Sunset out my hotel window...

Scenes from the War Museum...

... and in a back room amongst a number of other vehicles in various stages of refurbishment and preservation was the tarped G-Wagon ... the damage to the front end of this vehicle was caused by a landmine ... this vehicle had been previously displayed in the museum (click here), but is now in the backroom "out of view" - almost.

It was a powerful reminder of what War is ...

This one is for Beetle ...

I have this game ...

Years ago I got a box of stuff from the house of my Great Aunt Zipporah who used to live in New Hamburg Ontario until her death at the tender age of 102 !!!

Aunt Zipporah gave up her house in her mid-90's and moved into a care home.

From the box of stuff I found a very cool game that was given away by the CBC as part of the War Effort between 1939 and 1945. I thought it was called "Carry the Guns to Europe".

Today in the War Museum I found myself staring at the SAME game in a display case ... the title of the game in the display is "Carry the Tools to Europe." - but it's the same game ... I'm gonna have to look a little harder in the boxes of clutter I brought back from Mom's in the summer of 07 ... if I find the game I'll let you know what it's called ...

Peacekeeping ...

The Man

The Idea

The Outcome


Standing on Guard ...
... Lest We Forget.

One for the collection ...

.

He is an author,

a social activist,

a politician,

and

one of the

GREATEST

Hockey Goalies of ALL Time!!

.

and today

I got his AUTOGRAPH:

(meeting Ken Dryden was a highlight of tonight's dinner)

The View out my Hotel Room Window ...

They are Heroes in Life, Not Death ...

.

The Canadian Police and Peace Officer's Memorial

stands quietly over looking the Ottawa River

behind the House of Commons.

There are almost 750 names etched on the glass panels.

Today I found the one that matters to me.

.

They are our heroes,

we shall NOT forget them.

.

A Visit "to" Bella Coola ...

.

One of my favourite places in Ottawa is The Great Hall

in the Museum of Civilization.

One of the Longhouses displayed there is a replica of

a longhouse that once stood in Bella Coola ...

... inside the long house is a video filmed in 1990

at one of the Community Potlatches.

I can watch the film and name the elders who appear on the screen,

many of them are no longer with us,

they have gone to join the Spirit World of their Grandparents,

but the impression they left upon me remains ...

They were friends and so much more.

I wept as I watched the video ...

... it was another home coming of sorts for me ...
.

Huh !!!??? THIS one is for Candygirlflies ...

Back in September of 2007 I mused about the old typewriters I've used ... I included in the list a Smith Corona Word Processor that I bought during my University years - its twin was in the possession of my friend Candygirlflies who graces us online with her delightful blog - "I Can Fly, Just Not Up".

Today I was truly and utterly gob-smacked when at the Museum of Civilization I stumbledover the Smith Corona Word Processor pictured above ... while it is NOT the same model as the one CGF and I had, it is close ... this particular model though was on display in a corner dedicated to one of my favourite Canadian Authors - the curmudgeonly Mordecai Richler !!!!

I couldn't help but laugh at the thought, that while CGF and I were labouring over University papers and assignments, the Great Richler was crafting manuscripts for his fiction ... I wonder what came off the roller of his Smith Corona ???

This one is for C in Minnedosa ...

It's NOT every day you walk into a museum and find yourself face to face with a statue commemorating the Sunday School Teacher of a friend ... but today in The Museum of Civilization in Ottawa I found myself in just such a place ... I turned a corner and there standing in a glass display was a beautiful folk art statue of one of the Sunday School teachers my friend C from Minnedosa has spoken of ...

Mind you, given that he was premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961, helped introduce UNIVERSAL MEDICARE to Canada, was leader of the Federal NDP from 1961 to 1971, and was voted The GREATEST Canadian by a CBC run contest in 2004, the least they could do for Tommy Douglas was erect a statue of him !!!

This one is for you C ... I thought of you when I stood before the great (and very humble) man!!

