Real Talk!

Along with the price of gas, the past 10 days have been filled with intense discussion from a variety of sources... favourite topics included: Real Estate, Real Estate Prices, Mortgage Financing, Mortgage Companies, Bank Failures, Interest Rates, Politics, Race, Religion, Heritage, History, Culture, Motorcycles, Life, Death and a whole lotta stuff in between.

We sampled the North Eastern United States and the Eastern portions of Canada. & we're soon planning to do the same for the Western parts... but that's for future blogs.

I can't help but mention that Mrs. Sampson makes the WORLD'S BEST Carrot Cake. I didn't dare ask for her recipe... and her closest friends and family think she has a secret ingredient that she wouldn't tell about, anyway.

It's okay, because we figured out what it is... and it isn't nutmeg, Marge!

But seriously, her stuff was so good that there was a major cribbage tournament to decide who would get the last of the carrot cake... and it had to be three pieces in one!

The Boss was the Hog...

but that's all I'm going to say about THAT!

Here is the first layer of what I learned last week:

The world is very close to having finally recognized the value of emancipation. The world is very close to having healed a number of wounds.

In spite of the bad... there's a whole lot of good. The world cares about what is happening else where and in their twisted ways are trying to accomplish the same goals. Terrosits are no different than playground bullies... they exist and they are not necessarily representative of the majority...

Essentially, most people want to be part of a good, fair and reasonable society that does not condone violence or slavery. A society in which each life is honoured and respected in solidarity.

We live at a time in which we are being asked to take responsibility. We live at a time where we have the wisdom of generations remind us to never forget the horrors of the planet's past... We live at a time where there are several generations who have experienced the wisdom and expect, not accept, the gift of our forefathers.

I visited Deerfield Massachusetts... and some of my own puritanical history... only 6 generations back... on the other hand... WAY BACK... in 1700... I think Granny Abigail (as she might have been known, had circumstances been different)... was one of the first "women's libbers"- she chose to stay with her native captors... because their way of life was far more gender balanced.

Granny Abigail conveyed property through inheritance in the 1700s... I don't think she would have had the same experience in Deerfield...
so much has happened since then. So much has changed and grown and been invented and been discovered...

Still, we haven't perfected the system. Perhaps a few still hang on to the anger and perhaps a few still hang on to out-dated values... whatever the reason, it is time for us to fully emancipate...

The timing is right. I know my daughter, now aged 16 knows that woman had to fight to get rights... she knows that there were slaves... she knows that there were concentration camps... she knows that there are ongoing atrocities and still, she knows that she will not participate in anything that would perpetuate bullying- of any sort.

My daughter is about a year older than the age that Granny Abigail was when she married Grandpa Josiah. I suppose I should tell them "Nia:wen" which I believe is Mohawk for Thank You and however you would say: "We have learned much in the time since you made your choices." and "We still have much to learn."

While contemplating this, I thought about the current CNN documentary "Black in America"... and I googled a man who became one of my greatest heroes (when I was in grade three) "Martin Luther King" and the word "emancipation"...

I discovered a website: http://www.holidays.net/mlk/emancipation_days_of_respect.htm

The Emancipation Days of Respect

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., three Emancipation Days of Respect have been established to promoting unity, respect and remembrance for those who have struggled and sacrificed to help change America's unjust laws of racial segregation, as well as support and solidarity with victims of slavery and violence.

The Emancipation Days of Respect are ''Humanitarian Day'' (January 15th - MLK's Birthday), ''Victims of Violence Holy Day'' (April 4th - Anniversary of MLK's death) and ''Dream Day Quest and Jubilee'' (August 28th - Anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech)

Humanitarian Day
The first of 3 annual Emancipation Days of Respect honoring the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. Observed on King's birthday (January 15), the wearing of white is encouraged to show respect and remembrance for all those who have helped change America's unjust laws of racial segregation.

Victims of Violence Holy Day
The 2nd of 3 annual Emancipation Days of Respect honoring the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. Observed on the day of King's assasination (April 4), the wearing black is encouraged to show solidarity with victims of slavery and violence.

Dream Day Quest and Jubilee
The third of 3 annual Emancipation Days of Respect honoring the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. Observed on the anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream speech" (August 28). The wearing of black and white is encouraged as a show of respect.

WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ABOUT THIS BEFORE???

I think we need a day of respect we could call it: Emancipation Day, a day of unity, respect and remembrance in honour of those who have struggled and sacrified to help the world achieve peace. Oh wait a minute... that might be "World Peace Day"???

Try googling that!

I suggest the 9th of October