The Squamidian Report – Nov. 25 / 06
Issue #234
Also in this issue:
Paul Explains Beaver Trapping
North Nova News
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Something I’ve complained about in the past is the lack of customer service and the lack of competent people here in small town BC. While there are some places that seem to be doing a great job of improving, there are other places that still fail dismally. Case in pint:
It is time to have my winter tires installed onto the truck. We had switched to a different tire outlet a year or so ago because the first place we had dealt at was so indifferent to customer needs. The place we started going to did a much better job of attending to their customers. So I dropped the truck off last Saturday morning to have the tires switched. Sue and I took off and did some running around and then she dropped me off an hour later as they had said it would take about an hour for them to get to it. No problem with that, they are busy this time of year.
I then sat there for half and hour before they got around to my vehicle, still, no problem with that either. Once they got started, the young Saturday morning part time staff goofed around and chatted with each other as they had done while working on the vehicles before mine. I watched from the waiting area as they re-mounted the wheels and noticed they were more interested in talking than they were in the job at hand. When finally the boss handed me my keys and said I was ready to go, I walked out to where my truck had been lowered off the jacks and asked the workers if my truck was really ready to go. They said yes, take it away. At that point I took one of the workers with me to the left back wheel and told him to watch as I put my foot against the wheel and gave it a push. It rocked sideways on the less than finger tight nuts. All he did was give a sheepish grin and say that he would tighten the nuts.
I said no, first hoist the truck back up so the wheels can pull in properly and I’ll watch as you tighten ALL the nuts on ALL the wheels. He replied that there were a lot of vehicles waiting and that would take too much time. I insisted and the truck was lifted off the ground. As I watched, they found that they had missed tightening all the nuts on both back wheels as well as three of them on one of the front wheels. With the same sheepish grin he muttered “sorry” and took the air gun to each wheel. I then insisted on watching as he checked the torque with a torque wrench on each and every nut. Only then was I satisfied that the wheels had been re-mounted properly and safely.
Boy, at times I sure can be a grouchy old fart!
*
Well, the big day finally arrived. Both Wal-Mart and Home Depot have opened. Both stores enjoyed having their parking lots full of cars and their isles packed with shoppers. I think half of Squamish was out for the Grand Openings, as well has most of Whistler and Pemberton. There is now somewhere to shop north of Vancouver. The roadwork in the area is not yet finished, and the hydro power keeps going out, but the shoppers are coming out in force.
doug
****
I know that I have never sent anything to this newsletter but after reading Greg's report on the beavers at U of W I wanted to just put in my two cents worth. As a trapper I find it amazing how all these people felt that they had to run to the defense of these poor little rodents. As usual it is mostly the people who know nothing about the way animals live and act that are the first to jump on the bandwagon to save them. It's kind of the way that people who have no children are the first to give you advise on how to raise yours.
The University had called me in September to see if I would take on the job of removing the beavers. After giving it some thought I decided that it would be way more trouble than it was worth. When I saw the headlines in the paper this week I was realized that I had been right in turning down the job.
To start with, the traps that the trapper would have used were hugely misrepresented. They do not simply hold the animal under the water drowning it. They are as close to an instant kill trap as can be made. Trap are under constant scrutiny by many organizations and are tested extensively before we are allowed to use them to be sure that they cause a humane death. The way the whole thing was described in the paper it sounded like he was live trapping them then holding them under water until they died.
As for live trapping beaver. I know a trapper who has trapped beavers for many years and was asked to live trap some at a rural home . He decided that he would like to try it so he made up a live trap and after two weeks he finally managed to catch one beaver out of probably 6 or 7. It is not as simple as people think that it is. The simple truth is that in Ontario it is illeagal to transport a live trapped animal more than one kilometer anyways. If they would have live trapped them and moved them a kilometer they would probably beat you back to where you caught them.
Almost all the letters to the editor in the paper made reference to the beaver being the national symbol of Canada and that it was a disgrace that the animals were being killed. Does anyone remember why the beaver has this status? It was the search for beaver furs that helped get this country explored. Trappers kept pushing further and further west as far as Doug's beloved British Columbia in search of this furry little buck toothed rodent. They didn't want to pat them or protect them when they found them either!
Before you judge the University ask yourself, if you had rats in your house, would you try for weeks to catch them in a live trap so you could take them somewhere to release them, or would you just get rid of them as quickly as you could by any means possible. If people found out that you were killing them and started protesting your actions, what would YOUR reaction be? Give them a break, they were just dealing with a rodent problem.
