A Canadian Hero - His Dream Lives On

On July 28, 1958, a young boy was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His name was Terry Fox and little did his parents know at that time that their son would leave his mark on the world.

Terry's parents moved to Port Coquitlam, British Columbia when Terry was still young. He attended Simon Fraser University and in 1976, was chosen to play junior varsity basketball. But after being on the team for only a year, Terry began to have excruitiating pain in his right knee. It turned out that Terry had osteogenic sarcoma, a type of bone cancer. His right leg was amputated to try to prevent the cancer from spreading.

While recuperating from the surgery, Terry read a magazine article about an amputee runner. He made up his mind that he would run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. After he fully recuperated Terry began to train for his run, which he called The Marathon of Hope. Two years after the amputation, Terry started to run at night when no one would see him. He was preparing himself to succeed in his goal.

On April 12, 1980, Terry dipped his articifical leg into the Atlantic Ocean in St. John's Newfoundland and then set off on his Marathon of Hope. He ran an average of 26 miles a day across six provinces.

Everywhere Terry went he was greeted by hundreds of people who lined roads and streets, cheering him on. But when he reached Thunder Bay, Ontario, disaster struck. Terry collapsed. The dreaded cancer had spread to his lungs.

Terry's parents flew in to Thunder Bay and took their son home but the Marathon of Hope was far from over. Isadore Sharp sent Terry a telegram the following day, stating that he would organize a run to raise funds for cancer research. It would be called, The Terry Fox Run.

Terry Fox succumbed to cancer on June 28, 1981. On September 21, 1981, the first Terry Fox Run was held at 760 sites across Canada and around the world. In 2008, the Terry Fox Run will be held on September 14th. The Terry Fox School Run Day will be held on September 26th. Jordan always participates.

For more information on the Terry Fox Run, or to make a donation, visit the website of the Terry Fox Foundation. Every dollar goes toward cancer research.

Note: My prayers are with all of those in the path of Hurricane Ike. Be sure to get in all the supplies you need and stay safe.

The Party Line

Do any of you remember the telephone party line. That is what we had when I was growing up. There were four parties on our telephone line - Grandma, who lived next door, Mrs. G., who lived one road over, and us. I believe there was one other party but I don't remember who it was.

When the telephone rang, the rings were distinctive. Ours was two longs and a short; Grandma's was one long and one short and Mrs. G's was three longs. I remember Mrs. G well because she was the most difficult person who every shared a party line.

When our phone rang and we answered it, we immediately heard a click, which meant someone was listening. At certain times you could hear Mrs. G's children talking in the background and this is how we knew it was her. The kids, one boy and a girl went to school with us, so we knew their voices well.

When we went to use the phone, we picked it up and listened. If the party line was in use, we gently placed the receiver back on the cradle, which was proper telephone etiquette in those days. Dad demanded only the best from his children and wouldn't tolerate us listening in on the party line. I only did it once, when I was about 12 years old and my butt stung for a couple of hours after I was caught. That was a lesson learned for me - no eavesdropping. It was a lesson that Mrs. G never learned the entire time that we had the party line.

If an emergency arose and you picked up the phone to call for help and it was busy, proper telephone etiquette demanded that you inform the parties that you needed the telephone for an emergency. They in turn were to bring their call to an end and clear the line. I only remember Dad asking for the party line once and Mrs. G was the talker. She had been on the phone for almost two hours and Dad finally asked that she clear the line so he could use it. She refused. He was furious and reported her to Bell Telephone. (Nowadays it is Bell Canada.) They gave her a good talking to and phoned Dad back to tell him if it ever happened again to let them know. If the line was not cleared for an emergency, the subscriber could lose their telephone privledges.

Dad got along with everyone, except Mrs. G, who hogged that party line as if it was her own private sanctuary. She talked and talked for hours at a time. Business couldn't be done by other parties on the line because she was always on it. Grandpa and Mrs. G had a few squabbles over the party line as well.

Today there aren't many party lines left in Canada and the ones that are still in use are all in remote wilderness areas of the country. There is also a place in California that still uses party lines. I'm glad that today we have private lines. I can't imagine having to share a telephone line with the nosey neighbors across from my back door. They watch our every move, so I'm sure they would be listening to all of our phone calls to learn more about our business.

