Enjoying the Olympic Games

I was mentioning to Claudette the other day that the newer version of mixed-doubles curling might become so popular someday it could out rank regular curling. We have really enjoyed watching the Canadian team of Lawes & Morris perform so well at the winter Olympics. We watched every match.  The competition against the OAR was particularly entertaining. The game really moves along quickly and it is quite entertaining to watch. And this morning we learned that they have won the gold medal. So pleased.

I am feeling better this week. Really. It has been two weeks now since I slipped on the sidewalk out on Cedar Street and fell, landing on my back. I mean, I really took a flip. My left leg shot out on the ice just under the snow and I went down, hard. It knocked the wind out of me and for a couple of seconds I couldn’t breathe. That was scary, so I flipped over onto my front to push myself up. I grunted. And I breathed. I didn’t bother getting checked out because I figured if I could get up okay, I would be okay. If not I would just lay on the ground and call 911. LOL. Besides there is a flu outbreak and I didn’t fancy sitting in the emergency room with all those people coughing and sneezing.

I am better now. The next day I dropped into a sporting goods story and found some shoe spikes. Wow, what a difference. They cost $35, but they really work. They stay on your shoe by a heavy elastic strap. When you go into a store or building, you just flip up the spikes and you don’t damage the floor.  You know I take this seriously when I spend money on something when I could easily purchase a very nice bottle of whiskey for the same price.

Waiting for news...

I think I know how people in Olympic communities feel as they wait to find out whether their city or town has won the right to host the games. Timmins is among four cities invited to submit a bid to build a new smelter or metals refinery to process chromite.  That’s the main mineral located in the Ring of Fire mining area in the James Bay Lowlands. The value of the deposit is estimated in excess of $50-BILLION. Yup, that’s Billions we’re talking about. If Timmins wins the bid for a smelter, well we’re talking many hundreds of millions of dollars in local investment. And jobs. Lots and lots of new jobs. That would be helpful. So lots of folks in town are crossing their fingers. 

Yes, I am jealous.

So get used to reading the name Jada Yuan. You may not know of her, but last week she was picked for the best job in the world ... in my opinion. She is an almost-40 freelance writer who has been hired by the New York Times to travel the world for a whole year and report on what she sees. Yuan was selected from more than 13,000 job applicants. She will be travelling to 52 cities around the globe and will write stories on her experiences. Nice work if you can get it. Yes, I am so jealous.

Pencils and stuff.

This goes back to journalism school when we were all taught to carry pencils because in Canada, it gets cold and your pen will freeze. If you have to take notes, a pencil will never freeze. That was sure in evidence last week.  

Things change. All the reporters I see these days have voice recorders built into their smart phones.  I have this feature on my phone, although I am not certain how to use it. What I do use is a very reliable Sony voice recorder that picks up every comment, even in a crowded city council chamber or in a courtroom, if allowed. I also record all the phone calls I get into the newsroom. 

Although I am peeved now that my primary recorder crapped out on me this week. I am using a backup now.  I had the main recorder for about four years, so it’s not so bad. I will have to purchase a new one. Wish I had known about this during Boxing Day sales. 

Pay the working poor!

I want to weigh in on the minimum wage debate in Ontario. The Liberal government has implemented this is oh-so-obvious vote-buying bid. But it is still something that should be done. Raising the wages of the working poor is not something that should be debated or argued. It was overdue. I would have preferred to have seen a straight up income tax exemption for anyone on minimum wage. Not a tax exemption for people who can bring in a list of tax deductions, but an exemption if your pay stub shows minimum wage.

I don’t care that some small businesses will feel the pinch. Deal with it. Raise your prices, find efficiencies. Cope with change or get out of business. I have already decided I will not go to Tim Horton’s because of the way they treat their minimum wage employees. I will also accept that I may have to pay a little more to accommodate those businesses that choose to work with the new minimum wage.

I like tea. Real tea.

I went into a new tea shop in Timmins today. It was so cold outside, I welcomed the idea of a fresh cup of tea and a snack. Aline’s Tea Shop is not that new, but it is new to me. I had heard good things from other folks and decided to try it. I really like that we are getting a few more boutique style eateries in downtown Timmins. So I asked the pleasant lady for a cup of tea, telling her I like the plain orange pekoe tea. She had a shelf without about 30 big jars holding all sorts of different flavours of tea. Some of them smelled quite different. Not necessarily bad, but certainly not something I would drink.

So here’s the thing. They were not really blends of tea. They were all sorts of herbs and flavours. But I like the ordinary tea, that comes from the familiar Asian tea leaves. Usually it is known as black tea. Orange Pekoe is a grade of black tea. Everything else is an infusion. Anyway, we found a plain black tea and it tasted very nice. Only after I explained I wanted ordinary black tea like the grandmas in Nova Scotia would drink. I also had a couple of home baked cookies. Very nice. I think I will go back and bring a couple of Red Rose tea bags with me. 

Can we make stoner jokes anymore ?

I honestly don’t know what to think about this legalization of marijuana thing. On the one hand it seems innocent enough. People want to enjoy a nice mild mood altering drug; maybe in the same way I enjoy a glass of Scotch every now and then. Whoa, wait a minute. I enjoy Scotch a few times a week! I tell myself I enjoy the taste. And I have proven that a few times to myself by not buying certain brands that taste a bit too wild. I also found two distinct brands to my liking and discovered they were blended – years apart—by the same man.

So what makes this different for the person who might enjoy smoking a joint? Not much I guess, but I fear the problem will go beyond that to the stupid stoner who enjoys his weed only because he can get zonked. That also happens to alcohol drinkers, but I argue that this does not make it right. Alcohol is very strictly controlled. I hope this also happens for cannabis users. So here in Canada we will soon find out whether this is a sorry Liberal decision (redundant use of the word sorry) or whether it is something we can live with.

