Hard to Believe

Just over a year ago our good friends and neighbour's 6 yr old son Jake was hit by a truck and killed while coming home from school. This tragic event happened just a few blocks from our homes.

I will never forget that day for as long as I live nor will I drive past that corner, as I do every day, without thinking of it.

Within hours of the accident there were flowers, balloons and stuffed teddy bears placed at the corner signpost. In the end there were more than 200 teddy bears donated to the local children's hospital. One stranger from our community built a little cross with some kind words carved on it. Another stranger from the community drew a charcoal sketch of Jake and affixed it to the street post. At Christmas time, our family left a little tiny Christmas tree and a small stuffed snowman. At halloween our two families went trick or treating together as we have for years.....this year we made a stop at the memorial and each child gave "Jake" some goodies from their goodie bags.

Our friends Mike and Jill have been keeping their son's memorial small and tasteful. They themselves tape a small vase to the sign post and fill it with artificial flowers. When others in the community add something like a poem, a picture or a balloon, Mike or Jill take it home to put in their memory chest so that it doesn't become a distraction or a hazaard to drivers.

All in all it's a small, pretty spot where a horrible tragic event occured.This event rocked our community. It's not just the family that goes to the memorial. It's a place where strangers have placed poems or flowers because you can't just go to their house, knock on the door and say " Here, I was feeling bad so I wrote this poem!". Instead people are able to anonymously show their grief and support to a member of the community.

A couple of weeks ago Mike was driving by and he noticed everything was taken down and a cardboard box was sitting by the signpost. Their flowers and vase were in the box with a note that said " could you please stop putting flowers here. When my wife and daughter go by it makes them too sad." There was no name signed to the note.

The next day after much thought, Mike put the vase and flowers back on the signpost and a day later someone once again put them in a cardboard box. During these few days, the driver of the vehicle was acquitted of all charges and we celebrated Jakes 8th birthday, an emotional and difficult couple of weeks for the family so Mike put the flowers back in the vase, and back on the signpost.

The next day they were gone, no cardboard box either. The person took everything.!!

You know, I, my husband and my kids need those flowers there. Our community of friends needs those flowers there. I ran to that spot a year ago with my nurse brain running through basic first aid..... yet I came upon our little Jake lying on the street with 5 paramedics doing CPR and advanced resuscitative efforts to save his life. I drive past that corner at least once a day and like seeing some flowers and the odd balloon thank you.

Who does this guy think he is? So, his wife and daughter are saddened by the flowers? There's a big sign in the shape of a coffin that says "FATALITY" on the top of the sign put there by the City.....and THAT doesn't make them sad??? If anything, those flowers make a driver SLOW DOWN because they say...someone died on this street corner.

I'm flabbergasted. I don't get some people.

An honorable man

After my Dad's passing in April, the Edmonton Journal ran an article about my Dad. Here it is.

