The easiest in some ways to forget are those who are no longer with us. Some left some good memories. There are of course many others who could have been mentioned.
Lisa De Macio married to Sam with two great kids, Nicole and Gregory and one grand-daughter
Chloe. At one time she taught English as a second language, the same as
my sister Rebecca. Lisa went on to help people with disabilities. She didn't want people to cry over her death so she planned her own memorial down to a lot of thoughtful details. Some high school friends from Havergal College were instructed to make sure humor was added to the memorial and they did. Sam gave a speech part of which I remember, "When you leave here, her love will go with you." I remember her father in law Peter (who married my mother in law) liked to take her out to a favorite Greek restaurant in Burlington--we all came to love. She had degrees from the University of Toronto and Ryerson. One small detail given by a friend of hers was she recommended the book by Viktor Frankl--"Man's Search for Meaning"--one that left a deep impression on me. Sam was right--she left her mark and the rest of us are better off for it.
Sridevi was a Bollywood actress, well regarded in her sphere, but probably not well known among western movie goers. During a vacation in New Zealand I went to an Indian restaurant, Shiraz in Whangerei and noticed they had sweets including ladoo. I had never tasted them before, but remembered them from a wonderful movie, "English Vinglish" in which Srivevi played a woman whose husband and children mocked her for not speaking English. The movie set up circumstances where she learned to speak English secretly, but all the way through her pride and joy was a business making ladoos which I indulged in during my New Zealand vacation. I went on to see her in her earlier days when she played romantic leads and a more recent memorable movie "Mom" that is well worth seeing. I was looking forward to new movies, but will have to content myself with her older films.Stephen Hawking died during the Paralympics. From an earlier speech just before the 2012 Paralympics I would like to.quote: "We are all different there is no such thing as a standard or run of the mill human being, but we share the same human spirit. Look up at the stars and not down at your feet." Another quote, "However difficult life may seem there is always something you can do and succeed at." Not only gave us science understanding, but also contributed to humanity.
Anthony Bourdain. I love eating, but my attraction to him was his bringing new cultural experiences. It was upsetting that he committed suicide, possibly due to addiction problems. We did learn of exotic food items, but more importantly learned about different cultures and how we all have a lot in common starting with a love of communal eating. In the first video I saw of him he was participating in a hangi which eventually became a bucket list item for me that I finally indulged in on my recent trip to New Zealand. See below.
Kofi Anan, former secretary General of the U.N. A voice of reason in a turbulent world. After retiring Kofi still had words worth listening to: https://www.facebook.com/Channel4News/videos/2188262544720258/UzpfSTEwMDAwMjk4Mjc2OTIzMzoxNzA3ODI0MDA5MzI3MDA4/
Aretha Franklin left behind a lot of good songs. The one I most remember is RESPECT and I was surprised to learn the original Otis Redding version was a male demand for a woman to be his servant. She made it an anthem with a different theme. I have come to appreciate she had other songs, many of which were written by her, but many were covers that were appreciated by the originators including Carole King and Simon and Garfunkle.
John McCain someone we all have to respect. He was labeled Republican, but in fact he was more free of labels than just about any politician. More than for others he made decisions based on what he thought was right. This link is something to remember: https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1033524441752457216?s=12
David and Krista presented us with Calder to join his older sister Hannah. Apparently Calder is already a Toronto Maple Leaf fan.
We finished off 2017 and started 2018 in New Zealand with a memorable holiday. One of my bucket list items was a Maori ceremony coupled with a hangi. A Christmas gift from Michael we enjoyed was the best view of Auckland with one of the best meals at Orbit 360, atop Sky City. Perhaps adding to our enjoyment is that we escaped a bad storm and cold spell back in Ontario. For more details check: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/01/starting-2018-in-new-zealand.html
The Winter Olympics are always something that draws my attention. http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/02/winter-olympics-2018.html
Paralympics a few weeks later is something I have come to appreciate what men and women can accomplish despite life's sometimes unfairness: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/03/2018-winter-paralympics-triumph-for-all.html
Doors Open Hamilton always seems to fall on the weekend the weather is finally good enough to start getting our yard ready for the summer. Still I try to keep the tradition alive. Cannon Knitting Mills has been an empty building I walk by on my way to the dentist, but they have big plans for it.
