Words and Pictures - Photojournalism by Jerome Wakeland

I don’t think that the Governor General should have suspended prorogued Parliament. That’s like the school principal rewarding the bully when the other kids in the schoolyard have finally stood up for themselves. I can understand Stephen Harper being surprised by the other kids. He’s been taking their lunch money for so long, he didn’t think that taking their breakfast was going to stir up this much of a fight. Apparently, even Stephane Dion has limits.

So Harper is a bully, and the Governor General has allowed him to run away from a fight that he clearly started. But I personally don’t want the other kids, Dion and Jack Layton, to run my country. I am a Liberal and I disagree with a lot of Stephen Harper’s agenda, but what I’m really looking for in a leader is a moderate ability to predict the future.

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My article about the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House and its program to reach out to immigrant seniors is now available online at CanadianImmigrant.ca, Cross Cultural Connections.

So I bought an SB800 flash to go with the SB600 flash that I already owned.  I also sold a Vivitar flash to another photographer, Nick Walter (See his Flickr posts) giving him his freedom from those Canon Speedlights.

Bright, wireless lights and idle hands.

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So it turns out that I have a camera.

All a camera needs is light and time.

There was light. I had time.

Some Pictures.

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My article on the Hearts in Motion program is now online at CanadianImmigrant.ca under the Health sub-heading, or click on this link Fun Fitness Steps to go directly to the story.

We recently moved to Vancouver and have our first chance to observe big city politics. I went to hear the candidates speak at the Vancouver Public Library and then later in the day Cheryl called to tell me her street was blocked off because of a house fire.

Halloween

From the forum to the fire.

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You should know that I wouldn’t have done this on my own, which is why I called this Jason’s Trail. My Sunday usually involves a quick trip across the street to Starbuck’s and my couch. And TV. You know, the Sunday morning political roundups and the new CNN Fareed Zakaria show.

But we recently moved, as luck would have it we’re now just a few blocks away from some of our more active friends, Jason and Cheryl and their son Eli. They go for hikes and walks, they pack lunches and plan expeditions. And now they know where my wife and I live. So on Sunday morning we ended up on the Baden Powell Trail in Deep Cove.

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My article regarding the health benefits of Pomegranates is now available online from CanadianImmigrant.ca under the Health column, or click this link CanadianImmigrant.ca/health/foodnutrition/article/1995 to go directly to the story.

Enjoy.

We moved.

Thanks to Peter and Mellanie and my mom and dad. Many hands helped the move go faster.

The stuff that went into boxes is now slowly coming out of the boxes, counters that were clean are now cluttered. And that makes it feel like home.

A few years ago I took a course taught by Jennifer Van Evra. Overall the course was pretty good, but she told one little anecdote that crosses my mind almost every day. The story is about Tom, the laziest marathon runner. Tom is not the name she used, but I can’t remember that detail and the runner really deserves a name, so we’ll go with Tom.

Apparently, Tom would describe himself as lazy to anyone who asked. This would lead to questions about his ability to train for and complete marathons, and he had a detailed way of describing his training philosophy.

Tom would always start on the couch. Lying on his couch, he would think “I’ll just go put on my shorts and  shirt and then come right back and lie down on the couch again.” Then he would actually get dressed for running and lie back down on the couch.

After a few minutes of lying on the couch in his running shorts, he would think “I’ll just go to the bottom of the stairs and put on my shoes. That’ll probably be as far as I go.” And then he would find himself at the bottom of the stairs, wearing running shorts and shoes.

“Well now I’ve got my shoes on. I might as well go for a run.”

“I’ll go for another mile, then I’ll probably turn around,” eventually turned into completed marathons.

I like the story because Tom thinks the way I think. I love my couch. Even as I’m writing this my couch is just barely out of my sight-line and as I think, my head turns and my eyes come to rest on its cushions. And yet here I am, thinking “I’ll type this and go lie down.”

I will also talk myself into scheduling an interview by thinking “I’ll call, but no one will answer.” Finish an article by thinking “I’ll sit at the computer, but I’ll probably just do a little of the outline.”

For me, Tom’s story is like melancholy hope, or a Leonard Cohen love song. I’ll declare my love, but it probably won’t work out, and I’ll just end up back at the bar. But Leonard still sings those love songs. The thought that I’ll do this one thing, but probably nothing will come of it.

That one thing becomes a completed marathon.