Posted on August 10, 2017 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

Merlin and Smita. Moose on the loose

 

“ My heart’s in the highlands, my heart is not here.

My Heart’s in the Highlands. Robert Burns.

Pure magic.

Every once in a while, you have one of those days that just seems about perfect. You wake up on the right side of the bed ( the “cup is half full” side ). You feel positive as the sun creeps up on a new day. The first cup of coffee tastes utterly divine. The weather forecast is perfect and you are about to head out on a road trip to one of your favorite places on the planet: The Cabot Trail. And you are going to share the experience through the eyes of two women who have come from India to the Coady to share their experiences with other global leaders.

I admit that, while the world still holds wonders for me, “ WOW” moments are few and far between. Those of us old enough to be collecting Old Age Security cheques can be blasé by times, thinking that we have seen and experienced  just about everything worthwhile.

Not so.

I picked up Merlin and Smita shortly after the birds began to chirp. In other words, it was quite early. We stopped in Auld’s Cove for a bit of breakfast before crossing the Causeway. They had expressed an interest in going on a whale watching tour as part of the trip around the Trail. I must admit that over the years, I had seen signage for such tours hundreds of times and never once did it catch my fancy. The plan was to do the east side of the Trail first , traveling in a counter clockwise direction. The drive would be leisurely and we would stop at the Chowder House in Neil’s Harbor for an early lunch before making our way to Pleasant Bay on the western side of the island for a 1:00 departure. We would have supper in Cheticamp and arrive home mid evening.

We were taking pictures at the Englishtown ferry when an e-mail arrived announcing the cancellation of the tour because of unfavourable winds. My guests hid their disappointment but I assured them that we would try and make it back some other weekend before they went back home.

I quickly recalibrated and decided that the cancellation would provide an opportunity to turn this into a leisurely day.  We would go and see places like Mary Ann Falls, Smelt Brook ( one of the least known hidden gems on the trail ) and a hike on the Skyline trail.

We had just arrived in Ingonish Beach when my phone rang. The tour operator from Pleasant Bay told me that a similar business in Ingonish Beach was doing tours because the wind direction on that side of the island was more favorable. We decided to check it out and sure enough, there was a sailing leaving at 1:00. The young man selling the tickets ( a St.F.X. grad ) told us that spotting a whale was a 50/50 proposition. I started to do some mental calculations and knew that if we chose to go out on the “ briny ocean tossed,” we would be in for a very long day indeed in order to complete the entire Cabot Trail.

“ What the hell,” I thought. My guests might never get the chance again so we booked our passage.

While passing the two hours before sailing,  I showed them the actual Ingonish Beach, the Keltic Lodge and the Highlands Golf Links before settling in at the Main Street Restaurant and Bakery. The “ and bakery” caught my eye. We shared a few plates of appetizers and a single piece of coconut cream pie. I’m supposed to be keeping my sweets intake to a minimum but how is it possible to pass up home made pie, especially when you’re only eating a third of the calories?!

Our boat slipped out from the dock on a glorious summer afternoon. The sky was blue and we were greeted by a warm breeze. Over half of the tourists on the boat were Japanese.

My expectations for a sighting were low but that didn’t matter. Feeling the warm sun, the taste of salt in the air and a breeze on my face was all that I could have wished for. Several times I closed my eyes and thought about my good fortune to live in this treasured part of the world.

The first hour was uneventful. We saw some grey seals, a few porpoises and a handful of small blue fin tuna. All of these were spotted close to the shoreline. With no sign of whales, the skipper, a grizzled old guy ( he was probably my age! ) with a three day beard, revved up his converted fishing boat and headed further out to sea. For the longest time, it looked like our quest would be futile until a young girl spotted the telltale spout of water  indicating a whale.

This wasn’t any whale.

On the first trip of the day, we had been told that 3 minke whales had been seen. These are amongst the smallest members of the whale family. The young man accompanying the skipper,  who was our guide, indicated that what we were seeing was a fin whale, a rare sighting in these waters. Fin whales are the second largest mammal in the whale family. They can grow up to 85 feet in length and weigh upwards of 80 tons. ( 160,000 pounds ). The skipper figured that this one was about 70 feet in length… longer than his boat.

For 45 minutes, the fin whale dazzled everyone on board including the skipper who admitted at the conclusion of the tour that he had never witnessed anything quite like this. And yes, it dazzled jaded old me. I was so thrilled for my Indian guests who were enthralled by the spectacle that I didn’t notice my elevated heart rate until the captain finally headed for home port. The whale was majestic and awesome to watch.

