Posted on August 11, 2016 under News & Updates with 4 comments

THANK YOU

Thank you for all of the well wishes on my birthday.

But let’s get one thing straight:

I am not old.

There is something that I need to get off my chest now that I’m 65. I want you to know that I am going to petition our Member of Parliament to table a private member’s bill to change the name of Old Age Security ( OAS ). The Old Age Persons Act came into effect in 1927 when life expectancies for males was 59 and 61 for women. Both of these numbers are now hovering around 80.

I am proposing that OAS be renamed YES … Young, Energetic, Seniors.

Excuse me while I go to Sullivan’s Barbershop and get my first senior’s discount haircut. Truth be told, they should have been giving me a discount a long time ago !

Posted on August 11, 2016 under Faces in the Crowd with no comments yet

 

“We have a passion and respect for the earth. We have always cared about the welfare of animals. We are caretakers.”

Meet Marianna van de Lagemaat and Aaron Padolsky.

At the age of two, Marianna and her family moved to Canada, arriving at Pier 21 in Halifax. Her parents met at a labour camp in Ukraine during the war. They moved to the Ottawa Valley where her father farmed and her mother eventually ended up teaching at Carleton University. After completing high school, Marianna moved on to Carleton to study languages.

Aaron was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba where he spent his childhood before moving to Ottawa to study Philosophy at Carleton.

They took a school sponsored bus trip to New York City in March of 1968 to visit art museums. They attended the St. Patrick’s Day parade and one of the politicians riding in the motorcade that day was Presidential hopeful Bobby Kennedy, who would be assassinated three months later in California. Aaron and Marianna struck up a friendship that has endured for nearly 50 years.

They went their separate ways after university but kept in touch. They reconnected in 1985 after the death of Marianna’s first husband. Over time Aaron became dad to Marianna’s two children. He had spent some time during the intervening years living in Nova Scotia and in 1986 the couple decided to make the move east. They spent five years in Port Bickerton before moving on to Country Harbor where they lived for the next 24 years. Antigonish was a frequent stopping place during those years.

They both had farming in their blood so it was not surprising that they acquired 2.5 acres of land and started raising animals … and caring for them. Marianna loved animals and besides tending to her own, she also boarded others, including a pregnant cow!

Aaron was well-known in the area for being the organist for both the United and Anglican churches in many communities.

When Marianna’s mother’s heath failed, they built a granny flat and she moved in with them. The onset of dementia was the impetus for Marianna and Aaron to start the Dementia Care Givers Support Group, operating under the auspices of the Alzheimer’s Society. When Marianna’s mom ended up as a resident of the R.K. Nursing Home, the couple moved to Antigonish.

As Aaron and Marianna prepare to relocate, friends and colleagues speak highly and fondly of them.  The organizations to which they loaned their time and energy are far too numerous to list, but it is certain that all of these groups will miss them terribly.   “They are truly remarkable people. It’s humbling to see such generosity; the amount of time, patience and genuine love for animals in need was inspirational,” says a member of the local SPCA.

Marianna and Aaron have become fixtures at the Antigonish Art Fair, generously donating their time and talents with a crowd-pleasing clown act. According to a member of the organizing committee for the Fair, “Arpo and his fellow clowns regularly show up to perform, most times unannounced. Audience participation is their hallmark. They have a tremendous rapport with children and adults alike.”

The long, harsh east coast winters and the call of family are taking them to B.C. where they will take up residence on Vancouver Island.

Margaret Mead, who studied many communities around the world, used to say that each was composed of residents and citizens. Residents were those who simply lived there, taking every advantage, while citizens were those who made the community work. A friend commented that “Aaron and Marianna are citizens in the best sense of the word. They will be missed. On the other hand, another community will soon benefit from their citizenship.”

“We would love to be able to take Antigonish with us… except the winters! We made so many connections and friendships during our time here.”

Our community is a better place because of these kind and gentle people. They leave behind many friends and fans who will miss them dearly… especially their four legged friends!

“All the world loves a clown” – Cole Porter

 

Posted on August 8, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

The Dorval Dragon

 

Families.

You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.

Families are very complicated entities as most of us are well aware. Especially big families. And let’s face it, many of us are baby boomers and grew up at a time when 6-10 children per family was quite common.

I returned home yesterday from a family reunion ( my mother’s side of the family ) in Montreal. I met some cousins I hadn’t seen in 40-50 years and a few I had never met. The weekend was pretty laid back and lots of time to reconnect, talk and eat… and eat some more! Tom and I tried to walk off the food walking 3-4 hours each day. It was also an excellent opportunity for my brother Don, the family historian, to add some new branches to the family tree. We danced, we sang and we laughed and there was the odd tear as we remembered family members who had died over the years.

A great family friend, Leo Purcell addressed the crowd and urged us to write down our family stories before they are lost forever. As loyal Week45 readers know, I have been doing this in a backhanded way for a number of years now. I read one of my stories from book #3 about a memorable trip to Montreal by train in the early 70’s. http://www.week45.com/the-habs-and-the-hab-nots/

Oh yes. I confessed to Betty that I have a crush on someone else (!) … my 99 year old Aunt Edith, a bright, warm, charming and engaging woman.

____________________________________________________________________________________

So, I arrive at the airport to discover that my flight to Halifax has been delayed 2 hours, certainly not a big deal but you know how you feel at the end of a busy weekend on the road… you just want to get home. I checked the departures board and saw that there was a flight going to Halifax leaving in 20 minutes. ( the good news ) The lineup up for security was quite long. ( the bad news ) I thought I’d give it a hook. My biggest fear was that they might weigh me after the truly enormous megaton breakfast I had consumed  an hour earlier. By the time I cleared security I had exactly five minutes to get to Gate 11 which was conveniently located somewhere near the border of Quebec and Ontario.

I did my best Usain Bolt impression and ran full tilt through a thick maze of bewildered travellers. The very last passengers had just been sent on their way as I breathlessly approached the ticket counter. The attendant was a bit overwhelmed and almost laughed at me when I asked about the possibility of getting a seat. “We are oversold.” Several of the Halifax bound customers on the later flight had the same idea. All of us turned heel to head back to hang out for several hours. But 4 of us decided to hang around. We weren’t officially on a standby list but I was fourth on the pecking list if an opening came up.

The flight attendants were nearly frantic as it was obvious that the cockpit was calling and wanting to close the doors. And then these magical words “ Paging the C. family of 4.” The plane was not full and they were trying to locate this family. It felt like “the faint hope clause”… for the 4 of us waiting patiently ( like a bull moose in rut ).

 If you are a golfer you understand that you never outwardly wish your opponent miss a game winning putt on the 18^th. hole. Inwardly you pray that your opponent,  right at that moment ,gets a serious case of the yips and misses. We didn’t want this poor family to miss their flight but we were salivating at the prospect. Just then , our hearts sank as a foursome came bounding down the hallway. And just when all hope seemed lost, they veered sharply and headed for Gate 5. “ Remove this family from the passenger list.” I don’t think I have experienced as much drama ( or joy! )  since the birth of our first child!

Have a great week.

P.S. Thanks to the Cowans, the Gara’s, the O’Flaherty’s, the  Mitchells , the MacDonalds and extended family and friends. It was a blast.