From the Desk of Murray Lincoln: January 2010

Saturday, January 30, 2010

39 the Second Time ‘Four Village Tour’

As I sit now and try to comprehend the swirl of memories, I smile to myself and think, “It is almost unfair that someone my age should have so much fun!”

I am old enough to know better… but I don’t.

I read in an article today of a man my age that described he and his wife as “past the ‘Best Before…’ date”. That is just a little past the perfect but still amazing!

39 the Second Time is a ‘Great Group of Happy Adults that refuse to be Old’. We have found that there is life after a long week of looking after our Grandkids, looking after our Parents and simply trying to get through all the Doctors and Lab Test appointments that come our way regularly.

One of the Grandmas questioned, “I wonder how I ever raised my children without the help of my parents?! I never called them once to pick up our kids from whatever they were doing. They lived too far away!”

Yep some Grandparents are more than needed… they may be used a little too often. But hey they are a lot less $$$$ than a Baby Sitter and much less $$$$ than Day Care.

But we love that part… the kids make us smile.

The other side of life is the care for our aging parents – placing us in what they call the “Sandwich Generation” – between two groups that we struggle to understand and wonder what we can do without any preparation for the task at hand – except that we care.

Enough… too much like preaching.

To escape and maybe just find a day of respite care we do stuff together.

At 11:00 AM today the “30 the Second Time” started on the latest adventure. At 5:00 PM this evening we rolled back into the city completely happy and with 159 photos of the day. Every photo is worth a thousand words… way more than I can type here.

From Peterborough we drove first to the Village of Warkworth. We had heard of the new stores in that village. The best part it has an increasing Creative Side now growing with a number of new shops featuring local artists and craftspeople.

The beautiful and friendly people in each shop made the trip worth it. What a group to meet!

I learned of the Guinness World Record that is held by Warkworth for the “Long Table” celebration and happening in August of each year. It was hard to grasp as the lady described the picnic tables that are placed end to end for the entire length of the main street reaching past all the shops southward to end of the street and beyond. “Thousands of people come for this events where all kinds of food is available..”

We savoured four great shops in Warkworth. The final one was the hardest but maybe the best one with the smell of fresh baked cookies wafting out the door as we stepped in. We bought some “Sketch”(?Spelling?) that is a kind of an Italian layered pastry, filled with mild spices, green leaves of some kind and ricotta cheese. When you bit into it – it tasted like IWSM (I want some more).

In the great shops of Warkworth many of the products are made by local artist, not artists in China or some where else. Beautiful!

Back in the vehicle we headed to the next village further south. Brighton was our goal and to savour more of ‘Country Fixins’.

Since our last visit there are more new things. Christmas is packed away and the Easter Stuff is coming out. But above all the seasonal stuff is the very high quality of excellent Antiques. Row upon row of beautiful things is displayed.

There is a great danger here for folk like my wife and me… we have a home already filled with Antiques… where in the world would we put some more?????

As Alida sat in the chair she looked up at me and said, “This one is Sooooo comfortable… what do you think?”

I told her something about a garage that was full, a house that was fuller and where would we put the chairs that we have…maybe we should buy another house…

That didn’t impress her… oh boy.

From the village of Brighton we wondered north again toward Cambellford. As we rounded the bend there stood the old barn and the partly full parking lot. Oh boy… I forgot this one… the ‘Meyersburg Flea Market’!!! We just had to stop!

It is filled to capacity with STUFF from every age. They carry a huge stock of worn out and tired stuff – that you just might need! From Elvis to Barbie to Abe Lincoln to Harry Truman to whatever you might be looking for – you will find it here.

Alida was a little too direct about this haunt… she said rather descriptively… “This place adequately puts the word “Flea” in the name “Flea Market!”

Now I don’t agree. I saw a huge amount of great stuff. But more than that I met and spoke with the very unique people that work there. As I was snapping the photos for my Album of this day, the dear folk rose from the stools deep behind their packed counter tops.

One guy I envision having the name “Jake”, stood up rather shakily and walked toward me. He had a full two days of unshaven grey whiskers on his face. His glasses were thick and dirty. They sat on his rather bulbous nose. From behind his glasses his one eye looked me over carefully… the other one was frozen shut for some reason or other (or forgot to open this morning) – and he asked me… “Is there anything special that you are looking for? I have almost everything you could want here.”

I wanted to tell “Jake” that his shop had just cured me from ever buying anything more in a garage sale again… EVER… but I didn’t know how to tell him the medicinal properties that his shop cared.

I wanted to take a photo of the very old box of ‘Wheaties’ that was wrapped in plastic… but I didn’t.

As we walked from that booth I began to itch near my collar and then it went down my back to my waist… even now I am sure that something boarded my being in that small stall. OOooH!

Next we arrived in the Village of Campbellford – straight north of Meyersburg’s Flea Market.

We pulled a “Why Not” as we came into the south end of Campbellford… with a quick right turn going down to the Rainey River Gorge and its swinging bridge. In the summer the bridge is fun to walk on as it swings back and forth above the gorge below. I wondered what it would be like in the wintertime.

The answer is AMAZING!

The river was running strong and powerful below the bridge. But as we looked out there was a beauty like nothing else in our area… the rock walls of the Gorge were hanging with the most beautiful Ice Sculptures that I have ever seen. Water from between the rocks that normally flows over the rocks in the summer – continues in the winter. Add to that is the recent thaw that we have had of snow and water on top of the Gorge cliff… and when it comes over the side it forms massive ice sculptures that descend all the way to the water… hanging down into the water… spilling over the rocks one on another!

With the dark blue water swirling quietly, and the dark green trees standing solidly over the grey rocks, the wall upon wall of ice stood out gleaming white in sharp contrast to all that was there. The walls of ice follow the entire gorge surface for more than a half mile to the place that it turns east.

Words fail me here. Thank goodness for a Digital Camera and time to stop.

Campbellford is filled with simple stores and places that you can grunge down… like the Liquidation World, Giant Tiger, and you name it…! One store’s name kind of sums up what we saw… “Once Again… Salvage Emporium”. No kidding! See the photo that my wife shot! It was closed by 4 PM – but I have to come back for this one!

In Campbellford we saw the coolest thing. The Presbyterian Church had been ‘scafoldized’. How can you find a word that describes the church steeple completely covered to the top with scaffold for the workers to stand on!!!?

The last village was Keene where we stopped to see the recently opened “Keene Ideas”… a very new yet old, Antique Shop in a very old house.

The owner Diane Nyznik shared some of her journey as she described how she came to be situated in this old house.

While there I met her delightfully friendly white puppy and her big boxer. Both dogs pushed up to me for more petting. I though they loved me, until I remembered I had patted and been sniffed by a Chocolate Labrador and Black Labrador retrievers in Warkworth. I was their telegraph from one dog to the next… that told the next dog… this guy likes us… trust him!

It was an animal day all along the way. And I will stop anywhere to catch the photo that will be mine forever. The two ponies that munched the hay as I took their photos… The hungry sheep that stood on the back lags to get as high on the pile of hay as they could to get the best and freshest hay.

It was a January Winter day… that was cold, crisp and mine… all mine to share with my friends.

It didn’t cost much.

All told we spent 97 Kilometres worth of gas. The coffee was $1.25 each. The amazing sausage roll was only a $1.39 each. The “Sketch”, Peanut Butter Cookies, together with the Lemon and Poppy Seed Cookie was also about $3.50….

But it was all worth a million in memories – many times over.

Next one…?
I can feel a “Trip to China” coming on soon. You will only need a day away from that one. We will be eating Dim Sum in “Asian Court” for those that want to come. Then we will check out a Temple not far away… and shop, shop, shop, shop. (For those that can’t take the Dim Sum – there is the McDonalds close by)

One of our folk has requested an over night to Michigan and the Christmas Village in Frankenmouth. That is a bit more money with the rental of “One Hour” motel room that is rented for the night… ahem… long story behind that one…(Last time we found out that the locals only go to that motel for one hour at a time… and the guy looked a little strange at me when I said I wanted it all night. Oh Boy!!!)

Why get you involved in all this with this long story and these pictures?

Well you see… we are a group that is “past the ‘Best Before…’ date”. And we are a ‘Great Group of Happy Adults that refuse to be Old’. AND Maybe you are as well.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

Friday, January 29, 2010

Canoe-Head by Clifford Lindsay

Canoe-Head by Clifford Lindsay

Canoe-Head
It was late afternoon at the boat launch, the only sound to be heard was the water gently gliding to the river bank. A well built man was launching his canoe up the French river. Following him was an upset woman with an abnormally large belly.

“You promise you’ll be home in three days? The baby is due next week and you can’t miss it,” she complained. “I would rather you not even go. Don’t go.”

“I would never miss it. I’ll be back in three days – tops,” the man called back as he gracefully leaped in the canoe. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He started paddling hard upstream. Betty, his pregnant wife stood on the river bank, watching him go.

John Irondale was a tall thin muscular man. He had piercing green eyes that went perfectly with his square jaw and his short thick dark brown hair. When John was at work, his mind was often out on a river. He would be thinking about and planning the next time he will get out in his canoe again. He had a unique ability to approach nature without the animals having the slightest amount of fear. He also had an extraordinary ability to read and navigate difficult rapids without his canoe ever getting a scratch.

The river was perfect. There was no wind as day turned to night and there was a full, bright moon, so John canoed all night. He had so many things swirling around in his head about being a new father. There was no way he could sleep anyway, nor did he want to. He just kept paddling his heavy aluminum canoe upstream, along the river until he was very tired and hungry.

Being an outgoing, friendly man, he decided to wait until he met another canoe tripper or camper to share a meal and even bunk with. He kept on paddling, eating only granola bars and apples, until he saw a camp site up ahead. He decided to head up there.

By the time John got over to the camp site it was about lunch time. He called out, “HELLO THERE ON THE SHORE!” Two men came out into the open and waved for him to come over. When John was close enough to dock he noticed that the camp site had a pile of garbage near the river. He was disgusted. There were four men now that all came to the side of the river to help carry John’s big canoe onto the shore.

“That is a heavy load you got there,” the biggest man said in a heavy Yankee accent, gesturing towards the canoe. “I don’t know how you lift it.”

“I know. I call her The Beast. She is heavy as heck, but I love her,” John replied. “Could I trouble you for some food? I have been canoeing for about twenty straight hours and I am starved to death.”

The men agreed and it just so happened that they were making lunch when John arrived, so he did not have to wait too long. When he finished, the four men offered John a beer. He declined, but when they offered to let him nap in their tent, he couldn’t say no.

When John woke up from his nap, he looked outside the tent and saw the four men sitting around the camp fire drinking beer. The empties were piled high and there was broken glass everywhere.

“I hope you guys are going to clean all this up,” John warned.

“Are you kidding?” the big Yankee laughed. “Why should we clean it up when the next camper will do it for us?”

John grabbed the man by the throat, pulled him out of his chair, lifted him against a tree and said in a low voice, “Clean it up NOW!” he ordered.

The two men starred at each other for about five seconds. Then in a taunting voice the big Yankee said, “No.”

Without hesitating, John gave him a punch between the eyes so hard that it knocked the man unconscious. After this, the other three men jumped up and gang-tackled John. All that John felt was blows to the face and body. He did not want to give up but there was nothing he could do. They had his arms and legs pinned down. His back was getting sliced up by the broken glass on the ground. The last feeling he had was a heel kick to the face. He couldn’t go on any longer. Everything was now in slow motion and then faded out.

* **
“It’s coming!” Betty said as she broke out into a cold sweat. “Get me to the hospital now!”

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait for John?” An elderly lady asked.

Betty hobbled out the door the best she could with a baby already on its way – six days before the due date!

“Mom, I need you to drive me to the hospital NOW!” Betty screamed.

Betty’s mom hopped in the car and started to drive. As they drove to the hospital they listened to the radio and heard the weather man reporting a severe storm watch for the area.

***
Everything hurt. It felt like he got hit by a train. John sat up. He realized that he was in his canoe floating down the river. As he scanned his body, everything was either black and blue or bleeding from cuts. There were still pieces of broken glass stuck in his skin. He realized his shoes and socks were back at the camp. By now it was about 6:30 pm. There was a gentle rain but he could tell there was a big storm coming. He had a dozen emotions running through his head but nothing as big as revenge. He decided to continue down the river to find some shelter, wait out the oncoming storm and nurse his wounds.

About two kilometers farther down the river there was a huge waterfall that he had to portage around. By now it was pouring rain so hard that he could hardly see in front of himself. He pulled to the side of the river, picked up his heavy aluminum canoe and started maneuvering it through the forest trail. His shoeless feet were freezing on the cold granite ground. As he walked on – 700, 800, 900 yards – his neck was getting sore from carrying his canoe all this way, but all he could think about was revenge.

Suddenly he heard a huge CRACK! There was a flash of light and excruciating pain. His whole body was screaming with pain. He could feel his aluminum canoe melt to the back of his head, neck and shoulders. His bare feet were burning as he felt the hot granite rock melting and crawling up his legs and body. It seemed to take hours and seconds at the same time, and then finally it was over as he fell to the ground with a heavy thump.

***

That very moment in a North Bay Hospital, the same flash of lightening made the lights flicker and you could hear a newborn baby cry. The doctor told Mrs. Irondale, “You have a healthy baby boy! Congratulations!”

***
When the first rays of morning sunlight hit his face, John tried to open his eyes. He felt as though his head was going to explode. He tried to get up but failed. He felt like he was four hundred pounds heavier. When his eyes adjusted, he saw he was lying on his side, on a trail facing a waterfall and he realized he could not move his neck. John reached up to feel his neck and shoulders and to his surprise he felt metal. He moved his arm closer to his head and he followed the cold smooth metal up the back of his head and then onto his canoe. He looked on his hands and saw many cuts, but he could not remember where he got them from. His skin did not seem normal – it looked like skin, but felt like rock. Again he tried to get up, this time with all his force. He stumbled to get his balance once again. When he walked, it was like having a neck brace on. He could not move his neck properly. To look around he had to move his whole body.

All he could remember was revenge. He knew his name was John, but he did not know how this canoe became part of his body or how his skin had become like granite. One more thing, there were four faces in his mind. He did not know who they were; he just wanted to kill them. He turned back.

***
The four campers had packed up their tents, loaded up their canoes and got ready to continue their trip downstream. They were laughing about the mess they had left behind and imagining the look on that crazy guy’s face when he found all of his belongings burnt in the fire.

***
John Irondale was standing above the waterfall wondering how to proceed. He could not canoe normally with his head attached to the canoe this way. There was no path upstream to portage the whole way. He decided to wade into the water. He glanced at the river bottom. He noticed all the zebra mussels on the river floor. He was just thinking he should be careful not to step on them when he slipped on a rock, lost his footing, and stepped heavily on all the zebra mussels. He screamed instinctively but then hesitated. There was no pain. He checked his foot. Surprisingly it wasn’t cut, but his eyes were drawn to all the zebra mussels, now crushed, on the river floor. He smiled. With all of his force, he kicked a rock. It cracked and he felt no pain. He continued walking into deeper waters. He stepped past a drop-off and sank like a stone.

As his feet hit the bottom he took stock of his situation. He could still breathe because of an air pocket in the hull of the canoe. In fact his face was still dry. He didn’t feel cold, even though he knew the water was colder down in the deep. It was very easy for him to maneuver, because the air pocket inside the hull was pulling him up. When he jumped it was like walking on the moon. He could move very quickly.

John continued upstream. The four campers were coming downstream straight towards John Irondale.

John came to a place where the river became shallow and swift. He heard the turbulence of the water but there was a louder sound of familiar voices and paddles slapping against the water. As the water grew shallower his canoe began to emerge. The four men were chatting and enjoying the speed of the river, oblivious to the fact that John Irondale was directly ahead of them in the water, waist deep, and lumbering towards shallower waters.

The steersman in the first boat called out with a thick Yankee accent, “Hey, that’s the guy that had the problem with our beer bottles.”

“Don’t you know that you are supposed to sit in the canoe when you are in the water?” the leader teased.

Without a word, John lowered his head and charged towards the lead canoe. The men were caught unprepared. They tried to avoid the aluminum missile but they were too late. The bow of John’s canoe tore through the fiberglass. It was like a hammer smashing drywall.

The two men jumped into the knee-deep water. The other canoe, about twenty yards away, approached, excited to be in another fight. But this was not the same John Irondale that they encountered yesterday.

John did a quick ninety-degree turn towards the Yankee steersman, knocking his head with his deadly aluminum bow. The man in the bow ducked under the aluminum stern that was swinging towards his head, by diving sideways into the water. Without hesitation, John stepped towards the big dazed Yankee, grabbed his hair with his left hand, held him there and with his right hand, and delivered a bone shattering punch, driving his nose upwards into his head. The victim went limp. John had no sooner released him into his watery grave, when “CRACK” – a paddle shattered across his back.

The second man had swung the paddle hard enough to break John’s back, but instead, the paddle shattered into kindling. It had only gained John’s attention. Now with no weapon, the man chose to run. The slippery scum on the rocks made it difficult for him to run, but not for John Irondale. As the man stumbled and fell on his face, John swung his leg up and when his heel connected with the base of the man’s skull, it was as if one thousand pounds of granite turned his skull to mush. The current carried the man away, face first in the river.

John turned to the other canoe and finally spoke.

“Go Back! CLEAN UP YOUR MESS!” he said in a cold, dark, raspy voice, full of pain and anger.

The canoe turned around and started going back upstream, where it had come from, as fast as the two men could paddle.

Afterward….
John Irondale has never been able to go home. Now half-man, half-canoe, he wanders the rivers and lakes of the Canadian Shield. He is a militant environmentalist. Many campers and adventurers claim to have seen Canoe-Head as far away as places like James Bay, the Red River and the Saint Lawrence River. Every year, there are unexplained deaths throughout the Canadian Shield. People always suspect bear activity is the most reasonable explanation. But those who know about Canoe-Head know the truth.

Remember to leave your camp-sight cleaner than when you found it, or else Canoe-Head might find YOU!

~ Murray Lincoln ~

http://www.murraylincoln.com/

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Marion Nellie Lincoln – January 28, 1921 and still going

January 28, 1921 - The sun began to peek over the horizon 8:04 AM that day and went down at 6:20 PM

To be completely accurate about that day it was as follows for Jan 28, 1921
Nautical Twilight Start : 7:24
Civil Twilight Start : 8:04
Sunrise : 8:40
Local Noon : 13:12
Sunset : 17:44
Civil Twilight End : 18:20
Nautical Twilight End : 19:00

At the Longitude = 104° 59.50' West, Latitude = 49° 54.01' North was the exact place that Marion Nellie Kirkpatrick arrived on that cold winter day. She was the first girl to be born to Charlie and Emma Kirkpatrick. What a joy and relief when this little bundle arrived.

