Posted on April 1, 2021 under Thursday Tidbits with 3 comments

Sailing off into the sunset

 

It was bound to happen. It was just a matter of time.

After 10 years and 1205 posts, the time has come to put Week45 to bed for good. Simply put, I have run out of gas. Have I finally run out of story ideas? Not really although I must admit that there have been many days when I had to scramble to get something ready for the 6:00 a.m. post. Let’s face it, the world would not have stopped or even noticed if I had taken the odd day off, but I always felt a sense of loyalty to my readers.

This grand experiment happened totally by accident. Paraphrasing Yogi Berra, I came to a fork in the road ten years ago and took it! On a trip to Florida, I wrote my very first piece on the flight from Toronto to Tampa. The rest, as they say, is history. A few people seemed to like my quirky sense of humour and before too long, I was writing for three newspapers. I’m not sure where the idea of writing a book came from but I decided to delve into the murky world of publishing. Originally (and quite naively) I thought I might be able to make a few bucks off this venture. Call it beginners’ luck but my first book sold over 1,000 copies. None of my other 5 books have reached such lofty heights.

Writing opened doors for me to travel. Undoubtedly, I would never have travelled to such far flung places as India and the Arctic were it not for my writing. The best part of the writing, however, has been this incredible connection with so many of you, some of whom I’ve never even met. It has been one long and interesting conversation.

So why am I hanging up my pen? There is a none too subtle pressure to produce stories every Monday and Thursday. It’s always in the back of my mind. As soon as my Monday Morning Musings has been posted, I immediately start wondering what I’m going to write about for my Thursday Tidbits.

In short, I am mentally fatigued and it’s time to take a break. A long, extended break.

I want to thank all of you for your remarkable loyalty… and stamina. Putting up with this nonsense for all these years should be considered purgatory on earth. You should all receive the Order of Canada.

Salut. Stay safe.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. It’s April Fool’s Day and I’m quite certain that I had a few of you going. Nah, I’m not going anywhere. You will continue to receive my mindless drivel for the foreseeable future.

P.P.S. On the weekend, I met up with four lovely, young women while out for my walk. When we finished, I invited them in for fresh coconut cream pie and apple crisp…. and tea… Red Rose. I’m not sure how we got on the topic of cremation but as we did, one of the girls let out an audible gasp. “Oh my God, I lost grandma.” She was staring down at the ring on her finger. She explained that when her grandmother died, she took some of her ashes and mixed it with a gel or cement and had it embedded in the ring. On our walk that day, granny disappeared. The ring was still firmly ensconced on her finger, but her grandmother was nowhere to be found.

Her reaction was somewhat odd. We all figured that the loss of something so precious would be devastating but she was quite sanguine and unperturbed. She felt that it was somewhat fitting that some of granny’s mortal remains would rest eternally on the lands of our founding people. What came out of her lips next was priceless. “I guess it’s better to lose granny on the tundra than behind a cushion on the couch mixed in with potato chips, cracker crumbs, and dust.”

Dust to dust. Ashes to ashes.

Posted on March 25, 2021 under Thursday Tidbits with 2 comments

 

A good friend to have any day of the week

 

Surely by now, most people who have read all 1204 of my posts know that I’m a pretty optimistic soul, definitely a glass half full kind of guy unless it happens to be merlot! But I do have a darker side to me and occasionally I wander down dimly lit roads. Today is one of those days so if you’re not in the mood, go and check your Instagram account.

I hate cancer.

There, I’ve said it and everyone reading today’s post feels the same way. I realize that I am one of those incredibly fortunate people who is lumped together in the cohort known as the baby boomers. Because we grew up in an unprecedented era of new births, we had lots of friends. The math worked in our favour in so many ways. But now, the seesaw is going the other way and we are losing friends in unprecedented numbers. Obituaries are popping up with shocking regularity.

I know it seems irrational to vent one’s spleen over something that they can’t see, but with every new diagnosis and every death, my wrath grows. It is so sad and frustrating to lose so many wonderful friends. Tom, Irene, JoAnn, Jean…..Sorry, but the list is too long for me to go on.

