Back to the Siderfin Book

 Back to the Siderfin book for a couple of weeks as I continue looking at the 2424 hits for Siderfin on the Find My Past website. I am on page 42 now which is over 1/3 of the way but still quite a bit to do. Learning a few new facts - families that emigrated to Canada as well as the United States in the Siderfin line. 

Today we are waiting to see if we get this huge ice storm. The sky is very grey and somewhat ominous looking. I have my flashlights at the ready and my phone all charged up as suggested by Ottawa Hydro. It is still a warning and I must say that as the sun has come up it is looking less grey and more white out there but time will tell. 

The Lent without borders email tells of a project ongoing in Asia which was rather interesting. Drugs seem to be the generational problem in this time frame - I remember it was alcohol back in the 50s and 60s. Drugs appear to have been around for quite a while though. Helping in the Refugee Camps is the project described and has been of great benefit. 

For me this is the saddest and happiest part of the Church Year - we proceed through Holy Week and the excitement of the trip into Jerusalem, the community of the Last Supper (Jesus' gift to the world) and on to the Cross but the sadness is rapidly replaced by Easter Sunday. The most glorious Sunday of the Church Year. As a child Archdeacon (later Canon) Abraham pretty much always sang in the Choir on Easter Sunday. His booming voice could be heard all over the Church - I loved that as a child. Once I learned to sit quietly and listen, I wondered if he was Abraham reborn - children do wonder amazing things I think. His voice was like magic telling the stories of Jesus again and again. In a way he was my hero as a child because he convinced my parents to let me go to Bible Study at Bethel Chapel (now called Bethel Christian Reformed Church) every week after school. He was one of my father's friends and often visited the Sunday School classes at our Church (St Andrew Memorial Anglican Church) when I was young. Always with my hand up wanting to answer all the questions, that was me. Looking back I think he probably enjoyed knowing that I was there and always the first one with the Bible Verse Challenge which we were asked to quickly find each week. But I loved that time and my best friend when I was seven, eight and nine went to that Church. Her father was in the military so did not stay a long time past three years but we were the best of friends. I never actually made another best friend. My mother used to say if children ask you over be polite and go once you have asked me and so I did do that but I  just never really wanted to have a best friend again. We had shared so much about Jesus - me from my Anglican perspective and she from her Pentecostal perspective. We learned about each other's churches from each other and never questioned each other why we believed what we did; we just accepted that Jesus comes to people in different ways. The luxury of being seven, eight and nine years of age perhaps - we were unencumbered by our differences - just appreciated that we were different. But she felt like I did before Easter and at Easter. She never came to my Church although I did invite her. I didn't ask why; she had her reasons and it wasn't any of my business. I never actually saw her again after she moved away. She was an only child and we were perfect friends at least in my mind; we knew to give each other their space. Fortunately her parents actually liked me which was unusual; I was a strange child even I would admit that. A walking encyclopaedia and I did help my friend with her school work which was maybe why they liked me. After she moved away I pretty much spent my spare time with my grandmother whom I adored. Her favourite hymn was "The Old Rugged Cross" and we would sing hymns when I was there. She loved doing that. But I also spent time with my siblings. 

The sky continues to brighten but the wind is starting up so we will see if we get the freezing rain. I still remember the great Ice Storm of January 1998. I was working at the General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital and went into work every day although the City was pretty much shut down. I took the bus and on one of the trips a huge branch fell off one of the trees and cracked the windshield of the bus with a huge thud. The driver paused a moment as he waited to see if the window would fall in I suspect but it did not so on we went; those of us going to work. Only emergency vehicles on the roads. It was amazing to look out the window of the office and see all those trees around the hospital bearing the weight of that ice. It was truly an amazing view. Hopefully no repeats on that; so many trees were damaged. 

Cleaning all accomplished and on to my research time. Breakfast is next.