Dear dear friends and supporters,
This is a last note to all you wonderful people, before election day tomorrow. Your hands and minds and hearts and passion are the best gifts we've ever had. And we've done a fabulous job together, all of us.
From a standing start, you've made the most exciting campaign this riding has seen for a long long time. When Allie and I met sixteen months ago this week, we could not have imagined that we would by now have a brand new extended family, a grand new circle of friends, and a whole new understanding of the power of community and love. You have been magnificent, and have welcomed us into your lives with great big open hearts. Thank you from the top to the bottom of our hearts.
Thirty-one days ago, Allie suggested that we touch a thousand people a day, raise a thousand dollars a day, and give a thousand hugs a day (because that's all the time we had). So today, through your walking, phoning, Facebooking, emailing, talking, tweeting, donating and baking, we have touched a thousand people a day three times over, we have raised thirty-five thousand dollars, and we have hugged and received more hugs than any other federal election candidate and campaign manager in the history of the country. We'll bet votes on it.
Each and every one of you is a beautiful compliment to the human race, and tomorrow night, you will have done good, done good for others, and done no harm, all a very difficult task under the circumstances, indeed. Tonight we ask simply that you remember to rest well, cast your vote, remind others to do the same, and join us tomorrow night for a celebration of friendship, respect and love.
With enormous gratitude,
John and Allie
Liberal candidate for Okanagan-Coquihalla
Monday, 2 May 2011
Friday, 29 April 2011
Familiar Land
We drove the Kidder Campaign Camper up to Logan Lake and then on the entrance to Highland Valley Copper. Planted a few campaign signs, and stood by the side of the road in the cool of the morning waving at people as they drove in for dayshift or headed home after graveyard. Mostly friendly honks and waves, a few thumbs down and a couple of emphatic fingers up.
After shift change, there's very little traffic. I took the crew of David Bell (official agent, driver, keeper-of-the-candidate's-schedule) and Saul Ramey (videographer) on a ten-minute tour to see the very large hole in the ground out of which the copper ore comes, and the even larger lake of tailings, the sterile sand that's left after the copper has been concentrated and separated for shipping to Japan. Look at it on Google Earth, if you can - just type "Highland Valley Copper" into the search window - you'll be amazed.
I wrote a bit earlier about how profoundly I feel at home here. I was telling David that I'm almost certainly the only guy on the planet who has first chased cows over two big chunks of country, at Hatheume for Douglas Lake and in the Highland Valley for Bjorn Neilsen's Mesa Vista Ranch, only to come back to work in mines digging up the same pieces of ground. Sky, sun, rain, snow, trees, grasses, soil, overburden, rock, and ore. An unusual continuity in a fortunate life.
After shift change, there's very little traffic. I took the crew of David Bell (official agent, driver, keeper-of-the-candidate's-schedule) and Saul Ramey (videographer) on a ten-minute tour to see the very large hole in the ground out of which the copper ore comes, and the even larger lake of tailings, the sterile sand that's left after the copper has been concentrated and separated for shipping to Japan. Look at it on Google Earth, if you can - just type "Highland Valley Copper" into the search window - you'll be amazed.
I wrote a bit earlier about how profoundly I feel at home here. I was telling David that I'm almost certainly the only guy on the planet who has first chased cows over two big chunks of country, at Hatheume for Douglas Lake and in the Highland Valley for Bjorn Neilsen's Mesa Vista Ranch, only to come back to work in mines digging up the same pieces of ground. Sky, sun, rain, snow, trees, grasses, soil, overburden, rock, and ore. An unusual continuity in a fortunate life.
Follow Me:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/John.Kidder.liberal
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kidderjohn
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Guest Blogger - Robert Handfield - Conservatives from Kaleden for Kidder
Conservatives from Kaleden for Kidder
Letter to the editor published in the Penticton Herald - Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Dear sir;
It’s time to take a stand. I feel so strongly that a Harper majority government would be bad for Canada that this election has brought me to several firsts: this will be the first Federal election since the mid 1980’s that I haven’t voted Conservative; it is the first time that I have made a donation to a political candidate and it is the first election in which I have put a candidate’s sign in my front lawn.
Mr. Harper seems to think that parliamentary rules and tradition apply elsewhere but not here in Canada when’s he’s the one in power. If the leader of some third-world country, including Afghanistan where Canadians are dying to bring democracy to the people, did the things that Harper’s government has done over the past few years we would probably shrug our shoulders and say something like – “what do you expect in a tribal society ruled by despots”? Well pardon me, but I expect better in Canada!
