Helen C. Escott's Blog: The Helen C. Escott Book Club: A Novel Idea, page 7

The story of Aunt Martha’s Sheep

One of the most popular songs on Newfoundland airwaves during the seventies was “Aunt Martha's Sheep.”

The song was recorded by Dick Nolan and tells the story of a little old lady from Carmanville whose sheep was stolen.

It recounts details of an RCMP investigation into the crime and the source of much laughter by Newfoundlanders who contend that the Mountie shared in the booty having been tricked into thinking it was moose.

The reputation of the Force was redeemed somewhat when, in a later song, it was learned that the Mountie was actually a Newfoundlander from Harbour Grace.

Members from the Burin Peninsula and St. John's G.I.S. did not want to fall prey to any such trap when they responded to a complaint on February 6, 1973, from Aunt Lucy Cluett of Frenchman's Cove that her sheep had been stolen.

Ironically, she had been listening to Nolan's recording when her attention turned to the source of a noise outside and was shocked to see two men stealing a sheep from her barn.

Aunt Lucy followed the example of Aunt Martha by calling the local RCMP Detachment. Recognizing the significance, our members pulled out all stops including the use of roadblocks with no immediate success. A local police spokesperson assured the curious public that no one had eaten any moose.

The thieves, in their haste, left behind their battery lantern which led to their identification. Due to the team efforts of St. Lawrence and Burin Detachments assisted by St. John's Subdivision G.I.S., two residents of Port au Bras and one from Fox Cove were found in possession of the remains of the stolen mutton. The Port au Bras residents became known as the 'Mutton Brothers.'

Dick Dew in his account of this story published in the RCMP “Quarterly” reported that as the three defendants left the courtroom in Grand Bank having been convicted, they were humiliated by well-wishers with a series of baas. The remaining members of the Division, especially those who hailed from Mainland points, were growing tired of being asked the difference between the taste of moose and that of sheep. They were grateful to members who brought this matter to a successful conclusion.

Story published in The Mounties: The First Fifty Years in Newfoundland and Labrador, edited by Gerald Leahy, for the RCMP Veterans' Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In Search of Adventure and Escott’s other novels are available at: Costco, Chapters, and Coles. Also, online at indigo.ca Apple – iTunes, Nook – (Barnes & Noble), Amazon, and Kobo. National and international orders can be placed by calling 1-866-739-4420 ext. #22 or you can send e-mail eoldford@flankerpress.com

S/S/M Dave Tipple: Keeping the Honour Alive

After more than 44 years as a member of the RCMP, Staff Sgt. Major Dave Tipple hung up his spurs on June 25, 2014.

Originally from Corner Brook, he joined the RCMP on March 23, 1970, and retired as the longest serving Mountie in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“I simply loved my job,” he says, when asked why he served for so long.

Today, as a proud member of the RCMP Veterans’ Association, he has a new passion; honouring members who have passed away. Tipple and his wife, Valgene, spend their free time driving from grave yard to grave yard, searching historical files and tracking down family members to find the graves of deceased RCMP members.

When he first took over as Staff Sergeant Major, one of the duties included being responsible for ordering Regimental Headstones and RCMP Inscriptions for Headstones. At that time, the Veterans looked after the grave site conditions. They ensured the headstone, marker and grounds, were taken care of and deficiencies, whether they be repair, cleaning or other upkeep issues, were rectified. Tipple, and Veterans George Powell and Bob Medd decided to form a Last Post Committee. Tipple stayed on the committee after retirement.

He decided to locate all the grave sites of RCMP Members in Newfoundland and Labrador. He then took it upon himself to not only find the graves, but to record the graves of all Regular Member, Civilian Member and Special Constables who died in Newfoundland and Labrador who are buried out of the province, and those who died on the mainland who are buried in the province. No easy task to say the least.

Over the last five years, he has visited and inspected just about every grave and columbarium site on the Island. Once found, he takes care of it and places the B Division Ensign on each one. That process is repeated every year.

In Labrador, he asks the serving members and veterans to inspect the graves. “If I can’t get to the graves, I will ask other veterans to check on them for me and they are always willing to help.”

Tipples says he is still looking for graves. “When you think about it, we’re only seventy years old in this province and we already don’t know where our members are buried.” He says, “No, that’s not right. We should know where everyone is, and I think we are close to that mark.”

