This past Saturday night, my husband and I made the long, winding drive up The Sunshine Coast Highway to the Garden Bay Pub.  It was dark and windy, the rain was pelting the car much like a tropical rain, and the road was slick.  We giggled more than a few times as our headlights caught many frogs jumping across the highway, as we made our way to our destination.  As always, we saw quite a few deer, as well, but luckily, they stayed at the side of the road.

     Normally, we wouldn’t go for such a long drive in those kind of conditions, but we had a very good reason – my dear friend Brandon Isaak was playing with The Twisters at the Pub that night.  If that name sounds familiar, you probably read my blog post entitled “Yukon Buddy” that I wrote last year.  Last time I saw Brandon was Sept. 6th 2009, when he and Harpdog Brown played there – another rainy night.  The last time we’d seen Brandon play with the Twisters was when we still lived in Vancouver – I think it was Sept. 7th, 2007, if memory serves me correctly.

     The drive up the highway is always an adventure, especially this time of year, in the dark and the inclement weather, but once again, we were well rewarded for our efforts.  It is such a treat for me to see my old friend even once a year now ( after being out of touch for more than 15 years ) as it is so good to have a chance to chat and “catch up”.  Seeing the Twisters play again was nothing short of amazing – they were even better than I had remembered. Not only are they phenomenal musicians and vocalists, but they have so much energy and enthusiasm that you can’t help but have a huge grin on your face the whole time they are playing.

     The audience was appreciative – they know good music when they hear it up here on the Coast – people were swaying, toes were tapping, hands a clappin’, and every face had a smile on it.  Yes, my friend Brandon is in this band, so you may think I’m a little bit biased, but the Twisters are one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen.  They are so incredibly entertaining – you just don’t want them to stop. The most difficult part of watching them in a smaller venue is the lack of a dancefloor – it is pure torture not being able to dance to their music! ( That didn’t stop a few people, though! )

     We met a couple of our friends there, who had never seen The Twisters before, and they loved them, as well!  All in all, it was a fabulous night out with great people, and awesome entertainment. 

Twisters and Heather Doré

Heather Doré Takes On Yukon Slim

Heather Doré and Brandon Isaak

     This Thursday night at 8:00 on CBC ( both Standard Definition and HD ) there is going to be a documentary about an incredible underwater creature – the Octopus.  The reason I am mentioning this, is that my husband and his friends were involved with this project, during the parts that were filmed here in British Columbia. They worked with the French film crew, and it was an amazing experience for them all.  I have heard many stories about the things they observed while working on this show, and can’t wait to actually see it for myself.

     The show is David Suzuki’s ” The Nature Of Things “, and this episode is called ” Aliens Of The Deep Sea “.

     I hope you will take the time to watch it – I know I won’t miss it.

Jérôme Julienne & John Jackson photo by Neil McDaniel

     When I got home from work the other day, my husband told me he’d taped a show for me that he thought I would be very interested in.  The show was a CBC Documentary called ” Rude: Where Are Our Manners ? ”  I could tell just by the title that I was going to enjoy the show, since I am constantly talking about the fact that I’m absolutely appalled by the behaviour of many people towards other human beings.

     I have written several blog posts over the past 3 years or so that have touched on various aspects of the subject.  The most obvious ones are:  “Common Courtesy” ,  “Think Before you Speak“, “Turn It Around“, and “Are They Kind?”.  I have always felt very strongly that although my upbringing may have been considered by some to be “old -fashioned “, my siblings and I were definitely taught to treat others with kindness, compassion, and patience.  We did not think we were better than anyone else, nor did we believe that our time was more valuable than anyone else’s.  We were led by example to be polite, modest, and gentle – traits which I still hold dear.  Unfortunately, in today’s society, these are also traits that seemingly get you “walked all over”, while the vile, self-absorbed, loud, obnoxious, over-confident people steamroll over everyone and everything … but I digress …

     I finally had a chance to watch the documentary ( which turns out to be a couple of years old – we just hadn’t heard of it before ) last night.  I felt as though someone had crawled into my head, and put all my thoughts out there – they pretty much covered every angle of how there has been a breakdown in manners and courtesy, particularly since the 70’s.  They mention how parents from that decade and on have been instructed to teach their children to be self-confident, ( which, in itself, is a very good thing ) and that they can have anything they want.  The problem is, parents need to temper this with showing their children self-restraint, compassion for others, and making it clear that the world does not revolve around them.

     I totally understand that things are much more difficult for parents these days, when more often than not, both parents must work to try and pay the bills.  There seems to be less free time, more stress, and kids just don’t get the ” quality time ” ( also, discipline !!! ) that we did with our parents, back in the day.  Many parents are literally too tired, drained of energy emotionally and physically, and just don’t have it left in them to disagree with their childrens’ every desire.  Of course, this leads to spoiled rotten, self-centered kids that can’t see beyond their own wants ( which they mistake for needs ).  They grow up to be selfish, uncaring adults, and this is why we now have such big problems.  Ask anyone who works in the Customer Service Industry in any way – people, for the most part, are not patient and kind.  It is disgusting how many people treat others with disrespect.

     I highly recommend everyone view the documentary online – it is well worth your time.

     There is also a wonderful book mentioned in the documentary that I think every child should read – it is called  ” Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct ” .  

     Come to think of it, there are a lot of adults who could benefit from reading that book, as well …

     Anyway, I am glad that I am not alone in the fact that I feel people must teach their children while they are young, to care about others.  It will benefit everyone, in the long run, and make life a lot more pleasant for us all.