Richard Le Sueur

It Crossed My Mind

Since I started on social media I have tried, for the most part, to be positive, share interesting, thoughtful and fun things, as well as avoiding religion and politics (as there seems to be more than enough of those subjects available).

I have, on occasion, posted about things such as family violence, down syndrome and other issues affecting primarily children and youths. These particular areas are of great importance to me and are the main reason for me continuing my membership and volunteering with my Kiwanis club.

Recently I have started following more people on various platforms and while doing so figured that perhaps I need to provide some of my thoughts on other areas, at times a bit separated from my regular fare.

However, this may bring with it an obstacle which I must be willing to overcome.

Unfortunately it is becoming increasingly difficult to discuss, it seems, pretty much anything, and expect it to remain a civil discourse.

Civil discourse is taken to mean a respectful conversation aimed at fostering understanding and constructive communication between individuals in a group having different perspectives. (A good Wikipedia article can be found here.)

It seems that too often what starts out as a discussion soon becomes clogged with misinformation and vitriol. One only needs to read comments of some articles or posts to see how the discussion can degenerate.

So, if I start offering my opinions on subjects or issues which may be, shall we say, more controversial or contentious, I must accept the fact that on occasion they may result in in uncivil discourse. And so I shall, as the alternative would be to remain silent.

So how did my regular fare, my Wee Internet Empire come about. Well, it just sort of evolved.

Although I had been online since the early 1990’s, I became really involved in social media about 2007 with Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. I started my Flickr page about the same time and began blogging in 2009. My YouTube began in 2016 and about mid 2021 I came up with my podcast.

While doing a podcast I made an offhand remark about about my wee internet empire. After, I thought why not, so that’s when I officially named it.

I have deliberately kept the subject matter and schedule of all platforms unstructured so as to post what I felt like, when I felt like. Because there is no set pattern, I created a newsletter so that my followers would know when there was something new and they wouldn’t have to keep checking in. If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to the newsletter here.

So, the point of this blog post is to let folks know that in the future I may talk about some areas where most likely there will be some religious and political aspects involved. Discussion in the form of civil discourse is welcome and encouraged. Most comments will be left for all to see, however threats or similar comments will be deleted and the person blocked.

As always, I really appreciate the support and feedback from my followers, or those who just drop in (whom it would be great to have as followers – unabashed plug). Your comments, thoughts and ideas are always appreciated.

Take care all. Catch you later with my next blog post/podcast or whatever.

1413 Days

In the middle of March 2020, due to the beginning of Covid, we were forced to cut short our visit with family and friends in Malaysia. We made it back to Canada just in time, although we did have to go into isolation for fourteen days. Two of Kim’s brothers, who were also in Malaysia, were not able to return to Canada until several months later.

Today, 1413 days later, we begin our journey back to Malaysia to see our daughters and grandchildren, having missed nearly four years of their lives.

Oh sure, we have maintained contact with them via electronic means on this thing called the “world wide web”, however as anyone can figure out, it’s not the same as being with them in person. It’s not even close.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, this has become another blog post stretched over a period of time. In this case, about six days, or maybe five, depending on how one looks at it, because the International Date Line is involved.

At 1600 hours on 30 Jan, we left home and headed to YEG to begin our journey.

Okay, if you know me, I use military time, the 24 hour clock, and write my dates different from some folks, and use airport designators. I write my blogs and you read them, that’s the way it is. <<Grin>>

So, off to the airport we went, have to get there a minimum of two hours before the flight, as everybody knows. Check-in was good, four checked bags, all comfortably under 23 kg, so no issue there. Then it was off to security, there we had a bit of an issue on a couple of fronts. Going through the detector, I beeped. Was asked if I had a hip replacement, said yes, so secondary it was. Hmm… there I beeped all over. It seems that the buttons on my cargo shorts are metal, so you guessed it, I beeped. Okay, got that sorted out, only to discover that my backpack had been pulled aside. Hmm… seems somebody had not emptied out his water bottle. The security chap was kind and did it for me so all was good. Nobody arrested me or even yelled at me, they were very good about everything. Away to the departure gate, waited a while and boarded the aircraft. At 1935, on schedule, we lifted off for YVR, experiencing a relatively uneventful Westjet flight, getting our glass of non-alcohol drink and bag of tiny pretzels enroute.

Now in the interest of transparency, I need to let you know that for this journey I am still having some issues with both my legs so am listed as requiring assistance, meaning a wheelchair. Having heard tales in recent months about folks with disabilities and the issues they have had when flying, I was unsure as to how things would go. I must state that for me on this trip, the service I got was exemplary from start to finish with the various airlines and airports doing exactly what was required. And I thank them for that.

Back to the journey. Upon arriving in YVR it was necessary to make the trek, and it is a lengthy trek, from the Westjet gate to the EVA Air gate. Thank goodness for golf carts. Once there, we had an almost three hour respite until we boarded the aircraft. At about 0015, on 31 Jan, we were ready to taxi away from the gate. I say we were ready, however Mother Nature was not. Vancouver had been experiencing a couple days of an “atmospheric river” and there were so extremely high gusting winds. After a half hour or so, Mother Nature said that we could go, so we did.