Tipple is still looking for graves of Newfoundland Rangers who served with the Force. “They may have served six months or a year. But I would still like to find their graves and mark them.”

His excellent investigative skills have uncovered three members from Newfoundland on the RCMP Honour Roll: #30791 Cst. Bruce Lindberg Davis, (Honour Roll #158, died on duty in Portage La Praire, Manitoba) buried in Gander, #36327 Cst. Douglas Ambrose Mark Butler, (Honour Roll #170, died on duty at Oxbow, Saskatchewan) buried in Upper Island Cove, and #25165 Cst. Derek Thomas Ivany, (Honour Roll #144, died on duty in St. Arthur, New Brunswick) buried in Grand Falls.

He also discovered that two members buried here received prestigious medals. #16200 Cpl Eric Bruce Gillingham (Former Newfoundland Ranger), was awarded The King's Police and Fire Services Medal for Gallantry, in connection with a murder investigation. Special Constable Frank Matthews, who sailed on the historic 1944 voyage of The St. Roch from Halifax to Vancouver through the North West Passage, received The Polar Medal awarded to each crew member by King George Vl.

Once someone gives him a piece of information, he doesn’t give up until he finds the grave. A retired member now living in Australia was traveling in Labrador and came across information that indicated Cst. Marcel Raoul Thevenet was buried in North West River. Due to travel conditions and the fact he was traveling with a group, he did not have time to explore further. He passed on the information to Veteran Tom Lowe in “H” Division, who in turn passed the information on to Retired S/S/M. Tipple.

Tipple says, “According to Veteran Lowe, Cst. Thevenet was born in Soissons, France. He apparently ran a trading post in opposition to the Hudson’s Bay Company. He joined the NWMP on April 18th, 1898 and served in “K” Division. Then on 16th November 1900 he became Service #319 and was sent to South Africa in the Boer War, with the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles.”

S/S/M. Tipple enlisted the help of serving member S/Sgt. Sandy Goudie from Happy Valley/ Goose Bay. Goudie tracked down and spoke with Cst. Thevenet’s grandson, who resides in the area and found that indeed his grandfather was #3251 Cst. Marcel Raoul (SAW) TREVENET who did serve in the NWMP and is buried in the Main Cemetery, in North West River, Labrador with no RCMP or NWMP markings. Tipple now ensures his grave is inspected each year and a B Division Ensign is placed on it.

He also discovered #9994 Sgt. George Tingley Makinson. In 1923, Makinson joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Halifax. He mainly served in western Canada and the Canadian Arctic. While he was stationed on Ellesmere Island from 1927 to 1928, he discovered an inlet that was later named Makinson Inlet. Makinson served aboard the RCMP supply schooner St. Roch from 1933 to 1936. In 1943, he retired from the RCMP while posted in Swift Current, Saskatchewan and he returned to Newfoundland to operate the family dairy farm. When Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949, Makinson was elected Liberal MHA in the 1st Provincial Assembly for the Riding of Port de Grave.

When asked what drives him, Tipples says, “Even though their father or grand father only served for a short time in the Force, families still talks about it with great pride seventy years later. So, I think it’s important that the RCMP also remember them.”

He tells the story of a young constable who died of cancer in Nova Scotia. Tipple had inspected his grave and placed the B Division Ensign on it. The constable’s father, who visited his son’s grave almost every day found the flag and went to Deer Lake Detachment to find out who had put it there and why. When he was told that the Veterans do this to all the graves the father was overcome and couldn’t get over that the Force did not forget his son.

Tipples adds, “It’s the Veterans who keep this going. Our Veterans throughout the province takes this task on.”

To date, Retired S/S/M. Tipple, his wife, Valgene, and Veterans throughout the province have marked 195 graves of Regular Members, Civilian Members, and Special Constables.

It gives a whole new meaning to, “We Will Remember Them.”

S/S/M Dave Tipples story as well as other stories are available in the historical book from Flanker Press "In Search of Adventure" Buy it and Escott’s other novels at: Chapters, and Coles. Also, online at indigo.ca Apple – iTunes, Nook – (Barnes & Noble), Amazon, and Kobo. National and international orders can be placed by calling 1-866-739-4420 ext. #22 or you can send e-mail eoldford@flankerpress.com

Don’t Trash Newfoundland and Labrador! Should be our new motto

I was going into a supermarket when I spotted a lady in a white truck parked in the no parking zone in front of the building. She had two children in the car with her under the age of ten. She rolls down her window and throws out a fast-food paper bag full of garbage.

