WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, OR FALL ….ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CALL AND I’LL BE THERE. (IN SPIRIT FOR NOW)
I MISS YOU. MY PARENTS. MY CHILDREN. MY GRANDCHILDREN. MY FAMILY NEAR AND FAR. MY DEAR DEAR FRIENDS.
WE MIGHT BE APART BUT YOU ARE ALL IN MY HEART.
HAPPY SUNDAY ALL.
BELLE RIVER HIGH / YOUTH CORPS / RED SIDEWALK / OUR FOUR
TEA WITH TRISCUITS INTO THE NIGHT / STILL QUIETLY CHATTING AND UP TILL FIRST LIGHT.
GODSPELL / ROSEBUDS / DRIVING OUT WEST.
OXLEY / SINGING AND SERVING / FAITH PUT TO THE TEST
COR / COR 2 / LAUGHTER / FEARS
TEN SILVER DOLLARS / HAPPIEST TEARS
NURSING / REHEARSING / HOCKEY / PETS
WEDDINGS / CHILDREN / PARTINGS / REGRETS
LETTERS / TRAVEL / REUNIONS / JOY !
A LIFETIME OF MEMORIES NO ONE CAN DESTROY.
NOT COVID / NOT DISTANCE / NOT ILLNESS / NOR DEATH
FOR WE WALK TOGETHER / UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH
SOMEDAY / WE PRAY / WE’LL HUG ONCE AGAIN
THIS WEEKEND TOGETHER / WITH MY BEST FRIENDS
SENDING YOU TEDDY BEAR HUGS ON THIS RAINY DAY IN EDMONTON.
I WAS LOOKING FOR OLD PHOTOS THE OTHER DAY FOR A FRIEND WHO SAID SHE WANTED PICTURES OF HERSELF FOR HER BIRTHDAY.
I ENJOYED MY DETECTIVE WORK AND FOUND THESE “BLAST FROM THE PAST” MEMORIES FROM ONE OF MY “M & M FOR KIDS” CHILDRENS’ THEATRE DAYS.
I AM THE LIGHT ORANGE TEDDY BEAR .
KEEP DANCING..EVEN WHEN IT RAINS….
ARE YOU ALRIGHT? OR IS IT STILL AN UPHILL CLIMB ?
DO FEEL LIKE YOU ARE CLAWING YOUR WAY OUT OF LETHARGY, OVEREATING AND LONELINESS?
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE. REMEMBER THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE……
IN THE WORDS OF MY FAVOURITE SINGER, SARAH GROVES… ‘IT’S GONNA BE ALRIGHT’.
HAVE FAITH , MY FRIENDS. TAKE A LISTEN…..
YESTERDAY, SPIRITLINE SPENT FOUR HOURS SETTING UP OUR NEW EQUIPMENT FOR OUR VERY FIRST ONLINE STREAMING CONCERT FOR ROSEBUD THEATRE.(EMILY BACHYNSKI OF ‘BAD BUDDY’ TOOK THE TIME TO WALK US THROUGH THE SET UP AND REHEARSAL FOR SOUND LEVELS. A HUGE THANK-YOU TO HER!)
READ ON ABOUT OUR FRIENDS AT ROSEBUD, ALBERTA,CANADA :
Anyone who has visited Rosebud, has felt the creative magic of this special little hamlet, nestled in a valley below the Alberta prairies. Here, Rosebud School of the Arts provides training for professional theatre students, and over 35,000 visitors a year come to experience Rosebud Theatre productions. Not bad for a place which boasts a population of 87.
Unfortunately, current physical distancing guidelines have caused us to cancel our spring and summer productions — that’s 3 out of 5 shows! (SO FAR) For an organization that relies on ticket purchases(AND PEOPLE GATHERING) to make up 70% of our revenue, this means both the school and theatre are in a dire position. “We’re a ridiculous ecosystem that shouldn’t be, and will continue to be against all odds, if we can just get over this hump…”commented Morris Ertman, Artistic Director of Rosebud Theatre. ( EMPHASIS MINE)
AFTER SPIRITLINE HAD TO CANCEL THE REMAINDER OF THEIR CANADIAN TOUR (THE FINAL CONCERT WAS TO BE HELD IN ROSEBUD) PAUL MUIR , THEATRE DIRECTOR, INSTRUCTOR/ACTOR, INVITED US TO DO AN ONLINE CONCERT TO HELP RAISE AWARENESS AND FUNDS FOR THEIR PLIGHT.
WE THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA AS MOST OF OUR CONCERTS ACROSS CANADA WERE FOR DIFFERENT CHARITIES/ORGANIZATIONS ANYWAY AND WE LOVE OUR FRIENDS IN THIS SMALL TOWN. WE LOVE THEIR MISSION AND EVERYONE WE’VE ENCOUNTERED AND SINCE TERRY AND I ALSO MET ONSTAGE 42 YEARS AGO IT IS NEAR AND DEAR TO OUR HEARTS.
