The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 31, 2001 - BI

; TERRACE STANDARD

INSIDE.
COMMUNITY
EVENTS B2

SECTION B

JUST A THOUGHT.
EV BISHOP

Wood gathering

8 A kid, | spent many fall weekends
Ae evenings out in the middle of

some forest, being deafened by the
+ sound of my Dad’s chainsaw, pathering fire-
wood,

T have conflicting memories of these exper-
iences.

I viewed the unending tyranny of freezing
fingers and no-end-in-sight log piles.as a frigid
sort of hell but at the same time I thought that
there was something magical about cold nights
lit by trouble lights and the smell of chainsaw
gas and sawdust. ;

T remember fuming about how my Dad de-
marded perfection in the way my brother and [
loaded the truck, But at the same time I took
intense satisfaction in making each row tighter
than the last and 1 tried earnestly to beat my
personal record for how many pieces I could
catry at one time. (My brother and I would
have contests ... We'd take turns, self-loading
the best we could, then topping each other up...
I think the goal was to try te put each other
into traction but we never succeeded.)

T remember the cold numbness of my feet
and how my brother and I would beg to get to
go and take turns sitting in the truck cab with
the heater on listening to the radio. ~

Dad would grudgingly allow us to go in
shifts.

Looking back I think he only pretended to
begrudge us these shifts, sort of a type of re-
verse psychology.

He made us feel we were getting away with
something but really he was saving his ears
from our whining,

“How much longer?”

“When are we going to be done?”

“This is socoo stupid.”

“I’m doing more than he is!” (Not always
accurate, }

“Why can’t we just have electric heat like
everyone else?”

Often during wood piling sessions, my dad
would make some pleased-comment about our
progress and at some point he would inevitably
refer to me as his “big, strong girl.”

When I was eight, | found this to be a sen-
sational compliment because Red Sonja was
my hera.

When I was twelve? It completely incensed
me because I inferred it meant I was net little
and delicate like the girls at school that J real-
ized were admired.

It has been years since | chopped or stacked
firewood for anything more serious than a
campfire, but all that is changing,

My husband and [ just converted to wood
heat and the other day, as I stacked wood, [
was hit by a surge of pure joy.

I had forgotten how strong I am.

How gcod it feels to throw things and to
sweat with exertion thal’s not from planned
exercise or brought on by torlure devices like
treadmills and Stairmasters.

My breathing kept time with the methodical
thunk-thunk-thunk of wood pieces beating into
the fence thal I stacked them against and |
realized it wasn’t just the fresh air and exer-
cise that was making me feel good. ,

Tt was the feeling of accomplishment that I
had watching the orderly stack grow in size.

I had forgotten how empowering it is to lift
an axe over your head and cause a sharp
cracking sound as you split a log in half.

I had forgotten how much J love it when the.
axe gets buried in a green piece and I have to
beat the piece over and over again on the
chopping black to make it finally split.

It made me feel like Red Sonja again.

When my husband returned with another
trailer load of wood and surveyed the progress
I made, he said, impressed, “Holy cow,
woman, You haul!”

Not a knee-weakening compliment ta some
women, I’m sure, but-I was flattered. And
when a good friend of ours teased him, “Hey
man... how come you’re making your poor wife
do firewood?” He just looked at him surprised
and replied, “Why the heck shauldn’t she?”
Not being married to a sexist is a wonderful
thing.

Right now I'm in the happy, romantic phase
of wood gathering, I’m enamoured with the
smell of the logs, by the cozy glow. of the
flames in our wood stove and by our dramatic-

| Leaving formal

Teens describe what it’s like to rough it in downtown Terrace for a night

By JENNIFER LANG
IF YOU really want to know what
it’s like to be homeless, spend a
night out on the streets.

That’s exactly what three
friends did, when they joined a
half-dozen. adults for Terrace
Anti-Poverty’s Night on the Street
Oct. 15.

“Tt was completely different
from my normal life,” says 14-
year-old Tanis Mandzuk, a Grade
9 at Thornhill Junior who man-
aged to convince her pals Lindsay
Bjorgaard and Annette Rolleman
to tag along.

“It sounded fun,”
Says.

They'd seen homeless people
and panhandlers on the streets of
Vancouver, and were armed with
a tarp and blankets — but nothing
quile prepared them for an over-
looked reality of life on the
Streets.

“I was so bored!” Mandzuk
sighs.

An hour or so in to their night
on the streets, the three lively

Bjorgaard

GLAD TO have a home: Tanis Mandzuk and Lindsay Bjorgaard.

JENNIFER LANG PHOTO

teens quickly realized there isn’!

much to occupy your time when
you haven’t got a reof over your
head and your pockets are empty.

“If we're bored, we can go
watch TV but these people don't
have a TV, so-they can’t,” says
Mandzuk.

And no food, not even junk
food, unless you’ve got money.

To pass the time, they resorted
to making picket signs and
scrawling slogans on their T-shirts
highlighting the need for afford-

~ able-housing, Bjorgaard admits.

They also broke down and got
snacks from a nearby gas station.
Using their tarp and a borrowed
shopping cart, they fashioned a
makeshift tent. “If you really think

about it, people on the streets
wouldn't have that,” Bjorgaard
says.

It may sound kind of fun, but

Mandzuk and Bjorgaard insist

they earned renewed appreciation
for the comforts of home — a hot
shower, clean clothes and a
stocked fridge. Things you take for

granted when you're 14.

“Home is something you
should have, but in a way it’s a
privilege,” Mandzuk adds.

