I have been a long time fan of Leonard Cohen....ever since the 1970s.......hearing "Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire" and of course in the 1980s - Jennifer Warnes version of his songs on "Famous Blue Raincoat".....
So, I am very pleased to see that Leonard Cohens songs are the free download - for today only.
It's my opinion that he is one of Canada's best poets and Musicians.
Today is the 40th anniversary of the Creation of Greenpeace*.
You might not realize this, but the movement gave birth in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
A motley crew of 17 activists, hippies and lawyers...got together and decided that they had to do something for the environment.
On September 15th 1971, they got together a crew and set sail on a "rickety 20 foot boat" and headed to Amchitka Island to somehow try and stop the nuclear testing by the US military. The vessel was mainly funded by a concert put on by Joni Mitchell and James Taylor at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver - attended by 10 thousand people.
In the wake of the Cold War, a powerful 5.1 megaton hydrogen bomb, 250 times more powerful than the one used on Hiroshima, was set to go off in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska.
Photo of our protest from my 1971-1972 High school Yearbook
And yes, I am in that crowd somewhere...
The feeble but brave protest stirred up support from our then Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, the rest of Canada - and the New York Times.
I know in our high school, we were let out early from classes to march in the streets and to the US/Canadian border to protest Amchitka.
To us, it was more than just a day off. We really believed in what the newly formed Greenpeace was doing. We were concerned about our environment and our future in this world. We believed that we could move together to make a difference.
It was a proud moment for us, as students, even though we probably actually made very little difference - we were still a small whisper among many that - collectively - was heard all the way to the White House.
It stirred up something in our generation that has carried on to present day.
Hopefully each subsequent generation will realize that what we have now took work and attention and they must also carry on and fight for what is right.
The Greenpeace blog says: "Let Greenpeace Day act as a reminder that as the anthropologist Margaret Mead once put it: ‘Never doubt that a … group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has’
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*The name came to being when one of the "hippy" members said "Peace".....and someone else replied ... "Well, then let it be a Green Peace". More or less, that's the story.
Greenpeace is the most visible and widely known environmental organization in the world with a $320 million budget and 3 million dues-paying members.
An amazing man who believed in Canada, he fought for the greater good and a better society.
I respected him as a politician and a decent human being.
Leader of the Opposition in our Federal Government, our social conscience, he was always an optimist. Watch the first 2 minutes of this video - his life in a nutshell:
Just a couple months ago, he took a leave from politics for cancer treatment:
Jack Layton passed away this morning at age 61 from this new cancer.
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
He had a great sense of humor:
He was voted the politician that Canadians would most want to sit down and have a beer with.
Research suggests that "colic" is a normal developmental stage rather than a medical condition. The booklet and DVD distributed explains babies crying in a simple and easy way - and suggests practical ways to control parental frustration and anger- that is helpful for parents.
Nurses played an integral role in the distribution process.
Process & Stats:
First "dose"- Over 90% of new parents in all the hospitals across B.C. are receiving the program materials on each maternity unit.
Second "dose"- Over 93% of Public Health nurses discuss the five talking points with the parents.
- Approximately 80% of the time nurses encourage parents to share PURPLE crying materials with the baby's temporary caretakers.
-80% of fathers are present when PURPLE materials are presented on the maternity unit.
-In addition to listening to presentation by nurses, 75% of parents watch/read the materials given to them.
The results have been astounding.
Outcome measures:
-Statistics show that Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) usually happens in the first 6 months of a baby's life, therefore it is expected that the program will have an effect on those babies 6 months and younger.
-In 2010 there were no definite cases of SBS in infants under 6 months of age. This was down from 6 cases in the previous year.
- In 2010 there were 3 cases of possible to definite cases of physical abuse in infants under 6 months of age. This is down from 18 in the previous year.
- For infants age 0-6 months of age there was a 31% reduction of hospital visits at Children's Hospital's Emergency Department for colic and crying unrelated to disease or injury.