OUR CONCERT WILL BE LIVESTREAMED ON FACEBOOK JUNE 5TH AT 7 PM MT.
https://www.facebook.com/events/296146764721266/
AND IF YOU COULD FIND IT IN YOUR HEARTS TO DONATE YOU CAN DO SO BY PRESSING ON THE FOLLOWING LINK….
https://www.rosebudtheatre.com/support-us
THE WHOLE TOWN NEEDS OUR SUPPORT .
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE !
IT SEEMS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY THAT THE ‘STORM WAS COMING’.
WE HEARD ABOUT IT BUT IT DIDN’T SEEM REAL. IT CERTAINLY WOULDN’T AFFECT OUR COUNTRY , OUR HOME, OUR LIFE.
NOW WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM. THE BOAT IS VIOLENTLY ROCKING AND WE WANT TO HAVE THE COURAGE TO GET OUT OF IT . SOMEONE WHISPERS IN OUR EAR, ‘TRUST ME’ .
MAYBE YOUR ‘STORM’ IN NOT OUTSIDE AT ALL . MAYBE IT’S IN YOUR HEAD AND YOU SUFFER IN A DIFFERENT WAY. YOU WANT TO FIND THE CALM.
YESTERDAY I WAS THRILLED TO WRITE ABOUT THE SNOWBIRDS FLYING IN FORMATION ACROSS CANADA TO HONOUR OUR FRONTLINE WORKERS IN THIS NEW PANDEMIC LIFE.
TODAY WE READ THAT THE PERFECT FORMATION WAS BROKEN WHEN ONE PLANE CRASHED TO THE GROUND AND A LIFE WAS LOST (CAPTAIN JENNIFER CASEY) AND HER PARTNER IS IN NEED OF HEALING. WHY SO MUCH SUFFERING IN THE WORLD?
HELEN KELLER SAID THAT ‘ALTHOUGH THE WORLD IS FULL OF SUFFERING,IT IS ALSO FULL OF THE OVERCOMING OF IT.’
IT IS SO EASY TO TRUST WHEN ALL WE CAN SEE ABOUT US IS CALM. WE ‘STEP OUT OF THE BOAT’ . BUT IT IS WHEN WE LOOK AROUND US AND NOTICE THE STORM THAT WE START TO SINK.
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO STEP OUT OF THE BOAT AND REPEAT THE SHORTEST PRAYER IN THE BIBLE, “LORD, SAVE ME!” (MATTHEW 14:30)
LET’S NOT LET FEAR GET THE BETTER OF US. EVEN A STORM CAN BE BEAUTIFUL.
A FRIEND REMINDED ME THE OTHER DAY…’THIS TOO SHALL PASS’.
PEACE FRIENDS…IN YOUR LIVES, IN YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS.
WE WERE WITNESS TO A RATHER HISTORIC MOMENT RECENTLY. THE CANADIAN SNOWBIRDS HAVE FLOWN ACROSS CANADA TO HONOUR THE ‘FRONTLINE’ WORKERS IN EVERY CITY.
TERRY AND I DROVE TO KINGSWAY MALL ,CRUISED OVER TO THE UPPER PARKING LOT, OPENED UP OUR LAWN CHAIRS ,AND WITHIN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME WE SAW THIS BEAUTIFUL SIGHT. THE SNOWBIRD FORMATION FLEW RIGHT OVER OUR HEADS! THE MALL IS RIGHT BESIDE ONE OF OUR HOSPITALS SO WE KNEW THAT WAS PART OF THEIR FLIGHT PATH.
SO WE TOO WANT TO SAY A HUGE THANK-YOU TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN OUR CITY AND ACROSS THE WORLD WHO DO SO MUCH TO KEEP US SAFE IN THIS PANDEMIC TIME.
AND I ESPECIALLY WANT TO DO A SHOUT OUT OF GRATITUDE TO THOSE IN MY PERSONAL LIFE WHO ARE CARING FOR US OR WHO HAVE WORKED IN THIS CAPACITY AT ANY TIME.
ROSE MACNEIL, BARB LOUGHRIDGE,JOAN,CATHY,AND LORI BACHYNSKI,SARAH FITSGERALD(NURSES), SÈBASTIÉN WIDNER,BRENT BACHYNSKI,PHIL VOGAN(POLICEMEN),ROB GALLANT(FIREMAN),COLLEEN FRIESEN,ANGELA SCHARFENBERGER(DOCTORS),AND ALL THOSE I HAVE UNINTENTIONALLY OMITTED…..
THANK-YOU!
…..WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICECREAM !
THE SUN HAS DECIDED TO VACATION HERE FOR AWHILE AND IT FEELS SOOOO GOOD! THE OTHER DAY WE HAD OUR USUAL NEIGHBOURHOOD WALK AND FOUND THIS FANTASTIC ‘MONOPOLY BOARD’ SIDEWALK ART. PEOPLE ARE GETTING SO CREATIVE THESE DAYS . THE HUMAN SPIRIT SEEMS TO FIND A WAY TO SHINE EVEN THOUGH “I SCREAM. YOU SCREAM” COULD BE A MANTRA FOR 2020 …HA HA.
IN OUR CITY, TODAY MARKS THE DAY WHEN 50 PEOPLE CAN NOW GATHER FOR THIS MAY LONG WEEKEND. ONE STILL HAS TO SOCIAL DISTANCE BUT AS OUR MEDICAL ADVICE DOCTOR, DEENA HINSHAW, SAYS …THIS COULD BE A LITMUS TEST TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH COVID AFTERWARDS.
I AM IN NO HURRY TO GET OUT THERE…OR IN THERE …AS MANY RESTAURANTS ARE OPENING UP TOO. BUT I DO SO FEEL FOR THE MANY BUSINESSES THAT ARE JUST TRYING TO STAY AFLOAT IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES.
SO WE JOINED THE SOCIAL DISTANCING ICECREAM LINEUP AND TREATED OURSELVES. HAPPY FOR SMALL STEPS FORWARD.
PEACE. AND ICECREAM.
FOR TWENTY THREE YEARS I HAVE HAD THE WONDERFUL PLEASURE OF MEETING UP WITH MY SISTERS FOR THE ‘GIRLS’ WEEKEND AWAY’. IT ALL STARTED WITH A COUPLE OF DAYS AWAY WITH MY SISTER, PAMELA, AND MYSELF AFTER I FLEW HOME FOR MY ANNUAL ONTARIO TRIP. WE HAD SO MANY LAUGHS AND IT WAS GOOD FOR THE SOUL.
IT SEEMS NOTHING COULD STOP US FROM OUR ANNUAL VICTORIA LONG WEEKEND TRIP. ONE YEAR THERE WAS A TERRIBLE BLIZZARD AND WE HAD ACCOMMODATIONS OUT OF THE CITY…ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF AWAY. PAM AND I FELT LIKE WE WERE IN A BUBBLE OF PROTECTION AND THE SUN WAS SHINING SO WE PACKED UP AND AWAY WE WENT …SOMETIMES WITH ONLY THE TELEPHONE POLES TO GUIDE OUR WAY AS THE SNOW WAS SO THICK. CRAZY.
BUT OF COURSE WE ARRIVED SAFELY AND BY THE TIME WE GOT TO OUR PRETTY HOTEL IN BAYFIELD THE SNOWS HAD STOPPED AND WE WERE READY TO RELAX AND HAVE OUR USUAL CONNECTION OF THE HEART…HOURS OF STORIES AND LAUGHTER,GOOD FOOD ,AND GENTLE EXCURSIONS.
SO THERE WE WERE , JUST BARELY IN OUR ROOM IT SEEMS, BUT WE WERE LAUGHING QUITE LOUDLY WHEN WE HEARD A BANGING ON THE DOOR OF OUR ROOM. OOPS! LAUGHING TOO LOUDLY PERHAPS?
BUT NO, THE CLEANING STAFF APPEARED AND SAID THEY WERE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE TOILET IN OUR ROOM AND THEY HAD TO COME IN AND FIX IT. I STILL HAD TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE FROM SILLY STORIES WE WERE SHARING WHEN THESE 2 ‘ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES’ WOMEN APPEARED. THE FIRST WOMAN STARTED SWEARING ABOUT HAVING TO ‘CLEAN THE F*^%N TOILETS’ AND THE SECOND WOMAN HAD A HUGE ,GREY HAIRSTYLE AND A CIGARETTE HANGING OUT OF HER LIPS.
HER LIPS. THAT’S WHEN I NOTICED THAT THOSE LIPS BELONGED TO OUR SISTER, PAULA, AND THE OTHER (MISSHAPEN,WIGGED) LADY WAS OUR OTHER SISTER,MARY! WHAT A HILARIOUS, JOYFUL REUNION WE ALL HAD! THEY REGALED US WITH STORIES OF THEIR HAIR RAISING JOURNEY AND THE GIGGLES THEY HAD TO STIFLE AS THEY CHANGED INTO THESE FUNNY CHARACTERS IN FRONT OF THE STAFF! THEY STUFFED PILLOWS INTO THEIR PANTS FRONT AND BACK, WIGGED UP, AND THE STAFF WAS LAUGHING TOO. WE HAD THE BEST WEEKEND JUST BEING TOGETHER…PERUSING THE LOCAL SHOPS, HAVING LOVELY MEALS OUT, GOING FOR WALKS, AND EXCHANGING GIFTS FOR OUR BIRTHDAYS THAT ALL FALL WITHIN THE CUSP OF MAY.