It was our first time flying EVA Air, I found the economy seating on the Triple 7 comfortable and the flight attendants were very efficient. Even so, it was nice to arrive at TPE thirteen and a half hours later. Once there it seems that connecting passengers have to go through what amounted to a mini security screening prior to heading to their next departure gate. This made us quite confused, however through we went. Our water bottles didn’t have to be emptied and our laptops, tablets and phones didn’t have to be removed from the bags. Personally I’m still not sure of the purpose of this process. Guess there must be some reason for it.

Then it was off to the departure gate for another close to three hour respite. I should mention that there was quite a distance from the arrival gate to the security to the departure gate, all done by wheelchair, no golf carts.

Boarding time came and there was a problem. Passngers were there, flight attendants were there, aircrew was there, but oops, seems there was no aircraft there yet. It appeared realatively quickly, however it had to be prepared for us to board, which took a while. Okay, then we were ready to load, but wait, it seems there was a passenger who had to be escorted on first. We don’t know what her situation was, but she didn’t want to go and was carried on by four or five people, while making quite the disturbance. Kim and I noted, although there was certainly a major kerfuffle, and while people were certainly paying attention, we didn’t see people videoing the event with their phones and we appreciated that folks seemed to be respecting her privacy.

Eventually we boarded the aircraft and departed just over an hour later than scheduled. Our flight to KUL was four and a half hours. The economy seating on the Airbus was not great and for some reason my seat would not recline, making it rather uncomfortable, with the result I was fairly sore by the time we landed. Once again the EVA Air flight attendants were highly efficient, although I will say that on both flights they were not all that friendly, basically just business.

Arriving at KUL was uneventful, deplaning went well, and then the KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) trek began. At KUL we land at one terminal, however customs, immigration, baggage, and passenger pickup is all done at another terminal. Joining the two terminals is normally a train, but currently it is under long maintenance, so buses are employed. Not horrible by any stretch, however they are less efficient in moving the people. Once again there was an extensive wheelchair trip. A bit of a wait for immigration as it was quite busy, then baggage was acquired and contact made with our arranged ride who had been waiting patiently. Wait you say, what about customs. It seems that you only go through customs if you are selected, randomly or otherwise. I’m sure that baggage is screened on arrival. We try to do things properly and, I guess, have been successful thus far as I’ve not be called for customs on this, or previous, arrivals.

Now we are talking about baggage, this is a good segway to an action I took prior to this trip. One always hears horror stories about travel and baggage. Things like “I flew from YEG to YOW and my luggage went to YYC”, or worse “my luggage has disappeared”. We make sure that our bags are well marked, strapped, and we also place sheets inside providing information on our destination and contact numbers. In addition, for this journey I decided to purchase Samsung Galaxy SmartTags for each checked bag. It was kind of cool, at each stop, I would check my phone and see if all our bags were still with us, and they were. On a couple previous trips we had been short a bag upon arrival, but in both cases the bag had decided to spend an extra day in HKG. Both Cathay Pacific (our airline for those trips) and KLIA, preformed admirably and the bags were delivered directly to us the next day. To have the SmartTags was reassuring however, and according to reports, they, along with similar other tags, have proven their worth when baggage goes astray.

Once through all the process at KLIA, we also picked up Malaysia SIM cards for our phones, we connected with our driver and commenced our roughly two hour drive to Malacca and our accomodation provided for us by our granddaughter. The drive was uneventful other than a brief rain deluge and the ever present traffic.

Bottom line for the journey. We left home at 1600 on 30 Jan (Edmoton time), and arrived at our destination at 1930 on 01 Feb (Malaysia time). We essentially skipped 31 Jan entirely due to the International Date Line. Total time from door to door was thirty-six and a half hours, which was considerably longer than any of our previous flights, all of which were with Cathay Pacific through HKG.

So, 1413 days between trips, but now we are here, we have reunited with some of our family, a number more to go, and and are making contact with friends so as to arrange visits. Now we must make the most of our time here, but that is another story, or should I say, blog post.

Thanks for reading, catch you next time. Look after yourselves, and look out for others.

Back In The Kiwanis Secretary Saddle

I joined the Kiwanis Club of South Edmonton back in 2001, then became Club Secretary in 2002 and continued in that position until 2011.

After serving in a number of positions over the subsequent years, including Club President, Division Six Lt Governor and Kiwanis Western Canada District Governor, as of 01 October 2023 I was back as Club Secretary.

The different positions I’ve held over the years have helped me learn more about the Secretary position, so when asked to once more come back on the Club Board, I thought that I could do the most good as Secretary.

So, on 01 October, the start of the Kiwanis year, after being off the Board for several years, I received the files and started to work.

Holy Dingle, there was much to do and review. Unfortunately, due to various events, Covid being one, there were a few hiccups in the paperwork that needed attention, and some Board actions needed to be tracked down and clarified.

As many of my readers know, leadership positions in any volunteer organization can be difficult when balancing work and life’s events. Then add a two year pandemic to the mix. Kudos to all those who persevered, with the organization only suffering a few hiccups or minor confusions.

