Made my presentation at the school this morning, despite feeling nervous and unprepared. The kids were surprisingly interested, even the little ones didn't wriggle around that much considering it was mostly me talking. The topic was "War and Spruce", the theme for the display the Historical Society is putting together for Remembrance Day. I talked about Aero Camp and the steam locomotives and making Mosquito fighter-bombers out of Sitka Spruce during WWII. Then how after the war, half the camp was barged from Cumshewa Inlet to Juskatla, which must have been a mammoth undertaking in itself. The school is going to work on making a big hanging to illustrate the process, with the camp and planes and trees and such. Might not have it all done for this Remembrance Day, but if not, it will form a great addition to the display for future Remembrance Days.

Feel all thumbs here. Trying to update links and woefully failing to navigate to the correct screen. Mutter, grumble. Feel very sympathetic to all the other luddites out there. That said, when all else fails, read the help files...

Testing, testing, 1-2-3... It has been a while, again. I had to laugh when Mum showed me an old largely empty journal Dad began by writing down he didn't know why he started these things and then never kept them up.

Snap!

It has been however many years and months since my next-most-recent blog post and today I am wandering astray from my preparations for tonight's all-candidates meeting at the Community Hall. Put my name forward for election to the Port Clements Village Council as one of four Councillors earlier this month largely because Wally had asked me if I'd run.

The difficulty in a small community is that being on Council requires the ability to listen, patience, persistence and the hide of a rhino. The ability to think clearly and objectively must be balanced with the need to support your community, region and province. You have to be sensitive to needs and yet prudent with finances. You have to have the time to wade through massive amounts of paperwork, and be willing to spend hours in meetings. It is essential to retain the capacity for innovation while also respecting the familiar and routine.

In this particular village, you can be called out at any old hour to run around helping the maintenance department locate the empty properties with leaking water pipes when the big freeze bursts enough pipes to rapidly and dangerously deplete the water supply; to be on hand at the Village Office until 3 a.m. helping staff field anxious calls and people after the second biggest recorded earthquake in Canada rumbles through; and generally expected to lend a hand wherever and whenever needed for the next four years.

So it's a big undertaking.

Of course when I think about it, being a parent is a big undertaking, and how many of us leapt into that without much forethought?

Well, see how it goes tonight, and then again, just because I've put my name forward doesn't mean I'll be elected. Will find out one way or the other November 15.