Cheers!! Where Everybody Knows Your Name

The Cheers intro song and video – sure takes me back.

It just makes you want to stop what you’re doing and listen, reflect and reminisce, doesn’t it? Culture and nurturing relationships, everybody knows your name – makes me want to just wrap my arms around someone whose story I am familiar with and who knows mine.

Since we sold our TV, we’ve been streaming entertainment via a few mediums. I’ve been watching many of my favorite 70’s and 80’s shows like Cheers, Rockford Files, The Odd Couple, Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H to name a few….  This was a time of change in our lives yet today, so many aspects remain the same.  Today it’s Dexter, Ray Donovan, Walking Dead and Under The Dome on the radar.  Still about relationships, connections and belonging yet there is an edge of sorts to the plot lines.  A loss of innocence, yet the bonds between people continue to remain very strong.

What does watching and listening to this theme song invoke for you?

As Mike and I prepared to depart Bermuda, we were taken aback by how rooted we became in our 2 ½ years as residents of this lovely country.  As we began to say our good byes, it really drove home for both of us how being in community with others gave us such a strong sense of belonging.  To walk into the grocery store and be greeted by name was oh so endearing and when we said our goodbyes at our local pub – well, that was emotional and warmed our hearts knowing that friendships with locals and other expats will be with us always.

AND now it’s time for our next chapter  to unfold.  We’ve arrived in Canouan, SVG, a tiny island located in the Eastern Caribbean.  As I sit on the deck watching how this new day wakes up, I can’t help but notice a dichotomy of sorts with how life in North America and Bermuda contrasts life here on this tiny island.  Our neighbor is doing the family laundry in a bucket of soapy water with a stone.  A young boy rinses the clothes and places them in a basket for hanging on the outside line.  The rooster calls compete in the distance, no one seems hurried in their movements, the many different styles of music from the surrounding homes blend together connecting us all.   It’s quite hot even this early in the day. There’s a moisture in the air – might be some rain soon.

Today is Monday; a new workweek begins.  There’s a steady stream of people walking to work along the main road.  A truck picks up a group of folks at the bottom of a hill and takes them to the top and around the mountaintop to the other side. This new chapter in my life begs some questions….

  • What habits do I want to let go?
  • What new patterns do I want to be intentional to creating?
  • What do I want to accomplish during my time in Canouan?

I wonder who I will meet today, and how long it will take to walk into my neighborhood grocery store and pub to be greeted by name….

Circle of Life

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Gisele
919-809-6902
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Engage – Empower – Energize

Engage, Empower, Energize

Comments

  1. Hey Gisele,

    Hope you are getting all settled in. I like the Cheers reference. One of the things that I really like about New Westminster is how friendly it is. Having lived in Vancouver all of my life, I noted that in the past 15 years or so people don’t talk to each so much anymore. I suppose you could say it’s just life in the big city, but I have always maintained a friendly disposition.
    I felt that it was becoming far too transient. People weren’t putting roots down…they would move to a place, stay until they could upgrade and so it continued on.
    They were not looking at meeting their neighbors. The other aspect was immigration. Many of the newcomers, because many came from the same areas, tended to move into areas where their demographic was popular.
    At one point while I still lived on 2nd Avenue, and I was there for 12 years, I began to fell like the foreigner. All the stores were converting to Asian friendly stores as the numbers grew. While I greeted my neighbors they were seldom very social.
    New Westminster felt a bit like a ghost town for me at first, but I warmed to it quickly and it to me.
    Your adventure will continue and I do hope you enjoy it.

    1. Author

      Thank you for your thoughtful comments Nancy! We too felt very comfortable when we lived in New Westminster 🙂

      Gisele

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