CoachPsPerspective
Thoughts from a meandering mind after 29 years in education.
Thursday, 20 March 2025
A Tough celebration
Thursday, 13 March 2025
Pondering
One of the fringe benefits of retirement is the ability to have greater control over how the minutes of your day are spent, whom they are spent with, and the potential future impact of choosing that path. While I dearly loved teaching, and by extension coaching, I have found the last five years of retirement immensely satisfying and fulfilling as I imbued myself in things that uplift my soul, leaving me with a profound sense of accomplishment. It is both the identification of those feelings, and the accompanying evaluation at the close of each experience that has lead to the following thought-provoking questions.
The purpose of this piece is not to wag a finger, to compare, or to preach.
If you find yourself with some minutes unoccupied by the repercussions of what you have chosen to fill those minutes with, please give both the questions and my rebuttals a quick read with the understanding that I lay zero claims of correctness, enlightenment, or transformation, but rather, present them as a gift or a launchpad, to start your personal reflections surrounding each.
Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of?
Look, I'm no different than so many. I occasionally look back on the memories of my life using the lens of 'coulda' or 'shoulda', playing the compare game with those that matter in my life, and that very act reveals negativity I've shouldered for far too long. Their very presence has impacted my decisions of the here and now by instilling hesitation or anxiety of the what could have been. However, considering these negatives are very few in number, in opposition I hold a great many more decisions and accomplishments that bolster extreme pride in my breast.
If we learn from our mistakes then why we are afraid to make mistakes?
This is a BIG one!
In the haste of our daily lives, what are we not seeing?
Oh, if I only knew now what I didn't know back then!
Life is too short to tolerate (fill in the blank)?
Sunday, 2 March 2025
Shock and awe!
I really feel I have to get something off my chest. I'm hesitant in the understanding that the following will cause some blowback, but I feel the compulsion to offer comment on the events that transpired at the White House recently.
February 28th, 2025, will be forever remembered as the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back", but sadly, it was the decent, common-sense American who's back was broken. The disturbing display of tyrannical, venomous ill-will hurled by the White House in the direction of Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, and broadcast to the world, was a glaring display of undiplomatic, narcissistic, myopic close-mindedness that was, I would guess, an American embarrassment of epic proportions. Put aside the 'Elephant in the Room' that these discussions should have taken place behind closed doors instead of some ridiculous reality television broadcast, the sheer lack of decency and diplomacy was a Tsunami of insults, laying bare to the world that America had better brace itself as the foundations of its house begins to crumble.
Listen, I have my own opinions about the quality of person that Trump, and by extension Vance, has repeatedly proven to be, but to attack the elected leader of a country in the throws of a vicious unjustified 3-year long full blown war while demanding a Thank You for support given, then berating him with intimidation attempts, "You have no cards in this", is a childlike tantrum to appear powerful and in charge. It was both incredulous and befuddling.
The repercussions of this travesty will be like a festering wound, propagating slowly beneath the surface before erupting in pustules of shock, despair, and angered rebuttal that will send shockwaves around the globe as nations turn their back on all relations with the USA, a direct result of the disintegrating levels of trust required to foster and support diplomatic relationships.
Disagree all you wish, but these events are akin to blaming Jews for angering Hitler's Nazis into a series of horrific decisions. An over exaggeration, yes, but to attack the victim for resisting an invasion with comments like, "You're gambling with WWIII", is paramount to blaming a rape victim for wearing a dress.The bewilderment of the world that the past 40 days prompted has been an unexpected eruption of toddler-like temper tantrums leaving no doubt that the America we all have come to recognize over the past few decades will most assuredly be unrecognizable for the foreseeable future.
A sadly significant percentage of the 'adults' of today are certainly leaving a mess for today's youngsters to deal with in the future. Although the old adage, "This too shall pass" holds true, the damage will be done.
Sad times, folks.
These are desperately sad times.
Thursday, 6 February 2025
Band of brothers
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Scotty B, Scotty S, + OD |
This post is a gratitude letter to those guys, and the photos are from our latest 'breaking of bread' in honour of the holiday season for 2024.
The photo above is (L to R) Scotty Bissessar, Scott Stirling, and Ross O'Doherty. I included it at the top of the post because not only are they 3 mighty fine looking old farts, but it captures the celebratory mood of the day succinctly and completely. Ross (on the right) has become our sherpa, our fearless leader, our Julie the cruise director, the irresistible force that sounds the call to arms for another reunion of our brothers.
Plus, he makes (nudge, nudge Heather) the tastiest Christmas shortbreads this side of Toronto!
As one of us harkened, we are indeed a 'Band of Brothers'.
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Andy, Scotty B, and yours truly |
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Pete, Ian, and Pete's son |
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Connie, Tom, and Rick |
To my brothers ...
I am forever grateful.
I am truly humbled by your continuing friendship.
I sincerely wish you all health, prosperity, and peace this holiday season and the coming year.
Friday, 13 December 2024
That's a great question!
While I'm proud of my cognitive powers, I didn't come up with all of the questions below on my own, and since making a note of them quite a while ago, I can no longer recall where I copied most from, so I'll come clean that I did, in fact, plagiarize some. I give full credit to the original author. If I'm honest, however, I did come up with some of these on my own, but who knows if it was creation or recall. If great minds think alike, so be it!
Enjoy the thinking that some may conjure!
My true goal is to make the corners of your mouth turn up, even if it's only a brief passing.
Who let the Dogs Out? And why'd they do it?
Where, exactly, is the beef?
What is involved with getting to Sesame Street?
Why doesn't Dora just use Google Maps?
