Tag Archives: The Wounded Chalice

WALES LANDMARK IS NO MORE

Posted on by

I believe that an epitaph is needed for the passing of a
Wales Landmark, The Lakeland Beach Club’s historic
clubhouse where so many memories were created and
enjoyed. This building was erected in 1947 by many
people mostly members who donated their time and
effort to build a place where their families and the
members could gather and celebrate being alive.

There are still members alive who participated in
the “club raising” (barn raising) and who remember
the joy that this building brought to its members.
There were dances held as well as fund raisers,
there was and still is a speaker on the only tree on
the beach that was hooked up to the music source
in the club house so the music could be enjoyed by
all, even those on the beach. Of course, the speaker
is no longer in service and has not been in years but
it is there as a reminder of the “good old days”.

Many a barbecue was enjoyed by all as well as
protection from the elements. Members could
rent the building for a minimal fee for parties,
weddings, showers and all reasons for celebrations,
thus being ensured that regardless of weather the
occasion could still be held. It, the clubhouse, held
many joyful memories of the sharing of summer fun,
the laughter of adults and the giggling and noise of
its youngest members.

The beach is called Brow’s Beach after it’s original
owners, the Brow’s. I happen to own the home that
replaced the original one where The Brow’s would
sell hot dogs and hamburgs and whatever you needed
for a successful outing. My home is nowhere like the
original one as it is a 5 room modular home with no
amenities like what used to be offered.

The Brow’s also owned cottages here which now have
been converted to homes, 3 year rounders and 3 weekend
and summer homes. Mine is the only one that did not
upgrade from a cottage as it is only 18 years old and
is the only one without a fireplace. Being a next door
neighbor of the Beach Club has brought me an
opportunity to meet many members and to interact
with them in a more personal way. I so enjoy the
laughter of the children as they play in the water
and create castles in the sand. For most of the year
it is quiet and very few members come down so it
is like having the beach and lake to myself for
9 months of the year.

Having such a close proximity to the Beach Club gave
me a different view of its value and what it offered to its
members. I, for one, cried as it was demolished on
June 8, 2011. After the roof caved in because of the
weight of this past winter’s snowfall, it has been a
safety hazard especially to the children who have no
fear and do not recognize the danger it presented to them.
It was like a house of cards that kept settling and just
one movement caused it to collapse on top of itself.

The Club’s board and its members worked diligently to
find a construction company to tear it down and also
to find the money necessary to pay the cost. We are
a small membership, only 40 paying members and
without the means to fully fund such a venture although
a necessity. The insurance was lapsed quite a few years
ago and no insurance company was able to offer us the
reasonable cost we had before. All insurance companies
wanted a substantial increase because of the age of the
building.

I want to publicly thank the Lake George Association for
the substantial donation it gave to us. Not only was this
a boost to our fund but it gave all of us members a big
boost to our hearts. Since Lakeland Beach Club is
self sustaining with such a small membership, it was voted
that members will pay a small extra fee with the annual
membership dues for just two years in order to cover the
expenses. This was voted on at a meeting which was well
attended. In fact, Terry O’Keefe attended the meeting so
he could speak to us personally.

The Terry O’Keefe Construction company won the bid
and proceeded quickly to ease our fears by taking down
the Wales Landmark. I must say that as I saw through my
tears his men working so diligently to save whatever they
could, it lightened up my heart.They were able to
salvage some chairs, tables, lights. It was a sensitive
procedure to demolish as there were about 8 propane
tanks but all were managed to be taken out safely so
no explosions occurred.

They were not able to save the buoys that surround
and protect the raft and swimming area of our children
due to the entanglement of the ropes but they were able
to save the ladder that goes on the raft. Now our children
will be able to have their beloved raft put out for them
to swim to and jump off from. We are working on
coming up with a solution to replace the buoys.

All donations would be welcome as all of our finances are
going to pay for the removal of the clubhouse. We are
not sure if there will be enough left to pay for rototilling,
more sand for the beach or rocks for the launch pad.
If you would like to donate, send a check to:

Lakeland Beach Club
PO Box 55
Wales, Ma 01081

or contact me, Mary Grace
413-245-3977
[email protected]

We have seen much destruction between the tornadoes,
the violent storms and then the removal of our beloved
clubhouse but I for one still admire Mother Nature and
all she had to offer us. As a reminder of the beauty
she offers us, I want to add a link here to some
of the most beautiful pictures I have even seen of what
nature CAN create. This makes me feel quite small in
comparison and yet nature was created for us humans
to enjoy.

