Jeremy Hansen- Canadian Astronaut-in-training

     Growing up, little Jeremy Hansen looked up at the stars in his tree house decorated as a spaceship, going on daring outer space missions. When he made it to high school, Jeremy was granted the same view of the stars as I was, seeing as we both hail from the same small town of Ingersoll, Ontario. The view of space from the Southwestern Ontario countryside wasn't good enough for Jeremy though, and as a child he was fascinated by astronauts, dreaming that one day he might become one.

            The road to space is not always a clear one, and Jeremy didn't know quite how he would go about becoming an astronaut. When he was young, an aircraft captured his interest: the CF-18 Hornet fighter jet. He knew flying these fighters was a career path that could be easily mapped out, so after his final year at Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute (the high school we both attended), he enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Force, where he would learn to fly their CF-18 Hornets. On the academic side of life, Hansen went to the Royal Military College in Saint-Jean, Quebec and then continued onto the Royal Military College of Canada, in Kingston, Ontario.

            While in Kingston, he heard Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire (now a Canadian senator) speak of the tragic Rwandan Genocide only shortly after the atrocity took place. Hearing this forthright and honest talk on an event of that magnitude was a very powerful moment in his time there, yet two other speakers would effect his life more--Canadian astronauts Julie Payette and Chris Hadfield. He had a few opportunities to meet with Chris Hadfield, and during this time he was able to grill Commander Hadfield on all manner of space-related queries. Through asking Chris questions, he learned that he in fact could get into a space career through his current one. Hadfield himself was in fact an CF-18 Hornet Fighter pilot, and Jeremy had the qualifications that the Canadian Space Agency tended to look for.

            Yet, as Jeremy became more educated, he realized how slim the odds were that he would become a Canadian astronaut and decided to never get his hopes up. When applications came around for Canada's newest batch of astronaut recruits, Hansen and his wife had discussions about what the future of the application could be. Although the chances were low, and he would probably never be chosen. He was confident that, and thought to himself, that he would be able to do the job (and do it well) if given the chance. But he also realized that there were several others who could do it just as well, possibly better. Upon learning about Jeremy's impressive education (Bachelor of Science in Space Science--First Class Honours and Master of Science in Physics) I would personally have been surprised if he didn't get in. Despite this, Jeremy was shocked when he heard the news that he had been accepted in the Canadian astronaut training program alongside David Saint-Jacques in May 2009, making our small town of Ingersoll proud.

            Feelings of disbelief, privilege and honour went through him after hearing the results. Imagine: achieving your wildest childhood dream in real life. I had asked, simply, why he had wanted to be an astronaut. He told me that as the years went by, there had been many different reasons. At first it was the excitement of the exploration and the challenge of dangerous space missions. But after growing up a bit, that's only one small factor. Now Jeremy is considering the importance and possible benefits to humanity that his missions could offer, and the privilege of looking down upon Earth as he's leaving.

            How do you even train to be an astronaut? He agreed that it was a concept that was hard to grasp, seeing as there was no definitive skills required to be an astronaut. He's learning a variety of things, some that seem obvious and some that he didn't expect he would need to learn. He's learning fine and broad points of robotics, partaking in spacewalk training (which includes wearing an authentic spacewalk outfit in a pool of water), and now...geology? That one confused me a bit, and indeed it confused him at first as well. This summer Jeremy will be heading to the Canadian Arctic to research a meteor impact crater. This will help them with regard to potential future Canadian Space missions (which may happen in the span of his career), if and when Canadian astronauts leave low-Earth orbit again. What this could mean is that Canadians would possibly have the chance to research and explore the moon or even “another planetary body in our solar system." Trust me, if the first person ever to go to Mars is from Ingersoll, I'll be bragging. Unfortunately, nothing has been confirmed yet, so I suppose Jeremy and the rest of us will just have to wait and see.

            Waiting is something that Jeremy expected, and understands. At this point, he has no idea when or what his first mission to Space may be. The thing is, as Jeremy said, there are other options now for Canadians to go into space. With the birth of the space tourism market, some wealthy Canadians could make it up there around the same time that he does (Quebec's Cirque du Soleil creator Guy Laliberté has already been a Space tourist, for example). More than likely, his first mission in Space will be similar to Hadfield's. It would be half a year in Space, doing scientific experiments and generally maintaining the International Space Station (ISS). Upon asking Jeremy what he felt the Hadfield mission provided for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), he mentioned that one thing for sure was increasing public awareness. Awareness of Canada's involvement in space, the fact we even have a space agency, and the idea that there is an International Space Station that is regularly inhabited by astronauts around the world. Another lesson that he believes Hadfield taught was the idea of how we may be a world split into several cities, provinces, countries, and continents, but from up in Space it's more noticeable than ever that we're a global society. A powerful lesson very relevant to our modern world.

            Our shared hometown of Ingersoll, Ontario also taught Jeremy a valuable life lesson--respect for community. Ingersoll may not provide us with an abundance to do in our free time, but we do have people. People we can rely on and with whom we can learn about the reliance of neighbours and friends. He told me sometimes people can forget how important it can be to be able to depend on the integrity and kindness others, but Ingersoll has made sure he'll never forget.

            At the end of our interview, I asked if he had any advice for people who may want to be astronauts, and I found out that he asked the same question to Chris Hadfield when he was on his way to his future career. What Hadfield told Jeremy was, in Jeremy's opinion, the best advice he could have given. He was told to follow his passion. You could learn how other astronauts made it to where they are now, but that isn't likely to be your path. By doing this, following your passion, no matter where you end up career-wise, it will have been an incredibly worthwhile journey in itself.

                One final note: although I asked, he wouldn't tell me his favourite IDCI teacher, so in case one decided to read this, tough luck.

