Coming To Canada!

Well today is the day we launch our videos out to the universe!   We hope you will join us.   Here is another video by a good friend of the project:  Irina.    Irina looks at what it is like to come to Canada from a communist country and the nature of truth.

Hope you appreciate Irina's thoughtfulness and care as she sorts through what she was taught vs how it lines up with reality

Come view the rest of the videos tonight!

We invite you to join us at our: 

Video Premiere & Blog Celebration.   

April 30th at The Calgary Jewish Community Centre, in the Seniors Lounge from 6 - 7:30 

For a Dessert Reception.

Please RSVP to Shula Banchik at  403 537 8596

Our First Video Blog

Here at Bubbies & Zaidas Blogging we have been working with the youth at Calgary Jewish Academy and we have been inspired to make videos.    We have been working with this new concept to tell stories and overcome some inhibitions.   

Here is a preview of one of our videos by Manny called:   

From the Good Old Encyclopedia Days to the Google Days

click on it to view it:

Come view the rest of the videos!

We invite you to join us at our: 

Video Premiere & Blog Celebration.   

April 30th at The Calgary Jewish Community Centre, in the Seniors Lounge from 6 - 7:30 

For a Dessert Reception.

Please RSVP to Shula Banchik at  403 537 8596

Following Your Dreams

By Sandi


At the young age of 66, I have experienced an interesting journey that took many twists and turns.

As a child, my dream as some young adolescent females, was to be happily married…have four children…first a son, then a daughter...the order of the last two children did not matter. I wanted a son, Todd, first so that my daughter, Tanya Leanne, had and older brother to protect her if needed. My third child either, Wade or Leah would also have their older brother to guide them.

My dream home was a bungalow consisting of a large kitchen, a bedroom for my husband and me and bedrooms for each child. The yard would be large so that my children could enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. We would live on a safe street with other young families and in time become friends. The purpose for the large kitchen other then the obvious, cooking and eating, was for my family and I to sit around the kitchen table and chat, play games such as crib, board games etc. and to get to know each other by communicating.

Dreams take many turns.

At the age of 21, I joined the Air Force. My journey from Nanaimo commenced January 3 1969 by taking the boat from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay. My journey continued from Vancouver by an enjoyable train ride to Halifax N.S. The last trek of the journey was via bus to CFB Cornwallis. At CFB Cornwallis, I commenced my military career as a very proud recruit (Private Starling) with basic training during the very cold and miserable winter months of January, February, and March of 1969. I lived in a barrack block that was identified as South Block with many other women who were military career oriented. Some women wore the army uniform, some the navy uniform and others including myself wore the air force uniform. We did not have the pleasure of wearing the actual uniform until the last week of basic training…instead; we wore dresses, which signified the three military elements. My choice to join the military was one of the best I have made and I would do it again. People thought I was a “bit out to lunch” as one of the routines I enjoyed during my journey was drill…marching…looking sharp, ready for inspection on the parade square. I felt very proud of myself…in fact was complimented once by the inspecting officer.

My military journey took me to CFB Borden for my trades training which was finance. The last trek of my military journey ended at CFB Rockcliffe…a very beautiful base in Ottawa. Along with my career at CFB Ottawa, I volunteered to be on the Base Defence Force. I learned out to use a gas mask…take an FNC1 rifle apart and put it back to together…how to use a baton during a riot.

As a volunteer with the Base Defence Force, I experienced two outstanding highlights:

·       A Commonwealth Convention was held in Ottawa and I had the privilege to be on duty at the Airport terminal when the dignitaries arrived. One of my duties was to check for identification. If I had any doubt that a person should not be going to the tarmac, I would ask for ID this also applied if I had suspicions of anyone who was entering into the building where I was on duty.  It was a great privilege and honour to be in the same building with numerous leaders from around the world….I even had the opportunity to give the odd direction when asked. The second duty was to be on guard outside of the VIP lounge and allow only classified personnel to enter.

