I got settled on the deck today after lunch, ready with a new book, sun shining brightly, gentle breeze blowing, leg up and resting and all is right with the world.
Then along came the cleaning man. His truck pulled up, on went the huge vacuum machine and away he went to the top floor of the building to do some rug cleaning before the new tenant moves in next week. That machine makes a honkin' loud noise, so needless to say, my reading was curtailed for a few hours.
I'm reading a book by Victor Malarek entitled: "The Johns: Sex for Sale and the Men Who Buy It". I would call this a serious read. It is opening my eyes to the universal sex trade and the millions of men who brutalize, rape, and even murder women and girls...because they can. The book is removing the blame for prostitution from the females and placing it rightly on the heads of men the world over....right where it should be. There would not be prostitution if it weren't for the men who are willing to buy and use females for their own sexual gratification.
The cover of the book states: "...a first, crucial, long-overdue look at a global secret: the identities of customers who make sex trafficking profitable. Read it, weep, and begin to humanize the idea that 'masculinity' requires dominance and humiliation." (a quote by Gloria Steinem)
This book was one our daughter was reading in her university class last year.
When it comes to prostitution, well, here in P.A. it's right on the street where I work. Each morning some of the gals are already strolling and certainly after work around 5 p.m. P.A. begins it's night life and the men come out of their places and begin "looking". The vans drive around, the trucks with their tinted glass, the little cars....all looking for some action and some cheap sex. Most of the girls already are on drugs so they need their cash to get them through the day.
There appears to be a great lack of self esteem with these gals. If they learned their importance as women, as individuals, and human beings and really believed in themselves, these lifestyles wouldn't be sought out by them. They would know there is so much more available for them than what has been dished out. Probably no one has told them of their great value. If someone had, perhaps their lives would have gone in a very different direction....and perhaps not.
Our children need so much to be told of their worth. When we don't tell them, we are doing them a great dis-service.
So, I shall continue on with this book. I know it will put me in a very melancholy mood but perhaps I need to be in order to fully understand the extent of the disgrace that men are putting on themselves. Men, I believe, also need to know their value as men, as human beings, so they can begin to value others as well. Actually, we are all in the same boat, as far as our need to be valued is concerned.
There is, of course, something very raw about this topic, a topic that is not spoken of much at our supper tables!. It's about men and their failures, after all. Of course, we women are not without our failures, I certainly acknowledge that. But since I'm reading this book, I have concentrated on the men.
Enjoy your night...and think about those millions of women and girls who are even this night, being bought and sold and used and brutalized all for the sake of sex. It is a topic worth talking to God about and also with one another. We need to begin to acknowledge the mess and to help get it cleaned up!!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Just read...
"The Old Man and the Sea", another of Ernest Hemingway's books. Short and excellent writing. It was a sad book though filled with love, honour, respect and determination. It gives a picture of a man who was totally at one with the sea and everything in it and with all of nature, in general. It involves relationship in various forms as well. Reality of the Spirit is subtly spoken of......even in a humorous fashion.
A solid book. I believe it has been required reading in high school or university at one point in time.
Hemingway is a very descriptive writer, going into great detail on various subjects. This book was all about fishing...in the ocean. I'm not familiar with that kind of fishing but it took me there, into the Gulf Stream, into the little fishing boat as it is pulled relentlessly out to sea by the largest fish the old man had ever had the good fortune of catching...until both are left battered and worn and one of them, ultimately, dead.
The most admirable quality of the book, in my opinion, was the relationship the old man had with a young boy and how much the young lad wanted to learn of the sea from his elder friend, but circumstances would not allow it. But even circumstances were not enough to sever their friendship. Theirs was true and lasting.
If you haven't read it, it's worth the few hours it takes to read it. A tiny book..only 140 pages or so.
I think Hemingway will be my choice for this summer's reading. Off to the library I shall go.
A solid book. I believe it has been required reading in high school or university at one point in time.
Hemingway is a very descriptive writer, going into great detail on various subjects. This book was all about fishing...in the ocean. I'm not familiar with that kind of fishing but it took me there, into the Gulf Stream, into the little fishing boat as it is pulled relentlessly out to sea by the largest fish the old man had ever had the good fortune of catching...until both are left battered and worn and one of them, ultimately, dead.
The most admirable quality of the book, in my opinion, was the relationship the old man had with a young boy and how much the young lad wanted to learn of the sea from his elder friend, but circumstances would not allow it. But even circumstances were not enough to sever their friendship. Theirs was true and lasting.
If you haven't read it, it's worth the few hours it takes to read it. A tiny book..only 140 pages or so.
I think Hemingway will be my choice for this summer's reading. Off to the library I shall go.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Friendship...
What is friendship anyway?
Guess it's many things.
It's an ability to appreciate another person for who they are, not what they are.
