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A BEAUTIFUL MORNING

It’s a beautiful morning in Marchwood. Susan would have loved it. The sun is shining and the birds are singing their carefree songs. Today will be a day of sadness and rememberance. In just under 4 hours we will say goodbye to Susan at the local church.

Everyone in this small town knew and loved her. I am absolutely astonished by the number of people who have expressed their grief over her passing. The girls at the pharmacy, the neighbours, the vicar who stopped by yesterday; everyone is sharing our loss. The church will be packed as everyone takes the opportunity to say goodbye to their friend.

This will be one of the hardest days of my life. Maxine needs me to be strong and I don’t know if I can. That Susan could touch so many people while going through all the problems that life presented her must surely be her legacy.

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A SHIP SAILS

This is the reading that I will be presenting tomorrow at Susan’s funeral.  It was written by a Bishop Brent of the Anglican Church.
 
What is dying?  I am standing on the sea shore.  A ship sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean.  She is an object of beauty and I stand watching her till at last she fades on the horizon, and someone at my side says, “She has gone”.  Gone where?  Gone from my sight, that is all; she is just as large in the mast, hull and spars as she was when I saw her, and just as able to bear her load of living freight to its destination.
The diminshed size and total loss of sight is in me, not in her, and just at the moment when someone at my side says, “She is gone”, there are others who are watching her coming, and other voices take up a glad shout, “Here she comes!”.  That is dying.
Comforting words that I hope provide solace to everyone who hears them.
 
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WILD HORSES



Wild horses in The New Forest outside Southampton. Came across these 2 dozing in a clump of trees. You can see that the closest one is actually asleep on his feet.

Today we’re scheduled to meet the vicar of the local church to finalize arrangements for tomorrow’s service. Maxine and Alan are going to the funeral parlour to see Susan one last time. I feel like a chicken but I would rather remember her alive and vibrant so I’m passing on the opportunity. A little last minute shopping will fill out the day.

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SOUTHAMPTON MONDAY

Today is a bank holiday in England so we’ll probably just do a little more sightseeing instead of getting to all the details that still remain before the funeral on Wednesday.

Yesterday, we went for a ride through the New Forest national park, had lunch in Lymington and stopped in Hythe. Pictures are available at my Flickr site which you can find here.

Two nights of sleeping on the floor and living out of my suitcase are getting to be a pain (literally and figuratively) but this is such a small house and it’s not made for 4 people.

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BOSTON



BOSTON
(Click to go to my Flickr page for a larger view)

Boston the house cat in the back garden in Southampton.

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SOUTHAMPTON REPORT

Good Sunday morning from Southampton England. The rest of the gang is off to church so I’m killing a little time here on Alan’s computer.

The flight yesterday was one of my best ever. We arrived a half hour early after a very comfortable crossing. Had a whole row to myself which was nice.

Didn’t see much of the countryside as we arrived at 9:30 at night but this morning has dawned clear and warm. I can’t get over how quiet it is here. Hope to get out and see a few of the sights today.

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TRAVEL ALERT

Just an update on the plans for the next 2 weeks.
 
On Saturday, we fly via Air to London and then it’s off to Southampton to stay with Alan.  Susan’s funeral is next Wednesday.  Next weekend, we’ll probably head back to London and stay a day or two before flying back on September 6th through Glasgow.
 
Alan flies in on the 7th and then it’s off to Wasaga for a couple of days and then back to Brampton to get ready for the memorial gathering on the 10th.
 
I’m trying to stay busy at work but, with preparations to be made and the loss still so fresh, this has not been the most productive week of my career.
 
 

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THE PAIN IS OVER

My sister, Susan, passed away Saturday morning.  The demons can’t attack her any longer.
 
Just a month shy of her 51st birthday, Susan’s life was tough and painful and I can only hope that she is at peace now.  She refround her faith in the last few years and I’m sure she found some solace in her beliefs.  For the rest of us, it’s a life cut too short but, at the same time, we can stop worrying.
 
Susan’s demons lived in the bottle and their siren songs were too much for her to resist.  Her body fought and fought against the ravages but, finally and mercifully, she lost the battle.  Her struggle was hard and the toll it took on our family was intense.  We all knew the call would come in the middle of some night and, when it came, we weren’t surprised but it doesn’t ease the loss.
 