A Reminder along the way ...

Today started early ... I left my mom's house before dawn to make my way to Ottawa ... I stopped for a coffee east of Toronto in the mid-morning at one of the service centres that lie along the 401 ...

I noticed his camoflague uniform first ... he was out of place standing in the uniform in the middle of a parking lot in March ... then I noticed the police car in front of him, and the long black hearse behind him ...

He was escorting a comrade, and perhaps a friend on his final journey home.

One of the four who fell in Afghanistan this past week was making his way home ... I wiped away a tear, then said a prayer for the unknown soldier and his family ... and I continued on my way ...

An hour later, I noticed the police and fire personnel lining the overpasses on the highway ... with vehicle lights flashing and dress uniforms on, they stood out ... I noticed the approach of the OPP cruiser behind me and pulled over ... I stepped out of my car and stood on the side of a cold and windy highway as the small entourage of vehicles zoomed passed ... I would have saluted, but the tear that rolled down my cheek for a life that ended too soon was my tribute ...

Still later I caught up to the entourage ... there were a half a dozen vehicles driving together a respectful distance behind the hearse ... I watched as firefighters and police officers stood at attention as the entourage passed ...

There are few words to describe the mix of emotions I felt this morning on my way to our Nation's Capital ... sadness at the loss of too many of our young men and women, not just in this war, but in ALL wars ... frustration that we can't find a better way to solve our problems ... anticipation at visiting the War Memorial and the Police Memorial ... and a sense of peace that we have men and women in uniforms here at home and overseas who understand what it means to stand up for our values and for our freedom and who want to not only preserve those values, but see them shared by ALL People ...

Today a young man came home ... and for the briefest of moments along the way, WE REMEMBERED !!!

glimpses of the past ...

I spent three hours last night munching peanuts and sipping beer at a corner bar with a friend I haven't seen in almost two decades ... he is one of the cast of characters who peopled the neighbourhood I called I home for the first two decades of my life and who still haunt the recollections and memories of my childhood and youth I share with my children and friends ... for a time it was like standing in the holiness of a Church and remembering WHY it is so important and sacred ...

We got caught up on where our lives have taken us ... sharing the obligatory tales of our respective children, careers and life circumstances ... then we dove headlong into the stories and mis-adventures of growing up in the neighbourhood bordered by Pleasant Drive, Burritt Street, Willow Street and Devon Street ... to the south was the busy-ness of Ontario, and to the North was the vast open space of the Stratford Golf and Country Club ...

He was older ... the engineer behind the many forts and play structures that rose and fell and were destroyed in the forest just beyond the fringe of my back yard ... he was the creative architect who envisioned the first Lego-City that sat for YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS on a 4X8 sheet of plywood in my mom's basement ... he was the oldest of our gang that ebbed and flowed over the years ... and it was good to revisit the past and recall the other characters and fools we called friend and foe ...

And yet in that recollection was the steadfast realization that the past, while good to visit and revel in periodically, is best left in the past remembered but not lived in ... The past has informed my present, and will guide my future in so far as it educated my future ... but I will never try to reclaim past glories, only learn from past mistakes ...

Visiting the past reveals hidden gems from time to time as well ... last night my friend recalled that the last time he saw my father alive was the night that Dad died ... he and my brother were playing outside on the front step our house and he peeked in the living room windows ... he saw my dad lying asleep in the big rocking chair that now sits in my living room ... and asleep on Dad's chest was the nine month old son ...

The next morning when news spread that Dad has died his response was - "Not Sam!! I saw him last night ..."

One of my goals this week is to stand in the pavilion that marks the Canadian Memorial to fallen Police and Peace officers and read Dad's name ... and when I stand and read his name I'll think of the image that is forever etched in the mind of a friend:

coming home ... missing home ...

