Spring is sprung and around this dominion (and others) they will be out there: those single-minded, Relentless People with a Purpose hordes, all chasing the little white ball.  Thankfully for them at least, B.C., by virtue of its mostly temperate, God-blessed climate, opens up its greens before everyone else in Canada.

Which reminds me of an old friend of mine from school whose life was metaphorically saved by golf and that silly little white ball.

At 65, after 35 years toiling for the same civil engineering firm, Edward (‘Ted’) confronted mandatory retirement. The gold watch did little to appease him. His life, his love for pernickety detail and the compulsive/obsessive minutia of dealing with pipes and tanks to dispose of sewage around the world was swept away as if by some malevolent, giant tsunami. Making matters worse was his loss of the daily camaraderie of his predominantly male colleagues and the after-work pints. All gone.

To Ted, home represented a comfortable minimum security prison. Three squares a day. No more commuting, total freedom to come and go. No serious interests outside of the psi load factor of pipes, tank capacities, logarithms and project deadlines. No grandchildren, let alone children. Parents long dead, no siblings. A 30-year comfortable relationship with Sonya his partner, marriage having been analyzed by Ted as a commitment to avoid at all costs. A creature of habit with the inflexibility that often comes with it. The fact he had lived with her for nearly half his lifetime had no impact on his latest predicament. An objective observer would say he had it all.

But what the heck was he going to do with himself?

Another Spring is fast developing as I write. A few mild days have given us hope that we may escape a late freeze which would spoil early blooms and retard the establishment of our shrubs and trees in what we trust will be their first real display of flowers.

In the uppermost bank we've chosen mostly white or greenish-white flowered shrubs and small trees amongst a selection of local ferns which will hold the bank. There is a mixture of sun and shade during the course of the day, and on clear days a stunning view of the Lions in the background.

Early in the season Tall Oregon Grape - Mahonia aquifolium - with its yellow flowers and holly-like leaves will be dominant above salal and ferns on the Lions Bay Avenue side of the garden, at times claiming its site at the expense of the previously introduced hedge.

A little lower down Red Flowering Currant, Rosa nutkana (the Nootka Rose), Kinnikinnik amongst Salal and Ferns are dominant. Across the garden parallel to these are Snowberries which were previously hidden in brambles. Last summer they suffered from powdery mildew from drought caused by both a dry summer season and the canopy of large evergreen overhanging foliage. We will see if watering can restore the vision we have of a drift of white snowberries throughout the winter.

With the promise of spring just around the corner, our thoughts turn to balmy summer days and long evenings to enjoy the outdoors.  For those of us who take great delight in chasing a tennis ball around a court with racquet in hand, this means we can once again look forward to taking advantage of our truly unique court on Mountain Drive.  

After some frustrations last season whilst we waited patiently for conditions to be just right so that the contractors could attend to repairing the faulty surface, this was finally accomplished late in the summer.  From the few times that we were lucky enough to get out and play and enjoy the court thereafter, it appears that we now have the best court surface possible in place.  Unfortunately with the return of winter the court had to be abandoned for the season but thanks to the Works Department, the court was beautifully cleaned, the net taken down and stored and the gates locked so that no damage could occur over the winter months. 

Methylene Blue

Methylene Blue was the world's first fully synthetic drug developed by Paul Erlich in 1891 as a means to cure malaria. The drug's invention predates Aspirin by 6 years. Although the "Prussian Blue", “Magic Bullet” drug was in widespread use up until the Second World War, it fell out of public favor when Navy soldiers, who observed, "Even at the loo, we see, we pee, navy blue", felt that the Navy was controlling every aspect of their lives. 

Today this once daily malaria preventative is marketed under the trade name "Rember" and has many more uses, ranging from Cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Anti-Fungal, Anti-bacterial, Anti-Viral, Urinary Tract Infections, Toxin Antidote (Cyanide Poisoning, Carbon Monoxide poisoning, Methemoglobinemia, Septic Shock, etc.), delay senescence (Anti-Aging on a cellular level), Anti-depressants (must not be mixed with other anti-depressants), Anti-Anxiety, Nootropic (Cognitive Enhancer) to biological stains and dyes. Furthermore this generic drug cannot be patented (one reason why it is not commercially hyped) and is available dirt cheap in the form of a dye or tropical Aquarium fish "cure all" Kordon Blue for general disease prevention.

The above list of uses for this super antioxidant, make it an excellent candidate for the third world and Canadians alike in achieving the most bang for the buck. Common third world ailments such as bacterial infections and pesticide exposure could be treated with the same catch all solution at a price the third world can afford. From a business perspective though, it is too cheap to be worth the effort of marketing. But this has its own consequences. Had this once well known, now obscure drug, been used, Pope John Paul II, who died of a septic shock and a urinary tract infection might be, in my humble opinion, still alive today, for it is an effective remedy for both ailments. 

