Monthly Archives: January 2021

A Light Touch

I seem to be getting sillier.

I went for a walk today through my village of Belmont.  The air was bright and the snow was just enough to feel Christmasy.  I was hoping to see kids in the graduating Grade 6 class, kids I miss so much.  I realize that I might not be volunteering in their classroom for the entire school year.  (Sigh)  May I be wrong.

***

“Ahh … here comes a middle-aged couple!”  I was so eager for contact.  From six feet away, we smiled at each other.  And the words just tumbled out of my mouth: “I knew that if I saw somebody out here, I’d be so happy that I’d pack a good snowball and throw it at them!”  The two of them cringed ever so slightly as their smiles took on a stationary look.  Then I laughed a Santa laugh, and so did they.  The snow remained on the ground.  And  we were off in our separate directions.

***

I smiled and waved at a mom and her adult daughter who were passing by.  Our conversation amounted to “Hi.”  A bit later, as I was doing a loop pattern through residential streets, I came upon a path between subdivisions.  Coming towards me were the two women.  Seizing upon a potential moment of irrationality, I looked at them as we got close and said “I was just on Robin Ridge Drive and saw two women just like you.  Do you realize you have twins?”  Their eyes widened and then relaxed.  And we all chuckled together.

***

Further down the path of life came a young mom strolling her infant son or daughter.  Another “Hi” and another smile.  Funnily enough, she also looped back to my reality.  Not being bored with my previous rendezvous, I said (with awesome originality): “I was just on Kettle Creek Drive and saw folks just like you and your child.  Do you realize you have twins?”  I mean really … why waste a good line?

***

Approaching Belmont Community Park, I saw three adults approaching – two men and a woman.  One of the men had a cane, and was hunched over.  We smiled and said “Hi.”  

(Me)  I knew that if I saw somebody out here, I’d be so happy that I’d pack a good snowball and throw it at them!

(Old man)  Well, start with these two!

(Me)  No, no … you appear to be older.  You get the first shot at it.

(Old man)  [Huge laugh, bending over even more]

(The other two)  [Smiling as they watched the old fellow’s delight]

***

On the home stretch, down the street came a mom and her two daughters.  As I got closer, I saw that one was “Brittany”, a Grade 6 kid I know.  Her sister “Terra” said that she was in Grade 2.  I told Brittany how much I was missing volunteering with her and her classmates.  She got the message.  I asked what recesses were like.  “Do you have to wear masks outside?”  >  “No, we just have to socially distance.”

Looking at Terra, I said “So you have to stay sixty feet apart?”  >  “No!  Just six feet,” she sputtered with a giggle.  Terra met my gaze and noted that she and I were closer than six feet.  (Actually we were maybe eight feet apart.)  “No way!”  > “Yes, way!”  >  “You’re wrong.”  >  “Okay, then I’m right!”  Etcetera.  Fun was had by all.  And then we went our happy ways.

***

I should get out more often

Blessing Us All

I think that if we sit down and be quiet for awhile, most of us sense a “bigness” that spans far beyond our individual lives. My spirituality is Buddhist. Yours may be Christian or Muslim or Hindu. When you think of a vast presence, it may be Jesus who comes to mind … or God the Father, the Buddha, the Dalai Lama, Muhammad or simply The Divine. It may be an enlightened human being or an overarching Spirit.

I feel a presence that wishes me well, that is intimately for me. Someone is cheering me on, glad that I showed up on the planet. And someone is doing the same for you.

Here’s “The Blessing” … a song that speaks through the words and between the words. It’s for all men and all women.

The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
Be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace

Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen

The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
Be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace

Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen

May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children and their children

May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children and their children

May His presence go before you
And behind you and beside you
All around you and within you
He is with you, He is with you

In the morning, in the evening
In your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you

He’s always on your side
You’re always on His mind
He is for you
He never will forsake
He never makes mistakes
He is for you, He is for you

Amen, amen, amen

https://youtu.be/XBTuiAoKZuE

Hacked

I’m not a suspicious person, or apparently a very careful one.

Yesterday I opened Facebook and saw a new communication in Messenger. It was from a friend whom I haven’t talked to for months. I was thrilled. There sat a video with the caption “Look what I found.” There was a tiny picture of some guy. Was that me? Had my friend dug up an old moment that we’d had way back in the past? I clicked. Nothing happened. (Sigh) I sent him a message saying that I couldn’t open the video. Our reunion would just have to wait.

That was the full extent of my thought process: communication delayed, curiosity unsatisfied. And so to sleep.

Then there was 7:54 this morning. I was having breakfast right then, blissfully unaware of the events in Cyberland. At that moment, for my entire address book, I believe, a video showed up in inboxes, declaring “Look what I found.” It was hours later that I realized lots of folks were trying to get hold of me.

Did you send me a video?

I can’t open your video

Looks suspicious to me

You’ve been hacked, my friend

Then a really big sigh. I wasn’t thinking clearly for the first few minutes but I finally decided to phone Facebook. I soon found out that such an action is virtually impossible. “Okay, then … change your password.” Of course! “And how exactly do I do that?” I fumbled around in Facebook menus for awhile before giving up. And then a magic word came to mind: Google. Lo and behold, a short YouTube video appeared in my life, voiced by a nice-sounding guy. I wasn’t in full control of my rational mind but I soon had a new password. I know I can trust you so here it is:

*************

I sort of sighed in relief, and figured out that I should phone my computer guy. Would he be working on Saturday? I called … and he answered. He said that all I could do was change my password (Done!) and warn everyone to not open the video. (The next part is my personal favourite) Brain matter swirling, I didn’t have a clue about how to let people know. My techy friend, ever patient, simply said “Post it on Facebook.”

I’m fascinated by my inability to figure that out on my own. Having said that, I posted. But the Messenger communications kept arriving. I answered them all.

I’m sad that my eagerness to connect with an old friend has led to so many people being at minimum inconvenienced, and perhaps severely hacked. Am I allowed to sigh a fourth time?

On we go

P.S. I just went to Facebook to post this and found out that the warning message I sent this afternoon went only to me! Arghh. I just changed it to “Public”. (Sigh number five)