Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves. Abraham Lincoln

We might feel ashamed that slaves were ever owned in Canada and that is something to be ashamed of, but slaves were owned everywhere or almost everywhere in the world so why wouldn’t they be owned in Canada?

On August 1, 1834, “The Slavery Abolition Act” came into effect across the British Empire, (and from my research) this freed about fifty enslaved people in Canada. Why were only fifty slaves freed in Canada? Because forty years earlier John Graves Simcoe the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada brought in his “Act against Slavery” in July 1793.

This law did not abolish slavery, but it made it so no new slaves could be brought into Upper Canada (Ontario), or bought and sold. Children at the age of 25 were free.  This meant forty years later when the “Slavery Abolition Act” took effect across the British Empire only around fifty people were still enslaved and had the “Slavery Abolition Act” not occurred, slavery would still have ended in Upper Canada (Ontario).

About 4000 people were owned as slaves in Upper and Lower Canada between 1629 and 1834 (from my research.) Between 1800 and 1865 it is estimated up to 100,000 people came to Canada on the Underground Railroad escaping slavery from the United States.

Even though slavery existed in Canada the amount of slaves that escaped to freedom in Canada is far more than were enslaved in Canada.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King

It may seem too little too late when so many people were suffering under slavery, but slavery wasn’t new, it didn’t start with the Atlantic slave trade bringing people to North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Slavery had been a scourge in society since recorded history and still is a scourge in some parts of the world.

The question I ask is; if slavery existed for so long almost everywhere in the world why was it able to be ended in the 1700s and 1800s? People took up the fight to end it, and even though it went on too long, it was ended. Was everything done ideally and everyone treated equally and are we all feeling good about our past history? No, we are not, but we are not fighting to end slavery because that hard fight has already been won.

Slavery is in the bible, and we can point to street names in some of our cities, named after people who once owned slaves. We need to own our history, the good, the bad, what we are proud of, and what we are not proud of. I for one am proud to be part of a country and a commonwealth on the right side of history. Even though it took longer to end slavery in America, it ended.

People of courage, fortitude, and perseverance ended slavery. It was not easy, it changed everything, and people on both sides of the Atlantic fought to have it continue.

We should all celebrate emancipation month because the hard fight was done, and slavery was ended. Perfection is the enemy of the good, we may look at how things were ended and think it should have been done better, and perhaps it could have been. Here we are with the remnants of our past to deal with. It may seem there should be no remnants left, but not even two hundred years have passed since the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect.

We may think where is the perfect society we were promised? What perfect society? Where in the world has a perfect society existed? Where does everyone have as much as they want, and not be able to look at others with envy because they have more power, prestige, or money?

Are we focusing on past injustices? Are we missing what we could have now by focusing on what we didn’t have in the past? I am grateful the fight to end slavery is over, there is always injustice to overcome, and I am not convinced history could not have taken a different turn, and the slavery question still be with us to fight. Two hundred years is a small drop in the ocean of history. Thank you to those with the fortitude, courage, and perseverance who fought the scourge of slavery and ended it, and made the world better for everyone.

We have issues we still need to fight, we need to work together to make society better. Will we fight the issues, and not each other?

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and sheroes! Maya Angelou

Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it. James A. Baldwin

Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

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Thank you to everyone that reads my books, and a special thank you to those that leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and purchase an item I receive a small percentage of the purchase price through the Amazon affiliate program.

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. Anne Frank

Father’s Day was yesterday and celebrations took place in backyards, restaurants, and at whatever events kids think their fathers will enjoy. How blessed we are to celebrate Father’s Day. Even if our father is no longer with us, he is part of our life, however big or small a part he played or is still playing.

Now that we are grandparents my husband isn’t the only father to be celebrated. We had a lovely barbeque in the backyard. Our grandson was putting pebbles in his mouth and wanted us to chase him to take them out. Life seems more fun when there are kids around, everything is new, they laugh and we laugh watching their antics.

On Saturday I attended a Local Authors Showcase in the park put on by a Library in Brampton. It was a lovely event and there were ten children’s authors there unless I missed some, and my goal was to speak to each of them and ask if they would be willing to be part of Story Time with local authors reading their books. Everyone said yes, and now I have to make it happen.

If local authors can read their books to children then children meet authors. The books these local authors have written are wonderful. One author wrote about her dream of skating and lessons learned in hockey that aren’t about winning, Nancy Whiteford, “My Skating Journey,” and “It’s More Than Hockey.” Fiona E. Vander Wilp wrote “I Love Being Me,” and “My Shining Star.”  The first story she wrote and illustrated is about a child she taught as an Educational Assistant, and her books have taken on a life of their own. Paul and Tuula Reddit wrote about their beloved dog, “Schluberhound.” These were the authors on each side of me in the park.  

