Archives for October 10, 2020

Prompt: One of the 18 men who survived the three-year journey under Magellan’s command during the first recorded circumnavigation of the globe in 1519, was not, newly recovered information reveals, in fact a man…

BEST OF MATES

Gideon disembarked from the fishing sloop that had brought him from Cadiz to the seaside village of Santo Angelos. He was both relieved—the three day trip had proved smelly and uncomfortable—and excited. Finally, he would learn about Magellan’s voyage directly from two of the seamen who had sailed with the famous navigator nine years earlier.

He washed away the tang of salt with a tankard of ale at a quayside tavern and asked the hotelier where he would find the villa of Senors Negrito and de Marques. This enquiry was received with a smile from the landlord and open glee from the locals at the bar. I suppose they have little amusement here, Gideon thought, but having secured directions, he walked some few hundred yards along the town’s seawall road. And there was the villa, surrounded by a myriad of local Mediterranean fruit trees, a bountiful vegetable garden, and a stone paved patio complete with splashing fountains. It looked to be a well-tended property.

Master Gideon wished to make his name as an historian. The tale of Captain Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage around the world seemed a very fitting history to write. Particularly as the official version was patently untrue! Research through the records of the Spanish navy, at Cadiz, revealed that the great captain had, in fact, never succeeded with the first circumnavigation of the world. The voyage had been completed under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano, a brilliant Basque mariner. Politics of the time meant the official accolades for the voyage had been given to Magellan. He was Portuguese and so not a threat to the Spanish crown, whereas no Basque could ever be trusted by anyone at the court of King Charles V.

Gideon could not believe his luck. He had stumbled upon a real scandal that could make his history–the revised but true history of the voyage—a most sought after manuscript. It could make his name.

The detailed maritime records described the voyage: setting out in 1519 with five ships and two-hundred and forty men, the three year voyage had seen the brutal slaying of its leader in the Philippines, various mutinies, and the death of most of the men who had set forth. In 1522 one ship of the original armada returned, with a complement of only eighteen Europeans. They were feted as heroes; Captain Elcano was rewarded with a kingdom in the Philippines, and a rich pension. The seventeen seamen each received a pension for life.

Quite a sufficient pension, Gideon thought, as he made his way through the manicured gardens.
Gideon had corresponded with Master Seaman Raoul de Marques, been invited to the villa in Santo Angelos, and hence the voyage across the Gulf of Cadiz. A house servant conducted him through the villa’s reception rooms and out into another garden space. Senor de Marques stood as Gideon approached and graciously invited him to sit and enjoy some refreshment. The seaman’s face still bore the sunburnt and wind whipped signs of his past employment. But the glint in his dark eyes spoke of good humour.

Over cups of the local red wine and a plate of cow’s cheese and olives, the two men talked. “I had hoped to meet Senor Negrito. I am told that you retired here together?”

“Ah, yes. That we did. But I am sorry, Senor Negrito has passed. Only recently. He is still sadly missed.” The man’s eyes welled with tears. “He was the best of shipmates. We bunked together in the chain locker of La Victoria, so it seemed only fitting to bunk together here. We had a good life.

Gideon wanted to ask about the politics of the claim that Magellan was the man who first circumnavigated the globe, but he felt that it was only polite to ask his host about his friend.
“Oh, he was brave, such a big heart. I remember once. It was off Terre Del Fuego. In a storm of course. It was always stormy there. Anyway, a young seaman, a lad really, lost his footing in the rigging and fell. He survived the fall but couldn’t swim. Seamen usually cannot. But Negrito dove right in, swam to the lad, grabbed his collar, and swam back to the ship. No one else could have done that. We pulled them both back on board. We all enjoyed free drams of rum for the telling of that tale in many a tavern.”

Gideon started to speak, but his host continued. “Negrito was a friend to everyone. He calmed us, just by being there. And the cook loved him; he would eat anything.” Raoul laughed at the memory.

“Now that he has passed I will let the Royal Bursar know. After the lifesaving incident Senor Pigafetta, the expedition’s chronicler, thought it would be amusing to list Negrito as a member of the crew, a promotion of sorts for saving the young lad. He entered the name in the ship’s log and from then on…well, we could not stop the game. So, Negrito—the best dog I have ever known– was awarded a pension, as were we all.” The old man lifted his glass and sipped the wine. “I will let the Bursar know. I don’t want to receive Blackie’s pension under false pretenses.” His eyes twinkled with fun.

Gideon had thought he would expose Magellan and promote Elcano. Now he had an even better story.

Have you ever joined the grand kids in popping bubble wrap?

Yes you are an adult but some things are fun anyway. Popping all the latest fear monger topics is like popping bubble wrap. No matter how many bubbles you pop and chuckle there are always more. At least we are introduced to new absurdities but there are two perennial favorites that never go away.

Amid the horror tales of giant underground organizations that will turn us into zombies of political and social control. To the horror that would rather you become ill or die because you wear a face mask, all the way to confronting the wrongs in our society will mean changes. Of course there will be changes to society. Before some people get comfortable in their hiding place under the bed look around. Change has propelled our society from the days of cavemen to what we have now.

In the last one hundred twenty years we saw child labor prohibited in mines and factories. We saw women recognized as persons and then the world nearly ended when women were allowed to vote. Some watched in horror as society adopted a social safety net to mitigate starvation. The very concept that healthcare was a right must have terrified some for sure.

