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May 2007

Celebrating 80 years: The Edmonton Flying Club — not me

By Muggsy Forbes

In my January column, I recounted a rather bizarre, embarrassing incident at West Edmonton Mall. To review quickly, I was shopping with Dr. Ollie when I spotted a store of interest across the mall from where we were. As I headed toward it, I suddenly found myself having what I described as a “Metamucil moment”—flying through the air into a pond, in my overcoat no less. After reporting it to security, they reviewed their tapes and informed me that I wasn’t paying attention. Of course not! I was looking for a store ...not thinking that the mall is full of water hazards. I’m still upset.

My column generated a number of phone calls and e-mails from folks who had suffered the same fate. One guy fell in at Christmas, dumping an armful of gifts. Is there a class-action lawsuit here for some smart lawyer?  

April was a culinary experience this year as we sampled different traditional meals. First, we celebrated Jewish Passover with Stan and Doris Smorden who served Matzo with lots of fruit and Matzo-Brie which we all enjoyed. Stan had invited our Ricky’s breakfast group Al Bryant, George Reid and, last but not least, Al Butt who finally got a job. He’s project managing a large plant in the Leduc area.

Two days later, I partook in Dr. Ollie’s family Ukrainian breakfast. My mother-in-law Helen Triska—aka Baba—prepared the food, which was blessed by a priest. It was a gathering of the clan: Brother-in-law Wally Triska with son Nickolas made it from Vancouver… and Angelene showed off 10-month old Gideon. It put four generations of Triskas together for the first time.

My family joined us Easter Sunday at our condo—all 15 sat down for one of Dr. Ollie’s fabulous meals. How nice it was to have our very busy families together. I was especially pleased that my son Cam made the trip from Vancouver.

The Edmonton Flying Club is celebrating its 80th Anniversary this year—a long time for any business or organization to be around. The club has trained thousands of pilots over the decades, including through World War II. Many of the pilots who fly you to your vacation destinations probably got their basic and IFR training at the club. There was a time when I would go to the cockpit for a quick visit with a pilot I had met at the club. With the new security rules, that doesn’t happen anymore.

About 400 people belong to the Edmonton Flying Club which is run by a group of 50 sustaining members and an 11-member board of directors—of which I am one. A couple of weeks ago, at the annual general meeting, we had our celebration. The cake was going to be cut with a seven-foot Samurai sword, but it was a bit too long, so we used a shorter one. It was fun. Pilot training is very popular at the present time for a couple of reasons: many of the pilots are facing retirement from major airlines, and the current economic boom means both business and personal aircraft are fashionable.  

John Ough has had his ups and downs. A number of years ago he was involved in a horrendous car accident, not even sure he would walk again. Well he did, and now he gets around with more braces than the Low Level Bridge. He’s also been very involved with Employabilities as its president. The group trains people with disabilities to become employable in the business marketplace. He also runs a little business called First Class Card which gives subscribers a 2 for 1 discount on golf and entertainment, covering most Alberta courses, with some in Saskatchewan and British Columbia tossed in. For more information, call John at (780) 448-9676 or have a look at his web site, www.firstcards.com . If you’re a golfer, you’ll save the cost of the card in no time. 

Someone with the city is working for their money. The Visitors Information Centre on Gateway Boulevard has been chosen as the platinum winner for the 2007 RV West Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards. Readers were asked to e-mail the magazine and tell them who and what they liked best in the North America RVing world. That’s a big world. Over 1,400 nominations were received and the award was based on the top-10 votes overall in 13 categories. Edmonton was chosen the favourite Visitor Information Centre—quite an honour, congrats. The centre has been open 20 years and 1.6 million folks have dropped by. 

My longtime friend George Reid owns Dial Travel at the south end of the High Level Bridge in the Garneau Theater building. The building has been sold by the folks who have owned it since it was built 61 years ago. George figures this could mean a hefty increase in rent which his travel business probably couldn’t afford. George hasn’t had a lease in many years—rent increased by mutual agreement. The good old days, no lawyers.