Happy, happy ...

So far this New Year has been crazy cold, but hey that’s kind of normal in this neck of the woods. I am pleased though that the figure-8 skating rink in Timmins – Sk8te Hollinger -- has such wide public support. Was so impressed yesterday when a bunch of teenagers took over the rink for a few hours of fun. Those kids acted like minus 30 was nothing.

I was out at the park last week and took a couple of nighttime shots, but it was too cold to spend too much time out there. Besides I lost my favourite leather gloves and so my hands get colder more quickly.

New Year’s Eve was pleasant. Claudette and I visited Louise Anne and Fred to enjoy a cheese fondue. I have to admit that in all my 63 years I have never before had a cheese fondue. Wow. It was delicious. Poor Fred had to work day shift at the mine, so he went to bed early. He has to get up at 3:00 a.m. and the drive to the mine is an hour away.

We are TV bingeing again. After watching the Netflix series Scandal, and Suits and The Crown, we begged off TV for a while, unless hockey was on. We have discovered an interesting Netflix series; The Blacklist with James Spader and Megan Boone . Quite entertaining. Check it out.

Quite the year eh?

I think the most dismaying part of the past year has been running into people who say, well Donald Trump is not so bad. Leaves me wondering. There were probably people back in my parents' day who were not worried about Hitler too. When people are complacent or choose to ignore stupidity, then bad things can happen. Oh I am sure I will hear about that comment.
Oh well, that being said, I can say that the past month has been nice in many ways. Claudette and I traveled to Sudbury to spend a couple of days with Jennifer and her family last week. That was relaxing and enjoyable. It was nice to see the boys, to see Scott and to see Denise and Don.  We missed meeting Victoria and her boyfriend who were on their way to Timmins. Likely, we passed by each other on the highway Christmas morning.
While it was great to visit Jenn and Scott, I have to say I still miss their dog Buddy. He was always there to greet me when I arrived in their driveway. More than once this Christmas I glanced out of Jenn's kitchen window expecting to see Buddy running through the snow or patrolling the yard.
Jenn had to work Christmas Day at the hospital, but we were pleased to wait until evening to have our gift exchange. Jennifer's FitBit showed she had done more than 15,000 steps that day! Regardless, I am proud that Jennifer is working to help other cancer patients.
It was nice to see Jenn and family earlier in the month when the boys had a hockey tournament in Timmins. This is the last time Tyler and Nathan will be playing on the same team. Nathan turned 16 in November and Tyler will be 18 in April. But it was nice just the same to see the boys enjoying the game. The team won the gold medal, again, in Timmins. Both boys did well, scoring often. In one game, Tyler scored a hat-trick, getting three goals!

I have been super busy at work as expected. Postmedia has not been the corporate savior many people were hoping for. They closed several newspapers in Southern Ontario in the fall. While we were spared layoffs here in Timmins, they have not hired anyone new to replace people who moved on to other newspapers. The effect is the same. Oh well, we struggle forward.

I think the worst part is that our news work is coming under increased scrutiny from the social media know-it-all keyboard warriors who like to think they know better. When they see a story they "disagree" with they label it fake news. If only they knew how much research goes into fact-checking and other steps to ensure our information is accurate. I have been saving screen captures of their comments to hold them accountable if they try to backpedal. They're just as bad as Donald Trump and his tweets.  2018 will be an election year in Timmins, and I think some of them might try to run for office. God help us. 

Fashion? I don't think so.

I bought a nice down-filled parka 10 years ago. It keeps me warm. Here’s the thing; I rarely wear it unless the temperature drops below minus-20. You don’t need a parka unless it gets really cold. I know that. I live in Northern Ontario. I travelled in the Arctic, in winter. About 30 years ago, I had another parka. It was also down-filled, made by Woods. It lasted me 17 winters. It was an excellent winter coat.  So now as I look around I see that parkas have become a fashion thing on the streets of Toronto. Are you kidding me? Toronto? I guess that upsets me. Parkas are not a fashion thing. Or they shouldn’t be. It is just a lousy reason to drive up the price, and I predict the quality will suffer. I hear people are already unhappy because parkas use goose feathers and coyote fur. Give me a break. Hopefully this fad passes soon.  

Apple crisp, revised ...

I think everyone in the Gillis clan knows how to make Aunt Sadie's apple crisp. For me, the recipe is part of my DNA I think. So last week I mentioned to Claudette that apple crisp would be a nice dessert for the weekend. We were standing in the grocery store. I picked up several fresh apples and made sure Claudette had all the other supplies at home. But I really didn't. I forgot to ask if she had any rolled oats. Anyway, the time came to make it. I peeled the apples and set them aside to prepare the "crisp". You know, flour, brown sugar, butter ... That's when I noticed I didn't have the rolled oats. Claudette came up with a couple of package of Quaker instant oats. Good, but not enough. That's when I thought that maybe another breakfast cereal would help. Claudette had Special-K. So we "crunched" up half a cup of Special-K. It worked. OMG, the crisp was so perfect. I think that's part of my future recipe from now on.

Windchill of minus 20!

I was more than pleased Saturday morning when at least 200 Timmins people coped with some cold and snowy weather to attend the Remembrance Day event at the local Cenotaph. Some people are suggesting we should hold the event indoors. And there have been times I would agree with them. A local cop who was directing traffic mentioned that it is only half an hour out the year to put up with a bit of discomfort to honour our veterans. Good comment. I also liked seeing folks carry on the tradition of placing their own poppies at the monument, kind like their personal Act of Remembrance.

A little bit of gold ...

I enjoyed myself this week when the folks at Lake Shore Gold (Tahoe Timmins) poured their millionth ounce of gold. I am always amazed at the idea of gold. Here in Timmins, the entire city revolves around it. If you’re not mining it, you’re selling things to keep the mines in operation whether its fuel, shovels, trucks, timbers or tires. There was a time that the mines spent millions of dollars propping up the local economy. Then it became tens of millions of dollars. Now it’s hundreds of millions of dollars … all for a metal that doesn’t rust, doesn’t tarnish and is non-toxic.

