Erin's Journals

Just a thought… Write what you love. Love will hold you through the hard times and hold the world during the good times. [Mark Z. Danielewski]

April Fool’s?!? I can’t even go there. Not today, pranksters, not today.

Instead, what I’ll do is give you a link to a new piece I wrote for Silken Laumann’s inspirational website. What’s the four-time Olympian rower been up to? Here’s a piece from a news release that came out just over a year ago:

“Silken Laumann reveals UNSINKABLE, a story-sharing platform to empower Canadians to walk the talk when it comes to mental health. UNSINKABLE will host stories of courage, resiliency, transformation and the strategies behind the success. Canadians can expect stories from everyday Canadians, well-known Canadians, Canadian youth and Canadian health experts. 

Four-time Olympian, Silken Laumann reveals the official launch date of Unsinkable – a storytelling platform for Canadians to share stories that will empower other Canadians to greatness. (CNW Group/UNSINKABLE)

“Motivated by her own personal struggles and eventual triumph to greatness, Laumann dreamed of connecting and inspiring people through personal experiences on a large digital scale. The dialogue around mental health has shifted significantly since the launch of Bell Let’s Talk and UNSINKABLE will give Canadians strategies they can apply to everyday life.” You can visit weareunsinkable.com to dive in.

I was approached by Silken’s team to write a piece for them based on my book Mourning Has Broken: Love, Loss and Reclaiming Joy (HarperCollins Canada). What I came up with was the importance of remembering the person who’s gone – and how important it is to those of us left behind that her or his name is not forgotten. On her birthday. On the day of her passing. The big red-letter days in our lives that pass by so easily for everyone else.

I get it. Life has gone on, the world has kept turning. But this piece emphasizes how much it means when those we love remember the one we loved most of all.

The timing of the story’s release March 22 was chosen by the Unsinkable folks and was meant to coincide with the release of my book in softcover; it also came out just a few days before what should have been Lauren’s 29th birthday. As it is, this day marks three years since my sister’s son, my nephew Michael, died in a house explosion in Kelowna. To date, there’s been no progress in the arson/murder case that we’ve been made aware of, and as always we send my little sister love and strength.

But this is also a happy day: today Lauren’s (and now Brooke’s) husband Phil celebrates his birthday and we send him more love than Canada Post can carry. He’s a beautiful example of how to reclaim joy and Rob and I are immensely proud of this man and the loving, lovely family that embraces him today in Ottawa.

Here’s the story and thank you for sharing in our journey. Have a gentle day and I’ll be back with you tomorrow.

Just a thought… To think well and to obey someone giving good advice are the same thing. [Herodotus]

Welcome to Tuesday and the last week of this wicked month. I hope the day finds you well, keeping your mind and hands busy. And if you’re out there working on our behalf, thank you, thank you, thank you!

And as we’re seeing again and again in pictures posted on social media and in footage on the news, some people are just refusing to listen to the advice – the instructions – to stop gathering in groups and to stop endangering themselves and others.

In Tampa Bay, an idiot minister was arrested (and released immediately on $500 bond, undoubtedly still warm from his suckers’ – I mean followers’ – pockets) for holding services on Sunday in his mega church, even busing congregants to get there. Like lambs to the slaughter who believed this guy when he said he had a virus-killing air system. Where did he hear they exist – in a Trump tweet?

It reminded me of a story I’d like to share with you today as I attempt to bring some positivity here instead of letting myself sink into the depression that is only ever just a few dark thoughts away. It was a joke that Don Daynard told years ago, and I’m telling it in longer form here as more of a fable. Keep going to the bottom; there’s a special picture I shot yesterday from my chair.

One spring morning, upon awakening and seeing rushing rivers where his street should be, a man grabs his ladder and climbs up onto the dry roof of his house and watches in awe as the brown water inches up his siding.

“Please save me,” he prays to God.

Two hours later, as the water reaches the window sills of his second floor, a man in a yellow slicker comes by in a boat and shouts through the rain and the wind, “Climb down and get in! I’ll take you to dry land!”

The man on the roof shakes his head, explaining that God will save him, and waves off the man in the boat, who, bewildered, leaves to rescue a stranded neighbour.

That afternoon, as the rains continue to pelt and the winds roar, a woman in a powerboat pulls up to the man’s roofline, where the waters have now risen. “Come on – get in the boat and I’ll drive you to safety!”

The man shouts through the storm, “No, no…I’m staying here. God is going to save me!” So she shrugs and off she goes to rescue a grateful family waving frantically just three houses down.

Darkness descends and the relentless torrents bring river levels beyond the man’s eaves. Cold and murky water numbs his soaked feet and he shivers, crouched on a minuscule patch of roof yet spared from the rushing river. Through the storm, he can make out the droning motor of a boat coming his way; soon another would-be hero reaches out with an oar and implores the man to grab on and get in, man!