Anyway, George is moving to a building he owns on Whyte Avenue, upstairs at 10548 - 82 Avenue. The staff his customers have come to trust will be there. I can verify they’re good: we used them to go to Italy and there were no hitches in the arrangements. His business has changed to telephone orders and the Internet so maybe the high profile isn’t needed as much any more. You can book at www.dialvacations.com. Making changes as drastic as this at any age is stressful, but George is handling it very well—he’s 87 years old. He’s much older than I am, just wanted to make that clear.

There’s a very good article by Lawrence Herzog about the Garneau building in his book It’s Our Heritage. It’s an important part of our history. I just hope the new owners don’t screw it up by putting another damn condo on the site. 

Did you see it? Dr. Ollie and I debuted on CityTV a couple of weeks ago. We were the so-called celebrity chefs on the Your City show. It was short but well edited. It was fun to work together in the kitchen—though it looked like Dr. Ollie did most of the cooking and I got to make clever remarks and enjoy the fruit tart she prepared. I found it curious that I looked older than my Edmontonians photo. Thanks to producer Rhonda and camera guy Nate.  

The Glenora Rotary Club had a fund raiser for Edzimkulu, A Society for Children of Aids. The club has taken the responsibility for providing money, medical, dental assistant and help in the person of members spending time working in the small South African village of Ndawana. I wish I had more room to do justice to the marvelous things the Glenora Rotary Club is doing there. Of the money raised, 97 percent goes to the Changing Lives program. Susan Green is chairing this and serves on many other committees, like Northlands to which she was recently appointed.  

Additional reporting by Edmontonians staff. Call Muggsy Forbes at 780.482.4545 or e-mail mforbes@edmontonians.com

April 2007

Stressed-out executives need The Healthy CEO... and free hugs

By Muggsy Forbes

The March Art of Conversation get-together was at Jeffery’s Café and Wine Bar on 142 Street. Owner Jeffery Kolbuc runs a nice cozy wine and jazz club. Had a chance to chat with his uncle, Ben Kolbuc of Norden Autohaus fame. The award-winning Volkswagen Porsche dealer has a great talent for promotion. His recent unveiling of the new Cayenne Porsche sports utility wagon had to be his best—outstanding. Picture three huge crates in the middle of the room… the music is blaring… the strobe lights are pulsing… the sides of the crates crash to the floor to reveal three spanking new Cayennes… the crowd erupts. Including fine food from Century Grill and great servers, the tab for the evening comes in at $60,000. Ben splits the cost with the good folk from Porsche who say it was the best launch in Canada. 

Now, if I could just afford one.

Ron Gilbertson just succeeded Allan Scott as president and CEO of Edmonton Economic Development Corp. My personal congratulations. I’ve known Ron for many years, mostly when we were both active in aviation. We spent many a convention weekend at the Jasper Park Lodge: he was with Edmonton Regional Airports Authority and I served on the board, including as president, of the Alberta Aviation Council. We had too much fun at times… but later we bumped heads. Ron worked on the committee to close the City Centre Airport, while I, with many local pilots and business people, tried to save it. Our verbal sparring will likely continue on the rare occasions we meet.

But the EEDC have a good man and I’m sure he’ll handle the position with his usual panache.

People never fail to surprise me with their life stories. Regular readers know I breakfast with friends almost daily at Ricky’s. One of the servers is Jessica Heine, a struggling singer, with a very good CD. Like most young singers who play in coffee houses and small clubs, sitting on a stool, playing a guitar is usual. What sets Jessica apart is her voice—it can fill a room. What caught my eye in her bio was the time she spent six months in Latenango Prison in El Salvador. She wasn’t incarcerated but worked as a volunteer for a small NGO, giving enrichment programs to gang members. At the end, there was large graduation celebration for the inmates featuring games and a concert. Jessica had to sing Hit the Road Jack six times. She writes and sings her own songs and would be a great addition to any private party or musical event. Call her at 904-8388 or visit www.jessicaheine.com 

Sine Chadi always stages a very entertaining AGM… his presentation is a hoot and persuasive enough that investors might follow him anywhere. This year he had a very different message. Imperial Equities Inc. is still very active in the real-estate business and, as you would expect, holdings are doing well. Sine announced his foray into the pharmaceutical business with Imperial Distributors Canada Inc. The wholesale operation deals primarily with institutions and, to a minor degree, with drug stores. Sine’s managed to use his talent for sales to hire two attractive, bright ladies to handle business development. I happen to know them and their husbands. Key account manager, Joanne Modry has a wealth of experience, having sold artificial heart parts to doctors; heart specialist Dennis Modry is her husband. Molly Warring, business development director, is a long-time pr consultant and author whose husband Lou has no visible sign of work, but he dresses very well. I wish them all success.