However minor confusions, on occasion, can lead to more serious situations if not addressed. Fortunately we were not at the serious situation level, though the minor confusions did have to be dealt with.

Previously, while Secretary, I also served as Club Webmaster. They must of liked what I did, seeing as how in early October, I was asked if I would also take that position once more. In reality, Secretary and Webmaster blend well together, so I said I would.

Interestingly enough, I started this blog post in November, about a month after resuming the secretary position, as I thought that the main rush of catch-up had passed. However, it seems that I was wrong. It is now into the first week of December and I think I can finally get back into blog creation.

Skip forward once again, to the end of December and it seems I was wrong again as a few things got in the way, a good number of them Kiwanis related as it turned out.

So why, you might ask, do I not just pack it in for this blog post and start something new, probably on a different subject. Well if that were the regular modus operendi, then a great many of us would not achieve much in our lives. I think that the term which comes to the fore most often is “life gets in the way”.

Any the who, back to being club secretary. Over the years many people have indicated that the club secretary is the most important person in the club, the one who keeps the wheels turning so to speak.

I agree that the club secretary is an integral part of the club, however I feel that not only every board member, but every individual club member is extremely important to the organization.

Kiwanis is basically all about kids. Our primary focus is young people from birth through their teenage years. Each club has a number of projects to help and/or benefit kids. These projects need people. The most perfectly planned project in the world will be ineffective without the people to actually do the work, to “get their hands dirty” so to speak.

To me, the secretary has two essential tasks. To be the primary point person for the Club President, and to ensure that the club administrative functions are completed in an accurate and timely fashion. I consider myself to be a kind of “gatekeeper” for my president, to support her, provide her with information she may be seeking, and to act as a buffer or a sounding board when needed.

As well, the secretary is usually the “Keeper of the Stuff”. The description of “the stuff” can vary greatly from organization to organization. It will, of course, include the files, which used to be myriads of paper, but now for many organizations, including Kiwanis clubs, are maintained electronically, often in the cloud for easy access by others on the board, or even club members as well. As the age demographics of Kiwanis clubs leans towards Baby Boomers, and some of The Silent Generation, provision and administration of electronic storage of files in the cloud continues to be a work in progress.

Other aspects of “the stuff” can vary greatly depending on the individual club. Perhaps it is the meeting equipment, gong, flags and so on, or awards, received by the club or to be presented to members. Maybe the paraphernalia used when out working on a club project. Or any number of other things. Regardless, storing, tracking, or arranging for, these things, often falls to the secretary.

Reactions to the secretary’s efforts are also varied, ranging from “how wonderful that was”, to “haven’t you got that done yet”, and often quite the arrangement of comments in between.

As every Kiwanis Club Secretary knows, all of the above aspects are part of the job that we volunteered for. And generally, we take it all in stride, because we’re good at what we do!

So there you go, a blog post that took longer than expected to complete. However one of the positive aspects is that that my secretary work was not delayed to compose this blog post, rather it was the other way round.

Do take care and be well. Until next time.

Kiwanis – Making My Heart Feel Good

For most of this century, thus far, I have been a member of Kiwanis.

Upon reading that, some will nod their head and smile knowingly. Others will cock their head to the side with a puzzled look on their face. You see, not everyone knows what “Kiwanis” is.

Put simply, “Kiwanis is all about kids”. That’s what I respond when asked, and even when not asked, that’s what I tell people.

Kiwanis is an international, community based, organization comprised of people who care about children and youths. In many ways we consider ourselves to be a family, a family comprised of close to 450,000 members around the world.

The mission statement for Kiwanis International is: Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. The most commonly used hashtag is: #KidsNeedKiwanis.

I became a member of the Kiwanis Club of South Edmonton in 2001, and over the years have filled a number of positions within the club, such as Secretary, Webmaster and President. I have also been Division Six Lieutenent Governor, and Western Canada District Governor.

Also, my wife Kim has been a member of our club since 2004. As some of you may know, Kim and I consider Malacca, Malaysia, to be our second home, and both of us are involved with Kiwanis Malaysia District, being members there as well for a number of years.

Now, my intent with this blog post is not to tell you all about Kiwanis, although I do strongly suggest you read more about this fine organization by clicking on the links above. Rather I will be sharing a few of my Kiwanis experiences to try and explain how and why Kiwanis means so much to Kim and I.

I should let you know that I do not “grade” my Kiwanis experiences as they are all equally special to me. As well, the time frames make no difference. So, in no particular order, here we go.

Back in the late 1950’s our club decided to develop some lakefront property west of Edmonton into a camp for children with disabilities. In 1960 Camp Health, Hope & Happiness (Camp HeHoHa) opened and it has grown larger and stronger since. Along with fellow club members and others, I have visited the camp regularly for many years. While there we get to witness how powerful the camp experience is for those children attending. They feel free because all those around them have some form of disability as well.

