Footprints In This World - A Tribute

This world has lost a special person who has moved on to the next path in his journey, and I want to tell you about him. And there lies the value of a blog - you all agreed and said - 'you just go right ahead and do that'. We can seldom find the words to feel we have fully expressed our thoughts and I will only do my best at this time.

As I seek to tell you about this person, I can do no better than the words of tribute that have already been repeated over and over again: a kind and gentle man, gentle spirit and gentle soul, sincere, honest, passionate, caring, a great sense of humor, a man who was dedicated, fair, honest, with exceptional integrity and commitment, honour and compassion, a true social worker. The words of loss express profound sorrow and a shock that moves to sadness. It does not matter how long ago he was known or for how long, the impact remains. Many of us cannot yet take in that he is no longer here somewhere doing what he did; there is a void that will remain for some time.

This was a man who saw the value in each person in their own particular way. His actions and words conveyed that every person is important and deserves to be respected and heard; we cannot know how others have experienced the world or the strength it took for them to speak their words. He asked us to consider that our words convey our experience of circumstances, and sometimes it is important to examine this. We were invited to examine the generalisations that did no service to the speaker or the subject of the words, and to put things into perspective.

My memory will always be of this man sitting back and crossing his legs as a thoughtful expression came over his face. And then he would utter the word that signalled the listener was in for some work: "so ... ". It was always an invitation to consider his thoughts; you could choose to accept or ignore, but you did not forget. And his words were a reflection of what he was and the integrity of his actions. Sure, we did not always agree as no one is completely right in all ways and in all things; but we are different because of our experience of him. I often wondered 'was this guy born this way?' because it did not seem possible that one person could achieve this level of wisdom in a single lifetime. I feel like I want to say 'stop, wait, not yet, we are not ready for this'; but it is what it is now and it is ours to consider each for ourselves what we received from our experience of knowing him.

This gentle man has moved on but he has left so many footprints for so many, the number of which will never be fully known. Is this not what we would all wish to achieve in our own way before it is our turn to head off on our next path? There is really no greater thing that can be said about our time here in this world. For me, that would seem pretty fine, like we had really rocked it out and it was all worth it. Maybe this loss is a time to reflect, to consider our own desires to strive further to achieve our own ideals of what we wish to be. This is what we can give back for what we were given. And that is what I have to say - for now.

Silent Thoughts Out Loud

When something is so wrong that it begs attention, it usually gets it - lots of it. The current issue of government MLA's receiving pay for 'sitting' on a committee that was not meeting is just such a wrong. The privileges and elections committee last met for fourteen minutes in November of 2008, and not for several years prior to that. It seems pretty obvious there was no work being done by this committee, and no reason to expect that any would be done. Yet month after month, these MLA's accepted pay of $1000 a month for 'sitting' on this committee. That's a problem and it deserves attention.

But what also deserves attention is how this became an issue. It did not become an issue because one of these MLA's suddenly had an insight and recognized this should not be happening. It became an issue because a non-profit citizen's advocacy group brought it to public attention. Only then did we have MLA action or rather reaction: announcements of plans to pay back the money received - for doing nothing. And it appeared we were to experience these publicity events as a demonstration of individual integrity and merit. That is a problem also. It should be difficult to present an action as showing integrity and merit,  when it is to correct something that never should have occurred in the first place.

If we feel the need to allow for honest mistake, we might accept that some MLA's expected the committee would meet and thereby justify their pay. This would be very charitable considering the committee's absolute lack of any real activity for several years. The range of time over which this pay was accepted by current MLA's ranges from a few months, to several months and up to 41 months - that sure is a long time to expect something to happen.

The failure of any MLA to raise this practice as an issue sure also is a concern. This is not about just a few MLAs - at last count there were twenty-one who were paid for committee work that did not happen. I assume these are reasonably intelligent people who are fully aware if what they are and are not doing - they did not question this or raise a concern. This suggests this was an established and accepted practice - the routine way of doing business. It also raises the possibility that other such circumstances were occurring that have not come to public attention and therefore scrutiny.

Finally, I cannot but wonder what the response and subsequent action would have been if this had occurred in any other segment of society, outside of government.
And that is what I have to say - for now.

Little or Lots - Laugh!

Social media - it caught on and took off to become part of our daily lives, with as many purposes as there are people using it. Special to me are those folks who use it to express their wit and humor for the benefit of us all. We all have our own sense of humor and what follows is mine - these are some of the posts that have given me a laugh...
"If you're reading this while taking a poo, please note that I wrote this while taking one also. Thus a mutual bond is created through the porcelain, pipes and sewage between us." (Jordan)
"I hate it when I get invited to weird events on Face Book. For the fifth time, I do not want to go to your cat's birthday party, freak. My dog is getting married." (Leanne)
"... is excited that there will be a new gartner to welcome into the world!" (14 family queries in less that an hour): "whoa! that was fast! just wanted to say hi to everybody - figured that was the way to get a reply. Hi family." (Becky)
"Just broke my personal record for most consecutive days lived." (Nick)
"Hey everyone. My shopping is done! How about yours? Is your shopping done? I've finished my wrapping too! Have you finished your wrapping? Do you still have to go to the Mall? I don't have to go to the Mall - annoying Andrew." (Andrew)
"Dear Superstore: it's been long enough. Give your damn product a name." (Jordan)
"The kids down the street have challenged me to a water fight. I'm just updating my FB status while I wait for the water to boil." (Colin)
Wall Photo: "Reincarnation Disappointment" - picture of a large hippo shouting: "I said HIPPIE." (Patti)
Wall Photo: "Drink coffee - do stupid things faster with more energy."
"That's two telemarketers that have hung up on me now! I thought they wanted to chat." (Becky)
On a rainy day in January: "I am glad it is raining out ... my lawn was looking dry." (Nick)
"If there were zombies in Calgary, they'd freeze rock solid ... Ha! Take that undead!" (Andrew)
Question: "Is it cold there? Pity." Response: "Cold? Well if someone tells us we can have it when hell freezes over - it's ours." (me - I thought it was funny)
"Do seagulls EVER stfu?" (Colin)
"No matter how hard you try, you cannot baptise a cat." (Colin again)
"Annual photo with Santa tomorrow. If he asks me if I've been good, is not getting caught the same as being good?" (Andrew)
"Talking about your feelings is kind of like throwing up except you don't feel better after." (Shelby)
"I just read an article on the dangers of heavy drinking ... scared the hell out of me. So that's it, after today ... no more reading." (Nick)
"To the lady screaming at her five screaming kids all under the age of eight at Wal Mart, if you're wondering where the condoms came from --- you're welcome." (Leanne)
"I started my Christmas shopping last night ... finished my Christmas shopping this afternoon ... hope everyone likes their toilet plungers and toothbrush sets." (Becky)
"Lesson Learned In Life: follow your heart but take your brain with you."
And finally: "I'm thankful for laughter except when milk comes out my nose."

