May 15, 2017 carnegie newsletter

MAY 15,2017

Ca'rnhieigi~e~ NEWSLETTER 401 Main Street, Vancouver BC V6A 2T7 emcll: carnnews@shaw.ca

Image from The Gathering mural

By Richard Tetrault (2016) (forwarded by Jean Swanson)

carnnews@vcn¡.bcca

604-665-2289

Websitel catalogue: carnegienewsletter.

org

SPACIOUS, -ATTflACTIVE,

--

AFFORDI!.BLE HOUSING I\IJ A CLEAN. SAFE, CONVENIENTL '( LOCA1ED

Sandy Cameron was one of the finest writers for the Newsletter over its 30-year life. Sandy wrote about things in his life that were or could be in anyone's life with concomitant social issues naturally inherent.

He'd see a whale and write about its beauty, magnificence, and awe-inspiring sight and, without missing a beat, include comments about human effect both internally & externally. Virtually every piece of his asks passionately for us, as readers, to think, to feel and to share. In this issue are a few more of Sandy's essays.

Perhaps that can be the touchstone for all who will enter the daunting submission of written words: make your piece be your voice, written as you would want someone to talk to you. Be alive, think, feel & share.

The results can be awesome!

By PAULR TA YLOR

~~~~~~:'~

The Fabulous Writing Contest

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Now that I have your attention ... About a year ago we had the first ever Writing Contest for the Carnegie Newsletter. It sparked over 30 individuals to submit a piece or three of their work in categories of 1) Poetry; 2) Memoir; & 3) Essay. There was stuff from people who had already been published in these pages but an impressive amount from people never heard from here before.

Over the last two months there have been essays published with hints of the contest "officially" launched in this issue. It will be for essays, which is to say articles and stories written in sentences, rather than freeform poetry. The basic guidelines are that your entry be from 250-700 words (to be printable on one page of the newsletter); to be your own work; to be about almost anything that is interesting and relevant to life and living. If your story is about life in Powell River or Nunavut or the DTES, whatever experience or issue you write about should be relevant to people here. No racism, no sexism, no personal attacks on people in this community, and no gratuitous obscenity. Swearing every sentence is mostly a lazy way to fill a page.

Entries should be typed or at least printed, with your full name and contact information. The contest is open over the summer and the authors of the most striking work will be announced & honoured during The Heart of the City Festival in October. We will be soliciting donors for some stuff to be given as prizes. Make sure you indicate whether a piece is for the contest, as the newsletter will continue to publish twice monthly.

Carnegie Theatre Workshop

- May classes -

ACTING BASICS Monologues, Scenes, Character scenarios

May 20, 27 Saturdays 1pm-3:30pm in the Carnegie Theatre Breathe, body, voice.

Imagination, action, curiosity, emotion.

Flex, prepare, explore.

Workshops led by Teresa Vandertuin Free, everyone welcome!

For .more info: 604-255-9401 tlzirteenojhearts@hotmail.com

To submit your writing to the contest please pick up an official entry form & an envelope at either the Carnegie Associatiori/Newsletter office or the main floor reception desk at the entrance to the Camegie Centre.

All entries must be in no later than September 15. 2017.

P~EASE/oakVille Beaver~f

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From the Library This year has already revealed some excellent new Fiction, and to celebrate Asian Heritage month I'm highlighting authors of Asian descent.

Dragon Springs Road (2017) by Janie Chang. A young girl, Jialing has been abandoned by her mother in Shanghai. It is 1908 and she finds herself a bondservant to a wealthy family. Jialing's life is upheaved when her friend, an English girl disappears. Chang's earlier book Three Souls was also set in China, and her work is described as "brimming with magic."

Men Without Women (2017) by Haruki Murakami. A collection of seven short stories about different men's lives by renowned Japanese writer, Murakami. His work is eclectic, weird, humorous, lonely, sentimental and mysterious. Be prepared for the unexpected.

Pachinko (2017) by Min Jin Lee. A poor family in Korea is shamed when their prized daughter, Sunja becomes pregnant. A minister offers to marry her and take her to Japan to start a new life. The book follows the family's history through four generations, and is about outsiders and minorities.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (2017) by Lisa See. The book is set in the Nannuo Mountain of China in 1949 and explores beliefs of an ethnic minority, Ahka law. Li- Y an is to follow her mother but takes a more turbulent path, becoming pregnant, losing her daughter to Americans who adopt the girl, and becoming a tea master. This tea connection eventually brings them together.

