History of the Canorient Thirty five years ago when the pioneers drew up plans for a new Chapter in Toronto, they could have had no idea of the scope or size of the Association today nor that we would be proud owners of our own premises, or that we would be the major Chapter of the Canorient community in Canada.  What they did have was boundless enthusiasm and dreams.  The Association began and has been throughout, an institution created and sustained solely by the faculty of dreams; its very existence depends on the dreams and beliefs of those who so generously serve in its ranks.  Thirty five years is a remarkable achievement, a dream come true, coming as it has in an all-too-literal world where the dream has little place; this is most unfortunate because man cannot live without dreams; the dream is an integral part of life – the source of all our creativity and innermost yearnings and aspirations.  If we don’t have dreams, our dream world, that magic mirror to a deep and ultimate reality, becomes increasingly filled with fantasy, which is a flight from reality.  The effect is most obvious in the most vulnerable section of society – our kids.  Children’s greatest teachers are the adults around them; the young learn to have dreams from watching their adults do so.  Yet another difference between fantasy and the dream is that the latter implies hard choices, effort, commitment and pain.  It also needs a vehicle.  Our waking hours tell us where we are.  The dream points to where we could or should be.  The bigger the dream, the bigger the vehicle needed to get us there.  This is the genius of the Canorient.  It is a vehicle for the realization of nearly every conceivable kind of dream.  If your dreams are about ideas and ideals, pour them out in the Contact.  Some of our former writers and art directors have found work in the publishing industry with skills honed in these pages.  If your dream of being a leader and planner – join the Executive.  A flair for public speaking?  Take part in our spirited debates.  Theatre, music, cultural expression, the culinary arts… it’s all been done at the Canorient.  And if you are angry and hurt at the needless pain in our city and in the world, use the Association to effect social change.  Members have conducted Blood Banks, taken part in the Terry Fox Run and contributed heart, soul and purse to many worthy causes.  The list is endless… dreams turned into reality by the agency of the Association, a dream vehicle undoubtedly and a big one at that too.  But what kind of vehicle are we talking about? The 20th anniversary issue painted the Association as a Ship…  The metaphor of a ship is one that has already been used for our endangered planet “Spaceship Earth”.  It can equally be applied to our country.  When one is sailing on the high seas the only thing that matters is keeping the boat afloat, everything else becomes secondary.  This can only occur if everyone on board submits themselves to a higher goal – a dream.  Not to dream is to lose vision.  If one and all started jostling for the best cabins, there would be nobody keeping watch on where the ship was going or whether the vessel had become unstable – an almost universal myopia today that is causing so many a ship in the world to list alarmingly, even sink.  The first thing to do, if we are to prevent this, is to develop a sense of awareness of what these ships mean to us. As our venerable liner sails past us, it is time, first of all, to put on our best clothes, stand to attention and salute:  Salute the yeoman service of all those who, in pursuit of their dream, have made her possible:  The Architects and Builders: the pioneers, the developers, the legendary dreamer Tony Moscrop who gave the Association a home; Those on the Bridge: the President and the Executive Committee; Those in the Radio Room: the PR people keeping the channels open with other Associations, community groups, political bodies; Those managing the Communication systems: the Editors, typists, advertisers, business managers, telephone committees; Those entrusted with the Navigation: our Seniors, past Presidents and Committee members, writers, thinkers, artists; Those manning the Engine Room propelling the ship forward: the Club Managers, the organizers of dances, debates, theatre, conferences, picnics, games, trips; Those who perform the lonely but essential task of looking after the lifeboats: in today’s social and economic hurricanes many who have become flotsam and jetsam, need the Association for assistance, job finding or simply to talk;   And finally we salute those for whom the ship is all about: the passengers – our membership.  We have been fortunate to have members who have supported their Association in so many ways – prompt payment of dues, patronizing the various events and making their voice heard in the Contact and at the AGMs.