In January, Toronto epidemiologist Dr. Susy Hota, an infection disease specialist at the University Health Network told CTV News, “At this time there’s absolutely no reason for people to be walking around wearing masks in public.” And Dr. Sohail Ghandi, president of the Ontario Medical Association, in an interview with the Canadian Press said, “hand washing is more effective than face masks with this particular virus, particularly if you’re not infected.” But not everyone in the world agrees with these professionals. In the Czech Republic, for example, the use of masks has been compulsory since March 18th. And it’s had a huge impact on the spread of the virus in their country.
Like most of Europe and North America, mask wearing in the Czech Republic was rare. At least by the general public. And yet, in just a matter of days, the country went from: “Look at the idiot wearing a mask!” to “Look at the idiot NOT wearing a mask!” The reason for this dramatic shift in behaviour can be traced back to an eight-minute video that was uploaded to YouTube on March 14 and went viral. The presentation was the brainchild of writer and social media influencer Petr Ludwig. It focused on the importance of wearing masks… not as a protection for yourself, but to protect others in case you are asymptomatic, i.e., sick, but not showing symptoms. The campaign slogan, in Czech obviously, was “My mask protects you, your mask protects me.” And Petr’s fellow citizens responded in droves. Overnight, men and women broke out their sewing machines and started producing cloth masks, for their family, and to give away to neighbours, friends and passers-by.
In my opinion, our government (federal and provincial) made a serious mistake by discouraging the use of even simple cloth face masks when we went out in public. Yes, I know that the official surgical-type masks are up to three times more effective than homemade ones. But surgical masks are in short supply; medical professionals need them. And as you’ll see if you watch Petr’s video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5xy2n941jM&feature=youtu.be, even amateur masks can make a real difference when it comes to halting the spread of the virus. (Before you ask, yes, the video has English subtitles.) There are also tons of online demonstrations showing how to make your own masks. My only suggestion is you use fabric that doesn’t look like a mask Dr. James Kildare, or for my younger readers, Dr. Meredith Grey would wear. Last thing we need while we’re trying to save the world is some busybody shouting at us for stealing medical supplies.
Cloud-based services… literally
I’ll bet if, back in 70s, you had suggested to the congregations of the Presbyterian church in Dunvegan or Kirk Hill they’d be watching a Sunday service on something called a “laptop” in the comfort of their home, they’d have shipped you off to the loony bin or banished you to the attic.
And yet that is exactly what has come to pass. Undeterred by the Covid-19 lockdown, Kim Little, Tori St. Denis and Reverend Jim Ferrier have come up with a plan to record worship services – including music, scripture readings, prayers and a sermon – and post them online. Reverend Jim Ferrier is the interim moderator for both Kenyon and St. Columba congregations. Kim Little has been serving as Kenyon’s organist for about three years now. And Tori St. Denis, an alumnus of the Glengarry Girls and Boys Choir, has been the organist at St. Columba for the past year. In her spare time, she is also in pre-med at St. Lawrence College.
The video services can be found on the churches’ web sites (kenyondunvegan.ca or stcolumbakirkhill.ca), their Facebook pages and the “Maxville Happenings” Facebook page. The team will be releasing a new video every Sunday and will leave them up through the week so people can watch them at their convenience. If you’d like to participate in the project in some way, you can contact Kim at glengarrygc@gmail.com. Kim is also coordinating an email-based reminder service. If you’d like to put your name on the list, once again contact Kim.
If your family is like mine, you may have decided to pass on hosting a big Easter get-together this year. We’re in the process of organizing a short videoconference to touch base, but we’ll save breaking bread and gorging on chocolate until the clouds of uncertainty have blown over. However, if our online worship team has any say in the matter, you won’t have to miss out on church. I’m told they’re working on a plan for a special Good Friday service. Check the church web sites for details.
When’s dinner?
Given that Terry and I (more so, me) are walking around with a Covid-19 bullseye on our backs, we thought it might be a good idea to limit our exposure and try that new-fangled online grocery shopping app that the Alexandria Independent offers. So, last week, I fired up the old iMac and input a test order. I soon realized that I had missed one key step: choosing a pick-up time. Although “choosing” is a bit of a misnomer. The process is really more one of grabbing whatever crumb is left. For example, at the time of this writing, the earliest open slot is eight days away, assuming they store is open Easter Monday, which I doubt.
I appreciate that these are unusual times… and that delayed gratification is a virtue. Nevertheless, planning one’s grocery needs a week or so in the future, is a whole new level of challenging. So I threw caution to the wind, loaded my pockets with the requisite number of disposable gloves and bottles of hand sanitizer and set forth to shop in person. While there, I asked a friend who works in the store if there was some factor I hadn’t considered behind the dearth of pick-up slots.
When I queried her one word reply – “Cornwall” – I learned that our neighbours to the south have taken to shopping at Chartrand’s, rather than Baxtrom’s. The wait times here are almost half those for the Cornwall Independent Grocer, so the 30 or 40-minute drive is a no-brainer. The only fly in the ointment with this scenario is that Cornwall residents have at least eight major grocery outlets from which to choose. We have one.
Now, nothing can be done about this imbalance. It’s a free-ish country and folks have the right to shop where they want. It’s also their right to “game” the system, as long as they stay on the right side of the line. Sadly, it’s a simple fact of life; there are always givers and takers. But, as we discovered during the Ice Storm, thoughtfulness in tough times like these can be proof of a person’s mettle.
Ecclesiastical erratum
I am remiss in not having acknowledged an error in my column of January 29th of this year. Ken McEwen of Ottawa rightly called me out for referring to the successor to the Church of the Indian Lands (a.k.a. The White Church) as “Knox Presbyterian.” What I should have said is that the White Church’s replacement was St. Andrew’s Presbyterian. I apologize for any confusion.
As an added bonus, Mr. McEwen’s email went into a bit more detail about the area’s early religious history. Apparently, the White Church was not the first location in the 17th Con. IL where religious services were held. Before the Indian Lands Church was built (where the cemetery at the south end of town is today), a log building on the west side of Highland Road was used for services. Known as the Beech Church, it has been suggested it was so named because of logs used in its construction. “Not very likely,” opined Mr. McEwen. “Anyone who has felled a beech with a cross-cut saw is aware it is a very hard wood.” As he points out, it is far more likely that the structure was built with logs of cedar, or possibly pine. Ain his opinion, a more plausible reason for the name is that the structure was nestled in a grove of beech trees.
“Although referred to as a church, the log building may never have been consecrated as such,” Mr. McEwen went on to say. Amongst other evidence, he cited the Rev. Connell who wrote in a report dated Oct. 1st, 1829 that his Northern Indian Lands station had “no church of any description.” Mr. McEwen’s father, whose paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother attended the Beech Church, told him it was situated approximately where the White Church’s cemetery vault was. Or, in today’s terms, where Maxville Farm Machinery now stands.
Mother Nature’s way
One of the joyful things about living in the country is that Mother Nature doesn’t read the news. Try as one might to draw a connection between the troubling times faced by mankind and the tears falling from a leaden sky, the truth is that April showers have always brought forth May flowers. And they most likely will again. The grass quickly greens. Songbirds return. Deer venture forth from their dens. And if you’re really lucky, like Jim Tilker of Dunvegan East was a few weeks ago, a rare moose sighting comes your way. “It was crossing Highway 34 south of Laggan, going west to east,” Jim reported. He went on to say, “With or without the virus, I have been absorbed like a kid cleaning up the yard in this glorious spring weather.” Amen.
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