Why are eggs packaged in a flimsy paper carton, yet batteries in impenetrable plastic?
Why can't women put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why is "abbreviation" such a long word?
Why is lemon juice is made with artificial flavour, yet dish-washing liquid with real lemons?
Why do we park in a driveway, yet drive on a parkway?
Why do they use sterilized needles for lethal injections?
Why do you "put your two cents in", but are offered only a "penny for your thoughts"?
Why do "The Alphabet Song" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" have the same melody?
Why did you just try to sing those two previous songs?
What, specifically, is Victoria's secret?
Why hasn't anyone come out with a line of mouse-flavoured cat food yet?Why is the word "queue" simply the letter Q followed by four silent letters?
Why aren't eyebrows considered facial hair when they're obviously on your face?
Why is good health highly encouraged when it's really just a slower rate of dying?
Why are we urged to "be a leader and not a follower," yet expected to follow that advice?
Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
Why do feet stink and noses run?
Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?
What colour does a Smurf turn if choking?
What hair colour do they record on bald people’s driver’s licenses?
Who tests and confirms whether dog food is ever improved?
Why can something be described as new and improved at the same time?
Friday, 25 October 2024
It's just plain broken!
Monday, 7 October 2024
No ordinary guy!
My bestie has an Uncle Dick ... or I guess it's appropriate to say she had, since he passed recently ... the older brother of my MIL Pearl. Although I was able to spend some quality hours with Uncle Dick over the past few years, I didn't really know his story very well. I learned a lot of new information when we gathered at his home following a beautifully loving farewell service.
His birth names were James Samuel. At that gathering following his service his curious nickname was discussed at length and was punctuated by a lot of head scratching and shoulder shrugging since no one could offer information about where the moniker came from, other than the fact that he had been addressed that way for decades. Joyce has always known her uncle as Dick, but the gathering of life-long friends at his service would reveal that he was known as Jim or Jimmy as well.
How confusing is that?
Now Dick is a name that you don't hear much anymore, aside from the obvious snickers it generates from today's young'uns, and it seems to have fallen out of favour. I've know a few Dicks over my years (the NAME not the quality), but all of them were originally labelled Richard, and for a variety of reasons, were "shortened" to Dick. If you wish a more all-encompassing explanation, CLICK HERE, but suffice it to say that once the 1970's hit, and with it an expanded sexual liberty, the oft used nickname for the male appendage became wide spread, prompting the name to fall out of the top 1000 baby names quickly.
Getting back to Joyce's uncle.
Almost as a polar opposite of the insinuated meaning for male parts, Uncle Dick was a genuinely astonishing human being who was quick with a smile, full of one liners, generous to a fault, and definitely "old school" ... but he was born in 1925 so no one could blame him! One of the polarizing personalities throughout his years in his adopted home town of Georgetown, Dick was an iconic symbol of what it was to be a good person, establishing life long friendships in his neighbourhood, on the golf course, and at the coffee shops in town. Above all else, Dick was the consummate family man, insisting that all family gatherings take place in his home, spreading his love equally as he revelled in his grandchildren and great grandchildren.Where did this gem of a human learn to be so awesome?
Born in 1925 into the abject poverty of Upper Gagetown in rural New Brunswick, he quickly learned that there was a popular way to live life, and then there was the Painter way ... actually, the Paynter way ... but that's another story for another time. The family suffered the untimely passing of their father in 1933, what history buffs will recognize was during The Great Depression, with Dick a wee lad of 8 years (grade 3) at the time, the family decision was that he would forgo the remainder of his school experience to help the family's need. He found work thanks to his older brother Charlie in a logging camp, chopping wood for the cook to run the stove, true 'blue collar' employment that would be a continuing theme throughout his working life. As it would turn out, trees would become a central component of his earning years, investing 30 years at the paper mill in Georgetown after moving to Ontario with his beloved Ruth.
In a rather cute story, Dick met his soul mate Ruth thanks to his job building roads in rural NB. He was recommended a rooming house run by Ruth's mother, and since her daughter would need a ride back into town every now and again, the rather smitten Dick was more than happy to oblige her needs. After a few shared journeys, the rest is history, as the saying goes.Shouldering more than their fair share of hardships, the family would lose 2nd born son John Paynter in WWI, drawing the remaining siblings together with even tighter bonds, John's military pension helped make ends meet during some really tough times. Life in Upper Gagetown during this point in history meant no running water, no indoor plumbing, and even no floors in portions of the home.
Fast forward a gaggle of years, Dick and his older brother Charlie relocated to Georgetown, and in a stroke of financial genius, purchased a large triple lot in the city's northeast end. They severed the lot into 3, sold the one, the proceeds helping build two identical homes side by each in 1955. Living beside your brother means that your two families become intertwined, the kids viewing their cousins more like siblings. Add to this that my in-laws, Pearl and Jim, lived in the same city not far away, and the recipe for a tight family becoming even tighter was a certainty. Unfortunately, Charlie and his wife Helen would predecease Dick, as would his beloved Ruth, but everyone's favourite uncle would remain a stalwart force in the neighbourhood for 49 years until being 98 years young eventually forced the family hand, his health deterioration causing a fall that forced a hospital stay and Covid infection that proved to be too much for his system to handle.
James Samuel Paynter mercifully passed in his 99th year.
Joyce and I offer our most sincere, heartfelt condolences to Joyce's Mom Pearl for the loss of her bestest buddy Dick, her cousin Kevin and the rest of the Georgetown Paynter clan, and Joyce's many relatives who made the trip from near and far to celebrate a life well lived.
He was CERTAINLY no ordinary guy!