Now, I’m not a fan of facial hair, but Neil is, and he often sports a beard or mustache. You can imagine his delight when, for the first time in our relationship, he got my full and complete endorsement to grow a ‘mo! Naturally, he jumped at the chance.

‘Mo for Neil. ‘Mo-money for “Movember”. Bi-win!

We set up a ‘Mo Space, created a team Team Moustaž, invited people to join and sent-out lots of Emails to request donations. Neil shaved his beard and started growing his ‘mo in the second week of November, and we posted pics of the progress on our ‘Mo Space.

At first it was a bit disappointing because so few people we sent requests to donated. We would have been happy with several $10 donations. You know the old saying, “Penny upon penny makes many.” But, times are tough and people have to feel compelled to donate to a cause they believe in. Then we got a bit of surge and raised a little over $200, where it plateaued, and it looked like it was going to stay that way.

One day while digging through some stuff, I found my grandfather’s straight razor. Picking it up, opening it, turning it around in my hand, it inspired me. Thus, I concocted a nutty idea.

I showed the straight razor to Neil and told him about my nutty idea: We pledge that if we raised $500 I would shave around his moustache and ‘sculpt’ it. If we raised $1000 I would shave all of Neil’s face and neck. I’d do both versions with the straight razor. We’d film it & post it online. We hoped this idea would inspire more people to donate, if for no other reason than to watch me make a mistake. Neil was completely onboard and thought it was a great idea and kind of fun. He’s nutty too.

We fired off more Emails with more requests and declared our pledge. But still our total didn’t budge.

With one week remaining, we didn’t think we’d reach our goal of $500, and resigned ourselves to not doing this shaving idea.

Then on November 30 we got some last minute donations which brought our total to just over $500. We made our goal!

Now we had to make good on our promise. I had to figure out very quickly how to use a straight razor, see if my grandfather’s razor was in decent enough shape, and we had to coordinate a time with a friend around Neil’s busy schedule to film the shaving. Finally we had to take the time to edit the movie and post it to YouTube.

Here is the result… we hope you enjoy it! And please remember to keep the conversation going about men’s health issues!

Neil and Ingrid’s “Movember” Straight Razor Shave 2011

So, I went for a meander along the Internet pathways until I stumbled across Silver Firs Farms liquid castile soap tutorial. I will definitely take a day to try this, but because I want to make an all-purpose soap for hand washing dishes, I’ll take her advice and use only coconut oil. I’ll have to do some research as to why coconut oil is preferable.

As for laundry soap, I’ve been making my own for at least a year now. It’s really easy and works just as well as laundry detergent that’s full of weird sounding chemicals, petroleum by-products and perfumes that now give me a headache.

This is how I make it:
Combine in a large pot:
70g grated homemade soap
75g Borax
145g Washing Soda
4 litres water

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently until dissolved and clear. Cool and add essential oil of your choice. Pour into reusable container.

The soap will coagulate in the container when cool. Give it a good shake to loosen it up before pouring into washing machine dispenser. Adjust amounts to dispense according to need.

This is low sudsing and good for front-loading machines, and rinses out leaving little to no residue.

The scent will wash out, or be very mild, unlike commercial laundry detergent.

Blowing bubbles in the Puddle of Life

Ingrid

….He then made the dangerous return trip and handed over the toy to the mildly embarrassed mother. I looked around and all the parents within eye-sight were all smiling. I wish I had been able to thank him. Not a lot of people would do that.

This is a story my friend Brook posted on his Facebook wall. It definitely warms the heart and inspires one to see the good around you.

♥

RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS. I was taking a walk down Broadway, by Oak when I heard the troubled screams of a child. Glancing across the street, I saw a three or four year old boy being pushed by his mother, in a stroller. He was awash in tears and his mother was trying, in vain, to calm him. At that age it is difficult to tell what a child is saying, even when they aren’t upset. The child did not seem in danger but his wails had attracted the attention of almost everyone for blocks.Then I noticed a young man with a red backpack darting out into traffic. He shucked and jived his way through dangerous afternoon gridlock and scooped up a…… balloon.

Thank you!

Enjoy!

Things are moving along nice and gentle.

On Wednesday, June 16 I signed onto a Facebook group to help volunteer with Vancouver’s post-riot cleanup, but when I checked to see how much was left to clean the next morning, I was surprised to learn that over 80% of the affected areas had already been completed by 10am! I wondered what I could do, and suddenly it came to me.

Inspired by my involvement in the Peace Flag Project at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC in 2004, I decided to make flags and string them in front of the Bay downtown. I felt I had do something, and I felt that what people really needed was some way to create and produce, to transform their frustration, fear, anger and resentment into understanding, confidence, kindness and forgiveness. A force had been enacted upon the city and its citizens, and what was needed was to transform it from a negative force into a positive one.

Over the years I’ve kept quite a bit of left-over fabric from old sewing projects that I pulled out and decided to use. As I was ironing the fabric (yes, you read that right, ironed), and cut up the fabric into small squares, I began to meditate on the significance of flags.

Flags are symbolic. They unite and divide. They are passive and active. Their movement draws attention to them. They are mnemonic devices. They tell stories. They remind us of who we are. They remind us of who we can be. These flags would be reminders of kindness, uniting people in a common aim to express compassion and healing, and to remind us of the importance of altruism. My hope was that these flags would also remind people that it takes effort – concerted, concentrated and disciplined effort – to practice kindness.

Although it felt very strange to set out by myself, and I worried about how I would be perceived (would I look like a weird “artist” or a New Age “guru” or a crazy middle-aged lady pulling a cart of cardboard and boxes?), I gathered together various supplies for painting and drawing, a folding table, chair and little cart, bought some brushes, paint and string, cardboard to kneel on and paint on, and loaded it all into my car, summoned up courage and drove downtown.

I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even know if there would be space available to set-up in front of the Bay or if there would be construction and restoration work happening. When I arrived, I was amazed to find that the plywood covering the shattered store-front windows at the Bay were marked with expressions of shame over the riots and declarations of pride, love and hope for Vancouver.

The outside of the building was so clean! The thousands of people who came out in the morning to clean the city had done an outstanding job! Every inch of the facade of the Bay facing Georgia Street was sparkling. The soot and grime had been scrubbed off. The shards of glass swept away. Inside the display windows, you could see pieces of glass and broken mannequins, but outside, it looked great! It was when I saw two young men discretely light a sage smudging bundle and quietly talk between themselves and slowly walk past what is now known as the Wall of Hope, that I felt I had made the right choice to be there and do what I had set out to do. I was at the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

The people who cleaned overnight night and during morning started the tide of transformation, from hostility to caring, from anger to kindness. A volunteer told me how she and others had kneeled for hours picking up individual pieces of glass. One tiny piece after another, they carefully and painstakingly picked them up and put them in the garbage. She said she was tired and sore, but felt so good about her contribution. This is what makes Vancouver a great city to live in. And if it hadn’t been for their dedication and hard, hard work, I wouldn’t have had a place to set-up, and the hundreds of people who painted wouldn’t have been able to kneel on the ground and paint their flags.

And paint they did. By the droves! I thought maybe, just maybe there would be 20 or perhaps even 50 people who would be interested in painting Kindness Flags. I envisioned sitting by myself painting and drawing with a few people making some flags, but hoped it would become a kind of public art project, where the public would make something that would set in motion acts of creation to offset senseless acts of destruction. I hoped people would be interested and participate in it. I never expected it to explode into the outpouring of joyous activity that it became! It was incredible!

People were hungry to create, to express the need – the necessity – for kindness; to turn the aggression and negativity of the night before into a positive and joyful expression. The pile of little flags I had brought with me were used up within three hours. Almost 200 flags were painted and hung that day. And when we ran out, people were really disappointed. “Are you coming back tomorrow,” they said pleadingly. The people who emerged like angels from the crowd and helped me nodded encouragingly. “Yes,” I laughed. “It looks like I’ll be coming back… by popular demand!” The joy returned. The need would be met.

Of my helpers, Marie emerged from the crowd first. A stranger at first, she quickly became a terrific support. She walked up to me and asked me about this project. Was I doing this alone? Did the media know about it? She said this NEEDS to be exposed, and then she set out to bring someone over from CBC to interview me. Yikes! What should I say? She coached me: Be yourself. Talk to them with the same passion and conviction you’ve been talking to everyone else. You’ll be fine. CBC never came. Okay, their camera crew was milling about, but unfortunately, no reporter was available to do an interview.

A few radio stations interviewed me, as did some social network media administrators. Marie was the first on my “team” that day. She was GREAT! I was reminded of a TED Talk that said a movement is made, not by the first, but by the second. The second person to join gives others permission to do the same. That was Marie. She even ran into the Bay, got a sample of Chanel No. 19 and gave it to me. I had complained that it smelled of urine where I was standing. The best way to counter the smell, she reasoned, was to have the best, most expensive perfume wafting around me. She was right!

Then there was Iman. A lovely, lovely man who jumped in and helped. He and Marie pinned all the flags on the string and strung it from pillar to pillar along the exterior of the Bay. I looked over, and half a block down I saw them working, and they kept going, further and further down the block. There were definitely more than 20 or even 50 flags being strung!

Suddenly and serendipitously Neil emerged from the crowd! I was so happy to see him! My love, my strength, my support. He helped us suspend the string of flags above the crowd from the awning.

A few familiar faces also emerged, enveloping me in big hugs and lots of smiles. There were hugs from strangers. Someone gave me a box of croissants and suggested I pass them on to people if they were hungry. A wonderful woman gave me $50 for supplies for the next day. Another ran over to London Drugs and returned with several packages of markers. A guy donated some Sharpies. Yet more people asked what they could contribute tomorrow. Many asked if I wanted water, juice, coffee, food, anything. There was a tremendous feeling of concern and care. Everyone was so happy to have this opportunity to create. They were so grateful. I am just as grateful to them as they are to me. We are all creating something very, very special. What we have created is truly “Public Art”, in its purest, rawest, most essential form. We have created an expression of the public.

At one point, the crowds parted to reveal a man, standing quietly, smiling with twinkling eyes, looking on at all the people creating, expressing, producing. He emanated a joy and curiosity that was palpable. After a little while, he walked forward and said, “You need a Facebook group. I’ll do it for you.” Then he tucked his bag trustingly with mine, rolled up his sleeves and started to help. His name is Guy Dubé, and I suspect I have a friend for life in him. Another kind, compassionate, helpful and supportive person stepped forward. She had a camera and took a great many pictures of the hundreds of people drawing, writing and painting. She’s on a mission and wants to get this story out into the world. This is Vancouver. And this is what people should know about. Sure the riots will leave a scar. But look at your own body. There is more of you intact, inside and out, than the scars that you wear, regardless their severity. We need to look at things holistically and in perspective. Thanks to Janice Yip for her dedication to get the word out.

The next day, I returned with eight large bedsheets I had bought at Salvation Army. I replenished the paint supply and bought ten more brushes. I now had about 25 brushes on hand. People had dropped off markers and pastels the day before, and I had lots of string. When I returned to the Bay, there were people waiting for me and once again the project took off effortlessly, with wings outstretched.

This time two young men, Kam and Matt, emerged from the crowd and offered to attach the string along the building. After awhile I noticed they hadn’t returned, and when I looked down the block, I could see string stretched as far as the eye could see. I chuckled to myself and was amused by their enthusiasm. I foresaw a great deal of string-winding at the end of the day! I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Several hours later, Peter Julian, MP of Burnaby-New Westminster happened to stop by. He also made a flag, and wasn’t sure where to pin it, so I walked with him to show him where to pin it. The string that Kam and Matt enthusiastically attached to the building was now full of flags! It stretched to the end of the building and around the side! Finally, there was a small gap where we could hang Mr. Julian’s flag. I was in tears by now. I had no idea so many people had made so many Kindness Flags. The sentiments were touching, extremely personal and very uplifting.

I had a lot of help on the second day. Three of my former students from Douglas College, Jason, Stephanie and Mindy, came down to help in any way they could. Their bright smiles and happy dispositions added to the joy of the day. Guy returned. Janice came by with her camera. Later, a young woman who is involved in quite a few organizations and NGOs dropped by. She offered to help the next day, and made arrangements to organize an event at Blenz Coffee the following day at the corner of Richards and Georgia. My former students and Kam, who stayed all day helping, offered to help her. Blenz had almost all its glass shattered and the interior ransacked. Along with all the messages written on the boards covering the smashed windows, the Kindness Flag Project would hopefully cleanse that corner too.

Thre were probably around around 1500 flags made by the end of the second day. That’s all we had room for, and all the materials we had were used up. Neil appeared unexpectedly once again and hung the long, long string of flags under the awning in front of the Bay. People stopped. They talked. They wanted to tell their stories. They wanted to be heard. They wanted to express their fears and have them acknowledged. They wanted to transform the negative into the positive. It was extraordinary. They were doing the extraordinary.

The third day, outside Blenz, people made around 300 flags. The fourth day, outside Chapters on Howe and Robson, people made 100 flags. We started late, around 5pm, and it was Father’s Day. There were lots of little children, and the pictures were colourful, playful and joyful. Hope is being restored.

