Mike C Sees

Sympathize, with the different burdens we each face
Understand, even as we hope to be fully understood
Recognize and respect differences
Forgive, even as God forgives us

These are cornerstones of relationships - between family members, friends and even countries.

We’re getting ready for the Granite State Challenge here in New Hampshire, USA.  Here is some research I did for buzzer systems and practice questions.

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‘For those jobs that never get done’-that’s the motto of Rent-A-Husband, one of the latest new businesses to join the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce. Each Rent-A-Husband franchise sends skilled craftsmen to manage and complete entire projects that encompass everything from hanging pictures and installing ceiling fans to cleaning out garages and building decks. Recently local Rent-A-Husband General Manager Brandon Merkley was one of several ‘husbands’ to appear on the CBS Early Morning Show’s ‘Week of Wishes’ segment. The segment featured the story of how Merkley and the other volunteers gave their time and talents to renovate the ground floor of a home belonging to a needy family. For more information or to make an appointment, call Rent-A-Husband at 1-877-99-HUBBY or visit www.rentahusband.com.”

“Patron saint of Finland has his day, too — right before St. Patrick’s… ‘It’s really just a MYTH — in capital letters, ha ha,’ says Ottawa’s Ida Capern, born in Finland … We latched on to this goofy thing four years ago, when we started a St. Urho festival at the Arrow and the Loon in the Glebe’ in Ottawa, Canada.”

Mike Hendriks writes in the Kansas City Star that ‘Whereas St. Patrick allegedly drove the snakes from Ireland, what St. Urho did was rid Finland of locusts by shouting “Heinasirkka, heinasirkka, menetaalta hiiteen.” Which is Finnish for “grasshopper, grasshopper, go away!”’

Clearly Finland, Canada and Minnesota share a terrific talent to fire imaginations in the cause of late winter parties! Nice choice of Finnish recipes included in the original [Ottawa Citizen, Canada - Mar 10, 2004] article. Too bad its not online anymore, but there are lots more good recipes at the Canadian Friends of Finland. Lots of background on St. Urho by Googling Urho Minnesota. The University of Toronto Finnish Club has “The St. Urho Legend as of March 18, 1995: A Semi-Humorous Finnish Critique, by Prof. B. Vahamaki.”