Hope to see some of you at the screening of Tailor Made on Thursday May 25th, at 6pm in the Theatre to honour the late Bill Wong of Modernize Tailors in Chinatown. It will be followed by a performance of Sawagi Taiko drumming!

Your librarian, Natalie

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Vanessa Webster

Introduction to Landrace Strains Historical documents from around the world, some dating as far back as 2900 B.C., tell us that cannabis has been used by humans for thousands of years. Cannabis was originally cultivated for food, fiber and for religious and medicinal purposes. These days there are .literally hundreds of strains of cannabis to choose from with varieties like Blueberry Kush, Super Lemon Haze and Alien OG to name just a few. But where did all these "Kushes," "Hazes," & countless other hybrids actually come from? They came from what are known as Landrace strains.

A Landrace strain is a pure cannabis strain which was cultivated in its natural environment & has never been crossbred with another variety. Landrace strains hail from global regions such as Jamaica, Afghanistan, India, Africa, Mexico, Pakistan, and Central America.

Some believe that about 100 of these rare strains exist today. Landrace strains are oftentimes named after their native or adopted regions (e.g., Afghani, Hawaiian, Thai) and traces of these landrace strains are sometimes detectable in the names of their hybrid descendants, such as Hawaiian Sunrise (a favorite!).

Over the next couple of issues of The Gram we are going to explore some of the most famous Landrace strains, explain what hybrid strains are, and give you some information on a few of the most popular and interesting strains that are available at your local dispensary. Stay tuned!

Cait & Daryl

.

'

Jenny Kwan, MP Vancouver East NDP Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Critic 2752 E Hastings St

The number of times a cricket chirps in 15 seconds, plus 37 will give you the current air temperature.

Vancouver, BC V5K IZ3

This fa~toid was under the cap of a Snapple bottle. It's for Americans & old squints (like me) who still think

T: 604-775-5800 F: 604-775-5811

in Fahrenheit.

Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc,ca

NEW VANCOUVER TENANTS UNION LAUNCHED APRIL 29, 2017 The parish hall at St Patrick's church on Main St was filled to capacity last Saturday night for the inaugural launch of this new tenants union. Around 150 people gathered to listen to the issues & obtain memberships.

I learned that the percentage of renters in the City of Vancouver is 50 percent. And that the 'average' cost of a one bedroom accommodation is 1900 dollars! And that the number of affordable housing units promised in the thousands actually only amounted to about a dozen.

There was a powerful charged atmosphere amongst a group offocused people. You could feel that these issues are extremely important to all renters in terms of fair and decent treatment in one of the most important basic human rights which is the need for stable affordable housing. It seemed all voices in the room responded loudly to the prompts given from the organizers. POWER was shouted after TENANT. ACTION shouted after COLLECTIVE! Many speaker braved the microphone and shared their rental stories of being discriminated against, illegally evicted, having their rents jacked up sky high and other human rights violations. A common thread I noticed in all the stories shared was the general lack of action by landlords and the City towards resolving maintenance, health and safety and - most disturbing fire safety bylaw enforcement. This is completely unacceptable!

Lama Mugabo of the CCAP expressed his thoughts very eloquently for a Metro news article which I think sums up the great need for this new tenants union.

"We want people to know that this is a union for them and they'll be supported and given all the training they need to continue to advocate, protect each other, support their neighbours and be strong" The platform for the Vancouver Tenants Union is

REAL RENT CONTROL EVICTION PROTECTIONS MORE HOUSING AND BETTER INCOMES FOR ALL For more information and to join the union it is simply a matter of going the website Vancouver Tenants Union. Memberships are I dollar and donations are also accepted. The email address is tenants union.yvr@gmail.com.

For Facebook Fb.me/tenantsunion.YVR. For tech-Ieery memberships & donations can be mailed to 418 Main St, PO Box 88151, 6A4A5

Another couple places you can obtain assistance 5 and action orientated housing advocacy are the DTES SRO Collaborative: dtes.sro.collab@gmail.com or the First United Church (Hastings & Gore) 604 681 8365.

