Our First Thanksgiving Turkey Trot in California

Thursday We were up by 7am and got ready for the Turkey Trot. It was held at another suburban city. Another Uber ride. I thought of the money E. spends on Uber each month, it must be a substantial amount as he Ubers everywhere. I am surprised at how carefree young people are these days with their money. It would be interesting for E. to compare the cost of maintaining a vehicle verse the amount spent on UBER rides

A lot of people were already at the Turkey Trot starting site by the time we arrived. There was loud energetic music playing at the meeting site to wake up the participants. There were tables set up for water, energy drinks, fruit and energy bars etc. for participants. I think it cost US$80.00 each person to register for the event. It was a 5Km run/ walk event to raise money for local charities, not sure which one though. There was something special to be in a huge crowd. Everyone was pumped up, ready to go. Before the run/ walk started, we did some warm up exercises. Then the 1OK runners started followed by the 5K participants. The weather was beautiful, not too hot, or cold, just comfortable for the activity.

E. and his friends took part in the 5K run while we did the 5K walking. Since this was our first time in this Turkey Trot, we took our time to observe, and enjoy our walk. I was surprised at how many people were there for the event on Thanksgiving day. There were people of all ages, young and old. Many families were walking or running together. There were a few young parents pushing strollers with babies sleeping in them. It was heart warming to see families enjoying and doing fun activities together, especially for a charitable event!

By the time we arrived back to the finishing point, E.'s friends had already finished and left. E. was disappointed that we didn't meet his friends' parents who also took part in this event. But we were able to meet up with them later at a restaurant. We had breakfast while E. was able to spend sometime with his friends. We went back to E.'s place and I made a thanksgiving dinner. This was our first thanksgiving dinner we had together in a long long time! 

 R.T.

San Francisco

Thanksgiving Day, 2024

A Free Walking Tour of the North Beach Neighborhood in San Francisco

Wednesday We were in San Francisco for a week and staying at the same hotel the entire time. One of the things we enjoyed a lot was the nice spread at the full buffet breakfast offered at the hotel restaurant. It was a pleasure dining in the dining room as the serving staff was attentive and very polite.

A few days ago we reserved our spots for a free local tour. The North Beach Library offers a monthly free tour of the neighbourhood. We were lucky to have been in SF at the right time and took advantage of this free activity. After breakfast at our hotel, we took an Uber to the North Beach library where we gathered and met other fellow tourists. We met the manager of the public library who was our tour guide on that day. Richard L., The library manager was born and raised in the North Beach community attending the local schools when he was young. The tour started at the library and we walked by colourful houses, parks, coffee shops and a beautiful church called St. Peter and Paul Church. It is a manificent building and has served as the home church and cultural center for San Francisco's Italian-American community since its consecration. It currently offers English, Italian, and Cantonese-language services.

As we were led through alleyways and small streets, our knowledagable guide introuduced us to historical buildings and landmarks offering interesting stories and insights on local history and development of the city of San Francisco. I particularly enjoyed our guide's stories about the St. Peter and Paul church and how it had seen some famous people and appeared in a number of Hollywood movies. After their civil ceremony in 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio returned to the church steps to have their marriage photos taken there as the Catholic church refused to marry them in the church due to DiMaggio's marital status. Another story was about the big mural of a lady painted on a neighbourhood building's wall. The lady's name was Carol Ann Doda who made international news in the 1960's as the first public topless dancer in the United States, based in San Francisco. She danced in the Condor Club right in the North Beach neighbrohood. We also learned how different merchants staking their claims on the land of San Francisco by purposedly sinking their ships along the waterfront of the city.

