Time out from Christmas crap

They call it a "Time to Mourn at Christmas" and it's pretty blue if you ask me. But blue is what some of us need just to get through this season which is supposed to be homey, lovely, giving, caring and cheerful if you want to reduce the possibility of purple prose escaping from your mouth at the wrong time. Not everyone likes to be that way. It's tough when you have lost something and can't get it back. But if you still want to mark the season with something, what do you do?
Do you lower your expectations of what the season holds for you? Can you find ways to lower the expectation that others have of you?

Sometimes it is simply a lack of funds to buy any of the stuff advertised in the many flyers that arrive at your door that causes embarrassment. Maybe you remember a lost loved one, lost employment, marriage or something very important to you.

A couple of hours may be helpful in pulling back from the noise of the season long enough to gain a sense of healing and affirmation that your hopes and dreams for your future are important and worthwhile. Take a break here.

____________________

On the longest night of the year, Friday, December 21st, at 7:00 pm, gather in the sanctuary for a time of quiet reflection and holy embrace. In contrast to the pace of the sights and sounds of the frenetic rush toward Christmas, this gathering is an opportunity to get out of the way of the madness, for a time. For some of us, it is important to have the chance to take a deep breath, to acknowledge that this season is difficult at times. Losses in our lives make the societal demands feel like an obscenity in the face of our grief, our poverty, our relational strains or brokenness, our emotional or mental struggles. It is important to be able to be honest about the challenges we face when the rest of the world is celebrating. This is the time and space to do that. God knows we need it. Following the gathering in the sanctuary, all are invited to stay to share in a time of refreshment and conversation.

http://www.baptist.toronto.on.ca/whbc/

Woodbine Heights Baptist Church
1171 Woodbine Avenue (at Sammon)
Toronto ON M4C 4E1
416-467-1462
10 minute walk north of
Woodbine Subway Station
Limited street parking available
416-467-1462

Dial-up internet redux

My high speed internet is not working. After many years of speedy access to my email, myriad websites and video, life is slower now on dial-up. I await the results of numerous telephone calls for restoration of my service so I will experience the internet as I have before high speed. I have disabled image loading in my web browser. This increases the speed at which I can access text, but video is excruciatingly slow. My world is different, and this is how life is for dial-up users.

For uploading material to one of my websites, I have taken special care to ensure the file sizes of the material are small enough so my patience is not tested waiting for the material to appear in my FTP client window. It is crucial that this project be completed properly, so no shortcuts are acceptable.

My “alt” text on the images presents the content exactly as written on the pages and I take comfort that the material is fully accessible by anyone who has crippled the functionality of their browser or uses accessibility software. Yet, the few functions that make the site interesting are still in place for those with high speed.

I have rediscovered television and actually watched two movies from start to finish in as many days and discovered something new in plots about which I thought knew everything. Visiting the home of a new acquaintance, I stayed long past the time I decided would be right to leave. Having no agenda, my host gladly continued the conversation without worry about time.

And, now I have some time to add this experience to my blog, to observe the number of stars visible in the city's night sky, to enjoy the cool night air and to hope for a saner world in which to awake tomorrow morning.

When a branch falls in the city ...

A tree beside my building has provided shelter for my west-facing apartment from the summer sun in the late afternoon. The knothole in the centre gave space for a mother racoon to birth her kits. The smaller one on another branch is a squirrel condo. I heard tell of baby squirrels, but I saw none.

Suddenly at 10:45 a.m., the morning of 16 May, I heard cracking, popping sounds outside my apartment. Racing to the balcony to investigate and about three seconds after I looked over the rail, the two foot thick branch split with a loud cracking sound, fell on the ground bending the fence. Fortunately no human was in its path. There was no sign of anyone except for some of the tree’s dwellers.

I watched as one squirrel scampered up the tree and the other crashed to the ground with the branch. I saw it a few minutes later, scampering up the tree with the other so I guess it did not suffer injury. The raccoons were apparently out for the day.

