NOW, LET'S SEE...HAVE YOU BEEN NAUGHTY OR NICE?

May all your wishes come true...!!!

MEETING BETWEEN TWO WOMEN SET THE STAGE FOR MESSIAH'S ARRIVAL

Mary, expectant mother of Jesus, visiting Elizabeth.

Although Christmas is now a few days away, we are still in the season of Advent, the season of waiting for the coming of Christ. Through Advent emphasis is on those who prepared the way for Christ and in this Wrights Lane post I feel compelled to focus especially on Mary, the mother of a child to be named "Jesus", ultimately the Messiah.

The story of "The Virgin" Mary is often overlooked in the overall celebration of Christmas in today's vastly secular world. Likewise, her telling visit with an older relative by the name of Elizabeth is generally given a short shift.

We must first go to the Gospel of Luke 1:39-55 to pick up on a time just after Mary had been visited by the angel Gabriel, who had given her extraordinary news: Although still a virgin, she will conceive and give birth to a son, to be called Jesus; and Gabriel says this about him: "The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the House of Jacob (the people of Israel) for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end."

Gabriel’s message is that Israel’s long wait is coming to an end; Israel’s promised king is coming: the king for whom Israel had longed for centuries and whom the prophets had foretold. But the surprise is that it is through Mary, an unknown, unmarried teenager, that God’s promise will be fulfilled. It’s Mary who will give birth to the king. And what does Mary do now? We know that she says to the angel: "Let it be to me according to your word." She accepts the task that God lays upon her. But what next?

That is where in Luke 1:39-55 we find Mary doing something very natural: she goes to visit an older relative, Elizabeth, who is also expecting a child. For both of them, pregnancy is quite unexpected because Elizabeth is a lot older than Mary and didn’t think she and her husband Zechariah would ever have a child; but God has been at work there too and she is to give birth to a son who will grow up to be John the Baptist.

So here we have these two women, whose lives have been totally disrupted by what God has done, and now they meet, and we have what is one of the most purely joyful scenes in the whole Bible. Mary enters Elizabeth’s house and calls out a greeting. And at this point enormous joy wells up in Elizabeth. She somehow knows what has happened with Mary; she understands the secret about the child Mary is bearing. And she calls down a blessing on Mary: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." How lucky you are, Mary, and how wonderful to be bearing this extraordinary child. And how lucky, how incredibly privileged I am – Elizabeth goes on – that the mother of my Lord, the mother of Israel’s king, should enter my house. She adds that the baby she is carrying danced for joy when Mary spoke.

"Don’t be silly", we might say in response, "It’s just the baby kicking inside your tummy as babies do." But Elizabeth says "No, the child leapt for joy" -- joy is breaking out everywhere. And then Mary launched into a song of praise to God: my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God…from now on everyone will say how blessed I am because of what God has done for me.

Mary continued to celebrate God’s ways in the world; God’s concern for the poor, the hungry and humble; and God’s judgment on the proud and those who think the world is their possession; God’s surprising reversal of the world’s ways of thinking. It’s an amazing scene as these two women, one teenager, one getting on in years, realize that they are both right at the heart of something new that God is doing. Something both old and new – expected for hundreds of years but now actually happening in their lives, in their very bodies. And what is happening in them is not just for their sakes but for the sake of the whole world, which is to be transformed into a place of justice and joy. God’s kingdom is near.

How does this story of Mary and Elizabeth bear upon us as we prepare to celebrate Christmas this year? A couple of reflections. As we read this story we might ask ourselves how we recognize what God is doing in the world. The story of Mary and of her part in the coming of Jesus into this world is now so familiar that we easily miss how strange it is. If we had been pious Jews 2000 years ago, waiting for God to act by sending the king who would restore the people of Israel, where and how would we expect the king to arrive? And who would we expect to be the first to recognize his coming?

Probably we would look for guidance to our religious leaders, who have, as it were, special radar screens tuned in to what God is doing. Surely they would know how to discern God’s ways? And surely Israel’s king would arrive with a certain amount of ceremony and dignity? But the story of Mary says no to all that. Mary’s story tells us that God delights in doing things differently from how we might expect.

If God wants to give his Messiah, the king of Israel, a good start in this world, why on earth does God choose as the Messiah’s mother an unknown, unmarried teenage girl? As the story of this Messiah king continues to unfold, right through to his death on the cross, the same difficulty confronts us. God doesn’t do things as we might expect. He doesn’t always, or even usually, act through the expected kind of people.

On the most impressive radar screens that we can devise for making sense of God and his ways His real activity doesn’t always show up. So as we celebrate Christmas we should recognise the freedom, the unpredictability and the humility which God showed at the first Christmas, and which presumably are still his trademarks today.


There are doubtless Marys and Elizabeths around today, not in the public eye, not on any database of the great and good, but they, though they don’t know it, are at the heart of things in the sight of Heaven, rejoicing in what God is doing in and through them to advance his kingdom in this world. And there is both warning and encouragement in that. Warning to those who think they are special, even indispensable to God; because as Mary says, God scatters those who are ‘proud in the imagination of their hearts’. Encouragement to those who think nothing of themselves but who, like Mary, have hearts open to serving God, doing God’s will, being a blessing to other people. They stand with Mary, not on the margins of this world but in the light of God, and they know what Mary knows: that God exalts the humble and meek and fills the hungry with good things. They share in Mary’s joy, which cannot be taken from them.

One other point – somewhat related.: At the heart of this Gospel story is a meeting between a teenager and a much older woman. It’s not stated that Mary was a teenager but because women were married off very young in those days we can safely assume it. An elderly woman and a teenager rejoicing together in the coming of Jesus into the world and supporting each other as they each do their part.

It’s a beautiful picture of the Church as it should be --  old and young rejoicing together in God’s goodness. The young looking to the old for continuity, support, wisdom in the difficult task of living out God’s calling; the old delighted by what God is doing in the young, nurturing and honouring it, willing to welcome God’s disruptive ways. Old and young together in the Church: God’s people as they should be.

But that’s a challenging thought for all of us because in large part, and in most churches up and down the land, churches are of the old. In many situations that may not be anyone’s fault; it may be despite the best efforts of churches to include the young; it may be because of developments in society and patterns of life that appear beyond our control.

And yet if we are listening for the word of God this Christmas we must ask ourselves: where is Mary today? Where is the teenager today in whom God is doing his thing and bringing Christ into the world? And where does that teenager go to find Elizabeth, to seek support, advice, wisdom? Where do young and old meet?

Sadly, it is all beyond this aging scribe's ability to constructively comprehend or rationalize...I cannot offer an answer.  The best thing I/we can do this Christmas is to pray for enlightenment.

One thing is for sure, Elizabeth’s words and actions invite us to reflect on our own openness to the ways that God chooses to act in our world. What is God doing through unexpected people in our society today? Where is God at work through people whom our neighbors and fellow church members often exclude or treat as shameful? Will we listen to the Spirit’s prompting when the bearers of God’s new reality show up on our doorstep?

The Elizabeth-Mary story was initially introduced to me by my father and Sunday School teachers in the 1940s. How about you, dear reader?  When was the last time you heard it, or thought about it?...More importantly, were you sensitized by it? And have you related it to anyone in today's generation? That is exactly what I am taking about.

Some things are far too important and complex to be left for interpretation or for upcoming generations to absorb via the process of osmosis.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL! BUT DON'T FORGET THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Lest we forget at Christmas

During this Christmas season, may we take time to celebrate the birth of Jesus who was also known by other names given by angels and prophets -- Emmanuel (“God is with us”), Wonderful Counsellor, Prince of Peace, Bright Morning Star.

Through the birth of the Christchild in Bethlehem, God came to be with us (Emmanuel), to live among us. Jesus Christ, our Savior (there's another name), knows what it is to be human. He understands us and ultimately died for us, that is the message.

In those moments when we do not know where to turn, when the weight of our lives is too much to bear, Jesus the Wonderful Counsellor is there to listen and to help us bear the load.

In a world where conflict is everywhere -- conflict between nations, conflict between individuals, conflict between families, conflict between us and God, conflict with ourselves -- Jesus the Prince of Peace brings us the startling comfort that passes all understanding.

In the face of hopelessness, the light from the lowly manger in Bethlehem pierces the darkness, bringing light and hope to us, to our families, to our communities, and to the world.

This Christmas may you know the joy that Jesus -- our Savior, Emmanuel, Wonderful Counsellor, Prince of Peace, and Bright Morning Star -- is born into your life.  All you have to do is embrace Him to receive the greatest gift of all!

The words of this old hymn sum it all up for us:

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.

COST OF LIVING COULD BE THE DEMISE OF SOME OF US ON FIXED INCOMES

I don't know about your situation in your particular neck of the woods dear reader but if, as I suspect, it is much the same as in mine there is something drastically wrong with the picture.

This week we were told that the cost of healthy eating continues to rise in my Grey-Bruce area, leaving more residents at risk of food insecurity and susceptible to significant health risks. The 2018 Nutritious Food Basket survey shows that a family of four requires $204.16 each week to meet basic food needs, up 55 cents from last year.

Next stop?...Being unable to buy sufficient food -- period, healthy or otherwise -- if the Ontario government continues to dismiss the plight of the needy and fixed income seniors in our otherwise reasonably affluent province.

Laura Needham, public health dietitian with the Grey-Bruce Health Unit, said in a recent interview that generally each year there is not a big jump in costs to the food basket -- made up of 67 set items including plain, raw ingredients such as fresh produce, meats and other goods -- but it is the little things that keep adding up.

"The cost of food really isn't the problem when it comes to food insecurity, it is the fact that incomes are stagnant," Needham explained.  In other words, the cost of living keeps going up while fixed incomes are not in proportion.

Figures from the health unit tell the sad story.

For the aforementioned family of four receiving $2,549 in Ontario Works payments and forking out an average monthly rent of $945 plus food costs of $884, there is $753 left to cover all other basic living expenses (travel, utilities, toiletries, clothing, recreation and entertainment). Worse yet, for a single person receiving $794 from Ontario Works, paying the average rent of $604 with $297 in food costs, has them already in the red to the tune of $91 before paying for any other basic needs.

Consider also a single senior similar to me, still living in their own reverse-mortgaged home and receiving an average monthly Canada Pension stipend of $1,700 ($20,400 yearly) which, as we speak, does not fully cover the cost of utilities, maintenance and upkeep, municipal property taxes, insurance, transportation, food and increasingly limited contributions to religious institutions and charitable causes. Over an extended period of penny-pinching it does not take long to eat up any meagre supplemental life savings in the process of maintaining what amounts to a life style that hovers slightly at or below the poverty level.

Don't for one minute get me wrong, however.  I am very grateful for the CPP benefits that I receive after having contributed to the plan for 40 years.  Without it I could not survive.

To add further to this horror story, Canada's Food Price Report 2019 recently predicted that the average Canadian family is expected to spend an extra $411 on food in the coming year, so you do the rest of the math.

Needham rightly emphasizes that those who cannot afford healthy food are more apt to have chronic diseases such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes and heart issues and are more likely to develop mental health problems like depression, social exclusion and anxiety. All in all, something that public health needs to take into consideration.  Food banks and student nutrition programs are commendable but by no means are they a permanent solution. As it is now many food banks have difficulty keeping up with the demand for their service.

The Grey-Bruce Health Unit has advocated a basic income program for some time and, in fact, Ontario's Liberal government actually started a pilot initiative last spring in the Hamilton, Thunder Bay and Lindsay areas, but after the June provincial election the new Progressive Conservative government announced cancellation of the pilot, effective March 2019. To see a positive, socially conscious program cancelled in its infancy and before quality data could be collected, is truly a disappointing prospect.

