Note: Transcripts may contain errors. If you wish to re-use all, or part of, a transcript, please contact CBC for permission. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print. Copyright © CBC 2017

The AIH Transcript for December 19, 2017

Hosts: Carol Off and Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe

STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE

Prologue

CAROL OFF: Hello, I'm Carol Off.

ANGELINE TETTEH-WAYOE: Good evening. I'm Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

ATW: Tonight…

CO: Tragedy and intrigue. Billionaire philanthropist Barry Sherman and his wife Honey were found dead in their home. Homicide investigators aren't saying much about what killed them but her friend believes it was murder.

ATW: Emergency, emergency, emergency, we are on the ground. A passenger train derails over a Washington state highway leaving one neighbour to wonder whether his safety concerns went unheard.

CO: Catching it with a whiff. It began when her husband started to smell a bit off. But now scientists hope to turn a Scottish woman's nose for Parkinson's into a tool to diagnose the disease.

ATW: Surprise. An Australian town gets all gussied up to celebrate its 150^th anniversary, only to find out they'd missed their own birthday — by years.

CO: Better not call her a backup singer. We remember Keely Smith the woman whose uncanny cool turned her centre stage performances with the wild Louis Prima into the hottest thing on the Vegas strip

ATW: And… What the Dickens? We revisit Christmases of As It Happens past with a repeat call to test the Yuletide abilities of the University of Illinois Dial-A-Carol service. As It Happens: The Monday edition. Radio that figures we might just give them a jingle again sometime.

[Music: Theme]

Part 1: Sherman Deaths, Amtrak Derailment, Australian Town Anniversary

Sherman Deaths

Guest: Murray Sherman

ATW: The deaths of Barry and honey Sherman have left people bewildered — perhaps no one more than their friends. As you may have heard on the news, the billionaire couple were found dead in their Toronto home on Friday. Police now say that they died from ligature neck compression and that the homicide unit is investigating — but they aren't calling their deaths homicides yet. Mr. Sherman founded the generic drug company Apotex and is one of Canada's richest people. He and Honey were generous philanthropists, donating millions to charity. Murray Rubin was a longtime friend of Barry and Honey Sherman. We reached him in Toronto.

CO: Mr. Rubin, first of all I'm sorry for the loss of your friends.

MURRAY RUBIN: Yes, I am very sorry.

CO: What have you been thinking about since you heard about their deaths?

MR: You know, when you get to my age — I’m 87 — you begin to lose people who are contemporaries but you have to accept it.

CO: But to have a violent death to end your life is just something different isn’t it?

MR: It's very different. This death is not predictable and it's very disturbing. I knew immediately when the police said it's murder-suicide, they were way off target.

CO: And why is that? There's other family members, lots of people who knew the Barry and Honey Sherman, say that's preposterous that that would be the case.

MR: Of course. You have to know Barry and Honey, well honey especially love being involved. Barry was the smartest person I ever met. He graduated in aeronautical physics at the top of his class and got involved with his Uncle Lou Winter’s business. And Barry made Apotex because he was such a clever guy. I don't know, are you were aware how drugs are patented?

CO: Well, he had found a way of doing it that was able to build Apotex.

MR: That's right. You don't patent a drug, you patent a way of making it. And he took a drug that was patented and found a new way of making it. That took a very, very bright guy, and he did it — and he did it over and over again.

CO: And he was able to build a business into the billions. But he's most famous, not for all the money he made, but for all the money he gave away.

MR: Oh of course. I was there, I believe for his 50^th birthday that Honey made for him, and she bought him a new convertible car. And he came out and he looked at it and he said “give it back.” He didn't even remotely live what he earned. He loved his work. He loved making a difference, giving the money away for good charities.

CO: At the same time, I mean, he was a very generous man, but he was a fighter wasn't he? And he had he could have as many as 100 lawsuits going on.

MR: I'll tell you something he loved the lawsuits because it challenged his ability. He made drugs in a new way and the patent holders would try and prove it wasn't new.

CO: Did he have enemies?

MR: Well I was a good friend for close to, I guess, 60 years. And I knew he was involved in lawsuits but I never believed that the people he was involved with would take steps. I'll be honest with you, I have no idea who could do this, but obviously somebody just hated him — not only him Honey too.

CO: You’re sure that he was murdered — he and Honey were murdered?

MR: Let me tell you, I am absolutely confident that he was murdered. Barry would not harm a fly. He wasn't physical, and Honey loved what she was doing. And Barry is quite open, he was open with me. He ever told me that any problems with Honey that would be murder-suicide. I think it is completely out of character.

CO: Well the police are saying that the circumstances of their deaths appear to be suspicious, that's a quote. But they also say they're not looking for any suspects and that there was no sign of forced entry into their house. What do you make of that?

MR: Let me explain something, Barry's house was not secure with guards and things like that, it wasn't his style.

CO: The door was open?

MR: The door was closed. But if you went to the door and rang the bell — I believe they had a woman there in the daytime — but if you went and rang the bell the door would open.

CO: He had some cousins who were not happy with him and launched a lawsuit against him.

MR: Barry told me, now I have no confirmation of this, he gave them millions and they blew the money. But I met them, I don't believe that this guy, I say he's in his 50s, would go to this length. He lost that case, you know.

CO: Well the judge ruled that the claimed interest in Apotex was wishful thinking and beyond fanciful.

MR: That's right. Barry was a giver. If he had any idea that he owed to the kids he would have looked after it, and he did. But Barry had so much that they felt they were entitled to much more.

CO: What will the loss of Barry and Honey Sherman mean to the community?

MR: I'll tell you, it is devastating for the Jewish community. But it's devastating for universities, it’s devastating for a community charities and it's sad that that's such good people would die in such a manner. It makes me very, very sad. They're going to be missed by Canada, period.

CO: Mr. Rubin, again, I'm so sorry for the loss of your friends and I appreciate you speaking with us tonight. Take care.

MR: Bye, bye.

ATW: Murray Rubin was a longtime friend of Barry and Honey Herman. We reached him in Toronto. Berry and Honey Sherman were found dead in their Toronto home on Friday. Police are investigating the death as suspicious.

