#uvae

The blind sister withdrew her hand and dropped it back on her knee. "That is a question with no answer," she said. "For some it takes weeks. For others, years. Grief is a spiral path, and we all walk it at our own pace. You think you have moved away from its dense heart, but the next few steps bring you closer to the center again."

"It's just--every time I think I've left it behind, I find it around the corner again."

"It hides behind familiar things," the blind sister agreed. "And it waits."

"Will it ever go away?"

The blind sister reached out again and took Val' hand in her own. "Probably not," she said gently. "But it will grow more manageable. Less like a wild animal and more like the tiny mouse that skitters through your house, startling you, and maybe for a moment stopping your heart. Not perhaps something you welcome, but something you need not fear."

Val nodded dumbly, knowing the woman couldn't see her. "Thank you," she said. "Most people have told me I'll be fine when enough time has gone by."

"You will be fine. You'll just be different."

The Government of Canada wants to contract out the provision of service to Canada's Veterans to a for-profit company, at the expense of my Union members who are providing excellent service already. This is another government hand-out to corporations that don't need it, at the expense of public service workers and the Veterans who rely upon our expertise and advocacy.

Please take a minute to sign this letter to our Minister.

1- Vitis rupestris; 2- Vitis labrusca;  3- Vitis berlandier

En el Continente Americano existían vides silvestres mucho antes de la llegada de los europeos, en el caso de México se tienen variedades distintas que los pueblos nativos consumían en su dieta regular. Los mexicas llamaron al fruto de la uva como acacholli, los purépechas le conocían como seruráni, los otomíes lo llamaron obxi y los tarahumaras le decían úri. Los pueblos nómadas del norte fueron los mayores consumidores de uvas silvestres y bebían sus jugos ácidos, se desconoce si los zumos sufrían algún tipo de proceso de fermentación.

Después de la conquista de México Tenochtitlan, los colonizadores españoles encontraron vides silvestres en el suelo de la Nueva España como la Vitis rupestris, Vitis labrusca y Vitis berlandieri. Hernán Cortés fue el principal promotor del cultivo de la uva, ordenando traer de la isla de Cuba semillas y plantas de la Vitis vinifera proveniente de España, siendo la Nueva España el primer sitio de la América continental en cultivarse viñedos y producirse vinos para consumo.