Picking Up Trash Has Its Rewards

“What? You’re getting an award for picking up trash?” Frank said.

“Yes. I guess picking up garbage has its rewards,” I said.

I had just put the telephone receiver back in its cradle and made the announcement to my husband. I told him that Ms. Martin, the Environmental Coordinator for the City of Campbell River said that I had been nominated for a Stewardship Award and asked if I would accept it?

“Oh! That’s wonderful. But why me?” I said.

“Mr. Stewart from Dogwood Operations nominated you,” she said.

I have yet to meet Mr. Stewart face-to-face, but I’ve talked with him several times on the phone. We talked about the condition of the sidewalks and boulevards in Campbell River and how more garbage cans might entice people to toss their trash into them if they were handier. I told him that I was going to clean up the city of Campbell River one block at a time and asked how he could help.

“I can give you a few trash pickers. Would that help you and your Clean Living volunteers?” he said.

Indeed it does help along with the latex gloves and garbage bags donated by Mr. Adams, a City Councillor. Back in April 2011, I initiated the removal of rubbish from the boulevards and sidewalks of Campbell River, one block at a time and called the project Clean Living. Since then, I have adopted a 350-metre section of the city between 4^th Avenue and 2^nd Avenue on Dogwood Street. Each month, I gather with friends and pick up rubbish. We chat and laugh and know that we are being of service to the community and to God.

The Waste Reduction Award was a kind gift offered by the City of Campbell River and it humbles me to know that the Clean Living group of volunteers is recognized for its dedication to life itself. 

Clean Living volunteers

Clean Living volunteers

Service itself is the reward

Give Peace a Chance

I Like That September 21^st is recognized as the International Day of Peace. We all need peace in our lives. I especially love a peaceful sleep where I finally succumb to an unconscious state and enjoy dreams presented to me in waves containing subtle messages. In the morning, I take the time to sit on a chair in my bedroom with my feet planted on the floor and mediate by focusing on my breath. I breathe in and out until I am in the moment and awake.

I enjoy the peaceful sensation that greets me every morning when I look into my husband’s eyes and accept his gentle kiss on my lips and his bear hug afterwards. I thank him every morning for his tender treatment of me.

Peace comes over me when I gaze on photographs of my son. We have an interesting and compelling relationship that is held together by my unconditional love for him. I am also filled with tranquility when I get to visit with my grandson or speak with him on the phone.

I am at peace when I am preparing a meal for Frank and I. Sipping on soup and munching on a turkey and cheese wrap fills me with satisfaction. I am also mindful of tidying up afterward and take great pleasure in washing the dishes in the sink. I’ve learned to calm myself down by practicing meditation, which puts me in the moment. I am grateful for the privilege of attending a mindfulness class once a week at the local hospital.

♫“All we are saying is give peace a chance.”♫ – John Lennon

At peace with my son and grandson

At peace with my husband and surrounded by nature.
(flower photos by Hans Toby)

World’s Largest Bunnock

We travelled gravel roads, secondary highways and fast-moving freeways during our holiday in August 2011. The roadways led to points of interest, restaurants or picnic areas, landscapes or museums to explore, roadside pullouts or a motel to rest.

Frank had fashioned our 1986 Classic Toyota van to use as our accommodations and a storage unit. He covered the wooden sleeping bunk with carpet and on that laid our blow-up mattress. Each evening we climbed into the back of the van, slipped into our sleeping bags, laid our heads on pillows and gratified ourselves with sleep.

In the morning, we sipped coffee prepared on a pullout table at the back of the van, sat in lawn chairs and chomped on fruit. Each day we purposefully travelled the back roads so we could meet small-town folks along the way. A thirty-two foot structure, which is situated at the junction of highway 13 and highway 14, caught our attention and we drove to it so that we could talk to the young lady held captive by the structure. She told us she spends her summer days in the tourist booth at the base of the replica of an anklebone of a horse. Down the hill is Macklin, a border town between Alberta and Saskatchewan renowned as the Bunnock Capital of the World!

“What’s this structure supposed to be?” I said.

“It represents the game, Bunnock, which translates from Russian into bone. The Russian Germans first introduced the game to Canada. It was adopted from the game played in Siberia. You play it like horseshoes. Your team stacks its fifty-two bones on level ground at one end of a 10-meter runway while the other team does the same at its end. Then the teams toss their bones to try to knock down each other’s bones. The team with the most bones left standing is the winner,” she said.

I nodded and pictured the participants flinging bones from one end of a straightaway to another. We had arrived several days past the scheduled August long-weekend world championship event and so did not witness the bone-tossing game.

We drove away from Macklin happy to have learnt about the game call Bunnock. I've put a link below.

  World's Largest Bunnock 

An Eye Catcher
-source Macklin poster

A Bunnock Tosser
- source Macklin poster

Welcome to Macklin