Erin's Journals

Just a thought…

Ring the bells that still can ring 
Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack in everything 
That’s how the light gets in

[Leonard Cohen, “Anthem”]

You can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

I don’t believe in Blue Monday. Any day can be bright or blue and a lot of it depends on you. But some travel company came up with it as the day the bills come in, the holiday cheer is but a distant memory, and so on.

Because I find this stuff fascinating, I thought it would be positive to shine a light on something about which you may not have heard: Canada coming in first overall (up two spots from 2020) on a large independent ranking of Global Performance. Yes, as you probably figured out, that’s among all countries in the world.

If you just said, “Oh, really? Because….” and you fill in the blank, you may not be in the mood to hear how well Canada ranked. But stay with me; it’s worth reading. Our primary focus for negativity, at least anecdotally here, is our healthcare system which, as you well know, is stretched to the max. The system for which we are renowned among other nations has failed us again and again of late. Not the people in it; the people who run it. Cutbacks and more cutbacks. Putting politics or party lines ahead of people.

Nurses, doctors, hospital staff are pushed to exhaustion and then have the added insult of being harassed by idiots. Patients with life-threatening illnesses are not getting care because resources are taken up by those suffering from Covid: some who did everything they could to protect themselves, and others who waved off a chance for protection from it because they “knew better.”

My own aunt was recovering from some surgery complications when she was bumped out of the hospital room in Calgary she’d occupied for almost two weeks this month. She ended up sleeping in a hallway. I can only hope she got all the meds she needed to help her. Thank goodness she’s home today and hopefully catching up on a lot of sleep. But seriously?

Of course, while there are huge negatives, there are also the positives that if we suddenly are hit by a major health crisis, we won’t lose the roof over our heads. We do have that for which to be thankful and it is that reason for which Canada is recognized as fourth in the world in health care.

When it comes to the #1 spot for Quality of Life, which we have held for six straight years, let’s break it down: Canada ranks first in having a good job market, second in being politically stable (I guess the last election with nearly no change at all proved that, huh?) and third in having a well-developed public education system. A lot of people will disagree with that, especially with this being a back-to-school day in some parts of the country, but the ranking is backed up by independent research and likely has a major asterisk next to it for Covid times.

Where we also ranked at the very top was in Social Purpose, a new metric in this annual survey. What, you ask, is that? According to usnews.com and the entire article, it means that we as Canadians can come together to support causes we feel strongly about. These include human rights, the environment and religious freedom. When we unite, it gives us a feeling of cultural cohesion and thus a shared sense of purpose. A “we are all in this together” kind of feeling.

Also, Canada ranks highly for being open for business, which may clash with what we’re seeing on storefront signs, but refers to being welcoming to capitalists and corporations. Sure, come on in. But pay a living wage, okay?

Elsewhere, we rank third behind the US and Australia for a new subcategory called Agility. That describes Canadians as being adaptable, dynamic, modern, progressive and responsive.

Yes, there’s a lot to unpack in this whole ranking and survey of some 17,000 respondents. For example, in the category Adventure, we come 12^th after Brazil, Italy, Spain, Greece, Thailand, Mexico and so on, in terms of where people want to visit to feed their wanderlust.

My wanderlust is running rampant right now; when I sit quietly, all I do is think of going somewhere. Anywhere. It’s not that our lives here aren’t full and happy; I just miss warm breezes, palm trees, swimming pools, sweltering humidity. You know, like almost any Canadian in January, Blue Monday BS or not.

But while I – perhaps we – may want to get out of Canada, our reasons for that longing are far different than most of the residents of countries low on the list to which I refer today. And for that, we can be – should be – grateful.

I hope your week is gentle and that you stay safe and warm. I’ll be back with you on Thursday.

