Erin's Journals

Welcome to a brand new week and I hope you’re getting set to vote! Our municipal elections were held on Saturday here in BC. Has there ever been one on a weekend in Ontario in recent memory, I wonder? Good luck to all – may the best man or woman win – and here’s to grateful real estate agents who will happily rule the curbs once again with their signs instead of those of all of the candidates! Today, as so many look ahead to new governments, I’d like to reflect, if you will, on the weekend.
 

 
Our trip to Vancouver was without misadventure – we’re always grateful for that – and I thought I’d share with you some moments from the weekend, including a few photos. We checked into our downtown hotel and encountered the blood curdling “Pet Letter” once again, same as we did in Tacoma, WA last year. In it, we promised not to leave our pup alone in the room.
 
Yes, that would be why we chose that pet-friendly hotel: so that we could sit there on the bed with the same dog we share a bed with at home, not going to the publisher’s party or dinner with my sister and her fiancé. That’s exactly what we did. 
 
[Narrator – Keith Morrison: “Oh no, they did not.”]
 
We had a marvelous time. At a wonderful Granville Island restaurant closed for the night to outside guests, we met some of the people who will be representing and helping to spread word about my book in the Vancouver and Victoria areas. I told one of these wonderful ladies that I am up for anything – signings anywhere, anytime. I told them this is my one book (at least, that’s what I figure right now), so I want it to be as widespread as it can be. I’ve done the work and I’m ready to do the work, you know?
 
On Saturday we were ready to leave Vancouver, but not quite set to go home on a gorgeous, blue sky day. So we took a ferry over to Nanaimo back on Vancouver Island and headed a little north to a spot called Parksville. There, we checked into a very modest cabin.
 
How modest? No hair dryers and the TV wasn’t HD. That’s okay – we like our Leafs losses a little blurry, I guess. Darn. Anyway, I’m sure the fact that this city gal asked the new owner of the cabin/trailer park if he had any bathrobes will be a story he dines on for years! But lest you think I’ve escaped Green Acres and lost my mind, I can explain!
 
I knew our hotel Friday night would have robes. I counted on it, so I didn’t bring jammies. But our rustic adventure Saturday meant that I had nothing to change out of my day clothes into! 
 
And, no, there were no bathrobes.
 
There were, however, plenty of beautiful sights as we got set to hit the highway – Rob, Molly and me in the top-down Cooper – and head home. Here are a few for you. I was taken aback by the waters near the Riverbend Resort and even happened upon an inuksuk or two. I love the dew drops off one of them – and I hope you can see them.
 

 
Enjoy these pictures, have a gentle day and don’t forget to get out there and make your voice heard. I’ll be back here with you tomorrow. 
 

On the road again…and a ferry…and off we go to the mainland! Tonight marks sort of a quiet “coming out” party as the Vancouver Writers’ Festival continues. Rob and I have been invited to a little soirée that HarperCollins is throwing and we decided that we’d just dive right in. I’m not going to know a soul there except for the VP of Publishing (my guardian angel through all of this) but we’ll give it a go.
 
Not being big fans of the busy-ness and traffic of Vancouver when we’d rather just cocoon here on the Saanich Peninsula on the island, we’re only going to the big city for one night, but we’ll combine it with a visit with my sister and her fiancé, who happen to be in town for a gemmology event. Nice coincidence!
 
This is a good time to update you on what’s happening with Mourning Has Broken as this vision of a book becomes a reality. I got the uncorrected printed version a few weeks ago – sent out to reviewers and for editors’ use – and the experience of opening that mailer envelope and holding my own book in my hands was one I will never forget. You might think it would be satisfaction or joy. Nope, not for me: it was terrifying. 
 

 
I’ve still only read about one-third of it, caught between wanting to make little changes here and there, remembering other things I could have added (just tiny additions and not ones that would matter to anyone but me) and wondering how people are going to receive the book. Knowing that the baby has been born and that I have to send it out into the world, hoping we’ll all be safe and happy when we do.
 
Copies have been sent to reviewers and to those who I hope will write a little blurb for the cover, front or back. I think I can let the cat out of the bag and tell you that Jann Arden has kindly agreed to write a foreword to Mourning Has Broken, and that Amy Sky and Olivia Newton-John’s words about the book will also be included.
 
I haven’t given it to any family member except our daughter-in-law Brooke; there’s nothing that she and Phil can change about the contents now, but I wanted them to have read it before it comes out in just four months’ time. My sister Leslie, whose story factors into this book, read the chapters about herself when she was here. (I couldn’t let my copies out of my hands when she went home, but she’s made me promise I’ll give her one when it’s out.)
 
