One ends....the NEXT Begins!

Here it is New Year's Eve. A night of celebration (with the HOW depending upon your age)....capped off by the start of a whole new year ahead. A time for reflection, renewal, and focus….the anticipation of what lies ahead and appreciation of life experiences of the past.

Thinking back to this date, last year…back to California with its plus 18 degree days (compared to today’s -10 here in Niagara) and standing in shorts and sandals anticipating the 125^th Rose Parade the next day. Bright sun, blue skies….just like today,

There, sitting in the grandstands at Pasadena Community College, enjoying the honoured high school bands…

that were selected three years in advance after a rigorous juried process that includes audition tapes and the documentation of parades and awards.  It’s infectious, when you see a 300 plus member high school band and colour guard marching their routes and formations, and playing their music. And it’s even harder to imagine the work that these teens, their families and their small American town supporters had to achieve in order that they participate.

Now, you have to realize that the Rose people don’t just write a cheque once that band has been selected….no way. The band members have to raise the necessary funds for transportation, food and shelter while they are at the parade. I can't imagine the budget needed to achieve that...food costs for teenagers alone times 300!!!!  While it’s a sense of pride and accomplishment, once selected, the hard work begins…..fundraising on a grand scale, accomplished by a myriad of sales techniques and products.

L.A. SCHOOLS UNIFIED H.S. BAND

WESTFIELD H.S.BAND, Chantilly, Virginia

Internationally acclaimed High School Band, Japan

Stories from smaller one high school towns talked of cookie dough sales, raffles and bake sales and in one particular location, the school band members sold mattresses on their three year quest to do the nine kilometers up Orange Grove Boulevard and down Colorado to the delight of hundreds of thousands...many who have lined the parade route overnight to ensure their special viewing spot.

Traditions are everywhere at this time of the year and the Tournament of Roses Parades are no exception.  Huge crowds of all ages gather on this night on the sidewalks along the parade route. Old chairs, chesterfields, mattresses and Barbeques magically appear and as the night air chills…the party gets going…..it’s food and beverages and gatherings of friends and families prepping for the big event the next day…while protecting their turf.

Precisely, at midnight, they can move from the curbs and sidewalks onto the street to the blue line painted to designate the parade borders. These activities are closely monitored by the local police supplemented by LA County sheriff deputies and other local agencies…and they are prepared for the worst while the celebrating continues. I’ve never seen so many paddy wagons lined up in columns in the Pasadena City hall parking lot….had to be over 50.

Early morning awaiting daylight  & the Parade

Tomorrow’s parade starts annually at 8 a.m. local time…and the town rises early to get everything into position…the floats are lined up in the evening and must be in position for judging to commence at 10 p.m. on New Years Eve…but, with the three hour time shift, that’s an hour after the ball drops in Times Square.

So the tradition, happening tonight, in the Pasadena area is to celebrate with New York, toast the midnight Crystal Ball drop at nine p.m. locally, and then grab some shut eye before an early rising to pre-parade requirements.

As sure as night follows day….tomorrow will be next year.

NEXT UP: THE TOURNAMENT OF ROSES

Whether to...AND....Weather Too !!!

....remember the Christmas Carol goes...
"So the weather outside is frightful..."

Well here at home it's currently delightful!....was plus eight a couple of days ago....that's celsius and with an overnight low between freezing and plus 2 it's been quite pleasant. It's been a green Christmas & Boxing Day.

This holiday season has been a pleasant change from the seasonal norm.  It's a far cry from last year when Toronto was plagued by the ice and snow for many days around the Christmas..and had huge electrical issues...how soon we try to forget!

So tonight I wanted to compare our weather in Niagara and what is happening in Nunavut. I shouldn't have...makes the decision to go north...just a bit more difficult.
The following headline listed.

Active Advisory: Winter Weather Statement

Well, it actually looked like this:

So, to review...Current temp -26C feels like -43 with the Wind Chill ...

Winds from the North at 46 km/hr gusting to 59...and it also says it's going to be cooler tomorrow...and it went on to give the following warning:

Blizzard Warning for the Kivalliq area
updated by Environment Canada
at 2:19 p.M. CST Sunday 28 December 2014.
---------------------------------------------
Blizzard Warning for:
      Arviat
      Rankin Region Including Whale Cove
      Chesterfield Inlet
      Baker Lake
      Repulse Bay. 

These are all communities that feed patients into the Health Centre in Rankin Inlet....and tells me that the airport has been quiet and no one is moving....schools are already closed for the holidays...they won't be affected....but depending on how long this has been going on...and, more importantly, how has it affected the people!  