·       The second highlight while on the Base Defence Force was being on duty at the Officers Mess at CFB Rockcliffe during the presentation of a medal to an honoured gentleman by the Queen. My location of duty was by the clothe room where I hung up various coats of VIPS. In attendance at this prestigious event were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, Princess Ann, Governor General Lège, Prime Minister Trudeau and other dignitaries. After the presentation of the medal was over and the VIPs were preparing to leave, I had the honour to hand Prime Minister Trudeau his “Top Hat” white gloves and scarf…it feels like it only happened yesterday.

I still remember what Queen Elizabeth wore. She had on a beautiful middle green velvet coat, and a gorgeous hat to match. Pinned to the lapel her coat was beautiful pin. I was within five feet from Her Majesty.

I requested and received an honourable discharge from the military, the end of March 1974. I lived and worked in Ottawa as a civilian until June 1976 and eventually moved to Calgary.

You might ask me why I choose to move to Calgary as compared to Nanaimo, the city I am from...my answer is “a voice inside me told me to do so”…I listened to my intuition.

Living in Calgary has had its experiences (ups and downs). I compare my life experiences to climbing up Mount Everest…one climbs so high…stops because of some plateaus or crevices and then commences climbing a bit more. Another analogy is “the little train that could”. I experienced 28 wonderful and educational years with various departments within the Federal Government: (Revenue Canada as a administrative support with Special Investigations; Agriculture Canada as a Staffing Classification Assistant; Human Resources Development Canada as a Senior Contract Support Assistant) I won’t go into the last 10 ½ years of my career with the Provincial Government. (There were more downs than ups)

Volunteering in various capacities helped to make my life seem more successful.

·       During my career with the Provincial Government I was involved with Calgary Corporate Challenge…great experience…this was the best learning experience for me as a Provincial Government Employee as it took me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to become a leader.

·       I joined the Royal Canadian Legion in 1976 and eventually became involved as an executive…for some reason, this gal, me…seemed to have a problem just being a member…she always had to jump in with both feet and be on the board.

·       As if I didn’t have enough on my plate, I joined an Air Cadet squadron and became a civilian officer for a couple of years. This part of the journey took me to Maelstrom Air Force base for an enjoyable weekend tour with other officers and cadets where I challenged myself to rapell Aussie Style down the outside of a small building.

·       My self-esteem and confidence needed a good boost; therefore, I became a Toastmaster. I was a Toastmaster for 15 years and again concentrated on being involved with the planning and organization as compared to concentrating on doing speeches and presentations. Over the 15 years I was involved in two separate clubs. The second club, Twin Rivers, was where I think I burned out. The club was identified as “the old boys club”…, would you believe, I had the honour of being the first female president of the club…how awesome is that? With the support of the outgoing President, as well a good executive, I worked hard to ensure the success of the club. In 2008/2009 I planned and organized the clubs 60^th anniversary celebration with the assistance of other club members. I think I burned myself out because I did not delegate well. The event was very successful.

The newest twist/turn on my journey is being part of the Bubbies and Zaidas Blogging Group through the Jewish Community Centre…it has not been what I expected it, in fact, it is better in many ways. I have met wonderful people. I have been mentoring a woman pertaining to the use of a lap top and writing a blog. I have had the pleasure to meet some students at the Jewish Academy. My first day at the Jewish Academy was a fun. I connected with a lovely student named Lauren…to sum the day up; she helped to make it perfect. The facilitator, Mariette, is astounding.

As I am typing up some of my life’s experiences, I am thinking….hmmm I guess Mom’s do not experience these “types” of twists and turns that have challenged me. It was not meant for me to be a Mom. Well, now that I am settled down to a degree, maybe someday, somehow, I will have the pleasure and experience of having children in my life…maybe in some way I could be a mentor.

Life is what a person makes it…Life is great…All the bumps in my journey have helped me to become a stronger person and also have helped me to learn who I am as compared to who “others” what me to be.

Dreams take many turns...sometimes what is not planned,  fulfills one's life in unexpected adventures.

Marriage is a lot like the Weather

By Bruce Eekma

I’m no expert on Marriages but, after fifty plus years, believe it is a lot like the weather, one day it is hot the next cold. When we first get married we treat each other like Kings and Queens and there are many warm days. However this does not last because after celebrating a couple months of honeymoon, the storms start coming, first little ones mostly rain however after a couple months the fun begins. Don't get me wrong sometimes a good storm is just what the doctor ordered because we get to make up and every marriage need a little rain every now and then to keep things fresh. 