He stubbornly shakes his head and refuses the help, saying God will save him; the driver of the boat bows his head, waves and departs to find anyone else in peril.

A short time later, the waters completely swallow his house and the man drowns.

As he enters Heaven, he sees God. The man is angry and confused to have died, and can’t understand why he’s here.

Shaking his fist, he says to God, “I had faith in you! Why didn’t you save me?”

And God responds, “My son, I sent you THREE BOATS.”

Boats are everywhere. They’re not just ships named the USNS Comfort (amazed it wasn’t rechristened USNS TRUMP, to be honest) – they’re people offering advice and science and help to us all.

We have to take it. We have to listen. As CNN’s Don Lemon said on Sunday, believe in whomever or whatever you want, but “the virus doesn’t care who you worship.” There’s a lot of people out there trying to surf during this storm and it’s not going to end well for them, or the people with whom they come into contact.

Please stay safe, stay sane and stay dry. I’ll be back with you tomorrow.

And I’ll leave you with a picture of the man who’s rescued me more times than either of us can count, sitting editing our next podcast, as nature tried its best to distract him yesterday afternoon.

Just a thought… The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. [Leo Tolstoy]

Here we are together again, you and I, as I wish you a gentle Monday and hope that you’re faring okay. Not much new here except work as usual (more recording, editing, writing and so on). But the highlight of our last few days came when Rob and I had another blessed grocery delivery – this time from a friend who’s just moved nearby from up island (as we call it).

I could have cried just to see her face, so many metres from our front door. I still don’t think that other than for groceries, we’re going out when this self-isolation ends on Friday for us. Most Canadians appear to be listening and doing what we’re supposed to do.

Maybe it’s the fact we don’t have the luxury of strolling around a grocery store – something none of us will take for granted for a long while after this – that’s put food in the forefront of my mind.

When Louisa brought that precious grocery bag on Friday it contained not one, but two bags of potato chips. I can’t even tell you when I last had them in the house, but now I have to have them.

I dug into our cupboards yesterday, pulled out a tin of Bird’s custard powder and made a dessert that included several tablespoons of dry cocoa, so desperate is my craving for chocolate these days. Again, there’s no good reason for it, except that I can’t have it.

Heaven help me, we have a delivery coming in the next few weeks from Costco and it includes two big bags of Peanut M & Ms. You know, the ones in the so-called “resealable” sacs? Uh-oh. It’s going to take some serious won’t-power, or I’m going to be this gal.

Yes, I laughed aloud at that when I saw it (and posted it on Instagram @erindawndavis) yesterday. I hope you got a chuckle too.

I wonder: when this is over, will gyms look like the first Monday of the new year?

So many questions – bigger questions – and right now there appear to be few answers. A lot of people will be wondering how to make their rent payments on Wednesday and while the provincial governments are helping out in various ways, it’s still a matter of how and when.

And so we wait. For those of us who have the blessed luxury of not being the heroes on the outside helping the rest of us to make it through these hard and dangerous times, it’s a matter of doing our part by doing very little.

Thought of these words to the Beatles’ “Fool on the Hill” as I noodled yesterday on the piano looking out the windows toward the oceans and mountains:

Day after day

Alone in the house

Trying so hard to stay sane,

And just annoying my spouse

Nobody comes to see us

Or can talk to us at the door

‘Cause we can’t answer

Just the Fools on the Hill

Watch the news going down

And the eyes in our heads

See the world spinning round….

I’ll be back with you here tomorrow. Thanks for contributing to my sanity by sharing in these thoughts each day. It means a lot.

Just a thought… In a world where you can’t really choose to be anything you want right now….BE KIND…and Patient, and Loving, and well – just more kind. [Ellen Wasyl – thepossibilityexperience.com]

Welcome to another weekend journal. I picture you in bed, or sitting quietly in a chair as another day dawns…maybe a coffee or a tea in hand. I’m writing this from my bed, with a sleeping dog next to us and the rain falling softly. And for this moment, all is normal. Until, that is, I open my Twitter feed!

Yesterday I tweeted a picture of me with marketing master Terry O’Reilly, first guest on my Real Time podcast for the Canadian Real Estate Association (for whom I’ve done work in the past, visiting cities across the country and hosting their live events). I love these folks and Rob and I are thrilled to be working with them for a series of ten podcasts this year.

Anyway, I put out the info about our first podcast on Twitter and tagged @terryoinfluence, our guest.

To my utter amazement, when Terry RT’d it, he got this response:

Yes, the picture was taken two years ago. No, it didn’t occur to me to include a disclaimer.

