Pierre Leduc et "le soleil d'afrique"

Pierre Leduc est venu au Canada en 1691 a bord "Le Soleil d'Afrique", un fregate navale de l'armee Francaise. It departed from La Rochelle on April 27, 1688 with fifty soldiers and 25 recruits. (Pierre Leduc was one of these? I've read that he was a <> - a cauldron maker, metal worker with the French army. We know that he was born in the little parish of St. Laurent(?), just outside Rouen, Haute-Normandie in 1645, to Pierre Leduc Sr. and Anne Martin. In 1688 when the soleil d'afrique set sail, he would have been 43. They reached Quebec on June 3, 1688. The commanding officer was one, Denonville. Bonaventure fits in there somewhere. He was another senior officer or the captain. I have also read somewhere that these soldiers were in the <>. I'm assuming this was the name of their regiment. I had read elsewhere that Pierre arrived in 1691, and that the soleil d'afrique first stopped at Louisbourg. So I'm not sure how this all fits together. But here you have the facts. Pierre Leduc married Catherine Fortin, daughter of Louis Fortin from Evreux (also in Haute Normandie), and they settled on a small farm on Ile-Perot (near Montreal). The freeway there apparently runs through where there farm used to be. Seven or eight generations later my great grandfather, Godfrey Leduc was born (c. 1901) at St. Timothee, near Salaberry de Valleyfield, in the Beauharnois region. He moved to Alberta in 1920 and became a farmer. His wife, Antoinette LaPalme, was from St. Dominique, Quebec (near St. Hyacinthe), and they married in c. 1929. They met while Antoinette was out visiting her LaPalme relatives in Wainwright, Alberta. Her parents were Josephe Lapalme and Euphemie Sinotte Loiselle of St. Dominique, Bagot, Quebec. I would like to find out more about the LaPalme and Sinotte family lines one day. How did they come to New France? Which part of France were they from? Etc.
I've recorded this so that I don't forget it. Hopefully you find some of it useful.

Of Diabetic Ethiopians and Wheelchair Users: Organizing Society into groups based on health condition

I think the world was a better place when all the nations, creeds, races, and relgions lived separate lives. It seems that in Canada today there is simply too much diversity. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that I feel immigrants, etc. don't belong in Canada. No, no, no. What I'm saying is that I don't believe in the concept of diversity. That we can all just get along. No. It doesn't work. The white man and the Aborginal didn't get along. The French and the English didn't get along. (Alot of them still don't get along. And why? Because there are few commonalities between them. There are few "points of reference" between different groups of people. For example: A new Canadian from Ethiopia drives a taxi cab. He picks up a white, fourth-generation Canadian passenger. They're the same age. Okay, so they have that going for them. Maybe they both have kids and they can talk about that. But what does that Ethiopian man know about hockey? What does that Canadian man know about the swahili language? What does the Ethiopian man know about local property taxes? What does the Canadian know about Ethiopian cuisine?

My point is that we don't all mix. We can't all get along. The reason this is important is because this relates to disease and chronic illness.

I myself suffer from Type 1 diabetes. If I lived in a "city" where everyone was a type 1 diabetic I wouldn't fear going blind, losing my legs, dying young. That would be the norm! It would be like everyday stuff. As it stands now though, living in a world of healthier, non-diabetic people, I'm scared. I'm scared that I'll one day lose my sight, my leg - my independence. If I had people all around me that knew all about my condition because they suffered from it too - everything in that "city" would be organized to work around the disease. There would be more break times at work. There would be juice and cookies stationed throughout the city in little booths for when our sugar goes low and we're out and about. Things like that. Is that not worth something? Forget what I said about the race/creed/religion stuff. I actually know an Ethopian diabetic. How about we divide ourselves health? Wheelchair people all together (everything would be wheelchair accessible), the blind all together (could be challenging), the diabetics together, the MS sufferers together, and so on. Life then in those "cities" would be geared toward whatever was wrong with the populace. As it stands now, any MS sufferer, disabled person, or diabetic feels different, left out, socially outcasted.

Slammer Two-Step

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAjItY7X0Yc&feature=fvst

Dancing lessons have been organized for prisoners of Cebu prisoners in the Philippines. Amazing.

Life in a Thai Prison

Just when you thought your life sucked...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSiGyGS6u8M&NR=1

Drug addiction should not be treated as an offense in the eyes of the law. Drug addiction is an illness. Perpetrators should be REHABILITATED and TREATED not punished and imprisoned.

MLS All Star Game 2009

A great game by the boys in blue last night. Hats off to Keller, Donovan, and Montero for strong performances. My question: Where were Kenny Cooper, Johnny Bornstein, and Robbie Rogers? Had those three been on the field we may very well have seen a different outcome.

Blanco, it's sad to say, is officially past his prime. I figure he's got 1 - 2 years left in him tops. His cheeky little lobs were no match for Tim Howard - and it showed. His deft footwork was still good but not quite as good as it once was.

Dominic Kinnear did a good job with the lineup although he subbed Montero out way too early. Had the young Colombian stayed on and played with Donovan, we may very well have seen the two connect for a goal or two. They are both speedy and accurate strikers. Conor Casey on the other hand added some good muscle up front but his physical play was simply not what was needed to score on Howard.

Beckerman was subbed off too early as well. He's got an excellent shot from outside the 18. Arnaud could be considered a good replacement - his shot is just as deadly - but he failed to find the space he needed to take that shot.

Everton, for their part, played a quality game. Three youngsters, 22 year old Jo "the Brazilian", 17 year old Baxter, and 18 year old ________, demonstrated good pace and skill. Saha was a force to be reckoned with and made sure to capitalize on a poor pass from Stuart Holden to Keller in the 8th minute.

Moyes is a great tactician and runs a tight ship. His players played their positions well, rarely leaving holes on the field and only once leaving an open man.

It's sad that our record had to be broken (the MLS All Stars now fall to 6 - 1?), but we'll move past it. Next year, if MLS schedules the game a little better, we might see both De Ro and Gerba on the squad. Watch out _______ ! (hopefully a La Liga or Ligue 1 team next year as we've had plenty of EPL competition).

The Fugees

GREAT BOOK:

Outcasts United. Spiegel & Grau. New York: 2009.

The story of the Fugee soccer team, founded by Luma Mufleh (American-educated, Jordanian born and raised) circa 2004. The setting is Clarkston, Georgia, home to tens of thousands of newly arrived refugees from all over Africa and the Middle East. Mufleh's and her players' perserverance in creating an "international", multi-ethnic soccer team as a project for personal growth and responsibility of all those involved, is heartwarming. Against great odds, from war to disgruntled mayors steeped in prejudice, Warren St. John's documentary tells the tale of the little team that could.

There is a movie in the works as well:

http://www.strangecultureblog.com/2007/06/luma-muflehs-life-story-creates.html

Note To Self

Always be a moderate. Never sway to the extreme. There is always a middle road.


For some this is seen as cowardly - -- - - --

The long haired hippies offering up Amnesty International donation forms to passersby on downtown street corners. Why do they always have to be long haired, with dread locks and organic, hemp wool pants? Dressed in suits and business attire, downtown office workers would see someone resembling themselves (=able to IDENTIFY with these people and whatever they are offering). More likely to get donations/subscriptions etc. in this manner.

essai/composition: sociology