Photo:  Taken at the end of trail leading from Zajac Ranch to the South Arm of Stave Lake. The ranch is approximately 20 km North-East of of Mission B.C with the last 10 km  on a high quality, all-weather, gravel road. The facility boasts excellent camp style accommodation and an array of facilities that easily caters to the interests of the young and “the young at heart”.

It was out of China one day and off to the Zajac Ranch the next for a West Coast reception with our friends Carl and Julie Joosse (nee Fennema).  Because many of their West Coast friends were not able to make the July wedding, the couple decided to throw a second reception at this end.

Photo:  Carl and Julie arrive in style on the back of one the camp limousines.

The Zajac Ranch for Children, situated in pristine wilderness on the west side of Stave Lake, north of Mission, B.C, was chosen for the reception as both Carl and Julie along with many family and friends, both from the East and West, have made a strong commitment to helping ensure the future of this incredible adventure center for children.

With the draw of a West Coast wilderness adventure, many Carl and Julies family members and friends who live within a stones throw of each other, decided to make the trek to help continue the celebration in style and to meet some of the crazy West Coasters with whom Carl and Julie have spent so much time in recent years.

For those not familiar with Zajac Ranch itself, it was founded by Mel and Irene Zajac as a legacy:

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Pub in Prague, Czech Republic: Lynn gets tuned up for an evening on the town.
(Slideshow: My Friend and Life Companion)

July 28, 2013

Good Morning Lynn,

Happy Anniversary my dear.

Gosh, this will be the first year in twelve years that we have been together in Victoria for our anniversary celebration. Given the wonderful weather over the past month and the number of family visitors, it was a very good year to be at home.

Of course, last year would have been the first, but it seems I just abandoned you in favour of taking that five-year-old hell-on-wheels, Grayson, on a month-long camping trip across British Colombia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Funny, as I recall, you said something along the lines of, “Oh dear, do I have to stay at home on my own for a whole month?” I don’t seem to recall any sadness in those words. Hmm….

By the time July 28th rolled around last year, I think Grayson, Jay, Bjorn and I were somewhere in Southern Alberta, perhaps in Medicine Hat attending the rodeo you so kindly booked for us. Yes, yes thats where we were.  If I remember correctly, Bjorn, Jay and I popped a cap or two and certainly kept that wee Grayson busy keeping the fridge filled (it was very hot in Alberta). Oh, that wandering, carefree, cowboy life has a certain appeal. But, I digress.

Seems this year we have just made it by the skin of our teeth, with our pending departure in a couple of days. I guess we can justify the upcoming trip as an anniversary gift to each other. Sound Ok to you?

Now, of the many neat things (and there are a good many neat things) I could say about being married to you is your willingness to hit the trail on a moments notice and your willingness to challenge your inner most fears. I really never believed that you and that anaconda you pulled from his pen, would become buddies.  Oh well, just goes to show.

It seems my premonition of twenty-nine years ago (that living with you would be a life filled with adventure) has certainly come to pass.  Even that little adventure that popped into our lives on November 5 some twenty-five years ago has turned out pretty well.

Dropping that particular bit of news on me just before my retirement was, how shall I say, a bit of a life changer. Anyway, the multi-year adventure seems to be polishing off rather nicely and has certainly allowed us to spend more time exploring the world.

Whether surfing Australia, parasailing in the Swiss Alps, ski dooing in Antarctica (well, as close as we could get), rock climbing and surfing on the back of a cruise ship, zip lining in Jamaica, cuddling cute little reptiles, chasing wild pigs and crocks in Louisiana, or any of the dozens of other adventures that seem to come our way, I don’t ever recall you having shown much hesitation. Well, perhaps, on occasion, just a tad.

I think you may still have to take that leap of faith from the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas if we should ever return that way. By the way there is a cute little Wedding Chapel at the base, we could renew our vows! Of course the only reason you missed the last jump is that on that particular day the boys and girls had gone their separate ways. I know how very disappointed you were.

So, in closing, I thank-you for saying “yes” that spring day some three decades back as we sat on a park bench at Willows Beach in Oak Bay having lunch while keeping a look-out for some idiots who had been causing damage in the park (or was it in that surveillance van in Brentwood Bay). Am I not the romanticist?

