Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 14June1970: New York/Athens: Where to Next?

Dear Mother and Mother S:

We left Montreal on June 9th in the afternoon and arrived in New York after taking the midnight bus from Montreal. We found it easy and fast.

Barb was not in New York as she was in Amsterdam. Her roommates took very good care of us. We left from Kennedy to Athens on June 11th. It was the first good trip across the Atlantic I have had. I slept most of the way over. The stewardess spoilt Rob giving him three dinners and two lunches.

We arrived in Athens at 4 a.m. and waited until 7 a.m. to call our friends. It was good to see them. We spent most of the day sleeping. The heat is very intense. We hope to get a free flight to Spain or Portugal and if not to Germany. We don’t really know what is what now.

June 15

We are seeing if we can take flight to Madrid failing which we will go to Yugoslavia on the Adriatic. I found a 4-day cruise we can take to Dubrovnik. They say Yugoslavia has the best beaches in the world.

Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut: We Are Attacked by a Voracious and Demented German Shepherd; Chapter Twenty Two (22)

Dillie and I miss Karim. Dillie has seen his dog friends die and go to The Land Beyond but I have not seen many and Karim was a fellow street dog who went through suffering and trauma in Cairo with me and finally ended up in a happy home and then he just died. This is so unfair!

I have come to accept his death and not ruminate about it but deep in my soul there remains hurt. I don’t eat much. I sleep behind the sofa instead in my comfy bed. I am not that interested in walks or greeting my dog friends. A part of me has been torn out of me.

Bob asks me one miserable gloomy and damp winter day if I want to go for a walk with Dillie. Normally I would spring into action and wag up a storm with my tail but this time Bob just attaches my harness and leash and off we go. I am not in the mood but perhaps Bob wants some company and fresh air so I trot behind him and Dillie slightly in front but the damp weather caused the arthritis in his leg to flare up so he is limping.

We walk in a slightly different neighbourhood. As we pass by a house we hear some ferocious barking of a Shepherd behind a short fence. It is so vicious not even in Cairo have I heard such blood chilling snarling. That causes me to shiver because the last time I heard something close to such a hateful bark was when I was attacked in Cairo by that Rottenwhiler dog that ripped my leg up.

Bob tells me and Dillie to hurry up so we can get away from that crazy Shepherd so we pick up our pace and twenty steps later suddenly immediately behind us there is an enormous vicious Shepherd with its mouth open and foaming ready to bite Dillie’s rump. Bob pulls me away just before that salivating monster’s jaws would have sunk into poor Dylan’s flesh. Bob starts kicking the Shepherd screaming at him to get away. He kicks and kicks. Not realizing what I was doing I was on that monster’s neck sinking my teeth in his flesh. I am ready to defend Bob and Dillie to the death. I bite repeatedly until I taste blood in my mouth. The Shepherd squeals and runs off. Bob is furious but in a few minutes we are both shaking in shock.  Bob tells me he has always been afraid of German Shepherds. Bob knows of my attack in Cairo so strokes my head telling me everything is OK. We both have a shaky walk home and Fay is stunned and says a lot of angry words only adults can use. Bob takes the car and gets the address of the house where the Shepherd jumped the fence. Dillie and I want to go teach that bad Shepherd a lesson and if Karim was here he wouldn’t stand a chance against us three dogs. You don’t mess with Egyptian street dogs and a West Highland Terrier!

Bob phones animal control of Toronto and they promise to investigate. When Bob, Dillie and I go out for our walks we tell the attack story to other owners and we hear that this nasty dog has attacked 7 other dogs some of which had to go to the animal hospital to get well. We get the address and name of the dog by talking to these owners. We report to animal control about this dog called Layla and they say the owner denies anything ever happened. But animal control knows of the record of this dog so they order a muzzle be worn by the dog in public. But even with the muzzle on we hear he has attacked Wally our friend two doors down and taken a hunk out of his back. Bob says Layla should be “put down” and if he had a gun, he would kill her. He is very angry. But Bob is so brave conquering his fears and dealing out to Layla what she deserves. I say a prayer to Allah thanking him that none of us is physically hurt.

