Monthly Archives: March 2018

Politics

The Politics Of Easter

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Jesus Ascending To Heaven, painting by John Singleton Copley, 1775; Wikipedia.org

Like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in our time, Jewish religious leaders in first century Israel were prepared to say and do whatever was necessary to retain power. When Jesus unexpectedly emerged on the scene in his 30th year, they immediately understood his teachings would undermine their hold on the people. According to the Biblical account, crowds were flocking to him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and regions beyond the Jordan. The religious leaders found it galling that he claimed to be the Son of God, and did not deny he was the Messiah whose coming had been foretold centuries earlier by the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. They deemed him to be a mere mortal and resolved to take him down.

The undisputed ruler of the far flung Roman empire at this time was Tiberius, adopted son of the deceased Caesar Augustus. Augustus had crushed virtually all opposition by forming alliances, assassinating or banishing rivals, defeating enemies in military campaigns, and at times killing erstwhile partners. It was a harsh regime in which beheadings and crucifixions were common.

Within this context, Jewish life and political power largely revolved around the temple, located in Jerusalem, and local synagogues. Two main religious parties, the Sadducees and Pharisees, wielded immense influence. In large part their power derived from the ability to ban people from the temple and synagogues. According to Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, the Sadducees were a sophisticated, aristocratic party. They controlled the office of the High Priest during Jesus time and held most of the seats in the governing Sanhedrin. The Pharisees tended to be scribes and strict teachers of the law.

Jesus had 12 disciples, but no party or position. Unlike the religious leaders who controlled the people with myriad petty rules about daily life, Jesus offered a message of hope. “In my father’s house are many mansions,” he told the crowds. “If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” People decided he was genuine and that he spoke with authority. Although they didn’t openly approve of him because they feared the religious leaders, privately many wondered if he might be the promised Messiah.

The religious leaders could have entered into a real dialogue with Jesus to determine if he might indeed be the Messiah. Certainly his miracles could not be ignored. They dared not do this though, because if he turned out to be authentic they would have to undergo a huge paradigm shift and would lose their elevated positions.

The Pharisees partnered with the Herodians, a secular party that supported the despised Roman rulers. They were definitely not natural allies but they approached Jesus and asked, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” If he answered “no” they would report him to Governor Pilate, who would have him executed for treason. If he said “yes” they would denounce him to the people.

Jesus asked them to show him a coin, so they produced a denarius. On one side was the depiction of Caesar Tiberius. “Whose image is on the coin?” he asked. “Caesar’s” they replied. Jesus then said, “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

When Jesus brought Lazarus back to life, the religious rulers were spooked. Fearing they would lose all authority and credibility with the people, they had Jesus arrested at night in the garden of Gethsemane. In an early morning trial of the Sanhedrin, they found him guilty of blasphemy because he claimed to be the Son of God.

Before Pilate, Governor of Judea however, they accused Jesus of treason saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar, and claims to be Christ, a King.”

Pilate asked questions, considered the matter, then said, “After examining him, I conclude he has done nothing to deserve death.” Even so, bowing to pressure from the religious leaders and their supporters, Pilate ordered Jesus be crucified.

In his account Matthew, a former tax collector and disciple of Jesus, noted that a large stone was rolled in front of the tomb. Three days later an angel removed the stone. When Jesus followers came to the tomb, the angel said, “He is not here. He is risen.” Around the globe this Easter Sunday, Christians will greet each other with the words, “He is risen!”

Hedley Times

Boyhood Adventures In Hedley

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Doug & Jim Cade standing in front of the house that was their family home when they lived in Hedley.

Listening to Jim and Doug Cade talk enthusiastically about their boyhood adventures in a much more rustic Hedley, I was reminded of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Mere boys when the family arrived in Hedley in 1947, they remember which family lived in almost every house, where the 6 hotels once stood, and which businesses burned.

“Dad was a logger at the coast, a high rigger and boom man,” Jim told Linda and me. “He wanted to own a sawmill so he scouted this area and found a suitable stand of timber. He loaded our furniture onto a 3 ton truck and squeezed 3 of us kids into the cab. The Hope Princeton wasn’t completed yet so we took the Canyon route, crossed over to Princeton and picked up Mom and our 3 sisters. They had come by train. Upon arriving in Hedley, Mom quickly expressed her displeasure. Dad was in his glory.”

Art Cade in Hedley, BC
photo courtesy of Hedley Museum

Their father, Art Cade, was enterprising and unwilling to accept defeat. Photos of him in the Hedley Museum reveal a calm visage and a rugged logger’s physique. He built the first mill on Burr Mountain and initially used horses to drag logs. This mill was moved to the site of what later became the Hedley ball park. In 1952 it burned to the ground.

A.S. Cade Sawmill Logging Truck in Hedley, BC
photo courtesy of Hedley Museum

“Two days later,” Jim recalled, “Dad was in Vancouver buying equipment to rebuild the mill. He supplied the mines with timbers to shore up their tunnels and delivered lumber to the coast in his early 1940’s International truck. He sold this mill and built another one on Old Hedley Road.”

