August 13 -International Left Handers Day

I should have posted this yesterday but it was a challenging day!  So a day late:

My mother was and my nephew is left handed.  When my nephew was small, my mom gave him a ball and said "throw it to me".  He did with his left hand and she was thrilled!  I remember at home trying to cut something with scissors when I lived with my mom and dad.  They were for left handed people!  My mother said she was smacked by a ruler by her teacher and they actually made her put her left hand behind her back.  She could use both hands but much prefered her left one!  She decorated cakes and used her left hand to make the roses and border and when it came time to write, she used both hands!  I'm glad things have changed and we honour it now!

I follow Wayne Cox a former radio personality in our area and he wrote this on his blog:

Thursday, August 13th, is International Left Handers Day. A day that is set aside annually to celebrate the uniqueness and differences of left-handed individuals. I’m one of them, and you may be too? The day was first observed in 1976 by Dean R. Campbell, founder of Lefthanders International, Inc.

I wrote this edition of The Word 3 years ago, and in case you missed it, I thought I’d repeat it in honour of this very special day. First, some words about being a lefty down through history.

In the olden days, being left-handed was considered negative, or evil. The Latin adjective “sinister” means “left” as well as “unlucky.” And in French “gauche” means both “left” and “awkward” or “clumsy.” Lefties tend to take a pounding in many languages, including English. The word for the direction “right” also means “correct” or “proper.” And how about a “left-handed compliment” that has two meanings, one of which is unflattering to the recipient.

Studies show 7-10% of the population is left-handed, and because we’re in the minority, it means that everything from a mouse for the computer to scissors and musical instruments are typically designed for right-handers.  If you look hard enough, you can find more and more products that are designed for lefties, but that has only happened in the last 30 years.

In a much earlier time, my mother, who was born left-handed, told me tales of being smacked with a ruler by school teachers for writing with her left hand, and was forced to write right-handed.  Fortunately, that practice had ended by the time I started school.

I do remember when I was a kid, going to a sporting goods store and staring at an entire wall of baseball gloves. A wall of leather, with only a couple of left-handed gloves, and half of those would be pink or blue! And as recently as the early 60s, our Little League Baseball catcher, Morley Langton, was left-handed and had to have a left-handed catcher’s glove custom made for him. There just weren’t any in the stores, and of course this was long before “ordering online!”

When I was very young, my Dad bought me my very first baseball glove, but it was for a right-handed throwing player. Therefore, it was worn on the left hand. When we first played catch in the back yard, I would catch the ball, take the glove off, and throw the ball back with my left hand. My Dad was shocked, and said, “You’re a Silly Sider.” His nickname for a lefty.

Add that nickname to others, like “Southpaw.” That was another nickname I received over the years and always wondered where the name came from. I was told that Southpaw comes from the baseball world. See if you can follow this explanation. In the early days, baseball diamonds were designed so that the pitcher faced in a westerly direction when looking at the batter. The batter would face east, so the setting sun wouldn’t be shining in his eyes. With the left-handed pitcher facing west, his throwing arm would be to the south, hence the name Southpaw!  

We lefties have sad tales about trying to cut paper with right-handed scissors (yes, there is a difference) or having to constantly move a glass or coffee cup from the right side of the place setting to the left. And having knuckles stained blue with ink while trying to write a sentence on a piece of paper. I’d come home every day from school with my blue knuckles that had been dragged across fresh ink all day long. And try writing while balancing your hand on the coils of a coil notebook! Small things, but it’s what happens when you live in a right-handed world. I got lucky though, years ago as a birthday present, my Dad bought me a left-handed hammer!

One more whining story. The other day I paid a visit to a music store that specialized in guitars and was shocked to find it didn’t have one left-handed acoustic guitar. Not one!  Apparently, that very thing happened to the late musician David Bowie. As the story goes, David Bowie was left-handed; however, he taught himself to play guitar right-handed! Why? There weren’t any left-handed guitars in the store when he went to buy one! Jimi Hendrix played left-handed on a right-handed guitar. In the 1960’s left-handed guitars were hard to find, and when you did find one, it was usually expensive. So, he just flipped over the right- handed guitar and re-strung it lefty. And of course, no mention of left-handed musicians is complete without Paul McCartney, one of the most famous bass players who plays lefty.

