When I lived next door to your mom and dad, my hydro bills were so high, over $800 for two months that I finally had to look for another place. I was in the process of moving to that horrible place, if you remember it, across the road and the guy from hydro came out going to disconnect my service. Your dad tried to talk him out of it at first and the guy would not co-operate. Your dad told him I was waiting for a cheque which was true. Jon's doctor had asked me to quit work and stay home with him because his asthma was so bad and so unpredictable and I could barely survive on EI. Anyway the guy would not co-operate and said he had to do it, so your dad told him he could not do it because he had to dig out the snow around the door so it could be opened and told him there was no way he could do it right away, so the guy finally gave up and went on his way. My cheque arrived and I paid them that day.

So your dad saved me from a worst catastrophe and more than once. When I did move across the road, I did not have room for my big tv in the truck so I heard this knock on the door just before dark that evening, went out and there was your dad. He had carried my big tv across the road by himself because he was afraid the landlord might keep it on me.

The television was a big floor model and he had to maneuver it down the stairs from my side of the house and across the road by himself. He was so nice about it and so caring. He sure was a good man, with a real good heart for others.

He did so many kind and caring things he should be honored for each and every one of them.

Just thought I would share that with you. These are just two examples of his and your mom's kindness.

Anna

Dear Moya,

Thank you for answering my post. So good to hear from you. I forgot to include my email address yesterday in case you or your mom would like to be in touch.

I am so glad your mom is well. She was always very youthful when we were ladies of the manor on Waterfordbridge Road. It must have been very difficult for you when they went to Ottawa. You were so close. I am assuming you stayed in NL.

I know it has been a very difficult time for you since your dad's passing. I hope you find comfort in the loving memories and know that he is never far away. He had such a good heart he would never leave you.

The years move so quickly and life does quite a dance at the most inopportune times I find. I hope that all the pain you have come thru since your dad's passing has somehow cleared the path for a new, more joyful and most beautiful chapter in your life. You dad would want you to have such a reward.

All the very best,

Clothilde

Dear Clothilde:

Thank you so much for posting. Hearing from you brings back a lot of good memories of the old days. Mom is well and living in Ottawa.

I hope you and your son are happy and thriving.

Thank you again for taking the time to write your wonderful note.

Moya

Dear Moya,

I just noticed your website for your dad. I know it has been 5 years now and I am still so sorry you lost your wonderful dad.

I have not seen him for over 2 decades but I remember his kindness and caring when I was a struggling single parent and lived next door.

I remember your wonderful mom too. I hope she is well. She was a great friend to me during those years.

I hope you and your family are well and I wish you all the very best.

With Fond Memories

This is the anniversary of my father's death. Six years have passed. It's hard to believe.

I miss you, Dad. I think of you and wish you were here. We love you.

Love you, Dad. I miss talking to you a lot. Think of you and wish things were different. Wish I could talk to you again. I miss our conversations. Love Moya

Thinking of you on your birthday, Dad.

Dad, I miss you very much.

Love you always.

It’s been awhile since I got that call from Ottawa saying that you’d passed. And your death has really affected the family in the meantime. I think this has to do with the fact that we discount the influence of certain individuals in our lives until they’re gone. And then we only have our memories, mementos, and ‘should haves’, ‘could haves’, and ‘would haves’. Sometimes it feels like your funeral hasn’t ended; as if there’s something unfinished. Like there are still many tears and laughs to be spilled awkwardly and collectively before we can pick up and move forward.

As you knew, Grandpa, our minds have ways of playing tricks on us, and guilt, regret, and remembrance can be a powerful poison as well as a tonic. Some deaths bring families together, some drive them apart, and others simply solidify positions that were forming long before. And yours? Who knows. All I know is I think of you whenever I see blue Christmas lights. Take care. Love Daniel.

P.S. Shannon remembers you fondly and she loved playing guitar and singing for you during that visit from London to Toronto by train all those years ago. A decade now? How time has flown.

Dad, it's been five years to the morning you took your last breath. I will never forget that day and I'll never forgive myself for being too late to say good-bye. I watched for 45 minutes while you struggled to live and I closed your eyes when your body finally gave up its good fight. Karoline and I brought the boys to see you this morning, to say hi and to remember. Jack and Aaron both threw pennies in the wish fountain and I'm pretty sure that Aaron's wish was for you to be alive again. You never met him but he has a lively spirit that you would have enjoyed. Jack turns seven this weekend, becoming a young man much too quickly for my liking. Take care of yourself. We miss you.

Rob

I have many albums of Mason family photos, belonging to your first cousin the former Stephen Clark son of Moira, since 1993 Stephen A. Norris.
Stephen is now in the later stages of Huntington's disease and is a patient in the Continuing Care unit of St. Mary's of the Lake Hospital , Kingston Ontario

We are growing some organic herbs and veggies this year.

Red Basil



Nufar Basil



Oregano and Thyme



Roma Tomatoes



Ripening Romas



Summer Vegetables

An August Tea Party at My House. Some copies of Moby's book about his tea restaurant in New York are on the table. Notice the Raku vase centerpiece, created by Erin McArthur.

Bon Anniversaire, Grandpa! Le temps passe vite, n'est-ce pas? La vie ici est assez mouvementée. Le printemps et l'été ont été à ce jour belle de Terre-Neuve.

Certaines mauvaises nouvelles: Grand-mère est à l'hôpital. Elle s'est cassé la hanche. Pour la deuxième fois! C'est aujourd'hui le fete de Jacob, ainsi, et je parle avec lui plus tôt. Il a déjeuné hier avec Mary et dit qu'elle est la pire qu'il a vu. nous espérons que bientôt elle va mieux.

Shannon et moi sont en train de préparer pour les visiteurs d'été. Nous avons un ami de lycée qui arrive dans une semaine, puis Gerry, puis les parents de Shannon arrivent. Il sera le 22 août avant de la maison est encore calme.

Encore une fois, Joyeux Anniversaire. Je t'aime et que vous manquez

Jack, Aaron and I visited Dad's grave this morning. He would have been 81 today. It was a beautiful morning and the cemetery felt very peaceful. I gave each of the boys a penny to throw into a fountain near Dad's grave and asked each to make a silent wish. It turned out that they both wished they could see their grandfathers again (Aaron actually wished he could meet Dad for the first time). The sad occasion was made happy by the beauty and innocence of my sons.

Rob

Today would be my father's birthday. He taught me a lot about gardening and flowers, which he loved. This slideshow, with music, is my way of saying thanks for all the flowers and all the memories and all the love.

http://moyak.com/ron/birthday2009/

Miss you, Dad.

Love Moya

Moya,
Reading your words to your father, looking at the photos you send to him, made me cry. It is like me missing my mother. I know it is hard and after six years I miss her deeply.
Best regards for you and your family. I wish you well.

From BC, Ely

I wish you had more visitors here.

Love you

I haven't owned a television for about 15 years, but recently I started watching Frasier online at Justin TV. It makes me miss my father that much more. I love you, Dad.

Hi, Dad:

I love you!

My father really liked windmills. He bought me one when he was in Holland in the early 1990s. Here's a windmill sculpture from the Guggenheim.



Always love you, Dad. Miss you.

Dad, it's been four years since you've left us. This morning, Jack, Aaron and I said a little prayer for you and remembered the hour of your passing. My boys have grown healthy, strong and beautiful over the years. Jack, who called you Grandpa Bobo when you were still with us, turns 6 on Saturday. We are having a great big party for him and his friends. Aaron, who never met you in life but who has heard much about you, turned 3 in December. Life is not always easy but the boys are a true blessing that I'm very thankful for.

There is a terrible snowstorm in Toronto today but we plan to visit you in the next couple of days. I hope you are warm and happy wherever you are.

Love,
Rob

Hi Grandpa,

I’m thinking about you today on this morbid anniversary. I don’t think about you often, and I’m sorry for that. I’m still in that young, self-absorbed stage of life. When I do think about you, I picture you bent over the oven on Waterford Bridge Road, pulling out a tray of all-spice cookies early in the morning. I remember you made so many cookies that we had bags upon bags of them in the deep freeze for weeks. And I remember you in your big orange coveralls that you probably got through your offshore work. No matter the season, planting bulbs, shoveling snow or trimming trees, you had those coveralls on. I remember you had them on when you built me a snow fort with a wooden ceiling and pillars to support it… I just want you to know that I have fond memories of you and I miss you. Love, Daniel.

I've had a difficult time getting over my father's death. When I read the following quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, I thought it might help others who read here.

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it... You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

My father didn't live long enough to see Barack Obama become president, but I know he would be thrilled. He raised me with a healthy respect for civil rights, justice, freedom, and public consciousness. I remember he gave me a record album of Martin Luther King speeches. The accompanying book had the text of the speeches and photographs. One thing I thought as I cried my way through Obama's acceptance speech was that Teddy Kennedy lived to see a man like Barack take the presidency. When his brothers were assassinated there was a lot of speculation that their concern for freedom and civil rights, in part, led to their deaths. I am thankful that Teddy lived long enough to see their dream come true. I hope Caroline will play some role in the new cabinet.

Congratulations to the Obamas!

Miss you, Daddy.

I miss you, Dad. I thought you would like to see the Lady. Miss you very much.

Love Moya

Thinking of you, Dad, on this sunny Sunday afternoon. I am in the midst of reevaluating my life and deciding on what to do next. I wish you were here to talk and walk me through; a man who remade himself so many times and who had so many interesting careers. Love Moya

Hi, Tracy, I am glad you have found comfort here. My Father would enjoy knowing. Thank you. I hope in the days ahead, you will find your way through the darkness.