Posted on May 14, 2018 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

William’s Point. A little piece of paradise.

 

Ser-en-dip-i-ty. Noun. The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

It’s hard to imagine to sequence of events and the serendipity involved in me meeting Linda Kennedy. I couldn’t have possibly imagined being in a sex toy shop in Burlington, Ontario helping to pack inventory into boxes. But when you think about it, life is a series of chance encounters. We meet people in the most unexpected places. Sometimes it is the briefest of encounters and you never see those people again. But other times, you meet somebody who is very special and you wonder what put them in your path.

If you haven’t already done so, please go to the “recent post” section of my home page and click on the Faces in the Crowd tab. “How Our Love Lives and Never Dies” is the remarkable saga of Linda and her deceased husband, Bill. Three days after their marriage, Bill had an accident and became a quadriplegic. It is a story of unbelievable, almost super human strength on the part of Linda. And while the tale is tragic in many ways, at its core, it is a love story.

I expect this chance meeting in the oddest of locations will result in many more encounters with Linda as we look at telling the full story in a book. It was interesting reading all of the comments. I think amazement best describes your thoughts. I also feel that most of us realize that our lives could be much worse.

I have been reading Peter Ludlow’s book, “The Canny Scot,” the story of Archbishop James Morrison of Antigonish. It provides some fascinating historical perspectives on Morrison and the Diocese of Antigonish.

Can-ny. Adjective. Having or showing shrewdness and good judgment.

I have been thinking about the canny Scots lately. I do a lot of walking and lately my walks have been taking me around the periphery of Antigonish to places like Back Road Brierly Brook, West River, Beech Hill Road and William’s Point. I think most of us take for granted the place that we call home. But the Scots were indeed canny when they stepped off the Hector. They knew a good place when they saw it.With all the traveling that I’ve done, I have yet to find another place so blessed with beauty and talented people. It is really quite extraordinary that in so many facets of life, Antigonish excels. I will resist the urge to start listing these as it would run several pages.

“Make them laugh. Make them cry. Make them wait.” Charles Dickens.

I remember this quote vividly as it was part of an exam question posed by Rev. Rod “Moonbeam” MacSween in an English class back at St.F.X. in the early 1970’s. He asked us to explain the quote in the context of authors and writers.

I don’t really pay much attention to my writing style. I started out writing strictly humour but now I’m pretty well much all over the map. I have a suspicion that a few of you might have been misty eyed reading Linda Kennedy’s story. I received a nice note from a friend last week who said that her Mondays and Thursday start with a reading of my “musings” and “tidbits.” I am not sure if this is what Dickens meant when he said “Make them wait,” but that’s the spin I’m putting on this quote today. If anything, my stories and musings are unpredictable. Even I don’t have a clue what I’m going to write about most of the time! When you cover topics as diverse as skunks in a grave and packing up sex toys, I guess you can keep your readers wondering what’s coming next.

As long as you keep reading, I’ll keep writing.

Have a great week.

Posted on May 7, 2018 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

 

“Let me tell you ‘bout the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees,

And the moon up above, and a thing called love.”

The Birds and The Bees (As sung by Jewel Akens)

“Hi. I’m Linda and I’m sorting dildos.”

I have had some unique introductions in my days but none quite like this one. My recent travels took me to Burlington, Ontario for a few days to visit some friends from university. We had lots of great chats, shared food, and had some walks.

At some point in our lives, we’ve all helped a friend or family member move. While moving can be onerous and stressful, getting together with friends to pack boxes can actually be a lot of fun, especially if you’re not the one on the move. Loading furniture into the back of a moving van is the easy part. But dealing with all the smaller items you have accumulated over the years is the nightmarish part.

So when I was asked by one of my friends to go to a sex toy shop to help the owner pack up her business, what was I to say? (There are so many things that I could have said but I have carefully cultivated many loyal readers over the years so I’ll stifle the urge to be too graphic.)

I have helped business owners do inventory before. Anybody can count chocolate bars, nails and screws, or widgets. We also know what these items are and how they function. But I admit with some sheepishness that there were many (most) objects in the sex toy shop that left me baffled. Oh, who am I kidding; all of the objects left me baffled. Of course, getting the job done quickly and efficiently was the objective so stopping to read labels didn’t seem appropriate although my curiosity often got the best of me. I would be staring at an object with utter disbelief wondering what it was what its function could possibly be.

