May Update

Most monthly updates have started with “professional” news – what I’ve been up to in terms of research and writing. This month, however, has to be different.

My son, Scott, with my Dad, William Teichrib.

 

Personal

– Life season changes have come fast to the Teichrib household. Last fall my father was slated for extensive back surgery, but because of my mother’s cancer and her passing, the operation was moved to April 5th of this year. Since the surgery, the vast majority of our time has been spent in taking care of my father. He was more-or-less resigned to six weeks on a bed, and due to unforeseen complications we’ve made numerous trips to the emergency room. May was a very stressful month. However, we are thankful we live relatively close to his farm, as this allowed us to run back-and-forth between night shifts. So far June has been the same, which explains why this blog has been virtually ignored by myself.

– My Uncle Bert, who passed away last fall in Saskatchewan, had his ashes brought to Manitoba for burial. It was a bitter-sweet family gathering. Sad in that he died too young (62) and in rough circumstances. At the same time it was good to see relatives from near and far, and spend time visiting, telling stories – and we as a family have had plenty of wild experiences, so there are plenty of stories to tell – and catching up on life.

– In the first Wednesday of May our dog tangled with a skunk, which in and of itself isn’t anything new as we’ve killed close to 30 of the smelly critters in the four years we’ve lived here. The problem was that this particular skunk encounter was too close for comfort: It happened mid-day, the skunk was disoriented and unkempt (classic signs of downer rabies), it had sprayed Coco – and while screaming at the dog to get away from the foul creature I got the most wicked leg cramp imaginable – and then it bit her. Hopping on one leg and howling in pain, I managed to follow the two animals across the yard and dispose of the skunk before it got away under an old granary. Our whole family was devastated as we thought the worst. A couple of phone calls later, and we had a visit from an agent from Canada Food Inspection Agency. He collected the skunk’s head and immediately shipped it to the lab in Lethbridge, Alberta. By the next afternoon we had the results: Positive for rabies. Thankfully our dog was up on her shots.

Austin and her favorite furry friend, Coco.

– Our daughter, Austin, got her first job! She worked at a local greenhouse. It was a good experience; Lots to learn, and a nice way of connecting with neighbours. Now we just need some lessons on money management.

– My son, Scott, and I spent one afternoon doing something we enjoy together: Paintball. There’s a group of young people we try and play with on occasion, and the field is run by my friend Joel Goertzen of Redemption Paintball. Besides the good exercise, these outings have been a great way to connect with local youth and young adults. Yes, I’m the “old man” on the field…

– Finally, a neighbour spotted a cougar near my Dad’s farm. Cougar’s on the prairies: There’s something wrong with this picture.

 

Professional

– Between all the craziness of the last month, I managed to work on three writing projects. Two remained in process into June, and one was completed:

1) The May edition of Forcing Change was organized, and then re-formatted (thanks to a frustrating computer glitch) and finally published in early June – better late than never.

2) I started pulling together research material for the June issue of Forcing Change. Unless pushed aside by more urgent matters, the June edition will carry a critical essay on population control and the green movement. It should be published in the next few weeks.

3) Somehow I managed to complete the first-draft editing of articles for Gary Kah’s quarterly newsletter, Hope For The World Update.

 

Books Read

With all the hospital visits and shifts with my dad, you would think I could have caught up on my reading list. No way. However, I did manage to do a little reading when the evening quieted down.

1) Dialectical and Historical Materialism, a short but very important booklet by Joseph Stalin.

2) Nazi Oaks: The Green Sacrificial Offering of the Judeo-Christian Worldview in the Holocaust, by R. Mark Musser. Many books have been published on the German National Socialists movement, few however on the “green” underpinnings of the Nazi worldview. Mr. Musser’s book Nazi Oaks, which tackles the issue from a Christian vantage point, is a definite recommend.