Is this where we are now? We actually have to state when pictures were taken or risk being shamed for not keeping our distances? Will TV shows have to, in addition to the slides they put up before episodes warning of content, also have to say, “The people who are hugging, holding hands, shaking hands, passing a basketball, dining in crowded restaurants, standing at the bus shelter, shopping in grocery stores, holding a wedding, flying to their honeymoon, having sex AND SO ON…were portrayed doing so before social distancing and the outbreak of the coronavirus. Viewer Discretion is Advised.”

I mean, sometimes a little common sense goes a long way, right?

Still, seeing those scenes in our living rooms (I mean on TV, of course, unless that’s where you make out, hold weddings, etc.) is disconcerting when we are so hyper aware of what we can and cannot do in these shaky days. And it’s also why my podcast with Terry includes a disclaimer, one which may be edited out in several months’ time for the sake of posterity, that the interview was conducted before the outbreak of COVID-19.

What strange days these are. As John Lennon sang, “…most peculiar, momma.”

I’ll be back with a new journal for you tomorrow.

Just a thought… Most people that I know are interested in on-demand stuff. A podcast is essentially audio Netflix. [Jordan Harbinger]

How are you doing? Staying safe, staying sane and staying away (or home)? That’s my new mantra. Rob and I are trying our best as we enter day two of week two of our self-isolation.

It’s been far busier than I’d ever expected, but we do still carve out time to catch up with shows we’ve been promising to get to forever. Like the FX mini series FOSSE/VERDON. Eight episodes in all (which could easily have been six, in my opinion), it tells the story of one of the great showbiz couples of song and dance. The hugely talented Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams star in the series. Next up: that wackadoo Tiger King offering on Netflix.

These days, I’m hugely grateful to be able to watch Seth Meyers’ take on the events of the day in A Closer Look, which is available on YouTube. I’ve always appreciated Seth and his writers, and missing them has made that fondness grow deeper.

Trevor Noah is putting out some exceptional pieces these days, too. I am as grateful for comedy as ever, even watching HBO’s daily reruns of old Larry David Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes.

Today, I offer you a diversion of a different kind and I wonder how many people reading this have never listened to a podcast. Millions upon millions are doing just that. Why? Because although radio listening still leads for in-car listenership, there’s nothing like being able to hear who you want, what you want, when you want it.

It’s a whole new world and some of it is pretty exciting. Mind you, there are a lot of folks out there who think because they have a laptop and a computer, it makes them broadcasters – and in the most literal sense, I suppose it does – but the job for the person on the mic is never to be boring. Tell a story. Make that one listener want to spend time with them. All lessons that can be years in the learning.

If you have not, I’ll tell you that podcasts are like radio shows with no limits. Hosts can deep dive into interviews and discuss whatever they want, from the value of laundry lint to the marvelous major thoughts of the geniuses of our time. It’s that varied. The shows are put up on a digital platform where people can access them through their computers or phones and they’re there for the taking.

My personal favourite is one I’ve mentioned before: CBC’s Under the Influence with Terry O’Reilly (more on him later). I also have a few others, including author and thinker Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History Presents. But there’s everything from true crime stories to fiction to…well, you name it. It’s a whole new world that’s not so new, but with which some folks still are unfamiliar. So this next part is for you.

How does one listen to or download a podcast? Easy! I’ve got a link for you right here to lead you through, step by step, as I did for my sister yesterday over the phone. You’ll be glad you did, I promise.

Since leaving radio, the idea of doing a podcast was always percolating in the back of my mind. But this year the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reached out to me with a suggestion: what if I was to host interesting chats with guests who could shed light on marketing, becoming and staying successful in the business (especially during these challenging times) and living in or selling a “green” home – stuff like that?

Rob (my producer) and I were intrigued. And when they suggested Terry O’Reilly, the Canadian and world-renowned marketing and advertising genius as my first guest, I leapt at the chance.

Well, today my friend, I can tell you that our very first podcast called REAL Time has arrived! You can find it at CREA’s website. 

I promise you’ll love it. The best ideas that have stood out in marketing? We’ve got them. The reason selling and buying a home are such a huge deal in our lives? Answered. How to “zig” when the rest of the world “zags?” Terry answers it all. And if you’re a realtor reading this, you’re invited to call and leave a voicemail to be featured on a future show.

We just recorded another yesterday with a third on tap to record Monday. (Yes, we’re busy in all of the best ways!) They’ll be released on a monthly basis, but maybe today, as you’re enjoying a cup of tea or coffee, or just some time for yourself, settle in for our first one: two friends having a fun chat and sharing some really fantastic information while we’re at it.

No one’s trying to sell you anything; this is all part of CREA’s service to its realtor members. The bonus is, I get to share it with you, too.

Will I one day do a podcast that is about my own choice and source of topics? Perhaps. If life has taught me anything (and I sure hope it has), it’s never to say “never.”

Have a lovely, gentle Saturday. Enjoy our podcast and I’ll be back with you here tomorrow. Stay safe, stay sane, stay away (just not from here)

– Erin.