In 3 studies to date in the USA - cases of SBS have doubled during the recession. Here is a map of those provinces or states that have implemented the program. The US Military has partnered with NSBS (National SBS) to develop materials specifically for their troops.
Take a look at the map. If your state/province isn't one of them, the best thing you can do for babies is lobby to implement it. It's a great tool for parents.
Children's Hospital sent out a thank-you letter to all those Nurses involved, which included us:
"These are preliminary outcomes. More years of evaluation are necessary. However, these outcomes are a tremendous credit to the nurses of British Columbia. We all have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us to make these initial encouraging results permanent. Thank you NURSES of B.C. We so appreciate your excellent work and commitment. Please keep up the great work." signed by Marilyn Barr (director of the SBS BC program) and Dr Ronald G.Barr (head of Developmental Neurosciences & Child Health)
Wow. The letter almost made me cry. Amazing what health education can do and how we as nurses can make a huge difference in the community.
Congratulations to "An American Yankee in Canada"....who was *just* granted her permanent resident card. I know how difficult and tedious the process is, since my husband and I went through the same thing approximately 3 years ago!
In honor of the occasion - here is our National Animal to welcome you:
Associating with the squad at the West Kelowna station, he matured and was deeply influenced by the men he worked with. The guys he worked with were his heroes.
It wasn't a surprise then, when Danny decided he would like to go to a Junior College in Northern California to further his career in firefighting - taking a Fire Science course - stumbling into football in the process.
Someone told him he could have his college fees paid for if he went on a football scholarship.
His first year in football was a steep, painful learning curve because of his ignorance of Football. Due to his overwhelming love for all things hockey, and his thinking that football just got in the way of hockey, he didn't even know the bare rudiments of Football.
However, his attitude, determination and focus which he learned as a Firefighter - and the mean streak as a Hockey player - transferred well onto the Football field.
It's not that the Canadian Football enthusiasts in his home town didn't try.
He was recruited for the Okanagan Sun (Kelowna) junior football team, but came down with appendicitis prior to football training and ended up in the hospital - recovery nixed any further thought of playing football.
He didn't play one game until he stumbled into it at College - which he only went for the schooling.
With only two years junior college and then on to Baylor on another scholarship in Dallas, he has managed to become one of the first Canadians to be picked in the first rounds of both CFL and NFL drafts since 1986.
Funny thing - he wouldn't have even attended the draft pick except that he was wanting to make a pilgrimage to Ground Zero and visit the guys at the Firestation in NYC - out of respect for their 9/11 losses.
It was the first thing he thought of when he woke up that morning of the draft - and definitely his priority.
Danny and his Five Firefighter friends from Kelowna were welcomed like long-lost brothers.
To say "thanks"....Danny had to get his new friends tickets for the draft pick. They were thrilled to go.
Apparently, during the lengthy process of draft choices, he was more nervous about keeping his friends waiting than about whether he was actually going to be picked or not.
His Mom didn't agree with what he was doing, but when she saw how determined he was....she relented to his stubborness.
Betty Fox was a strong woman, and when her son passed away, she wanted to keep his memory alive. She worked night and day to ensure that the legacy that her son began, she would continue - and it would keep not only Terry Fox's memory out there....but also keep the hope and dream alive that one day cancer would be beaten.
Just last year she participated in the Olympics' closing ceremony.
Just yesterday morning , that Strong Woman, Terry Fox's mother, passed away peacefully in a hospice from complications from Diabetes.
(song by the Cooper Brothers, one of my favorite Canadian bands from the 1970s)
Inez is a Registered Nurse - graduating from UBC approximately five years ago with a BScN - and has been working in the area of Community Nursing. At the moment, she is on hiatus from her nursing while she is persuing her dream - music.
She is a wonderful role model - a thoughtful and articulate young woman :
Last month she was in Wyoming to perform and also lead a workshop at a youth conference. A College Radio station invited her, along with an aboriginal comedian (Drew Lacapa) to be interviewed informally by their DJ.