As for me, I'm pretty resourceful.  In the future, when my food budget is depleted each month, I can always resort to selling pencils on the street corner, begging -- or stealing...What ever it takes to keep body and soul together.

All kidding aside, a beg, borrow or steal segment of society could very well be in the making, if it doesn't already exist. People will do whatever it takes to survive and that is a pretty scary reality.

Of course, we could all end up starving to death. Thus ridding rotund, never-missed-a-meal-in-his-life Premier Doug Ford of a troublesome portion of the electorate. Could it be that there is method in certain madness?

BOOK FEATURES REAL AND FICTIONAL CHARACTERS TO CREATE A SPRAWLING TALE OF TENTIONS BETWEEN ISREAL AND THE U.S.

"Lone Soldier", by Leo M. Rozmaryn, M.D., is an epic tale of romance, mistaken identity, war and politics all set against the backdrop of the tensions between the U.S. and Israel during the early 1970’s. This is a well-written, historically significant novel that is highly recommended. I am always impressed with some one dedicated to setting the record straight and possessing the creative wherewithall to do it effectively and in a meaningful way.

Lone Soldier is part military thriller and part star-crossed love story. The fast-paced action centers around actual historical events that took place from 1969 - 1974 in Israel and the U.S., taking readers through a moving, sprawling epic spanning a range of social issues and fascinating characters. What emerges is the portrait of one man, Arik Meir, a hero for his time, and his love for a young woman, Dahlia. The couple wants nothing more than to be together, but they are overtaken by events that are beyond their control.

The book not only brings this fascinating period of Jewish history to life, but it also highlights something that humanity is still battling against today: the malignancy of prejudice, and how much suffering it can cause to everyone involved.

Dr. Leo M. Rozmaryn

Below is a question-and-answer interview with the author.

Question: What exactly is Lone Soldier all about?

Leo M. Rozmaryn: "Lone Soldier brings alive the shifting motivations and allegiances of larger- than-life characters during the early 1970s, some of the most significant years in the history of Israel and the United States. In the spirit of Herman Wouk’s novel, The Winds of War, Lone Soldier is part military thriller, mistaken identity and complicated star-crossed love story. Fast-paced action is paired with meticulously researched historical events. Lone Soldier features a mixture of real and fictional characters to create a sprawling epic of the tensions between Israel and the U.S. and between a range of social issues in a time of love and war. What emerges is the portrait of one man, Arik Meir, a hero for his time – and for all time."

Question: What are the real-life historical aspects of Lone Soldier?

Rozmaryn: "The Six Day War in 1967 marked the beginning of what is considered today to be modern Israel. For the first time in nineteen centuries the old city of Jerusalem and all of biblical Israel was in Jewish hands. The stunning success of that conflict and the fact that for the first time Israel’s borders were relatively far away from its main population centers gave Israelis a deep sense of security and for many, invincibility. Although faced with the new threat of Palestinian international terrorism, unrest in the main centers of Palestinian population and a continuous war of attrition across the Suez Canal, and the Egyptian border, Israelis experienced a cultural revolution where the classic Zionist “kibbutz” lore was exchanged for European and American culture, fashion and rock and roll. This was also the beginning of real “class consciousness” and a struggle between the various Jewish ethnic groups which arose in part from the civil rights struggle that was taking place simultaneously in the US.

There was also a genuine sense at the time that Israel would never again have to fight an existential war for existence. In the Israeli army that translated into a sense that the Arabs would be too afraid or inept to start another war. This illusion was shattered in October 1973 when on Yom Kippur Israel experienced a sudden invasion from two fronts that nearly ended the Zionist enterprise. This era saw the real beginning of the modern American Israeli alliance, whose effects are still felt today."

Question: What makes this book different from other Jewish historical fiction works?

Rozmaryn: "Very few books focus on the inner life of modern orthodox Jews or religious Zionist Jews and even fewer focus on the period of time from 1969-1974 as it relates to U.S and Israel. Lone Soldier covers both of those aspects, which though under-represented in Jewish fiction literature are still very fascinating. I’d been told that “you can’t write a book about modern orthodox Jews. We’re simply too boring.” I beg to differ. While it’s true that most Jewish genre fiction relates to the holocaust, the life in ancient and modern Israel, Hasidic tales both old and modern and the travails of assimilation into Western culture, virtually nothing has been written about this narrow strip in the spectrum of Jewish cultural life. It is generally assumed that Modern Orthodox Judaism is synonymous with Religious Zionism. While there is some cross over, they are quite distinct and become much more apparent after the Six Day War in 1967. Most books that focus on the years between 1967-1973 are non-fiction. This period and it’s people are brought to light in many different ways in Lone Soldier."

Question: Why did you choose the years 1969 – 1974 to set Lone Soldier in?

Rozmaryn: "Those were my “coming of age” years which I spent partly in the U.S. and partly in Israel. This period had a profound influence on the type of person I became and the kind of life I’ve lived since. As one moves through adolescence into adulthood there are many issues and experiences that remain unresolved for most people. Many choose “the couch” to resolve them. Although this book is truly fiction, the process of writing it helped me move back through those years in a meaningful and constructive manner."

Question: Can you discuss how your fictional characters interact with genuine historical figures?

Rozmaryn: "Historical fiction set in a relatively modern era is replete with real-life characters that are well known and accessible both in terms of their biographies and character traits. In many cases there are people living today who knew the people who took part in the story and the real-life events that surrounded them. In such cases the author must be exceedingly careful to portray the “real people” in a sensitive and true to life fashion. This requires an enormous amount of research into non-fiction books of this period and also detailed interviews with people who knew the real people. The interaction between my fictional characters and the real-life ones must be seamless and “feel real”. While an educated reader will forgive the author for “inaccuracies” in the narrative of historical events constructed to advance the fictional plot, that reader will not forgive the author for gross misrepresentation of real-life people, especially those who lived heroic lives and are universally admired. While I certainly beat up on my fictional characters, I generally leave the real ones to the judgement of history."

