I grew up in small-town Saskatchewan and thus am familiar with folks who congregate daily at “coffee row” to remember the good old days, tell amusing stories, share gossip and passionately discuss current events. I continually thought about coffee row while reading Swift Current-area writer Doug Cameron’s memoir, My Tarzan Tree and Other Farm Boy Memories.

This 1945-born author is obviously a storyteller at heart, but more than that, he’s done what many people talk about doing—writing a book about their life—but few accomplish. Cameron’s light and informal tone; the emphasis on his rural upbringing (near Alcomdale, Alberta); and rambling reminiscences of boyhood escapades with eight siblings, cousins, and friends reads like coffee row conversation: I could even imagine Cameron’s coffee mates nodding in recognition as they stirred another spoonful of sugar into their coffee cups. 

Cameron, who had a significant career in agricultural science (he was employed at Ottawa’s Agriculture Canada Research Station, and worked globally), has culled his varied childhood experiences into an easy and pleasurable read. He says that he’s “always wanted to write about [his] boyhood days as a toddler to a teen growing up on [their] farm,” and now that he’s “getting long in the tooth,” it was time to do it. The fact that he “loved writing this book,” shines through the short chapters, which include occasional black and white illustrations and maps. 

The nearly 300-page book begins with the author’s earliest childhood memories, ie: playing with toy soldiers, and slowly becoming aware that he lived on a farm, complete with dogs and “oodles of elusive cats,” chickens, cows, horses, pigs and turkeys. This was back when chamber pots were in use, teachers gave students “the strap,” and everyone bathed in a galvanized steel tub on Saturday night. For Cameron, money was earned by picking bottles and picking rocks: the kids’ father paid a penny “for a pail and ten cents for a pile.” In those days, ten cents could buy a “box of Cracker Jack popcorn (with a prize inside), one large O’Henry chocolate bar, five licorice pipes, or, best of all, 30 jaw breakers.” Several food memories are shared, from church picnics and fall threshing meals to pilfered apples: “—there is nothing like the taste of stolen apples,” Cameron writes. He goes into detail about the type of candy cane in his Christmas stocking (“There would always be one peppermint candy cane with the barber pole stripes of red and white. Sometimes green got in the mix.”), and describes his first vanilla milkshake so well, it made me long for one. 

Cameron presents a rosy picture of his childhood within a large rural family, including a home life filled with chores; church and community activities; school days; hobbies and sports. “We didn’t go hungry,” he writes, “and there was lots of love.” 

Readers, if you recall playing “Kick the Can,” skating on sloughs, and making cattail torches, you’ll probably see some of your history in these merry personal tales.

 

