BILLY BISHOP, James Cagney and THIS YALE!

ALL HAIL THIS YALE!!

THE YALE pictured here in the background (3416) of this photograph starred alongside JAMES CAGNEY in his first colour film, "Captains Of The Clouds". Presently on STATIC DISPLAY and somewhat forgotten at the Guelph Airpark…far…far away from those "glory" years~

In fact, there is no marker or signage anywhere near the plane revealing its former fame. This Yale has been hidden away for years (in-between hangars) at the small airpark.

In the film, Brian MacLean (James Cagney) is a bush pilot who becomes drawn into the War by Winston Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech that he hears on the radio. He immediately and enthusiastically enlists in the RCAF. Deemed too old for combat he agrees to become a flight instructor in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

The film was commissioned and filmed under the direction of the RCAF to promote enlistment by qualified pilots (Canadian, American or otherwise) in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. "Captains Of The Clouds" just happens to be the official song of the R.C.A.F. (The Royal Canadian Air Force).

"Captains Of The Clouds" was filmed in Corbeil, Ontario in 1942.

Corbeil IS PRESENTLY home of Lynn Johnston, cartoonist for the world-famous comic strip, "For Better Or For Worse". Lynn and her staff recently had a "Captains Of The Clouds" dress-up party where they dressed up in vintage clothing of that era.

Also starring in the movie was…

Are you sitting down?

Are you ready for this?

NONE OTHER THAN Air Marshal W.A. Bishop!

As HIMSELF!

He is better known to everyone world-wide as the legendary BILLY BISHOP, WW I Canadian Ace with 72 confirmed kills, the HIGHEST of any Commonwealth Ace in WW I. Billy Bishop fought the RED BARON to a "draw" which became one of the few encounters in WW I when two superior aces actually met in the air, and duelled–

LATER, in 1924, and by Royal decree, Mr. Bishop was also charged with the task of setting up the RCAF –

INDEED THOSE WERE heady days…putting together a movie like this…right when Canada was in the middle of WW II!

The lowly Yale is the PRECURSOR to the famous HARVARD with her fixed landing gear and her slower maximum airspeed. The Yale in the foreground was rescued from the infamous Ernie Simmons collection! But that’s a story for another time!

The sound of Yales and Harvards flying solitary, or in formation, was the FIRST SOUND of World War II for the then pilots-in-training.

ALSO, a few squadrons of Yales were captured by the Nazi's in France and were put into service, also as trainers, by the Luftwaffe. Therefore THE YALE became the only aircraft in WW II to serve in squadron strength on both sides of the fray~

FLIGHT 621: Then and Now

MORE about Flight 621.
ALSO: http://homepage.mac.com/friendsofflight621/Menu2.html

And ONE Came Home…this HALIFAX ~

WORK CONTINUES on this WW II Halifax bomber at the RCAF Museum in Trenton, Ontario after she was 750 feet underwater, in Norway…for over 50 years!

Ah…take a breath–

…Out of 37,000 Halifax missions flown in WWII, 29,000 were flown by Canadian flight (Peter Hamilton and Harry Bell were both decorated RCAF Halifax pilots*) crews. Out of over 6,000 Halifax's built, here is the ONLY COMPLETE Halifax, still in existence, in Canada and in fact, North America!!

In 1942, Halifax's were the first ALLIED bombers to bomb Germany in WWII.

This Handley Page Halifax A.VII registration is NA337 / 2P-X.

* More on these guys later.

