Posted on August 16, 2014 under Storytelling with no comments yet

Strait Laced

 

 

When I think of the Strait area, a few words automatically come to mind: industry, uncertainty and resilience.

For a very long time, Port Hastings and Port Hawkesbury have provided the backdrop for any number of industries.  Aggregate has been rolling down Porcupine Mountain for as many years as I can remember, with large container boats coming from all over the globe to fill their holds.  And the Christmas tree, that appears as if suspended in space near the top of the mountain, is iconic.

The Heavy Water plant, Gulf Oil, NSPC, Georgia Pacific, NSFI, Stora, Stora Enso, Newpage and more recently, Port Hawkesbury Paper.  There were and are many more.  The new star on the block is Nu Star, a well-respected company providing petroleum and chemical storage.

The paper mill has always been the key driver of the economy in the quad counties.  It has provided a great percentage of the good paying jobs in the region.  But it has also provided the greatest amount of angst and uncertainty … for decades.  The community has learned to live with this uncertainty.  In some ways it defines it.

As you approach the Strait area from the mainland you are treated to the panorama that is St. Georges Bay with the rolling hills of Cape Breton rising in the distance.  Once you cross the causeway you will find the Port Hastings Museum and an excellent Visitor Information Centre.  Continuing toward Port Hawkesbury you find many motels and restaurants overlooking the Strait of Canso.  Straddling the two communities is the Nova Scotia Community College, a world class institution providing some very unique programs.  On one of my first tours of the facility, I remember standing by the wave pool and experiencing mild sea sickness when they cranked up the surf.  I knew right then and there that I could cross pilotage off my list of career choices.

Eleven years ago I opened a satellite office for business in Port Hawkesbury.  I thought about it long and hard before approaching the law firm of Evans and MacIsaac.  I reckoned that if things didn’t go well, I wouldn’t have to go far for legal advice.  Shindigs was my second choice.

The folks in Hastings and the Hawk are among the finest people you will find.  That is, until you journey to the next town or village in Cape Breton.  You see, everyone on Cape Breton Island is friendly.  But because of my tenure in port Hawkesbury, I know these people best.

Like most mortals, I like to eat and my favorite haunt is the Fleur de Lis.  Now, before I have all the other fine eating establishments mad at me, I like the others too.  The best fish and chips anywhere can be found at the Port Hawkesbury Motel.  Proximity is key on a busy workday and I find good home cooking five minutes from my office at the Fleur de Lis.   I have gotten to know the staff; even when they are busy (always), they never look rushed.

But there is a gaping hole in this restaurant these days.  Sandra, like Elvis, has “left the building”.  I loved watching her survey her domain when things were hectic beyond belief.  She was just like an air traffic controller.  And she always had this uncanny knack of prying a few extra dollars out of my pocket for charity.  She was a master fundraiser.  You simply didn’t say no to Sandra.

The jewel of the Strait area is the new Civic Centre.  I have attended many events there including seminars, hockey curling and concerts big and small.  The Shannon studio is a gem for musicians who want to entertain in an intimate setting with great acoustics.

Last winter, I decide to do an official launch of a book that I had just published. I booked the Shannon Studio.  My event happened to land on one of the coldest nights of the entire winter and the wind was whipping light snow, making visibility poor. At 6:58 PM (the launch was at 7:00), the audience consisted of my wife and the janitor.  I have never performed anything in front of an audience of one before, except maybe confession.

At 7:00, two brave souls showed up and by 7:15 we had close to twenty.  Some of these folks had travelled from well out of town to attend my event.  One more thing that defines these communities is loyalty.  I learned that first hand on this cold winter’s night.

During these warm summer days you may find me hastening to the Hawk. I’ll be checking out Granville Green or going for a stroll on the boardwalk.  And tuning in to 101.5.

Here’s hoping you haven’t tuned me out.

 

Posted on August 14, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with 2 comments

Tall and Small… and Wonderful

 

 

I was walking to work yesterday and passed the Tall and Small café, as I do every other day. I saw the table and chairs and the flowers. It looked so inviting and welcoming. This is a very special place. The food and coffee are terrific and it has an ambience that is unique to the town.

