UNITY COMES IN ALL COLOURS

Ken (Air India) Herar, back row right, and yours truly, back row left, spoke at Dasmesh Punjabi School on Tuesday about issues the students and staff seem well versed on. It was a great morning of memories and meeting awesome people.


“We may have come over on different ships, but we’re all in the same boat now.”
– Whitney Young, Jr.


It is a lively Tuesday morning in Matsqui Village as parents manoeuvre minivans through a bustling parking lot at Dasmesh Punjabi School.
Principal Sulochana Chand stands outside the Riverside Street school offering big smiles and greetings to everyone who makes eye contact with her.
Adrenalized students, in matching sweaters and slacks, buzz by their principal as another day of learning begins for the 580 enrolled in the kindergarten-to-Grade 10 private school.
The scheduled morning lesson is all about tolerance and diversity, and the guest speakers are Times’ columnist Ken Herar and yours truly. But the first challenge is figuring how to make a quasi-turban out of a blue kerchief, and the second to hide the small “air conditioning” holes in your socks when asked to remove footwear.
The 40-year-old Herar, a local diversity award winner and the best-ever tennis player to call Mission home, is passionate about eliminating racism, promoting diversity and making people understand that “brown and white” can thrive together.
I, on the other hand, am trying to not look like a stagecoach robber as the kerchief keeps slipping over my eyes.
School administrator Sandeep Lidder, easily mistaken for one of those Bollywood goddesses, says “everyone” has that problem at first. Methinks this is how Captain America, The Green Hornet, Robin, X-Men and Flash Gordon got started, but I digress.
There is a large sign inside the school’s Worship Room. It says “Recognize the whole human race as one.” Nobody in this gathering has a problem with me being white. And I wonder, who really needs the lesson of tolerance?
In my Caucasian, born-in-Canada world, I have watched as we “white guys” screamed about allowing turbans in the RCMP, sending gangsters “back to where they came from,” ceremonial daggers, bicycle helmets, affirmative action hiring, negative stereotypes, you name it. We have had prouder moments in this country.
Herar, embraced by many in the South Asian community for his media involvement, and nicknamed “Air India” by his basketball buddies, shares an e-mail from a family that claims to be moving away from Abbotsford because “there are too many East Indians.”
The usually cool columnist admits this makes his blood boil, especially when nobody says they’re leaving the area because of the white Bacon brothers or the white gangsters or the white drug dealers or the white pimps or the white thieves.
Dr. Dalip Singh Gill, a brilliant and kind man who founded this school in 1985 citing a need to recognize all human beings as equal, says he has seen some progress here, but notes there are many challenges ahead.
The school, which has been in Matsqui Village since expanding in 2005, now has a staff of 40 that includes a teacher from Hong Kong, several Caucasians and one Métis educator. It promotes a lifestyle free from smoking, drinking, drugs and gangs.
Their objective is to integrate Sikh studies with the B.C. education curriculum. And their successful sports teams, nicknamed the Falcons, have been praised for sportsmanship and class.
Gill proudly points to a wall of pictures filled with former students who have gone on to become lawyers, accountants or medical professionals. He says the idea behind Dasmesh is to make students better people, better adults and parents, who spread the message of equality and doing good deeds.
As you discover quickly in this facility, accomplishments have no colour. There is a lesson there, if we chose to embrace it.
Perhaps it’s time we all tried just a little bit harder.

PUTTING US HIGH ON THE MAP!

Dave Kandal, left, chair of the Abbotsford Airport Authority, and Mike Pasto, general manager at YXX, with $30 million worth of expansion plans at their fingertips.

