Monthly Archives: May 2014

All Gone the Books

The next five childhood pictures selected randomly from the box included two of toddler me with a book. I expect my parents thought it was cute to photograph me ‘reading’ before I could actually read.

All gone the book

I’m sure I didn’t have the numbers and variety of picture books that children today enjoy. In fact, for bedtime stories I only remember one – a book of poems my sister and I recited with my father. It seems to me we read this one book over and over. The poems were classics that included: “The Owl and the Pussycat,” “Turtle Soup” from Alice in Wonderland — Beautiful soup so rich and green — “Who Killed Cock Robin?” and “The Keeper.” That latter we sang in two voices:
“Jackie boy?”
“Master?”
“Sing you well?”
“Very well.”

At some point in my childhood, one of us five siblings coined the phrase “All gone the book” when we got to the end of a story. This became one of our family catch-phrases when a book was finished.

But, of course, a book is never over. The story or poem stays with us forever.
“Hey down.”
“Hoe down.”
“Derry derry down.”
“Among the leaves so green-o.”

Childhood photos

My brother inherited our family photo albums. He has set himself the huge project of scanning and distributing the pictures in case his house burns down. He’s now finished the oldest album’s 187 photos and sent me the original hard copies of ones featuring me, which is most them since I was the first and most photographed child in our family.

Rather than store the photos in a box placed out of sight until I’m ready to downsize, I plan to display them in my writing den in batches of five to look at for a period of time. The photos will be my blogging project through the summer — and a trip down memory lane.

The first five photos, randomy plucked from the box, are ones of me at around age two-three, when our family rented a bungalow on Pine Beach Boulvard in the Montreal suburb of Dorval.

Two of the photos show me with my first friend, Denise, who lived next door. I don’t really remember Denise, although I have a vague memory of her tied to a tree in her front yard. This was because Denise had habit of running onto the street, and Pine Beach had a lot of traffic.  Her being tied up likely struck me as interesting because I was a more cautious child who wouldn’t have run onto the street. I remember the first time I left our property on my own I cut through back yards to get to my destination rather than take the busy road.

Denise and I at my third birthday party

Well, that might not have been my first venture out. My parents used to talk about Denise’s other habit of taking her clothes off. To stop her doing this, her parents put her clothes on inside out. One day Denise managed to strip and got me to do the same. The two of us ran up naked to the store on Pine Beach corner, where her father worked.

Denise moved away when I was around four years old. I wonder what she’s up to these days.

My sister Moira, Denise and I

Pam’s book launch

On Saturday, I had the honour and joy of introducing my friend, Pamela McDowell, at the launch of her first fiction book, Ospreys in Danger, a picture book for children in grades 2-3. The story, based on a real event, features two plucky girls who save ospreys in Waterton National Park. Pam’s launch, approppriately, was held at Calgary’s Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.

Pam signing my books at her launch

Equally appropriate was her choice of launch bookseller –  Owl’s Nest Bookstore.

Creative Non-Fiction conference

Here are a couple more photos taken at last weekend’s Creative Non-fiction Conference. I attended the pre- and post-conference events that were open to the public.

Susan & author Denise Chong at Shelf Life Books reading

Below, I am fiddling with my camera while author and educator Aretha Van Herk speaks at the statues of the Famous Five.

Literary Walk of Old Calgary

Calgary Crime Writers Meeting

Join us at the following event:

Crime & Coffee with Crime Writers of Canada

Thursday, May 15, 2014    7-9 PM

Good Earth at Glenmore Landing

90th Ave and 14th St. SW

Everyone welcome. If the weather’s good, look for us on the patio.

Literary Walk

A little drizzle didn’t diminish my enjoyment of Sunday’s Literary Walk of old Calgary hosted by the Creative Nonfiction Collective Society to wrap up their 10th anniversary conference weekend. Here’s writer Shaun Hunter talking about Calgary’s near-forgotten painter and author, William S. Bates, and his connection to the Grain Exchange Building (1909), now the home of Freehand Books.

After the walk, we warmed up in the James Joyce pub.