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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, June 17, 2010 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist Two words I fear most Jill Davis, Halton Division Editor in Chief hen I heard those two words, my head started to swim, the examining room became horrifyingly small and hot, and I started to shake. Princess Margaret. Those two simple words sent my world into a tailspin and the usually rational me was replaced by a distraught mess. Jill Davis Descriptions such as small, caught early and treatable did not register. My mind was solely focused on Princess Margaret -- that incredible, worldrenowned hospital known for its treatment of cancer. It has been scant few weeks since I had a mammogram that showed `something'. A follow-up ultrasound was needed. I knew there was a problem when I was told to take it "one day at a time" and that I would require a biopsy. This wasn't supposed to happen to me. I felt fine. This was supposed to be a routine checkup. But nothing is routine anymore. As I write this I am waiting for a call back from Princess Margaret -- from its rapid diagnostic clinic. My test results are in their capable hands, whoever they are. The Toronto hospital offers one-stop shopping, if you like. You have a biopsy and get the results that day. No waiting. I liked the sound of that idea. I am not a patient person. As soon as I learned there were two small `suspicious' spots lurking in my breast, I wanted them out. Now. Not tomorrow, but now, this minute. I feel like I am moving in slow motion, a strange sensation for someone who continuously works to deadline. My head is foggy, I am easily distracted and I feel a need to apologize to all those who love me and who are now scared and worried. My dear sweet mom who was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago and, happily, is free of it, has been a strong soul knowing exactly how her daughter feels. However, I also know she is not made of steel and it is tearing her up inside. I can tell, as she is busy baking delicious cakes; she always makes treats when she is upset or nervous. She can't fool me. My husband of 28 years is the rock I knew he would be. He is the calm one, the sensible one who steers me back on course when wild thoughts cloud my mind, which they often do. He reminds me constantly nothing has been officially diagnosed, only that there are two `somethings' that don't belong. But it is those `somethings' that have pushed common sense aside. Fear is occupying far too much of my time. But I am very fortunate in many, many ways. Aside from wonderful family and friends, I have my Metroland Media Group support network. It's a network that has sprung efficiently, effectively and quickly to be at my side. Therefore, I know whatever comes my way, I certainly will not be alone. Note to all you women out there who have been delaying booking a mammogram. I can't tell you how important it is to be screened and not just for breast cancer. Make that appointment -- now. I am scheduled for surgery next month. NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager The Oakville Beaver is a division of WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America W Media Group Ltd. RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award SUBMITTED PHOTO POWER OF PEOPLE: When eight local churches teamed up, they rallied nearly 350 volunteers to distribute food donation bags and then saw generous local residents donate 1,439 bags -- an estimated $90,000 -- of food. The volunteers then collected them Sunday and began to sort the donations gathered to restock food bank shelves at Kerr Street Ministries and the Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre. The food will assist the food banks in continuing to help those in need throughout the summer. Food banks have been struggling to keep pace with high demand in a recessionary economy. Top 10 list of books for the beach and prose for the poolside T his year I'm taking a little different approach to my annual offering of superb summer reading -- books for the beach and prose for the poolside, my recommended reading list that has been known to incite bedlam in bookstores, lunacy in libraries and rioting or, at very least, reading in the streets. Recently asked by a friend to name my favorite novels of alltime, I quaked under the pressure: too many stellar novels spread over too much time. The very thought of trying to actually rank these reads defeated me. Besides, how (or why) does one rank art? Nonetheless, encouraged (indeed fortified) with reader response each year for this very reading list, I will endeavour to pick my 10 favorite books of the 2000s. Are they the decade's best books? Forget that subjective `best'; these are the books whose backs I most enjoyed cracking. Here goes, in no particular order: The Fourth Hand, by John Irving (2001). In my literary lineup in the league of contemporary fiction, John Irving bats clean-up, and has done so for 30 years. No author has entertained, inspired and influenced me more. Still, even icons have slumps (in Irving's case, the period that produced A Son of the Circus and a Widow for One Year). In my mind, he busted out of that slump with The Fourth Hand that has everything old-style Irving had (save for bears and wrestling). The English Major, by Jim Harrison (2008). I fell in love with Harrison's provocative prose in the mid-1980s with Sundog. Since then, my love (like the author's reputation) has only grown. Whenever anyone debates the Greatest Living American Writer, Harrison is rightly considered. I recently finished Andy Juniper reading The English Major for the third time. It's the perfect summer book: wry and readable, hearty and humorous, and filled with pearls of Zen wisdom. Saturday, by Ian McEwan (2005). Twenty-four hours in the life of a neurosurgeon, wherein an ordinary day becomes extraordinary. The masterful McEwan's elegant and evocative followup to Atonement is as intelligent and inspiring as it is flat-out entertaining. The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and Son, by David Gilmour (2007). A poignant memoir by Canada's most underrated author. The Film Club relates how Gilmour, at his wit's end, let his 16-year-old son drop out of school on two conditions: no drugs, and he must watch three movies a week with his dad. The Film Club is born, father and son begin to reconnect, and the memoir takes flight. The Case of Lena S., by David Bergen (2002). The Winnipeg author's classic coming-of-age story delves into the world of 16year-old Mason Crowe, and the disturbed life of his love, Lena. Compelling. And haunting. Like all Bergen books. A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews (2004). I greedily read this wry and quirky novel in two sittings. It's about a young Mennonite ("As far as I know, we are the most embarrassing subsect of people to belong to if you're a teenager"), and it's about as close to Catcher in the Rye as any author's come of late. A must read. My wife would tell you it's a must re-read, having read it three times. Filling out my top 10: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers (2000); The Lost Legends of New Jersey, by Frederick Reiken (2001); The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen (2001); and Dirt Music, by Tim Winton (2001). Happy reading. Andy Juniper can be visited at www.strangledeggs.com, contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters.