Posted on November 16, 2017 under Thursday Tidbits with 6 comments

Tickling the ivories at age one

 

Vitamin S.

Never heard of it before?

In my Monday post ( Read by hundreds of thousands of people around the globe. “ Would you believe 420?” Thanks, Maxwell Smart ), I talked about the importance of fellowship as a determinant of good health later in life. A friend of mine in the health care field told me that they now have a name for this. Vitamin S is “ Socialization.” Technology has created a new isolation. While we are connected in seconds with friends near and far, it’s not the same thing as a good old fashioned face to face encounter.

Along the same lines, I noticed that in Cape Breton, they are experimenting with something called a time bank. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cape-breton-north-shore-time-bank-1.4397035) . This is something that would work in Antigonish. But it’s kind of sad that it’s come to this because in the “ good old days,” neighbors always helped neighbors. They didn’t need an app for it.

I was in the kitchen yesterday morning merrily doing the dishes. For some bizarre reason, once the cool ( cold ) weather comes, my hands are freezing all the time and warm dish water is just the tonic. I heard fire truck sirens and was shocked to see them pull up in front of our apartment building. Somehow, our neighbor’s washing machine caught fire. Seems counter intuitive, doesn’t it?

That would not have happened in the days of the old wringer washer. Not only was it the way to wash clothes but it also made a great plaything when one of your siblings would push you around the living room while you sat in the tub! I tried to find a picture of the old ringer washer in one of the family photo albums but no such luck. I did , however find a picture of yours truly at the age of one trying out the ivories.

Of course, in many places in rural India ( including the convent where I lived ), we washed our clothes the old way… by hand, and then rinsed them by smashing them on a concrete platform.

We try our best not to be wasteful, especially when it comes to food. So, when I was making a few plates of sandwiches for the funeral reception on Monday, I saved the crusts in a bowl. Now here’s the million dollar question: How many crusts from egg salad sandwiches does it take to make a “ crust sandwich?” I sat down yesterday and ate the entire bowl. I chuckled to myself how insane this would look to most people. That is, until I thought about many of the places in the world where my lunch would have been a veritable feast.

I am having problems securing my Indian visa and won’t be leaving for India until after Christmas, if at all. I received two calls on Tuesday asking me to sing Christmas carols at seniors’ homes. How come my fan base is people over the age of 90?! I am hardly what one would call a “ teen idol.”

TAKE THE TEST. What if you could perform a short medical procedure in the privacy of your own home ( the bathroom to be precise ) and possibly save your life? I mentioned last week and wrote about colonoscopies. https://www.week45.com/getting-to-the-bottom-of-it/  I have been a regular participant in Cancer Care Nova Scotia’s screening program for bowel cancer. When I received an abnormal result, I went and had the colonoscopy where they removed a small polyp. The biopsy was negative. I guess I can just continue to be a regular arsehole!!!

Have a great week.

Posted on November 13, 2017 under Monday Morning Musings with 5 comments

Irreplaceable

 

Today, family and friends of James MacPherson will come together one last time to say farewell. Many of us hoped that James would be around to sing us into the afterlife. It will be difficult for our choir to sing for James and not with him.

It is often said that no one is irreplaceable. I agree with this 99% of the time. But not in the case of James. Who can possibly replace his rich baritone voice, play the pipe organ with mastery and direct a choir… simultaneously? But let’s celebrate the fact that we had him in in our midst all these years.

There will only be one James MacPherson.

What are the determinants of a long, healthy and happy life? I have put this question to many people in their 90’s. The answers are predictable and you know them all. The one that deserves a lot of attention and isn’t mentioned as often as others, is fellowship.

The flip side of fellowship is loneliness. There can’t possibly be anything worse than growing old without being surrounded by family and friends. Years ago, I visited a lady at the RK on a regular basis. She was adopted from an orphanage as an infant and never knew her parents. She remembers the day her foster parents came to the orphanage. “ Oh, please pick me, please pick me,” she implored. Most of us haven’t had to deal with that emotion.

I took my daughter Betsy on many of these visits and we would often sing for M. Invariably, M. would be in tears when we left, telling us of her unyielding loneliness.

Last week I received a call to fill in as a spare for a game of bridge. I haven’t played much since Lou Brosha died. I often joke that the only thing I learned at University during my undergraduate years, was how to play bridge. As the years pile up, I realize that it may have been the most important thing I learned. Bridge has kept me in touch with people, not in the way that Facebook keeps me in touch with old friends. There’s something wholesome and nourishing being at a table in close proximity, playing cards, seeing smiling faces and sharing a few laughs. Now THAT is good for the soul. They say it’s also good for the mind.

It didn’t take me long to say yes. My playing partners were veterans. I was the rookie. Their ages… 95, 93,  and 79. For two and a half hours we played the cards we were dealt. In the background, we listened to Elvis sing Amazing Grace and several other gospel tunes. Lots of Irish and Scottish music as well,  including my new favorite “ Fields of Athenry. “ There were two dishes of candy strategically placed so that they were in easy reach!

I made several rookie mistakes and as a result won the boobie prize: four shiny quarters. But truly, I won the grand prize having the opportunity to spend time with warm, witty, and wonderful people. They are living examples of growing old well.

It’s not enough to just grow old.

Have a great week.

P.S. Coldest Remembrance Day ever? Several people seem to think so. A new term was coined on Saturday to explain how cold is cold for we seniors: It’s called “ age adjusted wind chill factor.” !

Posted on November 10, 2017 under Storytelling with 12 comments

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8hQHRnhcAU[/embedyt]

MacPherson’s Lament – Highland Games Mass

 

“ He who sings, prays twice.”

St. Augustine.

A great voice has been stilled.

James MacPherson was Antigonish’s eighth wonder of the world. With his amazing voice and staggering talent, he could have made it big anywhere in the world.  He didn’t seek the limelight. He avoided it much of the time. He chose to stay close to the ones he loved the most, his family, his friends and fellow musicians.

“ I will play for him on my harp, with my lute and ten stringed lyre.”

He was a big man with a big voice and a big heart. When he sang, you felt that you were in the presence of genius. And indeed, you were. He was an extraordinary pipe organ player. He could play with the delicacy of a butterfly and with the power of a thunderstorm.

“ Ave, ave verum corpus natum de Maria virgine.”

Sitting in the choir loft watching James sing, play and direct was an honor. On any given day, the choir was never sure what hymns he would pull out of the filing cabinet. It depended on his mood. Or the atmospheric  conditions. Or the sermon he just heard. Or a reading from the gospel. Inspiration came immediately from the deep well of his musical repertoire.

It’s not easy to play a pipe organ , sing and direct a choir simultaneously. Both hands and two feet are required for the organ. But such was James’ brilliance that he could make it all work. We often marvelled when he would improvise something on the fly. Communion would be winding down and he would just cut loose with reckless abandon, making it up as he went. It was staggering to watch. When he finished, he would look at the choir and say “ you’ll never hear that piece again.”

“ And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings… and hold you in the palm of his hands.”

Special occasions brought out special music. The Battle Hymn of the Republic was one of his favorites . The Our Father and Hail Mary on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day were spine tingling. The Easter music, sung over four days, may have been his favorite.

When the choir was “on”, he would beam with the greatest of joy. He was thrilled when St.Ninian’s started to refurbish the Ozias LeDuc paintings.  He stared in awe when they unveiled St. Cecelia, the patron saint of musicians, positioned appropriately just above the choir loft.

“ Goodness and mercy all my life, will surely follow me,

And in God’s house forever more, a dwelling place shall be.”

He sang for the Pope. He sang for royalty. And now, he sings with the angels.

Rest well, good and faithful servant.