The weather statements also advises to remain in place with travel not attempted. This also means that any Medivac emergency transfers to Winnipeg will have been delayed with onsite staff needing to provide the care....for a whole myriad of possibilities...anyone requiring abdominal surgeries, high risk deliveries and head and spine injuries...just to name a few. It can be a scary time for those involved (on both sides:patients & families and also staff), but we've done it before...and in the ways of the North....we cope.

That's the reward of being there! Genuine appreciation for those extra efforts!

NEXT UP: The Decision Gets Closer

 

RETAILING IN THE NORTH

The end of 2014 fast approaches...2015 is only a couple of days away....and on the horizon is the organizing.  Yesterday's blizzard in the Kivillaq region of Nunavit gave me the reality check that I had better look into some warm clothes....just in case. With the Boxing week sales being on, it was  a good time to start.

I also had to drop off equipment at Nikon Canada for some recalibration and adjustments...so combined both tasks stopping afterwards at Sherway Gardens. It's definitely one of Canada's mega merchandising emporiums...soon with 75 more stores including a Noordstrum's and a Saks Fifth Avenue in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Now I know why I hate large malls. Many of the chains use the cookie cutter approach to layout, lighting,  shelving and merchandising. The key redeeming thing is the people, those hardworking retail staffers. They make the whole experience palatable and even pleasant

A sign caught my interest in the Eddie Bauer store. It read Live your adventure...was this an omen???

 Looking at it, made me momentarily drift back to my adventure 7 years ago...standing in the Northern Store. In Rankin Inlet, the goods available are quite different. Very few stores in southern Ontario sell ammunition, Duck and Geese decoys along with fresh vegetables, canned and dry packaged food along with washers, dryers, stoves and fridges. For your transportation needs they stock quad cycles, snow mobiles and outboard motors. Not sure if online shopping has developed there....may find out soon.

If you look at the prices and the specials....you may never complain about your food prices again!!!!
CLICK HERE to see the NORTHERN Flyer Specials to December 31st

I could imagine the scene in the local Northern or the Co-op...not sure if they have a Boxing week sale  but this time of year they have calendars. Since my adventure 7 years ago, I usually get a calendar from one of  the staff at the Health Centre and look forward to it each year. I might even be able to bring my own home this year!

And while researching for material for this blog, I discovered that the Northern store was one of 122 (SOME in Alaska as well as Canada's provinces) and is owned by:

 

Yes, the same company that brought you "Pemmican" and those fur trading "Coureur des bois" in the sixteen and 1700's !

In fact, you will be quite surprised that they are not only retailing in northern Canada but also in the the Caribbean, South Pacific and Alaska. In Niagara, one store chain stands out!!!! Giant Tiger!!!

Coming Up: DECISIONS.....DECISIONS

The Electronic Callback

Well, it happened !!!!! The seven year stretch is over....I've had a new calling... not a voice in the receiver but an email this time.  The email had originated on a Friday...December 12 (less that two weeks before Christmas).

Seven years and three days after the last calling (there are some dates that are not forgotten).  It was from:
KIVALLIQ  HEALTH  CENTRE, 
RANKIN  INLET,  NUNAVUT.

                 Kivalliq Health Centre under construction 10 years ago in June 2004

So, I guess I'd better go back seven years and try to explain a bit for those not aware of my Arctic Adventure in 2008 ( briggsarcticadventure.blogspot.com )
Hoping not to bore, I'll give it the quick (for me) 1....2.

1.  I had retired from Niagara Health System in 2005 (after 37 years at SCGH) and had continued working part-time relief for a local radiology clinic group. 
2. In December 2007, I was asked to provide radiography coverage for the Rankin Inlet Health Centre for most of January 2008...and I did!!!!

So, that's the quick 1...2.  I traveled north and then returned to Niagara in late January...an experience that I documented thoroughly at the time.....And now, late on a friday evening, I was reading an email from Matt in Nunavut asking me to contact him ASAP regarding an urgent need in the north....could I help out?????  Wow.

Then some of the memories came flooding back.....the good, the bad and the cold. Seven years later, so much had changed, yet many things were still the same...BUT I was also 7 years older...could I do it????? Mentally...physically...and what did he need?  We needed time to talk this out, at home, to think about ALL the options, concerns and requirements...It was a long methodical analysis....It took all weekend.

 Monday afternoon, I pressed the one...and then 8...6...7...(the area code for Rankin Inlet), the health centre number and placed a call to Matt just 72 hours after his request had arrived. The conversation started and the questions were asked.

NEXT TIME:    ???Considerations???