THIS STARTED A 23 YEAR TRADITION THAT SOMETIMES INCLUDED OUR SISTER IN LAW,NANCY,AND OUR MOM TOO FOR MANY OF THOSE YEARS. IT WOULD HAVE LED TO OUR TWENTY FOURTH IF WE WEREN’T ALL HOUSEBOUND IN OUR SEPARATE CITIES THIS YEAR. AND MY HEART FEELS BROKEN.
“When you come to the end of yourself, you find the beginning of God.”
I KNOW THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US HAS CHALLENGES RIGHT NOW. SOME ARE SMALL LIKE MY MISSING MY SISTERS OF THE HEART. OTHERS ARE MASSIVE LIKE HAVING TO SAY A FINAL GOOD-BYE TO SOMEONE WE LOVE WHO HAS PASSED ON. IT IS A BROKEN TIME. NOTHING IS AS IT WAS BEFORE AND WE ARE ALL LEARNING TO COPE WITH THIS NEW NORMAL.
I FIND THAT WHEN I FEEL SORRY FOR MYSELF IT IS TIME TO GET ‘OUT OF MYSELF’ AND THINK OF OTHERS. IF I TURN TO GOD WILL HE ‘BE ENOUGH TO MAKE ME ENOUGH'(A.VOSKAMP)? I KNOW THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING,”YES”!
SO TODAY LET ME USE MY BROKENNESS TO REACH OUT TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO MIGHT BE FEELING THE SAME WAY. LIFE (EVEN THIS NEW WAY OF LIFE) IS ALWAYS SUCH A GIFT!
AND I LOOK FORWARD WITH HOPE THAT PERHAPS NEXT YEAR I CAN HUG MY SISTERS AGAIN ON THE “G.W.A”.
WALKING AROUND MY NEIGHBOURHOOD I AM STRUCK BY HOW VERY ‘CANADIAN’ THE OUTDOOR FURNITURE APPEARS. IT SEEMS THE CHAIR OF CHOICE IS THE CLASSIC ADIRONDACK . I HAVE SEEN THEM IN SO MANY COLOURS, MATERIALS- PLASTIC, SOME WOODEN, SOME ADULT SIZED AND SOME FOR CHILDREN.
EITHER WAY, THEY ARE WELCOMING AND AS THE WEATHER IS FINALLY STARTING TO GET NICER I AM SURE THEY WILL BE FILLED WITH WARM BODIES SOON. WE ARE HOME.
YESTERDAY, I CELEBRATED AND WAS CELEBRATED WONDERFULLY FOR MY BIRTHDAY. I WONDERED HOW IT WOULD BE WITH NO CAFÉS OR VERY FEW DESTINATION POINTS AVAILABLE TO US. MY HUSBAND CAME THROUGH IN A BIG WAY AND THE 4 COURSE LUNCHEON MEAL HE CREATED WAS JUST AS GOOD (OR BETTER!) THAN ANYTHING I’VE EVER EATEN IN A RESTAURANT . I AM VERY THANKFUL FOR HIS THOUGHTFULNESS AND THAT I WAS ABLE TO SHARE THE AFTERNOON WITH OUR DAUGHTER AND HER PARTNER TOO.
AND SO WE CONTINUE TO STAY HOME . I READ THAT IN OTHER PARTS OF OUR WORLD THE COUNTRIES THAT HAVE ‘REOPENED’ ARE HAVING ANOTHER WAVE OF COVID-19 . IT IS SO DISTRESSING IN SO MANY WAYS. I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE A POEM I FOUND THE OTHER DAY. CHECK OUT THE DATE IN WHICH IT WAS WRITTEN.
And the people stayed home.
And read books,
and listened,
and rested,
and exercised,
and made art,
and played games,
and learned new ways of being,
and were still.
And listened more deeply.
Some meditated,
some prayed,
some danced.
Some met their shadows.
And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed.
And, in the absence of people living in
ignorant,
dangerous,
mindless,
and
heartless
ways,
the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed,
and the people joined together again,
they grieved their losses,
and made new choices,
and dreamed new images,
and created new ways
to
live
and
heal
the
earth
fully,
as they had been healed.
~by Kitty O’Meara’, from the book, Narka, the Nihilist, 1887
IT LOOKS LIKE WE MIGHT TAKE SOLACE FROM THE FACT THAT THIS HAS ALL HAPPENED BEFORE AND PEOPLE FOUND A WAY TO HEAL.
PEACE FRIENDS.