Dad and Mom.:.::.::..:PROUD CANADIANS≈

THOUGHTS ABOUT CANADA

At Camp Ahmek, I discovered the beauty of my country, and a patriotism not learned in school, or taught from books…
Pierre Elliot Trudeau

Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die.
Pierre Elliot Trudeau

Canada is the linchpin of the English-speaking world.
Sir Winston Churchill

Canada is like your attic, you forget that it's up there, but when you go, it's like "Oh man, look at all this great stuff!"
Unknown

A Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe.
Pierre Burton, historian

Canadians are the people who learned to live without the bold accents of the natural ego-trippers of other lands.
Marshall McLuhan

Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians.
Helen Gordon McPherson

Vive la Canada. This country is not for sale.
Don Sweet

You look at the history -- the aboriginal people welcomed the first settlers here with open arms, fed us and took care of us ... that continues today, we welcome people from all nations to come in and share.
Peter Stoffer

I always thought of this as God's country.
Jack Granatstein

In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of nations, it's cold, half-French, and difficult to stir.
Stuart Keate

It's going to be a great country when they finish unpacking it.
Andrew H. Malcom

I want to thank all the Canadians who came out today to wave to me - with all five fingers!
President George W. Bush (during his first visit to Ottawa Nov. 30, 2004)

There are no limits to the majestic future which lies before the mighty expanse of Canada with its verile, aspiring, cultured, and generous-hearted people.
Sir Winston Churchill

The great themes of Canadian history are as follows: Keeping the Americans out, keeping the French in, and trying to get the Natives to somehow disappear.
Will Ferguson

"Toronto is a kind of New York operated by the Swiss."
Peter Ustinov

Unconsciously, Canadians feel that any people can live where the climate is gentle. It takes a special people to prosper where nature makes it so hard."
Robert MacNeil

"Give me a good canoe, a pair of Jibway snowshoes, my beaver, my family and ten thousand square miles of wilderness and I am happy."
Grey Owl

The Canadians of those days, at least, possessed a roving spirit of adventure which carried them further, in exposure to hardship and danger, than ever the New England colonist went, and led them, though not to clear and colonize the wilderness, yet to range over it as coureurs de bois, or runners of the woods, or, as Hontan prefers to call them, coureurs de risques, runners of risks.
Henry David Thoreau

Canada has never been a melting-pot; more like a tossed salad.
Arnold Edinborough

The enemy must be beaten only to the point where he has no more desire and capability to fight. But a foreign nation must believe that attacking Canada would be like sticking its finger into a buzz saw.
Chris Vokes, Major-General, "Vokes: My War" (1985)

"This tree, which grows in our valleys, on our rocks . . .grows fast, and when it is tall and strong, does not fear storms and overcomes the North wind which is unable to shake it. The maple is the king of our forest; it is the emblem of the Canadian people."
Denis-Benjamin Vig

We're not the public service of Canada, we're not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people.
- Jul 2005 Gen Hillier, Chief of the Defence Staff

I had as comrades in my [World War I army] section men whose names were: Cameron, Kimora, English, Gleidenstein, de Chapin, O'Shaughnessy. We didn't fall in or fall out as Irish Canadians, French Canadians, Dutch Canadians, Japanese Canadians. We wore the same uniform, with the same maple leaf badge, and we were proud to be known as Canadians, to serve as Canadians and to die, if it had to be, as Canadians.
Lester B. Pearson

"If anybody can do it, the Canadians can." -on fighting ability of Canadian troops
Lord Byng

Montreal's not a city. It's a Disney World for alcoholics.
~ Mike Wilmot, comedian

I must say, however, that although Florida may have a more favourable climate than anything I've seen and its soil may be more fruitful, you could hardly hope to find a more beautiful country than Canada.
~ Samuel de Champlain, explorer, "Savages," 1603.

"The good thing about being on tour is getting to go overseas to places like Canada."
Britney Spears

What REALLY Happened To Gerry Matatics?

Gerry, along with his wife, converted to Roman Catholicism about 20 years ago AFTER previously making a solemn pact with fellow Presbyterian Scott Hahn to convert "all Catholics OUT of the Church".

Simple enough.

After studying CATHOLIC THEOLOGY to better "grasp the beast" the dynamic duo eventually converted BECOMING ROMAN CATHOLICS not long after they realized they had been on the wrong side all along!

Fast forward to today.

Scott Hahn, along with Kimberley, his wife (also a theologian), have great ministries within the Church and expanding influence as Catholic scholars and evangelists.

