Thoughts of the Week www.silvaredigonda.ca

I really enjoyed Easter and still have to give my postman and garbage men their chocolate. You should always remember those who work so hard and are too often ignored or taken for granted. They make our lives easier. Yesterday I was mailing books at Shoppers Drug Mart and I noticed a woman as soon as I walked in because she was staring at me and told the Cosmetician I wanted to talk to her. I said no and continued to the post office. I had heard her call out to the Cosmetician as mama and I cringed. I have been called mama at times and found it rather insulting. I have been told that it is being respectful. The only one who can call me mama is Mr Attitude and he can't talk, for which I am grateful. Anyhow, the Cosmetician was about half her age and that made the bite deeper. On may way out, this unidentified woman was being stared at intensely by the women in the store (there were no men). One was a TTC operator and the rest employees. It was like a movie, where everyone turns, their eyes following a person, their faces stoic. It was actually creepy. My initial response was that they were prejudice. The woman of interest was black, with tight braids, under a cap and she walked with a lot of swagger. As she walked out, with me behind her, she grabbed a flower pot with a beautiful orchard in it and walked out of the store without paying for it. A store employee came out and called out to her which she ignored. That was as far as it went. It appears that everyone seemed to know her except me. It is getting harder to go out and not see trouble. I keep thinking of Chippawa and that house, which is asking too much for it, with no garage, nor backyard, but faces a Catholic Church which my decrepid body will be able to crawl into in my old age. I can walk along the empty street of Main Street and my brain is already visualizing a book, where people disappear and no one notices, as if they never existed. Yup, that is a good one. So, please do not use it. I will, when I go to a tiny town is Niagara Falls where nothing is as it seems. Anyhow, it seems that too much is happening in my town. I can't really blame employees for not arresting her. There has been so much violence that people just let the bad guys go in and out. Me thinks we have had about enough. As for myself, I am also caught up. I still have to do my income tax, which I usually have completed by now. I am working today so will try to complete the taxes tomorrow or next week at the latest. So for now, have a good week, stay out of trouble and let me know what you think of my books. I have strong shoulders. What do you think?

Ominous www.silvaredigonda.ca Happy Easter

It's been a week and as usual, I am behind

Give a reason to celebrate and I do. It is Easter season and I have been on an Easter hunt and will be delivering gifts like an Easter bunny. On the dark side, I am still contending with the results of being conned. I would like nothing more, than have the culprits charged and deported. I was reading an article, that cons are highly intelligent but lazy which prevents them from contributing to society in a meaningful way. I think people can change. I don't agree that they are all lazy. However, I enjoyed the article which I cannot share because they don't want it shared. I wonder why. So, having all your ID stolen, means you have to notify everyone and then have everything cancelled and then having everything sent to you new. It is a Royal Pain. Not only do you feel violated, but it is a lot of work. So, I have been playing more than usual to heal my wounds. I have been surrounding myself with the wonderful people I know and care about. I have sold some of my books, "Ominous" which I encourage you to buy, because it is my favourite to date. I was asked if I started writing my next book, but hey how can I quite now? I can barely keep up with my blogs to you? What I have to work on now is my taxes so I can get that out. I am still gathering info for my practice and then I shall start with my books. You know, I am pretty pleased with myself. Happy Easter everyone. I love this season more each year. My heart goes out to the States. I keep seeing that bridge falling which must be devestating for the families of the missing and those who have died. Russia - What can I say? I also feel sad for those killed and their families. Putin was warned but he didn't believe it because he is projecting. If you are a liar, than you think everyone else is as well. For example if one person is having an affair, he will blame his partner of having one. That is pretty routine. He is also blaming poor Ukraine as an excuse to continue his devestation on others rather than ISIS. I heard Robbie Kennedy on CNN and thought that if I was an American, I would vote for him, but I am not, so the jury is still out. There you are, all caught up. Now I have to load up some gift boxes, try to work on my taxes, work out, blah, blah, blah, Happy Easter world. Be nice to someone today. Mr Attitude is calling me.