Fine singer passed up career to be near his family
Glyn Williams could have travelled world, but cherished home life
Don Retson
Journal Staff Writer
Edmonton
Edmonton's music scene was abuzzz in 1966 when Glyn Williams received a dream offer to join the world-renowned Roger Wagner Chorale on a tour of the United States.
It was a terrific opportunity that offered Mr. Williams- the first professsional opera baritone in this city- a chance to become internationally known.
A family member recalls that chorale music director Roger Wagner, who had met Mr. Willams at a workshop in Calgary, applied all the presure he could to get him to accept a lead role in the six-month tour, which opened at Carnegie Hall.
Mr. Williams thanked Wagner kindly, but resisted the tantalizing offer. "He chose to turn this down because it would have meant being away from his family for extended times" recalls Ken Smith, Mr. Williams' brother-in-law. "He loved his family more than his job or his music."
A humble mand blessed with an incredible voice, Glyn E. Williams died of cancer on April 14. He was 79.
"Glyn Williams was truly one of the finest vocal talents that his city has ever produced," said former CBC-TV producer Armand Baril.
Baril recalls the official opening of CBXT-TV Edmonton on Nov. 7, 1961, when a live concert from the jubilee Auditorium was broadcast nationally on CBC-TV. As producer-director, Baril said he shared the excitement of that gala event that featured various local musical talents, including Mr. Willams.
"When Glyn started to sing," said Baril, "it was clear to everyone across the nation and in the concert hall that here was a magnificent voice destined to go far".
Edmonton Opera's resident baritone in the late 1950's and early 1960's, Mr Williams did appear occasionally as a guest solosit in the U.S., such as at the Seattle Worlds Fair in 1961 and the Welsh Singing Festival in San Fransisco.
Betty Mae, his wife of 56 years and a talented musician in her own right, would play for her husband whenever he didn't have an orchestra to back him up.
"We were a team," she said of her husband, whom, she added, also had a great talent for leaving people in stitches with his wicked sense of humour. "He didn't tease or he didn't make fun of anybody else,"she said. "He was just witty."
Despite his many opportunities to go on to the world stage, Mr. Williams chose to remain here with his family, where he performed major roles with Edmonton Opera, Oratorio, the concert stage and radio and TV.
In a Journal aricle in 1966, then music critic Ann Burrows said Mr. Williams' invitation to join the Roger Wagner Chorale on tour was an honour and that " no local singer is more deserving of such an excellent professional opportunity."
Born in Vancouver in 1929, Glyn's family moved to Edmonton when he was very young. After graduating from high school, he got a job with Imperial Oil in 1949, staying with them until his retirement in 1987.
He met Betty Mae when they were both participating in an amateur variety show which was put on for several years. In proposing, Mr Williams got down on one knee, giving Betty Mae both an orchid and an engagement ring. They were married in 1952.
Blessed with a beautiful baritone voice, Mr. Williams sang in the Knox Metropolitan Choir for 45 years. His love of music led him into the professional opera society of Edmonton. He participated in its first production of Madame Butterfly, playing the role of Sharpless. He was in several other operas over the years and had the major role of Marcello in La Boheme. This success led him to star in a locally produced TV variety show on CBC Edmonton which ran for 2 1/2 years.
A great family man, MR. Williams would attend almost every sporting event or concert that his children were involved in.
At his recent memorial service, grandson David Donnelly said Mr. Williams was also proud of all seven of his grandchildren. "Grandpa gave us confidence to succeed in whatever we wanted, " Donnelly said. "He showed us that we can do anything we set our minds to."
Besides Betty Mae, Mr. Williams is survived by daughters Judith and Dilys and his son Richard.

Happy Father's Day to an amazing Dad.

Amazing!

Gunther von Hagens' "Body Worlds" The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies is being presented in a couple of weeks here in Edmonton at the Science Center.

The kids and I have seen the ads and pictures on the sides of buses while driving to school and Nathan hasn't really commented while Claire says she's creeped out!

I think it's pretty amazing.
From individual organs to whole bodies, BODY WORLDS offers visitors a rare opportunity to see the complexity of human anatomy and physiology.
BODY WORLDS features authentic human specimens preserved through a revolutionary process called Plastination. This remarkable preservation technique replaces bodily fluids and fat with reactive plastics, thereby preserving human tissue in its natural state. Visitors who embark on this amazing journey below the skin's surface will view an extensive collection including more than 200 authentic organs, systems and whole-body displays.
Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS exhibitions are the only anatomical exhibits that use donated bodies, willed by donors for the express purpose of serving BODY WORLDS mission to educate the public about health and anatomy. To date, more than 8,000 people have agreed to donate their bodies to BODY WORLDS for Plastination and use in the exhibits.

I can't wait and I think we're sooooo lucky to have this exhibit come to Edmonton.

Father's Day Fiasco!

Sometimes in this fast paced world of calenders, blackberries and daytimers I wonder if we're all losing it.....
I know I am! Here's what happened this weekend.
Things have been fairly hectic with work, kids, and the social calender and when things get like this I often walk around with a sick feeling that I'm forgetting something. On Saturday while shopping for some summer clothes for my daughter Claire I noticed the Father's Day signs at the mall.
Wham! Holy shit ! I almost forgot Father's Day! ( I think to myself as I silently pat myself on the back for actually remembering) Claire and I traipse off to the Hallmark store for the perfect cards and then we buy the perfect set of beer mugs.
I have to work early in the morning so Claire has it all planned to let Kevin sleep in while she and Nathan make him breakfast in bed. Upon my return from work we'll sit him on the couch and present him with the cards and gift.
Well Father's Day went smoothly and without a hitch........yesterday.......a week early!!!!!
We all believed it was Father's Day....even Kevin !!! Later that day it was Claire who said,"Mom, isn't Father's Day on the 15th or 16th or something?"

We all burst out laughing and Kevin seems pleased at the idea of a replay next Sunday!!

My kind of Daycare!

When we had kids we made the decision that I would work my shifts around the kids. No daycare or dayhome for us......but we didn't see this one!

Not only would I put my kids in this one.....I'd quit my nursing job to work there!!

Maybe in China, because I've heard you're only allowed one child they don't have enough children for all the daycare space........