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"D.R. Cameron's satire Dysfunctional Regulatory Bodies mocks regulatory organizations. It aims to examine the specifics of regulatory bodies, their shortcomings and biases, and how these entities might be utilized to obstruct progress and ensure that the public's interests are not safeguarded. The Kingdom of Aspen, where this narrative is set, is a society where people are given names that incorporate their occupations. We shall follow experienced grower Bruce G in this tale. Justin hires him to develop an environmental strategy to safeguard the aquifer at his feedlot. Unfortunately, they frequently encounter discrimination from Builders who believe Bruce G is encroaching on their domain by accepting this position. It was interesting to discover how regulatory organizations function, particularly those that are self-regulatory. The author explained in great depth how they create the code of conduct and how they punish members. There is no doubt that the author is quite knowledgeable in this area. He was able to expose their faults as a result, such as the fact that regulatory agencies' definitions of misconduct and incompetence are vague, making it simpler to condemn offenders. I found it rather intriguing how the author showed how these bodies can be used to oppress members and uphold the status quo, no matter how unfair it is. I enjoyed the thought-provoking questions posed at the start of each chapter. They served as a guide and addressed the issue head-on. These queries enable readers to evaluate the behavior of the many characters in the novel critically. It was fascinating to observe systemic discrimination in action and how different entities abused the legal system. The author did an excellent job of showing how despotic some people can be by utilizing characters like Queen Mara, who had no knowledge of the issues at hand but used her position to her advantage because she believed her authority was being questioned. The author was also able to impart a lot of knowledge regarding how sloppy laws might be applied to turn oppressors' opponents into victims. There were some things I did not like about the book. The first was that the book occasionally came off as preachy. The author employed the protagonist Bruce G and his companion Justin to illustrate his viewpoints, and at times they came off as awkward and formal. The opinions were not presented in a natural manner. The second was that I wasn't entirely sure what drove Justin to resist the authorities. BruceG's motivation was obvious; as a grower, he had to fight systemic discrimination that prevented him from carrying out his duties. Justin was only a farm owner, and I wish the author had given Justin more justifications for getting engaged in this conflict. I wished there had been more information given as to why he decided to join this war because the repercussions for him sounded equally as severe as those for BruceG. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars because it provided an interesting insider's view of how regulatory organizations operate. Even though I did not enjoy some of the points described above, I did not find a reason to lower my rating. While reading the book, I didn't find a single typo, spelling mistake, or grammar mistake, which led me to conclude that the book was exceptionally well edited. I recommend this book to those who want to understand how regulatory organizations operate. This book would be interesting to political enthusiasts as it discusses the politics and bureaucracy involved with regulating agencies."

"Dysfunctional Regulatory Bodies is a work of satirical fiction. That’s a new genre for me so I needed to get the lowdown. It turns out that satirical fiction is loosely defined as a work that ridicules a specific topic in order to provoke readers to change their thoughts and/or opinions on the topic. That works for me – bring it on! I was clueless when I dove into this book so I was grateful for the preface that Cameron included before chapter one. I highly recommend you don’t skip the preface as it gives you a solid explanation of the treat that you are in for in the pages ahead. The layout of this book makes it a joy to read. It’s broken up into short chapters, which I love. The font isn’t large but it’s not small either – my eyes were grateful. The frequent use of bullet points is aesthetically pleasing, breaking up the pages into easily digestible chunks. Each chapter begins with dysfunctionality questions for you to keep in mind as you read the next few pages. I found them handy as they are subtle arrows pointing to what to be aware of or watch out for. It also keeps you thinking, a refreshing thing in a book these days when so many of them can be consumed mindlessly. Cameron does a great job of crafting interesting characters for this piece of fiction. Most of the characters have a different professional designation: Builder, Caregiver, Grower, Human Behavior, Prosecutor, or Teacher. They are indicated in the book just by the first initial of the word after the name (for example: SophiaC and GloriaHB). It’s a unique way to lay things out. In case you forget what a designation is, there is a list at the front of the book before the preface. As I made my way through Dysfunctional Regulatory Bodies, I had a hunch that Cameron had intimate personal knowledge of how such organizations work. Sure enough, in the author section at the back of the book, Cameron mentions that he was involved in his local professional regulatory body. His experience shines through in every page. I admire what I felt like Cameron was aiming for in these pages – a wake-up call for the readers to consider whether regulatory bodies have the public’s best interests uppermost or if their own self-interests are their number one priority. Dysfunctional Regulatory Bodies certainly did inspire me to ruminate more about the topic so at least for this reader Cameron’s goal was accomplished. If you have even a fleeting interest in the government regulation arena, even a fictitious one, pick up a copy of Dysfunctional Regulatory Bodies. Even if you don’t but enjoy satirical works, consider adding this to your 2023 reading list."

“Unbelievable! I just finished it last night at 1 AM. I never read past 10 PM. I cannot thank you enough. Totally on the money.” Note: Ted had an ordeal with his Vet Reg Body; he resonated with this book.

“This is a brilliant piece of writing. Satire can be very subtle or right in your face…a very clever exposure of bureaucratic dysfunction at so many levels. This book will be front and center in my library. ”