Cybersalt Shaker

Once again it is my privilege and solemn opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas from Cybersalt World Headquarters.  As a subscriber to one of my newsletters, you are a big part of making my work on the Cybersalt site so rewarding and fun. Susan (Mrs. Cybersalt) has put together our online Christmas card with some pictures and news from our family and we’re glad to share it with you at https://www.cybersalt.org/christmasletter2012

As I said above, it’s a solemn opportunity to wish you Merry Christmas because I am mindful that that wish will be received in homes and other places where Christmas will not be very merry this year.  Even in our own circle of friends and influence, this season of celebration has also come with sadness.  On Thursday we learned that a fellow pastor and wife from our association of churches lost a beautiful daughter, in her 20’s, to a car crash on wintry roads. That same day I was told that a young, 32 year old man from our neighbourhood took his life and did so in front of his girlfriend.  Needless to say she and his friends are devastated and grief stricken.

This video from Canada's Parliament reminded me of how true politeness can refresh one's spirit.  It's far from the empty abyss of measured small talk we many times offer up when meeting people whom we know to have very different beliefs than ours.

While my wife was out running some errands today, a guy phoned our house about the geese we have for sale. I told him we didn't have any geese for sale.

He told me the number he had dialed.  I told him that was our phone number but that we did not have any geese for sale.

He said there were three ads online with geese for sale - each with our phone number on them. I said, "Really!" as my mind wondered how that could happen because I was positive we didn't have any geese for sale.

Then he mentioned something about his sone being in karate. That's when I remembered Susan is trying to sell our son's old karate outfits which, of course, are "gis" - the plural of "gi" (pronounced with a hard "g" and an "ee"). 

When she arrived home I checked to make sure we aren't selling an afghans - just in case.

Many of you will remember the story of “Bang” - a peach fronted conure that hit one of the windows of Cybersalt World Headquarters in June of 2011 and subsequently became part of our “flock” after we could not track down its owners (see - “Bang!”).Bang brought a lot of fun and entertainment into our lives, but on this past Sunday he/she (we never knew what gender Bang was) went to a new home with a parrot lover half an hour away from us.

Of everyone in the house, Bang bonded the most with me.This was probably due to my being the first person he saw in the morning when I uncovered his cage and delivered fresh seed and water for the beginning of the day. I like to think he was also in awe of me because I was the one who turned the sun on - a trick I like to call “opening the curtains.” For whatever reason, Bang’s little bird brain liked me the most.I’ll always remember Bang as a fun bird who would land on my shoulder for a sunflower seed while I worked at the computer, liked his share of my vanilla ice cream cones, and who enjoyed long walks on the beach together - well would have if I had ever taken him on any.

At this point you are probably wondering why Bang has a new home.