If you are anything like me, I got married to have kids, so got my wife pregnant after three months of marriage. Ones the kids arrive us males are not Kings anymore and we become number two. If we wanted a little sunshine in our marriage we have to help around the house. Gone were the night out with the boys, because we have to babysit, and gone are the extra little treats we use to get when we got home from work. No sir if we are not careful we can have more rain than sunshine and everything starts to droop if you know what I mean. However there is hope, because if a man is smart enough, he will purchase an umbrella to protect his partner and does special extra little things for her, then maybe the sun will start to come out again and the birds will start to sing.

After a couple of years  marriage we feel we can predict a storm or even start a small one, including prepare ourselves for the onslaught, but most of the time they come out of nowhere. Most storm happen around the festive holidays when there are a lot of parties. At these parties there are lots of people in the same boat as us that are looking for a little sunshine. After a couple drinks everything looks better and we start to feel like Kings and Queens again and get that feeling that we have been shortchanged in the weather department. These parties are full of people that agree with us and promise sunshine and happiness everday. However let me tell you don’t start to looking for a little warming, for you will run into a thunderstorm , because when you get home your better half will see right trough you and see it on your face and she will get the trued out of you because you’re a poor liar.

We have a Mayor, in one of the biggest cities in Canada, who also looked for a little sunshine but he ended up with a tornado and is going to spend the rest of next year repairing his life. Maybe it will never be repaired and he will be permanently condemned. Let me suggest to all of you that when you go to these parties make sure you have an umbrella to protect you from getting soaked and maybe some rubber booths to keep your feet clean because sooner or later it is going to storm. 

You don’t have to worry about me anymore because after fifty years of marriage my wife still picks up a treat for me every now and then and I have just completed a book about her life. At my age I don’t go to many parties and now she needs me to help with the great-grandchildren who bring all the sunshine we need so yes we have been blessed.         

Friendship

Time has a remarkable way of illuminating the nature of friendship.  Here are some stories about this concept.

Beautiful Things

by Amalia

Over the years I have learned that friendship is one of the most beautiful things in life, without friends life would be dull and sad.  

When you have happy moments in your life you want to live them with my friends. 

When you are unhappy, just to be able to have someone to listen, who helps you sort it out - what can be better than that? 

Being a friend for someone who is having a difficult time, to lend them courage, is a great blessing.   That courage is repaid many times over.

Life wouldn’t have the same meaning without friends.

Trying to understand each other is very important in friendships.  The gift of learning from each other is the best gift life can give us.  

Of course, it is very fortunate if you have friends that have the same ideals, but even if you find people who think differently from you, you will learn from them too. 

This requires not being hasty to jump to judgement.  Take your time and learn what it is and how it is people think.   Why does this matter to them?  Should it matter to me?  These are questions I ask myself and then try to answer.

If you are young you can learn from older people, if you are old you can learn from younger people.

Friends should be a stew for learning, different ingredients and different tastes but all together a rich experience. 

Unikely Friendships

by Margot

“Stranger than fiction” comes to mind when I think of my dear friend Merryl.  About 51 years ago my family (husband and 2 daughters) moved into a small apartment in Johannesburg.  It was very comfortable and had an imitation fireplace with built in cupboards on either side.  On opening one of the cupboards I found a Scrabble game in excellent condition.   This game remained with me through all our moves and finally came with us to Canada, 21 years after being found.

After we were in Calgary for about a year, wee were invited for Sunday tea by a friend and there met Merryl and her family who had newly arrived from Johannesburg.  Of course the conversation immediately was “Where did you life in Joburg?”   “Did you know so and so?”

It turned out that my husband and I had rented the apartment when Merryl had vacated it and accidentally forgot her scrabble game which I, of course, with much laughter, refused to return to her.  We have since enjoyed a wonderful friendship and are convinced of the magical properties of our scrabble board, a game we play often.

Friendship

By Bob

As I look back at my youth, it is easy to see the times when I established a mutual relationship that seemed to last forever:  Kids living in the neighbourhood that I’d play with on a regular basis, Class mates and buddies playing the same sports. There was always a sense of the other person being there for you at your time of need. They were happy times.

