Scrivner

…arrived today!  1000 of them to distribute and encourage (or harass) people into reading my stuff.  Here’s the front:

The back of the card didn’t scan up very well because it’s a washout of the front design with some more encouragement (harassment) to have people contact me for an interview.

And since we’re on the subject of harassment, let me encourage y’all out there in ether-land to read me at www.examiner.com/calgary .  I’m located under the Sports and Recreation tab in Geocaching.  I’m the recreation, as always.

See you there! (..and don’t forget to subscribe or I’ll have to harass you some more….)

On a clear day, can you really see forever?  No, but you can see up to 150 kilometres unassisted claim the folks at the Calgary Tower.  Sitting 160 metres (525 feet) above ground, there is much to be seen from the observation deck – and perhaps you might find some version of forever up there. 

            Take yourself on a field trip and explore this city from a different perspective.  Let’s see if you can find these items:

Looking North:

*Centre Street Bridge – site of the gangster movie Prime Cut (1972) starring Gene Hackman and some other people who are not so famous.

            *Chinatown – home of some of the best rice vermicelli around.

            *Bow River – because of being glacier fed, its blue-green hue is unique.  Something you can’t tell from up close.

            *Calgary International Airport – way out there, bring your binoculars.

            *LRT/C-Train – probably the best way to get to the Tower as (you will see) there is no parking metres to be found for miles.  Bing-bong.

            *City Hall – where you won’t see a secret passageway inside leading to an unused LRT tunnel.  But you will see the building.

            *Municipal Building – this very prominent tiered structure looks like a triangular set of steps.  Stairway to taxes, anyone?

            *Performing Arts Centre  - where they perform like arts…and stuff. 

            *Calgary Public Library – they’re very serious about not taking the coffee inside you just purchased at the coffee shop connected to the building (security at front doors and everything).  The Tower, on the other hand, is coffee-in-hand friendly.

            *Police HQ – another place that doesn’t mind one holding a Chai Latte, unless they’re in cuffs, of course.

            *Olympic Plaza – flooded for splashing in summer and skating in winter, just call it Calgary’s giant bathtub.

Looking East:

            *CP Rail – watch the trains head toward Saskatchewan and hum a little Stompin’ Tom Connors to yourself.  No one will mind.  Really.

            *Calgary Zoo – local folklore has it that Dinny the Dinosaur was painted bright green with the surplus bridge paint.  But not so bright that you can make him out from here.

            *City Transit Bus Barn – contrary to popular opinion they don’t hold rodeos on Thursday evenings, not even the occasional petting zoo.

            *Saddledome – the architecture of the building speaks for itself.  Ride ‘em, er… colossal-sized cowboy?

Looking South:

            *Talisman Centre – or the thing that looks like a big circus tent.  No, it’s not a car lot.

            *Chinook Mall – the gigantic beetle crawling down the side of the building is not visible from here but can still give you the shivers.

            *Glenmore Reservoir and Dam – which used to be the site of a popular picnic area.  The tables don’t float.

            *Rocky Mountains – pointy.

            *The Red Mile  - 17^th Avenue just doesn’t look the same in the daytime/non-hockey-game nights with everyone keeping their shirts on but still a sight.

Looking West:

            *Palliser Hotel – Gene Hackman in Prime Cut again.

            *Banker’s Hall – visit the Tower during office hours and see bankers at work.

            *Knox United Church – the tiny stone building with huge stained glass windows dwarfed by the skyscrapers.  That’s the one.

            *University of Calgary Campus – you can’t see the 1984 time capsule buried in Scurfield Hall under a stairwell…but you can imagine.

            *Alberta College of Art and Design – with famous graduates – my sister-in-law, Wendy, being one.

            *Jubilee Auditorium  - another place where taking the C-train is probably your best bet.

            *McMahon Stadium – there was an old Tonight Show joke around here once but was cancelled due to lack of laughter.

Unexpected Sights in the Gift Shop:

            *Pepper mills in the shape of the Calgary Tower – elevator not included.

            *Pens that have water and tiny floating towers in them – purchase your very own Tower and get great penmanship all at once.

            *Maple syrup in bottles in the shape of…. – a definite theme in the gift shop

People you might meet on the Observation Deck:

            *Families that would like you to take their photo – which rarely turns out if they are standing against the window – too much light behind them.  It’s true.

            *People looking east and humming Stompin’ Tom Connors – see above.

