Shouldn’t I be discussing my sermon today at St. Andrew’s in Penticton?

A — 1
Not really because I haven’t finished talking about the Pecha Kucha presentations. There are two that I need to chat about. The final speakers were unique in that they initially sounded fairly blase… one was a newspaper guy and the other was a tourist-traveler.

(a)
The newspaper guy was young but made a very cogent, in fact great, argument for the value of the press. He talked about the good and the negative and cautioned us about believing the death of the printed page. He made one comment that resonated — he said the internet news sources are instantaneous and the tv media are colourful, but both are fleeting. Because of this transitory nature, we can never be sure that we actually heard it right. And we can be fairly confident that we did not get it in depth. His argument is that the printed page comes with considerable research because the writer (and the source) know that it is going to stick around for a while — on the kitchen table, in the cab of the truck, at the coffee shop, etc.; and furthermore, it will be passed around and/or referred to other critical eyes. If it is not reasonably accurate it will quickly be shunted aside. He also made the point that newspapers tend to be more local — even the national papers will try to address issues in the areas where the paper is delivered. There is a sense of connectedness to the community that is vital not just for the reader, but for the life of the medium itself. He encouraged us all to put down our prejudices and try a local paper for a month and see if that doesn’t inform us better, give us a better sense of the community we live in, and make us feel more surety in the news we are reading.

(b)
The traveler loves to snorkel and dive. He likes to spend as much of his vacation time as possible in warm spots on warm oceans. He is a real student of marine life and credits Jacques Cousteau for inspiring him. He is particularly partial to Honduras and has become deeply involved in improving the eco-systems off the Honduran coast. He has discovered that many tourists are ill-trained and rather ignorant of the lifecycles of the very flora and fauna they want to view when diving and snorkeling. He had some excellent pictures showing people inadvertently damaging the sea bottom and special plants by their clumsiness or lack of attention. It all was very thought-provoking. In the midst of beauty, humans were making messes. But then he caught us all off guard when he asked how we took care of our own lakes, beaches and parks. He pointed out that we do not take time to educate our tourists about good water management, because we are not well versed in the subject ourselves. He suggested that this year we become better stewards of our waterways — this means that we not only take steps to learn and protect, but we also teach and encourage our visitors to join in proper and effective water management. His argument is that if we are not willing to significantly manage our renewable resources, we ought not to be surprised that visitors ought not to consider it a priority with them.

g.w.