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.)

[…]

Let’s face it. The dating scene in 2013 has changed…just a little. 

If the last time you went out on a blind date, Elvis was just leaving the army, cars had huge chrome fins and Tommy and Annette were chanting “Meeska, Mouska Mousketeer” you may find the 21st century dating rituals a bit daunting.

Parents, well-meaning college room mates, your Aunt Tilly (“Have I got the perfect guy for you! So he’s a little short. And lumpy. And appears to be looking in two directions at the same time!”)  are no longer the source of introductions. No, today’s career man and woman must turn to a totally different kind of match maker.

This match maker has a screen, a wired brain, a lot of bytes and needs your credit card number. 

Just answer a few simple questions, punch the responses in, and a massive computer brain will sift through millions of contenders, then pop out the ideal match. (Couldn’t be any worse than Aunt Tilly.)

Why not, I thought? Let’s see who my perfect soul mate could be. After all, 50 million ads for dating sites running on television every day must mean something.

So I chose my site, and settled down to honestly answer the “let’s develop your dating profile” questions.

Sex? Well, isn’t that sort of why one wants to find a permanent soul m…oh, I see. Female.

Age? 39. Give or take a decade or two. (Don’t push me.)

Qualities you are looking for in the perfect mate? Easy question. Male. Breathing.

Geographical area you would consider for matches? Again, an easy question. Earth.

What is your favourite colour? Green. No, blue. Wait! Red! Yellow? Final response: plaid.

If you were washed ashore on a desert island, and you could only have three things with you, what would they be?

Easy one. A fully fueled 60 foot yacht, the Ottawa Senators and an unlimited bank account.

Which do you admire? A sense of humour? A sense of adventure? A sense of accomplishment?

You betcha.

What is your personal net worth?

Next question.

In which sports are you accomplished?

Next question.

Why have you selected this on-line dating service?

Aunt Tilly is out of town.

I won’t go into a lot of details on how this all came out. I will say I carried on quite an exciting computer conversation with one potential for a while…until I discovered “he” was a programmable digital toaster oven.

I still don’t know which of us finally broke it off. 

 

[…]

 

Canada has paid a huge price in life and treasure during 10 years of war in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, 161 Canadians lost their lives; 158 members of the Canadian Armed Forces, one diplomat, one civilian contractor and one journalist. Along with our Canadian casualties, 40 Americans tragically lost their lives while under Canadian Forces command. 

Our Government is tremendously proud of our military. The sacrifices of our Canadian forces have been instrumental in preventing Afghanistan from again becoming a safe haven for terrorists, have brought stability and security to Afghans, and have allowed the country to develop and rebuild.

In honour of these sacrifices, former Defence Minister Peter MacKay unveiled the Afghanistan Memorial Vigil on Parliament Hill last week. The Afghanistan Memorial Vigil displays the bravery, dedication and valour of the fallen during our mission in Afghanistan. The Memorial Vigil consists of 190 Plaques representing the 201lives lost.  

The Afghanistan Memorial Vigil will be displayed on Parliament Hill throughout the summer. Over the course of the next two years it will travel across Canada to provincial capitals, major urban centres, and Canadian Armed Forces bases. It will also travel to Washington, DC. 

Although we can never appropriately thank the brave men and women who lost their lives in Afghanistan, the Memorial Vigil is meant to be a testimony to their heroism. Lest we Forget.

Please visit the Afghanistan Memorial vigil website at: http://www.cjoc.forces.gc.ca/exp/vigil-veille-eng.asp, for more information.

[…]

As I travel around the riding of SDSG I meet many seniors who are energetic, vibrant and still working full time. Many Canadian seniors are benefiting from worldwide advances in health, fitness and science, and as a result they are living longer, healthier lives. One senior observed eighty years old is the new sixty years old. How true. This reality presents all kinds of choices and adjustments, from personal decisions about careers and retirement, to the need for governments to develop and amend policies and programs to deal with these issues.

People today are taking many different paths to retirement, and some seniors are choosing to work longer. To improve flexibility and choice in retirement planning, our Government announced the new voluntary deferral option for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension.

As of July 1, 2013, Canadian seniors have the option to voluntarily defer their OAS pension for up to five years in exchange for a higher monthly amount. For every month you delay receipt of your OAS pension, you will receive an increased monthly benefit of 0.6 percent per month, up to a maximum of 36 percent at age 70. You can now defer your OAS pension for as little as one month, or as much as 60 months.

