tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44296344710448618162024-03-15T18:10:33.355-07:00Wednesday's Words by Morgan AshburyMorgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.comBlogger689125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-75737068618484085792024-03-06T08:18:00.000-08:002024-03-06T08:18:22.641-08:00It's the silly moments....<p> March 6, 2024</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We try, here at the Ashbury
household, to be good stewards of the land we’re on, and to be kind to the
critters who come to visit—to chirp or sing or just to take a rest on a branch
or a roof edge. For the last several years—since just after we got our Mr. Tuffy,
in fact—we have been putting out feed for the birds and the cute furry rodents.
At first, we did that because of our little dog, who loved to bark at the
squirrels and chippies. But then we had a couple of bad winters, and so it
became just something that we do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Of course, since we began
planting our table gardens, our kindness may have come back to bite us in the
butts a little. After all, a couple of years back, the critters saw David
planting what looked like their food in the dirt and had to come and dig them
all out again. But that’s not a bad thing, either. And we took a few protective
measures after that incident so it didn’t happen again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One of the things I love about
being alive, is that there can be a cute surprise, or a silly moment right
around the corner. Not every day, of course, because too many sweet or funny
moments would really dull their value. But every once in a while, there will be
something new, and I truly adore those moments.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The best thing about those
moments, of course, is that you never know when they’re going to happen. There’s
no warning at all. And no way that they can be predicted. And yes, dear
friends, I know that same sense of…what shall I call it? Propinquity? Cosmic
surprise? Kismet? Well, whatever we call it, I know that same mechanism or
twist of fate can just as easily bring doom or gloom to tragedy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But this morning, I choose to
focus only on the good and the positive. The cute and the silly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This morning, I’m at my
computer, going through my morning routine, quite involved in my activity when
I hear a fast, soft tapping on my office window. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Now, a necessary digression.
My desk is directly in front of the only window in my office. It is a double
window—two for the price of one. Of course, I sit in front of my desk—an antique-ish
library desk I purchased years ago at a flea market. And on my desk, blocking
my view out the wonderful window that is on the east side of my house
overlooking the street, stands my computer monitor. I just measured the thing.
It’s 28 inches side to side. I can see a bit of the outside around the edges of
the monitor, but if I want to look out the window I have to stand up and
scrunch in very close.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This morning, when I heard
that fast, soft tapping on my window, I looked down and all I could see was
grey fur.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My immediate first thought
was, “Oh, no! The cat got outside!” That could be a tragedy because he is a
house cat, not a field or a street cat. So I stood up to get a better look, and
stared into the face of a impatient-looking squirrel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Mr. (or Mrs.) Squirrel looked
right at me for a long moment, then got down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did you know that squirrels
can be extremely egocentric and become quite demanding if they perceive they
are not getting their due? I did. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
recall my father-in-law once reporting out that very fact when one of the
squirrels he regularly fed would sometimes come up to the door and natter at
him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So when I realized it had been
a squirrel who had “knocked” on my window (being smart, he likely saw the
Purolator and Amazon drivers do that to get my attention), I knew what to do. I
left my office and headed straight to my husband. I told him what happened, and
we both laughed. Then he got up to go and put some food into the feeder
attached to the walnut tree.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I also texted my daughter
because she enjoys a funny story, too. I finished my telling of the tale in
that text to her by observing, “I guess there’s no speedy rating for <i>this</i>
restaurant.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And our daughter proved she has
the same sense of humor as her parents. She replied, and I quote, “…and when
the peanuts finally came, I had to take them out of the shell myself. 2 out of
5 stars. Would not recommend.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Yes, indeed. I truly love life’s
silly moments. They’re the seasonings that give everything flavor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-56817370241047307742024-02-28T08:25:00.000-08:002024-02-28T08:25:25.470-08:00Choices...<p> February 28, 2024<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Choices. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So much of how we live, what
we experience in our lives—so much of our very <i>life</i> itself—hinges on the
choices we have made in the past and will make in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There is much that happens to
us and around us over which we have no control. That is no different for us
here in this ultramodern year of 2024 than it was in Medieval times. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We cannot control the weather,
or the actions of other people. We can’t control fate, really. You could walk
out your front door tomorrow, and an airplane could fall on you. You could do
everything right in your life, and still end up coming to harm and a
way-too-early end. Yes, there is so very much that happens to us that we simply
cannot control.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But that does not make us
victims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Because we do have an ace up
our sleeves: we do have free will. We can control how we respond to what happens
to us. That’s a concept that I know I’ve shared many times in these essays of
mine: a well-known and oft quoted maxim states that life is 5 percent what
happens to me and 95 percent how I deal with it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s really all about our choices.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We, none of us, know how or
when we’ll exit this life, either. Oh, some of us may have a pretty good idea
as time goes on, especially if we’ve developed heart disease, diabetes, or any
one of a number of other health conditions. But until we get to that part of
our life’s path, we don’t really know how we’ll end up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Except.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Except we can make a choice that
finds us making the most of whatever we have, wherever we are, and whoever
surrounds us. We can exercise control over our minds and our attitudes. We can
make it our tenet to be content in whichever state we find ourselves. We can
make the choice in our hearts that we will face each day saying, “good morning,
God,” and not “good God it’s morning.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That is what we can do, and I
can tell you this, without reservation, because it’s my own personal
experience: If we choose to live with an attitude of gratitude and to make the
most of each and every day, if we tell ourselves that today is a wonderful day
often enough, and I’m doing great, thanks for asking, often enough—then we will
not only know that as true, we will <i>feel</i> that as true to the very depths
of our souls.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Many of you may recall that in
2013, my sister passed away. In the aftermath of her death, I promised her
widower that I would see to it he would be laid to rest with her. And a few weeks
later when he asked me to, I told him that yes, I would serve as his power of
attorney should the need ever arise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It was a promise I gave
freely, and I can admit to you here and now that I didn’t really believe, at
the time, that it was one that would require my attention. And yet, in 2018, it
did. And so, of course, I took on that responsibility because for me, a promise
is a promise. And while there may have been a time or two over the past nearly
six years when I did so not quite as good-naturedly as I could have, I never
once considered relinquishing the obligation, or deserting that promise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This past Monday, my
brother-in-law was finally reunited with his beloved wife, my sister. We will
all say our final goodbyes to him on Monday. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I don’t tell you this personal
information to gain your sympathy, though I do appreciate all of you who
immediately feel moved to express it. I tell you this because if I had one
do-over in this life, it would be this: to have learned at an earlier age what
I know now about everything I’ve expressed in this essay—about choices and our
power to live in a state of gratitude—and to have been able to share it, to preach
it, and to make disciples of my siblings and their spouses of this very <i>“everything”</i>
tenet. And yes, I know it likely would have made no difference as to how the
following years played out. Because, well, choices.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">After my sister’s funeral, our
brother, who was aware that I’d spent a lot of time over the previous many
years doing things for her and her husband whenever she would call, shook his
head and said, “I don’t know, after everything, how you could have done all that.”
I told him to ask me again later, and I would tell him. But he never asked, of
course, and I never brought it up—mainly because he knew the answer to that
question, but for whatever reason he <i>chose</i> not to hear it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That answer I will share with
you, and it really was something he understood from our many conversations over
the years but didn’t choose to acknowledge—at least not to me. And that answer
is this. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">All that I was able to do with
and for my sister—and now, her widower—wasn’t me at all. It was the power of God’s
grace through me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-66417197719799293972024-02-21T09:35:00.000-08:002024-02-21T09:35:13.031-08:00Winter thoughts...<p> February 21, 2024</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The snow arrived precisely as
predicted last week. We received about two and a half inches of the white
stuff, and except for a bit of it melting on the roads thanks to the daytime sunshine,
when I went to bed last night the white still covered most everything.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But before turning in, I
scanned the forecast for the next seven days. Beginning today, we are supposed
to hit the 40s every day except Saturday. Tuesday of next week, our predicted high
temperature is pegged at 50. And while there is some rain that is supposed to
be falling off and on in the interim, as it stands right now, they’re not
calling for any snow at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’ll take it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">By nine a.m. this morning,
that “snow covered everything” had been replaced by “patches of snow remaining”,
and I had real hope that by the end of today, the only place snow would remain
would be in the shadowed corners near buildings and curbs. The drip, drip, drip
of water leaving the down spout and hitting a rock provided my morning’s
rhythm.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It really has been a relatively
easy winter in southern Ontario this year, all things considered. Some might
even say that we have no right to complain in this area of the country, and
really—since I do watch the news every night and see what some of y’all have
been dealing with this season—there’s truth in that opinion. The lack of
ferocity this year, while welcome, certainly hasn’t changed my mind about the
nature of winter in general.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m sorry, but I still don’t
care for it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Whatever the weather, I do
truly appreciate it when I look out my window and can see sunshine. David is
the one in this house who truly enjoys the out-of-doors. No, he’s not a
sportsman. The habit formed during a career spent working outside, year-round.
Before he began to endure his own leg pain, he would kind of nag at me to get
outside and enjoy the day. And I would, sometimes, but never without a blanket to
place around my legs. And I certainly wouldn’t sit out for as long as he would do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If I leave the house during
the wintertime, I always wear a thermal layer over my legs; and in the car I
have a large towel that I use as a lap blanket. Drafts of any kind on my legs
are likely to produce a great deal of pain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Getting outside is likely
something that I should do more of, going forward. I do need to keep moving,
and I know how good fresh air and sunshine are for the body and soul. This is
just a habit I need to form—and one that truly will have more pluses to it than
minuses. Now to move that idea from head knowledge to heart knowledge, and then
act on it!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This past week I took a few
moments to think about my father, on the 109<sup>th</sup> anniversary of his
birth. He died far too young, before any of his children came to legal age. He
never got to walk either of his girls down the aisle, and never had the
opportunity to enjoy being a grandfather. He and my mother were together just shy
of twenty years, and that’s just a damn shame.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My mother once told me that she
and my dad had lived their lives as if they had all the time in the world, when
really, they had barely any. And I know that while as a widow she did have many
moments of happiness, of smiles and laughter over the years, she never got over
losing him. She never married again, and, in fact, never even dated. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I asked her only once about
that, shortly after I, myself had married—and just a couple of years before she
died at the too-young age of 57. She told me that she’d been in charge of her
own life by then long enough that she didn’t have any desire to turn it over to
another man to run.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This would have been in the
early 1970s, and as you can see, attitudes were much different then, than they
are today. But I do recall even that at that time, if I had been physically capable
of raising either of my eyebrows, I would have.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Life goes on, one day after
another. We change over the days and weeks and months, but don’t often
recognize the minutia of the process. So while Mother Nature tries to decide
what comes next for us here, I will try to remain grateful for the moment I’m
in—even if sometimes those moments are difficult.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-62163899094998239912024-02-14T08:47:00.000-08:002024-02-14T08:47:03.893-08:00Age is only a number...<p> February 14, 2024</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The last time that Valentine’s
Day fell on Ash Wednesday was in 2018. It will happen next in 2029. This tells
me, therefore, that this is something that has, indeed occurred intermittently
throughout my lifetime. And yet this is the first time I’ve actually been aware
of it. That I recall.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So much for my always being in
full possession of all the facts. But then, I am getting older, and I know it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A word of advice, then, for
those of you yet to purchase something special for a loved one to acknowledge
this day, a loved one who is also a devout person. Flowers and not chocolates
would be the way to go, in my opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In three out of four years,
this day would be the exact middle point in February. But this is a leap year
and so it is not. But it’s close enough for us to celebrate that we are indeed
halfway through what had always been, in my memory at least, the worst month of
winter. By the six-month phiilosophy of winter outlook of the Ashbury
household, once February is in the can, there will be only one more month of
this awful season to go.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I am here to confess that
while we always bemoan how terrible and long the winter has been, we’ve
actually been fairly lucky this year. At least we have in this area of the
world. We still have had no snow on the ground since we had that rain and
melting in the last week of January. However, we are expecting to get several
inches of the snow tomorrow. When that last batch of the white frozen stuff
disappeared, I never thought for even a moment that meant the end of
accumulation for the season. Mother Nature is a contrary woman, so I figured we
were sure to get more. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In fact, it would be just like
her to ensure we get some in April or even May. So I never breathe <i>that</i>
particular sigh of relief until the May 24<sup>th</sup> long weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Here in my neck of the woods
on this Valentine’s Day, the sun is shining, and the air is below freezing
cold. The dogs are noisy, because I think they think that spring is coming and
they, being critters of nature, are responding with barely leashed exuberance.
