Observations from 2016 and the Future for 2017!

It has been a very busy year, I moved to Cambridge UK for one year in April and I have just loved being in the UK, especially for Christmas. It has been good place to use as a base for travel, and I have met many new people from all walks of life. In April, I will be moving to the countryside about 45 minutes outside of Cambridge. My friends Elizabeth and Richard live in a beautiful Vicarage with a pond and pool, and have offered me the annex. It consists of a bedroom, bathroom and sitting room, with a separate entrance at an amazingly reasonable cost‎, I will stay until October! It will allow me to travel in the UK, which I haven’t done yet and also get my head around if I have another book in me. Charu, who helped me with first book has given me a lot to ponder.

I have lost  3 people this year, that have been important in my life, two I knew and one I had never met. Leonard Cohen, I never met, but his music about life, love and loss sounded like poetry to me, I saw him in 3 concerts and I deeply felt every word.

Ted Gould was my mentor 35 years ago  and taught this very naive Community Worker about politics and how to work with community and diversity. One memory of Ted, was when I divorced and went to buy a house. I just couldn’t go through the negotiation process with the real estate agents, I was too nervous,( plus I really didn’t have the money) so Ted did that for me. I sat drinking red wine, he asked me how much I could  buy it for and I said just tell me when it is over, which he did.

On New Year’s Day, I received the news that Karl Kinzinger had passed away, he was the Director of Education and my boss and mentor for many years. He taught me how to get projects approved and operating in the community. He was, fair, tough and as long as you were honest with him, he was there for you!

 I will share two memories of Karl, I asked Karl to speak to the community in a very  risky area of the city where security was very high. Well, Karl arrived and had to use the bathroom, everything was locked up. There I was trying to find someone to open the doors so Karl could use the facilities, it was quite a scene! Another time, I had received a government grant to hire students to put together a Community Directory. One of the students was in a wheelchair. One day I received a letter saying the student in wheelchair was accusing me of sexual harassment, I was in shock! I went to Karl, he asked me all sorts of questions then said he would take care of it. I received a letter of apology and the student disappeared!

Both of these gentleman taught me loads (I was very fortunate to know them both)‎.

The Future (so far)

I will be traveling to Toronto in January to see kids, grandkids, have some medical appointments, have my hair cut by the the master Bill, see friends, handle some storage issues‎ and do some sale shopping! My Grandson Dawson is having his Bar Mitzvah in 2017!

Other travel includes motor trip with friend Zoe to coastal areas and Cornwall in UK! A visit to see Sister Denise at new BK retreat centre in Germany, and attendance at Spirit of Humanity conference in Iceland‎ in April. Oh, and maybe Greece in October!

What I know for sure, I am not ready to settle down yet, I love my Nomadic Lifestyle‎ and my Freedom!!!