But sleeping is becoming harder for me as I keep reliving the attack. It was terrifying but at the same time I would do anything to protect Bob and Dillie. I am quick and a quick lunge at Layla’s throat might have silenced that very bad dog. I am small but a good fighter. Bob and I watched a documentary on a Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao and he was a small but powerful champion fighter.  Shepherds may be big and mean but I think they are stupid and slow. I admire Bob for defending us and honoured that ageing Dillie said we should go and teach the Shepherd a lesson. West Highland Terriers may be cute but they are courageous Scottish dogs. I think both Dillie and I would fight to the end to protect Bob and Fay. Do you hear that Layla? I said Layla did you hear that!

RKS Literature: The Unattainable Woman (Gustave Flaubert)

“She seemed so virtuous and inaccessible to him that he lost all hope, even the faintest. But, by thus renouncing her, he made her ascend to extraordinary heights. She transcended, in his eyes, those sensuous attributes which were forever out of his reach; and in his heart she rose forever, soaring away from him like a winged apotheosis. It was one of those pure feelings that do not interfere with life, that are cultivated for their rarity, and whose loss would afflict more than their fulfillment rejoices.”

Gustave Flaubert, “Madame Bovary”, 1857.

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 17June1970: On The Mediterranean en Route To Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia

Dear Diane and Gerald:

We boarded a Russian cruise ship the Adsharia in Piraeus in Greece. There are 3 stops. It is the first cruise of the season so there only 35 people on a ship that can carry 330. The first stop is Corfu, then Venice and then Dubrovnik. I met a handsome German named Fritz tall and good looking. He is fun. We swim, eat and dance. We do everything but sleep together. Not sure about his wife who must be in Germany. He will leave the cruise in Venice. The Greek food is as grim as ever. Thery still poach eggs in olive oil. The Russian food aboard the ship is good. They do not use much seasoning. Meals are multi course some food I have never eaten before. Robert has a bad case of sunstroke after falling asleep in the sun. Has the chills and is throwing up. The ship physician saw him.

18June

Danced with Fritz until the band packed up. After dinner, leaving poor Robert confined to quarters, Fritz and I took a horse drawn carriage around Corfu. Came home and Robert refused to drink or eat anything preferring to “put the fire out” by having a cold shower. Today he is fine although the smells in the dining room make him a bit queasy.

Fritz and Rob are playing ping pong. Sure wish Germany was not so far away but I still have not found out of he has a wife. I assure you I am getting my fair share of attention. He is the best-looking man on the ship. So there! We met a charming family from Moscow. I will say they look very different than us dressed in very poor-quality clothes and shoes but their smiles and laughter are wonderful to hear and see. I would love to visit Russia. It must be so beautiful as other places in this world.

We will be in Venice tomorrow passing through The Grand Canal and then go by rapid transit on the water to Venice. We will be here until 5 p.m. Fritz will be returning to Germany later. Rob enjoyed his swim in the pool on the ship. The people at the pool are grotesquely fat.

When I do things like this it makes me realize how lonely my life is. If it wasn’t for you and my children I should wish to die. It is nearly time for lunch and as usual when I don’t have to prepare food I will eat like a horse.

Lots of love to all Marnee

RKS Literature: Initial Delusions of Emma Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)

“All the while, however, she was waiting in her heart for something to happen. Like shipwrecked sailors, she turned despairing eyes upon the solitude of her life, seeking afar some white sail in the mists of the horizon. She did not know what this act of fortune would be, what wind would bring it, toward what shore it would dive her, if it would be a rowboat or an ocean liner with three decks, carrying anguish or laden to the gunwales with bliss. But each morning, as she awoke, she hoped that it would come that day; she listened to every sound, sprang up with a start, wondered that it did not come; then at sunset more saddened, she longed for the next day.”

Gustave Flaubert, “Madame Bovary”, 1857

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 16July1970: Pag Island, Yugoslavia: The Man Who Had Not Had a Bath in Five Years!

