Posted on November 8, 2015 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

“The Bird Man”

All good things must pass and after a week of glorious sunshine in Florida, Peter and I hit the road yesterday with the car pointed west. Before leaving Florida, I wrote a short piece about the small community of people that I have come to know at our time share. They are very much like the wonderful friends I have back home. Here’s how I summed it up: “ People leave all pretenses at the gate when they arrive. There is no one upmanship. Quite frankly, no one gives a damn how rich you are or how smart you are or how important you are in your home community. Here, at The Islander, you’re simply one of the gang. “ One couple who have been going there for years and will celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary next week ,said it best. Coming to Florida and feeling the warmth of sun and friendship, has extended their lives.

I’ll tell you, the combination of time zone change and winding the clocks back an hour has thrown my internal clock into a tizzy. It’s bad enough that I’m usually up with the birds but the last several days, I have been tapping away at my computer at 4:00 in the morning. So, it came as quite a surprise Saturday morning when I stared at the clock on the stove and it was almost 5:30. I checked my pulse to make sure I was alive. Betty and Ivory ( our granddaughter ) had flown in to Florida the night before and due to a lack of space, I walked across the pool deck and spent the night on my brother’s couch. I got up, made a pot of coffee and went and threw in a load of laundry. There are clocks on the stove and microwave and one that is old fashioned and of the wall mounted variety. I quickly discovered that the two digital clocks had not been changed with the time change last week. Can’t remember the last time I did laundry at 4:30 a.m.!

We spent some time with a sweet lady from St. Louis the other evening who has crisscrossed the United States many times in her life. Her husband has had multiple health issues over the years so she does all the driving. Last year, she drove nonstop from St. Louis to North Redington Beach Florida… quite a feat if you’re Peter’s age. She’s well up in her 70’s. Ahem. This is an 18 hour drive! In any event, Dot was immensely helpful as we mapped out the next leg of our trip. Our route will take us through Biloxi, Mississippi ( where we stayed last night ), Dallas, Amarillo ( Texas ), Albuquerque, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona. We’ll spend some time at the Grand Canyon and then head north to Boise, Idaho and finish our trek in Victoria.

Dallas. November 22, 1963. The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy remains one of the most significant events of the 20^th. century. I remember it as if it were yesterday as do many of you my age and older. I still shake my head when I realize that this was 52 years ago. This singular event, more than anything else, reminds me how fast life zips along. If everything goes as planned, I hope to stand on the grassy knoll this morning and stare at the spot in Dealey Plaza where JFK was killed. Apparently there’s an X on the road to mark the exact spot. There are tours of the Texas Book Depository where allegedly, the lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald fired the rifle that killed the president. I say allegedly because there are still conspiracy theorists who believe that there was more than one gunman involved. I plan to write a major piece about this in an upcoming story. Obviously, this will be one of my serious pieces.

I am still waiting to see if my editor will allow me to publish the story, “Resurrection.” It is the true story about a friend of mine who is convinced to have a pedicure. I wouldn’t exactly call the story racy or salacious but it has the potential to raise a few eyebrows from people who read my material on a regular basis. It is actually very harmless. As mentioned in my last piece, I “test drove” it at the book launch and it received a great reception.

Coming up later this week is my tribute to people who do shift work, especially my friends in the nursing profession. It’s called “A Seismic Shift. I will also be publishing the story “Borderdom” about the pleasant hour we spent with Customs officials at the St. Stephens crossing a week and a half ago.

A special shout out. My story editor has a birthday today. Please wish her well.

Have a great day.

“ They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them “

 

 

 

Posted on November 2, 2015 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

A mini vacation in Florida before our next transcontinental trip

 

 

“On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again.”

On The Road Again – Willie Nelson

Peter and I are “on the road again.” He is moving out to Victoria for the next while and I am helping him with the move. All of his worldly possessions are now in his car as we traverse the countries to reach our ultimate destination. Yes, I said countries. You see, we are always seeking adventure. The shortest distance between two points may indeed be a straight line but why do that when you can zig and zag. In our case, the road to Victoria takes us through Florida for a week of sunshine. After some R @ R, we`ll cross the United States diagonally. Like our last two trips, we`ll keep you posted with some of Pete`s amazing photography and a few words from yours truly.

The journey began Friday when we left Halifax mid day. We arrived at the border in Calais early evening. We were the only vehicle in the lineup. This is a Friday night and I figured that there would be a little bit of traffic . The border officials ( bored…er ! ) were anxious to show us their awesome power and detained us for over an hour. As mentioned, Peter was carrying everything with him…. all of his music gear, personal possessions, golf clubs etc. We also had a clam shell on the roof. It did look a little bit like Jed Clampett and the family rolling in to Beverly Hills. You couldn`t find room for an anemic flea.

Obviously Peter and I were running away to Nashville to make it big. ( Thanks KM ). At least this is what appeared to be the big concern. I figured that having an old bald guy to vouch would be worth something but when Customs officials have nothing better to do, you just keep your mouth shut and pray that they don`t bar you entry to the country. I had this vision of a drive through Northern Ontario rather than St. Pete`s Beach.

