18• The Columbia Valley Pioneer
February 23, 2007
VALLEY NEWS
Dad and daughter in perfect harmony Blues/roots recording artists Holly and Jon will be performing a show at Angus McToogle’s Pub in Invermere on Friday, March 2nd. Aside from the remarkable music they make together, one of the things that make this duo unique is that they are a daughter/father team and the story of how Jon discovered Holly’s inherent musical abilities is one he loves to tell. “When Holly was about three or four years old we were living in a cabin on a mountainside on the east shore of Kootenay Lake. One day I was sitting at the kitchen table strumming some chords on my guitar. Holly began to sing along to the chords that I was playing and it sounded real good. “I changed key a few times to see if she would follow me and she did every time. That was the day I found out that my daughter had been bestowed with the gift of music, and I knew it was something we should work to develop.” And develop it they certainly did. Holly learned
At the Library Reviewed by Sheila Bonny Invermere Public Library Vincent Lam’s book, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, is a collection of short stories about four students progressing from pre-med studies, medical school and residency to medical practice. Without the hysteria of television’s ER, Lam realistically describes the stress, emotional trauma, humour and exhaustion of the medical profession. He writes matter-of-factly, using accurate medical terms defined in a glossary at the end of the volume. We learn of Ming’s single-minded focus and Fitzgerald’s suggestion of blackmail to gain access to medical school, Sri and Chen’s horror when Ming misplaces the right side of their laboratory cadaver’s head, and Sri’s difficulty deciding whether a mentally-disturbed patient will be of danger to himself or others. “Contact Tracing” follows the progression of the Toronto SARS epidemic as it moves from the travelling public to infect health professionals, including Chen and Fitzgerald. In the final story, Chen drives through morning rush-hour traffic with his windows down, singing aloud and slapping himself to fight sleep deprivation. Because the same four characters reappear throughout this interesting short story collection, I kept wishing Lam had written a novel to fill in the blanks between the story’s episodes.
to play bass guitar, won a vocal scholarship, performed at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival and opened for Maple Blues Award winner Carlos Del Junco while still in high school. After graduation she attended Music College for two years, all the while perfecting her skills by writing songs and performing at coffee houses, clubs, concerts and festivals. Holly’s voice has been described as “Soaring from deep inside the well of Aretha Franklin and Eva Cassidy; combining an innate sense of melody with blues feel and jazz phrasing.” Holly’s Dad, Jon, started performing in England where he spent much of his childhood. At an early age he was entertaining but it wasn’t until his family moved to Canada that he started playing music professionally. After seeing blues legend Freddie King perform, he followed his own musical calling and honed his craft in the western Canadian music scene of the mid ‘70s and ‘80s. Jon’s guitar prowess has been spoken of as “incor-
porating the fire and passion of Freddie King with the melody of Dickie Betts; easily having the ability of Clapton or Hendrix in their heyday.” Holly and Jon released a CD of all original music in October 2005. Entitled Big Wind on the Way, the album has gone on to receive critical acclaim, airplay and chart action across the country and worldwide on the Sirius Satellite Network. It can be heard in its entirety on CBC Radio 3’s New Music Canada website or downloaded at www.itunes.com. These folks are genuine songwriters who excel at playing, singing and performing. They have appeared together on shows with Canadian and international artists such as Juno Award winners Colin James and Jeff Healey; Maple Blues award winners Paul Reddick and Harry Manx; legendary producer/session man/ songwriter/piano man Leon Russell and Ray Charles sax player Fathead Newman. The show starts at 7 p.m. Friday, March 2nd. For more, see their website at: www.hollyandjon.com.
Is your cat going crazy? By Louise Platiel Invermere Veterinary Hospital Is your cat going squirrelly? Keeping your cat indoors is often necessary in rural areas, as wild animals pose a significant danger to our domestic companions. This may, however, cause some behavioral challenges, including scratching of your favorite furniture. Since an overwhelming number of felines are surrendered to the SPCA for this reason, you are not alone if you are at a loss as to how to solve this problem. Scratching behavior is often mistaken as claw sharpening, but in addition to removing dead nails it is also part of territory marking and exercise. Stretching provides crucial strengthening exercise for shoulders and spines. This is why we often see an increase in bad behaviors and health problems after a declawing procedure. While it remains an option, it can cause cats to stop using their litter box, start biting, and develop arthritis. Modern thinking is that declawing is a fairly radical solution that should only be used after trying a combination of products to redirect the behaviors. In order to redirect your cat’s natural activities, provide scratching posts in the areas being marked and
make them attractive by sprinkling the surface with catnip. Products are available made of cardboard, sisal, wood, and carpet. Posts are particularly attractive, as are the tray and box styles, and cat “trees.” Dangling prey toys from the top is a great way to spark interest. In addition, repel your cat from favorite furniture with sticky paper, plastic covers, or repellent sprays that use scents such as citrus to discourage activity. When you’re home, a squirt of water administered during unwanted activity is a great training tool. It will also help to keep nails clipped, reducing the need to shed old nail sheaths. While declawing may be your last and only option, it is a serious surgical procedure and should only be considered after a consultation with your vet, who can tell you more potential behavioral side effects. Modern veterinary practitioners discourage this as the first solution because it is essentially an amputation comparable to removing the end of a finger at the first knuckle, which is extreme and expensive in comparison to the cost of a few fun materials which appeal to your cat’s sense of play. So, now that the temperature has dropped again and you may be worried about safety in the great outdoors, pop in to your favorite retailer and check out the new varieties of scratching and activity centers that will appeal to kitty’s wild side and create harmony in your home. After all, your favorite easy chair should be enjoyed by you and your cat for the rest and relaxation you both deserve.