A couple of them are lovers of sunlight, and beginning in spring, will take as
much time as they can in the yard to lay down and bask in the sun. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One of them, my daughter’s
nearly thirteen-year-old Chihuahua Bella, like me has some issues with
arthritis. She particularly loves the heat. She knows when I have my heating
pad on my knees under my blanket and will ask to come up on my lap. She also
immediately gets herself onto our reclining sofa in what is David’s spot, the
moment he vacates it. David doesn’t always remember to turn off his heating pad
when he gets up; Fortunately, she won’t have long on that heat, because we have
the kind of heating pads that shut off intermittently. Yes, they recommend that
dogs not experience the joy of a warm heating pad. You can rest assured that
she doesn’t get much of that luxury.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Life is really what we make it
out to be. I try to balance doing chores around the house with simply enjoying
the day. That’s not a hard thing to do these days as my spurts of busyness and
energy are not long in duration and require recovery time. Mostly, I have a
good attitude about the limitations I have as I approach my 70<sup>th</sup>
birthday. Not based on the number of birthdays I’ve celebrated—because everyone
ages differently. But based on <i>my</i> abilities, and <i>my</i> stamina. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’ve witnessed with my own
eyes the vitality of folks several years older than I, who’ve been blessed with
better genetics—or perhaps, more to the point, from better habits formed in
their youth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">No two people are exactly
alike in any regard. This is something that we all know, and we have all
acknowledged at various points throughout the years as being true. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sometimes I marvel at the
strides we humans have made in our quest to be more open minded and more just
in our treatment of others. And sometimes I want to cry upon the realization
that we are still a people riddled with prejudice when it comes to our fellow human
beings—and not only when it comes to their skin color or their sex or their
sexual preferences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">God knows that we are useful
for as long as He deems us to be so. If that weren’t true, He wouldn’t have
asked Noah—well meaning elderly man that he was—to build an Ark to save
humanity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-10758178138126159292024-02-07T08:21:00.000-08:002024-02-07T08:21:59.777-08:00People are hurting....<p>February 7, 2024</p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">People are hurting. People are
scared. Life changes, and this is something we’ve always known. An old saw that
dates back at least to my childhood tells us that the only things certain in
life are death and taxes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And yet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And yet, as we have observed,
technology advances at an ever-increasing pace, and it is a pace that is very
difficult for most ordinary folk to keep up with. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Some days it feels as if we’re
on a hamster wheel that is turning faster and faster. All the laws of physics
tell us that there is a point when that wheel whizzes so fast that it’s
impossible for mere mortal human beings to hang on to it. Eventually we get
flung aside, and in that process we feel untethered. Unwanted. Rejected. Abandoned.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Still, we <i>are</i> human
beings and operate according to our natures and our nurtures. We tend to look
to our “leaders” to lead us through the hard times, through the inevitable valleys
of life. And who can argue that this valley we’re in now seems the deepest one,
ever? To co-opt a line from the original Mary Poppins movie, it’s awfully dark
and gloomy out there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Because we are humans who’ve
grown up in this western culture and society in which we live, we follow our
leaders, confident that they will lead us in good faith. Confident that we can
follow their examples, as we have always done. Confident that they have our
best interests at heart and will bring us through these perilous times.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It doesn’t occur to us that the
ones leading us may not be doing so in good faith. That they might be motivated
by greed and a hunger for power. That’s not been the life we’ve known. In the
past, when charismatic people have led in bad faith, those not under that
person’s sway have readily seen the danger. During the reign of tyrants,
through time, the only ones completely enamoured have been not so much the
weakest, and the most malleable. It’s been those most hungry to escape the
desolation their lives have become. Others have fallen in line, because it was
a means not so much of survival, but of placing themselves in positions of nominal
power, to enhance themselves and line their own pockets. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I will reference instances that
are examples that occurred in my lifetime. The aftermath of both Waco and Jonestown
were tragic, more tragic than there are words to say. But they were not
unexpected—for those on the outside, looking in. And those on the outside,
looking in, did what they could to try and prevent the inevitable outcomes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If you’ve ever wondered where
the saying, “he drank the Kool-Aid” came from, it was from what happened at Jonestown.
Only theirs was laced with cyanide, and all those poor souls who drank it, died.
And the ones who refused were gunned down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Because we are human, we tend
to imbue our leaders with qualities that may be more aspirational than they are
factual. You need to be aware. Loyalty is a fine quality, when it is not
misplaced.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We’re on the verge of, and we
are in danger of entering a post-truth world. In the last nearly ten years,
folks have been tossing around catch phrases such as “alternative facts”, “fake
news” and even out right trying to tell you that “truth isn’t truth”. They lie
to you, all the time. Easily, and with a flair that is nearly mesmerizing. They
tell you that you should not believe the evidence of your own eyes, or your own
logical, reasoning mind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It can be a challenge for
anyone to know what to believe these days. It can be hard to know when someone
is lying to you, especially when those lies are so damn alluring. When those
lies give you someone to blame, and a target for all of the fear and hatred
that may be seething within you. Those feelings of being untethered, unwanted,
rejected and abandoned vanish when you cling to that which was designed to
emptily fill those holes within.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The question is begged, then how
can we know if we’re following a true leader, or a false one? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That is the question that many
are trying to answer, that many are struggling to reconcile. And as with Waco,
and as with Jonestown, the answer is obvious, when looking from the outside, in.
There is one quality of genuine leadership, which once you know it, can clear
away the fog of confusion. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A false leader will tell you that
you must give all to them and for them to help them do whatever it is they want
to do—claiming they are doing it for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A true leader will do their
best to give their all to you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a> </p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-45290973202787759082024-01-31T09:01:00.000-08:002024-01-31T09:01:53.908-08:00Time flies...<p> January 31, 2024</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Another month is finishing up,
and really, if I didn’t sit down so much, I think I would be dizzy from the
speed at which time is flying by. The last week has been marked by temperatures
that have been above the freezing mark. We’ve had rain, which has pretty much
rid us of the snow that we’d accumulated earlier. Three cheers for that,
because the presence of snow usually means there’s also ice. Those two
substances are a challenge for those of us who can no longer walk unaided.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I do have an “ice claw” on the
end of my cane. For those who had no idea there were such things, and would
like one, they’re available at Amazon, and they’re not expensive. The ice claws
are easy to put on and then take off again. Mine goes on just after the first
snow falls and comes off in the spring.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">No snow on the ground also means
if I go out somewhere—and for me it’s most usually grocery shopping—I can wear
my shoes, instead of tugging on my boots. For these times, and to ensure extra
warmth for my ankles, I have leg warmers. I went out so dressed this past
Monday, and my ankles stayed nicely warm. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Leg warmers are one of those
fashion items that is on the “style pendulum”. They’re in….and then they’re out—before
they’re in, again. The ones I have I obtained during an “in” time a few years
ago, and I’m very glad that I did so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This past Monday, I asked my
daughter if she would go with me on my biweekly shopping trip, so her dad could
stay home. It’s difficult for David on these trips, especially if the air is cold.
I thought it would be nice to give him a break. She agreed, and as we were planning
the outing ahead of time, we decided to make two stops, total. The grocery
store chain we now use has a location at the local mall, which I also wanted to
visit. As well, there was another store that she thought might have some of the
non-grocery items we had on our list, so we stopped there first. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It had been a good year or
more since I’d last gone to the mall. It’s not that easy for me to go there on
my own—I need my motorized scooter for that. My scooter lives in the back of my
SUV (except for the battery which lives in my office during the winter). I
cannot, however, put the scooter together myself. It’s just too heavy for me
now. I have a walker that I can and do take with me if I am going alone and
anticipate needing to walk no more than a couple of blocks, all told. But if I’m
going to tour a mall, or the entirety of a grocery store, I need that scooter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">After the business of shopping
was over and before we headed home, we stopped at the restaurant at the mall and
had lunch, just the two of us. We don’t eat out often. David is the one who
really enjoys having meals out, most notably breakfast. So if there is a
restaurant visit on any given day, it’s the two of them. Generally speaking, I’m
happy to eat the food I have here at home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But we had burgers at a restaurant,
my daughter and I, and enjoyed the experience very much. I’m very grateful that
we get along as well as we do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Today being the end of January,
means that tomorrow is the first day of February. And because that is so, it is
also true that both my husband and my son are eagerly looking forward to this
coming Friday, February 2nd. As two men who have spent their professional lives
primarily outside, year-round, Friday is their most sacred day of the year.
Friday is Groundhog Day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s a day that is special to
them, but subjectively so. Whether or not the rodent gives them an early spring
or a guaranteed six more weeks of winter is key as to how this day will be
received. I recall one winter that was so punishing, our son threatened to
shoot the groundhog if it didn’t give the right prediction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And this is a man who has
never held or fired a gun in his life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One thing that is a sure bet
when it comes to this family: we do a good job of coming up with little
celebrations or observances that help us get from the hard now to the hopefully
easier then.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s not that we are at all
wishing our time away. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s more that
we’re intent on adding flavor to the time we have, as it happens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury<o:p></o:p></a></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-87248116089662545092024-01-24T07:44:00.000-08:002024-02-14T08:00:19.686-08:00Be kind to yourself...<p> January 24, 2024</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There’s one more week left in
the first month of 2024. Time keeps moving as we busy ourselves with important
things, as well as things that are just for fun—or peace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Here in the Ashbury household,
I call those moments “pieces of quiet” and I treasure them when I get them.