Joseph Arvay- A Lawyer Fighting for Canadian Rights

     It's not a very big secret when I say I paid very little attention to my grade 12 law class. It's not that my teacher was boring, I just didn't find the material all that interesting. That is, all but one case study. In that lesson, we were told about a place in Downtown Eastside Vancouver called “Insite”. Insite is the only location in all of North America where you can legally inject yourself with illegal substances (most commonly used there being heroin, cocaine and morphine), be provided medical care or first aid from wounds or overdose, mental health assistance, and resources to break your habit. Personally, I felt this was a great centre, valuable to the future of many suffering from addictions in that part of our country. Unfortunately, several people (our Prime Minister included) did not think this was a good idea, and Insite found itself threatened to be closed in a Supreme Court Case. In the final decision, greatly aided in the work of Joseph Aravy, Insite has remained open.

     What were the chances that my university roommate Jaime would be the nephew of Joseph Arvay, the lawyer who defended Insite in the Supreme Court? Probably very low, but needless to say, that's how it happened to work out. Upon hearing this, I knew I wanted to speak with Mr Arvay. One night Jaime and I sent an email to his law firm in Vancouver (Arvay Finlay Barristers) and to my surprise, he said yes. While doing my pre-interview research and actual interview, I found out just how much Joseph Arvay had done for our nation, and I was glad I had the chance to share it.

     Joseph was born in Welland, Ontario in 1949. While there, he would work in his fathers' store, deliver papers and do assorted yard work as some of his first jobs. In high school, he realized that he might want to be a lawyer, and upon actually getting into law school he realized that he was certain in his career choice. After teaching in law school and working in the Attorney General's office in British Colombia, Arvay Finlay Barristers was opened in January, 1990.

     Upon reading some things about Joseph Arvay, I realized that there were quite a few important cases that he represented (even some more that I now remember hearing about in school). One of which, which I was surprised to hear that he represented, was the well-known case “Egan v. Canada”, which when concluded led to the Supreme Court decision that sexual orientation constitutes a prohibited basis of discrimination under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In other words, that means it's illegal to discriminate someone in Canada based on their sexual orientation (regardless if it's employment discrimination, the decision of letting someone buy and rent a property or not, and receiving certain governmental services).

     So, due to his work, two parts of the Canadian Constitution were altered in their interpretation. Then I read that there are even more amazing things aided in Canada, thanks to his work. Joseph Arvay has aided in the fight of sperm donor babies having the same rights to information as adopted children, and has fought to allow books promoting tolerance of same-sex relationships to stay in classes of K-1 children. Currently, Joseph Arvay is working on a case that's up there as one of his most difficult, whether there is a “Constitutional Right to Die” (so cases which could include physician-assisted suicide). These cases are the ones that draw attention and have people all across our country interested in the result, so I asked if there were any (in his eyes) that were the most important he's been involved in. To him, they are “all important, but not of equal importance. Certainly the cases that have advanced the rights of gay, lesbians and transgendered stand out.”.

     So, with all of these cases that have come up, does that mean our Constitution is flawed? I decided to ask. In his opinion,

     “There is nothing flawed about the Constitution as far as it goes. That does not mean that it is always interpreted by the courts correctly. But that is just because judges, like all humans, are flawed and don’t always get it right. But even that is a bit of glib statement. Who is to decide what is a correct or incorrect interpretation? Books have been written on this. The Constitution may be flawed in that it doesn’t go far enough. For instance it does not expressly provide for a right to minimum welfare or housing or food or education or health care or the environment although each of these “rights” might be implicit. Time will tell.”

     Back when he was in high school, “just slightly later than the time of the dinosaurs”, nothing law related was taught in the classrooms. The fact that some of his own cases are now being taught “warms his heart”. The thing about Constitutional cases, Joseph told me, was that they have far-reaching rewards. They reach people and times past his own client, and that in itself is rewarding.

     It was interesting getting the chance to speak to someone I had learned about in a high school law class, and someone who has aided our country in a different way than I'm used to hearing about- fighting in our courts, occasionally our Supreme Court. 

Lorna Ruppel- 100 Years of Memories

     Speaking to the 100 year old Lorna Ruppel was an experience much different than any other interviews I've done. I must admit, I didn't aim to speak specifically to her at first, just someone who was over 100. I had the idea that it would be an incredible experience, and it was. Someone who has lived in the past 100 years or more (as in, 1912-2013), such as Lorna, has experienced some of histories greatest inventions or moments, and some of our darkest too. Think of the things that have happened; born just before the First World War, entered teenage years at the beginning of the Great Depression, was in her mid-twenties when World War Two began, and saw inventions such as cars, computers, phones and televisions develop to the level that no one could of ever predicted when she was born. I mean, the internet wasn't even made publicly available until she was 80!

     The set up was a bit different that I had ever experienced, also. That is, it wasn't just me that had the chance to ask some questions. There was Lorna's daughter-in-law, her great-grandaughter, even my photographer had the chance to ask some questions. When the first part of the interview was done, even more people joined us. Another daughter-in-law, a granddaughter, a grandson-in-law, a pet cat. All ready to tell me stories, adventures, and experiences they've had with the lovely lady I had the chance to meet that they themselves had the chance to call “mom”, “grandma”, or “great-grandma.” Or, in the cats case, just bug me to be pet. It was a time of assorted stories as opposed to a straight life story, but I loved that I could hear it nonetheless. For your enjoyment, here are some stories of the wonderful, nearly 101 year old, Lorna Ruppel.

     Lorna was born on November 8^th, 1912 in Ottawa, although birthdays aren't really thought about much these days. Growing up, she was in lucky in regards to the fact that her father never had to go fight in Europe, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have memories of the Great War that was happening between the time she was two and six. By the family house was a park, and in this park, soldiers routinely marched and practised drills to go, and possibly die, for Canada.

Her father was an accountant, but her mother was the real business lady. This luck of being employed lasted into her late-teens, when the Great Depression spread across the World. But as she said, mother saved them from the Depression trials. By then, the family lived in the Kitchener area, and owned a dry-cleaning business, the brain child of her mother. She recalled how things were really difficult, people were troubled, but her parents and family made it, year by year.