There’s one advantage to being a lefty that I discovered when I was interviewing NHL tough guy Dave “The Hammer” Schultz. The Hammer was quite the fighter on ice. He wrote a book about his life as a hockey enforcer, and I interviewed him about the book on the Vancouver Show. Dave explained in his book how he won most of his fights, and I asked him to demonstrate during the interview. Dave said, “I reach across and grab my opponent by the jersey with my left hand and use my left arm to block any punches he throws, so go ahead, try to hit me!” I threw a punch and hit him on the jaw! “Hey!” he said. “Dave,” I said, “I’m left- handed.” His theory worked for someone punching with their right hand, but he was wide open for a left-handed punch. Try it at home and you’ll see what I mean. Score one for the Southpaw.

We do have some famous lefties in our ranks. Here’s a short list.  

Barack Obama
Bill Gates
Mark Zuckerberg
Lady Gaga
Julia Roberts
Judy Garland
Whoopi Goldberg
Oprah Winfrey
Albert Einstein
Leonardo Da Vinci
Rick Forchuk
And Juanita, yes, our Blue Frog’s Juanita!

A wise guy once said: “If the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and if the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handed people are in their right minds.”  

And…“Everyone is born right-handed; only the greatest overcome it.” Haha! Left On! August 13th is our day to celebrate!

Parking apps!

On Sunday I was at the Peace Arch Hospital trying to load the parking app on my phone as it was an app I didn't have and I needed to pay for parking.  I already have three parking apps on my phone!  I was having problems getting it to work.  A lady came up and said "forget the app, it's much faster to pay with your credit card".  So I put my credit card in and got my receipt.  One thing about using the app is if your parking is about to expire you can extend without going to the pay station.  

Then I saw this:

The New Westminster Police Department is warning the public about fraudulent QR codes attached to parking meters throughout the city.

Police have received numerous calls from victims who have scanned the QR codes labelled “scan to pay” on the front of the meters, and were directed to a seemingly legitimate site to enter their credit card information to complete the parking transaction. The victims later noticed that they had large amounts of money withdrawn from their personal bank accounts. One victim had $2,000 withdrawn from their account. 

New Westminster Police Department officers are investigating the source of these stickers and encouraging anyone who has used them to pay for parking in the last five days to check their bank accounts and report any suspicious activity to police and their banks.

“Our officers have already removed numerous stickers on meters throughout the city” stated Media Relations Officer Sergeant Andrew Leaver. “We would like to remind the public to be vigilant. While the stickers may appear legitimate, acceptable forms of payment are printed on signs above or on the meter.”

The City of New Westminster does not use QR codes as a payment method for parking. The New Westminster Police Department asks community members to share news of this scam with friends and loved ones.

I wonder if the meter I was trying to scan the QR code to load the app and it wouldn't work was compromised!

Imagine this happening on our coastline!

This is genuinely unbelievable.

A U.S. oil company with ties to Trump reportedly moved drilling equipment into Greenland.  They left at least 15 containers of drilling gear near the port of Nerlerit Inaat in Jameson Land, Greenland.  It was sent by the Texas-based firm Greenland Energy before securing all of the necessary government approvals.   

Greenland’s authorities responded with a clear message: nothing happens there without Greenland’s consent.

Officials made it clear that foreign companies cannot simply enter the territory, bring in equipment, and begin preparing for drilling without following Greenland’s rules.  The proposed site is also located in an environmentally sensitive area covered by international conservation protections.

What makes this especially significant is the bigger principle behind Greenland’s response.

Despite being a small Arctic territory, Greenland is making it clear that powerful foreign corporations do not get to decide what happens on Greenlandic land. Greenland has the right to determine how its territory is used and how its environment is protected.

No matter how much money, influence, or political backing a company may have, those things should not override local laws or national sovereignty.

Whatever your political views, there is something powerful about seeing Greenland stand firmly behind its authority and environmental protections.

Respect to Greenland for standing its ground.

And then this:

Two Canadian companies Stampede Energy and Deganges Logistics are supplying equipment and logistics for this illegal action.

Stampede Energy had press release saying they will not supply equipment unless they have consent from Greenland!  I can't find any information from Deganges Logistics.

This is the latest from the US company but I can't believe anything coming from the US and one wonders what the plans from the orange leader are.  Another war for Greenland? 

“It was a mistake on our part, a mistake that will not be repeated,” its managing director Roderick McIllree told Danish public broadcaster DR in late July.

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The equipment is currently stored in a hangar at Nerlerit Inaat Airport, near the village of Ittoqqortoormiit, the closest settlement to the licence area.

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The company has received a “strong warning” from the Greenland government, which in a statement last month added, “that all future logistical arrangements must be notified to and approved by the mineral resources authority before they are carried out.”

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Greenland Energy’s chairman, Larry Swets, has been described as being close to Trump.

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And at a time when the U.S. president still wishes to control the vast Arctic island, the prospect of a U.S. energy company potentially carrying out exploration activities is making people uneasy.

Kiefer Sutherland's grandfather!

 

Tommy Douglas was just 6 years old when he fell on a rock in Falkirk, Scotland, and badly injured his knee. The wound refused to heal. Within weeks, doctors diagnosed him with osteomyelitis, a serious bone infection that would trouble him for years.

Winnipeg, 1911.

After his family emigrated to Canada, Tommy's condition worsened. He spent months in hospitals, missed school, and relied on crutches while other children ran and played. Eventually, doctors told his parents there was only one option left: amputation. His family couldn't afford a specialist. Then a surgeon, Dr. R.J. Smith, noticed the young boy during hospital rounds. He offered to perform the operation for free, asking only that his medical students be allowed to observe the procedure.

The surgery was successful. Tommy kept his leg. He never forgot how close he came to losing it—or that the outcome depended on whether his family could afford treatment. He later said that no child should have to rely on their parents' financial situation to receive lifesaving medical care. That belief shaped the course of his entire life.

At age 39, Tommy Douglas became the 7th Premier of Saskatchewan, leading the first socialist government elected in North America. For the next 17 years, he worked to improve life for ordinary families through hospital coverage, old-age pensions, and rural electrification.

But one issue remained unfinished. Access to doctors and surgery still depended on a person's ability to pay.

Birch Hills, Saskatchewan.

• Douglas made a promise that would transform Canadian history:
• Universal medical insurance for every resident, regardless of income.
• Doctors' organizations and private insurers quickly opposed the idea.
• They warned it would lead to government control of medicine and drive physicians out of the province.
• Douglas refused to back down.

The provincial election became a referendum on Medicare. His party, the CCF, won once again.

October 13, 1961.

Douglas introduced the Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Bill, the first plan in North America to guarantee medical care for every citizen through public funding. The criticism was immediate. Medical associations protested. Editorials predicted disaster. Political opponents called it the first step toward socialism. Yet Douglas already knew he wouldn't be the one leading the final battle. He had agreed to head the newly formed New Democratic Party (NDP) at the national level. He was leaving Saskatchewan just as the biggest fight over Medicare was beginning.

November 17, 1961.

The bill received royal assent. Soon afterward, Douglas resigned as premier. His successor, Woodrow Lloyd, inherited both the legislation and the growing controversy.

July 1, 1962.

The new law came into effect. Doctors across Saskatchewan launched a 23-day strike, closing their practices in protest. Large demonstrations filled the streets of Regina. Despite enormous pressure, Lloyd stood firm. He invited Lord Taylor, a British physician who had helped create the UK's National Health Service, to mediate.

On July 23, 1962, the Saskatoon Agreement ended the strike. Medicare survived. Within a decade, every Canadian province adopted a similar system. By 1966, the federal government established a national Medicare framework. Douglas wasn't present during the strike or the final agreement. He was focused on building a new national political movement.

Canadians voted to name the Greatest Canadian. Millions participated. The winner wasn't a prime minister, military hero, or business leader. It was Tommy Douglas. The little boy who almost lost his leg because his family couldn't afford treatment. A leader who proved that lasting change often begins with someone willing to start a journey they may never live to finish.

A little boy almost lost his leg because his family was poor… then he changed healthcare forever. And he was Kiefer Sutherland's grandfather!

Queen Elizabeth Rotary Club

 

I've put a few things about my nephew Brad on this blog.  I am so proud of him.  He was part of organizing and receiving the Guiness World Record. They planned it for months!   Here he is with the others who all did their part.  Heppells started this and potato give away.  All the other farmers who contributed should be commended.  Brad is part of the Queen Elizabeth Rotary Club.  They gave 30 skids of non produce food along with $100,000 of chocolate to the Ugly Potato Day again this year.  If you want to know more about Ugly Potato Day and you didn't see my blog yesterday, that will help you understand what I am talking about.

The Queen Elizabeth Rotary Club go to food businesses who have overstock.  The food overstock comes to their location with a truck and unload skids of items that are near sell by date, or they just can't sell. 

The members go to grocery stores in their trucks and pick up the items that aren't selling or near or at sell by date.  They bring it back to the location where the skids are and have a database of 182 people on What's App.  They let them know what is there and what needs to be picked up.  

I've seen skids of hams, packaged luncheon meat, potato chips, yogurt, spaghetti sauce, chocolate of every kind all in packaging ready to sell.  I saw four skids of wieners.  There was a sign saying, "no one touch, they are going to elementary schools for hot dog day"! Larger supermarkets have makeup and jewellery.  I've seen a huge box of these items including blue nail polish, face cream, mascara and earrings.  Note on that box:  "don't touch, going to a counsellor at ---- high school"!

