Spit Take

Another trip to PMH today, this time for my annual post-treatment dental checkup. It was a stormy day in Toronto town, but neither snow nor rain could stay me from reaching the hospital. Snow and rain, however, was enough to bring the TTC to its knees. Despite my being tardy by 45 minutes, Dr. Bob took me in and gave me some surprising news: my zapped salivary glands have rallied somewhat. My mouth rated far moister on the dryness test than it has in any previous post-treatment appointments. I can't say that I've noticed, but it's certainly welcome news considering I'll soon be making my living by talking all day. Knowing I'll be able to do so without completely dehydrating is a great reason to get me grinning.

Happy Anniversary... Four Days Early!

This coming Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of the end of my radiation treatment. As an early present, today the good folks at Princess Margaret Hospital gave me the all-clear on my latest CT scan and chest X-rays. Two years cancer-free, baby!

I'll be celebrating tonight by preparing for my student-teacher group's Health & Physical Education presentation tomorrow. Seems fitting.

Picture (Book) Perfect!

I don’t often write on this blog about my work in publishing, but last night’s TD Canadian Children’s Book Awards ceremony was such a big occasion for Annick Press that I can’t resist gushing. Of the four categories, Annick had nominations in three and won in two! And of the five nominees for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award (a cash prize of $20,000), two were Annick picture books… both of which I was involved as editor.

The first was Chicken, Pig, Cow written and illustrated by the wonderful Ruth Ohi.

I’ve worked with Ruth now on more than half-a-dozen books, all of which have been well-received critically. But it’s especially gratifying to see her getting so much attention for this one which is the first of a series about the adventures of three toy animals. From the very first draft of the manuscript, Ruth captured the quirky personalities of these characters and it has been a delight to watch them, and the series, develop. We’re already developing the fifth book. Here is Ruth and I at the ceremony:

The second Annick nominee in the category was also the winner: Mattland written by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert, illustrated by Dušan Petričić.

This was another one that practically glowed with life when it was still only words on a page. I’m so proud to see these marvelously talented storytellers receive such an impressive accolade (after all, my gushing is only worth so much).

Congratulation to all the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award winners, including The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland, and nominees, including The Apprentice’s Masterpiece by Melanie Little.

The Fall Guy

Yikes! Has it really been two months since my last post? A busy autumn it has been. Below are the highlights, but first a health update:

This past week was my tri-monthly checkup with Dr. O’Sullivan at Princess Margaret Hospital. After a quick physical examination he announced there were no signs of anything that concerned him, but it was nevertheless time for my annual CT scan with a chest x-ray thrown in at no extra cost. Both were also done this week and I’m scheduled to return on November 25 to discuss the results.

This will hopefully bring me peace of mind if not peace of neck. Schlepping a heavy backpack around and endless hours of hunching over a laptop have not been kind to the ol’ neck muscles. It’s been a season of spasms. As such, I’m looking forward to getting back to the comforting embrace of scarves and turtle necks.

Not today, though—it’s a warm and beautiful November afternoon and, in fact, it has been a rather mild fall. Here is what I’ve been doing with it:

It’s (Not) All Academic

There remains just over a month left of the academic term in my master’s program. Although my full-time student teaching doesn’t begin until January, I’ve nevertheless been enjoying my weekly visits to the grade 5/6 classroom. Better still, I was invited to join the class camping trip to Sandbanks Provincial Park back in September. There was a misty rain when we arrived, but we lucked out with mild temperatures and sunshine for the two days following. Our tents stayed dry and our spirits high as we enjoyed campfire songs, marsh exploration, and playing on the sand dunes.

The whole trip was an excellent way to engage the students in their biodiversity unit and build a sense of community. Given my part-time presence in the classroom until January, I was especially grateful for this chance to get to know the kids outside of the school.


Niece to See Ya!

Late September also involved a trip to Harriston where good things came in threes: Jeanette’s birthday, our niece MacKenzie’s birthday, and the Harriston Fall Fair. Jeanette preferred to keep the first item a low key affair, but Mackenzie was more than happy to hog the spotlight. Here’s a self-portrait of the two-year-old princess in her birthday boa:

Andy Warhol couldn’t have made her more iconic.