It's when one person believes in another person, no matter what they have done or how they have messed up.
It's enjoying another person's company and they, in turn, enjoy yours.
It's two people listening and hearing each other.
It's encouraging another person to become better than what they are at the moment.
It's the ability to allow for others to appreciate that same person, just as you do.
It isn't clingy.
It isn't jealous.
It wants to help out when the other person is down.
AND it is willing to sacrifice everything for the other person.
Kind of sounds like a marriage, eh? Well, I guess marriage IS a kind of friendship. At least it begins with that...and progresses into a much deeper and perhaps intimate level.
There are people in my life that are true friends, and they have demonstrated time and again what friendship really means. They are willing to go the extra mile and they also allow me to do the same for them.
It is good to have friends...even though friends come and go from my life, I can say that because of them, of what they have been to me, I am a better person for having known them. Some of them have given me things that I shall always treasure. When I see these treasures, I am reminded of how grateful I am for their generosity and kindness.
There are people whom I haven't seen in quite a very long while and yet, I continue to consider them my friends. No, friendship doesn't mean having to always be present with another but it does mean that a part of their inner self goes with you, no matter where you are because I believe true friendship is also very much linked to the spirit world....unseen, yet powerful.
Friends are simply....a blessing.
Yes, friendship means much more than I could ever write about here! Oh, and it can be hard work, too:)
Guess it's many things.
It's an ability to appreciate another person for who they are, not what they are.
It's when one person believes in another person, no matter what they have done or how they have messed up.
It's enjoying another person's company and they, in turn, enjoy yours.
It's two people listening and hearing each other.
It's encouraging another person to become better than what they are at the moment.
It's the ability to allow for others to appreciate that same person, just as you do.
It isn't clingy.
It isn't jealous.
It wants to help out when the other person is down.
AND it is willing to sacrifice everything for the other person.
Kind of sounds like a marriage, eh? Well, I guess marriage IS a kind of friendship. At least it begins with that...and progresses into a much deeper and perhaps intimate level.
There are people in my life that are true friends, and they have demonstrated time and again what friendship really means. They are willing to go the extra mile and they also allow me to do the same for them.
It is good to have friends...even though friends come and go from my life, I can say that because of them, of what they have been to me, I am a better person for having known them. Some of them have given me things that I shall always treasure. When I see these treasures, I am reminded of how grateful I am for their generosity and kindness.
There are people whom I haven't seen in quite a very long while and yet, I continue to consider them my friends. No, friendship doesn't mean having to always be present with another but it does mean that a part of their inner self goes with you, no matter where you are because I believe true friendship is also very much linked to the spirit world....unseen, yet powerful.
Friends are simply....a blessing.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Who would have thought...
You take great pains to pick out your little plants, just the right color, size, whether they like sun..or not, and how much cash I'll have to dish out. You bring them carefully home. Husband and I picked out just the right kind of plant hangers to be bolted onto the iron balcony railing. I have watered them every morning and fertilized them each week, brought them into the apartment every night there has been a frost warning and back out on their little hangers when the warning was ended. I have sat in front of them and taken their pictures, and admired their beauty and their doubling in circumference. In short, they are the only living things I own these days and I have babied them considerably.
So you can imagine my consternation upon gazing out the sliding glass door to find one of my hanging pots is no longer hanging....the beautiful, cascading fuchsia-colored petunia basket has left the balcony.
First my eyes got very wide. I checked to see if I was indeed wearing my spectacles. I was.
I then took notice of the trees around to see if it was windy and the plant had fallen off in the wind. No wind.
I then checked out the dining room window to see if it was on the grass below. Not there.
I was getting pretty ticked by then.
But I readied myself for church and when we went out to the car, husband checked around the building, I checked the garbage cans and the lawn area on the other side of the wall. No plant.
On my way back to the car, walking up the parking lot, there, on the asphalt, sat one lonely little fuchsia-colored petunia looking as if she was attempting to leave her body on the ground as a point of direction for me to find her poor mother.
We traveled a ways by car to the west to see if someone had thrown her onto the Rotary Trail. Nothing.
I then began to think about this.
Who would do this type of daring piece of thievery? Certainly not anyone on drugs or drunk. They wouldn't have made it. We're talking about a second storey balcony here! I did hear quite a few people yelling outside though in the night but they sounded like they were on the street and I wasn't up to checking on their condition!
They didn't bother with the geranium...just that huge, lovely petunia with cascading Lobelia.
My next thought was "If they got up high enough to pick that hanging basket, could they get over the balcony railing and in through the sliding door?" Although we always keep that door locked...but that thought was there nonetheless.
Vandalism? Covetousness? Mischief?
Whatever the reason, I hope that whoever has my hanging plant gets to really enjoy it...although, it may just be in some dumpster....