Anything from this point on would be a bonus but I knew my friends would see some of the most spectacular scenery in our country as we continued around the trail. There was an incredible amount of road construction from Neil’s Harbor to Cheticamp but being a holiday Monday, many of the work crews were idle. It simply forced us to go slower which paid huge dividends on French Mountain when we saw a moose slaking its thirst in a puddle at the side of the road. We stopped and took many pictures of this huge beast.

It was late as we pulled into LeGabriel Restaurant in Cheticamp. We once again shared two dinners and one dessert and chatted with Brenda Lee, one of the owners of the establishment ,who waited on our table. Brenda Lee is a great woman, with charm and a lovely sense of humour. She also gets around quite nicely in her wheelchair. And speaking of dessert. It was served by a quite tall and good looking young man who caught the attention of several women in the restaurant  including my two friends. There was some good natured ribbing on my part. I was curious as to the most impressive specimen that they had seen that day. A whale, a moose or the dessert waiter?!

The icing on the cake ( creamed cheese on our dessert cake  ) , on a day filled with mirth and camaraderie, was a spectacular sunset just outside of Cheticamp. The artistry of the creator never ceases to amaze.

I think that my guests were concerned about an old guy driving late at night. Fearing that I might fall asleep at the wheel, Merlin treated me to some songs, first in English and then in Tamil. Her voice is angelic.

While their hearts may well be in India, on this day my friends’ hearts were in the Highlands.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. The fundraiser for equipment at Emmaus ( in India ) is going great. After one week, we have raised $3,000 of the $6,000 needed to buy a new piece of equipment. If you are a parishioner of St. Ninian’s in Antigonish, you can go to the parish office. Otherwise stop in at the Credit Union and tell them that you want to donate to the “Investment India” account. Or send an e-transfer at investmentindia2017@gmail.com

 

 Cheticamp sunset

 

Posted on August 7, 2017 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

Merlin James – Pomquet Peace

 

“ ‘Cause you know how time fades away.”

Time Fades Away . Neil Young

With each passing year, time indeed fades away, more and more so at an alarming rate.  This hit me like a ton of bricks the other day as I watched the demolition of Nicholson Hall. I grew up on Hillcrest Street ,adjacent to St.F.X. University and watched the construction of many of the buildings on campus including Nicholson. I now I stand at the fence and witness its demise. Permanence is a fleeting thing.

Most “X” students will hardly miss this building. It was constructed in an era ( can you say Dr. J.H Gillis Regional High ? ) when windows were eschewed, all in the name of energy efficiency.  While this objective may have been achieved, it was at the expense of fresh air and sunlight which one might argue are important contributors to learning. Fifty plus years has evaporated in the dust. “ ‘ Cause you know how time fades away.”

Feast or famine. It’s not like there’s nothing to do in these parts twelve months of the year but in the summer month there is an orgy of activities, notably festivals. It’s head spinning to see the number of first rate concerts that one could attend throughout the Maritime Provinces on any given weekend. Unfortunately, many of them happen on the same weekend making competition fierce.

I had the honor of performing a set at the Antigonish Art Fair last Friday night. Not many fathers have the privilege of jamming on stage with their children. I have played with some or all of my children over my lifetime and these moments are simply the best. On Friday, Pete and I filled in for an act that couldn’t make it. We had a blast. Pete also got to play with his old buddy, Phil King who is a gifted songwriter. Many years ago, the two of them penned some fine songs and got to perform them on Friday… completely unrehearsed. What a great evening.

I have been spending quite a bit of time driving around Antigonish County with Merlin, my friend from India. Antigonish is every bit as shocking to her as India was for me. I never tire of driving around “ The Cape” or visiting Cribbon’s, Jimtown and Mahoney’s.  We’ve had ice cream at the lighthouse in Arisaig and dipped our toes in St.George’s Bay at Bayfield. On a cool, breezy evening, we drove out to Chez Deslauriers in Pomquet. If you’ve never been there, it is a “must see.” The panoramic view is quite stunning. Far too often, we take beauty for granted. Travel makes you realize how fortunate we are through the accident of birth.

I continue to raise funds for the Daughters of Mary in Kannyakumari, India. I am trying to raise $6,000 for a much needed piece of equipment at Emmaus, a facility that cares for 100 mentally ill women . If you are interested in contributing, you can do so in person at East Coast Credit Union ( Bergengren ) in Antigonish or by e-transfer at investmentindia2017@gmail.com.

Have a great week.

 

Posted on August 3, 2017 under Storytelling with one comment

( Based on a true story. Names have been changed )

 

Is there anything in life more exhilarating than turning 16, getting your driver’s license and buying your first car? In fact there is. Combine all of these things and your very first road trip with your best friend ( to the United States, no less ! ) and you have a recipe for unadulterated joy.

That is, unless you don’t encounter car troubles.

