A Christmas concert - Michael's Essay; Harold Wanless; Mail about dying at age 75; Cat Christmas - Documentary; Mail about refugee policy; Bob Bossin; Menorah's hidden history
This week on The Sunday Edition, December 14, 2014:...
This week on The Sunday Edition, December 14, 2014:
A Christmas Concert - Michael's essay (2:55): Michael's sometimes funny, sometimes touching account of the concert in which his son played in the Grade Three Recorder Ensemble, is as poignant today as it was ten years ago when it first aired. It's our tradition to re-broadcast this delightful piece each year as Christmas approaches. (By the way, Michael's son is now a handsome young man in his first year of university.)
Coastal Florida and Miami are doomed (6:12): Harold Wanless, Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Miami, says sea levels will rise by at least a couple of metres by the end of this century. The consequences for South Florida, where hundreds of thousands of Canadians own property, are hard to wrap your head around. Professor Wanless raises the prospect of millions of Floridians being forced to pull up stakes and move elsewhere.
Listener mail about dying at age 75 (38:45): Last week's interview with oncologist Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel sparked a firestorm of comments. Dr. Emanuel said he considers age 75 to be a fine time to die and has resolved that when he reaches that age, he will stop all medical treatments and tests that might prolong his life...and he encouraged the rest of us to do the same.
Jokes about cats at Christmas (47:33): Producer Frank Faulk dropped by "Feline Festivus", a fund-raiser for Toronto's Humane Society and the Annex Cat Rescue. Comics told jokes, and cat-lovers described how they make sure Christmas is a special time for their kitty companions.
Listener mail about refugees (54:50): Reaction to Michael's comments last week about how Canada's once-generous attitude toward accepting refugees has become pinched and mean.
Stringband's Bob Bossin tells the story of his dad, aka Davy the Punk (59:30): Bob Bossin -- folksinger and founder of Stringband -- went on a journey in search of his father, who died when Bob was young. He turned the story into a book, then a one-man play. Songs and Stories of Davy the Punk takes us into the Runyonesque world of gamblers and touts in 1930's and 40's Toronto the Bad. Bob drops by the studio to spin a few yarns and play a few songs.
A worn menorah tells a remarkable, true story (1:29:30): From Ottawa, just in time for Chanukah; a worn bronze menorah brings to light the tale of a Christian family's courage and a Jewish family's escape, in the darkest of times.