Simply gorgeous!
This may be one of the most beautiful and meaningful streaming videos ever created. Be sure your speakers are on.

www.andiesisle.com/creation/ magnificent.html

I will be a speaker at the Boston Yoga
and Chant Fest next weekend in
Marlborough and will also have a
booth offering Love Sessions
with the Mother as well as my book,
The Wounded Chalice in both audio
book form and paperback. If you
are in the area it would be nice to
see you again. The link to see all
that will be offered on this fabulous
weekend is: www.shunyamproductions.com

Love and Light

Mary Grace
www.TheWoundedChalice.com
www.TheWoundedChalice.com/blog
[email protected]

PO Box 403
Wales, MA 01081, USA
413-245-3977

TORNADO AND ITS AFTERMATH

Posted on by

First, let me apologize to you for not sending out info
that I was fine although 3 tornadoes ripped through my
area. Me and my home and property were left unscathed
except for the interruption of all utilities. Physically I am
fine but emotionally I am reacting in a way that I did not
expect. I am very teary every time I think or talk about
what happened and I am having trouble articulating what
I feel let alone what it felt like to go through it. My mind
and heart are a little clearer today so I want to write you
about this experience since it is certainly nothing I had ever
been through before.

I also need to explain to my fellow Wales townspeople that
I will be putting in more detail as many of my newsreaders
are from many states across this country and are not familiar
with the way a town with no sewers or city water or even
trash pickup works. Wales is one of the few cities(towns)
left without all these kinds of services.

My youngest son called me Wednesday, June 1 and said:
“Mom, there is a tornado com………..and the line went dead.
I tried to call him back several times but there was no reply.
I decided to turn on the TV and that was when I discovered
that a tornado was coming my way. I was trying to find the
safest place to be in my home but I have no attic or even a
cellar. I was going to go into the bathtub as that is what I
see on TV. My oldest son then called me and warned me
not to get in the bathtub as it was not a heavy metal one, it
was a one piece fiberglass unit hooked to an outside wall
which would sail through the air if the tornado hit me.

He helped me decide that a small closet not on an outside
wall and more to the middle of the house would be the
safest for me. So I hunkered in there and was very
grateful that it had not been necessary as it missed
most of my town but the three surrounding towns were
not so lucky. Devastation surrounded us on three sides,
East, West and North. My land line phone worked but
my cordless and cell did not and no computer service.
Our electricity was off and who knows for how long
(it felt like an eternity).

My granddaughter from another town called twice and
my sons who lived in different cities in the local area kept
me abreast of what was happening as the TV was also
down. Suddenly my land line phone went dead and I
was alone. There are 6 houses on my small street but
no one was home but me so I was completely alone.
That is an eery feeling to experience.

Finally, one of my neighbors came home and although
I did not get to talk to him, it felt good to have someone
else around. Darkness fell but I had flashights so I
tried to read but it was difficult so I finally went to bed.
Before I went to bed, I put out raw oatmeal covered with
water so when I got up in the morning it would be edible.
Do you know you can do that? It’s called Muesli.

I did not sleep very well but it did not make sense to
get up when everything was in complete darkness and
there really was nothing to do. I finally got up around
6 AM and still no power. My refrigerator had been
without power for over 12 hours and I was concerned
about water coming into my crawl space because the
subpump could not work and the alarm was ready to
go off as the water rose higher and higher.

A year and a half ago, I had been forced to go into a
shelter and that is when I discovered that they had
no food to feed me as I am a celiac and need gluten
free food. They have supplies for diabetics but
gluten free food has not made their list of need to have.
I decided right then that I would have to make my home
my shelter so I bought a generator and all that is needed
to run it. But…..I was terrified to put the gasoline in and
get it started and then hook up all the extension cords to
reach my refrigerator and subpump. I could not even
pull out my refrigerator from it’s cubby hole in order
to plug it in.

I did not even eat breakfast but set out to find someone
who could set it up for me. I went to the fire department,
police department, and highway department but they were all
out helping to clear the roads of either people or trees or
downed electrical lines. So I headed back home hoping
I could manage it myself.

As I was nearing my house, I saw two men on the side of
the road so I stopped and asked them if they knew how to
set up a generator and if yes, could they set mine up. They
were my neighbors Jay Durand and Mike Patrick who were
heading to bed after being up over 26 hours. They were
willing to help and along with Mike’s 12 year old son Nathan
came to my home and set it all up. I had never used the
generator before so I had them put it under my kitchen
window so the two long extension cords could go through
my window to the refrigerator and the subpump. My food
was saved and I no longer had to be concerned that the water
would flood my crawl space and even my home.

