Posted on October 16, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

A golfer’s last gasp before the snow flies

 

 

It’s just about time to put away the golf clubs for another season, all you golfers. Spent a glorious day on Monday with my son, Peter up at Cabot Links. He played while I walked and took in the sights. Their sister course, Cabot Cliffs, is due to open next year. The golf gurus are already suggesting that the new course could be one of the top ten golf courses… in the world. This is great news for the local economy.

Quick. Which teacher had the most profound effect on your life? It could have been an elementary teacher or a university prof. Many of us were taught by Sisters. I think it is safe to say that most of them were stern taskmasters and didn’t put up with much nonsense. They were never reluctant to put you in your place. Sometimes that place was in the hallway or in the principal’s office. Most of them are long retired and it is my hope to get down to their retirement home in Cape Breton to see if I can get them to tell me what it was like growing up in a religious order and teaching young people. Sounds to me like either of these endeavours is a sure fire way to heaven. If they taught junior high, they’ve already experienced hell.

Obviously you were far too busy stuffing your face over the Thanksgiving weekend to respond to an earlier query. I didn’t receive many dieting stories but that didn’t stop me from “weighing in” on the subject. Just about everybody I know, has, at one point or other in their lives, tried to shed a few pounds. Coming up soon is my take on dieting. The story is called “ Lost and Found.” The pundits are already calling it a winner. Fat chance!

Betty and I are planning to drive to Florida in just over a week’s time. My guess is that you will be deluged with “stories from the road.” I will try and restrain myself from writing any more shopping stories. I think I’ve beaten that topic to death.

I was hanging out at the Farmer’s Market last weekend and was chatting with another male. We were occupying one of the picnic tables and just shooting the breeze. I says…” Looks like you’re not much of a shopper either.” He gave me that knowing male grin. He and his wife were on their way to Glace Bay to visit grandchildren. This was the first stop on the journey. He promised me that there would be several more stops and their ETA in “the Bay” was around midnight.

Oh, the colors. The drive to Inverness was absolutely stunning the other day. There was a lot of chatter in Cape Breton about Celtic Colors. Haven’t made it to that festival yet but that’s on the bucket list. Hope to launch my story, “Celtic Colors Celestial Choir” this coming weekend.

One more bowl of turkey soup and I think Thanksgiving will finally be over. There is one rather large piece of carrot cake staring at me from the fridge. I am weak in the knees. I know I will succumb any time now.

Have a terrific weekend.

Posted on October 9, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

Oak Manor – classy window dressing

With apologies to all other retailers in Antigonish, I think the window dressing at Oak Manor is always among the best in town. Caught this picture at 6:30 a.m. yesterday on my morning walk.

The Fall colors are simply majestic, wouldn’t you say? While most of us enjoy the warmth of the summer, it seems that everybody loves this time of the year. Throw in some unseasonably warm weather over the past few weeks and just about everybody is smiling.

It is Thanksgiving weekend which is always a good time to take stock and be appreciative for all the things we enjoy living in this part of the world. I was chatting on the street corner the other day with a friend and we were marvelling at our town, our province and our country. All you have to do is flick on the TV and watch 10 minutes of the news to realize how unbelievably fortunate we are to live where we do. The late Fr. Pops McKenna , who came to our house for New Years dinner every year , often said, “: we live in paradise but just don’t realize it.”

Life is not all peaches and cream but if you have family, something meaningful to do with your life, have food on the table and enjoy reasonably good health, be very thankful on this Thanksgiving weekend.

On my way to the football game last weekend, I passed by the Psychology building which used to be the old Antigonish High School. So many memories including writing provincial exams in grade 12. For most of us of a certain age, this was our first ( of many ) pressure cooker situations in life. When your entire academic year hangs in the balance, it is pretty nerve wracking. I tried to recreate the sensation in the story, “ All or Nothing,” which will appear on my website soon.

I am still putting the finishing touches on the story about going to the Capitol Theater when we were kids. There’s still time to add a line or two so if you have a memory that you would like to share, please pass it along and I’ll try and incorporate it before publishing. Coming soon, “ A Capitol Idea.

You are about to be “earwormed.” I noticed in the paper the other day, the passing of Paul Revere of “Paul Revere and the Raiders.” This was a 60’s band. One of their lesser known hits of 1967 was a song that a local band, “The Strangers” perfected. It was called “Him or Me.” Go to Youtube and give it a listen. The Strangers were one of my all time favorite bands. It probably had something to do with me being a teenager when they were in their prime. Al, Charlie, Jody and Pat were extremely talented guys. I rarely wish to be 16 again (!) but if I could time travel, I would be beamed back to the mid 60’s to the Parish Center to hear these guys play one more time.

Lots of other stories in the works.

Please keep November 5^th at 7:00 p.m. open on your calendar. My sidekick, Phil Milner, will be launching his new book, “ The Antigonish Book of Days” at the Legion. I will be away on vacation but hope some of you can make it out to support Phil on his latest endeavour.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend.

Be “thankful and grateful.”

 

P.S. Let your eyes roam to the right. Here’s the book cover for my 2^nd. book. Hope you like it.

Posted on October 2, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

Bookmark December 4th. for my book launch at People’s Place Library 7:00 p.m.

 

 

When (!) you buy my second book, you will receive, absolutely free, this customized bookmark. It was designed by my good friend, Jean Pearcey of Jeanious Designs. She also designed the cover of the new book and my team is very pleased with the results.

It doesn’t happen often but every now and then I am fumbling around for a story idea. I mean, a fellow can’t be creative 365 days of the year. I have learned to be more attentive and a better listener, which I’m finding out, are good skills to hone if you’re a writer ( or a husband ). By the way, Betty gets a special award as 32 years ago today I said “I do” and she said “yes, you will!” Like most wives, she is a saint and has paved a direct path to heaven for putting up with me all these years.

Oh yes. That creativity thing. As long as I bump into a different person every day and those are good odds, I usually come away with a new story idea. Case in point, I bumped into someone yesterday. I asked him if all of his children were “off the payroll.” You all know what I mean by that. He mentioned that his daughter was currently in Ireland for a year, Cork to be exact.

Having been to Cork 10 years ago, I was able to get a good visual, especially my trip to the Blarney Castle to kiss the stone. That was a weird day looking back. It was a miserable weather day and we got lost several times before reaching our final destination. It’s funny how things don’t look too bad with the passage of time. Anyway, I decided to do a story. It’s called “Put a Cork In It. “ Coming soon.

I haven’t even published the story on going to the Capitol Theater as a kid and I’ve already had a lot of feedback. It seems everyone has a very clear visual of going to see a show on Saturday afternoon. There was a time that the town dump was in town over near the Public Works shed. One guy told me that he and his buddies used to go there on Saturdays ( garbage day back then ) to scavenge for beer bottles . They would then head to Pete Poirier’s and trade in the bottles for penny candy before heading to the show. He’s a little older than me. He paid .13 cents to get into the show. The ravages of inflation brought that to .37 cents when I was a kid. Stay tuned for “A Capitol Idea.”

This Saturday, I will be publishing part 3 of the trilogy “ Milling About.”

There is still a bit of chatter about last weekend’s weather. In the middle of summer, we expect warm days and gentle breezes. When this kind of weather comes out of nowhere at the end of the summer, it’s like a lottery win. If we could just find a way to bottle last Sunday.

Hope you have a great weekend.