Posted on September 26, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with 9 comments

The Highland Quilt Guild Show at St. James. Brilliant!

 

          

Vaccinations complete . √

Visa and passport approved. √

Flights booked. √

Unless I win the lottery and have to go to Moncton on October 25^th. to pick up my cheque (!) , I plan to be on a plane to India. As some of you know, I am going to volunteer with a non profit group in Southern India but I hope to see many other places in this vast country before I return at the end of April. Yup. That’s 6 months. I expect that there will be plenty of fodder for book number 4.

I already have enough material to write the first chapter.  It will be titled: ” It’s Not About The Destination, It’s About Getting The Visa. “ While the book will be somewhat a travelogue, it will be laced with humour… in a respectful way. I cannot imagine being an immigrant or more importantly a refugee. It’s hard enough to get a valid government document sitting in the comfort of one’s own home, but trying to do this under duress must be enormously stressful.  I was astonished and perplexed at how complicated it can be to get a piece of paper.

Once I arrive in India, my “ Faces in the Crowd “ piece on Thursdays will have unfamiliar faces but I hope you will continue to read about the lives of other people who have not necessarily grown up with many of the things we take for granted. And Monday Morning Musings should give you an overview of what I am experiencing.

I have received more Town Council candidate cards in recent days than I received Christmas cards last December. Yes, the municipal election campaign is in full throttle with only a handful of weeks to go before the voters have their say.

Having run for office ( successfully three times and unsuccessfully once ), I know a bit about the rigours of campaigning. I have also run several marathons, including Boston twice. While I am not an expert on either endeavour, I certainly know what the experience feels like and I`m here to tell you that there are eerie similarities. In both cases, the planning starts weeks, if not months in advance. You first have to have the notion that you want to tackle it. You chat with others who have done it before, get some coaching,  prepare a game plan and then hit the road. And it is a long road filled with pain, doubt, frustration and sometimes the fear of failure. But it is also filled with enormous satisfaction as you meet many wonderful people along the journey who inspire you and prop you up when you need it most.

There is usually a crucial moment when you wonder, “ what in the hell have I gotten myself into,” but this is fleeting.

The hardest part is the last few weeks. You are physically and mentally tired and it is very hard to get up in the morning knowing that you have another day of hard work in front of you. This is also when a small knot in your stomach grows daily as you see the finish line and wonder about the outcome. Sleep becomes more difficult and your agitation level increases as every whisper you hear becomes a roar.

The day of the race comes and all of your hard work and dedication is on the line. When you cross the finish line, I guarantee you that the first emotion you will feel is relief. The joy or disappointment will come later. But if you have given it your very best, there will be a deep sense of satisfaction because, let`s face it, very few people run for office or run a marathon. Trying and failing is much better than not trying at all. ( With thanks to Tennyson who is responsible for one of my favorite lines : “ Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” )

Good luck to all the candidates and to a few of my running friends trying to qualify for Boston.

Have a great week.                                                                                                                                  

          

Posted on September 19, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

” The Cove “

I appreciate all the feedback and heartfelt comments about last week’s Faces in the Crowd  ( FITC ) story on the late Jill Brymer. As I said in the comment section on Facebook, “ While the story is about Jill, it is also undeniably a story about family and community. You should all take a bow for providing a nourishing environment for Jill, and others who face obstacles, to thrive.” Guysborough is an awesome community.

I have three more interesting FITC stories waiting in the wings.

What does it take to get to the top of any profession? Hard work, dedication perseverance and a bit of luck are typical responses. You may not be a golfer or even a sports enthusiast but this week’s story is about a young man from California who is trying to make it onto the PGA tour… the same tour that greats like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods plied their trade. Very few golfers make it to the big times. The LPGA tour is the women’s equivalent.

Ben Geyer is playing on the Canadian tour and paying a lot of dues in the process. Every week is pressure packed and like most of us when we were young, he leans heavily on family and friends for support ( moral and financial ! ). Golfers will certainly understand the challenges he faces but his journey is very similar to people in other walks off life. Even if you don’t know the difference between a slice and a hook, please take a few minutes and read Ben’s story. He’s a really decent human being, by the way.

We are all quite familiar with the Syrian war and the efforts of Canadians to welcome refugees. In an upcoming FITC story, you will meet a remarkable woman who fled her parent’s country with bombs hailing down on her…. twice and several years apart. She is also our province’s Minister of Immigration, the Honorable Lena Diab. She and I sat down in Halifax last week and had a great chat.

And finally… I had the honor of sitting down with a gentleman who received his C.A. ( Chartered Accountant ) designation at the age of 20 and only recently officially retired just shy of his 90^th. birthday. He may very well be the longest serving C.A. in Canada… ever!  His story, like everyone else’s, is remarkable in many ways.

Grab your calendars and mark this down. Now! I mean right now. On Sunday, October 23^rd. we’re having an evening of music and dance at the St. James United Church at 7:00 p.m. As you know, St. James helps to feed the hungry two days a week, all year long and it is time to fill the pantry once again. All proceeds from the evening will go towards purchasing food for the Hot Meal Program. Can’t make it? Too many things on your incredibly busy social calendar? Fear not. If you want to help, you can drop off a cheque or cash to Andrea at the St. James office on Main Street. Or you can track me down and give it to me. You will get a receipt for your charitable donation.

Have a great week.

Posted on September 12, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with 3 comments

Sidewalk dining on ” The Main”

This past week’s “ Faces in the Crowd” story about Dr. Ron MacCormick generated a great deal of interest… and many new readers to Week45. So, if this is your first visit to my website, welcome!

First things, first. The name “Week45.”  Anyone who travels to the United States and owns a timeshare, knows that purchasing a unit is done by the week of the year. So if you purchased a week’s accommodation the first week of January, then that is considered Week 1. Conversely, the last week in December would be week 52. Because our vacation always fell around the beginning of November, we endeTd up purchasing Week 45 in the timeshare calendar. And because this is where I started to take my writing ( but not myself! ) seriously, I decided to name my business “ Week45 Story Telling.”

Since I started writing almost four years ago, I have published three books of short humor stories, have been a regular columnist for three weekly newspapers and have been known to deliver a positive and often humour laced after dinner talk at conferences.

Do you have any faith in Facebook metrics? Does it really mean anything when someone “likes “one of your posts or pictures? If you are a business, do “ views” and “ post clicks” count unless it leads to sales of your product?

Up until two weeks ago, I had never heard of Ron MacCormick until a friend suggested that I interview him. He had just had a long day at the hospital and I managed to pin him down for an hour before he headed out for a bike ride. It was an easy interview to do as Ron is an engaging person. The reaction to the story left me somewhat in shock. To date, the story has over 47,000 views, 1350 likes, 8700 post clicks, 327 shares and 225 comments.

The comments were the most telling. Ron is respected by his peers and revered by his patients and their families.

I try and keep my Faces in the Crowd ( FITC ) stories brief to keep the attention of my readers. This week’s FITC will be a bit of a departure as I delve into the life of an extraordinary young woman who passed away a few weeks ago. She was born with intellectual challenges and later in life, was cursed with poor health. But Jill Brymer taught so many people so many lessons about life. On Thursday, please take a bit of extra time to read the story of her remarkable, and all too short, life.

BTW, the answer to last week’s quiz ( What is the most common cause of death ?) was embedded in the Ron MacCormick piece. I apologize as it was a bit of a trick question. The answer is : old age. One of my loyal readers ( thanks LD ) mildly chided me for not being more specific!

So here is this week’s quiz. A “ loveliness” is the collective noun for a group of what insects? I must say that I never heard this term used before other than in a romance novel.

Have a great week.