It was on one of my visits that I had, what we often call, a “Kiwanis moment”. At the camp is a climbing wall, about twenty metres high, and it gets quite a bit of use from the campers. On this day, I watched a young disabled child climb the wall, by herself, all the way to the top. You can tell by the look on her face after she came down what it meant to her. While watching her I was thinking that our Kiwanis Club made it possible for her being able to be there and climb that wall. I still marvel at that to this day, and it makes me feel very proud.

While in Malaysia, when a person says Kiwanis, people often think of Down Syndrome, and when people mention Down Syndrome, folks often think of Kiwanis. In 1989 the Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur decided there should be support for children with Down Syndrome. From that came the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation and five Kiwanis Down Syndrome Centres around the country. Kim and I have been often to the KDSC in Kuala Lumpur and frequently volunteer at the KDSC in Melaka, where we live while in Malaysia.

One of the activities at the KDSC Melaka is their Annual Sports Day, with a great many activities arranged for the children to take part in. The children, parents and Kiwanians, all have great fun and laughter together.

After the games were over, it was time to eat and then time for prizes. There were awards for all participants as these games were not for serious competition, but for fun and the joyous enjoyment of doing things together. As I was a “distinguished visitor from Canada”, being Kiwanis Western Canada Governor at the time, I was asked to present some of the prizes to the children. This I was more than happy to do. And it paid me big time. While I was presenting a prize to the young lady in the photo she looked at me. It is difficult for me to describe how I felt at that instant, but every time I tell people about it I cry, as I’m doing now while typing this. To this day I say thank goodness Kim was taking many photos and happened to catch that exact moment.

The third moment I will share today is a program that our club has had for a very long time. I was of course introduced to it as a club member.

Certainly a great many folks are familiar with Reading Week, where local celebraties and others will go to schools and read to the students there. This usually happens towards the end of September. The program offered by our club (and other clubs), is similar however is an ongoing event, several times a year. It is called “Reading Is Fundamental”. Our club member would go to an inner city daycare and not only read to the children, but give the each child a book, including the one that was read to them. For many of the children it may be the first book they have ever had, and at times the only book that they might get. My parents made sure that I grew up reading books, for which I am thankful. Knowing that our presence at the inner city daycare could make a difference in a child’s life is indeed a good feeling. After the reading there would be a healthy snack for all.

Now these are but three of the aspects of Kiwanis, however I hope they give you an idea of why Kiwanis means so much to those who have been lucky enough to become members.

Doing things for the children of the world, whether they be in our own communities, or on the other side of the globe is both necessary and rewarding. Click the links above, read more, check out the Kiwanis Club in your area, they’d welcome your questions and your membership. The emotional awards can be great.

Thanks for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed my blog post. Your feedback is alway welcome and appreciated. Until next time, look after yourself and look out for others.

Can We Just Talk – Like We Used To

Today, I’m doing a little reminiscing about years gone by.

Back in the early days of Twitter, now “X”, Edmonton was known as a hotspot for activity. We were known, not only locally, but much more widely, as one of the most active Twitter areas in the world.

Back in those days it was indeed a “social” network, as we would actually talk to each other, share thoughts and ideas. There was essentially no animosity. We would of course at times disagree, however that would usually result in a discussion, and often there would be a resolution of the matter.

Even better than that however, we would meet. Yes, meet. Face to face. We would have a “Tweet-Up”, where we would get together and chat, and in so many cases, become friends.

Some tweet-ups were planned, but many were spontaneous. Someone would tweet that they would be at such-and-such mall food court for a while, giving a time. Lo and behold, while they were there someone would stop by and join them for bit. This actually happened quite often. Planned tweet-ups were usually in the evenings and would be more of a social gathering. At times, we would gather to benefit some organization, such as having a mini fundraiser.

It was essentially through Twitter, and these Tweet-ups, that I got to know so many people in Edmonton, a large number of whom I remain in touch with to this day. They were truly great times.

My reminiscing today comes as I am making a small effort to perhaps recreate some of those times by starting what I’m calling a “Chat-Up”, on a weekly basis. As I write this, I’m sitting at the designated location for my second Chat-up, waiting to see who might drop by. The first time I did it there was one person who dropped by.

After posting the event on social media I did get several responses, however to this point only from those who said sorry but they were out of town or unable to come due to work, but they liked the idea and would try next time. But it’s a start. You know, the “Rome wasn’t built in a day” concept.

My thinking is, with all the crap that seems to be going on in our world these days, the odd get-together for plain and simple friendly conversation would be a good thing. I really miss hearing people actually discuss something without the fear that fisticuffs would transpire. I do have hope.

Here I am, home now. It was a quiet time at Koffee Cafe again this morning. However I do like the owners there and the atmosphere is friendly. Have been going there well over ten years.

I will post the “Chat-Up” time and place again for next week and see what happens. Regardless it’s a nice place to have Friday morning tea.

What are your thoughts? Do you still meet for chat in person, or does that even appeal to you these days?

For me, I like to keep in contact with as many people as possible. My choices are, in order of preference:

In person
By video
By phone
By messaging

Would you like to chat with me, in person or otherwise? You can find out more about me by visiting my Wee Internet Empire and subscribing to my Old Guy, New Tricks newsletter.