[Music: Jazz]

Amtrak Derailment

Guest: David Anderson

ATW: It was day one of a new high speed train route between Seattle and Portland — then the unthinkable happened. Today during the morning rush hour, an Amtrak train derailed near Olympia Washington. One of the passenger cars was left dangling from an overpass over a busy highway. Other cars uncoupled from the train entirely and crashed to the ground. Officials say there are multiple fatalities. Here are descriptions of the crash, first from the train crew to 911 dispatchers, and then from a passenger.

SOUNDCLIP

TRAIN CREW MEMBER: Amtrak 501. Emergency, emergency, emergency, we are on the ground.

911 DISPATCHER: Hey guys, what happened?

TCM: We were coming around the corner to the bridge over I-5 there right north of Nisqually and we went on the ground.

AMTRAK PASSENGER: All of a sudden we were slammed to the seats in front of us. The car careened down an embankment. We could hear and feel the cars crumbling and breaking apart. There was a lot of dust all over the place. We had to kick out the emergency window. There were multiple people injured — cuts, people bleeding.

ATW: David Anderson lives in Lakewood, a city north of where the derailment happened this morning. Mr. Anderson had raised safety concerns about the new Amtrak route. He's the president of a community association for the Lakewood neighbourhood called Tillicum. We reached Mr. Anderson in Lakewood, Washington.

CO: David, when you heard the news about this Amtrak train derailment what went through your mind?

DAVID ANDERSON: I have just one reaction, I mean there are a lot of questions that will need to be asked and answered as the days unfold. But my goodness our tiny community of Tillicum, which is just north of the accident scene, the train came through here first and we have long protested that development because of the safety issue. And then to find out the very first train, on the very first day of the inaugural run should not only derail, but people would die. We grieve for those families who now must make a phone call to find out about the condition of their loved ones.

CO: And of the around 80 people who were on the train, 77 were taken to hospital. And they are saying multiple deaths, we don't have a complete count yet. But the reason why we wanted to talk to you is because of what you've just mentioned, that you were part of a community effort to prevent this train from happening — this new line that has gone through, this new route. And what were your concerns? What did you and the community believe or fear might happen?

DA: Safety is always any community’s number one priority and especially when 14 high speed 79-miles-per-hour trains run through our community, beginning today. And we had obvious safety concerns about that because our one square mile of very poor people have no way out of town except across the tracks — that’s the only way in and the only way out. We were united in opposing this train because across the railroad tracks is a middle school. The only way many of these students get to school is walking. Those trains come through that grade crossing, that is there's no separation between track and traffic.

CO: We also heard the mayor of your city, Don Anderson, just over a week ago he was saying the same thing about the safety concerns of this route. And he actually said something quite chilling, he said “Come back when there is that accident and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens.” Is that what he was referring to, something similar to what we've seen today?

DA: Oh my goodness. Who could have anticipated as tragic an accident. I mean, oftentimes the argument is heard that well someone was hit on the tracks and the response often is well stay off the tracks. But who could have anticipated a disaster of such proportion as this. So 14 miles of track had been laid, 191 million dollars had been spent. And so for Amtrak Washington State Department of Transportation, at that point to come back and say oh “Mr. Mayor, you're right we will reconsider our safety measures.” That's not going to happen, it's too late. But nevertheless, it was a statement worth making because that's the position the city and our community has argued from day one. This was an eventuality.

CO: I'm sure that Mayor Anderson, your mayor, is not happy to have been someone who predicted it. It's just, it's just as you say, much larger than anyone could have anticipated. You heard in the 911 dispatch tape that he was rounding the curve when it happened. What concerns were there about the speed and the direction the train would take over some of these overpasses.

DA: That's a good question, and an answer will be forthcoming, no doubt, from the powers that be. Miles and miles, days and days, even weeks and months of testing had been allegedly held by those trains. So how this could have happened on a curve, on a bridge over the freeway, is beyond comprehension.

CO: Is that one of the questions you're going to have, people are going to have, about what tests were actually done to make sure this line was safe?

DA: Oh, yes that is the elephant in the room. What tests were done? How is this possible? Because it's unconscionable for a train going that fast to not have tested that bridge and that curve at that speed.

CO: The other thing that Mayor Anderson said that this was a project that was never needed. It seemed that the reason Amtrak wanted this was to shorten the trip that passengers would make on this route by 10 minutes. Was there a demand for some kind of a faster train to get people to their destination?

DA: No there is no demand. It is a railroaded, to use that word, issue. Because some stimulus dollars were available the money was spent. The need was not they substantiated. In the lawsuit the city had against the Washington State Department of Transportation. That is a statement by Washington Department of Transportation that 80 per cent of their passengers were leisure based. Meanwhile, they are bypassing what amounts to a parking lot, otherwise known as Interstate 5, that is the economic lifeline of our state and of our region. And Amtrak pushes this project through so people can go shopping.

CO: You have been fighting against this train, your community attempted to sue the Washington State Department of Transportation to try and stop this project. This must be just a very difficult day for you.

DA: It is a difficult day. And this is not I told you so, it is not. This is a tragedy that should never, ever have happened. The needed was not substantiated, it was a money bought propaganda project. And now we have families that will never, ever outlives us.

CO: David, we'll leave it there. Sorry that this has happened to your community it’s just an awful tragedy but thank you for speaking with us.

DA: Thanks for calling.

ATW: David Anderson is the president of his local neighborhood association in the city of Lakewood, Washington. That's about 40 kilometres north of Olympia where an Amtrak train derailed this morning. We reached Mr. Anderson in Lakewood. For more on this story go to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Lo-Fi Ambient Bass]

Australian Town Anniversary

Guest: Annie Liston

ATW: It was a milestone they were really looking forward to but they were looking in the wrong direction. For most of this year the Australian town of Charleville has been busy planning for its 150^th birthday next year, but they weren't sure what exact date they should celebrate on. So they called up the Department of Natural Resources, and that's when the party planners experienced some party pooping. Annie Liston is the mayor of Charleville. That's where we reached her.