Just a thought… What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. [Lin-Manuel Miranda]

As always, you can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

I promise this isn’t a downer, but I’ve been thinking a lot about death this week. I mean, how could we not, right? We’re surrounded by reminders of the toll of this wretched, stubbornly mutating virus, and then in the obituaries we read the names of people we knew and respected, even loved in some cases: Betty White, Sidney Poitier, Bob Saget, Marilyn Bergman, Peter Bogdanovich, Ronnie Spector. And that’s just since New Year’s Eve.

When you first hear of the passing of someone whose work you watched, enjoyed, respected, you kind of give a bit of an involuntary gasp, and then an “awww….” And then you start remembering the moments they gave you that impacted you. Whether it was as a sitcom star or a bawdy talk show guest, a beloved TV dad or an Oscar-winning trailblazer, we each have those moments in some performer’s life that resonate with us. Long ago they may have stopped contributing to their body of work, or maybe they did a show the previous night. It doesn’t matter. Their legacy is in the moments that touched our souls.

So what about the rest of us: the regular non-Walk of Fame folks who wake each day thankful for another chance to get it right (or just to be upright)? For us, you and me, a legacy means a different thing.

You may have heard the story of Alfred Nobel – you know, the Swedish prize guy. In the 19^th century, his brother died. But an obituary was mistakenly written about Alfred instead. In it, he was called the “Merchant of Death” for having invented dynamite, furthering the growth of armaments and destruction in the world.

This error in journalism, what Emperor Tang of the 21^st century would decry as “Fake News,” could have infuriated Mr. Nobel. But instead, we are told that the wealthy and brilliant Swede used the mistake to examine and then alter his own legacy. For two years, he and an assistant toiled to come up with the answer: funds from his vast fortune towards Nobel Prizes in Chemistry, Literature, Medicine, Physics and Peace. So, rather than be remembered for blowing things up, his name is synonymous with building people up.

Few of us have the resources to leave that sort of legacy. But look at Betty White: on her 100^th birthday this Monday, many are donating to their local animal shelters in her memory. Bob Saget, best known as dad Danny Tanner on TV’s Full House, and later host of America’s Funniest Home Videos, who was, onstage and off, about as dirty a comic as they get, was lauded as a kind and supportive friend to all. Whether or not people liked or got him, that comes in a distant second to the kind of person that he was. And Sidney Poitier? Respected for class, grace and his fight for human rights. And, yes, for being a fine actor who broke colour barriers.

A legacy is so much more than how many people bought tickets to your latest show or downloaded whatever you’re putting out. How kind we are to people who couldn’t repay us: that’s what really matters. What we give to someone when they need it most, or better yet, anticipate it before they do – that’s the legacy. Simply signing an organ donor card because we might save several lives when ours is over. That’s all it takes to live on.

Tomorrow is promised to no one. Bob Saget had gigs booked for the year ahead. Betty White was looking forward to a big 100^th birthday celebration.

Morgan Freeman’s character said very memorably in Stephen King’s Shawshank Redemption: you better “Get busy living, or get busy dying.”

I’ve done the math: if I live as long as my mom (who died way too young) I have 18 years left. On the other hand, if I stick around as long as our friends Helen or Mira, I’ve got well over 30. But in the case of Helen Mirren, we don’t know. It’ll never be enough, but we get what we get and, yeah, in some cases, maybe earn, I guess. Better get busy.

Just a thought… Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you. [Robert Fulghum]

You can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

Welcome in and thanks for coming by. I hope you had a gentle weekend. Perhaps you, too, are now Christmas tree-free after un-decking the halls…although it will be months before the last bits of glitter have been sucked up.

Ah, sucked. There’s a word that brings me to the topic of today’s journal: the danger of words and being overheard.

There was a time when, about 25 years ago, the term “sucks” entered the lexicon in a huge way. Of course, it had always been around, but “you suck,” “that sucks” and so on hit me all the wrong ways as a broadcaster. Sucking, to me, had a sexual connotation. And at that time (remember, this was decades ago) it was something I wasn’t going to say on the air. I held myself to a higher standard. Ha!

Here we are in 2022. The PM says it. Everybody says it. Because, well, how else do you describe being locked down for two years? It DOES suck. (But I’m still uneasy with the word. You can take the girl out of Catholic school….)

Our language is not an easy one to navigate and when you add a layer of bureaucracy or another mother tongue altogether, it gets even murkier. Rob and I laughed ’til we were in tears when our 96-year-old friend Mira told us about being in a government office and trying to get some official documents – passport or something – updated. She was born in a country that no longer exists: Yugoslavia, which completed its breakup in 1992. She was trying in her best English to explain to the woman what she should type in under Country of Birth. And the woman kept telling Mira that there was no Yugoslavia. So, having come to the end of her rope, Mira said to her, “Why don’t you write F-U?”

Now, Mira, in whose mouth butter wouldn’t melt, did not mean that the way we know F-U to mean. She was saying “former Yugoslavia.” But this sweet little old lady coming out with that must have had the whole office in stitches. It is, I will tell you, a story that Mira loves to share. Because she has since been told exactly what her words meant.

You don’t have to tell me, as a former broadcaster, that since you can’t be sure what is being heard, you do have to be extra careful. Like a day last week when Colin was afforded a bonus sleepover because of school closure.

I was in the living room with Rob, seven-year-old Colin in an adjacent bedroom that we’ve turned into the kids’ play room, complete with TV, Wii, a ball pit, the whole nine. Rob and I were talking about how ridiculous it is that people who have been exposed to others who’ve tested positive for Covid were gathering for the holidays and then going off merrily to work. I said (in what I thought was under my breath), “It’s so effing stupid!”

Except I didn’t say effing. Well, apparently Colin wasn’t as absorbed in his Lego superheroes TV show as we thought. We hear this shout from the next room: “Grrrrrrama! What word did you just say?”

And I thought, Uh-oh. Here we go. I’m teaching him the bad words, just as we inadvertently did with Lauren (it’s in the book and is a pretty good laugh).

So I sheepishly answered, “Uh….’stupid’?”

And he came out, hands on hips and said, “You said it AGAIN!”

Yep. Next time I won’t be so effing s—-d. I mean, those are words kids are meant to learn in the schoolyard, not at Casa Banana.

Good thing he wasn’t with us Saturday night for the Leafs’ game. Have a good one, and we’ll talk to you here on Thursday.

Just a thought… I can resist anything except temptation. [Oscar Wilde]

As always, you can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

Hello – and welcome into another journal. I’ll start with a quick reminder that if you got a gift card for Christmas and haven’t spent it yet, a tiny pillow speaker is a great idea for listening to Drift with Erin Sleep Stories.

This is the second year of putting out these tales weekly and so far there have been about fifty installations, and a whole bunch of it is FREE. In fact, all of our Catch My Drift chats with interesting people about dreams, sleep training for children and which essential oils could help you relax are dropping every two days, right now. Check it out: Google Drift with Erin Davis and help this dream of mine, to help put you to sleep after decades of waking you up, come true. I won’t stop working hard and hoping this will be a success. Just listen, subscribe for free and rate it on Apple Podcasts if you can. Please.

So, I try to begin each new year with a resolution – besides the usual “lose X pounds” and this year I really have to. But tell me: what are we supposed to do when Mini Eggs are half-price after Christmas when you know they’re the same dang eggs year round and they just happen to be the deal of a lifetime? I mean, would it not be irresponsible not to take advantage of such savings?

So now I look in my “treat” cupboard and it’s got half-priced Licorice All-Sorts, cut cost Christmas-coloured M&Ms (I guess a true connoisseur could taste the difference, but as yet, I cannot…something to aim for – like a snack sommelier?) and whatever else Shoppers was practically giving away on Boxing Day. I mean, how do you walk away from savings like that?