Meanwhile, I got to shine as well when I joined Jeanette’s Dad as he drove the Harriston Motors tow truck in the town parade.

I tell you, if you ever need a self-esteem boost, you can do worse than being in a parade as crowds of people smile and wave at you. You can’t even hear them say to each other “who the heck is that?” It was a memorable ride for me, but Jeanette and Mackenzie likely preferred their spins on the midway rides later that evening. Who else gets a parade and tilt-a-whirls on their birthday weekend?

A Gran Day Out

And speaking of birthday girls, this fall was also marked by another memorable milestone: my grandmother’s 90th birthday! Mom decided to mark the occasion by throwing a family bash in Georgetown. Although the party wasn’t a surprise, much of the family in attendance was: my sister flew in from Halifax (unbeknownst to even me) and Mom’s brother Bruce and family (sans Cousin Lisa, who, like Jeanette was stuck working) traveled up from Tennessee. It was especially good to see Uncle Bruce looking (and sounding) so healthy as he recently underwent surgery on his tongue for… oral cancer! We commiserated about the misery of such procedures but agreed to be thankful for how quickly the mouth heals. We’re both lucky to be able to wish Gran a happy birthday verbally! Not to be outdone, Mom’s verbal birthday greeting stole the show: her playful poem offered insightful highlights into the life of Gran.

The birthday girl was all smiles and it’s safe to say a good time was had by all. I’m assuming plans are already underway for her 100th birthday bash.


That’s it for now and likely all I’ll have time to post until late December. Things at school promise to ramp up steadily until my final assignment deadline in the middle of next month and then there’s the usual holiday madness. I hope everyone is enjoying a fabulous fall and I look forward to catching up with each of you… eventually!

Summer Summary 2009

Days of summer – not so lazy, less than hazy, mostly crazy. The living may have been easy for the blog, but only because the blogger has had a busy couple of months. Before I completely disappear again into back-to-school business, I thought I’d better let you, dear readers, know why I’ve been neglecting you so this season. Here, then, is a summary of the sensational stuff of summer ’09:


Two Doctors, No Waiting

First, a happy medical update: August 19 was my latest checkup at Princess Margaret Hospital. I lucked out and was visited by both Dr. O’Sullivan and Dr. Irish who were pleased to see me doing so well. After some neck groping and a repeat performance of their favourite scope-up-my-nose party trick (it never gets old!) they gave me a clean bill of health (and no bill of sale – take that, Republican bashers of Canadian health care). My next checkup is scheduled for November 18, and guess what? That will mark two years of cancer-free living since my radiation and chemo. I believe the traditional second anniversary gift is Swiss Chalet sauce.


Soccer Sweets

Flashing back to late June, it must be mentioned that my not-so-little-anymore “Little Brother” turned 14. Jeanette contributed to his birthday celebration my making these great soccer ball cupcakes.

That they disappeared quickly at Alfredo’s household turned out to be a form of foreshadowing. Later in the summer, Alfredo and I lost his actual soccer ball somewhere in the city (we retraced our steps, but it was nowhere to be found). I considered asking Jeanette to bake a full-sized soccer ball cupcake to replace it, but decided a new real ball would be less messy. Alfredo has been consistently scoring on me with said new ball every weekend since.


Something Wichman This Way Comes

On the Wichman family front, July and August were marked by two travel highlights. The July 10 weekend was Dad and my third annual father-son getaway. Like last year, we kept costs down by not traveling too far afield. Saturday saw us in Niagara on the Lake, where we dined, explored Fort George, and took in a production of the Garson Kanin play Born Yesterday at the Shaw Festival. Although the play was being promoted on every other bus in Toronto (nothing says quality theatre like a bus ad), I knew nothing about it. I’ve not seen the 1950 film starring Judy Holliday and William Holden, nor did I catch the 1993 remake with Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Indeed, if not for the pre-show talk by festival staff, I wouldn’t have known the films existed because of the success of the original play’s run on Broadway in the late 1940s. In any case, none of that knowledge was necessary to enjoy this outstanding production. It truly is a brilliantly structured script that draws you in with the trappings of a broad comedy and then slowly reveals itself to be a sophisticated argument for the importance of critical literacy in a democracy. The audience’s dawning awareness of this argument is paralleled by the intellectual awakening of the seemingly dumb blonde character Billie, played note-perfectly by Deborah Hay. Actually, the entire cast deserves kudos for spot-on performances. Thumbs up from me.