Just before the Depression though, Lorna recalls how her mother made her get a job. As she said, “you were supposed to be 16 to get a job, but when I was 15, my mother told me I had to get one myself.” So, at age 15, she became a Bell telephone operator and that was that, a job she'd continue as long as she could remember. As she described, “she kept her nose to the grindstone and stayed out of mischief”, even when the news came that Canada was entering what would be then known as the Second World War. She can't recall personally helping with the war effort, she can't recall hearing about some of the big events in the news such as Dieppe Raid or D-Day, but the reaction when the war ended? That, she remembered. People stormed the streets, cheers abound, banging their pots and pans together, just happy that after nearly six years, the war was finally over.

Lorna telling her story

Photo by Victoria Alexander

     One story from her life that Lorna mentioned to me, with a little bit of a reminder from her daughter-in-law, happened during the years of World War Two. From what she mentioned, and from what I was told from her family, she was head over heels for her husband, Homer (although, she wasn't a fan of the name Homer at all). They first met when she lived in Kitchener. A few properties down the street from them was a tennis court, where Homer and his sister would play tennis. Lorna and her sister would go down there sometimes to play as well. Well, that's the story she told at least. Her granddaughter told me she always found it odd how Lorna only brought one racquet between the two of them, a coincidental conversation starter with the boy whom she would later marry. When World War Two came along, her husband was sent to be trained to go to Europe and fight (which is luckily never had to do). While training in Chilliwack, British Colombia, Lorna with her young two-year-old child, missed him more than she could imagine. So what did she do? She sold her house, boarded the train with her two-year-old son in tow, and surprised her husband at the military base.

     Unfortunately, she couldn't stay on the base with him, so she took up a room in a hotel, where Homer would visit when he could. As the money started to decline, she realized she had to leave the hotel. She gathered a few of her possessions, and with her son, amidst the Fall rains, she stayed at a local park for a few nights. Just the two of them, spending some solitary nights together alone and vulnerable. It wasn't very safe, and it wasn't the best for her child, but it was all they could do. She realized she had to find something else. The park wasn't safe, the hotel was to expensive, so she started knocking on doors, asking for a place to stay. Right when she was about to give up from all the no's she received.. someone said yes, and they were saved. After a sad Christmas missing home, she went back to Kitchener (shaking her head that she didn't consider just renting the house out), and moved into an apartment. Later she would be reunited with her husband Homer, and in a few years she would have her second son, making the family complete.

     It's stories like these that I love hearing. When I asked “what's life like now”, she replied with a sigh and a smile saying “well, life is good.” She spends her days making dolls, reading her mystery books and watching curling. She enjoys beating her children-in-law, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren at cards (she always wins) and occasionally listening to big bands on the radio (Lawrence Welk was always a favourite). To me, she seems like an amazingly happy lady, and probably one of the sweetest people I had ever met.

     To me, she taught me the valuable lesson of “not judging a book by the cover”. She may be a 100 year old lady now. But she was also the little girl watching the soldiers train, she was the teenager who “forgot her second racquet”, she was the loving mother and wife who traveled thousands of kilometers across the country to be with the person she loved (even if it meant a few nights in a park), she's the lady who has never touched a computer, the lady who happens to be a direct descendant of Mr John McIntosh (the founder of the McIntosh Apple), and now the loving great-grandmother of a friend of mine.

I asked what being Canadian meant to her, a question I always ask at the end of an interview. She told me it was wonderful, “great to be a Canadian” in her eyes. She felt somehow more comfortable with the thought of living in Canada, and in 100 years, has never considered leaving. Sure, troubles arose in her life. They always will, no matter who you are. But she told me that “all these problems came up, but I was always able to cope. I always was able.” Lorna Ruppel is an amazing lady, and although I'm a six months early.. I would love to wish Lorna a happy 101^st birthday! 

100-Year-Old Lorna Ruppel, her great-granddaughter, and myself.

Photo by Victoria Alexander

The Eric Nagler Story- Part Two

     When I left off with Eric, he was 24 years old and had just taken part in the March Against Fear as a supporter of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., hearing the famed “I Have a Dream” speech.

     As the internal battle in America to end the bitterness of segregation was well on its way to success, across the world America was involved in another conflict: the Vietnam War. Like so many others in America, our subject had the heavily debated conflict touch his life in two ways. First, Eric Nagler was drafted to fight for the American armed forces. Second, Eric Nagler refused to go. His life at that point was defined by tough decisions between “what was right,” and “what was wrong.” He decided that fighting in a war, regardless of recruitment laws, wasn't the right path, and refused to go. However, the American government doesn't tend to accept decisions like this with open arms. Being labeled a draft dodger was not only criminal, but often led to ostracism by the public. He had to leave America, so Eric headed north to Canada.

     Entering through Montreal to stay at a friends' house, Eric felt a change almost immediately after crossing the border. A weight of hatred seen and felt everywhere seemed to be removed, political tension seemed to drop away and even the idea that people were separated from each other was gone. As he said, “America was run by a bunch of big time crooks, while Canada is run by a bunch of small time crooks.” It just felt right for him to be here. To this day, only one person has criticized him for dodging the draft, and he was from Sweden!

     Eric wasn't left off easy though. The reality was that draft dodging is a crime, and he knew that he would need to stand for it. He went back to America in 1972 to stand trial for draft evasion, on which he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison. Being acquitted on appeal, he returned to Canada, the idea of being American behind him.