A garbage bucket was five feet from the truck.

I bet everyone reading this has a similar story.

Everywhere I go in this province I find garbage. It is not unusual to be hiking through the woods and find discarded fridges and stoves. It seems around every tree there is an old tire. Remember when you used to see bottles and tins everywhere? Now it is masks. You would be shocked at how many times I have been hiking on a trail and found masks caught up in trees!

Trash litters all our highways and it only seemed to be getting worse.

This is our home, we have to keep it clean.

I think Government needs to step up with stricter fines and punishment but we, as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a bigger role to play. |We are not innocent. When we see people throw garbage on the ground, it should be offensive to us as a people.

Don’t Trash Newfoundland and Labrador should be more than a slogan, it should be a battle cry. It needs to inspire people to not only stop littering, but to take it on as an identity, a declaration of our swagger and pride. It should be our motto.

Every time we turn away from someone throwing an old couch on a beach or throwing their tires in the woods, we turn away from the future of our province. Most of this litter is small trash like napkins, cigarette butts and fast-food wrappers. I get overwhelmed by the endless miles of trash blowing around.

This problem requires the province and municipalities to set ambitious but achievable goals that can be measured to track progress. We need to do quick research on who is creating the problem and why. I believe that littering is not intentional. I think most people don’t realize how their individual actions lead to a real problem.

One thing municipal government can do is provide more garbage bins around walking trails and parks. Then require fast-food outlets to clean the area around their establishment.

Once we understand the target audience, we have to develop a message that will inspire this specific group to change their behavior. Don’t Trash Newfoundland and Labrador is perfect.

I believe that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a high degree of pride for being from here. I also know the word “litter” don’t motivate anyone.

Texas had a huge problem with trash that was costing them millions. They created the Don’t Mess With Texas campaign that eventually became their motto.

Once we find out what our target audience is, we need to find out how to reach them: social media or traditional. Maybe a mix of both.

The old saying out of sight, out of mind definitely does not apply when it comes to getting rid of waste.

Toxic chemicals and disease, causing microorganisms in the trash, may contaminate water systems and spread water-borne diseases, which can negatively affect the health of both animals and humans if we drink unclean or untreated water.

A common method of illegal dumping is throwing garbage directly into a river or stream, this causes oceanic pollution and leads to the death of marine life. Waste that is dumped illegally often contains dangerous and toxic substances, which soak in all the oceanic oxygen.

The most common killer of animals is plastic litter, notably impacting marine animals. Each year more than 100,000 dolphins, fish, whales, and turtles drown after becoming entangled or eating plastic.

Do you really want to be responsible for killing a dolphin?

Don’t Trash Newfoundland and Labrador must be a movement. We need bumper stickers, T-shirts, and billboards. |We need swagger and pride back. We need to use this statement in every aspect of our life in this province.

The next time you see someone throwing trash around, walk up to them and say, “Don’t Trash Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Hey hotel chains! Women travel too.

I love travel. And I really love a good hotel room

But I continue to be disappointed. Sure, the hotel room is nice. It is decorated nicely. Has a comfortable king size bed.

But one look and I know it was designed for a man. Not a woman.

Here is how I know, and this should be a ‘To do’ list for all hotels.

Let’s get to the heart of the problem: The bathroom

Women need light in the bathroom especially in the shower. There’s nothing worse than getting into the shower and finding out there’s no ceiling light. Then the hotel has hung a dark curtain so when you pull the shower curtain closed, you’re completely in the dark. It’s dangerous and scary. The hotel has literally taken every shower scene from a horror film and put you in it as the victim who is murdered in the shower.

Hotel designers obviously don’t know what runs through a women’s head while showering!

One of my pet peeves is the shower savers hotels put in the shower heads. I know they are trying to save water, but I would like to get the conditioner out of my hair!

Women need water pressure! I hate it when I am in the shower and there is barely enough water pressure to work up a good lather. We could lick ourselves clean quicker.

Take the bath tubs out and replace them with stand-up showers that have a built-in bench. Women shave their legs and lots of other places. We need something to put our foot on when we shave.