            *Window washers – they don’t like to be distracted.

            *People looking for change – to plug into the pay-binoculars.

            *Little kids looking for a step up – windows begin at about 4 feet off the ground, but kids love to sit on the window ledge and scare their parents by banging on the glass.

            *Tourists carrying pepper mills in the shape of… – couldn’t resist.

            Hope your field trip to the Calgary Tower is full of fun and surprises and a few of these listed items!  For more ‘serious’ facts about the Tower, including admission and hours of operation, visit www.CalgaryTower.com.

“In Canada we are developing a pattern of life and I know something about one block of that pattern…I helped make it…”

            October is Canadian Woman’s History Month and what better way to celebrate than to realize one of the most influential people to ever grace the Wild West, Nellie McClung.  Born October 20, 1873, she epitomizes the prairie woman: hard working, determined, industrious, and passionate.  Her story includes the Depression, both World Wars and Prohibition.  Although she instigated many advancements in the welfare of women and children, she is best known for being one of the ‘Famous Five’ and the ‘Person’s Case’. 

“The women of Alberta have always been tireless in their in their pursuit of knowledge and human betterment.”

            Women were gaining ground at the turn of the last century.  Moving into the every aspect of the work force, two Albertan women had a profound effect on what was to become a pivotal change in the British North America (BNA) Act, section 24.  Judge Emily Murphy from Edmonton and Judge Alice Jamieson from Calgary were both challenged as to whether or not their rulings were valid because of a small clause that stated only persons could hold a certain positions of power, including the Senate.  That clause was understood to signify only male persons, an obstacle for the female Judges.  And that’s where McClung stepped in.

“To the province of Alberta belongs the credit for clearing up the vexed question of whether or not women are persons, according to the laws of the British Empire.”

            The Famous Five were assembled in Edmonton, including McClung, Judge Murphy, Irene Parlby, member of the Alberta Cabinet, Louise McKinney, an ex-MLA, and Henrietta Edwards, author of Laws Relating to Women.  The plan was to petition for an interpretation of the BNA Act in a well-crafted letter and send it off to Ottawa.  Their answer came a most unpleasant way nearly one year later.  Read in the newspaper: Supreme Court of Canada upholds the ruling that women are not Persons.

“Never retreat, never apologize – get the thing done and let them howl.”

            Down but never defeated the women assembled once more to change strategies.  Instead of the Supreme Court they decided to appeal to the Privy Council.  The only hurdle was that they had no money to pay a lawyer.  So, again, another letter was written, this time to the Prime Minister Mackenzie King asking for financial support.  Yes was the reply and their petition was taken before the Council.  More than two years after their initial movement, the Famous Five, as well as all Canadian women, were rewarded with the newspaper headline:  Privy Council Declares that Women are Persons!     McClung followed this up with a newsworthy story of her own:  Now that We are Persons.

“Chivalry is a poor substitute for justice, if one cannot have both.”

            McClung eventually married, having first picked out a reasonable perspective mother-in-law.  While raising small children, she rallied for the women’s right to vote in Manitoba.  Her parody play, “Why Men Should Have the Vote,” went a long way to sway the public opinion on the matter.  She left Manitou just before the bill was finally passed.  A free spirit, she called each province in Western Canada ‘home’ at some point, as well as being a guest lecturer across Canada and the U.S.

“For generations women have been thinking, and thought without expression is dynamic and gathers volume by repression.  Evolution when blocked and suppressed becomes revolution.” 

            But McClung didn’t stop there.  In her lifetime she carried the title of pioneer teacher, author of fifteen books, suffragist, social reformer, lecturer, and legislator.  Elected in Calgary as the Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1921, she spoke independently of her party and fought single-handedly for many social issues including free dental and medical care for school age children, married women’s property rights, mother’s allowances and old age pensions.  She was not re-elected in 1926.  It has been said that all of her occupations worked together to fuel the desire to improve the rights for Canadian women.  She has been called a crusader yet a practical leader.

“I want to leave something behind when I go; some small legacy of truth, some word that will shine in a dark place.”

A statue of McClung and the other ‘Famous Five’ grace Parliament Hill today.  As well she was honoured on the 8-cent stamp for her work in the ‘Person’s Case’ on its 100^th Anniversary.  This month wonder not about heroines in far off lands, we happen to have one in our own backyard.  Thank you, Nellie – your truth shines on.