I strongly urge everyone concerned to become a member so collectively we can grow a more powerful voice to force action and demand our basic human rights.

I was at this meeting as a guest of Wendy Pedersen and the SRO Callaborative. I sang a song parody I put together and performed recently at a Town Hall meeting at the Carnegie Theatre. I put together this song as my 'anthem' for a petition idea I have. The idea to get thousands of signatures to petition the City of Vancouver to speed up the enforcement of the many violations against landlords in this City. I did a little research online (anyone can check buildings by address on the City website) and discovered to my horror that ofthe 31 buildings I checked over 30 percent were for FIRE SAFETY BYLAWS. I will close this article with the words for the song.

I call it SOME KINDA UNACCEPTABLE and it is to the tune of SOME KIND A WONDERFUL by Grand I don't need procrastination,

Funk Railroad.

I'm tired of the runaround, All I need's a decent place to live Where I can fee' safe and sound.

All winter long my heater's been broke It's so cold that I'm sick as a dog Then all through the summer my window don't work No fresh air to cool me down Mr Landlord it's not a big joke.

Mr Mayor it's your duty and our right (that you) Enforce the violations It's some kinda unacceptable (yes it is) Some Kinda Unacceptable (yeah yeah yeah yeah) Now there's many others Who've got more issues than mine Too many fire safety violations Putting our lives on the line Now can I get a witness Can we get a witness There will be more meetings upcoming and further action being taken so let's get involved!

By Johnny Jaworski

CARNEGIE BOARD ELECTIONS WILL

BE HELD ON THURSDAY JUNE 1ST 2017 IN THE CARNEGIE THEATRE @ 5:30 PM

QUORUM

FOR THIS

TO BE A LEGAL MEETING

IS A MINIMUM

OF THIRTY (30) MEMBERS.

TO RUN FOR THE BOARD A PERSON MUST: •

HAVE A MEMBERSHIP CARD DATED NO LATER THAN APRIL 2ND, 2017;

•

BE OVER 16 YEARS OF AGE;

•

LIVE OR WORK (paid or unpaid) IN THE AREA;

•

BE AN ACTIVE MEMER OF THE CENTRE;

•

HA VE CONTRIBUTED

30 HOURS OF VOLUNTEEER

CENTRE OR THE ASSOCIATION

WORK TO THE CARNEGIE

IN THE YEAR PREVIOUS

TO THE ELECTION

TO VOTE AT THE AGM ON ,JUNE 1ST YOUR MEMBERSHIP

CARD MUST HAVE A DATE NO LATER THAN MAY 19TH, 2017.

CARNEGIE NEEDS PEOPLE LIKE YOU The Carnegie Board runs our Community Centre. We are a group of volunteers who care about the Centre and the way it functions.

• There is one board meeting a month and seven committees oversee different aspects ofthe Centre. Board members make up the following committees: Volunteer - chooses those honoured at volunteer dinners and other volunteer matters Program - recommends events and activities Education/Library - deals with issues from our library, one of the busiest VPL locations, and with the Learning Centre on the third floor Seniors -: Our seniors are active and this committee

is dedicated to them.

Community Relations - hears from the community well as overseas CCAP staff and reports

about issues and events and requests for support, as

Oppenheimer Park - The park and its programs are a part of Carnegie. We just recently succeeded in getting a traffic light put in at Jackson and Powell Streets.

Finance - All requests/recommendations are monitored

for money go here as well as grant requests. Financial statements

here.

Most Board members commit to three committees

a month.

We thank existing Board members for their hard work and are grateful for all those who have served the Board in the past. And we look forward to working with those who will serve in the future.

Respectfully submitted, Phoenix Winter and Usa David

7

vancouver foundation

With supported

from:

Intentionality, Mindfulness, Gratitude, Compassion, Community I got shingles at the end of January, 2006. It was misdiagnosed and it turned into post herpetic neuralgia.

My life stopped dead at that point, and I asked myself some questions. What is this illness trying to tell me?

What's wrong with the way I've been living? Why didn't my immune system take care of this? I knew that I couldn't let the pain take over, and that attitude was important in controlling it.

The American philosopher, William James, wrote, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes."

Over a number of months I discovered five words that would help me find meaning in this new situation.

The first word is "Intentionality". It means making a commitment to a goal, My long-range commitment is to turn roadblock into challenge, and fate into journey.

Intentionality also means discipline and perseverance. ~iving is a bit like driving a car at night. The journey IS long, but the headlights light up only a small part of the road. As we drive on, the headlights illuminate a new section of the road - and so on until we reach our destination. The point is we have to keep going.