They’re not as few and far between as they used to be, and for me, at this
point in my life, that is the definition of fun.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I understand that I have
become somewhat boring, and that’s okay, too. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">David had met someone new in
the neighborhood last fall on one of his daily dog-walks. A new family down at
the end of our street, apparently. The gentleman has a son who’s about 12. That
young man, through the dad’s negotiation, now comes and shovels our sidewalk
and walkway when it snows. My beloved is happy to give a young person work. It’s
working out well now. But at the start of the season, David did have to remind
the father of their agreement: that there had to be <i>at least</i> two inches
of snow, and that, unless the pile of snow was an onerous amount, the young one
needed to do the chore himself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Both my husband and I believe
it’s not a bad thing for children aged 12 to have to do hard things once in a
while. It really teaches so much that can only be learned that way. I believe
that children should learn as they grow how to work hard, how to focus, and to
not think they’re too good to sweat, or to get their hands dirty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My mother-in-law once confessed
to me that if she’d had it to do over again, she would have all of her children
do dirty jobs around the house.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Speaking of snow, we do have
some on the ground. I think this is our second accumulation that has lasted for
more than a few days. But I understand that it will be melting in the next few
days—according to the Weather Network. We’ll see. I did have plans to go out
today, but with the almost certainty of freezing rain, and fog that’s already
here, I’ve decided that I can go out tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Ten—or even five—years ago, I
would feel relatively ok driving out under the conditions we have now. But in
the last couple of years, I’ve noticed my responses behind the wheel, my
ability to maintain situational awareness, is not as good as it once was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Translation? I won’t drive out
if things are only a little iffy. One thing I absolutely refuse to be is one of
those little old ladies, hunched behind the steering wheel, who drives all over
hell’s half acre, just tempting fate. I’m very aware that my driving days now
have an expiry date; I don’t know exactly when that will be, but I am making
peace with the fact that it will happen, likely sometime in the next few years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My husband is aghast at this
pronouncement of mine. I’m sorry for it. Most things I can and will negotiate.
Not this. This is a definite red line I will not cross.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There’s a difference between
understanding one’s limitations, and completely surrendering to them before the
time is right. Or worse, using them as an excuse to be lazy. And I’m not just
talking about driving, here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I do, sometimes, take a lazy
day. It’s not something that I’m known for, but there are days when all I
really want to do is read a book. Imagine that! So when the urge is strong to
do just that, I give in to it. I try not to take too many of those days close
together, because that, to me, is just another slippery slope.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I won’t use my age as an
excuse, either. Sixty-nine is not elderly, not in my book—and I hope, not in
yours. Sixty-nine with a few chronic conditions, well, maybe that’s an age to
be a bit kinder to oneself. I’ve always had a problem being kind to myself, at
least mentally. I do tend to hold myself to a higher standard, because, well,
under most conditions I consider myself one who knows better than to wallow, or
not go the extra mile, or not pay close enough attention, or give up easily, or....
well, you get the idea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’ve been thinking about this
a lot, lately, and I have come to the conclusion that if I really want the
world to be a kinder, gentler, place, that has to have a starting point. I
think that we all, together, can make it so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But we should all begin by
being kinder to ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-713204068566889922024-01-17T08:47:00.000-08:002024-01-17T08:47:00.001-08:00We need kindness and respect...<p> January 17, 2024</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Like a lot of people, I sometimes
feel those thoughts forming in the back of my mind. You know the ones I mean. “Why,
when I was younger, …”; or “Well, back in my day we didn’t…”; or “I remember
how it was, <i>those</i> were good old days…”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The problem with allowing
those thoughts to take hold of you is that they’re inevitably followed by
another, possibly dangerous one. “This is all just so confusing. I wish we
could go back to the way things used to be.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I had the recent thought that
the reason so many people feel that way could very well be, that the times they’re
recalling occurred at some point in their childhoods. Trust me, that is a common
thought that most people think from time to time. How do I know this? Well, if
it weren’t so, the meme with the caption, “I don’t feel like adulting today”
would not be so popular.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Many people have that
nostalgic wish for a happier, easier time. The problem arises when that wish
becomes central to your way of thinking. Because once you let that thought take
possession of your soul, you can begin to slide down a slope of substituting what
is fantasy for what is real. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">People who are caught up in
this fantasy reality are good people, for the most part. But they’re also
people who feel out of place in life. Feeling out of place can make a person
look for something – anything – that will make them feel more comfortable,
something that they can understand and hold onto. Something that will make them
feel as if they belong.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sadly, there are deeply
unscrupulous folks out there who will promise those seeking souls anything and
then use their bartered loyalty for ill.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But you know what? I don’t
believe that’s anything new in the human experience. We’ve had false prophets
since the day we were warned about them in the Bible. As for the pall we feel
in our spirits from time to time? That recognizable quote, “These are the times
that try men’s souls” was not written in this century. It wasn’t even written
in the previous one or the one before that. It was written in 1776 by Thomas
Paine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I believe that it’s inevitable
for folks to feel a little out of place in their lives. To feel as if the world
is spinning out of control, sometimes. For those of us who are older, that
sense can come from no longer being out there in the world, working and doing.
As one ages, one’s capacity to think and do and learn can slow down. In our
golden years, we tend to relax more (maybe because we tire more easily?). I no
longer find I can learn things as quickly as I used to. I still <i>want</i> to
learn new things, but it is a slower process.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I know damn well, for example,
when I watch an interesting video about something I didn’t know anything about,
that I likely won’t retain a lot of it, if I only see that video once. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The principal difference
between our past experiences as a civilization and our present one is that here
in the present we’re no longer only living in our own communities, in our own
village, if you will. We have social media, and so while, say, in the early
1900s your village may only have had one idiot you were subjected to hearing
from, today in the 2020s you get to hear from every village idiot in the whole
damn world!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I don’t know what the solution
to this dilemma is, but whatever we discover it to be, I’m quite certain that
one ingredient will be kindness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We need to treat people,
always, with kindness and respect. We all have family and friends who get
carried away by different ideas, and some who fall prey to conspiracy theories.
It can be hard to spend time with these people, and friends? They will likely
never “listen to reason”. But they will respond to your kindness. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And really, they’re the people
who may need our kindness the most. Especially if the ones they look up to as
being the holder of the answers to all of their problems lose their sheep’s
clothing, revealing the wolves they truly are within. When—not if—that day
comes, there will be a lot of disillusioned folks out there. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And we can handle that—hell, I
believe we can handle most things—if we remember to treat everyone with kindness
and respect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-61593647388354864272024-01-10T08:41:00.000-08:002024-01-10T08:41:29.374-08:00Food and family...<p> January 10, 2024</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We had our in-town family
Christmas dinner this past Monday, bringing to a close our Christmas season
celebrations for another year. Every gift has been given and received, and
every morsel of turkey and stuffing are either eaten, or about to be (God Bless
leftovers). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As usual, our second daughter
presented us with a wonderful turkey, basted to perfection and so tasty. How
tasty, you may ask? Her turkey is the only one my dear husband will eat. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Prior to sitting down to the
meal proper, Sonja had laid the table with all sorts of appetizers, from a
veggie platter to olives to shrimp and potato chips. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I prepared my recent-years
specialty, a warm crab dip. And since I had taken it out of the oven just a
half hour before we left to go across town to Sonja’s, there was no need to heat
it up, because it was still warm.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sonja loves this dip, and
always sits to have some as soon as we arrive. The two of us are the only ones
who really love the dish, and that’s just fine with us. The recipe yields about
5 cups, and I always give her about 2/3rds of it. Yes, I do retain a bit for myself.
If you refrigerate it, you can scoop out a bit at a time to warm gently in the
microwave and return to that happy-taste-bud heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I also provide the stuffing
for the turkey, and usually the sweet potatoes. I also made my mother’s
traditional carrot pudding, and friends? That dessert disappeared this year in
record time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The day before the dinner, I
prepared the stuffing, a very moist combination of bread, with chopped fruit (less
than a cup’s worth for two loaves of bread), mushrooms, onions, butter and
sage. The moistness comes from about a cup and a half of apple juice that the
dried and chopped fruit goes into, with cinnamon, to simmer just a bit, and
chicken broth. This is a mixture I came up with when I found a recipe for
stuffing that included some of the above ingredients, and a host of others that
didn’t appeal. I discovered that recipe several years ago, and have been making
more than just the bread, herbs and butter variety of stuffing ever since. Once
the stuffing is ready, it is delivered into Sonja’s hands, so she has it for
the next day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The three remaining
contributions I brought to the table this year were all prepared Monday
morning. And as I sat at Sonja’s, just being with some of my grand and
great-grandchildren, prior to the mealtime Monday afternoon, I had an epiphanous
moment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I can still do a fair number
of the things I always could. I just have to do them much slower, and they take
a hell of a lot more energy to accomplish than they ever did.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s all really just a matter
of choice. You see, like most people, I find that I resent the changes brought
on by growing older. While acknowledging that growing older <i>is</i> better
than the alternative, I can still not like some of the mobility and stamina
issues that accompany that state of grace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So I choose to do those hard
things, understanding that, depending on how much I push myself, it could mean
I need to take it easy for a couple of days afterwards. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I won’t lie to you. Monday
morning, with preparing three dishes, was brutal; but Monday evening spent with
my loved ones made it all absolutely worth-while. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our after-dinner entertainment
is a dice game I’ve mentioned before called left, right, center. We originally
played the two rounds of this using one-dollar coins, or loonies as they are
called. The last few times, including Monday, we used the two-dollar coins, aka
“toonies”. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Everyone except the youngest,
Sonja’s five-year-old granddaughter, played. And lest you worry that our 10-
and 9-year-old great-grandchildren are forced to gamble when they play, I
provide them with the coins to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And happily—and with no
plotting on the part of the adults—once more, one of those two kids won one of
the games. His nanna, (our daughter) will be taking him shopping on the next Nanny
Tuesday so that he can get something special.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The laughter and the love of
our family times are woven together to become the soul-blanket that keeps me
warm throughout the year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-65000950123826469662024-01-03T08:04:00.000-08:002024-01-03T08:04:16.668-08:00Happy New Year!<p> January 3, 2024</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Here we are, in the brand-new year
of 2024! Did you get to put your party on as the clock counted down? Or did you
pass the moment more peacefully?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Some folks love to have a loud
and busy party to sweep out the old and usher in the new. Some go to bed well
before the witching hour, and instead of noting the passage, awaken to a done
deal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In our years together, near
the beginning, we did have occasion a couple of times to attend New Years Eve
parties. But as our family grew, we chose to put our resources toward giving
the children the best Christmas possible, rather than spending on ourselves. At
the time, we contented ourselves with the thought that we might turn into party
animals once our little ones were grown, but alas, that never happened.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We’re not now nor are we ever
going to be party animals. We’re more for the quiet, and the peace—and that
only becomes truer the older we get.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Once, in my early teens, I did
spend New Years eve skating out the old year and skating in the new. So, I’ve
tasted of those more exciting ways to mark the end of one year and the
beginning of the next.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But mostly these days, David
and I simply choose a music program on television to watch (or use as background
music to our reading, depending) and then witness the dropping of the ball in
Times Square, New York. We hold hands as the seconds are counted down, then
wish each other a Happy New Year. For us, it’s a good way to celebrate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m not one for making New
Years resolutions, either. My experience with those is not a happy one, as I
never made a resolution that I was able to follow through with. I’ve come to
the conclusion that the promises one makes in life, <i>especially</i> those
promises made to the self, should be considered and well thought out. If you
make a resolution in the midst of the holiday, in the spirit of the moment, it
might not be a resolution you’re truly ready to keep. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s serendipitous, I think,
that this first essay of 2024 falls on the third of January. This morning, I took
a quiet moment to mark this day, the sixty-first anniversary of my father’s
passing. I do have some memories of him, though not as many or as vivid as they
might have been if I’d had more than eight years with him. But there are some
good memories, and they make me smile. They’re remembrances enough for me to
know that though my time with him was short, he loved me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I no longer think myself odd
if my throat goes tight, or a tear comes to my eye, thinking of him. I’ve come
to understand that everyone grieves differently. Grief isn’t an aberration; it’s
a byproduct of love. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Life is not static, because,
well, it’s alive, isn’t it? And being alive, it will ebb and flow, it will
pause, and it will change. We change, we humans, through the course of our lives.