After it was clear this mini disaster movie was finished, I went down to have a closer look.

I discovered that there were several other tree dwellers there who took the idea of home made meals very literally -- apparently, some sort of beetle grub gnawed away at the tree's insides weakening the branch. An ominous sign. I fear the city may need to take down both trees before the summer is over. I will lose my summer shade. Raccoons will lose a heritage site. Squirrels will go nuts finding a new neighbourhood. Blue jays, cardinals, robins and redwing blackbirds will land elsewhere.

Since then, another branch fell late one evening and the stark reality of the tree's demise was brought closer to home when I stepped onto the balcony. My view of the valley below had changed substantially. I had a clear view of the southbound lanes of the highway and could see the river, even at night.

A recent storm took down a third branch opening up the view to the ground below.

The increased sunlight will add to the summer heat experience, but I hope to use the extra solar input to experiment with solar cooking. My solar battery recharger should work more quickly.

I doubt this will make much difference in the winter. However, I will still get plenty of sunshine when I need it most.

#$@%! The strange things people say

Trees swayed in an ominous breeze that was building strength one hot, humid afternoon on a quiet neighbourhood street. I was delivering flyers announcing welcome to stand on our church's lawn to watch the East York Canada Day Parade.

At one house, a woman standing outside gladly took the flyer and we began a conversation about how people are so different than a generation ago. She bemoaned people's bad manners, violent outbursts and reckless driving. Later, as I prepared to get into my car to go home, I saw the woman talking to her neighbours across the street. A pizza delivery car sped past and the woman called out to me to be careful. The pizza car stopped at the bottom of the street and proceeded to make a right turn. Suddenly a large black van rounded the corner in a left turn the opposite way. His turn was too tight, but he managed to avoid collision with the pizza car. The van driver leaned out and let off a string of obscenities including calling the pizza car driver a "terrorist" who should go back to his own country.

I exchanged astonished glances with the woman and hers confirmed the content of our conversation.

The expected stormy weather never materialised, but the brief storm of violent speech I witnessed still lingers. It is somehow more memorable than any weather disturbance. On the drive home I pondered what brought me to that place. Less than half a block away from this verbal act of terrorism is the church who invites people to stand on its lawn for a parade and advertises itself as "A Safe Place."

Shift

After 12 years of stable employment, I was faced with one of those sudden shifts that in the space of two minutes took me unexpectedly from a happy and busy worker, well-connected with my colleagues to being completely alone and looking for another job.

Suddenly, things that happen in people's lives pull them away from work, friends, family, home and such! And, here you are, reading this post and perhaps something has happened to you that has changed the direction of your life. It might be financial, employment related, or connected to family and friends.

Times are turbulent and affect folk who need stability the most. Everyone needs water, food, clothing and shelter, but we also need relationships, community and hope for the future. Who or what is there offering us hope? Why is there so much upheaval in our world and in our lives? What can we do for ourselves and others? These are tough questions when we are overwhelmed by the magnitude of change and uncertainty that we face.

Here in my blog, I will attempt to find stories, ideas, answers and solutions that provide encouragement and hope for others who struggle with issues and circumstances that seem insurmountable. It will be thought provoking, too. I would like to receive comments from others who would like to offer their own stories and ideas that offer help to others. Included in future posts will be useful bits and pieces about everyday living, opinions and news. This place should be a place of coalescence, of meeting and creating community, for without community, there is no family, no friends and no work.

Your comments and topic suggestions, these would be welcome. Please note that I will exercise a policy of inclusiveness and courtesy your contributions should follow the same route.

To kick off the process, I invite comments from people seeking employment, about their experiences of interviews, expectations of potential employers, things that worked or helped, and things that were not so helpful. What has changed since you last looked for a job? How have you used technology in new ways? Is there still room for the personal touch?

Let's go!