But just try explaining that to
the gang al school, who thought
they were crazy to take part.

“Now that I’ve done it, I know
every single one of us takes our
home for granted,” she says.

From the wide-eyed innocence
of youth, the whole thing seems
teally unfair.

They realize there are no easy

answers for solving homelessness,
but better awareness is a good
place to start.

“Maybe if we talked about it in
our schools,” Bjargaard says, add-
ing they don’t fearn anything
aboul it now.

Mandzuk suggests more shel-
ters and affordable, adequate
housing should be a priority here.

“T don't think there will ever be
a complete solution for homeless-
ness. But we can try and get it so
it’s not as bad as it is.”

RIDING IN STYLE: Chelsea Metcalfe, 8, and Seana Harris, 6 in the fire truck.

It's an exciting but risky
job, temp fire chiefs say

IT’S NOT often that child-

ren get to don a firefight-

er’s jacket and put out

. fires, but that’s whal two

lucky elementary school

‘ students had the chance to

do last week.

In conjunction with fire
prevention week, schoal
aged children in Thornhiil
and Terrace put their
names in for a draw to
spend a morning learning
the ins and outs of fire
fighting.

Chelsea Metcalfe, 8,
and Seana Harris, 6, were
the students given the hon-
our of being Fire Chief for
a day Oct. 24.

Metcalfe,

a Grade 3

student from Thornhill Pri-
mary and Harris, a Grade 1
student from E.T, Kenney,
started their day off in
style when a fire truck
picked them up al their
schools.
“I liked riding in the
fire truck,” Metcalfe said.
The two girls went to
the Terrace fire hall where
deputy fire chief Fred Bur-
roughs and Thornhill depu-
ty fire chief Wes Patterson
gave them a tour of the
building and City Hall.
Then came the exciting
part — putting out fires.
Each girl suited up ina
firefighter’s jacket and

helmet and learned how to

put out a fire using a fire
extinguisher.

Putting out the flames
turned out to be the high-
light of the day for young
Seana Harris, whose exci-
tement showed in a smile
that stretched from ear to
ear.

Did. the day spent as
fire chief influence the
girls’ future career aspira-
tions? You bet.

Both youngsters agree
being a firefighter would
be a pretty cool job.

“Tt would be exciting
and it could be danger-
ous,” Chelsea Metcalfe
said. “But I like to help
people.”

A fair price for coffee

WOULD YOU like to find out how to
support a fair trade coffee exchange be-
tween Terrace and the people who prow
the valued, caffeine rich bean?

Central America and his co-operative fair
trade coffee initiative at the Terrace and
District Multicultural Association’s an-
nual general meeting,

Around Town

Way to go, moms!
BRITISH COLUMBIA’S breastfeeding moms may
have earned the province a spot in the Guiness
Book of World Records.

At i1 a.m. Oct. 6, a total of 860 women (and
babies) in 26 different communities including Ter-
race took part in the breastfeeding challenge.

The results are now being submitted for consid-
eration as an official record for the most women:
breastfeeding simultaneously in the same geogra-
phic area,

Chomp down on this

ALLIGATOR PIE, alligator pie, if f don't get some, 1
think I'm going to die. The man who penned those
immortal lines comes to the Terrace Art Gallery
Nov. 6. Dennis Lee, author of Alligator Pie, Garb-
age Delight and other children’s favourites, appears
at the gallery from 7 to 8 p.m. Suitable for kids
aged 3 to 10 years. Tickets at the library.

NOT as painful as it looks, Paul Brown says.

Shot time

PAUL BROWN, CEO of Northwest Community
Health Services proves that getting a flu shot
doesn’t hurt. Pictured above under the gentle care
of Nancy Dhaliwal, Brown was the first person in
Terrace to get the flu shot this year. Clinics to get
immunized against the flu are being held at ihe
Terrace Health Unit Nov, 5-13, For information
about the flu vaccination and clinic operating
hours call the Health Unil at 638-2200.

Cal scholars at UVic

SIX FORMER Caledonia Senior Secondary School
grads have earned awards at the University of Vic-
taria this year.

Two students have earned president's entrance
scholarships worth $2,500 each, Darren Bohle and
Nicholas Bolingbroke. Victoria Chemko also: re-

‘ally reduced heating costs.

I’m sure that at some point the magic will
fade and the desire to stay inside watching TV
will be larger than my desire fo stand in the
pouring rain bringing in wood. *

But who knows? Maybe the enjoyment will
last. And if not?

My kids are almost at the wood-packing
age. I look forward to sharing the joy!

Terrace Women and Development has
been supporting his work for a decade,
says local member Lori Merrill.

Fair trade coffee exchanges cut out the
middlemen by setting up a direct link be-
iween buyers here and the growing coops,
ensuring both get a fair price, she says.

The meeting begins al 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1
at the Terrace Art Gallery.

ceived a $1,000 president's scholarship, in addition
to $500 faculty scholarship.

Renee Geronimo. earned a $100 revue award.
Joanna Keating éatned $2,000-worth of scholar-
ships; the presidents regional entrance scholarship
and the Alice Tomlinson Memorial Scholarship.
And finally, Anne Silsbe earned a $200 music
scholarship from the Knights of Columbus,

Establishing fair trade connections
with people in developing nations is a
concept that’s expanded into coffee-grow-
ing regions of Central America.

A social justice worker who’s orga-
nized partnership projects with indigenous
co-ops in Guatemala and Honduras
speaks tomorrow night in Terrace.

Ira Zbarsky will discuss his work in