Friday, September 30, 2011

Alzheimer's Is Our Enemy

Our friend, Jimmy Squyres, died this spring after about 10 years of Alzheimer's. His

son and daughter-in-law - Jonathan & Julia - are walking tomorrow. His widow,

Charlotte, is a friend and fellow scrapbooker. If you can donate any amount - no

matter how much, it will be appreciated.

This is the link to donate on their page:



2011 Walk to End Alzheimer's - Lufkin, TX

Monday, September 19, 2011

Change Equals Challenge

Most people find change hard. That is a statement most of us can agree with but the truth us that in our lifetimes we must undergo many changes. Change equals challenge

Illnesses or deaths of a close friend, relative or spouse probably present our biggest challenges.

Loss of a job means tremendous change especially now when jobs are very hard to find. This can cause us to change our daily routine.

Loss of relationship is not always because of death. Sometimes people move and sometimes people change how they feel about one another. That would include divorce and any type of breakdown of a relationship.

So, if we find ourselves somehow out of the circle, what should we do?

The first thing to remember is to NOT stay inside the comfort of our homes. Indeed, we MUST step outside of our "comfort zone".

People are not going to come knocking at your door, so you must get out and "knock" on theirs.

When there is a death, for instance, you can pretty much count on people giving those left lots of attention for about three weeks. So, then what should you do?

Well, for us, church represents a big part of our life. Hobbies like quilting, sewing, knitting scrapbooking, photography often open doors to being in groups of people with the same interest.

Most times we reach out to others, rather than sitting in the corner waiting for them to come to us, we are pleasantly surprised.

Volunteer to help others and visit people who cannot get out so easily. You will find it helps you as much as it helps others!

Step out and see how much you can make your life special by forgetting your problems and doing interesting things with interesting people.

Be the one who "shows up" and see how a circle of new friends surrounds you!

Friday, September 9, 2011

American Flag by bunnyfrogs
American Flag, a photo by bunnyfrogs on Flickr.

Where Were You?

This weekend, everyone is going to relive that horrid day on September 11, 2001.

I know I have written about this before. Probably because I am an immigrant, I may have felt differently that day.

We were packed to drive to Terre Haute, Indiana to Hubby's reunion at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. (For you Canucks, that is an engineering college.)

We saw the same images that you saw on your television. It was horrifying! Peter Jennings was at the ABC News Desk.

My Toronto mentality - from when I was a child - was to "drive north". That is what my Father always said we should do if there was a bomb or other catastrophic event.

(If you drive north from Toronto . . . up Yonge Street or Highway 11 or over to 400 Highway and just keep driving, you will be in isolation and far away from a target for terror.)

Well, that morning, that was my first thought. Then I realized that we would be driving north but just to "middle America".

I had not yet been able to attain my American citizenship but I went to the box for my passport and made sure I had that.

We called our neighbor, Lela, to tell her we were leaving.

"Be vigilant! Watch everything. Know exactly who and what is around you. That is what they are saying to do."

Lela's daughter, a broadcaster, called on my cell phone a few hours later to find out how we were doing and if we were able to get gasoline. The answer was that often the stations were out of fuel and there were long lines at all of them. So, we were stopping often.

We called ahead to the college and they assured us the reunion would be held. (We found out later that some people who were going to fly had to rent cars instead.)

We found red, white and blue ribbons in a fabric store on the way and pinned them on our lapels.

At our stop the first night, which was likely Benton, Arkansas, we turned on the TV to see Peter Jennings still manning the ABC News desk. He too was from Toronto; I think you know that.

When we were almost to Terre Haute, Keith's cousin, Shorty Clements (who has a Purple Heart from WWII) in Robinson, Illinois gave us a small American flag which we placed on the rear deck of our car.

When we arrived in Terre Haute, we took our things into the hotel and then went out to the church Hubby had gone to as a student. We went in and sat in a pew and red some bible verses.

Yes, the world stopped. It stopped just long enough for all of us to realize just how fragile life is and how precious our loved ones are to us.

God Bless America indeed!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Chaz Bono - Scapegoat For Prejudice Or Teacher of Tolerance?

Born, raised and living in Toronto for most of my life, I simply accepted that there were many different nationalities and many, many people with different sexual orientations.

People who were not the same color as I; spoke a different language than I and gay people were just part of the daily routine.

Is there a huge difference between a child born with a clef palate who has surgery to correct it and a person who realizes they are not really the sex they were born and chooses to have that changed?

Tolerance for people different from ourselves, whether they be gay, bi-sexual, transgender, black, yellow, wearing head-coverings, etc. is a trait that I so admire.

Respect for the panhandler on the corner - a person down on their luck - a philosophy that I grew up with which says, "There but for the grace of God go I", is very important to me.

People who have never experienced meeting, befriending and learning from people of other beliefs, problems and lifestyles are to be pitied.

The more kinds of people we meet and/or know, the broader our minds, our thoughts and our lives are.

I cannot believe the press over Chaz Bono being on Dancing With The Stars. I guess they will have their biggest season ever! I personally will be phoning in my votes on the maximum phones available . . .

When we judge the other person without walking a mile in his/her shoes, we show how ignorant we truly can be.

Do you remember how Chaz' father, Sonny Bono, died? Skiing! Do you recall that he was Mayor of Palm Springs? He was not just a "straightman" for Cher!

How many people would not recognize Cher? She still looks fabulous and can belt out a song with gusto like very few others.

How would you like to be a child of these two people? Big shoes to fill! On stage all your life with every action spotlighted. Could you live like that?

I hate that where I live now - still "The South", Whites and Blacks are not that often together. Many churches have only Blacks or Whites in their congregations. I think it is bad now but I have friends who have told me what it was like 40 - 50 years ago and I have to accept that it has changed for the better.

If we only associate, only recognize people who are exactly like us - same education, similar upbringing, same color, same education, we are shortchanging ourselves of learning and all the different cultures, religions and ways to live there are out there.

God Bless and may things go well for Chaz and for his experience on DWTS!