My toaster oven could be plugged in too so I had a cooking
source. One of them set up a two burner propane stove that
I had for emergency purposes but never used. I was given
instructions on how to operate it and to NEVER use it in
the house. I put it on my deck but the wind was so strong
that it was just battered around so I brought it in the house
for safe keeping but if I had to use it I would use it in the
garage.

These young men were life savers, willing to forego sleep to
help a damsel in distress. I am so grateful and know that even
if I cannot repay them, in some way I will pay it forward. I am
deeply saddened over the devastation that occurred, yet so
much neighborly love and assistance came forth from this
catastrophe and people have gotten to know their neighbor.
Before this I had not met Mike and had only a passing
acquaintance with Jay.
This small town came together to help everyone who needed
it and then they went to the neighboring towns that had so much
destruction. We all need to take pride in the caring
and resourcefulness of our townspeople who gave so much of
themselves when they were desperately needed. I do not know
all the people who helped but you know who you are. A big
round of applause for you and the people of Wales.

I keep telling you about all the peaceful features of living on a lake
but there are other great features also. When there is no power,
everything shuts down. We do not have city water so there is no
water to be had through the faucets, no working toilets either. So….
down I go to the lake with buckets to get water to flush my toilet, I
just need to fill the back of the toilet with water and it works fine. We
don’t have sewer hookups either in the whole town. We either have
a leach field or a huge holding tank like I have that holds every drop of
water that you use in the house until you have it pumped out. We also
have a wonderful, marvelous spring that gives the most delicious
pure spring water. The spring is on private property but the owner
lets us go and collect the water for our use whenever we need it.
During a power outage, no one in Wales has water from their faucets
as electricity is needed to operate the pump that brings it from the
well to the house, there is no water department to call if you have
no water. There were quite a few of us at the spring that day, in
fact, I noticed much more traffic on the roads leading there then I
have ever seen in the 14 years I have lived here. Wales has
everything we need except for gas to run the generators.

Houses were demolished by the tornado that was one mile wide
is some sections. Imagine one mile wide and 40 miles in length.
A tree farm and also a horse farm suffered destruction as well
as a steeple on a church and even a grocery store was affected.
People were left homeless and have lost all that they possessed.
I see it on TV but when you see it in person with your own eyes,
it is so different, it hits you deep in your soul.

There are stories upon stories of people escaping serious harm
sometimes just by a minute or one little event. I get the goose
bumps (truth chills) as I can see God and his angels or helpers
just orchestrating each and every person to be just where they
needed to be in order to be safe. One life lost is one too many
for any reason but a disaster as large as this one had only four
deaths. You can’t tell me that we were not being watched over
and guided to be right where we were at that time. It is said that
one hour earlier or one hour later would have accounted for many
more lives lost.

Wales was without power for over 24 hours but in lieu of the
forecast being 5 to 7 days, it was a miracle. Soooo many
people, first responders, were responsible for that miracle.
All pitched in and helped where they could with as many as
12 poles were down on just one street with live wires strewn
about on the streets. It was finally decided to cut all the
wires and start from scratch.

The National Guard was called in to help people and to
control the flow of traffic. The only way people of Wales
could go was south into Connecticut. The other ways out
of town were all blocked. Of course, communication was
quite difficult as there were no TV’s or phones so we
depended on other people to tell us what was happening.

Mike came back a couple of hours later and took my gas
cans to be filled up while he filled his own. What a guy!
His son Nathan, came back three times to check on me and
to add gasoline and restart the generator. I now know how
all of it is done but I am not sure I could do it myself. I
was able to set up a lamp so that I would be able to see
better to read at night . Nathan also asked if I had movies
to watch and when I said yes, he hooked up my VCR/DVD
player so I could do that. That was great as I had many
Spiritual cinemas DVD’s that I normally do not take the
time to watch. Then he realized that I had Direct TV, not
cable so he said I should be able to watch TV and he was
right. Duh? I would not have known all of that but after
this experience, I will certainly be more prepared and aware
for the next power outage.

Need I say more, many human angels stepped up to the
plate to help one another and I am eternally grateful to
the human angels who stepped up to help me. Perhaps
they feel that what they did was not much but to me,
it was life saving. I am forever grateful.