Drew and Inez had been asked how they got into their "biz" and Inez mentioned how APTN (Aboriginal People's Television Network) and National Aboriginal Day - or "Indian Solidarity Day" as it is called by some elders - had created a demand for her music.
Drew mentioned how he thought that it might be nice to have a similar National day for Mexican people in the Southwest, or if perhaps they could come up to Canada to observe the celebrations.
The conversation then drifted over to guns, and how US citizens are allowed to carry a concealed weapon - and Inez made the comment that she thought that was "crazy" and so different than what she is used to in Canada.
The Radio Station Director phoned in to the DJ booth and abruptly terminated the interview.
Someone felt threatened.
The "full-on censorship" shocked Inez, as she realized that perhaps "free speech" isn't really free in some places.
Inez is such a positive person and she likes to take a positive view on life, even with difficult subjects and experiences.
Last fall on stage at the Aboriginal Peoples Awards (winning in four categories), upon receiving her award she stated - all the while holding her babe in arms:
" Being raised in a traditional way...where I was told - listen to the teaching of our elders because you will need to teach it to your children one day.....and now it makes so much sense to me why I do what I do ......I do it for for my family, I do it for my people....."
You either love him or hate him:
As a high school dropout - he played hockey in the minor and junior leagues, and surprisingly - only ONE NHL game - with the Boston Bruins in a playoff game.
After a short foray into "normal work" he missed Hockey so much, he segued into coaching. He was notorious for encouraging the aggressive style of hockey.
But that's not all he is noted for.
He was a flamboyant guy, politically incorrect (prompting the 7 second delay rule on his talks on CBC - not unlike Janet Jackson and her wardrobe malfunction!), pitching improbable one liners but he has wormed his way into the hearts of most Canadians - to the extent that he made (in a CBC poll several years ago) The Greatest Canadian top ten... AT NUMBER 7!!!
Here's the List, a few of whom some Americans might recognise:
Don Cherry was more popular than Sir John A MacDonald (our first PM and Father of Confederation and 8th on the list), Alexander Graham Bell (needs no explanation - 9th) and Wayne Gretzky (see, we are still pissed off that he moved to California!- 10th).
He even has his own bobblehead!
So you see, albeit it was by no means a scientific poll, Don Cherry sits high on Canada's popularity list. Like I said, you either love him or hate him. Not many are indifferent.
Last year he was asked to speak at Toronto's mayoral inauguration. More than one person was unhappy with his speech which basically started out with "I am wearing pink for all those pinkos out there that ride bicycles and everything..." and when someone voiced their opinion that he was perhaps an embarrassment to the city, he stated emphatically " Well what can I tell you? Don't invite me. You don't invite a pit bull. You invite a pit bull, you get a pit bull."
He is best friends with Hazel McCallion the Mayor of the City he lives in. Remember her from a previous post of mine?
One thing about Don Cherry though. He does have a big heart beneath his abrasive presentation.
He refuses to publicize the numerous charities and individuals he helps out since, after all - "It's not Charity if you talk about it" he claims.
Did you know that if you addressed a letter simply to "Don Cherry, Canada" - it would find it's way to his house in Mississauga, Ontario?
He has a whole room in which he spends 30 hours a week reading and responding to letters....usually handwritten replies (email is too easy, he scorns)..signing autographs for kids and sending encouragement to people in despair....he has even been known to sign his autograph on a hockey stick - while sitting in a hotel's sauna - because it was "for the kids".
He has been a visible advocate for organ donation.
His son Tim, who, as a 13 year old became deathly ill from a complication of a strep infection that had scarred his kidneys several years previous. After months of dialysis his wife Rose insisted that all three - Don, Rose and sister Cindy be tested for a match. Cindy donated her brother a kidney and he is still alive today.
Sadly, in 1997, Don Cherry lost his wife to liver Cancer.
They had met in Hershey Pennsylvania** when he was playing hockey in 1954. Their first date was to a hockey game he was playing in which he was bloodied up in a fight.
Don Cherry as young coach for the Boston Bruins
After her death he established the Rose Cherry Home for Kids, a hospice in her memory, for terminally ill children and their families, in Ontario, Canada.
