Posted on August 20, 2015 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

Yup. This way to the parachuting cows!

 

 

Well, the votes are in ( no, you didn’t miss the Federal Election! ) and the story “And Pigs Fly” has made in into the top all time views of stories that I’ve written over the past 2.5 years. You were fascinated with the notion of parachuting cows. I’m sorry to have left so many of you dazed and confused by not resolving the mystery in the story. But I did leave a clue in the last paragraph: “Students,” muttered Peter. I can’t say this with complete certainty but an inquiry to the Department of Transportation, who puts up these road signs, revealed that they believe it is a case of mischief by some enterprising students. It appears that someone came in the dark of night with a stencil and paint and ,voila!, we had two parachuting cows. But as you can see from the picture above, they weren’t done. If you come off the roundabout at Exit 33 en route to Antigonish, you will see this second parachuting cow sign.

Unless you’re an economics students you may have missed the deeper meaning of Ruth’s comments: “You have two cows.” If you took any economic courses in high school or university you probably encountered a discussion on economic models using two cows. Rather than me try to explain it, check out this link: https://www.facebook.com/TheIDEAlistRevolution/posts/612557992110984

I still think that this would be an excellent tourism ploy to get people to come to Antigonish. I don’t mean actually trying to have airborne cows raining from the skies. Just signage that would make people stop and think that the “locals” have a very good sense of humour.

For someone whose mission in life these days is to entertain, I still have occasion to rant, as many of you know. During the winter, people complained about ice, snow and cold temperatures. The complaints shifted to dandelions ( imagine, the nerve of dandelions growing on your lawn ), black flies and mosquitoes. And now it’s the oppressive heat and fruit flies. The last time I remembered, these things happen every single year. This is not an anomaly, people. I have a friend in the hospital who is gravely ill. I visit him every day. Somehow fruit flies buzzing around the compost for a few weeks is not really that big a deal. Today’s rant is over and was brought to you by RAID.

I have lined up a few interviews with some very interesting people and hope to publish their stories in the not too distant future.

The last Antigonish Art Fair will be held tomorrow. We have our fingers crossed for the weather as we have a fantastic lineup of artists, performers and food vendors. The last act of the night at the gazebo is a surprise.

This has been a fantastic beach week and we have managed to get in a few swims. The water is a perfect temperature and the jellyfish haven’t arrived…yet! But I’m sure once they make their appearance, you will hear a litany of complaints. Oops, the rant wasn’t done, obviously.

The “P.D.”’s are having a big family reunion this weekend. As a person gets a little older, they realize that these are moments to be treasured.

Here’s hoping you have a fantastic weekend.

Posted on August 18, 2015 under Storytelling with one comment

All signs point towards the cow parachuting capital of the world

 

 

The elderly American couple, Ruth and Peter, had just completed a trip around the world-renowned Cabot Trail. Retired history professors, they made many side trips, visiting landmarks such as the Fortress of Louisburg, the Big Fiddle and Rita’s Tea Room. They saw a moose on MacKenzie Mountain and were startled at the enormity of the magnificent animal. They also saw eagles soar on the Mira and enjoyed a whale watching tour in Cheticamp. They thought that they had seen some of the most intriguing sights and wildlife imaginable.

That is, until they took the off ramp at Exit 33 near the town of Antigonish.

It was nearly dusk when they decided to get a room for the night. They were dog tired as the car decelerated on its approach to one of the newly constructed roundabouts. The large tourist sign ahead indicated the usual amenities like hotels, gas and lodging. However, in the far right-hand corner, there was an image that was very much out of the ordinary. Although they both saw it neither mentioned it, chalking it up to a mistaken impression due to twilight and fatigue.

After a better than average sleep, Peter was on the go early. He was intrigued about the whole sign business from the night before. Maybe his eyes had played a trick on him in the waning light. He decided that he must put the matter to rest so he grabbed his car keys and headed for the door for a second look. “Where are you going?” queried his bride of 45 years. “I’m going to go through the drive through and get us a cup of coffee.”   He thought that clarification of the sign might initiate a lively discussion at the breakfast table.

He headed for the highway and in the clear light of day and well rested, to boot; he stopped the car, turned off the motor and stood in front of the sign. There, as clear as could possibly be, was the picture of two cows, suspended from parachutes. He looked at the sign and viewed the landscape around him. He didn’t have the foggiest notion what the sign meant. He drew upon all of his years of academe and drew a total blank. He grabbed his cell phone and snapped a picture.