That’s just a part of our nature. We need security, yes, and balance too. But
those are ours to forge, ours to create in whatever manner we choose. And
because that is so, there is no wrong way to do that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This year, I managed to get
through my holiday season without any great highs or devastating lows and I
consider that a win. I took a break from working on my manuscript and instead re-read
a trilogy from one of my favorite authors. I’m glad I did, because I needed
that mental break. I needed a few days to just be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m almost ready to dive into
my work. Almost. I need to take a bit of time to organize my messy office, and
I’m almost ready to do that, too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But for this moment, I think I’ll
take just a little more time to relax, to remember, and to give thanks for all
the blessings I’ve been given.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-48001027235281437572023-12-27T08:08:00.000-08:002023-12-27T08:08:40.281-08:00Christmas memories...<p> December 27, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">For those who keep it, I hope
you all had a very good Christmas this year. I hope your celebrations were all
that you had hoped they would be, and more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The three of us here in the
Ashbury household were invited to a Christmas Day brunch at the home of our
son. It was the first time we’ve brunched with them, and the first actual Christmas
day we spent together in many years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This has always been a very busy
season, and one in which it can be difficult to co-ordinate schedules efficiently.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When David and I were first
married, we used to alternate spending Christmas Day between my family, and his.
My mother wasn’t a fan of “mixing the families”, as she was, in her later
years, as much of a hermit as I am today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">To ensure we included
everyone, then, often meant spending Christmas Day split in half – breakfast at
one place and then supper at the other. In the middle years, and after we moved
to the small town that we’re in now, we would host a Christmas day feast that
included my in-laws as our guests. By then, my mother had passed, and my
brother had his own well established Christmas traditions, in which we partook
on the day after Christmas, which here in Canada is known as Boxing Day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">After our nest had emptied, we
fell into a new routine; Christmas day at home, Boxing Day at my brother’s house
for brunch, and then two more gatherings within the week. Usually, dinner at
our son’s with his three children and then one with our daughter and our second
daughter and the rest of our grandchildren.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Now here we are again, trying
to find a new normal way of doing things. My brother and his wife are both gone
now, and the only constant celebration is being hosted by our second daughter at
the earliest possible day after Christmas that she and our daughter can coordinate
their schedules. This year it will be on January 8<sup>th</sup>. As you can
imagine, we were very happy to visit with our son and his entire family for a
few hours on this past Monday. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As much as my heart would like
to throw a big party for everyone, I am long past the time of being able to plan
and execute a meal for a dozen plus people. I do contribute a few dishes, of
course, to the dinner Sonja hosts. I was also able to take two dishes to my son’s—one
of which was the carrot pudding my mother used to make.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The recipe for that pudding is
tucked up safely, wrapped up in so many warm and happy memories gathered over
the span of my lifetime. We always had it as our desert when I was a child, and
for every Christmas that my mother was alive. I didn’t attempt to make it
myself until a few years after my mother passed. It’s not a complicated
mixture, but it is a steamed pudding that when it’s done looks more like a
cake. Boxing Day when my kids were small was spent at my brother’s, and I
remember well that first time I brought the pudding there. He took a spoonful
and then closed his eyes and sighed. “Yes, this,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That first time was special. It
really was like having Mom with us again. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our three children always
loved that dessert. So much so that one November, when he was about sixteen or
so, our younger son, Anthony, came to me with a concerned look on his face. “I’ve
been thinking,” he said. “It’s been almost a whole year since you made that
Christmas pudding, and I’m worried that you might have forgotten how. I know
that Grandma and Grandpa are coming for supper. So I think you should make that
pudding in the next few days, to make sure that you still have the touch. I’ll be
happy to test it, and I will let you know, honestly, if it’s good.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Yes, I made it in November of that
year, as well as in December, for our Christmas guests. And I will be making a
second pudding to take to Sonja’s this year, as I have promised my oldest great
granddaughter—who loves it—that it will be there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">For me, socially, Christmas
has always been about family and traditions. And because that is so, I’m
fortunate to have a treasure trove of poignant memories to visit each December.
So much of the woman I became is accented by those memories. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">They are what makes Christmas
time so special for me; they are, quite simply, the only gift I need, a gift
that never stops giving.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">David and I wish you all a
very Happy 2024. May the New Year be the best one, ever!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-15115236590511910072023-12-20T09:04:00.000-08:002023-12-20T09:04:06.075-08:00A Christmas tree and crumpled paper...<p> December 20, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As of last night, and with the
help of two of our great-grandchildren, our Christmas tree is finally up and
decorated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">David had taken the tree out
of the box and put it up earlier in the day, since we knew the younger ones
would be here for supper and to spend time with their grandmother, our
daughter. We also had wanted the tree itself to be erected for a few hours
ahead of decorating because, different this year for us, we have a kitten-cat
in the house.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Smokey is still of the opinion
that there are but three things in the world—play, food, and sleep. And the
greatest of these is, of course, play. We weren’t completely certain how the
tree was going to fare this year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">For the last several years, we
have had this artificial tree that stands but four and a half feet tall. When
we first erected this tree, we knew immediately that our old, regular-sized
ornaments would never do, so we set about purchasing miniature ornaments. I
must say that of all the trees we’ve had over the years, I think I’m happiest
with this one. We don’t buy tinsel anymore—it’s been about four years since we
last laid those silver icicles on the green, manufactured boughs. Of course,
that doesn’t mean there is not still the odd piece of a glittering metallic strip
to be found. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(David was proud that he
saw one and grabbed that sucker right off there as he was putting it together,
because, well, cats and tinsel do not a happy combination make.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">After David erected the tree,
I took up the box that contained our ornaments and culled out all that were
made of glass and therefore easily breakable. Those will have to sit out this
year. It seemed to me that it would be the height of arrogance to put glass
ornaments on the first-ever Christmas tree of Smokey-kitty. We still had a lot
of little wooden and plastic ornaments left to adorn the tree, so that was fine.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">After supper, while their Nana
did the dishes, I put hooks on ornaments and handed them out to the kids to
hang. They listened intently as I asked them to not cluster the ornaments in
one spot and to not hang anything near the bottom of the tree. Of course, they
nodded their understanding and then proceeded to hang the ornaments in clusters
and along the bottom…. well, they’re 10 and 9 years of age, and listened
according to the norms for their ages.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A good couple of hours passed after
decorating the tree, before the kitty finally noticed that there was something
different about the new thing his grandpa had put up in the living room. And
about five more seconds after that for him to capture his first prize from the
tree—a very miniature toy soldier.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">On the positive side, Smokey-kitty
was very delicate about separating tree and trinket. On the negative side, those
tiniest of ornaments could be a choking hazard for him, so I took it from him,
and then moved the handful of others that were of a similar size to a spot out
of kitty-sight and therefore, hopefully, out of kitty-reach. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Also on the plus side, Smokey
doesn’t seem overly fixated on the new item in his world. While he does love to
play, his third most preferred group of toys are the dogs—he has a patented
stalking, then leaping very close to but not on them manoeuvre that is truly
something to behold. His second-best toy is human feet. Coming, going, cane-aided
or not, the little critter loves capturing those feet and then curling around
the legs that support them and hanging on—either for a ride, a fling, or to
nibble, whatever the mood of the moment may be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But the number one favorite
toy of this silly kitty remains, thank God, the tried-and-true bit of crumpled
paper. We keep stashes of paper in the kitchen, in my office, and in the living
room. I cut up pharmacy bags and junk mail to amass those stashes. So there, at
the ready, are hidden piles of pure kitty bliss. Just waiting to be crumpled
into tight balls and tossed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I am grateful for the
availability and efficacy of this simple, so far no-fail distraction. I don’t
even mind picking up the deserted and/or cached bunch of “toys” Smokey strews
throughout the house on a daily basis. Some can be reused to distract anew, and
some are assigned to the trash. And since these bits of paper are all from
paper that has already been used once or even twice, I tell myself I am not
only entertaining the cat among us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m also doing my part for the
environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-80420297275771920682023-12-13T08:53:00.000-08:002023-12-13T08:53:32.825-08:00Tis the season...<p> December 13, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The Christmas season is upon
us!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If one is inclined to, one can
watch a heart-warming movie every day to help put one in the spirit of Christmas.
I suppose though, before one does that, one needs to decide something rather important.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Just what is the spirit of
Christmas?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Of course, there is no one answer
to that question, because like many things, and beyond the historical details
of the holiday, the spirit of Christmas is a subjective thing. What it means to
you may not align to what it means to me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When I think of Christmases
past, so many snapshots await my attention. I think my earliest memory is of a
house full of people talking and laughing, some music, a happy atmosphere, and
someone saying something about needing a candle….and little four- or
five-year-old me saying, “I will get it!”, and grabbing a candlestick holding a
burning candle off a shelf I could just barely reach. Of course, tipping the
thing toward me meant spilling hot wax all down my dress…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Because most of the memories I
have of my childhood are only snapshots, I can only set that one down and reach
for another. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Christmas was over, and Daddy
was taking down the tree and I was sad. Then he said, “Well, Santa hid a gift a
little too well!” He reached under the tree and handed me a book! It was
titled, “Kim and Katy Circus Days”. I can tell you now that it was written by a
woman named Mary Grannan, who was a Canadian author. I do not, however,
remember the story. Did I read it? More than likely my daddy read it to me,
because he always read to me. He was an author at heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One of the last Christmases
before I got married, mom, my sister and I were in the living room, opening
gifts by the tree. Now, I don’t recall everything we got, but I do recall how
we all three laughed, because I had bought my mom and sister each a pair of warm,
fuzzy slippers. And my mom had bought each of my sister and I a pair of warm, fuzzy
slippers. And my sister had bought each of my mom and I…. you get the picture.