As Heather reached the age of 40 we decided to have a big party. It happened that a distant cousin from Atlanta, Lana Wachniak and her husband Bill were in town and wanted to surprise my mother in law. Heather had friends and co-workers visit. A lot of baking and cooking was appreciated by the guests. Heather emulated her birthday photo from age one.
We live within walking distance of a tour boat and this year were able to take advantage of a free community tour. Hamilton is known as an industrial city and we were able to appreciate the steel plants along the shore of Hamilton Harbour. But there is also a little bit of nature and art along the way.
A memorable moment for Sharon came when Heather took her to a Blue Jay game as a birthday present. After the game they encountered a big problem. The underground parking was flooded and they were delayed for over an hour. But during that time Heather spotted Buck Martinez, now broadcaster for the Jays and encouraged Sharon to get his autograph and then a photo.Another once every four year event was the World Cup. As usual there were a lot of good games. The winning French team was mostly made of immigrants or the sons of immigrants. Croatia provided the other finalist.
40th wedding anniversary of Frank and Connie. We attended the wedding and were surprised to learn that Sharon is related to her school friend Connie. Frank came to Canada as an infant with his parents leaving Hungary during the 1956 Revolution. Family and friends gathered to share memories.
Supercrawl celebrated its 10th anniversary. It is amazing such a big event is just down the street. More details: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/09/supercrawl-on-its-tenth-anniversary.html 
I attended an event that would have been on my bucket list if it had been conceivable. A Bollywood backup singer, Arijit Singh has become my favorite male singer, but he was based in far off India and even though he did tours they were to big cities. Out of the blue an announcement was made he was performing in Hamilton at the First Ontario Centre within walking distance. I had not been to any arena type concert in decades, but wanted to see this. As it turned out it was billed as a Toronto event as I suppose it was more suitable for marketing. It was a bit of a shock because it was too loud for my ears and an arena doesn't have the right acoustics. He is a very nuanced singer. Still I was impressed with the level of musicians backing him and I was also impressed at how long he performed. He was on stage for over three hours with only a five minute break. I still love his music, but will stick to a quieter atmosphere. I suspect most of my readers have not even heard of him. Nonetheless he has a massive world wide audience and is well worth finding and listening to. The Art Gallery of Hamilton BMO International Film Fest was in October. I always attend the Trailers and Teasers show as you learn about a wide number of movies. We went to see "Puzzle" starring Kelly MacDonald and Irrfan Khan.
Each year I get to go to the Royal Winter Fair on behalf of The Rider and I get to meet some interesting people. Jessica Phoenix is a very likeable person who has overcome adversity to win gold medals for Canada had her story written up by Julie Fitz-Gerald. Here they are at the Ontario Equestrian booth.
This past fall was another gathering of friends from M M Robinson high school plus spouses, friends and some offspring plus Chef Luther.. A few more hit the 65 mark with three cakes from Sharon.
We returned to our traditional New Years' Eve party for food, drink and conversation with close friends. Sharon outdid herself and my sister Rebecca helped out.
Restaurants eat up money and time, but I love them and consider them a form of art with a lot of potential for beauty. Some memorable visits in Canada were to Bangkok Spoon, Loaded Pierogis ,Gate of India, and Mesa.
Looking back to New Zealand restaurants fond memories of in Whangerei found an Indian dessert, ladoo at Shiraz; Newmarket Sun World Chinese Restaurant, Orbit 360 way up inSky City; Pakuranga mall has a weekly market--enjoyed Char Kuey Teow, a Malaysian booth with long lineup, difficult t find a seat, but worth the effort.
Read over 30 books and would like to remember a few: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/12/my-favorite-books-of-2018.html
Saw over 300 movies and here is what I want to remember: bit.ly/2R505Gh
top 3 blogs of 2018
Starting the year in New Zealand: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/01/starting-2018-in-new-zealand.html
my favorite book of the year http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/12/21-lessons-for-21st-century.html
animals after vegans: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/01/what-happens-to-farm-animals-when.html
To read about 2017 check: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/01/2017-another-year-to-remember.html
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