|
The
Squamidian Report – Mar. 1 / 25
Online
Versions
Of This And Past Issues Issue
#1188 Russ
****
From Russ
Leftover love Pt. 2 Dear fellow Squamidians: Greg Payne passed away in hospital on February 11th. I'm feeling sad, and not much like writing, but writing takes my mind off 'life's pain's". Wish I could lift some of the hurt that Carole and Adam are feeling. Now, for the "good news" - Greg is no longer suffering as he has been for many years with health problems. God in his mercy has taken Greg "home" to a better place. We Christian's believe "There is a time for living and a time for dying; and that death is a natural part of our 'life cycle'' We all must die someday - there is no escaping it. And here is some more good news; "There is no escaping the love of God" * And now, as promised last week, I'm going to share some "wisdom" about the topic of love. "Let us always meet each other with a smile, for a smile is the beginning of love" Mother Teresa - you're a Saint. "Love is an endless act of forgiveness" Maya Angelou goes on, "Forgiveness is the key for action and freedom" My wife must have learned from you, Maya, as she was endlessly forgiving me for some dumb thing I said or did! "To love is nothing. To be loved is something. But to love and be loved, that's everything" Thank you, T. Tolis - it took a while, but I finally was so blest. "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage" I won't argue with you Lao Tzu. "Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope" You said a 'mouthful' Maya Angelo. Thanks. "You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear" I've read your books, Oscar but don't recall you writing anything as Wilde as this! And finally, a saying I just came across this morning when I opened my computer, "Love is the best medicine" By Rexall Drugstore. * If "love" is the answer what is the question? Here it is: Why is there so much crime everywhere? Why do we hate people who are "different"? Why do they hate us? Why is there war where the innocent suffer and die needlessly" Why do some men beat their wives? Why do our children go bad? Why do we elect tyrants, bullies, and outlaws to run our countries? Why are there fewer and fewer people attending my church? I share the blame for all of the above - as do you, and you, and you ......?...!! "Love" is the simple answer to many all of our problems. God gave humans the Rules of Life we call The Ten Commandments, and you know what? We don't need all ten - the first two will do; Love God, and love our neighbour. Love is the answer! So clear. So simple. So impossible!!! But worth a try! Rev. Russell ****
From Al
Hockey Night in Kitchener It’s been a tough winter across Canada but every Friday I have a release. At 6:15 my friend Bruce picks me up and we are off to “The Aud”. The ud is the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. The Aud is an old barn, built in 1951! The Rangers got their franchise too the OHL in 1963-64 and I sold pop in the stands that year. Five years ago they literally raised the east side roof to increase seating and it is now near 7,000 seats. They are all occupied on Friday night! When you enter the building you can feel the excitement & atmosphere of emotion, people smiling. It’s Friday night at The Aud! Our coach is Jussi Akokas. He had a very successful career in Finland, including winning the World Junior Championship. They beat Canada in the final that year. He has raised mediocre Ranger teams to serious contenders and we are now ranked 4th in the CHL out of 60 teams. He and his family lived in our condo complex last year and I would see him occasionally in the parking lot. I would give him a few tips about the boys. He always just smiled and said “thank you Al, I will remember that”. The team has no super stars but they have the best goalie in the league and are a close knit, well balanced team.. They love and respect this man. Over the years I have made many friends there, including ushers and ahem, bartenders. I take my niece Tara to the odd game and she says “geez, you know everybody”. I know this is a boring piece for non sporting people but the Rangers have been, are, and always will be a big part of my life. We plan to host the Memorial Cup in 2 years for the Canadian junior championship. I hope to be there!