Question: What role does prejudice play in Lone Soldier?

Rozmaryn: "Much ink has been spilled over the years on the terrible cancer that is prejudice which we all experience to a greater or lesser extent. Mostly we read about the victims of prejudice and rightfully so, but not enough is said or written about the corrosive effect that being prejudice to others has on its perpetrators. Lone Soldier explores the myriad forms of bigotry and the terrible cost that is paid by all involved. Most of us when asked what prejudice is, say racial prejudice. While that is the most pervasive form of prejudice especially in the US, in Lone Soldier prejudice is about making judgements about any person without the benefit of sufficient factual support. Reading the book with “an ear” towards prejudice will open the plot and make the reading of the book a much richer experience. Studying the effects of prejudice is becoming increasing important in our day with an upsurge in its ugly face all around the world."

Question: What about the Israeli Palestinian conflict do you want people to take away from Lone Soldier?

Rozmaryn: "War and conflict is a messy business that rarely corresponds to the tidy accounts taught in schools. That can certainly be said about Israel’s struggle. Intellectual honesty demands a hard look at all aspects of the turmoil and its effects on both Israelis and Palestinians. This book explores the travails of one man caught up in the maelstrom of that story and the price he pays for his idealism.

The Arab Israeli conflict is exceedingly complex. In my view, the Israeli Palestine conflict will never be resolved at its root cause until each side reaches a profound conclusion that the other has a valid narrative that binds them to that land. Only then can the process of true mutual respect begin, coupled with the understanding that in no way shape or form can one side hope to exert total control over all the land. Once that is understood both sides are left with three options: unending conflict, division of the land where each side must compromise deep seated religious beliefs, or all living as equal citizens in one multiethnic society. Teaching students only one side of the story, something that is becoming increasingly prevalent in American universities today, is not only intellectually dishonest but will ultimately perpetuate the conflict indefinitely."

More about the author: Dr. Rozmaryn is a reconstructive hand and microvascular surgeon by trade. A native of New York City, he graduated from Queens College in 1977, and later received an MD from Columbia University. Dr. Rozmaryn has a busy private practice in the Washington DC area, and has been selected by Washingtonian Magazine as one of its “Top Doctors” for the past 12 years, and has been cited by the Washington Post and the U.S. News and World Report for professional excellence.

Dr. Rozmaryn grew up in the religious Zionist/Modern Orthodox Jewish community. Besides his medical career, he has a keen interest in history, especially Middle East history. An avid reader of Jewish and Israeli history and a frequent visitor to Israel after completing high school there, he brings to bear a lifetime of experience and scholarship into the writing of his debut novel.

Dr. Rozmaryn lives with his family in Silver Spring, Maryland. For more information visit www.lonesoldierbook.com.  Lone Soldier is available on Amazon.

THEY'RE ENGAGED

Above is the photo selected by my granddaughter Beckie and her signifigant-other, Corey, to officially announce their engagement to be married next Spring. Not making the final cut, however, was the impromptu photo below that pretty much speaks for itself as the pair toasted the occasion: Corey gazing lovingly and longingly at a can of his favorite brew while Becky sips her wine and glances coyly in the other direction as if to say "Oh yeah?...Dream on mister!  I'm calling the shots from here on out." 

MEMORIES OF A LONG-RETIRED SANTA CLAUS...

'Tis the season for me to resurrect a few of my Santa Claus memories and photos. Back in 1990 I was a Santa Claus at the Bramalea City Centre in Brampton. One of my (Santa's) visitors that year was unsuspecting two-year-old granddaughter Alyssa who will celebrate her 30th birthday December 30 this year.  Below is a yesteryear flashback clipping from the Toronto Star published about 10 years ago describing tiny tot Adrian Lawrence's first glimpse of Santa Claus (identical setting with me at the shopping mall) that same year and believe it or not I very vividly remember the occasion and the little girl's earpiercing, uncontrolable screems. Adriana would also be 30 years old today. I agree with her grandmother that both photos are "treasures".

THE MAGIC OF PLAYING SANTA AT CHRISTMAS

Once you've played Santa Claus you never totally get it out of your system. When you immerse yourself into the role of the Jolly Old Gent on a legitimate basis, you take on an entirely new perspective of the greatest of all traditional myths.

In truth, not everyone can pull off being a realistic Santa or Santa's helper, depending on the dictates of the occasion.  It takes someone with a light heart and a genuine love of children, who himself has never really fully grown up and understands childish fantasy. Most importantly, to make the transformation believable, one has to be the biggest ham imaginable and a bit of a thespian to boot.

Over the years I have played Santa Claus in just about every possible setting and venue -- Sunday School concerts, hospitals, children's parties, company staff parties, community parades and major shopping malls. One of my most memorable experiences as Santa came when I skated out onto arena ice and into a swarm of 200 screaming junior figure skaters ages four to 10 (see photo below from the St. Thomas Times-Journal, circa 1969).

No question about it, there were a few minutes of sheer panic on the ice as I struggled helplessly on my blades against the force of kid power which did not let up until we crushed into the boards at the opposite end of the rink.

"Never again," I vowed...Santa learns the hard way! 

ONCE "DIRT POOR" GUYANAN BOY, NOW WARDEN OF GREY COUNTY

If you live outside of the Grey-Bruce County area you've probably never heard of Selwyn Hicks.  His story is a commendable one, however, worthy of sharing as an inspiration to other relatively newcomers to Canada.

Selwyn, now a resident of Hanover and recently acclaimed newly-minted warden of Grey County, was born into poverty in Guyana and immigrated to Canada with five siblings and a single mother at the age of nine. He grew up "dirt poor" in a housing project in the troubled Jane-Finch area of Toronto.  His mother provided for the family by working long hours as a "domestic". He never met his father.