Thanks for reading, I do appreciate your support. Until next time, look after yourself, and watch out for others.

My Name I Ponder

Yesterday I read an interesting post by Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50, a fellow blogger. Her post, entitled Name Game, was asking about the name one was given at birth and the name one goes by now.

That got me thinking of my own name and its transitions.

At my birth I was given the first names Richard Linnaeus. Richard having a long tradition on my paternal side and Linnaeus being my maternal grandfather’s name.

Up until I began school I was known as Linne, short form for Linnaeus. Once in school I was often teased, even bullied, for having a “girl’s” name, so I started using Richard, which, at some point in the process became Rick. That stayed with me through high school, technical school, university and into the military.

During my military career I began using Richard more and, depending on the activity I was involved in, would answer to either Richard or Rick. This carried on after my military retirement into my business activities. Eventually Rick all but disappeared, and for at least the last 20-25 years I have gone by Richard.

Now comes the crux of the thinking brought forward by the blog post.

Over the years, many years, I have often mulled in my mind about reverting my name to Linne. I must say that it has bothered me at times that I gave in to the teasers and bullies (these are similar but have different processes). I have determined that my grandfather went his entire life known as Linne to many, and he was a highly successful, accomplished person, becoming very well known in Great Britain.

During my life I have learned much about names, how important they are to us, in meaning, in family, and in history.

Even though I’m blogging about it, my situation is but a very small scale issue in the grand scheme of things.

However, there are many people who have had others literally rename them. People who are born here, or come to Canada from another country will be “renamed” by acquaintences, co-workers or employers, who, for one reason or another, don’t (or won’t) make the effort to say the person’s name properly. As a result they are given a “Canadian” name that is easy to say and/or spell. I need not provide any examples because I’m sure that each of my readers will know of someone in that situation.

So, getting back to my situation, I have often thought I should change back, and then I hesitate, wondering about any issues it would create. Even now, as I type this, I have stopped to ponder. If I change, how would I do it, how much would I change. Would I leave all the “official stuff”, passport, drivers licence, healthcare, and so on, the same (actually for most no change would be necessary). Probably just change the day-to-day usage, social media, that type of thing.

It is indeed something to ponder. What will I do? What would others think? What do my readers think? Feel free to let me know.

Regardless, life goes on. Be assured that I will continue to provide blogs, podcasts and more, through my Wee Internet Empire, irrespective of what name I choose to call myself.

Until next time. Take good care of yourself, and look out for others.

Birthday and Calendar Contemplation

Well, they tell me that I’m a year older today than I was yesterday. Now if that isn’t some high power time shifting, then I don’t know what would be. Seems it’s some curious occurence called a “birthday”.

This auspicious (??) event put me in a bit of a contemplative state, particularily after receiving a multitude of congratulary greetings from family and friends around the globe.

Those who know me in real life understand that I like math and science and consider many things in a precise fashion. I have at times been accused of as “being anal” in this regard.

With this in mind, in reality, I am now a year older than I was 365.2425 day ago.

((Note: The Gregorian Calendar is the dominant calendar used in most countries around the world today. Officially introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in October 1582, the calendar was simply a modified version of the previously favoured Julian calendar. It reduced the average year from 365.25 days to a more accurate 365.2425 days.))

Now my contemplation grows as I feed Otis the cat and then have my morning coffee (notice the order, it is very specific).

You will likey all be familiar that in order to account for the extra portion of a day each year, the calender makers simply added an extra day every four years. It was decided that this extra day would be tacked on to February and would be called “leap day” indicating that a person’s age would just leap over that day every fourth year.

Now I won’t go into a long dissertation about calendars, how there were originally ten months, that a year was 364 days, how the Romans added January and February to account for more days, and that February was chosen because it would host the Roman rituals honouring the dead and to make sure that the first day of spring was always aligned with the right time. Oh, I guess I did, a little anyway.

So, on my birthday, why the fascination with February 29. Well, it just so happens that my wife Kim is what’s known as a “Leapling”, a person born on a Leap Day, one of an estimated five million around the world.

The anniversary of my birth occurs annually, whereas hers technically only occurs once every four years. Hmm… does that mean that she is a teenager four times longer, that she has to wait sixty-four calendar years to get her driver’s licence? In both these circumstances we could probably say “thankfully no”.

But as a result, every four years we do try to put a little extra emphasis on her actual, this is the real day, birthday celebration.

Next year is one of those special birthdays, February 29. 2024, and we will be celebrating in Melaka, Malaysia, where Kim was born and where we have our second home. Interestingly enough, in 2020 we celebrated there as well, and in 2016 she celebrated while she was there visiting family (I was in Canada for that one).

I realize that this is not the typical type of contemplation that most (perhaps read normal) people would have as they annually celebrate their earthly entrance, however I am well known for being slightly (okay, a lot) different.

Here endeth this particular contemplation (undoubtly there will be others).

Moral of the story: People are often similar, however if we were all the same, how boring it would be, so remember to be unique.