By the pricking of those same thumbs, our theatre excursion the following day to Stratford was not quite as satisfying. This time we saw Macbeth with Colm Feore as the murderous would-be king. Mom (who joined us) and Dad were more put off than I was by the African setting, WWI-era military costumes, and occasional use of video images; in fact, I was quite impressed by that last element, geek that I am. But we all agreed that the least effective element of the show was Mr. Feore. No one is questioning his acting chops—his career speaks for itself. No, we were more troubled by his physical inappropriateness for the role. Looking thinner than I’ve ever seen him, Mr. Feore looked more like a diminutive underage recruit in his fatigues than a decorated war hero with murder in his heart. I was more impressed with the brooding performance of hulking (by comparison) Timothy Stickney as Banquo and would have liked to see him in the title role. Hmm… that would have been a great storyline for the show Slings and Arrows: Lady Stickney convinces her husband that he’d be a better lead than Colm Feore…

And speaking of dramatic happenings, the other Wichman family travel highlight this past month was another visit from Leighann. With incredible precognition, she managed months ago to book a flight on a day the fell between tornadoes in Toronto and a hurricane in Halifax. Methinks she missed her calling as an apocalyptic-weather-avoiding travel agent. In addition to visiting family, Leighann was in town to take in FanExpo, which she and I attended together last year. But another brush with Boba was not meant to be for me this year—that same weekend was the wedding of friends dearer than Darth. Our two-person AT-AT costume will just have to wait until next year.


Another Monsoon Wedding (or What’s the Happy Equivalent of “When It Rains It Pours?”)

Yes, it’s been a banner year for Chris and Allegra. Last post, I reported on the baby shower for their daughter Sofie born in May. Earlier this year they also purchased a home in Ottawa. This past weekend they perfected this trifecta of domestic bliss by tying the knot in our nation’s capital. Despite the torrential rains all weekend, Jeanette and I were delighted to make the trip, join in the celebrations, and catch up with old friends. It was a beautiful church ceremony and Sofie herself joined the latter half of the ceremony where she stole the show from the happy couple. Unfortunately, that was not the only act of theft that would mark the occasion.

That evening, the reception was held at the Moorside Tea Room on the Mackenzie King Estate in beautiful Gatineau Park. The downside of such a tranquil setting is that its isolation makes it a tempting target for thieves: two cars were burgled in the parking lot as the speeches were getting underway. One of the guests happened to be heading to his car to fetch something and caught the miscreants in the act. They were long gone by the time he summoned some of us for help, but they had busted a window and snatched a bag from Allegra’s father’s car. His receipt of the news was ill-timed—he was told seconds before his speech—but the father of the bride nevertheless shone and his gentle teasing of the newlyweds demonstrated that no one had made off with his sense of humour.

As it turns out, the other car that was robbed was our own. The good news is that we had left a door unlocked, so no windows were broken. The better news is that all they took was an old laptop which I’d had in the trunk for months awaiting a trip to the recycling center. As one friend pointed out, rather than turn a profit, the thieves will probably get stuck with the recycling fee.

Despite this ugly business, the wedding reception was one of the most intimate I’ve ever experienced. A definite highlight was the performance by two of the couple’s impressively musical friends. In addition to singing some standards, like At Last, they also performed some of their own songs, including a beautiful and moving tune written especially for the happy couple. It was an emotionally rich finale to a wonderful wedding. I’ve already warned Chris and Allegra that they’ve set the bar pretty high for impressing us in 2010.


Back to School

There was so much more to the summer of 2009, including my second summer course—a fascinating blend of education ideas and film theory—and another amazing theatre experience, Billy Bishop Goes to War, courtesy of my Aunt Linda and Uncle Steve. But this “summary” is already running long, so if you’re aching to know more, just ask me in person.

