I am putting them up here for both those looking for background as well as those who wanted to know more about his passing.

He will be greatly missed…

From Dale Baglio

Very sad news to report.  Gipp Forster passed away yesterday morning at about 11am at home, and in the arms of his wife, Donna. Obviously, his health declined very rapidly from when I last saw him about five weeks ago.  I knew his time was perhaps limited, but none of us realized he’d be taken so soon.

His memorial service is scheduled for April 26th at Gateway Baptist Church here in Victoria.

From Barry Bowman

I’m very sad to report our old friend Gipp passed away yesterday. He had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer in February but in spite of some hopeful, better news only a few weeks ago, the cancer proved too aggressive.

Gipp and I were avid matinee-goers, catching the latest flicks at Silver City but as he grew weaker we spent Wednesday afternoons watching his favorite videos from his recliner at home.

For Deb and me, he was our family pastor, (marrying us three times), presiding over our family funeral services, and dedicating Jessica and Paige when they were born.

For me, he was more than a good friend-he was like my brother.

It’s also comforting to know that Gipp’s faith sustained him through those last few weeks. Some afternoons, rather than watch a movie, we’d just talk, and he told me he was more than ready and not to be sad.

I know you’ll honor that as you spare a thought for Gipp and, of course for Donna who has soldiered through this with a deep well of courage.

A memorial is planned for Friday, April 26th.

From an article in Senior Living Magazine (which Gipp wrote for)

We are greatly saddened by the death of our friend and Senior Living columnist Gipp Forster, who passed away on April 15, 2013.

We made Gipp’s acquaintance about 16 or so years ago when we moved from Alberta to BC so that my husband Barry (Senior LIving’s co-publisher) could take on a position at the Mustard Seed, a street church and food bank founded by Gipp. Some years later, in 2004, I created Senior Living magazine. Already knowing Gipp’s gift as a writer, I asked him if he’d write a monthly column. I felt it would be a perfect outlet for his many stories and insights. And so it has proven to be!  And much more…for we can never begin to count the number of lives he touched or the chuckles he invoked…
(You can read the entire article on their site here)

My wife summed up our feelings best…

What a sad sad loss, Heaven is much richer tonight…

I wrote a little piece about Gipp last year before we got the bad news. It’s from a column I write for a paper in Saskatchewan…

OFF-SEASON SANTA

Santa Clause happens to be a very good friend of mine and he lives just a few miles away. Of course, during the off-season, he goes by a different name since it would be awkward to hail him as Santa as he goes about his day mowing his lawn or shopping for groceries. But if you happen to bump into him there’s no denying you’ve met Santa.

Okay, his “other” name is “Gipp” Forster and, if you met him you’d agree he is the living embodiment of Santa, with his white collar-length hair, perfect Santa beard, his twinkling eyes and, well, ample girth. But it’s his voice, a resonant, rich baritone tinged with a hint of huskiness that defines the man. You might have heard his voice on his annual syndicated Christmas program “It Feels Like Christmas” heard across Canada or on radio and TV commercials and narrations over the years. By the way, that’s Reverend Gipp Forster.

But back in the early 60’s Doug “Gipp” Forster was a gang member in Ottawa.  He often carried a gun and always carried a knife tucked into his boot. He ran with a crowd of similar small-time toughs, generally evading the law for one reason or another. Even back then he was called “The Reverend” because, in spite of his criminal culture, he often read and quoted from the Bible. Eventually he turned his life around and went on to become an ordained minister; not your average minister but a “street pastor”. Gipp knew the streets and understood the dilemmas facing the people who populated the downtown areas after dark. He became well known and respected by them and eventually formed a street ministry he dubbed The Mustard Seed.  Soon after, it branched out as a food bank which now feeds thousands and exists today in Victoria as well as Calgary. Gipp is retired now but still preaches regularly at a local Baptist church; his wife, Donna, also works diligently to help the disenfranchised on the street. Two remarkable people with a deep well of commitment. But back to Santa.

Every December around this time of year, Gipp hauls out an astonishing array of Christmas decorations to adorn their home. The neighbors have also joined in and the transportation on their block every year is amazing. Not only that, but the Forster’s garage is equally bedecked with a Santa’s Workshop theme and every evening, during the season, you’ll find Gipp on duty greeting families who bring their kids to sit on Santa’s knee. Recently, since his legs are showing their age, Santa’s helpers have been showing up to string lights and assist in this ritual and, predictably, their block regularly wins awards in the annual display contests. To Gipp Forster, Christmas is not just one season out of the year. Hop in his car mid-summer and you’ll be treated to a regular mix of Christmas music from his CD player! Of course! He’s Santa!

