A Second Thanksgiving...

11/25/2010

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When I wrote about our Canadian Thanksgiving earlier, I was focussed on taking the time to reflect upon all we have for which to be grateful. And of course that is a valuable thing to do ~ every day.

Today is Thanksgiving for our neighbours to the south and as I ruminated upon it, my mind came at it from a broader perspective. I am one who embraced new technology early on. Just yesterday my kids gave me a new Kindle. It was supposed to be a Christmas present –indeed it still is - but fate intervened and it came to me early. I am beyond excited about the possibilities of this gadget. I was fortunate enough to get a smart phone this summer and intend to buy an ipad when the next generation comes out. With just one click of a button or tap of a finger I can access unlimited wonders. Yesterday I received by email a YouTube video which was so uplifting I posted it to Facebook. The whole thing took only minutes.

Today I am grateful that we have developed the technology which enables us to think and to be as One World. Today we communicate not only in words, voice and static pictures, but also in video, and this communication reaches everywhere humans exist. Though of course there are still areas where the technology is not readily available, still it is amazing just how far the reach is. When I visited Thailand several years ago everyone it seemed, even those living on the streets, carried mobile phones. Soon enough most will have tablets with built-in worldwide WiFi coverage. Soon enough we will see outside our limited vision and begin to think as one world community which needs to be nurtured by all.

That I believe is the promise of technology. It may seem funny coming from a writer but I believe these new forms of instant communication will bring Humans together in a way that has never been before. Could it be then that peace will finally come to the World. Imagine the expansion we could accomplish when that happens.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Also posted to the Red Room

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Two Shiny Pennies

11/22/2010

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Last week I attended a Celebration of Life for my friend and sister-in-law Heather. I am one of seven children, five boys and two girls. My sister died young but as my brothers married I gained new sisters. I was seventeen when I stood up for Heather when she married my brother Irv. Heather was the real deal, the perfect match for Irv – in fact one of the best I’ve ever seen - and we will miss her sharp mind and dry wit. In the past few years two of my brothers also passed away ~ far too young, all of them. As families seem to be these days we are spread far and wide, but the remaining three brothers and four sisters-in-law were there along with several nieces and nephews and some grandchildren, and we had a nice family reunion. We keep saying we must stop meeting like this...

On Monday we had a few hours before flying home and were fortunate enough to be able to spend them with Irv and another brother Don. Along with my daughter Shelley we went out for a nice lunch during which we laughed and we cried. Afterward Don and I were dawdling in front of the restaurant when I looked down and saw two shiny pennies. I always pick up pennies, a holdover from some of our mom’s superstitions. I gave one to Don for luck.

When we walked back into Don’s front foyer we looked down and there on his shiny new dark hardwood floor were two bright pennies. We could not believe it. Irv & Shelley were not privy to the previous pennies, so we told them the story as we stared down at them. All of us were sure they had not been there when we left. I bent down and scooped them up, kept one and gave the other to Don.

Heather was Irish and I have been told several times that I am a faerie. It feels as if I may be but it is not something I practice. I do not know for sure what the significance of the pennies were, and I will hold in my heart my own belief of it, but of one thing I am certain: There is a significance ~ and I will forever think of Heather when I think of shiny pennies.

Also posted to the Red Room
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Wonder...

11/01/2010

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Sometimes a sense of wonder comes from the most unlikely places.

I went to the cafeteria of the hospital to get a cup of tea. It was a bonus late-October warm sunny day and I stepped out onto the patio, my mind full of concern for my daughter who had gone in for a simple procedure and had subsequently experienced such excruciating pain she agreed to have an injection of morphine. She had vowed never to accept morphine again and had rejected it this time, instead opting for Tylenol with Codeine. When the pain did not diminish and after several more offerings of the drug, she finally relented and had dozed off.

I ambled the spacious patio grounds, admiring and appreciating the perfect blooms of pampas grass waving in a soft breeze. The tall stately clusters stood among a few palm trees. Vancouver’s climate is moderate oceanic and it is always a delight to see tropical trees growing here. I strolled the perimeter and was perhaps a third of the way around before it finally struck me that something was odd. I was staring down into an herb garden! My gaze went back to the previous planter and I realized what had caught my eye. Ripening cherry tomatoes were spilling down the wall. I strode all the way back and discovered the entire perimeter was filled with planters of herbs and vegetables. Beets and chard nestled up against chives and onions. Zucchini meandered around carrots and the odd flower. Mostly of course there were healthy herbs and root vegetables, but peas were growing amongst everbearing strawberries.

I had been on that patio plenty of times and had never noticed it was planted with edibles. I stayed around for another half hour or so and just enjoyed the wonder of finding such an urban oasis attached to a hospital cafeteria. What they do with all the produce is a mystery, but it was clearly lovingly tended. Could it be that they actually use fresh herbs and veggies in the kitchen?

Just as I returned to my daughter’s room, the head Doc walked in and asked how she was. Refreshed now and still under the influence she said, “You told me about the pain but you didn’t say it was going to be so severe.” He smiled and said if they did no one would ever go through it. We chuckled because we had said the very same thing prior to her nodding off.

And of course, though she went through a couple of rough days, she has bounced back to her usual cheery self. Life is so very full of wonder...
Also posted to the Red Room
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