Harry Stemp was born in Uxbridge in 1934. He started his career with the Uxbridge Times-Journal as an apprentice typesetter at age 14. He soon began writing sports for the Times-Journal and eventually owned 10 community newspapers in central Ontario including the Times-Journal. He started writing his award-winning Stemp’s Stew in 1965. The column came to an end shortly after he sold his newspaper chain in 1989, but was rejuvenated in 2006 when Harry became a regular contributor to The Cosmos.
The Pelican Man
The world of technology has changed our lives in a most dramatic fashion. Some would say for the better, others would disagree and argue that it has gone way too far, often in a negative manner. The art of conversation is heading south as we watch young and old constantly chatting on cell phones, or texting each other, often from just across the room. Seems that few people can manage a minute of their lives without walking around with a phone to their ear.
I recently went into the gym and was shocked to see a woman working out on a walking machine at a speed of close to zero while holding a cell phone to her ear and talking away a mile a minute about who knows what. And on my morning walk it is not uncommon to see a walker chatting away on a cell phone to who knows who or about what.
But regardless of how you feel about the new world of technology, one must agree that it has opened a world of instant information that, in most cases, can prove beneficial. This rang true to me when I read about a pelican in trouble on a beach at a Florida resort being saved by a man some 2000 miles away in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and all because of the internet. That’s right, even though it may seem hard to believe.
The front desk clerk at the Windjammer Resort in Florida received the call from a man in Winnipeg and rather than wanting to make a reservation, ‘Joe’ told him that there was an injured pelican on the beach and some kids were kicking sand at it. The clerk’s reaction was to have the man repeat where he was calling from, which prompted the explanation that the “Pelican Man” as he came to be called, was watching the scene unfold live from his computer on the Windjammer’s new beach cam.
The clerk checked, and sure enough there was the pelican in distress being teased by a group of young boys. He quickly moved into action, rushed to the beach, and with the help of others in the area chased the boys off. They then proceeded to cut the pelican free from the fish net that it had become entangled in and keep it safe until Animal Rescue arrived to take it to the shelter and nurse it back to health.
“All this was possible because the bird hero Joe the ‘Pelican Man’ was watching a live feed from our beach camera,” said the clerk. “In comparison to current events, it does not sound like much of a heroic act and it doesn’t mean much to a lot of people, but it meant everything to that pelican.”
Windjammer General Manager John Boutin got to chat with the Pelican Man when he called back an hour later to see how everything turned out. “I was very thankful to Joe for calling us. It made us all feel good about being a part of saving the pelican and I offered Joe a very special rate to come down and visit us and feel the sand instead of just viewing it.”
So I guess before we complain about how the world of technology has changed our lives in a negative way we should use this example of how it can, at times, be a positive force. The camera installed to attract vacationers demonstrated the boundless value of technology by saving the life of a pelican because the camera was being used by a caring Canadian many miles away. The kind of a good news story everyone likes to hear. ------------------------------
And technology also allows everyone to stay in touch regardless of how many miles they are apart. This rang true for me this week when, in Florida, I received two e-mails, one that brought wonderful news and another that delivered a sad message.
The positive message informed me that my niece Bonnie Boyd became a grandmother as daughter Cindy presented her with a grandson, Noah John Leitch, who made a grand entrance weighing in at 7 lb. 11 oz. Needless to say that Bonnie, in the Stemp family our small bundle of dynamite, is riding high on cloud nine. She sure can’t be blamed for that.
The sadness that later crept over me was receiving the news that Maryann Ballinger had died at the age of 56. Maryann came into this world at the nursing home of Alma Soper on Brock Street under the watchful eye of Dr. Russ St. John. A welcome daughter after all boys born to the Ballinger family to that point.
Maryann was not dealt a strong hand when it came to health but she was fortunate to be born to loving parents, Fred and Betty Ballinger and loved and cherished by four caring brothers, (the late) Fred, Bill, Jack and Ted.
Over the years, and right up to her death, her family made sure that Maryann enjoyed life to the fullest. Nothing was too much trouble when it came to caring for Maryann. My thoughts, and I am sure those of the community who know the Ballingers, are with the family in this time of sorrow.
