Graceland, Ontario: British

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Monday, June 24, 2013

A Very Special Woman

Let’s talk about something exceptional.

Today was the 200^th commemoration of a very famous walk in Canadian history.

Laura Secord was a housewife. Her husband was a Captain in the militia until he suffered a wound fighting in the Battleof Queenston Heights. Now, he was in bed.

And, with American forces occupying Fort George and the Niagara Region, her house had U.S. soldiers billeted in it.

But, as the story goes, she heard American officers at dinner one night discussing their plans to surprise and defeat Anglo-Canadian forces. Someone had to warn them. Her husband? No, he was far too weak.

She had to go.

A simple choice: if she didn’t go, no one else would. If she didn’t put her life on the line, no one would warn the British.

So she, woman in early 19^th century Canada, walked 32 km to warn British troops. Her shoes were worn through, but she got to Beaver Dams in time. Leuitenent James Fitzgibbon, commander of the Anglo-Canadian forces heard her out.

The next day, his men (comprised largely of Mohawk Warriors) surprised the American force, capturing about 500 men in what had been a low point of the war for the British.

Now, there’s been talk in the last 200 years that the Natives already knew of the American advance and that Secord’s walk was merely confirmation in their findings. It doesn’t matter. She, especially for a woman in the mindset of her time, did something fantastic.

She found important knowledge and, through her own initiative, took the actions necessary to save her country. You can’t beat that.

When we take the initiative in our lives, things change. All of a sudden, we’re putting in the work to walk 32km’s, we’re lifting lime stones. And we’re productive.

When we don’t take the initiative, we lose any chance to be special. After all, that means someone else did all the thinking before hand and we’re just following their instructions. They’ll take the credit, not us. And that’s not very rewarding.

However scary it is, use the knowledge you possess and have the initiative to take ACTION with it. Secord is now a Canadian legend with more than one school to her name.

Think where your initiative could take YOU!

Alex H.

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Friday, May 24, 2013

Why You're Missing Out if You Don't Believe in Teamwork

Working with other people can be difficult.

Really difficult.

They don’t always have the same viewpoint as you and they certainly might not always agree with your plan of action. Many times, we believe we can work better by ourselves.

And though that may sometimes be true, it may also lead to us slamming our pinkies in the door jam.

200 years ago today, the Unites States and Britain, with Canada as the chopping block, were fighting the War of 1812. Britain/Canada started out well but by 1813 the cupcake was upside down.

American guns from Fort Niagara started wrecking havoc with British Fort George on May 25^th 1813. To mount things up the American Lieutenant, Oliver Hazard Perry, who later won the Battle of Fort Erie, taking the Great Lakes away from British domination, brought in fourteen ships of varying sizes to increase American firepower. The ships helped outgun the British.

The navy then worked with the American army to move 4000 troops over to the Canadian side on May 27^th, 2013. The British/Canadian defenders had no option but to retreat to safer ground, losing one of their capitals of commerce to the invaders.

The thing is it wouldn’t have been possible without the American Navy working at first with Fort Niagara’s guns to overpower the British and then by supporting the American troops on the Canadian side.

Like the American navy and army at the Battle of Fort George, we must remember to work with the strong people closest us, the ones who have the skills to turn things to our advantage. We may not always like them but without their skills we wouldn’t be quite as effective. Sure the Americans might’ve beaten the British by shear force of numbers but they hadn’t to that point in the war (Detroit, Queenston Heights) nor did they later with battles like Lacolle Mill afterwards.

Combined skills, working with others, will cover weaknesses that even the most skilled find when working by themselves. We are powerful beings, not perfect beings. Working our strengths off others can win a battle or change our lives.

But only if we allow the magic of teamwork to flow.

Alex H.

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Holding Grudges is for Idiots

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome to Graceland Ontario, your one stop location for success advice from the greats. Today, we’re going to talk about moving on.

Earlier this morning, I saw the largest military parade to march through Toronto since the Second World War. We’re talking over 1500 servicemen. And, in Canada, that’s not something you see everyday. The reason? Today was the 200^th anniversary of the Battle of York in the War of 1812. American gunboats pulled up into Toronto harbour on the morning of April 27^th, 1813 and pushed British forces back from the coast. Then, men were landed on shore, slowly moving Anglo-Canadian and native troops back to their base at Fort York. When the British commander, Major-General Roger Sheaffe, felt the battle lost, he fought a retreating action that included blowing up the powder magazine of Fort York; the explosion annihilated the fort and injured or killed about 250 people, including the American commander, Brigadier General Zebulon Pike, who were too close.

The Americans burned York a couple days later before returning to the U.S.

But, though the battle was a low point in the city’s history, the parade was one of commemoration of service; not a bandage of past failure, but a recollection of challenges overcome.

And that’s what astonishes me − in talking about this war, from what I’ve seen from both sides, there’s no animosity. There were some brutal consequences for both the Americans and the Canadians in the last major, official conflict between them. But both respect the other now.

To me, it’s the ultimate show of forgiveness and moving on.

The Canadians, the Americans, the British and the natives realize the seriousness of the affair their forefathers were in. But they also know they, more than anything, fought for peace. Sawing into old wounds won’t do anybody any good. Today, there weren’t any “Bash the Americans” parties in Canada (to my knowledge) to get back at the Americans for “wrecking our town” a couple centuries ago. War in general is either a mistake to start with or a last resort. Turning that into any long-term hatred’s a waste of everyone’s time.

Just as the War of 1812 and the Battle of York are ancient history now, so you must recognise are the pains of your past. Sure, some relationships are still sour years after a conflict. But is that smart or just an emotional reaction, not allowing yourself to let go of something that’s long done?

Canada and the U.S. get on pretty well today. But, if we lived based on our past, we’d be vying to blow each other up. And it wouldn’t do either one of us a pound of good. As is it with your life. Unless something’s current, forget it. If a city can forgive being burned down, you can overcome whatever happened to you. It may not be easy, might take time, but in the long term, wouldn’t it be better to say, “here’s commemorating the day I forgave so and so after so many years” rather than “it’s just another day hating whoever”?

You know it is.

Alex H.

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