Thinking Out Loud

These are photos of a neighbourhood in north end Halifax.

It is called the Hydrostone because the vast majority of homes were made from stone.

This was the extended area of the neighbourhood in which I grew up.

It was a 'working class' area that was totally devastated by an explosion in 1917.

This entire area of about 10 city blocks was paid for by the city of Boston after that explosion.

Today it is becoming the 'have to place' to live and shop in Halifax.

This residential and shopping area has become a Nova Scotia Heritage Site. Go figure, my old neighbourhood.

My Sisters Made Me Gay!

I was the 'third born' in a family of nine kids. My Dad got the baseball team he always wanted! lol


Having two older sisters I always found myself in unusual, but strangely comfy,  situations. Some I didn't object to....like being the 'practice' dance partner before Friday night dances. 


Some situations I probably should have run the other way! But I didn't. I chose to go along with their requests. It felt very natural and not foreign at all.


Take for example this scenario at the age of 12 :


Marilyn: " Jimmie I really need you to go downtown and get me something before I go out and I need them now !!"
Jimmie: "But I have something I have to do!"
Marilyn: " I'll pay you and give you the bus fare."
Jimmie: " OK. What do you want and where do I go?"
Marilyn: "Reitman's Lady's Wear" for a pair of nylons. And I want Autumn Leaves, size large."


                                                        


And away I went on the number 3 bus to downtown Halifax on several Saturday evenings.


Then there were those 'regular' monthly requests from Jo-Ann:


"Jimmie please run down to the drugstore for me."
Jimmie after several 'runs': " Let me guess, Special K?"
Jo-Ann: "Yes, thanks!"


And away I went. I always wondered what the big secret was!


                                            


You know, I really didn't think twice about doing any of these things and many other things for my sisters. I never questioned where or what it was.


Goes to show you that some things are already predetermined for us.

The Inevitable Is Coming To America

Living in Canada we, the LGBT community, no longer have to deal/worry/feel like second-class citizens any longer. It has become a 'non-issue'.



It always takes me by surprise that the progressive, powerful nation of the United States of America is still trying to figure this out.


If this man has anything to do with it, he will make the American people realize that gays/lesbians/bisexuals/transgendered people are first class citizens like everyone else.


I wish I could vote for him!!

If the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey wasn't convincing enough, here is another look at the 'debate' of whether homosexuals should be classified as first class citizens in the U.S.A.

Contemplative Monday

Be Patient With Pain

"Patience is a way to de-escalate aggression and it's accompanying pain.

This is to say that when you are feeling aggressive ----

and I think that this would go for any strong emotion ----

there's a seductive quality that pulls us

in the direction of wanting to get some resolution.

We feel restless, agitated, and ill at ease.

It hurts so much to feel the aggression

that we want it to be resolved.

Right then we could change the way

we look at this discomfort and practice patience."

Above quote comes from: Heart Advice: Weekly Quotes from Pema Chodron.

Eclectic Tastes

I know this clip is not a piece of music but it was 'music to my ears' last night when I watched it with my father at his house.


We were both spellbound by this movie.....the acting, the drama, the suspense. I remember seeing it the year it was made in 1967. I feel it is a classic movie in the true sense of the word....one that changed people's perspective about racism and one that would be remembered the next day. Not many of those around today.

Retro Saturday

I dedicate this post to my sister, Jo-Ann, who had a birthday on Thursday of this week.

In the photo below she is the one in the top row centre with the ringlettes!

She is 16 months older than I and we were 'as thick as thieves' when we were growing up.

I remember going to this St. Patrick's Day concert with my parents.......it was 1953.

Jo-Ann was in Primary.

Happy Birthday Jo!

Martello Tower, A Photo Essay

This is for all you history buffs, engineers (Annie), architects and the rest of us!

There's a lot of history in an old town (by North American standards, that is).