The second word is "Mindfulness". A book that helped me with this word is called "Coming To Our

Senses - Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness," by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Mindfulness means attention. It means being awake. It means deep breathing, meditation, and prayer. A French mystic, Simone :V~il, ~rote that attention without an object is prayer III ItS highest form. When an anthropologist asked the La~ota ~hief Standing Bear what his people taught their children, Standing Bear replied, "We teach our ~hildren to look when there is nothing to see, and to listen when there is nothing to hear." That's mindfulness. Mindfulness is at the centre of a balanced life. It helps me control pain. It helps me wake up and see the beauty around me, & when I see that beauty I am astonished. Astonishment is a cornerstone of gratitude.

The third word is "Gratitude". I pray almost constantly - giving thanks for the sun, the stars, and the people I meet. Here's a quote from a poem called "Listen", by W. S. Merwin:

"with the night falling we are saying thank you back from a series of hospitals, back from a mugging, after funerals we are saying thank you, after the news of the dead

whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you, in a culture up to its neck in shame living in the stench it has chosen we are saying thank you, over telephones we are saying thank you, in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators."

The fourth word is "Compassion". When I see intensely, when I listen intensely, I am open to the pain of another person, and I care for that person. And now I am in pain, and belong to the community of those who live in pain. This experience has deepened my compassion. The writer, Margaret Atwood, said, "The world seen clearly is seen through tears." When I care, I am present for the other. I hear her words. As the Spanish philosopher, Miguel De Unamuno, said, "bodies may be attracted by pleasure, but souls are attracted by pain." _¡Th~t brings us to the fifth word - "Community". It seems to me that the community of those who live in pain includes just bout everyone. We need each other.

Human beings are gregarious animals, and caring and co-operation are more important for survival than competition and selfishness. In my view, women usually have a deeper understanding of caring relationships than men do, and Life is relationship, or as the Jewish philosopher, Martin Buber said, "Life is meeting," and meeting-builds community. But it only builds community if we can see and hear with mindfulness.

Here are the five words that have helped me find a way to live with pain. Intentionality, Mindfulness, . Gratitude, Compassion, and Community. You will have other words that have helped you. Putting words down on paper is one way of finding out what we ac~ally think about something, and sharing those words IS a good way to start a dialogue.

By SANDY CAMERON

-

...•

PACIFIC BLUEGRASS & HERITAGE

SOCIETY

YOU'RE INVITED! Masks: Traditional and Contemporary in an Urban Setting

Tony WiI/on &. Pat/Y Klein in eeneert Friday, May 19th, 2:00 PM in the Carnegie Theatre Vocalist Patsy Klein (the Colourifics & Veda Hille Band) and guitarist Tony Wilson (Peggy Lee Band & Pugs & Crows and others) joined forces four years ago.

They started their collaboration by playing cover tunes a wide variety of artists and now are playing original tunes composed by Wilson. They've been very active performing at venues in Vancouver. Although they often play with a band, this performance at Camegie Centr will be as a duo and will consist mainly of original tune .

A variety of bands playing Bluegrass, Folk and Country Music!

Wednesday, May 17th, 7 - 9 pm Carnegie Theatre

We invite your attendance to witness the beautiful masks, both traditional and modem contemporary, to honour our relations & oral traditions. The exhibition will run from May 9th to the 27th and will feature the work of the downtown eastside community members both indigenous (for Native masks) & non-indigenous (for contemporized masks). The exhibition is being hosted by the Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts (DECA) and marks the official return of DE CA to the community.

Masks are used in many indigenous cultures as a form of expression, storytelling and in first nations culture they are used in many traditional ceremonies. Traditional masks have played an important role in first national cultures for thousand of years. They carry the historic stories of the peoples of the land, move to inspire future generations & give context to relationships between families and communities.

The practice of carving masks is usually passed down by a traditional teacher and the student may learn from a number of teachers and eventually integrate his own style into what rye creates.