     After being unable to find work in Montreal, he moved to Toronto where he would eventually come to own and operate a music store on Avenue Road called the Toronto Folklore Centre with his then-spouse Martha Beers. Later on, he would live in a small Northern Ontario town called Killaloe, where he decided one day to see a friend of his perform some music for the local children in the library. Eric's friend, the performer of the “Homemade Music” show, wanted to get out of performing for children and felt Eric should take all the homemade instruments and do the show himself. He even spoke to his producers and arranged an audition, and with that, Eric came into possessing all the strange instruments thousands of children associate with him today. That is, all except the sewerphone. That was a creation of Reverend Ken Ramsden (of Reverend Ken Ramsden and the Lost Followers). The instrument's invention consisted of merely changing a "sinkpiece" to a "sewerpiece" (from "sinkerphone" to "sewerphone"). Eric also gave it a name targeted at adult audeinces -- the fallopian tuba. I have no idea how hearing this has affected my childhood yet.

     At the beginning of his career as a children's performer, around 1978, things seemed to be going very successfully. The children loved it, Eric loved it, everything was going great. Around this time, two other children's acts were getting attention as well. The trio of Sharon Hampson, Lois Lilienstein and Bramwell Morrison in Ontario, and the solo act of Raffi Cavoukian in British Colombia. From what Eric told me, it seemed that Sharon, Lois and Bram felt they could do a better job than that Raffi in BC, the group felt it was time to move onto bigger things, so they approached a man named Bill Usher to produce an album for them. Bill happened to be a friend of Eric's, who knew that Eric played a wide range of instruments, making him perfect for session work. That was the start of what would become a beautiful relationship that children across North America would come to love. The finished album, One Elephant, Deux Éléphants was a hit, getting a JUNO nomination and reaching Triple Platinum on the Canadian market. When Sharon, Lois and Bram were approached about making doing their own TV show they were ecstatic, but needed a venue to perform in front of children to show producers their material. Once again, Eric Nagler worked as the perfect connection. He was performing a show at a small theatre around the University of Toronto campus, and gladly allowed the trio to perform some songs in the middle of his set. The producers and creators loved the show, the trio, and Eric also. It was decided then, if Sharon, Lois and Bram were to have a show, Eric was to be a part of it. He would appear in every episode for the next five years.

Eric as a child.

     This music-oriented show would air in Canada, the US, Ireland, and many other nations, with videotapes being released and eventually distributed to millions of children round the world. Although this was Eric's first time on Canadian television, he had been on TV before, and therefore wasn't nervous or hesitant to jump at the opportunity when it arose with Sharon, Lois, and Bram. Eric recalled, laughing, that his first time on TV was performing some music on the show that pioneered music television and popularized the genre, “Ted Steele's Bandstand”. He was in the background playing while Brian Hyland was singing, the man who rose to fame at age 17 in 1960 with his number one single “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." From what I could watch of Sharon, Lois and Bram reruns on VHS (some days it seems I'm ancient), they all seemed like naturals in the world of television, yet once again Eric shared some behind-the-scenes stories one could never really hear second-hand. Sometimes, the four of them (especially Lois) had to be reminded that they were playing to the camera, and to stop acting so grand and elaborated. Eric recalled how the producers (more than once) told Lois to “stop playing to all of Australia, play to the camera!”

     In time came 1988, and the end of the original airing of the Sharon, Lois and Bram Elephant Show after 65 episodes spread over five years. This was in large part due to the fact that the trio felt it was time to retire from the televised world and go back to musical performance only. The trio would continue performing until 2000 when the unfortunate passing of Lois's husband made her realize it was time for her to retire from life on the road. To this day, Sharon and Bram still perform, with the three still performing together on rare occasions. Eric however, wasn't done with television.

     The year 1991 brought along a new children's sitcom produced by Cambium Productions titled Eric's World, staring Eric Nagler, a group of children (including Daniel DeSanto who went on to become known to many as Jason from Mean Girls), and Eric's manager, C.J., a puppet voiced by John Pattison. When this show was in its original casting process, the casting director was looking for a young girl to have the role of Eric's daughter, a role Eric's actual daughter, Lauren, wasn't happy about. Then, Niki Holt auditioned for the role of Kaley, the daughter. Everyone was simply amazed at how natural she fit the role and how she was the seemingly perfect for it. When they decided on her, Eric took the audition video home to show his own daughter. Although initially stubborn, she was flabbergasted by the time the tape was over, expressing how “she plays your daughter better than I can." The memories Eric made during these years still bring a smile to his face, and among other things, the show also brought him more JUNO nominations! In all, albums he had a major or minor part in combine for a total of five JUNO nominations. One of these was the Eric's World record, nominated for the Best Children's Album JUNO award of 1995, which was awarded to the album Bananaphone by Raffi. As for best memories from the show? Eric told me that the best moments were the ones we never saw, the outtakes with his manager, the puppet C.J.

     The original running of the show ended on January 1st, 1996 after five years. A month after that, the Siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War ended and with this, Eric's next adventure began. After the war, a friend of his partner of twenty-three years, Diana, went overseas to the nearly destroyed city of Sarajevo to perform his juggling act to a group of children who had resettled in the area. Upon returning, while talking with Eric at his dinner table, the friend had asked if Eric wanted him to put him in touch with his overseas contact in regards to performing for the children too. Although he didn't really know much about the conflict, he jumped at the chance to go stating, “You only live once, so why not?” Diana felt that garage sales were enough life for her, so she'd be staying in Canada. Sarajevo was a learning experience for Eric. Looking around at the children, singing to them via two separate translators and seeing their destroyed homes. Learning how cultures that had lived in harmony for years were almost torn apart by religious fear and prejudice. He said it was scary to learn about, but even scarier to learn that it almost succeeded.

     Marching in America? Singing in Sarajevo? It didn't end there. Next was China. Nowadays, when Eric isn't working at his music and knick-knacks store in Shelburne, Ontario (The Second Fiddle), he's arranging workshops for the Human Awareness Institute (or HAI), an organization centred around love, intimacy and sexuality that focuses on learning to fully appreciate these feelings, how to be authentic, and how to be ourselves. This is an organization formed by the late Stan Dale, in Chicago. With Dale, Eric travelled on what was titled a “Citizen's Diplomacy Trip” for two weeks to teach some Chinese students the ideas and ideals of HAI, which to him was a truly interesting experience. Eric now has the role of planning HAI workshops in Ontario and the rest of Canada. After seventy years of experiences, Eric has decided to immerse himself in teaching others to live and love genuinely.