The mistake I made was not asking my husband to come with me. This was the first time I attended this event and I went by myself which made networking tricky, I had to leave my table to talk to other authors. Husbands and wives supporting their writing spouses were there in abundance so my husband would have had lots of people to talk and joke with. I think he would have enjoyed it if I invited him to attend, but I assumed (and isn’t that usually a mistake) he would not be interested.

Talking to other authors and hearing about their journeys is interesting. One romance author (and I thought I got her card) but I’ll have to do a little research to get her information didn’t start writing until she was fifty and most of the author’s there are writing more as a pastime than as a way to make a living.

To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard. Allen Ginsberg

Some authors hit it big and some don’t but it isn’t only the quality of books and the writing or illustrating, there is a lot of luck involved, but an artist or writer can’t be discovered unless they do the work. If they do the work who knows where it will lead? I believe we get more out of writing than just having something written. We are not the same person when we are finished writing that we were when we started. Writing is a gift we give ourselves and whatever rewards come after that are a bonus.

An author arrived late with his family and set up behind me, being the first visitor to his table he gave me a copy of his book. His daughter said, “Dad, you’re supposed to be selling them.” I have the book in front of me, a book of poems and prose, “Flowers on the Far Side,” by Jaspal Virdee.

There were about one hundred local authors as part of the Showcase and everyone had a book or books, and a story, but I can’t mention them all so I’ve mentioned the ones that were near me.

If you attend an event with local authors, don’t feel intimidated that if you talk to them they think you should buy their book. Feel free to talk to them, look at their book, take a card or bookmark, or buy the book if you want to, but feel free to talk to them. They would love to talk to you.

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. Stephen King

First you set out to write a book then very quickly you realize the book was set out to write you. Brandon A. Trean

If you really want to know yourself, start by writing a book. Shereen El Feki

Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

To subscribe, comment, and see archives or categories of posts click on the picture and scroll to the end.

Thank you to those that read my books, and a special thank you if you put a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and purchase an item I receive a small percentage of the sale through the Amazon affiliate program.

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

I think in a lot of ways unconditional love is a myth. My mom’s the only reason I know it’s a real thing. Conor Oberst

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and my daughter and son made breakfast. My daughter-in-law was hosting her family in the afternoon so they had to leave before my mother-in-law arrived. My son-in-law barbecued burgers and we had a lovely afternoon.

There is controversy about celebrating Mother’s and Father’s days in schools and I think this should be left up to the teachers to figure out what is best for their class. Maybe it would have been best if this didn’t become a big commercial holiday, but it is and if it is taken away over not everyone having a mother in their life, many of us will feel – one more thing is being taken from us.

I sent a bouquet of flowers to Mom through a local florist where she lives, and for the first time, she told me the flowers were not fresh. I’m not a person that likes confrontation, nor am I a complainer, but I think I should let the owner know instead of just taking my business to the local grocery store which is what Mom suggests.

If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother. Booker T. Washington

My husband picked up flowers for his Mom and the lady at the cash told him to pick another bouquet the one he’d chosen was not fresh enough. The one he gave his mother was beautiful and thanks to the lady’s advice will last longer.

On Valentine’s Day, the roses my husband bought were past their best. It is hard to get flowers that meet the demand these days when everyone wants to pick up a bouquet for their mother, but a few experiences with poor flowers and we’ll choose something else or at least somewhere else to provide our flowers.

Business is tough and if our customers don’t give us the feedback we need to improve, and instead take their business somewhere else without giving us an opportunity to make it right, we lose. So I am going to give them a call, I’ve developed a bit of a relationship with the owner over the years as I’ve called to send flowers to Mom. She deserves to know because quality control is only something we can improve if we know it needs improving.

There was a time when I wouldn’t have made the call. I would never use her service again and she would never know why. I like that we have independent florists; I don’t want small entrepreneurs to no longer be in business. So today I will make an uncomfortable phone call and hope she receives it in the spirit intended.

I hope everyone enjoyed Mother’s Day, it is more enjoyable if we still have our Mother to spend time with or talk to, but even if we don’t, even if we never knew our mother, she gave us life and the opportunity to live this life and that is something to be grateful for.

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest. Irish Proverb

It takes months to find a customer… seconds to lose one. Vince Lombardi

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Bill Gates

Thank you for reading this post I hope you enjoyed it. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

To subscribe, comment, and see archives or categories of posts click on the picture and scroll to the end.

Thank you for reading my books, and a special thank you to everyone that leaves a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and purchase an item I receive a small percentage of the sale through the Amazon affiliate program.