Susan and I had a falling out over her drinking and I’m ashamed to say I never visited her and Alan in all the years they lived in England.  Infrequent phone calls were either tinged with love and humor or anger and bitterness.  I told her I loved her during our last call and I meant it.  I didn’t love what her disease did to her but I always held on to the memory of a woman who loved to laugh and had a childlike manner that drew people to her.  She was smart, she was kind and she was lovely but it was hard to see those qualities when the demons were at the controls.
 
Sleep peacefully sister.
 
Maxine, her friend and I will be flying to England next week for the funeral and a memorial service will be held here later.
 

A memorial gathering will be held in Mississauga on Saturday September 10th. details

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

 

Andrew S. Tanenbaum

“The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from.”

 

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CLOSE

Played a great round of golf yesterday.  I was taking part in a scramble put on by one of our suppliers at Conestoga Golf Club near St. Jacob’s and I came within 2 feet of carding a hole in one. Short par 3 with the flag sitting at the crest of a ridge and I hit a nine iron that landed on the edge of the green and then released up hill.   Felt great.
 
The whole day was fun with a few clouds and pleasant temperatures.  Our foursome was out for a good time and we had lots of laughs. 
 
When I got back to the hotel, it was straight into the whirlpool for a relaxing, but noisy, soak.  Slept like a log until the lightning and thunder started at about 3am this morning.  Incredible light show and lots of rain.  Might be a little soggy shopping today before we head back to Brampton this afternoon.
 
 

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ARRIVAL



ARRIVAL
(Click to go to my Flickr page for a larger view)

Nice when the hotel screws up in your favor. Checked in at the Best Western
just outside St Jacob’s and they had messed up the reservation so they gave
us a suite with this nice whirlpool, a kitchen and a gas fireplace. Romance
may be in the air.

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TRAVEL DAY

Today is day.  We’re off to St. Jacob’s in an hour or so for our annual visit in celebration of our 23rd anniversary on Saturday.  I’m golfing tomorrow while Jan does her best to keep the local economy afloat for another year.  Tonight we’re having dinner at Benjamin’s after we spend some time and money at the outlet mall.
 

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

 

Laurence J. Peter

“Equal opportunity means everyone will have a fair chance at being incompetent.”

 
 

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COFFEE? TEA? HOW ABOUT A MILLION VOLTS?

So you’ve just taken off.  You’re settled back in your seat to enjoy the flight and then ZAP!!
 
From Linkfilter comes this link to images of an airliner being hit by lightning while in flight. My pilot friend likens the sound of a lightning strike like having someone firing a shotgun right beside your ear.  Bet this got the passengers’ hearts pounding.
 
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QUOTE OF THE DAY

 

Kelvin Throop III

“Isn’t it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to forecasts and economists?”

 
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LETS WASTE SOME BANDWIDTH

A couple of fun videos that came my way.
 
The first appears to be advertising some BBQ festival and is an ode to everything Redneck. Thanks to J-Walk.
 
The second is a commerical for Country Life Butter and was brought to my attention by Linkfilter.
 
 
 
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BY HIS MEATBALLS YE SHALL KNOW HIM

Last week, most of the visitors to this site came as referrals looking for information on the Air France crash here in Toronto.

This week, visitors are on a more spiritual quest. They’re coming in droves (well, dozens maybe) to search for the Flying Spaghetti Monster and bask in the glow of His gluteny tendrils. To the masses searching for the answer, I give you the FSM in all His tomatoey goodness.


(Click on picture only if you feel worthy)

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YES, I AM A GEEK


My computer geek score is greater than 70% of all people in the world! How do you compare? Click here to find out!

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DR PHIL REVISITED



DR PHIL REVISITED
(Click to go to my Flickr page for a larger view)

Came across this picture on fark.com with the following caption:

“One of these has a hollow head and a woman’s hand up his ass at all times.
The other is a piece of felt.”

Hee Hee

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A ROCKET TO NOWHERE

An incredibly well written post by  Maciej Ceglowski  outlining why the Shuttle is just plain wrong and why it came to be the poorly designed, overly complicated flying time bomb that we all know and love.
 
Maciej reminds us that the Shuttle was originally designed, at least in part, as a military vehicle.
 
Less than 24 hours remain to the landing of the latest mission, this will cause you to watch the event with more concern for the safety of the crew.
 
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