Love you,

Harold

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Barry, Ryan, Harold, Ashley and Ross display their catch of Pink Salmon.
Piled on the blue box is a feed of Dungeness Crabs that were pulled out of the Inner Harbour
Photos of the Fishing Adventure: Link Here

Other Davis Family Victoria Trip Albums

Photos of the City Adventure: Link Here
River and Lake Adventures: Link Here
Ocean Shore and Biking Adventure: Link Here

Victoria Summer Fun Slideshow 2013-Mobile

 July 11, 2013 Victoria, BC

While there are many adventures to be found on and around Vancouver Island, a salmon fishing trip on the rolling, fog-shrouded waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca has to be in the Top 10.

When my brother-in-law, Barry Davis phoned from Spruce Grove, Alberta, to tell us that he, along with his wife, Nancy and three of the grandchildren, Ryan, Ashley and Ross, were heading our way, we were absolutely delighted. As part of our conversation Barry, who is an avid fisherman, wondered if we might squeeze in a few hours of fishing. He felt the “kids” would really enjoy that type of a West Coast experience (he, he).

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“I realize that few phenomena are more tiresome than people of my age, and older, grimly lamenting the decline and fall of almost everything… (Conrad Black, Editorial in “Ideas”, National Post, July 13, 2013)

A decade back, Conrad Black and I were infrequently on the same page. That has changed. In recent years it seems this deeply conservative man has experienced somewhat of an epiphany, perhaps the result of having spent the better part of half the past decade as a guest of the US prison authorities. From reading his frequent comments, it seems he came to realize that many of his fellow prisoners, more than a few of which were lifers, presented far less danger to American society than a good many of the Bay Street and Wall Street Traders who were likely to be his associates in earlier years.

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The MacLeish Chronicles takes place in the Municipality of Oak Bay, a small residential area in the Southeast corner of the Captial Region of British Columbia, a community where Detective Sergeant MacLeish and his partner, Detective Bard, pursued a felon whose attention to detail in the perfecting his craft drew the admiration of his pursuers on both sides of the border.

Introduction to the Series

The MacLeish Chronicles focuses on criminal and other events investigated by the Oak Bay Police Department a force of some thirty regular and civilian members. The series departs from the structure of the other stories in the Police Notebook Series, in that in the Chronicles Series the names of the characters have been changed and each story is written in the form of a novel.

The series, as in other stories about the Department, continues to bring into focus underlying social, ethical and legal issues faced by police as they not only pursue wrongdoers but, just as importantly, assist citizens who have found themselves facing challenges of one sort or another. 

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Part 1 The Night Stalker
A Matter of Principle

Chapter 1 A Professional at Work

Shortly after 1:00 am Sunday, Larry Doncaster parked his rented Toyota Corolla just off Uplands Road north of Lansdowne, stepped from the car and scanned the street. Barely discernable among the hundreds of Garry Oaks, blooming Azaleas and Rhododendrons, were sprawling homes holding the promise of another easy payday.

The silence was occasionally broken by the hum of a distant car and when clouds obscured the moon, only a soft glow from the globed, ornamental street lamps penetrated the darkness – ideal conditions for a night stalker. A master burglar, Doncaster could disappear in a split second, his expertise honed to perfection while fighting in the war torn jungles of Viet Nam.

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Photo (Web):  The surveillance van we used was equipped with all the latest equipment including Night Vision Binoculars.

Part 2, End Game, It’s Never Simple

Chapter 9 The Trap

Bard was up early Sunday, made contact with John, and then contacted MacLeish who by this time had taken the surveillance van back to the police office. They met at the office and drove to the Sears Mall to make the noon meet.

Again, John looked dreadfully hung over, so Bard came right to the point.

“Ok, we checked your information and it squares. We need to catch Larry in possession of stolen property, preferably silverware or something similar. You need to get to work and make it happen. As long as you hold up your end of the bargain – we keep you clean.”

“Listen, I’m really scared…”

MacLeish cut him off: “Enough bullshit Milligan, you know your options. Now fucking get it done or we exercise our options.”

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Most Recent at Top

(Gaps in Editorials over time indicate I was likely busy writing stories in other sections)

2019

Posts on The 2019 Election

Is Fiscal Conservatism Dead

Left or Right: Is there a difference?