Eric's had an interesting life to say the least, and one thing he said to me really seemed to sum it up:

     “I was there marching with Reverend King, there when the police raided Washington Square, I refused to go underground during air raid drills, everybody went to city hall and stood silently when the air raids went off when we were supposed to be underground. I've marched for tons of things, but I was never passionate about it. I've met a lot of people who are very passionate, but sit on their asses. A lot of people who speak a lot but don't do anything. It was weird, people would always just assume I was passionate about something, yet really I was only ever doing what was right. The same thing with coming to Canada, I mean, joining the army was just wrong. I couldn't do that.”

     With that, I had to ask out of curiosity: Out of your seventy years of memories and adventures, from slamming on the piano with grandma to singing in war-torn Sarajevo to the children left with little happiness after the conflict, what was your greatest memory or adventure? He laughed and told me how, coincidentally, his greatest life memory happened only a week before I came to visit him. He had the chance to go to Florida and visit the true love of his life, his little granddaughter Ava. When he saw her, he saw something in her face that he taught him more than any other adventure. As he explained it, “how childhood brought infinite love from the start. One that emanates from inside, and one that he felt in the naturalness of the hug she gave him.”

     I couldn't expect a better answer. That's how I left off with Eric Nagler, glad I had the chance to meet in person the man millions have met through their television screens and in their hearts.

Eric Nagler and I

The Eric Nagler Story- Part One

     Brooklyn, New York, 1942. The United States of America were becoming more and more involved in the Second World War, the strain felt on families around the nation. Yet, in this time of destruction and propaganda, there were also some things good happening, such as the birth of young Eric Nagler, on the first of June. With his father as a high school biology teacher, he was spared from the draft and having to be directly involved with the conflict in Europe, but that wasn't the same for the rest of his family. Coming from Jewish heritage, and being Jewish himself, Eric recalled how those from his family who came to America before the war were saved, while the rest just disappeared, never to be heard from again. This was only the start of growing up in what Eric called “the shadow of the war”. He would hear the stories his uncles told from their time overseas and would come home from public school with the Army-McCarthy hearings on air, a very different childhood from the ones of youth who would later come home from daycare to watch Eric on their own televisions. It wasn't even until about when he was 7 years old that the first television came to his neighbourhood. A nice 7” model (with accompanying magnifying class to make it 9”) upon which they would watch Pinhead and Houdini, or sometimes Howdy Doody.

     But television was never a big memory for Eric, back then, it was all outdoors. When fall came around neighbour Billy Smith (biggest kid, best skates) would come out with the chalk and roll down the street marking a path for their Cops and Robbers roller skate track. From there, spring and summer held the times of ball games, of which Eric could easily list off twenty or more to this day that they would regularly play. Those memories of activity were seen in school  as well, where Eric recalls being second baseman, yet outside of school, around this time was also when Eric would start to find music. 

     It all started with the piano. There was one in the house that he would bang on as a child. His father would tell him to “stop that racket”, but his grandma would issue requests for such songs as “The Tennessee Waltz”. For these requests, he would simply bang a little softer, yet his grandma would tell him how beautiful this sounded. Encouraging Eric's first musical dream, learn piano. His parents paid for him to have lessons, which didn't go so well. After three months of lesson, he was done with piano for good. Shortly after this, he heard the sound of the saxophone at a friends house, and had the new dream to learn that. When he excitedly told his mom, she said he couldn't. After all, “it wasn't a valid instrument in the orchestra”. She told him to instead learn clarinet, a real instrument. So they bought him one, he had some lessons, and hated that too. Then, well then came the bass. Eric remembers hearing Charles Mingus playing the “Haitian Pipe Song”, it was at that moment that he knew he wanted to be a bassist. He was excited to tell his parents. But then his mom told him that “the bassist sat in the back of the orchestra and only played one note”, she said Eric should really be learning the cello. One night Eric's father brought one back from the high school where he taught, Eric was so tired of the same routine that he didn't even bother coming home that night. The cello was returned to the school untouched.

     One night, while reading comics instead of doing homework, he heard a noise coming from downstairs. It was something he had never heard, an instrument his older brothers friend was playing. Scruggs Style bluegrass banjo music. Finally, Eric had found the instrument and the noise he had been looking for his whole childhood. Ever since, the banjo has been his instrument of choice.

     It was music that he wanted to pursue, but his parents “conned him into university” saying he could do anything he wanted as long as he got a degree. So, off to university Eric went. Here, he received a degree in psychology. From there, he received another degree in educational psychology. It was partway through his doctorate in psychology that Eric realized, as he put it, “this was bullshit”. A psychology degree wasn't going to make him a musician, his parents just wanted him to go into something different than banjo music. It was at that point that Eric left formal education for good. Instead, partially before and partially after then, he became a hippie. After all, it was the sixties by then.

     Eric had no idea where to find people playing music like he was playing, the music he had come to love. One day though, his brother told him about a New York City neighbourhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan called “Greenwich Village” where he heard that people gathered on Sundays and played the same type of music as Eric had. From then on, he joined this group of people like him, and they would all play at Washington Square fountain in Greenwich village. They were referred to as “beats” back then, “beatniks” after the Russian Sputnik satellite was in the news. In those days, no one really “wrote songs”, so they could all just play music and communicate at levels deeper than words. They would all just know what to do. Unfortunately, one of the group did start writing songs. After those days it was more “sit and listen” to someone perform, then another person would perform. To this day, he still hasn't really forgiven Bob Dylan for doing that to them.