I'm sitting in a coffee shop with my laptop open in front of me and a cup of passable coffee at my elbow ... out the window is the Dairy Queen that loomed very large in my childhood ... we could ride our bikes over there - it was within the perimeter of Ontario and Romeo Streets we were NOT allowed to cross until we reach grade 7 ...

I have to admit, I never really understood that arbitrary boundary ... it hemmed us in to the west and the south, but to the North and East the wide open countryside of North Easthope township beckoned with its rolling hills and pastures, and endless gravel roads ... we couldn't explore the downtown of Stratford by bike - but we could - and DID - explore the Stratford Airport, Grey Woods, the Golf Course and the hydro allowance that stretched off into the unknown for miles and miles and miles ...

But the Dairy Queen was special ... we could bike over there, dump our bikes under the HUGE trees that once stood at the back of their parking lot and use our hard earned change to buy something ... I LOVED the Mr. Misty's !!! Then with the left over change we would head next door to Dickson's variety where we could by a bulging bag of penny candy from the glass display case for next to nothing ... we would take our bounty to the picnic tables between the Parking Lot of the Dairy Queen and Kroehler Furniture factory that once stood three stories tall on the north-west corner of Romeo and Ontario Streets ...

Today the Kroehler plant is long gone ... replaced by a hotel ... the parking lot is covered with housing ... and though Dairy Queen remains, Dickson's is gone as are the beautiful shade trees that were our summer destination for years ...

How many hours were wasted running the gauntlet from our neighbourhood past the families who lived in the houses on the Corner of Willow and Canterbury who took delight in harassing and bullying us ??? (don't get me wrong - they were friends ... but as with the vagaries of childhood they were friends today and mortal enemies tomorrow and the day after ... well, it was anyone's guess ... passions flared and subsided like the thunderstorms that rolled in from the west in the long summer afternoons ...) We had our turf, they had their turf, and we respected the boundaries ...

How many hours, and how many dollars were whittled away lying on the grass sipping our DQ purchases and munching the illicit treats bought by the bagful at Dickson's ???

Sitting here glancing out the window, I can almost picture my younger self and my cadre of friends racing their bikes down the streets of our neighbourhood, hellbent for DQ ... the streets seemed wider and so much longer then ... the distance seemed awesome and almost ominous ... the neighbourhood vast and almost endless, even with the boundaries to the south and the west ...

And yet, here I sit ... 30 years later ... back home ... but it doesn't feel like home ... I'm an interloper ... a visitor ... some of the the places that once were are long gone, dim memories in the recollection of those who once lived here ... while others remain, altered by time ... It's home ... but it's not my home ... it's huge and yet it's small ... it's familiar and comfortable, but yet it's strange and foreign ...

I miss the simplicity of what once was ... long summer days pedaling our bikes furiously from one adventure to another ... splashes in the pool ... wading in the river looking for golf balls and watching out for snapping turtles ... crashing through the forest out my back door watching for golfer, city employees and irate neighbours ... and enjoying the world that was around us ... a world that was simultaneously comfortable, safe and predictable, while also being delightful, titillating and fun ... it was, what we chose to create it to be ...

AND create it we DID ... day after day ... pledging our eternal friendship, until one day it ALL began to slip away ... we saw each other ... we made our promises to stay in touch ... we even called once in awhile ... and we ALWAYS waved while passing each as we patrolled Ontario Street, Downtown, and the park in an endless circuit each weekend in our cars ... but then ... one day looking back you realize it's been 5 years, 10 years ... 20 years !! And your friends who once meant so much, have been absent for half a lifetime ... and you realize you can go home ... but you can never go back ...

In this moment, it is not sad nor melancholy ... it simply is what it is ... the inexorable passage of time ... days slipping into weeks and weeks turning into years, and suddenly turning a corner you pass your precocious 8 year old self furiously pedaling a bike to the corner store, clutching a fistful of change for penny candy. Your middle age self is left looking forward and glancing back ... as your younger self recedes from view like a passing car in a rear view mirror. You smile at the reflection glancing back at you ... simultaneously you are 8 and 41 ... simultaneously you are safe at home and nothing more than a visitor ... simultaneously you are safe and secure and predictable AND uncertain, confused and ...

Well, that's just it isn't it??
In that moment you bridge the past and the present, and unless you're fully present to THIS MOMENT, and what it offers, you find yourself in neither ...

Today ... I can look back on what was ... and know that the past can be recalled but never relieved, and the present, for all its faults and foibles is a pretty good place to be ... my life may not be perfect, and it hasn't turned out the way I've expected, and too many people have had their chance to take their pound of flesh ... but my childhood here - in this place - taught me to be a survivor, and to cherish my family, my friends and most of all myself ...

It's not a lesson I had to travel here to learn ... but it's a lesson I've had time in the quiet, to reflect on and appreciate that much better ...

My path ahead is better for the path I've trod ... my bruises have taught me lessons and my skinned knees have made me the man I am today ... and I feel very content with THAT.

... and sometimes that's the best we can do ... Dayenu !! Dayenu !!

113, 114, 115, 116 ...

Left to right, Master Cpl. Scott Vernelli, 28, Cpl. Tyler Crooks, 24,

Trooper Jack Bouthillier, 20, and Trooper Corey Joseph Hayes, 22, are seen

in this combination photo borrowed from CTVNews

Prayers for thier families,
prayers for the eight wounded in the two attacks that claimed their lives,
and prayers for the family of the
Afghani Translator who was killed too.

lest we forget

Spring Has Sprung...

For my 2000th post I had to - JUST HAD TO - use this morning's google header - I love Eric Carle, and the classic - Hungry Caterpillar, so when I saw it this morning, I couldn't resist the temptation to use it for today's posting ...

Mind you, I don't have a whole lot to offer ... it's been a busy month ...

I organized the Iain De Jong presentation that was well received and well attended, but now the challenge is to get the middle managers in Brandon who see value in maintaining the status quo to embrace the opportunity that changing the paradigm and altering the method of HOW we deal with the homeless and at risk of homelessness population ... I carry no illusions - we can't get most of these folks to open their eyes to the reality that our population in Westman is changing dramatically and drastically with the massive influx of new immigrants who are changing the fabric of our community ... so I doubt they will actively embrace the change that is INEVITABLE ... but enough of us are interested, eager and ready ... CHANGE WILL COME !!

Then it was the preparation of the final report for my position and the contract we've been operating under ...

Along the way I've been writing for a new local magazine ...

AND I've trying to keep juggling the other bits of my life ... some well, some not so much ...

Today though, I take a jaunt to Ontario for some time with my mom and extended family before heading to Ottawa for a Homelessness Conference ...

Right now, with spring sprung, I feel overwhelmed by the work I've been doing and the rest of the stuff I need to do before I JET this afternoon ...

BUT, taking stock of everything - I feel very content with my life as it is ... it's ALL GOOD.

Talk to you later ... likely from Ontario ... watch for shots from the enchanted corners I once called home, along with more than a few shots of Stratford's eccentric swans and other springy scenes !!

Peace

Our St. Patty's Day ...

.

Tonight we reclaimed a familial tradition ...

... I'm not sure where it started or why,

but several years ago we started with Green coloured Pancakes,

and green coloured milk for supper on

St. Patrick's Day.

The first few years we sent pictures to

my Grandma (the kids' Great Grandma) who

is our Irish connection ...

So, this year we sat down to a meal

of Irish Green Pancakes,

Green Milk and a special dessert made by Ms. H:

and to top it all off green cake, with green icing,

along with chocolate mint (green) ice cream.

The BEST Irish Song in honour of the Day !!!

Happy St Patty's Day !!!!

I can think of NO BETTER way to mark St Patrick's Day,

than with a good old "Irish Drinkin' Song" by that fabulous

Newfoundland Band - Great Big Sea !!!