Jack and Mark had a bad case of wanderlust and with relatives living in Beverly, Massachusetts, it just made sense to pay them a visit. Now it must be said that neither of them could be accused of being a veteran behind the wheel, being young lads. In fact, they’d never navigated the streets of Halifax let alone tackled the suburbs of Boston.

They had been forewarned by friends that two young dudes travelling to the States might be a target for border officials. With this in mind, they cleaned the car to within an inch of its life. It possibly could have been the cleanest vehicle on the highway as they struck out early one Fall morning.

Back then, you didn’t need a passport to get across the border at Maine. Other than a few hastily thrown together duffle bags, they certainly didn’t have anything to hide or to claim… other than naivety.

Despite their calm demeanour and non- threatening appearance, the great “border teenage boy magnet “ , pulled them in for questioning. The officers gave the car a cursory examination and even they were impressed at its cleanliness.

They were probably too young to remember the television show “The Beverly Hillbillies” but the city of their destination was given the same name as a famous Los Angeles suburb. They spent two blissful weeks hanging out with relatives. Jack even loaned his car to his cousin for a day so that he could drive around and impress the girls.

The first sign of car troubles on the trip home surfaced around somewhere between Bangor and Calais. The car, overheating  with steam coming from the hood, ground to a stop.  Neither of the boys had a smidgen of knowledge about cars. Instinctively, they plowed two quarts of 10w30 into the engine. They would later on in the trip discovery the niceties of a car’s thermostat.

To get to the border crossing in Calais, you had to pass right through the middle of the city. This is precisely where the car called it quits for the second time. Luckily there were some able bodies around and the car was pushed off onto a side street. One of their rescuers suggested that the radiator needed some water. Ideally, you quench the thirst of a radiator with a combination of coolant and clean water. With neither of this in the vicinity, the boys wandered down to what appeared to be a lake. With no vessel in the car to retrieve water, they picked up a wine bottle on the shore and filled it with scummy ( and later to be discovered, ) salty  water.

They were now running very low on money… and patience. All they wanted to do was put the pedal to the metal and get back to Nova Scotia.

They approached the border and their hearts sunk when a zealous official uttered the following words’ “ Pull ‘er over and shut her off. You’re going to be here for a while. “ Crestfallen and distraught,  the boys vociferously argued their case to keep the car running, explaining the myriad problems that they’d encountered. They feared that their vehicle might not start up again.

If the border official initial words struck fear in their heart, one can only imagine the reaction when the agent said, “ Where’s the dope?”  “We don’t have any dope,” was the terse, honest reply. “You can save us a lot of time and grief if you simply tell us where you’re hiding the drugs. We’ll give you a fine but you won’t have a criminal record. “ Neither of the boys was aware of the concept of “plea bargaining.”

What would ever give cause for them to be suspected of being drug mules?  The small trail of marijuana seeds on the back seat floor was an indicator.

Jack’s mind raced and then it dawned on him that his cousin’s joy ride in Beverly must have included a puff or two. They watched helplessly as two agents went at the car with a vengeance, wielding screw drivers and pliers. Blessedly, there was no other incriminating evidence. This, however, did not satisfy the curiosity of the officials.

“Step inside.” That sounded innocuous enough until Jack was taken into a small room. “ Strip.” Everything came off save his Stanfields. “ Drop them.” Jack was near tears as the indignities continued. He exited the room and he didn’t have the time ( or the heart )  to tell Mark about the joys about to unfold.

The boys had to re-assemble their car and several hours later, they were back on the road, tired , hungry and nearly broke. The car hiccupped and lurched throughout New Brunswick but finally gave up the ghost for good near Moncton. A good Samaritan came to their rescue and they were able to get the car into his yard. It was now 9:30 at night and the only way that they could conceivably get back to Nova Scotia was by hitchhiking.

At 4:00 a.m. they found an all night diner open on the outskirts on New Glasgow. They pooled their money and had exactly enough for two cups of coffee. They were exhausted, dishevelled and despondent.

They got back on the side of the road and were surprised when minutes later, a good natured constable from the Westville Police Department pulled up. “ I just received a call from James Diner that they had just served two runaway teenagers.” The boys told their incredible story of woe to the officer.  He took pity on them. “ If you are interested, I can offer you beds in the jail and a free breakfast ( and all inclusive resort? ). As appealing as sleep and food seemed, they decided to soldier on.

Later that morning they arrived back home. A few days later, Jack’s father drove to Moncton and retrieved the recently deceased remains of his car.

After a long sleep, Jack was having a bite of supper when his mom asked, “ Well, Jack. How was your trip?” Jack thought carefully before responding. “ Well mom, other than a few car problems, the trip was quite uneventful.”

Never let truth get in the way of a good story.