     I had then asked Eric what it meant where on his website it said he “managed to avoid getting my head bashed in by truncheons when the cops attacked us in Washington Square for singing without a license.” Really, I was interested in knowing the story and what “singing without a license” even meant. Upon bringing it up, Eric started laughing saying how it “really was a funny story”. Every year, one of their large group (a friend of Eric's named Lionel Killburg) would travel to New York City Hall and request a licence, allowing them all to play in the square. Until one year, Town Hall simply said no. After all, “they were a bunch of hippies, they were riffraff”. This didn't stop the “riffraff” from playing. The next Sunday, they gathered in Washington Square to sing and play their music. That week, they were greeted by police, who gave a stern warning. So what did the group do? They went the next day as well. So did the police. Instead of playing music, the group all sat in the fountain and didn't make a sound, glaring at the police in complete silence. One of them started singing “we shall overcome”, and by the time anyone else could join him, the police charged at them with their clubs. With no regard to their victims, the police started bashing in heads and smashing skulls. They then surrounded the fountain, supposedly to “protect it from the hippies.” I had yet to see what was funny about this. It was then that newscasters came, and a Senator, and local (very wealthy), Fifth Avenue residents. They were all angry. Yet, not at the group of young musicians. At the police. After being yelled at for not allowing people to sing, the police were pretty embarrassed, as was the politician who first said they couldn't, next weekend, the group was back singing and playing music. Now I can see some humour!

     It was a while after this that Eric was visiting at a friends house when his friends' sister walked in. She had heard that a man who had been doing a voter registration march in Mississippi had been shot, and that Martin Luther King Jr. would be continuing the march with some members of his church and those in the local community, around Canton, Mississippi. Eric was asked if he had wanted to join, and he said sure. Although Eric was never what he would call an “advocate for equality rights”, he knew the difference between right and wrong, and he knew that how America was treating his fellow citizens was for sure wrong. After about twenty-four hours of driving (they had to stop in Memphis, someone they knew wanted to try their luck as a country singer), they made it to Mississippi and the voter registration march.

Eric emotionally recall Martin Luther King Jr

     They had marched for a few days, the crowds size averaging around fifty people, but growing near towns and cities. Eric being there had garnered mixed reactions. He recalls how one man walked up to him and stated how “we don't want you white northerner bastards here, we want our own nation, not integration”. Yet this was followed by two elderly ladies from Martin Luther King's church who walked up to him and expressed how they were “so glad to have him here, trying to help us integrate”. Comments similar to those ladies kept Eric walking, standing for what was right.

     As they got near Jackson, Mississippi, the crowd numbers slowly started to swell. They were walking down the streets, singing, clapping and singing when from beside the road Eric heard an elderly, female voice yelling “praise the lord” excitedly from her front yard. With the feeling of power the crowd was giving him, he yelled at her to join him to the Senate buildings where they were heading. After about twenty yards of walking with him, another girl came onto the yard and starting yelling “how dare he take her to the buildings, he had no idea what could happen there.” With that, the elderly lady reluctantly went back, and Eric moved on. By the time they reached the Senate, Eric guessed the crowd to be around 15000. Seemingly, they all passed through a wall of silence. No one was talking.

     Surrounding the building were armed, white, policemen. Not far behind the police were officers in full riot gear, and closer to the buildings were soldiers with snipers. Beside the police, glaring at them, one for each officer, were African American men in white tee-shirts and overalls. Eric realized he recognized the man in overalls nearest him, it was the man who a few days earlier told him he wasn't wanted. Eric also noticed the reason why the officer seemed especially afraid, the African American man had his teeth filed to points, and was glaring up at the officer. The moment was tense, and Eric started to hear people cry in fear. He heard one person start to cry behind him, and turned to see the old lady from the front yard. He didn't blame her, he felt the same way.

     It was at this point in my interview that it seemed Eric's music store went quiet. It seemed the customers were all listening, Eric started to tear up, and I had to focus to keep myself from doing the same. The speeches started, a few minor people speaking in regards to the idea of black power, people really talking about black power for the first time. Then Martin Luther King stepped up and started the speech that had already became history a year or two before.. “I have a dream..”, the speech made in Washington in 1963. Between the tears that were coming to Eric, he told me how Martin “talked about men and women, black and white, being together, working together, boys and girls, black and white, of every colour, being in school together. That was his dream.” when he was done.. someone about five thousand people away started singing. More people joined that man. Then behind him, another voice started singing in counterpoint to the man, making a round with the crowd. It was the old woman from the front lawn who came to join Eric. That moment gave Eric a strength that he still has with him. Her voice still heard in all its power to this day. As hard as you listened, the singing had drowned out everyone there to jeer. Eric's life had been changed.

     Night times during the walks were usually held at all-black universities, during these nights, if Martin Luther King was with them that day, he would situate himself right at the entrance to the university. Shaking hands and meeting everyone, thanking them all. When it came to Eric's turn on one of these days, he was too nervous to shake Martins' hand. But he walked within two feet of the man that helped change the face of America, and that man thanked him.

     After doing some research, I now know that the man who Eric first heard about who was shot must of been James Meredith, who was actually only wounded I've now learned. The march that Eric must of been a part of is titled “The March Against Fear”, started by one but finished by 15000.

     Martin Luther King jr, would eventually be assassinated in a hotel located in Memphis, Tennessee. But the young boy who went from watching Houdini on television, to playing cops and robbers in the street with Billy Smith, to having his heart stolen by the magic of the banjo, to being charged at by police in New York and singing with Martin himself in Mississippi, he would continue on in his incredible life.

     Next Wednesday, the adventure continues with moving to Canada, the recently deserted battlegrounds of Sarajevo, a JUNO nomination, Sharon, Lois and Bram Elephant Show, Eric's World, and a small music store in northern Ontario.

