This post comes from the fertile mind of my friend Paul Curran.
Alexander Rossi – Afternoon Tea
http://framingpainting.com/painting/afternoon_tea-20714.html
Your Barista – Paul
Your guest blogger, Paul Curran.
If We Were Having Coffee
Welcome to Willow’s weekly coffee and tea garden. My name is Paul, I’ll be your barista today and I’m happy to be here once again. This week Willow is traveling over the holidays and we’ll be meeting here at Mark Bialczak’s Little Bitty in Syracuse, N.Y., instead of Willow’s home. Please come in and make yourself at home. Mark, his wife Karen and their pooch Ellie B, have prepared a nice, comfy place for us in the living room, so I can tend to your needs for a cuppa, and sweets. The weather today is familiar to those followers from England – low forties (about 6 Celsius – same as London today) and light rain. As usual, I’d be pleased to bring a pot of whatever beverage you prefer – we have a wide range of teas and coffees to satisfy our world-wide readership. We can relax with a cuppa and calorie free electronic sweets while we discuss the affairs of the week both personal and/or worldwide. Ellie likes to be patted, so please indulge her when she greets you. How has your week been?
I see the American police have shot to death another young black man in a suburb of St. Louis, Mo., not far from Ferguson. According to all reports – there are no disputes of the circumstances this time – he pointed a loaded gun at police when they stopped to investigate why he and some friends were in the yard of a closed service station. After warning him, and he wouldn’t put the gun down, they shot him. Seems pretty reasonable to me, and yet still there have been riots. Why people would riot when there was no discernable mistreatment, is beyond me. Apparently they think they have the right to threaten the lives of policemen with no consequences. I’m sure they will discover otherwise. What do you think of this latest incident? Will this be repeated over and over or do you think it will naturally die down?
Instruments of Money Laundering?
Would you like anther cuppa or perhaps a sweet? Now here’s an interesting article in the Globe and Mail – Canada’s national newspaper: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/gift-cards-are-they-a-gift-to-crooks/article22205928/ Have you ever wondered how thieves launder money – just exactly how they make money disappear and then reappear elsewhere with no link or trail? I’ve often been curious about this, even though they say that organized crime uses real businesses to do this, it often occurred to me that all money coming into and out of a business is recorded and anyone who investigates closely could find this money. Apparently a number of new ways have been discovered by the criminal elements to do this, all a result of modern technology. The trick is that gift cards and prepaid debit cards are not considered financial instruments in Canada, so no record of who is buying them or how many are bought by one person is kept. In addition, there are no rules around crossing borders with them. So, a criminal can buy say $100,000 worth of prepaid debit cards, put them in his pocket, cross the border to the country of his choice and then convert the cards back to cash at an ATM with no cost or penalty and no risk at all. A money launderer’s dream.
The government has just figured this out and is rushing to pass legislation here in Canada to register all gift cards and prepaid debit cards. I have no issues with this – even though I’m anal about privacy. After all, any money in or out of a bank account has records, so should these cards. So, if your spouse gave you gift cards or prepaid cards of any type for Christmas, be careful, she could be using you to launder her money. Ha! So what do you think about the loss of privacy in order to make it more difficult for criminals or terrorists to move money?
Yum, Yum, Nom, Nom, Nom.
http://www.thymeinourkitchen.com/2012/07/classic-lattice-top-cherry-pie.html
On a personal note, this week passed has been quite productive for me in writing. It was peaceful as I have no relatives within about 2,000 miles. I watched some old Christmas movies and wrote. I also got caught up with reading blogs – I had gotten abysmally behind and had over 1,300 email notifications in my in box. Although I spent most of the week by myself – except for short forays out for groceries (including a humongous 2-pound cherry pie on special – Yum!) and supplies – I seldom feel lonely. But, you know some people are a lot more sensitive to loneliness. I was waiting on the porch for my ride to dialysis earlier this week when a Pakistani man who I had seen around in passing, came home and stopped to chat. He has lived here (there are about eight apts) for about 2 years – a bit more than me – and our chat turned to how seldom we meet any of the other residents. He told me that no one would speak to him. He said that he had no friends and I was the only one who had spoken to him. To emphasize this he mentioned that he had been in the hospital recently and had no friends or next of kin anywhere in North America – he had to give the nearest contact as being in Pakistan. He has a heart defect and cannot work so he had no colleagues either. When he was studying in Toronto, he had to use his department head as an emergency contact and even then could only get permission to use the office phone number for the contact.