CONTEMPORARY

MASKS

The Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts held a community workshop inviting people to participate & create their own masks. The result was wonderfully diverse personal interpretations of what masks mean to individuals from the DTES community.

-Sandy Scofield

For more information: dalannah.deca@gmail.com Media Enquiries: sandvl.deca@gmail.com www.dtescentreforthearts.com

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The City of Vancouver met residents of the "Ten Year Tent City" in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday, arguing for an injunction to have the camp removed.

On Monday, residents of the camp at 950 Main Street were served with a notice of civil claim, which detailed the City's cause for their removal.

Maria Wallstam is an organizer with a group calling themselves the Alliance against Displacement, advocating for the tent city residents. They requested an adjoumment in order to better prepare their defence to the injunction. ''It's a pretty basic ask, to have enough time to have due process and a fair hearing. What we're talking about here is actually like, people's lives are at stake," said Wallstam.

The City says the camp residents are trespassing on their lot, which was purchased in 1998 for social housing. Since then, nothing substantive has come of the property until April 26 when a development permit application on behalf of the Lu'ma Native Housing Society was received by the City.

In a statement, the City says the development will include 26 units of social housing, serving Aboriginal adults who are homeless or at risk of it. The City's recently-changed definition of "social housing" means housing available at below "market" rents, meaning specifically far above welfare shelter iWMI6HT5AY mAr. THm AI?8 I?,CXJO ~N5iJS TAKi3I<S NA¡ T10NU/Ia3, MANY (JP THeM HOlrleU;SS

rates and far more than 30% of a pensioner's income.

Wallstam says the injunction to remove residents will do more hann than good, with no alternative housing offered by the City of Vancouver.

"It's a lot that's been empty for over twenty years, they've owned this since the nineties. Suddenly it's an emergency that 50 homeless people have made this into a home where they support each other and they provide shelter the government is not providing' said Wallstam.

Joyce Jackson says the tent city operates like a real community, & represents a safe space for residents.

The tent city features a kitchen, harm reduction area, and security workers.

Joyce Jackson is a camp community member & the group's treasurer, Before making a home there, she says she was living on the street or in shelters.

"We clean, we cook, we have Narcan training, It's like being at home with your friends," said Jackson.

"It's safe here and we all respect each other."

Jackson says that while some residents may respect the injunction if it is granted, she, along with the majority of camp dwellers, will fight any attempt at their removal.

The Court said judgement on the injunction will be rendered on Wednesday, May 17.

(Updated fro~ an_articleby Cory Correira, CBC)

Beatrice Starr: Radiant Light

By Debra McNaught From the information I could find it seems Beatrice Starr's life took on something of the metaphor implied by her last name, that she really was a point of light, hope and solidarity. While she worked to improve the lives of everyone in the DTES her greater concern was for women, in particular the deliberately marginalized women in our community struggling with the same issues she had fought against: abuse, sobriety, having her kids apprehended by the Misery of Family Services, violence against women. She was an inspiration of a nobler kind, and lived for many years in our community.

Beatrice was born in 1950 in Bella Bella and (I'm guessing), like so many Indigenous peoples looking for a life better than the government grudgingly bestows, found herself at Hastings and Main. She got involved with the Power of Women (POW) group at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre. At first she could only listen to the stories of the other women in the group, too shy to speak up, too ashamed of the experiences she had lived through; when you live a life of systemic abuse it's easy to believe you don't count for much. Worse, it's hard to find your voice, hard to learn how to speak up against the injustices you've suffered through and continue to witness daily because you don't believe you matter to anyone in a position to care. Within the warm embrace of a group of women themselves learning to speak out by telling their stories - discovering they are not alone, discovering that they do matter - is where Beatrice found her voice. POW helped her learn "to speak out for my family and other women being abused ... to talk about things I've been through if it can help other women."

