Many Things the Same

“They’ve been there 250 years since 1776. The Dene and the Cree fought over the location. Then the French came along … and on & on,” says my wife in a WhatsApp family chat, referring to Ile-a-la-Crosse, after a visit to the birthplace of our daughter. Then a telling reply from Sheila, our son’s mother-in-law, “Oh Verna, it does go on and on. I believe we might all meet up again after this life. In the meantime, we have beautiful memories. Love you all.”

This little family exchange has suddenly become meaningful to me, after yet another significant gathering for Verna and I. Not only good digital chats like this available across the kilometers these days, but also this past weekend we met with some 50 persons, a sizable portion of our 1966 – 68 Bible School years. Organized by a few diligent fellow-retirees, it was amazing. Long and somewhat drawn-out by repetitious details, those five hours will now be a historic moment even as most of us will likely be dispatched to that next chapter in the near future. “On and on” is a significant comment on this the morning after, as I sit here with my laptop in an upstairs bedroom which I shared with my brother in the farmhouse which sent us off on the adventures of our lifetime(s).

It’s a rainy morning, wonderful rain ever essential on the prairies, except it’s harvest time, and a little dry weather (drejh wada) would be helpful right about now! Coming home to our original farmyard (quick trip to nearby town for a morning coffee – bad habit yes) I see some things exactly as they were, caragana hedge between the highway and the garden, pastureland out beyond the barn, and cows standing in faithful discomfort. Everything still in place as per my memories. And then it’s all different. Turning into the yard, there are signs, Sunnyside Dairy, even on a rainy Monday morning already a few customers to pick up their exquisite pasteurized-but-not-homogenized high quality milk! It’s a high-end product on the market, especially available for those who can afford it and willing to make the trip from the nearby city. This sentimental yard is now a business place, complete with employees and all that's involved with complex business ownership, managed by my sister and brother-in-law. 

Only two months ago we lost our daughter, adopted into our family, a six-week old bundle of joy some 51 years ago. She has been a part of literally everything each time we visited this place, grandma and grandpa’s farm, loving and being loved by all and everything that happened here. This was one of the happiest places in her life. My wife and I have just returned from a trip up North to visit the place where she was born.

Earth shaking, but really earth-shaking for us only. The Metis community of Ile-a-la-Crosse has history, really old history, even before us colonialists came along (yes even before Canada)! In the village of Adrianne's birth we saw teen-agers and middle-aged and elders, living life probably similar to the way it's been for many years. She was child of a teenager. Whether she would have enjoyed or benefited from a trip up there we do not know, but we are delighted to have made the trip. It’s helping us somehow in our grief journey. Grieving goes through its stages, as I have known for years. At this moment Verna and I are comforted to celebrate those many years before the addiction got to her, and grateful for the love and supportiveness of Bible school and church and family friends in this last while.

Life is going on as before. Even with a new emptiness, at this time it is the trees and the farmyards and the villages - exactly what we need. Rest in peace dear daughter!

News and Heartstrings

The news has been unavoidable in our city these last several days. An eleven year-old boy, autistic, neuro-diverse and non-verbal, went missing. It seemed like the whole city got involved, including the Province allowing an Amber alert even though no suspected foul play. “Keep Hoping” was front page of Calgary Sun on July 21, and finally, ten days later Parker’s body was found. Now we read, “Hug Your Kids” and “Tough Time” in the latest two issues[i] after the child was found in a drainage culvert. It is a tragedy which softened the headlines and relegated usual front page articles to page 4 or later.[ii] I’m wondering if it has also softened our heartstrings.

I am only one citizen in this local population, but ... some thinker material. In addition to reallocation of newspaper front pages, I was fascinated by the absence of Parker’s parents’ names even as they were referenced and even quoted. It may be their wishes or a media constraint, but my heart missed the names of the devastated parents. Similarly and kind of confusingly, the sympathizing tears of our police chief were easily included along with samples and pictures of thousands in this city participating in the hunt, details not much talked about. This may be professional decorum, but I found myself with some questions about how to communicate a public tragedy like this. So, what follows here is not more info, and certainly not critique, but still I am the curious one (nesheah, as my parents said) who sometimes wanders beyond the comfort zone!

I wonder about this along with some previous wondering. In my previous blog I wondered about the authorship of a book I had been reading; [iii] was it Artificial Intelligence or a real live author? In my mind the evidence pointed to AI, for some pointy reasons. That meant of course, some evaluative comments like, not much of a plot, practically written in outline form, logics alongside a generalized appeal to love and sensitivity for the good of us all. I was somewhat confused and less than convinced, as though there were a Truth somewhere between earth and the heavens. On the occasion of this mysterious book and the missing boy, I must reflect just a bit on the subject of autism. 

Scientific and medical studies say autism is an increasing phenomenon at this time (1 in 38 eight-year olds on Autism Spectrum Disorder). I wonder about cause, and my theory is that it has something to do with the normalcy of individualism which more and more seems to show up as isolationism. For example, conversations around most tables give way to innumerable fact-checks, cellphones consulted and pictures circulated to illustrate whatever. It’s us human beings young, middle-aged, and even the elderly, engaged primarily with the cell phone. Walking in the mall or down a sidewalk the oncoming traffic has a slightly stooped head position looking down at something in the right hand, eye contact a rarity, and a smile or hello is a special gift.

Is it possible that the human's dependence on the digital, which obviously contributes to social isolationism, eventually enters the genetics, hence the increasing presence in the population? And also, for further reflection, I have noticed that some neurotypicals are especially gifted at relating to those on the spectrum, often utilizing AI as a communication tool. That is a good thing, and possibly much to learn on that. It actually reminds me of a Bible passage in one of the New Testament epistles (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). I realize this is only the perspective of me, apparently a neurotypical as per a test taken a number of years ago. Who knows, if I were to be retested on basis of latest research?! 

I shall now cease and desist the academics and new relational possibilities of autism, or on speculation of AI-human authorship. In these latter days it may become acceptable to let AI write your essays and may even become the acceptable assistant to help students graduate from college. What? Just a little more for me and my thinker. 😇

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[i] Calgary Sun, July 31, Aug 1, 2026.

[ii] Ibid., “Trump slams Canada with new 50% tariffs”, July 31.

[iii] James Stephens, Humanity’s Departure from the Creator and the Return to Truth: Restoring the Truth that was Lost  (Los Angeles, CA: James Stephens, 2026).