New Year's Eve, 2012 - Personal Highlights and Gratitude

This is a glorified gratitude list. It will not encompass everything by any means. First and foremost I am thankful for my family. My brother and sister in law have been the greatest people in my life. I am so thankful to have spent time with father before he died and to share time with my brother's family, my nephews, Graeme, Andrew and Allan. I am thankful for all the friends I've been blessed to know. I won't name them as for sure I'd regretfully leave someone out. My 60th birthday party was a reflection of the fact that I am loved despite myself and to my own surprise. I am thankful for my wonderful staff at the time Joanne, Aim and Elizabeth and those who helped, like Laura and Graham, in making my birthday the best since my space cadet birthday my mother put on for me when I was 11 or 12 and Kirkie and Garth were my best friends and NASA was literally out of this world. I am especially thankful for my work, my patients, the other doctors involved in my patients care and all the caregivers that surround us working independently and interdependently in the front lines of health care, especially mental health care and addiction medicine. I've really enjoyed working with my fellow doctors and the staff at Doc-side. I'm so thankful for Joanne finding Hannah my new staff who replaced her. Gilbert is just thankful that all the staff love him as do the patients.
 I am thankful to have been an expert witness in the supreme court and having had the good fortune to meet mostly very fine and amazing judges as well as work with really very impressive lawyers. I am thankful for the psychologists, nurses and OT's plus all the others specialists I've been honoured to know.
I am thankful for my study of the spanish language. I'm thankful for all those who inspire me with their bilingualism and multilingualism. I loved studying medical spanish in El Salvador last year and the privilege to fly to that country and interact with the wonderful Salvadoran people in another paradise of sun and beach. I loved scuba diving jungle zip lining and bird watching. I am thankful for my trips to Ottawa this last year. I am forever thankful for IDAA and the conference this year in Orlando, the chance to see my yearly friends who we keep in contact through email with during the year but have a week of deeply spiritual time and so much laughter. I'm thankful that on my return to visit my dad in Ottawa weather delayed the plane so I had a night in New York and could visit Manhatten again and finally seen the Stonewall Pub. I loved blogging,williamhaywriter.
I am thankful for sole dinners with George and conversations of poetry and spirituality.
George has been a Godsend these last 15 years. I am thankful for dinners with John and conversations of analysis and spirituality. John has been a godsend these last 15 years.
I am so thankful for Gilbert, the cockapoo and all his friends.
I am thankful for the eventual sale of my side car motorcycle and the buying of my Mazda Miata. Laura, Gilbert and I had wonderful weekend drives down to Portland and the north coast of Washington. I am
 thankful for the S.V. Giri and the weekend trips Laura, Gilbert and I took to English Bay, Bowen Island and the wonderful long weekend at SaltSpring for the annual round up and lamb roast. That was a great event with a lot of fun getting caught up with friends. I am thankful to Lyle and the friends I meet with weekly at the Dug Out.

I am so thankful for St. James Anglican Church and Father Mark Greenaway-Robbins. Father Mark has created a marvellous church community and I'm glad to be a part of it thanks to Christ Church, my former church community, outlawing Gilbert the dog despite him being blessed by the Bishop, and a hard working therapy dog. The people of St. James have made us both welcome and that's so important.

I am thankful for the SV Giri and the Blue Water Cruising Association and friends I 've made in the boating world like Eric and James and Louis.

I am thankful for the Ford F350 Truck and Rockwood RV and the times I've enjoyed this. This year we were fortunate to have fun with the Clipper Canoe too
I'm thankful to Kirk for telling me about the leash free dog walk I found about a year after he did though I never disbelieved his story of dog Shangrila. Gilbert and I have so enjoyed this walk ever since. Kirk has been a friend since 5 and that is still amazing to me.

