20 Dec 2006

THE PACK IS DISPERSING!  THE PACK IS DISPERSING!!! Bryn is posted to Victoria ,  Brett is in college and working, Cathy is working and in several Bagpipe bands and I am still posted in Toronto .  The dog looks at me when I come home and it is easy to read in her eyes “hey boss your leadership is faltering, you are gone all the time and the pack is dispersing.  Now all I have in life is that lowest of life forms, the cat.”

BRETT NOW SEEN IN BARS

 We received two excellent pictures of Brett in the mail this year.  In one picture Brett demonstrated how well he could tie down a load while assisting a friend’s move with the truck.  I was very impressed at the security and diligence he placed on ensuring a securely tied down load.  In the other is a very clear picture of Brett’s license plate on the back of his sable.  The resolution is very clear noting that the Edmonton Police Service has upgraded their photo radar cameras to a much higher quality digital.   

Brett turned 18 since last reporting as the Christmas letter gets launched before his birthday.  He graduated from High School this year and even won a $500 scholarship award for his efforts.  Needless to say his parents are very proud.  He further, on his own, signed up to NAIT and is taking business.  After many weeks of bugging him as to what he was going to do in the fall he had quietly registered.  Why he could not tell us I am not sure but apparently it had something to do with waiting until he was accepted.  His reason for taking business was that he was unsure what he will do in life so business would be an excellent foundation.  Again his parents are astonished by his thought processes.  Now if the dishes would actually make it into the dishwasher Cathy would be extremely pleased.  What about Jay being pleased, I am in Toronto remember.

  Brett also worked through the summer on a construction site North of the city and he is currently working part time at Zellers and as a cook.  Brett does not stock shelves he provides customer service.  Brett directs the shelve stockers what to do.  As Brett put it this is the easiest job he has had so far.

 BRYN AND THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

 It is difficult to write about Bryn as he is 4,000 kms away when he is not at sea.  Bryn, Brett and Cathy came out to Toronto for a family visit at Easter.  This turned out to be a great family vacation as it was the first time we went pubbing as a family.  We had an excellent time spending a day touring downtown and dinner at the Medieval Times.  This is an outstanding dinner show and worth the expenditure.  One of those must dos when in Toronto .  The theme is based on the knight that must save the Kings daughter.  This of course happens during a royal jousting tournament.  There are live jousts, a falconer and the medieval feast. We then drove down to Cathy’s mother’s place and visited with her siblings in Glencoe Ontario before sending everyone back.

  Bryn went on a four month cruise to the Far East over the summer, visiting Hawii , Korea , China , Japan and returning by Alaska .  His ship the HMCS Calgary was actually in dry dock over this period but he joined the HMCS Regina for the trip.  This is ideal for a young man getting a chance to see the world. He spent five days in China and said it was great.

 I saw Bryn again at the annual family reunion.  Bryn grabbed his own room this year and shared with his cousin Sean.  Most notable however, had to be Dustin’s bar in a bag.  Dustin put Ron and me to shame as far as brining the bar.  He had about twenty various bottles along with the mixers, blenders etc all in a duffle bag.  I was very impressed.  The party naturally attracted the party crowd and here you can see Cory Fast giving the wet one to his cousin. Sean and Bryn on the other hand were ensuring no one runs out of beer.  Sean recently moved out from Glencoe Ontario to seek better career opportunities and the possibility of a trade.  He has moved to Wainwright and is working as a mechanic apprentice at a local dealer.  Bryn and Sean had a lot of fun at the reunion with Sean stating “I don’t care if anyone else is going next year but I am”.  We typically have the debate with most of the people coming from Alberta and BC why not hold the event in someplace closer like Red Deer or West Edmonton Mall.

 CATH Y TAKES ON THE PIPES

 Last year we noted Cathy took up Bagpipes and now she plays with a vengeance.  Playing in three bands, taking advanced instruction and now instructing as well in just over a year and a half, Cathy has become a bagpipe expert.  Naturally many events included bag piping this year.  She even went to band camp in Saskatchewan for a week in July.  I was invited but still being stuck in Toronto does not help. 

 The rest of our time off we tried to get together.  In Feb we went to Mexico again and it was great.  The Mayan Riviera is such a nice spot and to be able to SCUBA dive the cenotes and the reef adds a lot of variety.  This year we visited Coba which has the highest pyramid in Mexico .  We also spent a lot of time snorkelling the reef in front of the hotel.  Some of the Cenotes we dove have just been discovered so they are not on any of the guide books yet.  Inside they are very pristine as the stalactites have been undisturbed.  Naturally the vacation was far too short.

 Cathy came out for the long weekend in Sep and spent some time with me before we visited her Aunt Pat’s place in Bayfield for a bit of a Mallett family reunion.  Then again in Nov Cathy came to visit me in Toronto to celebrate our 25^th Anniversary and yes I did buy her a new rock.

 NO SPEEDOS IN ONTARIO

  It’s been a full year in Ontario but in 2007 I will be leaving.  Currently I have been penciled in to take over as the Deputy Commander for the Base in Edmonton in July.  Until then I had changed positions during the summer and I now have an office in Petawawa and Toronto .  It is a better position as I cover most logistics but it is also many hours on the road.  There is the fun stuff in moving forces overseas and there is the not so fun stuff of bringing some back before the rotation.  Petawawa however, is an interesting place and much more fun than the endless traffic of Toronto .  Here is a picture while biking at the golf course overlooking the Ottawa River . 

 I made it a point of never spending a complete weekend in Toronto and was successful most of the time.  The in-laws in Glencoe and London offered some respite.  I spent a weekend with Cathy’s sister Pat in Feb watching the Tournament of Hearts. We had a good time and even caught up to my brother in law Jim for a few late night pints.  Karen my cousin in Oshawa was another outlet.  I dropped by on a number of occasions which was especially nice during the summer.  I did have a number of visits to the apartment other than my own family over the year that included, Ron, Kathleen, PB and Dave

 Dadye and Ron came out at the end of July and spent most of the time at the cottage.  I was able to catch up with them on one weekend as the whole Teschl clan gathered.  The cottage was full and it was stinking hot out but if you apply enough alcohol everything seems fine.  The other advantage is one can always jump in the lake to cool off.

 Much of my spare time over the past year was spent with my brother in law Ron brother Hans.  He lives about 20mins North of my apartment in Toronto and he has a cottage on Georgian Bay .  His place is also very convenient to drive over for a visit to coif an ale or attend the odd party.     

 Apparently they have this really weird thing about wearing Speedos in Ontario much more so than anywhere else in the country.  At 47 I should not look that good in a Speedo but it is much easier than trying to bunch up a pair of shorts under your wet suit.  Late in Han’s party I wore my Speedo to jump in the Hot Tub.  Others had their shorts but being naked seems more socially acceptable than wearing a Speedo.  With that said most of my recreation time that did not involve the events above was related to SCUBA diving where I do wear a Speedo under my wet suit.

 Hans, I and the rest of the Toronto club did a number of dives this past year.  Hans and I however, were the die hard divers who went on virtually every trip, not to mention our own excursions at the cottage.  In May we went to Kingston and dove the Wolf Islander, in June we went to Tobermory and a group of us rented a cottage.  The air temperature was very hot but the water was very cold.  Tobermory is where Georgian Bay meets the rest of lake Huron so it is loaded with wrecks and it includes an underwater National Park.  The club went to Kingston again in Sep and this time we stayed in the Fort which is far more convenient to downtown.  The highlights though were the times we spent at the cottage more specifically when Dadye and Ron came out and the Advanced course we ran in August.

