Papal Infallibility: A Cornerstone of the Catholic Church

As a one time practicing Catholic (1), I have always been troubled by the ever changing positions taken by the Church. A large part of this stems from the churches concept of Papal Infallibility (2). It struck me that this concept tended to place the God (the Catholic God at least) in a very negative light as He was constantly changing his (or her) mind on key subjects held near and dear to church teachings.

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Photos: These photos were taken by Chris Vaughn, a friend from Nanaimo and former publisher of the World Football Pages (a BC based Magazine that ran for several years).  Chris always had a keen eye for capturing the essence of our International Football Matches and, as you can see in this series, Brazil brought out some very colourful Canadian girls to support the Canadian Team.  

The two game series was played in 2006 when the Brazilian U20 Men’s Team challenged Canada in a warm-up to the 2007 U-20 World Cup. The teams split series at one game each.  Below is a photo of the teams on the field at Royal Athletic Park. 

(The collage was created using a freeware system, so, of course they put their name in the middle)

Are You Thinking of Heading to Brazil in 2014?

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Photo: Just a few of the kids and adults we met during our trip along the East Coast. At this newly refurbished soccer pitch, Canadian flags, World Cup soccer balls, pinnies (including several used by the Japanese U20 mens team) along with other pieces of memorabilia from the 2007, U20 Mens World Cup, was very popular. Many of the older soccer players were aware that Victoria had hosted the Japanese team during the U20 World Cup as the games were broadcast and streamed live to Japan.

Link Here for Chapters 1 – 5

Link Here for the East Coast Slideshow on You Tube

あなたチューブの東海岸スライドショーのためここにリンク

Link Here for Individual Photos on Flicker

フリッカー上の個々の写真のためにここにリンク

Link Here for Photos on Facebook

Facebookで写真のためにここにリンク

Chapter 6  A Journey of Recovery

While an important part of our mission to Japan was flying the colours of Victoria in our sister city of Morioka, another, and equally important part, was assisting in modest way with the East Coast recovery efforts.

Morioka, for those who are not aware, is the Capital City of Iwate Prefecture, the Prefecture that encompasses much of the heavily damaged area.  For the citizens of Morioka and surrounding area, dealing with the immediate and long-term effects of the disaster was and is an immense challenge, challenges they accepted with equanimity.

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The City or Morioka is nestled in a broad plain below Mount Iwate-san (background right) in the central part of Iwate district. The 2000 meter mountain and surrounding hills feed two rivers, the Kitakami-gawa and the Nakatsu-gawa that, along with the lush green surroundings, lend the city an ambiance that is unsurpassable. The above photo (click to open), along with that of several wildflowers (linked photo album), were taken after Lynn and I climbed Poet’s Walk behind the home of our first host family, Rieko and Yoichi Sakashita.

Chapters and Photos

The photo albums attached to this story have been placed on an open Facebook Page and are available to everyone regardless of whether they have a Facebook account.  While the pictures will tell much of the story, the following notes provide a general outline of our travels of our two week visit.  As Wi-Fi access and preparation time was limited, the notes being presented below are compiled from earlier Facebook posts to family and friends.

Photo: Rita, Bill and Lynn push the carts with our ample supply of luggage.  It may have seemed like overkill for four people, however, four large suitcases contained gifts and other supplies, much of which was destined for school children and sports groups along the East Coast.

We are certainly grateful to our friends, Bill and Rita McCreadie, for inviting us on the journey and who led the way from Canada. They shepherded us through our arrival at Narita and onto the shuttle train that would connect us to the Bullet Train for that speedy ride Morioka. The transfers were managed with such ease that we could well have been out for dinner and movie in our home city of Victoria. As you might have guessed, the McCreadie’s have taken this trip many times before and we could not have ask for better travelling companions.

Chapters and Photos

1. A country of friendly people and lush green landscapes:     Photos for Chapters 1 -3 Link Here
2. Welcome to Morioka and an Introduction to the Sansa Festival: Photos for Chapters 1 -3 Link Here
3. Suma Wrestling: The National Sport:  Photos for Chapters 1 -3 Link Here
4. Go Grulla Go – To the J3: Photos for Chapters 4 & 5 Link Here
5. Aomori Nebuta Festival: Photos for Chapters 4 & 5 Link Here

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And it gets smaller with each passing hour…

On Tuesday, after our return from camping at Island View Beach, Sean mentioned that Lucas (a friend of Sean and our family) was dating girl from Oak Bay and there was a connection to our family.  A copy of the information passed to Sean is included in footer.

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Photo:  Taken at the end of trail leading from Zajac Ranch to the South Arm of Stave Lake. The ranch is approximately 20 km North-East of of Mission B.C with the last 10 km  on a high quality, all-weather, gravel road. The facility boasts excellent camp style accommodation and an array of facilities that easily caters to the interests of the young and “the young at heart”.

It was out of China one day and off to the Zajac Ranch the next for a West Coast reception with our friends Carl and Julie Joosse (nee Fennema).  Because many of their West Coast friends were not able to make the July wedding, the couple decided to throw a second reception at this end.

Photo:  Carl and Julie arrive in style on the back of one the camp limousines.

The Zajac Ranch for Children, situated in pristine wilderness on the west side of Stave Lake, north of Mission, B.C, was chosen for the reception as both Carl and Julie along with many family and friends, both from the East and West, have made a strong commitment to helping ensure the future of this incredible adventure center for children.

With the draw of a West Coast wilderness adventure, many Carl and Julies family members and friends who live within a stones throw of each other, decided to make the trek to help continue the celebration in style and to meet some of the crazy West Coasters with whom Carl and Julie have spent so much time in recent years.

For those not familiar with Zajac Ranch itself, it was founded by Mel and Irene Zajac as a legacy:

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Pub in Prague, Czech Republic: Lynn gets tuned up for an evening on the town.
(Slideshow: My Friend and Life Companion)

July 28, 2013

Good Morning Lynn,

Happy Anniversary my dear.

Gosh, this will be the first year in twelve years that we have been together in Victoria for our anniversary celebration. Given the wonderful weather over the past month and the number of family visitors, it was a very good year to be at home.

Of course, last year would have been the first, but it seems I just abandoned you in favour of taking that five-year-old hell-on-wheels, Grayson, on a month-long camping trip across British Colombia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Funny, as I recall, you said something along the lines of, “Oh dear, do I have to stay at home on my own for a whole month?” I don’t seem to recall any sadness in those words. Hmm….

By the time July 28th rolled around last year, I think Grayson, Jay, Bjorn and I were somewhere in Southern Alberta, perhaps in Medicine Hat attending the rodeo you so kindly booked for us. Yes, yes thats where we were.  If I remember correctly, Bjorn, Jay and I popped a cap or two and certainly kept that wee Grayson busy keeping the fridge filled (it was very hot in Alberta). Oh, that wandering, carefree, cowboy life has a certain appeal. But, I digress.

Seems this year we have just made it by the skin of our teeth, with our pending departure in a couple of days. I guess we can justify the upcoming trip as an anniversary gift to each other. Sound Ok to you?

Now, of the many neat things (and there are a good many neat things) I could say about being married to you is your willingness to hit the trail on a moments notice and your willingness to challenge your inner most fears. I really never believed that you and that anaconda you pulled from his pen, would become buddies.  Oh well, just goes to show.

It seems my premonition of twenty-nine years ago (that living with you would be a life filled with adventure) has certainly come to pass.  Even that little adventure that popped into our lives on November 5 some twenty-five years ago has turned out pretty well.

Dropping that particular bit of news on me just before my retirement was, how shall I say, a bit of a life changer. Anyway, the multi-year adventure seems to be polishing off rather nicely and has certainly allowed us to spend more time exploring the world.

Whether surfing Australia, parasailing in the Swiss Alps, ski dooing in Antarctica (well, as close as we could get), rock climbing and surfing on the back of a cruise ship, zip lining in Jamaica, cuddling cute little reptiles, chasing wild pigs and crocks in Louisiana, or any of the dozens of other adventures that seem to come our way, I don’t ever recall you having shown much hesitation. Well, perhaps, on occasion, just a tad.

I think you may still have to take that leap of faith from the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas if we should ever return that way. By the way there is a cute little Wedding Chapel at the base, we could renew our vows! Of course the only reason you missed the last jump is that on that particular day the boys and girls had gone their separate ways. I know how very disappointed you were.

So, in closing, I thank-you for saying “yes” that spring day some three decades back as we sat on a park bench at Willows Beach in Oak Bay having lunch while keeping a look-out for some idiots who had been causing damage in the park (or was it in that surveillance van in Brentwood Bay). Am I not the romanticist?

Love you,

Harold

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Barry, Ryan, Harold, Ashley and Ross display their catch of Pink Salmon.
Piled on the blue box is a feed of Dungeness Crabs that were pulled out of the Inner Harbour
Photos of the Fishing Adventure: Link Here

Other Davis Family Victoria Trip Albums

Photos of the City Adventure: Link Here
River and Lake Adventures: Link Here
Ocean Shore and Biking Adventure: Link Here

Victoria Summer Fun Slideshow 2013-Mobile

 July 11, 2013 Victoria, BC

While there are many adventures to be found on and around Vancouver Island, a salmon fishing trip on the rolling, fog-shrouded waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca has to be in the Top 10.

When my brother-in-law, Barry Davis phoned from Spruce Grove, Alberta, to tell us that he, along with his wife, Nancy and three of the grandchildren, Ryan, Ashley and Ross, were heading our way, we were absolutely delighted. As part of our conversation Barry, who is an avid fisherman, wondered if we might squeeze in a few hours of fishing. He felt the “kids” would really enjoy that type of a West Coast experience (he, he).

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