Since living here in the DTES I have discovered there are two kinds of volunteers, the Right kind, and then the kind most of us down here are unfortunately all too familiar with: The Reformer, the designer-clad Kerrisdale matron who puts in four hours a month

ladling out watery soup and a solid helping of contempt for those she judges to be "undeserving" poor.

In contrast, the Right kind of volunteers are the ones who've lived it, who've survived the trauma of whatever delivered them to the DTES, who understand what it's like to have to choose between soap and food, who have been treated like parasites by the Ministry of Despair, who have lived with rats the size of small dogs in their shitty SRO, and who have dealt with daily lineups for ... well ... everything. The Right kind of volunteer is somebody who has clawed their way through (almost?) to the other side, who has regained enough of their self-respect and decides the best thing they can do down here is to give back.

And that's what Beatrice did. "All the things I have been through, everything that's happened to me in my life, these are things we [at POW] tend to go out and fight for." Her kids were taken away by the Ministry, she suffered abuse and violence of the kind directed specifically at women, she counted a sister and a niece among the murdered and missing, she struggled with sobriety, she lived for several months in a shelter.

When you live here in the DTES you can spend some time feeling sorry for yourself, asking 'How thefuck did I end up down here?' but when you realize that whatever horrors you've managed to survive there is always somebody worse off, somebody who has a sadder story to tell than yours, that's when Life allows you to gain a little perspective; it's what you do with the anger generated by experiencing that level of social injustice that can help define who you are. As the writer (and feminist himself) George Eliot declared, "It's never too late to be what you might have been."

Realizing that all the bullshit we suffer down here is not only deliberately manufactured but orchestrated is a critical point: when you finally grasp the extent of the bullshit perpetrated on the people down here just because they're poor ... I mean, how can you not get involved? Beatrice began to make the connections: that colonialism continues to make hell of Indigenous lives, that decent and affordable housing was a foundation of security nobody should have to fight for, that poor-bashing was an invention of the rich assholes that own government and the media who insist on perpetuating the great lie that would have us believe working some crapola minimum wage job will magically transport us to the Promised Land.

When that bullshit excuse to outrageously throw public money around (known as the 2010 Olympics) hap-

pened, Beatrice was front and centre. She was part of the blockade that prevented the Olympic Torch from being carried through the DTES. "They should be building homes for people, not spending it on the Olympics," she said. She spoke at housing protests and rallies for housing justice; she helped occupy the cop shop in 20 I0 when the routinely useless Vancouver Police tried to bury the murder of a local Indigenous woman under the radar. In an interview with the Georgia Straight in 2009, she hammered against the farce of the Truth and Reconciliation Dog and Pony Show, saying, "We demand justice for all womenespecially Native - whose murders in this province [BC] have become a closed chapter for the government." That truth needs no further clarification.

Down here, we're supposed to be so crippled and warped by indifference that we just shut up and die as soon as possible. Down here, Beatrice Starr found herself, found her voice, and used her knowledge to inspire others, a legacy only the best kind of human being leaves behind.

Beatrice died in 2015.

CAMP Camp is a great place to go I get to spend time with friends.

Camp is a great place to go I get to eat delicious food Camp is a great place to go I get to canoe on a lake Camp is a great place to go I get to play games and dance Camp is a great place to go I love camp!

Peter Lau

Later

ALWAYS COMES

Like taking still-life photographs of mannequins so much take yet so little to give have you heard the latest an exquisite gift of an Eleventh Commandment has been discovered just like the first ten also found were their negatives Darwin the Apostle has brought out his happy face which by chance can push back thunderclouds, like a gift card for real gifts you're either born with or born without I am talking about timing mechanicalness so much to live up to while some is left behind at least know how to work on your final solution most choose wrists so go north to south.

