Old School, Graciousness, and Storm Chips

Good Morning from Prince Edward Island, 

Let’s have a cup of tea and chat about the weather! 

A great Island past time. 

We are in the throws of preparing for Hurricane Dorian to hit Nova Scotia first then us. 

Our friends in some parts of the US are accustomed to hurricanes, we are not. So we wait for the winds and rains and the clean up afterwards. It certainly won’t be as bad as the Bahamas. My heart goes out to them. 

Here is the local forecast as of 7:21 am this morning, as provided by CBC.

In last week’s blog, Elaine Erhart of Floriday left this gracious comment about her community preparing for hurricane Dorian. 

“Thank you for the reminder of the true joy in living, helping others and trying to see them as God sees them. Yesterday was a crazy day here in Florida as people attempted to prepare for the possibility of hurricane Dorian hitting our area. There were very long lines at the gas stations, food stores and even the car washes (that one I do not understand at all :o). There was even a rather lengthy wait at fruit stands and other impromptu businesses. Water was/is in short supply and that seemed to the center of much of the focus.

But in the middle of it all I was very pleased to see so many acts of kindness: people putting other folks before them in line, giving up some of the water they had in their carts for others who did not have any, paying for the groceries of people behind them in line and even giving water to people who were directing traffic at the gas stations. It was so refreshing in the midst of all the craziness and fear going on around me. Your comments were well-timed for we “southerners”. Thank you.

Compassion, kindness and a bond of community seemed to overcome the uneasiness of the circumstances in which we all find ourselves. It is always the right time to show compassion and kindness to those around us regardless of the stress in our circumstances….. will be an interesting week here in Florida, USA.”

There has been lots of ink used in sharing about the life of Hurricane Dorian. 

Graciousness goes a long way in times of stress. I find Prince Edward Islanders are great to help each other out in all sorts of situations. 

"Your graciousness is what carries you. It isn't how old you are, how young you are, how beautiful you are, or how short your skirt is. What it is, is what comes out of your heart. If you are gracious, you have won the game."

~ Stevie Nicks

Here is a nice little story in Psychology Today about graciousness being shared between two adversaries. It would be nice to return a civil discourse in society. 

For a little levity, I enjoyed Reginald "Dutch" Thompson's column The Bygone Days brings you the voices of Island seniors, many of whom are now long-departed. These tales of the way things used to offer a fascinating glimpse into the past. Every second weekend CBC P.E.I. shares one of Dutch's columns. 

It reminded me of my first day at school when the “big boys”, held a tiny teacher by the ankles from a third-story window and another band of big bullies grabbed a young lad and tied him to the football goal posts. Fortunately, it improved from there. That being said, I had more than my fair share of strappings. LOL 

Enjoy the story here. If you have any stories of your early school years, I’d love to hear them. Please put them in the comment section. 

Well, off to batten down the hatches and get our supply of storm chips! 

Be safe and have a nice weekend. 

Today, I have been listening to 

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Variations & Bagatelles by Dutch pianist Ronald Brautigam. Sample listen here.

With love from Prince Edward Island!

Sincerely,

Bruce

Ps. 

Little Jimmy: "So your family got a new house! How do you like it?"
Little Johnny: "It's terrific! I have my own room, Billy has his own room, and Jenny has her own room. But poor Mom is still in with Dad."