Alan Skeoch

Year: 2020

  • Fwd: EPISODE 161 A TIME TO HEAL



    Begin forwarded message:


    From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
    Subject: EPISODE 161 A TIME TO HEAL
    Date: November 7, 2020 at 10:12:42 PM EST
    To: Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@gmail.com>


    EPISODE 161   A TIME TO HEAL


    alan skeoch
    Nov. 7, 2020




    Words can be  strung  together in so many ways.  Sometimes these word combinatons
    are like fine music.  They warm my soul.   I know…I know…the concept of a soul
    is nonsense.  As expressed in the Atheist’s prayer . “ Save my soul, if I have a soul.”

    Tonight is not a  night for cynicism.  Tonight is Joe Biden’s night.   The  words  he
    managed to string together were what we all wanted  to hear…words of  hope.
    The last four years  have been very dark  and for a while last Tuesday it looked like
    we would be facing another four years  featuring words strung together badly.

    As with most accomplish speakers Joe Biden,  now President Joseph Biden, used
    familiar words.  What leapt out to me and to many others was  his
    appeal to the fifty percent of  Americans who voted the Trump ticket.
    As the Bible says,  Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8…”to everything there is a season”
    President Biden reached out to Former President Trump’s followers
    to  say these next few  years must be a ‘time to heal’.  

    Almost immediately…in microseconds…President Biden’s worlds were
    entered into the  Internet.  They are words of hope. You can find them with ease.
     The full quote from Ecclesiastes was not used.  It is  
    less hopeful.

    Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
    (New King James Version)
    To everything there is a season,
    A time for every purpose under heaven:
    A time to be born, And a time to die;
    A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
    A time to kill, And a time to heal;
    A time to break down, And a time to build up;
    A time to weep, And a time to laugh;
    A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
    A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones;
    A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
    A time to gain, And a time to lose;
    A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
    A time to tear, And a time to sew;
    A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
    A time to love, And a time to hate;
    A time of war, And a time of peace.

    I hope and pray that the season in which we are entering
    will be a season of healing.  The alternative is frightening

    WE CAN  ALL BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF…WE CAN
    ALL FLY ON EAGLE’S  WINGS THIS  DAY.


    I hesitated to include the lyric’s below because they put
    an incredible load  on the shoulders of joe Biden and
    Kamala Harris.  But these words  do express the overwhelming
    feeling of relief that so many of us in Canada feel now that
    the American election is clear.  Yes,  the words are religious
    but they can also be seen in a secular way.  We need these
    words today.


    And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings
    Bear you on the breath of dawn
    Make you to shine like the sun
    And hold you in the palm of His Hand

    [Verse 2]
    You need not fear the terror of the night
    Nor the arrow that flies by day
    Under his wings your refuge
    His faithfulness your shield
    For to His angels He’s given a command
    To guard you in all of your ways
    Upon their hands they will bear you up
    Lest you dash your foot against a stone

    [Refrain]
    And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings
    Bear you on the breath of dawn
    Make you to shine like the sun
    And hold you in the palm of His Hand

    SO HERE WE HAVE SOME

    WORDS STRUNG TOGETHER … WORDS OF HOPE


    alan skeoch
    Nov. 7, 2020


  • EPISODE 160 “DON’T BUY ANY GREEN BANANAS” … ADVICE TO THE TRUMP TEAM

    EPISODE  160   “DON’T BUY ANY GREEN BANANAS” … ADVICE TO THE TRUMP TEAM IN PENNSYLVANIA


    alan skeoch
    Nov. 7, 2020



    “What advice would you give the Trump team in Pennsylvania”, asked the commentator
    “My advice is very simple, they should not BUY ANY GREEN BANANAS.” responded the Democratic
    Lt. Gov. of Pennsylvania this sunny November morning.

    That image is worth some thought.  Really quite funny but the leader  of the Trump team…the big
    leader…the man in the White House at the moment…lacks a sense of humour.  His response would
    be anger and worse.

    And the Lt. Governor had some further advice in same dark humour.  “Trump should give the ‘U rent it’
    truck a call.”

    My response to the comments is summed  up in one word…relief.  Today I am going 
    out to buy a big bunch  of green bananas.

    alan skeoch
    Nov. 7, 2020

    p.s. Today my Episode should be cheerful … relaxing.  Certainly not serious. I am  thinking
    about a walk  through the wilderness beyond our back yard.  A neighbour says he saw
    a beaver at work back there.  Good image.  Let’s get back  to work…back to normal.