Here’s the best part. People always talk about the Klondike Gold Rush. Well, that was indeed a rush, but it is tiny compared to Timmins. Lake Shore Gold  opened its mining operation in Timmins less than 10 years ago, finding gold on the west side of town,  nearly 100 years after the other big mines opened. The geologists keep saying there is lots of gold in Timmins that hasn’t been discovered yet. All they have to do is find it. By the way, the gold bar weighed in at 55 pounds ... $1.2-million.

Protest is okay ...

So I have been thinking about the NFL players protest of going down on one knee during the playing the U.S. national anthem. I am okay with it.  It is really quite a peaceful, and respectful, form of protest. They’re not setting buildings on fire. They’re not blocking streets. They’re not out looting department stores. They’re taking a knee.

A lot of people seem to forget that people have the right to protest in the U.S. and in our own country They people who are protesting seem to be legitimately upset with the way blacks are being treated in the U.S.   So let’s face it, some of the police services in that country are totally out of hand and out of touch with reality.  Kinda wish Martin Luther King was still around. And if other people are upset with a few football players having a protest, hey get used to it. The land of free. The home of the brave. Get used to it. 

Ron and Matthew's big adventure :)

I was more than pleased this week to have Ronald and his son Matthew drop in to Timmins on their cross Canada trip from B.C. and Alberta to RCAF Trenton. Matt is being posted from the base at Cold Lake to the base at Trenton as his air force career continues. Ron flew out from Comox and met Matt in Saskatchewan to continue the trip.  Claudette was a great host putting on a nice dinner of ribs and chicken while I made sure the fellows enjoyed a bit of beer and whisky.  It was great to re-live some childhood memories and perhaps more amazing, to wonder how we managed to survive some of those childhood adventures.

My knife ...

Few people these days understand the importance of a pocket knife. While on vacation last week, I ran into one of those pseudo-urgent situations where I had a bottle of refreshment and no bottle opener. And it wasn’t a twist-top bottle. I was flummoxed! I always carry my favourite little slim Swiss Army Knife, but for the life of me I could not find it. Maybe some lucky person will eventually find it. The thing is I always like to have a knife not because I want to cut something, but because they’re so useful for other things. Such as opening a bottle of refreshment. 

As it turned out, we enjoyed our refreshments but had to resort to primitive methods to open the bottles. So as part of our holiday travels, there was a search for a new pocket knife, whenever there was a convenient moment. This included Toronto, Niagara On The Lake, Ottawa and even Kanata. On the final day of our travels, we stopped in North Bay at the mall there to see about other things. As I was walking along, Claudette pointed at one of those engraving shops, where you can buy all sorts of things for engraving. I walked in an inquired about their selection of pocket knives. Bingo! I am now the proud owner of a genuine Swiss Army Pioneer.

A grim memory ...

I was on the road today to cover a story in a remote area of Northern Ontario up on the Abitibi River. I came across this bronze monument in tribute to 10 people who died in a plane crash in 1976 at Abitibi Canyon.  It shocked me back to reality. I remember the crash. It was a Labour Day weekend. I was the first reporter at the scene.  The wreckage was still burning. I had never seen dead bodies at a crash scene before. It was grim.

And so it continues :(

I know I have written this before, but I honestly don’t know how long Trump can go on as president, the way he carries on. He has made a mockery over everything presidential and he doesn’t seem to know what he is doing. I think he mentally ill. Not that there is anything wrong with being mentally ill. But people should just know.  His key people are leaving every week. What do they know that we don’t?  Why do I care. I am not American. Well he has the nuclear launch codes and with that other wacko in North Korea I don’t what to think anymore. Thank God for the New York Times, the Washington Post and other responsible media outlets for keeping us informed.

The beginning of this month was fun. Neil came home for a visit and it was nice. It was also a chance to meet Lee Ann, his girlfriend. Two very cool young people. It was great to spend time with them and nice of Neil to get out to see as many cousins and aunts and uncles as he could.  He also got to spend some time with Jenn and her family, which she said she really enjoyed.

So holidays are coming up soon and I think I will head to southern Ontario. I hate the traffic and the air pollution, but I think a couple of days at the Canadian National Exhibition might be fun. I haven’t been down south for a few years, so it will be a change of scenery.

The summer has been good so far, not too hot. Although there were a few days I longed to jump into a cool northern lake. I did that a few times last summer. I must learn to appreciate the North more. 

July stuff

Well what a month July has been. We have had some amazingly hot days, but surprisingly cool nights. Claudette has air conditioning at her place, but on a few occasions it has be cool enough overnight you’d want to put the heat on!

I haven't done it yet this summer, but I am craving a hot, hot day where I will be inspired enough to go swimming in a pristine and cold Northern lake. 

It is very possible that the Stars and Thunder event held in Timmins last month will return in 2018. I had a chat with the key promoter Ron Sakamoto and he said he is ready to return. City council has had only brief discussion of on it, but five of the nine members of council have indicated they’re willing to see it return next year.

Winery tour. That’s one of the things I am looking into. There are lots going on in Southern Ontario, but I am told there is also a whisky tour. Stayed tuned.

Summer has also been nice so far because we now have a grocery store in Timmins that sells locally produced ales and beers from around Ontario. I love this stuff. Sleeman's Original Draught and Honey Brown ales have spoiled me. Also, I don't know if my taste buds have changed or what, but I don't seem to fancy "hoppy" ales anymore.  

