A GOOD PRICE

              Weaver of Grass was reminding us about an upcoming birthday. She had already been given two presents. Two torches (flashlights ) were given to her by friends. 

             The torches were to be used for emergencies. One of the handiest things I ever found was a very strong flashlight. I use it around the house all the time. I use it to connect things to my computer tower which is black. I have difficulty seeing things that are black.

             I was also reminded of how I got my handy dandy flashlight.

             I was out with my bird group and I thought I saw a lanyard in the snow. I kicked at it a bit and a flashlight came out of the snow. I had never seen such a flashlight as it was very powerful. 

           Now the flashlight was very likely dropped by a homeless person as there are many homeless in the Bower Woods. The homeless wander around in this dark area at night all night.

            So I got thinking about this poor guy/gal's loss and was about to feel sorry for them. Knowing lots of homeless people , I thought they probably got it for a very good price. Yes, it was probably shop lifted. 

            So I got a free flashlight out of the snow and I don't think I have to feel badly about the guy/gal losing it.

             

SOME BIRTHDAYS NEVER ADD UP

aspirin       My sister would have been 78 today. Instead she has remained 11 years old. Birthdays come and go but she stopped at 11. 

       In Feb of 1953 our family met a tragedy. My sister died of illness which was not diagnosed and not treatable at the time.

      Our family was saddened and the loss was felt by each one of us to this day.

      My Mom came to terms with the loss but my Dad never came to terms with the loss.

     All of us were influenced one way or another. Mom and Dad found it difficult to be parents. So teenage boys were on their own and some of the behavior was unacceptable.

     So instead  of being 78 on Jan.1,  my sister is still eleven years old. At the time my sister was diagnosed with rheumatic fever. Today I think it's called Kawasaki's disease and is treatable with aspirin.aspirin

TODAY I LOST A GOOD SISTER IN LAW

    Just before noon today my wife's sister took her leave of this life. I was fortunate to have a strong, intelligent, witty, humorous and mischievous sister in law for 53 years.

     My sister in law was born in England in the early thirties and lived in England through the war. After the war she last both here parents by the time she was 19. She came to Canada with a younger brother and sister to relatives.

    She married a Canadian farmer which was a long way from an English kid's experience. Farming life was completely foreign to her. She made a great farm wife and met the challenges well. 

    She had 4 very active children.

    She lost her first husband when she was 50.

   She married again for 25 years.

   She spent 15 winters in Arizona.

   She always liked tennis and at age 60 took it up again. She was not satisfied with just playing tennis. She had to be competitive so she played in competitive rankings.

   She was quite the gal. She played a major part in many people's lives.

Goodbye Wendy

      A few days ago a friend, colleague and neighbor passed away very suddenly at home. What a shock!

      Wendy lived about seven houses away from me. I live on a corner and she drove around my cor

ner several times a day. I noticed her  many years ago because she took my corner like an Indy 500 driver.

      After a few years I found out she was a teacher. A few more years and I met her. Her sons attended my school. 

      Over the years we both were involved in professional development. That's when you really get to know who a  person is. 

    Since Wendy was in administration she worked on policy and regulations and putting those things into effect.

    Now here's where I really got to like Wendy. Like speeding around my corner, Wendy could cheerfully break or bend the rules. There are many situations with kids, that if you can be flexible things work much better. Wendy excelled at being flexible. With teachers Wendy could be flexible and make things work. She got much more mileage by bending a few rules.

    I will never meet a more cheerful person who had a knack of making things work. 

    Where ever you are Wendy, I hope you can still bend the rules.

    

It's Rather Surprising What People Lose!

      When I was a teacher the school lost and found bin was rather large. We emptied it twice a year. We had a plentiful supply of mitts, gloves , socks, boots, T shirts, coats, hats, gym strip, watches and the list could go on. We would have the items displayed and beat the bushes for kids to check the items to see if some of it belonged to them. Charities received what was not picked up.


     Shopping malls have piles of stuff in the lost and found. Since it's a large place the pile of lost and found is larger with greater variety. Airports, hospitals, movie theaters all have many lost items.


     Now I have lost a few things myself. As a little kid I had a string that ran through my coat a with my mittens sewed to the end.  I didn't wear gloves until I was sixty. Partly because I didn't need them and partly because I lost them. I have hunted for hours in the house to find something which is usually in some unusual place. 


