Posted on July 21, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

A glimpse into the past

 

 

Sometimes I feel old enough to be placed in a museum. I was out for a run around The Landing on the weekend and noticed this sign as you approach the Antigonish Heritage Museum. It’s funny how you notice things when you are not in a car. I don’t ever remember seeing this sign. The museum has just undergone some significant renovations. You should stop by and talk to Jocelyn who knows just about everything when it comes to the history of the area, including genealogy.

Do you remember learning how to ride a bike? ( and I don’t mean a Harley, Ron! ). I have been tasked to teach my granddaughter how to ride a bike. We had our first lesson on Saturday and she managed to go a few feet unassisted. I was getting all kinds of flashbacks as she wobbled precariously from side to side. Sometimes I wish I were a kid again but most days, I am very content to be in my sixties. I would like to think that I am aging but not growing old. I think there’s a difference.

You’ve heard of keyless entry? Many models of vehicles no longer require car keys to gain entry. A 2009 Toyota Yaris is not one of them. Last week, my car keys went missing. This seems to be a common theme lately. I always leave them in the same place on the counter so it was odd that they were nowhere to be found. We couldn’t find them for several days until Betty discovered them in the trunk of the car where the spare tire is stored. It would appear that they were misplaced there when she was fastening one of the car seats. Not quite like misplacing a vacuum cleaner but a close second.

By the way, have you tried to install or uninstall a modern car seat lately? You pretty well need to be a rocket scientist. I wrote about this last year. If you go to my website and go to the search bar and type in “ Car Seat Conundrum,” you will see how I feel about this subject. You boomers know full well that hordes of us travelled in our parent’s cars long before seat belts were invented. Some of us even lay down near the back window when one of our siblings became too obnoxious.

What an incredible stretch of weather we’re having. Long, sun drenched days have made for great beach weather. It is a lot of fun taking the grandkids for a swim and an ice cream cone. Doesn’t get much better than that.

I watched a lot of golf this weekend. I love the British Open for a whole lot of reasons. The best reason is that it is on early in the morning. I was able to watch nearly three hours of coverage before going to work. One of these days, I must tell the story of playing true links golf while on a trip to Ireland 11 years ago. You cannot possibly appreciate a pot bunker until you’ve actually been in one. I got in one that was so deep that they had to send a search party after me.

Rory rocks!

Have a terrific week.

P.S. My regular Tuesday story will appear on Wednesday this week.

 

Posted on July 19, 2014 under Storytelling with no comments yet

Cabot Links Golf Club

 

 

Coming from the mainland, you exit the Causeway and make a sweeping left turn onto Route 19.  It is one of the most scenic drives in the entire province in any season not starting with the letter “w”.   Before you have reached top speed (90 KPH), you pass through Troy.  I have often thought I should pull over and look for Helen and the horse.  Creignish, Long Point, Judique and Port Hood are all potential stops along the way, each steeped in tradition and some of the best tea and biscuits that one can find.

The beautiful village of Mabou can easily be mistaken for Brigadoon if you arrive there early on a misty morning.  I have to fasten my seat belt securely while passing the Mull restaurant, lest I leap out on the fly for a piece of warmed chocolate pudding cake, with a dollop of whipped cream on top.  I am ever hopeful that they serve this in heaven.

Once I see the Strathlorne Nursery I know I am getting close.

For some unknown reason, I have probably spent more time in Inverness than any single community on the Island.  The romance began in the early 1970’s.

A number of my classmates at St. F.X. were from Cape Breton, and a handful hailed from Inverness.  I had passed through the town many times over the years on my way around the Cabot Trail but never had reason to pause for more than a pit stop.

That is, until I encountered the Ryan clan.

I accepted an invitation to come down for a weekend retreat.  No, not that kind of retreat.  This getaway consisted of booze, beaches and broads …. Broad Cove, that is.  We pondered the mysteries of life at one of the Ryan cottages, perched high on a hill.  I remember it being windy and I believe that this is where I heard the expression “three sheets to the wind” for the first time.  So windy, in fact, that we tacked to a neighbor’s cabin when the beer started to run low.