My old friend, Ron Brown, certainly had his eye on the ball when he decided to build a brand new plant for his company, Shippers Supplies Inc. Construction was completed just before trades people’s calendars started running amok. He’s been manufacturing boxes of every shape and size for 32 years, selling products across the country, out of 11 branches. The new plant is 160,000 square feet of world class equipment. There’s a machine called “The Latitude” that produces boxes at 370 a minute. That’s a lot of boxes.

Sales must be okay because Ron just purchased a new Mooney Ovation aircraft, with a Garmin Glass cockpit. He flies all over the country doing sales calls and surveying his empire.

Meals on Wheels is one my favourite charities. Being named to the board is a real honour for me. Also appointed were the radio guy Rob Christie of Magic 99, Sandra Hilderbrand, a long-time volunteer, Linda Chow-Turner, RD Caritas Health Group, and Dieter Brunsch, vice-president of customer service and risk management at the WCB. Willie Gruber will serve as president for a further three years. He is the services executive for IBM's e-business integration solutions practice in Western Canada. This short item doesn’t do justice to talents of this board and this amazing organization. You can count on more in the upcoming months.

Being triple booked one day, I asked Dr. Ollie to go to a reception at the Mayfair Golf Club for me. It was Dr. Larry Olhauser’s official book launch for The Healthy CEO. Larry gave an excellent presentation about how our lives need balance and what we can do about it. We have a platform (life) supported by three pillars: relational health, financial health, and physical health. Each provides the elements we should have for a healthy and happy life. The advice Larry offers is intertwined in a story about a couple, Frank and Katie, who have to face some of life’s tough decisions. Frank is overworked and Katie is a caterer working long hours and under much stress. The storyline follows Frank and Katie’s decisions to de-stress their lives, which brings them closer together. You have to buy the book to find out what happens to Katie at the end. This book is well-researched and written—an excellent read. Larry is on a North American promotional tour to promote his book, including cruises.

The launch was attended by about 70 people, including former health and wellness minister Iris Evans, and Edmontonians Transformers Tom Bradshaw and Colin Williamsen. Rob Christie of Magic 99 was the emcee for the event; he compared The Healthy CEO to the likes of Dr. Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success in regards to its profound ability to create long term change for its readers.

Speaking of Edmontonians Tranformers— they’re everywhere! In addition to their Thursday morning makeover sessions with Lynn and Jen Carolei on CityTV, you can spot them on other channels. The World Ice Skating Champioships were broadcast worldwide, and there was Steffany Hanlen in Tokyo with Canadian ice-dance champions, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. They won the silver medal with a brilliant skate. And Tom Bradshaw is doing some local television commercials.

There’s a “free hugs campaign” on www.youtube.com and when Tranformee Jen Carolei saw it, she was inspired. She e-mailed to say that she “…knew that if it touched my heart that much, then I had to do it. So, my 26th birthday was a great opportunity to get out there. I recruited some friends and they came out and hugged Edmonton with me. Some people who had seen the video were totally into it and came running up for hugs, others asked what it was about and received a hug.

“A few of my most memorable hugs: People double parking or parking illegally to get a hug… People getting out of their cars in the middle of traffic for a hug… A woman got off the bus just for a hug… Hugging bus drivers at the red light… A little girl came running up to me and I gave her a huge squeeze… A woman passed by us and said she would need one on the way back because she was going to the bankruptcy office; so when she came back, six of us gave her a group hug. Some less fortunate people who came for hugs took the opportunity to chat with us and hang out. And some folks came back for second and third hugs.