It was funny, and kind of wonderful, too, because that house was drafty, and we
proved that day there could be no such thing as too many warm, fuzzy pairs of
slippers to own.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Older now, I can recall some
of the Christmases when our children were small. In those days, David and I
only got each other little things, because we put everything into giving our
kids the best Christmas possible. Aside from the family tradition of an
enormous sit-down breakfast of side bacon, peameal bacon, sausage, eggs,
breakfast potatoes, toast, orange juice and grape juice, milk and coffee, there
were the gifts. It was a time of staying up late to assemble complicated toys,
and making the children wait on the stairs Christmas morning until we had our
morning coffee in hand and were seated, as awake as possible, because our biggest
gift—our <i>joy</i>—came from watching them. And we never wanted to miss a
moment of that. Each year we tried to save up ahead of the day, and each year
found us struggling and sacrificing perhaps more than was wise, to see those
smiles on Christmas morning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That whole time in my life, in
my memory, is a kaleidoscope of photos and tiny scenes, all filled with so much
love. I remember making a point, just after my youngest reached adulthood, of
asking all three of them, separately, if they ever recalled a Christmas time
that was “less than”. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I can’t tell you how
gratifying it was at the time that they each told me that there had never been
a Christmas, in their childhood, that hadn’t been wonderful.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> particular memory has given me enormous comfort over
the years, especially when I think of our younger son whom we lost in 2006. And
that brings me to one other emotion associated with the spirit of Christmas—the
shadow of loss.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If we did not love, we would
not mourn. And mourning is another very personal, very individual experience.
You grieve how you grieve, and when you grieve a child, regardless of that
child’s age at the time of their passing, it is a wound that never will heal,
and a hole in your heart that will never be filled.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And because that is true for
so many people, once you’ve suffered a major loss, then the joy of Christmas
becomes more tempered. There comes a bitter-sweet flavor to the holiday that
likely will be yours forever. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I always take a few moments,
alone, to think back, to remember, maybe to shed a tear, but always to smile
with gratitude.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So as you sink yourself into
the busyness of holiday preparations, take a few moments along the way to
gather your own snapshots. And maybe, you could take a moment to hug a parent
who is missing a child, or a friend who is missing a loved one. Doing so would
be a gift you give to the one who really needs it, and a gift that will enrich
your own heart, as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">After all, ‘tis the season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-78177921812384821092023-12-06T08:08:00.000-08:002023-12-06T08:08:35.372-08:00Me, speaking out...<p> December 6, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There are a whole lot of
questions in this life that I don’t know the answers to. Most of them I likely
won’t know until I have the opportunity to ask God, face to face. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I would like to believe that I
don’t hate other people. Neither collectively nor individually. I do hate bad
behavior that harms others. I do hate injustice. But I don’t hate people in the
way that too many in these times appear to hate others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sometimes I wonder if hatred
toward people is a thing all its own, or if it’s merely a symptom; a means of
expressing fear or anger. As I said, I have many questions in this life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Today is a sombre anniversary
in Canada. 34 years ago today, there was a mass shooting at a school –
specifically, the Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal, which is an engineering
school affiliated with the University of Montreal. This dreadful event has been
categorized as an “anti-feminist” mass shooting, as all 14 of the deceased targeted
and slain were women. In addition, another 10 women—and four men—were wounded.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I don’t think it’s possible to
be aware of world events, to watch news casts, and not know that there is a growing
level of violence against different races of people. Some people hate Jews. Some
people hate Arabs. Some hate people of color. Some hate people of a different
sexuality. Some hate white people. Some hate Indigenous people. And some hate immigrants.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Then there are those who hate
not along the lines of ethnicity or color or sexual orientation or place of
origin. They do not hate solely on the basis of faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They hate beings of every one of those
categories, including their own equally. Because they hate women.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Despite the gains toward
equality that have been made in the last couple of hundred years, there remains
in this world a hatred toward women that defies comprehension.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One need only know the history
of the “civilized” world to understand that western society has always been a patriarchal
one. Women were at one time considered property. They had value, of course, maybe
not as much as a house or a horse or any other asset, but value, nonetheless. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I would like to believe that
those attitudes toward women that existed for so long belong in the past. Women
can vote, they can attend college and university and can work. They can be
business owners, and CEOs. They can, in fact, do practically anything they want
to do. For my part, being a woman, I have never believed that women were
anything but equal to men. Different, yes of course, but absolutely equal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And I am always shocked when I
am reminded that there is a significant number of the population of the world
that does not feel that way. Many men give voice to the principle that women
and men are equals, and I do believe that those men do believe that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And yet there are still times
when it becomes clear that many men do not. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">News coming out of the two
wars raging in our world currently, in Europe and in the Holy Lands, is grim these
days. Hatred abounds. It taints the very air we breathe. Atrocities are committed
against people, based on faith, yes, and ethnicity, yes. But the very worst atrocities
are committed against women and children. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And when you hear that
terrorists have used rape as a weapon of war, you know without having to be
told that the victims of that weapon are <i>not</i> men.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I do have many questions in
this life, and not many answers. But I do believe this one thing: when the numbers
of people speaking out against evil, against violence, against injustice
becomes large enough; when the sound of their collective voices becomes loud
enough, that’s when things begin change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This essay, today, is me,
speaking out as loud as I possibly can. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-31904727613100043422023-11-29T08:06:00.000-08:002023-11-29T08:06:57.293-08:00Snow and choices...<p> November 29, 2023</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Yesterday we received our
first snowfall of the season. For a time, it looked like a blizzard out there,
but eventually the driving snow turned to a heavy floating-down snow, until
finally tapering off around noon hour.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">By then we’d received at least
two inches, which compared to the lake effect snow that was attacking areas of Western
New York State, wasn’t really much at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’ve often said that the first
snow of the season is yes, a beautiful sight to behold. And it is, as far as
aesthetics go. But I’m one who requires a more substantial “uplifting aspect”,
when it comes to the cold white stuff. For that I need only consider the winter
calendar according to the Ashbury household. We are today only one day away
from the end of November; winter is October to March inclusive on the Ashbury
calendar; therefore, we are but one day away from being 1/3 the way <i>through</i>
winter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And we’ve only now received
our first measurable snowfall!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In any given situation, we always
have a choice. It can be viewed in a positive light or a negative one. It all
depends on how you look at things.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We had planned to go out and
get a couple of things yesterday. The snow didn’t interfere with that plan, but
our daughter’s car being in the shop for it’s final free maintenance work did.
Of course, since she has clients in the wider county, she needed a vehicle and
so had the one I’ve been driving—which is actually her car. We don’t own a
vehicle ourselves, not since my Buick died.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One of the items on our
shopping list hopefully for today is a new pair of winter boots for me. I haven’t
had a new pair in a very long time, and I really am overdue. It’s important for
me to wear something on my feet that will be warm, and that has a really good
tread. I walk very carefully all the time, and never more so than during the
winter. I also want to be able to put them on and take them off by myself.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I did check the weather
network to see whether or not we’ll be able to head out today; I think it’s a
wait and see situation at the moment. It is possible we’ll get more snow
squalls today, so we may give it one more day before we make that supply run. Fortunately,
we have plenty of toilet paper, and sufficient coffee-making supplies on hand to
tide us over. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When you get right down to
basics those are the only short-term must-have necessities in life—although I
usually phrase that thought a little more indelicately.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I know it’s not quite
December, but I have already given some thought as to when we’ll erect our
small Christmas tree. Normally this isn’t something that requires a great deal
of thought. We put it up whenever. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">However, this year we have that
new kitten. And while he is technically still a kitten (not yet four months
old), he is already bigger than our daughter’s teacup chihuahua. And as far as
Smokey-kitty is concerned, life is comprised of three elements: food, sleep,
and play.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And the greatest of these is
play.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Therefore, my plan is to be
more careful in selecting the miniature ornaments that will adorn our small
tree. Nothing that is breakable shall this year go upon it. Luckily, I
purchased a whole slew of tiny wooden and plastic ornaments shortly after we
purchased the less than five-foot-tall artificial tree. Regular sized ornaments
just looked ridiculous on it. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Now, my first thought was that
we just won’t hang any ornaments along the bottom of the tree—and that might be
an idea. But this is a fairly small tree, not even as tall as I am. We don’t,
therefore, have a lot of room to work with. Maybe, I’ll try to ensure that
nothing dangles <i>below</i> the level of the tree’s “branches”. That might work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Will Smokey-kitty consider the
festive decor a source of exciting and endlessly diverting fun? Well, that’s
something we can’t reasonably predict beyond a fifty percent probability.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We’ll just put it up, likely in
a couple of weeks, and just see what happens. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-85981880278917474742023-11-22T08:36:00.000-08:002023-11-22T08:36:38.493-08:00Remembering and thanks giving......<p> November 22, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Today is the sixtieth
anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 60 years! That’s
hard for me to wrap my head around, likely because there are moments from that
day that I recall so vividly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I was a nine-year-old child in
1963, a fourth grader in a three-room school about a half a mile from my home
in rural southern Ontario, Canada. Probably but for the major event in my life
earlier that same year, the death of the American president would not have
impacted me so strongly. But that other event had happened, and it had been the
first, and most brutal piece of reality of four brutal pieces of reality that I
believe most profoundly shaped me before I became an adult.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Going to school for me was a
matter of walking. Looking back on that time in my life, I have snippets of
memory, but only that. I don’t recall walking to school or back home again as a
regular thing that I did, but I know it was how I got to school almost every
day. I remember flashes of the playground. I recall the day I fell and split my
head open against the post of the outside door, and my parents had to take me
to the doctor to get stitches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But for the most part, I
remember two days with specificity during that year. I recall the day in
January of 1963, the second day back after the Christmas break, when my Uncle
Howard came to pick me up from school. I was surprised, wondering why he was
there from all the way over in Brantford. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He’d picked me up to take me
home because my father had died a couple of hours before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And I remember the day, just
ten months later that Miss Ritchie, the other teacher at my school, knocked on
our classroom door, crying, because the American president had been shot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We were sent home early that
day—not a lot early, but there were no school busses at our school, we all
walked, so we all walked home when sent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I recall my mother telling me
the next week, as we watched the President’s funeral on television, that
President Kennedy had been nearly the same age as my daddy. I remember that
because it was the first time my mother had mentioned my father’s death since
it had happened.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Death really impacted my
childhood, and in fact, the rest of my life. I don’t think I actually had much
of a childhood after my father died. I was the youngest of three ranging in age
from 8 to 18. I became more serious and very interested in American politics. I
was 14 the year that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were
assassinated. I do remember, at the time, believing that life as we had known
it was over: the world was going to hell in the proverbial hand basket. Why
care about what you would be when you grew up when there was nothing in our
future but death and destruction?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Somehow, however, I grew out
of that teenaged-angst stage. I left childhood behind and turned out to be only
slightly neurotic, prone to expecting my loved ones to die at any moment. But otherwise,
I became a relatively normal adult.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We who are alive right now
cannot possibly analyze what the events in our own lifetimes mean in the larger
story of our humanity. True analysis depends upon possessing a certain amount
of objectivity which we’re simply not capable of attaining when it comes to our
own times. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, we must blindly leave
it to some future chronicler of events to weigh in on how major milestones
shaped the world, going forward. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We can look back over our own
development and make some guesses as to how we ourselves have been shaped by our
own experiences. Yet we do so without certainty. Our emotional perspective will
always cloud our ability to see the details clearly. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">At this point in my life,
however, I can honestly say one thing. I believe that as a result of so many
losses over the course of my lifetime I have become more appreciative, more <i>thankful</i>
for the people and the relationships I’ve been fortunate to have in my life.