Soley due to Cherry's influence, multiple donations of money, time and products were made from various companies - not only the ones Don Cherry pitched for - but local businesses also - with the stipulation that there would be no formal acknowledgement since " real homes don't have commemorative plaques" - and this is to be a real home insisted Cherry.
" Suit? The Coach always wears a double-breasted suit, never single-breasted. Flamboyant patterns are essential – plaids, bright green and yellow, Canadian colours, to name a few.
Shirt? High collared shirts – 3½-inch, to be exact. Tight around the neck. Tie? The crazier, the better – flashing lights, cartoon characters, flags. Ties must be tied in Cherry's special Windsor knot … tied backwards, single knot, not a double Windsor.
Shoes: Silvas with extra thin soles.
Jewelry? Cuff links, stick pin, gold bar for shirt collar. There was that one time when Don wore an earring in L.A. …
Favourite accessory? Lucky CCM cuff links, which are allegedly 50 years old and in the shape of hockey skates.
The Coach has a style all his own and it's a "beauty."
I think Don Cherry should be next in line for an Order of Canada Medal. After all, if Neil Young was awarded one, shouldn't Don Cherry???
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*PM=Prime Minister, equivalent to USA's "president" - for you Americans!
** His wife was an American - Italian Catholic. Don Cherry is pro-American and even chastised the crowd at the hockey game in Montreal when they booed the American national anthem before a game in 2003 at the beginning of the Iraq war. But, he is a Canadian and wears his Maple leaf with pride.
(Photos gleaned off google search. If you don't want these photos on here - and they are yours - let me know.)
This young man that I wrote about here back in February is amazing.
Did you know that there are other Amazing Little Canadians? Like this little 10 year-old girl, Ta'kaiya Blaney:
Can you imagine, a little girl so environmentally conscious that she writes the song above, records it and then tries to present her CD to the Enbridge company representatives downtown Vancouver.
Enbridge is the company responsible for proposing the building of an oil pipeline between the Alberta Tar Sands and Kitimat, B.C. - through the Great Bear Rain Forest - plus they are responsible for oil tanker traffic on the B.C. coast.
Because she "didn't have an appointment" she was turned away at the doors. After the rejection, the Premier of our Province (american equivalent = Governor of state) emailed her to applaud her effort.
She is home-schooled by her mom and one of her projects for her studies was research into the environmental effects of oil spills.
Ta'Kaiya is a member of the Sliammon First Nations and lives in Vancouver, B.C. Her name means "special water". She started taking voice lessons at age four.
Pretty darn good, if you ask me!
I am hoping that more of the little babies I have delivered through the years will aspire to achieve as much as this one has. She is certainly a bright and shining star!
It really makes American Idol look....well....slightly... tarnished.
He was a great man, not only in character, but also in generosity.
My uncle worked his way up the ranks of the Ironworkers Union. He eventually became a widely respected negotiator within the union, known for his even temper and undying patience.
He served his is last ten years as one of the several Presidents of the Ironworkers Union for the whole of North America.
Despite his yarn-spinning abilities, he didn't boast much, but that was my uncle's way.
The stories he told were more of an aside, as a reluctant observer. Some of the stories I had to hear second-hand because of his quiet demeanour.
Such was the story of when he was on a flight with the Prime Minister of Canada - Pierre Elliot Trudeau. They discussed many issues facing Canada while Trudeau's three little boys played in the aisle of the plane.
It was not too long after that, my uncle got a phonecall from Prime Minister Trudeau himself, offering him a government position in Ottawa. My uncle was too much a family man to uproot his little family and move back east - and declined the offer.
British Columbia was home to him.
In the week that is typically celebrated as Irish... I remember an Irishman that was true to himself, and toast my Uncle, a wonderful man and a great human being who lost his fight with lung cancer six years ago.
I have often wondered what happens to the babies I have delivered after they are taken home.
