Posted on April 13, 2013 under Storytelling with 4 comments

We live in a small community and up until ten years ago or so, all stores, except pharmacies and convenience (corner) stores, were closed for business on Sundays.   Many shift workers and tourism operators exerted pressure on the provincial government to join other jurisdictions and open everything on Sundays.   Although this disappointed church officials and bootleggers, who both plied their trades on this “day of rest”, many people were happy with the change.  However, the corner store operators were concerned because, until that time, they had been the only show in town on the Lord’s Day.

Convenience store proprietors are an industrious, hard-working and creative lot.  Undeterred by this new threat, many did what any business does in hard times… adapt or close the doors.  Realizing that the status quo would not win the battle with large grocery chains, they went to their strengths; location, client service … and innovative partnerships.

The good news is that we have a convenience store within walking distance of our house.  The bad news is that this convenience store houses a bakery.  When you really need some milk or cat food in a hurry, there is no advantage in revving up the engine and driving three kilometers to save a few pennies. Especially with the price of gas.  However, it is very unsettling for a self-confessed sugar addict to have to pass the bakery to get to the groceries or cat food.  This problem will only resolve itself when our cat’s nine lives come to an end.   Or when my wife stops using  18% coffee cream.

When our kids were little we lived across the street from the store and were there so often that we had a charge account!  The store owner and staff and the bakery staff always felt like family.  Many of them have been there since the days that I actually had hair. They are uncommonly friendly and there is a lot of good natured ribbing going on all the time.

Did I mention the lemon meringue pies?

I know the baking schedule better than the bakery staff does so I try to avoid lemon pie day.  I am the only one in our house who eats sweets.  My wife is gluten free so buying an entire pie is usually reserved for when we have company.  They do sell it by the slice but I can’t see the point of that. I would just have to make several trips to the bakery instead of one stop shopping.

Today is Saturday, a non-lemon pie day, and no one is coming for supper.  However, the gravitational pull of the earth draws me into the bakery today for some inexplicable reason.  Maybe I am suffering from a Lent hangover when I gave up sweets for 40 days and 40 nights.  I gingerly make my way to the bakery counter and am devastated to find out that at this very moment, the lemon filling is cooking on the stove.  Which means the pies will be ready in about an hour.  Reserving a trip to Cuba is almost as exciting as reserving a lemon pie.

My sister also owns a convenience store but it is 10 kilometers away.  She also traffics sweets.

Client service.  Convenience.  Calories.  A winning combination if I ever saw one.

Posted on April 13, 2013 under Storytelling with no comments yet

I have several weaknesses, not the least of them being sweets. Later today I will be posting a story about a local convenience store ( corner store ) just down the road that has an excellent bakery.

Like many golf enthusiasts, I will be glued to the televison this weekend watching the last two rounds of the Masters. A friend of mine who has a young family was telling me that he would be “putting the hammer down” this weekend and demanding some uninterrupted time to watch the golf. Of course, to maintain harmony in the relationship, he will need to build up some serious credits before and after the tournament.

Not sure if anyone else is finding this spring cooler than usual. I mean, it is snowing here today. One year ago this very weekend, I was running in the Boston Marathon and it was 90 degrees. Today I could go snowshoeing. So much for global warming.

I continue to get feedback on the story I did about James Macpherson. He has a very big fan club from all over the world.

Have a good weekend.

Posted on April 10, 2013 under Storytelling with 3 comments

There are lots of jobs in the world.  Most of the population works at run of the mill stuff.  We serve the public in retail, we teach or practice law and we run companies large and small.  We learn a trade then we provide goods and services to the public.  Some of the most demanding jobs, like parenting and caregiving, lack financial compensation but enrich us in many other ways.  There are some really important jobs where people’s lives are at stake.  And there are others that are not critical but seem that way.

People who handle dynamite have a really important job.  One false step, one lapse in concentration, can have devastating, even fatal consequences.   These are highly trained professionals who may have an added advantage if they have teenagers in the house.  They are used to handling hazardous material once they step across the threshold of their homes.  Going home can be more dangerous than going to work.

In Canada, there is nothing more sacred than the Stanley Cup.  It was donated by the former Governor General of Canada, Lord Stanley and has been handed out repeatedly since 1892.  The Cup is handled as if it was God’s first creation.  It has a coterie of white gloved men who carry it around the country handling it with the delicacy of Waterford crystal.  It has its own felt lined carrying case.  You’d swear it was carrying the remains of the Greek gods themselves.  These important men with this important job, take the cup to small villages and large cities from coast to coast to coast.  Each player on the winning Stanley Cup team gets to spend a day with this national treasure showing it off to their families, friends and communities.  Sometimes the Cup is used as a vessel for drinking and other things better  left unsaid.  So much for sanctity.

People who transport harvested organs have really important jobs.  They must be fast and efficient to get these life savings body parts from one hospital to another.  They are under enormous pressure to deliver the goods in order to save someone’s life.

I thought about these things the other day as I carried a small thermos of coffee to work for my wife.  It was in a bright red lunch bag.  The way I was handling it, you would have thought for a moment that I was transporting an organ for transplant to the hospital… or dynamite.   It certainly felt that way as I carefully kept my eyes on the sidewalk that gleamed with a fresh dusting of snow hiding a hint of ice underfoot.

When your wife is working long hours, having fresh, hot coffee on demand is the eleventh commandment.  And, if this means transporting her favorite blend over icy sidewalks, on foot, for 2.5 kilometers, toting a small red bag more suited to someone in kindergarten; then so be it.  You carry it as if it were nitric acid, making sure that not one drop seeps from the thermos.

Hell hath no fury like a woman deprived of her coffee.  Being a coffee mule is a really important job.