All is well

I found a small stack of photocopies in my mother's things. It seemed as if she had prepared them with some future eventuality in mind, but she never discussed it with me. Assuming that her intent was for those words to be shared with those who knew her throughout her life, I will also share it with you. It is attributed to Harry Scott Holland (1847-1918) Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral

Death is nothing at all.  I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we still are. Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference in your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Pray, smile, think of me, pray of me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was, let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; there is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well. 

The American Thanksgiving

For anyone who has visited or lived in the USA during November, you probably understand that Thanksgiving is a truly great tradition. While Independence Day may be more significant, American Thanksgiving is when the best of American character is demonstrated. Speak with someone who has visited or lived in the U.S. during this time of November and you will likely hear a story of being invited to spend the day with someone's family. In my time at RPI, every year someone made certain that I wasn't spending the day alone. Few people will disagree with your desire to ignore Easter or spend a New Years quietly at home, but if you even hint that on Thanksgiving Day you plan to just watch football alone in your apartment, you are going to be dragged over to a colleague's place for a huge turkey dinner.

In contrast, Canadian Thanksgiving just doesn't have the same cultural roots for some reason. Both cultures like to eat turkey, perhaps because settlers in both countries extirpated the tasty bird throughout many parts of the continent. Many Canadians feel the day is nothing more than a welcome day off work in October, a time to close the cottage or have one last canoe trip for the year. Certainly there are plenty of family dinners, but in my experience, Americans really nail the thanks in Thanksgiving by being so quick and insistent about welcoming people into their families. Way to go Yanks ! And thanks to all the people who have made me ... homesick for the my time spent south of the border.

Justin's first book

Justin Fabian has released his first book. Justin's website showcases his incredible high resolution landscape prints. His first book is currently available directly from the publisher or in the Waterloo area it is already at Adventure Guide and will be available through retail channels such as Chapters by early in the new year.

Russia trip video

This is a ten minute video of our trip. The DVD version has some of the parts that were cut and I am working on finishing the 20-minute extended version which will also end up on the trip DVD. There is a two minute slideshow in an earlier posting.

Christmas

I am not fond of the November 1st launch date for the Christmas marketing campaigns. Mercifully someone invented Halloween or we would see St. Nick on the first day of Autumn. I subscribe to the twelve days of Christmas philosophy. So that means December 16th to December 27th. You can think about gifts in advance if the mood strikes, but all buying and delivering should be done within that window.

My mom was the first one to take me out delivering Christmas stuff to people I didn't know. As a teacher she probably knew they didn't have much coming. I have to admit I haven't done any volunteering to deliver stuff personally, but I enjoy the shopping part of the process. If you want to have some fun and light up a friend's day then give stuff to people you don't know at Christmas. You might also consider reducing the amount you give to the people on your list in order to accomplish this. The process might go something like this:

1st: Chill out
Take someone you enjoy hanging out with, or even better, invite a group from work to skip lunch and head to the mall - park as far away from the door as possible, don't even think about driving up and down rows of cars looiking to follow someone to their parking spot.

2nd: Know what they need
Find the "wish tree" or whatever they call it in your town - around here the Salvation Army run it and a radio station help promote it. Ask them what they need. It is always fun to buy toys, but some age groups get under served.

3rd: Buy more
Head to the nearest store (I wouldn't suggest Walmart as an option until the Walton Family give substantially more than the miserly ~ 1% they have donated to charity). Buy at least twice as many of the recommended item(s). Head back to said wish tree with arms full of stuff. And then think about half as many gifts as you had planned to the people on your own list.

Option B:
Not going to the mall because you bought everything in November? Figure out how much you spent. Get out your credit card. Point your browser at some charities, ideally a couple you don't normally support. Need some suggestions - try some of the links on this blog.

Merry Christmas !