A Word from Ron
Ah, November: For years I have experienced it as a confusing, sometimes sobering, month. There are so many 'celebrations' which involve remembering lives lost as a result of war, the honouring of personal saints no longer with us, the ending of yet another liturgical year. I find myself wishing I could choose some of the things to be honoured or jettisoned rather than relying on a calendar to guide selective moments of remembrance.
However, November carries with it some good news as well: I am fortunate to be part of a kindred-spirited group of Canadian creatives who try to meet together online to support and inspire one another. We’ll meet once again in early November to be enriched by each other’s presence and share project news. We are a surprisingly large group of goldfish in a very small bowl. This could make it easy to slip into grievance sessions on many levels. We choose not to swim there — which is not to suggest that we don’t enjoy forays upstream, against the current!
As part of that collective spirit, I’m choosing to recommend something I did not create myself (I just wish I had!). Pat Mayberry’s song, "In Flanders Fields", speaks to me at many levels. The recording of this song represents a wonderful collaboration among family and friends separated by many kilometres and an ocean. Words and music are by Pat Mayberry and sung by her brother, Tom Mayberry. Piano accompaniment is provided by Marg Stubington based on an arrangement by David Kai. Click here to check out the choral and instrumental versions and listen to the audio recording. A YouTube video version is available for viewing here. RK
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