And I hope I never stop having an attitude of gratitude.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I wish my American friends a
Happy Thanksgiving. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-4097527851297041642023-11-15T07:41:00.000-08:002023-11-15T07:41:06.664-08:00Time and blankets....<p> November 15, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We are already, today, smack
dab in the middle of November. Can you believe it? Honestly the older I get the
faster that time seems to fly. Things are moving so fast, that I really do need
to sit down and relax sometimes just to try to get my bearings from all the
whizzing and the swooshing. But that doesn’t slow the time either, because when
I do that, I tend to doze off. Even if it’s only a short little cat nap, heck,
I wake up ten minutes later and that’s another ten minutes that flew by so fast,
I didn’t even see them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And why do they call it a cat
nap, anyway? The cat we now have, who is still a kitten at 3 and a half months
old, will sleep for an hour or more whenever the notion occurs to him. One of
his favorite sleeping spots, if I am in the living room with my legs up, is on
me! During this so-called “cat nap”, I pick him up and move him if I have to
get up out of my recliner, and he is boneless and continues to sleep through
the entire </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">maneuver</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">. He doesn’t even care where I put him either, as long as wherever it
is, it’s warm and soft and therefore, for sleeping.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Last weekend was a busy one
for us here. We celebrated our second daughter’s and David’s birthdays on
Friday (they were born on the same day, so we have a double celebration every
year). We used to take the whole gang out to one of the local steak houses.
However, this year, we decided that we could make it at home a lot better and
for a lot less money than we could buy it out. A family steakhouse meal that
was pricey before the pandemic is now beyond pricey and into the category of “forget
it” now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So, we had grilled ribeye steaks,
baked potatoes, mushrooms and onions, garlic shrimp, and sweet kernel corn that
had been home frozen. All very much tastier and absolutely less expensive than
in any restaurant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The other tradition with
regard to these particular birthdays has to do with the cake. Ages ago, our
daughter made pineapple upside-down cake for their birthdays. She made three
cakes—one for each of the celebrants to have for their own, and one for the
rest of us to share. That went over so well (in the opinion of the celebrants)
that she has done this ever since. Also, it is the only time in the year that
anyone gets pineapple upside-down cake.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Then during the weekend, our
daughter’s grandchildren were here from Saturday morning till Sunday after
supper. We had a guest for lunch on Sunday, and daughter took her grandchildren
to the pool on Saturday and then to the park on Sunday. It was a very enjoyable
time, but also, for those of us who will never see sixty-five again, an
exhausting one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We, all of us here in this
house, appreciate simplicity. That is a very good and very basic thing for us
to have in common. We don’t put on airs or stand on ceremony. We like to be
comfortable, so we don’t fuss over the number of blankets found in our living
room. There are times when we look around at the people and the dogs, each of
us having some or all of our own blankets and accept that in those times, the
Ashbury residence is nothing more than a flop house.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I take a couple of hours in
the middle of the day—usually while David is having his nap (one that is like
the cat’s in that it definitely lasts more than an hour and he sleeps very
deeply). During that time, my daughter’s teacup chihuahua asks me to fix his
blanket (yes, the smallest dog has his own designated blanket) so that he can
enjoy Zeusie-grandma time. Lying beside me, mostly or completely covered by his
blanket, he gets a good sound sleep, too. It is expected, of course, that
during this time I “pat him” a few times by tapping my hand gently on his
blanket-covered little body. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Apparently, there are more
rituals to be observed in this house than one could easily count.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And to anyone joining us on
any given day, we always issue a warning—if there is a blanket in your path,
either on the floor or on a chair, please do not kick it or sit on it. Not,
that is, until you check to make sure there is no innocent, sleeping critter
completely hidden within.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Even the animals in this house
are protected from unnecessary rude awakenings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-3695220368493001992023-11-08T08:04:00.004-08:002023-11-08T08:04:44.534-08:00Be curious!<p> November 8, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Before sitting down to watch a
video that purports to be “Funny/Very Funny/Funniest Memes/Tweets About A/B/C”
it would be a good idea to first understand who concocted the compilation, and
what it is in this world that they consider to be funny.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Now I can’t likely do that,
really, but it has occurred to me that if I became a more astute viewer of compilations,
I might get to recognize the “name” of the creator and whether or not the video
is worth watching. This is a rule anyone can follow, if they have it in them to
suffer through all those compilations that have no earthly connection to the
concept of humor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One more of those things in
this life that I know I’ll never accomplish, because I really don’t have that
brand of patience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">However, as I was doing my
nightly stroll through YouTube on the weekend, watching interesting videos, I
couldn’t help but think back to the days before we had something called the
Internet. Today what I do as I scroll through various videos, or read different
articles, is that I’ll often stop and google someone or something, because I
want to learn more about some facet or another of a topic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sometimes I lose sight of what
a marvel that, all by itself, is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In the way-back machine, I
used to also sometimes have questions and wonder about stuff…and what I would
do back then, was I would make a list. And even back then when I was writing
but not yet published, I would need to do research. So, about three or four
times a year, I would arrange to go to a major library in my neck of the woods.
A few times I went to the University library, other times just the huge public
library in Hamilton. I would have a list of topics, and I would have those topics
organized by relevancy (to my writing). I’d go and find a few pieces of source
material, then I would hunker down in one of the cubicles they provided (at
both libraries). I would sit and read and make notes—yes, with pen and paper—and
then I would get up, exchange some of the books, and settle in once more. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">These excursions lasted
several hours, of course. I didn’t always find the answers to every question I
had, but for the time that I was in that wondrous place of books and knowledge,
I thrived. The bonus was that as a mother of three young children, my life for
the most part was work and home; and once home, housework, cooking, childcare…not
much “me time” in those days at all. But being busy for others was made that
much more tolerable by the fact that I could look forward to going to the
library for peace and quiet and knowledge whenever I needed to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I count it as a positive that at
my age, I’m still curious about things. I’ll be watching television, be it news
or any other program, and I’ll hear a name or learn a little about a subject
new to me and I’ll wonder….so I’ll make a note and check it out. I still learn
things and want to learn things. And yes, it might also be true that I have to
learn that thing more than once these days, because I already have so much
knowledge crammed into my brain, that there’s not a whole lot of room left for
more. So, I have to learn it a couple of times before it fits into my noggin.
Sort of a version of jamming that dress into the suitcase until you can close
it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That’s my story and I’m
sticking to it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One of the things I have never
understood about humanity is that there are people who are not very curious
about anything at all. I can’t imagine living my life that way. I really can’t.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">To my way of thinking, learning
about new ideas and new things, reading new books (though I do like to re-read
my favorites), that is the spice that flavors my life. Something new. Something
different. Something <i>wonderful</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The probability that I’ll find
that just around the corner? That’s the siren call that makes me look forward
to getting up each morning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-83950999997081820842023-11-01T08:08:00.000-07:002023-11-01T08:08:09.663-07:00A new month...<p> November 1, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Wasn’t it just a couple of
days ago that I commented on our having arrived in October, and where the hell
had the time gone? Well, here we are again, at the beginning of a new month. And
while I don’t recall any great change in the environment accompanying the
beginning of October, I can’t say the same for November. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It is chilly out there! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s not that we didn’t see
this cold weather coming, because of course we did. But I can’t say that we,
here in the Ashbury household, are prepared for it. We are not. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We did manage to meet the
neighborhood demands of the season yesterday. But as we’re older, neither of us
felt we could sit outside to hand out candies to wandering ghosts, ghouls, and
goblins. We can’t have them knocking on the door, of course, because, well,
dogs. Dogs that bark and get overly excited and want to go outside and greet
the knockers. And not only dogs this year, but we now have that kitten (three
months old next week), and kitten thinks he needs to discover this “outside” he
can see but never touch. And while the closed gate of the porch successfully
keeps the dogs safe, that darn kitten is small enough to go through the slats
of the gate—and limber enough to jump up on the porch railing and jump down on
the other side.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He is a very determined little
critter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">David set up a candy bowl
outside—on the walkway, so no one even had to climb the steps to the porch. He even
set this cute light in the likeness of a dog on the step above it so that it
shined down into the bowl.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The good news is that I
managed to locate Halloween candy on Monday when I went to our former regular
grocery store (no longer our regular store because their prices are
outrageous). I had been to our local large mega store on Saturday, but they had
no Halloween candy at all. They had large boxes of chips, but I didn’t want to
hand out chips. Neither did I think Christmas candy, which they had in abundance,
would do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So, I bought two packages of
candy, 50 pieces each, and was relieved to have plenty for the handout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t usually have a lot of takers in this
neighborhood, and we always have a lot left over. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">However, this year was
different. There had been several homes in the neighborhood that had, over the
last few months changed hands. And apparently, we now have quite a few children
in the neighborhood.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And finally, the bad news: At
least one of the new little gremlins came along and <i>emptied</i> the entire
large bowl of candies into his/her bag. I guessed it was a new gremlin because
we have actually left the candy bowl unattended the last two years, and that
hadn’t happened.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">David took more candy out to
put in the bowl, and there was still some left when he brought it back in again
once the parade of costumed children ceased. Not only that, but there was also
enough in the packages in the house to give those who live here and suffer from
the occasional chocolate craving something to nibble for at least the next few
months.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The squirrels have done their
part in removing the fallen walnuts from our yard, sidewalk, and roadway. Even
with the great dent we made that one weekend in early October, I’d say the
critters had a good walnut harvest from us this year. The leaves of that tree are
nearly completely all down, now. Just in time for the neighboring maples to
begin to drop their leaves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We have a lot of yard work
left to do, and since we can’t hope for warm days, hope for sunny ones in which
to get the work done. The leaves in the back yard, especially, need to be
raked, because ticks like to hide in them, and well, dogs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I, for one, used to love to
rake leaves in the autumn. I enjoyed the fresh air, the slight sting to my cheeks,
and the sense of accomplishment when the job was done. Yes, even if more leaves
fell and I had to do it all over again the next week, I still enjoyed the work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Those days are behind me now,
and I console myself—as I do with most things I can no longer accomplish—that I
at least took the time to appreciate those moments as they happened.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m still doing that, of
course. Only the moments themselves have changed. What hasn’t changed is the
spirit of gratitude with which I embrace them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-74104666483211272502023-10-25T07:51:00.005-07:002023-10-25T07:51:51.384-07:00Times change...<p> October 25, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The story of this family and
the town that we have claimed as our own, this town we moved to in 1989, is to
a large extent the story of my beloved’s relationship with its eateries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Or more specifically, those
places in town that serve breakfast—or the anytime snack of French fries with
gravy. My husband has become quite fond of going out for breakfast, or for
fries and gravy. It really is one of his favorite things to do now that he’s
retired.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When we first arrived here
after living all but our first year of marriage out in rural environs, we
thought that our lifestyle was about to change. We envisioned weekly trips down
to the bakery, weekend strolls along the “main drag” – in those days this town’s
down-town business district was relegated for the most part to a section of the
main street that was equivalent of two blocks long. We also had a “plaza’ at
the north end of town that featured a restaurant, the name of which I forget,
and a second grocery store, in addition to the IGA that was located smack in
the middle of downtown.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That change in our lifestyle
never truly materialized, though. It turned out that propinquity had not been
the missing ingredient to our previous lives lived in near isolation. It took
us a couple of years more to decide that we were, at the heart of it all, natural
hermits. We’d drive to work and back each day—a round trip of some distance—and
then once home, we wanted to remain so until it was time to head to work again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Where we had first settled in
this town was in a older neighborhood just to the north of our downtown core. Then
we had a house fire and ended up renting a house on the south side of the town,
a block from the Catholic church. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
later bought that house and it’s where we have lived ever since.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">From here, if one drives north
about a half a mile, the road will curve on a downward slope for a total of
about a thirty-to-forty-foot drop in elevation, and then curves to the right.
