Perspectives by Rev. Geoff Howard

November 5, 2014 Editor Opinion

 

Going forward, we remember

Over the last couple of weeks we as a nation have been angered and outraged. We have been saddened and disheartened. We have been astounded and dumfounded. We have been proud and patriotic. We have been reminded what is really important, and we have been encouraged to hug our spouse and children and grandchildren.

Some have spoken about a corporate Canadian loss of innocence. We have heard about home grown terrorists. We have seen divisions over the effectiveness of our political, social, and religious institutions. It seems in some ways our very way of life has been attacked and compromised. 

We mourn the loss of Nathan Cirillo and Patrice Vincent. We uphold in our thoughts and prayers their families and those whose lives have been drastically and forever changed.

And yet for most of us as these headlines faded into yesterday’s news we got back to life as normal.  From the distance most of us have to these events, once the initial shock and horror subsides it is business as usual. So we go back to doing what we do. Maybe changed in some ways but resigned to the realization that these are the facts of life in the world in which we live. 

As Remembrance Day rolls around once again maybe this year’s remembering will be a little bit different. Take the opportunity to remember for it is a bit more real this year. 

Maybe we will have a slightly deeper sense of how this all does touch our lives and the lives of our families and friends and communities. 

What we have has been attacked and threatened and compromised. And the sacrifice of those who gave of themselves in the past, in the long ago, in recent events of our world, in days just gone by, and those who will continue to serve and give of themselves into the future may give us something more to remember and to live for and commit ourselves to. 

We cannot go on as though these things never happened. We have all been changed by these events. We can ponder and lament and mourn, or we can remember and keep remembering and can go forward and make a difference. Living in ways that declare that the sacrifices have been recognized and have become a part of who and what we are here and now and a part of what we carry into tomorrow. 

Long ago, Paul writing to a community in some chaos and confusion in Rome put it this way: Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-20

May this be our act of remembering.

 

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Where there’s smoke…

August 14, 2013 Editor Opinion

 

I want to assure the SD&G Fire and Emergency services that all my smoke detectors are in great working order. They have recently been tested under realistic conditions. I was cooking.

After decades of trying, I am now pretty certain that my talents, whatever they are, do not lie in the area of the culinary arts.

This is unfortunate, as the one thing I take great delight in doing is eating. Italian, French, Asian, Southern…well, I have yet to meet a style of cooking that I couldn’t love. And think home made bread, think butter tarts and squares, flaky crusted pies and cakes with exotic names like Black Forest and Rum Baba. All of them lovingly made – by other people.

Actually, I think about food like that all the time. I never think raw broccoli.

I honestly mean well in the kitchen. I have several cook books given to me by friends who have experienced dinner at my house. I have two pots. I have a meat thermometer, just as soon as I remember where I put it four Christmases ago. (Might still be attached to that unfortunate turkey that got left in a 500 degree oven.). I have a single roasting pan, lid missing, and one glass pie plate with something stuck around the edges that resists all known cleansers. I have a knife, but it’s broken.

So, all the essentials. I also keep a quick list right beside the stove with helpful hints such as the phone number for Poison Control and the 800 number for Ask-A-Nurse/Practitioner.

Honestly, things just seem to go wrong when I cook.

Who knew yeast had a life span? You could have anchored a yacht to that particular loaf of bread.

Who knew that you don’t pour an entire mickey of rum into a single Christmas cake just because the batter still appears to be absorbing it?  (You don’t want to know the condition of my guests following dessert.)

And apparently there is considerable difference between four tablespoons of soy sauce and four tablespoons of tabasco sauce. Just ask the people invited for that particular tuna casserole.

Back to the smoke detectors.

I wasn’t actually in the kitchen. Instead I was out on the patio, directly under the open kitchen window learning to use my new barbecue. As it was cool out, with a fairly stiff breeze, all other windows and doors in the house were firmly shut.

I gather, now, that burgers may be slightly over done if there are huge columns of smoke pouring from them, and they have become the size of briquets. The other thing that didn’t register was the wind was blowing all that black smoke from the grill through the open window. It was quite a lot of billowing smoke. 

I finally got all the smoke detectors turned off. However, I’m told the odour of charred beef is going to take somewhat longer to disappear. (We went out for dinner.)

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