Day 471: Cold off the presses

A few weeks back, I was very touched when Mr. Singh, my Outreach Connection paper person, pulled out a back issue for me because I’d been away the week before.

So today, even though I got a ride to work (by my good-deeding husband) and the icy wind made it feel like the middle of winter, I hiked back to the subway entrance to make sure I didn’t miss him.

Mr. Singh was not to be fooled however.

“You usually come from the direction,” he said, quizzically, huddled in his tattered green parka.

“I got a ride in today,” I explained.

“Ah,” he said. “Me too,” pointing to his bicycle.

He’s a funny one, that Mr. Singh. In fact, when I got to my desk and read his “Notable Quotable” on the front cover, I laughed out loud:

“Stupid is forever. Ignorance can be fixed.”
— Don Wood

Who the heck is Don Wood, you ask?
Exactly what I wondered. Turns out, he’s the CEO of a company called 80/20 Inc. and was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young.

Here’s what I find out about 80/20:

“Dubbed the ‘Industrial Erector Set,’ the 80/20 Inc.’s modular aluminum framing system can be used by virtually every industry.

“The idea for these innovative components was in Don Wood’s head for more than 30 years, when finally in 1989 he was able to document the business plan and make his vision a reality. The company he created, 80/20, produces an adaptable system of aluminum extruded T-slotted framing, connectors, hinges, rollers and other components.”

Proving that all good modular aluminum things come to those who wait….

Day 470: The Good Shepherd

I dedicated my last post to my in-laws, who both passed away last week. In lieu of flowers at my father-in-law’s funeral, a donation to The Good Shepherd Centre was suggested instead. I was happy to make that donation today.

Among many other charitable causes my father-in-law supported, The Good Shepherd held a special place in his heart. And it is a special place indeed.

To do justice and to love kindness

“The Good Shepherd,” as it is affectionately called, is well known on the streets of Toronto. It’s a place to get a hot meal, clean clothes, a safe, clean bed for the night. It’s a place to go when you need someone to listen, someone to help.

What makes Good Shepherd Ministries special? The answer is different for each person who walks through the door.

Here’s one of their stories:

Gary’s Story

On December 27, 2005, Gary (affectionately known as “Tiny”) hit rock bottom. A big, amiable truck driver in his mid-fifties who had been married for more than 27 years, he had just gone through a divorce that left him homeless, penniless, alone and deeply depressed.

I was on the street, it was cold, and I didn’t know what to do. I phoned my uncle, he’s a retired police officer who lives in Prince Edward Island. He said ‘Go to the Good Shepherd. I know the Brothers; they’ll give you a place.’

So I went to the Good Shepherd. I took with me a bottle that had rat poison, weed killer and other things, and I thought, ‘If my uncle’s not right and I can’t get a place to stay here, I’ll go to Bluffers Park and drink this and I’ll be dead in three minutes.’ But I met a gentleman on the ramp that I knew, and I got a bed next to him.

I started working with the staff in the Resettlement Program (housing help) to get Employment Insurance so I could find housing. But then in February 2006, they sent me to St. Michael’s Hospital. I had pleurisy and pneumonia and it looked like I had kidney stones. It turned out I was in the first stage of leukemia. They phoned my Resettlement worker and Father Ed, and they told them, we don’t know if he’s going to make it. I was in hospital a lot of days.

When I came back to Good Shepherd, I was in rough shape. Kathleen in the medical clinic arranged for me to stay in and rest during the day, helped me with pills and medication. The staff noticed what I needed and took care of it – three pillows on my bed because I have an old neck injury, extra blankets.

When they got big clothes in the clothing room, they hung on to them for me. I talked a lot to Sister Joan (Director of Pastoral Care) and Father Ed. The care from the staff keeps your spirits up.

I didn’t know how I was going to survive, I didn’t have any money. But the Resettlement staff put my papers in for ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program). They rushed the ODSP through because of the cancer.

I missed my first chance at housing when I was in the hospital, but in October 2006, an apartment came up. I signed the lease, but they had a lot of work to do on the apartment, so I didn’t move in until January.

I’m very happy with my housing. It’s a big bachelor, big enough that if I need to use a walker or a wheelchair later, I can do that.

Some days are good, some days I can’t even get out of bed. The Resettlement staff check in on me.

I know if I hadn’t come to Good Shepherd, I wouldn’t be alive today. Keep up the good work!

Day 469: Dios de los muertos

 

Mexico's Dios de los muertos ... a day to celebrate our lost loved ones.

Today is All Soul’s Day. It’s a day to remember the dearly departed, especially those who have recently left us. I’d like to dedicate today’s post to two beautiful souls who passed away this week — my in-laws. At 96, they were both an inspiration to me in so many ways. And neither one of them would ever have called any of the thoughtful gestures and kind words and actions they shared daily — no, hourly — as good deeds. To them, it was second-nature to put yourself in another’s shoes and treat each person with compassion and understanding. I still have so much to learn from them.

