In Search of an Anachronism

The last Christmas gift I received from FMIL, aka. Ma, was $50. To some, that wouldn't seem all that personal, but being a practical person- as well as an elderly woman dealing with reduced mobility and vision- Ma thought that this was the best way to ensure that I got what I wanted.

With her gone, I decided that I should use the money to buy a gift that I could use as a reminder of her.

For me, this isn't a new thing, and in fact eminently practical. For example, a memento of Auntie Upstream is a painting on slate of a little boy taking a bath in a wooden tub. As I understand it, she bought it during a trip to New Mexico. A reminder of Uncle K.- the husband of Auntie U.- is a letter opener he bought while deployed to Germany in the 60s.

For Ma, I thought I'd get a fountain pen and have it engraved with an appropriate inscription. To that end, I was off the Loyola to see what was there for pens.

Serious disappointment! The places I went to sold them; it was just that they had to special order them in. A trip to Nuddude is in order.

On a happier note, I was able to pick up a couple of birthday gifts on the Indigo gift card the brother and sister-in-law gave me. One was "A long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah, and the other was "The Book of Negroes" by Lawrence Hill. The former has been a book I wanted to read since the interview with the author broadcast on CBC's "The Hour". The latter is the winner of Canada Reads 2009.

I can't wait to start the reading, but right now FCC and I will be taking Fang for a walk around the point.

Later, Mushers!