“Once upon a time not too long ago there were these two guys.  One guy was pretty big so he was called Big Guy. The other guy wasn’t so big yet so he was called Little Guy.  They were pals!  They loved to go on these adventures together and each time Big Guy brought his compass and Little Guy brought his whistle.  One day…………………….”

 

These words are taken from a relationship formed between a grandfather and his grandson.  They took shape through circumstance, imagination and love in a series of bedtime stories.  (We now share them as Big Guy and Little Guy Adventure Stories.)  They echo the joy of nurturing and the need for young boys to have a positive male role model. This relationship is an example of the unexpected that can happen to families at any time.  We can make plans but we can’t plan outcomes!  

 

As in most cases the outcome was a joyful experience.  Somehow, through the twists and turns of life, a father with grown children found himself as surrogate father figure to his grandson.  When a father helps rear his son and daughters there is an intuitive knowing the relationship will last a lifetime in some shape or fashion.  However, little thought, if any, is given to one day being a “father figure” to a grandchild.  Well it's happening!  

 

 

A WORKPLACE WELLNESS SEMINAR 

Engaging & Retaining Staff Through Generosity at Work  

 

TwinkleTone Productions provides educational & entertainment resources

to homes, schools, communities and places of work.  Our Generosity Seminar reflects a growing desire in the business world to look beyond self interest & help others. In addition to being an increasingly important career building skill, the seminar enhances workplace culture by impacting teamwork, loyalty, productivity and community profile.  

 

 

 

One day while discussing childhood memories with a friend, he mentioned that between 5:30 or 6:00 pm most days he would be outside playing with friends and would hear this distinct whistle. It was his dad's call to get home for supper. His mum would cook the meal; the kids would set the table; dad would come home from work and the family would gather for the evening meal. Married with children - that was a normal North American scenario in those days, 50 years ago.

 

Grandparents would come for the holidays and you’d visit with cousins in the summer. Family was family!  Yes, there were single parent families for one reason or another and yes, some folks lived alone, but both scenarios seemed few and far between.

 

I recall attending a seminar where a sociologist was giving a talk on the change in family structure. Apparently, families became increasingly mobile in the mid sixties and much of our extended family support was left in the dust. The typical family was changing. Statistics Canada has it in numbers.

Like many Canadians, I recently celebrated Thanksgiving Day with family. I find it interesting that we officially designate one day a year to expressing “thanks”. However, I’ve also noticed that there is an “awareness movement” occurring where people are tuning into “an attitude of gratitude”.

In North American society, it’s easy to get caught up in the seduction of consumerism and the constant focus of not having enough, or always wanting more “stuff”. How many times have you thought, “if I just get that new car, or buy a bigger TV, I’ll be happy”?  This can be a “soulless” pursuit, as we never reach a sense of fulfillment….there’s always one more new toy calling us.

According to Judith Timson, a columnist for The Globe and Mail newspaper, “recent research shows that the more genuinely grateful we are for the things we actually have in our lives (as opposed to what we don’t have that we secretly think we’re entitled to), the happier we are and the better our lives feel” (page F7, The Globe and Mail, October 6, 2007).

All of sudden my heart began beating and the challenge was on! I got my start close to VE Day. Voila, a bundle of joy delivered on the eve of 1946 - a kind of Preemie Boomer; blessed to be born into a time of peace, and prosperity; sort of marooned in the north west of North America. Nice gig if you could get it! 

We didn't so much pick up the ball, as we had it handed to us by a gutsy generation that came before. Along came: fridges and the Lone Ranger on TV; Jackie Robinson and Civil Rights; Pensions and Medicare (I'm Canadian!); JFK and Rockets to the Moon; Elvis and the Beatles;  The Internet and iPods. We boomers are the great receivers and the great adapters.