CO: Mayor Liston, your town recently received some surprising news. What did you discover about your birthday?

MAYOR ANNIE LISTON: OK, so well we thought that 150th year was 2018, and about six months ago we had a couple of historians researching this, and one comes back and says that it was 2015, so we've actually missed our 150^th year.

[LAUGHTER]

CO: How did you react when you got that news?

AL: We were a little bit shocked because we'd done, you know, a certain amount of preparation getting ready for 2018. We hadn't gone and, you know, allocated funding or anything like that but we'd certainly said it’s 2018 we'll start working on it in really January 2017 and that's when we did and we then we got the call to saying ‘you've missed it.’ We were a little bit shocked to say the least.

CO: It's a bit of a drag to find out that you're older than you really are.

AL: It is isn’t it, but, you know what, that won't affect us too much because we'll just celebrate our 153^rd birthday.

[LAUGHTER]

CO: Not enough is made of a 153^rd birthdays, too much is made about 150^th.

AL: There's not a lot, as you said, made about the 153^rd so let’s do it that way.

CO: How did you get it wrong?

AL: Well, actually we lost all our data in the flood. We had a big flood here in 1990, so all our data was gone. And there was a couple of historians that were researching it and they had conflicting research and we believed that it was the 2018, like I said, but then when there was concern that it was 2015 we said well we missed it.

CO: Was there anything else you can celebrate, anything else that's 150 years old in Charleville?

AL: Now there's not probably anything else. We've got our railway station that's a 130 next year and also we have a big Bilby festival it in September, so we must combine the two of those together. We've got the events staff working on it at this moment. So we'll have something, you can rest assured that, and it'll be celebrating and it will be a big party. So, you know, we'll just work towards that now.

CO: Now what's Charleville’s claim to fame?

AL: Well, we've got beautiful skies, we've got bilbies, we've got a lot of history here. We've got the World War II top secret, we've got heaps of things in Charleville.

CO: I understand that Charleville is world famous for getting its birthday wrong.

AL: You're not wrong, I couldn't have paid for all of this publicity, it's wonderful.

CO: How far and wide of people been calling you?

AL: The UK, Germany, New Zealand, Sydney, Longridge. It's come from everywhere, I'm telling you. But it's been wonderful, and I'm like I’m going to say to you, please come to Charleville and have a look for yourself. It's a wonderful little community.

CO: And help you celebrate your 153^rd birthday.

AL: 153 birthday, that’s correct.

[LAUGHTER]

CO: So how will you celebrate? What are the festivities?

AL: Well, like I said, we'll combine it with something and now that we've got the date and we know that’s definitely the date — we've missed it — but we'll still celebrate in 2018, I think probably that September. So we’ll start working on that as soon as we get back in January. It'll all come together well.

CO: Maybe they're wrong still, maybe you'll find out it’s different date altogether.

[LAUGHTER]

AL: Maybe, who knows, but it’s only a date. Does it really matter if we celebrate the 153^rd or we celebrate the 150^th.

CO: And you're only as old as you feel.

AL: That's right. That's right. I feel very young.

CO: Mayor Liston, happy celebration happy 153^rd birthday, and thanks for speaking with us.

AL: Thank you for your call. We will have a great day.

CO: Bye, bye.

ATW: That was Annie Liston, mayor of Charleville in Queensland, Australia and that's where we reached her. For more on this story go to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

Part 2: Parkinson's Smell, Dial-A-Carol

Parkinson’s Smell

Guest: Joy Milne

ATW: For decades Parkinson's disease has only been diagnosed when its symptoms start to show. There is no specific test for the degenerative neurological disorder but Joy Milne might be the key to changing all that. The retired nurse can detect Parkinson's disease before symptoms even are observable — using her nose. Ms. Milne can smell Parkinson's disease. Now she's working with a team of scientists to identify what it is she's smelling and turn that into an early diagnostic test for Parkinson's. We reached Joy Milne in Perth, Scotland.

CO: Joy what does Parkinson's disease smell like?

JOY MILNE: It's a very heavy, oily, musky smell. It's not like the musk of a plant. It is definitely an animal musk.

CO: And when was the first time you detected this odour?

JM: My husband was about 32-33 and I started saying to him “You're smelling, you're not showing enough.” But that wasn't the case. And in the end he became quite annoyed with me and I just had to be quiet.

CO: I guess telling your husband that he smells this kind of hard, isn't it?

JM: Yes.

CO: And you stopped mentioning it but the smell didn't go away.

JM: No. It got better once he was diagnosed with Parkinson's at 45 and he went on to medication, it did get better. But each time the medication wasn't strong enough it came back again.

CO: When did you finally start to think that this smell, this musky odour that you detected, was somehow related to his disease?

JM: We went to a Parkinson's meeting and we got home and I sat him down and I said to him, we had a cup of tea and I said to him, “Those other people smelled the same as you, in that room.” And he just looked at me and he said “What are you talking about? And I said “The other people who had Parkinson's smelled exactly the same as you.” Now being a doctor he looked at me as if to say ‘well this is strange.’ It was monthly meetings so he says “We’ll have to go back next month.” So we went back next month and there it was, but as I went round the room speaking to people I could tell who was not being controlled and who he was.

CO: And when did doctors, scientists start to discover that you had this ability? I mean, it must have been, they must have thought you were crazy when you told them that you could detect this odour?

JM: Well, my husband and I — with me being a nurse and him being a doctor — we decided not to just blurt it out. We decided to look at the various meetings that were going to be in Scotland, and we looked up to Tilo Kunath and we thought, yes this is the person to actually stand up and say it. And I stood up after his lecture and I said “Why are we not using the smell of Parkinson's to diagnose it early?” There was total silence, and he didn't understand first so I had to repeat it and we soon got into the research.

CO: We spoke when this story first came to light that you had this unusual ability. We spoke with Dr. Tilo Kunath and about this and this extraordinary discovery that yes you could in fact tell with Parkinson's disease smelled like. What was the test because it was a bit about that? How did they test your ability?