People should of course consider their personal situations when deciding when to start receiving their OAS pension, including their financial status, life expectancy, and their wants and needs. It is important to note that if you delay your OAS pension, you will not be eligible to receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and your spouse or common-law partner will not be eligible to receive the allowance until your OAS pension begins. Having discussed this issue with a number of constituents over the past few years, I am sure this is welcome news to many of you.

July 1 also brought changes to Canadian passports that I think you should know about. You can now apply for either a 5 year or a 10 year passport if you are 16 years old or older. However children passports are still only issued for 5 years. The new ePassports contain a microchip greatly enhancing their security and making them difficult to forge.

The ePassport is now being used by most countries around the world. It provides for safe and secure travel for Canadians anywhere in the world. The new 10 year ePassport actually saves you money. At $160.00 for 10 years it is less costly per year than the old 5 year passport. The cost of a five year ePassport is $120.00 and a child's (under 16) is $57.00.

I hope the changes we have made will achieve their goals of providing the citizens of SDSG and Canada a more secure, fulfilling, happy life. As always, for more information, please contact my constituency office at 613-937-3331.

[…]

Well, I did it. 

I actually got up on a stage in front of two hundred people, dressed in black fishnet stockings, a choker and red sequins, and got through an entire tap number. Four whole minutes. Four really long minutes.

I’m also pretty sure that my performance at the dance recital had a genuine effect on some members of the audience. As I was doing my final bow, I distinctly heard calls for the defibrillator.

There were other dancers from my adult class on the stage, also wearing fishnets and sequins. But I suspect that they may not have been quite as…memorable…during our routine as I was. 

You see, they actually remembered the right choreography to the dance. 

It isn’t like I hadn’t practiced the number. I faithfully attended my classes,  regularly asked my wonderful dance teacher to go over the bits I wasn’t quite getting (about three minutes, 40 seconds of the routine), and even tried to rehearse at home.

Rehearsing at home involved shifting the dining room table to one wall, and tapping on the hard wood floor, clutching the sheets of paper with the steps on them to my nose. I played the music over and over, desperately attempting to remember what arms and feet, hands and head should be simultaneously doing. (One out of four would have been challenging enough.) If I thought it had been hard to get the dance right at the studio, how much more difficult it was to work at home, where I couldn’t keep my eyes constantly fastened on the feet of my teacher!

Incidentally, I also realized, part way through the first home rehearsal that, in hind sight, it might have been a good idea to close the curtains on to the street. Several neighbours, out for strolls, had congregated  on the side walk in front of my picture window. Judging by the frozen stances and the dropped jaws, what I was doing was riveting. By the time I actually noticed the growing crowd, I was half afraid that the chip wagon might pull into my driveway. 

My fellow tap dancers have always been very supportive, and  endlessly encouraging. “Don’t worry,” they said. “You’re going to get those steps in the end!” 

Unfortunately, they were still saying that when the curtain opened and the recital music started up.

I drew a complete blank. I couldn’t recall a single step. I debated whether anyone would notice if I suddenly dashed behind the backdrop. Then my feet started to move. Somehow, somewhere, some form of deeply buried dance conditioning kicked in. I started to tap.

I was dancing!  I was, as my dad used to say, ‘tripping the light fantastic’. I was truly dancing… 

Okay, I was about two beats behind everybody else in the number and on the wrong side!

But stand aside, Fred Astaire.

I was dancing. 

[…]

 

Trouble and Tragedy

It seems that we’ve seen a lot of trouble and tragedy lately. Terrible floods in Alberta, this horrendous disaster in Lac Magentic, plane crashes. 

Across the world it’s the same: ongoing violence in Syria and now again in Egypt. What to make of it? How do we understand all these awful things?

Some would say that all these awful things that happen are just random. There’s no rhyme of reason to them. There’s no god or creator overseeing things. The world just evolved and now things continue to just happen.

If there’s anyone to affect what happens it’s us. We’re it. As for the purpose or end result of this world, they’d say, that there isn’t any. We live, we die, that’s it. This way of looking at things seems mighty meaningless to me. Why live, why be good, why anything. 

A world like this would also be a pretty scary place. Imagine there not being anyone in control. Kind of like racing down the highway without anyone at the wheel.

Another way people look at trouble and tragedy is to see it in terms of karma. People reap what they sow. People get what they deserve. If you’re good, good things will happen to you. If you’re bad, it’ll be the other way around. Somehow the universe is able to pay you back what you have coming to you. I hear more people talk like this is a cool way to look at life.

But is it? Are we then to think that those people in Alberta got what they had coming to them? Or beautiful Lac Magentic deserved the awful destruction brought on by the explosion and fire of that runaway train? Yuk. This seems awfully cruel to me. It adds insult to injury.