The Harper government has been chastised by the Speaker of the House who knows the rules – our representatives are supposed to be the bosses - not the minions to be cast aside and ignored like so many sheep. If Harper knew any history he would also know that coalitions are not illegal or evil, but rather have a long tradition in the British parliamentary system. Churchill served in several coalitions and led one himself. The British government right now is a coalition; Australia has had coalitions; heck, Canada has had coalitions in the past. Coalitions may not always be perfect but they are not to be feared (unless you are the one who might lose power).
Some of my friends argue that in uncertain economic times we must have a strong majority government and at the same time argue that our relatively good performance over the past two years vis a vis the rest of the world was because we had the Harper government. But that was a minority government! In fact, we didn’t have the economic meltdown of the US and Europe because for more than one hundred years Canadian governments have subjected Canadian banks to very stringent rules so they couldn’t play fast and loose with our money the way other banks could. And the recent Liberal governments, despite their shortcomings, did leave Harper a balanced budget. The only credit Harper can claim is that he didn’t undo the banking rules.
The list of things Harper has done to thumb his nose at Parliament and us (while in a minority position) is extensive. I worry that someone who ignores the rules when he’s in a minority is not going to suddenly become a law abiding citizen if he gets a majority.
I’m giving my support to John Kidder.
Sincerely,
Robert Handfield
Kaleden
Letter to the editor published in the Penticton Herald - Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Dear sir;
It’s time to take a stand. I feel so strongly that a Harper majority government would be bad for Canada that this election has brought me to several firsts: this will be the first Federal election since the mid 1980’s that I haven’t voted Conservative; it is the first time that I have made a donation to a political candidate and it is the first election in which I have put a candidate’s sign in my front lawn.
Mr. Harper seems to think that parliamentary rules and tradition apply elsewhere but not here in Canada when’s he’s the one in power. If the leader of some third-world country, including Afghanistan where Canadians are dying to bring democracy to the people, did the things that Harper’s government has done over the past few years we would probably shrug our shoulders and say something like – “what do you expect in a tribal society ruled by despots”? Well pardon me, but I expect better in Canada!
The Harper government has been chastised by the Speaker of the House who knows the rules – our representatives are supposed to be the bosses - not the minions to be cast aside and ignored like so many sheep. If Harper knew any history he would also know that coalitions are not illegal or evil, but rather have a long tradition in the British parliamentary system. Churchill served in several coalitions and led one himself. The British government right now is a coalition; Australia has had coalitions; heck, Canada has had coalitions in the past. Coalitions may not always be perfect but they are not to be feared (unless you are the one who might lose power).
Some of my friends argue that in uncertain economic times we must have a strong majority government and at the same time argue that our relatively good performance over the past two years vis a vis the rest of the world was because we had the Harper government. But that was a minority government! In fact, we didn’t have the economic meltdown of the US and Europe because for more than one hundred years Canadian governments have subjected Canadian banks to very stringent rules so they couldn’t play fast and loose with our money the way other banks could. And the recent Liberal governments, despite their shortcomings, did leave Harper a balanced budget. The only credit Harper can claim is that he didn’t undo the banking rules.
The list of things Harper has done to thumb his nose at Parliament and us (while in a minority position) is extensive. I worry that someone who ignores the rules when he’s in a minority is not going to suddenly become a law abiding citizen if he gets a majority.
I’m giving my support to John Kidder.
Sincerely,
Robert Handfield
Kaleden
Follow Me:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/John.Kidder.liberal
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kidderjohn
Guest Blogger - Peter Kidder - The Kidder Anthem
Peter Kidder writes Kidder Anthem while maintaining 620 signs and organizing his older brother's rally's!!! audio recording coming soon...
big tory blue is getting’ pretty bitter, the south Okanagans' votin' John Kidder
pull out the picket, don't be a fence sitter, just check your blog or stick it in your twitter
u-tube, my-tube, in the van, apply him liberally when you can
a wave's a comin' and he's your man, got great big ears and a brand new plan
So mark an ex for the heavy hitter, the entire riding’s votin' John Kidder
maybe it's time that you did too
John Kidder rocks, no way round it
the gods themselves seem somewhat astounded
the choice that's right when all things consider
you can make right here - John Kidder
the entire nation got a little crazy, rich white folk got occasionally lazy
sat on thrones, agendas hazy, while what we were, pushed up a daisy
a couple of jets, a clinic closed, we all sat back while we got hosed
with our opinions presupposed, the emperor, he stole our clothes
So mark an ex for the heavy hitter, the entire riding’s votin' John Kidder
maybe it's time that you did too.