Take care, Al ****
From Nova Scotia Sus
We are enjoying some sunshine and mild temps finally. You get tired of bundling up with many layers of clothing to get around in the cold. Tomorrow our plan is to hang buckets in the Maple woods. It should go fast with all of us working and the snow is not deep and hard to get through. Sometimes I wear my snow shoes just to stay on top but I think they are not necessary this year so far. We decided this year to go bigger with more trees tapped. We don't sell our syrup yet but I know this will be a future plan once we get the cabin in order. I will probably sell to my hair clients. They already buy eggs from us and sometimes garlic when in season. It's not a great money maker but it does help with the costs of gardening and chickens. Sus ****
From Doug
How’s it going…..eh? Well now, I as actually able to do a few things that I wanted to do this week. For starters, I put the old snowblower away, as in stuck it back under the back deck. Only used it twice this winter and the chances of needing it again are fairly small. If it is needed again I can get it back out in a few short minutes, and by getting it out of the garage, I can rearrange the motorcycle parking to make it easier to get one of them out if the need should arise. And it did, because after putting the blower away I could hear the Enfield calling out to me, saying in a tiny little voice that only I could hear “ride me, ride me”. So I did. Just around the neighborhood but it was good. The next day was quite nice, as in partly sunny and 12 degrees or so, so out came the Enfield again and I rode down to Horseshoe Bay where I hooked up with some friends who have been riding most of the winter. That was a nice ride, not too chilly, dry roads, good scenery and so on. This pic shows the Enfield parked between two other bikes. As for the Harley, it has not been insured through the winter but I’ll probably re-insure it in a couple of weeks, weather permitting.
On Tuesday morning we went up for our usual coffee, and as usual, were the first there. (I’m assuming that when I say ‘went up’ that you simply assume I mean up the gondola). As usual, we were the first customers and as usual I chatted with anyone who would put up with me. As we sat by the fire with our coffee a young Asian girl came in and headed for one of the uncomfortable benches that the run-of-the-mill riffraff are expected to sit on. As she went by she smiled and I smiled back. She then stopped, took a double look at us and the ‘Doug & Sue’s Corner sign, pointed at it, and asked if we were ‘them’. I invited her to join us as there was still 2 unoccupied comfy chairs. She did and we struck up a conversation. Turns out she is a native of China but is now living in BC and is becoming a nurse, currently doing shifts at our little local hospital. She was ‘on call’ at the time and if she did in fact get called in, she could still get there within the required 20 minutes. She told us about the city she came from and that how a city like Vancouver seems so small and quaint to her, and that Squamish feels like a village, and that she is loving working at our tiny hospital. She told us that her grandmother still lives in China and that she has not seen her in years. So, I told her that she could be our new, adopted granddaughter and we would be her adapted grandparents. She was delighted with that and asked if she could take a ‘selfie’ of us and her. I have personally NEVER taken a selfie but said it would be ok, so she did. We had a great time chatting and I even introduced her to some of the staff at the gondola, telling them that she has our permission to sit in our corner, in jest of course as anyone can sit there. When we left, she said she’d try to be there more often to enjoy the morning fireplace, coffee, and scenery with us. So, we now have a pretend adapted granddaughter who’s name I can’t pronounce and certainly wouldn't be able to spell. * I am currently able to do a few of the things that need some attention, one such thing being seeing a dentist. Life has been a bit hectic for quite a while and has taken all my attention, but seems to have eased up a bit. So, I called my dentist to see if she could fit me in and she could, and did. 3 years ago I had a root canal done by a specialist down in the city but said tooth, a big old molar way at the back with 4 roots, never really settled down. It has been bothering me for a long time. I knew what it really needed was the boot, as in ‘get the heck out or me’. One of us had to go! Modern dentists don’t believe in extractions if there is any other options but once she looked at the tooth and discovered that it is cracked vertically she agreed that it needs to come out. Only thing is, its a 4-root molar and the procedure must be done by a specialist, a dental surgeon. Logistics dictate that going back to the city simply won’t work for me at this point in time. Luckily, a dental surgeon comes up to Squamish once a week and my dentist was able to get me booked in with them on Friday morning. You know, the worst part of the actual extraction procedure is the freezing. Those gigantic needles get pushed in then moved around and all the while all you can do is squeeze the chair arms tightly. Then, after the freezing takes hold, the highly paid surgeon does his thing. That only took about 15 minutes and it was over. Then of course you have to endure the freezing coming back out. That takes hours and is not much nicer than when it went in. Bottom line – tooth is out, gone, dealt with. Good riddance. Cost – staggering! Sorry for being so long winded about everything but it makes up for those time when I simply didn’t have anything I could write about.
Doug ****
Have
a
Good One ****
|
