Jade's First Poem

Jade just wrote a poem.

Seriously.

OK, so maybe she didn't write it - she's only four and three-quarter-years-old - but she did compose it. Jade's helper asked her some questions and copied down what Jade composed. And here it is:

Snow

I like it falling down

Snowflakes are twirling around

I see cars...

I see snow on the cars

I see stairs...

I see stairs covered in snow, too

I see signs...

I see snow under the signs

I see trees...

I see trees covered in snow, too

Snowflakes are still falling down and twirling around

Everything is covered in snow now!

This kid in my house.

There's this kid in my house. She's been living here for two years now. She came at a time when we really had our hands full. We were dealing with a stubborn case of epilepsy, the rigors of the ketogenic diet, and trying to figure out how to deal with an emotional kid who wouldn't eat.

The new kid was pretty good, really. She let us do what we needed to do and didn't put up much of a fuss. Of course, when she wanted some attention, she let us know it. I mean, she REALLY let us know it. The kid could scream. She could go from zero to a thousand decibels in a millisecond and didn't waste any time going from one to the other.

In a lot of ways, though, she seemed like a stranger to me. Here was this kid who appeared in our house one day, but we were busy so we told her to "make yourself comfortable". Unlike with our first, where I was more actively involved, her mom took care of most of the work. I didn't feel like I really got the chance to bond with her in the same way as the first and, to be honest, there was a time when I wondered if I would ever truly love the child.

I always felt bad that she wasn't getting the attention she deserved, but she really seemed quite content most of the time. She was confident and independent and determined to do things her own way right from the start.

Since that day when she first appeared in our house, many things have changed. She's still confident and independent and determined, but as she gets older I'm beginning to see new aspects of her personality emerge. She is as smart as a whip. She's as stubborn as her mother (or more so). She is a daredevil who knows no fear. She is a huge clown who loves to make faces and get people laughing. Her smile and laughter are absolutely infectious.

And I love her more deeply than I can express.

Yesterday was her birthday, but she is the gift.

Happy Birthday, Halia.

Rub-a-dub dub, answer me, Bub.

Jade: Do you have a ducky, Halia?
Halia: (silence)
Jade: Do you have a ducky, Halia?
Halia: (silence)
Jade: You have to answer me "yes" or "no"!
Halia: Yes or no.

An Anonymous lead on the story behind the Haines Junction Muffin.

I received an anonymous comment on yesterday's entry about "Canada's Most Ironic Roadside Attraction", the Haines Junction Village Monument (a.k.a. "The Muffin" or the "Mammal Muffin").

Anonymous asked if I "know the Muffin Man? Not the one from Drury Lane, but this one?"

Anonymous then posted a link to an RCMP "Wanted for First Degree Murder" posting for Ronald Jeffrey Bax.


I started to wonder, what was the connection between Ronald Jeffrey Bax and the Haines Junction Muffin?

I started with the Internet, but found no connection between Bax and the Muffin. I looked online for anything I could find about the Muffin's origins, but had no luck.

Deeper investigation was required. I needed to hit the streets and find out what the people had to say. This is what I learned...

The Muffin was commissioned over 25 years ago as part of a community beautification initiative. Featured on postcards and in tens of thousands of Alaska Highway photographic mementoes, the Muffin image says, "Woohoo! We made it as far as Haines Junction!" In a sense, the Muffin has put Haines Junction on the map.  (Some diligent readers have noted that the mountaineer on the Muffin differs from the Muffin mountaineer on the postcards.  The Muffin received some repairs and restoration in recent years.  The postcards depict the older version of the Muffin.)

The base of the Muffin was created by a crew of carpenters, but Chuck Buchanan (Yukon artist, sculptor, and taxidermist ) and Ronald Bax worked together to make the top of the muffin.

"Ronald Bax was known as a sculptor, taxidermist (the animals on top of the muffin are made with the same foam used in taxidermy), outdoorsman and an expert with guns. Now he's known as a suspected killer. After a long history of marital discord and allegations of spousal abuse, Ronald's wife, Lynn, sought refuge in a shelter for battered women on March 1, 1992. Her only visitor that night was her best friend, Krystal Senyk. Theirs was a close friendship that sources say Bax deeply resented. When Krystal returned to her home at around 11 p.m. someone was lying in wait for her. A single shot from close range left Krystal dead in the doorway of her own home. Ronald Bax vanished immediately and is the only known suspect in the murder."¹

Some say that Bax went into the mountains and killed himself where nobody could find him. Others have said that he's living in the US, possibly around his family in Michigan. Others have rumoured that he's living and hiding in the base of the Muffin. Wherever he is, even a spot on Unsolved Mysteries  couldn't find him.

Thanks to Anonymous for the lead.   It would appear that there's a lot more to the Muffin than meets the eye!



¹Source: RCMP

Canada's Most Ironic Roadside Attraction

What is the purpose of the roadside attraction? By definition, an attraction (from a tourism perspective) is "something that draws visitors by providing something of interest or pleasure."

In other words, it's the coolest thing around so you've just gotta see it!

I love roadside attractions.

They've got a roadside attraction in Haines Junction, Yukon.  Locally, it is referred to affectionately as "the muffin".  I can't imagine why.


I have taken it upon myself to designate the Haines Junction "muffin" as Canada's Most Ironic Roadside Attraction, where irony is defined as "happening in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing wry amusement because of this".

The muffin is an ironic attraction because this is designated as the attraction...



... when these are the views directly across the street.




Which do you think draws the visitors?

A lucky letdown.

I'm in Haines Junction, Yukon. Prior to my trip, I did a bit of web research and booked a place with a kitchenette. One of the downsides of being on restricted diet is that eating at restaurants is... difficult, necessitating accommodations with cooking facilities. Arriving at the hotel where one is booked to discover that they made a "mistake" and have no kitchenettes available makes things even more difficult. (grumble, grumble, grumble)

Tapping into the local knowledge pool only to discover that accommodations with kitchenettes in Haines Junction are "as rare as rocking horse $#!%" was discouraging, and Plan B (commuting back-and-forth between Whitehorse and Haines Junction along elk-infested roads) crossed my mind more than once.

Fortunately, as so often happens, challenging problems force one to investigate better solutions. Digging deeper and deeper, I discovered a solution that even the locals (at least, the ones that I talked to) weren't aware of.

The Kluane Green Sprout B&B is SUPER AWESOME!!!

I'm sure that I'll be kicking myself for letting the word get out but... WOW!

(Photos courtesy of Norris Cheung)

And so, I conclude this post on a speedy Internet connection by the warmth of the fire blazing away in the woodstove by saying, "That was a lucky letdown. It can be so great when things go wrong."