Neil is coming to Ontario next week! Yup, he is vacationing here in the Liberal east. Yes, this is where our Liberal premier sold out our publicly owned hydro company and now the Liberals are buying a coal fired hydro plant. Southern Ontario folks voted this person in as premier. I wish we could cut Southern Ontario off from the rest of the province and set it adrift in Lake Ontario. LOL

We have tiny little flies in the North called no-see-ums. We have people in the south called no-smart-ums. 

Observation: As I get older, I get crankier. And I don't seem to care! LOL

Happy 4th ...

Well happy 4^th of July to all the good Americans out there who manage to carry on despite the foibles of their fearless leader. We must respect our American friends and allies as much as possible no matter how crazy their government. That’s all I am going to say for now. I always enjoyed going to the U.S. and meeting ordinary everyday people.

That being said, I have to say Canada Day in Timmins was a blast. We had the wrap up to the eight day concerts and fireworks and it was one of the best things to ever happen in this town. It was great to see everyone in such an upbeat mood for a whole week. Even the Sons of Maxwell were back home to perform... and they gave a shout-out to Glen MacNeil!

I have to admit that Claudette and I were getting a bit tired of going out and partying every night, but we sure had fun. The weather wasn’t perfect, but after awhile, it didn’t seem to matter. When you’re with people and everyone seems to be having a good time, no one cares about the weather.

So I saw Johnny Reid perform for the first time and now I am a big fan. Keith Urban was okay, but Reid stole the show in my opinion. 

Great kickoff to Stars and Thunder

Was more than pleased this weekend to take in the opening of the Stars and Thunder event in Timmins which kicked off with a huge St. Jean Baptiste celebration. The fireworks show provided by Team France was outstanding. Last night we saw Sass Jordan and David Wilcox. Fireworks were by Team Italy. Tonight Tom Cochrane and Red Ryder take the main stage. It’s nice when a small town like Timmins steps up and tries something new. Otherwise we’d all be in our rec rooms watching re-runs of Bonanza or hovering over Facebook trying to think of something clever to say. 

Too many e-mails.

OMG people are going crazy with e-mails and twitter. So I was feeling proud of myself recently when I brought my work e-mail account down to about 200 in the Inbox. So I got busy on some special projects and ignored the e-mail account for a couple of days.

There are now more than 600 in the Inbox. The really important e-mails from my key sources automatically go to my phone, so I thought I wasn’t missing much. But there’s the thing. I have to give each note a quick look to figure out whether to keep it. Every now and then, there is something really important that comes through. Problem is that everybody and every group out there is sending out e-mails now. If the Liberals put out a news release, the Cons and NDP feel they have to react to it. So they put out their e-mails. And if there is a looming labour dispute, such as the possible LCBO strike in Ontario, you can expect half a dozen e-mails every time somebody squeaks. So everybody has an opinion on everything. And they have to tell everybody. Crazy. 

Cod chowder

Talking about food, it's interesting to find out what others have NOT tried. Claudette and I talked recently about the importance of eating more fish. But it is so hard to find fish you can trust. For reasons I have written here before, I don't trust fish from China. So we were at the fish counter on the weekend and bought some fresh (Well, as fresh as you can get in Timmins!) Atlantic cod. Picked up some cream, red potatoes, corn on the cob, green onions, celery and more. A few hours later, we were enjoying a very tasty and filling cod chowder along with some homemade biscuits. Claudette had not ever had a chowder before, but she said she liked it!

Amazing Ernest Hemingway stories...

So I saw this online with the Toronto Star, telling about Hemingway's time at The Star. I was going to post just the link, but I decided it was important enough to run the whole story. Credit: The Toronto Star.  

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http://ehto.thestar.com/marks/how-hemingway-came-of-age-at-the-toronto-star

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BILL SCHILLER
FEATURE WRITER

“I may be going to Russia for the Star,” Ernest Hemingway wrote his mother in a 1922 letter from Paris, “. . . am awaiting orders from them now.”

As it turned out, Hemingway never went to Russia for the Toronto Star for reasons that remain unclear.

But what is clear, in new letters just published or about to be published, is how dependent he was on the Star for money, mobility and access to places and events that he eventually shaped into stories and novels.

In four years of writing for the Star, from 1920 to 1924, in Toronto and in Paris, he travelled extensively — “10,000 miles” in one year, he wrote to his family, some on the Orient Express.

The details are contained in some 6,000 letters, 85 per cent of them never before published, to be issued in the coming decades under an ambitious program called the Hemingway Letters Project.

“Being a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star allowed Hemingway to get out and see contemporary postwar Europe in a way he wouldn’t have had he simply been traveling as a tourist,” says Prof. Sandra Spanier, a Hemingway authority at Penn State University and lead editor of the project.

“And he wrote things up for the Star that he later worked into fiction.”

Scott Donaldson, one of America’s leading literary biographers, says the Star gave Hemingway a chance — and great latitude to choose subjects and style.

“He was very, very lucky to get that kind of freedom,” he says. “Their recognizing his ability to do it and giving him that chance is what made that experience so valuable.”

Hemingway the reporter was competitive from the get-go.

In one letter, pencilled from the Star newsroom in 1920, Hemingway told his parents that he had scooped the competing Globe on an important story. The competition was forced to follow him the next day with a lead editorial.

“Mr. Atkinson who owns the Star complimented me on it,” Hemingway wrote.

In 1922, returning to his base in Paris from a conference in Italy, Hemingway boasted to his mother, “Got back here last night after skimming the cream from Genoa.”

And to his father he scribbled on a postcard of the Italian port, “If you’ve read the Daily Star you know all about this town.”

In 1923 his mother wrote asking where he was heading next.

“I don’t know,” Hemingway responded. “It depends what I hear from the Star.”

The first volume of Hemingway letters, dating from 1907 to 1922, was published by Cambridge University Press last fall. Volume two, from 1923 to 1925, will appear next year.

Originally, the project planned to publish 12 volumes. Now it expects 16, as more letters continue to surface.

