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Copyright © 2007, 2008, 2009 Edith Morris

 

Catchword Corner

December 2008 / January 2009

The Four Corners of the Earth

On a lovely sunny afternoon I'm sitting at my computer when I'd rather be outside tidying up the garden. But a long list of 120 e-mails awaits attention. So I plug on through the list, occasionally looking out the window. Would I get my afternoon cuppa in the sun?

On the list are Adam and Heather, missionaries to Zambia. Adam is a new friend I met while he was broadcasting on Community Radio. There's Simon and Alison, missionaries to Japan. I've known Alison since she was a teenager studying Japanese at Whangarei Girls High. Then there's Jim and Darla from Canada. They are more seasoned missionaries of 20 years, living on Awaji Island in the inland sea of Japan. Robyn, in her 70's, spends six months in America and six months in Japan. We first met on a ferry crossing between Japan and South Korea more than 30 years ago. Cousin Guy and his wife Sue from the UK now living in Brisbane are waiting for a reply. Grandson Isaiah living in Melbourne with his rock band members likes to get e-mails from Granny, well I think he does!

E-mails associated with my radio show, e-mails to do with the Polio society, e-mails about genealogy, the minutes of a meeting, the agenda of the next meeting, e-mails, e-mails, e-mails. There is no end to them. What do I file? What do I delete? What do I read again? Oh yes that one about "Burn Out", and that one about 20 ways to reduce stress, and those cat ones that I laughed and laughed at. Yes, yes, yes, they are all good. What will I keep? The shadows on the lawn lengthen as I go through the list. Now there are only 80 e-mails left.

Are e-mails a bane or a blessing? I think of Adam and Heather and their children living in 40 degrees plus heat. He recently started a radio show in Zambia. He would be encouraged to hear from me. In Tokyo it is already cold as winter begins. Alison, Simon and their 2 robust sons are struggling with colds. It's a long time since she's heard from me. And Robyn climbing the steep hills behind Nara to her little Japanese guest house, I know she would love an e-mail. Grandson Isaiah would enjoy hearing news of family, Church and friends. Now it's too late to sit in the sun, but I've been spurred on to plan my Christmas list with graphics and photographs to send to all four corners of the world via e-mail.

Edith