Two Goods – Samaritan and Service

So this past Sunday afternoon, wife Kim was at work, cat Otis was sleeping, the sun was shining, and my motorcycle called me from the garage. I answered, and we set out for a wee ride.

It was a nice ride, mostly secondary roads, not much traffic, quite relaxing.

Well actually, it was mostly a nice ride. I rode south from Edmonton, then headed west through Wetaskiwin, north to Carvel and then east towards Leduc.

Just after leaving Carvel came a loud rumbling kind noise to the rear of the bike and the bike began to shake. Came to a stop and tried to diagnose the issue. Accelerating, noise. Coasting, no noise. Hmm… seems to be powertrain. Crawl under the bike, grasp the drive shaft… oh oh, it’s not supposed to move like that. Conclusion… seems to be an issue with the rear end/differential.

Action taken. Four way flashers activated and call AMA (Alberta Motor Association) to arrange for a tow home. Approximately 1900 hrs contact made, location confirmed and tow request made. Told I will receive notification when operator is dispatched. About 2030 hrs call made to AMA to update status.

Once again getting an excellent phone operator, I was told they had good news and bad news. The good news being that I had been assigned a mobile operator, Justin. The bad news, he was currently involved with a call in Stony Plain, and once complete would have to travel to Leduc to pick up the appropriate service vehicle for my bike, a flat deck truck. Anticipated time of arrival would be 2245 hrs.

No worries, it was a pleasant evening. However, I noted that my 4-way flashers were becoming dim. Oh oh, and battery was too low to start bike. Oh drat. Now getting dark, and I should mention Hwy 39 is a very busy highway. On top of that, the friendly neighbourhood mosquitos decided to come and visit. Maybe no longer such a pleasant evening.

And then, a small red car passed by, slowed down, turned around, stopped on the other side of the road, and the driver crossed over to see what the problem was.

Lisa, the good samaritan, had arrived. She introduced herself, indicating that she rode with her biker boyfriend, and that she knew many bikers in the area, so she felt that she had to stop. She offered to see if she could get someone from Calmar or Leduc to help me out. I told her thank you much, however AMA was on the way.

Seeing that my 4-way flasher was not working she turned her car around, parking behind me with her 4-way lighting up the road. She then offered me a seat in her car, shielded from the mosquitos, staying until Justin arrived with the AMA service truck. While we waited, she spoke with Gord, her boyfriend, letting him know what was going on, and I spoke with my wife Kim, so that she would not worry. We had a great discussion, becoming friends, in person and on Facebook.

When Justin arrived, she gave me a hug and headed off home. We also arranged that Kim and I would see her and Gord on Tuesday at bike night.

Justin, from AMA, immediately proceeded to load the trike on the flat deck, working with great efficiency and keeping me engaged with the process as well. Once loaded, off we went, heading to my place, chatting about a number of things along the way. Justin was from the north, had been doing this work in the Edmonton area for about ten years. He very much enjoys his work and likes the company he works for.

Upon arriving at my house, Justin arranged his truck so that bike, when unloaded, was right in front of the garage door, where Kim was waiting, and it was an easy push to get it into the garage. Great work all round from him.

Justin was the good service.

Even though an unfortunate event had ended my ride early, the day was, in my consideration, an overall positive event. I got to meet Lisa, the good samaritan, and Justin, the good service provider.

As an addendum, Kim and I did go to bike night, met up with Lisa and Gord, and had a great time with them and a number of their friends. We are staying in touch and will get together with them again.

Am I Now The Bionic Man?

Today, I was putzing around with my “Wee Internet Empire” as I figured it had been dormant for a while. It was not until I checked my last newsletter that I realized that it was posted April 25, two days before my surgery. Seeing as how it’s now more than a month and a half later, I see how delinquent I have been.

Now I have done a few video updates after my surgery, however they were not shared with my entire readership, just those on YouTube, Tik Tok, and Facebook. These videos, this blog post, and other material will go out in my next newsletter, scheduled for the next day or so.

Having said all that, I thought I would do this blog post and talk a bit about my surgery as a number of you have expressed interest.

In early 2020, after several years of increasing arthritic pain, I requested to be placed on the waiting list for total hip replacement surgery. I had been told by a number of folks that I should have done it sooner, however I can be a stubborn type and kept putting it off. Now I say, yes people, you were right, I was wrong. I’m sure I’m not the first who has done that, nor am I likely to be the last. So readers, should you get into this situation, listen to the folks when they offer advice, at least some of the time.

So, back to the story. I was put on the list and then the wait began. Not without hiccups though.

First came Covid. I don’t need to talk about that, we all know that it threw the health system into a real kerfuffle. I have nothing but good to say about the healthcare workers who all worked their asses off trying to do their best for us all. I thank them all for their service. I’m not going to get into any discussion about the actual healthcare system however.

Anyway, in November 2021 I received a call that I’d been scheduled for surgery in mid December.

Alas, just before that call a new issue had raised its head. I had developed some venous skin ulcers on my legs as a result of poor blood circulation. Due to the risk of infection, the surgery was cancelled.