One summer day when Gipp and Donna were visiting us, Elliot, our neighbor’s six year-old son, happened to drop by to see if our daughter wanted to come out and play. Seizing the moment, and winking at Gipp, I asked him to come in and say hi to Santa who was sitting across from me in his golf shirt and jeans. We waited for the moment as he peeked around the door and beheld the old gentleman himself. Instantly he turned and raced back outside hollering for his little buddy to get over here! The two returned and approached Gipp reverently taking turns speaking to him. Finally Elliot asked: “Santa, how old are you?” After a moment’s reflection, Gipp softly replied: “As old as Christmas Elliott, as old as Christmas.” A small moment, I admit, but an unforgettable moment.

 

May your Christmas this year be equally unforgettable.

Barry Bowman
www.bowmanroductions.com

I have asked permission to post the information I recieved from several sources and will do so once I get the go ahead.

I can tell you that he had been diagnosed at least a couple of months back with cancer of the esophagus.

I did find one article online, that I am posting here – it comes from The Times Colonist in Victoria BC.

Mustard Seed founder Gipp Forster dies

SANDRA MCCULLOCH / TIMES COLONIST APRIL 17, 2013

Forster, an ordained minister, worked the streets serving Victoria’s down and out. He loved Christmas, looked like Santa and the Ponderosa Place home he shared with wife Donna was a highlight for those on Christmas light-up tours.

Gipp Forster, the founder of the Mustard Street Church and food bank, died Monday — his birthday — at age 76.

He had been suffering from cancer of the esophagus.He was regular contributor to Senior Living magazine.

And he exhibited his flair for storytelling on the radio program Ramblings, carried on CFAX as well as other stations in Canada and the U.S.

“When I came to Victoria in the 1970s, he was a street pastor. Then he brought together the idea of a church, which would become the Mustard Street Church and, from it, an offshoot was the food bank,” said Mel Cooper, former owner of CFAX.

Later, Cooper hired Forster to spin tales on the radio, and this was a perfect fit for the natural storyteller.

“They were well thought out,” Cooper said. “He was quite a good writer with a marvellous way of presenting.”

Forster met his wife, Donna, when she was a volunteer at the Mustard Seed food bank.

“He was just amazing,” Donna said Tuesday. “From my perspective, he was the kind of guy I wanted to get to know and when I saw him, I knew I was going to marry him.”

They were married for 23 years.

Donna describes Gipp as “probably the most gentle man I ever knew. He was supportive — he let me fly.”

His greatest achievement was establishing the Mustard Street Church and food bank, she said. Sister churches sprang up in Calgary and Edmonton.

He cared about street people, Cooper said.

“Gipp was aware of the problems. He’d seen them. He cared for people who were in jeopardy or had problems,” Cooper said. “This was his way of life. He didn’t work for money.”

Former CFAX announcer Barry Bowman said that Forster was “almost a brother to me.”

“He was one of the most humble, self-effacing men you’d ever meet and he was constantly surprised at attention he received,” Bowman said.

“He wasn’t aware of the impact he made in this community and that impact was giant.”

Forster served the disenfranchised people of Victoria in alleys and doorways, hoping to make a positive impact on their lives.

“He was helping people that nobody else would approach,” Bowman said.

While his heart ached for those facing so much need, it sang when the festive season arrived.

Everybody who knew Forster knew how much he loved Christmas. Aside from the spectacular decorations at his home, Gipp often played Christmas music in his car all year-round, Bowman said.

“He had almost a child-like wonder of what was going on in life,” Bowman said. “He embraced a lot of fantasy of what was once good and wholesome.”

On his website, Forster seemed philosophical about aging, saying he had “developed a quiet acceptance of circumstances and trials that seem to pop up without warning, and a sense of humour to make the best of a bad situation.”

A memorial service is planned for April 26 at Gateway Baptist Church, starting at 1:30 p.m.

smcculloch@timescolonist.com

© Copyright 2013

One of Canada’s Greatest Unknown Treasures is gone…

With any new endeavour, making or changing your signature line to advertise the fact or company is an essential element in your  plan. It’s simple, gets the word out, and it costs nothing…

So that was my plan with my Apple mail ( mail.app ) I’ve done this before for other efforts, this should be no different… but boy was I surprised!

Pretty well all the solutions I cam across had you writing code and hacking into the signature folder on a previously created signature in order to put something together – what a mess! This isn’t the Apple I’ve grown to love over the years. How could something so essential have been missed? Or worse mangled!? 

Everywhere I looked they all recommended the same thing… that is until I came across a small solution in the ocean of insanity that is out there – so a tip of the hat to Cory Bohon who posted this article back in May of 2012 on the Mac|Life site! It boggles the mind that no one else is repeating this out there – so I am going to do that here – just to double the chances that the next poor sod looking to do this finds Cory’s information first!

1. The first step in accomplishing this is to open a new, blank email in Mail.
2. In the message body, format your signature the way you’d like it to be shown. Use colors, and all of the formatting options available to you in the Font panel (Command +T if you need it!)
   
