Insight Newsletter A Client Driven Initiative Fall / Winter 2017 Have a Good One A note from the Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) By Paul Krasna I hope you are enjoying the new format of our newsletter- more compact so it is more portable- it is also now at no cost, a free service to all clients. The newsletter is also available online on the CMHA Middlesex Website under Community Wellness Programs Newsletter. The Insight Newsletter is published twice in a year; Spring/Summer in June and Fall/Winter in December. I would like to thank all my colleagues, everyone on the EAB, for all the helpful input, work and ideas they bring to the table. Working together we produce a newsletter that we can all be proud of. There are many ways to celebrate Canada’s 150. For me, a highlight was an eighteen day road trip to Saskatchewan (See article and photos inside.) We can celebrate our land, our weather, our experiences and our people. Helping one another going forward, no one left behind. “Mental Health for all.” God bless you and God bless Canada 150. 1 Road Trip to Saskatchewan By Paul Krasna This summer I shared a road trip with my brother Dan to visit my sister Miriam in Saskatchewan. It had been three years since I’ve seen my nephews, nieces and godson. While there, we explored the province. Some highlights are: The hot, dry prairies, Little Manitou Lake, Lake Diefenbaker, Jack Hitchcock’s cabin, a bison in the distance in Grasslands National Park, Val Marie home of Brian Trottier, the continental divide one side of the hills flows to Hudson Bay the other side flows to Mexico, cold chicken picnics, BC cherries, Sandcastle Butte and the outlaw caves, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Museum, a farewell dinner at Eastside Mario’s in Regina with a decanter of Sangria ( vodka, wine, fresh berries and sparkling water.) It was enjoyable sharing these experiences with family. Pictures on page 5 2 My sister Miriam, my niece Tanya and I in Grasslands National Park in Southern Saskatchewan. August 2 2017 12:45pm My brother Dan and I at Oswalds Bear Ranch in Newberry MI. I am feeding the cub "Sassy" some strawberry jam! July 22 2017 4:57pm 3 Freewriting Exercise from the Song “Take it Easy” by the Eagles in 1977 By Ashley Wren The road is long. It can be linear. It can be curvy. It can fork. The road represents “life” or a “journey”. And every single day, we go through these “journeys”. And in the back of our heads, we hear the voices from people who barely understand what we are going through. They keep resonating “take it easy” in our minds. We meet people that are tendentious of how we are supposed to be treated. Mental health and sexual assault and being transgender are controversial issues that we are not supposed to discuss or they are labeled too “taboo” even in this day and age. “Take it easy”, the voice yells in my head again. I suddenly realize that the matrix of my existence is to be myself. That I don’t live for anyone. My core beliefs are sometimes getting in the way. But I know that it is not my fault that my programming is not the same as everybody else, and I am not that CYBORG from a year or two ago. I envision my darling S. She reminds me so much of my grandmother. And I imagine on Saturday that she going to tell me to “Take it Easy”. At least she understands what I am going through. And every time that I would finish a support group “Take it easy” is a common phrase. Sometimes with language, we either learn stuff or we brush it off. And nowadays, in the generation of technology, phrases lose their humanity because they are being overused. Article continues on page 5 4 Today, I also envision a strong and agile Eagle swooping and soaring into the Grand Canyon skies. It lands and perches in one of the rocks and watches a herd of mustangs. One of the mustangs approaches the Eagle. The mustang looks and addresses the pain and anger in the Eagle’s eyes. The Eagle is overwhelmed, but the mustang is not empathetic. And in order not to show emotion and how it really feels, it drops the “Take it easy” phrase to the Eagle just like a bomb in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Not being understood in this world is hurtful. And yet, we, the survivors, do push ourselves to strive for the best and constantly tell ourselves that we are the ones that need to “Take it Easy”. 5 A Grand and Loyal Chief By Thomas Mood Night of the Grand River's course And lean-to's shelter in the shade of noon Of thought and entrance into Nature's And room for service to a new land Scheme of things on the trail where For the Original Natives of the Soil Destiny rules, and pageant of its To a time that has been forgotten Original knowledge, now hidden With only memories left to instill, In Nature's new source The will of the giant among men, And force only Nature knows And approachable Nature and loyal In its dream of the day, we have servant Been redeemed for, in all of its To the British, Joseph Brant, or freedom Thayendanegea, as his people called And the longing for foregoing him. knowledge Now with an endowment of respect As wisdom of the last vestiges To award a reward of loyalty from the Of the wind on the trail, British And origin's secret know-how, Of the noble savage's touch given a Now in beat to its sole knowledge of gift of land home All waters that flow into the Grand And loyal responder River Where this man gains the original title Watershed, fulfilling Brant's dream To the land, a plan for Nature's heart From the flow of Nature on the go. To the British, Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea, as his people called him. 6 The Carpenter By David Heddington The plank of sugar maple felt heavy in his hand. It was tough to the touch as he ran his hand along its edge. He had three pieces and he could envision what he would create with them. He had decided that, put together they would make a quality table top. He was in his shop, in his environment, and he had made his plan. The table top would be 36" x 36". The maple board had beautiful grain, and he figured how he would join them together. But he was the carpenter and had years of experience. He started his project by running the edge of one of the boards through the jointer. He loved the smell of the freshly cut wood and continued as the dust stuck to the sweat on his arms. He planned one face on each of the three pieces. He was pleased, and continued with his work. He was now ready to join the pieces of maple together to form the table top. He gathered up his bar clamp and a bottle of glue. The carpenter ran a band of glue along the cut edges, then smeared the glue with his finger so that it covered the entire edge. He took the pieces of wood and sat them, cut face down, on the bar clamp, and using a rubber mallet, hammered the flat faces to the four bar clamps and then tightened them. They were now ready to be left for the glue to set. He unclamped the table top and clamped it to his work bench. He then proceeded to scrape off the excess glue that had seeped out, with his scraper. Story continues on page 8 7 The carpenter then planed the rough side through the planer, then flipped it over and the planed the table top to a thickness of one inch. He then routed the edge to a nice profile. The carpenter loved his powerful machines and the various sounds they made, even though he was wearing hearing protection headsets. The table saw, planer, jointer, cut off saw and band saw were quite loud. The uneven end of the one side of the table top was cut flush, and then the top was cut to square. He now took his portable hand sander and began sanding the top. The sander vibrated in his hand and sent dust flying everywhere. It was now complete and ready for finishing, once he attached it to the table legs that he would make next. This carpenter was good with his hands, could make projects without plans. His work was pleasing to the eye and touch. It was the end of the day, and a load of oak boards were being delivered. They would be ready to be molded into pieces of furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities. To this carpenter, each day was a new beginning, ready to bring the various types of wood to life. 8 Solar Eclipse August 21, 2017 By Cathy Czuma I went with two friends, Elizabeth Barr and Carolyn Thomson, to see the moon eclipse the sun on August 21, 2017 at Western University. That’s me in the middle, with Carolyn on my right and Elizabeth on my left. Also, check the photo of Elizabeth clowning around with the eclipse at the Engineering Building, where the NASA stream of the total eclipse in the US was shown.