  • EPISODE 158 GRANDMA WRAPPED HOT BRICKS … ADDITIONAL COMMENT

    EPISODE 158 GRANDMA WRAPPED HOT BRICKS…ADDITIONAL COMMENT
    alan skeoch Nov. 6, 2020
    What a day this will be…what a grand and wonderful day. What a day that has emerged from the long dark night. Briden will win the presidency and then I firmly believe all things are possible.
    My story about a frail woman, wracked with Parkinson’s disease…old… yet as strong as steel is not irrelevant. Grandma Louisa Bufton Freeman triumphed over the adversities of life. Triumphed. As I believe the American democracy has done by a razor thin victory.
    Triumphed… with Joe Biden.
    There will be dark days ahead but the sun is rising.
    alan skeoch
    p.s. When I taught history. Especially when I taught the more philosophical aspects of human history… political systems…I noted just how fragile democracy can be using this comment. “Democracy is a troubled spirit whose dream, if it dream, presents only visions of hell.” Those visions of hell have been present, have they not? Well those visions have been relieved on this day…Nov. 6, 2020.
    P.P.S. Grandma wrapped the hot bricks in newspaper…thin, fragile newspaper. Today we have wrapped a very hot brick in a very thin layer of hope…newspaper thin. The hot brick remains. I know that. But it can be contained in time…the brick will cool.

  • Fwd: EPISODE 159 SO I DECIDED TO HELP MARJORIE…AND THAT WAS A BIG DECISION

    Sorry … error in numbering episodes…this is Episode 159…not that anyone cares.


    alan


    Begin forwarded message:


    From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
    Subject: EPISODE 158 SO I DECIDED TO HELP MARJORIE…AND THAT WAS A BIG DECISION
    Date: November 5, 2020 at 9:31:56 AM EST
    To: Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@gmail.com>, Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>, John Wardle <john.t.wardle@gmail.com>


    EPISODE 159   SO I DECIDED TO HELP MARJORIE…AND THAT WAS A BIG DECISION



    alan skeoch
    Nov.  2020




    The newspaper and a cup of coffee take my full attention every morning.  First, I read the lonely hearts
    column.  No particular reason.  Perhaps because the column is on the back page which is easier to 
    read than taking all the effort of opening the newspaper and finding the editorial page which always
    features a political cartoon.   After that I may  or may not continue with the paper providing my coffee
    cup is not empty.   If I wait a bit Marjorie will make proper coffee whereas my choice is speedy coffee
    with those little plastic cups

    Today was different.  I never got beyond the lonely hearts column.  A woman wrote a long letter
    complaining about her husband’s laziness while they are on the Covid 19 lockdown.  She is  at
    the breaking point.  He does noting to help ever since he lost his job due to the virus.  He just 
    parks himself in front of the TV all day.  Does nothing.  She vacuums right in front of him.  He doesn’t
    move.  She does the washing… replaces the sheets, finds the used clothing, pushes the button.  He just
    sits there.   She makes the meals, washes the dishes…”he doesn’t even help to dry a pot.”

    As I read this litany of complaints I began to think.  Marjorie does the vacuuming, makes the meals, washes
    the dishes, puts the dishes away, does the shopping, 
    changes the sheets, washes my socks, ….in short I realized Marjorie does it all.  Me?  I read the
    lonely hearts column and amuse myself with the political cartoon before I spend an hour or two
    writing these Episodes for you…yes, for you lazy creatures who probably have a wife like mine.
    Lucky for us.  Lucky we married multi-taskers.

    Then I began to feel a bit guilty.  Unusual for me for I am a positive type person.  Marjorie is still
    in bed.  She stayed up until 4 a.m. watching the horror show that never ends in the United States.
    My guilt got over powering.  “I can do something to help, I suppose.  I can put the dishes away
    in the cupboard from the dishwasher.”

    Which is exactly what I did.  Cups, plates, bowls, even the knives, forks and spoons.  I put them
    away.  Perhaps not as neatly as Marjorie.  Bit of a pain in the ass to sort the cutlery so I just
    piled it in the cutlery drawer. 

    She is still in bed. “What about my second cup of coffee?  I will have to make it myself. Yuck!”

    So, I reached in the cupboard to grab a clean cup and was immediately a bit shocked. The
    clean cup was not clean.  It had a brown coffee stain in the bottom.  I had just replaced it
    from the dishwasher…was the machine broken?  The problem was bigger than I imagined.
    I had taken all the dirty dishes and cutlery out of the dishwasher and put them all away
    in the cupboard.  Let me say this again.  Dirty dishes in the cupboard.  Now I will have 
    to take them all out and put them back in the dishwasher.  That is not an easy job.  Double
    the work.




    What then?  I will have to start the dishwasher.  Push the right button.  What button?
    I am left handed so the buttons confuse me.  Great excuse that I use all the time. I do
    not know how to do the following tasks…do not know which button to push on the washing
    machine, the clothes drying machine, the TV…hell, I do not even know how to start
    the lawn mower.  Feigned ignorance has served me well for sixty years.   

    When we were first married Marjorie said “stay out of the kitchen, Alan”  and I have 
    faithfully followed that command.  Until this morning.  Oh, the labour is too much.
    …the effort, double effort, Putting dishes back in the dishwasher before Marjorie gets up.

    My sole achievement is putting the little plastic cup in the coffee maker.  Even that
    is a trial because some days the machine needs water.

    I went back to the newspaper.  “Who wrote that complaint?  Couldn’t be Marjorie…or could  it?”  
    I dared not read the advice section so I turned back to the political 
    cartoon and settled myself comfortably in the big chair.