I feel privileged to have been able to find a friend everywhere I went.  The true friends reached out to stay in contact, and brought a sense of peace and joy to my heart when we shared our experiences.

Life seemed so simple years ago. I think there was more common sense at that time.  There was an innocence and trust in everyone, and I felt safe and secure with my family.  I experienced familial love about age 15 when I left home for the first time to work on the SS Kingston, a lake Ontario cruise ship during my July/August school holiday.  I knew my Mom would be on the dock waving hello when the ship came to port, & again at the end of August when I had to go back to school.

When I joined the Air Force and went to boot camp I felt like a fish out of water. I was only 17 and life was fast paced, & I matured very quickly. After I graduated as an Air Gunner I was transferred overseas, and after operational training I became part of a 7 man Bomber Crew.  During most of the following year our crew lived, worked, and socialized together, & this created a strong bond of family.  We became like brothers and this closeness continued for many years after the war. We attended family crew reunions, got together for holidays & family celebrations, & shared our stories, reminiscing about our many blessings received from the Lord.

Good friendships are treasures that soothe the soul.




My Friend

By Bruce Eekma

Over the years I had many friends, mostly human, and some have since past away. Even my wife was a very good friend when we first met, however after fifty years of marriage, it has worn a little thin. I believe that after all those years (50+) she became accustom to my face.

No my best friend was our Tia a Chow-Chow, black with a purple tong, her full name was Tia-Maria, but every time we called her this she would give us a confused look as to say are there two of me. She was actually my wife’s dog, who was told by a pet store employee, that Chow-Chows could be very aggressive and the best way to pacify this breed was to go and sit on them. Well that was a show all on its own because every time my wife would try to sit on Tia, who would quickly move out of the way, resulting in my wife falling on the floor.

Now our Chow-Chow was the friendliest dog our family ever owned and I believe if a thief came to our house, to steal something, Tia would help them. Tia was in love with the whole family, but I was her favorite, mainly because being a marathon runner I would take her on my daily ten kilometer run. All I had to do was grab her lease and then it was chaos for she would jump up and down and circle my legs and we would get all tied up. Then when I got everything untangled and my running shoes on she would sprint through the front entrance and drag me for five kilometers, after which we would turn around, then I would have to drag her back to the house again. When we arrived back home my wife would look at Tia, who was laying on the floor pretending to be totally exhausted, then would yell at me that I was destroying her dog. The more she yelled at me the more Tia would pant and I believe she enjoyed getting me in trouble.

Also every time I was on the phone talking to my friends, Tia thought that I was talking to her, and the more I talked the more she would bark and howl so I could not hear a thing anyone was saying. Finally I would have enough of this and would throw a treat on the patio, Tia would run outside, and then I quickly closed the door behind her so I could finish my conversation in peace.

Every day when I came home from work, it was always Tia, who would greet me at the door. She would gently take me by the hand or shirt, with her teeth, and take me to the kitchen. Of course that is where the leash was hanging and she was ready to go for a run. Sometimes a friend or other family member would come to our house and she would give them the same treatment I got, however they didn’t like it very much because they thought Tia was biting them.

I remember one day watching TV on the couch, with Gypsy a small white poodle we owned on my lap, and Tia laying on the floor beside me. My wife called for both our dogs to go to the bathroom, which they did, then after a few minutes they returned with both of them running towards me. The small poodle was the first one on my lap, with Tia right behind her, who would take a giant leap and totally missed my lap so came crashing to the floor. The whole family heard the crash and they all came running to see what I had done. Well you know it took me the whole weekend to explain to them that it was not me who tried to hurt her, no it was that Tia was way too big to be a lap dog.

