Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 13, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba Editor. Brian Cole / 697-7044 in Etc it i n or focus warn no i Imam sunday free press q Winnipeg. July 13. 1997 relative stability is enough Houseboat fiction Roll with the Waves some Day id like to read a Hook about the Way that the grand events of our lives seem rooted in random twists of Fate. My Friend for example purchased a Platter of Chicken at the supermarket took it Home and discovered that it was Rotten. Marching Back to the store he confronted the manager. After some heated debate my Friend commiserated with a passing shopper. They talked met again and later married. Now he is haunted by the possibility that if not for a substandard package of Chicken his 12-year-old daughter might not exist. Other sectors of life seem less arbitrary. If a Young person decides that they want to become a dancer or a helicopter Pilot there a nothing to prevent that and in fact our ambitions Are usually close to what we become. Astronauts often report having chosen their vocations when they were Only six or seven. My buddy Brian used to affect a Trench coat and a plywood Tommy gun on halloween. The last i heard of him he was doing to years in the big House. When i was 21,1 told my Mother that i had two main goals in life to write books and live on a Houseboat. Decades later i have to accept that in be done both. Be careful what you done to wish for you might not get it. In a not sure Why i insisted on lumping them together but As it turns out a writing career has tied in nicely with Houseboat life. As any novelist will admit the construction of a Book i top jul i juju Juji with m Jake or Macdonald is a tedious affair and if you can work in a studio where an occasional Otter or snapping Turtle drops by so much the better. My first writing studio Houseboat was modelled after Huck finns a floating raft with a crooked Cabin nailed atop. I would have been Happy with an in crooked Cabin but since i Only had an main English which qualifies you to drive a cab anywhere in North american had to teach myself the basics of carpentry and the results were not pretty. The flotation consisted of 16 Gas Drums each of which in accordance with archimedes principle happily supported about 450 pounds of Houseboat. Unfortunately the houseboats total weight was Only a few Hundred pounds shy of the total buoyancy of the Drums so when visitors came aboard the situation became rapidly fluid. At that time i was working on a Book called the Bridge out of town. Like Sam the character in some of the stories id feel the Houseboat shift when unexpected visitors came aboard. Sometimes they would experience the same Fate As the charac ters who hammered their Way across the pages. Fred and Tom two Opp constables dropped by one night to help me Rig up an Antenna for my Short wave radio. Unfamiliar with the houseboats unique characteristics they climbed the gangplank and attempted to come Down the narrow Side Walkway. A portly duo they easily topped 250 pounds apiece not counting boots guns etc., and since the Houseboat liked to keel Over slowly they spent a few tense moments trying to find Paw holds on the sheer plywood Wall before commending themselves to the Lily pads. Like a clumsily written first novel that Houseboat ultimately Sank but proved to be a great learning experience for my second one a Pagoda roofed eight sided Cedar cottage that has enough flotation to take on a boarding party of 20 dinner guests without flinching. It has been in commission now for 15 years and a writer ask for a better hideaway. On summer mornings i work on the front deck with hummingbirds buzzing around the window boxes and ducks swimming by. When i feel like a break i pick up the Ever present fishing Rod Chuck a few casts and try to figure out the next few paragraphs. If its a wet night there a nothing More pleasant than tapping away at a Story with muted Thunder rain and the late night Csc in the background. Sometimes events or characters like Fred and Tom show up and work their Way into a Story. Sometimes there is something about houseboats and writing that mesh. Characters work their Way out. While writing a new novel entitled Juliana and the Medicine fish i tried to imagine a great fish an almost mythical beast that is pursued by a Young girl whose emotional survival depends on capturing it. Many nights i thought of the fictional fish swimming through the dark Waters beneath the Houseboat and gradually As characters do the Medicine fish assumed a life of its own. Several weeks ago the novel was published and to celebrate my pal Doug and i took a few Days off to go fishing. Late in the evening while Drifting on Glassy water with an Orange Sun burning Down into mountainous Clouds in the West the largest fresh water fish in be Ever seen broke the water. As Large As a kayak it came Halfway out of the water before its own weight took Over and it crashed Back Down. A a there a your Medicine fish a a remarked Doug. We had Stout heavy rigged Musky rods in the boat. But neither of us made any attempt to catch the thing and ruin the moment. Slice of life is a weekly column featuring Manitoba writers. Jake Macdonald is a Winnipeg writer whose novel Juliana and the Medicine fish has just been published by great Plains to the editor piercing Story missed dangers i would like to suggest that you have been quite irresponsible in a reporting on the recent fad of piercing of the lips and Tongue without speaking to knowledgeable people who Are aware of the dangers of Oral piercing. To present your article As published and not talk of the dangers of these procedures leads the Young people who read your article to make this appear As if it was a harmless procedure which anyone should consider without thinking of the serious and possibly life Long effects. In a recent article in our Canadian dental association journal some of the very serious consequences have been brought to Light. Here Are just a few of those problems 1. Broken Teeth from biting on the Tongue Barbell or ring while eating. Some cases have now been reported of Teeth that have been fractured so badly they had to be removed or crowded As a result of inadvertently biting this Tongue jewelry. 2. Speech problems that have not disappeared even after removing the Tongue jewelry. As any speech therapist will explain the Tongue is used to create the speech patterns we All enjoy. With the addition of any of the studs or rings the Tongue now has to relearn How to pronounce certain sounds and speech is affected quite seriously. I have seen cases where speech has been permanently changed to a Point where the patients Are difficult to understand a even after the studs were removed. 