I'm just going through a nostalgia breakdown rising above personal problems is encouraged let alone allowed, those clouds are getting shoved around like a condensed version of humanity written by a child for Irrational Digest diluted joy is mixed in with this world's latest atrocities of course most will look away then forget while they get their vanilla spice decaf latte after all what do all those obliterated child body parts like dolls ripped apati yet what does that have to do with me Our country isn't on fire, the housewives of war-torn nations don't have time to pack up their furs diamonds oh that bank you almost own will totally live on it may be just ajoke all of your millions which you've neyer declared let alone earned could erupt in one big funeral pyre, like an early television show called Let's Make a Wheel why not put mortality in vending machines so all can realise their antipotential what an awesome rush those that live & those that die shall feel some if not most of the time I get this feeling that we are living in a land whose first tenants were evicted simply because they got in someone's way as half-mast apologies are thrown about. ..

Like a black child at a KKK Horrificus Exposition Carnival event, at which there is a prize for a "My Heart Goes Out to Them" yet bullets are cheaper than a human life so brutally sad certain races of life will & have dissolved in puddles of mud thousands of years before & beyond will all be the same yeah that bad the n:aternity ward may as well be on a bridge before tippll1g them over they'll be fitted with baby shoes made of cement, we all remember the smell of solvents & ~eath as I draw the blinds on a day that we call today like so many others hibernation is a wish but I never wish cuz it may come true I&we have lost so much we need to hold firmly onto one another a furnace built for two is not selfish it is evil every room in this world is now a war room,

When one is one too many how will the last listen let alone work the clock I guess they'll let the silence ring on sooner then later there will not be enough milk cartons for missing faces don't 1000to me I shall be gone like an Islamic State shopping channel this isn't meant to be funny this is an all time evil this evil makes serial killers & Mother Nature look like Romper Room.

Let me & my car breathe a couple half hours of carbon monoxide once again I think of the real housewives of the DTES who get up at 4am making sure they don't miss their ride on the truck you know the one it has no seat belts or speed limits yet always an adventure into Terrorland the driver has only been drinking since the drunk tank released him not even having a driver's licence it just makes things much more fun then when people die the government absolves itself of any criminally-based charges but they shall be there just like a doctor turning his back forward on his patients his or her name is the last thing needed by someone newly out of life with all those pill bottles around this once-valued client's bed of course she didn't look like the dying type some just get sane ideas into their head uncertainty allowed a form of finality to be heaven sent, Like killing off entire forests common sense doesn't grow yet in a way money does then counterfeits were replaced by polymer they'll have that licked like a 3legged horse coming in first place in a glue factory

SOLO ART SHOW In a tiny little shop

race I'm telling ya the ending of everything will I am sure be quick this wait&see generation is killing off more than just boredom we have proven without a doubt how capable we are 0 destroying every life form there is, this future thing just came out of everywhere falling all over me like if a man does not open the car door for his wife would she sit there all nite long is this a solitary stance walk away & let things be it is what it is, a composite sketch of the entity we have come to know so well that would be Death like drilling a hole in water or something totally evil like pimping out sons & daughters losing time along with your mind makes it difficult to inhale a breath as even god himself has walked over the bodies while counting on Darwin&Goliath&Sons to move your entire life when making positive choices I am all thumbs, Like being a census-taker counting heads the day after Earth succumbs to' the Third War to end all wars all phonecalls begin&end with "This person let alone continent cannot be reached" now one is one too few as I watch the last of humanity pile up on a once pristine beach as Saint Minus so wisely said 'eventually later always comes.'

By ROBERT McGILLIVRA Y

"Death is here and death is there, death is busy everywhere all around within beneath. Above is death and we are death.

-Shelley Death 1820

