Notorious Mom

There is a saying do the crime ,do the time. Have you ever wondered what your parents did when they were young? Have they ever shared things with you? I have had the pleasure of being able to sit down and talk with my Mom. She is 93 years old and with a mind that is unbelievable, so today I went to visit her . What did she do to be notorious? Well keep on reading. Anyway today we were on the subject of mice, and rats to being. Mom was telling me that when my younger brother was a baby, her cat brought in a rat and the rat got away, so Mom grabbed my baby brother put him on a chair and she got on the chair too. Next we began talking about snakes. Now snakes are not my favorite although when I was young the boys thought I wasn't afraid of them, so that was good because that way they never chased me with the snakes. Mom was telling me that when she went to school, the teacher had a cow bell and it rang quite loud and one day her cousin Augustin Pitre went in the field got a little green snake and he curled it under the bell. The teacher came in, lifted the bell to ring it, and lo and behold there was this little green snake looking at her. Of course she was terrified and she made Augustine stay after class. What does this have to do with Mom? Keep reading. I could never imagine my Mom doing something she wasn't suppose to, after all she is my Mom and Mom's don't do these things. Mom continued to say that the teacher was always yelling at them and giving them a hard time, and Mom said the teacher always sat down on a feather filled cushion. One day Mom snuck into class when no one was around and she unsewed the lining of the feather filled cushion and she filled it with TACKS. Now the teacher later came into the classroom, and sat down on her cushion. Mom said she jumped up, and her face was all red. Now the other kids didn't have a clue who would do such a thing to the teacher, or wondered why they didn't have the same idea. Mom sat at her desk as innocent looking as she could, when school was over for the day, the kids all got up to leave. Teacher yells " Flossie sit down" No need to say that Mom was wondering how she knew it was her. Mom said she got the strap on both hands for being a notorious little girl who later grew up to be my very special Mom.

Now I want to share a few of my latest products that you can find in my store at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor*

 

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Escuminac Disaster

 

There are lots of stories about shipwrecks and marine disasters. We read about them in our books and hear about it on the radio or television but the most difficult tragedies to accept are those involving fishermen in small boats. Fishermen leave early in the mornings to fish in order to support their families. So it is a sad thing for communities, family and friends when disaster strikes. On June 19 1959 one of the worst fishing catastrophies in east coast waters occurred off the southern shore of Miramichi Bay at Escuminac New Brunswick Canada. On a fine Friday afternoon 54 small fishing boats left Escuminac to fish the salmon runs that occurred each June when the great Atlantic Salmon returned from the sea to go far up into the many branches of the Miramichi River. The weather office out of Halifax reported generally fine weather for the next few days. “Light winds increasing this afternoon to easterly 15.Cloudy with a few showers and fog patches. Visibility near 10 miles lowering in showers to 3 miles and in fog to near zero.” So the fishermen set out their nets and began their overnight drifting with the tide. Many of the men had taken their sons with them to fish over the weekend with the understanding that they would be back on shore late the next day to celebrate Father’s Day. Many did not return ,35 lives were lost to the bay that fateful weekend when a freak storm pounded the Gulf of St Lawrence leaving 26 widows and 83 orphans. Inshore fishing in 1959 did not involve ship to shore communication nor were the small boats equipped with radar or radios. As the weatherman began to predict bad weather conditions later that afternoon, the men at sea remained unaware of the storm and by nightfall with many vessels in the fleet far out in the bay, strong winds and huge waves started to swamp the fishing boats. Baie Sainte Anne fisherman Jack Doucet aboard his boat along with his 2 sons and 72 year old George Manuel were all thrown overboard by big wave that tipped the boat. The elder Manuel drowned right away but the 3 Doucets managed to reach the floating boat where they hung on for dear life. Captain Bernard Jenkins and his nephew Cyril on the boats spotted the overturned boat and managed to circle around throwing a rescue line that was caught by 17 year old Alphonse Doucet who passed to line to his younger brother Everett who was hauled in. A second line was tossed and caught again by Alphonse who passed the line to his father who was also saved. When the weather calmed a little another line was thrown to Alphonse who was also hauled to safety. Nobody could have anticipated the destructive force that raged through the night and into the next day turning the black sea into a killing field. With families of the fishermen waiting fearfully on shore, the storm continued into Saturday night and by Sunday search and rescue crafts had located and counted 22 lifeless boats amid the bay either broken or capsized in deep water. Only around half the boats returned safely to shore and many of the 35 missing at sea were never found and presumed drowned. One man who turned back that fateful day before the sea got too rough was Baie Sainte Anne fisherman and boxer Yvon Durelle who was a very famous Canadian who fought Archie Moore the previous year for the British & Canadian Lightweight Championship. He later considered himself lucky to be alive and often talked about the terrible disaster. If you would like to read more about this terrible disaster that befell the fishermen in Escuminac I found this article is a book called Looking Back by Dan Soucoup . There are other stories of interest in the book also, maybe your library may have it. I hope you have enjoyed reading today’s blog. Please share this blog with your friends, tweet it or blog it. It is a sad day in history that everyone should read about.