JM: Well, he decided it would be t-shirts to start off with. And so we cut the t-shirts up and I said “No, no it's not sweat, it's round the neck and forehead in the hair.” So we took the top of the t shirts and I smelled them and put them in. I decided to do them in five different levels because I could, by then, differentiate the different levels within the illness. But there was one t-shirt who I insisted the man had Parkinson's, and Tilo said “No, no he's in the control group.”

CO: And what became of that?

JM: But five, six months later Bill phoned up and said “I've got Parkinson's, so what did she see in the testing?” And Tilo realized I had been right.

CO: So this is one Dr. Kunath realized that, not only could you detect Parkinson's on people who had been diagnosed, but even before they had been diagnosed you could tell. This was a breakthrough wasn't it?

JM: Yes, that was the main breakthrough, and yes, they took it very seriously.

CO: Now since then — that was in 2015 that we last covered this story — how have researchers used your skills since then to try to come up with a diagnosis for Parkinson's?

JM: Tilo went to Professor Perdita Barran, she now has the professorship of spectrometry in Manchester and we went through the whole process of me having to smell different bags, medical bags and swabs. And we Perdita only thought she would — she was hoping to get about 200 and 50 swabs, but I have to say the neurological clinics, plus the Parkinson's communities all over Britain really stood up and we had over 800 swabs.

CO: Now they have actually identified what, they know the molecules that actually may be that — can you explain?

JM: Yes, we’re down to the last ten molecules.

CO: Wow. Could they have identified that — do you think that they would have been able to get this far had it not been for your understanding through smell?

JM: No, I don't. We had a lot of mail from people from all over the world. There was a nurse who had told the doctors that he could smell it, he was totally ignored. But the most, the most stunning one is Dr. David Creston a cardiologist, he described what I am smelling on a paeper and it was ignored — that was in 1927.

CO: This identity of the molecules that has come with your extraordinary olfactory sense. What does that actually mean for people with Parkinson's disease? What does it mean for detection of this disease?

JM: Well, Perdita is hoping that she will be able to manufacture a swab, a simple swab, that will go into general practice, and she will also be able to design and build a small spectrometer that could be in clinics and hospitals.

CO: Did your late husband Les know the work you were doing with Parkinson's research?

JM: He did, he was very, very keen on it. And he made me promise — he knew he was dying — he made me promise that I would do it. He said “Don't let them defeat you. Keep going.”

CO: Joy, it's just a pleasure to speak with you, I appreciate it. Thank you.

JM: That is a pleasure. Thank you.

ATW: Joy Milne is in Perth, Scotland. To learn more about her remarkable smelling skills go to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Upbeat Orchestra]

Cree Elder Obit

ATW: When Sarah Harper was born in 1906, her community of Oxford House in northern Manitoba hadn't even been recognized yet. The treaty wouldn't be signed until 1909. But through her years in northern Manitoba, Sarah Harper was an active member of her community. The respected Manitoba Cree elder died on Saturday at the age of 111, and she may well be the oldest Indigenous person in Canada. Ms. Harper spent most of her life in Oxford House, which is also known as the Bunibonibee Cree Nation. The community is nearly 600 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. It's where she's being remembered as an active and smiling woman by community members and by her family. She was a great grandmother, and spent the last 40 years as a widow. Barb Dumas says Ms. Harper's granddaughter. She remembered Sarah Harper to CBC Manitoba.

SOUNDCLIP

BARB DUMAS: I have fond memories of her when we were young. She was a hardworking woman because my grandpa died in the early 70s. She did everything herself. We would go out with her in the bush, we would cross a little lake, a little pond and into the bush, and she would chop down trees for wood and me and my cousin used to go with there or my brother. She’s finish and and tie her up logs to her sleigh and we’d head back home. And she would give us rides, she wouldn’t mind giving us rides on her sleigh, we’d all take turns riding. You know, she took really good care of us as children like her grandkids and she would go to every house, like my aunties’ or our house she would, especially at night, she would go count heads and if one was missing she'd go out looking, you know, we were growing up.

ATW: That was Barb Dumas, the granddaughter of Sarah Harper, speaking to CBC Manitoba. Sarah Harper, a well-known Manitoba Cree elder, died on Saturday. She was 111.

[Music: Piano Ballad]

Dial-A-Carol

Guest: Stephanie Tipton

ATW: Back in 2015, at this time of year, you may remember hearing some students on the show singing Silent Night. We reached them by calling a 24-hour phone line at the University of Illinois. It's called Dial- A-Carol, and in the spirit of the holidays we decided we'd call up that number again.

DIAL-A-CAROL: Happy Holidays from Dial-A-Carol. We are very excited to answer your call. Please note that depending on call volume it may take up to 15 minutes to answer your call. Please have your name, location and the carol you would like to hear ready when we answer. If you get disconnected please try calling us back later. We thank you for your patience as we are busy caroling.

[HOLD MUSIC]

STEPHANIE TIPTON: This is Stephanie Tipton from Dial-A-Carol at the University of Illinois.

CO: Hi Stephanie, how are you?

ST: I'm doing great — lots of calls around midday.

[LAUGHTER]

CO: How many calls have you had already for a carol?

ST: So far we've had 5,795 calls total.

CO: Now what are the favourite carols that people call for?

ST: Well, when it's kids calling we get a lot of requests for Jingle Bells and for Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. But a lot of times adults will call and ask for All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, which is why we have a Mariah-meter for how many times we get asked for that. We've had 410 requests so far.

CO: So how many people are actually doing the carol singing?

ST: Well around the weekend and everything, we can have up to 10 volunteers around, but right now it's just me doing the caroling.

CO: You're a student, right?

ST: Uh huh.

CO: So how do you balance your carol singing with your work at school?

ST: The first night I was here actually brought my Shakespeare book downstairs and just studied in-between calls.

CO: How did that go? Were you doing that all night?

ST: I was downstairs from midnight to 5:00 a.m. And it was really, really fun.

CO: Why is the university doing this? Why are you doing this?

ST: Well, it's been a tradition at our dorm for 57 years now that just sort of grew and grew as the years went by. And we think it helped spread holiday cheer during what can be a pretty chaotic time for a lot of people.

