It’s no big surprise, but as of this coming Sunday, January 17th, the Dunvegan – Kirk Hill Pastoral Charge will be shifting from in-person gatherings to online worship services. Members of Dunvegan’s Kenyon Presbyterian Church and Kirk Hill’s St. Columa Church can view the pre-recorded service by going to www.kenyondunvegan.ca and clicking on the “Worship” tab. The YouTube link should be up and running as of 11:00 am on Sunday.
While they can help slow the spread of Covid-19, virtual church services lack the fellowship of face-to-face worship and the joy of catching up on the latest news with friends and neighbours. On the plus side though, they do not have as strict a dress code… you can enjoy a cup of hot coffee while in “church”…. and every seat is in the front row. Moreover, as it requires no moving of bodies through space, online worship is virtually carbon neutral.
Wild West marketing
Here’s an admission of guilt: every once and awhile, I have a small bowl of cereal before hitting the sack. And the last time I did, I took a few seconds to look at the box. When did they become so boring and politically correct with pledges of non-GMO ingredients, no preservatives, low in salt, high in fibre and only ‘x’ grams of sugar? When I was a tyke, the front and back panels of even such Battlecreek mainstays as Kellogg’s Corn Flakes sparked hours of dreams and heated after-school discussions.
As you’ve no doubt gathered if you’ve read my columns for any length of time, I am fast approaching my sell-by date. Which means I grew up in the 1950s; the Wild West of marketing. It was a “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” time where anything went. Except of course for the four Bs: bare boobs, belly buttons, butts and bi-racial anything.
In those more innocent times, there were no video games or cell phones to distract us. And the only screen in our lives, if we were lucky, was the oval-ish black & white one on the family’s television set. We were ripe for plucking, and marketers of breakfast cereals figured this out in short order. Whenever they needed to goose sales, they would come out with a new in-pack prize and splash it all over the front panel of the box. They might even feature the promotion in a television commercial that would popup in the Saturday morning children’s shows. There the premium would catch young eyes and initiate a process of pleading that ended with the addition of said cereal to the family’s grocery cart. Kellogg’s was one of the first breakfast food manufacturers to incorporate free premiums aimed at young kids, such as: a Little Squirt Camera, a Woody Woodpecker crossword puzzle and an official Dragnet police whistle.
When it came to actually retrieving the prize, there were three basic approaches: wait patiently until luck intervened or you reached the bottom of the box; roll up you sleeve and plunge your arm into the box and search with you fingers; or pour out the contents into a big bowl, grab the prizes and condemn the now deflowered cereal back to its box. I would be surprised if someone hasn’t done a dissertation on the personality traits revealed by a person’s preferred route to claiming the prize.
One premium that I remember to this day is the U.S. Navy Frogmen collection… three ‘action’ poses in four different colours. It first appeared (in Canada, at least) in 1954 in specially marked boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. To amass the complete collection was a minimum investment of twelve boxes of Corn Flakes. Assuming no duplicates, of course. These 1950s marketing execs may have been square, but they were not dummies
The box graphics claimed the Frogman “dives under water by itself.” And it did, after a fashion. The directions on the box were to put baking powder in the compartment at the end of one of the Frogman’s flippers and seal it. Then, you were to place the Frogman in water — like your bathtub – and “watch the magic.” The Frogman sank until holes in the powder compartment allowed enough water to enter to produce a chemical reaction. The resultant bubbles of carbon dioxide then sent the Frogman to the surface.
No doubt the kid who had the most success with this toy was the one who had been willing to wait until the box was empty before finding the prize. He or she would have had the patience, between each dive, to dry the compartment thoroughly before adding more powder. All I know is, that wasn’t me. The same chemical reaction also powered an “Atomic Submarine” that appeared at various times in boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Frosted Flakes.
Obviously, these toys would be banned today. First, marketing to children is a no-no. Second, the small cover to baking powder compartment is a potential choking hazard and many of today’s young children don’t comprehend the word “no.” And third, the toy’s power plant produces a toxic by-product: carbon dioxide. Yes, I know we all exhale CO2 every time we take a breath. In fact, we produce around 268 kgs of the noxious gas per person per year. But our government has declared that CO2 is poisonous. So enough said.
Despite this spine-tingling danger, I’m thinking of sending away for one of the original Diving Atomic Subs. You can still find them on eBay. And, believe it or not, they’re made in the USA, from real plastic. None of that shoddy ‘fake plastic’ stuff. I’m dying to try it out in the swimming pool in our Dunvegan backyard. Public safety being my main concern, I promise to hold my breath for a minute or so to offset the sub’s CO2 emissions.
Free pandemic help
Did you know there’s an Ontario Government web page that explains the six different types of supports you can take advantage of during the Covid-19 pandemic, including: financial issues; services for children and youths; emergency shelters; and supports for seniors and persons with disabilities. For all the details, go to: www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-support-people#icbt
What I also found very exciting about this page was the comprehensive list of services for those dealing with mental health, wellness and addictions issues. This includes finding the right resources for children and youth, indigenous people, post-secondary students, health care workers, seniors, and caregivers.
Mental health and addiction services are difficult to access at the best of times. And in the midst of a pandemic it can be doubly so. Add to this the social isolation, the scarcity of services and the stress of potential infection at every turn… and the result is that the “iceberg” of addiction and mental health problems is getting larger and larger. I say “iceberg” because we only see a fraction of those trying to cope with these issues. The vast majority suffer in silence. So if you know of someone in this position, please direct her or him to this Ontario government web page.
I also wanted to mention that to help with the stress of Covid-19, Ontario is offering two more CBT-based therapy services that you can access online: AbilitiCBT and Beacon Digital Therapy. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (or CBT) is considered the gold standard when it comes to helping improve mood and anxiety. The sessions are FREE… are available in English and French… and offer guided support by professional therapists to help you or your loved one develop skills and strategies to address symptoms of mild to moderate anxiety and/or depression.
Once again, I’m asking for your help to make persons in need aware that these free personalized therapy options are available for the asking. Thank you.
PS: You’re not alone
This final item is for family caregivers dealing with a loved one with an addiction or mental health condition… in Dunvegan, across North Glengarry, South Glengarry and beyond. I wanted to remind them that the Cornwall & District Family Support Group (CDFSG) still meets regularly, despite the pandemic. If your loved one suffers from bipolar, schizophrenia, depression or another serious mental health or addiction issue, you might find our support group helpful. By sharing our ups and downs and taking strength from each other, we learn how to better cope with the “roller coaster” of caregiving. The group offers you a way to unburden yourself among people who understand the turmoil you’re facing. Doing so can help you gain some control over an otherwise chaotic life experience.
If there was ever a time for family caregivers to come together for mutual support, this is it. Yet face-to-face meetings are a no-no. That is why the Cornwall & District Family Support Group has taken their support meetings online using ZOOM. You don’t need to be a technical whiz to participate. All you need is a computer or a laptop with a camera and microphone. You can also use a tablet or a smartphone, but you’ll have to install the free Zoom app from the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android).
For those living in Cornwall and South Glengarry, the online group meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 6:00 pm. And for those living in Alexandria and North Glengarry, the online group meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 6:00 pm. If you’d like to test drive a group meeting, send me an email with your phone number and a couple of potential time slots for someone from the CDFSG to contact you with a few more details.
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