One of the many things I learned by watching my father-in-law in action was the way he took a special interest in every person who crossed his path. Whether it was a waitress, a store clerk or a bank president, he treated each individual with the same warmth and courtesy, genuinely interested in who they were and what they were about.

He was a master at turning a brief encounter with a stranger into a warm exchange that invariably left that person a little cheerier as they went on their way.

I did try to do that today. And I will try to do that every day. For Flos and for Poppo.

P.S. Here’s a song that reminds me of my in-laws, both great opera lovers. Enjoy!

 

Day 468: Wail of a tale

My good deeds were very small ones today — deed-ettes, in fact. So I’d like to share a story with you that I read in my local newspaper. It warmed my heart and made me burst with pride at the kindness that abounds in my fair city. I will keep it in mind next time I’m on the bus or subway and hear a baby cry.

“I am a regular customer of the TTC. My baby boy had a sudden spike in temperature, so we got on the Queen streetcar to go to the doctor’s office. However, the construction and detours were making the ride difficult, and it seemed like my son’s temperature was increasing. He crept crying uncontrollably.

“A number of concerned riders asked if they could do anything. One nursing student even went to the driver asking how much longer it would take to reach the destination. The TTC operator phoned his supervisor for assistance. But realistically, nothing could be done.

“Finally, two young men — probably students (they were carrying backpacks) — gave me a $20 bill. They helped me carry my baby and the carriage onto the nearest platform, and then hailed a taxi. They wouldn’t give me their names or contact info so that I could pay them back.

“As the taxi pulled away, people on the streetcar waved and blew kisses. God bless you all. I am forever grateful to the people on the streetcar that day.”
Jenny, Toronto

Day 467: Be true to your school

Creepy crest, huh? Very Alfred Hitchcock. No wonder I never went for the school ring.

My memories of my university days are fond ones (clearly, I block out exam time) and I try to donate to the alumni fund when I can.

But it helps to get a reminder phone call like the one I got today.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not respond well to traditional telemarketers, as a rule. But when I hear the shaky, stage-frightened voice of a current Carleton student on the other end of the line, how could I not say “yes” to their fund drive.

This most recent caller sounded like a young eager guy who was nervous but very keen to share all the news about the school. When I mentioned I hadn’t visited the campus in quite some time, I swear I could hear his face light up in a smile.

I tried to listen patiently as he regaled me with details about the new buildings going up and programs being launched, when all I really wanted to do was commit my pledge and hang up so I could get on with the excitement of finishing my laundry.

But by the end of the call I did feel reconnected with my alma mater, in a way. Then, the donation didn’t feel so much like “charity” but more like a “thank you” to a place that was a home-away-from-home for a while. One that brought me new experiences and knowledge, but most of all friends I still have today.

I guess those exams were a small price to pay….

Day 466: My neighbour’s keeper

You’ll have to trust me on this one, I did do at least one good deed today. But I wanted to write about something a friend of mine did that touched my heart.

She passed a street person who was lying asleep up against a planter box beside a nearby construction site. It was raining and after quite some time the person was still there in the same spot.

When she got back to the office it weighed on her mind so she threw her coat back on and off she went to check on him.

With relief, she reported back that the man was gone, “and there was no police tape around the area.”

When I tried to commend her for being so caring, she waved me off, humbly replying, “We all have to live in this city.”

Now that’s something I’ll keep in my mind….

Day 465: Lost in translation

It’s difficult enough to ask a stranger for directions when you speak the local language, I can’t imagine trying to do it when you don’t. Oops, I just had a Mexican-vacation flashback … I do know what that’s like.

I was walking home today and noticed a white-haired man coming my way who looked mighty confused. I’m not sure why I looked up at him and caught his eye (I usually walk along staring blankly into space), maybe it was his intense perplexed expression.

As soon as I did catch his eye, he stopped, started pointing all around and repeating the same word over and over in a thick accent. (I think it was Eastern European … ish.) “Supermarket, supermarket, supermarket.”

Then I detected a subtle inflection. “Supermarket? Supermarket? Supermarket?” Aha, the lightbulb went off! He’s looking for the supermarket! (Why do I not work for Interpol, I ask you?)

Amazingly, I had an answer to his question and was able to point and mime the directions to him. (I think I also tried the age-old tourist technique of speaking English to him … only louder.)

He seemed to relax, broke out in a big smile, nodded in thank you and away he went.

I just hope it was still open ….

Day 464: Ark support

The flood gates open in Manila.

Toronto has a thriving Filipino community that has been spearheading local relief efforts for the victims of the recent flood in the Philippines. Today I made a donation to one of these fundraising groups.

I don’t know what rock I’ve been living under, but until I made the donation, then subsequently sought out news stories about the flood online, I had no idea how severe the natural disaster was.

Here are some details excerpted from an Associated Press report:

By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer Teresa Cerojano, Associated Press Writer – Tue Sep 29, 4:27 pm ET

MANILA, Philippines – Flood victims trudged through ankle-deep sludge to crowded relief centers in the Philippines on Tuesday, as the death toll rose to 246 from water that inundated the homes of nearly 2 million people.

