Posted on April 10, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

A Possible Madness

 

 

I have some hard core followers out there. You know who you are. You read just about everything I write and often fire off a comment. I wish I could find another 1000 just like you. Surely there are other people with your refined tastes!

Once in a blue moon I put a story out there that resonates with a wider audience. Such was the case with Tuesday’s story called “Taken For a Ride.” The only other story that got a bigger response was “Lou’s Last Laugh” ( the one with the skunk in the grave ). If you are new to Week45, just go to the search bar on the top right hand corner of my home page and search for the story.  I had quite a few comments. In case you were wondering how the story actually ended, the couple immediately turned around and drove back to the airport. They filled the tank and dropped off the car where they found it. I think we all imagined them getting pulled over by the Mounties after a report of a stolen vehicle. Only in Nova Scotia!

I will once again shamelessly promote Frank Macdonald’s two excellent novels: “A Forest For Calum” and “ A Possible Madness.” Frank is looking forward to coming for the fundraiser and you will appreciate the show even more if you are familiar with his style.

Attention , all Cape Bretoners.  I decided it was high time that I confess , in public, my lineage, including my Cape Breton roots. My father was born in St.Peter’s and his people originally came from the neighboring community of Soldier’s Cove. My brother, Don did a family history and at one point in time , there were 18 John MacDonald’s living in Soldier’s Cove. Probably nice guys but not a very imaginative bunch when it came to doling out names.  I have a story coming up called “ My Cape Breton Passport” where I try to prove conclusively that I have a right to claim citizenship,  if Cape Breton tries to pull the sovereignty card ( like Quebec ).  And, no, I will not comment on the Quebec election. The people spoke. Enough said!

Saturday’s story will be the one I wrote about an outrageous phone bill a group of us incurred back in 1976 while living and teaching in Northern Alberta. Do you know what a $1200 phone bill is in today’s dollars using a 3% annual inflation rate?  If you don’t want to waste your time on Google, I will tell all on Saturday.

I’m trying to come up with an Easter story. There is one I would like to write but I still fear excommunication when I think of a particular Good Friday back in 1978 when a group of my colleagues ( teachers ) decided to have a party on Good Friday afternoon. Sacrilegious?  Probably. Grounds for dismissal? Likely. Why the big deal? The party was in a house that abutted the Catholic Church. It was the first truly spectacular spring day and the boys cut loose. The party started at noon and hit its zenith right around the time of the crucifixion. There were very large speakers out on the lawn. Hendrix blasting.  Yeah. You’re right. It was ugly. Ouch. I think I’ll stick to something safe like a story about an Easter egg hunt.

Bring on The Masters golf tournament.

Have a great weekend.

 

 

Posted on April 3, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

GOLFING SOON?

 

I will do my very best not to utter the “w” word anywhere in this post. “W” has something to do with the shit that continues to pour out of the sky with regularity. I know the “w” has got a lot of people down but if you need a reality check, talk to someone who is going through cancer treatments.

I attended the Blood Donor clinic yesterday. It is one of my favorite things to do. I love looking around the room and seeing people from all walks of life taking an hour out of their day to give blood. It doesn’t matter about status, body shape, color or creed. Everyone who attends is thinking about the welfare of others. I wrote a story about these clinics in my book. It’s called “Bloodlines” ( pg.87 ). If you’ve never gone before, why don’t you give it a try. It doesn’t hurt and you may very well save a life.

Ok. It’s time to start beating the drum once again about the big fundraiser coming up in three weeks from today in support of the Hot Meal program. The show is going to be a lot of fun and it will be even better if we can fill the place and turn over every nickel to help feed the hungry. If any of you would like to try and sell a handful of tickets, please give me a shout. A dear friend of mine who graduated with me from X in 1973, sent me a cheque for 4 tickets the other day. Impressive and appreciated but even more so because she doesn’t live anywhere near Antigonish. I will be giving those to some people that might not otherwise be able to afford to go.

The Hot Meal program, Day 2, is still set to launch in May if we can put all the pieces together.

And speaking of meals, I once again invite you to join me for breakfast ( or coffee ) this Saturday ( the 5^th. ) at 10:00 a.m. at the Prissy Pig. I thought it might be fun to sit around and share story ideas or simply shoot the breeze. I have very few regrets in life but as I get older, I sometimes lament the fact that I don’t see a lot of people socially. Everyone seems to be so caught up with work, family, extended family, caring for elderly parents, babysitting grandkids, that there is very little time , or energy, to just sit and chat with old friends.

Lots of fresh stories coming your way. I haven’t decided about Saturday’s story yet. Are you ready for my take on sex education?

Have a great weekend.

P.S. Not all of you are on Facebook. FYI… I have been nominated as a finalist for a journalism award.

Posted on March 27, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

 

 

Bombogenesis.  Go look it up. It is a weather related word and I saw it a few days ago in the lead up to the storm that roared through the province yesterday. There was so much hype about this storm that I couldn’t resist the temptation to write a story and so I chose the catchy name “ Bombogenesis.” Last evening, I did my own exhaustive survey (!) on Facebook to see how folks rated the storm…. 1 being a minor dustup and 10, “White Juan revisited.”  While none of us would relish being out on the highways and byways, the storm did not live up to the hype. I am all for safety and closing schools and businesses was a prudent move. It’s the unabashed and relentless hype that has me all a twitter ( no, not that Twitter ).

You spoke and the storm, the bombogenesis of all bombogenesis rated about a 5. I will probably publish this on Saturday when it’s sunny and +12.

On a completely different subject, my “gratitude jar” is starting to fill up nicely. Taking my cue from KG, I started writing down on paper something that happened each day since January 1^st. day that made me feel grateful. As of yesterday, I have 85 small pieces of paper sitting in a big plastic jar that used to be home for Unico pepper rings. It will be fun at the end of the year to dump them all out and review all the things that made me feel grateful over the year. It’s not too late to start your own.

Which leads me directly to an upcoming story about how one person’s attitude completely transformed an otherwise mind numbing, moribund departure lounge at the Orlando Airport. I watched a guy who ran the Hudson News stand turn a waiting room full of tired ( depressed passengers ) who were leaving the warmth to travel back up north , into a room full of laughter. Now there is a guy who decides when he gets up in the morning that he is going to make the world a happier place. What if we all adopted that attitude? “Making a Difference” coming at you soon.

A dear friend of mine from Fairview, Alberta passed away last fall. He was just a great guy who had a wonderful sense of humour. As some of you know, I write a weekly column for the Fairview Post and this week my story is a tribute to Tony. It is along the lines of the tribute I did recently for Joe Judique. I think I will post it on my website. We have a lot of “Tonys” in our midst. Even though you didn’t know him, the story could be written about a lot of people. Coming soon, “Travels With Tony.”

And, I’m just checking with my lawyers ( not ) about the upcoming story about a visit the MacDonald clan made to the home of a sitting Premier of British Columbia back in 1973. Some of you , long in the tooth like myself, will remember the colorful, Dave Barrett. We paid him a visit one day along with our father (who was quite mortified by the whole ordeal.)  Let me take you into the Premier’s home for a beer and some music. “Grin and Barrett.”

Have a great weekend and don’t stay in the sun too long on Saturday.