A Child Lost

Today is the anniversary of the day our family lost our

beloved Shirley.  Too soon, too young.

It was so long ago, that awful day,

When the voice on the phone called to say,

Your little girl has passed away.

Your tiny body was so twisted and frail,

With dark hair up against skin so soft and pale,

And big blue eyes that would light up without fail.

Your auntie said to me these words a while ago,

It's because we're selfish that we don't want you to go

But God knows better when you are hurting so.

He called you home to be with Him,

And took away all the pain and suffering,

And set free the spirit trapped within.

The days come and go, year after year,

But the pain and grief is still hard to bear,

And the memory of that day always brings a tear,

Even though you are no longer here with us,

It comforts me to know you are there with Him,

So let your spirit soar and always be free.

Your memory will forever live within me.

Love, Mom

Gone forever, but forgotten never. 

Shirley Ann    Nov. 17, 1961 - Sept. 29, 1978

Time For Change?

I read an article the other day about the war on drugs and the problems and opposite effect that has been created as a result. The prohibition of drugs in the last number of decades has failed miserably at achieving what was intended and at a great cost to society.

Almost daily the news has reports of another drug related shooting somewhere.  Some of these shootings involve mistaken identity or innocent bystanders.  About 25,000 people have been murdered in Mexico in the last three years and bodies are being found piled up hundreds deep in old abandoned mine shafts or in remote areas. Some people are being tortured and beheaded or hanged to send a message to other gangs or police.

Now we have authorities on both sides of the border involved with the drug trade or aiding gangs for cash kickbacks. The prison population is up 45 per cent in the last ten years. In the US, ninety per cent of prisoners incarcerated is for drug related offences. Many young lives are ruined over drugs and with jail time training to become better criminals, destined to a life of crime.

Billions of dollars are being spent each year to combat the problem, but with no impact as the drug trade numbers are increasing.  The police admit they stop only a small amount of drugs hitting the market and the ones they do get are small fish with the top people too clever to be directly linked to the drug trade.

All that money and all those years and what have we achieved?  Where the police are tough on drugs, it pushes the price up, making it more attractive for organized crime, who now make bigger profits.We have managed to make a product that is worth a dollar, sell for $10 because it is illegal, then we have items worth $100 being stolen and sold for $10 to cover the cost of the drug. Wouldn't it be cheaper and better for all to treat the disease?

Maybe it is time we considered other options.  Anyone of us could go out into their small towns or cities at any time and find almost any recreational drug they cared to. Decriminalizing drugs might mean more people try them or it might make them less attractive as they would then be freely available.

It would allow addicts to get the treatment they need.  Petty crime would be greatly reduced and organized crime would have to look for other sources because the river of green would soon dry up.  Sending drug offenders to jail has not worked.  Drugs in jails are readily available and a huge problem.  It has been reported that each prisoner costs the taxpayer about $100,000 per year.  It would be cheaper to give them welfare and benefits.

Prohibition of alcohol did not work, the anti smoking campaign has had little effect and the anti drug educational ads directed at our youth don't seem to be getting through either. Our tax dollars are being wasted on this lost cause when we have a huge problem funding our other social systems, like health care and education for example. 

Time for change??  Maybe so.

Quote

Like a bird singing in rain,
      Let grateful memories survive
            in times of sorrow.   
                  Robert Louis Stevenson

Thinking Of You

Today's post is dedicated to my niece Bonnie who lost her father this morning, and to her family.
Death leaves a heartache that no one can heal; and love leaves memories that no one can steal.

I thought I saw your face today, in the sparkle of the morning sun.
And then I heard the angel say, "Their work on earth is done."


I thought I saw my broken heart, in the crescent of the moon.
And then I heard the angel say, "Rest is coming soon."


I thought I heard your voice today, then laugh your hearty laugh.
And then I heard the angel say, "There's peace now, here at last."


I thought I felt your touch today, in the breeze that rustled by.
And then I heard the angel say, "The spirit never dies."


I thought that you had left me, for the stars so far above.
And then I heard the angel say, "They left you with their love."


I thought that I would miss you so, and never find my way. 
And then I heard the angel say, "They're with you every day."


The sun, the wind, the moon, the stars, will forever be around,
Reminding you of the love you shared, and the peace they've finally found


Author Unknown

Canadian Song

The first Canadian song to sell a million copies was written by a Vancouver nurse. Her name was Carmen Elizabeth Clarke, and in 1947 she worked at what was then called the Hospital for Sick and Crippled Children, at 250 West 59th Avenue.

She was very fond of the children. There was one little boy there who noticed a sparrow that kept hopping down onto the windowsill next to his bed. So she wrote a poem about it.

When Elizabeth Clarke sat down that rainy evening to write the poem out, she already had the first line ready: "There’s a bluebird on your windowsill." In six hours she had finished.

She called the poem Bluebird on Your Windowsill and later set it to music. There isn't too much you can write about a sparrow, so she had changed it to a bluebird.

Mrs. Clarke is quoted as saying, "I didn’t intend to write it—it just came." And she added that she still felt like crying whenever she heard it. She sang her song to her little patients. After it became a hit they called it "our song".

Friends and co-workers kept telling her the song was a good one, and so she eventually sang it on CKNW. Requests began pouring in and she realized that people really liked and wanted it.

Empire Music, a New Westminster company, published it in 1948 and that same year Aragon Records, a Vancouver company recorded it, sung by Don Murphy. Elizabeth Clarke paid to have that record made.

Slowly, steadily, surely, the song began to take off.

A number of versions were done by country and western singers, but when the song crossed over to the pop side in the US, it really began to break out.

