I Am Thankful For the People Around Me

        Since it's the middle of the Thanksgiving Day weekend it's time to think about what I am thankful for. Many times we get carried away with the hoopla of the weekend and forget about contemplating how fortunate we are. It's a valuable exercise to consider the good things in life that we experience and then we may not be overcome by some of the nastier parts of life.

       I am very thankful for the people I find around me on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. I like people. However, I'm not an extrovert who walks across the street to talk to a stranger. I tend to hold back and observe what's going on around me. When I do engage in conversation with someone I will be the listener and think carefully about what they are telling me. Once get to know someone I can become very talkative and provoke reactions by challenges to people.

      I appreciate family, relatives, friends neighbors , colleagues and the odd person who I just happen to bump into. Most people are supportive. Most people you can learn something from. Most people genuinely want to reach out to others and communicate what ever is on their mind.

     I can accept a wide variety of people. I am comfortable with visible minorities. I can deal with those who are somewhat different in views as long as they do not push me. I listen to their views and they listen to mine. I have had some extremely eye opening conversations with criminals but I have nothing to do with them when they are active as criminals.


      So I have to say that I am thankful for the people around me who are a part of my life and teach me things and make me think about life. Maybe this is why I appreciate life as it comes.

      So thanks to all those who have passed through my life.





   

I Celebrate Thanksgiving Early

       My wife decided that we would have our Thanksgiving meal today and avoid the crowds of the weekend. So the celebration part of Thanksgiving is a special meal. The meditation on thankfulness can occur on the weekend.


      For most people Thanksgiving celebrations are long on tradition. For my Dad any excuse for a turkey dinner with all the trimmings was just fine. He was a farmer and was very active physically so had a lusty appetite. He loved having family together so his two brothers and sometimes a sister would attend these dinners. These visits and wonderful meals were days that were very exciting. Usually the meal was at noon with cold turkey and left overs in the late afternoon so my uncles could go home and do their farm chores.

      For my Dad the thankful part took place every day of the year. He was a devout christian and prayed many times a day and always offered thanks for what God had provided him.


      For my family, we for the most time, have enjoyed the turkey dinner with all the trimmings. There were only four of us but we could really tuck into the turkey and make it disappear. When my kids left home we continued to enjoy the turkey dinner. When my daughter came back and lived beside us she took over Thanksgiving celebrations. She did not always have the traditional turkey. What she did have was her birth mother and granny and at times other relatives. This made for an enjoyable day.


      Now that we are only a couple again we have found the turkey bit too much. We don't like having left over turkey for four or five days. Our appetites and energy to make the meal have lessened. So today is the first Thanksgiving that we have decided to go out for the meal.


      Now that the meal is dispensed with I have time to consider what I am thankful for. Looking back over the year there were many good things which happened to make my life rewarding.

      Since I'm on the blog I can say that I'm thankful for all the people who visit Hiawatha House. I am also thankful to all the people who offer comments. I have found many interesting blogs to read so thanks to all the bloggers who create interesting posts.

    

I Was Shook Up a Little This Morning

     This morning I ran into a situation that left me a little tense for a while(shook up).

      I was downtown and going back to my car when a couple of people called me and pointed to a man and asked if I knew him. Of course, I had never seen the guy before. He was leaning heavily on the side of his truck and looked as if he would hit the ground at any moment. These people had called the police as they thought he was drunk or on drugs. We waited for a few minutes when I decided that we should get him on the ground before he fell and did damage to himself. When I approached and tried to talk to him there was no response. He didn't seem to know that I was there. I tried to ask him if it was okay for me to help him and tried to assure him that I would help. There was no response. I finally took a strong grip on him and tried to ease him to  the ground. He was rigid. Finally I got him going in the direction of the ground and he had a soft landing. I got him lying on his side.

       Still no response from the police. I finally said to the other two,"This is an ambulance call and not a police call." They then called the ambulance. The ambulance arrived in two minutes.

      The EMTs went to work quickly and carefully. They got him sitting up but they could get no response. It was interesting that they went through all his pockets and took the stuff out. One of the items was a diabetic syringe. They quickly got him on the stretcher and in the ambulance and off to emergency.

      I  began to think afterward that I should have pushed the ambulance issue sooner. I knew he wasn't drunk. Drunks are completely relaxed and loose. There was no obvious odor of alcohol. This guy was quite rigid. We stood around for at least twenty minutes waiting for police. I only hope that serious damage was not done to this man by our waiting for the wrong people to respond. He was obviously in diabetic shock or coma.

     When I got home I realized that I should do some renewing on first aid skills so that I will respond sooner in the next incident. It took me a little while before I regained my composure to carry on with the rest of my day.

Appreciation

       This morning one of my friends on Face Book or some place made the statement to me"You are appreciated." My wrinkled brow wrinkled more than ever and I began to think about appreciation. I know what my friend was referring to but it still caught me by surprise. It was a powerful little statement.


        So I spent all day thinking about appreciation. I even looked the word up in the dictionary. So I was recognized with gratitude for support in a difficult situation.