    “Marjorie, are you awake yet?  You will never guess what I did this morning.”
    She would never guess.

    alan skeoch
    Nov. 2020


    That is Woody, our dog, on the front lawn.  On nice days like this I put a lawn
    chair beside him and soak in the sunshine.  Marjorie”?  You cannot see her
    from this angle.  She is down in the ditch mowing the lawn.  Why do I not help?
    I have tried.  She says I do not do a good enough job.  “I may as well do it myself.”
    I am not all bad…bought her the lawn mower after all.

    Putting that new lawn mower from the big box to the lawn was a lot of effort.  Then I had to figure how to put the wheels
    on.  Marjorie figured that out.


    “Marjorie, there is no water in the coffee machine.”


  • EPISODE 158 SO I DECIDED TO HELP MARJORIE…AND THAT WAS A BIG DECISION

    EPISODE 158   SO I DECIDED TO HELP MARJORIE…AND THAT WAS A BIG DECISION



    alan skeoch
    Nov.  2020




    The newspaper and a cup of coffee take my full attention every morning.  First, I read the lonely hearts
    column.  No particular reason.  Perhaps because the column is on the back page which is easier to 
    read than taking all the effort of opening the newspaper and finding the editorial page which always
    features a political cartoon.   After that I may  or may not continue with the paper providing my coffee
    cup is not empty.   If I wait a bit Marjorie will make proper coffee whereas my choice is speedy coffee
    with those little plastic cups

    Today was different.  I never got beyond the lonely hearts column.  A woman wrote a long letter
    complaining about her husband’s laziness while they are on the Covid 19 lockdown.  She is  at
    the breaking point.  He does noting to help ever since he lost his job due to the virus.  He just 
    parks himself in front of the TV all day.  Does nothing.  She vacuums right in front of him.  He doesn’t
    move.  She does the washing… replaces the sheets, finds the used clothing, pushes the button.  He just
    sits there.   She makes the meals, washes the dishes…”he doesn’t even help to dry a pot.”

    As I read this litany of complaints I began to think.  Marjorie does the vacuuming, makes the meals, washes
    the dishes, puts the dishes away, does the shopping, 
    changes the sheets, washes my socks, ….in short I realized Marjorie does it all.  Me?  I read the
    lonely hearts column and amuse myself with the political cartoon before I spend an hour or two
    writing these Episodes for you…yes, for you lazy creatures who probably have a wife like mine.
    Lucky for us.  Lucky we married multi-taskers.

    Then I began to feel a bit guilty.  Unusual for me for I am a positive type person.  Marjorie is still
    in bed.  She stayed up until 4 a.m. watching the horror show that never ends in the United States.
    My guilt got over powering.  “I can do something to help, I suppose.  I can put the dishes away
    in the cupboard from the dishwasher.”

    Which is exactly what I did.  Cups, plates, bowls, even the knives, forks and spoons.  I put them
    away.  Perhaps not as neatly as Marjorie.  Bit of a pain in the ass to sort the cutlery so I just
    piled it in the cutlery drawer. 

    She is still in bed. “What about my second cup of coffee?  I will have to make it myself. Yuck!”

    So, I reached in the cupboard to grab a clean cup and was immediately a bit shocked. The
    clean cup was not clean.  It had a brown coffee stain in the bottom.  I had just replaced it
    from the dishwasher…was the machine broken?  The problem was bigger than I imagined.
    I had taken all the dirty dishes and cutlery out of the dishwasher and put them all away
    in the cupboard.  Let me say this again.  Dirty dishes in the cupboard.  Now I will have 
    to take them all out and put them back in the dishwasher.  That is not an easy job.  Double
    the work.




    What then?  I will have to start the dishwasher.  Push the right button.  What button?
    I am left handed so the buttons confuse me.  Great excuse that I use all the time. I do
    not know how to do the following tasks…do not know which button to push on the washing
    machine, the clothes drying machine, the TV…hell, I do not even know how to start
    the lawn mower.  Feigned ignorance has served me well for sixty years.   

    When we were first married Marjorie said “stay out of the kitchen, Alan”  and I have 
    faithfully followed that command.  Until this morning.  Oh, the labour is too much.
    …the effort, double effort, Putting dishes back in the dishwasher before Marjorie gets up.

    My sole achievement is putting the little plastic cup in the coffee maker.  Even that
    is a trial because some days the machine needs water.

    I went back to the newspaper.  “Who wrote that complaint?  Couldn’t be Marjorie…or could  it?”  
    I dared not read the advice section so I turned back to the political 
    cartoon and settled myself comfortably in the big chair.

    “Marjorie, are you awake yet?  You will never guess what I did this morning.”
    She would never guess.

    alan skeoch
    Nov. 2020


    That is Woody, our dog, on the front lawn.  On nice days like this I put a lawn
    chair beside him and soak in the sunshine.  Marjorie”?  You cannot see her
    from this angle.  She is down in the ditch mowing the lawn.  Why do I not help?
    I have tried.  She says I do not do a good enough job.  “I may as well do it myself.”
    I am not all bad…bought her the lawn mower after all.

    Putting that new lawn mower from the big box to the lawn was a lot of effort.  Then I had to figure how to put the wheels
    on.  Marjorie figured that out.


    “Marjorie, there is no water in the coffee machine.”