How then should we see trouble and tragedy? There may not be simple answers, but the Bible sure gives us some helpful insight as it avoids both of the unhelpful approaches mentioned so far. 

First it makes it clear that this world is not out of control. There is a god overseeing everything, a god who made all things well. Trouble and tragedy entered the world thanks to us (read Genesis 3 for the details.) 

The Bible also steers clear of saying that people get what they deserve in this life (read John 9:3 and Luke 13:1-5).

The Bible makes it clear that in the perfect world God created there was no trouble, no tragedy. Best of all, the day is coming when God will once again perfect his creation. That’s why he sent his son Jesus. 

Christ came to pay the world’s debt on the cross. Those who accept that payment personally will one day live in God’s new heaven and new earth. A place where trouble and tragedy are banished forever.

One last thing. Jesus said that even though there’s nothing good about trouble and tragedy in themselves, they can serve a good purpose. They can turn us to himself (see Luke 13:3). They can help us see our need of him. 

As we consider all the bad things happening lately, first, let’s pray for all those affected. May we also see that there are answers in God as to what’s happening. And there are long term (as in eternal) solutions. They’re found in faith in Christ.

Pastor Clarence Witten

Community Christian 

Reformed Church

Dixon’s Corners

[…]

 

Life Happens

I was weeding my garden the other day when I began to think about life.

Now don’t get me wrong,  I’m not about to go into a long litany of wrongs or problems that are happening in my life. 

As a matter of fact life is good, really good actually. We are enjoying our retirement. I told someone a little while ago that if I had known it was going to be this good, I would have done it when  I was thirty.  Of course it wasn’t at all possible back then.  However, let’s get on with my thoughts.  

As I knelt there that day, I began to reflect on my life, as well as on the life of other people I have known. Really, it can be compared to the weather we have been experiencing lately.  It is great when the sun is shining and it’s warm.  Good for golfing, boating, gardening, etc. 

However it is not always sunshine.  Some days it rains and in most of our minds we would probably say TOO MUCH.

I also began to think of life as a person walking through a luscious green valley.  Do you know that there would not be a valley if there were not  mountains on either side.  While it is good and pleasant in the valley, if we are going to broaden our horizons, we need to climb the mountains every now and then.

 I think it was Tammy Wynette who sang the song “I never promised You a Rose Garden.”         

 But there was someone else who gave us these words long before she was born.  Let me refer to the original Author of these words.

Back in the Old Testament, the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 20, verses 1 thru 4.  God is speaking to the Children of Israel as they are about to enter the Promised Land and possess what God had promised their Fathers. 

As we read this passage, we will find some promises to us.  The first one, most of us would like to pass on.  It says, “there will be battles against those who would not want them to possess the land.”  That is true for us in this life as well.  

In John`s Gospel, chapter 16, verse 33, Jesus told His followers (that includes we who believe on Him today), “that in this world they would experience all kinds of opposition.”

 Back in Deuteronomy, God gave the Children of Israel three more promises.  The promise of His Presence, to go with them  The Promise of His Power, to fight their enemies for them, and the Promise of His purpose, to save them. 

As we look at John 16:33, we find likewise, the promise of Our Lord, “Do not be troubled when you face all kinds of opposition,” Jesus says, “for I have overcome the world.”

No one likes trouble in their life but the truth is, “life happens” and that includes trouble, opposition, sickness, etc.  

So what do we do.  Well here are our choices; we can try to fix the problem ourselves, or we can rely on the Promises of God.

Bye the way, I expect that about the time you are reading this, I’ll be pulling weeds again because LIFE HAPPENS.        

Rev. Duncan Perry,

[…]

 

What will I write this time?

Have you ever wondered how those of us who write pieces for the Leader manage to come up with something that might be of interest to the readers? 

I know that I marvel at those who are expected to write weekly. Every time it’s my turn to submit something for Perspectives I ask myself what will I write this time.

Over the past three weeks my mind has been fully occupied with family matters. When I am called to be with a family during a time of trouble or sadness I am always amazed at the peace that I get from God so that I can fully attend to their needs. I have discovered that it is very different when I am in the midst of the family needing to be cared for.

As I searched for the peace, I found only lament – lament for a child who none of us would ever know; lament for those of my family who are so engulfed by the pain and the loss. 

But as I ponder this lament, I realize that it can be a healthy place. It can challenge one’s faith in so many ways.

Look at Job. His lament went on for chapter upon chapter. Yet in the end his faith in God never wavered. 