My products I am sharing with you can be found at

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Chow for now

Allicor

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Why Mom has Gray Hair

Why Mom Has Gray Hair

Well I went to visit Mom today, she is 93 with a memory that is unbelievable. I don’t think if and when I reach her age that I will remember who I am. Grin. Anyway today Mom was in a story telling mood. We were sitting at the table talking about our children and what they did when they were little. The stories were very interesting to hear. So Mom starts off her story about my brother ,I will declare his name and the end of this blog, just to keep you all interested. She said that when he was little he was always getting into some mischief, she continued saying “ We moved to a house that had a balcony and the balcony was made with posts,and there was this post that was a little wider than the rest and she said your brother stuck his head between the two post and he was stuck there, and he could not get out. Mom said she was a chicken back then, (hard to believe) and she didn’t know how to get his head back out. So she said there was this neighbor who noticed something was wrong and he came over and he said “do you need help?” Do I need help thought Mom, Yes I need help” So he went and got his saw and sawed the post and they rescued my brother. Then that never taught him a lesson. Would you believe that a few days later ,my brother ran up the street before Mom noticed and this lady said hey I just saw your son going up the street, now imagine he was just little three or four years old. So Mom went to get him and then she told my Dad.“You have to do something, can’t you build a fence with chicken wire in the back yard to keep him inside?” Sure replied Dad, so he build a nice little fence in the back yard with chicken wire. Guess what? My brother dug beneath the wire and crawled out. Another time ,my Mom wanted to take her frozen clothes off her close line and she told my sister to watch him. So Mom went out and took the clothes off the line and back then Mom used to buy big white cotton bags of flour and when she came in the house my sister was nowhere to be found and here was my brother with flour all over the floor, Mom said you couldn’t see him for the flour. And another time there were two little boys playing one was upstairs and one was downstairs so the boy upstairs was dropping a glove down the stairs and the boy downstairs would bring him back the glove. My brother picks up Dad’s hammer , drops in down the stairs hitting my sister on the forehead, she still wears the scars. As my brother got older he still did things that wer unbelievable he went fishing one day and another brother of mine went along. My brother tosses his line back and he felt something pulling on his line, he thought he had caught a fish but what he really caught was my other brother’s ear lobe. But all in all he did turn out to be a great brother who is loved by Mom and all his brothers and sisters. Are you still curious to know who he is? Hmmmm. Will tell you in a second. First of all I want to share a few of my products with you, you can find all these products at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* Be prepared to see a lot of products there also.

I know there are a lot of my relatives and friends reading this blog, and you are all waiting patiently to know which brother of mine was this mischievous, well it was no other than my oldest brother Eddie. I do hope you enjoyed today’s blog.

Chow for now

Allicor.

 

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Who was Radisson?

I remember going to school when I was younger and learning about Radisson and Groseilliers but I forget what I learned. Back then all we wanted was to grade and finish school. But now I am older and a bit wiser because today I know history is very important. That is why I seem to push at everyone to make their mark in history, let people know about your life, your success stories ,about your family.

Anyway I have a book I bought quite a while ago and there is a chapter on Radisson and I would like to share it with you.

First of all imagine trying to contrive a novel about an early New World explorer whose hero might encompass the characteristics and adventures of Cooper’s Hawkeye or the real life of Daniel Boone. Imagine a hero who’s influence would span two continents, whose drive and determination would be the motivation force behind the visionary formation of a mercantile company that would exist for over 300 years. Imagine a hero who’s deeds could actually fill several action movies and seem to be almost larger than life. Our hero was the epitome of the early American frontiersman, he was a Davy Crockett who out crocketted this icon of our heartland. Image an explorer whose exploits would include such things as being the first white man to contact the Great Plains Indians, to see the Mississippi, to lead an expedition to James Bay, to visit the central plains of the US and Canada. He was a hero who’s life would seem almost too be believable. Put all these things together and you still probably could not equal the truth behind the life of Pierre-Esprit Radisson.

He was born in Paris in 1636, he imigrated to New France in 1651. One day he went

Hunting at the age of 15 in 1652 and he was captured by a roving band of Mohawks who took him to their village on Lake Champlain. Adopted into a warrior family and given the nickname Dodcan meaning Little Devil. He quickly learned the Amerindian language and ways. He accompanied the Mohawks on war parties against hostile tribes, in effect becoming a while Indian. While hunting with 3 Mohawks and a captive Algonquin, he and his fellow prisoner escaped by crushing the skulls of their companions. They were both recaptured, the Algonquin being executed on the spot and Radisson was brutally tortured; the soles of his feet were burned with heated irons, a red hot sword was driven through one of his feet and his fingernails were pulled off one at a time then his fingers were dipped into cans of hot coal. Children were beginning to chew his hands before he was rescued by his adopted family. He served as a Mohawk slave until he escaped to Fort Orange in Albany New York in 1653 and served the Dutch trading post as interpreter until he returned to Trois Riviere Quebec. It was there that he became partners with the experienced fur trader Grosseilliers. Grosseilliers had married Radisson’s half sister while Radisson was captive. In 1657 Radisson returned to Iroquois Country with missionaries and in 1658 again he escaped from Indian treachery. In 1659 he was the first white man to make contact with the Sioux, first white man to make contact with the Cree and the first to negotiate treaties with them, and first to penetrate into the great North Canadian forests. The story goes on and on. To be noted is that Radisson was a coureur de bois not to be mistaken for the more common voyageurs and he along with Grosselliers were among the earliest and most successful of fur traders. Radisson was later captured by Dutch pirates, he met the King of England, married two or three times, and he died in London in 1710.

