Posted on February 3, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

I know that some of you romantic types are already thinking about Valentines Day. So am I , but lest you think that I am the romantic type, my reasons are purely practical. The Fairview Post in Alberta specifically asked me to write a Valentines Day story. And on Valentines Day, Friends of Antigonish Library ( FOAL ) are hosting a dinner theatre. I am on the Board and this is one of our major fundraisers. Maybe you can convince your sweetheart to take you. I am also giving a presentation that same day for the Antigonish Career Resource Center.

I will be posting my Valentines Day story on my website this Wednesday and it will  also appear in The Casket. It is called ” The Heart of the Matter.”

Stumped for a gift? Why not give the gift of laughter and buy her ( him ) a copy of my book. You can get it directly from me and I will inscribe it with “sweet nothings” if you so desire. If you can’t track me down, it is also available at the 5 to $1.00, Brendan’s Fairway, The Plum Tree and Brosha’s Short Stoppe.

How many of you still wear glasses? I thought so. Lots of you still wear them. I am about three steps away from using a big magnifying glass to do the New York Times Saturday crossword puzzle. I have worn glasses since I was five. I tried contacts and had Lasix surgery but my glasses are still my lifelong friend. I thought that a story about glasses might be in order. Why not. If I can write about bras and menopause, glasses seems like a reasonably safe topic. Coming soon: “Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory.”

My journey of discovery continues as I am taking two social media courses. Some of you may have noticed a few Week45 ads popping up from time to time on Facebook. This is an experiment as part of one of my courses. I am very excited about the second course. It is an online course offered by a university in Texas called “Social Media in Journalism.” There are over 1300 participants from 137 countries around the world. The course starts tomorrow but I have been corresponding with classmates already. As the song says ” It’s a Small World After All.”

I am a big fan of lifelong learning.

Unless a ‘Nor Easter comes through, the Len and Phil event is still a go at the People’s Place library this Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. I love working with Phil. He is a gifted wordsmith and I appreciate the thought and care he takes with his stories. So join us. Free BOOZE… no, no. Free boo’s! Can you imagine if they offered free drinks? The library would be overrun and there would be rampant absenteeism at local businesses.

If you were able to get out of bed this morning ( unassisted ), could put your feet on the floor, knew your own name and had breakfast, be very grateful. You have a lot to be thankful for and never take these things for granted.

Have a great week.

Posted on January 27, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Betty and Leah

We’ve just about broken the back of January, so hang in there.

The tribute I did last week for Joe Judique MacDonald received an overwhelming response. I had a number of conversations with family, Joe’s health care workers at the R.K. and friends. There are so many people like Joe who have been robbed of their mental faculties and can no longer tell their own story. I think it is important for all of us to chronicle the lives of our loved ones, when dementia and Alzheimers prevents them from telling their story any longer.

I am sure that there are some people who wish my computer would break so that I would stop sending them stuff on Facebook. The only good news in this is that most of you who are technologically savvy know how to make me go away. I have worked hard to bring a consistent, predictable product to my readers over the past year. It is frustrating when I know they are receiving some but not all of my stories. Those of you who know me well,  know that I don’t give up easily ( stubbornness? ) and I will continue to soldier on.

I was hanging out in Halifax on the weekend with my granddaughter, Leah. It is amazing to watch your grandchildren begin to crawl and start to communicate. We had lunch together and I was picking away at a bowl of grapes. The John Steinbeck classic “The Grapes of Wrath” popped into my head. It seems like everybody is a wine drinker these days. A lot of people  make their own. Some people will even pay $25. for a bottle of wine that is only 6% alcohol by volume. Can you say “Nova 7?” The more I pondered the wine phenomenon, the more I felt compelled to write a story. I dashed to the computer and wrote “The Wrath of Grapes” and you’ll be seeing it here sometime soon.

I hang out a lot with seniors… because I am one of them! I also spend a lot of time with people 20 and 30 years older than me and I love to listen to their stories. I am going to publish a piece in the near future  that was sent to me recently. It is called “The Back Nine.” I couldn’t track down the author. It is NOT about golf but about life. Regardless of your age, I think there are pearls of wisdom in the piece for every person who reads it.

My grateful jar for January is almost full. What are you grateful for today, besides life saving caffeine?!

Have a great week.

Posted on January 20, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

I thought I’d start off the week with a picture. It could be titled “Hope” or “Wishful Thinking.” As long as the winter seems for some people, it is amazing how quickly the seasons come and go once you hit 60. I am not lamenting this fact… just stating a reality.

The January thaw has come and gone and it looks like winter is back. It never really left. It merely hit the pause button. Someone was telling me the other day that they finally broke down and bought a snow blower. They had to order it in and it arrived after the thaw last week. There is a better than average chance that they won’t get to use it the rest of the winter and it probably won’t snow for three more years. That is according to “Len’s Law.” When I heard this story I thought about different things over the years where we finally made a purchase ( can you say “home renovations” ) and sold the house before we got to derive any pleasure from the upgrades. This and much more in the upcoming story “Len’s Law.”

My story about two local bands from the ’60’s is in the hands of my editor. I shifted gears part way through the story. While the story is ostensibly about The Strangers and The Escorts, I wandered down a slightly  different path part way through writing the story. I was reminded about a scary band trip where the band truck lost its brakes coming down Cape Smokey after playing for a dance in Ingonish. The story is called “Band on the Run” and will appear soon right here at Week45.

It’s “shameless promotion” time. I sit on the Board of Friends of Antigonish Library. ( FOAL )  Our major fundraiser, a dinner theatre, is coming up on Valentine’s Day. For you non romantic types, that would be February 14th. It will be held at the Legion in Antigonish and tickets ($35 per ) can be purchased at Brendan’s, The Library or from me. I will be working at the dinner selling lucky 50/50 tickets. Grab your sweetie and join us.

Here’s an update on something I mentioned at the beginning of the year. I plan to get involved with the hot meal program at St. James church. They are looking to add a second day ( Thursdays ) to the program and I plan on helping with the organization. What I need most is for a few people to step forward and volunteer to captain a team of 6 or more people. These captains need to find five or six friends or work colleagues to help them put on a simple meal once every six weeks at the church. I will raise the money for the year. If you have the time and the inclination to help out, please get in touch with me. We probably won’t get this going until the spring. Thanks for considering this.

Coming this Wednesday is the story “Where Everyone Knows your Name.” I never watched a single episode of Cheers but am aware that this was the theme song. The story is about a local business that has survived fire and flood, the onslaught of on line shopping and the arrival big box stores.

From “The 10 Habits of Optimists” … SMILE MORE, FROWN LESS

Have a great week.