What’s Happening: Letitia and Maggie’s Good News Update (Part 1 of a 2 part series)

Part 1 of a 2 part series

There is More Good News in the World Than Bad

As Letitia was looking out of her window she noticed the beautiful orange and red leaves were starting to fall from the maple tree in her back yard. It was a reminder that it was time for Letitia and her good friend Maggie to have their annual rendezvous to update personal happenings and discuss the Good News that was happening around them and in the world in general.

As was their custom they met in the Good Aroma coffee shop located between their two homes. After getting their coffee and danish they started by exchanging stories about their children and other activities, including their summer vacations with their families. “We had a great trip to the Canadian West said Maggie. “It was the first time our children had seen the mountains. They loved all of the parks’ programmes and were beside themselves every time they saw a bear, moose, elk, or a bison. There were throngs of people everywhere we went. After being locked in because of Covid, everyone it seems is traveling, plus fewer Canadians traveling to the U.S. made the 2025 tourist season the busiest ever. The focus, I understand, is now on sustainable tourism all over the world, and the big push is not on getting people to come, but on managing the tourists.”

“We went to Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, home to many Indigenous Peoples,” said Letitia. “We went to a Pow Wow, saw and participated in Indigenous dancing, heard Indigenous stories, bought some beautiful and very colourful art, and talked with many Indigenous Peoples. The people were very welcoming and friendly.” Continuing Letitia said, “while on the subject of Indigenous Peoples, I just read a terrific Indigenous Good News story in the Owen Sound Sun Times. It was about Zach Keeshing, an Indigenous chef whose life work is to spread Indigenous culture through food. Zach is a member of the Chippewas of Nawash (near Wiarton) and runs an Indigenous restaurant in Owen Sound called Naagan. He has created a new ice cream flavour called SWEETGRASS, which according to the article, has a vanilla floral taste balanced by hints of natural sweetness. Zach has collaborated with CHAPMANS Ice Cream in Markdale, a very community minded company, to commercialize it. Chapman’s worked very hard to make this happen. The ice cream has become very popular. In fact, they entered into a competition in Greece at the International Ice Cream Consortium and tied for first place for the most innovative ice cream.”

“I can hardly wait to taste it.” “That is a great story,” said Maggie. “Talking about Great Stories, how about the Toronto Blue Jays and the world series? While the Dodgers won the series, the Jays, their fans and Canadians won in so many other ways. The Jays became Canada’s team, with millions of people from coast to coast to coast and many countries around the world cheering them on. The Jays were in last place in their division in June, then something happened. The team came together, they won their division, beat out the mighty Yankees, then Seattle and here they were in the World Series. Few people said they could beat the Dodgers, last year’s champions, and reputedly the best player in baseball, Shohei Ohtani, but after 5 games the Jays were leading 3 games to 2, with the last 2 games in Toronto.

“People everywhere became excited. The players attributed their success to the love they had for their team mates, most of whom were Americans playing for a Canadian team. Given current U.S.-Canadian tensions, this added to the drama and excitement. The whole country was in this together: Everyone had a Blue Jays hat, women in Hijabs were buying Blue Jay shirts for their children. People who never watched baseball were glued to their TVs and learned new terms like a squeeze bunt, a splitter, double play, a fly ball and ERA (earned run average), the list could go on. You could strike up a conversation with a stranger and in seconds you became friends because you were both Blue Jays fans. Journalists and politicians alike said The Blue Jays united the country and held us together for 29 days. Much of what the people saw will be a memory forever, like the Blue Jays relief pitchers putting 51 on their hats to show respect and empathize with Alex Vesia, one of LA’s top relievers, who could not play because of deeply personal reasons … family first.”

“Gone were the day to day worries of inflation, wars, and Trump’s machinations. What they saw in return, in spite of their lack of knowledge, were closely fought games, spectacular hitting lead by Vladdy Guerrero Jr., the pitching of rookie Trey Yesavage, who started the season in an a A league in front of 327 fans and finishing in front of 54,000 fans and many millions of TV viewers around the world, setting a strikeout record, clutch home runs and some spectacular double plays. Beyond the skills they saw what playing together can do, and the value of friendship and care for your teammates.”

“The fans were by this time a part of the team. Ernie Clement, who almost gave up baseball 2 years ago said after setting a record for the most number of hits in post-season play ‘What I will miss most are all of the guys in the off season, the camaraderie and fun we had.’ Either team could have won, in fact there were many who thought the Blue Jays deserved to win. It became at times a question of WHAT IFS. What if a pitcher had thrown a different pitch which ended up being a home run, a player caught off base and thrown out, a ball not getting stuck in an outfield wall and an unbelievable catch at the end of game 7. Would they have given the Blue Jays the Series? But it was not to be.’ People have said game 7 was the best World Series game ever. In the end the Dodgers won 5 to 4 in 12 innings, having won in a previous game after 18 innings. Fans were also caught up in the Jays desire and hustle, and the fact that they were all having so much fun. In reality we all won,” concluded Maggie.

“This year we have won in many other ways,” continued Letitia and “much has been by working together. My mother is in Rotary and told me their theme for this year is UNITE FOR GOOD. Rotary, whose motto is, ‘Service Above Self,’ has 1.5 million members in 35000 clubs, in about 200 countries. As a matter of course, Rotary Clubs and organizations from all over the world do unite and work together for the common good all the time through programmes, people, exchanges and common values. They are not alone, educational institutions, trade associations, business groups, bureaucrats, medical and other professionals also exchange people’s ideas and inventions all the time. These are the people who, through working together, make the world function.”

Till next time,

Chris Snyder

Climate Optimist

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