With detailed annotations to the letters, the project aims to deepen readers’ understanding of Hemingway’s development as a writer from childhood to his suicide in Ketchum, Idaho, in 1961.

The Hemingway who emerges from the early letters is filled with youthful exuberance, thrilled to be traveling through Europe and proud of his journalism.

He kept his Star clippings — neatly trimmed and blemish-free — all his life.

And he sent a stream back to his parents in Chicago, whom he had persuaded to subscribe to the Star.

Hemingway arrived at the paper in January 1920 hoping to freelance. He was an unknown 20-year-old with dreams of becoming a novelist.

His timing was fortuitous. Founder Joe Atkinson was trying to build a world-class paper based on great writing and scoops, with a showcase weekend edition known as the Star Weekly.

The freewheeling Weekly, in particular, demanded colour and human drama.

Hemingway delivered both in spades.

By 22, he was the paper’s European correspondent.

But by 24, following a clash with a senior editor bent on breaking him, he was gone.

He left the paper in anger, going on to become one of the world’s most famous authors and winning a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

But he always carried with him the memory of being a foreign correspondent for the Star. It was the highlight of his journalistic career.

Managing Editor John Bone and Star Weekly Editor J. Herbert Cranston trumpeted his work, playing it big and promoting it with in-house ads touting Hemingway’s achievements and worldliness, sometimes promising readers that their roving correspondent would deliver the news “through Canadian eyes.”

Hemingway had an obvious incentive to travel: it paid more. For stories from Paris Hemingway earned only modest per-word rates. But for out-of-town assignments he made $75 a week plus expenses.

At the time, it was cheap to live in Paris. Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson, were paying $20 per month for a small, cold-water flat near the Pantheon and could live on as little as $1 a day.

In one article Hemingway told of how Canadians could live in Paris “very comfortably” on $1,000 a year.

Still, Hemingway wasn’t above double-dealing. On at least two trips he filed regular dispatches to the Hearst newspaper chain, much to his wife’s chagrin, under a secret arrangement that paid him well, though not as well as the Star.

Managing editor Bone caught him at it — but forgave him.

Hemingway would later wax nostalgic about those years in his posthumous memoir, A Moveable Feast.

But while the story of Hemingway’s journey to Toronto begins in 1920, he nearly came earlier — for military training.

Another newly published letter reveals that an 18-year-old Hemingway, desperate to get into World War I, approached Canadian army recruiters in Kansas City in 1917.

American forces had rejected Hemingway because of his poor eyesight.

At the time he was working as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star.

In a letter first published last fall, Hemingway told his sister Marcelline, “I intend to enlist in the Canadian Army soon,” calling the Canadians “the greatest fighters in the world,” and adding, “our troops are not to be mentioned in the same breath.”

In the end, however, the Kansas City Star sponsored a Red Cross Ambulance unit and he set off for Italy. There he suffered serious wounds, was decorated by the Italians and returned to America in January 1919.

While speaking of those experiences later that year to a women’s group in Petoskey, Mich., where his family kept a cottage, he captivated Harriet Connable of Toronto, whose husband, Ralph, ran the Canadian arm of F.W. Woolworth’s department stores.

The Connables needed a companion and mentor for their disabled teenaged son who could stay with him in Toronto while they vacationed in Palm Beach, Fla.

Hemingway would be paid $50 per month, have the run of the Connable mansion at 153 Lyndhurst Ave. — near present-day St. Clair Ave. W. and Bathurst St. — and be able to dedicate time to his writing.

Arriving in Toronto before Connable headed south, Hemingway persuaded Connable to get him an introduction at the Toronto Star.

Connable did, and Hemingway did the rest.

He befriended writer-editor Greg Clark, who introduced him to Star Weekly chief Cranston, and soon Hemingway had four unsigned pieces in the paper, then his first bylined story ever — about getting a free shave at a local barber school.

In seven months at the Kansas City Star, Hemingway had never earned a byline.

In Toronto at the Star Weekly, he started at a half a cent a word, earning $5 for a 1,000-word piece. In time, his rate doubled.

Memorably, he wrote a scathing satire on Mayor Tommy Church mooching for votes at a boxing match at Massey Hall.

“We’re out to get the mayor,” Hemingway wrote to his father, “. . . and I’ve been riding him.”

On winter evenings, Hemingway tried skating on the Connables’ rink and played pickup hockey with a small group of friends that included the Connables’ daughter Dorothy, the chauffeur’s son, college student Ernest Smith and others.

Hemingway befriended writer-editor Greg Clark, pictured above, who introduced him to Star Weekly Editor J. Herbert Cranston. The rest is history. TORONTO STAR

In warm weather, he played tennis and rode the Connables’ horses along Bathurst.

Hemingway found Toronto expensive and complained that “the Doggone Star” paid him only once a month.

But he was having “fun,” he wrote his parents, and getting published.

When trout season opened, Hemingway, who was religious about fishing, thanked the family and set off in mid-May for Petoskey and the streams of northern Michigan.

Still, he continued to file regular pieces to the Weekly, including one on how Canadians were getting rich running liquor from Windsor into prohibition-era Detroit.

After a spell of boring writing for an in-house magazine for a shady Chicago financial institution, he wrote Star managing editor Bone in October 1921, asking to come back.

He was now married and unemployed, and his creative writing was going nowhere. He dreamt of returning to Europe, which he had seen only briefly in WWI.

Bone was keen to have Hemingway back.

So they struck a deal, and by December 1921 Hemingway and Hadley — the model for the immensely popular novel The Paris Wife — set off for France with the promise of bylines in the Star from across Europe.

The Hemingways were immediately smitten by the City of Light.

In a just-published letter, dated Feb. 15, 1922, Hemingway wrote to his mother, “Paris is so very beautiful that it satisfies something in you that is always hungry in America.”

