Posted on September 1, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

On our weekend hike at Cape George, Betty told me to go to …L.  Here’s proof that I went to L and back!

 

 

Long weekends are such a blessing, especially when the weather cooperates. Saturday and Sunday were simply perfect. We took the opportunity Sunday to go for a long hike out on the trails at Cape George. We probably bit off a bit more than we could chew and at the hour and a half mark, bailed and came down the Marsh Road. When we got to Albie’s, I seriously thought about buying a car. The old legs had had just about enough.

We spent a lovely evening with our old neighbors in Cloverville and shared some funny stories form when we lived in the neighborhood.

I also had time to write a new story this weekend.  Actually, I think this one will turn into a trilogy. Shane and I were driving to Middle Musquodobit last Friday to attend a wake, when we passed a rather large sawmill. I saw this enormous pile of sawdust and just like that, I was transported back to Victoria, B.C. 41 years ago ( not to be mistaken with 41 B.C. I’m not that old! ) when I worked in a massive sawmill for six months after graduating from X. If you can imagine a softie university student going to work in the rough and tumble environment of a sawmill. My first job was on the “green chain.” If you don’t know what that is, look it up, or better still just wait a few days and read my story. It’s called “Milling Around.”

Every once in a while , I write a story that I really like. It’s like a musician having a favorite tune that he or she plays. This story has already been published in the Cape Breton Star. It’s odd sometimes seeing your work in print. It often looks quite different than the copy that I pound out on the computer keyboard.

Coming up on Wednesday, is my account of my solo trip around the Cabot Trail. There’s something about this story that makes me want to be a travel writer. While I have done “the trail” dozens of times, doing it alone is a very different experience. I hope you will enjoy “Happy Trails” and that you will share it with people from here who live in other parts of the world.

Later in the week, I will publish the story “They Call Me Yellow Jell-o.” Every word of this story is true and I have waited 37 years to write it… to protect a lot of people!

Here’s hoping you have a great week and welcome to September.

 

Posted on August 25, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Do you know where this is?

 

 

The first Antigonish Art Fair is officially in the books.  David Miller and Beth Latwaitis deserve most of the credit for bringing this wonderful event to life. They worked tirelessly all spring and summer securing funding, contacting local artisans and artists and food vendors. Jyotsna and Ruth put in a lot of time with the logistics and there were tons of volunteers. My job as emcee was a lot of fun. It was chaotic at times trying to juggle all of the acts at the gazebo ( and in the Farmer’s Market barn for the last event ), but I got a front row seat. I liken it to baking cookies. The other committee members assembled the ingredients, Jyotsna and I mixed up the batter and the put the cookies in the oven. I hope most people agree that the finished product was pretty tasty.

If anybody says that there’s nothing to do in Antigonish, please feel free to give them a shake on my behalf. I won’t even start to list everything that has gone on in the past week. But if these same people hauled themselves off the couch last Friday evening they would have seen the following at the Art Fair: “popping” a dance craze that came out of L.A. in the 70’s ( Los Angeles… not Lake Ainslie! ); Arpo and Ally the clowns; belly dancing, Wild Hearts, Lazurus, a violinist from Madras, India; some awesome guitar players and vocalists and much more.

And did I mention the Philipinos? We have an ever growing population of Philipinos who have chosen Antigonish as their home. Besides bringing an incredible work ethic to the companies who employ them, they have also brought an irrepressible joy for life as was demonstrated in their two performances at the Art Fair. Please go out of your way to make them welcome in our community. They are wonderful people.

Here’s my last word on the murals. I spoke with local artist Eli Tynan who explained to me how the murals have surfaced around town. The Town ran a contest and the successful artists were able to have their works scanned and printed on aluminum. One of Eli’s alcohol ink paintings will soon grace a building on the Main. Look for it. But don’t drink it!

Ok. Enough culture. When was the last time you tried to cancel a credit card? When was the last time you felt like throwing your phone on the ground and stomping on it while the client service rep on the other end of the line is trying to explain to you why this is not possible? And do you have any idea how ridiculous this exercise is when you have a credit balance? “Credit Card Crazy” is a tell all about my attempts to cancel a card with a credit balance ( wait for this )…. of  30 cents.

Whoosh. That is the sound of life speeding along. It’s the end of August, in case you haven’t noticed. It is startling watching the months hurtle by like a locomotive coming down a mountain pass.

Have a great week. Long weekend coming up!

 

Posted on August 18, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

The motto at The Clucking Hen Restaurant

 

 

I saw this t-shirt at The Clucking Hen restaurant which is located a few kilometers up the road after getting off the Englishtown Ferry. It is one of my favorite places to eat on the Cabot Trail. The food is excellent ( their homemade butterscotch cream and lemon meringue pies are to die for ) and the women who run the place are , simply put, lovely people.

I had an amazing day last Friday. I did a day long solo trip around the Cabot Trail which was a first for me. I have done the Trail well over 50 times but never alone. No kids, grandkids, brothers, sisters, cousins, ghosts of deceased relatives… and no Betty. She was working and couldn’t come. I started the day visiting Raylene Rankin’s grave in Mabou and finished it attending the wake of an old university friend, Bobby Doucette, in Ingonish. In between, I travelled the highways and byways, including a side trip to Meat Cove.

I have penned a lengthy story ( circa 1200 words ) about the trip called “ Happy Trails.”

One good piece of news ( for me, anyway ) is that the gift shop at Cabot Links is now carrying my book. The gift shop is housed in a giant yurt.  I met a wonderful lady by the name of Ann, who manages the place. We struck up an animated conversation and before I knew it, the books were on the shelf. She later confessed to being a Campbell. When I got home, I wrote a story about this chance meeting. It’s called “Salt of the Yurt” and will be appearing soon at Week45.

So. Were you at Woodstock , 45 years ago? Every other 60 something person claims to have been there. By my reckoning, the globe would have tipped over if everyone who claims to have been there, was actually there.

I also wrote a story about earworms and hope to have this one posted soon as well.

And of course, “ A Bolt From The Blue,” my firsthand account of our lightning strike, will appear on my website on Wednesday this week. I must say that I have reached the saturation point with this story. It’s pretty bad when you go to two funerals and a wedding and you get as much attention as the dearly departed and the newly weds.

I have a good story in this week’s Cape Breton Star about chicken. (“ Chickened Out “) . If you happen to be in Cape Breton this week, you can pick up your free copy at most newsstands.

If everything is going well for you today, count your blessings. Never take your good fortune for granted.

Have a great week.