Posted on November 30, 2017 under Thursday Tidbits with 3 comments

Chief cook and bottle washer, Rev. Peter Smith – Pastor St. James United Church

 

What is the greatest gift that you can give any time of the year?

The gift of time.

Time is a luxury for people who work and are raising a family. Every day is one giant balancing act trying to figure out a way to survive the madness… especially at this time of the year.

For seniors and retirees, it’s a much different story. Everything hinges on good health, both physical and mental. There are many people who find the time impossibly long and can feel quite listless when boredom and lack of purpose become the norm.

Well, do I have a solution for you!

I’m recruiting a few volunteers to help me with the Hot Lunch program at St. James Church. Every Tuesday and Thursday, teams of volunteers provide a simple but nutritious hot lunch for people who want or need such a service. The Tuesday meal has been going on for ten years. I got involved with the Thursday meal three years ago.

Up until recently, we have had eight teams on Thursday which means that each team only has to prepare lunch once every eight weeks. These teams don’t cook in July and August so if you do the math (52 weeks – 8 weeks = 44 weeks), each team will be responsible for preparing meals approximately 5 times a year.

So, here is my “call to action.” One of these Thursday teams is unable to continue and I am trying to recruit some volunteers. I will captain the team. That means that every 8 weeks, you’ll have to spend about 4 hours (9-1) hanging out with me in the kitchen at St. James listening to my corny puns. Seriously, it is great fun. There is a wonderful sense of camaraderie.

Now, I can already hear your excuses. “I’m going south for the winter.” “I can’t cook.”  “ I don’t look good in an apron.” These are all lame excuses which will not be tolerated. At any given meal, a team of four can normally handle matters. There are other regular volunteers who actually serve the meals. In a perfect world, I would like 5 people to step forward and join me. I have already recruited (hoodwinked!) two people. Including me, that would make 8. You wouldn’t have to commit to every meal. We would have enough manpower to cover most situations including when people are away. Case in point. If I ever get my visa for India, I will miss at least one of the meals.

Which brings me to my second point. I would love to have a co-captain (as one of the 5 people), to assume responsibility when I’m away.

Ok, that’s it. I would love to have my team in place by the end of tomorrow (Friday, December 1^st.). Consider it as your first (and most meaningful) Christmas present.

Once we have the team in place, we’ll get together at St. James and talk about the minutiae.

I guarantee that it will be one of the most rewarding experiences you will have. The banter in the kitchen is worth the price of admission!

Have a great weekend.

Reminder. Christmas book sale. Three books $25.00 + shipping. Regular $55. value. Message me or send me an e-mail at lenpdmacdonald@gmail.com

Posted on November 16, 2017 under Thursday Tidbits with 6 comments

Tickling the ivories at age one

 

Vitamin S.

Never heard of it before?

In my Monday post ( Read by hundreds of thousands of people around the globe. “ Would you believe 420?” Thanks, Maxwell Smart ), I talked about the importance of fellowship as a determinant of good health later in life. A friend of mine in the health care field told me that they now have a name for this. Vitamin S is “ Socialization.” Technology has created a new isolation. While we are connected in seconds with friends near and far, it’s not the same thing as a good old fashioned face to face encounter.

Along the same lines, I noticed that in Cape Breton, they are experimenting with something called a time bank. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cape-breton-north-shore-time-bank-1.4397035) . This is something that would work in Antigonish. But it’s kind of sad that it’s come to this because in the “ good old days,” neighbors always helped neighbors. They didn’t need an app for it.

I was in the kitchen yesterday morning merrily doing the dishes. For some bizarre reason, once the cool ( cold ) weather comes, my hands are freezing all the time and warm dish water is just the tonic. I heard fire truck sirens and was shocked to see them pull up in front of our apartment building. Somehow, our neighbor’s washing machine caught fire. Seems counter intuitive, doesn’t it?

That would not have happened in the days of the old wringer washer. Not only was it the way to wash clothes but it also made a great plaything when one of your siblings would push you around the living room while you sat in the tub! I tried to find a picture of the old ringer washer in one of the family photo albums but no such luck. I did , however find a picture of yours truly at the age of one trying out the ivories.

