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LITTLE THINGS By Margaret Elsom (“Take as {be foxes, the little faxes Hm! spoil the Tillt’S, for our vine: bare fender grapes." Song of Solomon 2115) Lord, I come to You this evening with a special kind of prayer . . . There were so many little things that bothered me to-day‘. They placed my soul in {ottersâ€"they beset rne everywhere, And as they cluttered up my path they made me lose my way. The little hasty word I spoke was anything but kind, \Vhen a little dish lay broken by a very little child. A little thought so wrong, filled up a corner of my mind. A little bit of envy made my temper run quite wild. The chocolate cake I fashioned failed to reach its proper size, And when I took it from the pan it simply fell apart. The little imwn at dinnertime was anything but Wise, And the fly that quite eluded me brought anger to my heart. I couldn’t find the scissors though I searched through every drawer. The telephone rang wildly as I tried to wash my hair. I spoke in tones ungracious to a pedlar at the door: And my purse I mislaid somewhereâ€"couldn't find it anywhere. Lordâ€"I've lost the calmneSs of that inward solitude That should be mine to-night, and yet Thy peace is not my own; And Oh. I need assurance that my strength shall be renewed, And that I stand forgiven at the heavenly Father‘s throne. And if it be Thy will that all the morrow shall be mineâ€" Grant' rne Thy patience Lord, and give my fallen spirit Wings; And let me trim anew the lamp of faith and make it shine In every pathway where I meet these trying "little things.” 1' * * is a need that must be met. We are determined not to play the part of the Ostrich that burics its head in the sand or the humming bird that flutters about without ever quite coming to rest. Instead, we want to be the wise old owl that after care- fully analyzing the situation moves straight to its objective. To help us. we, in co-operation with the Canada Department of Agriculture. are con ducting a Farm Home Survey . . . This survey will be a landmark for future direction and we feel fortunate indeed to have such splendid coâ€"opera- tion from the Women‘s Institutes. We are forâ€" tunate. also. to have a skilled. well-trained. rural sociologist to direct the survey, Dr. Helen Abell. The Farm Home Survey Dr. Helen Abel]. Supervisor of Rural Sociology in the Canada Department of Agriculture, dis cussed the farm home survey under the topic “Strengthening the Best in Rural Living." The purpose of the survey, Dr. Abcll said, was to find from rural people what they considered the best things in rural living, and also the worst things, 16 “Only as we know this." she Said. "can we pm, mote the best and eliminate the worst." As a sort of sample test, the audience in mi: groups where they sat. were asked to (llSClI\\ :l. question of what features of rural living ;u‘c my best and what are the worst. and to record 1“ ., findings. Dr. Ahcll predicted that these limit. 7. which she took away with her for exuminumn would correspond closely with opinions \llL' r1 gathered from two other groups. These prm W. surveys had given the following views: Among the best features of rural life were ed: 1, Independence. 2. Closeness to Nulurc space. beauty. absence of crowds and term. 3. A good community life, neighbors and u t of belonging. 4. Family unity. advantugc. rearing children and for children to ricqun good sense of values. 5. The economic advuul as for example the opportunity to Own a farm . farm business: a chance to make a comfort home; a lower cost of living. 6. The ll‘lCrt‘u availability of city amenities and opportunitio the cultural advantages of the city. 7. The p. imity of home and workâ€"no daily Slrugglc 2 traffic. 8. Special educational services for r peopleâ€"extension services. consolidated N'Cl'll transportation to high schools. Some of the "worst" features recorded it 1. The scarcity and poor quality of commi» facilitiesâ€"schools, roads. medical services. 2. I. omic factors associated with farming such :1» “price squeeze.” lack of an assured price for duce. uncertainty of crops, weather and l labour, long working hours. 3. The “neg. personality characteristics" of some rural pc such as a lack of interest or participation in L munity affairs. self pity, narrowness of oull intolerance of people who are “different from a lack of business management. 4. Lack of hi conveniences and a low standard of living. mulv and otherwise. 5. In some communities. u lac; social life. In some places the girls have left rural community and there are a great n‘ bachelors on the farms. L‘ Friendly Visiting Mrs. E. R. Thompson, of the Senior Chi. Committee of the Ontario Red Cross Society Chairman of the Senior Citizens Committee 01 United Church quoted one authority as saying “Canada is a good place to have a long lifc I not a good place in which to grow old." many countries,” Mrs. Thompson said. “old 11y treated with deference; the old person is still head of the householdâ€"here youth is in the i‘ cr‘s seat and some old people feel that they l lived too long.“ One of the first basic needs of ageing peoplc speaker said. is health service which lies mi in the field of the government. Other basic n- 1‘ are: to have friends, to have something useli do and if still active, to have “some place lo If denied these, people often become senile. l\ M Thompson referred especially to the problem 4 loneliness and told of the diary of an old \‘Ht‘ll‘ in With Page after page carrying only the norm In "Nobody came.” I This is where the friendly visitor can fill in n in HOME AND court's‘RY