There is never a good time to lose a friend or family member but in the middle of this gawd awful pandemic, it is particularly painful. Wakes and funerals are cathartic and a way to cope with grief. Having elderly loved ones die alone must be the worst thing imaginable. Not being able to celebrate a life well lived is just plain sad.

I have spent the past several months reading a novel about Terry Fox to my students. I do this religiously every day at 1:15. The class claims to hate it, but they have learned some important lessons about Terry and the devastation of cancer. Even after all these years (he died in June of 1981), I am still inspired by his Marathon of Hope. If I thought for a moment that a long walk would cure cancer, I would start tomorrow. Some of you have seen the map of the world’s longest walk from South Africa to Siberia. It’s approximately 22,000 kilometres long. Looking at the list of countries through which one one would have to travel, a person would have to have an armed guard as a chaperone.

I saw this post the other day. The source was not available.

“Grieving is like having broken ribs. On the outside, you look fine but with every breath, it hurts.”

To those of you grieving the loss of a loved one from cancer (or from any other cause), my heart goes out to you.

Sorry, but even a humourist is allowed to be pissed off by times.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. I am not about to suffer the wrath of my readers by suggesting that the loss of a pet can be compared to that of a human being but from what I know, it is every bit as painful. I feel for you too, especially TMD on the death of your faithful companion, Luna.

 

 

Posted on March 18, 2021 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

One tough Irish woman. Three, actually!

 

The responses were predictable.

Just about everybody who replied to me publicly and privately said that the first thing they would do when the pandemic ended was to reunite with family near and far. For many people, this period of separation has been excruciating. Births, deaths, anniversaries and gatherings of all manner have been observed differently. You know things are bad when Zoom is your best friend.

If you think it’s been a long time since you’ve seen family or friends, consider the graduating class of the old Antigonish High School of 1970. We were the very last group to graduate from this school before the opening of a new, modern (windowless!) regional school. A group of us started planning a 50^th reunion back in 2018. We planned to piggyback our event with the Antigonish Highland Games in 2020 but Covid-19 put an end to both of these events. For the second year in a row, we have had to postpone the get together and are currently polling class members to see if they still want us to put on the event in 2022… our 52^nd reunion! The organizing committees big concern now is finding a nursing home large enough to host our event should we have to delay it much longer!

Call the Covid police.

I confess. Although it is not the law, public health agencies have warned Canadians to stay home and to avoid all but essential travel. I am usually a god-fearing, law abiding citizen, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Guilty as charged. I have taken many trips down memory lane over the past 12 months.

And what, pray tell, has led to these egregious transgressions? Nostalgia, mostly. It doesn’t take much to find myself pining for the past and wandering the hallways of my old school.

Monday, the 15^th was The Ides of March. On this date in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated, a turning point in Roman history. “Et tu, Brute?” “You too, Brutus?” These words were uttered by Caesar at the moment of his assassination, to his friend Marcus Brutus, upon recognizing him as one of the assassins. Of course, we did a few Shakespearean plays in high school… my old high school. AHS. Veritas Vos Liberabit.

This particular date holds some significance to me as well. Sixteen years ago on this day, I had Lasix surgery on my eyes. It didn’t go well. There was an overcorrection which actually made my eyesight worse than it was. It put the kibosh to my golf career, but all was not lost. I discovered running and ended up completing a handful of marathons. Every March 15^th, I call this my “Eyes of March”!

Of course, yesterday was St.Paddy’s Day. Can you imagine telling a person of Irish descent that they can’t celebrate? I wonder what a lockdown looks like on George Street in St.John’s, Newfoundland? My guess is that they found a way to celebrate! According to legend (and Google), St.Paddy’s Day started as religious celebration in the 17^th century to commemorate the life of St.Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. March 17^th was believed to be the anniversary of Patrick’s death in 461 AD.

Aren’t you glad you visit Week45 regularly to get all of these important tidbits of history?

My mother was Irish, an O’Flaherty from Montreal. So, to all my Irish brethren, I leave you with this exquisite quote from W.B Yeats, Irish poet, dramatist and prose writer: “Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy which sustained him through temporary periods of joy”.

Have a great weekend.