I am sure you can read a lot more about this famous coureur de bois and his escapades, this bit of reading I found to be more interesting than what I learned in school. I hope you enjoyed today’s blog. I added a few products from my store at

http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* hope you will stop by and do some looking.

Have a great day

Chow for now

Allicor

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Remembering all Fathers

Tomorrow is Father's Day,and I am certain many of you will be celebrating the day with your Dad or Father. But there are many of us out there who are not lucky enough to have our Dads with us. There are many reasons why we don't. Some have passed away (I am hoping they are watching over us) others are servicemen gone to serve their country. Some may have never known their father for various reasons. But nevertheless they are or were our Dad . I am sure like myself  that there are many of you wishing he could be here with you.

So on Father's Day, let us remember our Dad. My Father passed away but I still see him ,sitting in his chair twiddling his thumbs, he would twiddle frontwards,then twiddle backwards. grin. My father had a great personality and everyone liked him. I am sure many of you have great memories of your Dad, and to the ones who never knew their father I say, there is one thing you should all be thankful ,and that is he gave you life, he is the reason you are here today. Without our Father's we would  not be here. So a prayers goes out to all the Dad's who passed away, and a Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there today. To the ones who are away from their families no matter where you are, know that they are thinking about you and Have a Very Happy Father's Day.

Now I want to share some of my products, some I am sure you are going to love,these products that you see can all be found at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor*   Check the different folders for more.  Have a great day ,Chow for now  Allicor

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The Spanish Flu

Well today I have been trying to find something to blog about that might be of interest to some of my readers, I want to write an interesting blog and also blog about my products ,but first to today’s story. Have you ever read about the Spanish Flu? Well I have a book called Looking Back which is a very interesting book and I am going to blog about an article in the book called Spanish Flu so I do hope you will enjoy reading it.

1918 was a jubilant year for Canada since it marked the end of the Great War and the soldiers oversees could return to their homes.However 1918 also marked the year of the first great worldwide pandemic that produced influenza so powerful that is has often been called The Great Plague of the 20^th century.More people were killed from the disease than all of the victims of the Great War with at least 20 million deaths and ten times that number who fell seriously ill from this sudden illness. In all over half the world’s population came under attack and in India alone at least 12 million people perished, mostly within a six week period in the fall of 1918 when the disease was at its worse. By 1919 North American had reported over 1 million flu deaths while even remote nations like New Zealand and the south sea islands were heavily affected.

The first reported appearance of the influenza was in Spain in the late 1917 when a Spanish Wire Service reported to the London Office that A STRANGE FORM OF DISEASE OF EPIDEMIC CHARACTER HAS APPEARED IN MADRID.

Yet the Madrid operator mistakenly added THE EPIDEMIC IS OF A MILD NATURE,NO DEATHS HAVEN BEEN REPORTED. Very quickly people started dying from the strange flu and quicky over 8 million throughout Spain fell ill from this epidemic including King Alfonso X111. Eventually most medical experts agreed that the Spanish flu could be traced to pigs and swine flu when linked to human bacillus producing a killer strain of influenza that attacked the human lungs in a deadly fashion.

It’s first appearance outside of Spain was at military bases and camps throughout Europe

As tens of thousands of British, American, French, Canadians and German troops were struck down with this mysterious “three day grippe” This brought a lot of fear for everyone. Diamond workers in South Africa, Dock workers in Hong Kong,Copper miners in Peru, Road workers in Bombay were affected, People young and old were affected especially pregnant mothers. Symptons was a dry cough after a 2 day incubation then headaches ,drowsiness, chills and a soaring fever reaching 104 degrees ,yet within a few days the victim would either be cured or dead. Instead of fighting the influenza with fresh air,exercise and a healthy diet of fruit and vegetables people became mistakenly convinced that the flu bug could invade their homes through open windows and doors. So they sealed their windows and doors and clean ventilation became unavailable allowing this disease to spread more quickly. Once this Spanish Flu was recognized as influenza ,its spread through coughing and spitting was identified and a concerned effort was mounted to eliminate its future growth, innoculations, and vaccines were given and the wearing of mask in public quickly became law. Stopping groups from forming in churches, meetings became effective. Yet by the time this great illness began to subside in November six million deaths had been reported. This was a sad time in our history. Hopefully let’s all hope nothing this bad happens again.

Now changing the subject, I am always trying to think of creating something different and something new in my store at

http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* I am adding a few of my latest products, but I have many more various products in my store, when you have time, get your favorite beverage ,get comfortable and do some window shopping in my store, you just may see something that you like.

　

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