Feeling Alone in the World
http://www.espncricinfo.com/engvind/content/image/303285.html
So, here he is over 10,000 kilometers (about 6,600 miles as the bird flies) from home and does not know a soul, even after living in Canada for many years. He sounded so sad and lonely. This time of year when people all around us are celebrating, is hard on those with no social ties. I try to keep that in mind when I celebrate. Do you know anyone who is lost this time of year?
That’s about all we have room for this week, so it’s time to settle in with another cuppa and pat Ellie B. Sweets anyone? Please join me in thanking Mark, Karen and Ellie B for their invitation to tea. We are all honored that you dropped by today to visit. I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself and the conversation and please look around at Mark’s other posts while you’re here. Have a great week. We look forward to seeing you for tea next week back at Willow’s.
Keeping Your Seat Warm
All Dressed Up And Looking Sharp
Our Gracious Hosts this week have been, in order: Ellie B., Karen B., and Mark B.
Mark Bialczak 
Mark, thanks for featuring Paul. I really enjoyed reading his post. Good stuff.
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Hi Kate! Thanks so much for dropping by for a read. I am pleased that you enjoyed the post. I wish you and yours a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
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Very cool! I love that Paul dropped by for a visit! 🙂
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Hi Rachel! Sorry to take so long to get back to you. Thank you so much for the compliment. It has been a pleasure to be able to guest post here with Mark. I hope all is well with you and yours and I wish you a very Happy New Year.
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Thank you! I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year as well. 🙂
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Hello all! What a clever dog, Ellie. Greeting all guests so graciously.
The pie looks delicious.
Like you, it is a confusion as to why people after a deadly incident or accident seem to run only on emotion – or facts as they would like them to be – instead of actual facts and evidence. I fear there are those exploiting the grief and anger of some for their own agenda.
There was a young man (20) shot at 3 am Christmas Day not far from here: the bar owner called police as there was a gun battle going on outside in the parking lot (started inside). Police arrived, Saw a man shooting into the crowd. Identified themselves multiple times and ordered him to drop gun and get down on ground. Multiple times Instead he turned pointed the gun at police and shot. Police responded in kind. There is video. Now his mom and “local activists” are loudly say he would never did that and they don’t believe it – and protesting in multiple places ( with an activist that is paid over $1,000. a time to show up at a protest). What is wrong with people?
The behavior of the Umbrella protestors in Hong Kong is so different.
Money laundering is a big thing with the cartel/prostitution/human trafficking crowds – they get so creative. Difficult to keep up with them.
Sigh, think I should turn the news off and go back to listening to carols or soothing music
Well, it is a nice change to have pleasant conversation and a lovely dog to chat with.
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great post, paul and you couldn’t have better hosts. karen and mark are the epitome of gracious. i’m most interested in the giant cherry pie, makes me hungry and i feel a sadness for your neighbor who is so isolated and alone. i’m glad you’ve reached out to him. the money laundering is a surprise and very clever from the criminal’s perspective, i wonder if there will be any laws enacted to curtail this practice ?
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Hi Beth! I am pleased to see you drop by. Thank you. Yes, Mark and Karen and Ellie are wonderful hosts. It’s fun to write these posts with a whole bunch of topics. To answer your questions, here in Canada they are scrambling to cover this loop hole, so if you’re going to launder any money this way, you need to get it done soon. Ha! have a great New Years Beth!