Before I sign off until who knows when, a quick note about the upcoming school year for those who are interested. This go-round marks the second and final year of my master’s degree. September to December is my academic term, during which I will have three lecture-based courses to complete. I’ll also be making weekly visits to the grade 5/6 classroom at the Institute of Child Study’s lab school, in which I’ll be student teaching from January to April. Meanwhile, the completion of my two electives over the summer has freed up some time this year which I’ll be using to work one day a week at Annick. I had an amazing experience being back there for the summer and I’m thrilled to be able continue my editorial involvement throughout the fall and winter.

It promises to be another busy school year. I’ll do my best to keep you all up to date with the highlights. Bring on the autumn!

Monsoon Wedding and other Summer Celebrations

What a summer! Here we are not even halfway into it, and so far I’ve been blessed to be involved in no two major family and friend milestones with more happy occasions to come.

Scooby Babies

First up was the baby shower for little Sofie, the first child of our good friends Allegra and Chris. Sofie was born back in May, but last month was her Toronto debut at Allegra’s dad’s home in Etobicoke. Proud parents and grandparents were all eager to show off Sofie, and who could blame them? She is beautiful and perfect in every way and she napped angelically even as she was passed from adoring arms to adoring arms. Jeanette and I were delighted to make little Sofie’s acquaintance and we look forward to getting in more snuggle time with her at Chris and Allegra’s wedding in Ottawa next month.

Not to be outdone, our Peterborough friends Selene and Dennis also delivered a daughter, their second child, back in May. We haven’t yet met baby Miriam, but we’re hoping to do so during the above-mentioned trip. Like Allegra, Selene is part of my original Scooby gang who worked and played together in Toronto’s west end at the turn of the century (wow, that makes us sound old). Of the core couples that formed that group, Jeanette and I are the only ones without kids—and now Selene and Dennis have two! Congratulations to all my fellow Scoobies, but yeesh, talk about peer pressure! ;-)


Monsoon Wedding

It wasn’t long after celebrating Sofie’s arrival that it was time to mark another life-affirming occasion: my cousin’s wedding. In my last entry, I talked about Anton coming to town from New York City for his bachelor party. This time, it was our turn to go to them, as the wedding was held in Long Island where Vinaya’s folks make their home. So Jeanette and I joined my folks, my sister Leighann, and her partner Marianne in a rented van for the 12-hour drive to the Empire State. Between my always entertaining family, the built-in DVD player, my iPod full to bursting with podcasts, my PSP, and a good book, I had enough distractions to minimize the boredom during the drive. But who could concentrate on such things when every mile of the journey seemed to bring news of another celebrity death? Ed McMahon on the radio when Jeanette and I first left Toronto. Farrah Fawcett on a TV in a McDonald’s off the interstate. Michael Jackson via text message while we were stuck in traffic near the George Washington Bridge. It’s a good thing we arrived when we did. Who knows how many more celebrities we would have lost had we stayed on the road?

Long Island proved to be a beautiful spot and we had some time to explore it the day before the wedding. Mom, Marianne, and Jeanette explored the impressive deals at the factory outlet malls. Dad, Leighann, and I explored the impressive and palatial homes of the Hamptons. No joke, as we ogled one stretch of ginormous sea-front estates, we watched a helicopter land on a roadside helipad and disgorge its passengers—shopping bags in hand—whose car and driver patiently awaited them. Sure our rented van had a built in DVD player, but next time I’d prefer to travel to New York by helicopter. Oh, and we also saw a gift shop shaped like a duck.

As beautiful as some of those Hampton homes were, they pale in comparison to beauty of Anton and Vinaya’s ceremony. Their hope was to hold the ceremony outside, but the odds were against them. One local told us that some 20 days of the past month had been rainy. Indeed, the rain was pouring down on the venue only 30 minutes before the ceremony was to start. But then, as if on cue, the clouds parted the sun shone, and there was just enough time to set everything up as the first guests were arriving. I never doubted the weather for a moment, as evident by my having doused by face in SPF 60 sunblock, whose skin-paling effects, when combined with my black suit, gave me a distinct undertaker look.

