The passing of Maurice Sendak this week has brought back a flood of memories about our lives over thirty years ago when our kids were very small!

The original chapter in my book and its more than touching epilogue follow:

Amy’s First Christmas Recital

There was a wonderful country inn style restaurant named “The Butcher Block” in the middle of the village of Hockley, Ontario, Canada. The year was 1978, Amy was three and Jody still going everywhere in her car seat. The restaurant was owned by Hugh and Sonja Close. We knew them quite well, after this event we knew them a little better.

It was near Christmas and Cheryl’s Mum and Dad, my in-laws were visiting. One evening, it might have been Christmas Eve, off we went to The Butcher Block for dinner. Gerry, that’s Amy’s Grandpa, filled Amy’s glass with a little wine and as the time passed, unbeknownst to us he refilled it a time or two. Amy by now was a little less shy than normal, and she began singing Christmas Carols at the table. It was not a large restaurant. Everyone was listening. Hugh Close, the proprietor asked if he could borrow Amy for a few minutes. Off they went hand in hand through a door at the side of the restaurant which led to Hugh’s home which was attached to the restaurant.

Several minutes rolled by and we wondered if they were lost. The door finally opened, and Amy and Hugh came through it with big smiles on their faces. Amy headed back to our table and Hugh headed for the restaurant’s sound system which was playing Christmas Carols. He took a cassette from his pocket and inserted it in the tape deck. In a few moments, Amy’s little voice was filling the room with Christmas Carols and songs. People began to sing along.

A woman at a table a few feet away beckoned Amy to her table. From her purse, she extracted an Eeyore stuffed animal which she gave to Amy. I think Amy still has Eeyore. I do wish I could remember the woman’s name. I do know that she had just opened a small craft store down the road at Violet Hill on Highway 89 named “Granny Taught Us How”.

The snow was falling, Amy was singing, and we had a great meal.

Who could ask for more?

Well I did get more, I added an epilogue to this story and it goes like this:

Epilogue for this tale

After writing the above story, I searched the internet to find www.mrsmitchells.com. Mrs. Mitchell’s is the website for both Granny Taught Us How and Mrs. Mitchell’s restaurant. Just before Christmas 2002 as I started writing these tales, I sent an email to try and learn the name of the “woman” who gave Eeyore to Amy in the story above.

I received the following reply:

Mr. Cane,

My name is Heidi and I am the daughter of that “woman” in the restaurant.

My mother’s name is Maureen Baufeldt.

I just received your story and I phoned my mother right away to read it to her. She recalls that night and we certainly remember the Eeyore because she used to make them. It is so nice to hear that she touched your life in a small way back then but I am writing to tell you how much you have just touched hers. My mother has just completed an enormous amount of treatment for breast cancer. She is the toughest lady I have ever known and she has just heard word that she has beaten the cancer.

Although she is very happy to know she is well, the cancer has affected her in ways I cannot explain. She is forever fearful that it is still lingering inside her and is therefore often sad.

The fact that so many years later you have attempted to find her to tell her your story has lifted her spirits like you cannot imagine. I am a true believer that all things happen for a reason and although you may not have intended to, you have just made her Christmas such a special one.

Thank you,

Heidi

So here I am on May 9th 2012 with a tear in my eye remembering this wonderful night in 1978 and the epilogue above from 2002 and of course Maurice Sendak who touched our family through the years as we would recite,

Chicken Soup with Rice.

January
In January it’s so nice
While slipping on the sliding ice
To sip hot chicken soup with rice
Sipping once, sipping twice
Sipping chicken soup with rice

February
In February it will be
My snowman’s anniversary
With cake for him and soup for me!
Happy once, happy twice
Happy chicken soup with rice

March
In March the wind blows down the door
And spills my soup upon the floor
It laps it up and roars for more
Blowing once, blowing twice
Blowing chicken soup with rice

April
In April I will go away
To far off Spain or old Bombay
And dream about hot soup all day
Oh, my, oh, once, oh, my, oh, twice
Oh, my, oh, chicken soup with rice

May
In May I truly think it best
To be a robin lightly dressed
Concocting soup inside my nest
Mix it once, mix it twice
Mix that chicken soup with rice

June
In June I saw a charming group
Of roses all begin to droop
I pepped them up with chicken soup!
Sprinkle once, sprinkle twice
Sprinkle chicken soup with rice

July
In July I’ll take a peep
Into the cool and fishy deep
Where chicken soup is selling cheap
Selling once, selling twice
Selling chicken soup with rice

August
In August it will be so hot
I will become a cooking pot
Cooking soup of course-why not?
Cooking once, cooking twice
Cooking chicken soup with rice

September
In September, for a while
I will ride a crocodile
Down the chicken soup-y Nile
Paddle once, paddle twice
Paddle chicken soup with rice

October
In October I’ll be host
To witches, goblins and a ghost
I’ll serve them chicken soup on toast
Whoopy once, whoopy twice
Whoopy chicken soup with rice

November
In November’s gusty gale
I will flop my flippy tail
And spout hot soup-I’ll be a whale!
Spouting once, spouting twice
Spouting chicken soup with rice

December
In December I will be
A baubled, bangled Christmas tree
With soup bowls draped all over me
Merry once, merry twice
Merry chicken soup with rice

I told you once, I told you twice
All seasons of the year are nice
For eating chicken soup with rice

Written in memory of Maurice Sendak 1928-2012 and Maureen Baufeldt (1942-2011)

Chicken Soup with Rice, memories of Maurice Sendak and other stuff is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog

1. Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson on being a role model:
“I wan’ all dem kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I wan’ all the kids to copulate me.”

2. New Orleans Saint RB George Rogers when asked about the upcoming season:
“I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first..”

3. And, upon hearing Joe Jacobi of the ‘Skin’s say:
“I’d run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl,”
Matt Millen of the Raiders said: “To win, I’d run over Joe’s Mom, too.”

4. Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John Jenkins:
“He treat us like mens. He let us wear earrings..”

5. Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann:
“Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”

6. Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh :
“I’m going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes..”
(Now that is beautiful)

7. Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach:
“You guys line up alphabetically by height..”
And, “You guys pair up in groups of three, and then line up in a circle.”

8. Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson going to prison:
“Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton ..”

9. Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker:
“That’s so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my clothes.”

10. Lou Duva, veteran boxing trainer, on the Spartan training regimen of heavyweight Andrew Golota:
“He’s a guy who gets up at six o’clock in the morning, regardless of what time it is.”

11. Chuck Nevitt , North Carolina State basketball player, explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice:
“My sister’s expecting a baby, and I don’t know if I’m going to be an uncle or an aunt.
(I wonder if his IQ ever hit room temperature in January)

12. Frank Layden , Utah Jazz president, on a former player:
“I asked him, ‘Son, what is it with you? Is it ignorance or apathy?’
He said, ‘Coach, I don’t know and I don’t care.’”

13. Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F’s and one D:
“Son, looks to me like you’re spending too much time on one subject.”

14. In the words of NC State great Charles Shackelford:
“I can go to my left or right, I am amphibious.”

15. Former Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips when asked by Bob Costas why he takes his wife on all the road trips,
Phillips responded: “Because she’s too ugly to kiss good-bye.”

Why can’t athletes have regular jobs? is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog

This is indeed a very exciting program, and I’ll explain it in a Q & A format:

Q. What is a tax refund payment?

… A. It’s money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q.. Where will the government get this money?

A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?

A. Only a smidgen of it.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment ?

A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China?

A. Shut up.

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the economy by spending your tax refund wisely:

* If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China or Sri Lanka.

* If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs.

* If you purchase a computer, it will go to India, Taiwan or China .

* If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.

* If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea.

* If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan.

* If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.

Instead, keep the money in the USA by:

1) Spending it at yard sales, or

2) Going to football games, or

3) Spending it on prostitutes, or

4) Beer or

5) Tattoos.

(These are the only “truly” American businesses still operating)

Conclusion:

Go to a football game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drink beer all day!

No need to thank me, I’m just glad to be of help

Federal Tax Refund – Explained is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books. But too bad we didn’t do the green thing back then.

We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.

Back then we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint. But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-alecky young people.

We don’t like being old in the first place, so it doesn’t take much to tick us off.

The Green Thing! is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog

Ethnic Person Number One: “I love Easter as it’s the time of the year when we give eggs and small bunnies to the neighborhood kids who come knocking on our door saying Egg or Treat?”

Ethnic Person Number Two: “I have no idea where you are from but Easter is really the time of the year when the jolly little man in the orange and black suit comes up our drain and leaves chocolate gifts for our children.”

Ethnic Person Number Three: “Holy Cow, where are you two from? This is the time of the year when we remember that Jesus Christ, Our Lord was crucified, dead and buried and placed in a tomb. We all know that on the third day he moved the huge stone , the door of his tomb and he stepped out. He saw his shadow and disappeared for forty days and forty nights.”

The true story of Easter is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog

Cheryl and I had been active members for nearly ten years and the club over that period of time changed from a group primarily composed of driving enthusiasts that were genuinely aware of the capabilities of the little four wheeled go-cart  to a mixture of folks, some with families who joined them on rides and club events and some who saw the speed limit on Ohio’s highways as a speed that no one could possibly approach, let alone exceed. Yes, some of driving enthusiasts might break the speed limit periodically but most of us were happy trying to maintain the speed limit on the twisty back roads of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

Back to Sunday April 1^st 2012 I thought that someone was playing an April Fool’s Joke  when a member of the club that in my opinion was acting like an imaginary person that I  might name ‘Ms. Santorum’ began to introduce a ‘code of ethics’,  it might have been a ‘code of conduct’ to the group at our monthly meeting.