I was humming the Carly Simon song of the same name on my way to work yesterday. I could smell it and sense it in the air. I bet you know what I’m talking about. You can feel September approaching. The students will be arriving soon at St.F.X. The yellow school buses will be back on the roads. The Exhibition will be gearing up and the Ferris wheel will be high in the sky over Fairview Street. The air is cooler and the days are getting shorter. The times… and seasons, are a changing.

Wakes and funerals. Spending far too much time in funeral homes and churches lately saying goodbye to old friends. On my way to Ingonish tomorrow to attend the funeral of a St.F.X classmate.

I had a wonderful chat with one of my teachers from Junior High days at the old Antigonish High School. “ Do you remember…” Sometimes that’s all it takes to bring the memories flooding back. We talked about deceased teachers and administrators, sports teams and the like. It must be a part of aging but reminiscing is something I do a lot of these days.

It’s great to have phone and internet back after a 5 day hiatus. Oh my, but are we slaves to technology or what? I nearly went into withdrawal in the first 24 hours after the lightning strike. We are utterly at the mercy of technology. I think the global economy would grind to a halt if something happened to the internet.

Lots of new stories in the works.

I will give a full accounting of the lightning strike next week… “A Bolt From the Blue”. I must say, I’m getting a wee bit weary recounting the story but people seem to have a genuine fascination with natural disasters.

Have a great weekend.

Posted on August 12, 2014 under Storytelling with no comments yet

A surprising find in the freezer

 

 

I hopped into the shower, sweating profusely, after a session of lawn mowing in very high humidity.  We have “his and hers” bathrooms, one of the luxuries of being empty nesters.  My shower is a typical bath/shower ensemble.  I routinely throw my towel over the curtain rod to let it dry.  These days the results are mixed, as trying to dry anything with the humidex hovering around 40 is next to impossible.

I unfurled the towel, still damp from my last shower, and was about to toss it on the toilet seat when out fell a pair of earwigs.  They ended up in the tub at my feet.  Luckily I don’t have a strong aversion to creepy things but I must admit that I find earwigs amongst the least attractive of the creator’s creatures.  Earwigs must have been standing in the “ugly” lineup when looks were being handed out.

Yes, it is that time of the summer when there is a proliferation of bugs, insects and other creepy-crawlies.  Take your pick: red fire ants, black flies, horse flies, mosquitoes, wasps, bees and, one of my favorites, fruit flies.

Long before the “green movement” grabbed a foothold, all of our household waste was thrown together in one bag and taken off to the landfill.  I can even remember a time when our garbage man (this was the politically correct name back then) came into our yard with a horse and sleigh in the wintertime.

Nowadays, everything we consume is sorted and compartmentalized.  God forbid that a plastic bag get mixed in with solid waste.  (I’m watching you – Ed.)

Not all that remarkably, we generate very little waste any more when there are just the two of us at home.  But in the summertime, when company reaches its zenith, garbage, recyclables and compost pile up at an amazing rate.  This also coincides with the warmest of weather, bringing all of nature’s pests out of the woodwork.

It is now fruit fly season.  Most of us compost and you know exactly what I’m talking about when piles of banana peels, potato skins and chicken bones start to percolate in a bucket on the top of your counter.  It doesn’t take long before an army of fruit flies descends upon the composter; they hover in masses like teenage girls around Justin Bieber.  They are not nearly as gross looking as earwigs but they are a nuisance.  Public health officials have gone so far as to suggest that we should be putting our compost in the freezer during the dog days of summer.

I have this vision of a guy arriving home late after an evening of revelry with his buddies.  He decides to have a nightcap.  He pours himself two fingers of rum with a dash of coke.  He reaches into the freezer and grabs what he believes is a bag of ice.  He’s not paying real close attention and ends up with a few frozen apple cores and some orange peels floating in his glass.

There will be an inquisition in the morning when his wife spots the glass, empty save for the fruit flies buzzing around the strange debris.

What bugs you?