[Magdalen] Mike Logsdon

[Marion Thompson]

In my particular part of the world around Port Hope and Cobourg on the
north shore of Lake Ontario we have been spared much of the COVID-19
impact, although inland in Bobcaygeon near Peterborough an old folk's home
suffered great loss.  Indeed, I haven't heard of anyone in my wider circles
being hit, which is a very good thing.  Other than a trip for groceries
(how great is it that my favoured Metro store in Cobourg now sells beer and
wine) and  a weekly stint at a foodbank in Oshawa I am content to stay
home.  Perhaps too content, for I have settled into a lethargy that will be
hard to overcome at some future date.  With my gimpy hip slowing me
down physically it is all too easy to spend time, well, just spinning my
wheels.  The food bank is a sad shadow of what it has been in more usual
times.  Folks come in upstairs and a masked runner comes down with the
order to be filled, so contact is minimal.  Before, the client would come
down and I'd know who I was dealing with.  My area is frozen meats and
meals and dairy and bread.  I could match the food to the clients,  giving
them all-important choices instead of take it or leave it, knowing who
loves fish and seafood, what ages children may be, knowing the Africans and
West Indians would take much more adventurous foods.  Now, sadly, all the
relational human contact is missing, being able to commiserate over lost
partners, depression, just ask how it's going in this group one sees
regularly.

I go to the church once a week to sign whatever cheques our bookkeeper may
have left for me to sign.and I still produce the weekly newsletter
consisting mainly of our priest's reflection on the weekly readings .
Others distribute it electronically.  Our church and our priest are in a
very peculiar situation!  As I probably said back awhile, he announced near
the end of Feb that April 19 would be his last Sunday and that he was off
to St. Gregory's Abbey in early May to put his vocation to monasticism to
the test..  Little did we know that March 6 would actually be his last
working Sunday!  Our area bishop has someone to place with us, but with the
church closed there is no job.  Our priest meanwhile can't cross the
border.  He's got the green card and all that, but he's not American and
that trumps (!) all.  His incumbency has now been extended to June 1st, at
which time who knows where we'll be.  He is still livng in the rectory  (I
wonder what, if any, progress he may have made in dealing with this
Victorian pile's contents).

My two bird feeding stations came down last week.  The first had rusted at
ground level, the second one was bent right over.  Rumours of a bear around
town going for feeders, but surely I am well away from where it was
sighted..  Who knows?  Now, what to do.  A church friend came by and
literally unscrewed the second pole from the ground, thanks to its auger
base..  The first one's auger will remain underground forever..  I am
frustrated by my lessened physical ability.  Grrrr!

Having said that, I bought a treadmill last weekend (curbside pick-up).
Two strong lads muscled the heavy box into the back of my car and I took it
from there.  Over the next three hours, I managed to unpack the box in
situ, get the main part into the house (only casualty was the plastic
casing of my car's rear light), assemble it, and plug it in .  Yay!  The
box says 'two people', but in my world that isn't on.  I overcome that with
grim determination and pride in being Can-Do.

I do a daily 30 minute stint on my stationary cycle and now can walk as I
should.  I am still pushing along with Duolingo's Scottish Gaelic daily.
Some of it is more familiar to my ear than I ever thought it would be, but,
oh my, the complexities are increasing as I progress and what I thought I
knew has given way to more rules and exceptions.

Not much else happening at this end.  It being Sunday there are plenty of
live stream services to watch, however bare bones they may be.  That is the
case through the week as well, with several churches doing the Offices.
Lots of time to consider what it's all about and whether all is well with
my soul.

All for now.  Stay well, everyone!

Marion, a pilgrim

On Sun, May 3, 2020 at 8:41 AM Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Thanks for this news of Mike, Chris.  In these times I wonder if he was an
> early COVID-19 patient or if it was something else.  Whatever, I am pleased
> to hear that he is out there and I look forward to hearing his news at some
> time .  We all matter.
>
> Marion, a pilgrim
>
> On Sun, May 3, 2020 at 8:00 AM Christopher Hart <cervus51 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> After Marion mentioned that we hadn't heard from Mike in quite a while I
>> sent him a message off list, but I got no reply. So yesterday I reached
>> out
>> to our good friend Brian Reid who I knew had been in touch with Mike off
>> and on. He said he would check on Mike. This morning I found this message
>> from Brian.
>>
>> Mike's reply:
>> “Oh heavens!  Now I really do feel guilty for not updating the group!
>> Please tell them I spent several days in hospital in late-Feb due to a
>> scary, life-threatening experience I'm slowly but surely recovering from,
>> and that someday in the foreseeable future a detailed update is coming.
>> And thank them for their concern! “
>> --
>>
>> Christopher Hart
>>
>> List Mail Address: cervus51 at gmail.com
>> Personal Mail: cervus at veritasliberat.net
>> Twitter: @cervus51
>>
>