Chelsey Gotell, Star Athlete!

Chelsey Gotell is a 24-year-old world-class swimmer, who happens to be visually impaired.
Ten years ago, she was a high school student from Antigonish, with the school where I was teaching. She was competing in Nova Scotia at the provincial level and was already winning medals. I interviewed her by telephone for an article I was writing for the parents newsletter, and was impressed at her poise and P-R skills even at that age.

She swims in the Paralympic S13 class, meaning that she has only 10 per cent of normal vision in each eye.

Radio ... and Me

I have always been fascinated by radio. Even as a child of four or five, I wondered how they could get those people, the announcers and the musicians, into that little box!
Throughout my life, I have had to make this bold statement: My name is Colin, and I am a news junkie. My first brush with the news was by radio, followed closely by newspapers -- dailies, weeklies, anything I could get my hands on. My mother ensured that I was an early reader, so I needed a lot of material for practice.
In the early 1950s, radio where I lived was made up of

'Notre petit Mozart' is back!

André Gagnon, one of Canada’s greatest composers / arrangers / pianists, published a new album last week, after a nine-year break from recording. And, he is about to go on tour.
Gagnon explained his hiatus by stating that he felt he had no more left to say with his music.
During that fallow period, he had contracted a degenerative muscle disease which was paralyzing his right hand; a Quebec surgeon convinced him to have a corrective operation, which was quite successful. Then, he had to be persuaded to work on a new album. The result is Les chemins ombragés / 'The roads in shadow.'
The native of St-Pacôme, a small hamlet along the Trans Canada Highway on the Lower St. Lawrence, carried the nickname ‘Our little Mozart’ for much of his 40-year career

MDA, Jerry Lewis and Me

This weekend, on a TV set or computer near you, it’s time for the 45th Annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
Jerry began the Labour Day Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in 1966, over one station in New York. This year, the live show from Las Vegas, stretching some 21½ hours, will be carried by the 170-station ‘Love Network.’
The goal? To find a cure for muscular dystrophy.

Back to School

According to the folks at Staples, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” Their clever TV parody commercials feature an ecstatic parent in the store aisles, pulling the family sofa containing two very bored junior high youngsters.
-- For parents, it probably IS the most wonderful time, as they can hand over their youngsters to the teachers at the local school.

Old Cars -- Eerie Happenings

Do old cars KNOW that they’re about to be traded in?
I will present some strong evidence that they do. (The brand name has been omitted to protect an investigation!)
This summer, we decided it was time to trade in our nine-year-old sedan, which had provided excellent service, but was running out of time.
We looked for a small SUV among a number of dealers, and had two criteria: Could we easily store my folded walker in the trunk, leaving room for luggage? and,

R.I.P., Kemp Ross

Kempie Ross, a childhood friend, died this Spring. He, with his older brother John, and I, were pals throughout grade school and junior high, in St. Peter's, Cape Breton. He led the inaugural graduating class at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Point Edward, serving on a number of training voyages to the North on ice breakers, and never looked back. Kemp became a mariner and teacher.

Cadet training at the College includes an interesting twist in language training; for any given two-week period, the language on campus is French -- for everything: classes, study, meals, recreation -- followed by a two-week period, of communication completely in English.