Seriously, I know how you walk away: you just do. Like I did when the chips were on sale. It can be done…I guess. And, of course, I know that unless my intake is in moderation, it’s not good for me. So I try to take it easy.

But honestly, we’ve been immersed in the new Dexter re-up on Crave called Dexter: New Blood and it’s so tense, either those Mini Eggs or my nails are going to go. And one more episode and the season’s done.

Look, we’re all escaping the terrible twos of this pandemic the best we can. The aim is not to end up the worse for wear after it than when it began. Fortunately, last week I marked 2 years and 6 months of sobriety, so that’s one bad habit I don’t have today. I dropped vaping last year. Maybe this is the year I stop with the chocolatey snacks, although I wouldn’t bet on it.

Betting! Right! We gave up visits to Vegas, too. So yay me! See, I’m already practically a candidate for sainthood! Except for the swearing thing, and that’s a story I’ll share with you Monday. It involves Colin and could have been a whole lot worse.

Just a thought… Never let your memories be greater than your dreams. [Doug Ivestor]

You can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

Well, hello there! I haven’t seen you in about six pounds! Okay, it’s actually been nearly two weeks, although thankfully we stay connected on social media. That’s where I shared with you the photo below of a most spectacular sunset last week (and, yes, our view is to the east!).

I hope you’re doing all right. All around us – well, among friends in Ontario anyway – there are positive tests and isolation. Here in our neck of the BC woods, Colin’s school was supposed to start up for the new year today but it’ll be next Monday. I hear Ontario is further delayed and that they’re fudging the numbers so you don’t actually hear how many new cases there are. Okay…if that works, I’m not going to announce my birthdays and stay forever in my fifties. Sounds good!

Over the holidays, my inbox filled with stories of families who couldn’t be together, or not in the way that they had hoped. The frustration and pain are real and, for that reason, I will not go too deeply into how our Christmas was, because as unusual as a family like ours is, it’s almost equally unusual that we managed to spend it together. I won’t gloat. I’ll share one picture and then move on from the family angle.

Our sweet grandbabies, Colin and Jane, had just the best Christmas. What made it most special of all, though, was that we were together and in good health. May that continue into this year with the brand new smell still on it.

Speaking of “what’s that I smell?” guess who got new cookware? Rob and I decided to upgrade our worn-out 10-year-old stuff and go for some heavy grade shiny silver pots and pans. See, I am hoping that this will be the push I need to really begin to take cooking seriously. Sure, I can pull a pretty good meal together in minutes, something I learned from my mom even in her pre-microwave cooking years, but I want to be able to have company one day and serve them something that doesn’t have me cringing or hyperventilating before they arrive.

So that’s my aim. We did make the stuffing waffles; they were excellent, although the store-bought stuffing we used was not as good as our usual stuff…ing. I’d totally do it again for leftover meals. And just maybe I’ll keep an eye out for a waffle maker on sale somewhere.

So on we go into new challenges and a new year. As in the kitchen, we’ll keep trying ’til we get it right, cook like nobody’s coming over (’cause one day they will), dance like no one is watching (as I do with Janey) and sing at the top of our lungs.

Everything that is coming at us will pass. All things do. We got through 2021, most of us, (we’ll miss you Betty White and all the Bettys and Burts and friends and loved ones we lost) and now we set our sails for 2022. It is truly all we can do. And please stay safe. We’re all doing our best to stay isolated and healthy. We keep doing the heavy lifting for those who have given up or never took up the fight in the first place.

Even though some don’t, wear your mask (or in my case, two masks) out in public. Don’t give up. Don’t listen to those who have: the ones with the loudest and most obnoxious voices. Because despite the selfishness and literal ignorance that we see around us two years into this, we are all in this together. And if some have to do more heavy lifting than others, we’re up to it. Because, as I’ve always said, whenever a challenge seemed too much to face: We Can Do This.

Talk to you here on Thursday.