Turkey Dinner For The Family

Turkey dinner is more than a feast of good food and drink. It is the mix of people with similar heritage but divergent souls. As I watched the interaction among the second and third generation people in our family I could see a striking difference. Fresher interests, a more social conscience and a bravery to show their true feelings.

Everything from politics, religion and world view on our responsibility to mother earth is expressed with a certainty. So many of our grandchildren have taken a stand on women's issues, world hunger and the need for education as a means to solving the problems of mother earth. I can hardly express a new idea anymore as the youth have a benchmark way above mine.

Our table is not the place to tell a prejudice joke without expecting the wrath from the kids. Times have changed. Our youth have taken stands on issues that we at their age were not even known. It is a kinder and more gentile culture with a sharing attitude and a belief that things will be different if we do something. They express confident they make a difference, each one.

Recently there was a get together of 20,000 youth who sang, spoke and dedicated themselves to Free the Children. The Rogers Center in Toronto rocked all day and showed the world that everyone counts. This movement was started by a young Canadian and his brother and it has swept the country with literally hundreds of thousands involved in programs to make life better for under served people around the world.

Their leadership comes from within their heart and pours out in countless ways to build schools, feed the hungry and give the needy a face. Yes I feel great about our youth but this comes as no surprise as I always tried to give youth a voice when I saw them as the fresh new wave coming forth to lead us to a better way of doing things.

10.10.10.

This particular date will not occur for another 100 years so we should make it special. Many of my friends are celebrating this day as turkey day with family and friends gathering to feast on a special Thanksgiving dinner. It is also a time of reflection where we can count our blessings and many gifts which we take for granted most every day.

Personally I am most thankful for family and good health. Our family and extended family are blessed with good health mostly and are able to live a full life with all its value. Today we shall gather at my daughters home (daughter #1) and experience that special feeling when you are together as a family. As we are spread around the province is not always possible for us all to get together but we must count the ones who are there and remember the ones who are missing.

This has been a particularly difficult year for me with the death of several close friends and health issues for others.This can be expected at my age but it doesn't make it any easier. This week Theresa and I have been busy putting our yard in order for the winter and packing for our time down south. The beautiful colours of the leaves and bushes tell us it is time for the migration to take place and the tree full of birds yesterday was a sure sign.

It has been a great year for butterflies and the Monarch is starting to form groups on their way to Mexico. We have seen huge flocks over the years on our way to Florida. We were lucky this year to be home to four hatchings of house and song sparrows. Our bird houses were full all summer and provided us with entertainment.

One incident was of special mention when I heard Doris and Theresa shouting about a large bird by our fish ponds. It was a huge Sand Hill Crane standing over our goldfish ready to have a colourful snack when the shouts scared him away. It was such a large bird that it had trouble taking off over our tall Maple Trees in the back yard but it managed and we still have our little fish. They stay in the ponds over winter and manage quite well.

Mother nature this year provided us with bumper crops of vegetables and fruit. Flowers and trees flourished and we reaped the benefits of her bounty and beauty for which we are thankful.

There are so many things we can be thankful for it would be impossible to state them all. We should be thankful for the young men and women who are in far away places defending our country's orders to participate in wars. I will be thankful when the world finds other ways to solve their differences like maybe having our leaders duel or something.

Finally, after all this rambling, I feel blessed to live in a country with all its faults and to feel free to make my own path to peace and happiness in our family circle.

Integration Ikaluktutiak Style

While living in Akaluktutiak in the high Arctic I was fortunate to choose a path that led me to integrate with the Inuit culture.The real bonus was the friendship I developed with the children who lived nearby on TuTu (caribou) and Okaluk (Arctic Hare) Streets. I first met these children through their parents who worked with me at the Hamlet. One of my favourite young persons was Alice who used to visit frequently with her younger sister Palouk. Alice used to pack her sister in her shirt and had no problem as all young girls were called to perform this task to help their mothers who often had several young ones at the same time.

There were concerns in the community at first as to my intentions as a white man befriending young chilren. To eleviate these concerns I met and socialized with their parents and gained their confidence through time.The process was slow but rewarding as it gave me a sense of family.I would invite the children to my home for dinner and make it a rather formal ritual. We would set the table with all the silverware and even napkins. Full dressed tables were not the norm up there but we followed good manners and proper eating etiquette. The children relished these meals and soon learned to appreciate our dinners. Always we ended with cookies and pop and cleaned up the dishes.

Sometimes I invited the parents but they felt strange with our way but never complained.The favourite white mans food was spaghetti and meatballs. Alice always came to visit packing her sister.Alice lived with her grandmother and mother and there was no visible father in the picture. This was not uncommon as young girls had children and they were looked after by them or their parents.It is not uncommon for girls to give their babies to their brothers or sisters through informal adoptions. I have never heard of an orphan in Nunavut.

One day Alice came to my home and informed me that on my birthday she and the children would supply a special meal. At about six o'clock I heard Buck barking and opened the door to six kids carrying a steaming ten gallon pail and very happy children. They came in out of the cold and dark and took off the many layers of clothing. Since this was a traditinal Inuit meal cardboard was placed on the floor and contents of the pail was emptied on the cardboard. Two steaming caribou heads made up the dinner and the only thing you needed was a knife. Alice took over and became the boss. I was a little hesitant but took my place and prepared to partake of the specialty.

We were seated and Alice took over, "Henry, you like eyes?". Before I could answer the eyes were eaten and so on for an hour where each part of the animal was offered and without a quick response it was devoured by the girls. I did manage the tongue which was delicious and other parts as well. The girls called this a feast and it would not be the last during my stay. Traditional meals are called feasts and are a strong part of the Inuit culture.

The feast ended when not a speck of flesh remained. The girls tried to see who could make the biggest burp and one backfired and made everyone laugh. Since it was my birthday they presented me with a small gadget which was a measuring tape and a pack of needles.We ended the evening with cookies and pop and they informed me that the people in the hamlet called me Elenok which means friend. I was happy.

The lesson I learned from this was you can find happiness anywhere if you open your heart and mind to accept people for what they are, not what you want them to be.