Fortunately, my macabre make-up did nothing to diminish the spectacular setting of the ceremony. In the sunshine under the blue sky against a backdrop of green, the flower bedecked Hindu altar (known as the mandapam) was breathtaking. All the more so when we learned that all the flowers had been flown in from India.

The ceremony itself was far more casually performed than typical western weddings, but no less sacred. Officiated by a Hindu priest, the service involved the performance of various rituals symbolizing various aspects of marriage. For instance, in addition to traditional rings, there was also the Mangala Sutra, two gold pendants on a thread symbolizing the uniting of bride and groom. In tying the thread around Vinaya’s neck, Anton symbolized the bonding of their lives. Then Anton’s sister was invited to tie an addition knot in the thread, thus demonstrating Vinaya’s acceptance into their family. The considerate couple supplied their guests with a program of sorts that described the significance of many of these rituals. Although I trust we can take Vinaya’s family’s word for all of it, I nevertheless advised Anton to run everything past an international business lawyer, lest he discover he has, in fact, accepted ownership of an offshore holdings company. It’s the least a best man could do.

After the ceremony, we all adjourned to the reception hall for an evening of fine food, fun, and speeches, including one by yours truly. Anton’s father certainly stole the show, however, with his moving words about the importance of family and his acknowledgment of the bringing together of nations represented by this marriage. Indeed, the wedding itself was a truly international affair, with guests hailing from Australia, Canada, England, India, Italy, and Switzerland just to name a few of the countries represented. At one point, while on the post-dinner dance floor, I looked around and realized that at least one person from each of the above countries was dancing around me. And we were all dancing to the King of Pop. As if we needed a further reminder of his worldwide fame.

In the end, I danced till I dropped (which wasn’t that long, of course—see previous entry re: inner codger) and then joined my tired family for the short trip back to our hotel. We caught some Z’s (not zeds—hey, when in Rome…) and then hit the road back to Canada the next morning. All in all, it was an amazing wedding and I couldn’t be happier for Anton and Vinaya, both for finding each other and for surviving a wedding that looked so effortless, it must have been a killer to arrange. My heartiest congratulations to them both, and to my baby-bearing friends, all of whom are making this a summer memorable for more than celebrity farewells.

Parties, Paintball, and Whiskey

How white trash is that for a title? Actually, despite the questionable content implied therein, the last month and a half has been wonderfully family-friendly – and thank goodness! After a year of academically imposed hermitage, it has been glorious to start catching up with family and friends. Here are the highlights.


Bowling for Sexagenarians

A few weeks after finishing my student-teaching stint in Guelph, I was back in the Royal City with Jeanette to celebrate her dad’s 60th birthday. She had craftily arranged a surprise party for Gary, who thought he was just meeting us for lunch. Instead, he was met by a bowling alley full of family and friends. Despite threatening to take Jeanette out of the will, Gary was all grins through an afternoon of grandkids, good friends, gutter balls, and gâteau. I was thrilled to see him have such a good time, but I was especially moved to see how happy Jeanette was in organizing the whole affair. It made me all the more eager to move closer to both sets of folks that we might make more time for these kinds of family gatherings.

Paintball by Numbers

The weekend after shooting the breeze with Jeanette’s side of the family at the bowling alley, I threw a party for my cousin that involved shooting of a different kind. Anton gets married later this month in Long Island, but he flew back to Toronto last month for his bachelor party. As his best man, I arranged for an action-packed morning of paintball at an outdoor venue in Bowmanville. Five of us made the early morning drive on a Saturday morning, uncertain of what kind of paint-splattered experience lay before us. All the guys except me had played before at least once with mixed results. This day we’d be sharing the field with strangers (five is not enough for a private game), and when we arrived and saw players – men and boys! – suiting up in thousands of dollars worth of combat gear, we feared the worst.