Eric and I

Howard Dyck- Evening with Cody about the Opera

      Some things about people, I'll probably never find online, no matter how hard I look.. Maybe a thing's too personal to just plop down to an unknown audience, or it's just not something that one thinks would be immediately interesting to readers. But I've got to say, asking Howard Dyck my first question, “when and where were you born” led to an answer that I found, quite frankly, really awesome. He told me the story of a man, who at age 105, became the oldest person ever to become an Order of Canada Member, Mr Cornelius Wiebe, who passed away July 12^th, 1999. Mr. Wiebe was known throughout his province as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba but more so as a doctor who over the course of 53 years delivered over 6000 babies, including Howard Dyck, and even the son of Howard. I find that humorous, and amazing. Imagine, being indicted into the Order of Canada only one year after the man who delivered you as a newborn baby was. I guess you could say Howard has had an interesting life from the start. These two men, at this point, are to this day the only “Winklerites” to become Order of Canada Members.

      His investment to the Order of Canada was a complete surprise. It came around the time he was working as a radio host on CBC Radio for the shows Choral Concert and Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. Howard was told that Rideau Hall, the House of the Governor General of Canada, had called earlier that day for him. Adrienne Clarkson had just recently become the 26^th Governor General of Canada and as always, Howard had applied to the office to give her the distinction of Honorary Patron of the Kitchener-Waterloo Philharmonic Choir, so he assumed that this was them calling him back to say that they had approved. A cut and dry procedure by now for Howard. As he was leaving the office for the night, he decided to call them. They were happy he did, as they thought “he didn't want the Order of Canada by that point”. He was thoroughly confused, and asked what they meant. Apparently, there was a little bit of a communication error. A letter was mailed to him by the office a few weeks earlier, informing him of his investment. But, it was sent to his former address. Howard almost missed his distinction from a simply mail slip-up. Needless to say, he was ecstatic when told, and right away told the people he could (immediate family only). His wife was informed, his children informed, and of course his mother. When the news became public to the rest of Canada, Howard was on a concert tour in Salzburg, Austria. Those with him and himself had quite the party to celebrate, but he told me (to my laughter) that it was the Order of Canada after party that apparently is the fun one, telling me “if you become an Order of Canada Member Cody, don't miss the party”. But how did he get to the distinction? It all started on his family farm, November 1942, when he was born.

      Howard was born in a Mennonite community by the small town of Winkler, Manitoba. The distinction of being from a Mennonite community would be that music was brought into the world of Howard from a very young age. As far back as he can remember, singing and music were important in the community and to his family. He can recall singing in the church choir, being in a barbershop quartet in high school, and learning the piano and violin there as well. These developed into playing violin in the high school orchestra and being the orchestral piano player. From his few times conducting though, he knew it was what he wanted to do, so after his undergraduate degrees in Canada for Liberal Arts and Music he went to some of the best places to learn how to conduct like the best of them, therefore, Germany. Here he learned choral, orchestral and opera conducting and all the separate skill sets for each.

      The thing with keeping these condensed is, there are times when I have to skip ahead a fair bit in years. Previously, I had mentioned how work on CBC and with the Kitchener-Waterloo Philharmonic led to the Order of Canada. Some of the things he enjoyed the most with this group was the Good Friday performance that Howard annually conducted until just recently with them. The mood of the performance gives Howard feelings that he can't explain, but it sticks out to him regardless. It was some work he did a few years after the Order of Canada Membership though that I found personally to show his character the most. This was he work with what he named Consort Caritatis. An example, in my opinion, of how context can make a performance so different. Consort Caritatis means, when translated in the most simple way by Howard for myself, is “charity concert”, which is really what it is. The idea was formed in 1994, the idea of using all the amazing voices and musicians in Canada for charity. Together with colleagues, a group was formed and recordings made. In the first year they ended up selling over 20000 recordings of their work (Handel's Messiah), which is considered a huge number in the fields of classical music. The first year the money went to the Mennonite Central Committee Charity and Habitat for Humanity. From there they made money for such organizations as the International Campaign to End the Use of Land Mines and the AIDS Project in Africa. All the money went to charity, it was proven to be a very successful idea, and has continued ever since. Over a quarter of a million dollars has been raised in the 19 years since it was formed.

      One moment struck me as the highlight of the organization. It was a day of euphoria for many in North America, Boxing Day sales and discounts abound, December 26^th, 2004. Across the world, a tsunami from the Indian Ocean would strike the nations of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, killing an estimated 280000 people. Right away, Howard knew Consort Caritatis had to help. He approached the members of the board for Consort, the Board of Directors for the Centre and The Square and anyone else he could. They all agreed to a show where everything from performers time to newspaper advertisements would be donated, the show would be free, in the hopes of raising as much money as possible for tsunami aid. An arrangement was made, and a few weeks later a performance conducted. The idea of helping these countries reached a level of success that Howard never expected. The show raised $75000, but that wouldn't be the grand total from the event. The government enacted a policy saying that when certain respectable organizations donated for relief, the Canadian government would match it, so in total, the show raised a total of $150000. In one night, from one idea. One that still makes Howard proud to have been a part of to this day.

      I've never used the term before, but Howard Dyck is nothing but a gentleman and a scholar in my eyes. He gave chances to some musicians when they were starting out when others didn't. These students would soon become household names to certain crowds, including Ben Heppner who powerfully sang the Olympic Hymn at the 2010 games and Measha Brueggergosman who I first saw as a judge for Canada's Got Talent, but now have heard beautifully sing online.

      Finishing this article up, I asked Howard how China was treating him and his wife. He told me how he's loving it, and how he's “up to his eyeballs in Chinese music he's never encountered before! It's all very exciting and keeping (him) busy!”. From part of this conversation, I had the pleasure to learn that the ties between Howard and I were not over, and we would be meeting again relatively soon, this time, to do with my hometown as opposed to his. With that, anyone reading this from small town Ingersoll, Ontario, consider this story a bit of a teaser into the insights of an extraordinary man.