I’m trying to remember the first present I ever received.  I was four or five years old.  I think it was Christmas and Santa brought me a set of Roy Rogers’s twin six guns and holsters.  Very Cool!  Roy Rogers, the singing cowboy, was my first hero.  There was Gabby Hayes, his scruffy sidekick; Trigger, the smartest horse in the world and Dale Evans, Roy’s singing wife.  Happy Trails to You too! I would stand in front of the mirror and squint to look like Roy.  Nobody seemed to think toy guns for kids were a no-no in those days.  Then my cousin showed up for dinner with a really cool red cowboy hat!  Now if I just had that hat too……..

 

We were a pretty average middle class family when I was growing up, nonetheless, presents were special.  As I recall, I used to get one serious present at Christmas and another on my birthday (only a few days after Christmas, so it was like a double big bang time of year for me).

Had I been a child removed from mum, dad, sisters and a visit to Santa, I can imagine the trauma of no stocking hanging on the mantle, no tree, no presents, no Christmas songs to sing along with (“All I want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” and Gene Autry singing “Frosty the Snowman” were my favorites) and no turkey dinner!  I would have found a way to celebrate in some way.  No matter what! . 

This wasn’t going to be easy.  The place where we were staying had no fir or pine trees to chop down for a Christmas tree, let alone a stove to cook a turkey.  Heck there weren’t even any turkeys in that part of the planet.  What about gifts?  Presents?  Oh, what to do?  When in doubt call an emergency meeting!   We huddled up and agreed ….if there was a will there was a way…. we needed to capture that magic of Christmas spirit found in a child. The adventure had begun!

OK!  So how you doin?  Are you like me, with more than half a century behind you?  Let’s see; that’s more than 18,000 sunrises and sunsets.  I was scanning a web site the other day (lookin' at what Costa Rica has to offer) and apparently there are at least 77 million of us Boomers coming on stream (and I think that’s just in North America).

 

Most of us appear to be healthy and financially stable.  Many of us are apparently just fine with the way we are and content to live out our lives as comfortably as possible.  "Why not, we’ve paid our dues", we say.  (Oh, before I forget, check out www.50plus.com for a wide range of good information for Boomers …. those of us over 50 of course!).

 

Apparently we are also adaptable, mobile and experienced.  And some of us believe we are what is being referred to as the “transition generation”….human beings led by an intuitive knowing, co-creating a paradigm shift in consciousness and signaling an unparalleled surge of spiritual growth. 

                                                                          

 "Munky Bytes from Cascadia" is a zany series of good news vignettes that introduces our company philosophy thru the lens of a digital camera. The initial family of characters (Juli Ette, Mondo and DaMunk) profile real and imagined good news stories to viewers. In doing so, we demonstrate one example of our "Entertainment and Education Resources".  Any resemblance to real persons or monkeys is unintentinal.                                                                             

Cascadia pertains to the general geographic region of the Pacific Northwest of North America (an area Blessed with a wide variety of resources). We recently travelled the length and breadth of Cascadia and believe its contribution to joy thru generosity knows no limits. We live within its boundaries and it's a really neat place to call home.  Use of the name in no way implies ownership, affiliation with other groups or any serious political overture.  Nonetheless, we're kind of a "puppet" government, according to Mondo.                                         

Tony DaMunk referred to by some as “MunkyMan", is a playful personality with a bag full of different voices. He is the esteemed leader of the Banana Gang and our "Minister of Kindness & Silly Talking". 

Juli Ette is our intrepid (Inter) Net reporter. Always searching for a site with a joyful story, Juli loves the flair of adventure and positive interchange between our planet and its' inhabitants. Juli is our "Minister of Infinite Possibilities" . 

Mondo is sort of da Munk's co host….always needing things to be RIGHT!  "No, No, No”! That's about it for Mondo…He shoulda been a Perfector Director! Needless to say, he is our "Minister of Correctness" and token Monkey (no offense to primates is intended).  

Credits:  Created by Anthony White; Produced by Anthony White and Cathy Loewen; Filmed and Edited by Todd Jones; Production Assistants Jocelyn Matwe and Derik Johnstone.

Copywrite 2007 all rights reserved.