The brothers have numerous memories of their father’s exploits. “Dad could do anything,” Doug said. “When the cable on the Nickel Plate tram line broke, he spliced it together. When the flood took out the bridges over 20 Mile Creek in 1948, Dad rebuilt all 15.”

“Many homes in town had sawdust burning stoves,” Jim recalled. “Dad delivered the sawdust from his mill and Doug and I shoveled it into bins. Often Dad bartered sawdust and lumber for meat, eggs and other things. Our basement was full of cans of fruit and vegetables from the cannery. They didn’t have labels so we went by the code stamped on the tins.”

Entertainment was simpler. Many boys belonged to the local Boy Scouts. Jim went on to become a Queen’s Scout, the highest award. “In summer we played a lot of scrub baseball and road hockey. In winter we tobogganed down Hospital Hill. We really took our lives into our hands racing over the bridge. Drivers would honk their horns before coming up the hill.”

There were few restrictions. “We’d grab a frying pan, a loaf of bread, some butter and coffee, and a fishing line,” Doug said. “We’d go into the woods for a weekend and our parents didn’t worry about us. Sometimes we hiked far up the creek to where Hughie Glenn had a cabin and vegetable garden. He often fed us venison roast and onions. Everyone knew us and took care of us.”

People played card games and monopoly a lot, especially in the Moose Hall. “When tv came, ” Doug said, “the wind would often shift the antenna on the mountain. We’d drive up and turn it back so we could watch the hockey game.”

The Hedley School offered grades 1-12 until 1951. When the new high school in Keremeos opened, students in grade 7 and higher were picked up by bus.

“I wasn’t very interested in school,” Jim admitted. “In grades 7,8, and 9, I missed an average of 33 days each year. I completed grade 12 but didn’t have enough credits to graduate. I worked for Dad one year, piling lumber and driving truck. One day on Kruger Hill the brakes failed. I got going pretty fast. I knew this wasn’t the kind of work I wanted to do and started thinking there must be something else.”

For Doug, the path ahead was simpler. “None of my group graduated,” he said. “We went to work. I worked as a heavy equipment operator and also drove logging trucks and highway rigs.” Jim, who had not accumulated enough credits to graduate, went back to school and became a teacher. For 24 years he was a principal in Merritt.

The brothers live in Penticton now, but it seems their hearts are still in Hedley.

Inspiration

Lesson Of The Damascus Gate

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Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, The Damascus Gate, D.C. 20540 USA
CARD #: 2002725014

I remind myself occasionally of the 18th century story about an elderly man who often sat at the gate to Damascus. Over the many years of his life he had served the people and had attained considerable wisdom. Now, no longer having official responsibilities, he sat at the gate and greeted travelers as they entered the city.

One day a merchant leading a camel train stopped and asked, “Can you tell me what sort of people live in this city?”

The old man considered for a moment, then said, “what sort of people live in the city you are from?”

The merchant’s face darkened. “They are a miserable lot,” he answered. “They cheat and rob and do harm whenever possible.”

The old man nodded and said, “Those are the kind of people you will find here.”

“The Pekingese Camel” photo by John Thomson,
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Another merchant, also leading a train of camels, asked the same question that morning. Once again the old man inquired, “what sort of people live in your city?” In reply the merchant said, “Oh, they are the most honest, trustworthy people I know.”

“You will find the people here are like that too,” the old man answered.

At the end of the day both merchants departed the city. Each stopped to tell the old man he had been accurate in his assessment of the people.

Contemplating this simple tale has helped me understand that my beliefs about people and circumstances can mislead me. Kurt Hanks, in Rapid Viz, suggests “We construct our beliefs, mostly unconsciously, and thereafter they hold us captive. They blind us to possibility.”

When Linda and I lived in a condo in Abbotsford, we had an opportunity to observe firsthand the lesson of the Damascus gate story. Living by herself on the same floor was Trisha, a blond with blue eyes and a figure that prompted men to pause for a lingering second look.

The first time she met Trisha in the hallway, Linda said “We’ll have to get together for coffee.” Trisha’s response was surprisingly unreceptive. “I have my own friends,” she said. When we met her after that, she greeted us but didn’t want to stop to chat.

For some time we were not aware of anyone other than Merla, seemingly her only friend, coming to Trisha’s door. We didn’t understand how such an attractive individual could choose to live with almost no one in her life. In time she acquired a live in boyfriend. He was evicted a number of times, according to the dictates of her moods.

When I was elected to the condo council, I learned that Trisha had recently complained about water damage to her living room ceiling. Although the problem had been dealt with and the ceiling repainted, she began telling residents she wasn’t receiving the same consideration as other owners. To satisfy her, council had actually already spent more strata funds in her unit than in others. She became increasingly uncommunicative in the hallways. When people met her, she looked intently at the floor and remained silent.