This photo is taken at about one mile above the farm shows "country" - lots of it!.

Two children had been born to Charlie and Emma in that small farm house so far from the nearest city of Regina – which is 60 miles away.

With today’s transportation and road system this drive can be made easily in one hour. In 1921 it was much slower with the horse and sleigh… and buggy if the roads were open. Cars were not yet possible for this small family as there simply was not enough money.

Charlie and Emma’s first baby was born a quadriplegic. His name was Robert – (Known as Uncle Bob later). Then came Dale. And now “Nellie”.

Today is Marion Nellie Lincoln(Kirkpatrick’s) 89th birthday and she is my Mom.

She was Nellie and Nell for 81 years. For the past 8 she has been known as Marion. Let me explain.

In 2002, when she moved into her new apartment in Regina, her fellow seniors in the building ‘renamed her’ when they saw her official Government mail come – which stated plainly “Marion Nellie Lincoln”. There was another Nell and Nellie in the building – so they decided that to avoid confusion they would call her Marion. Actually it was also Marianne… to some.

On that cold January morning it was recorded that on 28 January 2004, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Temperature drops to -45° C (-49° F), the coldest in 33 years.

In 1921 it was about the same. No one wrote much down that day they were too busy with the excitement in that small house.

For 65 years and 9 months I have known my Mom. When I first met her she was only 23 years old and lived with Clifford in a small farm house at Keydive, Saskatchewan. Our first face to face happened in a nursing home in Ceylon, Sask.

From there she took me along as they moved to Lang, Milestone and Regina.

I have an amazing Mom.

Her one Brother Ben and her two Sisters Peg and Marg will attest to that today. The three of them are the last of 9 children in their family. Every one else is waiting on the “other side” for these three.

Today we will have a party for her with the birthday party in Peterborough, Ontario – about 1,700 miles from where she came into this world 89 years ago.

My thoughts are filled with all the stories of family, the farm, the life that she has shared with me and my siblings. There have been so many happy times mixed with some sad ones as well. It has been her life.

Last fall on her special days, her anniversary for Cliff and her, on her mother’s birthday and her dad’s, on anniversary of Cliff’s death 23 years ago… mom is very quiet. It has been a long life with so much that has happened.

I have encouraged her to write about all that she remembers. She began a few years ago and maybe it is happening today. I suspect that in among her things stored in her room are the precious memories scribbled on sheets of paper over these years. I hope they are…

Anyway…
Happy Birthday Marion Nellie Kirkpatrick Lincoln! We love you.

Marion Nellie Kirkpatrick Lincoln with one of her Great Grandsons, Thomas Rourke

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Source
Sunrise in 1921 at Truax
http://app.hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/cgi-bin/sun-soleil.pl
Saskatchewan Climate
http://www.saskschools.ca/~stdom/ccclimate.html
Weather and Temperature – Jan 28, 1921
http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/diaryjan.htm

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Hate Love Relationship with my Computer

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Small Places – Big People

The story in the Globe and Mail from Vancouver, B.C. caught my attention today. They are now renting postage stamp size apartments for an average of $750 per month. The writer states…
“Those 30 suites, which will come with built-in wall beds, tables and flat-screen TVs, will rent for an average of $750 a month.”

Imagine everything that you might need for only $750 a month!

I have a feeling that with the apartment size at 270 square feet, they need to rent everything with it – in that they had to build around the stuff in… the place is too small to move any thing into it except your body and a few suitcases.

My thoughts were drawn to the guys that I talked to yesterday. They all came from prison recently. The small rooms they live in are adequate – probably about 150 sq ft. Yet in comparison to their 75 to 80 square feet of cell space for the last 15 years or so… the room they have now is huge.

I was in a restaurant yesterday as well. There next to me was the biggest blob I have ever seen. He had a tray of food that included two Big Macs and lots of French fries.

Some one living in the newly built condos in Vancouver could not invite this dude over for a visit. He was way too big.

Looking at the photo above I cannot see chairs that might support the Big Guy eating hamburgers.

My world has changed. I used to share small rooms with my brother. Sometimes we slept in the same bed. Then we grew and so did the necessary space to accommodate big, loud and obnoxious teenagers – that sometimes were at war with each other.

When I lived in Hong Kong I witnessed the most impossible situation for accommodations EVER! My friend Henry and I went over to Macao to take part in a special service for some folks there. We dropped by one apartment (actually a room) to try and locate a man that we knew.

When we knocked on the door some one opened it. I wanted to write, ‘came to the door’ – but that didn’t happen. He simply rolled over and opened it.

The room was about 15’ by 20’ and it was wall to wall bunk beds with no space in between each bed. There was a small path in the centre of the room. To get to your bed you needed to crawl across other people’s bunks to get to yours. As the door opened about 25 faces were looking towards the door from the bunks. They were watching the one TV located at the door and facing in. The light from the TV was lighting their faces.

Heaven help you if you were by the door on that bunk and some guy inside the room needed to go to the bathroom late at night.

Our world is changing. People are not needing as much space as they did before. The Seniors find that out as the years go by… down sizing is their second nature – one year at a time.

Now the young adults are seeing the necessity in Vancouver.

I am becoming a Senior… slowly. I am seeing the nightmare of too much stuff. Slowly I am paring back things. Got to get it done. I don’t my kids to hate me later.

My final place to sleep that rather long night is to be about 24 inches wide, 18 inches high and maybe 7 feet long… or it could be 18 inches high and kind of roundish with a lid.

Thanks to the Vancouver folk – I think I will start cleaning out some more today. Yikes!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Source
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/the-incredible-shrinking-condo/article1443864/

Monday, January 25, 2010

Google Surfing

Now in the middle of a warm and balmy area of any country, you may not do this… but in a Cold Canadian Winter it is becoming a great out let or release. The activity is “Google Surfing”.

At an earlier stage in computerology we might have known it as “Surfing the Net”.

Google Surfing is fun… and can take you a million directions and places that you have never know about.

Here is how it works.

Go to the search area on your Browser. This is a small space on the top right side where you can type in a search word or thought, or the main page for Google where you can begin your search.

With the more modern Browsers, you computer will auto complete a whole series of suggestions – anticipating what you might be looking for. It is a way of speeding up a potentially long process of looking for an answer.

Now here is where the fun starts.

Try typing in… “my husband is”. (The Illustration at the beginning).
That is all you need. By the time you get to the word “my hus ” – it will offer about 10 suggestions. The suggestions are different for “my hus” that for “my husband is”. And even “mu husband” will work… the crazy program anticipates my lack of typing skills!

Then clicking on one of the suggestions will take you some, where someone will be saying something about their husband.
“my wife is” and “my wife” offers a good list too. These lists however are not as belittling as the husband one is.

I clicked on to “my husband is annoying” and the Google search offered “about 2,500,000” suggestions.

While “my wife is a high school girl” offered about 31,600,000 possibilities.

And “my wife is pregnant” offered 16,600,000 possibilities.

For a little fun… I typed in “Debbie Karpenko” and “Debbie Karpenko is” (Debbie is a friend of mine and might read this Blog from time to time…) You won’t believe what I found out about Debbie!

Debbie is the Head Judge, Chief, of the Manitoba Amateur Bodybuilding Association!

That was fun.

The Debbie I know lives in Buckhorn and is the Owner of “Waterfront Interiors”, a business that I connect with. I doubt that she has had much to do with the “Manitoba Amateur Bodybuilding Association”!

Sorry Debbie… maybe I am guessing wrong… but I don’t see you as the type. Maybe….?

“Murray Lincoln” adds the word “Blog” and when you click on to it you get 1,610,000 possibilities. Hokey Mokey!

“Terry Manley” went to Terry Manley Las Vegas with 55,000 possibilities.

“Winston Van Lier” produced 13,700 possibilities with the top one being Winston’s Facebook. The other 13,699 were all about other Van Liers somewhere in the world.

Hey it is January in Canada. And we need to surf somewhere… it is generally cold here.

Today I offer this as a brightener for you life. “Google Surfing” is for you!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Source
Debbie Karpenko
http://waterfrontinteriors.ca/

Manitoba Amateur Bodybuilding Association
http://www.bodybuilding.ca/
http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/CompanyDetail.aspx?CompanyID=59442267&cs=QFDiwRb08

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Dealing With Grey Clouds Overhead

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post
Dealing With Grey Clouds Overhead

Now if you have read the article I posted yesterday(the one before this one) you may wonder at this post. I hesitate to post it but it is necessary for a balance.

I am going to make a statement that may shock some and delight others… here goes... are you ready?

I have some really bad days! In fact they are “Bummers” from start to finish. And if I was totally honest the Bummer Days could be placed into categories. You may know them as something different but mine are as follows.

There is “Slump Days”, “Super Slump Days” and “Why Bother Getting out of Bed Days”. But then there are the days that start off okay but suddenly hit a Slump Bump and go down hill after that.

When I tell the stories and accounts of the wonderful things that ARE HAPPENING NOW… it is hard to tell about what is “Slump-wise” or “Slumped”.

You may not know what I mean by Slump. It is a down time that lasts for hours, days or months. It is where the spirit falls to a new low and you can’t seem to just let it go. Worse yet you can’t get started to do the next thing that you should do. And nothing gets done… nothing at all.

I wonder why it happens sometimes. I would like to prevent it from happening… but can’t always do that.

At a meeting of business owners this past week the discussion came around to the Post Christmas down time and how we as Business Owners need to work around this… or deal with it.

The realization that not only is the Business Owner facing these grey days… so are any potential customers. The realization that you may have a spent just a little too much on the holidays and you will likely be paying for it until July – is kind of heavy.

The first Credit Card Statement could cause the Slump Bump.

The realization that some one that ordered a special product no longer wants it, doesn’t call back or simply returns it. Or to add to these factors a check bounces. Double Slump Bump… ahhaa!

Business Owners are people and they face the stuff that ordinary people face as well. Their dogs get sick, there tires go flat and the dishwasher dies right after the clothes dryer quit. Yet when a new potential customer comes in to meet them they will still be asked, “Hi how are you today? You are welcome. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Then there is life that is filled with dependants and friends. The dependants and friends have lives and sometimes Slumps to. Then their Slump easily becomes my Slump too.

If you have attended a funeral you will know what I mean. You will feel what your friend feels after her mother passes away. You will know what the Slump Bump is about when your best friend’s husband suddenly experiences a heart attack and they give him little hope.

Yesterday… and last night…
For three years now I have supported and encouraged a guy that I name “Big A”. “Big A” has been in my life many times some weeks. I have encouraged him and helped him. I have stood with him and been there when he has called for help. “Big A” had big plans.

“Big A” had lived inside of a prison for a long time. When he came out I supported him in every way that I could.

“Big A” did something he shouldn’t and yesterday he was checked back into the Prison System.

This article isn’t about Prisons and “Big A”. It is about how Murray Lincoln came home after one very long day, sat down and watched as the Grey Cloud was pulled over his whole being.

The stupid part is that the account I wrote about all the things that are happening so well… is real. It is almost too good to be true… then my friend “Big A” takes me for a Slump Ride.

So what do I do when Bummer Days descend with “Slump Days”, “Super Slump Days” and “Why Bother Getting out of Bed Days”. And when yesterday’s events felt like all three hit me?

A great sleep, followed by exercise like a long walk, good food and some fellowship. Mix it all together with a sprinkle of laughter and shake real good. And on really bad days I do it all over again.

One good thing about yesterday…
I realized last after my roller coaster ride or dealing with my friend “Big A”, I had not felt these feelings since living the church leadership 18 months ago. Back in the “good old days” I faced many “Big A” folks and did the community Slump Bump many times over.

I looked at my wife and said, “I haven’t felt this way for a long time. Not since… the last “Big A” messed up, and the one before that… Oh boy!”

The sleep is over, the exercise comes next. Then a little laughter mixed with a good book.

You know – today is going to be a better day. The cloud is moving away… and the sunshine is coming through.

And the Opportunity is amazing! The Possibility is greater… and the Impossible is filled with the word and fact of POSSIBLE! I am Possible!

Wahooo! The cloud just lifted!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Source
http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/ /

http://39thesecondtime.spaces.live.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZVfHoTROgQ&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZuKF3dxCY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo_24_qTNac&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gJiWJf4dMI&NR=1&feature=fvwp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl58qufXfYk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YprutmGYOyQ&feature=channel

Friday, January 22, 2010

Opportunity – Knocking or Walking

Yesterday’s post included the following words that had popped into my thinking one day early while working out at the Gym.

“Tucked away inside of Impossibility is the word POSSIBILITY. I see that above the Impossible… but there it is again… POSSIBLE… and if I stretch this a little I see “I’m Possible” and “I’m Possibility”.”

“Today is the other side of Yesterday… and on the slopes of Tomorrow. And I know that I am not going back to the valleys of Yesterday. I simply can’t because there is too much waiting for me Tomorrow! Who has time for that Old Stuff.”

I offer them again in case you missed the first time.

And some one said that, “You must be ready when Opportunity comes knocking…!”

2009 was filled with reports of some really heavy stuff going down in the financial concerns of Canada and the USA. Downturns, bottom dropping out and the horror of a Recession that has lingered on and on. Listening to the reports can almost stop you dead… or slow you so much that you can not move further.

Money is tight, money is not there, money is impossible… I have heard all of these little suggestions and predictions. And as they come it is possible to have a cloud descend over your being. And when it comes you duck for cover.

I started Misty Hollow Carving as my newly launched Wood Carving business in late 2008 and 2009 was my first full year of operation.

At the beginning I had people warn me that it was not going to be easy. Others suggested to me that the ‘artistic type’ of business usually struggles and will have a hard time of it. In fact the creative type business has odds stacked against it. The forewarnings were from very knowledgeable people that I respect. I accepted the statements as possible direction that might help in my personal assessments as I kept plugging along. Because I INTENDED to KEEP PLUGGING no matter what!

SO – with all of that presented to me AND not having a clue what might come next, I set out on the journey of a life time. And what a journey it has been!

I have one huge regret in doing what I have done… I regret having not done this sooner!

A short history…
I started my journey in Misty Hollow with some simple ideas that would possibly catch the interest of my market place. The idea that I sold others and myself on was simple. I would receive information and photographs from people that would like to have someone (or themselves) placed in a caricature carving. My initial target was Golfers.

When the first orders started coming I was overjoyed! The idea worked and was providing the first fruits of my labour.

In addition to the initial idea of Golfers, has come Hair Dressers, Farmers, and now the whole set of the ‘12 Days of Christmas Characters”.

But then came the hand carved Feathers which become an important item in my NEW Carvings series. Added to that came the hand carved Leaves and the Celtic Love Spoons. Then more and more ideas kept coming and they all become popular with the variety of new audiences that were asking for the products.

The hand carved Teddy Bear faces have built to the place that I am slipping behind on potential orders… Oh boy!

But something that I didn’t expect happened. The Web Page that has been kind of an online catalogued for my potential customers has sky rocketed and doesn’t appear to be slowing with the number of hits per month! Starting as kind of flunky, Mom and Pop Web Page, the kind that guys like me create on their own, it achieved a huge following moving from around 150 hits per month to up to an amazing 1500 to even 2000 per month! I can remember when the first stats showed the big jump.

In January 2009 when downturns should be turning everyone off the hits of the Web Page rose to 3500 and stayed that way each month until the end of May 2009. In June through to September 2009 it sky rocketed again to 8500 hits per month.

I dreamed of the impossible day that maybe, just maybe, I might see the 10,000 hits per month happen. I was a little shocked when the Web Site not only hit the 10,000 mark but rocketed through to over 12,000 in October 2009.

But it would not stop there… are you ready? I wasn’t. November 2009 was another pinnacle moment – the 15,000 hit per month was reached. And December and January that have followed have shown increases yet again.

So why not wonder when I might hit 20,000 and even 25,000 – and who knows even 50,000 hits per month.

Opportunity has come knocking big time… oh boy. Now I am trying to complete the updates to the Web Page which will offer “real-estate sections” (add space) on my Web Pages to other businesses that are starting and need customers. I have more than enough to share now.

It seems that Wood Carvings are not the only thing that is saleable... so are ideas, my thinking, my creativity and whatever else is coming from my being.

In July 2008 when my 35 year career as a Minister came to complete stop I wasn’t sure there could be any future for a really old, tired out, exhausted guy that had talked for a living. Not a lot of people will hire you when you are 64 years and 2 months old – and you are on Unemployment Insurance with a Mortgage to keep paying!

This past few days yet another Opportunity has come knocking… actually it is BANGING on the door!

A kind of ‘Head Hunter’ has made an offer to me. Without giving away the details yet (because I am not sure at this point what will happen…), how does a task sound that pays royally, allows you to work only once in awhile, keep doing what you are doing at this time, and might take you away for short periods of time from home, put you up in a nice hotel, offer you a daily food allowance that will definitely make you fat… sound to you?

To me it is amazing. They only want my mind and my expertise for short bursts of time. And if I give it to them they pay about $500 per day, offer food allowance of $80 per day and the hotel is paid for… hmmmm I wonder?

But then my wife brought home another ‘Opportunity Knocking’ idea. She has found out that a Caribbean Cruise Line is looking for On Board Chaplains that would cruise with them for two weeks at a time…. Yikes!

And mean while the Web Page hits are building, contacts are being made and the business continues to grow. I meet a million people and have phone calls now lined up to answer.

And last night another person called with a brand new opportunity knocking.

What a difference 22 months has made… moving from a rather confused, complicated, discouraged 64 year and 2 month old, used up Minister – to a 65 year and 8 month old Business Owner that is constantly hearing Opportunity Knocking!

Oh… and there is another Opportunity now Knocking too… some people want me to begin speaking about what has happened to me over these past few months. It seems that there are some other older, discouraged, broken, downhearted, not knowing where to go next kind of guys that need to hear how they can get a new hold on life….

Hokey Mokey! I can’t wait!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Source
http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

http://39thesecondtime.spaces.live.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZVfHoTROgQ&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZuKF3dxCY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo_24_qTNac&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gJiWJf4dMI&NR=1&feature=fvwp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl58qufXfYk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YprutmGYOyQ&feature=channel

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Disability or Ability and Impossibility

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post
Disability or Ability and Impossibility

My friend Terry is having a knee replacement operation tomorrow while he is awake. He will listen to the folks talk as they cut into bone and slice into muscle. It is second knee replacement and he has had a hip done too – and in the same way.

Terry is slowly becoming a man of “new pieces”.

My friend Winston struggles with his balance as his inner ear problems have caused a constant world for him that tips and turns. He experiences motion sickness many times. He will not go to the movie “Avatar” in that he would have to be taken out on a stretcher. Even as he takes a bight of food he will close his eyes to chew. Chewing makes the world move and movement in his world is not good.

Winston will not stop living. He stacks his own wood for the heating of his house. He carries the wood in a wheel barrow that makes his world stable, letting him walk as straight as an arrow.

Last evening we had dinner together and enjoyed not only a wonderful meal but also the stories and laughter of other times. In the conversation we shared what we know of other friends ‘our age’ and what they are going through. Many, many of them are much worse off than the three of us. And most of their wives deal with far more difficult challenges than our wives do.

We are aging… quickly getting older and the bodies that we once paraded on beaches are now not so ready to be shown in public.

But even with the aging we have new visions of what we would like to try next. Our activities refuse to say that we will not get up again… and try even harder the next time. I need Terry and Winston as my close friends to keep me motivated to do more.

Last night we tossed around more ideas for the newly re-launch of “39 The Second Time” group. It once was a church based group but has now hopped out into a waiting world of people a lot like us.

The Group’s subtitle is “A Great Group of Happy Adults that refuse to be Old”. (Please notice the difference of “be” Old and “get” Old. Too many we know are in the second group.)

Together we do things that are fun and interactive and active. With our wheel chairs, walkers, running shoes, bicycles and whatever… we get out together – to enjoy life.

You might like to take a look at our new Web Presence… at http://39thesecondtime.spaces.live.com/

Now I come back to the Disability or Ability.

I have been watching a video series over and over again on YouTube. The videos have Nick Vujicic sharing his story in many places around the world. I have added some links to videos that have been recorded of Nick and his story.

Nick was born without arms and legs. His father was a minister in a church… his mother the faithful pastor’s wife.

Nick describes his own birth as his father watched him coming out. His father was in shock as the little head appeared and his new baby had no arm. He left the birthing room. When the doctor came out to speak with Nick’s dad, his dad was in shock, and said, “My baby doesn’t have an arm!” The doctor completed the news for the already shocked father… “Your baby doesn’t have arms or legs!”

I will not try to tell all the story of Nick in my Blog – you can read about it on his web sight. BUT there is nothing Nick cannot do…nothing!

Take a look at http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/ - It will simply blow your mind!

Terry’s world is one of one Impossibility after another. No sooner does Terry conquer one battle physically than he faces another one. BUT NOTHING will stop Terry. His plans for this summer coming are amazing. In fact if you spend just one evening with my friend, you will pretty much be able to strike out in any direction with your ability.

NOTHING will stop Winston. He is used to a moving and tipping world and simply copes with what he faces. The indomitable spirit of this man is amazing.

And not much will stop Murray… he (that’s me) has been given a huge life ahead that is filled with opportunities that are amazing.

Yesterday I heard of three new opportunities for me that have simply blown my mind. Today I met with two more before 9 AM.

Tucked away inside of Impossibility is the word POSSIBILITY. I see that above the Impossible… but there it is again… POSSIBLE… and if I stretch this a little I see “I’m Possible” and “I’m Possibility”.

Today is the other side of Yesterday… and on the slopes of Tomorrow. And I know that I am not going back to the valleys of Yesterday. I simply can’t because there is too much waiting for me Tomorrow! Who has time for that Old Stuff?!?

Last evening it was good… very good because we were all looking at the Tomorrow that is coming. Personally I have only 13 hours left in today… followed by some sleep that will take me into Tomorrow! What an opportunity to move into the next Chapter of Living!

Hoeky Mokey – I can’t wait!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Source
http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

http://39thesecondtime.spaces.live.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZVfHoTROgQ&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZuKF3dxCY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo_24_qTNac&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gJiWJf4dMI&NR=1&feature=fvwp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl58qufXfYk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YprutmGYOyQ&feature=channel

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Capital Punishment vs Eternal Punishment

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury - Concussion

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury - Concussion

The words of the article jumped out at me…
Quote…
“Despite the perception that concussions are benign, they are actually an injury to the brain that can leave patients with a severe headache, amnesia and sometimes a loss of consciousness. While most patients recover, concussions can have lasting effects. Some patients develop "post-concussion syndrome," a poorly understood complication that causes symptoms to last for weeks and sometimes months.

There also is evidence that people who've had multiple concussions, such as boxers and football players, can experience cumulative neurological damage. Some have even suggested that repeated concussion increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.” End quote.

There is a problem here. Kids that get hurt are going back to their normal life far too fast. An injury that is serious is potentially not treated that way. Families are busy and kids want to remain active – so they look alright – let’s get going.

I have some grandsons that are very active… one in particular is Clifford. Broken bones and strained body parts are not new to this very active, potentially “Athlete of a Year to Come”. The drive this guy has is scary.

But Clifford will have to be careful. He is related to me and injury tends to plague my genetic make up.

I caught the words in the above paragraph, “boxers and football players”. I have done both. And I have had a few concussions over the early years.

The words in the paragraph before mentions, “injury to the brain that can leave patients with a severe headache, amnesia and sometimes a loss of consciousness” – comes close to home for me.

I have had all that happen as well.

Then I look at the words that state, “Some have even suggested that repeated concussion increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.”

Now I am not a hypochondriac… I don’t think... but yesterday I had some fatal, “blue screen” reactions in my head. Everything kind of shut down and I couldn’t remember! So help me – the names of people were gone! Some of my friends have been diagnosed with Dementias of different sorts… and it is getting close to home. Yikes!

But on the other hand someone came up with the quip, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.” Comforting eh?

I know what brain injury is all about. I have a few hard knocks on my head. The other day I was thinking about it. I kind of shudder when the thought came drifting through. It is funny – all those old memories are so vibrant!

I remember a time when I teased my sister to the point of insanity. I think we were about Grade 4 and 5. She picked up the nearest stone that was around the size of Soft Ball and swung it towards my head. The point of contact was my left eye and nose. Blood squirted everywhere and it hurt like nothing you can ever imagine. This hit was followed by many other bone crunching smacks to my nose and face over the next few years.

Today my nose is very crooked and my sister is a ‘Nurse Practioner’ in the Yukon. I like to think I contributed something to her life with our early interaction with the large rock.