Tropical Storm Ketsana brought the worst flooding to the Southeast Asian country in four decades, chasing some victims to their rooftops to escape the rising water and sweeping others down raging rivers.

The storm struck Saturday in Manila, one of the world’s largest cities with about 12 million people, and dumped more than a month’s worth of rain in just 12 hours. Flooding was worst around the Pasig River that cuts through the capital, including wealthy suburbs and shanty towns.

The presidential palace was opened as a relief center, and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s executive chef cooked gourmet food for victims at another shelter.

In the Philippines, where at least 38 people remained missing and more rain was forecast, some of the displaced families recalled their ordeal from a covered court in the town center where they sought shelter.

“What happened was the water suddenly rose. We did not know that the water would reach the second floor, so we went up to the roof but the roof gave in, so we just floated in the water holding on to a trunk of a banana tree,” said Herminio Abahat, whose wife is still missing.

Abahat said he and his wife were swept to a river and eventually separated by the raging currents.

Gingery Comprendio, a mother of five, described how she left her children on the roof of their house to alert authorities about a live electric line. When she returned, her family was gone.

“I did not know what transpired. We were on top of a roof but we got separated,” Comprendio said. “The next day when I came back to our house I saw my eldest already dead and my aunt saw my other child buried in the mud.” Her husband also remains missing.

In the Bagong Silangan area of the capital, about 150 people sheltered on a covered basketball court that had been turned into a makeshift evacuation center for storm victims. People lay on pieces of cardboard amid piles of garbage and swarming flies, their belongings crammed into bags nearby.

Seventeen white wooden coffins, some of them child-sized, lined one part of the court. A woman wept quietly beside one coffin.

Nearly 380,000 people have sought shelter in relief centers. The government has declared a “state of calamity” in Manila and 25 storm-hit provinces and estimated the damage at $97 million.

Washington had pledged $100,000 for the relief efforts and U.S. Navy personnel were helping with search and rescue, the Foreign Affairs Department said Tuesday. China, Japan, Singapore and Australia have also pledged extra aid, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sent a message that help would come from the world body, too.

Some victims said what food and other aid was being handed out came largely from private donations, and complained they had seen no government aid or officials in their districts since Saturday’s storm.

… I won’t be complaining about our little rain showers anytime soon….

Day 463: Good deed pyjama party

Singing the blues: Endangered Amazon rainforest butterfly.

A reader sent me a link to their new site  — www.HelpFromHome.org — that promotes home-based volunteering. Their slogan is one I can totally relate to: “Change the world in just your pyjamas through easy home-based volunteering actions!”

They had me at “pyjamas.”

So I checked out their site today and found some great ideas for good deeds. They even take care of time management for you, breaking down their suggestions into tasks that require a mere 1, 5 or 10 minutes. I decided to go crazy and choose 10 minutes, and the suggestion that popped up was to use the Ecoogler search engine to help reforest the Amazon.

Seemed like poetic justice to me to use the computer — which was supposed to lead to the, ahem, “paperless office” — to protect the rainforest. So the first search I made was for “Ecoogler” itself. It led me to a site called Treehugger.com and here’s what I found out:

“Each search you do with Ecoogler counts for 1 leaf of a tree towards reforestation.10,000 leaves (or searches) make up one tree to be planted in the Amazon. To make this happen, Ecoogler works with the Swiss non-profit association Aquaverde, whose mission since 2002 has been to protect the Amazonian rainforest. Ecoogle has sponsored 500 trees in March and another 500 trees in April this year, according to Aquaverde. …The highest numbers of visits come from Spain, then Columbia, Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina.”

So I didn’t make it to a whole tree yet, but I think I did do enough searches for at least one branch….

P.S. All this talk of leaves reminded me of this great song (Credit: YouTube / sultana63again). Enjoy!

Day 462: When one door opens….

Now, THAT's a door! (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico)

There’s an underground pathway that I take from the subway that stretches for a few city blocks beneath the city. Like the Catacombs … with shopping.

Each section of The Path, as it’s called, is closed off by big heavy doors. But you can open most of these doors by pushing a wheelchair accessibility button.

Now, I’ve never actually seen anyone in a wheelchair spin through these doors but there’s a sort of “code” I’ve noticed whereby every third or fourth person who passes through, taps on the button as they pass so that it won’t slam closed on anyone.

I usually walk above ground if the weather’s nice, but this morning it looked like rain so I wimped out and headed for the tunnel. And since I’ve been leaving it up to others to hit the “open” button, today I thought I’d do my part and made a point of hitting it at each entrance.

Oh, and to continue with my door-opening theme, I actually opened a few doors the old-fashioned way throughout the day. Not as high-tech, mind you, but it felt like it took more effort and, in some cases, muscle. (What the heck do they make some of these doors out of, anyway? Kryptonite?)

P.S. I wanted to share the “Notable Quotable” quote from my Outreach Connection connection, Mr. Singh. He picked a good one this week!

“We make a living by what we get,
we make a life by what we give.”
— Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) 

P.P.S. And here they are (from the Smothers Brothers show!), The Doors. Enjoy!