First to the Ring

This was an invite that I genuinely felt great accepting.
1. I'd never been to the MacMaster campus.  Tucked in a beautiful area of Hamilton, with lots of character.
2. I could barely remember my own iron ring ceremony.

The occasion? My nephew was receiving his Iron Ring, and he asked me to be the one to present it to him.  As the first of the "kids" in the family to graduate from engineering, it was a true full-circle moment.

Lou was happy and proud.  Very fortunate I was able to be there and be a part of it.

I knew the story, most engineers know it beforehand anyways.  But it was vague and so long ago that I didn't have other parts that were quite interesting.
1. Made in Canada: This is a uniquely Canadian institution. You won't find this exact ritual anywhere else in the world.
2. A Literary Touch: The ceremony was actually developed by Rudyard Kipling in the 1920s, at the request of Professor Herbert Haultain. Kipling understood that engineers needed a "calling" that emphasized the gravity of their work.

3. The Symbolism of Failure: One of the most sobering parts of the tradition is the origin of the steel. The rings (and the ritual hardware) are linked to the history of structural failures in Canada (the Quebec Bridge collapse was real). It reminds us that if we fail at our jobs, people pay the price.

Glad the day was nice.  Chilly but at least it wasn't raining.  It was a beautiful clear day.  The day before was dreary.
Always seems like someone was watching over us to clear the skies.

If it was crap weather, there would have been more fender benders.

Leaving the Macmaster area on the highway, an accident in the far left lane.  Young black kid in a Civic and an older white dude.  Guess who rear ended who.

Then getting on the QEW another accident with 3 cars, again in the left most lane.  No wonder our insurance is going up and up.  These folks need to chill the #f down when driving and pay attention.

Once nice thing about heading out to the Hammer.  I stopped by the Copper Kettle in Waterdown to bring home some fritters.  Unfortunately.  They stopped making the pear one, only apple now.   Still delicious!

If there's one reason to Stay in School it's this ratio of girls to guys. ^^^
My nephew and his engineering friends.

Do your best, work hard, and good things will come of it.

Sun sets on Art

The sun rises in the east, brightens our day and provides warmth as we go about our day, and then sets in the west.  Tomorrow it will do it again, regardless of what happened today.

There is a rhythm to life that we often don't notice until the tempo begins to change. We come together in the beginning, we gather through the middle years, and eventually, we find ourselves gathering once more to say goodbye.

Last week we said goodbye to our Tito Art.

It is a quiet, inevitable circle.

We go through our routines, like the rising and setting of the sun.  Change is always difficult.  We get injured, our bodies readjust resources to heal a wound.  And for a while we might feel some pain.

Saying goodbye is one of those instances when a piece of you is no longer there.  It feels different. Because the world you know has changed forever.  Something that can't be undone or replaced.  That in itself is a very powerful statement.  Acceptance is up to the individual to find what works for them.

There's no magic spell, or words, or fix.
But eventually the pain minimizes some so you can make it through today and continue on to tomorrow.  The realization that there is a piece of that person that is always with you, forever.  They gifted it to you, and no one can ever take it away.