The party line was fun when I was a kid. The community was closer knit and even though Mrs. G spent most of her day on the party line, we were blessed to have a telephone. Today, we take our telephones with us wherever we go. Although I don't carry a cell phone, most people do. Hubby has one for work and we do use it sometimes. Cell phones ring in stores, theaters, doctor's offices and other places where they shouldn't be. Drivers talk on their phone as they are driving and don't watch the road. They are distracted by the conversation. What ever would these people have done if they had shared a party line. Food for thought.

If you ever used a party line, I would like to hear your memories. It was a different time and a much slower paced lifestyle. ~Blessings, Mary~

Those Were the Days

I was sitting here tonight thinking about how prices have escalated and how modern conveniences have made our work load easier. When I was young, we had an old wringer washing machine, no dryer, a Quebec heater in the kitchen for warmth and an oil stove in the living room. There was no furnace, no indoor plumbing of any kind and no microwaves, computers or even a TV for that matter.

In those days, a modern kitchen looked like this:

We had nothing like this. Our cupboards were made of plywood and we had linoleum on the floor. I remember Dad bringing home a TV when I was 12. It was a small 15 inch black and white and we used rabbit ears to bring in Buffalo, Toronto, Hamilton and Kitchener. That was the only four TV channels that we were able to get.

Mom had a wringer washer and a washtub. All clothes were hung on the clothesline in all four seasons. I've brought clothes in from the line frozen stiff. They then had to be thawed and ironed. We had a Westinghouse refrigerator that had a small freezer about 12 x 12 inches. Ice built up on it rather quickly and it had to be defrosted at least once a week.

Grandma wasn't as lucky as Mom. She had a washing machine that was hand pumped. I thought my arms would fall off from pumping that washing machine when I was a child. Grandma also hung her clothes on the line in all four seasons. She didn't have a refrigerator, but an ice box. Grandpa didn't have electricity installed in the house until 1963.

Those were different times, but as I sat here thinking about all the work we had to do when I was a child, I would go back to that time without blinking an eye. Yes, we worked hard but in those days everyone pulled together to get things done. There was a bond there that couldn't be broken. It was a slower paced life and I miss those times.

How many of you remember the times when people helped each other out and wasn't afraid to trade or share what they had? Food for thought.

Have a great week and remember to give thanks for blessings received. ~Blessings, Mary~

Green Thumb Sunday

It's Green Thumb Sunday, hosted by Tricia at As the Garden Grows. If you'd like to participate, just click on the link to find out how.

It seems like time is flying by and that summer just started. Now, it is autumn and soon all of the trees will be alive with color. It's been really cool here at night and it seems like there is a hint of frost in the late evening air.

In autumn, I like to dress my porch up with lovely flowers. Autumn mums are often the flower of choice, as they will withstand some hard frosts before dying back.

I had to go to Home De*pot on Friday to buy more paint for the apartment. I have been watching the fall mums there for sometime. First they were selling for $20 and a couple of weeks ago they had come down to $12.99. Hubby asked me if I wanted one and I said, "Not yet." I just knew they were going to drop in price again.

Saturday when I arrived, the mums were priced at $8.99, so I bought one. Here it is in all of its glory.

It looks great sitting on the porch railing and brings a splash of color to the yard. I only bought this one and am now kicking myself. I should have bought another one for the other side of the porch railing. A rust one might look nice, or even a white one or another yellow one. Mmm! I shall see. I do have to go back to Home De*pot, so maybe I will pick up an additional one.

In other garden news, many of my plants died back early because of the record rainfall we had in July and August. The ivy that Brandon planted got black mould and I continue to remove leaves that are mouldy. It may last for the duration of the year. At one time I thought I would lose it, but it is still doing well.

Take care and enjoy the beauty, sights, sounds and fragrances of autumn. It is a wonderful time of year. ~Blessings, Mary~

If you are a regular reader, friend or visitor, please take a copy of the Autumn Friends Award from my previous post.