Wayne Gretzky, our beloved Canadian icon of hocky greatness, professionalism and human decency, has left his coaching job to be with his family. Bravo!
In a time where everyone is so "busy", it's easy to lose sight of one's priorities...The Great One is great example of how to behave towards one's family (or community); to be loyal and committed...even at a time when it might not be so convenient.
Last night (Friday), I had the pleasure of attending a special Shabbaton organized in part by Rabbi Bitelman (Chabad-Richmond) and Sasha (Alexandra) Gerson of Jewish Family Service Agency, in Richmond BC. There was 100+ people attending this fabulous event.
It was warm and friendly, and even though I only speak a couple of words of Russian (spacebo ~ thanks!) and (cusnow ~ very good), I felt truly as part of the event. I met one lady, who used to be a language teacher, and we were able to communicate in French ~ imagine that!
When I first came, I experienced what all immigrants must face....an welcoming invitation, a bunch of new people who are speaking a foreign tongue, and an inability to communicate ~ or more importantly ~ "CONNECT" with the person sitting next to you, or in front of you... Very difficult indeed...I felt quite disconnected, even though I was sitting next to all of these people. Dont' get me wrong...they did try to speak with me, but it was different mannerisms, sounds, and stimulation...it was overload and underload all at the same time...and it was uncomfortable...
I was sitting next to Nikolai, and he and I were sharing a Schnapps....he's an mechanical technologist at Westport Engineering... (he used to be a mechanical engineer in his native country, but that's another story). I was drinking wine, and he the Stolichnayai (something like that) Russian Vodka. We were joined by Alexander and Vladimir (an archival filmmaker), and we were toasting the meal, the day, just life....
And then, the food came...the softest, tenderest brisket worthy of comparison to Montreal's Schwartz's Restaurant aka The Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen (hello Jan Haim!); and the most interesting couscous I've ever tasted....filled with olives and vegetables and lovely spices ... and ummm...the gravy from the brisket on the couscous...just delicious. (Note: on Montreal's West Island, Abie & Jan Haim have fabulous smoked meat too! ( http://abiesecom.safeshopper.com/)
I spoke with Vladimir's daughter ~ Julia ~ a filmmaker in her own right, who has done documentaries for CBC's Rough Cuts and The Passionate Eye; one in particular...about Russian men looking for love in Vancouver. I remembered the fellow in the blue bikini who prowls English Bay.... very funny! (Julia also arranges adoptions...)
I am migrating my bio and resume information to a personal wiki ~ http://randyfisher.wikispaces.com
I have performed many roles throughout my career. Among them:
Useful websites:
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