The Winner of Saturday's Draw is ~ Barbara Nelson. Thank you Barbara and everyone who visited The Neat Little Bookshop booth at the Trade Show. Thank you to the Cayuga and District Chamber of Commerce for organizing another successful event.

A copy of Kirk Du Guid's Soldiers' Stories will be going out to Barbara

Soldiers' Stories ~

For the next few days we will be posting exerpts from Soldiers' Stories* by Kirk Du Guid. Du Guid interviewed over twenty-five veterans in our area. He dedicated his book to "Those Who Served in Times of War and Peace."

A veteran himself, Du Guid states, "There is something I do each Remembrance Week. When I meet veterans, I walk up to them and shake their hand and thank them for their service. The reality is that, just by putting that uniform on, someday during their service they might have been asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. 'Lest we forget, lest we forget!' "
*Soldiers' Stories, 2009. Kirk Du Guid. Printed & Bound by First Choice Books
Available at The Neat Little Bookshop

Veteran Arthur Simmons was born in 1920 in Collingwood, Ontario. It was in June of 1940 that Art began basic infantry training at Camp Borden, Ontario. After completing a sniper's course, he was made range artificer with the Grey & Simcoes. The regiment was selected to parade through communities stimulating recruiting in the regiment.
When the regiment was switched from infantry to armour, it was renamed the 21st Armoured Regiment. Art was in the 4th Division; his brother, Howard, in the 1st. in an infantry regiment ~ the 48th Highlanders from Toronto. Art embarked for Great Britain in June, 1943 after working as Lance Corporal on tanks. For the duration of the war, he served throughout France, Belgium, Holland and Germany working on all kinds of tanks, getting them back into action ~ making the rank of Sergeant. Brother Howard was shot and killed when his platoon was attacking up a hill in Sicily.
After the war, Art returned to his past time of repairing watches and clocks. He now resides in Cayuga, Ontario and often visits The Neat Little Bookshop. We shake your hand, Art, and as Kirk would say, "Thank you for your service."

Thought for Today ~

"Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds."
~ George Eliot
George Eliot is the pen name for Mary Anne Evans, English author (Silas Marner & The Mill on The Floss)
b. Nov.22, 1819, d. Dec. 22 1880

Note: Mary Anne used a man's pen name to ensure that her work be taken seriously during Victorian times.

Photo: Wikipedia

Random Acts of Kindness ~

Today is Random Act of Kindness Day. It is not an official holiday, simply a holiday evolving out of a modern world that sometimes seems to offer little kindness.

A tiny book by the editors of Conari Press offers some 150 pages of things that we can do for no reason at all, other than an act of kindness.

"Is not one of the great gifts of any act of kindness that it 'brings us back,' that it makes us feel that we have somehow returned to a place, to a feeling, that is somehow permanent, deeply rooted, and unchanging. . . Kindness is at the heart of our belief that people are basically good."

Perhaps today, one small act of kindness can make a difference in someones' day!

~ Random Acts of Kindness, Conari Press, 1999.

Smile for Today ~

'When I was a child my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier you'll be a general. If you become a monk you'll become the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso."

~ Picasso

(Oct. 25, 1881 - April 8, 1973) Spanish artist, sculptor, co-founder of the Cubist Movement

Our Weekly Newspaper ~

We have to take a minute here to recognize The Sachem & Gazette. As soon as we were settled in our new location, reporter, Natalie Clewley, arrived on cue to do a story on The Neat Little Bookshop.
It is unsolicited participation and support like this that small businesses appreciate. The staff at this weekly newspaper is always visible at community events. The ad rep, Jimmie Ann Cutler, drops in periodically not to hard-sell but to show us photos of her granddaughter.

Thank you to Associate Publisher & General Manager, Neil Dring, for his incredibly viable newspaper in a time when newspapers are struggling to find their place in a digital world.

You can pick up a hard copy or you can access The Sachem on-line http://www.sachem.ca/ Click on "Read All News" and scroll down to read Natalie's article about The Neat Little Bookshop.

The Canadian Celiac Association provides resources for folks looking for gluten-free foods. Contact: http://www.celiac.ca/ or infor@celiac.caChef Rhonda Barr, owner of Ya'd Never Know Bakery in Dundas, Ontario, demonstrates making gluten-free wraps. Assisting Rhonda is Women's Institute member, Lynda Brooker of York.

The Women's Institutes of Haldimand hosted an evening in the Community Room of the new Cayuga Arena.
http://www.yadneverknow.com/ Visit Rhonda's website for information including gluten-free recipes.