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Great post Paul! I love the variety of topics and although we might disagree on the conclusions drawn, you never fail to entertain. Give my pal Miss Ellie B a pat for me.
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Hi Barb! Thanks so much for dropping by for a read, Just out of curiousity, which conclusions do you disagree with?
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That’s where having a flexible memory comes in handy. Offhand, I can’t remember a single one!
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Ha! I was thinking it would make a great standard comment ” Great post even though I don’t agree with the conclusions” Ha!What?What? What conclusions? You could even use that comment on the weather channel: “Sunny and warm today” ” Great post even though I don’t agree with the conclusions” ha!
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Paul, I had no idea you had a regular Sunday schtick over at Willow’s blog. How did I miss that?
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Thanks for dropping by Doob – great to see you here. Yeah, i don’t advertize the Sunday coffee at Willow’s very much. I did the first time which was a few months ago but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, if you’ll pardon the expression. She gives me the freedom to program content and the format has to be within the “chat over coffee”. This is a good learning experience for me and strengthens my writing. That being said, my personal style has always leaned towards story telling. Willow is an excellent hostess and does excellent editing – I learn something from her every week and will continue to do so as long as she’ll have me. I encouage readers to drop by for a boo. She does a matching post usually on the same day where she describes what is happening in her world. It is interesting how topics of discussion sometimes overlap and sometimes are completely separate. Thanks again for the visit Doob.
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How sad for your neighbor. Maybe he can be encouraged to reach out and find others, who like himself, are alone in a huge place. I like the blogging idea. But what about reaching out to others in need? Joining organizations who help in soup kitchens? Delivering meals to home bound? I know it’s not everyone’s cuppa. But for everyone, there is something. Maybe getting him to talk more about what he misses would get him to think of ideas he could explore here.
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Hi CM! So pleased you dropped by for a chat. When I spoke to my fellow tenant, I was surprised by his confession as he seemd such a friendly and approachable person. I’ve said hello to him everytime we pass (as I do for most that I recognize) and I guess he felt comfortable stopping to talk. He seemed to be unburdening himself to me so I listened. Your ideas are good CM and the next time I see him I’ll mention them – in context of course. Thank you very much for youe comment.
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You’re welcome Paul. It’s shocking, oft times, finding out the status of those around us. As a rule I don’t think most people I know are uncaring or disinterested. I think they don’t “see” the sadness, or loneliness. I’m glad you saw, and heard him. I’m glad he took the opportunity to speak with you. I hope for good things to come of it for him.
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Thank You Mark for giving me this opportunity to guest blog here. When you introduced me at the beginning as having a fertile mind, I had to pat the top of my head to make sure no flowers were growing from the fertilizer there. Ha! Have a great weeknd Mark.
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Paul, you know that you are welcome to guest post here whenever the mood strikes. It’s truly an open invitation. When I typed fertile mind, my nose crinkled. Reflex action!
Thank you for this thought-provoking post, as your Sunday work at Willow’s is every week.
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what a nice blog. I feel sorry for that man. That is why, where i live i try to introduce myself to any new neighbors. Some reckon I am a ‘what do you call it??’ snoop. but i was bought up to be compassionate and care in a basic waya for my fellow man. I know of others from Northern Pakistan, who are displaced and are like that gentleman. Get the man blogging….it may fill his day.
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Thanks for dropping by Louise. That’s actually a good idea about getting him invovled in blogging. I must mention that to him the next time I see him. It can be very difficult this time of year for those who are alone. I hope your holidays were restful and joyous and may your New Year be prosperous.
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why thank you.. actually i was on my own..but i am used to it and it was good not to have to ‘pretend’ like we can at some gatherings at this time of year. I also got a chance to listen to the silence.
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Some people assume people on the lone path take it by choice, but that’s not the case always. Good point, Louise. Maybe blogging will help him. But further conversation definitely could help.
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