Yes, this is Slim's Place finally back
on line. It's been a very hectic few months and not a happy time
but taking one day at a time seems to be working. I am starting to think
in terms of getting on with life and counting blessings instead of
dwelling on the sadness which the loss of a beloved husband inevitably
brings.
The blessings? The years we spent
together. They were the happiest of times even though health problems were
a constant for almost ten years. How could they not be happy times. Spending
those years with the love of your life at your side as we lived each day
of our retirement knowing how blessed we were to have one another as our
life's journey was on the last lap was in itself food for the soul. Finding
one another again after over 40 years was truly the greatest blessing of
all. How often does one get a second chance to spend their 'golden years'
with their best friend and love of one's youth. How could I not be thankful
for that.
Time is a companion that goes with us on
a journey. As we grow older it reminds us to value each moment, for it
will never come again. Unfortunately we too often learn that only as time
begins to wind down. When we are young we rush time whenever we can,
and once we are adults and parents ourselves we find ourselves working
to provide for our families every comfort and luxury our incomes allow.
What we too often neglect is the quality time we should be spending with
those we love and who need us a great deal more than they need all those
bells and whistles.
For those of you
for whom it's a first time visit, Welcome ! You'll find my site has no
particular theme and the topics can range from serious to frivolous with
particular emphasis on family and children. I am, as you will find as you
browse through the various pages, a very outspoken and concerned individual
but even when I go off on one of my political tirades it's motivated by
a very genuine concern for those who are going to have to live with the
results of the decisions and actions of those who are charged with securing
our futures and who have done a superb job of royally messing things up
in recent years.
Relax, I am not always
pontificating. Sometimes I even attempt to be amusing. My innate sense
of the ridiculous is quite well honed but then, at my age, thank goodness
it is. Otherwise I would have given up long ago and decided to grow old
gracefully in silence. As that is not the case it's only right I give you
fair warning I don't pull too many punches. I say what I think. Isn't that
one of the bonuses which accompanies the "Golden Years"? In all honesty
I do have to admit I've always been that way and it's way too late for
me to change now.
Petey, my very special
little buddy who passed away 3 years ago was from the beginning a very
large part of this site so his approval was a definite requirement and
I still miss him a great deal. He spent a great many years helping me maintain
the place as you will see if you visit Petey's Nook. My little site foreman
was an invaluable source of material through the years. All of those pages
shall remain a part of this site as long as the site exists. You will find
it, and a great deal more, if you check out the Site Directory Page. The
site has become so large over the years that it's the only way I could
think of to help out visitors so they didn't get lost around here.
Our adorable little
ShihTzu, Tuffy is doing a sterling job of filling Petey's shoes and has
found his own spot in my heart which equals that which belongs to Petey.
He isn't as tiny but he is every bit as feisty and loveable and I know
you will come to love him just as I have. Petey left me in very good hands.
He stuck around until he was certain that Tuffy would be able to take over
and only then did he decide it was time for him to fly away. Petey actually
chose Tuffy's first birthday as the day he would leave me. He was so tired
and yet he would not leave until he knew he was leaving me in good hands.
My very much loved Petey shall always share a very large part of my heart.
I miss him sitting on my shoulder supervising more than I can say. We were
together for so many years. More years than anyone can expect from a tiny
canary. But Petey always was exceptional and quite unique. Now his
grandchildren are with me to always remind me of that very special little
wonder who brightened our lives for over fifteen years.
There are quite a
number of pages here but hopefully you will enjoy browsing. You may not
always agree with me but I don't think you will be bored. I hope your children
will like the Holiday section as there are a number of original
children's Christmas stories there which I have written through
the years. Petey figured prominently in most of them in years past. I come
up with a new one every year at Christmas time. And there again Tuffy is
now filling Petey's shoes. As I have already said, I can be serious a lot
of the time but do also have an inner child always struggling to surface.
I guess you can put that down to the fact that I have never really wanted
to grow up and lose my imagination. Check out the Christmas directory in
the Holiday section for a listing of those stories. I think, and hope,
you might get a chuckle out of some of them. I did write a Halloween story
a few years ago also but it is for older children and tucked away on it's
own in the Holiday section.
My main interests
are children and family and are the reason I feel so strongly about things
and wax political at times. Quite a few times in recent years. I do worry
about our children's futures a great deal. The older I become, the more
I realize what a treasure and responsibility it is when we are given children
to nurture and love and I really only want others younger than myself to
not take time for granted as I, and so many others did when we and our
children were young. If I accomplish nothing other than that they might
take time to savour each moment more fully after sharing my thoughts and
reveries for a few moments I will have succeeded. I truly believe that
absolutely nothing is more important ... or more rewarding.
It isn't a requirement
you know that we all agree on every subject but being willing to respect
the opinions of others does lead to better communication, and that we most
assuredly must cultivate if our way of life is to survive. I do attempt
to avoid inflicting my political views on visitors to my web site as often
as I can restrain myself, however I will readily admit that I am somewhat
opinionated at times, particularly with regards to the welfare of children
everywhere and our very much cherished and precious freedoms. Most times
I do honestly make a sincere effort to try to temper that trait with a
degree of caution, as I certainly recognize that my visitors may not agree
with my point of view. However ... I make no apology for the occasional
slip so be forewarned !
"Our lives begin
to end the day we become silent about things that matter"
Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
An explanation of
why you will find so many pages on my site accompanied by the same MIDI's
may be in order. The vast majority of my pages are complemented by the
music created by my late husband who was a very talented musician. As his
MIDI's were always all created in real time and not with any MIDI software
program such as 'Band in a Box', which create the music for many, he stopped
actually creating new ones more than two years ago. He was not physically
able to play as he demanded of himself in recent years as he was afflicted
with Rheumatoid Arthritis and more recently lung cancer and this led to
his not being willing to create as many new MIDI's as he had done historically.
He did still play when he was able up until the past year when he simply
was not up to it. Les passed away on February 25th of this year. His suffering
has ended and he is finally at peace. I miss him more than words can begin
to express but I am so thankful that he is now free of the pain he suffered
with so little complaint for so very long. Had I not known him as I did
many times I would not have known the intensity of that pain as he tried
to protect me from the knowledge of how severe that suffering
actually was. He failed of course. I always knew but allowed him to believe
I was not aware as he needed to believe that.That was my husband.
His music will live
on here and with all those who knew Les and who also appreciated his music
and his very large web site MIDI Studio Consortium over so many years.
His site offered not only the music of many artists including himself but
also a very large section offering technical assistance to all and sundry
when it came to music on the web. As I am certainly not able to continue
to offer that assistance as I wouldn't know what I was talking about I
have sadly taken Les' site down. I was planning on leaving it up but knowing
how meticulous he was in maintaining his site I found that was not feasible
as the hackers and spammers made that impossible so I have taken the files
off line with more than a little regret.
I do have all the
music files( there are more than 3000 of them) and will be happy to help
anyone looking for a specific file if I can. Just send me an email ( you
will find the address on my site directory page) and I'll see if I can
locate the file in question. Les had almost 14 million visitors to his
site over the years and I know they found it a wonderful resource.
Please wander leisurely
through the different pages of our site, I sincerely thank you for dropping
by and I really do hope you enjoy your visit and will come back to visit
often. I do update as often as time allows so there will hopefully be new
content on a fairly regular basis as time goes on.
For a complete listing
of all pages and sections and instructions
for navigating this site
please just click below
MIDI " Because of You"
courtesy of my husband Les Gorven
Best viewed in 1280
by 1024 resolution
April 20th 2010
|