This free walking tour offered by the North Beach Public Library was enjoyable and educational as we learnt a great deal about this famous district. As a former public school admin. in Canada, I applaud free educational programs such as this one as it could help to level the learning playing field a bit for kids/ young people from less advantaged background. Parents may not be able to send their children to expensive summer/ winter camps but they certainly can encoruage their children to learn from free programs offered by the public libraries in their neighbourhood. Two thumbs up and would highly recommend this free tour to visitors in San Francisco! Thank you to Richard L., Manager of the North Beach Library for a wonderful tour of the North Beach neighbourhood! RT - From Toronto, Canada On holidays in San Francisco USA 112024

P.S. We Went to Ikea after the local tour trying to find a bed for E. I took pictures of the beds which might be of interest to him. Because we spent a little longer time here, we were late getting to E'S condo. However, we were able to help him move some furniture, cleared some boxes and hanged a few pictures. We were glad that we could do something for him. He asked us if we wanted to take part in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day and regisgered for us. Then he came with us to the hotel and slept over night there at our suite so that we would wake up early and go to the Turkey Trot event on time the next day.

Spending a Rainy Day in Burlingame, Ca. USA

Monday – We walked over to E's place and visited the Millenium Tower, a luxurious condo hotel offering many excellent amenities to its residents such as all day free tea and coffee, a beautiful sitting area with a fireplace, a swimming pool, gym, and a movie theatre plus many organized special events. Unfortunately, the condo has been found sinking about three inches a year. The building is slanting and the developer and its engineers have been working hard to correct the problem for a few years already. E. invited us to visit his new work place in Burlingame and we took an Uber to get there. The ride was about 30 minutes. We would have enjoyed walking around the city had the weather been a little more cooperative. It was raining all day therefore we stayed most of day inside a nice coffee shop pecking away on our computers while E. was at work in his new office. We did get to meet the owner of the business and had some friendly exchanges with her.

Burlingame, a suburban city with a population around 30,000 people, has a walkable downtown. Strolling along the main street, I saw many neat stores, nice shops and fine eateries and resataurants. This is an affluent small city made up of many professional middle class residents and young families. It was delightful watching families with young children having fun and taking pictures beside the colourful Christmas decorations on city streets and some people walking their dogs leisurely on the city sidewalks. With the sweet aroma of baked breads and pastries drifting from the bakery shops, Burlingame felt like a nice village rather than a city.

After office hours, E. called an Uber and took us back to SF for a wine tasting event. E. belongs to a wine club and this wine tasting events happen regularly.

As a member of a wine club, he/ she is committed to buy a certain number bottles of wine every quarter and is entitled to these wine tasting events where one meets and socializes with other wine club members. I had some stomach problems a few days ago but got better since we arrived to SF. But to be on the safe side, I didn't taste any of the wines at all. After the wine tasting, we went to a popular Asian restaurant, the Union Dumpling Restaurant where we enjoyed warm and delicious food.

Tueaday - E. was not well, so we went on our own to explore downtown SF and Chinatown. RT, Burlingame, California, USA

A Powerful Testimony by a Church Minister in San Francisco

After arriving to San Francisco the day before, we had a good night sleep and were well rested the next day. It was a Sunday; as usual we always try to find a local church and attend a Sunday service during our travel. We located a church close by to our hotel and were able to walk there for the morning service. As we were in the city during the American Thanksgiving weekend, we attended the Thanksgiving Sunday service. The last time we visited SF was in 2019, just before the COVID pandemic. We went to the Sunday Service in the same church around Christmas time in 2019.

There was a different vibe at the church this time. It felt different and more energetic. There was good music and prayer request sharing by the congregation. The part I enjoyed the most was the lady minister's message. She shared with the congregation how she was hesitant about giving up her well paid high tech job to become a minister. Finally she did give up her good job and became a full time minister. She thought she was making a sacrifice and doing a favour for God. But little did she know that God's way was the best for her. Not long after she became a full time minister serving God, the high tech bubble burst at Silicion Valley and many of her friends and colleagues became unemployed. Among her peers, she was one of the few being employed full time at the time! What a powerful testimony and we were privileage to have been there and heard it first hand! RT, San Francisco nov2024

Visiting San Francisco For the First Time Since COVID

Friday, Nov.22. 2024 --- I was not sure if we chould fly to the U.S. as I was experiencing some stomach pain almost all day the day before. I went to our famiy doctor who referred me to a full stomach ultra sound exam but I couldn’t get one on the same day. I decided to defer this medical exam until the following week when we would be back. We went home and I called Et and asked him if the hotel fees could be refunded should we decide not to fly to SF the day after. ET was at a wedding and I felt bad bothering him. He told me not to worry about the hotel as he felt my health was more important. He asked me to call him back after a few hours to confirm if we would be taking this trip so that he would know wether he should cancel the hotel booking. I prayed hard about it and also made a lot of organic ginger tea with honey and drank it. My stomach started to calm down and the pain lessened. By the time around 10pm, we made a decision to go ahead with our trip to the U.S. We talked to ET and confirmed our departure for the next day. Hallelujah, thank God for listening to my prayers!

Saturday Nov. 2024 --- Having made the decision of taking our trip to the U.S, I became excited and happy about seeing ET there. I finished packing our bags and managed to go to bed by 1 a.m. but couldn’t sleep at all. The Uber ride came at 6 a.m. and off we went to the airport. This was the first time we flew with Porter Airline, a small Toronto airline with a much smaller plane than we had expected. But the service was pretty good with two services each with complimentary drinks and snacks.

We arrived at the San Francisco airport shortly around 2pm. ET was also flying back from a trip to a friend’s wedding around the same time. We met up and got in the same taxi ride . He took us to sign in at the Hyatt Regency on 3rd / Market St. What a nice hotel, just like a resort! Since it was near Christmas, the hotel was beautifully decorated. We looked forward to spending a whole week relaxing in San Francisco without running around trying to see as much as we did in our younger days. After checking in, we went to the Grove, just across the street from the hotel and had our first meal in the city. ET met a couple of friends and we enjoyed our meal there. Nice décor since it was Christmas time.

Since both ET and we were up very early that morning, we called it a day and went back to the hotel. We discovered the lounge at the Hyatt hotel reserved for speciall hotel guests. There was some beverages, hotel made pizza, cold meat, cheese and crackers, fresh fruits and many other delicious food items included in the evening snack available from 6 to 8 pm. Another great service at the hotel! RT, San Francisco USA nov2024

A Memorial Gathering for My Beloved Friend at the Legacy Funeral Home - Barrie, Canada

I was relieved and glad to hear that Flo decided to have a memorial gathering at the funerla home instead of having an open house at her house in Barrie. We have been concerned about her health and well being since Don passed away a week ago. A loving and dedicated sister, Flo has been by her brother's side since the first day he was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital. She was there everyday without any break for a straight 4 month period. Having the get together at the funeral home would make things easier for her and Dou. We arrived at Flor's house shorlty after 10 a.m. and June, Flo's best friend arrived shorlty after. Flo pulled out more pictures from her old albums and asked if I could include them in my ppt for the gathering. I tried my best going through all my albums at home the night before to find pictures of Don and I understood how important it would be for Flo to include more pictures too, so I was busy getting these last few slides ready while the ladies were making sandwiches in the kitchen.

We got to the funeral home a few minutes before 2pm and we had time to set up the slides and the flowers. The room provided by the funeral home was spacious and the set up to receive the guests expected was simple but elegant. There were coffee, tea etc. setup outside the reception room. Another A lecturn with guestbook, and pens and paper to invite guests to write them their thoughts and stories of the deceased were placed just outside the room. Inside the reception room, there was a long table on one side with cookies set out and some space for treats brought in by guests. On the opposite side of the room, there was a table with a nice wooden frame for Don's picture with a flickering candle placed in front of it and two side tables for flowers. At the corner of the room was a good size overhead TV screen where pictures of Don could be shown.

We were glad that we came to this venue for Don's family to receive their friends and relatives wishing to get together and celebrate Don's life. As friends filed in, signed the guest book, they each found a comfortable place to sit, watched the slides about Don's life and had opportunities to talk with one another and shared stories. It was good to hear these stories and funny anecdotes about a man who seemed to be quiet but had great inner strength and could really talk among real friends. It was time to grieve together and accept the reality that our loved ones could just be gone in a matter of a few months' time.

I was grateful to share my storeis with other guests so that I could process my grief. My best friend's death affected me deeply. I still burst into tears often when I talk or think about him.

Farewell, Don McArthur, my dear dear beloved friend. You occupy a very special place in our hearts and we will never forget you. I know you have accepted Jesus at the last moment when I asked you if you wanted to go to heaven so that we could meet again someday. This is a temporary farewell, we will see each other someday in heaven, our eternal home!

God bless your soul! Your beloved friend, RT, Barrie / Toronto 10262024

Spending the Last Few Moments with My Best Friend in a Hospital Room

Christmas time is a joyous time. But for some people it may not be a happy time for them. For the past couple of days during this Christmas holidays, I kept thinking of my dear dear best friend of the past four decades. I would like to remember him this Christmas season and recall the last few precious moments spent with him.

Tuesday/October/2024 ---- It was our Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada. We planned a special thanksgiving dinner for our students in Waterloo. Getting things organized ahead of time, we would normally drive to Waterloo a couple of days earlier. However, we had this intuition that we needed to go and see my friend in Barrie. Taking a detour, we headed toward Barrie on Tuesday to see Don whose health had been deteriorating rapidly. We thought we would see him at his house and we kept calling but no one answered. Later we found that having been discharged from the hospital, Don was taken back home. But there were many complications and he was re-admitted back to the hospital.

We went to see him at the Royal Victoria Helath Centre where he was lying in bed and could hardly open his eyes. I called him and he responded feebly. I asked him if he was thirty to which he replied yes. I fed him a few spoons of my homemade congee. He eagerly took them. But I noticed that he was having problems swallowing as he didn't seem to be able to swallow liquid food easily. Flo, Don's sister informed me the doctors told the family Don would only have a few days. Instead of leaving that night as we had planned, we decided to stay overnight and called to book a night at the Travel Lodge.

Wednesday --- We returned to the hospital the next day around noon; Dou and Flo were already there. This time we called Don but he didn't respond at all. He was breathing deeply with his mouth open. We were very sad to hear that the doctor had ordered no food nor drink for him as he would only have a few hours. I spent the whole day by his bedside while S. spent the time with Dou to keep him company. I realized that this would be the last few hours I had with my best pal. I held his hand and felt his warmth. O, how I treasured these last few moments with my dear beloved friend! I hang on to him. Knowing that this would be the last oppportunity I had with him, in tears I told him I loved him, how much he meant to me and thanked him for his support for me and my family for the past four decades. We spent another day with him in his room.

We decided to spend the night in Barrie while my huaband spent the night at the hotel with Dou. Flo also stayed her third straight night at the hospital. Flo and I slept on the reclining chairs. It was uncomfortable but we spent a few good hours talking about families and catching up with one another. Flo was understanding and let me sleep in the chair by Don's bedside. Knowing this were his last few hours, I held his hand and tried to savour the few moments we had left together. How I loved my dear dear friend! These were the most precious hours I spent with my best friend of 40 years. Tough we didn't want to see him go, we also didn't want to see him suffer.

Thursday --- I hardly slept at all last night but it was time to leave around noon time. We needed to be in Waterloo by 3pm to get ready for our program for the young people in the evening. I held my friend's hand for the last time; S, Flo and I held our hands together and I said a prayer and thank you for the last time. I kissed my friend good bye knowing that it could be our last time together. As this was our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, we prepared a turkey dinner and shared our Thanskgiving customs and traditions with the U.W. students at our home. We were preoccupied with the dinner preparations and were happy that it went well and everyonhe had a good time.

Friday --- Rosaana came over to our Waterloo house to visit for a while at around 10 a.m. In the middle of our conversation, Flo called informing me that Don passed away around 12 a.m.the night before. My best friend of 40 years passed away just a few hours after we said our good bye to him at the Barrie Hospital.I broke down and sobbed in front of Rosanna. I knew his end would be soon but I didn't expect how much the news of his death affected me. It affected me profoundly. I will miss my dear friend! My family and I will miss you so much! We are grateful for all the love and support all these years! Love you and you will be in our hearts always! RT, Royal Victoria Health Centre Barrie/ Waterloo Ont. Canada 10082024