Posted on May 7, 2014 under Storytelling with 11 comments

Farewell to a great guy.

 

 

“Sing me back home, with a song I used to hear,

Make my old memories come alive,

Take me away and turn back the years,

Sing me back home before I die”

Merle Haggard

Blaise MacInnis and I were scheduled to perform “Sing Me Back Home” at Piper’s Pub at a fundraiser.   He died five days before he had his chance at the big times! In a tribute to Blaise, we sang him back home on that cold Saturday afternoon.  In a twist of irony, it was Merle Haggard’s birthday that same day.

I met Blaise about five years ago during the annual Christmas carol gathering at the R.K. MacDonald Nursing Home.  He was charming, gregarious and he loved to sing.  For two and a half hours he followed the carolers to every gathering spot in the home and sang his heart out.  We even crooned in the elevator as we went up one floor.  He smiled the entire time.

And just like that, he was taken from his family and friends and many are left to mourn and remember.

He faced adversity from the day he was born but, from all accounts, he accepted the cards he was dealt.   He was never bitter and it sounds like good humor was an integral part of his DNA.  I spoke to some of his buddies from his high school days who said he was a great guy and not beyond taking part in mischief from time to time.

His friends got together on the weekend to pay tribute to him.  Tyke (Ty) Wallace and Robert MacArthur organized an afternoon of music at the R.K.  And not just any music.  In rapid fire succession they trotted out all of Blaise’s favorites.

Along with his family and comrades, many of the residents of the home and the staff were in attendance.  The place was packed.  Blaise had a lot of friends and admirers.

There was an infant and there were a few residents at or near the century mark.  While time may have robbed the residents of their mobility, vision, hearing and memory, it did not rob them of their sense of joy as the first chords of “Branded Man” echoed throughout the room.

If the mark of the man is measured by the company he keeps, then Blaise indeed was “King of The Road”.  The next song in the repertoire, “Linda on My Mind”, was followed by “The Crystal Chandelier”.    Pride personified.  Then “Amanda, Light of my Life”.  Watching the faces of his immediate family and relatives, it was obvious that Blaise was indeed the “light of their lives”.

The room got warmer as the community wrapped its arms around Blaise.

“The Snakes Crawl at Night”, “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Coat of Many Colors” kept the toes tapping.  I noticed one of the residents dancing with a staff member at the back of the room.  Those country standards bring back great memories.

As Tyke and Robert sifted through a stack of papers, one of them commented that Blaise often kidded them when there was a pause in the action. “C’mon now.  Hurry up.  Quit stalling.”

“Kiss an Angel Good Morning.”  “Green Green Grass of Home.”  It was the greatest hits of country, sung from the heart.

You could almost see the mist hovering over the hills of Mabou and Glencoe as Robert played a haunting guitar solo, one of John Allan Cameron’s classics.

We ate cake and had a nice cup of tea.

And remembered.

Posted on May 6, 2014 under Storytelling with one comment

“And They Called it Puppy Love”

 

 

People love their pets. No. People are fanatical about their pets. Most of us tried our hand at budgie birds and goldfish when we were little, but our parents got tired of cleaning the bird cage and doing eulogies for deceased guppies.  We once acquired two male rabbits when our own children were little.   We even took them to the vet to make sure that they were both fellas.  We awoke one morning to find six babies.

And then there are dogs and cats.

In my youth, we had a Heinz 57 dog named Chipper.  The name didn’t really suit him because once he discovered table scraps he grew fat and lazy.  The only time he would perk up was when we got home from school.  He would run around us frantically with his tail spinning like a helicopter rotor.  When we had children of our own, we (?) decided to have a cat or two … or three, the last one covertly brought into the house in an ATV helmet.

It seems that almost every other person has a dog these days.  One must be extremely careful not to make any disparaging comments about man’s best friend in front of dog owner.  Or to take their responsibilities lightly.  For many, their pets are full-fledged members of the family.

The other day I went for a walk down Main Street and saw a parade of pit bulls prancing down the sidewalk with their owners and a trainer in tow.  One of the owners was my neighbor.   I casually mentioned to her that Betty should try and train me. “I have an extra collar and leash at home!” she retorted.  She was serious.  She didn’t even crack a smile.

Last weekend, I had friends over for coffee.  Two of the couples had made a trip down to Boston and it had been necessary to board their dogs.  They were heading off to pick up their four legged friends and could hardly wait to see them.  A university student being picked up by his parents would not have received as warm a welcome after completing a year of studies.

My wife wanted a dog after all our children had made the final leap from the nest.  She thought that it would be nice to have a reason to go for a walk every day.  We held off until the grandchildren started arriving.  Now she has lots of company on her walks … and three strollers and a wagon!  I haven’t heard any puppy persuasion lately.

Although … one of the grandkids is crazy about cats …

I’m just yanking your chain.

 

Posted on May 5, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Breakfast of Champions – Chocolates and red wine

 

 

A week ago today ( Monday ), I received a gift basket at 9:00 a.m. at the office which was highly unusual for two reasons: I rarely receive gift baskets and how in the name of god does someone arrange for a 9:00 delivery on a Monday morning…. by courier,  from Halifax? The basket was full of high quality chocolates, a bag of Colombian coffee and a lovely bottle of red wine. What is a fella to do?

Well, we held an impromptu staff meeting at 9:01 and set to the task at hand. I sent the following e-mail to the sender: “ It was very thoughtful ( and dangerous! ) to send us chocolates and wine the first thing on Monday morning. The chocolates are already in peril and we will hold off on the wine until at least noon.”  It was a very pleasant surprise.

Maybe you can surprise someone today with a nice gesture. It doesn’t have to be as elaborate at the one we received.

I helped out at a used book sale on the weekend. This was a fundraiser for the Friends of Antigonish Library. ( FOAL ). I was astonished at the large volume of books that were dropped off on Friday at the St.James United Church to be sorted, and equally astonished at the turnout for the sale on Saturday. I was really pleased to see the number of families who showed up. It’s great to know that young people are still reading books.

I also attended my granddaughter’s second birthday on Saturday. There were oodles of small children and it was a lively and colorful affair. Lots of great food. Thankfully Lent is over and I’m back on the sweets with reckless abandon.

The Cape Breton Star launched last week and has received a lot of favorable feedback. I posted a picture of the former toll booth at the Causeway on Facebook last Friday . Can someone explain the picture phenomenon on Facebook? I put a two sentence comment and received hundreds of views. The very next day, I posted one of my stories with a different picture of the Causeway ( the day that it was being dismantled ) and received half as many views. I guess my stories are only half as compelling as the pictures I post!

Someone at work was asking me what I thought about pre-arranged funerals the other day. I do quite a bit of estate planning in my day job. Later that same day I saw a notice on Facebook from 98.9 Nothing But Hits. Apparently someone had lost a sum of money AT A FUNERAL HOME. These two seemingly unconnected pieces of information got me to thinking about my own mortality and what I might leave to my heirs when “I have slipped the surly bonds of earth.” “ Coming soon at Week45, “ I Bequeath You.” I think you’re going to like this one.

Have a great week.