“We would recommend Paul Cleary as he has your interests at heart.”
October 2015
Paul Cleary B.B.A.
- Hanne & David
BROKER
Helping the hungry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Call Visit
Election candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9
705-327-6002
paulcleary.com
Solar farm conflicts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Community Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Giving Thanks By Ellen Cohen
Many of us will feel gratitude on October 12th as we celebrate Thanksgiving, a most beautiful and meaningful time of the year. As we celebrate our bountiful harvest, spectacular fall colours will highlight the day. We will feel thankful for those who grow our food, for those who prepare it, and for those with whom we share the day. However, on the early morning of the second day of fall, as I prepared to write this article, I had trouble feeling gratitude. I sat on my deck that overlooks a great expanse of Lake Couchiching. I forced myself to dig deep because I so wanted to write an article about giving thanks. But I found it difficult, almost impossible. Impossible because I am grieving the very recent loss of my beloved life partner. It was easier to feel deep sorrow than to think about thankfulness. But then my dear dog, who was spread out on the grass, warming her old bones in the sun, stood up, looked over the edge of the dock into the water and started to whine. Her tail wagged furiously. There were fish under the dock and she simply had to get in the water. She did. And I smiled. And then it occurred to me that if my 13year old arthritic, lame and lumpy old dog can still find comfort in the morning sun and such joy in something as simple as fish swimming under her dock, so could I. Despite grief’s vice grip on my chest, and overwhelming fatigue, a list began to form. I share it now with you. It is short.
Beautiful fall colours on a drive through Severn Township. Photo by Cathy Cleary. I feel gratitude for… • Family who give me unquestioning love and comfort. • A best friend who reaches into my heart to ease my pain - or share joy. • Neighbours who are kind and thoughtful and care so much. • Beauty in the sky, the water, in every inch of this extraordinary part of the world. • Food on the table - with plenty to share. • A home for shelter and a place to welcome those I love. When I wrote it down, it took no time before a profound sense of gratitude overcame me. And then I wondered about those unable to relate to even one item on my list: a widower not well enough to visit far away family; a woman who works hard but must spend most of her money on rent instead of food; a mother who has fled an abusive
Banking profits are on the rise at YOUR expense. FIGHT BACK!!!
We offer 5-year variable rate Mortgages AS LOW AS 1.95%.
Home Equity Line of Credit • New Home, Rental Property & Cottage Purchase New Construction Financing • Self-Employed Income
home and is now bereft of anything familiar or comforting. So I thought that maybe each one of us could do something to make a difference, to pay our gratitude forward. Find someone to share our bounty with this Thanksgiving. Each of us could squeeze in an extra chair at the dining room table. Surely through a neighbour or friend, pastor or service club, we can find someone to fill that chair, if only for one day. Eventually, of course, my mind goes back to my life. Although my chest still hurts and I feel so damn sad and lonely, I find myself thinking about the possibility of actually cooking a big dinner on October 12th. It’s been tradition in our house. I wonder if my friend and her son will come to my home again this year, and if the widower just a few doors down the street has any plans for Thanksgiving?
705.326.8523 markgoode.ca mark@markgoode.ca
180 Memorial Ave., Orillia