Honestly, sometimes I worry about some of the helpless little ones - given the display - or lack thereof - of parenting skills observed on the unit. Just to clarify - I am not talking about parents that are just learning. Everyone has been there at one time or another.
I am talking about those traits that don't make for good examples within the community never mind for their children. You know what I am talking about.....short fuses, thoughtless, selfish actions and downright laziness and worse. Nothing you could use to report to the Authorities...but just that gut feeling.
When I was working in California twenty or so years ago, I stumbled upon a news story of one of a set of twin boys murdered by his own father - 5 months after he left our L&D unit. I recognized the name as one I had cared for during delivery ....so shocking and heartbreaking and tragic.
Occasionally we hear of other stories at the other end of the spectrum....success stories. I don't know if I was in on this young man's delivery but seeing as how he was only born 12 years ago, I may well could have been.
This kid from Burnaby, British Columbia has won 4 Gold Medals in the Juvenile men's skating competitions against kids almost twice his size and quite a bit older.
Age 12, Junior Men's Champion 2011:
Age 11, Junior Men's Champion 2010: (Kung Fu/Crouching Tiger theme)
Age 10, National Novice Champion 2009:
At age 8 in 2007 he won the National Junior Men's Championship.
Tonight he was featured on our local news. This is a quote taken right from his interview:
" Distraction is the enemy of the mind. So, whatever you want to get, then it all depends on the mind - and then the body will follow. So, if you are determined to it, it will turn out as a success"
Mature words, coming from a 12-year-old. I have met men 5 and 6 times his age with less wisdom and maturity, nowhere near the grace and charm.
Next season he qualifies for the International Skating Competition.
I believe we will see him in the next Winter Olympics.
Yes, he's that good.
Whatever his parents did, they did something right.
What if you were 15 years old and as a result of an MVA was paralyzed from your waist down?
Would you feel that your life was over? Give up your dreams?
Would you be angry that your life isn't what it could have been?
Would you resent anyone and everyone...especially the one responsible for the accident?
Would you give up and gradually become dependent on the government to provide for you and waste your life and spend your time wishing you could have lived a life with 2 working legs?
Or would you be like Rick Hansen?
Definitely Rick Hansen had enough reason to feel this way, because hewasthat 15 year-old.
He was born in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island and raised in Williams Lake, B.C. After his accident, he went on to graduate from high school and and then UBC** with a Phys Ed degree - the first student with a disability to do so.
He became a paralympic athlete. My cousin met him socially while working as an RN in the Spinal Cord ICU at the now defunct Shaughnessy Hospital. At that time he was in training for what was to come.
Inspired by Terry Fox, Rick decided to do something similar - only a little more ambitious.
The Man In Motion World Tour was the challenge that tested his limits. His Tour started in Vancouver - March 1985 - and he logged more than 40,000 Kms over 26 months, through 34 countries on 4 continents wearing through 117 wheelchair tires. He finally rolled across Canada from the east to the west, ending up in BC Place Stadium - May 1987 - to thousands of cheering people.
I can remember buying a sweatshirt with his Tour's logo on it and wearing it to work at the hospital. Everyone was excited - a "Local Boy" doing such an amazing and inspirational thing. He raised $26 Million for Spinal Cord Research and Quality of Life Initiatives on that Tour alone.
David Foster, a Canadian and well-known composer and record producer wrote a song specifically in honor of Rick Hansen. "St. Elmo's Fire(Man in Motion)" was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA in September 1985.
"Heart of a Dragon" *** released in October 2010, is a movie portraying Rick's entrance into Beijing China where one million Chinese hailed him as a hero.
Since it's inception, Rick Hansen's Charitable Foundation has raised over $200 Million for Spinal Cord Injury Initiatives and Programs. His Organization funded the last $8 Million required to open the Spinal Cord unit at Vancouver General Hospital and is credited with being the driving force behind iCORD which is a network to share 'best practices' in spinal cord treatment across Canada and internationally - so MDs and experts can share information on what does and doesn't work in the Rehabilitation of spinal injuries.