The Honourable Dave Levac- "Mans Inhumanity to Man"

     Without a doubt, in the span of a modern day Canadian education, a student will learn about “The Holocaust”. The atrocities ran through the ideals of Adolf Hitler, the Austrian born German dictator of the Nazi Party. It will be taught that his forces used gas chambers and concentration camps to systematically kill over six million Jewish citizens, as well as several Romanians, people with disabilities, homosexuals and even fellow Germans who didn't believe in his ideals, among many others who were deemed “undesirables”. It will be taught that this was one of the main reasons World War Two existed. Students will be taught that the strongest enemies during this, the Axis Forces, would be commanded by Adolf Hitler of Germany, Hirohito of Japan (posthumously known as Emperor Shōwa), and Benito Mussolini of Italy. We will be taught that fighting the good fight, our side, would be Winston Churchill of The United Kingdom, Franklin D. Roosevelt of The United States, Charles de Gaulle of France and Joseph Stalin of The Soviet Union.

     Later, Joseph Stalin would go on to become a controversial figure to many in what became Russia and globally, many would think him evil. He was the enemy of the West during the Cold War, and the man who put the USSR behind an ideological “Iron Curtain”. It could be said that after his aid in the Second World War, Stalin became a rival to The United States, and even Canada seeing as we had fought with him under the leadership of William Lyon Mackenzie King.

     All in all, we could be nothing but friends with Stalin until after World War Two, right? This was my mindset until I had the chance to meet with Brant County Member of Parliament Dave Levac, who is also the Speaker of Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Stalin; moderate thinker until the war ended, then enemy due to his actions following. Of course, I had heard bad things he had done before we joined forces that I didn't condone, but really, I didn't know anything major. I never knew about Holodomor. Which is what the Honourable Mr. Dave Levac spoke to me about. A holocaust predating World War Two, involving Stalin, which is comparable if not statistically worse than “The Holocaust” started by Hitler. A holocaust I had never heard about until I met Dave Levac, and a holocaust he had never heard of until he met a man named Orest Steciw, a national representative of The Ukrainian Canadians. Mr Steciw not only travelled to Dave Levac, but to every Member of Provincial Parliament, educating them on Holodomor. This idea of Mr Steciw was to have a celebration and awareness day of the 75^th anniversary of Holodomor, which by the definition Levac gave to me is “the planned genocide by starvation of Stalin, of the people of Ukraine and others”. When I learned more about this through my conversation with Levac and following research, I was more than shocked. Not just by the events, but by the fact we had never learned of it.

     Some say this famine wasn't a genocide, yet others say it was planned by Stalin and 100% intentional. Total death count has been argued several times over, yet the numbers vary from 1.5 million to 7.5 million deaths as a result. The commonly agreed on number I could find was about 3.5 million. Now, Stalin's 3.5 million may not compare to Hitler's 6 million, but all in all Hitler's took place over five years. Stalin's took place over two, with the majority being children dying. And really, should it have to compare? Should it have to be more than six million for us to learn about it in school? Or should we learn about it because three and a half million people died from the actions of a man who only six years later would become our ally in World War Two, seeing as this happened before Hitler's actions, right about when Hitler was granted the title of Führer. The man did this, then became our ally, and I never knew. Dave never knew. From what I've learned in asking around, no one really ever knew. But Orest Steciw made sure that people learned about it, and then the Honourable Dave Levac aided in taking the knowledge a step further. One of the pushes being the people of his own riding. Brantford had a population comprised of Ukrainian settlers, as well as one resident who's own family was personally involved in Holodomor. As he told me, he may not of had Ukrainian blood running through him, but he was human. And that was enough to know that what happened was wrong and had to be known.

     He decided to try and enact a Private Members Bill simply to acknowledge a memorial day (the fourth Saturday in every November, therefore in 2013 it would be November 23^rd) and have Ontario recognize this as happening, acknowledge that this was a genocide. But, as Dave informed me, his first attempts were feeble. It was apparently too political (dealing with international issues) to approve in the Ontario house, but he didn't give up to approve. Something ended up happening which helped his efforts. A decision in the house allowed members from other parties to sponsor a Bill. He found members of a few parties who had links to Ukraine or Holodomor as approached them to join. He found that the assistant of Frank Klees, a Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora had relatives involved in Holodomor, Klees agreed to help Levac pass the Bill. Then there was Cheri DiNovo, an NDP Member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale-High Park, a riding with a high population of Ukrainian citizens that had settled in her riding, she agreed to help. With this in mind, Dave brought the Bill back up again under the three names. This was the first Tri-Partisan (three partied) sponsored Bill (as Dave is an Ontario Liberal). Bill 147, “The Holodomor Memorial Act” passed unanimously on April 9^th, 2009. This was followed by Quebec passing a similar Bill (Bill 390), Alberta, Saskatchewan, a National Bill and the creation of memorials around the nation located in Mississauga. As Dave said, this isn't really to honour the victims. This isn't to compare to The Holocaust, this is to educate Canada on the history of our humanity. As he said, he wants them to know that Holodomor was genocide, “not some weird fried chicken from some foreign country like some uneducated person may guess”.

     Then, there was a message for Dave shortly after. From Viktor Yushchenko, who at that point was none other than the President of Ukraine. He was awarded the Chevalier of the Order of Merit for Ukraine, which is the equivalency of being knighted in Britain, all for his work. He was humbled, but felt that he shouldn't get the credit. Instead, he took it on behalf of the children who were killed seeing as they didn't have a voice then.

     He says that we should never be afraid to stand up and say “that's not right” to an event. He says in Canada we can do this, and with the help of names such as Orest Steciw, Frank Klees, and Cheri DiNovo he's able to help citizens who have been here and who are coming to Canada to be saved from danger. I want to finish with a line from Dave Levac, a politician who realized that “this wasn't about politics, but mans inhumanity to man”.

     To Dave, he's “totally against thinking inside this hemisphere, dealing with issues in this nation only. Particularly with Canada being the salad bowl, not the melting pot. We're telling people keep your culture, keep your religion, keep your language, keep your customs, keep your food, keep all those things but don't forget you're Canadian now. Don't bring us your evil, but tell us about your evil so we can tell them over there it's evil, and it needs to stop now.”