9:08 p.m. - 2004-07-25
Florists
Yesterday morning I was just heading out the door when I noticed a man standing in my backyard, what was obviously his truck parked behind him in the back alley. Not anyone I recognized. I walked around the side of the house and asked why he was there. Turned out he was visiting my neighbours. They were planning to repair the fence on that side of our joint property. Oh? Could I help pay for supplies. No, they had gotten the wood for free. Could I get some of the boys to help them. No, they said it was only a little job and they wanted to do it themselves. Well, that was very nice. As it turned out, it became an all day job with about 20 people in their backyard coaching, while a couple of people did the work. By nightfall the all day effort had turned into a loud raucous party. Happens when people have been sipping on something other that cider to keep the heat at bay I guess. Their party finally closed down at about two in the am, but I guess I shouldn't complain about it - I did get one part of my yard refenced and it does look much better. I'll have to find a way to thank them for the work though.
Since I couldn't do the yard work I'd intended with my side of the fence taken over too, I focused on work stuff instead. One time sheet completed,one weekly progress report done. Turned my attention to the tag ends of the election work. I'm still chasing down candidates for their financial documents and it's like pulling teeth. It's their deposit of course, but I'm certain I'm the one who will hear about it if they don't get their money back. One candidate's agent did call and had it all together. Works for one of the biggest finance firms in the city, so that makes sense. I go see her after work on Tuesday and use the lunch hour the same day to see one of the other candidates. Two down and two to go.
Watched The Sword of the Valiant today - it was supposed to be the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, more grail mythology. It looked not bad with Sean Connery and John Rhys Davies in it with Emma Sutton as Morgan LaFey. Those three actors were actually quite good, but the movie was terrible. It was shot in 1983 and had a cartoonish He-Man story line; the other actors were so wooden in the delivery of their lines that it was painful to watch. Oh well.
Better entertainment came from playing in J K Rowling's own site, Harry_Potter. It took a few tries to enter, because my computer would freeze completely and then need to be rebooted each time I accessed it from either google or from my own browser window. Finally logged into her Canadian publisher - raincoast books - and entered from that site with no difficulty. One of the things I like about her is that she has used her popularity to provide help and education about various groups. For example, from one of her little books about magical creatures all royalties go to Comic Relief, an agency that helps the poorest children in the world. She also promotes the MS society of Scotland and a single parents support network in the UK. The publisher itself is a proactive advocate for environmental preservation. She acknowledges that she was once a researcher for Amnesty International.
Her site is set up to make one think while one looks for the information about her next book - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I found the title itself rather odd. The Prince referred to is neither Harry nor Voldemort according to the notes, which is a relief. The curious thing for me is that the whole series has been about seeing and valuing each person one encounters for what they are rather than their background whether cultural, ethnic, economic or any other stereotypical label. The character of Hermione is a prime example, as is Ron Weasley and Hagrid. For that matter, all the key characters are "flawed" by something in their background, yet they are the protagonists - heroes if you must. Now it seems that the idea of someone who somehow has some "natural" access to stature in the magical because they are a Prince is being introduces. I suspect that that is not the intent of the story, so I guess I just wait for the book to come out. There are several tantalizing bits in the different envelopes of information about the story in the sixth book. A lot of teasers and information about how the characters have evolved and developed in Ms Rowling's mind - hints of things to come. Some things that have tweaked my interest, for example about Ginny Weasley and Crookshanks the Cat, have now been answered - in part. Time well spent for a Sunday afternoon.
While my youngest went out visiting number one son's home with Miss Kitty and baby George II ( a ringer for a previous pet ginger cat my oldest loved and lost) for a spot of mousing, number two son and his partner came to take me out to dinner - just to celebrate surviving the election. My daughter-in-law has got the election bug though. She wants to works on the provincial and city events coming up in the fall. I gave her the information she needed to apply for those levels. Most of our talk, though, was about babies. Grandbabies that is. Would I resent having more. No way! Grandbabies are a parent's ultimate revenge on their children - I can't wait for more. Actually, number two son was a very easy, good-natured child. A natural learner and good with people to boot. Nature versus nurture. Given that I treated all the boys the same, one has to believe that their own nature had at least as strong an effect on the person they became as their parenting. One relatively consistent parent - me - and yet six sons all of whom are very much their own distinct person and personality. I can't take the credit for that.
There is a line in the Agony and the Ecstasy where Michelangelo describes his work with marble carving as looking into the raw material, discerning the sculpture that already exists then carefully chipping away the excess stone to release the living art already within. Or in Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott, there is the analogy of each child being like the bud of a rose. Each aspect of their personality like a single petal of that flower, each unfurling in it's own time and at it's own pace. The comment that forcing the flower to bloom on any other schedule is to risk destroying it. I think I'd also add that expecting an orchid to produce rose petals or a lily to produce orange blossoms is an affront to both the child and its maker. Parents are stewards of great gifts to our society, often they forget the essence of that job is to protect and nurture without reference to the fads of their time. End of sermon dear diary and end of story tonight I think. I have some technical reading to attend to -this mind needs nurturing too. Good night.
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