Roderick Andrew MacDonald

I was born here in Niagara Falls, Ont. 9 Dec 1940. I am an only-child, At 15 we moved to Mamaroneck, N.Y. and at 17, to Montreal, Quebec. The '50's were just an outstanding time to grow up. Here's a pic. I attended McGill University in Montreal, obtaining a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics.

In the '60's I began a career in Education, teaching secondary school Mathematics in southwestern Ontario. While teaching, I received an M.Ed. degree from the University of Toronto in 1976, an Ed.D. degree from that University in 1978. Here is a link to my thesis in Archives Canada.

In 1978. I began a new career in Management Consulting, first with the firm of Woods Gordon (now Ernst & Young) in Toronto, then in my own practice until I stopped work in 1999. My practice consisted of organization reviews & design, management development, human resources planning, employee surveys of several kinds and organization development. Here is the resume I was using at the time.

In late 2002, I returned to Niagara Falls and began this genealogy "hobby".

I love going to warm places in the winter - Cuba, the D.R., Mexico, and the Pacific coast of Costa Rica are my favourites. I always find a nice beach, and sometimes an even nicer beach. Florida is nice after March 17, especially watching Blue Jay ball games in Dunedin at Spring Training.

Rascal

Rascal is my 10 year-old Manchester Terrier. This original hydrant made in 1907 is his own mailbox in the backyard. I sure hope I never have a real fire...there's no water inside this one.

Being half English Whippet and half Black & Tan Terrier, the Manchester has the brain of a terrier on the body of a whippet - a challenging combination. This one loves to chase anything that moves - the faster the better. Mice and voles are too slow, squirrels are nice, birds are best. He's knocked two seagulls out of the sky and he just stood and waited for them to fly again. It's the chase, not the catch, that's important to a Manchester.

The Manchester is a first-class athlete that loves to play and wrestle with people and other dogs. Be warned, though, that this dog only moves in one gear - top speed. Everything is done "all-out", never by halves. At 27lbs (12 kg.) it packs quite a wallop when jumping at you at full running speed.  A raised knee is your only salvation and unprepared children must be protected.

It's thought that a dog year is equal to 7 person years. On 17 July 2010, Rascal and were exactly the same age to the day. Now he's older than me but still much, much faster.

Baseball

Baseball is, and always has been, my passion. Since the 1940's in Niagara Falls, listening to Jimmy Dudley broadcast Cleveland Indian games on the radio, I have been hooked by the game. Then, living in the suburbs of New York City as a teenager in the middle 1950's provided me with a first hand view of the very best centre-field play - Mickey, Willie & the Duke - ever. Alas, 1958 was a very bad year when the Dodgers & Giants left town. From my early Indian-fan days, I have always been a Yankee-hater and they were all that was left.

Then, along came the Blue Jays in 1977, just as I was arriving in Toronto. Very early-on I acquired season's tickets and could almost always be found at what was arguably the worst ballpark ever, with a ball club that wasn't far behind. But, they were ours.

We suffered as Dave Stieb tried and tried to get that no-hitter, as the team tried and tried to get to the World Series. Then it all finally arrived at the end of the 1992 season in a World Series won in 6 games, the last being in Atlanta. The best, though, was being in my seats with my colleague Wayne Scott as we watched Joe Carter hit his World Series-winning, walk-off home run in October 1993.

 
A Joe Carter autographed ball - photo from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

 After that game, more than 100,000 people walked gleefully and peacefully up Yonge Street. Lots and lots of beer but not so much as a broken window - only in Canada, eh?

Baseball has a great history and I love its quirky things. Here's just a handful:

Curling

Curling places a premium on strategy, teamwork, and physicality. Flexibility, balance, and full-body control are the essential physical requirements.

And what other sport has the bar just feet away from the playing field?

Curling Canadians vastly outnumber curlers of any other country, probably of all other countries combined. Every little town across this country has both a hockey rink and a curling rink.

The first you'll see of the game will probably be on TV and will feature people playing at a very high level, e.g., Olympics, a National Championship. If you watch, it won't take you long to figure out that anyone can do this game. If you get a chance, try it. It's great!