DUDAMEL! I love you so!

 

DUDAMEL! I am so glad to have found you! This is no small thing, to have found a conductor so skillful that he can actually find new nuances and freshness in what should be an old chestnut. This man, this genius, strips off all the old layers of varnish and restores the masterpiece so completely that the paint is still glistening wet. The instrumental virtuosity, particularly the flute and the bassoon, is excruciatingly pleasurable, but never overwhelms the whole, and Dudamel himself does not try to overwhelm the music with his personality. 

He has often been compared to Bernstein, but Bernstein became a "personality", a celebrity conductor people came to SEE as much as hear.  And yes, I did attend a Lenny concert when I was 13 years old, at the opening of Centennial Concert Hall in London, Ontario, in 1967.

Oh, it was a big deal in our house - we were seeing Lenny, the fabled Bernstein, the man we were kind of force-fed via those Young People's Concerts which we couldn't escape watching, and  which now seem - uh, er, how shall I put this? Utterly pretentious! He had a lah-dee-dah way of speaking that was actually cultivated (he wanted to sound classy, as if his parents really weren't just working class types) rather than cultured. And his attempts to be just one of the kids fell  flat, no matter how hard he tried to find value and "relevance" in pop music. 

But it WAS exciting to see him come out and do that flamboyant bow with his hair flopping down. The first piece was Mahler's 4th Symphony - I remember it now as the one with the jingle bells at the beginning. It's probably the most user-friendly of Mahler's blockbuster works, and that slow movement really was sublime, with Lenny bobbing and weaving and generally using his entire body to conduct.

Then there was intermission, in which we all oohed and ahhed that we had seen LENNY! Then came Debussy's La Mer, another opportunity for flamboyance. I am sure there was nothing wrong with his interpretation, except that the audience's attention seemed mostly focused on him. He was a rock star and he knew it, milked it. It detracted from the music, I now see, as most celebrities inevitably overwhelm their art forms.

And I remember the encore, the last movement of Charles Ives' first symphony, with a quote from Columbia the Jewel of the Ocean at the very end, followed by a massive, comical discord. Then, right on schedule, the audience jumped to its feet.

And the ovation went on and on. Len-NY! Len-NY! It was almost like some sort of sporting event ending in a  Clear and Magnificent Victory. He stood there, a beaming narcissist, soaking it all in. Applause was oxygen to him, and given how he smoked four packs a day and gasped out his last with emphysema, he needed it badly.  Finally, after several more bows, he pointed to his watch, made a "praying hands" gesture beside his face ("I have to sleep now, folks!") and strode out, as everyone cried for more.

Dudamel, well, I doubt I will ever get to see him in person, but just from  these superb YouTube videos of the nine Beethoven symphonies, I can tell that, dynamic and charismatic as the man is, he never overwhelms the music with his personality. He bows to it, he surrenders to it, he SERVES it, the way a true musician/magician must serve.

I have only listened to a fraction of his Beethoven Nine, partly because I often end up in tears, and some days I just don't have them to spare. But I have them stockpiled, and on days when I need to restore my soul, this music does it. .

Plus he's gorgeous, a poet with his  hands, graceful, but minus unnecessary theatrics. Not jumping up and down on the podium, not stomping his feet or roaring or doing any of those histrionic Lennyisms. It interests but doesn't surprise me that he is the youngest person ever to be named musical director of the New York  Philharmonic, Lenny's  old stomping ground. He wears these laurels lightly, having leaped up the levels of fame at an almost shockingly early age. But his leaps have been cat-like, no pole-vaulting as in Bernstein's case. In his mid-40s, he has already accomplished more than most conductors dream of in a lifetime.

So I am glad to have my music back, after a short detour, and glad that something good can come out of the much-maligned internet. I will never have to buy a CD again, and if I can't get to concerts, I have this. This magic, this music, this Dudamel.

How does it feel to be married for 53 years?

We make it official! Our wedding day, May 24, 1973. The rest of the story. . . we were living together (gasp!) for a few months, but family pressure hastened us into making it legal. Since neither of us were religious, and both of us were broke, we had a simple ceremony in a judge’s chambers with close family and a few friends. People looking at our wedding photos now are puzzled, as in “where’s the bride and groom?” Frankly, donning a virginal white gown that costs a zillion dollars never appealed to me, though I did get Bill to wear a tie.

At the time, he was completing a Master’s degree in biochemistry, and I was supporting both of us on a secretary’s wages. I was nineteen years old. (And I wasn’t pregnant – that’s the other assumption people always make!) We moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, where I didn’t know a soul, and within four years we had two children (by then he was working long hours in a pulp mill). I had nil experience with babies or children, and we had very little money and no family support, but somehow we managed.

I’m sometimes asked about it, but there isn’t a “secret” to all this, except to say that respect and acceptance may be, over the long haul, even more important than love. This isn’t a popular thing to say, and I get the same puzzled looks from people when I say it. I will add that “in sickness and in health” is VERY important, and in the past couple of years we have had to take care of each other through a lot of very serious stuff.

The other night we were having dinner at our favourite restaurant, and at one point I asked him, “Any regrets?” He said no, and I said “Me neither”. What could be more romantic than that?

BEAR: Beware!!

(I thought I'd copy and paste my original Facebook post and the ensuing discussion I'm having with fellow bear enthusiasts about  their various wild encounters. So far we haven't seen him again. Let's hope!)

YIKES! I was sitting at my desk after dinner, when I heard a mighty crash. Then Bill yelled up the stairs, "WE HAVE A BEAR." Not so unusual, though most of them come into the back yard at night to sniff around for bird feeders or whatever they can get. Once in a while they come during the day, and you can usually scare them off with a loud noise.

But this wasn't the usual black bear - in fact it didn't look like any bear we had ever seen before.

It was a BROWN bear, a very large one with a fluffy brown coat (looked a little like a giant teddy). I have never seen a brown bear anywhere near civilization before. Not only did this creature pull over the barbecue and ravage it, he demolished a circle of cinder blocks which were arranged around our massive cedar tree. In more than 30 years of living with the bears, nothing like this has ever happened before. I couldn't believe how much damage it did.

It didn't want to leave, so I blew on the bear whistle as loud as I could, and it ambled off to find greener pastures or warmer barbecues. But if this beast starts terrorizing the neighborhood, we're going to have to report it. Little kids play out in the back yard in the evenings! At any rate, I was in a panic and did what anyone would do under the circumstances: I googled "brown bears in British Columbia", mainly to reassure myself this WASN'T a grizzly. This is what came up.

Yes, brown bears and grizzly bears are the same species (Ursus arctos), but they are often considered different subspecies or categorized by location and diet.

"Brown bear" typically refers to coastal populations with access to salmon, while "grizzly bear" generally refers to smaller inland populations. Both are Ursus arctos.

Coastal brown bears (e.g., Alaska/BC) have access to rich marine resources like salmon, allowing them to grow much larger. Grizzly bears live inland and rely on a diet of roots, berries, and small mammals.

Coastal brown bears can weigh over 1,000 lbs, whereas inland grizzlies are generally smaller.

Both have a distinct shoulder hump, dish-shaped face profile, and long claws. The name "grizzly" comes from the "grizzled" (frosted-tip) look of their hair.In summary, all grizzlies are brown bears, but not all brown bears are grizzlies.

A THOUSAND POUNDS?? If we have a grizzly bear's cousin knocking over our barbecue and nearly tipping over our giant cedar tree, I'd say we're in trouble.

Amber Hayward    We see black bears in our yard in the spring, usually young ones who don’t know how to get along in the world. They can be destructive like your grizzly, one demolished my compost bin. They seem to move on, so I hope yours does the same but wildlife officials might want a bear trap set up.

Margaret Gunning    I'd rather not, but then, if it's a safety issue (which it might be) - I spoke to a neighbor about it and he said it was nosing around in his yard before it landed in ours. The problem is, barbecue season is upon us, and we don't have a way to lock ours up, though we put a heavy cover on it (which he thought was a hat, I guess). The bird feeders are down until this blows over!

Amber Hayward    The trap doesn’t kill, usually the bear is relocated

Laura Redman     He’s a beautiful wild creature and you’re living on his planet, in his territory… get some advice from bear experts at conservation authorities or your wildlife ministry before causing him harm… understanding and sharing bear behaviour will save your peace of mind and your neighbours and the bear… all the best.

Margaret Gunning    I don't want to do anything to harm him/her, though I hope it doesn't keep coming around for his/her own sake. Spring is the time they come out of hibernation, so they're extra hungry. At any rate, I won't put my bird feeders up for the forseeable future, though I think it was the BBQ he was after. It's the first time we've seen a brown bear in these parts! The thing is, though we're in the suburbs, we're also right on the edge of a large green belt, and critters are a fact of life.

