Chocolate cake, not Quinoa.
Happy Birthday Abraham. Abraham comes from a society and culture without any of the soft comforts we take for granted; electricity for starters. (Add showers, home heating, cars and any of the convenient devices close to you at this moment.) Facebook may have him profiled and algorithm-ed now, but I’m certain that his last fifteen birthdays stand in vivid contrast to the hoopla of today; indeed he told us that birthdays pass unacknowledged at home.
(Editors Note: More photos of Abraham's birthday are on the club website - top menu > photo albums)
So to be feted the way he was at this morning’s meeting and later in the day at a party at Owen and Nima’s house must have been just the latest in a never-ending torrent of cultural contrasts.
So here’s the thing, Abraham is an unassuming young man of humble roots and we have seen his head-on approach to the challenges of the exchange: of adapting to a wildly different culture of extravagance and wealth, of embracing English as a Second Language, and emerging as a very talented student of math and physics. He’s here as a testament to the good Rotarians of Lima who scouted him and saw the potential in a 14 year-old Quechua with a lineage probably going back hundreds of generations on Amantani Island.
Try Googling his island home of Amantani, read the little profile on Wikipedia, and then click on Images. Setting aside the many shots of tourists, looking silly most of them, and you’ll get some idea of the gulf between Burlington and Amantani.
Once we’d got over Abraham and his celebration we learned:
That we’re scheduled for a sweat-equity tree-planting event on April 28th;
That the regular meeting of April 26 will include a review of changes to the club’s by-laws and constitution – and a call for a vote thereon;
That Jim Brindle is building an on-line archive of club history and;
That there is an evening get together on April 11th at Bara Fionn Tapas and Barrel https://www.barrafion.ca/ 1505 Guelph Line.
Our guest speaker was Brantford’s Zig Misiak who has written five books on First Nations, Inuit and Metis. In addition to providing curriculum and related support to schools in Ontario and other parts of Canada, Zig’s mission is to familiarize, coach, present, and mentor all those who share his interest in history. He was very clear stating that he speaks about, but not for, the Native Nations.
Zig is also a re-enactor of historic events involving War of 1812 skirmishes and a restaurateur of One Duke Restaurant and Lounge on Duke St. Hamilton and in the role of purveyor of fine food takes part in Lakeside a la Carte.
Zig gave us a bits and pieces account of some of the history and realities of the life and times of indigenous Haudenosaunee who through generations of attempted assimilation hold fast to their cultures and traditions. Zig recalled Tonto, aka Jay Silverheels but born Harold Preston Smith in 1912 as a local Mohawk.
Zig was a bit pressed for time but showed a few slides including a map showing the original lands of the six Nations:, the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida Mohawk and Wenro, 820,000 acres, across what is now upstate New York and now confined to a small slice of territory, 42,000 acres, along the Grand River.
I have to confess to finding the Iroquois, Europeans, them-us-them, War of 1812 history all a bit muddling and (like much of history) decorated with often distorted and romanticized accounts. Zig helped me a bit and (digressing) I have to say that one of the best books I’ve read in a while is The Once and Future Great Lakes Country, an account of nature, use and occupation of the lands around the Lower Great Lakes- but that’s’ just me.
P Scribe.