     When I left the skating dressing room the other day there was one sock left on the bench. I thought it belonged to one of the skaters and thought back to who was sitting in that place. I could tell immediately this was no ordinary sock. It was a therepeutic sock. I put the sock in my helmet and took it home. Five days later I received a desperate call from Red (not me). Red Had come back to the arena looking for his sock and checked the whole arena. He had gone to the hot tub in the pool and had looked  all through the pool. He had been razzing the guy sitting beside him and thought the guy may have taken the sock as a prank. Red phoned the prankster. Red also phoned some of the other skaters. At the Friday skate he asked again. Someone was able to say, Red (me) picked up your sock. So I received the relieved call 5 days after our skate. 


     So the sock was returned to a grateful Red. I was told the pair of socks went for $100.00 a pair!


     So now I have an idea for skaters. Put a string on your socks that goes around your neck and attach your socks to it so that you won't forget your socks. 

As you can see the string is double so it's adjustable.

      Think I'd make any money on this idea?

Memory Keepers

       On January 1, 2012 my sister, Doreen  would have been 69 years old. Instead Doreen died in February of 1953 at age eleven years.


       Doreen was a very healthy active child. She became ill and it was thought that she had a cold. She did not get over the cold but was up one day and down the next. She didn't seem to be able to beat what ever bug she had. The family Doctor decided to admit her to the hospital. Her condition became worse and she was sent to a city hospital. She continued to go up and down. My Mom stayed in the city and my Dad spent as much time as he could with her at the hospital. Antibiotics didn't seem to be doing any good. At the end of two weeks Doreen suddenly passed away. 


     This death was devastating to my parents, her brothers and the community. The loss of their daughter was something that stayed with both my parents until their passing. 


     My Dad died in 2008. With that the keeping of the memory of Doreen passes to her brothers. Most of the people my parents age are gone. Very few people now would have met Doreen. My youngest brother was born after Doreen's death so he never met her. 


     In the 1950's it was considered that kids didn't mourn and that deaths would soon be forgotten. No one talked to us about Doreen's death. People talked to Mom and Dad and expressed their sympathy and support. My brothers and I just continued on with our lives. My brothers and I did not talk to each other of Doreen's death until we were in our fifties. We know now that this is not the way to handle losses with kids. 


     However, we survived the loss of our sister. Now we are some of the few left who will keep her memory . People will visit the cemetery and be able to place her in the family. Soon there will be no one living who will have actually known her. 

Rest Easy Pete

         When I began reading my blogs tonight I found the one that I had been anticipating, but it still caught me with a jolt of sadness. We all knew that Pete from Out of My Multiple Minds was not well as he had bravely kept us informed of his status. His last posts were gripping as he told about his fight to remain with us for as long as possible.

         The post I found tonight was simply called "It's Over!"  This post was written by his daughter and I thank her for informing us of her Dad's end.

        Pete only started blogging a few months ago. I was somehow lucky to blunder across his blog and I could instantly tell that it was a blog that was absolutely necessary to follow.

       What made Pete's blog such a hit was Pete. He called things as he saw them. He was passionate and did not back away from any cause. Many of the things he stood for were not on the popular side. He could tell an excellent story. He fussed and worried about what he wrote, but he naturally knew how to tell a story. Keep adding the detail and saved the climax to last. I remember following him down a long corridor to visit his sick friend. I thought the friend would be dead , but no his friend was still hanging on. The big thing was that Pete made the effort to visit his fast fading friend. Pete lost two very good friends in the last two months of his life.

      We need more Petes in this world. I will miss Pete from Out of My Multiple Minds.

       Much support to Pete's family at this sad time,

Two Memorials in One Day

      Attending two memorials in one day is an achievement I would rather not have. However, death and memorials do not wait and we must bring some closure by remembering the ones we've lost.


      Both women succumbed to brief battles with cancer. Both contributed and participated in the community actively, but in different ways. Both influenced me and supported me in my activities.


     So this afternoon I remembered the good times and celebrated the achievements each made. They were examples for all of us to learn from so that we can be productive and happy in our community. They both had very worthwhile passions; one for the condition of the environment and one for justice in society.


      I will miss Eileen and Dorothy. The things they stood for will influence me as well as their families to continue following a path that contributes good to our whole community.