“Among the sad moments: People staring at their blackberry and ignoring us… people crossing to the opposite side of the street to avoid us… one man said he was hug-a-phobic. A lot of people asked if we were peddling something or part of a crazy cult. That was a sign for us that Edmonton definitely needs more love. I've heard that a person needs 18 hugs a day to feel whole, so we got out there and hugged a ton of people.

“I probably gave out about 100 hugs, I'm only guessing. Friends who helped me out at some point during the day: my Significant Other Chad Williams, Auty Brooks, Lia Badry, Dianne Hall, Darren and Bonnie Hood and their two kids, Stephen Price, Jennifer Ross, Carole Ross, Lisa Ross-Rodriguez, Twilla Coates, and Sally Robbins, who is visiting from Australia and braved the chilly day to hug Edmontonians.

“It was the best birthday I ever had and I can't wait to do it again.”

Over the years, Jayne Bawden launched some pretty spectacular events that raised many thousands of dollars for STARS Air Ambulance. Last we heard, she had retired. Well… only sorta. The consummate volunteer has created an event for the McDougall House Association. The 14 bed residence for women who are in recovery from addiction is partially funded by AADAC, but in desperate in need of extra funding.

It’s on Sunday, April 15th at the Shaw Conference Centre, Hall D, from noon to 3:30 pm. Tickets are $50. You get a three-course lunch, the chance to shop the auction tables for some very cool things, and can enjoy a terrific Spring Fashion Show. Women and men will strut their stuff down the 80-foot runway, modelling the latest from local boutiques. Round up some friends to raise money for this good cause. Call Jayne at 498-6216.

March 2007

Working the war zones...you don’t  run into the street

It isn’t often that I come across a local hero who is a foreign correspondent. We hear about the military folks who are on tour in many of the hot spots in the world. But how many journalists do we know that go there? Well, Margaret Evans has been reporting on international events for about 15 years. Her father was a long time journalist and Journal columnist, the late Art Evans. Her mother—who turns 81 this month—is Una MacLean Evans, a well known Liberal, former alderman and citizenship court judge. Margaret was well trained as a journalist, with an MA under her belt. Must run in the gene pool of the family.

Margaret has been stationed in most of the war zones in the world. Originally she was a reporter with the Globe and Mail and went on to contract work with the CBC. After the contract was finished, she began freelancing. Her first official posting as a freelance journalist was in 1999 in London England, followed by an assignment to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Paris also was part of her working territory. Margaret quipped, “You have to like mussels and chocolate and beer. So, I was okay!”

September 11th had a huge impact on journalists. They were called on to cover more conflict and it hasn’t stopped since. Margaret was posted in Africa to quite a few places: Rwanda, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. She was in the Middle East and in Pakistan during the first Afghan war. As she said, “It was just a different burro and you have to be willing to go out to those areas.”

Margaret was developing a work history of being in high risk areas in the world. “I think as a journalist, you want to go to towns… you want to go where the story is. The sad thing is that’s often where there is conflict, and I think that either you do that kind of reporting or you don’t.” She was also posted in Iraq, and Lebanon on the Gaza Strip, and hopes to go to Iran in the future.

“It was a dark war a couple of years ago and I did a documentary on ethnic cleansing. We were one of the first crews in and I think that we made a difference.” She went on to say that it was hard to understand the living conditions of the people. Men were being killed. Women had to look after their families by foraging for food and were at risk of being raped.

You would think that Margaret would be cynical about these events. She explained, “You have to have a healthy dose of cynicism, something I learned from my father. You do see extraordinary acts of compassion and generosity between man, so there is always a counter balance to the horrors.”

When Margaret was in the field, she explained some of her reactions to being in a war zone. Accommodation wasn’t a problem. She stayed in hotels or in private homes away from the day-to-day fighting. Most of the time she stayed with colleagues, often in a rented house. Time and again, there was shelling close to where she was living. “Eventually you come to a point where you’ve heard enough of it. You don’t run into the street or anything like that. I mean, it jolts you.” Talking about Gaza, Margaret said that they use a lot of sonic. “It’s a psychological border attack. It’s like having a missile crash through the room next to you. It’s that loud because it’s made by jets flying faster than the speed of sound. It obviously increases your ability to understand the impact of the people who are facing it.”

Then there is the personal side of being a journalist in conflict areas in war zones. Food didn’t seem to be a problem, as long as she you brought your own such as chicken, hot water and granola bars.

When I asked her about politics, she said, “I just really don’t want to talk about politics.”  

Dr. Ollie recently joined the Edmonton Glenora Rotary Club. It’s nice to have someone follow in my footsteps: I was a member of the West End Rotary Club for some 30 years.

The first Edmonton Glenora event we attended was the Have a Heart fund raiser at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, still one the classiest places in town. The live auction featured higher value items, including a dinner for 14 in NAIT’s culinary school. It was sponsored by NAIT President Sam Shaw, and Gary Mar, former minister of health and wellness, who will be the “celebrity” chef. The auctioneer was smart enough to keep two bidders competing with each other until one gave up at $7,000. So Gary and Jim put their heads together and offered up another dinner for 14. That’s how the pair raised $14,000 of the more than $50,000 for the evening.

Kevin Love was the successful bidder for the first dinner. He said that he sold his oil field business not that long ago and thought charity should benefit from his success. A very nice guy who sowed he does “Have a Heart.” 

Another fund raiser that I managed to get  to was the Valentine’s Day lunch held at the downtown Sorrentino’s restaurant complete with Night Owl’s evening clothing. I mean the real late evening clothing, things to sleep in. The Tina Mac models were tall, gorgeous and moved quickly, damn. The way to attract a male audience is have the charity event for prostate cancer, since it’s a guy thing. I myself have had six operations and a month in hospital with it. The event sold out with 150 in attendance. In the crowd were Rob Christie of Magic 99 and his wife Dianne, and naturally Gloria Brannigan and hubby Ian of Night Owl’s Lingerie.

 Word just in that Hillel Boroditsky lost his long battle with cancer on February 27th. Hillel was the former executive director of United Way Edmonton, residing in Montreal in recent years. A memorial will be held here in the near future. Condolences to wife Laura, sons Barry, David and Michael and their families

February 2007  Metamucil moments...and other adventures

 By Muggsy Forbes

A few weeks ago when Dr. Ollie and I were at West Edmonton Mall, I spotted a store I wanted to stop at, so we agreed to meet down the way. I headed across the mall only to find myself doing the back stroke—in a water trap—in my overcoat. Surprised, to say the least—almost had a Metamucil moment—I stood up drenched, clothes hanging and clinging to me. No one in the crowd was holding up numbers for my Olympic nose dive. Nor did anyone come to help me out—except Dr. Ollie, who tried hard to suppress her laughter. As we walked amidst curious on-lookers, she even found my trail of wet footprints mildly amusing.

Thankfully, only my shoulder was bruised on the bottom of the damn pool. After getting home and again the next day, I reported the embarrassing incident to the mall security office, pointing out there’s no fence or barrier to stop anyone from taking a header. Someone called back a few days later to say they had taken a look at the tapes (security tapes, I presume) and found I wasn’t paying attention so it was my fault.

Being in the commercial insurance business, I expected nothing less. The mall likes taking your money, but doesn’t like spending much to keep you safe. How much is a fence? I went back to photograph the scene of my public moment, and talked with a few of the staff working in the area. Mine was not an isolated incident… and, it turns out, it’s adults—not kids—who belly flop.

As usual, this will only be solved by some lawyer working on contingency. If you’re wondering why I’m so ticked, they didn’t even offer to dry-clean my clothes or replace the very expensive pair of hiking boots.

Don’t relax when walking the mall, it’s dangerous. I’ve been Plutoed—a new word meaning you’ve been had.

I now believe everything that happens on CSI.  Let me explain: Not long ago, a Constable Farrel of the EPS called with some strange questions. “Do you own a Nikon camera?” Yes. “Have you been to Italy?” Yes. “Do you drive a Chrysler Intrepid?” Yes. He explained, “We arrested a homeless person who had your camera.” An off-duty officer—my unsung hero—nabbed the guy in another parkade some blocks away. Constable Farrell handled every thing quickly, and even came over to our condo to complete the documents.