Selwyn Hicks

Against all odds and quite remarkably, he went on to become a successful lawyer while obtaining a masters degree. Here is a bit of his his academic, professional and political background:

Graduating from the University of Windsor with both a degree in Law and a Masters in Business Administration, Selwyn was called to the Ontario Bar in 2003. He began practicing law in Hanover with Stephen Barker in the fall of 2003. Prior to this, he worked in the legal department of the Children’s Aid Society in Windsor and at a boutique Toronto law firm specializing in international business law and intellectual property.

A partner at Hicks & Hicks, Selwyn practises primarily in the areas of real estate and wills/estate planning. In recent years, he has developed expertise defending clients who have been charged with Smoke Free Ontario Act violations. Helping to shape the law, Selwyn has a number of reported decisions, including at the Ontario Divisional Court and Ontario Court of Appeal.

At 55 years of age and a father of for, he is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association (Ontario), as well as the Grey and Bruce County Law Associations. Serving as a member of numerous boards and committees over the years. Selwyn has also played an instrumental role in establishing a gymnastics club in the Town of Hanover.

A lover of politics, Selwyn was first elected to Hanover Council in 2006 and served two terms as Councilor. In 2014 he was elected as Deputy Mayor and was re-elected as Deputy Mayor again in 2018. In the role of Deputy Mayor, Selwyn sat on Grey County Council where he participated in decision-making at the upper tier level, with a particular interest in economic development, land use planning and social services. He even had an unsuccessful run at provincial politics in 2007, but don't count him out in future Ontario elections.

And that's not all, wife Barbara is also a lawyer and partner in their law firm.

In his new role as Warden of Grey County for 2019 he will provide leadership to County Council, represent the County at official functions and continue to serve on external boards and committees.

Foremost in his mind is a desire to foster the type of community where people of all backgrounds and income levels can succeed as he has. "I am hopeful that my example will send the message that in a great democracy you don't have to be privileged the reach high rank.  I am proud to live in a community where rich or poor, black or white, we can live with hope, dare to dream and achieve our full potential," he said in his inaugural address.

He also spoke about his childhood and the people -- teachers, mentors, coaches and others -- who supported him and showed him "a path out of poverty."

Selwyn Hicks is the first warden from Hanover since 1994 and is also the first visible minority warden in Grey County's 164-year history.

Good for him...Good for Hanover and Grey County too!

UNITED EMPIRE LOYALIST STATUS A GREAT HONOR FOR MY FAMILY...AND ME

It was a great honor for me to learn officially of my acceptance as a member of the United Empire Loyalists of Canada after several years of assembling family history and final presentation of credentials for crucial review by Dominion genealogists. 

It is a bit unusual that I obtained UE status due to direct links to two United Empire Loyalists, great-great-great grandfather Henry Wright and great, great grandfather John Stockwell -- both of whom settled in Upper Canada (Essex) in the late 1700's. 

*You can sort it all out by reading more on this rather unique "Wright Story" at *https://mywrightstory.blogspot.com/

Being a proved Loyalist descendant confers no special status in Canadian or other society, but many members use the post-nominal letters "UE" after their name, in consequence of Lord Dorchester's Order in Council in 1789, conferring recognition of the service of the Loyalists in defense of "The Unity of Empire."

T
he United Empire Loyalists came to Canada from the United States when the Thirteen Colonies revolted against England and setup an independent country in 1776. As their name suggests, the Loyalists were loyal to Britain and did not share the Americans' independent aspirations. Some fled north during the war of independence. Some came after, fleeing persecution by the victorious revolutionaries.

Many Loyalists headed for Nova Scotia. Many others arrived in Quebec, but the Governor, General Frederick Haldimand, was afraid of conflict with the French so he encouraged the new settlers to move up river. Here they rapidly populated the north shore of Lakes Ontario and Erie in what became, under the Canada Act of 1791, the new colony of Upper Canada. Its first lieutenant-governor was John Graves Simcoe. Simcoe wanted to re-create a piece of England in the new world and he encouraged the immigration of Loyalists from the United States. Depending on their rank, the newcomers received varying grants of land and other assistance in clearing and establishing farms.

Wright and Stockwell crown land grants were on the north shore of the Detroit River at Fort Malden and Colchester South, now considered Amherstburg area in Essex County.

It was pressure from the UEL's that led to the Canada Act of 1791. They wanted to ensure that they had free title to their lands - the freehold system of land tenure - and they wanted an elected Assembly like they were used to in the United States.

They also wanted a certain amount of land set aside for Protestant clergy reserves (just as the Catholics had). The Canada Act provided these reserves, but didn't specify which Protestant church was entitled to them. The Church of England Anglicans assumed the clergy reserves belonged to them. But a generation later, other Protestant churches, like the Scottish Presbyterians, were demanding a share, too.

Not all Loyalists were white Anglo-Saxons. A lot of black slaves had fled to the British side during the American revolution and came north after the revolutionaries won. Most of them settled in Nova Scotia, but a large number also came to Upper Canada via the underground railway and eventually settled in what would become Essex and Kent counties. About 2000 Iroquois Loyalists came north as well.

POPPA HAS BEEN TEACHING ME AND HE'S SLOWLY LEARNING...

"Hey Poppa! This blind is down and I can't see what's happening outside!"

By Matilda Wright

RRRUUFF EVERYONE!

I don't mean "rough" in human terms...I mean "rrruuff" in dog language, which when interpreted means "hello".  You people make communications so difficult!

Since considerable time has lapsed since my original introductory post, I thought that it was time I updated folks on the way life has been unfolding for me. My first few months with Poppa have been better than I ever imagined. I literally have all the comforts of home...lots of good food and water, comfy furniture to lay on and someone to cater to my every need, not to mention sleep beside any time of the day or night when the sandman suddenly overtakes us at any given moment.

I'm really not the same girl that Poppa rescued from the vet's office that star-crossed day (it seems like a lifetime ago). I'm more relaxed and secure in my new environment and, dare I say, a good two pounds heavier in weight. Not that I'm spoiled or anything, but it all seems to go with the territory I have come to know as "Wrights Lane".

