Sue Thiessen

Wife, teacher, friend, published author, skier, & surfer

[Sue Thiessen @SueThiessen]

@83hbs @pattibacchus It took them too long to get there. It was a mess!

[Sue Thiessen @SueThiessen]

@BCFerries what's going on with both your website and app booking system? I've been trying to book a sailing for 2 hours and the system will not let me complete the process.

[The Extreme Music Enthusiast @TheExtremeMusi1]

31 years ago today, on March 25, 1995, The Tragically Hip took the stage on SNL. The rest is history…

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

"My name's Raymond. I'm 73. I work the parking lot at St. Joseph's Hospital. Minimum wage, orange vest, a whistle I barely use. Most people don't even look at me. I'm just the old man waving cars into spaces.
But I see everything.

Like the black sedan that circled the lot every morning at 6 a.m. for three weeks. Young man driving, grandmother in the passenger seat. Chemotherapy, I figured. He'd drop her at the entrance, then spend 20 minutes hunting for parking, missing her appointments.

One morning, I stopped him. "What time tomorrow?"
"6:15," he said, confused.
"Space A-7 will be empty. I'll save it."
He blinked. "You... you can do that?"
"I can now," I said.

Next morning, I stood in A-7, holding my ground as cars circled angrily. When his sedan pulled up, I moved. He rolled down his window, speechless. "Why?"
"Because she needs you in there with her," I said. "Not out here stressing."
He cried. Right there in the parking lot.

Word spread quietly. A father with a sick baby asked if I could help. A woman visiting her dying husband. I started arriving at 5 a.m., notebook in hand, tracking who needed what. Saved spots became sacred. People stopped honking. They waited. Because they knew someone else was fighting something bigger than traffic.
But here's what changed everything, A businessman in a Mercedes screamed at me one morning. "I'm not sick! I need that spot for a meeting!"

"Then walk," I said calmly. "That space is for someone whose hands are shaking too hard to grip a steering wheel."

He sped off, furious. But a woman behind him got out of her car and hugged me. "My son has leukemia," she sobbed. "Thank you for seeing us."

The hospital tried to stop me. "Liability issues," they said. But then families started writing letters. Dozens. "Raymond made the worst days bearable." "He gave us one less thing to break over."

Last month, they made it official. "Reserved Parking for Families in Crisis." Ten spots, marked with blue signs. And they asked me to manage it.

But the best part? A man I'd helped two years ago, his mother survived, came back. He's a carpenter. Built a small wooden box, mounted it by the reserved spaces. Inside? Prayer cards, tissues, breath mints, and a note,

"Take what you need. You're not alone. -Raymond & Friends"
People leave things now. Granola bars. Phone chargers. Yesterday, someone left a hand-knitted blanket.
I'm 73. I direct traffic in a hospital parking lot. But I've learned this: Healing doesn't just happen in operating rooms. Sometimes it starts in a parking space. When someone says, "I see your crisis. Let me carry this one small piece."

So pay attention. At the grocery checkout, the coffee line, wherever you are. Someone's drowning in the little things while fighting the big ones.

Hold a door. Save a spot. Carry the weight no one else sees.
It's not glamorous. But it's everything."

Let this story reach more hearts....

Credit: Mary Nelson

[Sue Thiessen @SueThiessen]

@BrisbaneFollow @ArdenZwelling Should be Buck Martinez!

[Tim Micallef @tim_micallef]

My friends @jesserubinoff and @Daniele_Media asked me who should throw out the first pitch and after mulling it over for a bit…thinking of who already did….throwing out some names - I said this…

[Cheri DiNovo @CheriDiNovo]

This should be headline news across Canada!!!

[Sue Thiessen @SueThiessen]

@BCFerries the lady doing the announcements on the #salishheron is knocking it out of the park! Best announcements we’ve ever heard on this boat! Happy Friday!

[Terry Newman @terrynewman]

How depressing is this?

In 2025, the average Canadian family will earn $158,533 in income and pay an estimated $68,266 in total taxes (43.1%).

If the average Canadian family had to pay its taxes up front, it would have worked until June 7 to pay the total tax bill imposed on it by all three levels of government (federal, provincial, and local).

This means that Tax Freedom Day, the day in the year when the average Canadian family has earned enough money to pay the taxes imposed on it, falls on June 8.

[Dividend Hero @HeroDividend]

This is how it feels to leave Costco only buying what you had on your list

https://t.co/LWRUdg2WnC

[The Olympic Games™ @Olympics]

On this day 15 years ago we witnessed a historical moment, as the #Vancouver2010 Opening Ceremony was the first to be held indoors in the history of the Olympic Games. ❄️✨

#OTD #WinterOlympics

[USA NEWS 🇺🇸 @usanewshq]

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard thanked his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, after winning the Rose Bowl.

Who else thinks we need more of this?

The mainstream media censored this. Share so all Americans see this!

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Santa Claus has left the North Pole 🎄!

Watch Santa's journey as he delivers presents to children worldwide with the NORAD Santa Tracker 🎁🎄 https://t.co/KbbwM7t6Ce

[Dan Kelly @CFIB]

Keep in mind that 6 weeks after the proposed 5% GST holiday expires, the federal carbon tax will rise by 19%. And the carbon tax finds its way into the permanent price of every consumer item, not just the narrow list of products that are to be temporarily exempted from sales taxes.

[Danny Deraney @DannyDeraney]

47 years ago this week, one of the greatest outtakes of all time.

Tim Conway's elephant story. 😂😂

[Kevin Papetti @KPapetti]

There's only one man who can fix the Jays next season

[Patti Bacchus @pattibacchus]

Most Vancouverites couldn’t afford to pay $40,000/year to send their kids to a private school, but they’re generously supporting one to the tune of over $30 million, while underfunded public schools struggle (and fail) to meet the needs of all kids. #bced #bcpoli #vanpoli

[JB @johnhalbitting]

Too good not to share…

Olympic Life Lessons

#Olympics2024

[Sall Grover @salltweets]

Angela Carini abandoned the match moments into it. She was expected to compete against a man in women’s sport. This is not right, fair or safe.

She should not have had to do any of this.

Get men out of women’s sport.