AfterWords: Volume 1, Issue 2

Summer  2003

Hello Out There!

There are many ARM members in various communities throughout the Thames Valley District, and even beyond. Here are just some of the places our members live: Stratford, Waterloo, Ailsa Craig, St. Thomas, Grand Bend, Woodstock, Thorndale, London, Bayfield, Embro, Tillsonburg, Port Franks, Mitchell, Dorchester, Parkhill, Delaware, Komoka, and Ilderton.

We are certainly happy to have you all as part of ARM Chapter 11 and would love to hear from lots of you.

Letters to AfterWords are always welcome, as are submissions of short articles related to your retirement experiences, travel, hobbies, volunteering. recipes, or really anything that strikes your fancy.

As you put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, do keep us in mind. You will have an appreciative audience for your words in AfterWords.

President's Report
By Joe Wilson, President, ARM Chapter 11

District 11 has been well-ARMed this year. The president's baton was passed to me by Peter Chapman who moved on to ARM Provincial Council, joining Don Wright there.

Locally, the troika of Mike Moir, Win Schell, and I worked on a variety of initiatives. The niftiest (a well-known retiree's term) was our District 11 Discount Card. Mike signed up a number of London businesses to give card-carrying ARMers significant discounts (many i thanks to Ottawa's Terry Taller for his help!). Coupled with the OSSTF Edvantage card, this gave ARM members considerable scope to stretch their indexed pensions - and a very practical reason to Stay well-ARMed after that heady transition to retirement.

We sent out two newsletters on topical issues, and held two information-luncheon meetings, as well as a benefits information meeting.

When I took on the challenge as Campaign Manager for Banting teacher Irene Mathyssen in her NDP campaign in London-Fanshawe, Mike and Win took over most of the operating duties. We are a good team.

As we go to press, I am trying to encourage our grey power to take on Ernie and the rest for their unrelenting attacks on teachers, educational workers, students, and us all.

With any luck, and a lot of hard work, we can help strong ARM sanity, democracy, and quality education back into the Ontario political landscape. (Sorry - tried to keep this non-political!)

Next year, even more adventures for Mike, Win, and me as we try to provide more ways for OSSTF retirees to stay in touch with each other, and with the finest education union in Ontario.

Let's Do Lunch!

On Tuesday, March 18, we held our second ARM lunch time gathering and information session in London at Bill Bentley's Restaurant in Oakridge Mall.

Featured guest speaker was Suzanne Malloy of Cherryhill Travel, just one of our many "Preferred Businesses" offering an ARM discount to members. Suzanne gave a very entertaining and informative talk related to current travel issues and opportunities of particular interest to retirees.

ARM members in attendance received some informative take-home brochures and were able to ask pertinent questions, and got answers, related to individual situations and particular needs or interests. After the info session, we adjourned for a fine lunch and casual conversation about summer plans, family reunions, and golf scores.

Our next luncheon will be held in the fall. Check our September newsletter for details as to date, time, and location. Please contact us if you have suggestions for topics, speakers, or locations.

Letters

Hi Joe and ARM Chapter 11,

I picked up a copy of your newsletter at the ARM booth at AMPA. Congratulations to you and the Exec on getting it launched. I propose that we exchange newsletters. The value in this would be an opportunity to share each other's articles (there can never be too many submitted articles), pick up tips, and just to show what other Chapters are up to. Let me know what you think. If you like the idea, send me your postal address and I'll send along a copy of "After School".

Cheers,
Jim Mile, Co-editor, "After School"
ARM Chapter 12

Editor's Note: We do like the idea, Jim! Let's do it. Thanks.

Reunions

We would be pleased to announce plans for any other school/graduate reunions in AfterWords. Please send us your details.

Sir Adam Beck Reunion:
For graduates and staff of the former Adam Beck Collegiate in London.
August 8 and 9. Open House on Friday at 6 PM. Golf tournament, followed by a party Saturday at the Hellenic Centre. Tickets $45.
To register, send a cheque to Marguerite Campbell, SABCI Reunion, 9 Columbine Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M4L IP2.

Central Secondary I25th Reunion:
London Central Secondary's reunion celebrations will be held Friday to Sunday, October 3-5. Program includes sporting, social, and cultural events. Saturday night banquet. Registration $40.
Contact Angie Pereira 452-2620.

F .D. Roosevelt 50th Reunion:
Volunteers are needed by the planning committee for the June 4-5 (2004) reunion event.
Interested? Write to Reunion Chair, 560 Second Street, London, Ontario, N5V 2B7, or by E-mail. 

Central Air Alert

For those who have central air conditioning in their own homes, a few words of warning.

Amazing But Probably Useless Facts

1. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
2. There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
3. There are more chickens than people in the world.
4. No word in the English Language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.
5. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
6. Winston Churchill was born in a Ladies' Room during a dance.
7. Rubber bands last longer if cooled.
8. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
9. Tigers have striped skin. not just striped fur.