Your shivering scribe is standing in the heart of Toronto’s financial district, braving a nippy Sunday morning, when a stranger walks over and asks: “Hey sir, do you know what the best nation in the world is?”
My tired eyes quickly light up – thanks, in part, to excessive amounts of espresso – and lock in “Canada” as the final answer.
“Nope. DONATION. Can you spare some change?”
My first thought was this slick dude dresses extremely well for a beggar, but he called me “sir” so I placed a toonie in his glove and asked: “What do you know about Abbotsford?”
“Abba what? Huh?” He walked away laughing, not appreciating he had just taken my corporate travel allowance, but that’s another column – maybe!
The comedic coin collector repeated an answer I heard many times on this two-day, pretend-I’m-Rick Mercer-fact-finding-mission.
You see, when our politicians spend your money on big-ticket items they like to throw in how the latest pet project “really puts Abbotsford on the map.”
And reporters turn stenographers and scribble that stuff down like it means something. (Melville – the armpit of Saskatchewan – is on the map. Who freakin’ cares?)
For the record, nobody in Toronto, Mississauga or Scarborough had heard of the Friendship Garden, the Heat, the Clearbrook Road interchange or Plan A, but several knew about our airshow, gangs and that pesky murder capital status thingy.
I hung out at one busy corner where a large, illuminated sports ticker flashed CFL, NFL, NHL and AHL updates. I asked a couple guys when the Heat-Rampage score flashed if they knew of Abbotsford, or if they’d go see the Heat when they played the Marlies in Toronto.
“Give us free tickets and we’ll go anywhere,” smiled one, after saying he heard of Abbotsford, but wasn’t sure what province it was in.
“Close to the Olympics, right?” offered one giggling gal, who admitted later that was an educated guess – after I provided West Coast as the clue!
The bottom line in the Centre of the Universe, where Leaf fans are already talking “next season” and Liberals are talking “next election,” is that Abbotsford could steal the CN Tower and still be a mystery to most. It’s just how they roll in Hogtown.
Heck, most folks in the Big Smoke can’t name four prime ministers, but they know the first name of everyone related to Wayne Gretzky, but I digress.
The “connection” we have to the rest of Canada is WestJet, the impressive little airline that could. When you’re at 39,000 feet above Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Montreal, Winnipeg, Ottawa or Edmonton, Abbotsford is on the “GPS map” and minds of those flying in, out and over the City in the Country.
It’s why Abbotsford International Airport is key to letting the outside world in.
When YXX receives government funding to expand and some locals complain, they fail to see the bigger picture. Perhaps they’re still seething from other suspect funding schemes (hello hot tubs!).
YXX, thanks to WestJet, has the potential to attract all kinds of businesses, conventions, sports, tourists, entertainment and industry. Yet several readers have stated they become livid when they see “airport, gem” and “economic benefit” linked in the same story.
Just ask our receptionist – she looks like that ghastly Bettle Juice character after dealing with these “critics” who often drop a few expletive deletives before slamming the receiver on her ear.
One lady returning from a weekend festival in Winnipeg offered at the YXX luggage carousel: “No matter where you fly to, this is always a great place to return and land – close to home, nice and convenient.”
Touché.

TIME FOR TALKING TURKEY

You might wonder, while staring at your thinning desk calendar, where the heck summer and September went, not to mention our so-called Tax Freedom Day.
As thoughts turn to talking turkey – yummy birds, not stuffed politico peeps trying to overspend our way to Third World status – we also wonder if the Canucks, Lions and VANOC are next to do Cialis commercials to get up for the big games ahead.
We wonder if governor-turned-author Sarah Palin will have success with Going Rogue, her new book that contains small words and big pictures. And you betcha, crayons and a map of porches where you can see Russia on a good night are optional.
Michael Moore, who had great success with Sicko, Farenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine, is now filling theatres with Capitalism: A Love Story that depicts corporate greed. The popcorn and pop only costs $30 to see this flick about our profit-over-people mentality.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff wants another federal election, meaning about five people in this country now feel the same way. Come to think of it, that’s about the same number wanting more spent on bike lanes, transit studies and councillor salaries.
Anyways, by request, here is the My Two Bits freakin’ fall quiz to bring you up-to-speed on the issues that sort of matter:
* Rio de Janeiro, the home of bronzed bodies and tiny bikinis, has been awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics despite a Chicago bid that included pitches from Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama. The first thing organizers in Brazil must worry about is:
a.) When to introduce the HST.
b.) When to start chirping “On time, on budget.”
c.) When to start slashing budgets for education, health care and social programs.
* The B.C. Liberals, the “caring party” that’s breaking all the promises used to secure your vote last May, is now busy defending cuts to school sports programs while drooling over Olympic athletes. Your thoughts:
a.) Mellow Mike de Jong used to go absolutely bonkers about this flip-flop tripe before drinking the Campbell Kool-Aid.
b.) Wasn’t the Olympic “legacy” supposed to encourage youth to become involved in sports?
c.) Did Premier Gordon Campbell decide this while imitating Nickelback in Hawaii?
* With Halloween just three weeks away, your post-turkey thoughts will turn to coming up with novel costume ideas. You might consider:
a.) Dressing up as an AHL arena, so politicians throw gobs of money at you.
b.) Dressing up as David Letterman or Bill Clinton, ’cuz interns dig it.
c.) Dressing up as an Olympic “windfall” so you can turn invisible while screaming “Do you believe?”
* You’re thinking of buying a new Thanksgiving T-shirt that describes a bit of your personality. You’ve narrowed it down to:
a.) I’m not your type, I’m not inflatable.
b.) I am having an out-of-money experience.
c.) When blonds have more fun, do they know it?
* Aussie golfer Greg (The Shark) Norman and former tennis star Chris Evert have split after just 15 months into their high-profile marriage. Other ew-inducing “couples” you’d like to see split ASAP include:
a.) Gordon Campbell and Colin Hansen.
b.) Michael Jackson and shameless media.
c.) The Olympics and our wallets.
* After a lengthy spell of downsizing, rightsizing, tax hikes, job losses, cutbacks, whatever, many Canadian credit cards are maxed. Your situation is best described as:
a.) My card got stolen, but the thief spent less than my spouse so I didn’t report it.
b.) Things are so bad I got a pre-declined card in the mail.
c.) I’ve got all the money I’ll ever need if I die by 4 p.m.

BIG BROTHER GETS COMPANY

The ever-cool Rob Hole of Mission Possible has a lot of neat "toys" for big kids and those who like the James Bond ("shaken, not stirred") spy-like lifestyle!

Karin Swain, one of those gung-ho gals with a smile that probably ignited global warming, sashayed into my office the other day and mischievously asked: “So, when was the last time you were buck naked in a hotel room?”
OK, wasn’t exactly sure how to answer our intrepid sales rep due to the instant tightening of my collar. Many corporate lawyers have retired young and wealthy due to indecent responses from we smart-ass types.
Do you say, for example: “Baby, thought you’d never ask?” Offer up a cheesy Wayne’s World “schwing?” Or do you choke a bit, turn different shades of red and whimper: “Are you, gulp, talking to me?”
As it turns out, Swain had just visited Rob Hole, the 20-year-old manager of Mission Possible who outlined how the sophisticated gadgetry in his new spy and surveillance equipment store works.
For example, a Sony Dream Machine clock radio in his store contains a hidden video camera that’s activated by heat or body motion. ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews was filmed naked by one of these beauties inside her hotel room and freaked out when her birthday-suit images appeared all over the Internet. Schwing, indeed!
Hole’s store appears to have everything you’ve marvelled about in those cool James Bond movies – pocket cameras, miniature listening devices, designer watches and Oakley-style sunglasses with secret video cameras. There is a nifty mail box camera, a bug and phone-tap detector, clocks and cans with hidden safes and home alarm systems with video cameras hidden inside motion detectors.
A small device called Spy Cobra can track e-mails and website surfing. Mission Possible has GPS tracking systems that will reveal where your vehicle went, where it stopped and how far it travelled. And for a few extra dollars, you can be e-mailed with location updates.
Want to keep tabs on the babysitter, the spouse, the kids, boyfriend or girlfriend? Well, Hole’s shop appears to have something for every need – with prices ranging from affordable to elaborate.
The young entrepreneur acknowledges that some folks believe his store represents yet another infringement on privacy. But on this morning, a man walks into the 1st Avenue shop looking for something to catch a lawnmower thief who has struck for the third time. And another shopper wants a listening device for his property to thwart would-be trespassers.
“Basically this is just a big kids’ toy store,” said Hole. “There’s some cool stuff in here that can be used as gifts, pranks, security, whatever.”
As a reality TV-like society, we’re getting accustomed to being recorded in public, whether we go to the bank, airport, school, the movies, the mall, on SkyTrain or toll bridges.
Asked if Big Brother has perhaps gone too far in poking his uninvited head into our personal business, Hole compared his gadgetry to the web.
“The Internet has many, many great uses, but some people use it for viewing or downloading questionable materials.
“Same with our store. A lot of what we sell is for property or personal protection, or to have some fun. The odd person may use it for things that aren’t ideal.”
Hole says consumers need to familiarize themselves with privacy laws if they are using the somewhat invasive gadgets.
“We have people coming in who are worried if their significant other is cheating. They may want to track their calls, or text messages, or travel. We have covert equipment for that.
“In fact, we have 170 items in our store and the inventory keeps growing and changing as micro-technology evolves.”
We get the picture – and thanks to Mission Possible, you can, too.