Now for the CSI stuff: They traced the license on my car… in a photo on one of my digital cards. I was very lucky.

Here’s how it all came to pass. Dr. Ollie had hosted about 25 of her marathon Running Room friends and instructors in the condo party room. Robert Prybysh, of Arrow Engineering was kind enough to share some single malt scotch he scored at the Concordia Grande Masque Ball silent auction. Naturally it turned into a scotch-tasting party—except for me, I don’t drink. No one was blistered so I didn’t manage to get any embarrassing pictures.

Anyway, instead of cleaning up, we agreed to do it in the morning. But, I forgot my camera in a cardboard box under the bar. It was discovered by Mr. Burglar who had pried open an outside door, in spite of pieces of steel covering the locks, and strode around opening doors. He even ate the leftover food in the fridge.  

SIRENS—Support to Individuals at Risk in Everyone’s Neighborhood Society—is an energetic group of volunteers headed up by Frank Klemen and Terry Josey. The society supports aboriginal youth, the mentally ill, school breakfast programs, a choir, and a basketball team, and provides a variety of assistance. You can help by attending their Valentine’s Day Dance, Friday, February 16 at the Northgate Lions Centre, 7524-139 Ave. This event features Juno Award winner, Bill Bourne as well as long time favourite Tacoy Ryde. Get your dancing shoes on.

Normally we spend New Years’ Eve at the Faculty Club, but this year we were up at the Coast Terrace Inn dancing our little hearts out to the terrific big band sound of the Trocadero Alumni Band. “Table 6” turned out to be a hoot. One of the ladies was an author of children’s books. Cora Taylor-Georges has had 20 books published and has just come out with a new one. She and hubby Earl Georges spend the winter in Florida where he is a drummer in local bands. The other bunch of fun lovers were Art and Betty Wilson, Ken and Sybil Thatcher, a former Journal staffer, and Joyce and Geoff Henwood. The band, the food and the company were so good, we all pledged to meet at table 6 next year.

By the way, Sharon MacLean knew of a story about Cora who, as it turns out, appeared on the front cover of Edmontonians in the August 1993 edition of the magazine. Cora is the mother-in-law of Jane Livingston, first editor of the magazine after founder Dick MacLean moved on to the big newsroom in the sky.

 “We didn’t know what we were doing in those days,” recalls Sharon. “Jane had never been an editor before; she only started writing for us four months before Dick passed away.”  In the scramble to resolve their first cover, Jane mentioned that Cora was considered to be one of Canada’s top children’s writers, lived in Edmonton, and was about to release her fifth book. Presto: their first profile. Jane, recovering from a brain aneurism suffered two years ago now resides in Fort McLeod with her son and Emmy-winning husband, Clancy who is about to start a construction company. “We still think Cora is cover-girl material,” says Sharon of the woman who started her book publishing career 22 years ago at age 50. Her most recent title, released last year, is Murder in Mexico and, according to Jane, her new husband Earl, the jazz drummer, “is the best thing since sliced bread.”

 My old buddy Giuseppe Albi is head of Events Edmonton by day and a very good artist by night. He is having a showing in the Peter Robertson Gallery, (10183 - 112 Street), on February 15th. The show is called Multiple Views and utilizes “multiple tone travel paint”. Giuseppe obtained this unique medium when he visited Golden Artists Colors in up-state New York a couple of years ago. The special characteristic of this paint is that it changes tone when viewed from different angles. Sounds fascinating.  

When local Edmonton mom Lynn Roch’s son announced he was having his nuptials in Cuba, she immediately asked her boss if he wanted to come along. Just happens that he is award winning photographer Fred Katz. Matt and his bride Rhonda were joined by 85 friends and family—including parents Lynn and Gilles and Sandra and Harold Lipps—for the mid-January celebrations. The couple exchanged vows on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. A fabulous exotic location… captured for a lifetime among the 500 photos taken by Fred, who must have been clicking away like a herd of turtles.  How Lynn became known as Mohijto Mamasita is a whole ’nuther story.