Dear Barb and Andrew:

As you can see we are on Pag. We had left the beautiful Hvar then to the island of Muter which was packed with German tourists. A tiny place with no hotels. People are packed in like sardines. We stayed two days and three nights there. We met a man from Holland as we were trudging along the beach and he took us back to our lodgings but we stopped for a drink along the way. If I were his wife I would have killed him. He had been an interpreter for Canadian forces liberating Holland from the Germans. A very tall man like your father. You don’t see many tall men here. He said many times that it was the Canadians that liberated us. They love and appreciate Canadians in Holland. From Muter we took a bridge to the mainland. It was good we left at 6 a.m. as by 10 it was blazing hot and unbearable in the bus. The bus driver stopped for lunch and we had to wait until he finished it. How spectacular was the scenery. It was a five-hour trip to get to the ferry that would take us to Pag. We passed by islands with no greenery or any living souls on them. I have a feeling Pag Island is going to be a hot hell hole.

We stopped at the tourist office as usual. We got a room with the beach just outside. Perhaps the nicest beach so far in Yugoslavia. It is pebbled and very long. I wondered why the bathtub was full of water with a pail in it. I ran into an old man and he said he only has running water for half an hour every day. People get their water from wells in town and haul it home. The man said he had not had a bath in 5 years. Tell me about underdeveloped nations. So like the locals we have to lug water in a plastic jug. I am anxious to get to West Berlin and civilization soon.

I am not much fatter. My hair is like dirty straw and feels like it too.

We spent the day on the beach today. Robert shot a fish but it escaped. He was cheesed off. I am having a cold beer at an outdoor café and Rob has returned from the post office with no mail for us.

17th

Last two nights Rob and I went to a nightclub. Rob said the band was good. People will dance in a group here not just with a partner. I leave at 10 and Robert at 11.

I was up at 6:30 and had a tea and it was too sweet. The same thing happened with coffee yesterday. There was no bread left to buy this morning so I had to go to a restaurant to buy a loaf. These food shortages are so frustrating.

Love Mum

Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut: Reggie Asks Why Did Karim Die? Chapter Twenty One (21)

On New Year’s morning Dillie and I howled after Karim’s death. It was Dillie that got me howling for two reasons. He thought if we were loud enough Karim could hear us and our howling would be a good-bye we never had the time to say. Secondly, we were so sad it was as if some instinct made us howl. It just overtook us.

New Year’s Day was interminably long. It was damp, overcast and freezing rain started in the afternoon. When a dog is sad and distressed such gloomy weather only makes your heart heavier with grief. You can’t escape grief. It has a terrible vice to your head.

One of the BBC documentaries I saw with Bob was an interview with Tara Brach a famous mind doctor for humans. Her theory was called “Radical Acceptance”. If you can accept what has happened and move on you will be healthier than if you refuse to accept it and constantly think about it in a negative and hurtful way. I used this philosophy to deal with the execution of Anwar my first master in Egypt and me being thrown out into the street. I could not change what had happened to me but it was a long process before I could accept it.

I can accept what happened to Karim but all of us in the house needed to know why Karim died. Dr. Murray at the animal hospital said he would see us on January 2cnd in the morning and that we were to bring Karim’s body with us.

Bob took Karim’s body in the garage to keep it cold until we went to the animal hospital. His complexion was almost green with sadness and loss. He said it was the heaviest load he had ever carried. When he left with Karim’s body to see Dr. Murray, Dillie and I barked furiously. I grabbed his Bob’s pant legs and I think he got the message that this was to be the last ride of the Rat Pack. Bob put us in the back seat of the car and put Karim’s body in the middle. This was to be a ride of honour and tribute.

We arrived at the animal hospital and we went into Dr. Murray’s examination room but when we saw Karim’s body so cold and lifeless, we started howling again. Dr. Murray knew he should do a private examination. He returned 30 minutes later saying they had done an MRI on Karim’s brain and determined it was an aneurism of his brain that killed him. I am not sure what aneurism means so I listened carefully to Dr. Murray speaking to Bob and he said it was a rogue blood clot and that no one could have predicted it. Well at least it was not caused by Dillie and I and the fact it was not preventable made all of us feel just a bit better.

