Posted on January 13, 2016 under Faces in the Crowd with 3 comments

His mother had a heart of gold. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Meet Bill Ryan.

Bill and his ten brothers grew up in Canso. He travelled to different parts of Canada working in the steel fabrication business. He retired and has been living in Antigonish for the past dozen or so years.

He had no children of his own but calls the thousand or so students that he guides through the crosswalk every day his family. And oh, by the way, he knows every single one of them by their first name. His kindness and joie de vivre are something to behold. And he waves at every car that passes.

Why does Bill always have a smile on his face? He is at peace with himself. He has discovered the body, mind, spirit balance. He finds comfort in his church.

Simply put, Bill is just a great guy. Wave to him when you see him.

Posted on January 11, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

Somewhere in the Arizona desert – January 2015

Peter MacDonald photo

 

 

George rocks!

My “Faces in the Crowd” ( FITC ) story last Thursday was a big hit. George, the cat, is none too happy about being a townie having recently moved from Georgeville. The story received a lot of attention. I’ll keep you posted on George’s progress.

Coming up this week, FITC profiles an amazing guy who has to be one of the friendliest people that I’ve ever encountered. He had to elbow 10 other brothers for grub around the kitchen table when they all lived at home. He spent a lot of his working life on the road traveling to different parts of Canada. Not much different than what’s going on these days if you’re a trades person. He’s not from here, but when it came time for retirement, there was something that drew him to Antigonish. And we’re better for it. I won’t say anything else for fear of blowing his cover before the story gets published. Look for “A Heart of Gold” in this Thursday’s FITC.

A bit of random and completely unconnected things. A few days after Christmas, Betty and I were at Walmart. As I wandered around aimlessly, as I tend to in large stores like this, I spotted a blood pressure testing station near the pharmacy. Just for fun, I went over and decided to take my blood pressure. I thought that this would make a great picture: people lining up to get their blood pressure taken just after opening their credit card bills after Christmas.

Do you remember the last day of school when you were in high school? Sure you do. Back in the 60’s it was a tradition in our neighborhood to congregate in the field between Hillcrest Street and the old Antigonish High School ( the present Psychology building ) and burn all of our scribblers. It seems a little silly now but at the time, destroying every shred of evidence from the school year was somehow cathartic. “ Burn baby, burn.” And why would I be thinking about this? Well, a year ago, I spent New Year’s Eve in New Orleans and that evening, the entire city was awash in bonfires on streets in the suburbs. No, not in the back yard or in an old steel garbage can… the fires were set and lit right on the street with plumes of smoke and ash flying right over the roofs of the houses. It was certainly one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen in a long time.

I know that this is a touchy subject and I don’t mean to offend any of my loyal readers. ( I probably will ! ) As you may know, I am knee deep in an initiative sponsored by St. Ninian’s Parish to bring another Syrian refugee family to Antigonish. Many Canadians are honored and proud that the country has taken this on but there are also many people who fundamentally disagree. I am respectful of other people’s opinion but there is one point that I simply can’t let slide by without commenting. Those who are critical continue to say things like “ they don’t look poor” or “why aren’t we looking after our own poor people?”  I think that these people need to understand the definition of a refugee:

“ A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster.” Nowhere in this widely accepted definition is there any mention of poverty. In the case of the Syrians, their homes and businesses have been bombed. Syrians aren’t necessarily poor. They just don’t have homes anymore. That’s why Canadians are stepping up to the plate.

Just sayin.’

Have a great week.

Posted on January 7, 2016 under Faces in the Crowd with one comment

You can take the boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the boy.

Meet George.

George is not a happy camper these days. As a matter of fact it would appear that he might require some therapy. He used to be a “country cat” but now he’s a “townie.” Last year’s brutish winter convinced his owners to move to town for the coming winter. George protested but then grudgingly agreed.

Like most country cats, George is an expert mouser. Sorry. He was an expert mouser but in his new digs, there is nary a mouse to be found. His “raison d’etre” has been severely compromised.

A family friend issued this stern dictum: “George, get over it.”

You can take George out of Georgeville but you can’t take Georgeville out of George.