So, from all of us to all of you - HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!!!

Momentous ????

I'm tempted to title this "Dumb and DUMBER" ... W. is making his way to Calgary where for $400 a PLATE, an estimated crowd of 1500 people will be hearing him speak on the topic of "eight momentous years in the White House."

Beyond what one could do with $600 000 rather than hearing a guy that my family doctor has spoken of saying - "Just look at the evidence ... he's clearly INSANE !!!" ... I will instead wonder what the hell is wrong with the 1500 people who WOULD WILLING pay 400 a PLATE to hear this clown speak ...

With things like this happening, I no longer need to wonder how fiascos like AIG happen ... greed, stupidity and unbelievable arrogance are just the tip of the ice berg ... It's too bad attempts by rational and sane folks in Alberta to have former President Bush arrested and charged with crimes against humanity haven't come to fruition ... what a message to the world to have Bush loaded on a plane in Calgary and hauled to The Hague to face justice for his "momentous" eight years in the White House ...

One can always hope!!!

And the AIG outrage continues ...

And today the following stories appeared in Media sources:

Joining a wave of public anger, President Barack Obama blistered insurance giant AIG for “recklessness and greed” Monday and pledged to try to block it from handing its executives $165-million (U.S.) in bonuses after taking billions in federal bailout money.

“How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?” Mr. Obama asked. “This isn't just a matter of dollars and cents. It's about our fundamental values.”

Mr. Obama aggressively joined other officials in criticizing American International Group, the company that is fast becoming the poster boy for Americans' bailout blues.

To read the rest of the story that was originally posted as - "Obama OUTRAGED by AIG bonuses" but since softened to - "Obama vows to block AIG bonuses" on ctvnew.ca click here.

or to read the sister story "Obama will try to block AIG Executive bonuses" - click here.

CBC is a little more to the point with their headline: "Obama, voicing outrage, vows battle to block AIG bonuses." - click here.

Way to GO OBAMA !!!!
His words in Audacity of Hope and his actions are in synche !!!!
Gotta like THAT !!

AIG ... it just keeps getting better and better ...

I have to start by asking the simple question:
WHAT PLANET ARE THESE GUYS LIVING ON???

I found an article online today that raises the aburdity of the AIG bonuses with the following quotation from AIG Chair Ed Libby who notes:

These things are "bonuses" not salary. Words have meaning, even in law. If they are "retention bonuses" you are only contractually required to pay them if you want the executives to be contractually obligated to stay in your employ.

Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake, notes that what this means is simply this: "Liddy is making the claim that these bonuses are necessary to keep the "best" people."

The BEST PEOPLE???

These jokers lost 61 BILLION dollars in three months ... they were part of the creation of this disaster over MONTHS ... and they have the gall to say they need to keep employing them????

I must be totally out of touch with reality ... in MY world, and that of the people I live and work amongst, if you were responsible for decisions that lost BILLIONS of dollars, there would be no way you would get a BONUS, much less ANOTHER freakin' pay cheque!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe THAT'S the whole problem ... those holding the financial reins are so damned out of touch with reality they have no idea that losing 60 BILLION PLUS dollars is a BAD THING.

But what really blows me away is the article I found over at Commondreams.org, that notes that the UAW have been forced to make significant concessions as conditions for aid to the ailing Automakers:

The United Auto Workers' deal with Detroit's three automakers limits overtime, changes work rules, cuts lump-sum cash bonuses and gets rid of cost-of-living pay raises to help reduce the companies' labor costs, people briefed on the agreement said today.

The UAW announced Tuesday that it reached the tentative agreement with General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co. over contract concessions, as GM and Chrysler sent plans to the Treasury Department asking for a total of $39 billion in government financing to help them survive.