        For me appreciation always seems to be the other way around. I appreciate being able to help others or to support them when they need support. I guess it comes from my experience as a teacher where I was helping others. To see kids succeed was always a very positive experience. I was proud so see the progress kids would make.


       I liked to teach modified classes. This means I would be given a dozen kids in a class who had various challenges. Some were behaviour problems. Some had learning disabilities. Some had a lack of ability. It was not the way to group kids but it separated kids from regular classes where they would be harassed. One guy I will never forget. He was grade nine and only knew times tables to five and could only divide with one place divisors. Achievement was slow. He talked about remote controlled bombs which worried me about his future. When he did make progress his eyes always lit up. He really wanted to learn. Today he has a company worth over 800 000 000 dollars. He used his remote control idea. He developed a system to control remote gas wells using computers of course. This guy has always stuck in my mind. I really appreciate what he has accomplished because of the limited skills he had.


     So for me appreciation has always been from my end. It was a shock today to be told I was appreciated. Many times we appreciate things and do not say so.  This was a good lesson for me today. It's good to just plainly say to people "You are appreciated."

My Childhood Home to be Abandoned

         The house I lived in from ages eight to seventeen is about to be abandoned. Even though I only lived in the house for such a short time it has many family memories tied up in it.

photo by Richard Liimatainen

          My Dad bought the land the house is on in 1935. There was a small poorly constructed house on the property when he bought it. For a young single guy the house was just fine. He didn't live in it in the winter as he went out working. The little shack was about 16' x 28'. By 1946 Dad had four little kids so this house little house was not at all suitable for a growing family and he had to do something pretty fast.

          He found another quarter section that had a house on it that was larger and fairly well built. The house had an attic that was not finished but was big enough to be made into bedrooms.The plan was to move the house to his yard and then sell the quarter section.

          The house was moved and set on a cement foundation. An addition was made to the house. My Dad had very little money so he found used lumber and altered the house. His neighbors gave him much assistance and expertise to complete the house. So he ended up with a very comfortable house that was more than adequate for his growing family . He put in central heating and it was wired for electricity. We were very happy to have a new house.

        By the time Dad finished the house economic conditions had improved and he didn't have to sell the quarter section he got the house from.

       My Dad was probably as proud of the hip roof barn he built as he was of his house. The hip roof barn was a status symbol. However by 1955 these barns were no longer essential as other methods of housing animals had been devised.

       Many happy times happened in this house. There were also extremely sad times such as when my sister died in 1953.

        Mom and Dad lived in this house until about 1973. They had been spending the winters in another location. About that time one of my brothers began his farming career and moved into the house. My brother had to do some maintenance over the years. He replaced the roof. added a garage and built the veranda at the front. There were also interior alterations particularly in the kitchen.

      Now it's time for my brother to move to a better location. There is nobody who will move into the house and keep it going.

      So the house has been occupied by my family for almost 65 years and sadly the end has come to it's usefulness .
     

Red Deer River in Fall Colors

        Over the past two years I have tried to do a collection of Red Deer River pictures for winter, spring summer and fall. I did not get the fall pictures last year as I was too late and missed the best of the colors.

 

        I have taken all pictures from approximately the same position so that the seasons can be compared. The name of the river in this area is  river bend. There is a long lazy ess bend which makes for an interesting section of the river. The bends are approximately 2 kms in length. There are riffles and a few small rapids so it is a popular river to canoe. To go from Red Deer To Drumheller takes about four days and you will see very few other humans. You will see lots of birds, animals and a few cows who stare at you as you float by.

       At this time of the year the water level is fairly low. There are a few places where you could wade across. Most of it is deeper than wading depth. There are many large boulders so it keeps you on your toes.

       So the Red Deer River is a very enjoyable canoe trip if you have lots of time.

Extra Ordinary Warm September Days

       For the past five days it has been very warm in this part of Alberta. We had a few days of 25 C and the last two days have been 30 C. Now thirty degrees is not a record but it is extra ordinarily warm.

       Our summer was wet , cool and cloudy. Gardening was a challenge. Sunning at the beach was a waste of time unless you had an umbrella. About July 15th I gave up on my goal of 1000km cycling for the summer. It quit raining in August and I am close to 1000km and will easily do more. We did not have a day with a high of 30 C all summer and very few days reached 24 or 25 C. So to have these temperatures on Sept. 24th and 25th is quite extra ordinary. I had taken most of my tomatoes off the plants about a week ago when we had a couple of frosts. Now all kinds of new tomatoes have formed and if we get a few more warm days they will be pickable.

       I can never remember Sept. days with highs of 30 C. That doesn't mean to say that it hasn't happened before. It's not a record so we must have had a 31 at some time in the past. I was born Oct. 21st and my Dad always told me that it was a very warm day. I wish that I had pinned him down as to what the temperature actually was. He said the old house was really hot. I don't know if that was because of all the hot water that was needed or if it was a case of nerves for somebody who was about to become a Dad for the first time.

       Whatever warm temperatures we have now I will take them and enjoy them to the fullest.