And as you make that curve, bam, the entire business section of downtown is
laid out in front of you on both sides of the main street. Yes, the business
district is in the valley, the lowest part of town. Diagonal parking is allowed
so one can pick a spot close to one’s destination, although there is also a
parking lot located behind the businesses on the west side of the street. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Today our little town is not
so little anymore and quite a bit different from our early days here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The town has expanded to the
north, beyond that plaza that now holds a couple of take-out restaurants, an
Ontario government public office, and a hardware/tire store. The new grocery that
had been built in that new plaza has since been relocated across the street in
a <i>new,</i> new specially constructed site and is about twice the size it
used to be. And beyond those businesses, new housing has been constructed, as
well as a couple of small sized “strip malls” each containing fast food
restaurants.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">To the south west, there has
been new home construction as well, along with four—count ‘em, four—new roundabouts
and a very large commercial area featuring take out restaurants, eat in
restaurants, the previously located in downtown but now new and improved and
bigger hardware store—and a store that sells cannabis products.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Change appears to be a
constant now here in our not-so-small town. If we only stay home and only sit
out on our front porch, we can convince ourselves that this is still our same small
town. Well, except for the fact that where the Catholic school used to be in
the next block from our house is now a residence for sensory-deprived folk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But we don’t stay home. David
will often head off on his scooter. He may go to the newest grocery store in
town, located about a half mile to the east. In that general area, too, is the
new “Health Hub”, a wonderful new building that houses our doctor’s office, as
well as the community lab and all sorts of different medical-related offices. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That was a good change,
meaning our doctor’s office was now closer. But some change is hard to take.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A few weeks ago, my beloved
made his way to the one take-out place in the middle of our downtown for his
regular infusion of fries and gravy, only to learn that was the last week the
business was going to be in operation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And then the worst happened,
something was only noticed yesterday, and friends, it was a hard one for him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He had a medical appointment with
a doctor who is not in the new health hub but is located in an older building situated
in the valley which holds our business section. It was Tuesday, and his appointment
was at 10:00am. He planned to head for breakfast right afterwards. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I was in the living room when
he returned. I heard him making noise in the kitchen, so I went out to see how
his appointment had gone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was
reaching into the cupboard and brought out a small frying pan, which he set on
the stove. I asked him what he was doing, and he informed me, with visible
sadness, that he was going to fry himself some eggs because, apparently, there was
nowhere anymore to buy breakfast at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I asked him why he thought
that was? It seemed unfathomable to me. And my husband said something that was
so profound, it reminded me that he really did know how to think and think
well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He said, and I quote, “because
this is a yuppy town, now. It’s not a farm town anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That truly does feel like the definitive
statement on the differences between our town, then and now. His statement says
so much more than just the lack of an early week breakfast place. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I really couldn’t have said it
better myself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-56287664497381756042023-10-18T09:40:00.001-07:002023-10-18T09:40:08.323-07:00We all have a role to play...<p> October 18, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There’s that old saying that
when times get tough, the tough get going. Like most “old sayings” there is
truth held within those words. But they are of little comfort in times such as
the one we’re living in, when the news that is assaulting us from the world is
so very grim.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It can feel, at times, as if
humanity has lost its way. Believe me when I say that is not something that I
want to feel. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There is evil in this world of
ours. One cannot claim that there is goodness if one doesn’t also acknowledge evil.
And while there has always been evil, just lately evil appears to be getting
more press. It’s no longer content to live in the shadows and under rocks. And
as evil becomes more visible, it seems to grow exponentially. Those who would
hesitate to show their true colors become emboldened by persons of note who
appear to be able to indulge in evil-doing with impunity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The ongoing and growing evidence
of evil always breeds more. Some look to a society that is supposed to stand for
noble qualities, sees the chaos evil has wrought, and assume that society is
too hobbled to be a force for good.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This is nothing less than
clear evidence that the struggle between good and evil is a never-ending,
ongoing struggle. The mistake that we must not make, however, as we live our
inconspicuous lives, day to day, is thinking that this battle is supposed to be
waged by others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We all have a role to play on
the stage of life. This stage where from time-to-time events that are bigger
than all of us are playing out. This stage upon which at time the battle is
fierce and with far-reaching consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If evil begets more evil, then
surely kindness begets more kindness. And kindness, by its very nature of positivity,
of uplifting and empowering and sheer goodness is stronger than evil. But it
needs every single one of us to do our part.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We need to be kind, to others
and to ourselves. In our actions and in our thoughts. We need to measure our
responses to any given situation and, rather than let uninformed assumptions take
over, we need to wait for the actual facts. Truth will emerge and we must be
ready to receive it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One can acknowledge that evil
is a strong and prevalent force in today’s world while still holding fast to
kindness, charity and faith. Even this word program I’m using is a case in
point. When I put my cursor on the word “kindness” and right-click, this
program tells me the synonyms for that word. The first one it showed was “charity”
but the second one was “humanity.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Friends, we can do our part by
simply hanging on to our humanity day by day by day. Good and positive
thoughts, good and positive actions—they matter. Choose to await the truth
rather than jumping to conclusions. Choose to offer a hand up rather than a
push down. Choose to reaffirm, in your thoughts, the principles to which you adhere
and remind yourself to do just that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Of course, while one should
remain informed of what’s going on, one must not take in an overabundance of
negativity. For that reason, try not to watch so much news. Your television has
an off button. Do not be afraid to use it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Take time to sit, and relax,
and see if you can locate a kernel of peace within you. That kernel needs
cultivating as surely as any other good seed does.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I do believe in the power of
positive thinking—and that more of us need to adopt that belief. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Friends, the world is counting
on us!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></p><p><br /></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-65668649295590901962023-10-11T07:53:00.004-07:002023-10-11T07:53:33.113-07:00Fallen leaves and slaughter...<p> October 11, 2023</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Well, the temperature sure has
dropped over the last few days. There’s a bit of a bite to the wind, and the essence
of dampness lingers. Our family Thanksgiving supper has been postponed until next
Monday, and that’s neither unexpected nor a problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One does much better navigating
through life if one is willing to be flexible.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This past weekend our grandson
who lives here in town came over to help with bagging some of the leaves and
the many, many walnuts that had to that point fallen to the ground. More than ten
bags of yard debris await in the shed for next week, when the next scheduled yard-waste
collection will be held.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But don’t worry, that’s not
the end of our contributions to the autumn leaf collection this year, not by a
longshot. You see, the very next day after our grandson’s hard work, more
leaves and walnuts littered the sidewalk and the street (and yes, even my car).
And we’re only talking about the walnut tree. The maple trees across the road
are just beginning to turn color. I have no doubt that, as usual, when those maples
begin to drop their leaves, the prevailing breezes will deposit a great many of
them on our property, and thereby making them our responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That’s only fair, since we
were able to enjoy the sight of those trees all summer, free of charge.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I predicate a great many of my
actions and principles in this life on the concept of fairness. Fairness is not
a law. It’s an ideal. Something that one may choose to aspire to if one chooses
to.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As you all unlikely know by
now, I’m not a fan of horror movies. Nor of horror realities. I’ve been sitting
here trying to think of words that I could use to let you know my stance on the
overseas events of this past Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m not sure I have any words
that will add anything at all to any understanding of the situation. I do sense
a similarity—I’ll dub it an <i>attitudinal similarity</i>—between the slaughter
that began in Israel on Saturday October 7<sup>th</sup> and the behavior in the
U. S. House of Representatives on October 3<sup>rd</sup>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Getting rid of a Speaker of
the House because you didn’t get all the candies you wanted has never been done
in the history of the U.S. Congress. This was nothing less than the ousting of
a speaker for self-serving, and in my opinion childish motives. Like a playground
disagreement taken to Def Con status because of immature acting out by spoiled bullies
who, when they don’t get their way, want to destroy the sandbox and the
playground. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That feels like the same base
behavior that, taken to the worst extreme, resulted in the terrorist attack
this past Saturday. A handful of undisciplined recalcitrant bullies whose
entire existence is predicated on the destruction of an entire ethnic group
decided to go on a killing spree.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I don’t know all the intricate
ins and outs of the more recent history of the relationship between that hate
group and the internationally recognized country it’s in. What I do know is
that the murdering of men, women, and children—the decapitation of babies, may
God have mercy—none of that has a place in civil, twenty-first century society.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There is no place on this
earth for behavior like that. And, in my opinion, there should therefore be no
place on this earth for those who so gleefully commit that kind of savagery.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></p><p><br /></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-30616186312215210552023-10-04T08:11:00.003-07:002023-10-04T08:11:31.137-07:00Thanksgiving....<p> October 4, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">For us here in Canada, October
is harvest time. Our Thanksgiving is in October – the second Monday of the
month, which was designated as the standard in 1957.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our Thanksgiving feasts are
practically identical to any you would find in the United States. The original
harvest festivals in our part of North America began with the indigenous peoples,
who would celebrate the bounty of the harvest ahead of the winter to come. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">For the last several years, we’ve
celebrated our Thanksgiving with our second daughter, as she is by far the best
Turkey chef in the family. She has told me that she’s given up on ever being
able to cook a proper roast of beef. Seriously, those are her words and what I
will say on the subject is that she has a very keen sense of self-awareness. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s a sore spot for her and
one we don’t really talk about. If she has need of a roast of beef, she brings
the raw beef here, so that I can prepare it for her. I’ve told her that she
should not feel bad at all, because I will not even try to cook a turkey
anymore—hers are really just that good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We always have such a fun time
at her house. After the meal has been consumed, and the debris cleared, there’s
a game played that includes all of us, even the children. It’s a dice game
called Left, Right, and Center. We generally play two rounds (each person
starting out with 3 one-dollar coins), and it’s not uncommon for one of the great-grandchildren
to win.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">October is also associated
with something else—at least in this household. October is considered to be the
first month of winter. For those who may not know my reasoning for this
declaration, I will explain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our weather can be iffy up here.
