Morningside + She Wanted to Help + Get Better Soon
Good Morning from Warren Grove, Prince Edward Island
Welcome to my musings this morning and thank you for being here.
May 31, 2022, was the anniversary of “the bridge” opening linking Canada to Prince Edward Island.
It was a day I remember for another reason as well.
May 30 - after 3,000 hours of thought-provoking programming - Morningside with Peter Gzowski bid farewell to CBC Radio listeners.
Peter Gzwoski, known colloquially as "Mr. Canada" or "Captain Canada," was a Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter, most famous for his work on the CBC radio show This Country in the Morning and Morningside. I loved his sense of humour and friendly, warm interviewing style. As a result, I learned a lot about our country.
Both days were huge for Canadian heritage.
It felt like my heart moved from the left side of my sternum to the right. I was 50/50 between the yes and no campaign, but I voted yes. I knew that I would miss Morningside with Peter Gzwoski and the time spent on the ferry going between the two worlds, the little one and the big one.
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~ Thornton Wilder
Our six and eight-year-old daughters and I walked to the halfway point and back on the bridge that day. Shirley and a number of her girlfriends walked the complete 14-kilometre/9-mile bridge only to find out on the other side that they had to keep walking another 9 kilometres or almost 6 miles to catch the ferry back. It was quite a day. Quite the memory for us all.
Many angels are amongst us, but Vanessa MacKinnon gets the honour this week.
Vanessa left the island, headed to the war zone in eastern Europe, and arrived in Romania on March 18, almost a month after the Russian invasion. She made her way to Siret, a small Romanian town that borders Ukraine, to assist Ukrainian refugees.
"I really wanted to do something to help," she said. "I had lived and worked in Ukraine before, so I felt this connection to Ukraine."
At the end of March, MacKinnon returned to her teaching job at a Charlottetown language school but kept thinking about what more she could do to help.
Starting this month, she will be hosting free group English classes to help Ukrainians on the Island — especially those who recently arrived.
Read the incredible story here. Thank you, CBC.
Vanessa, everything you do contributes to a better world. Thank you.
In your life's journey, there will be excitement and fulfilment, boredom and routine. but when you have picked a dream that is bigger than you personally, that truly reflects the ideals that you cherish, and that can positively affect others, then you will always have another reason for carrying on. ~ Pamela Melroy
This week, Katherine MacLaine posted a beautiful series of photos on the Gardens of Hope blog. Take a look at May Colours in the Gardens.
Sitting in my cabin and writing the blog this morning, my mind wanders to nature. The view as I see it today.
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
By William Woodsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Have a wonderful peaceful weekend.
With love from Prince Edward Island,
Bruce + Millie
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ps. Your Morning Smile
A retired man who volunteers to entertain patients in nursing homes and hospitals went to one local hospital in Brooklyn and took his portable keyboard along. He told some jokes and sang some funny songs at patients' bedsides.
When he finished, he said, in farewell, "I hope you get better."
One elderly gentleman replied, "I hope you get better, too."
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