Not to put too fine a point on it...

We are cautioned to avoid absolutes. Amazing But Probably Useless Fact #4 (No word in the English Language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple) is no exception. The country and crossover hit singer Roger Miller, penned the song "Dang Me" in 1964, in which appeared the following couplet:
           Roses are red and violets are purple.
           Sugar is sweet and so's maple syrple.

Knowledge and wisdom can come from the most unlikely sources. However, we probably cannot roller skate in a buffalo herd, even if we've a mind to.

Election? See You On Thursday! 
By Don Wright

Many activists thought that we'd have a provincial election in June. But that didn't happen.

An e-day in October begins to crowd local municipal campaigns. So September is a much better prospect than July, August, or October.

Ontarians always go to the polls on Thursdays. September has four. Thursday, September 4, is a possibility, but this would mean three weeks of campaigning during the summer. Not good. 

Thursday, September 11, although also possible, is unlikely. The anniversary of terrorist attacks on New York and Washington would be a poor choice.

September's last Thursday, the 25th, comes within the high holidays.

Election Info Plus

A visit to the OSSTF District 11 website provides extremely valuable and interesting information related to the upcoming election.

Cheers!

WINE NOT is celebrating its 1Oth anniversary at the Piccadilly Street location in London. This business is one of many ARM Preferred Businesses so have your ARM Discount Card ready when you visit. As a full service, professional, on premises wine-maker, WINE NOT offers an extensive selection of red, white, and specialty wines. Labels, corks, shrink wrap, and all applicable taxes are always included in their price. And it's easy to do. Visit once (5-10 minutes) to decide on your wine type and begin the fermentation process. Knowledgeable staff monitor the fermentation process for you as the wine matures. Return 4-6 weeks later to bottle (about 30 minutes). Call 679-9463 for more details.

Edvantage Program Partners

ARM Preferred Businesses

With your ARM Chapter 11 Discount Card, and your OSSTF Edvantage Card, your status as an ARM member can save you hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. Really! All you have to do is a) keep up your membership in ARM, and b) use your ARM and Edvantage discount cards. We urge you to patronize our ARM Chapter 11 Preferred Businesses. Click here for a full listing.

How I Discovered My Real Retirement

I guess I didn't realize the sort of transition retirement would be. It was more like leaving school, in that unsettled time before the first job happens, and becomes routine. It's closer to the eternal adolescent question, "Who am I?", than to the settled predictability it appears to be for those not yet there.

And though it most certainly does offer much-needed relief from being the punching bag of Harris, Eves, and whatever sell-out is the latest Tory Minister of Education, recuperation and healing should only be temporary states.

We all discover our own retirement. Some of us do want to travel, spend winters in a deck chair in a Florida sunbird ghetto, read, putter around, join retiree clubs and find ways to fill all the days. In fact, probably most of us do a fair bit of that relaxing and time-filling the first few days, months, even years. No bells, no cafeteria supervision, no "attaining the vision" workshops, no parents' nights, no this, no that, no the other thing: no, no, no, no 

After the initial lull, 1 found myself getting busier and busier: working on the United Way Campaign Cabinet, and Labour Initiatives Committee, and then getting appointed to the Board, recording secretary of the London and District Labour Council; President of OSSTF ARM Chapter 11, and the District 11 Occasional Teachers; NDP riding association work.

To be sure, there was also time to get my golf score down to an all-time (and likely one-time) low of 84, to lose 30 pounds and get fit, to do some building projects, and so on.

But eventually, I found I didn't want any more to describe myself as a former high school English teacher - because that is describing myself by what I used to do, not by who I am and by what I am doing now. Personal flash! I don't teach full time any more. I am shamelessly living off an indexed pension (which I paid over 8% of my gross income into for 32 years, Mr. Eves!) but I am not "retired".

I need to be engaged with the world.

Retirement does not mean, dare I say, should not mean, disengaging from the world, but rather altering the profile of how it occurs. In terms of the "Who am I?" question alluded to above, it can be a very positive experience, being able to actively and much more validly explore that ingenuous-sounding, but absolutely critical, question.

Does this partly explain why some retire so unsuccessfully: their jobs primarily are their engagement with the world. Maybe some take to retirement so well because their jobs merely got in the way of their real, fundamental, active engagement.

So I find myself here in the Campaign Office for Irene Mathyssen's NDP London-Fanshawe campaign, writing this. I am here because I have, for the past two months - and it appears for a few more to come - been Irene's Campaign Manager.

It's a little scary because it is a very important job and I have never done this before! But - some good training workshops, some drawing on my previous campaign experiences in OSSTF and with the NDP, and working with some very talented and committed people - here I am!

Part of who I am is someone who wants to put long hours and hard work into ridding our province of a very bad government. This is my immediate task.