Even right here in our Canada, this effective solution against Parkinson’s and Alzheimers would make this an excellent means for seniors to increase their overall longevity all the while keeping many a senior out of assisted care living. And yes, it will also most certainly make your vacation more enjoyable as the preventative will allow you not to worry about catching malaria or other tropical diseases.

The downside of this drug is minimal, namely blue colored urine and, with prolonged use, blue colored eye whites, however even these side effects can be counteracted with vitamin C. Methylene Blue should also not be mixed with existing anti-depressant prescriptions. Furthermore longtime users should not expose their eyes to prolonged bright unfiltered sunlight (the drug breaks down in bright sunlight so there is a need to wear sunglasses) which may cause cataracts. Nevertheless this was once a common military drug used in the extremely sunny tropics with little repercussions. 

Then there is the drug’s political downside. Its inexpensive price amounts to pharmaceutical dumping whereby more expensive drugs cannot compete. Companies do not want to invest in its research as the incentive for competitors to shirk is too great. Also the drug would result in fewer jobs in the assisted care industry as seniors would be more independent, devoid of Parkinson's or Alzheimer's and other debilitating illnesses. Longer lifespans would result in greater strains on the government pension system.

Little wonder why Paul Erlich won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1908 and became a great Jewish Prussian hero of the then Kaiser Wilhelm II. In Erlich’s obituary, the Kaiser wrote “I, along with the entire civilized world, mourn the death of this meritorious researcher for his great service to medical science and suffering humanity; his life’s work ensures undying fame and the gratitude of both his contemporaries and posterity”. 

It is sad that today, much of his life’s work is buried as bulk distributions of Methylene Blue to the poor without health insurance could threaten the financial success of the modern pharmaceutical industry. But then again public health insurance and government agencies are there to prevent that all from happening.

As you hike along the trails in Lions Bay have you ever wondered how they manage to stay in such good condition and who might be responsible for their upkeep? When you see something that needs fixing or clearing do you think to yourself “Someone should do something about that”?

All of our trails were built and are maintained by volunteers but we could always use more as our trail system grows! Some time ago I sent out a message asking for people to consider adopting a section of trail and a few people have embraced the idea. You may have seen them slogging away in the forest on their own with a pick and shovel. But as Spring approaches the trails will become overgrown very quickly as the blackberry vines work their way across and the ferns start to hide the route.

This is an amazing one time opportunity to get rid of those jars of (about to become extinct) pennies that are lying in a closet or drawer of your house.

You can either drop them off at the Lions Bay Village Store, send me an email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or give me a call at 604 922 9842 and we will pick them up.

They will be used by Project HANDS for their surgical trips to Guatemala. (www.projecthands.org)

It would be a shame to waste an opportunity to give you a bit of useless trivia about the penny:

“A penny saved is a penny earned”

The original form of this proverb used got instead of earned and is recorded in George Herbert’s “Outlandish Proverbs” circa 1633 – “A penny spar’d is twice got”

John

There are many varieties and flavors of shortbread cookies to grace the table during the holiday season. This is our melt in your mouth, family favorite recipe, handed down from my paternal grandmother Yvette.

Preheat oven to 325.

Ingredients:

1 c butter, soft, room temperature

½ c icing sugar, sifted

1¾ c flour

In bowl, whip butter with electric mixer until light and creamy. (or you can do this by hand)  Add icing sugar to butter and mix well.  Add flour and mix until combined.  Divide into manageable portions and roll lightly with rolling pin to desired thickness. (1/4” thick)  Use cookie cutter of desired shape and transfer to an ungreased (parchment lined is ok) cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom.  Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks.  Frost with butter frosting.  You may garnish with a snippet of a maraschino cherry for colour, if desired.  Enjoy!

PS If you have any family favorite recipes you would like to share, please get in touch at lionsbay.net

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Enjoy these questions which play on the english language.  A little smarty pants fun and a twist on word wise Webster diction. Clever...

1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?
2. Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?
3. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?
4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?
5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?
6. Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?
7. Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?
8. Why do "tug" boats push their barges?
9. Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there?
10. Why are they called "stands" when they are made for sitting?
11. Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"?
12. Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?
13. Why are a "wise man" and a "wise guy" opposites?
14. Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things?
15. Why is "phonics" not spelled the way it sounds?
16. If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?
17. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?
18. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
19. If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right?
20. Why is bra singular and panties plural?
21. Why do you press harder on the buttons of a remote control when you know the batteries are dead?
22. Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in a suitcase?
23. How come abbreviated is such a long word?
24. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
25. Why do they call it a TV set when you only have one?