Monday Morning Musings

Posted on January 4, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with 3 comments

Four generations: Margaret, Betty, Leah, Toni

Role models.

Our 2 ½ year old granddaughter, Leah Rose is one lucky girl. Her mother, Margaret is smart, hard working and looks after herself. In addition to an already busy life, she is a wellness coach and helps people of all ages achieve their goals.  Her grandmother, Betty, is smart, hard working and looks after herself. She has practiced moderation her entire adult life and is a committed walker. Leah’s great grandmother , Toni, is smart, hard working and looks after herself. Can you see a pattern emerging? Toni is the poster girl for people of her generation. She has always been an outdoor enthusiast and still finds time to walk or cross country ski every day of the winter. She keeps her brain active by reading and doing difficult crosswords puzzles like the New York Times Saturday crossword. She volunteers and is very supportive of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Leah is a small bundle of energy and will benefit from the example set by the important women in her life.

Last Thursday’s “Faces in the Crowd” received a huge response. Our first Syrian refugee, Tareq Hudhud, arrived in Antigonish a short time ago and it would appear that he has embraced his new home…. and his new home has embraced him. He is a fine young man and will make a contribution to our community.

As some of you know, I have decided to discontinue writing for two local newspapers. I have some other writing projects that are going to consume a fair bit of time and energy. I am also trying some new things for my website. Besides “Faces in the Crowd” ( you must check out this week’s story on Thursday! ) I am thinking about a new feature called “Lives Lived.” When I look back at all of the stories that I have written over the past 3 years ( close to 300! ), the ones that always garner the biggest attention are the ones about people.  I would categorize these as human interest stories and let’s face it, everyone has a story.

Here are a few examples of the stories I’m talking about: the first ones are tributes to people who have passed away. Most obituaries simply don’t ( and can’t ) capture someone’s life in a short column. My tributes dig a little deeper. The second set are living tributes about extraordinary ordinary people . For the next little while, I plan to run a contest. All you need to do is send me a short paragraph about someone you know ( living or deceased ) whose life story deserves to be told. I will choose one that catches my eye and then, with your help, will put a piece together. You ( we ) can decide whether or not you want the story published here on Week45 or if you would like to share it with your FB friends or maybe just keep it for the family.

Ok. If you are new to Week45 here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:

http://www.week45.com/gentle-man-ben/

http://www.week45.com/no-ordinary-joe/

http://www.week45.com/lous-last-laugh/

http://www.week45.com/the-life-and-times-of-michael-campbell/

http://www.week45.com/positively-pat/

I sincerely hope that the year ahead is a good one for you. I would like to thank all my loyal readers for supporting my efforts in 2015 and I look forward to hanging out with you again in 2016.

P.S. Come and meet Tareq Hudhud on Wednesday, Jan.6th. at 6:30 p.m. at room 018 St.Ninian  Place. I am going to need lots of volunteers to help bring another Syrian family to Antigonish.

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