But we left Karim behind for cremation and again that enormous feeling of loneliness swept over our hearts. Bob would pick up Karim’s ashes in a few days. Bob was unsteady as he walked back to the car and cried for many minutes before we went home. It was cold and miserable and that night without barking we went upstairs to sleep with Bob and Fay. I started shivering although I was not cold. Fay hugged me tightly and spoke to me softly saying she was so sorry…so sorry…so sorry and I fell asleep. Two days later we picked up Karim’s ashes and we all went to a golf course up the street as the snow fell. Karim had loved walking in this park with no one around so we went to a place where Karim knew there were squirrels and he loved barking at them thinking they were some type of Canadian rat. There are no squirrels in Cairo just rats. We scattered his ashes and had a long walk. It was a quiet ride back to a home that was missing one of its beloved dogs.

RKS 2024 Film: “The Integrity of Joseph Chambers”: Are You and Joseph Chambers Chumps?

Pay attention very closely to the opening scene of “The Integrity of Joseph Chambers” and store that in your mind. Of course, you may want to revisit that opening scene after the closing credits have rolled.

Joe (Clayne Crawford) and his family have moved to rural America to escape the urban grid thinking they would be making jams and jellies and canning tomatoes. Joe would hunt and be the “big provider”.

Joe takes up hunting but as his wife and his hunting mate note his inexperience saying wait some more before you go out on your own. You will see the inexperience as he heads off to the woods. He barely knows how to load the hunting rifle. He knows nothing about stalking prey. He is absolutely a disaster waiting to happen. He stumbles wildly and lets off a shot. A little further in the woods he discovers a vagrant with a bullet in his gut and seemingly dead. What does he do thinking his errant shot felled the vagrant?

His good conscience dictates he spill the beans to the local police. As a lawyer I note his shot was so errant a forensic examination of the deceased may reveal that Joseph Cambers has too much integrity. Before you make any decision pay very close attention to the opening scene. Joseph may mistakenly believe he is Raskolnikov in Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”.

RKS 2024 Film Rating: 86/100.

Directed by Robert Machoian.

Released on VOD/Digital 26January2024.

RKS 2024 Film: “Cold Road”: The Revenge of the Thin Ice

Tracy (Roseanne Supernault) and her dog Pretzel (Karibou) are on a 12-hour winter drive to the Canadian “Far North” to attend her mother’s death bed. Tracy can’t seem to do anything right and has a miserable personal relationship or lack of it with her husband Danny. Even her sister Eve criticizes and disses her for not standing up for herself.

The film opens with a fatal car crash. We see the boots and hands of a man walking up to the overturned car and spilling vodka at the accident scene and placing a mickey of vodka by the car. He takes an Indigenous token hanging from the rear-view mirror. A memento of murder…classic serial killer. Those Indigenous people like to drink…..right? Just another DUI fatality?

Then a mysterious truck is on the road playing with and harassing poor Tracy and Pretzel. The intensity of the truck driver increases rapidly into potentially deadly manoeuvres including a near miss of flattening poor Pretzel and ramming her from behind at high speeds. She tells her story to the police and to a waitress at a rest stop and is not treated with respect. The policeman says to Tracy that “you people” like drinking and have you been drinking? It is clear these two people do not like Indigenous citizens demonstrated by their acts and words.

It is getting darker and colder and Tracy is running low on gas. Somehow mastering her terror she becomes angry and gains composure and courage. She approaches the cab with axe in hand and sees the driver has collected little Indigenous mementos of his victims.

Tracy makes it home safely but her mother has died. Through her travails she has gained composure and self confidence. As for that lunatic truck driver there should be no doubt he is on thin ice. 

Director Kevin Redvers.

Canadian theatrical release is 26January2024.

Outstanding performance by Pretzel.

Hats off to Quentin Taratino’s “Death Proof”.

RKS 2024 Film Rating 67/100.