CO: What do you say to those who think that singing Christmas carols is kind of annoying — there are a lot of bah humbugs out there.

ST: I'd say call a different number.

[LAUGHTER]

CO: And so does everyone who calls in a Christmas carol? Do you get other kinds — do you get crank calls?

ST: Oh, we do. I got someone earlier who is pretending to be Barack Obama.

CO: Really? And what did you say to him — what if it was? How do you know it wasn't Barack Obama?

ST: Because he said his name was Mr. Rogers for some reason.

CO: At what point did he say he was really Barack Obama?

ST: He didn't. He was just doing a very poor impression of him.

[LAUGHTER]

CO: So somebody called in trying to mimic the voice of Barack Obama and said he was Mr. Rogers.

ST: We get a lot of interesting calls like that.

CO: That's weird. Anyway, of course people want us to ask you to sing a carol for us. So what would you like to sing?

ST: Oh man I like all of them. I could do Walking in a Winter Wonderland if you want.

CO: We have a producer who wants you to sing Mele Kalikimaka.

ST: Oh I could do that.

CO: OK. There we go.

ST: Just one second. Let me pull it up.

CO: This is like the Bing Crosby song.

ST: Ready?

CO: Absolutely.

ST: Mele Kalikimaka is this thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day. that's the island greeting that we send to you, from the land palm trees sway. Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright. The sun will shine by day and all the stars at night. Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii’s way to say Merry Christmas to you.

CO: Lovely. Stephanie, Merry Christmas to you too.

ST: Thank you. Happy holidays to you guys, have a great day.

CO: You too. Bye.

ATW: That was Stephanie Tipton manning the Dial-A-Carol line at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne.

[Music: Whimsical Orchestra]

Aline Griffith Obit

ATW: She was a model from suburban New York, but during the Second World War she became a spy, infiltrating a small circle of social elites in Spain, many of whom had ties to Nazi Germany. Aline Griffith died last week in Madrid. She was 94 years old. Ms. Griffith was recruited by what would become the CIA, as the U.S. entered World War II. At 21 she was sent to Madrid, going by the code name Tiger. Her cover story was as a young American model from a rich family who was looking for a good time. And during her time in Spain she mingled with aristocrats, bullfighters and actors, all the while trying to uncover ties to the Nazis. Once the war ended Ms. Griffith gave up her espionage career when she met the man she would marry, the Count of Romanones. Back in 1987, Ms. Griffith spoke to the CBC's Vicki Gabereau about her book The Spy Who Wore Red. Here's part of that conversation.

SOUNDCLIP

ALINE GRIFFITH: When I was recruited for OSS it happened all by accident. I happened to be trying to get into anything that would take me overseas to be in the war. My two eldest brothers were in the war. All the boys I knew in college were in the war and I just didn't see why I wasn't as capable as they of facing the dangers and enjoying some of the excitement. And I went on a blind date one night with another girl who was modeling with me and mentioned how much I wanted to get into something overseas, and one of the men there had just come back from Europe. I did not know that he was the head of secret intelligence for the Iberian Peninsula, which is Portugal and Spain together. And when he heard me saying that I wanted to get in the war he said “That's rather foolish. You young girls may think it's glamorous. Wartime is dangerous and threatening in many ways.” And I explained to him that I thought why couldn't I take that as long as my brothers were doing the same thing. Anyhow, he said, “You may hear from me,” and that's really how it all occurred and I was recruited. But when I was recruited the OSS gave me a very good cover for my family, for example when I was being sent in the spy school in Washington, they told me to say I was accepting a job in the war department. And I was giving given a number and an address where they could reach me — I mean a telephone number. And although they said you will not be there that will reach you. And then when I went overseas I was given the cover of belonging to the American oil mission. Now my mother imagined, and my father also, that I was doing some kind of office work in that oil mission. My mother was very strict, so she took my story, as true, did not like the idea that I was going overseas to work in the war effort. But they never had any doubt or any thought of my being in espionage work because the explanations that I was able to give were quite convincing.

ATW: Aline Griffith in conversation with Vicki Gabereau in 1987. Ms. Griffith died last week. She was 94.

[Music: Ambient Tones]

Salt N’ Vinegar Grass

ATW: In most cases licking your fingers after handling an unknown substance in a laboratory is not a good call. But scientists at University of Western Australia recently had a finger-licking breakthrough while experimenting with a new species of grass. One researcher absent mindedly put their hand to their mouth after studying blades of the newly discovered flora and eureka — sort of. As scientist Matthew Barrett revealed to ABC quote “When you licked them they taste like salt and vinegar chips.” Now before you go throw out all of your biodegradable bags of kale chips I have to tell you that the grass belongs to the drought resistant spinifex genus. It's part of a hardy family of grass that covers nearly one third of Australia's outback. It's thorny, painful to harvest and has little nutritional value, unlike the nutrient packed bags of salt and vinegar chips that help fuel As It Happens each night. Plus researchers suspect that the deliciously tangy flavours might come from small water droplets that form on the stems of grass rather than the grass itself. So probably best to heed Ph.D. student Ben Anderson's advice who said quote “My supervisor is like, oh yeah that's definitely salt and vinegar. For me it was a funky taste. It was a neat experience but I wouldn't recommend going out and licking spinifex” unquote.

Part 3: Newcomer Kitchen, Reading: The Necklace

Newcomer Kitchen

Guest: Haloud Khafajah

ATW: The cooks love their work. The business has potential to grow. But unless Newcomer Kitchen gets fresh funding it will close its doors next month. Newcomer Kitchen is made up of more than 60 women, all Syrian refugees. Each week they meet at Toronto kitchen and cook a traditional Syrian meal, which they package and sell to the public. Haloud Khafajah is a cook co-ordinator with Newcomer Kitchen. We reached her in Toronto.

CO: Haloud, what was the last meal you cooked up at the Newcomer Kitchen?

HALOUD KHAFAJAH: it was actually Maqloobeh, which literally means flipping over. If I wanted to talk about the ingredients, it’s made from eggplant, zucchini, chicken, meat and the garnish, almonds and pine nuts.

