Posted on December 16, 2013 under Monday Morning Musings with 3 comments

 WHAT IS IT?

If you guessed correctly you are a genius. Congratulations. Go to the front of the line. It is a Christmas tree lot. Duncan’s to be precise. We made our annual trek to Brendan’s yesterday in anticipation of the storm. We wanted to get the tree early in the day. This is what we found when we walked into the lot. It was obvious that Duncan was anticipating the storm as well and decided  to pile all of his trees under giant tarps, covered with old bed frames and tires. We managed to extricate one from the pile and dutifully went inside Brendan’s to pay for it. This is certainly story material. I thought we had procured Christmas trees in every conceivable manner. Who says there are no more surprises in life.

I have a great story about the annual Hillcrest Street Boxing Day street hockey game. We’ve been playing this game for well over 40 years. Everybody plays. Young boys and girls, septegenarians and everyone in between. Do you remember the hard orange plastic ball that we used to play with? And do you remember what it felt like to get a slapshot in a certain body part? No surprise that we eventually came to our senses and started using tennis balls. A fond look at Boxing Day traditions coming soon.

I got the idea for another story from our great friend, Facebook. I don’t want to spoil the story line but I will give you the title so that you can start imagining the plot. It’s called ” Pucks and Panties.” It’s hard to believe that both of these items could form the nucleus of a story but such is my twisted sense of humour.

As you know, from time to time, I like to shine a spotlight on businesses past and present. I plan to do one on the old Brigadoon restaurant sometime in the new year. But for now, I’m working on a story about the Antigonish 5 to $1.00. I have been there the last two Saturdays signing books and have had the opportunity to chat with hundreds of people. How has a general merchandise store survived so long in the face of all the challenges in retail? Those of us who patronize the store know exactly why.

Please shop local. It is so easy to shop out of town or on line but if this trend continues, small local businesses will not survive. And if this happens, who will sponsor all of the sports teams and the 1001 charities that come looking for donations and merchandise every day of the year?

The feedback to the new website continues to be very favorable. We are still working out a few kinks but in short order, it will be “business as usual.” If you are not getting your regular updates, please re-enter your e-mail on any of my website pages.

From the “10 habits of optimists”…. SMILE MORE. FROWN LESS.

Have a great week.

Posted on December 9, 2013 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Me and my mom at the 5 to $1.00

Last week was a very busy, but extremely gratifying week.  Along with the official launch on the 5th. and a couple of other signings, close to 400 brave souls have purchased my book so far. Thank You. One more launch to go this week in Port Hawkesbury and I will stop pestering you with the book stuff. Except to mention that I will be back at the 5 to $1.00 this coming Saturday the 14th. from 11-1! Please come by for a book and a chat. I have met some delightful people and have had the chance to reconnect with old friends.

I am working on several new stories including one about Boxing Day traditions. Everybody does something on the 26th., so if you would like me to incorporate some of your traditions, please pass them along.

I told you about the incident at the downtown convenience store the other day. I know that not one of you went to Youtube and looked up the song ” Do The Hustle.” That’s good because I have changed the title of that story to “Exposed.” Can you imagine how embarrassed ( and exposed ) one would feel, walking down Main Street carrying a copy of Hustler magazine?

And coming in a few days time, the story “Leftover” will be published. I was talking about leftovers ( food ) with some friends this evening. In most big households, leftovers were scarce to non existant, back in the day. One lady told me that when they were eating something that was unpalatable ( like liver ), they would simply open the kitchen window and toss it out when their mother wasn’t looking. We fed a lot of table scraps to our dog, Chipper, who had to join Weight Watchers late in life.

Thought for the week: mentally strong people don’t feel the world owes them anything.

Have a great week. Be grateful.

Posted on November 25, 2013 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

Rather than my usual Monday morning rant, I thought I would share something I saw the other day. It’s called, ” 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.”

1. They don’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves.

2. They don’t give away their power.

3. They don’t shy away from change.

4. They don’t waste energy on things they can’t control.

5. They don’t worry about pleasing everyone.

6. They don’t fear taking calculated risks.

7. They don’t dwell on the past.

8. They don’t make the same mistakes over and over.

9. They don’t resent other people’s success.

10. They don’t give up after the first failure.

11. They don’t fear alone time.

12. They don’t feel the world owes them anything.

13. They don’t expect immediate results.

Good stuff, wouldn’t you agree?

Have a great week.