Laura Redman    thanks for following up… bears are opportunists, so when hungry, they’ll seek food wherever they can find it - which is how human conflicts can occur… so yeah, barbecues, bird feeders, baked goods near an open window, garbage or accessible pet food… they are also smart enough to remember where that meal came from so they might add that spot to their foraging route…

I have friends in central Ontario who have had black bears break into their homes or trailers or pickup trucks in order to steal a dinner or a lunch…

But thankfully those occasions are rare, and the bears are not familiar with human contact so more fearful.

It does happen more often in the spring when they’re waking up and food is more scarce. Many people in those bear populated regions put all outdoor food away from April to October.

I hope you and your bear can both stay safe and cohabitate in a non-threatening way.

Margaret Gunning   I hope so too! Thanks for your comments.

Julie Willmot    I was walking up my road with my now deceased former Newfie mix Bee when I noticed what I thought was another black pup about the same size about 50 feet ahead near the entrance to my Russell Williams shack. Then it turned its head and I got a glimpse of a little bear face and quickly turned around and went in the other direction. Luckily a car came down my access road and I asked the driver to escort me on my way home in case the mum of the baby bear was hidden in the ditch. 

I am ashamed to admit that I phoned my neighbors who have bees near me who advised that a mother with two cubs had been observed earlier that Spring on the next concession over. I have seen bear prints around my house on several occasions but smallish ones. I have a small overgrown orchard and they are probably attracted by the apples. Hope you scared that bear away. Bears can be dangerous although the number of bears killed by humans far outnumbers the number of bears who have killed and eaten humans in Canada.

Margaret Gunning    They're also attracted to rotten salmon (we have a creek about a 5-minute walk away in which the salmon spawn in the fall) and berries with pits in them. I see the results on the trail - they don't try to hide their scat, maybe marking their territory? Very messy for cyclists! And it's true, if you see a cub, be VERY careful. 

We rediscovered a "bear whistle" we had stashed away, and it did work, with a very loud, shrill, earsplitting blast. Since then we went to Canadian Tire and bought two more, boating whistles this time, but with the same effect. That bear jumped and leaped over the fence (and how do 200-pound bears jump over 8-foot-high fences like cats?) Living with the bears is quite a challenge sometimes. I still don't have my bird feeders up ,but this bear was after the barbecue.

Talented Bear Walks Backwards!!

 

So I lied about being done with bears! But the other night was traumatic, and I am having to purge my soul of the trauma. And what better way to purge than to make silly YouTube videos!

OK, I'll stop now. . .

 

What I love about this (and yes, I think this IS a real bear) is the fact you can see a face flashing in the window as they took the video. Great timing, as we were unable to get any sort of shot of OUR brown bear. So we don't know if he walked on his hind legs or not. But this is a brilliant gif!

Back Yard Bear: YIKES, he's HUGE!

 

Well, this is the comic version, but it's no joke what happened last night. I was sitting at my desk after dinner, when I heard a CRASH. Then Bill yelled up the stairs, "We have a bear." Not again! I assumed it was one of those nosy black bears that wander around in the back yard, sniffing out bird feeders or whatever they can find.

But no.

This was a BROWN bear, not like anything I have ever seen before, like a giant teddy, and it had pulled the barbecue over and was rooting around in it! Not only that, the cinder block barrier around our cedar tree had been demolished, lying in ruins.

From a bear.

This video isn't of our bear, of course, but he's pretty close to what we saw. I since found out that brown bears (a close cousin to grizzlies, which did NOT make me feel better) can reach a thousand pounds, though this one looked to be a mere three or four hundred. Black bears are common around here, but in nearly 40 years of living here, we have never seen a brown bear, in our yard or anywhere else. In fact, seeing ANY bear in the yard is rare in broad daylight, but that didn't stop him.

Fortunately, I had a bear whistle! This is something we bought years and years ago, a  nice-looking thing with a thermometer and a compass on it. Perfect for getting lost in the woods. And it is LOUD, high and shrill, and yes, it did freak him out and he bounded over the fence and took off (I am amazed at how these lumbering creatures can jump up on fences like cats, and wander along looking down into the various back yards to see what they can ravage next.)

I can't put any bird feeders up at all now, and won't for the forseeable future. We hope our barbecue (a fairly new one) isn't totally wrecked. Or will explode from a propane leak. . . 

No more excitement, Mother Nature, please! Meantime, I thought I'd have a little fun with animation and make a wacky gif of the whole thing. Our bear didn't dance, but it rummaged, pulled down feeder poles and for some reason pushed over a barrier of cinder blocks as if they were dominos.