Paradoxically, I’m grateful to the hooligans. Why? Because if they hadn’t caused the riot, if they hadn’t smashed and looted, burned and destroyed, we, a public comprised of Vancouverites and people from Greater Vancouver and visitors from near and far, we wouldn’t have had such a strong and compelling reason to come together and express our unity, our friendliness, our commitment to kindness. Connections have been made, friendships formed. It might be cliché, but it’s true: Without darkness there would be no light.

The fluttering flags are a reminder of the importance of loving kindness. Perhaps their messages will be teased off in the wind and carried like pollen to fertilize more kindness elsewhere. And I hope that people around the city will continue this initiative so that the whole city is blooming in Kindness Flags. Marie hoped the whole world would be aflutter with flags! Kindness everywhere!

And from little acorns mighty oaks grow…

On Feb. 2, Outdoor Adventures Whistler posted a statement on the media page of their website that is apparently a joint statement between Outdoor Adventures Whistler (OAW) and Bob Fawcett. It complicated, rather than cleared, things up.

The WCB Review Decision WCBDogCase2010.pdf, included a summary of a “statutory declaration” submitted by Fawcett’s lawyer.

I wondered what a statutory declaration was and looked it up on the Law Society of BC’s webpage. Here’s an excerpt of the page.

and in section 69 of the Evidence Act, RSBC 1996, c. 124:
Statutory declarations
69. A gold commissioner, mayor or commissioner authorized to take affidavits, or any other person authorized by law to administer an oath in any matter, may receive the solemn declaration of any person voluntarily making it before him or her in attestation of the execution of any writing, deed or instrument, or of the truth of any fact, or of any account rendered in writing, in the following words:
I, A.B., solemnly declare that [state the facts declared to], and I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing it to be true and knowing that it is of the same legal force and effect as if made under oath.

So what this means is it’s a legally binding statement, and that the person making the statement is swearing that they’re telling the truth.

So, let’s break this down:

In the joint statement between OAW and Mr. Fawcett, it says Fawcett advised Outdoor Adventures that he would be euthanizing approximately 50 dogs because they were sick and old.

Yet in his statutory declaration Fawcett claims he was instructed to put down 100 dogs by his employer.

Earlier in the WCB document, it states that Fawcett’s original Application for Compensation filed on May 7, 2010, claimed he had to put down approximately 70 dogs. The Employer’s Report of Injury that was filed on May 18, 2010, indicated Fawcett put down 100 dogs.

It doesn’t indicate anywhere in the WCB document why the dogs had to be put down, but it does state that a veterinarian had been contacted who had refused to euthanize healthy animals.

Faced with the monumental task of putting down so many dogs, the employee felt he had no other choice but to shoot them all in full view of the other dogs who were slated to be killed. Like I said before, it was like a Dog Concentration Camp, complete with mass grave.

Outdoor Adventures first issued a statement on Jan. 31, 2011 stating the employee (Bob Fawcett) submitted both the employee report and the employer’s report to WCB.

This is a serious allegation indeed. Did Fawcett lie on his statutory declaration? Why the contradiction between the joint statement and statutory declaration?

Furthermore, why did Joey Hussian, as the owner of Outdoor Adventures not inquire as to the methods that would be taken to carry-out such a massive “cull”? No matter how you look at it, 50 dogs or 100 dogs – either way, that’s a lot of dogs. And you’d think that the parent company, Outdoor Adventures, would want to ensure that its subsidiary, Howling Dog Tours, would be handling it humanely. And corporations don’t operate without human intervention -corporations as a concept, don’t have brains- so Joey Hussian would have a hand in the operation of both companies. As such, he should be held personally accountable for allowing an inhumane activity to take place within his company. When you think about the morality of the situation, the reasons for the employee carrying it out, the reasons for other employees in the company to be complicit in it, and the reasons for Hussian for being passive in his role, perhaps this article from the Globe and Mail can give us some insight.

I found a very good Letter to the Editor in the Whistler Question. Here’s the link, but to make it easier for you to read, I’m posting it below. It is well written and addresses some of the questions I have, in a more eloquent and succinct manner.

Finally, I’ve been reading about the death threats sent to Outdoor Adventures, Bob Fawcett and Howling Dog Tours Canmore, and I don’t understand why anyone would think that’s a good idea. What the hell does threatening someone’s life solve? Does it bring back the dogs? Does it solve similar problems that might arise in the future? I understand the outrage and frustration people are feeling, but I don’t believe in “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” That’s just feeding into the old militaristic escalation of force paradigm.

If they want to do something, they could transfer that anger and energy to lobbying government to give animals better rights and to strengthen the laws against the inhumane treatment of animals. Instead of writing death threats, they could write their MLA, MP, or a letter to the editor of their local paper. Or blow off some steam by going to the local animal shelter and volunteering their time with the animals there.

Or attend the Dog Walk For Change on Feb. 12 in Whistler. Or start another one closer to home. In the end, little by little, we can make a difference, and little by little, with more and more people, we can make a big difference.

Here’s the Letter to the Editor from the Wistler Question:

Letters
A response to OAW

February 2, 2011
Dear Editor,
The killing of one dog simply because it is of no use to your business is unacceptable; the massacre of 100 dogs is an atrocity.
On January 31, 2011 Outdoor Adventures at Whistler (OAW) released a statement in response to the public outcry, and pending BCSPCA and RCMP’s investigation into the slaughter of 100 sled dogs. The statement begins by denying any knowledge of “the regrettable and tragic events regarding the cull of animals at Howling Dog Tours Whistler Inc. [and that further]…”OAW did not instruct the General Manager to carry out the call in the manner described in the [WCB] report”.
I would first like to take issue with their use of the word “cull”.  Culling is the process of removing animals from a group based on specific criteria; either to reinforce desirable characteristics or to remove undesirable characteristics. In this regard, perhaps OAW can clarify what characteristics they were attempting to reinforce or remove from dogs who, were it not for the economic downturn, would still be performing physically superior tasks.
OAW goes on to state that they were “aware of the relocation and euthanization of dogs at Howling Dogs in April 2010 but it was [their] expectation that it was done in a proper, legal and humane manner.” As an active animal advocate, I have no recollection of a call to the public or rescue organizations for assistance in ‘relocating’ these dogs. Perhaps, OAW can be more specific on the exact efforts that they and/or Howling Dog made in their attempts to place these dogs.
Further, by their statement above, they do admit to approving the policy to kill those dogs who were not located. Let’s be honest, while perhaps ‘legal,’ there is nothing ‘proper’ or ‘humane’ about killing perfectly healthy dogs simply because they are no longer profitable.
While OAW claims to have the authority to instruct the General Manager of Howling Dogs to remove and kill the dogs, they go on to deny any operational control of the company.
“While OAW has had a financial interest in Howling Dogs for 4 years the operational control of the company remained with the employee referred to in the WCB ruling who was the General Manager of Howling Dogs at the time of the incident.”
Again, perhaps OAW can clarify how they have the control to instruct the General Manager in what he should do, but have no control over in how he does it. From a solely business perspective, one would assume that OAW would be as concerned with how things are done as they are with what is done. Ultimately, both impact the bottom line.
It is also not clear to me how OAW can claim that they only found out about these events on Jan. 28 after reading the WCB ruling, when, by their own admission, “Not long after the events of late April, the employee in question ceased managing the business. This employee continues to get our support as he heals from his injuries and illness.”
While it is not clear what they mean in terms of support, it is written in the context that the employee is receiving financial support from OAW. Are we to believe then that, after years of employment, OAW not only accepted the resignation (or absence) of their General Manager, but they also provided him with ongoing financial support without any knowledge of the reasons behind his ending his employment and ongoing health issues?
Excuse me if I am remiss in believing that any company would provide ongoing financial support to an employee on leave without any questions asked.
Finally, the statement ends with a list of the changes that have occurred, since May 2010, all of which sound very positive, but raise a couple of questions.
1. If OAW was not responsible for the Howling Dogs operations and thereby unaware of the atrocities that were committed, why is it that a month after this massacre, sweeping changes were supposedly put in place?
2. What conditions were the dogs living in prior to these changes? (One changed identified creation of an open-pen style kennel where dogs are not tethered or chained).
I suppose it is not surprising that OAW is not taking any responsibility for their part is this tragedy; my only hope is that they are held criminally responsible for their reprehensible acts.
In closing, let it be said that I have no sympathy for the General Manager, who has now claimed himself a victim. He could have refused to do this. He could have contacted rescue organizations and asked for help — believe me, they would have come.
He could have and he should have called the BCSPCA and the RCMP.
Howling Dogs… how fitting, as we can only imagine the cries of the 100 who suffered so greatly.
Kathy Powelson
Paws for Hope
VANCOUVER