Posts from — May 2008

What a day we had yesterday!! It was Lindsay’s 19th birthday and we were all pumped to do it up right. Breakfast in bed, horseback riding, supper at an upscale restaurant and a fire and champagne in the back yard.

Lindsay found it a bit early having breakfast at 7 am but given that Cathy and Mike had to leave by 8 that is what happened. In fact it was quite nice.
At 11 am we (Lindz and I) headed out Larry and Janice’s to go horse back riding. This is a favourite thing for Lindsay and I enjoy going alone the ride, so to speak.
Lindsay and Larry are both good riders and while I enjoy it I still have fears of being dumped along the road side some place.
Larry’s horses are beautiful, big horses. My horse (Red) and I got off to a great start. He stepped on my toe (luckily I had on my hiking boots) and while he pinned down my toe he pushed me with his head causing me to fall flat on my derriere in front of him. After that I knew who was boss!
Actually we had a great ride. I did things I never thought I would do like climbing steep hills in a gravel pit and then going down them and for the first time I actually jumped over dead trees on the trail. Lindsay ended up flying over the horn of her saddle and landing on Missy’s (her horse’s) neck. Lucky for me I was able to hold on to the saddle horn tight enough to avoid such a happening.
Three hours later I was happy to see the farm yard. 

Dinner was enjoyable although selecting from the menu can be a bit daunting (it is often quite difficult to know what you are really going to get) and I don’t think Lindsay was really happy with her meal. She did enjoy the desert.
Back at the house we built a bon fire, cracked open the Champagne and toasted our 19 year old. Kilen, Lindsay’s boyfriend joined us for supper and the bonfire and Lindsay’s friend Lisa joined us for the bonfire.

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Boy, I am feeling like I am becoming more and more right wing in my points of view. First off I side with the courts in the decision to send KI leaders to jail for six months (I actually think the civil disobedience is working for the band) and now I am questioning the rights of immigrants to follow their own traditions and cultural laws in Canada.
I just finished reading Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s memoirs. Gerry Cullen, a fellow book club member recommended it at our last book club meeting. Ali was born into a strict Moslem family and spent her early years growing up in Somali, Kenya and Ethiopia. Her father was a leader in the civil war in Somalia and so he was absent most of Ali’s life. She was brought up by her mother and grandmother. At age 20 her father found her a perfect match for marriage to a Canadian Moslem. Within a week she found herself married to this young fellow whom she had only just met. Right after their marriage he went back to Canada to do the paper work to bring Ali to Canada.
They found that it would be faster if she were living in Germany so it was arranged that she would go to live with a Somali family there and wait for her visa.
In Germany she decided she wasn’t going to go to Canada and fled to Holland where she changed her name and applied for refugee status.
Because she had learned English in Kenya she became a translator and was able to help other refugees. She became an outspoken leader on women’s rights for Muslim women and a got elected to parliament in Holland.
The book is a condemnation of the Islamic way of life. I don’t think that is too strong a statement. 
It takes one through Ali’s commitment to Islam as a young woman, to her questioning the religion, to her fear of being condemned to hell, to her finally giving it up. She and her sisters were excised as children and she claims genital circumcision of women is still very prevalent in Moslem countries today. She spoke out so strongly against the brutality of women and the need for Holland to examine what the country was allowing to happen to immigrant women in Holland that she was targeted by Moslem men and had to go underground under the protection of the Holland police.
She was eventually forced to leave Holland. She lives with body guards and the producer of a film she made was murdered by a Moslem man who left a note saying that Ali was his real target.
She very clearly examines the differences in life styles between Islamic countries and the life she experienced in Holland. She couldn’t believe the freedom of speech allowed in Holland and how differences were settled by discussion and not by violence. She criticizes the Dutch government for the way it allows Moslem communities in Holland to continue to violate women.
Last year, in Canada, we were faced with the murder of a young Moslem women by her father. They were both caught between two cultures with disastrous results. It was awful and there was a lot of discussion about what was acceptable and what wasn’t acceptable for new immigrants to Canada.
We have had debates about allowing Shria law in Canada.
Reading Ali’s book opened my eyes to the dangers that could surface if we bend too far to meet the cultural needs of new immigrants. While we always have to look for better ways to do things and be open to change we need to be clear about what has worked well for us and what we aren’t prepared to allow in Canada.
I’d recommend Ali’s book as an insightful look at a religion from one woman’s point of view. (A pretty scary one) The caution I would have is that it could create/fuel an anti Moslem sentiment leading to a greater schism between peoples. We must remember that our desire to solve differences and come to understandings peacefully through discussion should remain paramount.

Just thought I would include this notice on the Grand Marais Jazz Festival. Cathy and I went a couple of years ago and really enjoyed ourselves. We will be there again this year. Tony Monaco sounds like a “not to be missed” show. 

Hammond B-3 Organ Virtuoso Tony Monaco to Headline Grand Marais Jazz Festival  APRIL 17, 2008, LUTSEN, MINNESOTA ?  Celebrated Hammond B-3 Organ Great Tony Monaco will co-headline the 2008 Grand Marais Jazz Festival in Grand Marais, Minnesota, Saturday, May 10.  Monaco will perform with Guitarist Robert Kraut and world renowned Drummer Louis Tsamous.  This is the first time Monaco’s sound will be experienced on Minnesota’s North Shore.  The concert is one of many county wide performances scheduled for the weekend of May 9-11 on the North Shore and Gunflint Trail. For full performance schedule and tickets visit GrandMaraisJazzFest.com or  call Tel. 1-(888)-922-5000. With the release of “East to West,” earlier this year, Monaco experienced an explosive burst of new audience interest, playing international festivals around the world and continuing a successful tour internationally in 2008.  Jazz Fest attendees will hear a showcase of his forthcoming release “Live at the Orbit Room” scheduled to drop this fall.  In September 2003, Summit Records released “A New Generation,” a particularly unique recording which featured both Monaco’s and Joey DeFrancesco’s trios, with both artists playing the latest model of the Hammond / Suzuki B3 Organ. The recording was a critical success.  In February 2002, Summit Records released Monaco’s second national release, “Master Chops T,” featuring his trio and a world class horn section. Summit Records released the third major release in October of 2002, and the recording was so successful that Monaco began endorsing Hammond / Suzuki Organs professionally.