The calendar will tell us the first day of winter is December 21<sup>st</sup>.
However, but that time we may already have suffered more than one snowstorm. Also,
spring comes, according to the calendar, on March 21<sup>st</sup>, but we’ve
been known to have snowstorms after that date, too. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Therefore, years ago I decided
that really, Canada has six months of winter, and those six months run October
to March, inclusive. There is an upside to my silliness: if by chance we really
don’t get a snowfall until, say, mid-December? Well, at that point, my “winter”
is already nearly half over!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Here in the Ashbury household,
our newest furry member—Smokey-kitty—is thriving. Smokey-kitty is not afraid of
the dogs and loves to try to “play” with them all the time. However, he seems
to know exactly how far he can push things with them before it’s time to stop. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He hasn’t quite found that
same balance with the humans of the household. He thinks toes are for grabbing
with his sharp little claws and then biting on with his sharp little teeth.
Legs are for climbing—again, those sharp little claws. His favorite game with
GG (that’s me) is “how many fingers can I nail at once?” He doesn’t like to be
alone, but he has had to be a few times. Since he is litter trained, closing
him in upstairs in our daughter’s apartment isn’t a problem. We’ve only done it
a few times, most notably when we’ve gone out and there are no other people
here. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Daughter doesn’t worry about
how her dogs will behave in her absence, but I do worry about <i>our</i> two ruffians.
Missy dog will tolerate the kitty if Jenny is down here, too. But otherwise, if
it comes down on its own, Missy chases it and barks at it—causing Bear-Bear to
try and run interference.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Of course, that means that
Bear-Bear is barking, too. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But at least now I know that
Bear-Bear is all bark, and truly likes the kitty. Yesterday, early evening, he
was on my lap, snuggled into the furry blanket I had there, just a dog and his
mom. No other dog dares to try to jump up to be with him, because he lets them
know they’re not welcome. But then kitty jumped up, settled down very close to
the dog, and fell asleep….and Bear-Bear seemed quite content in the moment and
went to sleep, too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As for peace and quiet? I do
miss it at times. But please be assured that we don’t live in bedlam <i>all</i>
day long. Animal sleep time is the only guaranteed time of silence in the
entire day. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s not much, but it’s
something, and it’s definitely something to be thankful for.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-56252908287807519772023-09-27T08:15:00.006-07:002023-10-04T06:20:02.398-07:00Autumn, verbal kudzu and a life hack...<p> September 27, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It feels as if September has
been the fastest-passing month of the year, so far. The sky, as we like to say
here in the Ashbury household, has already “turned”. There’s a different hue to
the blue up yonder in autumn than there is in summer, and we noticed that
change about two weeks ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Of course, we’ve had a couple of
chilly days—but more, a couple of nights that were a bit close to frost
territory. Generally, when that happens, it’s nature’s signal that winter is
headed toward us. The leaves on the trees begin their process of changing color,
and garden plants begin their slide toward withering.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our gardens are nearing the
end of their season, and there are no more blossoms being produced on the
tomato plants. Now it’s simply a matter of waiting for the last few tomatoes to
ripen to the point that they can be picked. If we get a frost warning, we’ll
likely pick the few remaining green ones and surround them with newspaper. I
don’t know why that works and helps them to turn red rather than rot; I just
know that it does.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We’ve had an excellent tomato
season this year. We had tomatoes out the ying and the yang. We ate tomatoes,
we gifted tomatoes, and now, we are darn near sick of tomatoes. We figure that
in about three months, we’ll begin anticipating the next growing season and can
only hope that the tomatoes are as beautiful and plentiful then as they were
this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And next year we <i>will</i>
plant green beans in their own darn garden—well, they could give a bit of space
to the Swiss chard, but they <i>will not</i> be planted in the same table-garden
as the tomatoes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There are times when I feel as
if Mother Nature pulled a fast one on us this year. There we were, in January
and February, hoping for the warm weather and summer-time good times, and didn’t
that woman just prove herself a bitch? She made summer nearly insufferable for
so many people. While it was good for the gardens, it sure didn’t allow for much
fun and frolic for the humans. Very funny, M. N. You would think she’d
understand by now that we humans are never truly happy no matter what the
weather is, and to not take all our griping and grumbling so personally.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It does become a challenge,
with all the animosity online and on the television, with the deep divisions
between “tribes”, to keep a good attitude in this modern world of ours. It gets
frustrating listening to all the damn stupid that seems to be multiplying and
taking over everything like some kind of verbal kudzu.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Yes, I am a Canadian, but I
know all about kudzu.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Do y’all recall one of my
favorite little sayings? The one in particular that I am thinking about today
is this: “life is 5 % what happens to me and 95% how I deal with it”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’ve begun to apply that rule
to the area of the news/talking heads/political gobbledygook onslaught we’re
all suffering through lately. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The other thing I think that I
need to do is to remember to just have faith. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I need to have faith that,
while the stupid has never seemed so virulent as it is today, it’s still the minority
state of being. I truly do believe that there are more good people than people
of ill will; that “stupid” might be the loudest, but it’s not the most; that most
people may not broadcast their views, but they believe in the positive values
of working for a living, obeying the laws, telling the truth, having compassion,
and helping others when possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That’s not a Pollyana-like attitude
on my part, that’s just the truth. And while the talking heads are setting
their hair on fire after wetting their beds because “no one is standing up to
stop the stupid!”, I believe that the people of good will and basic human
decency, aka the majority of us, will stand up when it’s the proper time to do
so. And they will do so without theatrics and fanfare.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In the meantime, we have to be
our own best friends by ensuring that we don’t let the crazies in this world
get us down. So, take a look at how you spend your days. Cut down on your
exposure to the crazies and take a moment to simply be grateful for all you
have that is good. Give thanks for your family, your friends, and every good
thing in your life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I guarantee you that doing so
is the very best way to keep your sanity in these crazy times.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury" target="_blank">http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429634471044861816.post-64121248187446736332023-09-20T07:44:00.001-07:002023-09-20T07:44:20.342-07:00Soup, a movie...and a kitten...<p> September 20, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We’ve had an interesting week,
that’s for certain. It was a good week, with just the right mixture of
accomplishments and socialization and rest to make it all well balanced.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">First, I have an announcement
to make: it is the judgment of all the members of the Ashbury household that
soup season is upon us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Ah, soup season! And wasn’t it
just lucky that when we got our groceries on Friday that the store had both
cauliflower and broccoli on sale? I made a large pot of soup with my purchases—and
yes, there is some cheese involved.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My husband was making happy
tummy sounds late Sunday night when he had his first bowl of it. And it was but
a fond memory by yesterday afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One weekend a month, we have two
of our great-grandchildren with us from Saturday morning until Sunday after
supper. They are the two who are my daughter’s grandkids. It was a good visit,
with minimal hassles. Daughter took the children to the large sports complex in
the next city for a couple hours swim on Saturday, and to the large park here
in town on Sunday. In between times, we had a family movie night on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our daughter had decided to
rent the Barbie movie (making her granddaughter <i>very</i> happy), and since
my husband had apparently told her he wanted to see it, that’s what we did, all
five of us. This was a movie night that harkened back to the day, when we’d go,
as a young family, to our local Block Buster and rent a couple of films, make popcorn,
and enjoy. The children and my beloved really enjoyed the movie. My daughter
and I not quite so much. I think it’s one of those movies that doesn’t appeal
to everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There were, however, some very
good parts and a very good message. I wouldn’t discourage anyone from seeing
it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In other news, about a year
after our daughter moved in with us—with her 4 chihuahuas—she mentioned that at
some point she wouldn’t mind acquiring a kitten. Before she had the dogs, she’d
had a cat named Crash, whom she loved for many years. And she had a cat after
acquiring the pups as well. This is her home, and we—my husband and I—both want
her to feel she has as much autonomy here as we do. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When she asked me what I
thought about getting a kitten—she reminded me that her dogs were used to cats—I
gave her as honest an answer as I could. I told her that if God wanted her to
have a kitten, He would put just the right one in her path.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That moment happened this week.
Monday is her day off and she was going, finally, to take her son to brunch. She
had been supposed to have done that the past two Mondays, but on the first one,
something came up and then last week she said it totally slipped her mind! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A digression here. David and I
both have slight memory issues as we are 71 and 69 respectively. Do you think
it’s contagious?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Anyway, while at the park with
her grandchildren on Sunday, she had been scrolling on her cell phone and came
across a picture of two litters of kittens (at the same house); the kittens
were 6 and 7 weeks old, and ready to be adopted. And the farm that had them was
just one road over from where her son lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our daughter is a grown adult
and fully accepting of her responsibilities in life. She knew that there might
be a problem with our two dogs and a kitten, but David and I both felt
confident she would be able to handle it. Bottom line? She told us she had a
plan B. If the new kitten didn’t work out, she knows a few people who would be
happy to take the little critter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">She picked one out from the
picture that she thought would suit her (yes, it’s a boy, and <i>so</i> cute!) and
took her son with her after their brunch to get it. Sadly that so-cute one that
she thought she wanted wasn’t for her. But another one, a soft furry grey one,
apparently was. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This kitten, named Smokey by
her great-niece (our second daughter’s granddaughter), is now in residence.
While daughter goes to work, the little guy (she really wanted a male) is up in
her apartment, alone, with food and water and the run of the place. When she is
home, then the little guy has lots of company, and happy that is so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One of my daughter’s dogs, the
youngest, thinks she is the kitten’s mommy. The kitten thinks so too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As for the reaction of our two
dogs?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Missy, our female, could care
less. No animosity, just a bit of curiosity, and content to allow it to exist. I
think she senses it’s just a baby, and now a member of the family. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our little Bear-Bear, however,
was excited and happy and curious and ran up and down those steps yesterday
like nobody’s business! His reaction was not at all what we were expecting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Jennifer said that he appears
to be in love. Only time will tell how this will all work out, but we can
definitely say, in the case of Smokey-kitty, so far, so good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Morgan <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.morganashbury.com/" target="_blank">http://www.morganashbury.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury">http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Morgan Ashburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684334891267110649noreply@blogger.com0