Posts in the Barris Beat category:

Barris Beat

Deny. Delay. And die.

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Ted Arnold instructed aircrew cadets for combat roles overseas in WWII.

The last time I spent time with Ted Arnold was in 1991. He had contacted me about his Second World War story. So, I travelled to Port Hope and interviewed him. We communicated again later in the year when he was holidaying in Florida. And while I thought of him often after that, I never actually saw him again. His son Rick contacted me some years later.

“We were wondering if you could help us?” he asked.

I said I would try and then Rick explained that his father had slipped through the cracks at Veterans Affairs Canada. Partly because he was born in Argentina, but mostly because he fell into an odd category as a veteran, the system had denied him veteran status, and therefore funds to cover the expenses at an assisted-living facility in Ontario.

“As you know,” Rick Arnold went on, “he’s not entitled to a veteran’s pension.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Let your fingers do the walking

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment

It was a last-minute thing. Normally, I’d have left it until I got to the airport, for the ticket agent to handle. You know, like the old days. But then I thought, what if there’s a real line up at one of those dreaded airline kiosks? What if it takes me longer than normal to get my baggage checked? So, instead, I decided to face the demon now, instead of later. I keyed in the airline name and began the clinical, faceless, robotic process of self-check-in.

“Check in from your computer and print your boarding pass,” the prompt said. “No printer? No problem. Print it at the self-serve kiosk when you get to the airport.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Owning gun violence

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
Najma Ahmed, trauma surgeon and founder of Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns. CBC.ca

They call it “code orange” in Toronto hospitals. And trauma surgeon Najma Ahmed found herself in the middle of it late one night in July last summer. When she received the code signal, she said she dashed to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto in minutes. She passed a long line of ambulances on her way to the emergency ward and immediately began conducting triage of injured civilians.

“There was a sense of shock,” she told the CBC. “We’re Canada. This does not happen here.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Harry Watts and the heart of service

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Harry Watts, more a humanitarian than a warrior.

I didn’t expect to see him that day. I had a million other things on my mind. But then, in the middle of our Sam Sharpe statue unveiling, Harry Watts came up to say hello. I thought, why had Harry, a veteran of the Second World War – a guy who lived in Kitchener – why had he come to Uxbridge for the unveiling of a statue to a First World War soldier?

“I had to come,” he said. “I had to show my support for a man who gave so much to his troops and then paid so much with his shell shock.” (more…)

Barris Beat

The way she inspires

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Ruth Walker has built her career while always bringing fellow writers along.

As she spoke this week, a circle gathered around her. Everybody in the group was genuinely eager to listen, to discover, to be inspired. In fact, that’s where author Ruth Walker started her discussion with members of the Uxbridge Writers’ Circle. She asked those gathered on Tuesday afternoon:

“What inspires you?”

“Nature, the outdoors,” said one.

“My family and relationships,” suggested another.

Then, we asked Ruth the same question back. (more…)

Barris Beat

Is ignorance bliss, or just ignorance?

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Spike Lee celebrating his Oscar win with Samuel L. Jackson.

He heard the news. He leapt up from his seat in the theatre. He clasped hands with a couple of colleagues on the way up the aisle, then Spike Lee galloped up the stairs to the stage and leapt into Samuel L. Jackson’s arms. In so many ways it was classic Lee, being entirely off the wall. In other ways – since he’d never won an Oscar before – it was unique. Then, he pulled notes from his jacket pocket and read his list of thank-yous. And since it was such an extraordinary night for black artists, Lee took the opportunity to make a political point.

“Before the world tonight, I give praise to our ancestors who built this country,” he said. “If we all connect with our ancestors, we will have love, wisdom, and regain our humanity. It will be a powerful moment.” (more…)

Barris Beat

News on the fly!

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Nearly 76 years ago, Don Ferguson delivered this newspaper to Ottawa readers of the Evening Journal.

I had just finished speaking at Vintage Wings museum, near Ottawa. A man approached me with a book under his arm. It was one I’d written. At first, he had a rather determined look on his face, and I wondered whether maybe he had a bone to pick. But his determined demeanour simply reflected his intention to get past others in the group to speak to me. He smiled and opened up my Dam Busters book, not to a photo, not even a printed passage, but to the image of a newspaper front page printed on the inside cover of my book.

“I delivered this paper,” the man said with a smile.

“You were an Ottawa Evening Journal delivery guy?” I asked.

“Yes, but I delivered this very edition!” he said proudly.

“That’s 75 years ago,” I pointed out.

“Yup. I was 14 at the time.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Socialism! The devil you say?

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
“Red Scare” poster of the Joe McCarthy era.

We have finally discovered something President Trump fears. “Here in the United States, we are alarmed by the new calls to adopt socialism in our country,” he said last week in his State of the Union address.

And his audience of Senators and House representatives booed.

“We are born free and we will stay free,” the President said. “Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Centre of our world

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Agincourt Rec Centre fire. 680 News photo.

As soon as I heard about the multi-alarm fire at the Agincourt Recreation Centre, I paid attention for a number of reasons. Like a number of us in this part of Ontario, that particular rec centre is a familiar one. But I also wondered about the loss of a community’s vital organ. I caught the reports as firefighters continued to battle the blaze, and watched some of the residents in the area reacting to the fire. One reporter talked to a young boy.

“All the things we do in there,” the boy told Global News. “Now us kids won’t have that anymore.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Deception on a winter’s night

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
How could something so beautiful, be so deceptive?

We got the call on Monday. Our grandkids needed a lift. It was a “snow day.” The school board had cancelled bus transportation, but with the schools still open, we were on deck to drive three of them to school. So, when we arrived, it was the wintertime routine of organizing boots, snow jackets, snow pants, hats and gloves. If you recall, despite the snowfall, that morning dawned sunny, so we got the usual…

“We don’t need snow pants,” they said. “Look how sunny it is!”

“It’s deceiving,” I said. And I thought to myself, “Does any kid understand what ‘deceiving’ means? Not likely.” (more…)