Still Crunching Along

Well, the old computer is still crunching along. Thanks Bub :) for all your help, I really appreciated your ideas and comments. I tried them all. . . it took a while, but I think my 'puter is plain old pukey. I like watching that firewall thing do it's job, it is kind of mesmerising. It has taken me approximately 15 minutes to write this. I have posted on another site, and have not been able to respond to a really fantastic comment made by garym about the Hope Bay cottagers (South Bruce Peninsular Site). Very frustrating. My email is up and running smoothly though. I had a very odd day. . . it started with a filling at the dentist's. The smell of a dentist office is enough to put me over the edge, let alone the idea that there is a hole in my mouth that isn't supposed to be there. I wasn't in the most upbeat of moods and when I returned home, very irritable. When I parked "Antonio" (my truck), I saw that Canada Post had delivered a notice to my door. Not the front door, but the side door. This is the door that the dogs go out to do their business. Meanwhile, my front entrance, with all it's seasonal splendor (the foliage that I removed off the spruces, and any evergreen tree that happened to be on my property, or my neighbours (yes I solicited at their home as well~~~"can I steal some of your Yew?"), went unnoticed. My front door looks very welcoming, and you do not have to dodge puppy grenades to get there. Yet the Canada Post Lady went to the grenade entrance. I had forgotten to do Poop Patrol yesterday, and as you can imagine, with three dogs, it wasn't good. I felt horrible. I can just imagine this poor lady doing a jig to evade the grenades. I am going to make a sign. Anyhow, I waited in line at the Canada Post office, supposedly a parcel awaited me. IT WAS HUGE. I signed for it, and took it home. What it was took me completely by surprise. It was an oil painting by my Aunt. I couldn't believe it. A few months ago, I contacted someone regarding a painting, I won't give the details, but it was bought through an auction, they won, I didn't notice that it had been up for auction until the auction ended. I told them of the history of the family, etc. I offered to buy it from them, they agreed, I sent them my particulars, and then nothing was said. Suddenly it appeared in the mail. There was no note inside, so I contacted the person through their email. I asked how much I owed, and thanked them for the surprise parcel. I was shocked by the response I was given, and have not stopped sniffling all day. I have removed names, in case it makes the giver uncomfortable. But this person moved me. . .I am utterly "gobsmacked". . .flabbergasted. . .at this act of kindness and goodwill, and generousity, that I had to share. "Please consider this a Christmas gift with no strings. I mean that. It is a gift to me just knowing that I returned the painting to one of its immediate family members. I hope that you and your family find the kind of joy that we found in having it for a few days (we hung it on our wall while I was waiting to hear of your address) and admiring it. And if you must, repay my gift by saying a prayer for the United States that we may recover our senses and open up dialogues which lead to peace, prosperity, and harmony with other countries of the world rather than war, disease, and pestilence. I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!" The painting is hanging in my living room, (the one with walls). Everytime I look at it, it honestly brings tears to my eyes, not because of the painting itself, but because of the action associated with it. I phoned my other family members and asked them what I should do. It is hard to accept a gift like this, but simultaneously, to diminish the message of the gift giver, would (I surveyed this) be in bad taste. It took me at least four hours to write him back, this is how I replied: "I am at a loss for words (and utterly shocked). . . So much so, that I was unable to write you back immediately. Your words and thoughts evoked tears. Your gift, your sentiment, was truly altruistic and completely unexpected. It is, in this, that holds the true message of Christmas. You have genuinely touched me, and those in my family that I have contacted. Yes, I will say many prayers for your country (and all countries involved and their soldiers), and hope that there will be true peace, but one that is not etched out of war, and fighting. Yet a peace that is founded by a deep realization, that although people may differ in beliefs and culture, it is not the dissimilarities, but the commonalities and the interconnections that people ought to focus on. In reading your letter, a quote by Norman Maclean comes to mind: "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters." What a unforgettable and precious gift you have given me and my family, of both words, and gesture. Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones." It is not my wish to offend the gift giver, if he ever encounters this blog, but I am in awe of the gesture, and the perspective it gave me at this time of year. And that the idea that Christmas transends the "gift",(this is so easy to forget)). It is truly the thought that is important and the message given by the giver. His intentions were unadulterated, and will never be forgotten. Nor will his message regarding the futile state of war that has hung over our heads for the past few years. ~~It's time to come home.