John Kidder rocks, no way round it
the gods themselves seem somewhat astounded
the choice that's right when all things consider
you can make right here - John Kidder
big tory blue is getting’ pretty bitter, the south Okanagans' votin' John Kidder
pull out the picket, don't be a fence sitter, just check your blog or stick it in your twitter
u-tube, my-tube, in the van, apply him liberally when you can
a wave's a comin' and he's your man, got great big ears and a brand new plan
So mark an ex for the heavy hitter, the entire riding’s votin' John Kidder
maybe it's time that you did too
John Kidder rocks, no way round it
the gods themselves seem somewhat astounded
the choice that's right when all things consider
you can make right here - John Kidder
the entire nation got a little crazy, rich white folk got occasionally lazy
sat on thrones, agendas hazy, while what we were, pushed up a daisy
a couple of jets, a clinic closed, we all sat back while we got hosed
with our opinions presupposed, the emperor, he stole our clothes
So mark an ex for the heavy hitter, the entire riding’s votin' John Kidder
maybe it's time that you did too.
John Kidder rocks, no way round it
the gods themselves seem somewhat astounded
the choice that's right when all things consider
you can make right here - John Kidder
Friday, 22 April 2011
Questions from a Local Newspaper
Two birds with one stone tonight – I received an email from a local reporter asking for short answers to 6 questions. The questions are all reasonable and relevant, so I will answer them here in this blog as well.
Q1: If elected, in the event your constituents’ demands are at odds with party policy, how will you vote/where do your loyalties lie?
Above both party loyalty and demands of constituents are ethical issues - I will never vote, no matter who demands it, in a way that violates my principles. As an example, I would never vote to re-instate the death penalty even if it were demanded by all my constituents or by my party.
In a more conventional case, for example a bill which affected spending on a highways project, I would do my best to get a feel for my constituents’ wishes – if there was an overwhelming feeling one way or the other, then I would respect it, even if it went against my party’s wishes. But this would be a most unusual situation – even in a general election, there is seldom a truly obvious expression of the constituents’ will. So generally I will make my best judgment about an issue and vote accordingly.
Q2: As no one person can be educated on all federal issues you will face, on what will you base your decisions when you vote, representing your riding?
While no-one can be expert on all the federal issues, it is a primary duty of a Member of Parliament to get at least a basic understanding of all of them. There is no excuse for not doing the homework.
I have a good education and a broad background in agriculture, economics, environment, business, community organization and politics. I believe in making decisions based on evidence and logic, not on ideology. I will do my research thoroughly, and base my decisions on the best information available to me, and on my sense of the wishes of my constituents.
Q3: How will you be available to constituents, if elected? Will you be available for one-on-one meetings, hold town hall meetings . . . ?
An MP is the servant of his or her constituents, and must be available as much as possible. My constituency offices will be in Merritt, Westside and Penticton and will be staffed with first-class assistants who will deal with routine issues, and will schedule meetings for me for more difficult matters. When I am in the riding, I will work out of those offices and from my mobile office in my motorhome. When in Ottawa, I will be in regular touch with constituents with pressing problems by telephone and email.
Any MP will be asked for help by constituents with personal problems, and such meetings must of course be one-on-one to ensure confidentiality. In addition, I will make myself widely available to community groups, schools, fraternal organizations, environmental roundtables, industry and agricultural associations, and to the local press. Townhall meetings will be regular features in all our communities.
Q4: What is one of your favourite memories of the Westside?
Not quite in Westbank/West Kelowna/Westside, but in Peachland, our house was up on Lipsett Avenue, directly across from Rattlesnake Island. We had a view from the front window almost from Naramata to Mission. One day, it was blustery and rainy in Peachland, but I could see the sun shining on the mountains to the south, and I remarked to my wife Marion that it seemed as if the sun was always shining in Naramata. She said “Oh, didn’t you know? That’s what Naramata means in the Okanagan language.” I took her at her word, and over the course of the next few months I told lots of people what I had learned. Then one night we had company over, and someone saw the sun once again shining to the south, and told us that they had recently heard what the name “Naramata” meant. Marion nearly slid under the table with embarrassment, and I learned how fast an “urban myth” can spread.