Trisha appeared to be developing an inner reality that did not exist outside her mind, seemingly blinded to the possibilities around her. A number of residents wanted to be her friend. They wanted to include her in the strata’s flourishing social life, but she invariably declined. To give her a voice in decision making, Trisha was elected to the strata council. The next morning she abruptly resigned.

She began focusing her growing anger on 78 year old Bert, the strata president. She apparently believed he was responsible for her inner misery. One morning we found a note had been slipped under our door during the night. It was from Trisha, addressed to Bert. It listed various, vague grievances against him. We learned copies of this note had been slipped under each door. In the coming weeks, there were a series of such notes. Their increasingly venomous tone disturbed some elderly residents. Bert continued to greet Trisha with a friendly face and uplifting words.

In retrospect, I’m sure Trisha sincerely believed it was unsafe to trust anyone. Three marriages had failed. She had terminated the relationship with the live in boyfriend. Her friendship with Merla was floundering.

By their beliefs and actions, Trisha and the first merchant entering the Damascus Gate created an unsatisfying, discordant personal world. Bert and the second merchant saw the good in people and thereby created a joyous, fulfilling personal world.

Hedley Times, People

Karen Cummings Finds Tranquility In Art

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Ken Hoyle & Karen Cummings with Mosaic inspired by a mother’s handwritten poem on the inside cover of a library book.

When Karen Cummings discovered a hand written poem inside the back cover of a library book, she felt deeply moved. “I wanted to keep the book,” she admitted, “but I realized I must let others read the poem too.” She chose instead to purchase a used soldier’s uniform and create a piece of textile art. It’s a creation that has the rare capacity to seep deep into the psyche of its beholder.

When Karen approached me several months ago to talk about her “Hedley Hankie” enterprise, we arranged a conversation. Her husband, Ken Hoyle, listened with rapt interest as she talked about their lives and her current art interests.

Hand Dyed Hedley Hankies by Karen Cummings

Ken and Karen moved to Hedley from Ontario last year to be closer to their children and grandchildren. “Over the past 5 years we’ve taken steps to simplify our lives,” she told Linda and me. “We particularly wanted a smaller home in a less chaotic area. I gave away 13 large pieces of my art work. We tried to give away a dining room table that seated 12. When we moved from our 3000 square foot home, we were able to load everything into an 8 foot container.”

They seem wonderfully content in their bright, recently updated home. Karen’s creations provide a spectacular splash of colour on every wall. Observing their present life, we would not have guessed they endured a measure of turmoil in the past.

Karen’s birth family connections have almost completely unravelled. “I was raised to be a stay at home wife and have children,” she said. She had difficulty accepting the expectations of her family. She did, however, get married at age 18, moved to Ontario with her husband and bore 2 children. In time the marriage disintegrated.

Over the years Karen entered into various business ventures. “I always loved the creative entrepreneurial spirit. At one time I owned a clothing store in a high profile mall. The rent was $5,000 a month.” Preoccupied with operating the business, she didn’t realize she was going broke. “I was amazed when my accountant told me I’d have to declare bankruptcy. They came and put a padlock on the door.”

Karen didn’t dwell on her personal financial losses due to the closing of the store. It was the inability to adequately compensate her suppliers that she talked about. “The clothes were made mostly by small mom and pop businesses. Also, I had to let my employees go. It was difficult.” After that she was careful to only be involved in businesses funded or serviced by herself.

Everything began to change for her and for Ken (who had also experienced marriage failure) when they met on a blind date. “My boss was Ken’s neighbour,” Karen said. “She told Ken we should meet. We went out for dinner and Ken told me later I never took off my sunglasses.” Apparently the sunglasses weren’t a real impediment. They’ve been together 18 years. “Ken is the kindest person I’ve ever met,” she said. “We talk about everything.”

For Karen’s art interests, 2010 was a threshold year. “I came to textile art. That summer I decided I would pretend I’m an artist. I took courses in drawing and painting. I had a sewing machine so I bought a book about making art quilts. I adapted the techniques and made 200 textile art pieces. Fabrics became my medium. I join them together by hand or machine.”

Om Gratitude by Karen Cummings, hand dyed,
37×46

Now in Hedley, many of Karen’s creations are deftly displayed on the walls of their home. The vivid colours suggest exuberance and ecstasy. A festive celebration of life.

The mosaic, based on the hand written poem in a library book, is more sobering. Entitled The More I Cried, The Less I Spoke, it was written by a mother whose son was killed in the Vietnam war. “I bought a soldier’s uniform, deconstructed it and made a work of art. I believe when I create art, I create a story. This re-construction of the uniform was my way of honouring the soldier and the mother. By displaying it in galleries and competitions all over Canada, I’ve made their story more widely known.”

Karen’s life experiences, including the losses, have given her a greater depth of understanding.

“The world is a chaotic mess,” she believes. “It’s important to have a piece of art that has meaning for you. This can provide tranquility.” Ken smiled and nodded his agreement.