Christmas 2012

2012 by the Thirteens complete with hyperlinks and photos

Friday, January 13

My friend Kim, who now works as a program officer at the new Women's Jail in Headingley, came downtown for a tour of the women's section of the Remand Centre and had lunch with my colleague, Tym Elias, and me at The Paddlewheel Restaurant, which is on the top floor of the Bay. It is identical to how it was in the early sixties when I would eat there with my mother. They also serve the same malts that I have bought for my kids, that my dad bought for me and his dad bought for him. It being a Friday, Alex and I went to our friend Adina's to have dinner. I expect I asked her to light candles for us.

Monday, February 13

Matt had ruptured his Achilles Heel and spent much of the winter on crutches. He was a trooper, dropping the few things he could but persevering and ending up graduating with gold medals for both his majors around his neck. It looks like he will be off to Waterloo for graduate studies in climatology this coming fall. We did out little bit, offering rides, which I did sandwiched around a number of errands, as I would take Mondays off when I worked Sundays.

Tuesday, March 13

I had lunch with a former inmate who had stayed away from the place aside from checking in with me. I always found it important to celebrate such things, as there is much to drain one in a jail. In the evening, I helped Morag do her taxes. She made quite a bit of money working at Dairy Queen. She is now studying International Development at the University of Winnipeg, enjoying her usual slew of friends, working at a toy store and planning on going to India next year so she can come back with a better idea of what she is studying. [If you have any ideas about where she could go or what she should do, please share them with us!]

Friday, April 13

Two Friday the 13ths in four months? That does not seem right. My brother Charlie, Morag, her friend Mikaela and I drove down to Minneapolis and arrived in the late afternoon and went out to see the Texas Rangers beat the Twins 4-1. In addition to the Rangers sweeping the series, we had a lovely visit with my cousin Margo and her family and had the Ranger TV announcers spend an inning describing a letter I gave them about why I am "Canada's Greatest Texas Ranger Fan."

Sunday, May 13

Matt came over and he and Morag made Alex breakfast in bed for mother's day. Alex and I have been attending the local Quaker Meeting for the past few years so we went there together. Alex continues to have a nice balance of writing for fun and writing for money along with hanging out with friends, going for long walks and strumming her ukulele. I then went and did a wedding in St. Vital Park, by the duck pond where I learned to skate, before rushing to the sisters in spirit walk, which honours the many missing aboriginal women.

Wednesday, June 13

I spent the day at a meeting that was writing a manual for provincial corrections chaplains. The day before I had a very exciting phone conversation with the Executive Director of an organization called Initiatives for Just Communities. One of their programs is a volunteer based prison ministry program called, Open Circle. To make a long story short, two weeks after the call, I became the Program Director. I am very happy! Open Circle is a very simple program. We match volunteer visitors with long term inmates who are highly isolated and unsupported. Two of the friendships that we support are over 30 years old, extending well beyond release from prison. This was also my first night playing softball, which led to my best hitting season of my career, maybe it is time to hang up the cleats. The league I was playing in (Men's 50 and up) is folding.

Friday, July 13

Another One!?!? Three in one year? July is always a busy ton of fun month. We had just finished giving ourselves over to five days of the Winnipeg Folk Festival and Alex and Morag had gone to BC to visit her family and I was to follow to see her family and attend and preside at a family wedding in Vernon. I was waiting for my new job to start in August and enjoyed my break in-between. I spent two quiet days with my friend and colleague Paul Campbell and his wife Ethel at their cottage. Paul is spending his retirement in either England or pretending he is by drinking English Beer and watching BBC TV shows. Not a bad idea!

Monday, August 13

This was the start of the second week of my new job and my diary says it was a "peaceful and balanced day." What's not to like? I played on two Ultimate Frisbee (some say Disc) teams this summer. One ended up having a lot of young and able players on it. This night was almost silly. We won handily playing two players short the entire game! Matt played on this team but missed this game.

Thursday, September 13

I started my day with a coffee with a guy that I met through the Quaker Meeting who had some thoughts about becoming a volunteer with Open Circle. I then went out to a "resource fair" at Stony Mountain Penitentiary, which was something new for me. I ran into all sorts of guys who I had met "on their way there" and it felt a little like homecoming days. Following that event, we had a meal where all the volunteer visitors and all participants in the program gathered for a social evening together.

Saturday, October 13

I had been to a restorative justice conference at the Shekinah retreat centre north of Saskatoon. One of the highlights was meeting Wilma Derksen who is known for her work and writing both in victim's rights advocacy and in restorative justice. It is memorable when someone goes from hero to colleague and friend. I generally don't sleep well when I travel and the drive home seemed to take forever so I slept in very late and then went to the gym for some elliptical training before we went out for dinner at our friends Anita and Andy's.

Tuesday, November 13

I spent a good chunk of the day in a meeting with the staff Circles of Supportand Accountability who we work closely with. I have long praised it. It consists of a group of volunteers meeting regularly providing direct support and accountability to people released from jail who are both declared to be and are owning their own high risk to reoffend. Most often, these are sex offenders. A kind of honesty and trust can develop with a volunteer that can't be done with a person who is paid to do what they do. These circles exist across Canada and in Great Britain and have a phenomenal rate of success by various standards of measure. Alex had been away in Peachland for a visit for her Dad's birthday and I picked her up at the airport on my way home from visiting in a couple of institutions and we enjoyed a quiet evening together.

Thursday, December 13

I hope that you have read this letter before this date. My year has not been "all work and no play." I got to Toronto for three visits, Alex and I went to Las Vegas for the first time (nothing to say about that) and we threw big birthday parties for friends and family to name a few things. However, my work seems to have dominated my annual "random sample" letter. Indeed the Winnipeg Remand Centre was a huge chapter in my life and I left knowing what a bad place jail is and how it brings out the worst in everyone. I begin a new chapter of my life at Open Circle with realistic and important challenges that I believe are attainable and I am excited about my efforts in meeting them. If you are in the habit of making donations at this time of year, I hope you will consider Open Circle. I am passionate about the work and there are costs in delivering it. It really is true when they say, "every little bit helps" and "a little more goes a long way!" You could send a cheque to Open Circle, 302-1200 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3G 0T5 or go online. Thanks for even considering this request!

Warm Wishes