3. To add links, select and right-click on the text you wish to be a link, and then navigate to Link > Add Link. In the URL field, enter the address to the site that you wish to link. Click  OK when you’re done.
4. If you want to add images or icons just copy from where you have them stored on your computer and paste them where you want them
5. When you’re done adding the images, and want to give them links to somewhere else – select the image and navigate to Edit > Add Link.
6. In the pop up URL dialog, add the link to wherever you want people to go.
7. Edit and adjust your signature until you are happy with it.
8. Once you are done tweaking your new email signature, copy the entire signature from the new message body, and then navigate to Mail > Preferences > Signatures.
9. Create a new signature by clicking on the plus sign (+), and then paste in your newly created signature.
10. You’re Done! It’s now ready for use in your new email messages.

Extremely simple and it avoids all the problems/messes with trying to edit code and key mail files – DONT DO IT! Do what Cory recommends instead!

Now for those of you who may have, like me, multiple email accounts in their mail app and want to manage their signatures, you don’t have to cut and paste the same signature in each one – just do this…

1. Go back to your Edit Signatures window. It’s actually a Signature Management Window!
2. You should see a list of All Signatures and an icon for each email account
3. Clicking on each account will show you which signatures you have for which accounts. Their names will be listed in the middle window and you can see what they look like on the right side window.
4. Find the signature you want to copy and click on its name ( in the middle window )
5. Then click, hold and drag the signature to the email account you want it to be used on – and it will automatically copy it for you – no fuss – no muss!

Now the last little tidbit – while you are still in the Signature Management Window, at the bottom you will see three little tidbits.

1. The first one  on top is a checkbox that will let you always make your signature match the font of the email you are composing ( a nice little feature for those of us who are creative! )
2. You’ll note there is also a checkbox on the bottom, that will let you place your signature either at the end of the entire email chain ( including replies ) or at the bottom of your most recent statement – your call!
3. In the middle ( of the bottom ) you’ll find the statement Choose Signature: followed by a selection bar that will let you select a specific signature for all emails for that email account, or you can choose a random signature or a sequential signature usage ( for those of you who have multiple signature lines for any one account! )

How much simpler can it get!?

If what I’ve written isn’t clear enough then feel free to go to and read Cory’s article, for the full step by step – with pictures! 

Please feel free to copy or spread this version around, I’m pretty proud of it. I do apologize if someone else came up with this first ( such things do happen. ) I really haven’t seen anything like this anywhere else and have put a fair bit of thought into this so that it is “logical” and hence quite possibly already been done…

Please note that a rudimentary knowledge of baseball is necessary to play this game…

Baseball for Darts

1. This game works best with teams of two or more per side, only one team will play per half inning until there are three outs. A single player will play until that person is either on base, or out. Three outs of course ends the inning. And the other team then comes up to bat.
2. As in baseball, there are only 9 innings in the game, but it can go to 10, 11, 12 etc in the case of ties. Inning one will be number one, inning two is number two, etc.
3. The dart scoring works the same for all innings:
   1. The Inner Bulls eye is a Home Run
   2. The Outer Bulls eye is a fly ball (you are out!)
   3. Anything hitting any numbered section outside of the inning number is a strike (three strikes you are out!)
   4. Anything hitting the black area surrounding the numbered sections (the area between the dartboards edge and the “DOUBLE RINGS” ) is a foul ball (which counts as a strike – except you can’t go out on a foul ball.)
   5. Anything that misses the dartboard is a pop-up/fly ball (you are out!)
   6. If you hit the “fat” of your inning number, it’s a ball (4 balls are required to get on first base.)
   7. If you hit the “small pie” of your inning number, it’s a single base hit and you move to first.
   8. If you hit the “DOUBLE RING” of your inning number, you made it to second.
   9. If you hit the “TRIPLE RING” of your inning number, you made it to third.
4. Players who “get on base” will not move unless pushed along by further players. For example if you have a player who hit a triple and made it to third, he would stay there until another player is pushed to third (and pushes that player home.) So if a following player hits a double, you would have players on second and third. A person already on second, when someone hits a double would be pushed to third… and so on.
5. Only players who make it back to home base in that inning are scored. Your next inning will start with bases empty.

These rules can be modified to make the game easier for younger players, such as the Inner and Outer Bulls eyes both being home runs, and maybe the “fat” of the number also being a single base run.

Or even harder for the more experienced player by making the “fat” a strike or a pop-up and making foul-balls fly balls too…

What the heck, make your own house rules!

I would like some feedback on this, what do you think? Did I come close to what someone else out there has already done? Or is it something new and exciting? Or just too tedious?

This has been driving me crazy for a while now, and I haven’t found a lot of really good dart games out there, especially for kids, hopefully this will be one that gets adopted by everyone…. I’d like to think so.

So maybe now I can get some sleep ( checking the time of this post…. ) Except now my mind is working on some other ideas for dart games…. Boxing…. Hockey….. Oh Nooooooo.