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9| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,M ay 17,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca I recently picked up a copy of the new book writ- ten by my brother, David Ward, called Bay of Hope: Five Years in Newfound- land. I was intrigued by a quotation on the back cover by Canadian writer and environmentalist Claire Mowat, who was married to the late iconic author Farley Mowat. She writes that David "gives us a glimpse into the life of an isolated out- port where he spent five years and became part of this unique community on the southwest coast of Newfoundland. He weaves his own many-lay- ered life into this rare sto- ry, and we are fortunate that he observed so much." Mowat's words rein- forced for me how unique David's path in life has been - how different from my own - and made me grateful that he shares his story through writ- ing. David will be celebrat- ing the publication of Bay of Hope with an author reading and signing May 22 at 7 p.m. at Words Worth Books in uptown Waterloo. A "come from away" story "exploring love, loneliness, and adventure in remote Newfound- land," Bay of Hope is also about "David's 78 McCal- lum, Newfoundland, neighbours, the unforgiv- ing mountain and wilder- ness culture they call home, and why their gov- ernment wishes they were dead." I stopped into Words Worth Books this past week to chat about Bay of Hope with store co-owner David Worsley. "David has done so much more than just write a love let- ter to a great place," he told me. "I just love what he's done with it. Every- thing is in there, and it's a hell of a thing to do in travel memoir. It's a beau- tiful book." We reminisced about my brother's first book launch at Words Worth years ago, for his book The Lost 10 Point Night: Searching for My Hockey Hero. We were all appre- ciative of the strong com- munity support and turn- out for the event. "Uptown Waterloo has gone through three years of LRT construction, and book launches like the one we have coming up for Bay of Hope right now essentially reintroduces a lot of people to a place that has fallen off of their map, so they are a huge deal," said Worsley. Worsley expressed his enthusiasm for how be- loved author Claire Mo- wat wrote a testimonial for Bay of Hope, and its significance for a Canadi- an writer like my brother. "If you're going to get somebody in this country to blurb your book, I mean, it might as well be a Mowat!" said Worsley. There's something spe- cial about hearing an au- thor read his or her own words from a newly pub- lished book at a launch - a kind of culmination of the author's long journey, and a beginning of the journey for readers. Those who begin the journey with David at Words Worth Books on May 22 will, I think, echo Claire Mowat's sentiment that they are "fortunate that he observed so much." - Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and art- ist. Email is welcome at marshall_ward@hot- mail.com. Come from away story shares brother's story of life in Newfoundland It will be a special book signing and reading May 22 at Words Worth Books says Marshall Ward MARSHALL WARD Column You may have deduced that I am a bit cynical about party politics. It's true. Here's what I know to be true: • No. 1: You can't judge a (partisan) book by its cover. All political campaigns bank on the fact that there is room in the public's col- lective mind for only one big political news story at a time. Politicians know the drill: Today's story is yesterday's news. Claim- ing a news cycle is the pri- mary goal for all cam- paigns, a game that is re- played over and over dur- ing any campaign. The benefit is twofold: get your story to the top and push the others out. It's a classic shell game. And it is done with great purpose, to incite emo- tional responses from the electorate. Here's a tip: When you see politicians sticking to pithy sound bites, while dodging ques- tions about platforms and policy, remember that they are doing it on pur- pose, to distract you from what matters. • No. 2: Where there is smoke, there is fire. We all have a gut. Trust it. If something smells bad, don't eat it. If some- one shows you who they are, believe them. That being said, we all have different triggers and what irks me may be acceptable to you. But it is your gut and your vote - don't let the shiny baubles (see No. 1) - lead you away from what matters to you. • No. 3: Only dead fish go with the flow. This provincial elec- tion is staying true to form, if the past few elec- tions are any indicator. The Tories are riding high in the polls, the gov- erning Liberals are falter- ing, the NDP are surging into second place. Now, there will be talk about strategic voting and a po- tential coalition govern- ment, sending diehard partisans of all stripes in- to a frazzle. The party left out of the coalition talks will cry foul - charging that their opponents are playing with our precious democracy. We have been here be- fore. We are always here. Every single election. It's the same dead fish, going with the flow, when we need to swim upstream. For the record, I love a good coalition govern- ment. It is done across the globe, but for some rea- son, we Canadians can not grasp it. Imagine, a gov- ernment that recognizes the gifts and perspectives of their opposition, breaks down party walls and puts the electorate first. Kumbaya, my friend, kumbaya. • No. 4: The ball is in your court. Demographic research tells us who votes in elec- tions - voter participation peaks in the 65-74 years age bracket. If that isn't you, you need to vote. - Karen Scian is the co-founder of the Talent Business Solutions, an educator and a com- munity advocate. She is also chair of the Waterloo Public Library Board. You can email her at beinscian@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @karenscian. Cynicism and party politics go hand-in-hand Not everything is as it seems when partisan politics are involved, says Karen Scian KAREN SCIAN Column Wetland and river con- servation is a great tradi- tion in Ontario that needs to be upheld and increase. The Greenbelt planning needs to ensure that water- sheds in their entirety are protected from overex- tended development. I urge our politicians across all parties and at all levels to fight for the pub- lic's right to clean water. Gillian Maurice Guelph Protect the public's right to clean water This cuts across all party lines Letters See what our readers are saying about the issues that matter to them waterloochronicle.ca/letters Please keep our community clean! OPINION