Q5: Why do you think the public has a general mistrust of politicians, and what might you do differently?
The public has not always had such a general mistrust. Canadians used to believe that Members of Parliament were honest, ethical, hard-working people. I think almost all MPs still are.
A Liberal MP from Toronto told me that when he was first elected his family celebrated with him that he could now enter Parliament to do his best to act in the service of his country and his constituents. Soon after the election, his daughter came home crying from her Grade 10 class – the students had been asked to describe what their parents did for a living, and when she said proudly that her father was a new Member of Parliament, other students booed and shouted her down. What a horrible thing to happen to a child and to her father, and what a horrible reflection on how politicians are viewed.
I think we have been greatly affected by the “Americanization” of Canadian politics, with a much more confrontational style than we were used to – attack ads, personal vilification, etc. One of the great geniuses of this country has always been our ability to compromise, to understand that while we hold differing views, we have more in common than we have in conflict. We have been able to maintain the political will that holds this widely disparate country together because we are polite and civil, because we can disagree but remain friends, because we can, unlike many of our neighbours to the south, have fierce but enjoyable political arguments around the supper table.
I will do my best to bring back this sort of discourse to political life. It is vital to the future of our democracy that politicians earn once again the trust of their constituents, and that public service is once again seen as enobling rather than degrading.
Q6: If there’s anything else you’d like to say, here’s your opportunity.
An election is an extended job interview – I am applying for the job of Member of Parliament, and the voters are the selection committee and ultimate boss. I have excellent qualifications and training, a demonstrated ability to build consensus, to serve and to lead, and a full commitment to excellence and integrity in all my work. I know the country and the riding from the ground up. I have been active in federal politics for years, I know many of the players and I know how the system works. I will be an effective MP, and the constituents of Okanagan-Coquihalla will be well served.
There’s more about my views and feelings on my website www.johnkidder.ca, and I will personally answer any questions sent to me on john@johnkidder.ca, or by toll-free telephone at my office 1-888-387-5034.
Q1: If elected, in the event your constituents’ demands are at odds with party policy, how will you vote/where do your loyalties lie?
Above both party loyalty and demands of constituents are ethical issues - I will never vote, no matter who demands it, in a way that violates my principles. As an example, I would never vote to re-instate the death penalty even if it were demanded by all my constituents or by my party.
In a more conventional case, for example a bill which affected spending on a highways project, I would do my best to get a feel for my constituents’ wishes – if there was an overwhelming feeling one way or the other, then I would respect it, even if it went against my party’s wishes. But this would be a most unusual situation – even in a general election, there is seldom a truly obvious expression of the constituents’ will. So generally I will make my best judgment about an issue and vote accordingly.
Q2: As no one person can be educated on all federal issues you will face, on what will you base your decisions when you vote, representing your riding?
While no-one can be expert on all the federal issues, it is a primary duty of a Member of Parliament to get at least a basic understanding of all of them. There is no excuse for not doing the homework.
I have a good education and a broad background in agriculture, economics, environment, business, community organization and politics. I believe in making decisions based on evidence and logic, not on ideology. I will do my research thoroughly, and base my decisions on the best information available to me, and on my sense of the wishes of my constituents.
Q3: How will you be available to constituents, if elected? Will you be available for one-on-one meetings, hold town hall meetings . . . ?
An MP is the servant of his or her constituents, and must be available as much as possible. My constituency offices will be in Merritt, Westside and Penticton and will be staffed with first-class assistants who will deal with routine issues, and will schedule meetings for me for more difficult matters. When I am in the riding, I will work out of those offices and from my mobile office in my motorhome. When in Ottawa, I will be in regular touch with constituents with pressing problems by telephone and email.
Any MP will be asked for help by constituents with personal problems, and such meetings must of course be one-on-one to ensure confidentiality. In addition, I will make myself widely available to community groups, schools, fraternal organizations, environmental roundtables, industry and agricultural associations, and to the local press. Townhall meetings will be regular features in all our communities.
Q4: What is one of your favourite memories of the Westside?
Not quite in Westbank/West Kelowna/Westside, but in Peachland, our house was up on Lipsett Avenue, directly across from Rattlesnake Island. We had a view from the front window almost from Naramata to Mission. One day, it was blustery and rainy in Peachland, but I could see the sun shining on the mountains to the south, and I remarked to my wife Marion that it seemed as if the sun was always shining in Naramata. She said “Oh, didn’t you know? That’s what Naramata means in the Okanagan language.” I took her at her word, and over the course of the next few months I told lots of people what I had learned. Then one night we had company over, and someone saw the sun once again shining to the south, and told us that they had recently heard what the name “Naramata” meant. Marion nearly slid under the table with embarrassment, and I learned how fast an “urban myth” can spread.
Q5: Why do you think the public has a general mistrust of politicians, and what might you do differently?
The public has not always had such a general mistrust. Canadians used to believe that Members of Parliament were honest, ethical, hard-working people. I think almost all MPs still are.
A Liberal MP from Toronto told me that when he was first elected his family celebrated with him that he could now enter Parliament to do his best to act in the service of his country and his constituents. Soon after the election, his daughter came home crying from her Grade 10 class – the students had been asked to describe what their parents did for a living, and when she said proudly that her father was a new Member of Parliament, other students booed and shouted her down. What a horrible thing to happen to a child and to her father, and what a horrible reflection on how politicians are viewed.
I think we have been greatly affected by the “Americanization” of Canadian politics, with a much more confrontational style than we were used to – attack ads, personal vilification, etc. One of the great geniuses of this country has always been our ability to compromise, to understand that while we hold differing views, we have more in common than we have in conflict. We have been able to maintain the political will that holds this widely disparate country together because we are polite and civil, because we can disagree but remain friends, because we can, unlike many of our neighbours to the south, have fierce but enjoyable political arguments around the supper table.
I will do my best to bring back this sort of discourse to political life. It is vital to the future of our democracy that politicians earn once again the trust of their constituents, and that public service is once again seen as enobling rather than degrading.
Q6: If there’s anything else you’d like to say, here’s your opportunity.
An election is an extended job interview – I am applying for the job of Member of Parliament, and the voters are the selection committee and ultimate boss. I have excellent qualifications and training, a demonstrated ability to build consensus, to serve and to lead, and a full commitment to excellence and integrity in all my work. I know the country and the riding from the ground up. I have been active in federal politics for years, I know many of the players and I know how the system works. I will be an effective MP, and the constituents of Okanagan-Coquihalla will be well served.
There’s more about my views and feelings on my website www.johnkidder.ca, and I will personally answer any questions sent to me on john@johnkidder.ca, or by toll-free telephone at my office 1-888-387-5034.
Follow Me:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/John.Kidder.liberal
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kidderjohn
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Back Home in the Nicola Valley
We came over the Okanagan Connector yesterday from Peachland to Merritt. I lived in Peachland in 1970 and 1971 where I worked at Brenda Mines – coming up the highway we passed the snow-covered wall of the old Brenda tailings dam. Then we drove along the western slope of Pennask Mountain above Hatheume Lake, where our summer cow camp was, and where I met my first wife Marion – she had come from England to experience life in the wilderness, leaving her executive secretary job to do laundry at Hatheume Lake Lodge. Then farther along past Elkhart Lake, which was a 14-mile pack horse trip from the old camp at Mud Lake, itself 35 miles on a track through the bush from the Home Ranch at Douglas Lake.
We lived then in old mountain homesteads, cooked on wood fires and drank water from the creeks, and a trip to town was a full day’s effort. And now we whistle past at 110 kilometres an hour, from point to point with barely a nod to the country around us. Scotty Holmes, past Chief at Spahomin (or “Upper Nicola Band Indian Reserve #3”, as it’s called by various paternalizing government bodies) said to me the other day that when were riding in that country we never knew that we were in paradise, and now it’s gone.
Then down into Merritt for an all-candidates forum at the remarkable Nicola Valley Institute of Technology – more about NVIT later. Lots of excellent discussion with good people, and there will be more about that later too.
I walked out this morning through the bunchgrass slopes above the beautiful home John and Barbara Yellowlees have built high on the hillside above the Nicola River. It’s good to remind oneself every now and then that the grasses have been around, unchanged, for twenty million years or so. Human beings are astonishingly arrogant as we imagine ourselves to be the bosses of the planet. The grasses and the birds and the insects were here long before we arrived, and they’ll be here long after we’re gone.
