MRB's Talking Fingers

It was 1958 when a group of almost one hundred young girls, most having just completed high school, met for the first time. It was the beginning of a three-year adventure… living and working together. They often socialized together, shared some tears together, and enjoyed daily fun times. In 1961, they graduated as Registered Nurses, and the ‘Sisterhood’ was well established. Many moved to far and near destinations, some to further their education, some to new employment opportunities, and some were finally able to marry the love of their life. The tradition of celebrating a Homecoming Reunion every five years with the ‘Sisterhood’ became an event that was fondly anticipated. Letters were written in cursive handwriting to stay connected, giving updates on life and family, and shared with other classmates. A weekend of activities, starting with the Homecoming (Alumnae) Banquet at the Palliser Hotel, followed by a Coffee Party in the Sunken Lounge of the Residence and a tour of the hospi...

The news is filled with stories about people who have been scammed by a phone call, an email, and even in person. The temptation is to think that it will never happen to us. Why would any decent person want to hit on anyone, young or old, to make them miserable or even destitute. Maybe we are even tempted to wonder if the persons who were scammed were just too gullible and hope they have learned their lesson. As of last week, I have a story to tell; (watch for the ' red ' flags. For a lot of years, since the beginning of the Internet, I have done consignment selling for customers who didn't know how, or have the time, to post items for sale on the Internet. I started by selling on Ebay, researching the value and/or reasonable asking price, then packing and shipping the 'sold' item to the Buyer. Things have changed over the years, more opportunities, more technology, more customers, but there are also many opportunities for the ruthless and unethical people who are...

While watching the news this evening, it gave me an idea for a new blog from me. I do enjoy writing but the last couple of months have been filled with ‘other things’, and my list of ‘no-no’ topics that won’t be entertained by me is getting longer. I try not to be a ‘negative’ person. There is too much of that these days. Back to the news this evening… a town in the northern part of our province has announced that the last pay telephone in town will be retired, because it had only been used about ten times the past year. Following that announcement, the news broadcast stated that there are still 700 payphones in use in our province. I guess this is an important and newsworthy item for this second week in February! We even got to hear the sound of coins dropping in the coin box. Wow! That was exciting! OK… I didn’t promise not to be sarcastic! Payphones were important in my younger days. There were many reasons that we needed to make a phone call when away from home. We had no idea ...

 It’s been quite a year, and I wish you all a Happy and Wonderful New Year! I’m sure that the past year has been similar for most of us… some ‘hav- to’ jobs, some happy moments, and lots of spare hours. As I wrote in our year-end newsletter, I did a bit of cooking, a bit of cleaning, a bit of napping, and spent many hours refreshing memories through boxes and albums of photos, writing letters, sending emails and text messages, and talking on the phone. I use my computer every day, but I’ve been reminded about the progress of the telephone in my lifetime. The first eight years of my life were on a farm, and there was no phone to be had. There was no power and no running water, and the evening light in the room was an oil-burning lamp. When we moved to the city, our first telephone was attached to the wall in the hallway, and when we finally had a ‘curly’ cord, I could sit on the floor when talking on the phone. There was no area code, just a number like 75945, and we dialed ‘0’ to...

 We have seen so many changes in the last several generations, and this past year, with many of us who have time to spare, may have reconnected with friends from our past, and some who we may have never met in person. Technology has given all of us the ability to communicate quickly with friends who live on the other side of our planet. Gone are the days of pen and ink used to write letters that were delivered by the Postal Service, sometimes weeks after it was posted. Even though we understood that we would never meet in person, I have learned that two of my treasured cyber friends (Clydene and Barb), who I met on the NOTH website, have come to the end of their earthly journey. We enjoyed many chats online over the years and looked forward to meeting at our Eternal Home. Clydene was the first person who sent me an invitation to be her friend, and I was pleased to accept. Her home was in an area that we would pass through on a planned road trip to Branson, MO. I have never forgotte...

  Our Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone, November has arrived, and we've just experienced our first snowstorm of the season. It has been quite a year, and Christmas is just around the corner. This year, we are being encouraged to shop early because supply may be a challenge. I am so happy that I don't have to go shopping. Years ago, our two adult children suggested that we should find a Christmas project to donate to, because none of us needed anything. We agreed with their request that if we wanted to gift the children, one gift for each was enough. One gift didn't mean one big box with six items in it... it meant ONE gift! During the year, we could still remember birthdays with cards and gifts, and “just because” gifts were always acceptable. We also stopped sending piles of Christmas cards with just a salutation, but send a New Year’s newsletter to our friends. It was not our original idea, but when we started receiving letters from friends that included their spec...

 I don’t have to check my calendar … I just have to see the department in my chosen shopping location, to see the massive displays of Halloween costumes and other paraphilia to prepare for the end of the month. It seems that the majority of costumes are for adults. I grew up in a time when Halloween was a school party and a tour of the rural neighborhood, to sing a song or recite a verse at a neighbor’s front door as payment for a treat that could have been made in the their kitchen. There were a few pranks, instigated by some young adults, and most were accepted in good humor. There were no injuries, no food poisonings, no razor blades in home-made popcorn balls, and no defacing of personal properties. Our costumes were put together at home, often using clothing from our own closet or our parents’ work closet. Most of the time, we used face make-up instead of masks, and often wore a warm coat and boots if there was a layer of snow, suggesting that winter was coming early. For th...