"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity...and I'm not sure about the universe" ... Albert Einstein
À Judith 4
So before I go to bed, I hope everyone had a lovely day. I am posting a letter I received from a friend & friends explaining what they did today. OK Pat here it is, I hope it is OK to post this…
This morning we took a walk down the beach to remember Judith. First we looked at my yellow rose that first bloomed a year ago today. We wandered down to the beach a little after 10:30. The “ever organized Anna” had a container of purple clematis flowers,,, me who always runs late, ran out & picked an bunch of pink mallow, & as I scrambled by an orange lily, like one I remembered Judith picking the first time you stayed at ashak. We walked down towards Redhead, dropping a few flowers as we went. The tide was high so we couldn’t go past the first rock outcrop. I wore rubber boots so I went into the first “cove” where I left my last 2 pink mallows, & the one lonely tiger lily on a rock. Anna arranged the remainder of her clematis flowers on a rocky ledge,,,,,, Jim spotted dolphins,,, a good distraction,,, then a seal,,, yes we saw a seal in the water… as we strolled back someone said “look there are flowers in the wrack line”,,, Karen & Angela started to figure out today’s tide times,,, but it was pretty obvious that the tide had just turned & flowers we dropped in the water were left behind like our memories of Judith.
Thanks all for the fond memories and colourful flowers.
Thinking of you Minou
Commenting is closed for this article.
Written by Carmen Paulin 23 August 2006, 04:53 #
“Le bonheur, c’est le répit dans l’inquiétude.” (Maurois)
The Acadie Nouvelle just arrived, it’s 4:10am. Four years ago (2002), on August 23, Lucienne, my precious mother died after a long Alzheimer disease – 15 years of cares for seeing her rewinded to a new born. Her reverse process was killing me each and every day while learning extraordinary loving experiences. It’s only after being on this side of the mirror that I had begin to understand.
Learning is a life long process and Judith & you took care of me for a while during that time.
I remember my family saying me that I was spending heritage money on futilities…
Spirituality and understanding me had always been difficult for them. My baby brother is the one who understood my deep down and profound need for help. Others was of no use facing my galactic hole and father was already dead in February 2002. My husband was there for me but prefered to keep silence & spend the new money.
The day before yesterday, August 21, 2005, Judith moved elsewhere also. She had been a baum in my life for a long time.
Robert (ma crotte de velours)is going away on August 26, 2006. I had already told you about our separation. August is definitely not my month… and I just hope to see September coming. I will survive but life is a surprises box as I am always trying to do my best. Seems to be not enough.
Goodnight my friend and
Au plaisir,
Written by Carmen Paulin 23 August 2006, 04:58 #
Add to my first comment “on August 23 – 15 hours from now (19h15)”
Written by dougan 6 September 2006, 22:10 #
I don’t want to intrude, I just hope this can be understood by all who visit here…
Lets maybe call it “One Year On – a Testament” and dedicate it to Randy and the girls…
I didn’t know Judith Hamil Gregory for more than 5 or 6 weeks in my life…
I met her with two other Franco-Canadians in a bar in Edinburgh, Ecosse, way back in 1995 if I recall correctly.
I remember Judith saying how she didn’t enjoy London, but got a real buzz when arriving in Ecosse
I confess, I thought la femmes looked real cute – ‘tres Francaise’—so an evening of drinking, philosophising and Scottish-Canadienne amity & friendship followed.
They stayed at my house for 3-4 days, during which I guess I fell in love with Judith’s friend.
Unfortunately, when I came to the Maritimes at YK2, this didn’t work out – in fact it became hugely weird and destructive at a time when everyone shoulda been rejoicing.
But I did discover Acadia
I learned about the 1759 tragedy – and at a little Moncton museum, I remember meditating on how events in history seem to come and go round and round in eternal cycles…
The dispossessed Scottish arriving in the Maritimes to dispossess the Acadians – and of course, the dispossessed Micmacs, Maliseet and other Amerindians way down at the bottom of the pile …
And I thought of all these ordinary folk just trying to get by and ending up as just more victims of elite notions of empire, power, control and domination that’s still here with us today…
But I also met Bill, Ginette, Phil and other warm, good-going human beings and I especially remember the YK2 New Years party at the Aberdeen centre…
Phil came to Scotland later that year and Acadian-Scottish amity grew…
It also “blew”, because Phil had his alto sax, and after playing to the sheep on the beautiful Isle of Skye, he tore up my local jazz-bar when I introduced him to local musicians.
Y’know, when you see people spontaneously get up and DANCE at a jazz gig – then that IS the ultimate compliment paid to a minority music…
On Aug 24, 2005 news arrived that after a heroic fight against cancer, Judith had passed away.
In November, Randy invited me come and stay with him over Xmas and New Year …
It wasn’t easy being there… the sense of overwhelming loss seemed to permeate the house and follow us around…
At times I felt I didn’t have the strength or words to cope, and often with Ginette in Moncton, we’d get so emotional the tears just flowed…
With Randy, we did ‘men’ things…. hauled logs, chopped wood, cleared snow, and when we weren’t staring up at the planets and the NB moon thru the back garden trees, we did what men do to get through—talked some good stuff, talked some shit – and drank… ! [lol]
Again, I didn’t know Judith so well – only these moments in Edinburgh and at YK2
But we shared a mutual love for poetry, literature, political, intellectual, aesthetic and spiritual enquiry and I’ll never forget how she explained and rationalised the YK2 debacle in a mail she sent me.
For that I am eternally grateful to her…
Walking in the snow along the old railway by Randy’s house I was searching for words
And I felt I knew Judith well enough to say how
This world is a damn poorer place for her departure – and to say
how this man and these kids don’t deserve this – they just damn well don’t deserve it…
I somehow feel they’re like millions across the world who don’t deserve the excessive grief and misery imposed upon them by fate or circumstance. I mean, its often hard enough for progressive, sophisticated, intelligent people to get along—never mind if you’re just plain ordinary poor folk, scraping about each day for enough to eat, or continually picking your loved ones remains out of buildings “we’ve” reduced to rubble…
The words I found eventually sprung from memory cause I couldn’t find them at google
I’ll say them again…
Embrace your grief
Don’t reject it, or try to hide or push it away…
Challenge it even to come on and do its worse to you
Because that way you’ll get to know it and to know that
This is all a part of YOU and its not something
Abstract or external or remote or distant…
Nor is it eternal – because all this will pass…
And when you come to know this, and are familiar with it,
and can accept it, and eventually even maybe understand it
Despite the feelings of tremendous loss we will all at some time be forced to endure…
EMBRACE YOUR GRIEF AND YOUR HEART AND SOUL WILL GROW & GROW & GROW…
And for AMYTHYST & EMILY
who are Judith’s link with Eternity —they’re the most IMPORTANT thing there is right Now…
Madams et Messuirs
Ladies and Gentlemen…
To an Amazon
‘Une Femme Formidable’
A Dear departed Friend
Who I’m sure looks down and Blesses us all…
Written by Randy Gregory 7 September 2006, 08:22 #
Thanks Dougan,
First…a few date corrections…She was in Scotland late October 1993, I met her 1 April 1994 and she talked about you and her trip.
Second…’The Acadian Deportation’ was in 1755, just like ‘The Clearings’.
Well I am very grateful that you came…even with the loss and feelings of sadness…it was nice to have a man to talk to and philosophise with.
She affected a lot of people she only met for short periods of time. I am glad she met you.
Yes…we are lucky not to be picking our loved ones out of rubble…or being shot at.
Surf the wave baby…and thanks for the message Doogi.
Til we meet again…