Fifty years later, in a rare set of tape recordings kept today in the Hemingway collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Hadley told a biographer that Hemingway had been her guide.

“He opened up the world,” she recalled. “He was very tender and sweet.”

He was also hard-working. When he wasn’t assigned by the Star, he was weaving the threads of his journalism and his life into prose and poetry in a small room down the hall in their apartment at 74 rue du Cardinal Lemoine.

And he was ambitious. There was an artistic “happening” in Paris in the 1920s — celebrated in the recent film Midnight in Paris — and Hemingway was determined to be part of it.

Originally, he had planned to go to Italy, where he had been during the war. But Hemingway had met the American writer Sherwood Anderson in Chicago.

“Anderson told him that the place for a young writer isn’t Italy right now, it’s Paris,” says Penn State’s Prof. Spanier. “‘That’s where things are happening.’”

While the Star provided him the means to support himself, Spanier says, Anderson provided him letters of introduction.

Within weeks, Hemingway was dining with Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Ezra Pound and James Joyce.

Soon, Pound was shopping Hemingway’s poems.

In the years since, Paris has become part of the Hemingway legend.

So has bullfighting — a Hemingway passion that first saw print in a front-page piece in the Star Weekly.

Hemingway had visited Madrid and Pamplona in the summer of 1923 and participated in the famous running of the bulls. Cranston gave it all the play he could.

“Bullfighting Is Not a Sport — It Is a Tragedy,” the headline read.

“That piece in the Toronto Star was his first working out in print of that material which would show up in his first major novel, The Sun Also Rises, in 1926,” says Spanier.

Today that article, and many of the nearly 200 Hemingway wrote for the Star, can be viewed — not touched — in a securely locked room, under constant supervision by a senior archivist, on the fifth floor of the JFK Presidential Library. The clippings are kept under protective plastic.

In the literary world, they are precious documents.

So in early 1923, when Hadley announced she was pregnant and preferred not to give birth in Paris, Hemingway’s return to Toronto was natural.

He had enjoyed his earlier stay there. He was highly regarded at the paper, where he had friends, and could provide his family a steady income.

Assignments from the Star had always “brought in good money,” he wrote his friend Bill Horne. But now he had to provide stability during what he called, “The First Year of the Baby.”

A steady income of $75 a week would help.

But he also confided to Gertrude Stein that he was uneasy about being a father. He was too young, he said, and did not want to leave Paris.

Hemingway decided they would live in Toronto for one year, and he lined up a Paris apartment for their return in October 1924.

The Hemingways arrived in Toronto in September 1923 and put up at the Selby Hotel on Sherbourne St.

What Hemingway did not know was that he was landing into the middle of a vicious intra-office feud between managing editor John Bone and city editor Harry Hindmarsh.

Hemingway would be caught in the crossfire.

As he explained later to a biographer in an unpublished 1952 letter, Hindmarsh “hated Bone and hated me because I was a project of John. R. Bone.”

Although Hindmarsh was technically Bone’s assistant, he had enormous clout: he was owner Joe Atkinson’s son-in-law.

Hadley’s first letter from the Selby Hotel, dated Sept. 14, 1923, was filled with optimism — and news. She told Hemingway’s parents that a “small new Hemingway” was on the way. They were sure it was a boy and due in late October or early November.

“The Star people are so keen about your son,” she wrote reassuringly. Friends at the paper couldn’t do enough. Greg Clark and his wife had arranged for their own doctor to look after her. And Greg and Ernest were heading out fishing on Saturday.

“I think we shall love many things about Toronto,” Hadley wrote.

But she also noted that Hemingway had “rushed” into work and on his very first day, Sept. 10, 1923, was sent to Kingston to cover a sensational prison break.

Hemingway’s next-day account was gripping, fast-paced and filled with compelling detail and colour, a first-class piece of journalism under pressure.

It was splashed across the front page. But Hemingway was denied a byline.

Then, things worsened.

Three weeks later, he was sent to New York to cover the arrival of former British prime minister David Lloyd George. He was reluctant to leave Hadley in their new apartment at 1599 Bathurst. She was, after all, in her last weeks of pregnancy.

Those fears were well-grounded.

As Hemingway was returning to Toronto by train on Oct. 10, 1923, from his New York assignment, Hadley gave birth to their first son, John Hadley Nicanor, at Wellesley Hospital.

“I was fine,” Hadley recalled years later. “And Bumby (John) was quite something. And then Ernest came in, in tears and sobbing because he hadn’t been there.

“That’s the kind of a guy he was . . . frightfully sensitive. It was a misty, misty occasion.”

Then, things got even worse. While in New York, Hemingway had missed a story that Hindmarsh and Atkinson thought important: the deputy mayor of New York had belittled Britain, and the Star’s readership was largely of British stock.

Hindmarsh hauled Hemingway in and dressed him down, and a shouting match erupted during which Hemingway said any work he would do for Hindmarsh would be with “the most utter contempt and hatred.”

He was on shaky ground now, he wrote Ezra Pound.

Soon Hemingway was reassigned to the Star Weekly and began plotting his return to Paris.

He had complained of staid, conservative Toronto from the day he returned.

But the legendary “Hindmarsh treatment,” as Star staffers called it, put him over the top.

Hemingway blamed Hindmarsh for working him relentlessly, for “spiking” (killing) his stories, and most pointedly, for assigning him out of town when his wife was about to give birth.

Now, he was furious at Hindmarsh, the Star, Toronto and Canada as a whole.

The country whose uniform he once wanted to wear was now “the fistulated asshole of the father of seven among Nations,” Hemingway wrote Pound.

“It is a dreadful country,” he wrote Sylvia Beach, friend and owner of the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company.

To Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas he wrote, “It was a bad move to come back.”

Hadley recalled later that Hemingway had told her, “If I have to stay with him (Hindmarsh), I’ll go crazy.”

