Our Parish Website -- Ten Years On

Ten years ago this week, THREE major events took place in our (Bedford) world:
1. Father Pat arrived at Saint Ignatius to serve as our Parish Priest.
2. Steve Jobs and Apple shipped the first iPhone.
3. We re-launched our parish website (see #1).
Back then, we already had a website, as you know. But it was rather poorly organized and visually unappealing.

I thought we could do better ... so I made a few inquiries.
After 5+ years in retirement, Dear Reader, I was ready to embark on a new project.
I learned basic coding and design, poring over books and internet courses, studying what should be on a Parish website, and what it should look like.
We tried to include what a typical visitor needed, right on the flash page:
— parish address and phone numbers;
— Mass times (so they wouldn't have to [automatically] phone the parish number!);
— interactive Google map; and
—upcoming events.
(You might be surprised to learn, D\ear Reader, that some parish sites still do not provide these basics up front, or they're difficult to locate.)
We wanted a visitors to the local area, using a smartphone and in their vehicle, to get instant answers to the following questions: ‘Where can I go to Mass? When? How do get there?’
Detailed Information in greater depth for parishioners was made available in summary form below or via a drop-down horizontal menu.
The site content and presentation had to be easy to navigate.
I brought a couple of designs to a professional web designer, and after discussing the proposals in much detail, she came up with the excellent initial 'look' of the website.
We were able to post it on the Internet at 6 p.m., June 30, 2007.
Right from the start, the site was busy.
As I wanted to to know who was visiting, I registered with ‘StatsCounter’, a website data management Company, based in Ireland, on March 8, 2008.
We have had some interesting results, as I will list later.
At first, the site was quite labour intensive but, in about 2012, our webmaster suggested we explore a ‘joomla!’ system, which would prove to be much more flexible.
It was ‘back to the books and Internet courses’ for me, but I quickly discovered that I could manage the content more easily, for example, by using the system clock to plan, publish and/or unpublish articles in advance.
Around that same time, we adopted a 'responsive' format, so visitors could read the website on almost every medium: desktops, laptops, and then smartphones and tablets.
Throughout the ten years, we have met the challenges of a complete site hack (Webmaster and I always back up everything, so she had the site repaired, re-populated and available within a few hours).
Here are a few interesting visitor statistics from ‘StatsCounter,’ beginning with the raw numbers, since March 8, 2008:
-- First five years:
Total visits: 136,514; daily average: 75.
-- Latest five years:
Total visits: 91,629; Daily average: 63.
-- Last 12 months:
Total visits 23,230; daily average: 64.
-- GRAND TOTAL, March, 2008 to June, 2017:
Total visits: 235,601; daily average: 70.
After checking out the numerical data, it's fun to explore other areas of their reports.
(Throughout the web design courses, the 'experts' stressesed that, although a parish website exists primarily to serve its parishioners, it is a medium of introduction for visitors from ... all across the world. The data certainly prove that point!)
‘StatsCounter’ presents the visits by geography, country, and browser:
— For example, besides the local areas (Bedford, Halifax, Lower Sackville), I can note recent visits from such locales as: Mountain View, California; Summerside, P.EI; Bridgewater; Holyrood Newfoundland; Athens, Greece; Sorel, Quebec; Wilmington, Delaware; San Francisco; Edmonton; The Philippines; Vietnam; Indonesia.
— The summary by country, reads as follows: Canada, 77%; U-S-A, 20%; and then (in descending order) Madagascar, Venezuela, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
— It also lists by browser: Mobile, 21%; Web crawlers, 19%; 'Chrome,' 18%: tablets, 50%; and 'Others,’ such as 'Internet Explorer,' 'Edge,' 'Safari' and 'Opera.'
Right now, we continue to plan for the revamped website, which will present the long-anticipated new church.
I'm looking forward to recruiting and bringing on an 'understudy' as website editor for the long term.
Happy 150th, Canada! ///

I Like Mornings

There's something special about mornings.

At this time of year, mornings start early; we've just had the earliest sunrise of the year (5:28 a.m.). The birds are singing and all the foliage fresh.
I come from a long line of folks ”doing mornings."
-- My dad was a mariner, ex.-Royal Canadian Navy, and his watches on minesweepers and other craft were simply called,"Four hours on, and four hours off."
When he became a civilian again, and for the rest of his life, he got up at 4 a.m. — EVERY morning.
I remember as a child, hearing the coffee percolator on the stove and then smelling the coffee shortly after.
-- My maternal grandfather was also a mariner, and a cook.

Joining the 'Feds'

Fifty years ago today, I joined the 'Feds,' a.k.a., the Public Service of Canada; it was my first job following graduation from St. F.X.
It was part of an exciting year -- 1967 -- when Canadians were marking the 100th anniversary of Confederation.
That week was also quite special in the field of popular music: on June 1, the ground-breaking album,"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released by the Beatles.
But those topics of discussion, Dear Reader, are for other times!

Here are a few of my impressions from my first few weeks and months, working in Ottawa:
-- First of all, everything was new: to get there, I took my first airplane ride.
-- I was not yet 21 years old (my birthday would come a week later!), I was too young to sign a lease,

Radio and Me ... 39

Rain Songs
We have had a lot of rain lately, and that fact has brought me back to my School days, when radio stations would -- during rainy spells -- play a lot of 'rain songs.'

Here are a few of my favourites, which I invite you to listen to, along with some short comments.
-- Singing in the rain, Gene Kelly, 1952. His signature song, proving that not all 'rain songs' are downers; au contraire.
-- The rain in Spain, by Julie Andrews, from the 1956 Broadway musical, ’My Fair Lady.' A 'final exam' in non-cockney speech for Eliza Doolittle. Her grade:"'I think she's got it!'
-- Crying in the rain, by the Everly Brothers. Surprise, surprise: written by Carole King. Short, punchy lyrics; beautiful 'Brothers' harmony.
-- Walking in the rain, by Johnnie Ray. Loud, plaintive, agonizing lyrics.
-- Walking in the rain, by the Ronettes. A totally different song; with an urban take.

'Heave-Ho': Edward Cornwallis

Back in the day, when I was a cub reporter at the 'Mail-Star,' our page one editor, the legendary Bill McCall, was famous for composing crisp headlines.
One of his favourite banner heads, often placed above the masthead, which appeared at least once per week, read, "(Insert topic name) Stirs Local Scene.'

We reporters would share a lot of chuckles ... privately, mainly because we had so much respect for Bill, who had covered the famous Lindbergh flight back in 1927.
(Bet you didn't know, Dear Reader, that Charles Lindbergh flew over Halifax on that historic solo flight across the Atlantic, and that our local newspapers played a vital role in reporting his progress toward Paris.)
Bill McCall and his headlines would be right in the thick of it today, as the 'politically correct' crowd have another spin at revising history: they want to banish the name of our Halifax founder, Edward Cornwallis, from historical accounts.
This is just their latest salvo.

Bring on TV Sports!

In springtime, it's always a sports fan's dream.
With all the extra TV Sports channels, we can catch events from around the globe, and never have to ask: 'Will that game be in TV?'
A few weeks ago, Canada was enveloped by curling. 'The Brier' featured week-long coverage on TSN.
The Brad Gushue rink from Newfoundland and Labrador, captured the event -- undefeated -- and went on to win the 'The Worlds' -- again, undefeated! TSN provided extensive coverage.
In the U-S, it was all 'March Madness,' when all 66 American college basketball games were on TV, often available from four different venues at the same time.
The championship winner was the University of South Carolina.

Sergio Garcia won the Masters last weekend on the first hole of a playoff, on his 19th attempt.
BTW - We don't watch much golf in this household, but, a few years ago, we started watching the back nine on Sunday in the Masters. Again this year, the golf shots -- and the coverage by CBS -- were both excellent!

Alone and On My Knees' - John DeCoste

I've just finished reading this stark autobiography of John DeCoste (a.k.a 'Father John'), our Assistant Priest at St. Ignatius Parish, in Bedford.
Most of our parishioners had already come to know that he had served as a member of the 'White Fathers' -- a missionary order -- in many parts of equatorial Africa.
How could they have missed it?
In his Mass Homilies and one-on-one chats, he often relates hilarious stories of his experiences among his beloved African families.
Although we share a Cape Breton Acadian heritage (our hometowns were only 40 kilometres apart), and he has often been our guest at family suppers, my reading of his adventures revealed the astonishing breadth of his experience.

From the title chapter, to the tumultuous last chapter, this story is not for the faint-hearted!
It opens at a noisy, crowded, rickety airport hut, as Father John is trying desperately to get his four (adopted) children to accompany him on an evacuation plane.
He has to convince a group of heavily-armed guards / border officials that he has all the valid passports and travel documents.
The tense situation is ramped up all the more because two of the youth are of mixed tribal birth, Hutu and Tutsi, sworn enemies.
He is fully aware that they could all be shot dead on the spot.

Close to the Mass - 3

Presentations
I found a another way to stay 'Close to the Mass,' or perhaps ... it found me!
'St. Ignatius Mass at Ivany Place' is a weekly Saturday morning event for residents and guests, celebrated in the 'Great Room.'

Seven years ago, Parish and Ivany staff met to plan a weekly Mass for a newly-designed residence, already under construction.
We advertized for volunteers to escort residents to / from Mass, and to help with bringing Communion to individuals confined to their room.
More than a dozen parishioners answered the 'recruiting' call!
When checking the proposed site, the first floor 'Great Room,' we found it had a lecturn, p.a. system, tables, piano, plenty of space to deploy stacked chairs and place wheelchairs ... AND a ceiling-mounted projection screen.
A staff member (a divinity student who had worked in depth with all aspects of computers) was designing a TV presentation for weekend Masses in the church, so he set up a parallel Mass program for the residence.
(It gave him a chance to work out some of the glitches. Two distinct programs were required, to work on the vastly-different screen sizes.)
The experimental Apple 'Keynote' program -- of about 100 slides on a 'MacBook Air' -- was shown on the projector screen in the Centre, between the altar table on the right, lecturn on the left.
It contained all of the customary elements of the Mass, including:
-- words to all prayers needing responses,
-- words of hymns (Opening, Communion, Closing),
-- clip art for intro, Gospel text scenes, and
-- a seasonal scenic photo at end of Mass.
It looked great and was well received, so I paid close attention, asked a lot of questions

Close to the Mass - 2

Lector 101
When I arrived at the St. FX chapel in September, 1963, I received a mild shock.
They were removing their high altar in favour of a backdrop, and there stood a bare wooden table at the front of the Sanctuary, where Father would preside at Mass -- facing the Congregation.
Guess that was the rumoured 'new direction' for the Mass, so I decided to immerse myself in it!
I began by serving at morning Mass, mostly with seniors from New England who had attended Catholic schools and served for 15+ years. I picked up a lot of skills from serving with them, especially details and nuances.

One of the new duties was that Father, Monsignor Bauer, began directing one of us servers, in turn, to go to the pulpit and read the English text of the Epistle and Gospel to the Congregation while he read the Latin text at the altar.
That appeared to be my first introduction to serving as Lector.
Later on, as new changes were introduced by Vatican II, a group of us were asked to work at private Masses with some of the older, veteran priests, to help them prepare for the transition to celebrating to English.
It was pointed out to us, Dear Reader, that some of them had celebrated Mass in Latin every day -- for 40+ years!
On the First Sunday of Lent, 1965, when the Mass switched over to English, we felt were ready.

Close to the Mass

Altar Server: 101
I always wanted to be 'close to the Mass.'
And so, just before my eighth birthday, I was accepted into the ranks of Altar Servers in my parish.

Preparation, in those days, was not as easy as it sounds (today, it's so much easier!):
Here are some of the skills you had to master:
-- memorize and recite in unison (you were always assigned a partner) a long series of prayers ... in LATIN!
-- all the ceremonial rites, and how to walk reverently in processions.
-- how to carry large missals, candles, Communion plate, censor, holy water fon6, etc.
-- look after and wear a long black robe / sutane / cassock, with a white surplice.
The Latin presented the highest degree of difficulty.
Although you could read the prayers from a laminated card in front of you, they were written in a language you had never heard (except at Church), and you had to recite them without hesitation at a rate dictated by the Father.
If you are Catholic and 'of an age,' Dear Reader, you will easily remember some of the prayers of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Every Mass began with the "Prayers at the foot of the altar" (which were dispensed with, thank heavens, by 'Vatican II'):
-- 'Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.' / To God, who gives joy to my youth.
-- 'Confiteor Deo omnipotento, beatae Mariae semper Virgini ...' / I confess to Almighty God, to Blessed Mary ever Virgin ...

Creative TV Ads

For many people, that title is simply an oxymoron!
But I maintain that clever and creative ads are still being produced -- and without much glitz, bells and whistles.
Here are some examples, which I invite you to watch — and enjoy:

1. The Serta Mattress 'Shaun the Sheep' series from about ten years ago, relate sad episodes where Shaun and his jumping buddies (all numbered!) are no longer needed, led to an entire industry.
There are now 'Shaun' cartoons on BBC Kids, and even a 'Shaun' Movie.
BTW, the name ’Shaun’ comes from the Australian pronunciation of the word, ’shorn,’ according to one theory!
2. The ‘Aflac Duck’ series spoofs tv sports shows.
In 'Berra at the Barber' the vocal duck struggles in vain (as do we!) to process the famous Yogi's explanations about insurance.

'Perils' of Air Travel

With all the travel going on this time of year, perhaps you, or someone you know, has met with air travel problems — ticket glitches, baggage loss or damage, weather and other delays.

Big inconvenience.
Big hassle.
But imagine you work in show business; you probably must travel constantly, during all seasons, you just HAVE to be in St. John’s or Winnipeg for tonight’s 9 p.m. show.
Your livelihood and your reputation depend on it!
We can recall the famous 'United Breaks Guitars' incident and musical follow-up with musician Dave Carroll of a few years ago.
Imagine, too, that that some travel situations can be hilarious.
Here's one of these stories, as related some time back by Jerry Lewis on the 'Larry King Show' on CNN.
Transparency: I’m a big Jerry Lewis fan, particularly for his decades of tireless work for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I have one of the 60 forms of muscular dystrophy. By the way, his comic and cinematic talents are no slouches, either.
One day, he was on a 747 British Air bound for London,

2016: 'Like or Dislike?'

At this time of year, news sources feel compelled to feature survey stories 'looking back' ... and 'looking ahead.'

Opinions are widely mixed this year, to put it mildly!
I offer the following four excellent examples:
1. CBC News website has posted an 'Opinion' piece by Scott Reid, for CBC News: 'Think 2016 was bad? 2017 will be worse; Four reasons to despair about 2017.'
His four categories are not surprising:
-- President Trump
-- Global Economy
-- Prejudice
-- Journalism
Perhaps, Dear Reader, some folks might claim that Reid was just getting started!
His closing is sombre: 'It's not a very rosy outlook and human nature runs contrary to much of this analysis. We're wired to look ahead with hope, to dismiss the naysayers and expect that things will somehow work out for the best. But reason tells us that can't always be so. Now and then, the outlook is every bit as grim as it appears.'

Was it really all that bad?
Is it going to get worse?

TV Technicians

My goal from an early age was to work in TV, either in a technical area or even perhaps in front of the camera.
Throughout my high school years during the early 1960s, I had gathered quite a library of written material from a variety of TV sources, near and far.

Most items were related to my fascination with the technical side:
-- catalogues of studio and control room equipment (Marconi, RCA, G-E);
-- detailed yearbooks (from BBC, WGN, Chicago, and CJIC, Sault-Ste-Marie, Ontario);
-- with even a running subscription to the monthly 'Canadian Broadcaster' magazine, full of news from around the country!
I could watch a bit of U-S TV, especially duruing the summer,

Bucket List -- 'Music Producer'

I wanted to produce a record (with the video).
What used to be called 'goals' is now called your "Bucket list."
The closest I came to being a record producer occurred when I was teaching high school. A group of the senior students had formed a musical group to enter a local talent contest.
Some of them knew I had done radio production and had some background in music. They asked me if I would help them get their band together.