So now what, you ask? Good question! I’ve been in talks with the publicist handling this book and getting the word out around its February 26th release to television, radio, print and digital. So far, I know there’s a book tour that will start here in Victoria, go on to Vancouver, then include Toronto and wind up in Ottawa. That takes just a few weeks, but hopefully I will be returning to various cities (especially Toronto) for book signings and events, like public speaking and keynote addresses, in future. I expect 2019 to include a lot of flight time and that’s why we’re taking a winter in the sun just to charge batteries before it all gets rolling.
 
So the tour is being put together. I don’t know which stores and when yet; I’ll be sure to let you know here on my journal site. I’ve asked about advanced book sales (in case you want to ask for it for Christmas, if I may be so bold to suggest) so we’ll see how that works out. There are many irons in the fire and I’m so excited to see just how everything unfolds. I have every bit of faith in the folks at HarperCollins to see this through, just as they have from the moment I was approached to write it.
 
I have to tell you a funny little story from something that happened last week when I was on the plane from Winnipeg to Calgary. The woman next to me looked up from her book to see me reading. Actually, pen in hand, I was making changes and corrections that I want to run by the editors to ensure they caught the odd redundant word, etc.; I’m sure it looked rather strange.
 
“Good book?” she asked.
 
“I think so,” I said, “but I wrote it.” I showed her the photo on the back and held it up to my smiling face. I passed her the book and she read the summary on the back.
 
I realized it might make for awkward conversation but she looked up, her eyes a little misty and said, “This happened to you?” I said yes. Then she asked the question that I’m going to get 1,028 times in the year to come. Was it cathartic to write?
 
The answer to that will definitely surprise you and I’ll share it with you here next week. In the meantime, with sunshine and 14 in the forecast, we take down the top and point the MINI towards Vancouver today. Have a great weekend and I’ll be back with you on Monday.
 

I’m hearing of snow and ice pellets in my former home province. I thought today maybe you could use something a little warming to the soul. It’s a story that will perhaps even put a song in your heart for a bit today. There’s a story on the BBC that I came across recently and it rang so many bells I thought I was living near a fire hall. This is surely going to resonate with you on some level, too.
 
The headline read: “BBC Music website offers dementia lifeline” and basically it tells the story of people contributing, via a website, the songs that made a difference in the lives of their loved ones.
 
The selections can be regional (in Canada’s case, it might be a tune that’s been popular for generations in Newfoundland but that someone in, say, Saskatchwan might never have heard of). It could be a particular singer like Leonard Cohen or Jann Arden that a patient really cares for. The reason for these songlists and contributions? They’re just another way of opening a window into a mind slowly closing because of Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.
 
Fourteen years ago this month, we lost our dear friend Carl Moase. Carl was only in his seventies, but had been struck by brain cancer, which may or may not have been an echo of prostate cancer he’d suffered years earlier.
 
Carl was like a dad to my Rob; they were more alike in many ways than my husband and his real father. They were also bandmates; Carl was the bass singer in the quartet that formed the original front vocal line of our band Generations. Most of all, he was a close friend to all of the band members (his wife Helen is still like a surrogate parent to us, as she was surrograte grandmother to Lauren). 
 
What does this have to do with dementia? A fellow quartet vocalist, Jack Marsh, had been living with Alzheimer’s for several years by the time Carl took his final bow. But the day that we held a celebration of Carl’s life and our band assembled to play some of our favourite songs in a bar setting afterward, we all witnessed the incredible power of music. Because, although he could barely remember anyone’s name in our tight-knit group, there stood Jack just bellowing out the songs we played for 20 years, with nearly every word perfect. Or as perfect as any of us ever got ’em!
 
We were all bug-eyed as we saw and heard Jack’s performance. I’d long known of the power of music in the mind and the indelible associations we can make. Who doesn’t remember a song they heard right after a break-up or the tune playing when you got the best or worst news of your life? Apparently, according to a phenomenon known as the “music bump,” the songs we heard between the ages of 10 and 30 are the ones most likely to have the biggest impact.
 
There’s anecdotal evidence enough to fill the Smithsonian, and here’s that article from the BBC. I found it absolutely fascinating and how I’d love if the CBC followed the BBC’s example and helped us all compile playlists for life. I already have mine: it’s Channel 18 on SiriusXM – The Beatles Channel. It’s really all I need, love.
 