Hadley replied, “Let’s leave.”

Hemingway submitted his resignation, effective Jan. 1, 1924.

They would have to break their six-month lease on the Bathurst St. apartment, for which Hemingway said in a letter to Pound they were paying $125 per month.

In a final, generous gesture, the Hemingways hosted the wedding of fellow Star writer Jimmy Cowan and his bride-to-be, Grace Williams, in the Hemingways’ apartment on Jan. 12, 1924. Hemingway was not only best man but he supplied the liquor from a local bootlegger. A Star announcement whimsically reported that the wedding had been celebrated “very quietly.”

The next day the Hemingways left from Union Station for New York, boarding the Cunard liner Antonia for France on Jan. 19.

There was, however, one more concern. The Antonia would stop at Halifax, and the Hemingways worried that police might board looking for them. They still owed between $250 and $375 in rent.

“We skipped out,” Hadley said later. “The boat did stop at Halifax, but no police came on.”

The Hemingways divorced in 1927.

A year later, John Bone died of a heart attack in the Star newsroom.

Harry Hindmarsh went on to become the most powerful man in Canadian newspapers, elected president of the Toronto Star in 1948.

Years later, Hindmarsh was reported to have said that he had “made a mistake” in the way he had dealt with Hemingway.

But Hemingway never forgave him.

“I would like to propose that Harry Hindmarsh should burn in hell,” he wrote in an unpublished letter in 1952.

The author never set foot in Toronto again.

This too shall pass ...

So if you read any Canadian newspapers at all, you’re aware of the cultural appropriation arguments going on, with certain persons claiming that white writers, especially those in mainstream media,  cannot be sensitive enough to write about issues involving indigenous people. The suggestion from some is that unless you’re part of the oppressed group, you just don’t have enough understanding and empathy to really appreciate what it means to be oppressed. Or to truly understand the problem. The claim is that cultural appropriation is happening so much and so often that as long as we tolerate it, we encourage it.

Hmmm. I disagree. This is Canada. People are still allowed to think their own thoughts and form their own opinions.  William Shakespeare wrote about Jews living in Venice and witches in Scotland. So maybe we should ban Shakespeare too. 
These people with their faux outrage are just talk, talk, talk. They have no credibility. You don't survive in this world by sitting around pointing fingers and blaming everyone else.

Totally nuts and without reason...

Well I have to say I believe that this is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump. His decision to fire FBI Director James Comey appears to be totally without reason. Okay, so here's the problem. This guy Trump is so bizarre and out-to-lunch that he is making stupid become the new normal. So with anything he does he seems to be able to escape the scrutiny that should kick him out of office. Those poor people in the States, at least the reasonable ones, are at a loss because so many other people are putting up with this orange-tinted wacko and actually supporting him. Truly, the inmates are running the asylum.

Yum!

I think I am becoming a foodie! You know, one of those people who likes and learns so much about foods and different things. Maybe it's because spring is here and I am feeling ...better. Anyway, this week I remembered something my Dad did for me many years ago. He made a toasted sandwich with sliced apples, butter and cheddar cheese. OMG, it was so good back then and so I tried it again. It was great, only I put it on an onion bagel. I had it for breakfast with tea. Sooooo soooo goood! Try it!

Just because it is in fashion, doesn't mean it is stylish...

This is fashion? Really? Just read today about Nordstrom, a high-end retailer that is selling muddy jeans for more than $400. OMG. I have to say it. People are stupid. I am fond of mentioning to Claudette that just because something is “in fashion” doesn’t mean it has style.  
People mix those words up too much. A lot of the stuff we see in the fashion industry has no style at all. 
I was in court this morning and I noticed a lawyer wearing a nice navy blue suit. That was okay. Except he had light brown shoes with blue and white striped socks - Horizontal stripes! Okay, I blame his parents. He was a young lawyer. This poor guy might think this is fashionable, but he has shit-for-brains in the style department. 
Okay guys, here’s the rule. Navy suit goes with black shoes and dark socks. Socks must never, ever draw attention. Brown suit, khaki beige and lighter suits and you can wear brown shoes, but only if you shine them. Yes, buy a shoe brush. It falls under the category of well groomed. Lesson over. 

Ugh. Keeping mum ...

Every now and then I will joke with somebody about the things we hear in the news business. Can you keep a secret, I will ask. People's eyes will gleam and they will whisper back, Yes! Yes, I can keep a secret. Well, so can I, I tell them smugly. And then I get the nasty look LOL.
Well we came across some information today in the newsroom today that I cannot release right now. It's a news story, of course, but not an earth shattering expose or scandal. It is a very good news story for Timmins and when it is revealed ... soon, I hope ... a lot of people will be pleased.  We have to wait until the deal is done.  It's just that I like to tell people good news, but right now, I have to wait.

Westree weekend tradition ...

Was so pleased to spend time with my grandsons on the weekend helping them hone the fine art of shooting warm cans of  pop. Shake ‘em before you shoot ‘em. They explode so nicely! Even Jennifer joined the fun. I know we made quite the mess, but once the shooting was over, we cleaned up all the cans. It was nice to have some family time, watching the Leafs win, enjoying great food and fabulous company. As usual Don and Denise were perfect hosts.

I wished Claudette could have made the visit but she’s enjoying some holiday family time in Orlando, Florida. She went off with her family and grandkids to Disneyworld for 12 days! From the notes I get she seems to be having a wonderful time. I keep thinking how many times Debra has told me about that place. Who knows, maybe someday J

I blame the police...