He quickly returned to the hotel.

“Where’s my coffee, dear?” In his haste to solve the mystery, he had completely forgotten about the “other” reason for his little outing.

“Honey, did you notice the sign that we saw just before we entered the roundabout last night?” Ruth nodded in the affirmative. “And did you find anything peculiar about the sign?” “Yes. I thought I saw a picture of parachuting cows but I didn’t want to say something and have you think that I was losing my marbles!” she replied.

He whipped out his phone and clicked on the “picture” icon and there, as large as life, was the small herd of cattle (2 to be exact), floating gracefully down from the heavens.

A quick “Google search” revealed nothing. In recent years they had become avid users of social media. If you’re going to keep in touch with the grandkids, this is a given. They immediately turned to Facebook, that great amalgam of humanity and wisdom.

And the feedback poured in. Someone opined that the Republicans might be parachuting in a candidate for our upcoming federal election. There was a suggestion (credible) that this type of signage was common in Scotland to warn people about cattle crossing areas. Perhaps the logo indicated that some cows had been abducted by space aliens and managed to escape. Maybe “cow parachuting” was a new sport found only in this neck of New Scotland. Or could Banksy have visited our small town?

The debate raged on for much of the day with no clear resolution.

Just before heading west on their journey home, Ruth and Peter circumnavigated the town just so that they could view the sign one more time. “Students” muttered Peter. “Economics students”. “You have two cows …” replied Ruth.

In some clever marketer’s eyes, cows can fly.

Surely pigs can’t be far behind?

Posted on August 17, 2015 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Betty told me to take a hike… so I did!

 

 

Summer has arrived and it is great to see all the photos of people spending time at the beach, out on boats fishing for mackerel or sitting around bonfires. We have waited so long for a good stretch of weather that everyone is outdoors drinking it all in. We went for an early morning hike yesterday at Ballantyne’s Cove and it was awesome. Much of the walk was in the woods so we had a natural canopy to keep us cool. There were all kinds of luscious raspberries which we tested.

You know, we hear a lot these days about “economic action plans.” I’m not going to go political on you here. But as we walked through the woods , we realized the sweat equity of volunteers who make these trails a reality. I think we can all agree that small communities have their own action plan and it revolves about the notion of action. People just roll up their sleeves and get things done to make their communities great places to live.

I know I go on about this a lot, but we were also very conscious of our good fortune to be well enough to go for a hike. This is only a dream for people who are house bound, in wheelchairs or sick in the hospital. The next time you walk the beach or go pick berries, remember how lucky you are.

Most of us don’t think a whole lot about our “mini trail” but having been there a half a dozen times this week, I realize what a gem we have right in our back yard. I was particularly aware of this as I took some visitors for a “ride around the Cape.” We stopped by to see Joe at “Stone Carvations.” Just about everybody knows that Joe is a genius when it comes to bringing stone to life. He’s also a great entertainer and guitar player. Joe wasn’t around but that didn’t stop us from getting out of the car to look at his artistry. If you have security cameras, Joe, that was us wandering around your yard.

We drove out to Arisaig and spent a few minutes taking pictures at the lookout across from Steinhart’s Distillery. It was just too hot to think about drinking maple vodka, Tom! We drove to the wharf at Arisaig and then went into Livingstone’s Cove. We stopped at the top of the hill overlooking Ballantyne’s Cove so that our friends could get their picture taken. Our friends were originally from Newfoundland ( Norman’s Cove ) and have had more than a few feeds of fish and chips in their day. They claim that the ones they had at the canteen at the wharf at Ballantyne’s was “the best they ever had.”

As the evening waned, we deked into Cribbon’s for a few minutes and ended our travels coming by Jimtown, Mahoney’s and Antigonish Harbor. Seeing our own backyard through the eyes of visitors made us very conscious of the beauty that surrounds us.

You know that I am not a shopper and that I’d rather have a root canal than go to a yard sale so you might find it odd when I tell you that I went with Betty to a yard sale that covered over 50 kilometers. On Saturday, we drove from home and spent the morning travelling route 344 between Boylston and Mulgrave. I`ll spare you the details but it was a glorious morning for a drive. If you haven`t driven that road lately… go! And make sure you stop at the Provincial Park in Port Shoreham… a hidden gem.

I think that more and more of us are discovering that you don`t have to travel far from home ( i.e. outside our own province ) to have a great vacation.

Working on lots of stuff.

Have a great week.