For Love of Country - Military Policewoman - The Middle East Chapter continues www.silvaredigonda.ca

I was scheduled to travel from our camp to the other camp. I would be going with the Colonel as my jeep partner. There were several teams and we would meet up at certain points. At one point the Colonel and I found ourselves in the sand dunes. A truck holding numerous Egyptian soldiers began following us. As they were catching up, I sped up to get away from them. I didn’t even want to think what could happen if they caught us and I would not let that happen. I remember when we crossed the borders from Israel and Egypt, how the Egyptians would open our bags and go through our underwear, holding up our bras and panties for the other Egyptians. They disgusted me. At one point when I was walking on the beach, Egyptian soldiers were staring at me as if they had never seen a woman. At that moment I felt like taking every piece of clothing off me and tell them to take a real good look. Even while we were lying on our own beach, Egyptian helicopters would break the rules to came down low to look at the women. I told a fellow bather that war with these people would be successful if we were to bring in only the women soldiers. While they stared at us dumbfounded we could shoot them all. I said this as I was ingesting the flying sand blowing around due to the Egyptian helicopter hovering over us. That would be one way of winning a war. The truck was gaining speed and this was the Egyptians’ terrain, but I would have rather died than let them catch me. The Colonel never said a word until the distance between us grew further and they became a small stain on the horizon.

Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.” www.silvaredigonda.ca

For Love of Country - Military Policewoman continues https://www.silvaredigonda.ca

I was working a nightshift. One of the Dutch policemen told me we had to set traps for cats so that they could be put to sleep. It was an order from the camp Colonel. I disagreed with the order and told him so. However, I accompanied him while he got some fish and set the trap. A cat was trapped and he left it in the cage. The cat tried to tear her way out, causing her to bleed. The Dutch policeman learned that the vet was not available to put the cat down until after the weekend. Dutch was upset at the screeching of the cat, while I drowned out the sounds by listening to music with headphones. I reminded Dutch of what I thought and he finally let the cat go. Before the weekend was over, Dutch once again went to get some fish to set the trap. I was with him and saw the same cat. She sat just outside the trap and stood firm. None of the other approaching cats would enter the cage. I was amazed. The smell of the fish alone must have been a real treat after just eating their regular diet of the large rats I heard so much about. Yet not one cat or kitten would enter the cage. There seemed to be some silent type of communication. That day I developed a newfound respect for cats. How could they know and rationalize?” Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman. https://www.silvaredigonda.ca For photo check out facebook or X Ominous is now listed in Crime Writers of Canada

