Posted on September 25, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

FREE TICKETS

 

 

I hope the picture above has garnered your attention. By now that you are aware of the fundraiser that’s coming up on October 26^th. at the Rev. H.J. MacDonald elementary school in Heatherton. It will be an evening of story telling and music featuring Len and Phil ( stories….no music! ) and the MacDonald family. ( Peter, Betsy, Ellie and Margaret ).

So here’s the deal. I am prepared to donate two pairs of tickets to the show. All you have to do is contribute some stories about dieting. They don’t have to be your stories and they don’t have to be true. I want to write the definitive piece on the subject and I plan to call it , “Lost and Found.” Private message me on Facebook, send me an e-mail ( len.macdonald@eastlink.ca ) or stop me on the street. I will put your name in for a draw and will name the winners once I have enough material for the story. Put down that bag of chips right this minute and send me your tale of woe.

I saw this excellent quote the other day. “ As long as everything is exactly the way I want, I am totally flexible.” I got a kick out of it but the sad truth is that there are a lot of people like this. I am very flexible. I just do what I’m told.

I’m on a roll. I plan to unveil three brand new stories at the fundraiser. I already have two of them written and the third is well along. It will be fun to do some material that no one has seen or heard before.

Next week I will be publishing my story about playing football at St.F.X. in 1972. I had no right whatsoever ( or talent! ) to be playing on that team , with zero football experience but a funny sequence of events had me punting a football for the blue and white.

The other evening, I went over to the university to take a picture to go with the story. The football team was practicing and when I mentioned that I wanted an action shot of the punter, one of the assistant coaches piped up that the starting punter was injured. He looked at me just to see if I might still have a little leg left in me. Before I got any ideas, he said that there were age restrictions for playing university football. I guess that does not include people collecting their CPP.

“Run For Your Life will appear here next Wednesday which is also Casket day.

I am putting the finishing touches on my story about provincial examinations. Are you old enough to remember them? Easily one of the most pressure packed and stressful experiences of my life. Your entire grade 12 year was riding on one set of examinations. I didn’t matter how well you did all year or whether your teachers loved or hated you, you either passed or failed provincials. My palms start to sweat just thinking about them. Coming soon, “All or Nothing.”

Have a great weekend.

 

Posted on September 18, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

Best shot of the day ( with a camera! ) #12 at Brudenell

 

 

There’s only one thing better than golfing if you haven’t played in years. And that is not golfing. I was on “The Island” for three days attending a conference. I haven’t played any golf in the past eight years. I tried playing on Sunday and it only took nine holes for my back to tell me in no uncertain terms, that this was a very bad idea. A sore back and a multitude of horrible shots, sent me scurrying back to the clubhouse. The sudden rain squall and dropping temperatures made the decision very easy.

When I checked in, the clerk announced that my room was in the “West Wing.” Wow. I was thinking presidential but it turned out very differently. You can read all about it in my upcoming story called ( oddly enough! ) , “The West Wing.”

This week’s “Monday Morning Musings” got somewhat derailed after the accounting of last Saturday’s “beach party” in Inverness.

I’m sure I have mentioned this before but I am taking my first crack at a trilogy with my “Milling About” stories. Back in the 1970’s, I worked for a period of time in a sawmill and quickly discovered that this was not my first career choice. Some funny things happened at the mill that I had completely forgotten about until I passed a sawmill in Middle Musquodobit a few weeks ago. The first episode will be launched soon.

I am pleased and excited with the progress of my second book. All the stories have been written and submitted to my book editor. We did a phot shoot last week and I am really happy with the cover design ( front and back ) that was done by Jean Pearcey of Jeanious Designs. Jean does wonderful work and you will see the results of her labor on December 4^th. at my book launch at the library. More to come on this.

However, if you just can’t wait (!) you will have an opportunity to get the very first copy on Thursday, October 26^th. at the fundraiser in Heatherton. ( See the poster at the top of the page ). I’m taking my Week45 Express show on the road. In addition to myself and my good friend Phil Milner, I am really pleased that my four children will be performing some tunes. They haven’t played together in close to 10 years.

There will be a silent auction and I will be donating the first book out of the box to the silent auction table. If you win the bid, I will stick around after the show and autograph it for you. The rest of the books won’t go on sale until December 4^th. at the launch. Once again, I will be doing a signing on December 6^th. and 13^th. at the 5 to $1.00.

The response to yesterday’s story, “ No Waffling” was amazing. I have only had a few other stories in the last couple of years that have received as much attention as this one. I am really pleased and I suspect many of you are patrons of Authentic Belgian Waffles.

Please keep supporting all of our young business people and if at all possible, SHOP LOCAL. It’s so tempting to shop on line or go to the big cities but if we don’t support local businesses, there won’t be any in years to come. And then, who will support all of the sports teams and charities?

Have a terrific weekend.

Posted on September 11, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

X marks the spot

 

 

Last weekend, I was out for a stroll and ended up spending a pleasant hour in the bleachers at Oland Stadium. I watched, with considerable interest, a group of female athletes playing field hockey. It used to be a university sport but I am told that they are now a “club” but can still hold their own at the university level.

My eye caught the big “X” in the middle of the field, with the backdrop being the two newest dorms on campus. Calling them a dorm is both a misnomer and an insult. They are palatial with every modern convenience possible. I had a chance to do a quick tour this summer and they are very impressive… more like a hotel than the cramped quarters that were the norm way back when.

Last year around this time, I wrote a story about St.F.X. students and their importance to the local economy. Go to the search box on my home page and type in the words “ Putting the Ant in Antigonish.”

Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming contest. I am going to be looking for funny dieting stories. I will be accepting submissions by e-mail or private messaging on Facebook ( to protect your identity! ). Every one that sends me a story will be entered in a draw for 2 pairs of tickets to the upcoming “Week45 Express” road show on October 26^th. in Heatherton. Bring on the stories!

I have a great new story but I’m not sure if it is going to see the light of day, as it involves my lovely bride. The story is about recycling which , in and of itself, is a pretty benign subject. However, something funny happened the other day when Betty arrived home from a weekend of babysitting. Mothers know what total exhaustion looks and feels like. Anyway, her car keys went missing from the time she exited the car until she reached the kitchen. Where they ended up will surprise you.

Speaking of fatigue, we were sharing tales of exhaustion at the office the other day. One staff member confessed that she picked up one of her newborns in the dark of the night. She was bleary eyed. Only when she got out in the hall did she realize that she was holding the child upside down.

Over the next few weeks I plan to publish my first trilogy. “Milling Around” captures my life as a worker in a sawmill back in the 70’s.

And coming up next week, my Casket story ( it will be on my website on Wednesday ) will profile the “Waffle Wagon” that most of us see on a daily basis parked out behind the Post Office and at the Farmer’s Market on the weekend. I spent a delightful hour with the owners , Nicole and Alex recently and we talked about their business and their expansion plan. If I continue to eat their spectacular waffles, I will be working on my own expansion plan. Nicole assured me that I could keep my tummy in check by taking belly dancing lessons from her. That is NOT a pretty visual. The town is blessed with many young entrepreneurs and they deserve our support.

Have a great weekend.