I`ll spare you the rest of the sordid details but safe to say, I couldn`t let this pass without me taking a good natured stab at Customs officials. So keep your eye out for a story called “Borederdome.”

Those of you who ever went to church are probably aware of the story of Lazurus. Some say that I am pretty good with words but I bet you didn’t know my amazing powers of raising a person from the dead. Last week, I published a story in the Cape Breton Star ( republished here on Week45 on the weekend ) called “Hidden Gems.” I mentioned that Dr. Ken Murray was convinced by “the late Dr. Ron Stewart” to take a two year position in Neil’s Harbor. As it turns out, Ron is very much alive and well! I scrambled to get an e-mail address to apologize and thankfully I was able to connect with him later in the day. He had a great chuckle over the whole thing and was receiving good natured calls, ribbing and condolences from friends and colleagues. When I did the republish on my website, I brought him back to life. I have further insulted him with a promise of copies of my three books!

Shift work. A lot of my friends work shift work , whether it’s at the hospital or the mill in Point Tupper. In my youth, I worked in a sawmill and also a commercial bakery so I’ve had a taste of shift work. But that was over 40 years ago. Recently, I started a new part time job at the hospital that requires shift work. Whoa! What an eye opener. It is not that I didn’t respect shift workers before but now I have a new appreciation for them… especially nurses, who are ( in my humble opinion! ) the people who provide the mortar for the health care system. I decided to write a tribute piece to them so keep your eye out for the story “A Seismic Shift.”

And finally ( wow , this is a long MMM today ). I have a story that most dog owners will be able to relate to. ( Yeah, a preposition at the end of a sentence sucks but the watered down coffee I’m drinking in the hotel lobby at 6:00 in the morning, as I write this, sucks too! ). Has your dog ever farted at exactly the worst possible time? Maybe you were having a dinner party with special guests. No matter. I know a young woman who was doing a very important video conference with people across the country when her dog, Casey, let one rip. No, the other conference call participants couldn’t smell it but they could hear it. And, the young woman was suffering from morning sickness at the time.  This is pretty light fare ( Len Light? ) but I think you’ll get a kick out of it.

Ok. Done.

Have a great week and look out for more “stories from the road.”

Posted on October 26, 2015 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

Beautiful Boylston

 

 

I must confess that I love three of the four seasons, maybe none more so than the Fall. I understand why so many tourists visit our province at this time of the year. It is such a treat for the eyes to watch Mother Nature unfurl all of her colors. Unless you’re a professional photographer, our phone cameras simply can’t capture the magnificence of it all.

My books arrived last Friday and I am very pleased with the results. The combination of my son Peter’s photography and the design work of Jean Pearcey have produced a visually appealing cover.

I did a book launch in Guysborough on Saturday. When I left Antigonish , early that afternoon for a 2:00 p.m. engagement at the Cyril Ward library, it was a very gray day… perfect for people to be indoors. By the time I got to Monastery, the sun started to peek out and by Boylston, you simply couldn’t get a more beautiful afternoon… perfect for a drive to look at the leaves or maybe put in the wood. But not the best weather for a book launch! However, 10 brave souls showed up and we had a good time. Three of the attendees were foreign exchange students. I’m not sure how much culture they picked up but it was delightful to have them there.

Later this week, Peter and I are hitting the road one more time. He’s moving to the West coast and we are driving to Victoria via Florida. You must think that we have a terrible sense of direction. We thought that a week of sun would be good for the spirits before crossing the U.S. on a diagonal track. I’m sure there will be lots of wonderful pictures from Peter posted on my website and surely a story or two. Join us for the ride.

Coming up this week, I will be posting the story about the Marian Boychoir. If you’re not at least 60 and didn’t grow up in Antigonish, this story won’t be familiar to you. However, it is worth the read because this choir produced some world class music under the guidance of a brilliant priest/musician, Rev. Terry Lynch. One of my neighbors on Court Street was in the very first group back in 1953.If all goes well, I might be writing a book about the choir. “Oh, How They Could Sing” will appear right here on Wednesday. There will be a picture of the 1960 choir to go with the story. See how many faces you can identify.

Later in the week, I will also be posting the story about an honest to goodness country doctor. Ken Murray has been practicing medicine up in Neil’s Harbor for 43 years. He and his wife Linda ( who is a tour de force in the community ) are originally from Halifax. They went to Cape Breton for a two year stint and ended up staying. You will recall that I said earlier that I enjoyed three seasons? I’m far less fond of winter than I used to be. One of the main reasons the Murrays stayed in the Highlands was because of the snow. They are outdoor enthusiasts and love it when there’s 17 feet of snow on the ground. “Hidden Gems” is the story of a caring and compassionate couple who have made a major contribution to their community.

How ‘bout them Blue Jays? I’m probably like a lot of people. I am a very casual baseball fan but boy, did I ever get caught up in the excitement of the Blue Jays post season run. Yes, the cynics will point out that it is folly to watch a bunch of millionaires throw, catch and hit a baseball but for sheer excitement, this was great television.

And, the Habs are 9-0.

Have a great week.