Canadians are Unique

An Avid Festival of The Trees 2012

My Daughter Phaedra, is an English Teacher at Hunter High School. She is responsible for a program referred to as AVID. This is a program to help, and find scholarships for students and to prepare them for College. A wonderful program with wonderful events. Each year these students are given the opportunity to Volunteer for  several  great causes. A learning experience for them, and a great help to the community. Yesterday they went to The Festival of The Trees. This event allows people to decorate trees and put them up for auction. The proceeds go to the Primary Children's Hospital a wonderful place dedicated to the healing of Children regardless of their financial situation. Many of the Trees are dedicated to young children who have passed away. All of the trees are heartfelt, beautiful and some heart wrenching, bringing you to tears. The students are given an assignment to monitor a group of trees, protecting them and to answer questions about them. This lasts for a three hour period. It is hard to stand there for three hours, so I truly admire there dedication to do this every year. I have been fortunate to be able to go with them twice. They are the greatest group of young men and women, and I am very proud to be associated with them. They all were dressed very well and the young men were handsome and the young ladies very beautiful. The beauty also radiated from the inside. A wonderful experience for me and I will always answer the call if they need me

 

These are a few of the Avid Student volunteers. Are'nt they a good looking group?

 

 



The Santa Volunteers thought I was coming to replace their Santa and were nervous that I did not have on a Santa's Suit. We straightened out who I was and they encouraged me to volunteer, which I am going to do next year.

 

 I have a long white beard, and long white hair. As I walked around the festival, it was wonderful for me to see the excitement in the little children's face's as they thought I was Santa Claus. I was stopped many times and talked to kids to the delight of their parents. I was so inspired by this, and at the encouragement of the Festival organizers, I am going to volunteer next year to participate.

Happy Tuesday

Mrs. Cossa

Tuesday is a happy day for me because I get to go and spend the afternoon with a class of sixth grade students. I like them all very much. I love the Teacher, Mrs. Cossa. It is fun to watch her deal with these kids and to attempt to keep them under control. They are wired after Thanksgiving Holiday. They are basically a great group of kids, but they are 12 years old and they have their moments. I help Mrs.Cossa with her busy work, cutting and copying. I help the students with their reading program and with their spelling. I also take individual students and have them read out loud to me. I try to encourage them that reading is very important in their lives. They can pretty much go where ever the minds can take them with reading.So all in all Tuesday is a special day to me. I should add that my Grand daughter Tashena is also in this class. Sometimes it proves awkward. Today for instance, I have long unruly hair. Tashena today said, "Grandpa, did you even make an attempt to comb your hair today?" All kinds of giggles around the classroom.I love it.

Irony

I am A Canadian and I love the game of Hockey. At the present time the owners and the players are in a lockout and there is a chance there will be no Hockey this year. The owners want more money, so this picture interested me. Mario Lemieux is the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is Mario's 20 Million dollar home he just moved into in a ski resort in Quebec. I can now see why the owners need more Money. 

In Flander's Fields

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lincoln Enigma

This Monument has always been an Enigma to me. Why would the State of Wyoming build a Monument to Lincoln? This Monument is just East of Laramie Wyo. on I-80. It also serves as a rest stop and a visitors center. Today I got my answer. The Monument was carved by Robert Rusin a University of Wyoming art professor. It was commissioned to honor Lincoln on the 150th anniversary of his birth. It was originally placed at the Highest point in Wyo., but when I-80 was built it was moved to it's present location. The ashes of Robert Rusin were interred in a special hollowed out niche in the Monument. I have passed this Monument many times and now I can pass it and know it's purpose.

O CANADA

 

The Maple Leaf the official Flag of Canada since 1966 

 

 

 

 

 The Union Jack the Official Flag of Great Britain since 1606

 

 

 

The Canadian Flag prior to 1966 

 

 

The Canadians truly love there flag, you will see it everywhere in Canada. Prior to 1966, Canada was a British Commonwealth Country. Our Flag at that time reflects our allegiance to Great Britain. In 1776 The United States was also a British Commonwealth Country. You guys beat them up and sent them home and created the USA. We waited 200 years and then asked them nicely and they said okay. My Grandfather was a Scot and a died in the wool member of the British Empire. He was very upset when we adopted the Maple Leaf as our National Flag. Lester Pearson was the Prime Minister at the time so Grandpa forever called the Flag, "Pearson's Snot Rag." We still are a Commonwealth Country, but we decide our own destiny. The Queen nominates a Governor General who is Representative for her but has no authority.I am still a Canadian Citizen although I have lived in the USA for 35 years, I am grateful for my heritage and very proud of it.



The Life of PI

Yesterday I saw the movie, Life of PI. If I could use only one word to describe this movie, it would be beautiful. It is the story of a young boy from India. His father has a zoo, and due to economic hardships they decide to move to Canada and take the Zoo animals with them in the hopes of selling them. Traveling across the Pacific on a Japanese Freighter, they encounter a terrible storm and the Freighter sinks, with the boy being the only survivor. His is in a lifeboat with an injured Zebra, a Hyena, a Baboon, and an unexpected Bengal Tiger who is a stowaway. Through natural selection the Boy and the Tiger end up alone on the lifeboat. The story tells of the battle between them, and then a truce for survival, and then friendship. It is a beautiful story, well filmed, and well acted. There is a point that brought me to tears. The end has a twist that will make you think about the story. A must see, and I loved it.

Lincoln The Emancipator

I am not a movie critic by any means, but I wanted to share my experience with the movie Lincoln. This is going to be, hands down, the Oscar winner for best picture. The star, Daniel Day-Lewis will, hands down, will win the Oscar for Best Actor. And there will be various other Oscars for this Movie. The movie is about the three months leading up to the passing of the 13th Amendment. The Law that gave Freedom to the Slaves. It also shows how the end of the Civil war came about after the Amendment was passed.  Day-Lewis channels Lincoln to the point where you believe you are watching a documentary. You know what is going to happen but the excitement builds to the passing and you actually want to stand up and cheer. There are a few movies that I have seen where the audience actually applauds at the end and this was one of them. I would highly recommend this movie and I will probably go see it again.

PERSONAL POLITICAL OPINION......Read at your own risk.

I find it ironic that the Republicans passed this bill with the help of a few bribed Democrats. And yet the Black population is entrenched in the Democratic party today.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist this.



Abravenal Hall

This is the beautiful Abravanel Hall in downtown Salt lake City. It is the home of the Utah Symphony which I have enjoyed many times. I have heard in concert, Mandy Patimkin of Princess Bride fame. He is a very fine singer and loves to sing tunes from Ira Gershwin. I have seen Anne Murray a fellow Canadian who I enjoyed very much. Recently I saw Amy Grant there, and it was a fun night as she sang songs yelled out from the audience. My family always plays her Christmas albums as we lead up to Christmas Day. One of my favorite songs is "Midnight" from Cats and I had the priveledge of hearing Elaine Paige sing it. She was in the original cast of Cats. She is a beautiful lady with an an incredible voice. I enjoyed that concert very much. I went two weeks ago to hear Ravel's Bolero with the Utah Symphony. That was special to me so I will describe it in another blog.

Jager and Red

I  wanted to Blog a picture of these two dogs. One is Red, who is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and is my dog. The other Jager, a Black Labrador Retriever who was owned by my Daughter Kristine, and her Husband Trent. Jager was possibly the best dog that I have ever known. He was very gentle and very, very smart. He and Red were best buds as you can see in this picture. Jager got very sick and despite a valiant effort by his owners he passed away. I miss him very much.

Glacier Trip

 

This is Virginia standing by the wheel of a bus that is used to take passengers on a cruise of the Glacier up in Banff Alberta. It was a VERY big bus and I would love to drive it. It is a unique experience to be out on a Glacier and have the ability to walk around on it.

Sean

This is Sean. My daughter Kristine Adopted him when he was 5 and he is now going to turn 8. This picture says everything about Sean. He is very cute and very endearing and can win you over with his smile. He is a bundle of energy that never stops moving. He loves his parents and is very happy in his family. He goes to Karate twice a week and has advanced several belts already. He is very athletic and I believe he will excel at any sport he wishes to try. He loves to climb and jump off of anything, sometimes making his Grandpa very nervous. He is not afraid to jump from heights. I am very glad he is in our family.

Tashena

This is Tashena Marie Ashby. My Daughter Kristine adopted this most beautiful little girl when she was 5 years old. She is now 12 going on 21. She is very bright and a truly great dancer. I believe that she will excel at any sport that she wants to. I am excited about the possibilities for her in volleyball, she is a natural. Her and I struggled at first until she got to know my nature. I love to tease. She is at the point now where she gives it right back to me. She dances with the Tanner Dance at the University of Utah. I recently went to Grandparent's day where you observed a 1 1/2 hour class. There are about 26 young ladies in her class. They are all beautiful and talented. I am of course prejudiced but I think she excels.