interest in the Byzantium period. I was there in 1965 so enjoyed the revisit. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are as stately as ever, but I noticed a big change in prices. In fact, we didn´t get any small coin change from the lira that is equivalent in value to the Canadian dollar. The biggest shock was $3.50 for a traditional glass of tea in the Grand Bazaar. A street shoeshine man insisted on cleaning Mike´s shoes and charged him 10 lira - but his shoes looked good! We did not buy a carpet despite the hundreds of daily requests for us to do so. The only guided tour we went on ended in an outlet for leather goods. For shoppers interested in fabrics of any kind, Istanbul is the place.

Our interest was in the history and architecture. Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, and before that Byzantium, has always been important because it bridges Europe with Asia across the strait of the Bosphorus. We filled our days visiting the major tourist sites, including a small Christian church outside the ancient city walls that still has beautiful mosaics and frescoes well preserved. When the Ottomans sacked Constantinople, they immediately converted the basilica of San Sophia into a mosque. The first Sultan respected Christ, as do all Muslims, he gave strict instructions that the Christian art should not be disfigured. But because Muslims do not believe in images of Holy figures, he ordered all images to be covered over. Of course many were destroyed. Our guide at the Christian church told us that Christians also contributed to the destruction becuse of superstitious beliefs that a body part from holy images could heal that part. We could see where eyes, even an arm had been scraped off the frescos and mosaics. San Sophia is no longer a mosque, but a national museum, and some of the original mosaics have been restored. The Blue Mosque was built as a place of worship for Islam and is second to Mecca for its grandeur.

(Pictures of Istanbul at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hp1hwqr.jumcfon&x=0&y=-vlz4yv)

For the first two days in Istanbul, we enjoyed blue skies and sunshine, but the final days were wet and cold. It is a very interesting city and I plan to write a separate article on all that we saw and experienced. Whirling Dirvishes, Turkish baths, and much morel.

It rained every day we spent in Northampton in the UK, but we did visit the county museum and Peterborough cathedral. The tomb of Queen Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII´s first wife, is in this cathedral, where she is remembered with reverence for her charitable works and sad fall from favour when Henry cast her aside.

(Photos of UK: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hp1hwqr.o1t6nfr&x=0&y=-di4z8y)

On January 20th we left the UK at 3:00 p.m. and arrived at Academia Sinica at 7:00 p.m. on the 21st. When we return to North America, we should get that lost day back again!

To be continued.

David Harris, whose wife, Carolyn, recently wrote about park models, remembers

DRIVING CROSS-COUNTRY IN A ´39 DODGE

Fresh out of high school with fat dreams and slim wallets, my friend Tom and I gussied up his ´39 Dodge coupe for a cross-country adventure in mid-July, 1951. With the trunk lid off and a home-brewed pickup bed bolted in the hole, that coupe was our ticket to anywhere but our home in Grafton, Wisconsin.

We bought pipe and canvas and rigged it over the top like a Conestoga wagon, found an old mattress, and scrounged a camp stove. With a good set of tools, a case of oil, and our pockets full of peach-picking dollars, we headed west.

After evading a charging herd of sheep in the Black Hills and swimming in the Great Salt Lake, we took the most direct route to Las Vegas: a one-lane dirt trail. Who else but an 18-year-old would cut across the desert in July?

Hot, dusty, and still crusty from our Great Salt Lake swim, we threw the coupe´s hood in the trunk and took turns sitting on the right front fender, hanging onto the radiator rods. The navigator got a little fresh air and a lot of sun, while the driver sat in a swirl of dust with a bandanna tied around his face.

After all that sun and dust, the damp Pacific Ocean was paradise. We crossed into Tijuana and poked around the stores just to say we´d been there, then headed home.

We bought a 1931 Chevy coupe in a junkyard and cut off the top with a hacksaw. We made it about 30 miles, then pushed our new convertible into the next junkyard and caught the train home - where we could fill up our wallets and hatch up a plan for our next road trip.

I now travel in an RV with my wife and old cat. I prefer air- conditioning and a hot shower these days.

Shirley Conlon says that Abby admitted she was at a loss to answer these questions:

DEAR ABBY

Dear Abby, A couple of women moved in across the hall from me. One is a middle-aged gym teacher and the other is a social worker in her mid twenties. These two women go everywhere together and I´ve never seen a man go into or leave their apartment. Do you think they could be Lebanese?

Dear Abby, What can I do about all the Sex, Nudity, Fowl Language and Violence On My VCR?

Dear Abby, I have a man I can´t trust. He cheats so much, I´m not even sure the baby I´m carrying is his.

Dear Abby, I am a twenty-three-year old liberated woman who has been on the pill for two years. It´s getting expensive and I think my boyfriend should share half the cost, but I don´t know him well enough to discuss money with him.

Dear Abby, I´ve suspected that my husband has been fooling around, and when confronted with the evidence, he denied everything and said it would never happen again.

Dear Abby, Our son writes that he is taking judo. Why would a boy who was raised in a good Christian home turn against his own?

Dear Abby, I joined the navy to see the world. I´ve seen it. Now how do I get out?

Dear Abby, My forty-year-old son has been paying a psychiatrist $50 an hour every week for two and a half years. He must be crazy.

Dear Abby, I was married to Bill for three months and I didn´t know he drank until one night he came home sober.

Dear Abby, My mother is mean and short tempered I think she is going through mental pause.

Dear Abby, You told some woman whose husband had lost all interest in s*x to send him to a doctor. Well, my husband lost all interest in s*x and he is a doctor. Now what do I do?

Catherine Green sends the story of

THE MARIJUANA-FILLED FIREWOOD

"Hello, is this the sheriff´s office?"

"Yes. What can I do for you?"

"I´m calling to report ´bout my neighbour, Virgil Smith.... He´s hidin´ marijuana inside his firewood! Don´t quite know how he gets it inside them logs, but he´s hidin´ it there."

"Thank you very much for the call, sir."

The next day, the sheriff´s deputies descend on Virgil´s house. They search the shed where the firewood is kept. Using axes, they bust open every piece of wood, but find no marijuana. They sneer at Virgil and leave.

Shortly, the phone rings at Virgil´s house.

"Hey, Virgil! This here´s Floyd.... Did the sheriff come?"

"Yeah!"

"Did they chop your firewood?"

"Yep!"

"Happy Birthday, buddy!"

Betty Brightwell asks

CAN COLD WATER CLEAN DISHES?

This is for all the germ-conscious folks that worry about using cold water to clean.

John went to visit his 90-year-old grandfather in a very secluded rural area. After spending a great evening chatting the night away, John"s grandfather prepared breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast.

However, John noticed a film-like substance on his plate, and asked his grandfather, "Are these plates clean?"

His grandfather replied, "They"re as clean as cold water can get ´em. Just you go ahead and finish your meal, Sonny!"

For lunch the old man made hamburgers. Again, John was concerned about the plates as his appeared to have tiny specks around the edge that looked like dried egg and asked, "Are you sure these plates are clean?"

Without looking up the old man said, "I told you before, Sonny, those dishes are as clean as cold water can get them. Now don´t you fret; I don´t want to hear another word about It!"

Later that afternoon, John was on his way to a nearby town and as he was leaving, his grandfather´s dog started to growl, and wouldn´t let him pass.

John yelled, "Grandfather, your dog won´t let me get to my car."

Without diverting his attention from the football game he was watching on TV, the old man shouted, "COLDWATER, GO LAY DOWN NOW, YAH HEAR ME!"

SUGGESTED WEBSITES

Carol Hansen sends the URL for an amusing senior song:

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071221/MULTIMEDIA/283841756

Bruce Galway forwards this nostalgic site: http://oldfortyfives.com/TakeMeBackToTheFifties.htm

Tom Williamson thinks this dog should be dancing with the stars:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgWD6F-paE4

If moderation is a fault, then indifference is a crime. - Jack Kerouac