The Andrews Sisters and several others covered it, but when Doris Day and Bing Crosby recorded it, 38 year-old Elizabeth Clarke found herself the author of a monster hit. 

The various versions of the song topped a million copies in a day when that was rare.
In 1949 the March of Dimes chose Bluebird as the theme song for its 1950 national fund-raising campaign.

Elizabeth Clarke donated every dollar she got for the song to children’s hospitals across Canada. It was an act of extraordinary generosity.

Newspaper stories show that Elizabeth Clarke wrote other songs, but none had the impact of that little tune inspired by the rainy-day visit of a sparrow to a sick child.

In July of 1960, at the age of 49, Elizabeth Clarke died at Altamont Private Hospital in West Vancouver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzaBAgCaRHo

Why???

Did you ever wonder.......
Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?

Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dish washing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible blackbox that is used on airplanes? Why don't they
make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

1943

That's the year I was born!  It was a cold winter day in north eastern Alberta, in a little rural town called St. Paul. I'm not too sure if I was born at home on the farm or in a hospital, but my Mom had a very difficult birth with me and experienced substantial hemorrhaging. She told me a number of times in a less than endearing tone how she almost died having me. When I was a little older I had mixed feelings of guilt for almost killing my Mom and feeling unwanted at times. But, here I am!  I'm a few months old in this picture.

World War II was well under way and times were tough.  Money and supplies were scarce.  Dad didn't have to enlist because he was a little older then and some men were needed to work the farms and keep things running at home.  Mom had already lost one brother at the beginning of the war and would lose another just before it ended.  Farming was not easy either.  Dad did mixed farming.  Growing grain and raising livestock, etc.  The work was hard labour and the machinery old.  The wind and the weather was always a battle to be fought or hardship to endure.  No wonder people were much tougher back then.
This is a photo of enlisted men marching and the next one is threshing grain on the farm.

Here are some popular ads and momentos of 1943.

Smart Girl!

A lawyer and a blonde are sitting next to each other on a long flight from LA to NY. The lawyer leans over to her and asks if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde just wants to take a nap, so she politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks.

The lawyer persists and explains that the game is really easy and a lot of fun. He explains" I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5, and vice-versa." Again, she politely declines and tries to get some sleep.

The lawyer, now somewhat agitated, says, "Okay, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500," figuring that since she is a blonde that he will easily win the match. This catches the blonde's attention and, figuring that there will be no end to this torment unless she plays, agrees to the game.

The lawyer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?" The blonde doesn't say a word, reaches in to her purse, pulls out a five dollar bill and hands it to the lawyer. Now, it's the blonde's turn.

She asks the lawyer: "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?" The lawyer looks at her with a puzzled look. He takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references. He taps into the Air phone with his modem and searches the Net and the Library of Congress.

Frustrated, he sends E-mails to all his coworkers and friends he knows. After over an hour, he wakes the blonde and hands her $500. The blonde politely takes the $500 and turns away to get back to sleep.

The lawyer, who is more than a little miffed, wakes the blonde and asks, "Well, so what IS the answer!?" Without a word, the blonde reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5, and goes back to sleep.

Dinner Out

We celebrated our "official" wedding anniversary the other day. We have been together and married for just over twenty years, twelve years common law and eight years officially. Craig says it's all still married and I agree with him.  We got a little cleaned up and went out for dinner to celebrate our special occasion.

Just before we left I noticed the plant by the arbor gate in the front yard had blossomed and I wanted a picture of it.  So when we returned home I got Craig to go do that for me.  Well, he didn't take it from a very good angle, so I got my own little camera and went and did it again myself.
I have left the picture taking up to Craig this past number of years, so I have been practicing and experimenting to take better shots. While I was out there, I took some shots of the pretty flowers still in the front yard and on the deck. The pink one (I can't remember what it is) is very fragrant. I'll have to look it up. Anyway, here are a few of the photos I took.

Smells Soooo Good

Rose Of Sharon

Purple Petunia

Delicate Daisies

Little Potentella Flower

Strength And Courage

It takes strength to be firm and courage to be gentle.
It takes strength to stand guard and courage to let down your guard.

It takes strength to conquer and courage to surrender.
It takes strength to be certain and courage to have doubt.
It takes strength to fit in and courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend’s pain and courage to feel your own pain.
It takes strength to hide your own pains and courage to show them.

It takes strength to stand alone and courage to lean on another.
It takes strength to love and courage to be loved.
It takes strength to survive and courage to live.

Author Unknown

Canning Beets

We spent the afternoon yesterday canning beets. We got 12 pints and 2 quarts of pickled beets.  They are a bit of work to do up, but well worth it.  We just finished our last jar.  Boy, is my back and my leg ever sore. Anytime I stand for a long time, that happens. We were supposed to take them to Louise and Ron's to do them there, but one of us forgot to put the beets and jars in the trunk of the car. One of us was not me. Oh well, they are done now and we are looking forward to enjoying them!  And here is the one of us now, holding up a jar of our nice pickled beets!!!

Life's Treasure

ALWAYS KNOW THAT..

Your presence is a present to the world.
You are unique and one of a kind.
Your life can be what you want it to be.
Take the days just one at a time.

Count your blessings, not your troubles.
You will make it through whatever comes along.
Within you are so many answers.
Understand, have courage, be strong.

Do not put limits on yourself.
So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
Reach for your peak, your goal and your prize.

Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.
The longer one carries a problem the heavier it gets.
Do not take things too seriously.
Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

Remember that a little love goes a long way.
Remember that a lot … goes forever.
Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
Life’s treasure are people together.

Realize that it is never too late.
Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
Have heart and hope and happiness.
Take the time to wish upon a star.

And do not ever forget
For even a day,
How very special you are.

Author Unknown