Christmas Gift Ideas: A Series

I know that many of you are looking for great Christmas gift ideas. I have a few favorite "go to" spots that I wanted to make sure that you all knew about...

The first selection is probably one of the most incredible organizations. Heifer Project International, is a organization dedicated to ending world poverty and hunger. I have been associated with them for nearly 10 years--their programs are changing lives!

"Gifts" of cows, sheep, chickens, rabbits, geese, goats, water buffalo, guinea pigs, etc., are given to families along with the proper training to begin to raise the animals for food, as well as increased income from profit-added products like cheese or fabric. The gift of ducks (for example) can be given for as little as $20. Duck and goose eggs are not very common in our "world", but they form the cornerstone of a healthy diet for millions of children around the world. Ducks are great creatures--good for both people and the environment. Ducks add protein to a diet from eating eggs, money in their pockets from selling eggs and ducks, and better crops in the fields, as ducks remove weeds and bugs and add fertilizer. In Xiang Qian, China, ducks are as much as tripling some families' incomes. People like Zonglin Zhou began with a starter flock of ducklings, and now they manage hundreds of ducks that enable them to send their children to school and offer them secure futures! The best part is that every family who receives a gift, in return, passes on the gift to another family in their community--it keeps passing forward!

This Christmas, what a wonderful way to honor a friend or loved one with a flock of ducks, or couple of sheep, a llama or goat--sent in their name to a family in need.

Go to this website, Heifer.org and check out their "Giving Catalog." If you're still not convinced, check out this book titled, Beatrice's Goat (available from Amazon.com). It's the true story of a girl who earned enough money from her Heifer project goat, that she was able to attend school. If you prefer, you can also purchase the 60 Minutes special presentation where they interview Beatrice about her experience with Heifer Project.

A Presumed Obituary

I suppose that you reach a point when what you say is "hope" is really nothing more than denial.
I haven't been able to post anything because I keep hoping that he is just going to be on the front porch in the morning. I think that I knew it wasn't going to end well after the third day, but I'd hoped anyway. And so I'm finally going to let it go...

Mr. Fritz Murray, a beloved member of our family, once thought to be missing in action is now listed as presumed dead. Fritz (and his brother Ernst) were being given away in front of the local mall in the winter of 2001. I had never intended to pick up some cats on that particular trip, but I was afraid that they would be left by the dumpster if I didn't take them. They were barely 7 weeks old. I had to build a ramp for them to get into the litter box in our apartment. Jeff was less than thrilled with the arrival, but as always, went along with it anyway.

The funny thing is that I always had an aversion for long-haired cats. When I got them home I thought that Fritz's hair was going to be a nightmare--
His hair ruined many things, but he was my favorite. He would ask to be held. And didn't take no for an answer--he would literally jump into your arms if you looked him straight in the eye. He liked to sleep with his paws tucked underneath my neck and he never stopped purring when he was happy. He could purr for hours until he literally fell into sound sleep. He liked to sleep in strange places, buried in the clean laundry, on top of the "cushy" chair, in the towel closet. He knew how to jump up and turn on the lights. It was a tense couple of weeks until we discovered that it was him turning them on and off during the day--we discovered it when he kept crying to be fed at 6AM and we wouldn't get out of bed (before kids, obviously) and he got mad and jumped up and turned on the lights. Needless to say, we were astonished and at the same time, proud of his intelligence.

Fritz was a terrible hunter. Caught a lot of mice, never killed a one. I honestly believe that he didn't know how--thought that his food came from the supermarket. He was a lover, not a fighter. He loved Bruce. And Bruce loved him. Bruce sat patiently looking out the front window, waiting for him to return, for two full weeks. He still cries at night for him. His loneliness has been so painful and I hope that he can eventually reconcile the loss. Watching him grieve has been incredibly sad and it makes the denial even worse.

It has been a rough week for pets. It is a relief that I believe in pet heaven...when you grow up on a farm you carve out a special niche for animals at a young age. I'm hopeful that Fritz is up there with Lucy and Rusty...and a myriad of other beloved friends. Lachlan asked if Jesus would take care of Fritz--I told her that he wouldn't have a choice. Cats are like that...