Last night I pulled on my boots to go out and get something from the Kidder Camper, and John said something about me looking like a real cowboy now, with my boots outside my pants. I laughed and remembered this great poem by Gale Gardner. I had enormous fun reciting this once to my friend Tim Williams, who was wrangling dudes at the old Bar Q guest ranch in Ashcroft, while I was chasing cows for Bjorn Nielsen at the Mesa Vista. Tim wrote and sang great cowboy tunes, but never got to be a working cowboy – he laughed and laughed when I gave him this:
The Dude Wrangler
by Gale Gardner
I’ll tell you a sad, sad story
Of how a cowboy fell from grace.
Now this really is something awful,
There never was so sad a case.
One time I had myself a pardner,
I never knowed one quite so good;
We throwed our outfits in together,
And lived the way that cowboys should.
He savvied about wild cattle
Ad he was handy with a rope.
For a gentle well-reined pony,
Just give me one that he had broke.
He never owned no clothes but Levis,
He wore them until they was slick,
And he never wore no great big Stetson,
Cause where we rode the brush was thick.
He never had no time for women,
So bashful and shy was he,
Besides he knowed that they was poison
And so he always let them be.
Well he went to work on distant ranges;
I did not see him for a year.
But then I had no cause to worry,
For I knowed that one day he’d appear.
One day I rode in from the mountains,
A-feeling good and steppin’ light,
For I had just sold all my yearlin’s
And the price was out of sight.
But soon I seen a sight so awful
It caused my joy to fade away.
It filled my very soul with sorrow.
I will never forgit that day.
For down the street there come a-walkin’
My oldtime pardner of yore,
And although I know you will not believe me,
Let me tell you what he wore.
He had his boots outside his britches;
They was made of leather, green and red.
His shirt was of a dozen colours,
Loud enough to wake the dead.
Around his neck he had a ‘kerchief,
Knotted through a silver ring;
And I swear to Gawd he had a wrist-watch,
Who ever heard of such a thing!
Sez I, “Old scout now what’s the trouble?
You must have et some loco weed.
If you will tell me how to help you
I’ll get you anything you need.”
Well he looked at me for half a minute,
And then he begin to bawl;
He sez, “Bear with while I tell you
What made me take this awful fall.
“It was a woman from Chicago
Who put the Injun sign on me;
She told me that I was romantic,
And just as handsome as could be.”
Sez he, “I’m afraid there ain’t nothin’
That you can do to save my hide
I’m wrangling dudes instead of cattle,
I’m what they call a first-class guide.
“Oh I saddles up their pump-tailed ponies,
I fix their stirrups for them, too.
I boost them up on their saddles, and
They give me tips when I am through.
“It’s just like horses gone loco,
You cannot quit it if you try.
I’ll go on wranglin’ dudes forever,
Until the day that I shall die.”
So I drawed my gun and throwed it on him,
I had to turn my face away.
I shot him squarely through the middle,
And where he fell I left him lay.
I shorely hated for to do it,
For things that’s done you can’t recall,
But when a cowboy turns dude wrangler,
He ain’t no good no more at all.
We lived then in old mountain homesteads, cooked on wood fires and drank water from the creeks, and a trip to town was a full day’s effort. And now we whistle past at 110 kilometres an hour, from point to point with barely a nod to the country around us. Scotty Holmes, past Chief at Spahomin (or “Upper Nicola Band Indian Reserve #3”, as it’s called by various paternalizing government bodies) said to me the other day that when were riding in that country we never knew that we were in paradise, and now it’s gone.
Then down into Merritt for an all-candidates forum at the remarkable Nicola Valley Institute of Technology – more about NVIT later. Lots of excellent discussion with good people, and there will be more about that later too.
I walked out this morning through the bunchgrass slopes above the beautiful home John and Barbara Yellowlees have built high on the hillside above the Nicola River. It’s good to remind oneself every now and then that the grasses have been around, unchanged, for twenty million years or so. Human beings are astonishingly arrogant as we imagine ourselves to be the bosses of the planet. The grasses and the birds and the insects were here long before we arrived, and they’ll be here long after we’re gone.