Yes change and progress have always been with us. Granted sometimes we go through periods of negative change. We have a societal system for that too. It’s called the vote every four years. A vote is not the change it’s the sampling of the mindset for change. It tests the waters to see if people want to go to the next step in the evolution of progress.

There are two groups however, that oppose each other, that are afraid of each other and yet borrow ideas from each other with careless abandoned. It also demonstrates that during the current pandemic we have learned something from recent history. I speak of those who fear what some call socialism and others who rail against capitalism. The problem is neither side could function in our society without the other. Think about it.

The ideas that propel ideas into need in the market, thus creating jobs and economic growth are in the realm of capitalism. The check and balance of regulating the money supply after all is said and done comes from the right side of the political spectrum for the most part. Whether that is good or bad I leave for you to argue. Even the most ardent socialist never turns down a good paying job with benefits. Remember the benefits did not come from a benevolent free enterprise company. The workplace benefits we have today came from the blood sweat and tears of the left in the form of trade unions. The political venue they used were the left wing parties. The truth is socialists are not communists and conservatives are not fascists as some would portray. So fearing one or the other is over the top. We don’t see those on the political right turning down pensions, medicare, and public access to education for their children. Most started out as left wing ideas. Remember there is a difference between retirement savings and a pension. Retirement savings come from personal investments, usually derived from the free market. Then again some trade unions own big blocks of those private sector companies. Pensions for working people on the other hand were won at the bargaining table by the trade union movement. The truth is our entire society is a hybrid of both systems and that became evident during this pandemic.

The Great Depression saw chaos, starvation, civil unrest, and severe division in society. The reason?

The left had little influence in the form of ideas such as employment insurance, pensions, medicare, disability pensions, and social assistance. These programs, though costly provide a more stable economy in the long run. There are those opposed saying we are leaving an enormous debt for future generations. No one argues that point. Then consider the world is not a perfect place and life is not always fair. After WWI and WWII there was a price to pay and it was paid by the ten, future generations. As an example the last war payment was made by Britain on Dec 31 2006.

The point should be instead of fear and distrust societies chief forces of influence should be using their expertise to create a better world instead of painting each other as the boogie man for votes. The truth is we need a strong left and right to bring balance to both our economy and social progress. To cure our current climate we must first shed fear of our own shadow and embrace the future with the positive things we can do as a society.

Fred Steele

Zvi

If we think we are lacking things to be thankful for this weekend, the following story may change our minds.

Zvi Weichert was put into a Polish orphanage by his Jewish parents when the Nazi invasion of Poland was underway in 1939. He was 10 years old and told by his mother to make sure that he always tells inquirers the he is not a Jew, he is Polish. He never saw his older siblings or his parents again. They were brutally killed by Nazi atrocities along with millions of others. Zvi’s desperate search after WW2 revealed no trace of them.

After years of wilderness survival, cruel mistreatment and gnawing hunger he ended up with a group that was booked onto a ship for transport to Israel in spite of British restrictions curtailing further immigration. The ship, built for 200, was spotted and the 600 refugees were routed to a Cypress camp. Eventually those who had survived the ordeal did become landed immigrants and citizens of Israel. Zvi also became a follower of Jesus in spite of severe opposition from fellow Jews.

Zvi found work, served in the compulsory Israeli Defense Force during the 6 Day War and the Yom Kippur Invasion. Israel fended off impossible odds against Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Eventually Zvi married and had a family but the troubles were not over. His big, next door neighbor was enraged when Zvi brought his Christian friends over to his house. He told him never to bring them again and threatened extreme violence if he did. Zvi stood his ground. As a result rocks were thrown through his windows, the children taunted and his wife ganged up on when she left the house. With tears of fear and desperation she begged Zvi for a move away from there. Zvi decided first to appeal to the Lord for His guidance.

That same day at mealtime they heard a loud thud coming from the neighbor’s home. Running over Zvi found his enemy on the floor with a heart attack. He called the ambulance, rode with him to the hospital and cared for his home in spite of having been persecuted by him. There were $600 dollars in a drawer that his neighbor told Zvi to take for his expenses. He didn’t. Eventually the man recovered and to quote Zvi’s biographer (Elwood McQuaid, Zvi, p. 179) “…you are the only one who has come to see me while I am here. Even some I thought were my friends have not come. Why have you done it?” Zvi replied, “Already I have told you, only in the name of the Lord. A few years ago I would probably have let you die after what you did to my wife. But the Messiah has changed all this for me. I have learned to care for those who choose to be my enemies as well.”

Amazing,

Henry Wiebe

***

David Stocks of Penticton died at the end of September at home. David was the youngest of five children born to Lumb and Marion Stocks.

David’s father came to the Okanagan in 1910. Had a great look around and decided to make the valley his home. He went back to Britain to marry a family friend and then returned here.

David Edmund Stocks was born in 1932. Educated in Vernon, Penticton and at White Rock.

He was a Chartered Accountant spending a number of years in Vancouver and Toronto.

On his return to the Okanagan – David involved himself in a number of historical organizations including the SS Sicamous Society and went on to form the Okanagan Archives Trust Society (OATS)  to preserve the history of his father and other local commercial photographers.

David had many friends and liked to be an active walker and talker in his senior years but time took a toll on his health.

The picture above – David lunching with former Penticton Indian Band chief Jonathan Kruger in 2011.

David’s remains will be buried in the family plot at the Lakeview Cemetery.  A private service of family will be held at a later date.

The family wishes to thank David’s neighbours, the RCMP, the BC Coroner’s Service, Penticton Hospital, Nunes-Pottinger of Oliver,  and Brian Wilson of OATS.