And you? 
 

Well, that was a surprise: went to see A Star is Born a second time. I haven’t seen a movie twice in close succession like that since Dunkirk. But we were in downtown Sidney, BC (our closest town), it was $6 matinee Tuesday and we had nothing to do. Perfect. And better still, I enjoyed it more the second time around, having a new appreciation for the music and Bradley Cooper’s massive achievements in that area, as well as direction and acting. Of course, Gaga left us gaga again.
 
If you’re going to see it, again I’ll bring up the F-bomb warning. But it’s a good movie. A really good movie. For what it’s worth, I saw the 1976 version on the weekend and just didn’t enjoy it. I can never forget I’m watching Barbra Streisand when I’m seeing a movie with her in it…and that’s a movie where you just want to get lost in the possibility of it all. Nope. But Kristofferson was great.
 
When we emerged from the theatre we were treated to a Christmas scene right in downtown Sidney. 
 

 
No, it wasn’t a Calgary weather moment; they’re making a Hallmark movie. And guess what? We’re one of the locations. I know; if you’re in Toronto you’re saying, “Big deal…we’re every movie’s backdrop.” Yeah, I remember!
 
Anyway, it’s called Christmas Bells are Ringing and since it’s probably going to start airing in just over a month, if anyone sees it on the schedule, would you give me a shout? Of course, you’ll be forgiven if you miss it; this is one of just 36 Christmas movies Hallmark is putting out in 2018 (if the internet is to be believed). 36? I don’t even send out that many Christmas CARDS never mind watch that many movies! Bet boy and girl end up together. Or they find some cool Hallmark ornaments and buy out the store…? 
 

 
FYI, Christmas Bells stars Emilie Ullerup of Chesapeake Shores and Josh Kelly of UnREAL. We didn’t stick around long enough to make nuisances of ourselves, but it reminded me of the days of shooting TV commercials.
 
Remember the one with the family that did gymnastics and acrobatics down the stairs and out of the house in the morning show ad we did for CHFI? That was big fun. The actors were terrific and, best of all, it was all interior shots. In the next round, there were some that we shot out in a driveway; those turned out to be my final ads.
 
We did take after take, just to have a garbage truck do its work in roads nearby and a guy begin doing his lawn care – mower and all – right in the middle of the shoot. Of course, neighbours don’t really care what’s going on, as they have to get their stuff done, too, but it’s quite a dance trying to shoot between noisy outbursts so they don’t have to be removed later in post-production.
 
And our tiny town of Sidney being directly in the flight path of Victoria International Airport, you can be darned sure that they had to retake plenty of shots when the WestJet and Air Canada prop planes and jets (as well as Alaska Airlines and Coast Pacific flights) started their climb out of the airport and right over the town’s main drag. I’m sure a lot of dialogue is re-recorded after the shoot, or would have to be in the case of this town. Beautiful blue skies for their backdrop today couldn’t be nicer for this Cape Cod-set film. Just switch one ocean for the other, right? That’s showbiz!
 
Before I go, I have to include a link to a 40-second video. I happened upon it yesterday and it was so sweet, I wanted to share it with you here in case you’ve missed it. It’s sibling love at its finest and just reminds you of all of the good things in the world. Love Trumps All (and I use that verb advisedly). You’ll want to turn it up to hear what he says. It’s a reminder that, together, we are all “stwong.”
 
Enjoy the day – back with you here tomorrow.
 

So, tomorrow’s a big day – good or bad, depending on your take – in Canadian history. Actually, in world history: we’re only the second nation on Earth (besides Uruguay) to fully legalize cannabis for recreational purposes. In case you’ve been under a rock (or are already an overly enthusiastic user) you probably know that as of tomorrow…well, I’ll let this post, courtesy CBC, fill you in.

Adults in Canada will be legally allowed to:

• purchase fresh or dried cannabis, cannabis oil, plants and seeds for cultivation from either a provincially or territorially regulated retailer, or — where this option is not available — directly from a federally licensed producer;
• possess up to 30 grams of dried legal cannabis or its equivalent in public;
• share up to 30 grams (or its equivalent) of legal cannabis and legal cannabis products with other adults;
• cultivate up to four plants at home (four plants total per household); and
• prepare varying types of cannabis products (e.g., edibles) at home for personal use provided that no dangerous organic solvents are used in the process.

Source: The Government of Canada

There is a lot of talk about the roll out (pardon the pun) of this change to our laws; I’m trying to imagine the days following the eradication of Prohibition when, after years of smuggling or imbibing in speakeasies and secret clubs, alcohol was legal for public consumption again. This change will not be without major speed bumps – those are inevitable – but let me share a few thoughts today. 
 
I don’t hate this. If it helps people who are in pain (and yes, this is non-medical marijuana, so it might well be more about “feeling no pain” than actual pain control), so much the better. How many people do you know who deal with their pain through prescriptions or trips to the liquor store? Plenty, I’m betting. And more that you may not know about.
 
I have a friend who has chronic back troubles exacerbated by a car accident last year, and is also dealing with insomnia that accompanies menopause. She partakes; it’s legal here in BC. I had the chance to go with her to a dispensary last week, as she’s concerned about what tomorrow’s changes are going to bring and how it’s going to alter supplies, distribution and so on. 
 
First off, this dispensary (some of which look like Apple stores – all white and shiny) felt to me to be a little sketchy, in the basement of a small corner apartment building at a busy intersection. Although it was brightly lit and a sign on the door stated that there was no cash inside, I felt a bit uneasy, having never knowingly entered a place that sold weed before. I asked my friend if she was sure we should go in and I got laughed at. 
 
Inside the small store, a couple of employees stood behind the counter. There were event posters on the wall, a small ATM in the corner and there was no discernible odour. Except for the merchandise (and a lack of guitars hanging on the wall), it could have been a pawn shop.
 
So I took the opportunity to risk looking really “square” (does anyone say that anymore?) and ask some questions – for you and for me. I asked them what’s going to be different. The nice (admittedly mellow) young man behind the counter swept his arm across their display case and said, “All of this.” When I asked what he meant, his co-worker said that it’s like how cigarettes went underground (behind display boards in stores); this is so that no one – the concern is children – will see little tumbleweeds or devices with which to smoke or light them.
 
There were no cannabis gummies to be seen; they’re illegal on the island, the fellow said. But there were little bottles of tinctures, fat and firm pre-rolled joints and lots of other things I couldn’t begin to identify and was feeling way too “parental” to ask about. My friend bought cannibis oil in capsules (some fifty of them for less than a large bottle of Crown Royal) and we were on our way.
 
Why am I not against this? Because I think it would be hypocritical to allow alcohol to be served nearly everywhere and totally without stigma, but to be against a drug that is not, in most opinions, the dreaded “gateway” that opponents have warned against for decades. Of course, life is better with sobriety, using meditation, prayer, yoga or any other means by which you deal with all of the challenges it throws your way. 
 
Many users eschew booze for its cost, physical toll, negative mood-altering capabilities, calories and other detrimental effects. But that’s not how some people choose to navigate it, and having control over the substances that they are imbibing may be a more positive step than being subject to whatever manufacturing whims a dispensary’s supplier may indulge in.
 
I am wholeheartedly and unequivocally against anyone driving impaired – whether by drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel, or having smoked a joint, taken a capsule or gummed a gummy. Taking control of a vehicle whilst under the influence of anything (including distraction) should mean licence suspension or termination. Period. Laws should be as clear and as firm with cannibis consumers as they are with blood alcohol levels. 
 
Then there’s where you partake: from what I read in online reviews about dispensaries, many employees are happy samplers of the inventory. Some customers complain about having to pass through those acrid clouds on their way past or into a store. Can you just imagine if the cashier at the liquor store had a mickey of Jack Daniels going under the counter? I mean, it’s probably happened, but these are just some more of the lines that should be drawn as we move into the future.
 
Oh and finally, here’s what I really don’t like: that sickly sweet smoke. As something that has been basically verboten all of my life, my head still pops up like in a game of Whack-a-Mole when I smell it. “Someone’s breaking the law!” my inner Deputy Davis voice screams. Of course, they’re not now. But that doesn’t meant that the smell isn’t (to me) nauseating when I have to pass through a cloud of it. I hope that users comes to realize that, as turned off as they would be passing through a crowd of tobacco smokers, they’re doing the same to others around them.
 
The times they are a-changin’ and who knows what tomorrow will bring? For many, there will be nothing noticeable; for others, it will be a time of adjustment. While still more are angry about Canada moving in this direction, I think we just need to stop and look at our society’s relationship with alcohol before we get too tied up in the morality of it all. I’m content to see where this goes. Laws have been changed and then altered and amended before. Nothing here is carved in stone(rs).