Crime rising in Toronto and Niagara Falls is a breath of fresh air

I missed the night news yesterday and boy did things happen. Apparently a NDP politician wearing the Palestinian scarf wanted a recogition for the country. There was some compromise. This compromise may have cost Trudeau his election. As for myself, I do not recognize any country led by terrorists and Hamas has been deemed terrorist. The Police Chief reported 989 hate crimes since Oct 7, last year. Hate crimes in Toronto are up 93% since last year (I won't even talk about the car thefts). Anti Semitism has been the most targeted, which increased after the Hamas attack on Israel. Where do I stand? I stand with Israel. I don't like what is happening in the Middle East right now. So many innocent people and children are needlessly killed. I feel the same about Putin in his war against Ukraine. What we need to think about is that dictators and terrorists are never satisfied and some of us have to take a wake up pill or smell the coffee. As Canadians we need to think about what direction we want our country to go. My mom used to say that Canada opened her arms to the world and she was being kicked in the behind by those same people. I really loved my mom. She was upset that I didn't want her Swiss duel citizenship for myself. What can I say? I love Canada and I love Toronto. However, I remember my dad complaining about change and I am obviously doing the same here. I am my parents. Good thing they had good qualities. I think that as Canadians, we need to each take a look at ourselves and ask ourselves who we want to be and how can we get there? The City of Vaughan which is just outside Toronto wants to create a bi-law to control all these protests, I am so tired of and which keeps me from going places I would have normally gone to. Protests are a right for democracy but this is getting out of control. I think and it is my personal opinion that it is contrary to my freedom. I don't like having my routes blocked by hatred. We have always, as Canadians been known as a warm and inviting country, but this will eventually change. The world is watching. We have always been able to get along. However, we were also on the same page as part of the Western world. We are not perfect, nor have we ever been, but we can all do our part. I have always detested protests. I remember when I went to the University of Toronto, I would be in class and looking out the window watching demonstrations on Parliament. It was loud and destruptive. I love silent demonstrations. When I was in Niagara Falls Sunday, I gazed at the roaring falls and thought that it was the kind of noise I yearned for - not angry voices, but the sounds of nature. I met a woman who had moved to Niagara nine years ago and she and her husband love it. So does their son, but he had to return to Toronto for work. She said I should move to Chippawa and that it was nice and quiet and lovely. We had actually driven to Chippawa's Betty's restaurant known for their fish and chips. "Do you like quiet?" She asked. "Yes" I replied quickly. But how quiet is quiet? I mean, my favourite place to live in the world would be New York. How quiet is New York? I love Disney World. How quiet is Disney World? I remember when I moved to the Middle East and lived in the desert for six months.....quiet.....When I returned I didn't want to move to PEI as I thought I would before going to the Sinai. I wanted city. But when we ventured to Chippawa and were driving along Main Street, I saw a house I am monitoring on the Realestate app. It is now being sold by a Toronto agent who is listing it as being 1km for the falls, which it isn't. It does not indicate it is in Chippawa. I would never use an agent outside the location I was trying to sell, but this house is having difficulty being sold. It looks better on the internet and bigger on the internet and it is asking for about 670 or so. It has a little church across the street which is ok for me. I could watch people going to church and maybe they have bake sales. I need people around me even if it is just on Sundays. I saw only one person walking a dog. I see animals from my home here all day long or anywhere. I even have treats for them. They have a grocery store, pizza shop, bakery place, tax place, tiny library and Tim Horton's all within walking distance so I can grow into old age nicely. The house has a basement apartment where friends can stay when they visit. The falls is 4 km away so it is a bike distance away. I saw a coyote which normally doesn't make me nervous, but there have been a few incidents here due to people feeding them. It is rather isolated so maybe I don't want to outwalk a coyote but probably can ride faster scared. Did that in the Middle East. Only I was racing away from a Fijian. Maybe the coyote is safer. I am thinking all this. I remember having dinner with my old professor, whom I miss so much since he died from COVID. He asked me if I was going to Niagara to die and he chuckled as he always did when making insinuendoes my way. I know people return to Toronto all the time after leaving because they are bored there. So, the question is would I be bored? As I ponder while typing, I don't really have days of boredom regardless of where I am. I need to be around people. I love people and that is why I have always had jobs/careers where I help people, and I have helped a lot. I know that. I know that there is the good, bad and ugly out there. I have had an encounter with the ugly the Sunday before last. But I also said a little prayer for them just once. I know that there will be a time that they will have to reflect on their lives and on who they have hurt. I have seen that from people many times. That is unless they are anti-social. Sociopaths are not all criminals either. Ok, I like people and I prefer multicultural with all kinds of differences and what unites us all - our compassion. I can see that at the Falls and across the street when people go to church. It is a tiny church and I hope it has bells because I love church bells. There is a theatre on Niagara on the Lake (suffering now because of costs). There is also entertainment at the Falls. I don't have to fight crowds to see a show. That is a positive. So will I like it? I don't believe they have protests. It is across the bridge from the USA. I love that. All positive. I also like their Mayor - another big plus. The woman I talked to said that the only thing she missed from Toronto is the food because of course we have everything here. She said it was changing there. I kind of like keeping Niagara as Niagara. When we leave a place and then try to make it like our place, we can also ask, do we really want to do that? I used to love going to Kleinburg. It was quaint and cute. Now it looks like an extension of Toronto with Monster homes. It's charm - poof. Food? Hey, if it has high tea and veggie burgers - I'm good. Yes. Ok, I think I am good. You know I also have my name on the list to live on Toronto Island. However, I shall probably die before being able to go there. I shall keep my name on the list. I am 250. They have 250 houses. That means that all of them will have to go. Of course, people drop out and others sell. So, let's say Mr Attitude dies. He refuses to do so, at the moment. I move to Niagara and feel like I am dying there because of the quiet and then I get notice that there is a house up for grabs - am I interested? Don't sweat the small stuff. It is all good. What do you think?

OMINOUS www.silvaredigonda.ca

Hi, I just want to let you know that I have finally posted "Ominous" correctly on my website. I am so sorry that I cannot post a picture of it here because they want cookies and I cannot do that for security reasons. Please check out my website which is a secure site on shopify. I went to Niagara Falls and it was breathtaking once again. Of course, I am once again behind but will post something for you tomorrow. Please take a look at my book cover and let me know what you think. For some reason you cannot click on it, probably the cookie thing. Just type out my name and it should work for you.