Concessions with the union are a condition of the $17.4 billion in government loans that the automakers have received so far. (from Associated Press on February 18th 2009)

The author of the article notes quite rightly:

Apparently, the supreme sanctity of employment contracts applies only to some types of employees but not others. Either way, the Obama administration's claim that nothing could be done about the AIG bonuses because AIG has solid, sacred contractual commitments to pay them is, for so many reasons, absurd on its face.

I keep coming back to it ... maybe it's the drum that needs to be thumped loudly ... but IF MY 14 YEAR OLD SON CAN SEE THE ABSOLUTE ABSURDITY IN THIS - WHY OH, WHY, CAN'T OUR LEADERS SEE IT TOO ?????????

or, if they can see it - why are they letting it happen???????

Bring back a little common sense, and let some ordinary folks run some of these companies ... the well heeled elite have had their run and look how it turned out ... time to put some folks who remember what it means to work hard for a dollar to set public policy and direct some of these big corporations ...

Think back ... when the Canadian Government first bailed out the GM plant in Ontario, the executives of the company back-slapped each other as they cranked out the CAMARO ... in an era when green house gases are on the rise, and oil prices were spiking, OUR tax dollars were dumped into the building of a "new generation muscle car"!?!?!?!?

That moment alone tells us how out of touch Executives really are ... we know NOW, what many voices were saying for years - the BIG THREE AUTOMAKERS were churning out cars NO BODY WANTED without a massive advertising campaign to convince the docile masses it was what they needed to be "cool."

I left high school behind a long, long, long time ago ... I never make my decision based on what's cool, hip, or in ... I make my decisions based on common sense in regards to the economic and ecological foot print I leave behind ... from my choice of coffee, to the stores I frequent I weigh each decision by the impact it will have on my wallet, my community and my world ... and I seek to make that impact POSITIVE where possible, and minimize the negative where a positive is unattainable ...

At the end of the day it is all about being educated, enlightened and using COMMON SENSE ... and today I realize that my 14 year old son is way more educated, enlighted and common sensical than the executives guiding our economy ... and he'd work for significantly less than 100 million to boot !!! ... and he's currently looking for work ...

What WOULD Jesus do today???

Okay ... here's the scenario ...

I'm reading the news online and I find a story about AIG, the american insurance company that lost in excess of 61 BILLION dollars in the last fiscal quarter of their operating year ... LOST 61 BILLION dollars (where is Carl Sagan when we need him) ... BUT ... even with that staggering loss and the multi-billion dollar bail out by the Obama administration, the executives of AIG are STILL being paid in excess of 165 MILLION dollars in bonuses.

While I was reading this story, I was in the midst of preparing a sermon based on Jesus driving the money-changers and the merchants out of the temple ... the Old Testament reading was the 10 Commandments ... and on my bed side table is "Call to Conversion" by Jim Wallis ... the story of AIG kind of pulled some threads of shock and outrage together ... the thought of paying out bonuses to clowns who lost 61 BILLION dollars struck me as ODD ... I've always foolishly, and it would seem erroneously thought that bonuses were paid for a job well done, and the loss of BILLIONS of dollars doesn't measure as a good job in MY universe ...

So, I shared the jist of the story with Noahkila and mused aloud - "Is losing 61 BILLION dollars a good job??"

Noahkila shook his head in response and said - "you run a business that loses 61 BILLION dollars in THREE months, and you get rewarded with a multi-MILLION dollar bonus for a job well done ... NICE !!! ... that's the kind of job I want ..."

The boy's got a point ... I can't help but wonder how a 14 year old boy can see the total and absolute absurdity of THIS, while business leaders continue to slap each other on the back and offer high fives through these obscene bonuses and salaries while countless BILLIONS of hard earned dollars continue to evaporate ...

And most distressing of all - there are very very very few voices from Faith Communities who speak out on these issues and say - "IT'S WRONG."