Life and retirement. They do go together. I hope you all enjoy both.

Let's Hear It For the Hard of Hearing
By Freda Crunden, Woodstock, Ontario

At a conference I attended recently, a speaker was introduced whom I had earlier seen in the crowd. At the time, I had thought, "Well, he's not going to be a ball of fire." He appeared to be a bit withdrawn or uncommunicative with people around. And they weren't bothering to talk with him.

But when it came his time to speak, he was both personable and outstanding. Of course, I had failed to notice that he was wearing a hearing aid.

As I have found out myself, it is tiring, and somewhat useless, to attempt to join in with an excited group of people who are all talking at the same time.

If someone is crippled, cannot manage stairs, is in a wheel chair, or can't see, most people rush to assist and are prepared to take infinite care in making life as easy as they can for the person with the affliction.

Perhaps because hearing aid manufacturers have produced much smaller, almost invisible, products, people are less likely to observe that a person has a hearing problem. And even with those wearing the larger devices, it is usually assumed that all problems have been solved by the wearer.

But hearing aids have a long way to go before they fully restore the faculty of hearing that most people enjoy. They cannot block out sounds that one does not want to hear. In fact, they magnify them. With this technological limitation, using a hearing aid can be a tiring prospect.

My family sometimes says that I only hear what I want to. But truly, I don't listen to anything that is not of interest to me because it is too tiring.

From my own experience, here are some tips that will help you interact with the hard-of- hearing more successfully. I hope you use some of these the next time you meet with a friend, or a stranger, who has a hearing problem.

Tips

1. Enunciate distinctly. And do not whisper OR shout.
2. Don't sit in front of a bright light. People can hear better if they can see better. Face the person you want to have a conversation with, but not with the light at your back.
3. If you are working alongside the person, call his/her name. This will get their attention.
4. If you are heard but not understood, repeat the idea you were going to communicate but with different words. e.g. "Want to see that new movie tomorrow?" Repeat, "I'm going to that new movie tomorrow. Want to go?"
5. In a social situation, if you are with an H.o.H. person, stand beside the person and let him/her know when the subject changes. It sometimes takes a few sentences to pick up clues in a general conversation. Be patient.

Inject some of these tips into your next conversation with a hard-of-hearing person, and you'll be rewarded. So will that person.

Summer Yum-Yums

(Thanks to Debbie Schell, Commercial Foods Teacher, at Central Secondary for these tasty items.)

Roasted Ribs with that BBQ Flavour

Place spareribs in a roasting pan with fatty side facing down. Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Turn over and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Pour the Super Sauce (see recipe below) over the ribs and bake covered at 350F for one hour.

Super Sauce

Stir together:
1 cup catsup
1 cup pickle juice or fruit juice (orange or apple)
2 Tblsp. brown sugar
1 Tblsp. Worchester Sauce
1/2 Tsp. dry mustard
1 Tsp. chili Powder
(You may also add diced onions and/or minced garlic)

This sauce is great in the summer for all barbequed meats (steak/chicken/pork chops).

Senior Cat
By Win Schell

I have a senior cat at home
Who loves to sleep
No longer roam

But in her eyes I sometimes see
The sparkle there
That used to be

When sparrows land on window sill
And drop a feather
With a quill

When cats pass by across the street
Her ears prick up
Heart skips a beat

But mostly she prefers to lie
And watch the world
Go purring by

Grandma's Jokes

My grandmother was a very proper, church-going "lady", and never told ribald jokes in large gatherings. She would probably have pretended to be shocked if that had ever happened. But in private moments, usually one-on-one, she could tell some fine jokes, although she preferred to call them "stories". Years ago, when she heard that I planned a teaching career, she told me this one.

It seems that Little Johnny was not the sharpest knife in the drawer at school. But his teacher was trying very hard to improve the vocabulary of her "pupils", as they used to call "young people" in her day. Each week, on at least one occasion, the patient teacher would introduce a new word and ask the pupils to compose a sentence or two using the word. This had been going reasonably well, and if pupils were totally stumped, they would be directed to their dictionaries.

On one particular day, the teacher began, "Boys and girls, I would like you to try and create a sentence or two using the word 'pistol'."

A hush fell over the class. Being a rural community, it was likely that most kids knew what a 22 rifle was, or even a shotgun. But a pistol?

Finally, Little Johnny raised his hand. The teacher was delighted to see one of her slower pupils responding.

"Yes, Johnny! Let's hear your sentence." And Johnny began, quite earnestly: "My father had a party. The guests were twenty-two. They drank beer till ten o'clock, and then they pistol two." 

I can still hear my grandmother's chuckles.

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AFTERWORDS is published quarterly.
Next issue Fall, 2003
For Ad Info: email Mike Moir

Let us not take thought for our separate interests, but let us help one another.
(OSSTF Motto)

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