His friends scorned him, asking him why he would ever continue to have faith in a god who would let such devastation happen. Job never lost sight of God during his time of despair. Job knew that the only way back to health and wholeness would be through the loving grace and mercy of God. 

I know that the same is true for my family. Through the tender mercy of God, we will once again find health and wholeness in the end. 

Our relationship with God will be stronger, and we will be better for it. Our lamentations will lessen as we gain the strength to move forward in our life’s journey and our faith journey. Thanks be to God.

Hmmm. . . .I guess I’ll write about life this time.

Cheers, Sue+

Rev. Sue McCullough

Anglican Parish of 

Morrisburg, Iroquois & 

Riverside Heights.

[…]

 

God walks with us through the changes

This is the final time that I will write this Perspectives column as the minister of Iroquois United Church. Due to restructuring issues in the United Church of Canada, I find myself saying good-bye to a group of people I cherish and respect.

The past months have been emotionally and physically draining for me. Change is often not a welcome thing, and it has been difficult for me to realize my life will never quite be the way it has been.

Change, however, advents into all of our lives. Our children grow up and move away. Our parents die. We look in the mirror and realize we weigh a little more than we did on our wedding day.

We cannot stop some of the changes that are part of life in the 21st century. Whether you like them or not, computers and other “tech” items are here to stay. 

Churches hold Sunday morning worship services, yet many young people are playing soccer at the very same time. Travel to exotic destinations is a reality for many people.

I think we need to remember that God is walking with us through all the changing seasons of life. When we despair, He can bring hope. When darkness threatens to overwhelm us, Jesus offers us light and love. 

When we are ill, He grants us comfort and when we mourn, He gives us His promise of eternal life in His arms.

God cherishes us and challenges us to follow in the paths He sets  before us.

He asks us to reflect upon the questions: “What does it really mean to live in abundance and to share what we have?” and “how can a little bit of love go a long way to make a difference in our communities and in our world?”

May we pass Christ’s love on to others, may we give thanks that we will never fall out of our Saviour’s compassionate embrace.

We can trust in God–for He continues to shed His grace upon us.

I write this Perspectives Column and say good-bye to my parishioners at Iroquois United Church. I will be staying the area however, and will soon write as part of another congregation. 

Yes, life changes, but God continues to support and sustain us.

Our Creator blesses us and His mercy endures forever! 

Rev. Janet Evans, 

Iroquois United Church

[…]

 

There are very few sports that I am even tolerably good at.

If you eliminate the television remote control five yard dash, or the get-to-the-buffet-table ahead of everyone else marathon, or even the 50-per-cent-off-sales wrestlemania, the list is actually very short. 

It follows, then, that there are sports I am not good at.

I’m banned from ski lodges in one province and two states because I endanger other skiers. I don’t do water skiing either, since that unfortunate episode at the family cottage when I attempted to take off from a wooden dock. (Getting the splinters out was not a task for the faint of heart.) Basketball demands that one actually jump…repeatedly. 

I once took some lessons at a local golf course. The pro tried. He really did. And the first time I ventured out on the course, beautifully located alongside the river, I was really excited.  I eagerly stepped up to take my shot. (Couldn’t see the flag or anything, but I didn’t let that stop me). I swung a mighty swing. Missed the ball completely. In the heat of the moment, I also let go of the golf club. That club sailed, in a fairly impressive arc, directly into a deep part of the cold river.

The clubs were borrowed. The owner, who had to dive into the water to retrieve his property, had some interesting and colourful things to say, which did discourage me a little.

However, there is one sport I understand, one sport that I enjoy, one sport I know how to play. Baseball.

I come from a baseball minded family. My dad played organized ball. My uncles all did. My brother played himself, then coached a young men’s hard ball team. My sister is a powerhouse player as is her daughter. 

Baseball gets to you. It doesn’t have to be professional or semi professional ball.  Just a pick-up game on a regulation diamond or even a grassy field with a couple of cows wandering third base.

I like the stomach tightening tension on the field, the determination of the player in the batter’s box, the steely look in the pitcher’s eyes, the obvious and powerful sense of camaraderie in the dug outs. And there really is a kind of magic the moment a person whacks one ‘out of the park’, and gets to make that exhilarating run around the bases, to the excited shouts of team mates. It’s a golden moment, long discussed, never forgotten.

I know what it is to stand in the batter’s box, trying to stare down the pitcher, trying to guess what she’s going to throw, praying that I don’t swing like “a rusty gate.” 

And if you do connect with the ball, and see it soaring away and away, well, it kind of makes up for the splinters. Really.

[…]