And Gerry?

Don't ask.

After moving about a thousand times, his ministry has struggled through the arduous 3 ever-increasingly Catholic conversions of his! And, all along the way, as Gerry has taken ever increasingly more rigid "stands", his followers have had to abandon his wit (he is knowlegable and funny…and make no mistake…he is no theological lightweight either, so ignore his slight stature!), his charm, and his exegesis, all because of his newly evolved "intellectual honesty".

Gerry CAN'T FIGURE OUT what's happening.

Everything and everybody, is wrong WITHIN the Roman Catholic Church! Even the Pope!! The POPE? The See of Peter: vacant! (We love our German Shepard, by the way!). Fantastical, BUT TRUE!! Gerry dearly wants to be saved, and NO ONE is going to trick him and take that salvation away from him! Not that "tricky" Pope…and not God!!

Gerry's problems may have originated with his Hal Lindsey style "fuzzy" thinking. Always trying to set a time frame for that elusive "end of time" event and the apocalyptic "crisis" leading up to that event (although Jesus warned against that type of unecessary anxiousness and fixation) Gerry has sifted and sifted only to yield nothing! (Just live right today, you…yourself, should be one's priority and one needn't worry about all other developments.) So are we in that final generation?

Gerry sees signs. For a long time now.

As Gerry burns one bridge to the past after another, he finds himself in the company of other fringe Catholics even more SCRUPULOUS and weird than himself! He will though, point out the distinctions between himself and those less "enlightened" others–

Not fit to lead, and not fit to follow…Gerry stands alone. And he won't leave the Church because he knows that's what all the schismatics and heretics have done historically…and he knows he joins their rants if he does.

Scott, his forgotten buddy from so long ago, prays for him I'm sure…but likely won't "touch him with a 10-foot pole". Forgetting the parable of the "Wheat and Chaff", Gerry wants a perfect assembly of the Church right here and now, today, although Jesus said the sorting for the Kingdom must come later.

Oh dear.

Gerry, you sir, are beyond arrogant. Sorry, but it just had to be said~ INVINCIBLE IGNORANCE? Perhaps. You don't trust God, friend. And you REALLY NEED to take a hard look at "how you look and how you sound" to others, and especially to that "household of faith."

Yelling at Karl Keating. Good grief!

GOD will clear up differing theological interpretations for all of us, at the appointed time. IT IS for another generation to advance even farther in our understanding of God, the Scriptures and the Church. No doubt there is a lot wrong with the Church presently, but each man must be responsible for his own salvation, and you were never meant to micromanage the lives of others through "detailitis". So let go, and please let God…

Many parishoners have been evangelized by the world and their need to be brought "home" again goes unserved because some, like yourself, appointed and specially gifted to address this "malaise" spiritually (and creatively) have "coughed the puck" and for the most part have "left the building".

I hope it was worth it.

And your conclusions about the Church, the Pope and the Liturgy are way off, and the present state of the Church is no where near as catastrophic as you are proclaiming. He who isn't building friend, is dividing, because really…there is no neutrality…nothing…in the middle.

If you were in the right place before God, you could have achieved the desired result, in silence…and won everybody back, a long, long time ago.

Gerry right now is so "drunk" with his own arrogance, that he hasn't even, or won't even, entertain the "far-fetched" idea that maybe he has gotten himself seriously, and we do mean seriously folks, off course! And he has lead others to fall down that same well!! Even his own wife and kids!!!

Once more: Gerry right now is so "drunk" with his own arrogance, that he hasn't even, or won't even, entertain the "far-fetched" idea that maybe he has gotten himself seriously, and we do mean seriously folks, off course! And he has lead others fall down that same well!! Even his own wife and kids!!!

When John Calvin preached his "malicious" version of God and salvation to a small French town, the listeners were spellbound and horrified! On the verge of despair, the townspeople wondered why God would even want to save them!?

