Ironically, the begning of November is the first time that you can get studs put on your tires here on Prince Edward Island. As fate would have it, November 2nd saw the first snow for the island. The snow itself was more of the sleet variety with a few choice flakes thrown in for good measure. It was not the glorious dry fluffy snows that we saw at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and it did not come as heavy as the October snow we had in Denver in 1995 where 6 inches fell in 4 hours onto trees that still possessed an abundance of green leaves. However, it was the first snowfall we have seen since April of 2008 when a freak snowstorm hit Texas and covered our farm with just about as much snow as we have received overnight. The neat things about this snow, compared to all others, is that we know it will be the first of many, and that soon, all that we survey will be covered, and snow will reign for the season.
The last week in Canada has been very interesting on a number of fronts. First, the election coverage of the coming US election has been a hot topic in the Canadian news. The Canadian press, much like the press in the US, is very enamored with Mr Obama. In fact, today when Nancy and I were driving home from O’Leary we were listening to a CBC interview of three reports from various places (Canada, Germany, England) discussing their views about who would win, and what it would mean. I have found the coverage of the election to be fairly interesting, as have been the questions from my patients. The press seem to take it as a foregone conclusion that Mr Obama will win the election handily, as the polls predict. My patients all ask me the same question, will he win? I have to answer that I do not know who will win, since the polls may very well be wrong. I remind them that it was not all that long ago that the United States was integrated, and that many people who are alive, and of voting age, still harbor very strong emotions surrounding race, integration, and the election of a black man. In fact, to put things in perspective, Nancy was in high school in Ft Worth when the school was integrated via forced busing. She remembers very clearly the effect that this had on the kids in the school from both races. I know that people who harbor these feelings will tell a pollster one thing, yet believe very differently, and I do not know how big that difference will be until the votes are counted. Either way, this election will say something about the United States, and on Wednesday we will all find out.
Nancy got her Prince Edward Island driver’s license this week. I can hear the collective yawn from all of you, but this marks a very significant point in her life. You see she has been driving since the age of 15, and has had a Texas license for all those years. The license changed only once (outside of the obvious photo and address changes), it earned a leading zero when Texas increased the numbers for all licenses. For all of our travels across the United States, she has held a Texas license with the same number on it for all those years. This number has been one of those things you remember and recite when needed to complete all sorts of forms, checks, and such. Well, this week she had to surrender her license when she received her new Prince Edward Island driving license. It was a big moment for her, taking her by surprise, and signaling that the change was real, and the move permanent. Neither of us posses a Texas driver’s license, and the only tie to the US remains our passport, in all other respects for legal purposes we are Canadian. It is a strange not unwelcome feeling.
Finally and most importantly, it is the week leading up to Remembrance Day (Armistice Day in some countries and Veteran’s Day in others). It has been interesting to see how another country remembers and honors their veterans and as such a very interesting memorial to those who have died in combat during WWI will play across Canada this week (http://www.1914-1918.ca/). Something that may not be very well known, it was not to me, was that those soldiers who died during WWI were not brought home. The soldiers’ remains were left in Europe in the theater of battle and buried in place. Take a moment and remember those who have come before that made all that you cherish possible. To those who have served and still serve, I cannot thank you enough for all you have done.
Dick Scheese MGSgt USMC Retired
Kent Brewer MSG USSOCOM HG
Jason Staub MSG currently in Iraq
“Chuck” Rush MAJ currently in Iraq
Michael Dean MAJ US Army Reserve still serving
Jim Talley SGT
Raul Gonzales, MD, MAJ still serving
Billy Ligon , MD, MAJ
Robert A Henry , DO, CPT USNR still serving
John Manning, MD, LTC
Blair Valentine, MD rank unknown
Ed Fasolina, MD, LCDR
Tim Pfanner, MD, COL US Army Reserve
Michael Kirkpatrick, MD, LCDR
Doug McNeese, COL US Army Retired
Jessie Lewis, SPC
John Hancock SSGT US Army Retired
Darrell Johns, MSG US Army Retired
Charles Grimes, USN Rank unkown
Chip Lewis, US Army Vietnam, Rank unkown
Louis Ortiz, RN, CPT
Mathew Connely, SPC
Don Parker, MD, MAJ
The last week in Canada has been very interesting on a number of fronts. First, the election coverage of the coming US election has been a hot topic in the Canadian news. The Canadian press, much like the press in the US, is very enamored with Mr Obama. In fact, today when Nancy and I were driving home from O’Leary we were listening to a CBC interview of three reports from various places (Canada, Germany, England) discussing their views about who would win, and what it would mean. I have found the coverage of the election to be fairly interesting, as have been the questions from my patients. The press seem to take it as a foregone conclusion that Mr Obama will win the election handily, as the polls predict. My patients all ask me the same question, will he win? I have to answer that I do not know who will win, since the polls may very well be wrong. I remind them that it was not all that long ago that the United States was integrated, and that many people who are alive, and of voting age, still harbor very strong emotions surrounding race, integration, and the election of a black man. In fact, to put things in perspective, Nancy was in high school in Ft Worth when the school was integrated via forced busing. She remembers very clearly the effect that this had on the kids in the school from both races. I know that people who harbor these feelings will tell a pollster one thing, yet believe very differently, and I do not know how big that difference will be until the votes are counted. Either way, this election will say something about the United States, and on Wednesday we will all find out.
Nancy got her Prince Edward Island driver’s license this week. I can hear the collective yawn from all of you, but this marks a very significant point in her life. You see she has been driving since the age of 15, and has had a Texas license for all those years. The license changed only once (outside of the obvious photo and address changes), it earned a leading zero when Texas increased the numbers for all licenses. For all of our travels across the United States, she has held a Texas license with the same number on it for all those years. This number has been one of those things you remember and recite when needed to complete all sorts of forms, checks, and such. Well, this week she had to surrender her license when she received her new Prince Edward Island driving license. It was a big moment for her, taking her by surprise, and signaling that the change was real, and the move permanent. Neither of us posses a Texas driver’s license, and the only tie to the US remains our passport, in all other respects for legal purposes we are Canadian. It is a strange not unwelcome feeling.
Finally and most importantly, it is the week leading up to Remembrance Day (Armistice Day in some countries and Veteran’s Day in others). It has been interesting to see how another country remembers and honors their veterans and as such a very interesting memorial to those who have died in combat during WWI will play across Canada this week (http://www.1914-1918.ca/). Something that may not be very well known, it was not to me, was that those soldiers who died during WWI were not brought home. The soldiers’ remains were left in Europe in the theater of battle and buried in place. Take a moment and remember those who have come before that made all that you cherish possible. To those who have served and still serve, I cannot thank you enough for all you have done.
Dick Scheese MGSgt USMC Retired
Kent Brewer MSG USSOCOM HG
Jason Staub MSG currently in Iraq
“Chuck” Rush MAJ currently in Iraq
Michael Dean MAJ US Army Reserve still serving
Jim Talley SGT
Raul Gonzales, MD, MAJ still serving
Billy Ligon , MD, MAJ
Robert A Henry , DO, CPT USNR still serving
John Manning, MD, LTC
Blair Valentine, MD rank unknown
Ed Fasolina, MD, LCDR
Tim Pfanner, MD, COL US Army Reserve
Michael Kirkpatrick, MD, LCDR
Doug McNeese, COL US Army Retired
Jessie Lewis, SPC
John Hancock SSGT US Army Retired
Darrell Johns, MSG US Army Retired
Charles Grimes, USN Rank unkown
Chip Lewis, US Army Vietnam, Rank unkown
Louis Ortiz, RN, CPT
Mathew Connely, SPC
Don Parker, MD, MAJ
Gene Hooker, CPL US Army (deceased) Nancy's Father
And so many more, lest we forget.
And so many more, lest we forget.
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