Once the games began, however, we had a ball (pun intended). The referees fairly mixed the teams, a variety of scenarios (team elimination, storm the tower, defend the fort) kept things interesting, and no game lasted more than 15 minutes with plenty of rest time in between. By lunchtime we were all hot and exhausted, with aching quads from all that crouching and with more than a few welts from high-powered paintball impacts, but we were also abuzz with tales of our valiant victories and inglorious defeats. As Anton had hoped, it was an exciting testosterone-based bonding experience for guys who didn’t know each other very well. And, as one of the other guys observed, it was just plain fun to run around outside and get dirty.

After an afternoon of napping and getting cleaned up, we reconvened for an evening of dinner and carousing at Toronto’s trendy Drake Hotel. This portion of the party was arranged by Anton’s good friend David J., an expert in all aspects of T.O. nightlife. I’d been to the Drake by day for work functions, but had no idea what a popular nightspot it was. I doff my hat to Dave for getting nine guys into the dining room and onto the rooftop patio bar on the busiest night of the week. Indeed, I was especially glad to have his hosting expertise when I hit the wall shortly after midnight. Since my cancer treatment, evenings have not been my prime time, and the early morning paintball pandemonium quickly caught up to me. I went from best man to need-a-rest man in a matter of minutes, and Anton was gracious in letting me bail and head home to bed. I hear the guys went on to have a great time into the wee smalls and I salute their constitutions for outlasting the groom and showing him a great time in the process. Anton is now back in New York and the countdown is on until we join him there for the wedding!


A Long Overdue Drink of Big Whiskey

Although now absent from Toronto, Anton was nevertheless instrumental to another huge recent highlight: the Dave Matthews Band concert at the Molson Amphitheatre last Tuesday night. As mentioned above, I’m not one for the nightlife these days, and I have never been much of a concert guy. Of the dozen or so concerts I have attended in my life, only two have lived up to the incredible experience I always feel concerts should be. One was seeing Spirit of the West with Ashley MacIsaac at York University’s intimate pub The Underground. The other was Tuesday night’s concert promoting the DMB’s new album Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King.

Whatever your feelings about their music, I personally have a special place in my heart for Dave and his band. Anton introduced me to their music in the summer of 2000 when I tagged along with him to see them in concert in Buffalo. I didn’t know any of their songs then, and so my experience of the concert was typical – about halfway through my inner codger emerged cold, hungry, tired and wondering when it would be over. Nevertheless, I was impressed enough with their show that I later picked up their live album Listener Supported. Little did I know it would become my anthem album for 2001, one of the most important years of my life. I played it all through that winter as I made plans to travel the world. It was in my CD player everyday that summer as Jeanette and I began dating and fell in love. It was my comfort music that fall after I moved to Japan when homesickness threatened to overwhelm me.

Today, the music of the DMB is such a touchstone of comfort for me that Jeanette complains how often I play their music. Her complaints only make me love her more, given the irony that that these songs remind me both of falling in love with her and being so far away from her. Appropriate too, then, that she was stuck at work Tuesday night when I headed down to the concert on my own, having dropped everything when, by fluke, I discovered they were performing that very night. Dave and the boys didn’t disappoint and I felt their familiar songs wrap around me like the arms of an old friend. Meanwhile, their new stuff was rocking and conveniently spaced for regular trips to the bathroom. In fact, washroom breaks were the only appearance by my inner old coot, and I experienced the rare sensation of being truly disappointed when the concert eventually ended. In the words of a loud fan audible at the end of #40 on Listener Supported, “Thank you. Thank you, Dave.”


A Summer of Stories
In between the above events, I’ve been completing the first of my two summer courses at OISE. This first course was a children’s literature course, so obviously I’ve been in heaven. I was especially impressed by Professor Judy Caulfield’s focus on storytelling. While I have had plenty of experience reading books aloud, telling a purely oral version of a children’s book was a new experience for me and I am fascinated by how this change in perspective has enriched my understanding of such stories. Indeed, this course and all the learning I’ve done this year, both at the university and in elementary school classrooms, have loaded me with ideas that I’m excited to bring back to Annick Press, who have very generously hired me back for the summer. How incredibly lucky I am to be so thoroughly wrapped up in work that excites me! Bring on the summer!