My humble apologies to Mrs. Marjorie Ward. Last month, I mistakenly referred to her as Stephanie—I should have known better.

At a fundraiser in the fall, Dr. Ollie picked up an evening at the River Cree Casino with dinner at the Sage Restaurant. It was very good. I had an 8 oz steak with spicy fries. Dr. Ollie had the lamb tenderloin. Both the food and service were excellent and the server knew the menu well. Just as we were leaving, Carmelo and Stella Rago of Sorrentino’s came in with Peter and Paolo Sorrell of Sorrell Financial. I called Carmelo to find out what he thought. He said, “Hey, all agreed that it was good experience and would deserve another visit.” He was polite enough not to compare it to Sorrentino’s.  

The community has lost a number of outstanding citizens in the past few weeks. Priscilla Best passed away of cancer at 55. Her husband Lyle has been a driving force on the local fundraising scene for many years. We had the privilege of spending many very enjoyable times with the couple. Our sincere condolences to Lyle and the kids, Justin, Brandon and Aaron.

In my December column, I acknowledged that Dr. R. Casey had “been great, ridding both eyes of cataracts.” I saw him in early January. So I was stunned to hear that he had passed away about six days after that visit. I had jokingly referred to him as “Mr. Glaucoma”—he said he really enjoyed the comment.

When our offices were across the street from each other, John Poole and I often had lunch together. He was one of the brightest, most interesting people you would ever meet. He loved to get a preview on the gossip I was compiling for my column. The memorial tribute at the Winspear was a delightfully informal affair… in keeping with a man who was warm, friendly, down-to-earth—not the least bit pretentious. The contributions from John and his wife Barbara have made this city and province a far, far better place.

And, as we went to press, Dr. Ken Paproski, a former Conservative MLA, and Leroy Chahley, retired Chief of Police and city councillor, were being laid to rest.

January 2007 Thinking diamonds? Think Canadian

 By Muggsy Forbes

Finally, the Journal has taken up the cudgel against Shaw Cable’s attempt at bait and switch. Folks are lining up at Shaw’s stores to buy digital boxes and add more useless channels to their bills.

I’ve golfed with JR Shaw, chairman of the board, at the annual Shaw golf tournaments. His son, Jim Junior, now the president (and no longer called Junior) also played in the same tourneys. They probably get their digital converters at a discount.

According to the Journal article, Shaw had its reasons for moving the Golf Channel to digital only access. The ploy is working. After the cable monopoly made the switch in September, fans rushed out to buy the boxes for about $200 each… supporting my original premise that it was a “money grab.” The Christmas special was a real deal at $98.

Not even I hold the Shaw family personally responsible. All I know is that it’s made viewing golf a lot less convenient.

 Gay Derk has watched a generation of men pass through the doors of Derk’s Menswear, the family-owned business that she runs with husband, Darrell and two sons, Sterling and Landon. “About 65 to 70 percent of our customers are under the age of 25,” says Gay who celebrates 30 years in the business this year. 

“They’re more interested in making the world a better place than the previous Me Generation… and they’re doing it,” says the retailer. “They’re concerned about world peace, they go on help missions to Africa, they’re getting married earlier and want to have kids… and they’re into health. Just look at all the yoga studios opening up.”

Something of a quantum thinker, Gay’s passion for the company is shared equally by her desire to reach a wider audience for her thoughts on Connections to Source—think God—a book she’s writing that’s about 90 percent complete. Those who have heard her speak in public would applaud the plans of this fashion firebrand.

Now, what about trends for men in 2007? It’s all about the silhouette of the body. Says Gay: “Clothes are close and tight. Pants are not pleated and the lapels are real narrow; denims are tight, too.” Darrel will be off shopping to New York on January 21st, just hours after hosting their highly successful Bridal Fantasy that draws eight to 10,000 people to Northlands each year. 

