Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Every day is exciting

Since my lung transplant I have been very appreciative and thankful for the second chance I've been given and look forward to each day with anticipation and excitement about what the day will bring. Usually I say to myself "what will I see new today and who will I meet that will take my life in a different direction?"

This past Saturday I met many new people, enjoyed excellent entertainment and came upon some great finds at a flea market. I met the beekeeper above at the St. Jacob's Farmer's Market (just north of Waterloo, Ontario). Well, I guess he wasn't the real beekeeper but I asked another shopper to take the above picture of me for posterity.

The market is only a 10 minute drive from my home and I go often, but I never have seen it as crowded as it was Saturday. I guess the reason is because it was a long holiday weekend here in Ontario and the May 24th weekend is the traditional time people in this area plant their flowers; and there is no better place to browse among such a wide variety of growers and vendors. I spoke to people from as far away as Toronto who came specifically to get their spring plants.When I first arrived at the market, after figuring out a way to beat the traffic line-up, I came upon the above sea of humanity crowded in front of the Flea Market building. Then I heard the music and made my way to see what it was all about. The picture below tells the tale. A student band from Africa is in Canada to promote AIDS awarenes by performing at various venus, such as this (they were great!).


I didn't get a photo of the food area in the market building but it was very, very busy. After getting my sausage on a bun (with sauerkraut) and a drink, I had to wait and search for a place to sit down. It wasn't long before someone gave me their seat. In the short time I was in the lunch area, I met and had conversations with people from China, Japan , Europe and Canada. All were extremely friendly and I learned a lot about them. Our food, such as apple fritters and sausage on a bun, were unfamiliar to the Chinese group and they wanted to know all about it.

I also had a chance to tell my lung transplant story and promote organ and tissue donation awareness.

All in all Saturday was a very good day for me.

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