How to Game and Election

The SNC Lavalin Affair

The Kings of Conservative Media

The Changing Landscape of Politics in Canada

The past as a guide to the future (Part III): Over the past 60 years, many activities the police once performed as a natural part of their daily duty, eventually became incompatible with achieving their basic goals. What happened? (August 2019)

Comparing Differing Police Cultures (Part II):  What causes police departments in a close geographic area, begin to diverge in their culture. (July 2019)

Police Solidarity and the Push for Amalgamation (Part I):  The first of a four-part series on policing in the Capital Region of B.C. This part reviews a history of the local forces back to 1964.  (July 2019)

Canada, that which makes us one:  A Ukrainian dinner, coffee at Tim Horton’s or McDonald’s, and eating a meal at one of the many ethnic restaurants within three blocks of our home. It all adds up to who we are as Canadians.

2018

Our City: The Capital Regional District. Did you know British Columbia is the only Province in Canada where the cities, towns, municipalities, and unorganized territories, underwent amalgamation over 50 years ago? Over five years beginning in 1965, it was the most extensive series of amalgamations in the history of Canada, and it was unique in that constituent members retained the power to oversee a sizeable portion of their internal affairs. It was the best of both worlds and to this day remains a model for managing the affairs of politically and geographically diverse communities across British Columbia.

The Changing Landscape of Politics in Canada  It all began in England (as all things do), it arrived in Canada when a young man from Victoria decided to work on an election campaign and it ended with an algorithm of sufficient strength to change the way we think.

Are Insurance Rates Soaring Across BC?   If you are a Conservative business person and a government-mandated business holds the reins of the insurance business in BC, you need to find a way to change that.  The best way to do that is to try and convince everyone the government-run business (a Crown Corporation) is costing everyone a ton of extra money.  It turns out that’s not true, that BC has the best auto insurance rates in Canada.

Church and State  How does Canada attempt to keep the Church and State in separate corners?  To see how important this is, all we need do is look at countries where the church is in bed with the state.  In the United States, it is almost impossible to get elected unless you openly express allegiance to God, even though the Constitution expressly states the two must remain separate.

R. vs Stanley: Saskatchewan Court of the Queens Bench:  So, you think justice is blind and that a trial by our peers is not affected by political imperatives?  Well, read on.

2017

Intervention, the key to fighting crime: The RCMP have beefed up their efforts to identify and intervene where it is believed a young person is being drawn into a life of crime.  An Assistant Commissioner in the RCMP states this is the only way to reduce the risk of young people becoming involved in a life of violent crime. (June 2017)

Creating People Friendly Communities:  Is it possible to create people-friendly communities?  Of course, it is, but in order to do so there will need to be a move away from cars and our city and town planning departments will need to look more closely at how people-friendly communities are created and maintained.

Illegal Aliens intercepted in Sarnia:  It was a busy day for the Police and Security Service personnel as hundreds of illegal aliens from the United States made a dash for Canada.

Keep the peace and be of good behaviour:  Why is it our government and security agencies continue to push millions of dollars towards mitigating the minimal danger posed by would-be home-grown terrorists and completely overlook the far greater danger posed by homegrown criminals and gangs.

Brexit: How a minority took over a country:   51% voted to leave the EU, 49% voted to stay, but did those numbers actually reflect what Britain, Scotland, Ireland and Wales really wanted?

2015

Visions of the World   This is a follow-up post to the attack in Charleston, South Carolina.  Why does the United States and Canada give domestic terrorist organizations that are white based a free pass? An earlier post of this appeared on Facebook in early 2014.

Oversight of Police and Security Services:  A look at Bill 51 from the perspective of a Police Sergeant who was present during the FLQ Crisis that gripped Canada in 1970 and how oversight of the RCMP Security Service failed badly. What lessons can be learne?. (October 15, 2015)

Advocating Terror to Become a Crime:  While ISIS style terrorism dominates the news, Criminal Gangs and Lone Wolves of the Criminal sort pose a far greater danger to Canadians at home.  The Criminal Law as it presently exists provides police and Security Services with plenty of tools to defeat those who would disrupt our society without adding dozens of terror related bills that will make things worse rather than better. (January 20, 2015)

To Live or Die: Some Hard Decisions:  Can Assisted Suicide be managed in a way that will protect the vulnerable?  This is another of those very difficult decisions that face Canada.  The life of a world renewed scientist, Dr. Stephan Hawkings, is used as an example. (February 9, 2015)

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