There are a few things about existence in a Poppa's world that I am still trying to figure out, however. Admittedly, I am a bit protective and inquisitive by nature but...Well, for example:

• I consider that I have a two-fold duty -- 1) warning all oncomers that Poppa and I are a pair to contend with and 2) trespass on our territory, and do so at your own risk. For some reason, however, my insistent barking on such occasions seems to upset Poppa.  He continually yanks on my leash and commands me to "be quiet", leaving me to ask "What is a dog supposed to do? Be quiet in the face of potential danger posed by strangers and other animals?" Doesn't make sense to me!
• I love to sit on the back of our chesterfield and look out the window where I can observe all outdoor activity. Whenever I see people walking by, other animals (especially squirrels) and suspicious automobiles, I feel that it is incumbent on me to announce my presence and at the same time advise Poppa in the only manner I know how -- by barking loudly, naturally.  Once again, he yells "It's okay 'Tilda...Quiet!" Go figure.
• Poppa is now in the habit of pulling the blind down on our window so that I can't see out.  He doesn't realize that I can still hear things going on outside and it frustrates me not to know the source of what I interpret as a disturbance that we need to be aware of. Why do people put blinds on windows that are supposed to be for the purpose of looking out"?...In my mind, blinds kind of defeat the purpose.
• Because I am "attached to Poppa's hip" (his words), I like to sit beside him at meal time and watch what he has to eat. I have learned that if I look at him with sad eyes and turn on feminine K9 charm, he will eventually share morsels from his plate with me.  He draws the line, however, when I jump up on the table to get a better view of what's there.  Again, leaving me to ask: "If people can eat from a table, why can't dogs?" 
• Oh, just one more thing that is bothering me...On the odd occasion I have seen Poppa kiss other people, but when I try to give him a juicy one (kiss, that is) he grimmaces and profusely wipes his face with his shirt sleeve. Now I ask: What's with that? After all, he knows where I've been, doesn't he?

So, as you can see, there are a few things that we are still working on together. We continue to learn about each other and to make necessary adjustments when we understand. I wouldn't say this out loud, but I'm getting the feeling that the more Poppa teaches me, the more he learns himself. And from a dog's standpoint that is as it should be. Eventually I'll have him trained.

Contrary to popular opinion, we're not all dumb animals you know!

'Til next time people!

Rrruuff, rrruuff (two rrruuff's mean goodbye).

(With thanks to my ghost writter who shall remain nameless.)

MY DICKENS' VILLAGE HERITAGE COLLECTION BRINGS NOSTALGIC JOY

Think I'll need a bigger table surface for my Dickens' Village collection next year. *Click on image to enlarge.

It's been a good four years since I set up my Dickens' Village Heritage Collection in conjunction with the celebration of Christmas...Because of health related issues in the immediate family I just didn't feel like it. Christmas day pretty much came and went just like the previous 364 -- no traditional trappings. Even Christmas carols seemed to lack the usual comfort and meaning.  

While only a couple of people are apt to see the colorful display this year, I thought resurrecting it would help get me more in the spirit of the Yuletide season that I previously loved and looked forward to celebrating.

I started collecting Dickens heritage pieces a little more than 30 years ago and over a period of about 10 years the collection grew, one $100+ piece at a time each year. The prospect of the collection just seemed to be a natural for a traditionalist like me.

Love of the holiday traditions in fact sparked the concept of the Heritage Village collection.  When decorating our homes, we are often drawn to objects reminiscent of an earlier time.  Holiday memories wait, hidden in a bit of wrinkled tissue or a dusty box, until that time each year, when rediscovered, we unpack our treasures and are magically transported to a time and place waiting to be remembered.

The first introduction of the Dickens' Village by Department 56 in 1984 was the beginning of the heritage collection. Extensive research, charming details, and the fine hand painting of the original porcelain shops and village church established them as a favorite among collectors. Other series followed but did not hold the same meaning as the original for me.

The spirit of Christmas in Victorian England was bustling, hearty and joyous. Visitors arrive by horse-drawn coach as shoppers scurried about the village gathering gifts and traditional holiday delicacies. This delightful period was captured best by Charles Dickens in his classic story "A Christmas Carol".  The Dickens' collection recreates a festive holiday spirit of this bygone era with an assortment of shops, houses, buildings and accessories.

Each Christmas when I set up my village I try to create a different scene, complete with Dickens' characters Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and his son Tiny Tim. The focal point is always the local brass band playing carols in the town square as Santa and his reindeer soar over the roof tops. It takes many days for me to get the location of each piece just right and to my satisfaction.

I don't mind admitting that my collection becomes almost real as each year imagination brings the village to life. I had forgotten about the joy it has brought me. I've missed it!

Click on image to enlarge view.

VOLUNTEERS BUILDING HOMES FOR HUMANITY ON RESERVE LAND

Officials join one of the Neyaashiinigmiling families in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new home.

Here's another good news story being created off the beaten path not far from my home in Southampton.

On Saturday, November 24, four families on the Neyaashiinigmiing Aboriginal Reserve No. 27, formerly Cape Croker, received the keys to their new homes thanks to Habitat for Humanity.

The Build is a unique pilot project in partnership with the Chippewas of Newash Unceded First Nation, Habitat for Humanity and the Government of Canada. The Chippewas of Nawash occupy Neyaashiinigmiing 27 on the east shores of the Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula on Georgian Bay and have created a new 19 lot development of homes that are being built by the selected families and volunteers from across Grey and Bruce Counties.

The families partner with Habitat to build their homes by completing 500 hours of sweat equity, or 350 for a single parent. They can then purchase the house with a no-down payment, no-interest mortgage. Many of those in the homes will not spend more than 25 per cent of their income on on housing.