Seening as how we were still dealing with Covid, treatment of my legs started very slowly, continuing on to the fall of 2022. Once again I have appreciation and thanks to the healthcare workers who dealt with my legs, both with clinic care and home care. All was completed and I am now wearing compression stockings to help ensure good leg blood circulation. These will be worn daily for the foreseeable future, on in the morning, off in the evening. Kim is doing it currently, with other arrangements needing to be made when she is no longer able to continue.

Great stuff… legs in order, now back to waiting. Towards the end of the year I was told that they were looking for around April 2023. Early this year came the word for April 27. Kim and I decided to tell “nobody nothing” until I had successfully completed all the pre-surgery tests. All went well and April 27 it was.

The time had come. Was I nervous? Not really, however I was somewhat apprehensive as I really didn’t have a clear picture of what the procedure was. Oh, I had received many handouts, brouchures, watched video, been poked, prodded, x-rayed, lungs and breathing tested, heart tested (multiple times), dental examined (lots of work done there), lab tested, told what to do (prior to and after surgery), the whole nine yards. My documentation prep for surgery probably became a large file all told.

But… I did not really know what I would experience when I entered the doors of the Orthopaedic Surgery Centre by the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

Kim and sister-in-law Sarah took me there, in the waiting room with me until I got called in. In pre-surgery I underwent a number of tests, was asked a number of questions and chatted a bit with the nurse until he moved on to the next person. Then I waited until it was my turn to be wheeled down to the operating room. There I was moved over to a table, introduced to a number of physicians (none of whom I can remember other than my surgeon). I was told to bend forward, touch my head to my knees and that I would feel a wee poke in the back. They asked how it was, I said fine, and two hours later I started to wake up.

Slowly waking up in the recovery room I could see somebody’s feet. I knew they weren’t mine because they didn’t move with I wiggled my toes. Ah, it seems there was a reason for that. I had no feeling from just below my ribs down.

While in the recovery room, hooked up to all the obligatory machines, there was some poking and prodding, checking things out, and some chit chat. Seems I was doing what I should so they transferred me to my place of residence for the next day or so.

Once in my room I was able to relax, and was constantly monitored. Slowly I had feeling come back to my legs, being able to start wiggling my toes after a few hours. Kim came to visit, taking a few photos, one of which I share here.

Once again, I have nothing but compliments for the medical folks who looked after me. They ensured I was comfortable, managed my pain very well, asked the right questions and answered any that I had. Before the end of the day they had me out of the bed walking out to the hallway and back (with my crutches), making sure that all movements were good.

They tried to help me sleep, however I have a history of not sleeping well the first night in a new bed and it was no different here.

The next morning, they had me up, walking (again with crutches) to the stretcher in the hall to be taken to x-ray then from the stretcher to the x-ray table. Same procedure going back to the room. Then the surgeon came in, said he was happy and all was looking fine. A bit later had a visit from the physio lady. She came in and said, okay, grab your crutches and let’s go for a walk. Off down the hall we went for training on how to do stairs, get into a tub and so on. She was pleased on how I did, so I only had to do it three or four times.

Having satisfied all the criteria, Kim came to pick me up and home we went, complete with serveral medical prescriptions, including a heavy duty painkiller should it be necessary. Fortunately for me, it was not needed all that much and consequently was utilized quite sparingly over the following weeks.

Basically the next six weeks were spent mainly on one level of our condo, using my handy dandy walker. At night it was up to the bedroom with the crutches. Kim was patiently my chauffeur for doctor appointments and after the first couple of weeks we were able to go for dim sum and a couple of special events related to Kiwanis or our veterans group, crutching away.

As I mentioned earlier, I did some video update after the surgery, so feel free to hop over to my YouTube channel and have a boo.

Kim loves to take photos of things and events like this so here are four that she took.

The first one was during a dressing change on April 02.

The second was staple removal day, April 10.

Next one is April 16, healing well.

Final is April 28, all is looking great. Doctors, and patient, happy.

Thought I’d wrap up with an xray of my new hip. I thought it was pretty cool. The main part is titanium. Does that make me the Bionic Man?

From the very beginning I recorded, for myself, the names of all who worked to take care of me. Those in the wound clinic, those making home care visits, those in the surgeons office, and those in the surgery centre. I do maintain contact with a few of them but will not share their names. They know who they are and how much I appreciate each and every one of them. I made sure that I told them at every opportunity.

Thanks for reading and letting me share with you.

Until next time, be well, take care of yourself and look after those around you.

Same Thing + Different Circumstances = Different Feelings

After having a seemingly empty brain with my social media “Wee Internet Empire” since just prior to my surgery three weeks ago, over the last couple of days I found myself to be quite reflective. Ergo, a blog post appears.

During the past three years I have gone through several phases of doing the same thing, however each phase was for a different reason.

The same thing that I have been doing is staying home, keeping to myself, doing little or nothing with others and even, at times, doing little outside my home office, or at times, in my home office as well, by myself.

So… the first circumstance is probably the most obvious one to most of you. Covid, the pandemic, whatever you want to call it.

