Bill Adams

Remembrance Day

I received my 2026 Digital Poppy “offer” in my email today from the Legion National Foundation, and immediately made my “electronic” donation, obtained the “download,” and “uploaded” it to my Facebook page.

While a cynic may claim that the digitization of this honourable symbol of service and sacrifice by Members of our Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police weakens the significance of this emblem, I like the modern look of the image and the fact that it can be posted on various social media platforms, personalized to a deserving Canadian.

Reframing

For many years I carried a profile quote on my e-mail signature block by the author and spiritual teacher Dr. Wayne Dyer: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

At the time, Terry was in the final edit of my book, Stories to Tell My Daughters Before I Die, a memoir of my life and service with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I was looking for an overall philosophy of adaptation to the many challenges that I captured in my book, both from a career and personal perspective.

Free the Bears

The People’s Democratic Republic of Laos is a small country in Southeast Asia, landlocked and surrounded by Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and China. During the time of the war in Vietnam, Laos was also engaged in a civil upheaval; the political influence of China pushed and vanquished the ruling Monarchy. In the transition, Russia and China had a strong influence on political and operational decisions.

Eventually, Laos opened to influences from the West, and the country attracted international aid from countries including Japan, Australia, Germany and the USA. Projects focused on economic development, forest and wildlife protection and the rule of law.

Around 2010, the World Bank commenced a multi-tiered project to harness hydroelectric energy, improve the health and welfare of Laos as a country under development, and establish protections for the country’s old-growth forests and the numerous species of wildlife that were undefended targets for Asian poachers.

Motivation

Good afternoon to my subscribers.

I have a small but very loyal “fan base” for my writing. I appreciate you sticking with me and my posts.

I enjoy writing and find it helps me process my life.

Especially in the mot recent posts, telling my story helps to put my transition into perspective. Deeply personal at times, but cathartic to me in many ways.

In my posts, I “tag” them with key words that can enable the post to be found by others. For example, most of my posts lately have been tagged ‘Tracheostomy”, so that others with the same condition might find my blog and may in some way relate their experience to mine.

If you see value in any post that you would like to share with others, please feel free to pass it along.

And have a great day……… Bill

Bless Caregivers

Since 2001, I have been hospitalized and required extensive rehabilitation three times. The first was surgery and radiation for neck cancer. In the second case, in 2016, an unknown virus crossed my blood/brain barrier, leaving me paralyzed from the waist down for 2 ½ months. And recently, I received an emergency tracheostomy, caused by the long-term effects of my radiation in 2001.

Facing these medical challenges, I had only one main worry: recovery!

But my spouse, Terry, carried the load for her responsibilities, my responsibilities and everything in between.

The house, the bills, the bank. House maintenance and legal decisions. Being the brave front for family and friends. The daily visits to my bedside. The worry that my disability could prove to be permanent.