CO: I'll admit that I was at a meal that Newcomer Kitchen cooked up and I saw had this flipped over dish and it's so much fun. The women — your colleagues — were talking about what it means to actually do that flip and everyone watching to make sure it stays together. How frightening is that for you find out if it all held together?

HK: Oh, I can't deny that, I'm a little bit worried because I promised to be in a cake shape and if I failed to do that I will feel bad. I felt a little bit worried about that.

CO: But you haven't had a flop of your flipping over yet?

HK: No, not at all.

[LAUGHTER]

CO: Hulud, how did you get involved in the Newcomer Kitchen?

HK: Actually, a friend of mine whose name is Rahav and her husband, they invited me once to come and share this social experience and I accepted the invitation. When I went there I really enjoyed the atmosphere where I felt that it was a warm place and the welcoming feast. Then I decided to come more and more.

CO: What does it mean, those Syrian refugee women who you join you in the Newcomer Kitchen, what does it mean for them that they have this place to go?

HK: As you know, food has the power of getting people together. Also food has the power to open doors to culture. When they come here, when they come to Newcomer Kitchen, they feel that they are among their friends or relatives. And they feel that they are treated highly by Cara and Len. I can hardly find suitable words to express the way they treat all of us. We work together. It’s not only a matter of cooking, it's a matter of socializing. We come there, we sing, we talk, we laugh, we cook. And at the end of the day the money that comes from the meals is divided between the ladies.

CO: And you mentioned Len and Cara, they are the co-founders of this organization.

HK: Yes, they are.

CO: Now when I saw the cooking and the presentation it was just so much energy, the food was excellent, everybody was having just a great meal and a great time. Why is the Newcomer Kitchen at risk of shutting down?

HK: I think it’s a matter of funding because so far they struggled and they tried their best to continue till this time, but the funding is not there. Len is offering the place, you know, and he is not paid at all regarding this. He gives us the place for free. And at the same time they buy the ingredients. I felt that if the funding is not there this project will not continue. And this made everybody sad. All the Syrian women are unhappy because of this.

CO: What would that mean? If it can't continue what's the loss to the women that you know?

HK: I'm sure that the women will not find any chance to get together again and to support themselves financially. You know, I wanted to tell you something to me. To me this place was a place for healing, you know, healing psychologically, financially. And they supported us for those people who have that language barrier, through their experiences, through Len and Cara’s encouragement, they were able to feel and gain self-confidence and feel that they can do something. So all this will be lost.

CO: Haloud, I hope the funding comes through.

HK: I hope so, I pray. I pray because this is the only solution for this project to continue. And can you imagine it when there are 60 ladies ready to work, waiting for a job and getting more money — more money to survive and to help their families when the funding is not there. All I can they say is that they they did a great job to keep that project continuing until this time. But what I can see now is this project will not be continued unless the funding is there.

CO: Haloud, it's a pleasure to speak with you thank you.

HK: Thank you.

ATW: Haloud Kafajah is a cook and coordinator with Newcomer Kitchen. We reached her in Toronto.

[Music: Somber Tones]

PTSD Firefighter

ATW: Today people gathered in Richmond B.C. to remember a firefighter named Donald “Bryan” Kongus. Captain Kongus died in August but the memorial was put on hold until the cause of his death could be confirmed. Now WorkSafeBC has ruled that Captain Kongus died as a result of work-related post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, and because of that captain Congress received a full honours procession and funeral today. Tom Wilkinson is Richmond Fire Rescue’s Deputy Chief of Operations. He spoke to CBC Radio's Rick Cluff before today's memorial. Rick asked what WorkSafeBC’s ruling will mean for the force.

SOUNDCLIP

TOM WILKINSON: I think it helps to break down stigmas. Mental health has a stigma in society, but I would say it has a, perhaps even greater stigma, within the fire service and within the first responder service because it kind of assaults our own belief in ourselves. We come into these services believing we're pretty strong people and this kind of injury affects us deeply.

RICK CLUFF: As I mentioned off the top Tim, you knew Brian personally. What will you remember about the friend and the firefighter he was?

TW: As friend I think Brian was, even in difficult times, he was generous. Even when we had to have difficult conversations, it was always one that ended with a great big hug and a smile, you know, “yeah I totally understand.” And then we would move forward together. I think as a firefighter Brian was a talented person, he is very, very bright. And when he was well he did his job extremely well.

ATW: That was Tim Wilkinson speaking with the CBC's Rick Cluff today on the program The Early Edition. Mr. Wilkinson is the Deputy Chief of Operations with Richmond Fire Rescue in British Columbia.

[Music: Sombre Ballad]

Reading: The Necklace

ATW: Every year there's an “it” toy of the holiday season, the toy that transforms parents into animals mobbing the local Toys R Us. This year it's Fingerling, a 15-dollar monkey, sloth or unicorn that wraps around your child's finger and chirps. They're currently going for $5,000 a pop online after they were all bought up by money loving bots. And if that seems a bit steep for a holiday bobble I think Mathilde Loisel might agree. Ms. Loisel is the key player in Guy de Maupassant’s classic warning about pursuing the season's “it” thing or trying to be the “it” girl. Here it is read by former As It Happens host Fireside Al Maitland. This is the necklace.

SOUNDCLIP

She was one of those pretty and charming girls born, as if by an error of fate, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of becoming known, understood, loved or wedded by a man of wealth and distinction; and so she let herself be married to a minor official at the Ministry of Education.

She dressed plainly because she had never been able to afford anything better, but she was as unhappy as if she had once been wealthy. Women don't belong to a caste or class; their beauty, grace, and natural charm take the place of birth and family. Natural delicacy, instinctive elegance and a quick wit determine their place in society, and make the daughters of commoners the equals of the very finest ladies.