On Saturday, a ceremony was held at the Build site on Sydney Bay Road that began with a special traditional drumming ceremony by Paul and son Jackson Nadjiwon and Algonquin Chief Wayne McKenzie of Notre Dame de Nor who had traveled from Quebec..

Neyaashiinigmiing Chief, Greg Nadjiwon, said that he was as excited as the families to see the project evolve. “This was because of the way the collaboration of partnerships, donations and volunteers, who showed up day after day to participate in the build, happened. There were 270 volunteers on the project.”

Chief Nadjiwon also took the opportunity to announce that Chief and Council had “… found the funding to make this happen and that six more builds were to be done in 2019. We plan to continue this very successful endeavour because this was not just about building houses, this was about building community and having community members come together. We plan to proceed until there are 19 houses and then we are moving on to a water treatment plant. It is our hope that the success of this project will open doors to allow other First Nations to address the chronic housing crisis that exist across the country.”

Major donors to the project included Bruce Power, the Realtors Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound and the United Way of Bruce and Grey among others. Francesca Dobbin and Chief Greg Nadjiwon

Francesca Dobbin, Executive Director of the United Way of Bruce and Grey, announced several initiatives for the new family homes that included providing new beds (18) complete with bedding and propane assistance thanks to donations by several companies in the area.

Al MacDonald, Construction Manager of Habitat for Humanity, who headed up the Build, said that it was only through the help of the many volunteers that the project was completed. “We work very safely as there are so many people who volunteer from a wide variety of life experiences and who have never been on a construction site,” said MacDonald. “This is a meaningful experience and a community effort. Every volunteer who comes out is for the benefit of somebody else. Quality is also paramount and, sometimes, we do things over to build an incredible house. It’s also behind the scenes with the meals and coffee and support that makes it a community effort. It’s working with the families and the volunteers who, frankly, don’t have the skills to build homes but who learn and do the work that needs to be done.”

Several other similar Habitat for Humanity projects are also underway in Bruce Peninsula Reserve communities north of Saugeen Shores.

Hearing of projects like this once in a while provides us with a welcomed respite from our constant news diet of conflict and discourse around the world.

TURNING INWARD WITH "WHAT'S LEFT IN LIFE" THOUGHTS

It has now been almost six months since my wife Rosanne passed away. For the second time in 20 years I have endured the initial stages of grieving the death of a spouse. I honestly believed that I had it all licked -- feeling stronger both emotionally and physically, getting on with life with a degree of normality as I remembered it.

Then out of the blue last evening as I was preparing supper, I felt the onslaught of a heavy ache in my upper gut and chest. Tears began to flow. "Good God almighty, it's happening again. I thought that I was all over this sort of thing," was my initial reaction. It was all I could do to control emotions and to return to the priority at hand -- getting supper.

For the balance of the evening, and even this morning, I have struggled with the depressive thought that for all intents and purposes, my life is over...nothing of significance to live for, not that my life has been of much significance anyway.

After all, when you stop to think about it, what does life really have to offer an 80 year old of meager means...One who has seen it all and done most of it?  The question does give one pause.

Strange how grief can crop up on you when you least expect it or when you are, often unknowingly, most vulnerable. It is all part of losing something, or someone, of significance. Nothing is more final than death. What is gone, is gone, forever. What was, is no longer. That is the worst part of it.

As an escape or divergence, my impulse was to turn to one of the few things that satisfies a need within me -- offering my thoughts in writing on Wrights Lane

I have always felt that there is an inherent sort of comfort in wrapping myself in words, either of my own creation or that of others, and losing myself to a different kind of world for just a little while.

Well-written words on their own sing just as much as any song, and what’s more, they have the power to truly speak to you (the part of you that’s hurting). Because, regardless of how you’re feeling, there is undoubtedly someone who has felt like you before, and the power of music and words can bring about that emotion and re contextualize it in yourself and your current suffering.

Also, if I try to create, whether it be any form of writing or art, I feel incredibly separate from whatever is going on in my day-to-day existance. Creativity lets me truly bond with whatever art medium I’m working with, and I think that engaging in the creation of something you’re naturally passionate about is the best cure-all on the planet.

It’s important to recognize, too, that often times, suffering brings about the best writing. Pain leads to many of the greatest songs and symphonies. The power of either losing yourself to the world created from words, musical notes or a paint brush, or creating a new world from your suffering is something that we all can look to when there seems to be nothing left, if there truly is nothing.  Then why not try to create something?

And, how do I go about creating that something?  I turn inward, because I am all that I have left.

I have to realize that I am temporarily being sucked into a familiar and painful vacuum, but this too shall pass. Maybe, just maybe there is something better in store for me tomorrow, giving renewal to a belief that Life's the greatest...Live it to the fullest!  You just never know what's in store for you.

Life is like a sine wave. It's a continual test of endurance and self-reliance, full of changes and surprises to the very end. It is not like me to back away from change and I like surprises.

That's the way I look at it, anyway.

Thanks for listening!

THE TRUTH TODAY NEEDS TO BE CONSTRUCTIVE AND ADAPTIVE, OTHERWISE IT IS NO BETTER THAN FAKE NEWS, BULL ROAR OR A LIE

In this day and age it is really difficult to know what is truth and what is not. We are living in a period when one man's truth can be written off as fake news by another with little attempt to justify opposition. There are no longer any beliefs, positions, issues or institutions that are sacrosanct. 

At best, selective and deceptive half-truths have become the order of the day.

It has been suggested that one way to understand truth is simply to look at its opposites, namely, lies and a form of deception commonly known as "BS". The liar must track the truth in order to conceal it. In contrast, the bullsh*tter has no regard or sensitivity for the truth, or even for what his or her audience believes.

Those who lie and those who tell the truth are playing on opposite sides, so to speak, in the same game. Each responds to the facts as understood, although the response of the one is guided by the authority of the truth, while the response of the other defies that authority and refuses to meet its demands. The BSer ignores these demands altogether. He does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, BS is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.