I knew that I was being singled out as earlier last week I had posted  an image of a dash plaque or sticker on the Queen City Coopers Facebook Page regarding the Mini having a Turbocharged Engine and this was removed from the FB page at the request of the woman mentioned above. You judge for yourself, the  sticker is on the right. Is this really unsuitable for a car club Facebook page?

The code of ethics looked to me like something a teenager might find in his package of information as he’s signing up for summer camp, not a document that a group of adults would be expected to sign to be part of a f**king car club. The influences of the religious right who are trying to bring their church into government have succeeded in imposing their morality on a simple car club. I’m guessing that drives in future will start with a prayer and club events will open with an evocation to God.

I failed to keep a copy but I think the document went as far to suggest that a member might be expelled were he to use foul language at a club event. There was no definition of what language was allowed or disallowed, it seemed to be up to the review of a yet to be defined morals committee.

We’ve gone from being among the most active club members to being ousted. The club now, even though we have not officially resigned has removed our names from the membership roster at the club’s website and I have been banished from the club’s FB page. I’m not sure that I give a damn, whoops, perhaps ‘damn’ is one of the banned words. Our new Mini Countryman was adorned with Queen City Cooper decals and magnets and soon it will seem naked as we remove those adornments.

It really is a shame that one or two members, whose moral code is different from that of others in the club can dictate that their conduct and ethics are those to adhered to by all members. The world has changed a lot since George Carlin, back in 1966 coined the phrase about the seven dirty words that you can’t say on television. You can review those words at <Click Here> and a few of them now are a lot more common now than they were then, I’m not saying that that is a good thing but it is a fact of our modern society and there are still a few who have difficulty with change.

I wish the members of the club well and hope they enjoy the club in the way it should be managed. I do hope that the current executive begin to relax now that their major source of aggravation has left the club. I for one will move on and put more effort into other car clubs that we belong to. So far, none of them has indicated to me that my behavior is unacceptable.

As I said, “It’s just a f**king car club!”

The Queen City Coopers is Just a F**king Car Club is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog

Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to “A Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from “Pissed Off” to “Let’s get the Bastards.” They don’t have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide.” The only two higher levels in France are “Collaborate” and “Surrender.” The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France ‘s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout Loudly and Excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels remain: “Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides.”

The Germans have increased their alert state from “Disdainful Arrogance” to “Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.” They also have two higher levels: “Invade a Neighbor” and “Lose.”

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels .

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from “No worries” to “She’ll be alright, Mate.” Three more escalation levels remain: “Crikey!”,”I think we’ll need to cancel the barbie this weekend,” and “The barbie is cancelled.”

And finally Canada is at “That’s not nice and please stop” threat level, and has passed a bill in the House of Commons to never raise the level any higher so not to offend the terrorists

Terrorist Threat Levels are Changing! is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog

1. The Post Office

Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check

Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with cheque by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process cheques. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the cheque. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper

The younger generation simply doesn’t read the newspaper. They certainly don’t subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book

You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can’t wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you’re holding a gadget instead of a book.

5. The Land Line Telephone

Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don’t need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they’ve always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes.

6. Music

This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It’s the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is “catalogue items,” meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, “Appetite for Self-Destruction” by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, “Before the Music Dies.”

7. Television

Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they’re playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It’s time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.

8. The “Things” That You Own

Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in “the cloud.” Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest “cloud services.” That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That’s the good news. But, will you actually own any of this “stuff” or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big “Poof?” Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy

If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That’s gone. It’s been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, “They” know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. “They” will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again.

All we will have left that can’t be changed are “Memories”.

And then, probably Alzheimer’s will take that away from us, too!

Nine things that will probably disappear in your lifetime! is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog

The female dentist pulls out a numbing needle to give the man a shot of Novocain.

“No way! No needles. I hate needles” the patient said..

The dentist starts to hook up the nitrous oxide and the man objects..

“I can’t do the gas thing. The thought of having the gas mask on, suffocates me!”

The dentist then asks the patient if he has any objection to taking a pill.

“No objection,” the patient says. “‘I’m fine with pills.”  The dentist then returns and says, “Here’s a Viagra.”  The patient says, “Wow! I didn’t know Viagra worked as a pain killer!”

“It doesn’t” said the dentist, “but it’s going to give you something to hold on to when I pull your tooth

Sometimes the dentist is a lady! is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, “I’m sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away.”

The distressed woman wailed, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead,” replied the vet..

“How can you be so sure?” she protested. “I mean you haven’t done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.”

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck’s owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.

The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.”

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.. The duck’s owner, still in shock, took the bill. “$150!” she cried, “$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!”

The vet shrugged, “I’m sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it’s now $150.”

How do you know when your duck is dead? is a post from: Chris Cane's Blog