Jim Wallis was right back in the 80's when he said the church has forgotten who they are ... we are quiet, complacent and docile and we do nothing while idolatry runs amock ... last week comedian John Stewart claimed the mantel of MORAL leadership in his smack down of the Century ... and our churches continue to wring their hands and say nothing ... over and over I realize who incredibly astute the late Bill Hicks was when he warned us through is biting comedica routines about being docile masses ... Churches are part of the problem, not part of the solution ...

Maybe one day we'll figure it out ... for now, thanks be to God there are politicans who have the courage to say - "I DON'T THINK SO!!" to the fat cats ... read the ctv.ca story by clicking here.

Daring to think outside the box has become a theme for me lately ... a couple of weeks ago I offered the posting entitled "Boxes, boxes and more damned boxes" then I helped organize and facilitated a series of workshops and information sessions by Iain De Jong of the Streets to Homes Programme in the City of Toronto here in Brandon - I'm still distilling the information I got from him - stay tuned, I offer some reflections on what he said - AND I've offered the reflection the other day involving encouraging a penguin to walk like it is designed to, rather than trying in vain to teach it to fly ... Unfortunately, our world is geared to the safety and security of the status quo and remaining firmly inside the box ...

Fortunately, I remain an ardent advocate of getting outside of the freakin' box and exploring where things can and will go when we let our imagination run free ... Along that vein, the Wheat City Journal has published a piece reflection on the De Jong workshops and the need for creative, outside the box solutions to the problems being faced currently in Brandon. Click here to check it out.

Hump day ...

In honour of Hump Day (Wednesday),

I've traded today's Hawaiian Shirt.

Instead, I've dug into my "closet"

and pulled out an

Egyptian Gallabiiya Shirt

that I purchased in

Luxor back in 87

when on a study tour of the Middle East.

It's not as a flashy as a Hawaiian Shirt,

but ...

... the day I bought the shirt it was well over 45C

and today's temp is a

BALMY

-25C

(that's a 116 degree difference in F!!)

Tomorrow we return to our

regularly scheduled

Hawaiian Shirts

It's HAWAIIAN SHIRT WEEK !!!!

Less than 48 hours ago it was beautiful ... sunny and spring like with relatively balmy temperatures of -5C to +5C ... (that's 23F to 41!!) and NOW today we have extreme windchills for much of Manitoba (that's -40 temps - both C & F !!!), a blizzard tracking across the south of the province and our standing temp right now in Brandon is -25 !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (that's -13 F)

To protest the return of winter weather and to offer the hope that spring will return SOON ... I'm dubbing this "Hawaiian Shirt Week" and wearing Hawaiian Shirts ALL week!!!

It may not make a bit of difference, but it will make me feel like I'm doing something rather than sitting shivering and praying for warmth ...

... stay tuned - perhaps in the middle of July when it's +40C (104F) I'll be announcing a Parka Week, to protest the extreme heat !!!!!!!!!!

Why not??
Life needs a little silliness once in awhile ...

It's GOOD !!!!

I've long mused that I enjoy the process of writing, and would like to spend more of my time earning my way in the world as a writer ... Along the way I've had the privilege of becoming a regular columnist for the local weekly paper, and I've had a number of items published in a variety of places ranging from the regular newletter of the agency I work for currently, through to the United Church Observer ... my portfolio of published work is becoming quite hefty ...

Culminating last week this journey took an exciting new turn as I was invited to be amongst the contributors to a brand NEW publication here in Brandon !!!

Westman Parent Magazine is a very humble and VERY local publication on parenting in Western Manitoba, and is now available in both print and on line ... preparations are underway for a second edition, but for now - check out the Westman Parent Magazine website, and if you haven't been able to pick up a copy - read it on line ... it feels good to be part of something fun, exciting, informative and relevant ... the bonus for me is that I have two new articles to add to my portfolio of published works ... I can finally say with confidence - "I'm a writer!!!"

Pretty Much Says it ALL ...