  I will end with the story of our Advanced course because it is so good. After David’s very late arrival on Thurs there was the consumption of a few get acquainted with Ontario beers. We left Friday to pick up the rest of the crew (Andrew, Mark, Derek) to head to Penetanguishene - the starting point of our water adventure. We loaded the boat with an excess of Dive Gear, tanks, (5 tanks for each person as we are headed to an island with no power), food, and the essential Beer. Hans the Cabin/Boat owner driver arrived just after the gear was loaded into the craft. Off we went to Giants Tomb Island :  a large relatively uninhabited spot of land in the middle of Georgian Bay , Lake Huron . After arrival we dressed for the 75F water and headed out for the first dive on the eastern tip of the island to 2 wrecks - both artificial reefs sunk some years ago. After the dive it was back to the Cabin for supper and some refreshments as the night dive would be the next night. During this period of discussion a storm brewed and we were forced to drink anti-night diving fluid (booze). We used the time wisely by reviewing the next days dives as well as intense training with a box of liars dice.  Then suddenly it was 2 am .

 The next day we were off at the crack of noon to the West side of the island. The wind was blowing from the east pretty hard, so Hans drove the boat around while the rest of us did a short walk through the forest and learned the history of the island. Giants Tomb was an Indian burial ground. The Natives sold the island to the province which, other than a few cabins on the North end, is part of Awenda provincial park. The area we were at was part of a failed marina development in the 1960s. The Nav dive was next with a rocky sand bottom after which, we proceeded to do the deep dive near the same location. The thermocline hit hard at about 50ft causing one student to have difficulty and I had to take him back to the surface. After a brief period of calming and discussion I was able to bring him back down. With the remaining students Dave had them witness the plastic bottle filling. With math skills &depth gauge checks done we then proceeded back to the cottage to prepare for the night dive. After an excellent meal of steak, sausage, burgers, chicken, pork, stuffed potatoes, potato salad - a meat eaters delight - preparation was made for the night/rain/wind/cold dive. Back to the wrecks dove on Friday. Visibility was better after the storm. The thermocline had moved up now at 45- 50', so the dive was not as warm as the day before. But with all the environmental conditions factored in it was still a very good dive. With the dive over, the wind howling, the rain pounding and the waves increasing in grandeur; the intrepid dive group headed back to the warmth of the Cabin. After Securing the Boat in a matter that Hans could get some sleep we headed in for another few rounds of Liars Dice and some more spirits to appease the native folklore.

  The next day after a breakfast of steak, eggs, sausage and bacon we headed to Hope Island for the wreck dive. The dive was on the Marquette a 139ft barque, that rests in 30-40ft and was lost Nov 29 1867 while foundering in a storm with a load of corn. This was an excellent dive, the visibility was 30ft and much of the hull is intact. I took a number of pictures. The pictures turned out well although the little Cray fish tend to blur up close. It is hard to keep them still. The rest of the class experienced an awesome dive which, capped the weekend. The seas were calm and the sun came out for a beautiful day. After the dive we went back to the cottage and packed up. While doing the final briefing for the course Hans poured everyone a shot of rye. Work ground to a halt and anyone looking for a quick trip home was SOL. We finally got packed up and the boat was very laden resulting in a slow trip to the harbour. We were finally back in Toronto at 10pm and by the time we stored the gear and went back to my apartment it was 11pm . I was very tired and immediately crashed.

 The next day we went to the DECIMA research facility for a guided tour of the research facility where most of the dive tables are developed.  After that Dave called Connie and I commented - Dave and I are about to head to the pub before I pour him onto the plane. A very fast a furious weekend but it was great to have Dave come out.

About a month later in Sep Hans and I closed the Cabin.  We got in a good day of diving before spending the Sunday packing up.  Hans however, does get these interesting ideas.  For some reason alcohol will go bad between packing and arriving back home.  This was news to me as I thought it stored rather well.  Not wanting any of the booze to go bad Hans declared on the Friday arrival that we must drink all of it before we depart.  Three bottles later it was amazing we accomplished what we did.

Merry Christmas

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