There were three other people sorting and packing, all women. The owner obviously knew the products she was selling and I was glad that I wasn’t the only one who giggled and guffawed throughout the morning . ( and had a puzzled expression.)  I was interested to learn that the customer base didn’t fit into any identifiable demographic. Even though the store was technically closed, there were still lots of customers coming in to check out marked down items, looking for a last minute deal.

I can’t remember the last time that I laughed so many times in the space of three hours. I even tried on a few items of clothing. If I get 200 likes and 50 shares, I might show you one sample. No. On second thought, that is a really bad idea. My “Volunteer of the Year” award might be revoked immediately and the locks on our apartment door changed upon my return.

I know what you’re wondering. What was the most interesting thing I encountered in the store?

Actually, it wasn’t a “thing” at all. It was a person and possibly one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. Linda (in the dildo sorting department!), is an amazing woman. Three days after her wedding, her husband was in an accident and instantly became a quadriplegic. Their story is remarkable enough but the other adversities she has faced in her life left me nearly speechless, and you know how hard this is! I am hoping to do a Faces in the Crowd story about this truly remarkable person. I have already offered to do a book on her life and I hope she takes me up on the offer.

Well, there you go. I told you about my three hours in a sex toy shop without having to bare my soul or any other body part…mercifully.

In the space of a week, I’ve been to a medical marijuana dispensary and a sex toy shop. What can possibly be next?

Have a great week.

 

Posted on April 30, 2018 under Monday Morning Musings with 4 comments

Cedar Hills Golf Course. Victoria, B.C.

 

Coming to Victoria is like coming home. I lived here for a time back in the early 70’s. As I have stated many times, it is my favourite city in Canada and this time, Victoria welcomed me with open arms as it would appear that I brought some good weather with me from Arizona. The day I arrived, was the best day of another wise, wet, and cool spring. The temperature soared into the mid 20’s and we had three consecutive days of warm, sunny weather. Allergy sufferers might have been none too pleased as every manner of plant, tree and flower was blooming.

On Saturday, the rain and cooler temperatures returned but this didn’t deter brother Tom, me, and his golden retriever, Oslo from doing a 10K walk to the Oak Bay marina for coffee and scones.

This is a fantastic walking city with dozens and dozens (if not hundreds) of walking trails. I’m generally not a “step” counter but my IPhone tells me that I’m averaging over 20,000 steps a day.

The picture above is the Cedar Hill Golf Club, a course I played many times way back when. There is an undulating walking trail around the perimeter of the course, a wonderful place to go in the evening. The Olympic mountain range in Washington State is in the background.

It is easy to see why Victoria is the retirement capital of Canada.

My quest for pain management continues. Some of you asked for an update.

I know many of you have chronic pain issues so my situation is far from unique. It’s quite normal for most people our age. The hot, dry weather in Phoenix, Arizona helped for sure but I don’t think I was there long enough to say for sure if this is the answer. I have been experimenting with all kinds of medical marijuana products. Yesterday was a first for me. I went to a perfectly legal medical marijuana dispensary. It was a bright, modern store with chilled lemon ice water and flat screen TV’s. The staff were well dressed and very professional looking. They have a registered nurse on staff for free consultations.

I have been reading a lot about CBD oil. After a lengthy conversation, I bought a small number of pills. So far, they don’t seem to have any recognizable benefit. A friend, who lives here, gave me some topical marijuana cream. It seems to give a bit of relief but it doesn’t last long.

At this point, I don’t really think there’s a panacea, which is what I expected in the first place. The last major frontier is diet. I have been reading the book: “Eating Clean. The 21 day Plan to Detox, Fight Inflammation and Reset Your Body.” I have friends who swear that eating clean will likely result in a reduction of inflammation, but this will take some work and discipline. I always enjoy suggestions that you send along. Is turmeric the answer? Stay tuned.

I’m not quite sure how to address this next topic. I’m flying to Toronto on Tuesday and will spend 3 days in Hamilton with some old friends. One of them sent me this message yesterday (paraphrased): “Would you volunteer to help a friend of mine pack up her shop? She’s closing down her business.” My friend is aware of my physical limitations (no heavy lifting). I immediately agreed. My friend went on to say: “It will be a unique experience as my friend owns an adult sex toy store.” I have been trying to wipe the grin off of my face ever since. I haven’t even gotten there and I think I could already write the story that you KNOW I’m going to write when the task is completed. I am going to have to choose my words very carefully so as not to offend any of you. I don’t very often get handed a gift story like this.

Have a great week.

P.S. No. I won’t bring back any discounted items from the store for you!