Posted on April 14, 2016 under Faces in the Crowd with 4 comments

 

“Until death do us part” … the Danny Angus Boyd clan took their wedding vows very seriously.

Meet Martha MacDonald

Martha was one of 14 children born to Danny Angus and Margaret Boyd.  One child died in infancy.  They lived on a farm and knew the meaning of hard work, as they raised a variety of animals and tended large gardens.  They were a self-sufficient lot, like so many others back then.

Music was a big part of family life.  Everyone sang, often in harmony, even when doing mundane chores like the dishes.  Occasionally sibling rivalry between the washer and dryer was anything but harmonious!

Martha attended the one room school in Lakevale which eventually expanded to two classrooms. After high school she did a brief stint in Wellesley, a suburb of Boston, but the call of home was too strong.  The next time she left home she went to Sudbury, and eventually she and her husband Deanie moved all the way to the west coast to Vancouver.  When children appeared on the scene they decided to raise them in Lakevale.

Once the brood was in school Martha worked at the cafeteria at the Regional High School along side Peggy “A.B.” and Sally White.  She bought the canteen at the wharf in Ballantyne’s Cove one April Fools Day and operated the business for 16 years.  She served a lot of famous people over the years.  One man arrived for a meal sporting a diamond ring the size of a mandarin orange.  Martha asked him if he got the ring in a box of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.  He had a great laugh over this.  She loved working with people and notes that having a good sense of humour was essential.

She still plays bridge, sings in the church choir and even dabbles with the paint brush from time to time.  And she’s an avid walker.  On May 31, 1997, she was one of approximately 75,000 people who walked across the 12.9 kilometer- long Confederation Bridge between P.E.I. and New Brunswick, to officially open the bridge.

A little over a year ago, her husband of 62 years passed away.  Being married this long is a remarkable achievement in this day and age but, as it turns out, this was very much the norm in the Boyd family. Twelve of the thirteen siblings were married for at least 50 years, and the thirteenth died just short of his fiftieth wedding anniversary.  The total number of years married collectively … 721 and counting.  Surely they are candidates for a Guinness World Record.  If you’re looking for a definition of commitment, look no further:

Joe and Helen: 53 years; Marguerite and Myles: 56 years; Tada and Jim: 55 years; Buddy and Terry: 50 years; Alex and Tena: 59 years; Blaise and Jean; 56 years; Martha and Deanie: 62 years; Chris and Forbie: 61 years; Marie and J.P.:59 years; Lucille and Walter: 58 years; Rita and Russell: 54 years; John and Cordis: 50 years; Jerome and Kay: 48 years.

And what is Martha’s wish in her golden years?  “I hope to live long enough to see the Leafs win the Stanley Cup.”

With such longevity and loyalty in the Boyd genes, that is a distinct possibility!

Posted on April 11, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with 4 comments

Oslo

“ No. no, no it ain’t me babe

It ain’t me you’re looking for.”

Bob Dylan

Here are my observations about dogs after dog sitting for almost one week: dogs are always happy to see you… especially at meal time; they love to go for walks and sniff things; they love to be patted on the head and told how good they look, and…. they are “babe magnets.” ( I know I’ll get in trouble for saying this! ). I always wondered why guys walked their dogs. Wonder no longer. Oslo attracts the women, young and old. I wish I were so lucky!!!

I am on day 11 of my 30 day “ CNN and Donald Trump” cleanse and I’m happy to report that it is going very well. I no longer have to endure “Breaking News,” buffoons or banalities, and the endless array of talking heads.

If you love the outdoors, Victoria is as close to heaven as you can get. The climate is great most of the year. It is a city of walkers, joggers, bikers, skateboarders, and hikers. It seems like everybody is out doing something. And it is a gardener’s paradise. Unlike the Maritimes where Spring is often elusive, Victoria has a real Spring. The smell of flowers and fresh mown grass is what strikes you most coming from the East at this time of the year.

I watched A LOT of golf on the weekend! While I no longer play golf, there is nothing that I like better than watching The Masters.

This week’s “Faces in the Crowd” is about love, longevity and commitment. Check it out on Thursday.

Have a great week.

Posted on April 7, 2016 under Faces in the Crowd with no comments yet

 

“Growing up in St. John’s, making it big didn’t impress anyone. “

Meet Sean Dalton.

Shooting the breeze and being quick on your feet are the hallmarks of being a Newfoundlander. The isolation and harsh weather are buttressed by humour.  Sean’s razor sharp wit was honed in an environment where taking yourself too seriously was done at your own peril.

After completing high school, he decided to follow in his parents’ footsteps and headed to St. F. X. , enrolling in the Jazz Studies program.  “I was the shittiest drummer in the program.  I got my ass handed to me by musicians who had been reared on jazz.”  The one saving grace from his freshman year was the French course he took from Edward Langille.  He gave Sean the most important gift: self -confidence.

In the summer of 1999, he took the Bursary program at Université Sainte Anne. He continued his studies for two years until the day he got a call from one of his cousins, wondering if he’d like to join their band.

The next 14 years were a giant blur as the Trews became one of the busiest touring bands in the country. Sean shared the stage with many legendary musicians and, while the experience was exhilarating, it took its toll.

In 2015 he packed up his drum kit and his chocolate lab dog, his only worldly possessions at the time, and headed to Nova Scotia to smell the ocean breezes and clear his head.

He contemplated cooking school but opted for something completely different: commercial fishing. His romantic notion of life on the sea lasted exactly one day, as he quickly came to understand the physical demands of the work.  But it was exactly what he needed at the time, and he spent the next six months immersed in the life of a fisher.

During his current hiatus (he plans to fish again in the spring), he has pursued a new passion of teaching others to play the drums. Dalton’s Drum Academy  has quickly developed a reputation as the go-to place to learn from one of the best.

And to keep the creative juices flowing, Sean is dabbling in the film business.

He practices Jiu Jitsu, which is good for the body and the soul. “Everybody is equal.  Once you put on the gi, you are just one of the family.  Egos are left at the door and no one is judgmental.  “The discipline is what Sean appreciates the most.  “I have learned more about life through Jiu Jitsu than anything else I’ve done.”

According to Sean, his dog, Sonny Boy, saved his life. “When I was struggling, he was my best friend.  Even when I wasn’t looking after myself, I had to look after him.”  The two are inseparable.

Sean admits that the East Coast lifestyle suits him to a tee. “Around Antigonish, I’m just Sean.  People don’t care what you did or what you are doing.  They care about who you are.”

… and the beat goes on.