Hotel designers have no idea how a woman as to twist herself just to shave her calf without slipping and falling out on the floor.

I don’t think being able to shave your legs and get the shampoo and conditioner out of your hair should be an issue that a travelling woman needs to deal with.

Here’s an issue travelling women face that the men who manage the hotels would never see. Toilet paper!

Hotels only leave one extra toilet paper in the bathroom. As women, we have issues men don’t have. We have periods for seven days. We need the extra toilet paper! Give us more than one extra roll.

We also need more than one box of tissues in the room. Hotels only leave one in the bathroom, but we need one on the desk for when we do our make up.

Enough about the bathroom. Let’s head to the bedroom.

In the bedroom there is often a desk and chair. Although sometimes I have checked in and found out there is no desk and chair. I never book those hotels again.

Why don’t hotels put a mirror above the desk?

The desk is normally where women set up to do their hair and make up. I know what men will say, “Use the bathroom.”

But when you are travelling with kids and a spouse, bathroom time becomes very limited. Women need to have a mirror over a well lit desk with extra electrical plugs on it. And every hotel room must have a desk and chair for a woman to sit down at.

My last pet peeve is security.

Women are more likely to be the target of violence than men and travelling can become particularly dangerous if we are not on alert.

Hotel rooms come with a peephole in the door. But many do not have the peephole cover. Always check to make sure it does. Because just as you can see out, someone else can see in.

I find the elevators and hallways are rarely well lit. We need security. Turn up the lights.

Hotels need to listen to their female clientele and start designing rooms that meet our needs because women are more likely to choose the hotel than a man is.

You are invited to an Evening of Masonic Secrets and Murder!

“The truth of the matter is, sane people commit evil acts all the time.” Staff Sgt. Nick Myra

You are invited to an Evening of Masonic Secrets and Murder!

Flanker Press is inviting you to attend the book launch for Operation Masonic – The Lost Cathedral At Chapters, Kenmount Road, St. John’s, Wednesday, August 17th from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

Join Helen C. Escott for a reading from her latest crime thriller followed by a question-and-answer period. All are welcome. Social distancing and masks are encouraged.

For more information contact Ed Oldford at eoldford@flankerpress.com

The Mason’s Most Worshipful Grand Master is murdered in the Masonic Temple. His body laid out in the ritualistic Chamber of Reflection surrounded by centuries of secrets.

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) Staff Sgt. Nicholas Myra digs through thousands of years of history, secrets, scandals, and symbols in a hunt for the killer. A search that leads them back to the Temple of Solomon and the first Masonic murder.

A spelling mistake in a stained-glass window at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist and a Masonic symbol that fits over the map of St. John’s lead to rumours of hidden tunnels under churches and to an unbelievable treasure hunt in the heart of the Ecclesiastical Circle. An area few know about.

This is the historical backdrop to Helen C. Escott’s engrossing and well-researched new novel, Operation Masonic – The Lost Cathedral- from Flanker Press. This gripping thriller is exceedingly clever and compellingly truthful.

Operation Masonic is a fiction, that is all true. There really is a spelling mistake in a

stained-glass window at the Basilica and an Ecclesiastic Circle in the center of St. John’s.

“The killer is always the one who is not getting what they want. Who must have what they can’t have.” (Staff Sgt. Myra)

If you would like more information about Operation Masonic – The Lost Cathedral or to arrange an interview with Helen C. Escott, please contact Ed Oldford at 709-739-4477 ext. 24 sb Ext 26(toll-free 1-866-739-4420 ext. 24 – sb 26) or eoldford@flankerpress.com

Books will be available after August 17, 2022 at: Chapters, and Coles, Irving Stations, gift stores throughout Newfoundland and Labrador including the Butterfly Book Boutique in Port aux Basque.

Outside of NL, they are available at Chapters and Coles and also, online at indigo.ca Apple – iTunes, Nook – (Barnes & Noble), Amazon, and Kobo. National and international orders can be placed by calling 1-866-739-4420 ext. #22 sb 26 or you can send e-mail to eoldford@flankerpress.com

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Flanker Press Unit 1, 1243 Kenmount Road, Paradise NL A1L 0V8 Toll-free: 1-866-739-4420 Email: info@flankerpress.com Website: www.flankerpress.com

The Politics of Pockets

Christian Dior is alleged to have said, "Men have pockets to keep things in, women for decoration."

