In my strange and unusual fashion a word came to mind. The word was coincidence, so next the search for a definition. This is the one on Wikipedia: “A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances which have no apparent causal connection with each other. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult, or paranormal claims. Or it may lead to belief in fatalism, which is a doctrine that events will happen in the exact manner of a predetermined plan.”
Now this could form the title of the book mentioned in the former blog. For instance: It Happened in Canada: A Coincidence. Or this alternative: A Saskatchewan-Malaysian Coincidence That Actually Happened in Canada What you say? Well I was born in Saskatchewan and Kim Mee was born in Malaysia. It adds a little mystery to the whole affair.
But now I am going to switch and get serious on you. I am thinking the wedding is not a happy ending to the saga. It is not a happy ending to the most important person in the story – which is me. It might be happy to the charities that would profit from the nuptials and it might be happy for the groom but it would not be a life that would work for me. As a matter of fact, this last Saturday could be the ideal end of the book as I was happy, content, comfortable in my skin, spread cheer along the streets of Vancouver and the Skytrain, talked about serious matters, was with family and got presents and cookies. The day ended with cookies, early to bed followed by a restful and rejuvenating sleep. It could be non fiction and that is my favorite genre – one n which I am schooled.
Sunday I woke to bad news and good news. First the good news; it is day light saving time here and I have a wonderful cousin who fills me in on such matters. We talk on the phone almost every morning, which is strange as I hardly every talk on the phone. So I fired off an email to her:
Me: Good morning, I am alert and awake. I am drinking coffee, in my pajamas and in bed. The sun is shining! Holy s**t! Alexis
She: And you know we are now on daylight savings time?
Me: S**t! What would I do without you?
Well, excuse me! I might have been late for my weekly blow dry with Vicky! But I was on time due to the divine intervention of my cousin.
But here is the bad news. NPR send the following news: “Sorry, Adults, No New Neurons For Your Aging Brains. Yes indeed, a study emanating from the lab of Arturo Alvarez-Buylla a professor at UCSF reports that there was no evidence of any young neurons in old brains. But, of course, some old fashioned guy is challenging the findings – someone from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. But as far as I am concerned – this is the really great news. A reasoned intellectual, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, had a reasonable and positive approach to the matter. This is what he said: “But knocking down the latest findings won’t be easy, says Jason Snyder, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia who wrote a commentary accompanying the study.The research is “as convincing as you can be,” Snyder says. “This is certainly one of the best or perhaps the best of study of neurogenesis in humans.””Cells that were born in childhood could play a big role in learning, in memory and in emotional disorders,” Snyder says. “So their impact on adult brain life could still be big.”Then he ended in a most positive way by saying: It also may be possible to use drugs or other therapies to get an old brain to start making new cells, Snyder says. That might help repair the damage caused by a brain injury or Alzheimer’s disease, he says”I think the possibility is real that someday we’ll be able to rejuvenate the aging brain,” Snyder says.
Now that is joyous news to me for two reasons. The first is that Dr. Snyder is a Canadian, my beloved country – the one I left fifty years ago. The second reason is that, excuse me, I have an aging brain as I shall soon turn 75. There is no history of Alzheimer’s in my family so that is good news but this old brain is getting on.
I am listing to a playlist made years and years ago.Suddenly tears ran down my cheeks, what was causing this sadness? It was Canon in D by Pachelbel. I am sure I learned a rudimentary form of the masterpiece when I was taking piano lessons about twenty years ago. Its simplicity stirs my heart strings (wherever those might be).
But onto brighter things. It is so inspiring when something fantastic comes around, in a totally surprising way. I end on an inspiring and unbelievable turn of events yesterday. I traveled to Coquitlam on the SkyTrain. Cousin Gail greeted me with a bag full of treasures. The best cookies I have ever tasted, pictures of me as a child AND a book of her mother’s – her Mom, my Aunt Gwen. You will not believe it – Ikebana by Sofu Teshigahara.
Gail remembers vaguely that her mother and her mother’s sister took classes together, years and years ago. Gail gave it to me because she knows of my love of Ikebana and here to me is the real miracle – it is the Sogestu School and that is the school I was trained in. Alexis, provide proof of the fact that you are a driven individual. I did a demonstration before the San Francisco chapter of Ikebana International. Three other students did an arrangement as well but mine was by far the most entertaining. The event took place about nine years ago.
Today I am going to have my blow dry as usual and then after that go to the flower stall on Granville Street. Sometimes I am the luckiest person on earth. Yes, who needs the silly wedding to the young rich dude? I laugh.
There are two pictures. One is the cover of Aunt Gwen’s book and the other is me as a baby. Was I not cute? Am I still cute? Some people think so as a matter of fact some guy in Vancouver calls me The Cutest. All of the time and he has been calling The Cutest for at least ten months. So there! So there! So there!
It is so funny and I shared this with Vicky, my hair stylist. I am bald in my baby picture and photographs show that I was bald for the longest time – until about two I think. But now I have the thickest hair imaginable. I do not know what the means but it is good news.