One Frenchman who wasn't overwhelmed by Calvin's preaching told the larger-than-life John Calvin that he had something to show him. So John followed the man. A short distance later, the man stopped, and motioned to a ladder leaning against a wall.

“There you go, now take that ladder and climb to heaven alone!” the man said.

Then the man turned and walked away.

(Gerry…do we need to get you…a ladder?)

Catholics…everybody…pray for Gerry! We really do need a miracle here!! WE NEED Gerry to return to the frontlines of Catholic evangelization, and NOT STAY on the sidelines chasing incomplete visions, searching, scanning frantically for what is only partially true.

We know enraged Gerry won't return because he has always been somewhat of a "lone wolf", living that "lone" dynamic, and he won't recognize the authority of the Church, and that is why he has always remained aloof from it, co-operating with it only when it has been to his advantage.

There are legitimate ways to raise one's concerns with Rome, friend.

And Gerry, there are others within the Church as dedicated to the flock as you are–

Like all "rebels" Gerry is looking for attention, and while he "appears" to want complete autonomy…what he really wants is to be put in his place.

But like all fastidioius "nerds" he really can't help himself! And review, discipline or rebuke by the Church is what he really needs…THAT IS…the most loving thing she can do.

‘nuff said≈

Peggy Yvonne Middleton (Yvonne De Carlo)

HEARD THIS first from Debbie Schlussel. See my FAVS for the link. Or see: http://www.debbieschlussel.com/

Yvonne De Carlo was born Peggy Yvonne Middleton on September 1, 1922, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Died January 10, 2007 at 84. Rest in peace Peggy.

Wife of Moses (The 10 Commandments).

Mrs. Lillian Munster (The Addams Family).

THE FIRST well known busty Canadian? Definitely one, with a lot more class, than the present-day busty Canadian.

(We all know who that is)

JESUS ::::: The Wounded Healer

– The Secret of How God Heals –

God heals one person…calls another to repentance, just shakes hands with yet another person, and only waves to still another.

Someone asked God once…”Why don’t YOU heal everyone?”

His reply was really very simple.

God can heal anyone. He wants to heal everyone. Not everyone, however, wants to be healed. No…not everyone wants to be healed. So, some discernment is quite necessary.

And so God heals Charlie, calls Alison to repentence, says hello to Joe, waves to Leanne, and so on…

The Way We Were ::: 1957 ::: CANADA

The ROLL-OUT of the CF-105 Avro Arrow…here again at the Toronto Aerospace Museum in 2006~

AVRO CANADA was "wrapped up" very quickly after PM Diefenbaker cancelled the Arrow interceptor and Iroquois engine programmes. Former Avro employees were sought out immediately, by eager American and British aerospace employers. THESE VERY ex-Avro Canada engineers went on to produce Lougheed, McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing aircraft, the Concorde and then THEY PUT America in space!

Yup…Diefenbaker's irrational posturing (with Crawford Gordon, President of AVRO CANADA in 1959) and final decisive stupidity, set ALL THAT, Canada's first BRAIN DRAIN, in motion.

NEWLY-ELECT Prime Minister Diefenbaker, who preached "a brave new world" as his campaign promise…in the end, completely lacked ANY VISION or bravery whatsoever.

FOREVER TO BE REMEMBERED, as that "small town prairie lawyer" who rose to the occasion, at that defining moment, so drunk with "newfound" power and who so enraged, deliriously and maliciously, demanded an end to our (AVRO CANADA's) momentous cutting-edge, and preeminent aerospace achievements…and We…WE, the slumbering citizens of Canada, just as lost for letting him shamefully end it!

EVERY TIME I think of this needless and HORRENDOUS aviation tragedy, the death of the Arrow interceptor and the Iroquois engine projects, how close we came, I get so mad…DAMN IT…I don't know what to do!!!!!!

You'd think the years would lessen the blow!

Nope.

IF THIS reflective RAGE doesn't still consume you…even now…well then, you just can't be all that Canadian~

:::LOUD and LOW::::::

…the RCAF during WW II!