But Alanis Morissette sang: 'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket -And the other one is givin' a peace sign.

But what kind of jeans is Alanis wearing? Because I can’t get my hand in the pocket of my Levis or Guess or Old Navy. The pockets are not big enough to fit my hand.

What Mr. Dior and Alanis didn’t know was that Apple would invent an iPhone that was 6.1 inches!

One thing COVID dressing has done for me is eliminated the purse. I now use an iPhone wallet. I just don’t feel the need to drag around a ten-pound purse full of makeup I don’t use and a bulky wallet full of cards I don’t need.

But where do I put my phone wallet? Most days… in my bra.

Yes, the bra is the new purse. So, make sure you buy one with good support because it will also have to hold your car keys.

Gives a whole new meaning to stuffing your bra.

I don’t understand why designers of women’s clothes won’t give us pockets big enough to hold anything!

What we get is suits, shirts and pants with faux pockets or no pockets.

My husband can fit a one-inch-thick wallet in his back pocket, put his keys in the inside pocket of his blazer and stuff countless business cards in his coat pocket. But I’m always left holding the bag. Literally, because I am female, I have to carry a bag!

If we do get a pocket, it is usually so small you can’t fit anything into it. Seriously, if you are wearing women’s jeans, stand up, put your hand in the front pocket and measure how far it goes in. At best, you can get a lipstick in there but that’s it. You certainly would not be able to hide a tampon in your jeans pocket.

It comes down to the politics of pockets. Yes, it’s a real thing.

There was a believe back in the days of yore that if women had pockets, they would carry around secrets, like spells! Or private things like plans to take over the world. Or maybe even something deadly like a pistol.

That’s all true, we absolutely would carry spells, plans to take over the world and pistols if we had pockets. But the real reason womens clothes don’t have pockets is that as long as male clothing designers make womens clothes without pockets, women will have to buy purses.

Yes, it’s the purse industry that is taking away our pockets.

It’s also because most clothes are designed by men who want us to look like the Kardashians with big child-bearing hips and incredibly thin waists. Carrying a pistol, spells, evil plans, keys, tampons, and an iPhone would take away from that required female silhouette.

Believe it or not, there was a Rational Dress Society, founded in 1891 in London. It was part of the movement for Victorian dress reform. It described its purpose thus: The Rational Dress Society protests against the introduction of any fashion in dress that either deforms the figure, impedes the movements of the body, or in any way tends to injure the health. It protests against the wearing of tightly fitting corsets; of high-heeled shoes; of heavily weighted skirts, as rendering healthy exercise almost impossible; and of all tie down cloaks or other garments impeding on the movements of the arms. It protests against crinolines or crinolettes of any kind as ugly and deforming. It requires all to be dressed healthily, comfortably, and beautifully, to seek what conduces to birth, comfort, and beauty in our dress as a duty to ourselves and each other.

I think it is time we dust off the Rational Dress Society and form a new chapter because I need a place to put stuff.

I can’t wait for the day when some guy yell: Hey lady, is that a phone in your pocket – or are you just happy to see me.

Pandemics and fashion: Are we ready to throw away our corsets and bedazzled face masks!

We are not the first generation to experience a pandemic that forced us to stay home in our pajamas, wear masks and rethink how we dressed.

By the spring of 1918, World War I had already been raging for four years when the Spanish flu pandemic started its deadly sweep. From 1918 to 1919, the Spanish flu infected an estimated 500 million people globally. This amounted to about 33% of the world's population at the time.

The Spanish flu killed about 50 million people. COVID has killed less that six million worldwide.

How did people in 1918 deal with it? They dealt with it the same way we did, by using medicine and fashion! They also stayed home in their pajamas and spent time with their families. And yes, divorce rates went up while employment went down.

People were encouraged to wear masks to stop the spread. Women tried to make the masks fashionable. They called them, “flu veils” and sales went through the roofs. It did not take long before everyone turned them into fashion. Both women and men made them the color of their hats. A company by the name of Stern & Stern produced the Safety-First Veil which was a mesh veil with a chiffon border in a harem effect. Women matched them to their dresses.

By the end of 1918 the United States Public Health Service recommended

that everyone wear a mask. The Red Cross took out newspaper ads encouraging everyone to use a mask. They bluntly stated that “The man or woman or child who will not wear a mask now is a dangerous slacker.”

