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

Len and Peter

The picture above of me and my son Peter, was taken a few years ago at Cape Breton Highlands golf course. Golf aficionados know exactly which hole this was taken on. As the days lengthen and thoughts turn to spring, I thought a picture showing grass might make you feel better today. On a related matter, we are going to travel to Orlando in a few weeks to watch the Bay Hill Arnold Palmer Invitational. Tiger has been struggling with his game so we’re going to hang out at the practice range at the beginning of the week and see if we can get him straightened out before The Masters.

Are you suffering from an Olympics hangover? Two weeks of compelling television replaced by Buffalo and Carolina this past Tuesday is a bit hard to stomach. It was interesting talking to different people about their Sunday morning experiences watching the gold medal hockey game for men. It would appear that just about everybody’s eating and drinking habits were somewhat askew. Several people admitted that it wasn’t since their college days that they had their first drink of the day at 8:00 a.m. I had pizza hot out of the oven at 9:30 which has to rate as a first for me. In any event, it was a lot of fun to watch and lots of great memories.

I am very pleased to report that I have five teams committed for the Thursday hot meal plan due to be launched in early May. I have decided to try and get 11 in total. The program won’t operate in July and August so we need to cover about 44 weeks. If you do the math ( I know it’s early in the morning but I know you remember your times tables ), that would mean that each team would only have to commit to 4 meals a year, hardly an onerous task. My phone line is always open so if you want to captain a team, private message me on FB, e-mail me ( len.macdonald@eastlink.ca ) or call me at 870-1125.

I am also putting together the pieces for my fundraiser in aid of the hot meal plan. In case you missed it, the show , called “The Week45 Express” will roll into the Schwartz Auditorium on Thursday, April 24^th. It will be an evening of story telling and music. The room is booked, the poster is being designed and I’m lining up corporate sponsors to help defray some of the costs so that I can give 100% of the proceeds to fund the Thursday hot meal program. Please mark it on your calendar. It’s the Thursday after Easter and you’ll all be ready for a night out after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights.

Coming Saturday, “Salt of the Earth.”

Have a great weekend.

Posted on February 25, 2014 under Storytelling with 3 comments

Do you like playing games of chance?  Have you ever bought a ticket on the Lotto 649 or, its equivalent in the United States, Powerball?  How about bingo or do you like to try your hand at the slot machines in Vegas?  Personally I’m not much for games of chance.  My track record is deplorable.

Some days I feel as though I should just go to a manhole cover and throw a few coins in, to be flushed out to sea.

But I do believe in supporting charities and local sports and culture groups, so I don’t mind throwing a few bucks into a 50/50 draw, a fundraising tool that seems to be increasing in popularity.  The local Minor Hockey Association runs a very successful 50/50 draw every week, and the winner’s take is usually in the neighborhood of $15,000 … enough to pay off a few bills and a bit left over for a large pizza.

I recently attended a dinner theatre in support of our wonderful new library, which has become a real hub in the community.  I am on the Board that raises money for the library.  I had agreed to be in charge of the 50/50 draw.  I did not volunteer to de-bone the “hot out of the oven” turkeys.  The organizers must have known that I have desecrated more than one unsuspecting fowl over my culinary career.

These kinds of draws are a pretty easy sell, and I nabbed most people before they even had a chance to get to the bar.  I continued to sell during the three course meal, when the actors weren’t doing their thing.

When I wasn’t flogging tickets I was sharing a table with four lovely ladies, a few of them fellow Board members.  I quickly discovered that I was sitting with a bunch of self-proclaimed losers.  No, not those kinds of losers.  Let’s just call them “non-winners”.   There’s a difference, you know.  No one at our table had ever enjoyed much luck when it came to entering a draw.  Collectively, we won 50 pounds of lobster, a quilt, a leather chair and, for one lucky soul, $500.  Our total ages probably came to about 300 years so our results, on an annual percentage basis, were pretty miniscule.

As I made the rounds with my roll of tickets, I had some laughs and good natured ribbing at a big table occupied by the “red hat ladies”.  I wondered aloud if maybe I should open a kissing booth and charge $5.00, seeing that it was Valentine’s Day and all.  An old friend, Sheila, scoffed at the idea and thought I had a better chance of getting hit by lightning than making any smooch sales.

At the conclusion of the event, I was asked to present $225, the winner’s share of the 50/50 draw.  And wouldn’t you know it, the winner was Sheila.  This is the same Sheila that I nearly knee capped forty five years ago at my one and only attempt at square dancing.

Before I would hand over the money, I asked her to give me a peck on the cheek. I will leave it to you, dear reader, to guess which cheek I meant.

What are the odds of selling one kiss for $225?  I’ll never tell!

 

 

Posted on February 24, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

EXHALE

The Olympics are over and Canadians are  feeling a great sense of pride with the efforts of all of our athletes… not just the medallists. The women’s hockey game against the U.S. was one for the ages and is a good lesson in never giving up. The men’s gold medal game was an absolutely dominating performance. If you haven’t checked it out, I posted a video on Facebook yesterday. Our cathedral choir sang Oh Canada at the conclusion of mass.

I think most of you were pre-occupied with the Olympics on the weekend. I posted a story on Saturday that I thought would generate a lot of comments. The “regulars” weighed in about the story called “Flu Season.” If you get a chance, go back and read it. I don’t want to spoil the ending but really, is there anything worse than a “man cold?”

I have three other stories in the final edit stage. “A 50/50 proposition” is about luck ( or lack of luck ) purchasing 50/50 tickets. Non Catholics might not be familiar with the whole notion of Lent ( the 40 days leading up to Easter ). Catholics are supposed to show some restraint during this period of time, usually in the form of giving something up, like sweets or booze. Aren’t you glad you’re not one of us? The story is called ” I Give Up.” The last story is about potassium nitrate,  otherwise known as salt. I explore the many uses of salt including saltpeter. Coming soon, “The Salt of the Earth.”

Ok. Here’s an update on “The Week45 Express” rolling into town on April 24th. in aid of the hot meal program. I can confirm that well known author Frank MacDonald ( A Possible Madness; A Forest For Calum  ) will be one of our guest readers along with Phil Milner and your truly. The house band will be comprised of Betsy MacDonald, Peter Macdonald and Carl Laudadio. It should be a great evening for a very worthwhile cause. Please bookmark the date. Tickets will be going on sale in the next week or so.

The picture at the top of the page is the lodge at the Keppoch. A group of very dedicated people have resurrected the old ski hill and turned it into a multi season resort for snowshoeing, cross country skiing, mountain biking and hiking. Yesterday was their annual fun day. It was a cloudless sunny and warm day and the place was packed. The mood was very upbeat after Canada’s thrilling wins in hockey. If winter is getting you down, take a trip out there and enjoy the great outdoors.

Have a wonderful week.