Following his defeat at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Mark Antony heard the rumour that Cleopatra had committed suicide, and consequently stabbed himself in the abdomen—only to discover that Cleopatra herself had been responsible for spreading the rumour. He later died in her arms.

"Fake news" may be as old as humanity, but in our Internet age it has spread like a disease, swinging elections, fomenting social unrest, undermining institutions, and diverting political energy from health, education, and good government. Initially, “fake news” referred to false news with large scale popular traction, although Donald Trump seems to have extended the usage to include any news that does not serve him.

Those who are alarmed, or who feel they are in a minority, might take comfort in the words of Søren Kierkegaard:

"Truth always rests with the minority, and the minority is always stronger than the majority, because the minority is generally formed by those who really have an opinion, while the strength of a majority is illusory, formed by the gangs who have no opinion — and who, therefore, in the next instant (when it is evident that the minority is the stronger) assume its opinion… while truth again reverts to a new minority."

The Correspondence Theory of Truth: Truth is a property not so much of thoughts and ideas but more properly of beliefs and assertions. But to believe or assert something is not enough to make it true, or else the claim that ‘to believe something makes it true’ would be just as true as the claim that ‘to believe something does not make it true’.

For centuries, philosophers have agreed that thought or language is true if it corresponds to an independent reality. For Aristotle, “to say that what is is, and what is not is not, is true." For Avicenna, truth is “what corresponds in the mind to what is outside it." And for Aquinas, truth is “the adequation of things and the intellect” (adaequatio rei et intellectus).

Unfortunately, but perhaps also fortunately, the mind does not perceive reality as it is, but only as it can, filtering, distorting, and interpreting it. In modern times, it has been argued that truth is largely constructed by social and cultural processes, to say nothing of individual desires and dispositions. Michel Foucault famously spoke, not of truth or truths, but of “regimes of truth." Categories and constructs regarding, for example, race and sexuality may not reflect biological let alone metaphysical realities.

The Coherence Theory of Truth: A thing is more likely to be true if it fits comfortably into a large and coherent system of beliefs. It remains that the system could be a giant fiction, entirely divorced from reality, but this becomes increasingly unlikely as we investigate, curate, and add to its components—assuming, and it is quite an assumption, that we are operating in good faith, with truth as our aim. So conceived, truth is not a property, or merely a property, but an attitude, a way of being in the world.

'Truth' is not a feature of correct propositions which are asserted of an 'object' by a human 'subject' and then are 'valid' somewhere, in what sphere we know not. Rather, truth is disclosure of beings through which an openness essentially unfolds. All human comportment and bearing are exposed in its open region.

The Pragmatic Theory of Truth: All the better, perhaps, if we can actually do something useful with our system and its components. If truth leads to successful action, then successful action is an indicator of truth. Clearly, we could not have sent a rocket to the moon if our maths had been wide off the mark. For William James, the truth is “only the expedient in the way of our thinking, just as the right is only the expedient in the way of our behaving”.

If something works, it may well be true; if it doesn’t, it most probably isn’t. But what if something works for me but not for you? Is that thing then true for me but not for you? For Nietzsche, who makes himself the natural friend of two-penny tyrants, truth is power, and power truth: “The falseness of a judgment is not necessarily an objection to a judgement… The question is to what extent it is life-advancing, life-preserving, species-preserving, perhaps even species-breeding…”

Short-term or long-term, and at what cost?

The Deceptive Theory of Truth: That a thing fits into a system, or leads to successful action, may suggest that it is true, but does not tell us much about what truth actually is. Beyond that, the correspondence theory of truth doesn't tell us very much at all, so thin as to be almost or entirely tautological—and perhaps for a reason.

It has been argued that to say that X is true is merely to say that X, and therefore that truth is an empty predicate. Truth is not a real property of things. Rather, it is a feature of language used to emphasize, agree, or hypothesize, or for stylistic reasons. For example, it can be used to explicate the Catholic dogma of papal infallibility: “Everything that the pope says is true.” But this is merely shorthand for saying that if the Pope says A, then A; and if he says B, then B…

For some thinkers, something can only be true or false if it is open to verification, at least in theory if not also in practice. The truth of something lies at the end of our inquiry into that thing. But as our inquiry can have no end, the truth of something can never be more than our best opinion of that thing. If best opinion is all that we can have or hope for, then best opinion is as good as truth, and truth is a redundant concept. But best opinion is only best because, at least on average, it is closest to the truth, which, as well as instrumental value, has deep intrinsic value.

By its very nature self-deception is hard to distinguish from the truth—whether our internal, emotional truth or the external truth. One has to develop and trust one’s instinct: what does it feel like to react in the way that I’m reacting? Does it feel calm, considered, and nuanced, or shallow and knee-jerk? Does it take the welfare of others into account, or is it all about me? Am I satisfied with, even proud of, my self-conquering effort, or does it make me feel small, angry, or anxious?

Self-deception doesn't ‘add up’ in the grand scheme of things and can easily be brought down by even superficial questioning. As with a jigsaw, try to look at the bigger picture of your life and see how the thought or reaction might fit in. Did you react from a position of strength or vulnerability? What would the person you most respect think? What would Socrates think? Talk to other people and gather their opinions. If they disagree with you, does that make you feel angry, upset, or defensive? The coherence of your reaction can speak volumes about the nature of your motives.

Finally, truth is constructive and adaptive, while lies are destructive and self-defeating. So we are left asking: How useful is a self-deceptive thought or reaction going to be for us? Are we just covering up an irrational fear, or helping to create a solid foundation for the future? Are we empowering ourselves to fulfill our highest potential, or depriving ourselves of opportunities for growth and creating further problems down the road? Is the cycle simply going to repeat itself, or will the truth, at last, make us free?

In retrospect, it takes a degree of honest soul-searching and fact-checking just to understand some things in a day and age where it is difficult to know what, or who, to believe.

Like Mark Anthony, some of us learn the hard way...Ain't that the truth!