It did not take long before people wanted to use their masks to showcase their

personalities. Newspapers ran cartoons that proved it. They showed masks sewn with polka dots, tassels, lace edges, hearts, coats of arms and of course, anti Hitler masks.

Masks were not the only fashion item brought into fight the spread of the Spanish flue.

Women and men wore gloves long before any pandemic for fashion and to show wealth. But they became even more important during the Spanish flue.

Before the pandemic, women wore gloves to keep their hands soft, feminine and to show their modesty. Women who worked at hard labour used gloves to hide their rough hands.

But during the pandemic women and men wore gloves to protect them from disease.

Short gloves were worn in the daytime with long sleeves and long gloves were worn in the evening with short sleeves.

Women soon began to embroider their gloves and sew pearls and jewels on them or add lace trims.

Once the Spanish flue ended, people were ready for fun, much like we are now. They wanted to spend money, drink champagne (without a mask), roll their stockings down and dance the Charleston in speakeasies and gin joints.

Fashion was being reborn with Coco Chanel and other women creating clothes for women

that did not include a corset. Dresses became looser and shorter. Much better to dance till dawn in.

Remember, the 1920s were when women were given the right to vote. In Canada, women were finally declared "persons" under Canadian law on Oct. 18, 1929!

But take heed. It did not last.

At the end of this cultural renaissance, in 1929 the world experienced its most severe economic depression in history.

It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped-out millions of investors. It lasted more than a decade and ended during World War II in 1941.

It began in the United States and spread around the globe.

Now as the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are being lifted, feel free to dawn your gay apparel. Drink your champagne. Show your bust line and throw away your corset (face mask).

But remember, another great depression could be right around the corner.

Buy the cheap champagne and fake jewels. Put some money away for a rainy day.

How to be an author. Write what you know

Isn’t that what we are told? To be a good writer you must write what you know… but… what do we know?

I know a lot of things that people don’t know I know. From looking at me you may think, “She don’t know squat about squat.”

You probably don’t know I can write about Post Traumatic Stress at great length because I spent almost twenty years working in policing. I know what it’s like to be part of an investigation into the brutal murder of a child. I know what it’s like to feel cold sweat trickling down your back when the terrorists attacked New York city and planes began landing in this province. I know what it’s like to want to run home and protect your children because you think it’s the start of World War three. I also know what it’s like to have to stay and do your job because that is what you are trained to do. I know a lot about the guilt a working mother drags behind her everyday.

I know about the traumas of being raised by a parent who was a paranoid schizophrenic who medicated with alcohol. I know what it’s like to never be allowed to discuss your home situation with anyone because mental health issues were not discussed back then.

I know what it’s like to have the police inform you your brother died by suicide and what it’s like to call his children and let them know. I know what it is like to attend a remembrance mass every Christmas with other families who are trying to make sense of why their loved one took their own life.

But what do I know? I know what it’s like to hold your mother’s hand until it goes weak, and life leaves her body. I know what it’s like to be orphaned at fifty years old and feel like you’re alone in the world.

As a mother I know what it’s like to bring life into the world and nurture your babies until they grow into adults. I know what it’s like to watch your child soar, achieve their dreams and find their happiness. I know what it’s like to put the needs of your child before your own and thank God each night for their health when you watch your friends go through incredible loss.

What do I know?

I know as I age, I am becoming incredibly passionate about saving the planet, banning plastics, and leaving my grandchildren clean oceans, fresh air and thriving forests. I know I’m no longer willing to sit through racist jokes, intolerance towards minority groups or being belittled because I am female.

As a writer, I know I am not Shakespeare, but I also know I never claimed to be. I know it’s hard to put yourself out there and capture your thoughts on paper or even make them make sense sometimes. I know what I write will not be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s ok. I know it takes a lot of guts to ask someone to read your work and critique it. It takes even more guts to listen to the critique. I know what it is like to send your work to a publisher and wait for the response. I know what it’s like when an agent in Toronto tells you you’re “Too local” to appeal to a “Mainland audience.” I know what it’s like to feel like you’re hitting your head on a wall and wonder why you even pursued this dream in the first place.

I also know what it’s like to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and register for a good writing class and start over.

It’s true. To be a good writer, you must write what you know.

But what do you know?