Last night I pulled on my boots to go out and get something from the Kidder Camper, and John said something about me looking like a real cowboy now, with my boots outside my pants. I laughed and remembered this great poem by Gale Gardner. I had enormous fun reciting this once to my friend Tim Williams, who was wrangling dudes at the old Bar Q guest ranch in Ashcroft, while I was chasing cows for Bjorn Nielsen at the Mesa Vista. Tim wrote and sang great cowboy tunes, but never got to be a working cowboy – he laughed and laughed when I gave him this:
The Dude Wrangler
by Gale Gardner
I’ll tell you a sad, sad story
Of how a cowboy fell from grace.
Now this really is something awful,
There never was so sad a case.
One time I had myself a pardner,
I never knowed one quite so good;
We throwed our outfits in together,
And lived the way that cowboys should.
He savvied about wild cattle
Ad he was handy with a rope.
For a gentle well-reined pony,
Just give me one that he had broke.
He never owned no clothes but Levis,
He wore them until they was slick,
And he never wore no great big Stetson,
Cause where we rode the brush was thick.
He never had no time for women,
So bashful and shy was he,
Besides he knowed that they was poison
And so he always let them be.
Well he went to work on distant ranges;
I did not see him for a year.
But then I had no cause to worry,
For I knowed that one day he’d appear.
One day I rode in from the mountains,
A-feeling good and steppin’ light,
For I had just sold all my yearlin’s
And the price was out of sight.
But soon I seen a sight so awful
It caused my joy to fade away.
It filled my very soul with sorrow.
I will never forgit that day.
For down the street there come a-walkin’
My oldtime pardner of yore,
And although I know you will not believe me,
Let me tell you what he wore.
He had his boots outside his britches;
They was made of leather, green and red.
His shirt was of a dozen colours,
Loud enough to wake the dead.
Around his neck he had a ‘kerchief,
Knotted through a silver ring;
And I swear to Gawd he had a wrist-watch,
Who ever heard of such a thing!
Sez I, “Old scout now what’s the trouble?
You must have et some loco weed.
If you will tell me how to help you
I’ll get you anything you need.”
Well he looked at me for half a minute,
And then he begin to bawl;
He sez, “Bear with while I tell you
What made me take this awful fall.
“It was a woman from Chicago
Who put the Injun sign on me;
She told me that I was romantic,
And just as handsome as could be.”
Sez he, “I’m afraid there ain’t nothin’
That you can do to save my hide
I’m wrangling dudes instead of cattle,
I’m what they call a first-class guide.
“Oh I saddles up their pump-tailed ponies,
I fix their stirrups for them, too.
I boost them up on their saddles, and
They give me tips when I am through.
“It’s just like horses gone loco,
You cannot quit it if you try.
I’ll go on wranglin’ dudes forever,
Until the day that I shall die.”
So I drawed my gun and throwed it on him,
I had to turn my face away.
I shot him squarely through the middle,
And where he fell I left him lay.
I shorely hated for to do it,
For things that’s done you can’t recall,
But when a cowboy turns dude wrangler,
He ain’t no good no more at all.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Guest Blogger - George Neilson - RISE UP!
Good evening neighbours,
Anyone who knows me knows that after my family and my faith, my two biggest passions are: MY COUNTRY CANADA and THE BOSS, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN.
I felt the emotional pride swelling inside of me when Michael Ignatieff told us to RISE UP.
Yes in the words of the poet Bruce Springsteen, Ignatieff said to us we need to RISE UP.
RISE UP to save democracy here in the Okanagan and all across our land.
This election is not a sure thing for Harper as some will tell us.
I look to other events and indicators to take my resolve from and I ignore the Rupert Murdoch agenda of the CTV and Nanos Polling.
I see teenagers, university students, unemployed youth organizing flash mobs across this country.
I see a website put out by 5 young people from BC called www.ShitHarperDid.com that went viral in hours with over a million hits before crashing and then after getting back up adding another half million before the day was done.
I see scandal after scandal coming from the Tories on issues of every kind and they are being reported on.
I see that one and a half million Canadians have taken the CBC vote compass and the Conservatives are angry because the vast majority discover they are Liberals.
I see that 4 million Canadian voters tuned into the English language debate, the same number of Canadians that watched last year's Stanley Cup, a clear indicator people are watching and forming opinions.
Who are those people?
To me it means that the great undecided voters (over 30% of all voters) and those that used to vote but have stayed away lately (some 20% of all voters) are taking notice and not just a casual interest.
