2011: Sunshine in the land of the living

The glass is usually half full in my life.
I'm just that sort of person.
Life has hit me with a few body slams. Of course, it has. You don't get to be 55 without losses and disappointments, and I try to take them in stride.
But I have to say, being on Facebook makes me even more grateful for a relatively stable and uneventful life.
Two years ago, one of the my university friends lost her mother and brother within days of each other. Mom died suddenly of a heart attack and brother died in a car crash. Last year, my friend lost her father.
While many of us were opening presents and toasting the baby Jesus, Rose spent Christmas eve rattling around the old homestead, by herself, talking to ghosts.
Another Facebook friend had to take her dog in for emergency surgery just before New Year's and had to cancel a planned and deserved holiday.
Yet another Facebook friend had to put down her ailing retriever on New Year's Day. She was absolutely devastated.
There is sad news today that my cousin Bruce Simpson died early this morning; at the age of 59, he lost his battle with dementia.
I didn't know cousin Bruce well. He was a close and admired friend of my brother Bob. I've never heard of anyone having dementia that young, and it seems holy unfair that a disease associated with old age could snuff the candle of someone who was so vibrant.
I was reading all of this last night while pondering a visit to the ER. I took a nasty tumble down a flight of stairs just before suppertime after getting my legs tangled in a gaggle of canines.
I wrenched my ankle fairly badly and it blew up like a football.
I was sure I'd broken my ankle but opted for RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) and cocktails rather than an eight-hour visit to the Ottawa Hospital. I just couldn't face a showdown with all the skiers and the drunks.
I was at the hospital on Hallowe'en.
On holidays, they have ONE doctor.
I didn`t relish a repeat performance.
Still hurting this morning, I am able to bear weight on my foot and the swelling has gone down, so it appears I made the right choice -- red wine and Baileys and a nice turkey dinner -- over snotty nosed kids and holiday yahoos.
I'm missing my daily jaunt to the gymnasty, and I'm expecting a week off at least, but I can't help but feel grateful.
And I can't help but think that my decision to get fit last year has paid off demonstrably. I fell down a flight of stairs, wrenched my ankle and landed on my hands and yet I do not appear to have broken any bones. My wrists aren't sore either.
Strength training has indeed paid off.
I`m also lucky.
Bones and tissue mend quickly but hearts take a long time to heal.
My love and best wishes go out to the broken hearted on this day.
To Rose, Retriever Fred`s mom, Leslie, and to cousin Julie who lost her brother. To Freda, Bruce's devoted wife.

And to Fred, the retriever. May you always run in fields of gold.
Today, I pray for sunshine for those of us lucky enough to be in the land of the living.

Ashley Simpson: Don't Let Her Die in Vain

Six years ago, I was combing through my Facebook and I saw post from my cousin Julie Major. Her brother and his wife were frantically looking for their daughter Ashley who just days before had Facetimed her mom saying she was planning to return to her home in Niagara. Ashley never made it home. She was murdered in cold blood in her home in Salmon Arm then buried in a nearby field. It would be five and a half years before her body was located, and her boyfriend was charged with second degree murder. Today, Ashley's urn has a sacred spot in her parents' home, and Derek Favell is in jail awaiting trial by judge and jury. The trial is expected to go into next year sometime. This has been an agonizing journey for Ashley's friends and family. The pain has never stopped, and the wounds are broken open every time the family has to sit through a series of pre-trial proceedings. Fortunately, this ordeal will end but the pain will never wane for the people, including me, who have b...

Ashley Simpson: A Father Remembers

I have asked Ashley Simpson's family and friends to give us a glimpse into the life she lived before going missing nearly a month ago. Here is how her father John remembers his sweet girl. Ashley was a treat when she came into this world, a smashing 9lbs 8 ounces with a head full of hair and nails that needed to be clipped. She has made many friends in her journey of life and continues to make them as we speak. She has made this world a better place by her love of mankind and this place we call Earth; unfortunately this life she has lived hasn't been the best for her. She has suffered through unbearable pain and suffering through her menstrual cycles. She has cysts on her ovaries that make those 10 days a living hell. She had one of her ovaries removed when she was just 14; the other they won't take out till she is 40 or older. Years of hell for my Ashley. I so feel her pain every month but she doesn't quit, doesn't give in. That'...

What Bell isn't telling you about Fibe TV

Update: This week, we switched back to Rogers after spending far too long using Bell's crappy television service. For those with Bell, read and weep. For those considering Bell, think twice even if you hate Rogers. RS I've always been an early technology adapter. I had a Betamax. That tells you everything (if you're over 50 at least). My first computer was a "Portable". It weighed 40 pounds and I had to lug it around town on a gurney. I've been through probably 15 computers in my lifetime. Apple is the best. It's also too expensive so I have a piece of shit HP, the one I'm writing this blog on. I've had cable, internet and now Netflix. American Netflix . That's how far ahead of the curve I am. I get all the newspapers for free. How? I disabled my cookies so they can't track me when I'm on the newspaper sites. Even the New York Times hasn't cottoned on to that trick. Hahaha. That will be a fifty buck consulting fee. Bein...

Rose's Cantina

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