3. Habits such As biting on the ring or playing with the ring have caused permanent Wear of the biting edges of the Teeth which have to be rebuilt by the dentist. 4. Lip piercing has also been shown to cause permanent damage. Cases How to reach us the free press welcomes letters from readers. Letters must be signed and should include a clearly printed name address and Telephone number. Names will be published but not addresses. All letters May be edited for style and length. Short letters Are less Likely to be condensed. Please address letters to letters to the editor Winnipeg free press 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg r2x 3b6. Letters can be sent to our fax number 697-7412. Letters May be submitted through the internet at . Letters sent via the internet obviously cannot be signed but must include Home address and Telephone number. Have been reported where a permanent drool had been created and the lip has remained permanently enlarged and inflamed. 5. Permanent numbness persistent bleeding or an immovable blood vessel clot Are some of the potential consequences of Tongue piercing while jewelry worn through the Cheek can cause damage to both the Teeth and Cheek. I would suggest to you that you take More care in the future in reporting on such outrageous fads a in particular to Many of the Young people who might use your printed article to show their parents and legitimize a procedure that can cause permanent disfigurement. Or. Morley i. Bernstein Winnipeg god training loss hurts Rural centres upon Reading the june 24 article entitled funding fight threatens pro Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 a Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 Rudy Redekop publisher email . Ca Nicholas Hirst editor Brian Cole i editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown / circulation sales and marketing Laurie Finley advertising Verne Kalichuk / human resources Glenn Williams i finance and administration a 1997 Winnipeg free press a division of . Newspapers division of Thomson Canada limited published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg. Manitoba r2x 3b6, pm 697-7000 a member of the Manitoba press Council vol 125 no 187 Gram i Felt compelled to respond being both a graduate of the Parkland family practice residency program and a practising physician in Rural Manitoba. What i feel health minister Darren Praznik fails to recognize is the potential Impact the loss of this highly successful program will have on the health care of Many Rural Manitoban. This is the Only program in Manitoba specifically designed to train doctors to function with Comfort and competence in Rural Remote settings. As Rural Manitoban Are Only too aware there is an Ever increasing shortage of physicians to staff emergency rooms deliver infants and care for the elderly not to mention other health care concerns that significantly affect the Quality of life in our communities. The Manitoba government should facilitate the staffing of Rural hospitals with Manitoba trained physicians by supporting Manitoba a Only Rural based physician training program. Instead we Are jeopardizing the health care of Many Rural communities by allowing the closure of this nationally renowned program. In conclusion i would Challenge the ufos of the Rural based regional health authorities to join together in support of the Parkland program As even at their outset one of their greatest challenges is to ensure an adequate base of Well trained physicians to serve their regions. Or. Joy Hataley Carma still waiting for the Jam regarding the perpetually imminent economic Boom Clouds Dot tory Blue sky by Frances Russell dec. 18 reminds me of the English saying a Jam yesterday Jam tomorrow but never Jam patiently waiting. Ray Kat Haroon Winnipeg adopting wildlife not always a help on june 26, your paper ran a frontage photo and a Brief Story about a woman who had rescued some orphaned ducklings. It was a heartwarming tale and demonstrated that people care about our local wildlife. The woman clearly acted with a kind heart and the Best of intentions when she adopted the fuzzy Little Birds. However this Story May not turn out to have such a Happy ending. It is very difficult to raise orphaned wildlife and Many of the ducklings May die before they Are Ever released. For example the article describes the Young Birds being fed bread which is very unhealthy and May cause digestive problems. In addition the ducklings have imprinted on their caretaker and see her As their Mother. Although it is a cute scene to picture the baby Birds following her around the Yard this imprinting will cause problems As the ducks become older. They May become very aggressive towards people and have to be put Down. They May like to be around people and stray too close to Hunters or even fail to Migrate during our harsh Winter. Raising orphaned wildlife is a Job Best left to properly trained professionals. Individuals should Call the fort Whyte Centre Oak Hammock Marsh or the Manitoba wildlife rehabilitation organization immediately upon finding injured or orphaned Birds. Gregory l. Juliano Winnipeg cancer strategy misguided at first glance the recent announcement by the Federal government to invest $60 million in cancer treatment and vaccines with Pasteur Serieux Connaught Canada seems practical humanitarian and indeed a win win situation for All concerned a the government the pharmaceutical giant As Well As the growing number of cancer victims Ottawa gambles on cancer research june 26, free press. However this strategy is flawed and misguided. According to one University textbook health illness and Medicine in Canada Juanne Nanc Arrovo Clark 60 to 90 per cent of All cancers Are environmentally caused. There Are Between 50,000 to 60,000 chemical substances in commercial use in farming manufacturing and the forestry Industry and every year about 1,000 new chemicals Are introduced in North America the majority of which have not been tested for ill effects. Searching for a cure or Protection through artificial magic bullets fails to address the Industrial causes of cancer and indeed has the potential to create even less incentive for the Industrial polluters to protect the ecosystem. It is the responsibility of the Federal government to protect and inform its citizens by investigating and disclosing research into the carcinogenic aspects of Industrial pollution not invest taxpayers Money in a scheme to create yet another chemical destined for an already toxic human body. Leona Rew Winnipeg Stefany Pucelj shows off the orphaned ducklings she rescued last month ;