She suffered endlessly, feeling she was entitled to all the delicacies and luxuries of life. She suffered because of the poorness of her house as she looked at the dirty walls, the worn-out chairs and the ugly curtains. All these things that another woman of her class would not even have noticed, tormented her and made her resentful. The sight of the little Brenton girl who did her housework filled her with terrible regrets and hopeless fantasies. She dreamed of silent antechambers hung with Oriental tapestries, lit from above by torches in bronze holders, while two tall footmen in knee-length breeches napped in huge armchairs, sleepy from the stove's oppressive warmth. She dreamed of vast living rooms furnished in rare old silks, elegant furniture loaded with priceless ornaments, and inviting smaller rooms, perfumed, made for afternoon chats with close friends - famous, sought after men, who all women envy and desire.

When she sat down to dinner at a round table covered with a three-day-old cloth opposite her husband who, lifting the lid off the soup, shouted excitedly, "Ah! Beef stew! What could be better," she dreamed of fine dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestries which peopled the walls with figures from another time and strange birds in fairy forests; she dreamed of delicious dishes served on wonderful plates, of whispered gallantries listened to with an inscrutable smile as one ate the pink flesh of a trout or the wings of asparagus chicken.

She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing; and these were the only things she loved. She felt she was made for them alone. She wanted so much to charm, to be envied, to be desired and sought after.

She had a rich friend, a former schoolmate at the convent, whom she no longer wanted to visit because she suffered so much when she came home. For whole days afterwards she would weep with sorrow, regret, despair and misery.

One evening her husband came home with an air of triumph, holding a large envelope in his hand.

"Look," he said, "here's something for you."

She tore open the paper and drew out a card, on which was printed the words:

"The Minister of Education and Mme. Georges Rampouneau request the pleasure of M. and Mme. Loisel's company at the Ministry, on the evening of Monday January 18th."

Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she threw the invitation on the table resentfully, and muttered:

"What do you want me to do with that?"

"But, my dear, I thought you would be pleased. You never go out, and it will be such a lovely occasion! I had awful trouble getting it. Every one wants to go; it is very exclusive, and they're not giving many invitations to clerks. The whole ministry will be there."

She stared at him angrily, and said, impatiently:

"And what do you expect me to wear if I go?"

He hadn't thought of that. He stammered:

"Why, the dress you go to the theatre in. It seems very nice to me ..."

He stopped, stunned, distressed to see his wife crying. Two large tears ran slowly from the corners of her eyes towards the corners of her mouth. He stuttered: "What's the matter? What's the matter?"

With great effort she overcame her grief and replied in a calm voice, as she wiped her wet cheeks:

"Nothing. Only I have no dress and so I can't go to this party. Give your invitation to a friend whose wife has better clothes than I do."

He was distraught, but tried again:

"Let's see, Mathilde. How much would a suitable dress cost, one which you could use again on other occasions, something very simple?"

She thought for a moment, computing the cost, and also wondering what amount she could ask for without an immediate refusal and an alarmed exclamation from the thrifty clerk.

At last she answered hesitantly:

"I don't know exactly, but I think I could do it with four hundred francs."

He turned a little pale, because he had been saving that exact amount to buy a gun and treat himself to a hunting trip the following summer, in the country near Nanterre, with a few friends who went lark-shooting there on Sundays.

However, he said: "Very well, I can give you four hundred francs. But try and get a really beautiful dress."

The day of the party drew near, and Madame Loisel seemed sad, restless, anxious. Her dress was ready, however. One evening her husband said to her:

"What's the matter? You've been acting strange these last three days."

She replied: "I'm upset that I have no jewels, not a single stone to wear. I will look cheap. I would almost rather not go to the party."

"You could wear flowers, " he said, "They are very fashionable at this time of year. For ten francs you could get two or three magnificent roses."

She was not convinced.

"No; there is nothing more humiliating than looking poor in the middle of a lot of rich women."

"How stupid you are!" her husband cried. "Go and see your friend Madame Forestier and ask her to lend you some jewels. You know her well enough for that."

She uttered a cry of joy.

"Of course. I had not thought of that."

The next day she went to her friend's house and told her of her distress.

Madame Forestier went to her mirrored wardrobe, took out a large box, brought it back, opened it, and said to Madame Loisel: "Choose, my dear."

First she saw some bracelets, then a pearl necklace, then a gold Venetian cross set with precious stones, of exquisite craftsmanship. She tried on the jewelry in the mirror, hesitated, could not bear to part with them, to give them back. She kept asking:

"You have nothing else?"

"Why, yes. But I don't know what you like."

Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb diamond necklace, and her heart began to beat with uncontrolled desire. Her hands trembled as she took it. She fastened it around her neck, over her high-necked dress, and stood lost in ecstasy as she looked at herself.

Then she asked anxiously, hesitating:

"Would you lend me this, just this?"

"Why, yes, of course."

The day of the party arrived. Madame Loisel was a success. She was prettier than all the other women, elegant, gracious, smiling, and full of joy. All the men stared at her, asked her name, tried to be introduced. All the cabinet officials wanted to waltz with her. The minister noticed her. She danced wildly, with passion, drunk on pleasure, forgetting everything in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, in a sort of cloud of happiness, made up of all this respect, all this admiration, all these awakened desires, of that sense of triumph that is so sweet to a woman's heart.

She left at about four o'clock in the morning. Her husband had been dozing since midnight in a little deserted anteroom with three other gentlemen whose wives were having a good time.

He threw over her shoulders the clothes he had brought for her to go outside in, the modest clothes of an ordinary life, whose poverty contrasted sharply with the elegance of the ball dress. She felt this and wanted to run away, so she wouldn't be noticed by the other women who were wrapping themselves in expensive furs.

Loisel held her back.

"Wait a moment, you'll catch a cold outside. I'll go and find a cab."

But she would not listen to him, and ran down the stairs. When they were finally in the street, they could not find a cab, and began to look for one, shouting at the cabmen they saw passing in the distance.

They walked down toward the Seine in despair, shivering with cold. At last they found on the quay one of those old night cabs that one sees in Paris only after dark, as if they were ashamed to show their shabbiness during the day.

They were dropped off at their door in the Rue des Martyrs, and sadly walked up the steps to their apartment. It was all over, for her. And he was remembering that he had to be back at his office at ten o'clock.