Well I did begin by letting you know this would be about what struck me as funny - and I got a laugh out of all of them. Life has its challenges and stresses; laughter lets us put out cares in a back place for a bit while we enjoy the break. So keep it up everyone - you are as funny as you think you might be - and you make it a better day for those of us who have the opportunity to read your posts. And that is what I have to say - for now.

Live Like You Mean It

Well look at us, it's February and the time of new resolutions has moved on! So how is it going. or more specifically, how is the exercise routine going? No, I mean really, how is it going - did couch potato win? How can you tell if you are a couch potato? Stand up and turn around - if the curve of your butt remains, that might be your answer. Exercise - have we come up with any other idea that causes twinges of guilt in so many? We could stock entire gyms with all the abandoned exercise equipment and programs.
So what goes wrong so often for so many? Perhaps it is unrealistic exercise programs that don't consider current fitness and mind sets that have been nurtured over time by habit. It has to hurt to feel good, you should feel sore the next day - if we said this about anything else, most folks would think we are off balance. Feel it - yes, anything more and ... well we have a brain and it will win every time.
So give yourself a chance to succeed - plan a routine you are likely to want to do and will at least try; work up to where you want to go with it. If you start where you want to be, well that just may not be the smartest thing you will ever do. Do something, and then go with what develops. If it works for you, then you might actually do it, and will feel good the next day because you actually did it and know you did.
If your desire is to look like the models in the exercise ads, well, I guess it is yours to want. But you will need to change your life - working out will need to become your primary purpose in life. You will need to find someone to pay you to do it so you an eat and live in a house; that might not be so easy to do.
Make your exercise program your own thing; it is all about you. I do a yoga routine each evening; I enjoy it and my dogs enjoy it even more. They think it is their play time - I am going to get down on the floor with them, and the matt is their gym. They know what we are supposed to be doing at that time and let me know it is time to get moving. And every once in awhile, when I get into a stretch to hold for the count, one of them will lean forward and gently place a nose in my ear - gets my attention real quick.
There is no magic to gaining the benefits of exercise, unless you consider the results of perseverance to be magic - then believe in it. And if regular exercise can significantly increase our chances of living a better life and dying of old age, then why the heck wouldn't we do it? And that is what I have to say - for now.

Damn It's Cold - Yes?

Welcome to the grumpy month everyone - it's dark and cold, not much happening, dull. Finally - snow, not much but we have it and it looks great. Okay, so get the toboggans out right? Not likely - 33 below with a windchill of - 40! Damn it's cold. That John Deere green snow suit would sure be the thing right now Becky.

Sometimes its necessary to seek diversions. There is a magnificent spruce tree that soars up right close to my third floor office window, one of those sealed glass kind of windows. The birds hide in the tree and sometimes my office sounds like a symphony of bird song. The staff came up with the idea - a bird feeder. And there was the maintenance man - head down, inspecting the carpet. We offer the how - a small door in the window - how hard could that be? His response: "never mind your friggin bird feeder in the tree; stop spilling coffee on the carpet". My response: "we don't spill coffee on the carpet". Him: "well someone said you did". My response: "if we spilled coffee on the carpet in the morning, we would probably get down and suck it back up - we do not spill coffee". We're not getting the bird feeder.

Birds - I have two parrots. I know it's time to clip their wings when they start dive bombing the dogs. This is best done as a two person job, but not this time - it's cold and I need something to do. They're smart, they turn evil, they resist. Edgar is a large green parrot with a large red beak she knows how to use. Add to the challenge Tatiana - my German Sheppard pup. So I have Edgar in a wrestling hold in a thick towel, Tatiana sticking her nose in, the wing positioned to clip, cut the first feather - and the scissor handle breaks. Edgar seizes the opportunity, the chase is on, the dogs get involved - chaos. Yes, her name is Edgar. Edgar was a male when I got her and she remained that way for seven years - then she laid an egg. The name is hers and it stayed.

Damn it's cold and dark. But that is okay because when January moves out - right around the corner waiting for us to notice is the countdown to spring. Really, think about it, it happens every year. The temperature may drop but it doesn't seem quite as bad anymore - after all we made it through January. Spring, summer, green grass, flowers, warm sun, campfires, music. Yes, music, lots of music, with the North Country Fair starting it off. Count down time is here. And you know, today - thinking back - that rain wasn't so bad and it really wasn't that cold, not at all. It is our Fair and it is coming again.

So hang in there everyone - the grumpy month will end as it does every year . And we can all count down to those favorite activities that make our summer seasons so fine for us. And that is all I have to say - for now.

North Country Fair - Kerri's touch