FOR PRODUCT SALES Go to The Community Thrift/WINDOW

SHOP

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(Bey

Group Art Show at

Oli! 'Montana

11 West Hastings St Mon-Sat 11am- 7pm

Carnegie Centre

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Voices The Qu' Appelle River runs through the Qu' Appelle Valley in southern Saskatchewan. So graceful and harmonious is this valley that it reminds the traveler of that visionary homeland where each thing has what it needs to live a beautiful life. When I first saw the Qu' Appellle Valley, I thought that this place was like the home I might have had if the Great War of 19141918 had not cast a violent shadow over the entire twentieth century.

The Qu' Appelle River tlows through the Qu' Appelle Valley like a Queen on parade. Her name, "Qu' Appelle", is French for "Who calls?" This is a rough translation of the original Cree words for the river, and there are many stories as to how the river got its name. One story goes like this: Long ago a First Nations person was going down the river in his canoe. One day he heard a voice calling to him. He stopped paddling & listened intently. Again he heard the voice calling, and he called out in his turn. No one answered him, so he carefully looked around for the tracks of another person. He couldn't find any tracks, and from that time the river was known as "Who calls?" (1) Today we cannot hear the earth speak in the same way as aboriginal people did before the coming of the Europeans. In the old days, the relationship of First Nations people to nature was intense and personal. Everything in nature had the power to reveal itself as a living presence, should it choose to do so, and should a person be ready to hear or to see. This relationship went both ways. Human beings were part of nature as were fish, trees, rocks and grizzly bears. And because humans were created later than most other creatures p.eople were often humbly thought of as the younger sisters and brothers. So did humans see themselves as members of a larger family on a living earth. Black Elk said, "The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of human beings when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe."

In our technological, urban world we have lost much of our ability to hear many of the voices in nature. We long for connection to the beauty we see, and we talk ?f spirituality rather than formal religion. Spirituality IS about the quality of our relationship to the world. It

is about our ability to see our connection to everything around us, to see the beauty, to hear the voices, to be present to the miracle of that which is simply in front of us. Chief Seathl, after whom the City of Seattle was named, put it this way: "Every part of this land is sacred in the view of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove .... " We reach out to the people around us with deep caring. We watch. We listen. Rain falls. The wind is like breathing. "All real living is meeting," Martin .Buber said. Life is relationship. First Nations people close many of their speeches and prayers with the expression, "All my relations."

In April 2010, an int~rnational conference for the protection of the earth took place in Bolivia. President Evo Morales of Bolivia invited the peoples of the world to this conference, and more than 30,000 people from over 100 countries came to share their concerns.

President Morales urged the delegates to listen to the voices of indigenous people as they talked about respect for the earth and stewardship.

We can be more aware of the voices around us and we can start with the people we meet every day.' Can we hear the person who is asking for help? Eagles fly overhead at many of our ceremonies in the Downtown Eastside. What are the eagles saying to us? Waves on th~ shore of Crab Park have stories to tell. The Oppenheirner Park totem pole speaks to the long history of First Nations on this land, and it also asks us to remem ber those who have died in the Downtown Eastside and those who have survived. ' The old heritage buildings in our community speak to the early history of Vancouver, and in the streets late at night you can hear the voices of unemployed men during the Great Depression of the 1930' s. They are marching in a snake parade because they are hungry and have no place to sleep. Chinatown and Japantown have stories to tell of those who fought for dignity and human rights.

So many voices. Somuch pain, courage and laughter. "Who calls?" we ask, and we hear the voice of the other one, reminding us of relationship, or our kinship to the mice in the fields and the stars in the sky. As Chief Joseph said, "The earth and myself are of one mind."

By SANDY CAMERON (I) River in a Dry Land, by Trevor Harriot, published , by Stoddart, 2000, page 12.

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