In front of the mirror, she took off the clothes around her shoulders, taking a final look at herself in all her glory. But suddenly she uttered a cry. She no longer had the necklace round her neck!

"What is the matter?" asked her husband, already half undressed.

She turned towards him, panic-stricken.

"I have ... I have ... I no longer have Madame Forestier's necklace."

He stood up, distraught.

"What! ... how! ... That's impossible!"

They looked in the folds of her dress, in the folds of her cloak, in her pockets, everywhere. But they could not find it.

"Are you sure you still had it on when you left the ball?" he asked.

"Yes. I touched it in the hall at the Ministry."

"But if you had lost it in the street we would have heard it fall. It must be in the cab."

"Yes. That's probably it. Did you take his number?"

"No. And you, didn't you notice it?"

"No."

They stared at each other, stunned. At last Loisel put his clothes on again.

"I'm going back," he said, "over the whole route we walked, see if I can find it."

He left. She remained in her ball dress all evening, without the strength to go to bed, sitting on a chair, with no fire, her mind blank.

Her husband returned at about seven o'clock. He had found nothing.

He went to the police, to the newspapers to offer a reward, to the cab companies, everywhere the tiniest glimmer of hope led him.

She waited all day, in the same state of blank despair from before this frightful disaster. Loisel returned in the evening, a hollow, pale figure; he had found nothing.

"You must write to your friend," he said, "tell her you have broken the clasp of her necklace and that you are having it mended. It will give us time to look some more."

At the end of one week they had lost all hope.

And Loisel, who had aged five years, declared:

"We must consider how to replace the jewel."

The next day they took the box which had held it, and went to the jeweler whose name they found inside. He consulted his books.

"It was not I, madame, who sold the necklace; I must simply have supplied the case."

And so they went from jeweler to jeweler, looking for an necklace like the other one, consulting their memories, both sick with grief and anguish.

In a shop at the Palais Royal, they found a string of diamonds which seemed to be exactly what they were looking for. It was worth forty thousand francs. They could have it for thirty-six thousand.

So they begged the jeweler not to sell it for three days. And they made an arrangement that he would take it back for thirty-four thousand francs if the other necklace was found before the end of February.

Loisel had eighteen thousand francs which his father had left him. He would borrow the rest.

And he did borrow, asking for a thousand francs from one man, five hundred from another, five louis here, three louis there. He gave notes, made ruinous agreements, dealt with usurers, with every type of money-lender. He compromised the rest of his life, risked signing notes without knowing if he could ever honor them, and, terrified by the anguish still to come, by the black misery about to fall on him, by the prospect of every physical privation and every moral torture he was about to suffer, he went to get the new necklace, and laid down on the jeweler's counter thirty-six thousand francs.

When Madame Loisel took the necklace back, Madame Forestier said coldly:

"You should have returned it sooner, I might have needed it."

To the relief of her friend, she did not open the case. If she had detected the substitution, what would she have thought? What would she have said? Would she have taken her friend for a thief?

From then on, Madame Loisel knew the horrible life of the very poor. But she played her part heroically. The dreadful debt must be paid. She would pay it. They dismissed their maid; they changed their lodgings; they rented a garret under the roof.

She came to know the drudgery of housework, the odious labors of the kitchen. She washed the dishes, staining her rosy nails on greasy pots and the bottoms of pans. She washed the dirty linen, the shirts and the dishcloths, which she hung to dry on a line; she carried the garbage down to the street every morning, and carried up the water, stopping at each landing to catch her breath. And, dressed like a commoner, she went to the fruiterer's, the grocer's, the butcher's, her basket on her arm, bargaining, insulted, fighting over every miserable sou.

Each month they had to pay some notes, renew others, get more time.

Her husband worked every evening, doing accounts for a tradesman, and often, late into the night, he sat copying a manuscript at five sous a page.

And this life lasted ten years.

At the end of ten years they had paid off everything, everything, at usurer's rates and with the accumulations of compound interest.

Madame Loisel looked old now. She had become strong, hard and rough like all women of impoverished households. With hair half combed, with skirts awry, and reddened hands, she talked loudly as she washed the floor with great swishes of water. But sometimes, when her husband was at the office, she sat down near the window and thought of that evening at the ball so long ago, when she had been so beautiful and so admired.

What would have happened if she had not lost that necklace? Who knows, who knows? How strange life is, how fickle! How little is needed for one to be ruined or saved!

One Sunday, as she was walking in the Champs Élysées to refresh herself after the week's work, suddenly she saw a woman walking with a child. It was Madame Forestier, still young, still beautiful, still charming.

Madame Loisel felt emotional. Should she speak to her? Yes, of course. And now that she had paid, she would tell her all. Why not?

She went up to her.

"Good morning, Jeanne."

The other, astonished to be addressed so familiarly by this common woman, did not recognize her. She stammered:

"But - madame - I don't know. You must have made a mistake."

"No, I am Mathilde Loisel."

Her friend uttered a cry.

"Oh! ... my poor Mathilde, how you've changed! ..."

"Yes, I have had some hard times since I last saw you, and many miseries ... and all because of you!"

"Me? How can that be?"

"You remember that diamond necklace that you lent me to wear to the Ministry party?"

"Yes. Well?"

"Well, I lost it."

"What do you mean? You brought it back."

"I brought you back another exactly like it. And it has taken us ten years to pay for it. It wasn't easy for us, we had very little. But at last it is over, and I am very glad."

Madame Forestier was stunned.

"You say that you bought a diamond necklace to replace mine?"

"Yes; you didn't notice then? They were very similar."

And she smiled with proud and innocent pleasure.

Madame Forestier, deeply moved, took both her hands.

"Oh, my poor Mathilde! Mine was an imitation! It was worth five hundred francs at most!"

ATW: That was the late great As It Happens host Al Maitland reading Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace. We'll have holiday readings throughout the week including, of course, The Shepherd. This Friday.

Provide Transcript Feedback

CBC would like to acknowledge the support of the Broadcasting Accessibility Fund.

December 18, 2017 episode transcript

Social Sharing

More from this episode