He and his wife Amanda Reid (his former physiotherapist) and their 3 daughters live in Richmond, B.C.
“Who is more disabled - someone who can't forget tragedy or someone who can't walk - someone who can't chase their dream or a disabled man who does?” - Michael French, Director of Heart of a Dragon
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**University of British Columbia
***click on "scenes" to watch the trailers of the movie "Heart of a Dragon"
Jean Beliveau **. He started out from Montreal Canada, August 18th, 2000 - on his 45th birthday....and kept walking. All he brought with him was what he could fit in one of those jogging strollers .....for 75 thousand kilometers,*** for 11 years, through 64 countries......
If you go to his website, you can read about his journey and some photos along the way. He has been walking for coming on 11 years.....in support of the UN proclamation that this past decade was the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of this World.
from Jean Beliveau's website
He met new friends along the way, was invited into people's homes and slept everywhere - in his tent, in a field, in a mausoleum once. Some would invite him for dinner. He gave talks at schools along the way to spread the message of peace. He met Four recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 3 different countries. He met one bicyclist from Spain 3 times - the first time on a Peruvian road in 2002, the second on an Indonesian road and the 3rd in Timor Leste.
Jean's experiences changed the way he looked at people and life.
His wife would meet him once a year where ever he was at the time. (check out their yearly photos!). His son and daughter (and once - his granddaughter!) visited him also.
He landed in Vancouver, B.C. the other day. He starts his trek across Canada on February 20th.
He is expected to reach Quebec by October this year. He has a little under 5 thousand kilometers to go.
As interesting and impressive as his life must be, I can't say that I would want to be in his shoes.....
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* he is my age! :O
** not the hockey player!!
***to put it in perspective, the circumference around the earth at the equator is approximately 40K kilometers.
In 16 years I will be this lady's age!!! What the heck? She is calling herself OLD????? ( I am not liking the old-lady hairdo or the old-lady dress and old-lady glasses..... there are ways to look current without over doing it!!! She looks like the "church lady".....)
My idea of OLD is more like this woman.....can you imagine? Eighty-nine years old and successfully running for Mayor of the 3rd largest city in Ontario, Canada.....for the 12th term since 1979 and her 33rd year in a row typically with 90% of the vote (76% this time despite a 'land scandal situation').
Hazel McCallion or "Hurricane Hazel" certainly is someone to be admired. She has been named to the Order of Canada and voted the second-best mayor on the planet, and has a charitable organization called "Hazel's Hope" that she travelled to Tanzania for in 2006 - funding healthcare for children afflicted with AIDS and HIV.
She still lives in her two-storey brick house which was her home with her husband Sam until his death in 1997 from pnuemonia while suffering from Alzheimers. She says that her work at City Hall kept her going. She is the longest serving mayor in Canada and has kept the city debt-free since her first term of office.
While on the subject of books.....I have a personal story about a friend of mine that I had first met when quite young - and then again in my early 20s.
I wish I could say that he inspired me to go into nursing...but actually, he inspired me to be a better person, and look outside myself and to those around me who are suffering....which in turn made me a better nurse.
family photo
Back in the 1960s, I met a boy - my age - staying at our campsite. Paul was a skinny kid and their family seemed to be as normal as any family ..... but then what did I know? I was only 13 or so at the time. They stayed at our place in the summer when his parents brought them all home to Canada on "furlough" from the mission field.
My sis ran into him at a Northern wilderness camp and they spent many hours in discussion around the campfire.
So it was a delightful reunion when my sis and I ran into him again at College in my sophomore year.
We became good friends as the semester went on and kept in touch after I quit College midway through the year.
Through the next few years, as I went through a couple of relationships, he became an advisor of sorts.
He was a serious guy - but a with a quick witted sense of humor. He always seemed a little bit "preoccupied" to me, but I could always count on him for great advice.
Paul as I knew him in College
One summer he popped by the house to visit - the summer before I went into nursing.
My mother thought for sure he came to ask me out....but in my mind, and I am pretty certain his.....we were only friends. I admired him but I did make note in my diary that he was "too busy" with "no time for serious girlfriends".
I also documented that I felt "very privileged to be so close to him" as a friend.
It was his letter to me after I quit college and just before I went into nursing that emphasized my need to look beyond myself in order to help other people.
Although I am not a "religious" person per say, ie: I don't go to church - I do have a "spiritual" side of me that is very personal.
Here is his letter to me - in all it's unedited imperfect beauty - exactly how he wrote it. We were both age 20 at the time :
Dear [RetiredN]:
Hi my beautiful mixed-up friend. Do me a favor?
Take a look and for a while just concentrate on how big God is. In some areas of life, things are relative. The size of problems are relative to one's overview. The same problem which is big when compared to our finiteness is small when placed besides a big God. The bigger the God is the smaller the problem. How big is your God?
Is he really omnipotent like we often glibly say that he is or is my situation (just this one time of course) just a little to big for him, and he has kind of lost control?
Is he love, meaning that he works out of a framework of love. If he is love he can't relate to you on any other basis than love in it's purest highest form, love not dependent on your ability or action.
Omniscient? Immutable? Limited to 4 walls of mundane existent?
Live one day at a time, not walking backwards down life's trail and not living in the "someday" of the future when circumstances will be changed.
Honey, you keep looking at your mixed up insides, how will you ever see anyone else in need.
Look up, Look around
And Live
Goodnight,
Paul
I have to admit, when I read his letter I shed a few tears.
It is true that when one is younger - sometimes we are so wrapped up in ourselves, we don't always see the big picture - and miss what is really important.
As my diary said "his letter really made me think...he said a lot of important things that needed to be said. I really appreciate him."
Paul's Book
Through the years, I lost track of him, until one day a couple years ago, I found him on Facebook and discovered that he wrote a book - a book that he never expected would go further than his family and a few friends - and now has become a runaway best seller and is translated into 40 different languages and dialects.
I can't say one way or the other what I think of it. It doesn't really matter what I think.
It touches people's lives and it definitely creates discussion inside and outside religious circles.
Thirty-four years ago, Paul's words made a big difference in my life. Who would ever have known that 30 years later, his words would make a difference in millions of lives?
I will always be thankful for that friend of mine who took the time to write me a letter and set me on the right path just when I needed it. :)
That is a name known by all Canadians. And no, he isn't related to Michael J Fox. And no, despite what NBC TV thought, that wasn't Michael J Fox's mother that walked in the stadium holding the flag - it was Terry Fox's mother.
At age 20, Terry Fox lost his leg to Cancer. Instead of moping and moaning his life away - he decided to do something useful instead. To raise money for Cancer research, he decided to run a Marathon of Hope across Canada - starting in Newfoundland on the East Coast - stopping in communities along the way. He ran approximately 42 kms per day.
Around Thunder Bay Ontario, it was found that cancer had spread to his lungs. He had to cut short his run on September 1, 1980.
He was unaware of the wave of inspiration he launched - it spread across the nation like wildfire - and people around the world opened up their hearts and their wallets to donate to his cause.
Terry did not get to finish his Marathon. He was admitted to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster B.C., where my cousin from Texas says she looked after him as a student Nurse. On June 28, 1981, Terry Fox died of Cancer - it had spread to his lungs. What didn't stop was the Inspiration he ignited. Every year a Marathon of Hope in Terry's name is run all across Canada and more than $500 Million has been raised in these marathons to date.
Both Fox's grew up close to where I live. Both are an inspiration. But the Courage and Determination of Terry Fox burns bright still - to all Canadians - 30 years after his death. Every September, a Terry Fox Run is held in most communities across Canada.
In 2004, an informal Canadian poll was taken online by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) as to who "The Greatest Canadian" was. Terry Fox came in second only to Tommy Douglas (Kiefer Sutherland's Grandfather) - the Father of the Canadian's Medicare System and Premier of Saskatchewan.
Definitely Rick Hansen had enough reason to feel this way, because he was that 15 year-old.