Upon returning early in March 2020 from our trip to Malaysia we went immediately into lock-down, or was it locked-in, or perhaps locked-up. Regardless, the aspect of any form of personal contact with others, even family not in the same domicile ceased to exist, we all became persona non grata, pariahs, potential carriers to be avoided or even shunned.

Sure, I could leave the house, but couldn’t go anywhere there were people. It seems that effectively narrowed it down. As the summer weather arrived I would go for the occasional solo motorcycle ride to nowhere, meaning I would ride out in some direction for a while, then turn around and head home. Later on I was actually able to ride with a few fellow veterans. On these rides we would usually remain on our bikes when stopped, maintaining a two metre spacing between us.

For the first year, the weather was pretty agreeable and I was able to ride from about mid May until December. Yes, my last ride of the year was 06 Dec.

Winter then put a kibosh on things, particularly as many restaurants were shut down and the usual family Christmas was by phone.

With the weather being accommodating, I was back on the bike by mid-March, with the summer becoming more or less a repeat of the previous year. Then the bike developed a serious ailment and was at the bike doctor for two months.

It was about this time that the first circumstance was winding down. Covid was still present, however generally society had adapted and some semblance of routine was beginning to emerge.

For me however, I was preparing to enter my second circumstance.

My hip was now bothering me more and there were often times when I would not even attempt to ride my bike as it was painful to do so. This resulted in the bike going into hibernation in September and remaining there until April of the following year, 2022. After that for the next few months, outings did occur, however were very sporadic and the bike was returned to hibernation in September.

At the same time, a combination of factors caused me to be in a very bad head space. On the medical side, I was going through some problems with my lower legs resulting in hospital visits and regular home care visits, all of which had placed my hip surgery on indefinite hold. Mentally, the aspect of not being able to physically do a variety of things I had been doing all my life, combined with the feeling of being a burden with others having to do things I should be doing, had me basically isolating myself at home and partaking in few activities. Interestingly, I knew that these events were part of life, and that I shouldn’t be having negative thoughts about what I was going through. The problem was, knowing that, but not doing that, made things worse as I would beat myself up for being such a dolt, and, as most of you probably know, nobody can beat me up any better than I can.

Anyway, that was basically the second circumstance.

The third circumstance is happening now, as I write this blog post.

On 27 April I finally went in for my total hip replacement surgery. The surgery was successful, I came home the next day, my recovery started, and at this writing (23 days later) is progressing very well. So I am required to use my crutches and walker, exercise and am instructed not to drive for about six weeks. As a result I am dependent upon Kim to drive me to appointments or any other outings, requiring her to take time off work or change her work schedule, to do so. This is something I try to avoid doing, so I am home most of the time with Otis the cat.

This was the point where I became reflective about the three times l was more or less isolated at home, each for different reasons. As an aside, while reflecting on this I was reminded of a 1963 hit song (Alone) In My Room by Willie & the Walkers, a popular Edmonton group that I enjoyed while growing up.

So… three times I did the same thing, staying at home for an extended period of time. Each time was the result of a different set of circumstances. The first time due to the Covid pandemic, second due to my mental state, and the third due to my surgery. Not only was there three sets of circumstances, I realized that there were three completely different sets of feelings.

Cue the feelings comparisons.

Circumstance Number 1 (Covid) – During the pandemic, collectively we had a most serious situation, and staying home was one of the ways that I could support addressing this situation. I wasn’t fussy about it, however I did feel it was something that could help. I was also introduced to the previously unknown term “Zoom Call”. Basically my feeling was, this is not great but it is necessary, so let’s deal with it.

Circumstance Number 2 (Head Space) – During this period I would have a variety of feelings. I would have periods of low self-confidence, low self-esteem and even low self-worth. I would have periods of self-pity, but more often I would be mad and frustrated because I felt I was causing a burden to Kim and others around me as they had to do extra work and I felt I could not do activities which I considered it was my responsibility to do.

Circumstance Number 3 (Post Surgery) – Physically after the surgery I’m feeling fine, I like not having any pain, I feel my mobility getting better all the time. I know that I need to follow the post-surgery instructions, and pretty much am doing so. So what are my basic feelings? I’m bored and lonely. Everything is in place for me to be out and about whenever and wherever I would like except for that one thing, post-surgery instructions.

So how do these three sets of feelings compare.

I much prefer Circumstance 3, as I know the future is good and I just need to be patient.

Circumstance 1 was not a fun time, however it was something shared between millions of people and, in my view, was most necessary. Let’s work on not have to do something like that again.

Circumstance 2 was an unpleasant time. I know it’s also a type of time that many people go through, in some form or other. To let people know they are not alone in that regard was one of the reasons for writing this blog post in the first place, and sharing some of my not so happy feelings. Thank goodness Kim was able to deal with my mood swings, it was difficult for her for sure but I’m blessed that she stuck with me.

Well, there you have it. A few snippets of my life over the past three years. Of course I have not done “chapter and verse” of absolutely all that transpired. I just wanted to pass along some basic circumstances and the feelings associated with them.

Thanks for reading. Catch next time. Please take care of yourself and look out of others.