Of course, in many places in rural India ( including the convent where I lived ), we washed our clothes the old way… by hand, and then rinsed them by smashing them on a concrete platform.

We try our best not to be wasteful, especially when it comes to food. So, when I was making a few plates of sandwiches for the funeral reception on Monday, I saved the crusts in a bowl. Now here’s the million dollar question: How many crusts from egg salad sandwiches does it take to make a “ crust sandwich?” I sat down yesterday and ate the entire bowl. I chuckled to myself how insane this would look to most people. That is, until I thought about many of the places in the world where my lunch would have been a veritable feast.

I am having problems securing my Indian visa and won’t be leaving for India until after Christmas, if at all. I received two calls on Tuesday asking me to sing Christmas carols at seniors’ homes. How come my fan base is people over the age of 90?! I am hardly what one would call a “ teen idol.”

TAKE THE TEST. What if you could perform a short medical procedure in the privacy of your own home ( the bathroom to be precise ) and possibly save your life? I mentioned last week and wrote about colonoscopies. https://www.week45.com/getting-to-the-bottom-of-it/  I have been a regular participant in Cancer Care Nova Scotia’s screening program for bowel cancer. When I received an abnormal result, I went and had the colonoscopy where they removed a small polyp. The biopsy was negative. I guess I can just continue to be a regular arsehole!!!

Have a great week.

Posted on October 12, 2017 under Thursday Tidbits with 2 comments

Lochiel Lake

 

I’m starting to think that Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday. Lots of family around, great food, no presents or crass commercialism to deal with and the beautiful Fall colors. My Monday column was about reasons to be thankful. I received a very good response. Someone added their own reason to be grateful: having coffee with friends. That is truly one of life’s great pleasures to just sit and chat with a good friend with your hands curled around a cup of hot java.

I want to add one more reason to be grateful at the tender age of 66. I am eternally grateful for “ the power snooze.” Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I could nod off for exactly 15 minutes in the middle of the afternoon and wake up completely refreshed. I’m thinking about calling the Vatican to report a miracle.

I did one of my India presentations yesterday for the ROMEOs. The acronym stands for “ Retired Old Men Eating Out.” They meet a couple of times a month to share food and fellowship. They also bring in guest speakers. And speaking of India, I have started the process of getting my Indian visa again in hopes of going back sometime in November. I have also been invited to volunteer in Tanzania ( East Africa ) and will need a visa for that as well.

With 321 days of sun in Southern India, I decided to pick up some transition lenses that turn dark automatically. This will eliminate the incessant putting on and removing of sunglasses. You all know what a fashion maven that I am ( NOT! ), so choosing a set of frames is a bit of a crapshoot. I tried on several pairs and I wondered if the ones I chose, would look good on the runway. I was assured that they would. Except the sales person misunderstood me as I was talking about the tarmac at the airport! Thanks, T.C. for your help.

And speaking of India, just giving you a heads up that Fr. Abhi Anand from Varanasi, India is going to be giving a talk at the library later this month or November about the “ Railway Children of Varanasi.” I spent Christmas Day with these children ,who were abandoned by their families at the train station in Varanasi. I’ll keep you posted.

“ Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana.

History was not my strong suit in university. Spades were!  My knowledge of WW11  is sketchy at best so I decided it was high time that I get with it. Sometimes I can be an “ all or nothing person” so as I stared at the spine of “ The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich “, at a bookstore in Halifax, I wondered about the wisdom of reading a 1200 page tome as a primer on the war. I think I threw my back out just trying to get the book to the car! Anyway, I decided to try and read 50 pages every day. Doesn’t sound like much but those of you who have read this, know that every page is filled with scads of fine print at the bottom of the pages which need to be fully read to give the preceding words some context.

I was astonished to read about the rise and fall of Adolph Hitler. One line jumped off the page. Hitler said that “ it was time to make Germany great again.”

Have a great weekend.