I am so thankful for the great hunts with Tom and Luke, despite our only killing grouse and one rabbit. Amazing all the years Tom and I've known each other sailing across an ocean, driving across Canada together and now being in a cattle round up. So much of the fun in the company and I think the killing of he old rusted farm implement with a great barrage of shots by Luke and Tom and I at many targets will remain one of the greatest target hunts in my life. We did see deer and moose but someone tipped them off about our ill intentions.
 It was great to meet Laura's cousin after years of hearing stories about her. Fun to canoe and fish too though I never caught any fish. Tom and I loved being in the cattle round up, Laura, Gilbert and I enjoyed finding another great RV park at Moonshadow in Merrit. I was thankful that Dad's death was as quick as it was though he'd had a hard winter before. I loved that I was able to spend good time with him and that we had a last visit in summer. It was good to be with my brother Ron at Dad's death and appreciate how remarkably competent he can be in very difficult times. I love my brother and sister in law so much more because of the love and care I saw them have for the old people and how much love they have for family. I am thankful for the Canadian Authors Association meetings, friends, publishing my poetry in National Voices, and for electing me a member at large to the Executive. I loved attending the Vancouver writing events and hearing friends reading.

I am thankful for my multicultural friends, especially the people of Saipan I continue in contact with, the Chomorro, Filipinos, and those here especially the East Indian and Chinese, as well as the various ethnic groups that give this country such diversity though I love more and more what I learn of the deepest contribution of my own heritage the Scottish and Irish people. I loved the THIRD DAY Concert in Langley. Third Day have been the greatest Christian rock band and I've spent years enjoying their inspirational music. Now I'm loving Serius Satellite Message programs where I hear them too. I am thankful for social media keeping me in touch not just family and friends in general but people like Wes and classmates  from Vincent Massey High School.
 I am thankful for Harrison Hot Springs and the good relaxing times I've had there. I'm grateful for all the great wild game meals I had this year, especially Laura's elk hash. I've loved the venison and elk roasts and grouse too. I loved the great uplifting plays and performances at Pacific Theatre. I loved the creativity and genius of BC Ballet. I've loved Mac and the computers and iPhone and Ipad and Nikon cameras.
 I am thankful for Seattle, Pike Market, the Alexis Hotel, the Sorrento, Trinity Episcopal Church and most recently Christmas there.
I am so thankful to be able to travel, this year to Greece, visiting the Acropolis, Knossos Crete, Delphi and the Meteora Monasteries. of

 


I am thankful to be a Canadian, a voter and contributor and a member of a political party while too many think  'criticism' is sufficient contribution. I am amazed by the leadership of all the organizations I've belonged to, the difficulty of the jobs, the sacrifice of the leaders and the great character and accomplishments of those individuals even when I disagree with them personally. Despite my own criticism I know Deifenbaker, Pearson, Troudeau, Mulroney, Martin, Campbell, Turner, Chretien and Harper are truly incredible people who have given this country so much with there hard work and genius.
I am thankful for love , relationship and Jesus, school, church, work, business, medicine, law, play and all that goes into the community and it's organizations and those who maintain them in this great garden we share as home, this universe in the multiverse.

Thanks for God even for my enemies because their deficiencies have made me realize how rich my friends are in character and love. I am thankful for their immaturity and stupidity because it really shows me how mature and intelligent my closest friends are. I struggle with Thy Will Be Done but Thy Will Be Done Lord. The more I follow you the better my life is Lord. Thank you for all the highlights of this year.

Iraklio, Crete - Dec. 6, 2012

The flight was only a half hour. Landing reminded me of Tinia and the other island landings I've made. Sea on one side land on the other. We were down. Windy on the tarmac. My hair blowing every which way. A day I should have worn a pony tail. We all crossed from the plane to a bus that took us all not very far to the terminal. We could have walked but the bus was a nice touch.

My Europeia car rental person wasn't there when I arrived. The plane had arrived early. I didn’t realize this so walked across the street to a Eurocar place where the girl told me that they were a different company. The major trouble with Greek is not only do I not know the language but the alphabet has alot of different letters and the words are often multisyllabled. My mind gets lazy and registers only the beginning parts I recognise. This has caused me reading maps and driving no end of misery with trying to remember and find roads. GPS would be the answer but the fellow at the car rental says gps works well in cities like Athens but not elsewhere. My bet is the maps aren’t accurate just like on West Coast Vancouver Island when my gps had me sailing a mile overland.

When I returned the young black haired Europeia man was there with a sign showing my name, just as Hannah my assistant, had written there’d be. We signed the contract. It was in Greek but he insisted that all the insurance for everything and everyone else that was possible for a car was covered and included. We then walked me to the lot where there was a little Kia. "I had a ford fiesta a bit like this in Israel," I said. He gave me the keys. I later wondered if the Greek contract had life insurance.
So far I've only had one near death experience, a near head on collision as the sun was in my eyes and both I and the other driver were too much in the centre of the road coming around a hillside corner. Now that’s holiday adventure. The gas tank was empty but the gas station attendant was really helpful. $40 Euro for a tank of gas. 1 Euro is about 1.3 US dollars.

I was booked into Kronus Hotel, a very fine hotel indeed, right on the seaway a short ways up from the 16th century fort. I didn't have a map or gps and the only one of the 2 streets turned out to be on the map the car folk gave me. I was convinced also some enterprising surviving Japanese came to Crete and set up the Kamikazee motorcycle school which continues to this day. I was told to ask directions. This is hard to do from a car, in a foreign language. There was absolutely no parking. Crete is wall to wall parked cars and motorcycles, with occasionally one lane for driving, that must be shared with passing motorcycles, pedestrians, on coming cars and the occasional dog or cat. I drove around for an hour after filling the empty tank. Finally finding a place to stop I was told it was by the fort beyond the 'little boats'. That was the marina I'd passed several times. There was the fort that had held of the Turks for some time and sure enough there was Kronus Hotel.

I was getting irritable (on vacation)  by the time I found it, praying to God and thinking that this town reminded me of Honolulu, Cozumel or LA. It had that rich kid vacation vibe too with lots of tourism motif. This was off season. Apparently in the summer there are 10 times the people and vehicles. I can imagine it. A traffic jam of monumental proportions in paradise. I was reduced to stop and start often a 2 km hour in the town as it was. On the other hand it was noon and in the morning and evening I found things thinned out. I was not like this either in the countryside and towns there. Taxis are everywhere in the town and it's easy to walk all over the downtown area. Lonely Planet recommends buses and taxis. I think the way to go would be by far the scooter.

 After dropping off my bag in the very nice room with great little balcony I returned to the car following the well laid out signs to the Knossus Palace site. I arrived at 3 pm just when it closed. I was miffed.Fortunately the gift shop was open and I could bought a classic hand made Cretan male knife with handle carved from goat bone and a gold bull's head. I'd heard in Athens about these special Cretan knives all the men had. Now I had one. I also bought a guide book of the Palace which I planned to study before going to the excavations. It brings back undergrad as memories are constantly being tweaked. I'm so looking forward to seeing the dolphin fresco and the griffins, I bought a small tera cotta of the snake goddess, the topless Minoan woman so appropriately attired. Civilization has gone down hill since it began in Crete.

 I drove south into the interior arriving at the Monastery Elafonfries. This was a beautiful site. So peaceful, serene and sacred. I felt God here in that special way one does in monasteries. I put it down to all the prayer and meditation that has gone on and goes on here. In the chapel I met a sweet little old lady who came up to my navel. She beamed and rattled on to me in Greek, not a word of what I understood.

I drove across the country with it's wine fields and olive fields and now some industrial windmills looking like the latest crop. Each little village still had people and dated back to time immemorial. I reflected how this was just an 'island' comunity, like Salt Spring Island or Vancouver would be if it had 5000 years of human habitation, with armies invading routinely I was glad to gt back to the hotel.

I've just had a lovely meal at Restaurant Pantheon. The town comes alive at night in a very attractive way. Stores are open, markets doing business, people ambling about the streets, a band playing classic big band anthems. I certainly can see the appeal and frankly envy the rich kids these days whose parents send them here for vacation. I'd like a summer here. I'd sing Carey too, feeling nostalgia for the days when Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen were in the islands. I’d dance in Zorba the Greek's village which I drove by earlier in the night too. As it is I’m thankful for this trip and time.

It’s like putting faces to names I’ve known for a very long time. I'm really loving it.