Home  >> Stories  >> The Tale Spinner #2018-23

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IN THIS ISSUE

• In this Heroic Story, Sharlene O´Neill remembers some extraordinary help
• Shirley Conlon sends the seniors´ illustration for the month of June
• Rafiki sends her answer to my question in last week´s edition
• Barbara Wear shares a thoughtful piece about loss
• Catherine Nesbitt forwards many facts about Newfoundland
• Sites are recommended by Barbara Wear, Don Henderson, Kate Brookfield, and Tom Telfer

Sharlene O´Neill from Ontario remembers

SALVATION IN A MALL

Growing up in the suburbs of Toronto, I didn´t have many places to go. Mostly I hung out with friends in a park, a hockey arena, or Markville Mall in Markham. I also worked at the mall, so I spent plenty of time there.

The mall was somewhere to socialize and work, but not the most important place in my life. However, when I returned home in my late twenties as a disillusioned single mom, I headed there once again to look for work.

There had always been a cute little store called "Ko´s" upstairs by the food court that sold high-end giftware. I decided to apply there. The owner, Lindsay Ko, called me a few days later. Although he couldn´t offer me a full-time position, he said he would still like to meet with me.

My first impression of Lindsay was that he was an exceptional listener, and very good-natured. I had a lot of experience in retail management as well, and we found that we shared many basic principles. He was a very smart businessman. He had owned the store since the mall opened, and it was one of the only independent stores left.

We talked for two hours - the longest job interview I´d ever had! Because of my parental responsibilities, I wasn´t sure I could take on two jobs. Lindsay was very understanding; he had some of the same concerns in his own life. He invited me to come in and work any time I wanted.

I had never been given such an open door - especially not by someone I had just met!

I spent five years working part-time for Lindsay, plus full-time elsewhere. At times it was tough to juggle it all, but for the most part Lindsay let me make my own schedule. He also gave me creative license with visual merchandising, and his store became a great social venue for me, too.

Lindsay´s guidance, support, and friendship were exactly what I needed. His clarity, open-mindedness, and humour helped me make good choices. He never judged me, and was always encouraging and optimistic. He´s one of the most positive people I have ever met, and remains an influence on me to this day.

That store was a refuge for me; I was always welcome, and always left smiling. I went through some difficult times during those years, but working for Lindsay made everything easier to manage. I truly believe that he and his employees helped me find inner strength, love and faith that I may have left buried otherwise.

As I look back, I´ve come to marvel at what a wonderful guiding light Lindsay Ko was for me and for others. Likely he doesn´t even realize it, because that is his way. Now that I´m more settled and happy, I want to pay tribute to a man who has given so much to so many people.

E-mail subscriptions to HeroicStories are free. Sign up here: HeroicStories.org.

Shirley Conlon sends the June page of the calendar as portrayed by seniors in a home in Germany:

THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH

Ingeborg Glolbass, 84, and Erich Endlein, 88

CORRESPONDENCE

In answer to last week´s question about the different conclusions drawn from the two baseball stories which involved two young boys with developmental and physical disabilities, Rafiki writes:

I choose to agree with the conclusion to Shay´s story. It was a win-win situation! In my mind, every team member and everyone in attendance learned some of the greatest lessons in life: compassion, understanding, and giving of ourselves so that others can be encouraged to reach for the stars! No-one would forget that special day. No doubt it would touch each one´s soul to the core. It touched mine!

Barbara Wear forwards this

QUIET READ

Read quietly then send it back on its journey

To realize
The value of a sister/brother
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.

To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly-divorced couple.

To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
Who has given birth to
A premature baby.

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize
The value of one second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:
LOSE ONE.

Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have. You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.

Catherine Nesbitt forwards this thoughtful piece:

NEWFOUNDLAND - WHO KNEW?

Enough Newfie jokes already! Did you know that Newfoundland was

The first to respond to Titanic distress signal.

The first to vaccinate for smallpox.

The first to host a transatlantic flight.

The first to have wireless communication in the world.

The first place to discover proof of the theory of continental drift.

WE HAVE . . . .

The oldest street in North America.

The oldest city in North America.

The oldest rock in the world.

The oldest continuous sporting event (Regatta Day rules! )

The largest university in Atlantic Canada.

The most pubs per square foot in Canada (George Street)

The longest running radio program in North America.

Caught the world's largest invertebrate (giant squid.)

WE ARE....

The funniest people in Canada (ask anybody.)

The sexiest people in Canada (MacLean's magazine survey)

The only Province that has four identifiable flags.

The only Province able to land the space shuttle (Stephenville.)

The most giving people in Canada (Stats Canada.)

The most sexually active people in all of Canada (what else are we gonna do?)

A NEWFOUNDLANDER...

Built the world's first artificial ice arena

Invented the gas mask

Was once governor of northern Rhodesia

Was with Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg

WE ARE THE ONLY PROVINCE TO HAVE ITS OWN...

Encyclopedia

Dictionary

Pony

Dogs

Cultural publication

By reading this, you now know more about Newfoundland than ... well, almost everyone! Send this e-mail along to all your friends and let them know what a great place the Rock really is! If you are a proud Newfie ... you will definitely send this along to others ... and if you are not a Newfie ... you probably wish you were!

SUGGESTED SITES

Barbara Wear forwards this link to a site with 16 photos which show that Japan is a country like no other:

Barbara also sends this link to a video of the birth of the Model T Ford:

Don Henderson sends the URL for a video from the Rochester Institute of Technology featuring the "Escherian Stairwell," an impossible creation which violates the laws of physics:

Don also shares this link to a video of the rescue of a young humpback whale in the Sea of Cortez:

Kate Brookfield forwards this link to a Facebook site that shows "Kevan´s" friends carrying him around Europe for three weeks. Kevan has been in a wheelchair all his life, so this was an experience of a lifetime:

Tom Telfer shares this Facebook site which shows how the StairSteady helps you to keep your independence on the stairs while staying safe:

The Aquaduct is a bike that cleans water as you pedal. It is designed for the developing world, where women typically transport contaminated water and must boil it at home, wasting wood and energy all along the way.

In this TED talk, Olga Yurkova tells about the fight against misinformation and two critical ways we can ensure we´re not reading or sharing fake news: