Last Sunday evening I attended a Legion tribute for Comrade Helen Horne, a member of the Trenton Branch. She died last Wednesday following a massive stroke. Considering she had beat four bouts of cancer, there is almost an irony that it was a stroke who took her away from us.
Comrade Helen was the much beloved wife of our Chaplain at the Zone, District & Provincial levels, Padre Sid Horne, a retired Anglican cleric, had served in the military amongst his various ministry posts. Sid & Helen were a study in contrasts — he as tall as she was short; he every bit the extrovert, her very much an introvert; he enjoyed the limelight, she enjoyed the shadows. What the two of them shared were hearts as big as any could imagine, faith as strong as God himself and compassion which encompassed all who came within their loving embrace.
One never had to wonder what the two thought of each other, their love and mutual devotion was clear to anyone who chose to look. I don’t believe in all the time I had the privilege of being around them I ever heard a cross word pass between them. They would readily share the stories of the other’s exploits and foibles but always with a perspective of the humour. Read the rest of this entry
I’m starting the year off with a new look on the blog. Seems to freshen it up. Now, it is time to get down to posting more regularly.
Let me know what you think of the new look.
One surely wonders where the time goes. I look at this blog the other day and couldn’t believe how long it has been since I have updated it. Things have been happening in my life. I just haven’t taken the time to write about what has been going on.
Most recently, I spent a few days in London, ON. A couple of reasons took me there, the most important one being I needed to attend the funeral for my friend Scott Hickson who passed away on October 22nd after a long battle with cancer. The secondary reason for the visit allowed me to spend a few days with my youngest sister, Lynn. When the spirit wills her, she blogs at Artemis North.
Scott leaves his wife Kim, who was my 1st Vice President until she had to leave that post to move back to London in order to walk with Scott through his last days. His funeral truly was a celebration of his life. Scott lived with passion, his greatest passion after his wife was his family. He also had a passion for music and a wonderful sense of humour. His service was heavy on laughter and light on tears. He’s at peace now, it is Kim for whom my thoughts and prayers are most centered. Read the rest of this entry
If they were still alive, today would mark my parents 60th wedding anniversary. So what does that have to do with the Noronic? For that matter, what is the Noronic? I grew up with an awareness of the Noronic, a Great Lakes steamship which burned in Toronto harbour on September 17, 1949.
The fire remains Toronto’s worse ever disaster, taking the lives of 120 people, mostly Americans. The Noronic was docked at pier 9 on the night of September 16th, the fire was discovered about 2:30am. The cause of the fire was never determined. The 30 year old luxury steamship’s woodwork, well maintained with years of oil polish, served as an accelerant for the fire which quickly engulfed the ship. Read the rest of this entry
A week or two ago I was right on the edge of heading to the closest Sony store to purchase a Sony ebook reader. I love having books with me when I’m out and about. I never know when I’m going to have some downtime where I could open a book and get some reading time in. I have an MP3 player and was able to listen to audiobooks but I really like reading.
I mentioned this to my young sister, Lynn, who responded by telling me she really really wanted an iPod touch. I have in the past glanced at iPods but since I’m not a big listener of music, especially modern music I had not really looked very seriously at them. Sis explained to me that with the iPod touch I could run lots of applications, listen to podcasts and even read ebooks.
OK, she caught my attention so I went off to do some research on these iPod Touch. Didn’t take me long to come around to her way of thinking. Not only did the iPod Touch do WAY more than the Sony eReader, it was about $20 cheaper. The decision was a no contest, I was heading to the nearest Staples to pick mine up. Read the rest of this entry
They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them
In memory of our fallen Canadians:
Cpl. Christian Bobbitt — Afghanistan August 1, 2009
Sapper Mathieu Allard — Afghanistan August 1, 200
Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated
Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays
They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them
In memory of our fallen Canadians:
Cpl Martin Joannette — Afghanistan July 6, 2009
Mst Cpl Pat Audet — Afghanistan July 6, 2009
Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated
Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays