Wednesday, July 24, 2013

her voice sounded like 

detox


During my forties I took a job in a detox centre with Canada Health and Welfare, over on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. This career took me to the West Indies later in my life.

Working as a counsellor and Reiki Practioner today with a bit more foresight and wisdom I can see how the trail has been allowing me to consolidate my gifts and abilities.

Humour is the greatest gift outside of vision, I have been cultivating in this lifetime. Many funny times were experienced there over my two years in service there.
One day four or five of us were having a smoke in the smoking room and talking about this and that.
There was myself, a very prominent singer’s wife from Newfoundland, she didn’t weigh 90 lbs soaking wet. I never in my days as a rehab counsellor saw a person shake with the tremors like she had the day before. It was as if she was in an electric shock for 12 hours.

An,elderly woman around 74 who’s doctor had her on velum for 14 years was slumped over at the table! One of the nurses Mary was there. We were both easy to talk to.

We told of baby deliveries, recipes, and finally the conversation turned to menopause.

The old woman very drowsily over in the corner with a cigarette sticking up out of her face says, “Huffy, menopause never affected me can’t say I had any problems there!”

In a flash the wit of the newfie girl flew a spuu of words that went something like this. ”Yeah yaw old fucker, ya probably got drunk and slept through it”!!

Well the whole room of women laughed for days on this one and the elderly woman felt acceptance on the spot. For this was the type of language she was accustomed to. It was very helpful for this elderly woman who desperatlry wanted to go home had found it very difficult to trust the medical comminuty after having such a tramatic experience with her last doctor.She then was able to last the five weeks in hospital and plan a solid follow-up for when she did return home.

 
 

Monday, July 15, 2013

Chilled Out

I was near 40 when we moved our family to the West Indies for a few years.Barbados was the perfect spot,no huge highways,overcrowded schools, out of order mall washrooms,and no one calling to suck you into a quick sale on goods or politics.I was in my peak in most areas of my life.
Days of breezes and sun on the beach,tea in a two piece suit with no high heels; or marketing stats.Sea sounds softly lulling me to sleep each night while my heart healed from years of feeling disconnected from the earth and my love for the earth..So long restful days and nights in quiet simplicity and solitude  my soul glorified in after 40 years of hustle and bustle here in North America.They were welcome times.
After a year of this I was happy to tag along after my partner on business trips to other islands.We went to the British Virgin Islands, Virgin Gorda.We stayed in a lovely marina hotel.
My partner was out days, so I was left to my own devices.

It was during the O.J.Simpson trial and I never missed a chance to see him sweat.I wanted to curl up on the couch with a blanket, a bag of chips and watch T.V.It had ben awhile since I had felt cosy.Real kind of cosy only a Maritimer can relate to.
So I turned up the air-conditioner to high, went out for chips and bought a pair of socks,and grabbed a fluffy acrylic blanket off the shelf by the door.What that blanket was doing in a hotel, in a country, where the temperature never goes below 75 degrees Ive no idea!!! Im just glad it was there, and so  there my lover found me four hours later.Cosy as a bug in a rug!!!
"Why is it so cold in here?"...........you can imagine the rest.........lol lol



Friday, July 12, 2013

The Wedding

In my forties one of the young nieces was married in high style, and I was able to attend.It was a sweetest wedding ceremony Ive yet to see what with the ancient pagan tying of the wrist's intentions ceremony.
The bride wore Red the day was set within a fine sea breeze and bright yellow sunlight.Why, there were even cameras placed on our chairs FREE!!!The bride was wearing red.
Well we all had a right good time and and the drinks were not yet being served, as we were just lining up  for the reception line.I saw Christine out of the corner of my eye, and always liked to say hello to her.She had been Kay's neighbor since forever and her husband Laudy had driven the school bus for years, and years.I had met them many times.
Now, Christine prided herself on being well cared for, and looking smart.And, so she should, she was a stunning looking woman  always dressed well and pretty.He husband was a tease.So I do think his comment was directed towards her as well as me,in the fun of it all.
On this particular day I made my way through the crowd to her side, and saw this lovely Linen and chiffon soft sage green suit, then her."Where did you find this exquisite suit Christine?",I asked, and as quick as a tadpole's tale Laudy leans in and,  in his drawling Scottish brogue he pipes, "at the Co-Op". I chuckled so hard I almost fell over!!!!!
The co-op in the village of Inverness,was noted for hardware and stylish dish pans!!!!

Cremation and Kay's Kitchen

We had decided to go to the Cape out of the blue one weekend in the snow of winter.A huge storm hit and the night of the storm we all gathered into Kay's kitchen to tell tales and drink tea.
Well we hadn't gotten to far into it when Allan came in all fussin and stopping off the snow.
Up went one of the older girls and soon settled him in with a hot mug of tea, and he was off a tellin too.
One story spoke os a light in the window on the night of a birth or the night before the birth, not sure.
Allan was at his best with the telling and the hospitality second to none in Kay's kitchen,where she had told many tales of the like in bygone nights before.Allan asked "Finn do you know that old road over the marsh road that goes up into the mountain?" "Been on it many times Allan but not for a few years now pretty washed out in places, no one haulin out of there anymore(logs)"
Allan sat quiet sipped a bit more tea all was quiet, "well I was up there last year with my aunts car on a Saturday and got stuck?' Oh we all had a great laugh at this imaginative scene. Allan had always seemed a bit funny in the head and he was mostly always drunk!!!!So it seemed quit the natural way for him,as sweet a soul as he is.But no one was prepared for what came out of the man's mouth next.For there had always been a high regard for the church and other holy things in Kay's kitchen.
"Yes !!!", he said,"I worked on that damn wheel in ice for two hours,then I looked on the back window,so I used the ashes that were in the back seat.". This at first seemed a puzzle that strange looks in his direction  soon set straight!!!
"Me cousin you se,e had been buried two weeks afore,the ashes in the Urn were on the back window,so I used a few and got the wheel out!!!
Holy Mother of GOD!!!! was the look on every woman's face in the room!!!!!then we roared with sweet laughter!!!!! There was nothing to be made of it now!!!!!!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Witt

These tales are of no connection to real people and are only my own hearsay.They are blessed moments from me,friends and those we love.


Locki and Kay had just walked into the farmhouse after a car trip to town."How'd it go?" asked their son Finn.
"Och! I don't like ridin with that one," replied Kay, "He backed out of the Co-op and hit a poust!!" Finn smiled.
Locki was in the porch knockin off snow from his boots,then he came lightly around the corner into the kitchen,cocked his head to one side and said"Woman have yas no pity at all"?Then with a slight twist of his shoulder follows it up with,"she didn't say a word about the 6 I didn't hit!!

Framing Lessons

I heard recently one can pay for  farming lessons,and I smiled to myself,my dad was one of three sons born to a farmer and I was raised in farming ways in Southern New Brunswick.
As a young girl I had no older siblings so me and my dad did a lot of stuff together,cars,fishing,gardening,and storytelling.He loved to make people laugh.
I loved my dad's brother david just the same as my dad they were always hangin out together and around old cars.Motor-jobs and tranny's were there specialities.They were happy to combine the new and the old worlds.Dad was going into town one day, and so was I, until we stopped at Uncle David's, and saw that he was killing some chickens, it was spring thaw and he had a surplus in the hen house. So I stayed to help Uncle David and dad came back for me later on.
We did a few then went in for lunch David weighed in at 380 lbs and loved to eat.Aunt Myrtle had made a good feed of Mackeral and potatoes with cream and cucumber.My favorite to this day.
Dad arrived back in a few hours sporting a brand new laminated polyester jacket. We all went out to the hen house to start a new batch of chickens.We didn't have very many left when dad looks over and says "Here Caithleen let me help you, your not doing that right", and he proceeded to grab a chicken by the wing and legg on the right and them same on the left."See ya take a wing and a leg in each hand then you shove the head unto the block"! As he shoved the head Uncle came down with a great BLOW!!! and all the SHIT of CHICKEN sprays back on the new bought jacket, like a spring lawn sprayer!!!!
I'm laughing so hard i got pain in my sides and Uncle just looks up and says "ok Caithleen the last ones yours" with a big grin from ear to ear. dad headed to the house to get cleaned off.
Im still smiling cause I never did get on on dad very often!!!!!This is one of my favorite memories of hangin out with Dad and Uncle David.I was age 12 at the time yet carry the lesson with me to this very day.Keep your chickens legs together. 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Good Intentions ??

The snow falls quietly on a winter sleepy Bay as my cat is curled up here beside me and the keys, in his deep place of dreams where he visits all to often it seems.
My mind today wonders how a boy who is now a man is living.His name is Bobby.He and his thirty year old mom Gloria were my first clients at an outreach program for kids that never did quit get off the ground.To many chiefs in the fire I think.I spent over 20 years in social work and this is the saddest tale of my experiences, and the most unnecessary in all so many ways,Yet only in hindsight do we learn some things in life; seems to be the most important ones.Also Social work does not seem to want to allow much room for ones intuition.This case is one of the reasons I'm not working in the system today mostly because I get blindsided by the formalities and ritualism around me.Anyway lets get on with the tale.
Bobby was sad when we met and very confused ,he loved his mom very much and did not understand the disease of addiction nor schizophrenia, from which his mother suffered.So we began very slowly,to unwind the horrible fears and misunderstandings of this little man's 12 years old mind.
I reported to a case worker who reported to a case supervisor who reported to their case worker in children's services who reported to the director of children's said services who reported at times to a Judge and the Legal system.Deep.
Bobby and I went to the beach,opened a bank account,visited with friends,took long walks in the parks, and talked about is problems and how to find solutions,slowly he began to learn that he did not case it and could not cure his mom.He was angry that all his stuff had been sold to support her cocaine habit another side of things he did not want to have to understand.I decided he did not have to and so we didn't go there.I got some of his stuff like a stereo and some blankets returned to him, a nice bed and a few other things.He showed up one day with a nice camera, I think he lifted it but I had bigger fish to fry.To me it was just another symptom of the disease he was being handed.We moved over it for the most part I spoke to the thoughts I was having he just smiled.He was a nice cute kid.Grade six and for the first time was missing classes.
Why could not the system slow down for him!!!Was there an alternative for him.He told me he felt outside of everyone there he did not fit in.He was right.Was there someplace he did fit tin that was not behind bars.
He was coming along very well even at times happy and trusting the little boy was not shut off.He said to me one day "you know what Kate I've done more stuff with you in six months then I did with my mom in 13 years.sad yet in some deep way I felt rewarded for my efforts and we drove on to the library.
About eight months in to the case I got a call Bobby and one of this buddies had dared each other and stole some change for a car.Something that as my friend from Dublin put it later on a Grandmother could have made right."Now you take that back and apologize," kind of thing.Oh No!!!this asshole pressed charges and I am left to believe that the case guy I was working with did not do to much to stop him from calling the police into court action.So we go to court and Bobby gets 20 hours of community services!!!!We have a talk and he is pissed off but he calms down after a few days.He is confused about the way it was handled as was I .
My case supervisor was a very up standing member of a local religion,a teacher in Martial arts,and had worked in social services for many years.He did not however know the ways of the poor or remember the shoes he had walked in.I asked my case worker that Bobby be able to remain in his own community to do his community hours.It would look good onto the community around him and just maybe he could meet some better kids in the HOOD and believe me they are there. Oh NO!!! Asshole has a jock friend who he buys all his expensive camping stuff from and want to impress him!!! So Bobby preforms to the hilt in a week he took the job of cleaning up in a space that sells 2000.00 bikes,500.00 tents,35.00 water bottles and guess what?????God knows how much stuff he took,and it looked good on them!!!BUT he got caught and then ended up in detention, where he will learn to hide the pain like his mom.WHY???So unnecessary!!!!!
Thank god today many years  later  I was one of the people who started social workers from poor communities working to make change within those communities.There is a big picture and remember the road to hell is paved with good intentions.Just cause you got money don't make you wise don't make you smart especially about how others live  life.I really don't need your permission to live with what I have nor to do what I want with it.You are not here because you owe anything to the Universe.There is enough on Mother earth for all of us except some are greedy.I have seen all to often the trouble I have to go through to keep it.We all pay it forward.We share our strengths and our hope for a lighter more loving sensitive world.God Bless and may you walk in Beauty all the days of your life.