So, now I have a purple petunia in it's place! Perhaps I should wire it up a bit with a few volts...heh heh heh
Farewell, dear plant. Parting is such sweet sorrow......
So you can imagine my consternation upon gazing out the sliding glass door to find one of my hanging pots is no longer hanging....the beautiful, cascading fuchsia-colored petunia basket has left the balcony.
First my eyes got very wide. I checked to see if I was indeed wearing my spectacles. I was.
I then took notice of the trees around to see if it was windy and the plant had fallen off in the wind. No wind.
I then checked out the dining room window to see if it was on the grass below. Not there.
I was getting pretty ticked by then.
But I readied myself for church and when we went out to the car, husband checked around the building, I checked the garbage cans and the lawn area on the other side of the wall. No plant.
On my way back to the car, walking up the parking lot, there, on the asphalt, sat one lonely little fuchsia-colored petunia looking as if she was attempting to leave her body on the ground as a point of direction for me to find her poor mother.
We traveled a ways by car to the west to see if someone had thrown her onto the Rotary Trail. Nothing.
I then began to think about this.
Who would do this type of daring piece of thievery? Certainly not anyone on drugs or drunk. They wouldn't have made it. We're talking about a second storey balcony here! I did hear quite a few people yelling outside though in the night but they sounded like they were on the street and I wasn't up to checking on their condition!
They didn't bother with the geranium...just that huge, lovely petunia with cascading Lobelia.
My next thought was "If they got up high enough to pick that hanging basket, could they get over the balcony railing and in through the sliding door?" Although we always keep that door locked...but that thought was there nonetheless.
Vandalism? Covetousness? Mischief?
Whatever the reason, I hope that whoever has my hanging plant gets to really enjoy it...although, it may just be in some dumpster....
So, now I have a purple petunia in it's place! Perhaps I should wire it up a bit with a few volts...heh heh heh
Farewell, dear plant. Parting is such sweet sorrow......
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Humbling yet hopeful....
Yes, it is humbling to be a part of a team in which you aren't able to fully participate. And it is humbling, especially when your team members go to the limit of their kindness to help you to be as important a part of the team that you once were.
Our team captain, Val Nicholson, went to great trouble in acquiring a wheelchair so that I could be a part of the first lap around the track. It was even decorated!!! AND she pushed me...along with other members. I felt like one of the team even though I didn't fulfill my responsibility as a team member. Humbling....
I think Relay for Life was successful. I haven't heard the results yet but I'm sure our team was up in the top bracket of raising the most cash.
But it was so very cold last night...dare I say frigid. People wore toques, winter jackets, fleece jackets, mitts, turtle neck sweaters, long underwear and anything else they could get their hands on to keep themselves warm. I hadn't planned on staying very long so I didn't bring mitts or gloves or a jacket, just a fleece and shirt under my "Studs and Peelers" T-shirt. People gave me their mitts, jacket and fuzzy blanket while I was there...see what I mean about great team members!
I always appreciate the first lap around the track. It involves all who are cancer survivors. Seemed like hundreds of them. From little children to seniors...all wearing their bright yellow shirts to indicate they have come through some very trying times. Then of course, there were all the little white candles around the track in memory of those who didn't win the battle. They most likely won many fights and skirmishes but in the end, cancer won out. But many have survived this battle, and have been cancer-free for many years. A great triumph! So that first lap was in honor of them.
I was there for only a little over an hour but I managed to take a few pictures so you can get a feel for the evening.
Our team captain, Val Nicholson, went to great trouble in acquiring a wheelchair so that I could be a part of the first lap around the track. It was even decorated!!! AND she pushed me...along with other members. I felt like one of the team even though I didn't fulfill my responsibility as a team member. Humbling....
I think Relay for Life was successful. I haven't heard the results yet but I'm sure our team was up in the top bracket of raising the most cash.
But it was so very cold last night...dare I say frigid. People wore toques, winter jackets, fleece jackets, mitts, turtle neck sweaters, long underwear and anything else they could get their hands on to keep themselves warm. I hadn't planned on staying very long so I didn't bring mitts or gloves or a jacket, just a fleece and shirt under my "Studs and Peelers" T-shirt. People gave me their mitts, jacket and fuzzy blanket while I was there...see what I mean about great team members!
I always appreciate the first lap around the track. It involves all who are cancer survivors. Seemed like hundreds of them. From little children to seniors...all wearing their bright yellow shirts to indicate they have come through some very trying times. Then of course, there were all the little white candles around the track in memory of those who didn't win the battle. They most likely won many fights and skirmishes but in the end, cancer won out. But many have survived this battle, and have been cancer-free for many years. A great triumph! So that first lap was in honor of them.
I was there for only a little over an hour but I managed to take a few pictures so you can get a feel for the evening.
