37 Etat ned ata Mattaara tare aaa hl DUSTIN QUEZADA CHARLYNN TOEWS Wildlife nce upon a time; I was single and lived all by myself. Then I got a kitten. A boyfriend proclaimed, “It’s the: cat or me!” You see, they had had a dif- ference of opinion, a disagreement, an altercation. Some many years later, I still had the cat, and got a lovely new husband, a man who does not, to this day, express jealousy regarding creatures whose brains. are only as large as the first digit of his thumb. Then we got a baby. Sometimes, when the cat and the husband and the baby and myself were all crowded together, one after the other, in no par- ticular order, in one bed, I would think: I used to be single and:live all by myself. Just the other day I saw a dog across the street from my house consuming a pizza by the side of the road. It appeared to be a medium-sized thick- crust pepperoni. Now, that just doesn’ t look right, a dog eating a pizza, does it? Some ravens agréed. They swooped and teased _and finally chased him off. This dog..was a strange dog, not that he was "weird, although I couidn’t name his breed. :Per- haps he is a Poo-Hazelton-zou or a Kitwangese. Anyway, he was new to the neighbourhood and although quite large, he was fluffy and fuzzy like a puppy. He ran in a puppy way, with his small brain controlling his front legs quite well while his hind legs galumphed along in a charming side- ‘ways manner. | I was watching out the front window, not be- cause I was neglecting important housework or any other duties, but because I had recently moved the bird-feeder and was observing the results. Here is my report. First, to be a successful bird-feeding person, no cats should live in the house or yard, especially any cats who are long remembered for their excel- lent hunting skills. “To be a successful bird- feeding person, no cats should live in the -house or yard, especially any cats who are long remembered for their excellent hunting skills.” The first kitten, Nelson, who lived toa ripe old . age, was adept not only at driving off silly young men, he also lived to be 18 years of age, a Grand «Old Feline. His hunting skills peaked at mid-life, wherein he once caught a very long and crisply dead worm, and brought it proudly into the house, presenting it at the feet of my new husband and 1. and we applauded, What a good cat! The many tiny round pretty twittering ground- feeding birds who now visit our front yard would have been demolished in a single morning by Kip. the Mighty Warrior Princess. I could describe to you the dif ference in sound. when Kip meowed to be let in the house when she did not have a half-dead bird in her mouth, com- pared to when she did, but it could upset sensitive readers, so I will let you imagine the noise. It in- ‘cluded gulping and flapping — enough said. And _ some choked chirps. Then the fluttering wings and gutteral yowling, like that. Ee-yew! Bad, bad car- nivore! Sleek, evil thing, let me pet your glossy coat and avoid your vicious fangs and claws; now jump up and catch this funny string. " Since we have been catless, or cat-free, we have installed bird feeders and'a bird-bath in the yard. Steller’s Jays swing: by to hog all the big seeds, merrily tossing small seeds to the ground. The tiny tweety birds eat them off the ground later. Watch- . ing them, I have wondered, What? Why did they all suddenly fiy up into the Cedar just now? What did I miss? I simply refilled my coffee and checked . my email, what went on here? “And one morning it was the Ravens teasing the pizza-eating dog: I was worried that because i had . moved the seed-bin from the Mountain Ash to the Maple, the Ravens had been wanting to grab the goods from the Jays and the Tweety Birds. But. no, it was the pizza-eating puppy they were call- ing about. They chased him away and got big crumbs. A moment later, he chased them away, not for the crumbs, but just to show them who’s who. Then ravens, then puppy, then ravens, then puppy. I don’t know who won at the end, but the street was clean. Besides, I had to get back to my work. You can’t watch wildlife all day long, can you? = TERRACE STANDARD The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 6, 2006 - B14 L Stoked | on slopes T.J. Hailey, left, and Luke Houlden want to be first in line today as Shames Mountain cranks up. the chair lift for the earliest Opening it in. years. Houlden, 26, says he hasn't missed an opening day at the local hill since he was 14 years old. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO TODD Butler promises a mix of n music, comedy and guitar acrobatics for his up- coming show at the McColl Playhouse. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Satire songman takes his music seriously | By DUSTIN QUEZADA = 1 iy TODD BUTLER had a dream in high school to become arock star. He didn’ t quite realize that dream and that sits fine with him. “J more or Jess failed.in that dream,” said Butler from his Courtenay home on Vancou- ver Island last week.. “[The dream] waned when I was in my twenties and I got it-out of my system.” Instead, Butler went about becoming the best musician that he could possible be. ‘And as he continued to play guitar six nights a week, Butler incorporated a style all his own that would prove to be his trade- mark. His shtick is one of “music, comedy and acrobatic guitar.” - “I’ve always been a smart alec,” said But- ler, 44. In the early ‘80s, Butler formed a a musical/ comedy duo and began developping enough material to perform in comedy clubs. And it was in 1992 that Butler appeared for the first of several times in Terrace as part of a tour of the Northwest. Two years later, the funny man got his big break. Bouchardian Rhapsody, his song par- ody of the referendum vote, got some play on the CBC. In 1996, when then Prime Minister Jean .Chrétien famously put a brief choke-hold on. a protester, he was contacted by the public broadcaster to do his thing. Choker, a spoof of the Steve Miller Band’ s Joker was the result. “The next thing I knew, I was writing © for the CBC on a regular basis,” said But- ler, who would go on to perform regularly . — even host —on radio show Madly Off in All Directions. ‘Butler, who will appear here for a solo performance at the McColl Playhouse this Friday, Dec. 8, said he’s grateful for the ex- - posure he got on the show. The show’s cancellation did free up time . for the Alberta native to concentrate on what: he calls “serious songwriting.” He describes that as anything ‘that isn’ te funny that features more guitar. While he’s most famous for his comedic exploits, Butler says he’s always been a gui- tarist first. “T started playing guitar when I was Cont’d Page B3 Around Town Community loses a selfless contributor | SANDRA BULLOCK, an employee with Northwest Community College for nearly three decades and a tireless community volunteer, passed away Nov. 28. Bullock began. working for the college i in 1990, where she was a financial aid assistant in the student records de- partment and education council secretary. She was a also a member of the College Board’of Gov- ~ ernors, a past member of Education Council and BCGEU . Support Staff Bargaining Committee and served on various: © other college committees. ‘Co-workers described Bullock as a generous and caring - person and a dependable, hard worker. She would do what other people only thought about doing. . Sandra was also a dedicated member of the Terrace com- i munity, volunteering her time to many community activities and organizations. ’ Notable among. these were the positions she held at vari- - _ ous times as-secretary, vice-president, and president of Mills. Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and treasurer for the Terrace Drag Race Association. : She and husband Ernie Ludditt were treasurers and super: - volunteers with the drag race group, says its president Blake Bedford. “She was a great asset to our club — she went above and beyond her volunteerism,” Bedford said, adding a lot of her | ‘work was done behind the scenes. Her co-workers universally ‘said “they will surely, truly ~ miss her,” Bullock was 54. The cause of her deathij is not known. Write for human rights — LETTER WRITING campaigns have long been an effective and successful way for Amnesty International to raise awareness of human rights violations worldwide. .-' The campaigns have been efficient in exposing the cases of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, says a spokesperson for the Terrace Amnesty International Action Circle. Letter writing campaigns let governments know that the | international community is aware of wrongfully imprisoned « ‘people.and that it will stand up for human rights, said Mia Reimers, the group’s interim chair. This Sunday, Dec. 10, the local action circle will host - Write for- Rights, an event allowing people here to bea Part . of a letter writing campaign. . People who come to the booth at the Skeena Mall’s com-.. munity room will have the option to either write their own letter or add their names to postcards that will have mes- sages on them. “There will be several campaigns that people | can write on,” said Reimers, who adds that campaigns will range from ; prisoners of conscience to violence against women and in-. digenous rights. ° Members of the group will be in the room to assist people - and brochures will be on hand. Write for Rights is an international event and it falls on the same date as the International Day for Human Rights. The letter writing will take place from 1-5 p.m. and Re- . _imers says she hopes people can take a break from shopping to see what the exercise is all about. “It would really make a world of difference,” said Re-_ imers. “We want high numbers to show that Terrace isa place that cares for human rights.” Those who take part will be rewarded with homemade cookies. rece me ereesnten ueirnte mere, Mint Len