Win a signed copy of Operation Trafficked

Get the first chapter of bestseller Operation Trafficked for free & you could win a signed copy by registering for 'A Novel Idea' Helen C. Escott's book club at https://www.helencescott.com/

Share this message with your Valentine! Maybe they will win!

A Book Is a Gift and Card, All in One - If you get chocolates for Valentine's Day, chances are it will come with a card expressing some kind of cheesy, insincere sentiment (sorry, card companies, but it's true). The card will inevitably end up in your junk drawer or, more likely, in the trash to never be read again.

A book, however, is a great Valentine's present and card, all in one package. The title page or inside cover is like a blank card, waiting to be filled with a personal expression of love. Does it get any sweeter than that?

Give books for Valentine's Day.

What happens when your oxygen is cut - Of self-care and cold showers

Before a plane takes off, the flight attendant will take you through the safety rules. One of the things she will show you is what to do if the plane loses cabin pressure. A mask will fall out of the compartment above you. The attendant explains that you ‘must’ put the mask on yourself first, then help anyone who is traveling with you.

She tells you this because when the cabin loses pressure it loses oxygen, and so do you. A person who suddenly can’t breath will thrash about. If you try to put the mask on a child or elderly adult, you will have to fight them. Keeping in mind you only have seconds before you pass out.

Which is why the flight attendant says you ‘must’ put on your mask first. When you can’t breathe, you cannot help anyone.

Now think about that in your day-to-day life.

If you don’t give yourself oxygen, how can you help anyone else?

If we don’t take care of ourselves, how are we expected to take care of anybody else?

You have to allow yourself some ‘me’ time and not feel guilty about it. I know what you’re thinking: How the hell do I get me time? I work, have kids, a house, bills, birthday parties to plan, dentist appointments! I can’t breathe!

It's because you are not selfish. You put your kids first. You put your spouse first. Your put your job first. They get the mask first, while you’re passing out.

Learn to be selfish. Take one hour a day to yourself. Put on your headphones and walk around the neighbourhood after supper listening to music. Sit down after the kids go to bed and read a book with a nice cuppa tea and a candle lit. Take the time to be good to your body.

Years ago, I started ‘Me Mondays.’ Nobody in my house even knows about it. On Mondays, I get up an hour earlier so I can have a long shower. I know what you’re thinking: How selfish! But I don’t care. It makes the whole week better.

I like starting off the week by taking care of myself first. Putting that oxygen mask over my face.

During my long shower I use a body scrub. It’s not expensive. The best body scrub I’ve ever used is just a handful of plain sugar. Don’t scrub hard, but scrub it all over your body and let the shower wash it off. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how soft your skin is.

After the scrub, I shave my legs and arms. Yes arms. I’ve been doing it for years and no, it doesn’t come back thicker or darker. Actually, after a while, it doesn’t come back at all.

Here’s the best part of my ‘me hour.’ Before I get out of the shower, I turn the handle to cold and spend 60 seconds under a very cold shower. I hear you: You’re crazy! Why would I do that?

You would be shocked at the benefits. The cold water calms itchy skin. It wakes you up, and I mean right up! It increases your circulation. It reduces muscle soreness. It potentially boosts weight loss and you will find you have glowing hair and skin. It’s also free and easy to do. Try it. You’ll think I am crazy at first, but after a few times, you’ll notice how your morning changes.

Then before I towel off, I rub baby oil into my skin while it’s wet and then pat myself dry. This can help plump, smooth, and moisturize skin by sealing in moisture all over the body (I don’t use it on my face, but you can if you are really dry.) I’ve been doing this since my early 20’s and I swear it makes a huge difference. I use it every day. Try it, you’ll be shocked at the difference in your skin.

My hair is wavy on one side and curly on the other. (I know right.) One of the best shampoos and conditioners I have used is Garnier Whole Blends. It’s available at Shopper’s Drug Mart and very inexpensive. Using the shampoo and conditioner every morning does amazing things to your hair. Remember I’m 58 years old so my hair tends to be thin and brittle at times. Give it a try

I am not telling you it’s time to take a shower! It’s important as parents, as grandparents, as singles, as workers, whatever your situation is, that you take an hour to yourself every day. COVID is causing us all to lose our minds.

So, stop and put that mask over your face so you don’t suffocate and pass out.

One last piece of advice, never feel guilty about it.