Then Declan our great-grandson came into our lives, who when small, could do almost anything he wanted with Tia, he used her as a pillow or mattress he even put her in a box, you name it he did it. When Declan got a little older he would, sorry I have no pictures so you will have to use your imagination, stand behind Tia and he was just tall enough to look right at her rear-end, with her tail curled up, exposing her privates. All Declan could see was a black whole and he could not help it but stick his finger in it, after which Tia would take a giant leap and disappear under the coffee table. Of course she was too big to be under there, so would move the whole lot, with all of us attempting to stop her before the whole kit and caboodle was broken on the floor. Sometimes it would take us a half hour before we had Tia quiet down while making sure Declan was not behind her. However after a few days everything would have been forgotten and the little stinker would do it again. After a while Tia would learn to lie flat on the floor with her legs spread sideways, so Declan couldn’t reach anything, when he was in the room and after that day we could only take pictures of Tia lying flat on the floor.

When Tia got older, we had her for fourteen years, the first thing that went was her eyes resulting in her walked into furniture or walls. Next she lost her hearing which was a bigger problem because if she got out the backyard, she could walk into traffic, we could scream at her but she would just keep on going. At the end she was diagnosed being diabetic which would require us to inject her with insulin every day, something I didn’t look forward to plus all the other problems, after which we decided to put her down and that was the most rotten thing we ever had to do in our life.

So my friend good bye we enjoyed having you for all these years and when we meet again in the hereafter we will go for a run.

Love you Tia.     

War. My life during the war.

by SM Baranova

War. 

Unfortunately, the world will never stop the war. 

War - an armed struggle between nations or peoples, and between classes within countries.  

Generally, in any war, there is a battle with all its burdens and consequences in difficult conditions and circumstances, which one must be able to adapt to.   

I was born in Belarus.  I was born before the start of WWII, just one month, in May 1941.  (In the Soviet Union began in June).  My father worked on the construction of roads.  Of course, I do not remember anything about the first and subsequent days.  I know the stories of parents, brother (he was 7 years old) and my father's sister.   

 

In the early days of the war, when the bombing started, people went to the East: on horses, in cars, trains, but, basically, it was organized evacuation whole labor collectives with their families.   Of course, taking all their worldly possessions from their house or apartment.   

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Our family along with many more families moved away. We left in a low-powered lorry.    People sitting in the bed of the truck and when approaching enemy aircraft all jumped down to the ground and lay down, covering the children. 

Planes flew low and the enemy saw all columns of cars and therefore did not move on the main roads, and through the back of forests. My brother told me that he was afraid that the enemy would hear a small child crying and tried to create the best conditions for his little sister not to be scared and cry.  I remember and I thank him for that.   Despite the difficulties, our caravan was able to move into the country while enemy aircraft "flew like fugitives",  rushing to bomb big important cities.

On the way to settlements locals always helped us. We drove through Smolensk, Tver and end point was the city of Cheboksary (Chuvashia).  It was already autumn 1941.  In the small village of Chuvash we took the apartment.  Shortly before that, my father and all the men went into the army, so in the village there were only women and children.   

We lived here until 1943, when it was became clear that the enemy was retreating.  During the evacuation, people helped the front, as much as they could by working in hospitals, factories, mainly - they were old men, women and children.   We lived hungry, cold, without basic amenities.  Many people died.   

Mother and sister traveled often father recalled (even after many years) as there were in the next village to change what some belongings for food.   Especially in the winter when it's cold, and it is necessary to walk several kilometers.

War - is scary.  

In the former USSR has no family does not have a story of someone who has died,  or missing, died of hunger and disease on the labor front, at least one person. My mother's brother was killed in a partisan in Belorussia, my father's brother was killed in battle near Leningrad.  

Courtesy of Wikipedia

War scattered native people, with broken lives. For example, my father's sister, our aunt Maroussia, 19 years old.  She came from the Ukraine at the beginning of May 1941 to stay with his brother.  During the war her fiance Fyodor.   Many of her friends were sent as Ukrainian Germans in Europe as a cheap labor force, they all died in the concentration camps. 

And Russia is still portrayed in words: "Everything will be fine, if only there was no war."  But people still kill each other and for what?  For the sake of money, power, envy.  Russian Television has a series of programs entitled "To be remembered ." The goal of this program is to create a database of people who died during World War II . To collect the most comprehensive information about combat and non-combat losses , remember names and faces , and pass this memory descendants. People write there, although it took about 70 years after the war. 

I am deeply convinced that a sharp reminder of how to appreciate the world and all it's people, and of each individual, is necessary to future generations so that we may have a whole, peaceful earth.