 I am usually a staunch supporter of the police, but not in the case of the United Airlines flight where a person was forcibly removed from an airplane this week. I don’t think police, even so-called airport police,  should be used to enforce a corporate policy. The airport police who were called to the scene should have asked, what criminal act is taking place. Is there an actual crime underway? Is there a danger to the public? A person who disagrees with United Airlines corporate policy and who bought a ticket in good faith and was allowed to board the plane is not a criminal. He or she may have a civil complaint with United. If they refuse to leave the plane, United may seek a lawsuit against them. I think our lawmakers should re-think the idea of using police unless there is a criminal action or a danger to the public. Refusing to give up the seat you paid for is neither of those. 

News doesn't take holidays ...

I have often been embarrassed when friends and family members catch me for not knowing that a holiday is happening. I usually need to be reminded that this coming Friday or Monday is a holiday of some sort. I saw it happen today to a colleague working on a special news project. He had been preparing to line up some phone interviews for Friday morning. Sure enough I was close by to hear his phone call this morning to the first interview, saying “Oh what? Friday? A holiday? Ohhhh… yesss. Okay then, …”

This all goes back to journalism school where you learn several things that stay true over the years; one of them being: News never takes a holiday. 

History is overwhelming...

This weekend is one I have thought about for some time. I was pleased to watch television Sunday to see the network coverage of the 100^th anniversary of attack on Vimy Ridge and the Canadian victory there.  I have to say I was pleased with CBC coverage over CTV. This is something I had been thinking about in the past few years and I actually considered travelling to France to take part in the commemoration.I think I just wanted to return to France for a visit as well.  Like most people I am certain I would have been overwhelmed with the sense of history, but I was happy at how well the event was covered on television. I read the book by Pierre Burton last year and was both shocked and overcome with the level of incompetence of the military brass in the First World War. But then again that is looking at the event through modern eyes. I must say I was amazed at the scope of the Canadian victory, but given that the German officers were as prone to the same level of bad judgement by some British and Canadian officers it might not be surprising that common sense won the day. History is such a cruel judge, but a judge just the same.

Regardless, I was so pleased to see the thousands of young Canadians , as in high school students, who took part in the Vimy commemoration this weekend. Like the poem said, the torch has been passed. “Be yours to hold it high…”

Image Credit: Library and Archives Canada: German officers surrendered to Canadians after the battle at Vimy Ridge. 

It's over!

What is wrong with me? I woke up this morning thinking of a life where people are open, honest, good, decent and interesting. That’s what happens when you watch too many episodes of Downton Abbey. Yes, I have been binge watching all week. It was Friday that Claudette got an e-mail from Netflix revealing that the final season was now available. Well, we could hardly wait to finish supper. So for the past few days, we plonked down on the couch, put the tea on and watched the entire final season. Of course we had love/hate relationships with all the characters, even to the point of shouting that Lady Mary is a bitch. And of course dowager Lady Violet is a saint with a sense of humour.  Last night it was the final episode. What a fabulous story. What a great television show. Claudette said she will now feel like she is missing something. As the final episode came to an end, she said “Well, they can’t leave us like that. We have to have more!” I cannot disagree.

Well done VIA!

I know it was a marketing thing, but I think VIA Rail made a brilliant move this week when it announced it was offering up youth rail passes for July for only $150 for unlimited travel in July. As most of my friends are aware, I am a huge rail fan and so I am glad VIA is making this option available for more people. I think it should be done more often and my hope is it will revive passenger rail travel. The other good thing is that it will help younger Canadians get to know their country better. I can't think of a better way to spend July than riding the rails through Canada. 

It’s funny but just last night I was out for some beers with a guy from the Globe and Mail. He is travelling to Moosonee to work on a story.  I assumed he was flying. I was pleased he decided to take the train. He said it would give him more time to meet people and talk to people. Exactly. That’s how you get good stories.

Change is good ...

I know there are people who are worried about the idea of letting refugees into Canada. One hopes they can learn to accept a little change. I believe it is a good thing to bring new people to our country. After all, our country was built by immigrants. I was pleased this week to see that a refugee family from Syria has arrived in Timmins. I wish them well.  I have very little idea of what their lives were like on the other side of the world. Let’s hope they find good lives and happiness in our country.

Hard choices

 In other news, as they say, a lot of people like myself are shaking their heads at the antics of Mr. Trump. I said Mister, because this fellow certainly is not presidential. But he has been elected, and that is the price of democracy. People can collectively make poor choices.  It is interesting because Canada is in the midst of selecting new leaders for both the Conservative and New Democratic parties. My concern is whether they are looking for a truly good leader, or merely somebody that can unseat Justin Trudeau. The idealists will say the answer is both, but I have my doubts. Our local guy is Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus who is running to head the NDP. I like Charlie. He has integrity. He’s a good guy. Tough days ahead for him, for sure. I wish him the best. 

Keeping up to date ...

Jennifer sent me a text on Friday. “Question … u still alive?!” Ha ha, funny girl. But I can’t say I blame her because I was definitely out of touch for about four weeks. So I finally chatted with her Saturday night, after assuring her I responded to her text. She said she never got it. I insisted that I sent the reply, but then last night I realized that while I created a message, I never actually sent it. So much for thinking I was tech savvy enough to know how to use my phone. I wonder now why I never got answers for other texts that I figured I had sent out.

She also reminded me that I hadn’t been updating the blog. So I will stay on top of that.

Anyway, good news. Jennifer has passed her provincial exam and is indeed a Registered Nurse. They say pride is a sin, but I cannot help but be proud of what she has done. I am blessed to say at this point in my life my children give me happiness.

I am proud of myself too. Claudette and I were out shopping for dinner. I convinced her she would like pan fried pork chops. I wasn’t sure because she can be as fussy as I am with food. But happily the chops turned out just fine and she enjoyed the mango chutney that gave them a nice flavour.

For dessert we had something we both remember from out childhood … baked apples. Oh my goodness, they turned out nice and soft, but not mushy. We had them with a stuffing of brown sugar, butter, flour and granola. It was great! And the vanilla ice cream was fabulous.