Posted on June 30, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Me and Constable Mike McKenna at the Antigonish Art fair

 

 

The picture above was taken just a few minutes before the opening ceremony at the Antigonish Art Fair last Friday at Chisholm Park. It was beautiful evening and a large crowd enjoyed a multi cultural evening of entertainment and food. The star attraction, though, was the local art community. Approximately 30 artists were on hand to showcase their works. There will be four more events in this series. The next one is Friday, July 11^th. during Highland Games week. Come and join us and stop by to say hello. I will once again be the emcee for the show.

I enjoy going to the Farmer’s Market. I rarely buy anything but I like having a coffee and just chatting with folks. It is the quintessential meeting place. I never fail to get a new story idea. So, I was at the Market last Saturday and this lady I know stops by the picnic table where I’m sitting. She’s carrying a large bag of beautiful “fresh from the garden” carrots and an abundance of greens. I was admiring the haul and was surprised to find out that this harvest was not for human consumption. It was for her ”foster rabbit.” I’m not making up this next part. The rabbit lives in her house… in the bathroom. I don’t remember too much more of the conversation as I started to write the story in my head.

I often wonder if I’ll run out of story ideas. I don’t think so.

I need just one more person to sign up to bring me to 500 “likes’ on my Week45 Facebook page. I am told that this is a milestone for a business. I am going to offer to write a story for lucky #500.

Tomorrow is Canada Day and I hope you will take time to think about how lucky you are to live in this great country. It is difficult to watch the atrocities in the Middle East where there seems to be little respect for life,  among the fanatics.

And speaking of being grateful, I, for one, am very grateful to live in Antigonish. I think it is one of the most amazing small towns in Canada.

My “gratitude jar” is officially half full. ( The pessimists would say half empty! ). Every day for the past six months, I have written a small note at the end of the day, expressing my gratefulness for something, and have deposited it in a jar. It doesn’t have to be something profound. I know one entry was expressing gratitude for a lemon meringue pie that was given to me by M.F.

Can you believe that it was 33 years ago on June 28^th. that one of our national heroes died? Terry Fox continues to inspire us. We all know people who are struggling with cancer today.

Please. No whining unless you have something serious to whine about. The weather doesn’t count.

Happy Canada Day to all of you.

Posted on June 23, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

Heading to a 100th. birthday party – July 1/89

 

 

The picture above was taken 25 years ago, almost to the day. In 1989, the Town  of Antigonish celebrated its 100^th birthday. To commemorate the event, there were all kinds of special events. I was a member of Town Council at the time and on July 1^st., we dressed up in period costumes. We were driven through the town in horse drawn buggies and attended a citizenship ceremony at the old Court House. It was a great day and one I won’t soon forget.

By the way, the first mayor of Antigonish was Leonard Archibald. I don’t think there has been another mayor named Leonard since then and if Betty has any say in the matter ( which she does! ), there won’t be another… at least not from this household!

I was very happy to attend a benefit concert last week for Andrew Murray. Andrew lost many of his possessions in a fire a few weeks back. It was a wonderful evening and was held in the newly renovated St. James United Church. It was hastily put together but the organizers managed to collect a fantastic lineup of talent. The evening was topped off by a monologue by Andrew that was witty and poignant. Andrew is an amazing talent and we are fortunate to have him in our community.

Later this week, I will be the master of ceremonies for “Art in the Park.” This summer long program is an attempt to spotlight all of the artistic talent in our community. The opening night is Friday, June 27^th. at Chisholm Park starting at 5:30 and going until 9:00. I will be at the gazebo introducing a wide array of talent. There will be singers, highland dancers, belly dancers ( I won’t be one of them ! ), a fire eater and much more. If the weather cooperates (?), there will be all kinds of kiosks and tents where local artisans will be showing their work. There will be food vendors as well. It sounds like it’s going to be a great evening. Please join me and stop by and say hello while you’re at it. In case you’re out of town that day, the Art Fair will be held every second Friday of the summer , with different performers and vendors.

And speaking of the Art Fair, I attended an organizational meeting last week to get my marching orders as MC. One of the co-chairs is a dear old friend ( she’s not old…she’s the same age as me ) and we got chatting. She reminded me of the time growing up on Hillcrest Street when she lay a beating on me, after I hit her in the shins with a slap shot playing street hockey. I know it’s not winter, even though it feels that way, but I had to chronicle this story. “The Puck Stops Here” will be published shortly.

Sorry, but with all the buzz about “Chase the Ace” I couldn’t resist the opportunity to write a slightly satirical piece on this phenomenon. “Chasing Clouds” takes a look at our collective “lottery mentality.”

I want to give a shout out to the good folks of Heatherton who are in the process of taking over their school after its closure. They are ramping up a major fundraiser so that they will have the resources to keep the building going as a community center. Support them if you are able.

Check out this week’s Casket for my story on piping and drumming called “Pipe Dreams.”

Have a great week.

Posted on June 16, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

 

 

I saw this ad in the paper last week and had a good chuckle. It got me to thinking about my own lifetime of mowing lawns. The very first lawn I mowed was not a lawn at all. It was a grave. Several graves, actually. I had a summer job mowing graves at the cemetery when I was 14. Some of you would remember “Joe Mike.” He hired me. What a sweet man. I earned $1.00 an hour. When I saw the ad, I thought that this would be an easy story to write. So, bright and early tomorrow morning, I will be posting the story, “ The Grass is Greener.”

I still can’t quite figure out why some stories just take off and get a huge viewership. “Privacy in the Privy,” which was published here on Saturday, was one of my top five responses… ever. I liked the story but didn’t think it was anything special. I know my “regulars” read just about every bit of nonsense I post, but some people obviously make a judgment call in the first few lines, whether or not they will continue to read the piece. Regardless, thanks for reading this story. It will definitely be in my new book, based on the feedback.

I met a lovely lady at the ATM the other morning. She told me she was 86 and that she reads all my stories in The Casket. She has a wonderful sense of humour. She was telling me about a recent visit to the hospital where she was sitting beside a 92 year old woman who had a multiplicity of health issues. They were comparing notes and the 86 year old looked at her and said,” the only thing golden about the golden years, is the color of my pee.” ! What a great line. I think having a sense of humour is one of the keys to a happy life. This lady is living proof.

I am putting the finishing touches on my story about piping and drumming. I have done just enough research to get myself into trouble, weighing in on a subject about which I know nothing.  “Pipe Dreams” is a story about the Antigonish Highland Society Pipe band and an interesting collaboration that they have going with a band from Great Village.

I absolutely gorged myself on golf this weekend. When I wasn’t in church ( twice! ), I was dialed in to the U.S. Open golf tournament. I was particularly interested because I had the pleasure of playing this course a couple of times, many years ago on a vacation to the Pinehurst resort. This was the same trip that I had the incident with my kilt in the dining hall of the 5 star resort on the complex. ( see “Right up Yer Kilt” ).

Had two of the grandchildren around this weekend.  What a Father’s Day gift.

I had a great time as a guest on Maritime Connections on CBC radio yesterday afternoon. If you would like to listen to it check out this link: http://www.cbc.ca/maritimeconnection/ If you don’t have time to listen to the whole show, you can fast forward to 43:40 on the tape.

I saw this the other day and thought I would share it with you: “ Instead of John, I’m calling my bathroom Jim. It sounds better when I say that I went to the Jim first thing this morning.”

Have a great week.