So with heavy hearts and a hope in something greater than ourselves we bid our dear friend, goodbye. I hope that the angels have a Furminator...they're going to need one.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Written by: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

"In Flanders Fields" remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. Here is the story of the making of that poem:
Although he had been a doctor for years and had served in the South African War, it was impossible to get used to the suffering, the screams, and the blood here, and Major John McCrae had seen and heard enough in his dressing station to last him a lifetime. As a surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major McCrae, who had joined the McGill faculty in 1900 after graduating from the University of Toronto, had spent seventeen days treating injured men -- Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans -- in the Ypres salient. It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae later wrote of it:
"I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days... Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done." One death particularly affected McCrae. A young friend and former student, Lieut. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, had been killed by a shell burst on 2 May 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in the little cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain. The next day, sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near the dressing station beside the Canal de l'Yser, just a few hundred yards north of Ypres, McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. The major was no stranger to writing, having authored several medical texts besides dabbling in poetry. In the nearby cemetery, McCrae could see the wild poppies that sprang up in the ditches in that part of Europe, and he spent twenty minutes of precious rest time scribbling fifteen lines of verse in a notebook. A young soldier watched him write it. Cyril Allinson, a twenty-two year old sergeant-major, was delivering mail that day when he spotted McCrae. The major looked up as Allinson approached, then went on writing while the sergeant-major stood there quietly. "His face was very tired but calm as we wrote," Allinson recalled. "He looked around from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer's grave." When McCrae finished five minutes later, he took his mail from Allinson and, without saying a word, handed his pad to the young NCO. Allinson was moved by what he read:
"The poem was exactly an exact description of the scene in front of us both. He used the word blow in that line because the poppies actually were being blown that morning by a gentle east wind. It never occurred to me at that time that it would ever be published. It seemed to me just an exact description of the scene."
In fact, it was very nearly not published. Dissatisfied with it, McCrae tossed the poem away, but a fellow officer retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England. The Spectator, in London, rejected it, but Punch published it on 8 December 1915.

Have You Seen Me?

Mr. Fritz Murray has been missing since Thursday afternoon. He escaped through the garage door in a moment of chaotic "car-loading." I've cased the neighborhood. Snooped through barns, construction sites and backyards. Driven slowly down the main highway looking for his smashed corpse...where are you?? He had his collar on--a quick release, so at least I know that he didn't hang himself. He's got a microchip, but no one from the vet has called me..I know, I've checked the caller-ID every two hours just to make sure.

I even prayed.

I didn't sleep last night. I kept feeling like I should go turn on the porch light for him.

Why is it always the favorite pet that goes first? That cat had style. He would jump into your arms on command--that's talent for a cat.

I keep telling myself that my mom's cats sometimes leave for weeks and then return unscathed...but I just don't think that Fritz is like ol' scarface Ricky and he definitely doesn't have dementia like Ms. Kitty, and let's not even get started on Willie Nelson, that cat took a dog's eye out over some 99 cent cat food. Fritz is to friendly for an unfortunate "run-in" with another animal. He would just roll over and start purring. He's too dumb for violent behavior.

If you see him, let him know that we miss him...seriously, you better call me so that I can load up the kids for an "incredible journey" moment. Here's hoping that Disney was on to something....

sigh.

Make Time for Music!

When I was in middle school my younger sisters (S & S) were involved in an elementary school "production" it was a school-wide patriotic presentation. They sang songs about Paul Revere, The Challenger space shuttle disaster, the Armed Forces, and general small town pride. I can say, without a doubt, that to this day both sisters can sing every word of "Forty-Hour Week" by Alabama because of that school program. Even now, over two decades have past and I remember sitting in the high school auditorium and feeling so moved by the songs they sang. I remember at the end of the program they sang "God Bless the USA" (with Lee Greenwood on backup) and they turned out the lights and held up glowing stars...wow, teary eye moment for sure...

Folks, if you didn't make it to the NS Elementary school production back in the 1980's...this is your chance to redeem yourself. If you were there, well, that means your family and you better just plan on being there to support me this time. Seriously, the arrangements of the songs are so incredible--there are moments when I can't even breathe...it will be worth the drive. I promise.

Now, for those hard-core music lovers, there is also the Requiem. The performance will be next Saturday. It's sung in Latin. I'm not a huge latin lover (except for the Messiah), however, I have learned an incredible respect for this amazing piece of music. Jessop is such an incredible director, his knowledge of Mozart and his ability to translate the words into the feeling of the movement are amazing. On a personal level, being able to accomplish a piece of music like this is a personal achievement--so I will be patting myself on the back for this small success. Yeah, for me. (p.s. I'll share the glow if you will come and see it.)

Flat Tire...

Oh, my gosh...I broke the blog. Sorry for all of you who have been trying to read the blog for the past several hours. I tried to do some minor repairs and ended up taking out everything but the kitchen sink. She seems to be water-tight for now--I haven't checked to see how it looks on Firefox. uggh. Firefox and I go way back, and it's been a rough relationship.

At any rate, I have a headache from reading code. I really should have taken a programming class by now--eek. I hate to even say it out loud for fear that I will actually have to do it.

Goodnight, Bush

Finally.

Not only is he the best person for the job, but this is a historic moment. I couldn't be more pleased that my children will get to live through an era where we move to an even greater level of equality. I was so moved last night as I watched hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, the world, not just the United States, but the world over, celebrate the transition of an American president.

Yeah, I'm excited.