Merry Christmas, everyone! with love, chrisnewbie

Good Evening ,Happy Sunday.The recent discovery of hundreds of greaves in Canada has put the spotlight back on its dark past,when Indigenous people faced systematic discrimination ,and violence. In June ,the Cowessess First Nation ,so indigenous organisation, found 751 unmarked gravestone at the site of a gourmet residential school in saskatchewan. This came a month after another indigenous organisation discovered the remains of 215 children at a closed residential school in British Colombia. Can dB's residential school system was a telling example of how indigenous people were treated .Between 1882 and 1996 ,an estimated 150,000 children were sent to residential schools,that were funded by the federal government and run mostly by the Catholic Church.Most of these students were forcefully taken away from their families .And thousands never returned .In 1883 ,Canada ' s first prime Minister ,Sir John A Macdonld defended in parliament the system of residential Schools,sating indigenous students should be kept away from their parents ,"who are savages".The children were not allowed to speak their languages or practice their culture.many were abused .An estimated 4,000 children died ,mainly due to TB,malnutrition and other illnesses resulting from the squalid conditions in the schools.Despite these horrors ,the residential school system continued for over a century. In2008 ,Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a formal apology .The Government also set up a Youth and Reconciliation Commission of document the history and the lasting impact of the school system on the indigenous communities. .....continue (at Mumbai, Maharashtra) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRMHOgdB-nW/?utm_medium=tumblr

The last outdoor farmer's market was in full autumnal bloom. The MacDonald boys spent most of their Saturday mornings for the past two seasons manning the MacDonald Farm Goods booth. John was so proud of his sons working together for their farm.

After stocking some shelves, Paul neared his father and asked, "So, what will we do with the things we don't sell?"

"We'll store canned goods and boxes in the barn, and the produce we'll pickle or can and store those in the cellar, by the back door."

"We will eat all of this?"

"I mean, eventually. Winter months are long on a farm, son."

"Hmm."

"Dad?" Henry asked. "I bagged all the tomatoes like you asked."

"Good job, Hen."

"What can I do next?"

"Go help your brother, and be nice to the customers. This is the last market for a while, we need to make as much money as we can."

"Okay!"

"Dad told me to help you."

"But I'm just sittin'," replied Paul.

"Oh. Maybe he meant talk to the customers for you?

"Uh, okay."

Later, when the boys were spending the afternoon at Grandpa Carl's house, John enjoyed a beer in his den above the barn. Meeting Rhonda today awakened something he thought died with Isabella.

She was really something, wasn't she? he thought. Hearty, warm, strong--nothing at all like--

When they parted, Rhonda gave John her number. She told him the next time he was in Feverfew, delivering a shipment perhaps, that he should call her. He told her that travelling was not something he normally did, he had his hands full with the farm and single parenting two boys. Somehow, that response didn't deter Rhonda like John thought it would; she told him to try calling anyway. "Let life surprise you," she had said.

I can't believe I'm actually thinking about falling--err, I mean, calling her.

"Dad? What are you doing?"

"Talking to the trees, of course."

"Why?"

"Old family secret," John winked. "Helps the trees grow."

"Oh!"

"We MacDonalds have many farming tricks. Dad--I mean, your grandfather taught me most of them."

"Will you teach me too, Dad?"

And with that, John had picked his favourite son. He felt suddenly reinvigorated, finally ready to get to work after losing his father.

It seemed the next generation might turn the neglected MacDonald farm around!

The new farmhouse was the best thing that could have happened to the family; it was their dream home, and they spent that first fall season in it happier than ever.