Those people, the forgotten people are watching, they are adding their voice, they are taking action be it with YouTube, Margaret Atwood twitters getting a twit, flash mobs and watching the debates but now it is real and we can measure it.
In political history when a movement forms that has the power to turn a campaign around the first things that always appears is larger public involvement matched with the growth of the undecided voter.
They don't like what is happening, they want to be included and their involvement leads to change.
At a point unknown to most pundits and spinners that vote jells and makes a decision that will upset what most had thought was a sure thing.
Michael Ignatieff and John Kidder say to them and they say to us RISE UP.
Across Canada other Liberal candidates are saying RISE UP.
There are certainly plenty of issues to RISE UP for but today I discovered one more that makes me echo THE BOSS.
Jean Chretien and Paul Martin took huge Conservative deficits and debts and turned them into surpluses. For Seven years yes count them 7 years in a row Canada was voted the best country in the world to live in all under Liberal Leadership.
So who and when was the Last Conservative Prime Minister who managed to take a Canadian Deficit and turn it into a surplus?
The Right Hon. John A Macdonald in 1889.
That's a hell of a long time ago. Never before and never since.
Each one of us can help, we each need to do a little more. This is the time for all good Liberals to come to the aid of our party and.........
Join with me RISE UP.
Join with John Kidder RISE UP
Join with Michael Ignatieff RISE UP
BUT most of all, join with Canadians and RISE UP.
Thank you and God Bless
George Nielson
www.johnkidder.ca
John Kidder our next MP.
Anyone who knows me knows that after my family and my faith, my two biggest passions are: MY COUNTRY CANADA and THE BOSS, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN.
I felt the emotional pride swelling inside of me when Michael Ignatieff told us to RISE UP.
Yes in the words of the poet Bruce Springsteen, Ignatieff said to us we need to RISE UP.
RISE UP to save democracy here in the Okanagan and all across our land.
This election is not a sure thing for Harper as some will tell us.
I look to other events and indicators to take my resolve from and I ignore the Rupert Murdoch agenda of the CTV and Nanos Polling.
I see teenagers, university students, unemployed youth organizing flash mobs across this country.
I see a website put out by 5 young people from BC called www.ShitHarperDid.com that went viral in hours with over a million hits before crashing and then after getting back up adding another half million before the day was done.
I see scandal after scandal coming from the Tories on issues of every kind and they are being reported on.
I see that one and a half million Canadians have taken the CBC vote compass and the Conservatives are angry because the vast majority discover they are Liberals.
I see that 4 million Canadian voters tuned into the English language debate, the same number of Canadians that watched last year's Stanley Cup, a clear indicator people are watching and forming opinions.
Who are those people?
To me it means that the great undecided voters (over 30% of all voters) and those that used to vote but have stayed away lately (some 20% of all voters) are taking notice and not just a casual interest.
Those people, the forgotten people are watching, they are adding their voice, they are taking action be it with YouTube, Margaret Atwood twitters getting a twit, flash mobs and watching the debates but now it is real and we can measure it.
In political history when a movement forms that has the power to turn a campaign around the first things that always appears is larger public involvement matched with the growth of the undecided voter.
They don't like what is happening, they want to be included and their involvement leads to change.
At a point unknown to most pundits and spinners that vote jells and makes a decision that will upset what most had thought was a sure thing.
Michael Ignatieff and John Kidder say to them and they say to us RISE UP.
Across Canada other Liberal candidates are saying RISE UP.
There are certainly plenty of issues to RISE UP for but today I discovered one more that makes me echo THE BOSS.
Jean Chretien and Paul Martin took huge Conservative deficits and debts and turned them into surpluses. For Seven years yes count them 7 years in a row Canada was voted the best country in the world to live in all under Liberal Leadership.
So who and when was the Last Conservative Prime Minister who managed to take a Canadian Deficit and turn it into a surplus?
The Right Hon. John A Macdonald in 1889.
That's a hell of a long time ago. Never before and never since.
Each one of us can help, we each need to do a little more. This is the time for all good Liberals to come to the aid of our party and.........
Join with me RISE UP.
Join with John Kidder RISE UP
Join with Michael Ignatieff RISE UP
BUT most of all, join with Canadians and RISE UP.
Thank you and God Bless
George Nielson
www.johnkidder.ca
John Kidder our next MP.
Follow John:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/John.Kidder.liberal
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kidderjohn
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