Paul
****
After reading about the rainstorms, mudslides and power outages out on the west coast it makes me quite happy to live here in Nova Scotia. We have the odd hurricane that passes through but most just bring us some nice warm weather and then veer off into the Atlantic. When other areas are getting negative effects from global warming we seem to benefit. I’m not sure where this is going but for now we are enjoying a better climate all year round. This has to be the best November ever and I seem to be saying that every month. Winter is so much easier when there is less or no snow to deal with. Those who have snow mobiles had to travel to Cape Breton, Northern New Brunswick or Newfoundland to use them last winter. The ski resorts here had to make a lot of snow to keep in business. So we do have some downsides to global warming but for the most part people are happy. It sure helped my business since no one worried about cancelling an appointment because of a storm or bad driving.
It’s so good to hear from Vivyan and that she is finally feeling much better. I sure enjoyed my visit to Kitchener and seeing everyone. I’m especially looking forward to next August when I hope most of you will come to our neck of the woods for the Brubacher and friends reunion. I’ll try to arrange that beautiful weather I was talking about. I want to congratulate Greg on his 200th edition of the Ontarion. Your effort is greatly appreciated every week. You keep me in touch with my hometown. It’s always great to hear from the other Squamidian family members now and again too. And of course Doug, living on the exciting west coast has kept us glued. Keep up the good work guys!!
Until
next time,
****
Hello everyone!
I was sent a joke by a friend of mine from Nova Scotia today and it
inspired me to recount a story told to me by my mother when we were teenagers.
It’s a true account of something that happened at her work and I shared it with
my friend. I’d like to share it with my fellow Squamidians. I hope you get as
big a laugh out of it as I have over the past 40 years
*
My mother worked at Zehr's on Bridgeport Rd in Waterloo. She worked in
the meat department. She came home one evening with tears still streaming down
her face and my dad saying she couldn't stop laughing long enough for him to
find out what it was all about on the ride home. When she finally settled down
and was able to talk, she told the tale. There was a lady named Stella that worked
with her. Stella was married to an alcoholic husband by the name of Oscar.
Although Oscar was a drunk he was still a jovial hard working guy that had a
great sense of humor. Apparently Stella had shown up for work that morning in a
terrible rage. She spent the first 15 minutes in the meat room ranting about
how she was going to strangle Oscar if he ever came near her again. My mum said
they were all staying serious until she finally told them what Oscar had done
to upset her so. Stella went on to say that Oscar was one of those people that
liked to find something that upset you and then he'd continue to do it more and
more just to get your goat. Well, he apparently liked to come home late after
drinking at the Polish Legion with his pals and Stella would invariably give
him hell over both being late and being drunk. Oscar also liked to put his cold
hands on her butt as he climbed into bed, just to bug her. The previous night,
Stella said he was once again late coming home so she went to bed without him.
She said she was determined not to acknowledge his lateness or his drinking for
a change and see if that would make a difference. Thinking maybe he'd
appreciate not being bitched at and would make an effort to mend his ways.
Well, when Oscar got home, she of course woke up but didn't let on that she was
awake as he entered the bedroom. He climbed into bed after disrobing and put
his cold hands on her behind in an effort to wake her and of course egg her on
to comment about his condition once again as usual. When she didn't respond, he
decided to take another drastic step to get a reaction out of her. He turned
his back to Stella and proceeded to put his bare bottom against the middle of
her bare back. She said he grunted and she figured he was trying to fart
against her to get a reaction. Thinking she'd take it one more time and not
respond she just lay there. All of a sudden Oscar grunted once more and rather
than producing a fart, he shit all over her back!
................................. Now, I've finally whiped the tears from my
eyes once more and can say "One can certainly understand Stella's outrage
but, ya gotta admit this is a funny story"! Most would say after hearing
this, "Poor Stella" I'd be more inclined to say "Poor
Oscar" after Stella got finished making him pay for that one!
I don't recall ever hearing if they were still married after that
incident but I wouldn't have blamed her if she kicked his ass out of the house
and out of her life. I literally laugh till I cry every time I think of this
story.
Of course there are those that will take this story and turn it into a
tragedy because it pokes fun at Oscar’s alcoholism. However, for once, I hope
it’s viewed as the funny story it is and leave the soapbox in the closet. Oops!
I suppose that was a poor choice of words too? ( in the closet)
Maybe I should just close here and quit while I’m ahead.
Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next
time in The Ontarion Report.
Bye for now… Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
A snail can sleep for three years.
****
The Family and the Squamidian sites:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca
Have a good one..
the
doug
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