My Own Calcutta: A Year of Living Generously

Yay! I did it! After years of pushing my manuscript to the backburner, I took the plunge and moved forward. My first book, My Own Calcutta, was recently published on Amazon. Let me share with you the storyline… It’s November 2013. As Rita Jacques hears that a typhoon has devastated the Philippines, she’s once again…

Every Life Counts!

“The man’s lips and fingertips were blue and he was unresponsive. He was slumped in the backseat of a car where he and two buddies were smoking Fentanyl. His friend ran into the AIDS Committee’s office. A person working there had just what was needed: Narcan. He injected the lifeless man with Narcan. After three…

Floating in the Flood

Since my senior friend moved to my city of Windsor, Ontario, we’ve experienced not only a tornado but a flood. She reassured me she did pack an umbrella before moving here. When the tornado descended on Windsor, I was mowing the lawn. The wind picked up suddenly, empty flower pots were tossed about and rain…

Crisis Averted Times Two

I paused from serving hot dogs to observe a distraught woman, maybe in her late 30’s.  My dishwasher partner, Chris, spoke to her softly,” Go see Sarah-Lynn. She’ll set you up. Don’t worry.” I gave my buddy a quizzical look. He told me the woman was just kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend…

Behind Blue Eyes

  “You’ve got the most beautiful blue eyes!…I’d think with eyes like that, doors would open for you!” “Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving. I’m having a rough day.” Her rough day was a lot different than a rough day for you or me. If her friend decided not to let her stay in her…

Hope for the Homeless

  This week I spotted chamomile growing in the alley near the homeless shelter. Always a little beauty to be found among the weeds and concrete. Chicken and penne were served for lunch. When they were depleted, a big stock pot of hearty vegetable soup was available, plus crackers. Big Ant and I cut up…

A Considerate Approach

Cheerful Brown-Eyed Susans greeted me as I walked through the alley to the homeless shelter. There’s always beauty in unexpected places. You just have to search for it. Not a lot of food on the menu today. However, in spite of there being only pasta, three types were available. Penne plus two pastas that looked…

A Raincoat of Hope

If there’s beauty to be found in an alley with broken pavement near a shelter full of people with broken dreams, trust me to find it. Today, there was a strawberry yarrow plant growing wild. I’m not going to tell you how much I paid for a similar plant at a garden centre! It brightened…

A Heart of Gold

She’s done so much for others, struggled through more than a person should in life and still manages to keep on keeping on…Sarah-Lynn Ellis has volunteered at Street Help Homeless Centre in Windsor for years. She helps with cooking, serving, cleaning, handing out hygiene packages, washing dishes, sorting clothes, taking out the garbage and yup,…

Homeless among the Sunflowers

Anyone who knows me knows that I love sunflowers and the homeless. Across the street from the shelter a local business grows sunflowers alongside the wall of their building each summer. Last night, I saw a homeless man sleeping on the bench in front of the sunflowers. It’s a little tricky to see in the…