Every Day is a New Day

The world will not be the same tomorrow as it is today. Everyday is a new day.

Don Smedley rang me the week before last to tell me his brother Len had died. I last saw Len some months ago when Gord and I visited him in a care facility in Pakenham where he had been in ill health for some time. I became friends with Len's dad Lionel in the 1990's and regularly visited him at his Mt. Burnett garden where I picked foliage and blossom. I became good friends with Lionel's sons Don and Bob and their wives who lived either side of Lionel and Len moved in with his dad, and stayed after Lionel died in 2002. Len had allergies if I recall and was on cortisone for a long time. This resulted in osteoporosis and ultimately blindness which was when he left the old family home to go into care. When I saw him he was wheel chair bound and on his way outside for a smoke. He had three cigarettes a day, one of his few pleasures he said, along with listening to the radio. I'll not forget him or his friendship. There's a wake for him at the Gembrook sports ground next Sunday which I'm hoping I can attend.

Meredith told me last week that Ian Lucas died. Despite Ian being 96 it was a surprise as he was always so fit and drove his car still. I picked foliage and flowers in Ian and his wife Frieda's garden for many years where they lived in Benson St Emerald. They were wonderful gardeners with a farming background on the Mornington Peninsula. About 5 years ago or so they sold up as Frieda, who was a couple of years older than Ian, was deteriorating with Alzheimer's. They moved into Emerald Glades care facility when Frieda's care became too much for Ian. Frieda died not long after. I visited Ian now and again but Meredith was a regular visitor and Ian visited her at the farm alternately. He had a problem with circulation in his toes and had one amputated a a couple of years ago. He went into hospital to have another one off about a month ago and had a slight stroke while waiting for his op. He was still in hospital when he died peacefully one night. It could be said that he probably wished it so as he would not have liked losing his mobility if the toe thing continued and he couldn't walk or drive. Ian was a tough old bloke but a complete gentleman. He drove a tank in WW2 and had strong conservative views of his time but he was an old softie when it came to animals. I wrote a Signpost article on him a couple of years ago.

The worlds changes, every day, one way or another.

I had the weekend off with no work. It was cold and miserable. On Saturday I went to a Landcare function in Upper Pakenham where the guest speaker was a Dr. Mary Cole who talked about fungi. It was a brilliant talk. I learned so much and came away uplifted by a feeling of greater connection with this earth that supports us all. on Sunday Lib and I went to Casey Fields to watch the Essendon Bombers VFL team play Casey Scorpions which is Melbourne's VFL affiliate for the benefit of 'foreign' readers. This we did at the invite of old friends Gerard and Megan O'Brien from Wangaratta whose son Zac was playing for Essendon. He did alright too and I noticed he was listed in the best players in the Sun. But there was a freezing gale blowing that made the game unattractive from a spectator viewpoint. Lib and I came home so glad that we went. We feel a Wangaratta connection still after 32 years away and were glad Gerard rang us with the suggestion.

On Monday I made two soups, a bean soup using our beans from the freezer and a pumpkin soup, both in crockpots that chugged away all day. Tomorrow night my computer class resumes, I want to learn how to do power point presentation among other things.