The 182 driver volunteers come to the location, load up their vehicles and take the food to every area of Vancouver so people will have food.  They fill food pantries all over the lower mainland.  They are helping seniors and people who are working with low income that can't afford groceries!  Large skid items are taken to Gurdwara's, churches and other locations where they feed people for free.  A truck comes once a week from Mayne Island and fills it to the roof!  He pays all the expenses and helps people on the Mayne and other gulf islands!

It takes a village and there are so many wonderful people who help with this.  These people all have jobs and they do this in their spare time.  The food bank will not take anything that is close to sell by date so if they didn't do it, it would all go to the dump!

They broke the Guiness World Record!

 

Surrey’s Ugly Potato Day by Odd Bunch has broken the Guinness World Record for the largest donation of fruits and vegetables in 24 hours by giving away 246,528.61 kg (543,501 lbs) of produce.

Tyler Heppell started the event in 2022 with 12 people coming out to his family’s South Surrey farm to pick up free “ugly” produce that would otherwise be thrown away.

From there, it has grown to over 30,000 people attending this year’s world-record-setting event at Cloverdale’s Agriplex in Surrey.

Heppell said he felt “euphoric” as he looked around at all the people in the Agriplex.

“This was the hardest week of my absolute life. It stretched me in ways I have never been stretched before, and just this last hour, where we are given the Guinness World Record, had Tony Robbins come out and be here and experience it. I’m euphoric right now,” he said. “This is the fruits of my labour right here, 1000s of volunteer hours, not just mine, have gone into this, and to be here right now, I feel like I’m floating on a cloud.”

After weighing all the pallets and confirming that a new record had been set, an adjudicator from Guinness World Records presented Heppell, Divy Ojha, the founder of Odd Bunch and Evan Ehlers, the founder of Sharing Excess and motivational speaker Tony Robbins.

The record was previously held by the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau in Sacramento, California, which donated 224,064.2 kg (493,977 lbs) on September 7, 2016.

Robbins, who is a well-known motivational speaker, said he was “moved” by the event and expressed his gratitude for the volunteers and farmers who helped make it possible.

“If you’re receiving, I hope you receive the love that’s being put into that food because somebody’s donating that not for anything but for your well-being, and they love you,” he said.

Heppell said he is proud of the work he and many others have done to make this event possible every year, but what it really comes down to is being kind to people.

“I think that’s what this day is about: the small things compound, and it doesn’t matter if you have millions of followers (online) or 30,000 people coming out to your event, or if you’re just impacting one person’s life. It’s all the same,” he said.

On Saturday morning, rows and rows of bins full of fruits and vegetables, such as ugly potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes, lined the floor of the Cloverdale Agriplex, ready to be picked and taken home. People were initially limited to filling two bags each.

25 farms donated the produce for the event, 70 percent of which came locally, including Tyler’s dad and Heppels Potato Corp., which donated over 200,000 lbs of potatoes. The rest of the produce came from farmers in Arizona. Anything left over will be donated to local food banks.

Heppell often encourages people on his social media accounts to buy local produce, which helps support local farmers.

“Us local farmers want to support our community because we know that our community’s in a hard time. Our farm has been around for 100 years, and our community has supported us,” he said. “And now that our community is in a hard time, we want to support them. But for us local farmers to be around, people need to support local. People need to buy BC products because everyone else is trying to ship into our market, and it’s really hurting our farmers. And that is why it’s so important to buy BC.”

Heppell was extremely grateful to OddBunch, which was the headline sponsor for the event.

For the past two years, pre-registration has been required for the free event to ensure the day ran smoothly. Attendees had to select from one of several time slots.

Heppell said they would like to be back in Surrey again next year, but they need a bigger venue as the event keeps growing.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke attended the event alongside City Councillors Rob Stutt, Harry Bains, and Pardeep Kooner.

“It’s certainly a great gift to so many people, and you can see 1000s of 1000s of people literally are here to get the produce that they say is ugly, and I think it looks pretty darn good,” Locke said.

British Columbia Forest Fires

 

Right now, British Columbia is dealing with just over 100 active wildfires. The most recent official feeds show 101 active fires as of August 7, 2026, with roughly 290,000 hectares burning.  It was a shock when a forest fire started at Balcarra Park, very close to where I live.  I was not in danger, but I know others that live closeby.  Thankfully, it is under control but many other forest fires aren't.

Approximately 600 - 750 people in British Columbia have likely lost their homes so far in the 2026 wildfire season, with the number expected to rise as assessments continue!

Thank you to all the wonderful firefighters who are here from Mexico, Australia and New Zealand!