Captain "Peg Leg" Val along with Penny and April holding our illustrious banner!
Some of the gear that would keep team members warm over the
wee hours of the morning when it would dip to +1C...with a wind!
Kayla, Alycia and Penny keeping warm.
April holding her "Big Foot" candy...ready to munch!
I think John took a video of me dancing to keep warm...it may
show up at some function or another:)
Cynthia was beginning her layered look.
Twila and son, Jarred.(I think I continue to spell his name wrong)
Team member, Marty and his cancer surviving wife, Treena.
Our Team shirt with logo....very cool!
This was my mode of transportation for the all-important first lap....I
wouldn't have made it around the track otherwise.
The "In Memorium" candles.
My co-worker's parents, Pat and Elroy - cancer survivors.
Twila with her mom and dad.
The young team ahead of us wore neon!
Folks did what was necessary to keep warm.
Even blowing their warm breath on their children's little hands.
Gumby seemed pleased with himself.
The Forest Service "Studs and Peelers" (I always want to say
"Spuds and Steelers")
The line was long as the survivors made their way around the track.
Moms and Dads
Young and old.
Our team captain, Val with her hubby and son.
The first Relay lap was headed up by members of the local and armed forces.
Yes, there IS hope!
This year's team consisted of: Val Nicholson - captain, Andrea Atkinson, John Thompson, Cynthia Mamer, Twila Gola, Penny Herbert, Niska Hodgson, Marty Ferguson, April Goll, Alycia Evans, David Stevenson, Carole Stewart and me.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
WCB....
Now that I've been on Workers Compensation with my banged up knee, I have learned ever-so-many things about...bureaucracy, human nature, and how to appreciate WCB information...which is most often helpful.
There are times though when I come away from a WCB conversation wondering.
Today I came away wondering if my case worker knows more than my doctor and physiotherapist put together. She seems to have all the right answers and makes assumptions about my knee according to WCB policy. Very strange indeed. Very helpful too, though. Don't get me wrong. She knows her stuff inside and out and I think even beyond.
I came away today feeling somewhat intimidated as she expressed the thought that this knee of mine should be so much better than it really is. Not sure what that was about but I think I may have to have another discussion with her about what she was trying to say.
Anyway, the only person, besides the doctor, surgeon and physiotherapist that knows my knee is ME! I know when it's sore and unmanageable. I know when it starts to twitch inside and becomes painful and achy. I know that I simply can't do stairs or kneel down or squat much and when I attempt to do these things too much the knee just gets worse, not better. I know me best!
We shall see how it comes along in the next weeks. When I think of how far I have come, I should be quite pleased....so why am I not pleased? I just felt intimidated today...guess that's why. I'm trying so hard to get better but days like today leave me feeling like I'm not doing enough...or not doing my part.
I must stop those feelings before they take hold!
There are times though when I come away from a WCB conversation wondering.
Today I came away wondering if my case worker knows more than my doctor and physiotherapist put together. She seems to have all the right answers and makes assumptions about my knee according to WCB policy. Very strange indeed. Very helpful too, though. Don't get me wrong. She knows her stuff inside and out and I think even beyond.
I came away today feeling somewhat intimidated as she expressed the thought that this knee of mine should be so much better than it really is. Not sure what that was about but I think I may have to have another discussion with her about what she was trying to say.
Anyway, the only person, besides the doctor, surgeon and physiotherapist that knows my knee is ME! I know when it's sore and unmanageable. I know when it starts to twitch inside and becomes painful and achy. I know that I simply can't do stairs or kneel down or squat much and when I attempt to do these things too much the knee just gets worse, not better. I know me best!
We shall see how it comes along in the next weeks. When I think of how far I have come, I should be quite pleased....so why am I not pleased? I just felt intimidated today...guess that's why. I'm trying so hard to get better but days like today leave me feeling like I'm not doing enough...or not doing my part.
I must stop those feelings before they take hold!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Quaint...with tea....
Our apartment balcony is pretty small, compared to most balconies these days. But it has room for our BBQ, two deck chairs and a little table. Small and serviceable. We hitched a deck umbrella onto the railing too. Sweet. It was very quaint...and even moreso with a cup of tea:)
When I sat outside for a little while this afternoon, I took my camera and enjoyed my hanging petunias and geraniums while the bees flitted back and forth. I was waiting for a humming bird but he didn't make an appearance in the duration.
This is what I enjoyed while I put my feet up...
So, if you happen by one day, I shall serve you tea on our deck and we can have a chat. I'd like that.
When I sat outside for a little while this afternoon, I took my camera and enjoyed my hanging petunias and geraniums while the bees flitted back and forth. I was waiting for a humming bird but he didn't make an appearance in the duration.
This is what I enjoyed while I put my feet up...
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