Good-bye "Gorgeous"!

This post is written as a tribute to Omar Sharif, the actor, who passed away today at the age of 83. I knew he'd been in failing health; however, his sudden passing came as quite a shock.

When Dr. Zhivago first came out in 1965 and my parents came home from seeing it at the movie theatre, I thought Dr. Zhivago was just a movie about a modern day doctor in a hospital. Later, when I finally saw the movie, I realized it was a period piece of epic proportions and I was hooked on the passionate poet/doctor.

Omar Sharif was always one of my favourites, right back to my teen years, when he was my first "ideal man" and I though no one else could measure up. I suppose it was not just Omar Sharif's smoldering good looks that had women, all over the globe, swooning: His combination French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Arabic accent; one he said "enabled [him] to play the role of a foreigner without anyone knowing exactly where [he] came from," certainly made him easy to listen to, as well. Fast forward to his portrayal of Nicky Arnstein in 1968's Funny Girl, when Barbra Streisand's Fanny Brice appropriately greeted him with, "Hello, gorgeous;" and he certainly was!

And yet, he wasn't just a pretty face. Omar Sharif also gave remarkable performances in classic movies, including: 1962's Lawrence of Arabia, 1965's Genghis Khan, 1969's Mackenna's Gold, 1974's The Tamarind Seed, and 1975's Funny Lady.

I loved all of Omar Sharif's movies, at least all that I've had the pleasure to see; but, a favourite in our family has always been the 1992 TV movie, "Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris," in which he played the generous, kindhearted Marquis Hippolite to Angela Lansbury's title character. We watched "Mrs. 'Arris" as a family; three generations together, laughing, crying, and thoroughly enjoying. It was years before we were able to view it again, but we all remembered it fondly.

It makes me quite sad to know that Omar Sharif, that "gorgeous" man, is gone! It is some consolation, though, to remember that Omar Sharif, the actor, and his memorable performances in some of our favourite movies, will live on forever.

Surprise Sunflowers

My husband, Doug, has been feeding the wildlife in our backyard for several years, including: chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, and birds. Our sightings of songbirds like Mourning doves, Cardinals, Blue jays, Orioles, and Finches are sometimes rare; but, our Sparrow population is prolific. The Sparrows attack our feeder as though each meal is the last they’ll ever see, often leaving nothing behind.

Imagine our surprise when we looked out this week and found a sunflower plant growing within a foot of the bird-feeder. Growing like a weed, this plant doesn’t just have one flower head on it, it has nearly a dozen heads with a few buds still to open. Quite simply, it’s beautiful!

I’ve done some reading, and believe our sunflower plant may be the result of a wild sunflower seed germinating, resulting in the multi-head beauty.

However it came about, our surprise Sunflower may eventually provide added sustenance for our hungry feathered friends. As well, this lovely addition to our back garden is certainly worthy of the following tribute Haiku. Enjoy!

"A seed dropped from the feeder
And in our garden
Grew, fiery gold sunflowers!"
nhg

Indebted

For the last couple of years, my husband and I have been transforming our front yard, from weedy lawn to flagstone patio and perennial garden. It's been a labour of love, although an enormous amount of work.

This spring, likely due to equal portions of inadequate mulch and an abundance of rain, the weeds have been making a concerted effort to stymie us at every turn. In desperation, I called a good friend of mine to ask if she might have some time to help me with the onerous weeding ahead.

As, it turned out, she did ... generously giving up her own free time, on three separate occasions, to help me not only weed my front garden, but the side strip between my house and the next door neighbour's, as well.

She was relentless, in a kind but forceful way, in keeping me motivated even when I felt I couldn't go on. Rita was also accepting of the help my 3-yr-old granddaughter, in her over-sized safety-pinned gardening gloves, insisted on giving as she gushed, "I just love gardowing!"

I believe that this dreaded job turned out to be a truly positive experience, mostly because we had a fearless leader with a strong back, a way with a shovel, and who knew how to motivate. Together, we not only got the job done ... it seemed we enjoyed getting the job done.

Two days ago, encouraged by the previous attempt at making the front yard presentable, I spent several hours, some of it with a 10-yr-old granddaughter assisting me, pulling some new weedy invaders from the garden.

As a result of all this attention, our front garden is looking beautiful, these days. For this I am, in no small measure, grateful to my long-time friend Rita, who's never failed me when I need her, and in whom I am once again indebted.

Happy Canada Day!

Several years ago, CFRB Radio, 1010 on the dial, ran an unofficial contest to find a more inclusive version of Oh Canada on the Jim Richards' Showgram. This search was initiated in response to criticism, at the time, about the lack of inclusiveness in the current lyrics.

Oh Canada’s original lyrics were written, in French, for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day by Calixa Lavallée. Since then, they’ve been translated into English and revised several times, not always to the betterment of an overall inclusive message.

I’m usually uneasy with the idea of changing words written by another writer, especially when the changes are made with the objective of righting unintentional exclusions; however, I believe that in the case of a national anthem, political correctness is essential to inclusion of all citizens.

So, the poet in me created my own revision of Oh Canada, endeavouring to be as inclusive as possible. My lyrics were highly commended but did not win the competition. Happily, though, my revised version of Oh Canada was described as one that, “Touches on all the things that people feel about being Canadian.” I was also thrilled that my reworking of the anthem was chosen to be sung on-air by Canada’s renowned vocalist Michael Burgess.

Today, in honour of Canada Day, I'm sharing this story; my Oh Canada revision, below; and link to the 1 min 44 sec CFRB-1010/Michael Burgess Radio clip

"Oh Canada, our home and chosen land
True patriot love in all our hearts command
With glowing pride, we see thee rise, the true north strong and free
From far and wide, oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee
Long may we live, tolerant and free
Oh Canada, in splendour, sea to sea
Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee"

Inclusive Revision
by Nancy Haigh Gordon