PS. Has anyone realized that this event happened
on an eclipse? I know we are in a triad series of eclipses
as well as the solstice and these events trigger many
energy crisis’.

Love and Light

Mary Grace

www.TheWoundedChalice.com
www.TheWoundedChalice.com/blog
[email protected]

WHO DO YOU REMEMBER ON MEMORY-AL DAY?

Posted on by

As I watching out my bow window at the lake and
its peacefulness, a boat with two men fishing went by
slowly cruising close to shore. The men were not
talking, just simply enjoying the comraderie and the
peace of the water while throwing out their lines. My
thought was just how rich they were in this very moment.
Another thought came and it was how rich I was also
and I could take this moment to go out in my kayak.

A man was coming to check out my subpump and
crawl space but that was about an hour and a half
away so after some hemming and hawing, I made
the decision to seize the moment and go out onto
the water. It was so fabulous. The water was like
glass and it was eery to be gliding through the images
of the houses in the water. The birds were singing
and it was just so gloriously peaceful. At my age,
it is about time that I become aware that I can do
what I want when I want. It is only habit that keeps
me from being spontaneous like a child. I wish to be
more childlike and enjoy every moment. Please join me.

The energy of the times is upon us. Of course, Spring
brings its own energy and we alternate between being
so busy getting our yard or garden in order so that we
can enjoy the summer and being so laid back enjoying
the warmth after a cold winter. There is also the energy
of what is happening as we prepare to meet the changes
that are coming as we move forward to 2012. The
eclipses (3 in a short amount of time) are generating
such energy in weather patterns which are causing
many mood swings in us humans.

I know I do not have dementia or alzheimer’s yet I
exhibit the symptoms. One day my mind is as clear
as a bell and I am so efficient and the next day I can’t
seem to keep it together. Things that I normally do by
rote I forget and forget any new things that I need to
do, my memory fails me and I repeat many steps just
to accomplish what I usually take for granted. For
instance, I go to my yoga class every week, yet this
week I had to make three extra trips from my car
to my locked house because I kept forgetting something.
Today, you won’t believe it, I went to the Post Office to
get my mail out of my PO Box, came home and realized
that I had left the keys which included my house keys
still in the box. Back I went to get them and they were
right I had left them, still hanging from the key that opens
the PO Box.

Is that happening to you? You are not going senile or crazy,
the energies surrounding us are really upsetting the apple cart.
Have you noticed how many simple situations have become
complicated? Things that normally go so smoothly that we
take it for granted. Here are a couple that I have experienced
just this past week.

This month I paid my mortgage which is with a different
bank than my checking account on May 2. On May 19th,
I received a notice from my bank that I had not paid my
mortgage which I KNEW I had.

It seems the bank for my mortgage had changed their address
over a year ago and the forwarding from the Post Office had
expired so it was not delivered. Worst of all, the check was in
limbo and not returned to my checking account so I could
reissue another payment. Because of the Patriot Act, one
bank cannot discuss with another bank my problems so a
conference call is needed????

It is May 27th and the issue is still not resolved although
I have repeatedly called both banks. I have already received
a bill for two months now although my mortgage bank said
they would waive the late penalty when it shows up on my
newest bill????? I KNOW it will eventually get squared
away and all will be well at least for this episode.

PS. While writing this newsletter to you, I was guided to
call my checking account bank to check it again. This
is unusual as I don’t like interrupting my flow to you
but the guidance was insistent. Guess what? I bet
you can guess. The money was redeposited in my
checking account so now I can pay last month’s
mortgage just in time to pay this month’s payment.
Thank you for the energy you were sending me
even before I sent any to you.

I hired a carpenter to make a new stoop or entryway to
the back of my house which happens to be in the front
which is close to the street. Since I am on a lake, the
house was reversed so the bow window looks out
onto the water. You probably remember how I
complained that my door was continually blocked
from opening because there was only a 2″ space
between the floor of my stoop and the storm door
causing me to have to shovel every hour or so when
it snowed.

This carpenter came to give me an estimate. His sister,
my therapist recommended him. I did not know this but
he is a licensed carpenter who works every Saturday for
a much lower fee than his normal one. He said it
is his way to give back to God for all that God
gives to him. Another angel is sent my way.

It was supposed to take him 4-6 hours and he came
last Saturday. He ran into problems as no concrete
had been placed under the posts which is why it was
leaning so badly. My house under the door was
rotting because so much moisture was settling there
as it was not level. He needed to find some flashing
to prevent any further deterioration and the store
was closed. He stayed 8 hours leaving only once it
was too dark to see.