At 19 I was unemployed just before Christmas 1963. I was driving my Volkswagon Beetle back from Calgary to Regina. I do not remember why it happened… only bits and pieces of what happened to me are anywhere near the memory banks. I do remember the car going toward the ditch, first on the shoulder of the Trans-Canada Highway, then down into the ditch between Herbert and Morse, Saskatchewan. Instead of pulling it hard to the left and back to the roadway I drove it to the ditch. I didn’t want to roll over.

That is when the memory kind of stops. The little car skipped over the huge boulders that were bigger than the VW. It banged and bounced over 200 feet of the boulders until the front end of the car caught the culvert hollow, then it launched into the air doing a complete cartwheel landing on the rear end first and then falling down to land on its four wheels.

There was no seat belt laws back then… in fact there was no seat belts in any car.

The cut(s) around my head started at the front in my hair line above my nose and then proceed to the right side above my right ear, to the back of my head and then ending just above my left ear. I was nearly scalped. There was no stitches needed in that it was only a series of small cuts made my by the windows that my head punched out as I rolled and rocked around inside the egg shell known as a VW.

When I woke up it was deathly cold at the Minus 20 Degrees C outside. The wind was blowing. I remember reaching up to turn the car off and putting the keys in my pocket… then nothing. The next thing that happened I was standing in the middle of the highway and a man was trying to pull me off the roadway. The large towel that was kept in my car under the seat for washing the vehicle was soaked in my blog and I was being asked some questions. “Was there anyone with you in the car?” And, “You have had a bad accident – we need to get you to a hospital now.”

I wasn’t cold or hot… just numb and sleepy. It was around 12:30 AM and the last time I had looked at my watch I remember it was 11:15 PM.

For months after that my head ached from time to time. Then quite suddenly as I was walking down the street a searing pain would rocket through my skull from the top left to the back right side. I would double in pain and then it was gone.

As I look back now… I shudder… and think of what I put my parents through. I had noticed that they were very spiritual people all these years. I think I helped their spirituality as I kept them praying so much for my safety and my life.

I say all that seriously – first. If you child gets a bump on the head – stop the life you are living and deal with it. It is simply too dangerous.

I say this next part honestly – if I forget your birthday, Valentines Day, or any other major event – I have an excuse. If I don’t show up for coffee after you call, well it isn’t my fault… it is a brain thing.

I have an excuse. What is yours?

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Source
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100118/concussion_100118/20100118/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Monday, January 18, 2010

Teens Dealing With Respect

Teens Dealing With Respect
As I passed the newspaper around I pointed to the Photo take by Lucas Oleniuk of the Toronto Star...the one that you see above. They stopped their normal teen chatter and waited for their turn to look.

I then asked the group, “What did you see in the photo? What comes first to your thoughts as you looked at this?”

Out of the 12 teens that sat with me, 11 said, “The man lying on the street.”

One teen said, “I saw the face of the man that was beating him…”

First, as a reader of this Blog, you need to know that in this past week Haiti has been shaken to its roots by a horrific earthquake. As many as 200,000 people may have died at this point… but no one knows for sure. Thousands could still be buried below tons of rubble.

This is my Youth Class that has entered my life to keep me young. These are the next generation of amazing people coming up. These are the sharpest minds I have encountered for a long time.

I took the Newspaper again and passed it around the group asking them to now look at the crowd of people standing around the man that did the beating.

Again it was quiet as they each looked for about 10 seconds. They had caught the idea that we were working towards. Carefully they surveyed the photo for clues of what might come next.

The answers to my question, “What do you remember about the photo? Is there one thing that stands out in your mind, one face that you can describe for us?”

One pointed out the man with the white mask on. Another pointed out the look on one man’s face as he was smiling – or laughing as this took place. Everyone had a suggestion and a comment.

‘Travis’ told the group how, in class on Friday at school, they had also looked at the Toronto Star for the story. His group had pointed out to their class an important factor of that newspaper… right across the page from the Haitian horror shots was a large advertisement that was selling Blue Jeans – cheap.

These kids are thinking. The lesson yesterday was all about “Respect” and how we can reach out to others in need in our class at school, in our community and even in our World. With Haiti being on all of our minds, it was definitely about the World.

The men in the photo had no Respect for the man on the ground. The man had been accused of ‘looting’. He was caught and stripped, tied with a rope or some kind of cord, then beaten into unconsciousness. Finally when they had dispensed their form of justice, they set him on fire. The man was breathing as the fire took his life in front of the crowd.

There was no Respect there at all. Murder was considered a lesser evil than the ‘looting’ this man had done. It was suggested also that he may have been one of the escaped convicts from the destroyed jail as well.

The teens pondered the word “Respect” for well over an hour yesterday… and are still considering it today.

Earlier yesterday morning I was sitting in the McDonalds Restaurant not far from our home. As we were reading that same newspaper, a lady in her mid 70s was sitting with her normal coffee crowd for their morning sip together…

I have seen her before. She and her husband often sit at that table with their 8 friends. They are loud and don’t mind who hears what they say. My chair was beside hers and I could hear it all.

Each morning she arrives at McDonalds dressed well. I am sure that it takes her hours to apply the make-up that she wears. This lady is kind of the centre of what is happening in this group. She is almost an attraction.

In her kind of distinctly weird voice she said loudly… “Look at this, a girl sings hymns as doctor amputates her infected hand…!” She had caught the title of the short piece on page A4 of the paper.

I couldn’t believe what came from her mouth next. Remember she is in her mid 70s….

“I can remember when I had my cataract surgery… I held very still and the doctor was impressed. He asked me how I could hold so still. I told him I started to sing to myself, ‘Ninety nine bottles of bear on the wall, ninety nine bottles of bear, if one of the bottles should happen to fall…’. My doctor was impressed!”

I seriously wanted to get up and wipe her make-up off her face. How callous could one person be? How could one person show so little respect for what she had just read in that paper?

The teens pondered the thought of Respect.

Yesterday our congregation received a special offering for a group that works in Haiti. For every dollar raised yesterday the Government of Canada will match it. At the end of the church service there was a cheer that went up. The small but growing congregation had raised over $4,500 for the Haitian relief fund… which now becomes $9,000!

If there is anything that the next generation needs to hear about real love… real life… real heart ache, it is Respect. God help us!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Source
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/751792--haiti-street-justice-the-worst-in-people

From the Desk of Murray Lincoln