... over and over we keep trying to teach Penguins to fly instead of walking with them ... some day we'll figure it out ...

My Bucket List ...

I loved this movie ... when you have Morgan and Jack together, you really can't go wrong ... but aside from the double whammy of the starring leads, The Bucket List has a sweet story (I will not contend it was a "Great film" or that it is or will be a classic ... it was a good film with a good message ...

The whole concept of writing out a list of things you want to do before you 'kick the bucket' is not a bad one ... it allows you to focus on what you've done and not done, and ensure that the important bases are covered ...

Today driving home from Portage, chillin to the music I had playing (Today's selection was ELO's Greatest Hits) on the cd player, I got thinking about my "Bucket List."

I realized that I've done many of the things that I want to do ... I've been to Egypt and Israel ... I've lived in BC on the coast and inland ... I've visited every place in Canada I want to visit except the Arctic and Newfoundland ... I've enjoyed innumerable moments with my children and my circle of friends ... I am blessed with love and friendship ... and I have learned to enjoy the moment of life as it is NOW ...

About the only thing I want to do that would be on my bucket list is to write the novels that are wiggling around inside of me ... the strongest lesson of The Bucket List is the lesson that tells us:

EMBRACE LIFE.
LIVE PRESENT TO MOMENT.
VALUE WHAT'S IMPORTANT: FAMILY AND FRIENDSHIP.
AND LIVE LIFE FULLY IN EVERY MOMENT !!

atleast that's what I've drawn from the film ... in the meantime - enjoy the song "SAY" and say to those you love what you need to say ... live life with no regrets and no looking back over your shoulder ...

Good Luck !!! And Have Fun

112 ...

Today in Afghanistan, Trooper Marc Diab,
aged 22,
from the
Royal Canadian Dragoons
died when a road side bomb detonated
near the vehicle he and his comrades
were travelling in ...
Diab was a member of
the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group,
based out of Petawawa, Ont.
Four other soldiers were injured.
With prayer for the wounded and their families,
we pray for the family of Diab,
and for the other Soldiers...

Lest We Forget

One of those humbling moments ...

Last night Ms. H. and I were watching one of my dvds of Hawaii Five O, the old Jack Lord series from the late 60's and early 70's ...

McGarrett picked up the phone in one scene and the screen zoomed in on his hand making the call ...

"What's that?" Ms. H. asked, looking at the rotary dial phone McGarrett was using.

"A phone," I answered.

"What kind of phone is THAT?" her voice dripping in bewilderment or distain (hard to tell which)

"A rotary phone..." I offered.

"How do they work?" Ms.H. asked, now intrigued.

"You put your finger in the plastic dial," I said, "and you turn the disc to the metal hook thing then let it go ..."

"SO," Ms.H. was trying to grasp an archiac and now antique technology, "if you have to dial 8- 9 - 7, you have to put your finger in each hole and turn the disc for EACH number ..."

"Um, yeah ..." I replied suddenly feeling very very very out of date ...

Sometimes a child needs ONLY A MOMENT to remind you of your age ...

Damned!!

Ooops ...

Poor Ms.H. She was playing basket ball this morning in a tournament with her team, and she was tripped ... she jammed her hand on the floor and fractured the growth plate in her right wrist ... now she's armed with a cast for the next couple of weeks ... hopefully it won't end up being Flute's newest chew toy !!!!!

Thanks ...

Today I got a comment left on an "ancient posting" ... it was SO nice I had to bring it forward:

"My MIL always said she wanted to come back as a Turkey Vulture. She died on Feb 16th and for the first time this spring, yesterday, we saw a lone Turkey Vulture high upon the currents near our home.This caused me to look into Turkey Vultures as totems and thus found your blog here, which I enjoyed very much. Deb "

Thanks Deb - I hope you stop by again ... glad you enjoyed it.

Oh, and for my other readers - the posting Deb visited is here.