He came back after work on Monday night but
still needed more time to finish, he was coming
back on Thursday night. He lowered the whole
stoop so the step up was much easier than before.
I was not happy with the one of the tops of the
banisters. It had ugly knots and it was much
darker with darker lines than the rest of the stoop.
I was trying not to be so picky but it was something
I would have to live with as my son convinced me not
to paint it. My deck is peeling so bad that I keep bringing
in flakes of paint every time I go out on the deck
and he did not want me to have to go through that
with the stoop. There was no way I could cover
the stark difference, what was I to do?

Thursday morning I woke after many bad dreams
about my stoop. I know this sounds silly and it
actually is kind of funny. Here I am in such a
quandary and it is 7:00AM. I finally went to
my neighbors house who does not live there
full time and checked out his railings to see if
maybe eventually the colors would even out.
My stomach is not happy as I am fighting with
myself about calling the carpenter. The words:
“Speak now or forever hold your peace” kept
running around in my head. I was scared to
appear so foolish as to let this little thing bother
me but I could not deny that it was.

I paced around for about 15 minutes and finally
decided to call him to see if he would replace
the top of the railing for me. I told him that I
know it truly is a “woman” thing but the fact
that one is light and the other dark knocked
me off balance. It just did not look right and
it spoiled all of his good work as all I could
see was the dark one. Does this happen to you?
Do you ever focus on the negative instead of the
positive? I felt like I was betraying my own
hard won wisdom and then another guidance
came in. It said: “Love yourself as I love you,
do unto yourself as you would do unto others”.

I realized that I was surrendering to something
that made me unhappy when it would be so
easy to honor myself by asking for what I
really wanted. I did not want to cause him
any more work or time away from his
family so I was willing to cause myself
unhappiness. All I had to do was to have
the courage to ask for what I wanted. Why
is it so hard to do? Why do we make ourselves
victims when it is not really necessary?

So……I took deep breaths and called him. He was
so considerate and said he would do whatever
I wanted and he was not even irritated with me.
I had to go to the lumber yard to refill the propane
tank so I offered to pick up the 2×4 so he would not
have to go out of his way to do that.

It was so easy, it was only my fear of asking that was
making it so difficult. It now looks so great and
balanced, all the wood is the same shade even
though I know it will weather to gray but at least
it will be evenly gray. Here had been another
opportunity given me to conquer a fear and
I am grateful for the courage it took. It really
was not about the wood but simply another
chance to grow in patience and courage and
LOVE.

This weekend is all about honoring those who
serve in the military. Where would we be without
them and who would we be. Let us take a moment
to honor their dedication, courage and self sacrifice
that we might be free.

I would like to honor all the ones who stay home
here in the USA and daily dedicate themselves
to serving others. The firemen, the policemen,
the doctors, the nurses, the whole medical
profession and ALL those who serve us in
myriad ways that perhaps we do not even notice.
Let us all become aware that even the cashiers
and those who do their daily jobs like the postmen,
landscapers, etc. are serving each and every one of us
in their own special way. I thank all of you for serving
me and for allowing me to serve you in some small way.

This 13 year old girl is wonderful, check it out!
‘Il Silencio’ (The Silence)

The conductor of the orchestra is Andre Rieu from Holland. The young lady, her trumpet and her rendition of TAPS.
Many of you may never have heard taps played in its entirety, for all of the men & women that have died for you to have the freedom you have in America. This is an opportunity you won’t want to miss and I guarantee you’ll never forget.

Melissa Venema, age 13, is the trumpet soloist.

Here is Taps played in its entirety. The Original version of Taps was called Last Post, and was written by Daniel Butterfield in 1801. It was rather lengthy and formal, as you will hear in this clip, so in 1862 it was shortened to 24 notes and re-named Taps. Melissa Venema is playing it on a trumpet whereby the original was played on a bugle.

Watch at this site.

http://www.flixxy.com/trumpet- solo-melissa-venema.htm

HAVE A HAPPY AND WONDERFUL MEMORY-AL DAY
This is the weekend that the lake becomes alive as most people
will launch their boats and may even put out their rafts and buoys.
Some children are already in the water. It is opening week-end.

Love and Light

Mary Grace

www.TheWoundedChalice.com
www.TheWoundedChalice.com/blog
[email protected]

PO Box 403
Wales, MA 01081, USA
413-245-3977