Everybody’s been talking about it this week. Most people have an opinion. Some blame gangs. Others point their fingers at government. A few say the courts are too lenient. But just about everybody has something to say about guns and gun crime. It came up at the milk store the other day. One man looked at it this way.
“Hey, it could be a lot worse,” he said. “Look at Detroit.”
The great English poet and satirist John Donne called it a treasure. French impressionist painter Claude Monet considered it torture. American author Helen Keller said it was an inspiration. Nobel Prize laureate William Faulkner claimed humankind could endure vast quantities of it, but that it resulted in greatness. Then there was philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s view of suffering.
“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger,” he said.
We got the call the morning after the official start of summer and the day before the actual due date. Our son-in-law phoned that Friday to say that our daughter was in the Port Perry Hospital maternity ward and contractions were coming fairly quickly. A couple of hours later – at 8:52 a.m., June 22 – her third baby was born. And we were grandparents for a fourth time. A few hours after that, we were in the hospital room, holding him, enjoying his first sounds and wondering.
“Have you decided on a name?” my wife asked.
Ted Barris has often appeared as a guest speaker and supporter at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. This year, since Remembrance Day falls on a Sunday, he has agreed to attend the Nov. 11 ceremony and offer his thoughts on the importance of remembrance. His talk is based on his most recent bestselling book “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan.”
When: 10:30 a.m., Sunday, November 11, 2012.
Where: Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Mount Hope, Ontario
Contact: Bill McBride, 905-730-9988.
At the regular meeting of the Etobicoke Historical Society in November, Ted Barris, the author of 16 bestselling, non-fiction books will deliver one of his most sought-after talks – his recounting of the “Victory at Vimy.” It’s a unique telling of the famous WWI battle at Vimy Ridge, that, he says, gave birth to Canada’s nationhood. Barris will offer insights and images gleaned from some of the individual accounts – old interviews, memoirs, letters and diaries of the Canadian Corps troops – he assembled in the research/writing of his book “Victory at Vimy: Canada Comes of Age, April 9-12, 1917.”.
When: 7:30 p.m.,Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012.
Where: Montgomery’s Inn at Islington and Dundas, Toronto.
Contact: Nicholas Doran, director, 416-231-0438, dorans@direct.com
At the eighth annual “Take A Vet to Dinner,” this year, Ted Barris brings his unique storytelling to enhance the event. The author of 16 bestselling, non-fiction books will addresses the dinner about the job of getting veterans to do what they pathologically cannot – talk. Based on his bestselling book, “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan,” Barris offers some insights to a few of the nearly 4,000 interviews he’s done with Canadian veterans.
When: 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012.
Where: Best Western Mariposa, on Memorial Drive, Orillia, Ont.
Contact: Dick Johnston, 705-325-9018, johnstonwendy44@hotmail.com
On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allied armies in Europe, ending the Second World War in that part of the world. Canada had played prominently in the victory. But many of the great human interest stories have rarely been told. In his well-known raconteur style, bestselling author Barris offers visuals and accounts from his book “Days of Victory: Canadian’s Remember 1939-1945.” As usual, copies of his wartime Canadian books will be available for sale and autographing after the talk and Remembrance ceremony.
When: 9:30 a.m to 11:30 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012.
Where: Keystone Complex, Shedden, Ontario.
Contact: Michele Lant, Township of Southwold, 519-769-2010, mdrewitt@twp.southwold.on.ca
As part of its fall 2012 program, the Twin Lakes Probus Club in Orillia has invited Ted Barris to address the members at one of its regular meetings. On Thursday, October 18, 2012, he will speak about the job of getting veterans to speak about their experiences; his talk is based on one of his recent bestselling books, “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan.” Copies of a number of Ted’s books will be on hand for sale and autographing.
When: 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012.
Where: Orillia Legion branch located on Mississauga Street.
Contact: Gail Madell, gmadell@sympatico.ca
We all do it. We all need it. We all wish it were easier… Writers search for ideas. They depend on finding them. They often look for them in others. Whether poets, short-fiction writers, novelists or non-fiction writers, we often look for and gather stories from the experiences of those around us. But what if the source is resistant? What if recalling the story is traumatic? What then? Ted Barris, journalist, CBC broadcaster and author of 16 non-fiction books, has spent much of his professional life overcoming such barriers. As a journalist, broadcast interviewer and best-selling author of (among other topics) Canadian war histories, he has interviewed thousands of subjects – some willing, others not. Citing some notable examples – including from within his own family – Ted often is called upon to talk to fellow writers about getting the story and techniques for making it easier, when for all the world it seemed an impossibility.
Where: Writers’ Community of York Region luncheon
When: Midday, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2012
Contact: TBA
In the fall of 2001, a man dropped by the original location of the Grenadier Militaria store in Port Perry. It wasn’t long after the store had opened its doors for the first time. Although he didn’t know Dave Zink, the proprietor of the store, Dave Robinson asked a favour. A production (by the Borelians Community Theatre) needed military props and uniforms to authenticate an upcoming show. Robinson, then a history teacher at Port Perry High School, wondered if Zink might loan some of his unique artefacts to the production. Robinson couldn’t believe what happened.
“He said, ‘Yes,’” Robinson said. “And right away, I knew Dave Zink was a valuable asset to the community because he was so supportive.”