Posted on August 15, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

 

The sweet taste of success.

To watch Isameddin Hadhad stand proudly and cut the ribbon to open the family chocolate factory on August 10, 2016 was a cause for jubilation.

Less than 12 months ago, the family was in Lebanon with a very uncertain future. Today they have a new home, Antigonish, Nova Scotia and are laying down the building blocks for a long productive life in Canada.

There are other success stories of Syrian families who have made the difficult transition of living in a new country, learning a new language and trying desperately to become part of a new community. But the Hadhad story has to be the gold standard.

Tareq was the first to arrive and blazed a trail for the rest of his family . He has provided immeasurable assistance to local sponsorship groups in settling other Syrian families. Some of us met him shortly after he arrived last December and knew than anyone plucky enough to play street hockey, was going to fit in nicely. The Syrian community here and across the country could not have found a better ambassador. He is bright, joyful and unbelievably accommodating to every request. His public talks are riveting and heartfelt as he tries to paint a picture of the plight of his fellow countrymen.

His brothers and sisters seem to have assimilated seamlessly and are part of the fabric of the community. Our granddaughter had several playdates this summer with Taghrid and it was heartwarming to see a child , who has witnessed war and turmoil,  enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood hanging out in a playground…. and laughing.

Our hearts go out to the matriarch of the family, Shahnaz. While she is no doubt pleased with the progress the family is making, her joy is muted as she awaits the arrival of her daughter and two young grandchildren.

To those who criticize governments for bringing in refugees who will consume our services and take away jobs, may I present to you the Hadhad family: at the opening of Peace by Chocolate, Tareq announced that the Hadhads will be hiring students this fall and those of us who know their character and work ethic, will not be surprised when they build a larger factory in our community employing dozens of people.

Prime Minister Trudeau will be in New Glasgow tomorrow. I’m sure he will be pleased to see the faces of our new Nova Scotians amongst the throngs of other Canadians.

We welcome them and congratulate them.

As-salaam ‘alaykum.

Have a great week.

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.

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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.

 

 

 

Posted on August 1, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with 4 comments

Livingstone’s Cove at sunset

 

Simple things.

I suppose we  ( baby boomers )  are no different than previous generations. Most of us who had the good fortune and the pure luck of the draw to be born in small town Canada, have a somewhat romantic notion of our childhood. I say most because I know there are lots of people who would rather forget their childhood.

My brother, Tom is in from the West coast for a visit. We went for an early morning walk yesterday. We walked beside mist covered , verdant fields . The air was crisp with a freshness hard to describe. Not once did we utter words like Brexit, ISIS , Sika virus nor did we discuss the U.S. Presidential race. We didn’t even mention the fact that the Toronto Blue Jays now occupy top spot in the A.L. East ( at least they did when I composed this piece! ).

No. We discussed trapping muskrats, running ice cream stands, mowing grass at the cemetery and pumping gas. Many of us grew up in large families and our parents had zero disposable income. If we wanted the finer things in life, like a Joe Louie and a Coke, we had to be very enterprising. So Tom got up early in the morning when he was a young boy and traipsed down to the West River to check his traps. His first trap was acquired through a low interest loan of $2.00 from our dad, P.D. From these humble beginnings , he learned about hard work and entrepreneurship.

He operated the campground in the field ( the Salt Ponds ) beside what is now the Canadian Tire store at the mall…. and a very successful ice cream stand. Our younger sister, Teresa was his key staff person. He is not convinced that she would have the same fond memories of scooping out gallons of ice cream in a hot , sweaty shack, inhabited by flies!

I mowed the grass at the graveyard for Joe Mike for a buck an hour, with infrequent breaks for burials. I also pumped gas for the same princely hourly wage at a Gulf Station near the Oasis Campground.

How did you earn your first dollar? The person who sends me the most interesting story about a job in their youth gets a Week45 hat!

The long walk gave us time to reminisce. We both realized that time is life’s most valuable asset and having the luxury to enjoy time in retirement is very special.

I had the privilege of attending a memorial service for the late Berkley Cameron on the weekend. Several hundred of his friends from the teaching fraternity and old friends from the golf club along with many other acquaintances, gathered to remember Berkley. He was the youngest of 12 in an enormously talented family. And Berkley may have been the most talented of the works, according to an older brother who eulogized him. It was a warm, witty affair and a very fitting celebration of a life well lived.

Lastly, our granddaughter Ivory is travelling by train with Nana and will arrive in Montreal later today. We will miss having her around. She is young, energetic (!) exuberant and interesting. Every day was an adventure. Au revoir, Ivory!

Hope you’re enjoying the holiday today and have a great week.