I proposed one condition: they could submit musical numbers, we would work on them and then I would make all final decisions.
Agreed!
At our first rehearsal, I discovered:
– Many of them could read music (while I had only the basics).
– Their musical choices were rather limited: Two guys, both guitarists, wanted to sing material by (Carlos) Santana, who was quite popular at the time, but were not avid followers of other musical styles.
– The gals were into folk music, and wondered how that style would fit in with the Rock material.
– Our excellent bass guitarist was an "import," a young man in his mid-20s

'Conclave' - A Novel

This book's theme is short: The Pope is dead.
The one hundred twenty members of the College of Cardinals from all over the globe will gather to elect a new pope.
Over the next seventy-two hours one of these holy men -- who also have political and other ambitions -- will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth.

This process, held behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, is the world’s most secretive election.
Many of us of an age, Dear Reader, can recall the news coverage in 1978 of the election of Pope John Paul I, his mysterious death only a few weeks later, and the election of John Paul II.
(John Paul's death has never been solved, though many [conspiracy] theories, crime reports and even several books have been advanced.)
One of these, 'The Vatican Murders,' states the case. "The political infighting that goes on when a pope is elected is often fierce. There have been times it has turned to murder ... ."
The most recent papal election led to the global -- almost 'rock-star' -- phenomenon of Pope Francis, who continues to shake the cobwebs around the papacy and the entire Catholic Church.
I first heard about this book a couple of months ago,

Radio and Me ... 38

My Fave Radio Apps:
I am an avid radio listener. (Understatement!)
The local Halifax radio dial ... now all FM ... contains the usual Canadian urban stations: 4 CBC / Radio-Canada, 7 rock, 2 country, 1 news / talk, 4 community (including one in French, and a new one in Arabic), 1 Christian, and 1 easy listening.

But, of course, Dear Reader, that's never enough!
After dark, I seek out some of the big 50,000-watt AM stations on the East Coast, such as WCBC-News 88 and 1010 WINS, both in New \York, or Bloomberg, in Boston.
But the sound quality on those is hit-and-miss most of the time.
So, I've collected a number of radio apps.
You can click on their title for the URL, listen if you wish.

Awesome Autumn Colours

The time has sped by, and we're already in mid-October.
Here in Nova Scotia, that means we're experiencing: farm markets displaying great varieties of fruit and vegetables from a bountiful harvest -- despite a very dry summer -- frosty nights, and spectacular multicoloured forest foliage.
Here is a photo from one of our favourite Autumn scenes in the Musquodoboit Valley, about 50 kilometers east of Halifax:

This year, however, we drove west, to observe the Autumn Colours arrayed along the Annapolis Valley, along routes 1 and 101.
To help celebrate our 37th Wedding Anniversary, we enjoyed a huge Thanksgiving Dinner, at Old Orchard Inn, in Greenwich (near Wolfville).
And once again, the Valley and the chef did not disappoint:

Peter Coade Retires

Folks in the Maritimes, who want to get a comprehensive weather forecast, probably tune in to reports on CBC by Peter Coade.
Or, if you happened to live decades ago in Truro, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L., or even Toronto, chances are you heard him on local radio.
Peter is retiring today, celebrating 54 years of continuous service as a meteorologist.

In 2013, he was awarded the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a weather broadcaster, which of course has continued until today.
His first appearance on CBC television was back in the late 1950s, when one day he job shadowed the legendary Maritimes weatherman, Rube Hornstein. He has been 'hooked on weather' ever since.

Fabulous at 70

If you're from Cape Breton, you have probably taken part in a large 'family reunion,' or a 'class reunion.'
The one I experienced in St. Peter's, a couple of weeks ago was an 'age reunion!'
Let me explain.
During the Christmas holidays, I received a phone call from Ann, a close friend, alerting me that they were planning a party for those of us from River Bourgeois who are celebrating our 70th birthday this year.
She asked: ‘Do you want to attend?’
My reply was quite short: ‘I would be delighted; thank you very much for asking.’

So there we were, on September 3, at Louie's Cozy Corner, a dozen members of our ‘Fabulous at 70’ group, greeting and hugging one another after all these years!
Our respective spouses had also been invited, probably to relate some untold or long-neglected stories of our younger days.