Posted on October 28, 2013 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

As you saw from the picture I posted yesterday on Facebook, I had a lot of fun at the TOPS conference on the weekend. There were over 100 delegates and all but one of them were female. I was the guest presenter and, in addition to a few serious thoughts , I read three of my stories…. two from my book which I had received from the printers the day before. The third was “Heat Wave” which I saved for the very end. I thought that this was an ideal venue to test drive my story on menopause. Just in case things didn’t pan out, I parked my car at the entrance of the parking lot ,close to the main road, in order to make a quick getaway. I am happy to report that I managed to escape unscathed and sold close to two dozen books to boot. This was a warm and wonderful group of people. They obviously know how to have fun.

And, yes, “Heat Wave” will appear in tomorrow’s Casket and will be up on my website around suppertime.

Did you know that I played football for St.F.X. back in the early ’70’s? And did you see my grad photo on this page a few weeks ago? Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a helmet that will fit over an afro? By a quirk of fate, I found myself doing the punting chores for the football team one fateful year. I was actually the equipment manager at the time but somehow I ended up playing for one year. I believe that this was the year that X started a long slide in that sport. In any event, I wrote a story about all the sports being played in the Fall along with my 10 seconds of fame ( actually it was 10 seconds of terror! ) . The story is called ” A Fall to Remember” and will be coming soon.

We’re still tinkering with the new website, including some video footage of the Len and Phil show from a few weeks ago. Hope to have this up and running in the not too distant future.

If you just can’t wait for my book launch ( Dec.5th. )  and need to purchase some books right away ( to send overseas to your loved ones ), they are available at Brendan’s Fairway and  Brosha’s Short Stoppe. You can also contact my editor, Clare Lazzuri at 735-2443.

Posted on October 26, 2013 under Storytelling with no comments yet

“For they looked in the future and what did they see

They saw an iron road runnin’ from sea to sea.”

Gordon Lightfoot – Canadian Railroad Trilogy

A Sunday morning walk has brought me face to face with the past as I meander down the train tracks past the Heritage Museum.  I have seen the train trestle many times, from a distance, spanning the confluence of three rivers.  On this day, something beckons me towards the mist which shrouds the bridge and tracks.  I gingerly walk among the rails, festooned with high weeds, discarded coffee cups and broken beer bottles.  I am tempted to lower myself to the ground to put my ear to the steel rail to see if a train might be coming.  But all I hear is silence.

Travelling by rail was once a vital transportation link.  It was the favored mode of travel for people going to the city for medical appointments or on shopping trips.  It carried students who attended the local university to and from Antigonish.  It took high school students on educational trips to far off locales like Rimouski, Quebec and for sports fanatics, it was simply the best way to get to Montreal or Toronto to see the Leafs or Habs play.  And in a distant time, it carried our boys off to war.

Everyone of a certain age has a train story but sadly, our children and grandchildren who live here will not be so lucky.  Passenger rail service has all but disappeared from Atlantic Canada.

Rail has a magnetic draw, even to a three year old girl, some fifty years ago.  The girl’s beloved aunt, who lived with her family, was travelling on the Rail Liner to Cape Breton, and this wasn’t going over well with her small niece.  She didn’t want her aunt to leave or, better still, wanted to ride the rails with her.

It was a cool, crisp fall day and the youngster had watched her dear aunt depart, suitcase in hand.   Wearing her pretty yellow dandelion hat, she remained outside playing in the yard.  Or at least that’s what everyone thought.

When the girl’s mother called the children in for lunch, the three year old could not be found.  Her older brother reported that she was headed for the train station. That is what she had told him.  Concern turned to panic and then fear as the mother and her five year old son hurried eastward down Main Street.  They stopped at the flower shop and discovered that a small person fitting the description had indeed passed by their doors a short time ago.  A call was placed to the police department to report a missing child.

The mother, son and the flower shop owner raced towards the train station. They stood on the train platform and looked to the left in the direction of the dairy.  Nothing.  As they swung to the right, they spotted in the distance a small figure in a yellow hat, close to the trestle and the rushing river below. The child was rescued without any harm done. The tears only came later when the police arrived at the train station and she discovered that this was serious business indeed.

My wife still loves to travel by train.

Posted on October 24, 2013 under Thursday Tidbits with 2 comments

Last weekend I went for a long walk and ended up down at the old train station which is now our local historical museum. I stood out front where the loading platform used to be and thought about days gone by when the Railiner used to pass through our town daily. I decided to wander up the tracks ( no fear of encountering a train ) and headed towards the trestle, a place I had never been to before. It passes over a river that empties into Antigonish Harbor. Weeds are growing between the rails and the tracks are littered with broken bottles and coffee cups. As I stood there staring into the mist, I recalled the golden age of rail and decided to write a story about it. This is a pure nostalgia piece and I will put it up on my website this Saturday. It’s called ” A Train of Thought.”

And speaking of train wrecks, The Casket has agreed to run my story about menopause next week. I have never received so much reaction from a story that hasn’t even been published yet. I am speaking at a conference this weekend and might test drive it there. If I disappear off the radar next week, you’ll know that it didn’t go well. This story had more rewrites than any story I’ve written before. Hmm. Wonder why?!

Betty and I will be heading off for vacation at the beginning of November so expect some Florida themes. I have been told that there won’t be as much shopping this year as in previous years. I am somewhat disappointed as this always gives me fodder for stories. But then again, I have known people to have a change of heart. One way or another, the stories will continue to come.

Books arriving Friday. Be the first in your neighborhood to have a first edition,  autographed copy. Limit of 100 per customer.

Have a great weekend.