I always thought that the beach in Inverness was one of the finest in the province … and still do.  It now forms the backdrop to one of the most famous golf courses in the world: Cabot Links.  I’m not sure if John Cabot saw the enormous potential of this tract of land when he travelled to the new world in 1497.  But Ben Cowan-Dewar certainly did.  He and his team have created one masterpiece of a golf course with a second to open soon.  Could be a cliff hanger!

My in-laws, Dr. John and Toni, spent a decade in Inverness and that was a period when our trips up Route 19 became more frequent.  Our girls sang at the Crab Fest and we attended many parties on Lower Railroad Street.  We met some of the most pleasant and interesting people you can imagine and it still feels a bit like home anytime we happen to be passing through town.

I remember one party in particular.  There was a great singsong going on and I was playing my guitar.  A young man appeared with his parents and a few moments later I discovered what real talent looks like.   Matthew MacLennan, from just around the corner (Chimney Corner, to be precise,) dazzled me and everyone else in the room with his exquisite singing and playing.

I played Cabot Links last year.  I hadn’t golfed in eight years and it showed.  But I didn’t care much about the quality of my game.  I was more interested in seeing a little slice (or hook!) of paradise, right in my back yard.  Everybody who works at this facility exudes warmth.  While they may not have been experts in the golf and hospitality industries initially, that is something that can be learned.  You can’t teach people to be personable.  That’s “bred in the bone”.

I wish I could say that my knowledge base is expanding as rapidly as my waistline.  One too many burgers at the Coal Miner’s Café.

Beautiful beaches, great golf and wonderful people.  A perfect cocktail for the summer.

 

 

Posted on July 17, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

Our community in bloom

I would like to once again compliment the Town and the people who care enough to make our community look attractive to tourists. The “Communities in Bloom” initiative is a real winner. It seems that you can’t walk a few feet on Main Street without encountering a flower box or a hanging basket. They are absolutely beautiful and a real eye catcher. Kudos to Wayne and the other people who routinely water the flowers.

At the risk of leaving someone else, I want to recognize three couples who were instrumental in this community beautification effort: David Miller and Aida Arnold, John Hamilton and Minoli Amit, and Ernie MacLaughlin and his wife. It was their vision and hard work years ago that has resulted in the Town repeatedly being recognized as one of the most esthetically pleasing in the country.

I attended a reunion of former students of the old Antigonish High School the other day at Piper’s Pub, Besides the guest book, the other most important thing the organizers did was to bring stick on name tags. I didn’t recognize some of the older people but happily knew all of the people from my era. We all commented that we struggle with names and have bouts of forgetfulness. I wondered aloud at our table whether aging had anything to do with that! Oh my, but the years fly by. Shocking, actually. I am one of those who routinely pooh poohed reunions when I was younger but now I see how important they are… and fun.

I think just about every person in attendance must read The Casket ( or my website ). The vacuum cleaner story still has “legs.” Just about everybody in the room commented about the story and their version of “staging the house.” I guess misplacing items is common. One person told me that they found children’s toys in the oven the day after a showing. Good thing they weren’t preheating the oven for a roast!

So. Did you attend any of the Highland Games last week or some other festival? Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I look at the program for a major event. Even if you were cloned, it would be nearly impossible to see everything or do everything on the agenda. It got me to thinking about the “feast or famine” syndrome. You know what I mean. You hardly ever socialize but the two weeks leading up to Christmas, you get invited to a dozen office or house parties. Very often, more than one are happening on the same night and you dutifully make the rounds. By the end of the holiday, you are ready to kill somebody who puts a shrimp ring in front of you.

“Feast or Famine” looks at the “all or nothing” phenomenon. It calls into question the notion of seeking balance and moderation in our lives. Neither of these is possible, by the way. I have been studying the subject for nearly 63 years.

Have a great weekend.