A reminder that the 32nd Annual Johann Strauss Ball takes place Saturday, February 3rd, at the Westin Hotel Edmonton. This is one of Edmonton’s most elegant black-tie affairs—an enchanting evening of Viennese charm that starts with a champagne reception, followed by the Polonaise. This is a traditional court dance presented by the debutantes and their cavaliers—very good looking young ladies are escorted by good looking young men. The ball raises money to support deserving young Alberta musicians in their endeavours. Tickets are $200. Contact Brenda Dahl 780-467-8984. E-mail info@johannstrauss.ca  or visit www.johannstrauss.ca

I always wait around for Dr. Ollie while she’s getting her hair upgraded by Alex Peck of Textures for Hair. Alex has cut my hair, such as it is, since puberty—hers, not mine. We met 18 years ago during one of my many single periods. I dated her mother Laurie Peck, who started her own agency for booking some of the best podium speakers in Canada. She has been living in Nanaimo for a number years, and still has a small stable of speakers.

Back to her daughter: I predict that Alex will be one of our great Canadian artists someday. She is just finishing her fine arts program at the University of Alberta. While she’s never shown her work anywhere of any significance, she sells most everything she paints. She’s in demand for commissioned portraits… but she tells me she’s in her flower period at present. I have to admit that I’m biased, but she is good.  

Now if I can line up a meeting with my old buddy Doug Udell of Udell Gallery for one of his shows, the world could fall at her feet.  

Dr. Ollie and I have a hard fast rule: We date every Friday night, come hell or high water. It’s usually a movie, dinner and getting caught up. A few weeks ago, we went to Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo diCaprio. Very bloody; I’d be surprised if you bought a diamond for any special occasion. As we walked out of theatre, we ran into friends who were kind enough to invite us for coffee. We joined Don Sr. and Marion Wheaton, Justice Doug Matheson and his wife Peg, and Max and Stephanie Ward. It seems that when they go to a movie together, Tim Horton’s is the place for coffee... something about the Timbits.

Both Ollie and I felt like the kids because most of the men are in their mid-eighties. Afterward, in retrospect, I wondered why all of these men are so successful. I came to the conclusion that they are successful couples. Their wives are their partners—which makes home life conducive for doing business. In the Wheaton’s case, Marion has done a heck of job of raising general managers for their dealerships.

John Stanton of the Running Room has given up helping little old ladies on airplanes. A few months ago, on a flight from Vancouver to Toronto, an elderly lady was struggling to put her carry-on in the overhead bin when it started to go sort of backwards. John leapt up and took the very heavy bag into his right arm. He felt some pain and, by the time he got to Toronto, he knew that something was wrong. It turned out the ligaments tore at the bottom of the arm, meaning that each one was pulled down and detached. Very painful. Now the athlete is doing one armed exercises.   

The restaurant, 4th and Vine, offers interesting Sunday fare—in addition to very good food, there’s movies and all-you-can-eat-popcorn. We saw Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, and Who Killed the Electric Car—both about corrupt corporations that will harm the population to protect profits. Everyone who sees the Gore movie will have a very different attitude toward global warming.  

Congratulations to our new premier, Ed Stelmach. As a writer, I’m going to miss Ralph Klein. There weren’t many months that went by without him saying something interesting. I hope Ralph and his wife enjoy their retirement. They both may have to learn to drive, carry their own luggage and buy their own groceries. It can be done.. but it hurts. 

By the way, Doug Zmurchok knows something about diamonds. He’s a wholesaler in Western Canada—“one of the few guys on the road with credentials.” Doug took final exams in 2001 from the Gemological Institute of America in California and passed with 100 percent; “…a tough thing to do at my age.” This guy knows cut and colour.

“The industry was 100 percent nervous about Blood Diamond,” he says. “I heard about it a year ago,” but notes that things have improved since the atrocities recounted in the movie in 1992.

“A true diamond shouldn’t leave the country,” says the veteran of 15 years. “Diamonds in Canada should be pulled from the ground, cut in Canada, and then sold anywhere in the world. Each piece of the rock is identified and monitored; otherwise too much speculation enters the picture.”

Norman (Muggsy) Forbes has served Edmonton as both a businessman and volunteer leader for the past 40 years. The former president of the Klondike Days Association and Northland's board member maintains a formidable network of contacts within the community and throughout Canada for his column titled Funny, Pompous and Unfair. Call Muggsy at 780.482.4545 or email him at mforbes@edmontonians.com