Posted on April 12, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

 

Humboldt.

You have to have lived in Western Canada to understand the culture of hockey. Yes, curling is huge and many of Canada’s greatest curling dynasties were born and bred on the Prairies. But hockey is deeply ingrained in the psyche, especially junior hockey where many a farm boy threw hay bales in the summer as part of their dry land training. Junior hockey in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba is a religion. The Holy Grail is having a chance to make it big and land a coveted position with an NHL team. Riding buses is a rite of passage and part of paying your hockey dues.

I played a bit of hockey in my time including high school, Junior B and Senior Hockey, the latter in Northern Alberta during my teaching days. And I can attest to the near religious fervor of hockey. Of all the things that helped me be accepted in a small farming community, making the local senior hockey squad made me feel like a local celebrity. If you played for the Fairview Elks, you were somebody. Most of our home games were on Friday nights and one would be hard pressed to find a seat in the Fairview arena.

Our league was spread over vast swaths of the landscape like the juniors but most of our road trips were under four hours and we traveled by car. I know what it is like to drive several hours, play a game, have a beer or two, pack sweaty equipment into the trunk of the car and arrive back home well after midnight. And winter in the North Peace Country was always bitterly cold. Temperatures of -20 to -40 were not uncommon. Frozen hockey gear would stand on end when removed from the trunk of the car to dry out at home.

The recent devastating tragedy in Humboldt is almost impossible to digest such is the magnitude of the loss. Fifteen members of the Bronco’s hockey squad lost their lives in the blink of an eye last week and the dreams of youth were shattered. No amount of thoughts and prayers or messages of condolence can possibly ease the pain and suffering of the families of the deceased or the fractured bodies of those who survived.

One thing I do know is that prairie people are incredibly resilient and determined. They will mourn for a very long time. They will suffer the loss but you can be certain that the community and the country at large will wrap their arms around those who grieve and the sun will rise again over the wheat fields.

Humbled.

I was much honored to attend the recent Volunteer Week Awards ceremony in Halifax. I was chosen by the Town of Antigonish as their volunteer of the year. When I was first informed a few months ago, I was a bit startled. There are so many people in our community who have given an entire life of service that I felt just a bit awkward accepting this honor. When it comes down to it, I expect every other nominee from around the province feels the same way. It is the quiet foot soldiers who toil anonymously who really deserve the credit.

And, of course, for a married couple, these awards are merited equally. It isn’t possible for both parents to be out serving on boards and coaching minor sports at the same time. The gift of time given by one’s spouse to pursue volunteer work should be recognized.

It certainly is by me.

Thanks so much for all the kind words, e-mails and private messages.

Have a great week.

 

Posted on April 9, 2018 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

“We are stardust, we are golden..”

 

“Hey. What’s with the white dress?”

Last week I took a drive down to Sydney to visit an old university friend. She’s my age so she’s not technically old! We hadn’t seen each other in over 40 years since we completed our Bachelor of Education from St.F.X. After getting caught up on four decades of news, she took me to meet a friend.

Last winter when I was in India, I was asked to do a book review for Daniel Doucet, a well-known figure in Cape Breton literary circles. The book, “Felicity” is laced with local humour so you knew I was going to like it. He describes fisticuffs at a church picnic as “a fearful good time.” If you get a chance, grab a copy.

We had a great chat about writing. I brought him copies of my three books and he responded in kind by swapping four of his own. The discussion was lively and I was asked to read one of my stories. As Daniel is a Roman Catholic priest, I thought something with religious overtones would be appropriate. I chose, “Mass Appeal.” https://www.week45.com/mass-appeal/.

Well, one thing led to another and I confessed (!) that I had always thought about writing a book about growing up Catholic but decided I wasn’t quite ready for excommunication. The more we chatted, the more he convinced me that my fifth book should tackle a subject fraught with many mixed feelings.

On the drive home, I started to think about growing up in “The Little Vatican.”

I’m certain that this happens to you too. Something that’s interesting gets stuck in your head before you go to bed and all through the night, your overactive brain keeps crowding out sleep. I kept replaying my childhood over and over again. I finally staggered out of bed at 5:00 a.m. feeling like I’d done hand to hand combat with a bottle of tequila and some lemons… and lost. I poured a cup of black, dark roasted courage and quickly jotted down about 30 bullets in my writing scribbler… the combined efforts of a sleepless night.

Once I get to Arizona on Tuesday, I plan to write the first chapter of the book… about my baptism, hence the reference to a white dress! I will publish this story to whet your appetite but 90% of the stories in book #5 will be originals.

Along the way, I hope to have a workshop to discuss all things Catholic and will be inviting you to join me. Surely you have a story or two, and some of them may be even fit to print!

Passings. Iggy, Bernie Vosman and Joe White. Three of my old buddies from my days as administrator at CACL, have passed in recent months and we are all the poorer. Rest in peace my friends.

Grab your mobile device or an old wall calendar and mark down this date: Saturday, July 7^th. at 8:00 p.m. This is the Saturday of Highland Games week and we’re having a tribute concert at St.Ninian’s Cathedral to honor the life of James MacPherson. All of the proceeds from ticket sales will go towards the art restoration of the saints in the cathedral, a project that James MacPherson believed in passionately. I have no doubt that the show will be a sellout so I’ll let you know when the tickets are printed. They will be available for pre-sale at the St.Ninian’s Cathedral office.

I dusted off my tie dyed shirt and grabbed the old bell bottoms and made my way to the Bauer Theatre this Friday past to catch the “Woodstock” concert in aid of Festival Antigonish. So many memories and so many great musicians.

About 90 minutes before Saturday’s performance, I received a message asking me to Emcee the show. I agreed and had a lot of fun chatting between acts.

My next report will be from Arizona. “I’ve been to the desert on a horse with no name….”

Have a great week.

 

Posted on April 5, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with 3 comments

Swan song

The time has come to hang up the gloves…. literally and figuratively. The gloves, seen in the picture at the bottom of the page, were purchased over a decade ago and I have worn them just about every winter day over that period of time. Go ahead and call me a cheap Scot but these gloves were warm and durable as they helped me prepare for several marathons including Boston twice.

Almost 60 years ago, my father took me up to the choir loft at St. Ninian’s Cathedral to attend mass. He was a member of the senior choir along with a bevy of talented people including several members of the Cameron Clan. (Cue “The March of the Cameron Men.”). It was the start of an apprenticeship of church music and singing in four parts. It was stirring to hear such heavenly music with Mrs. W.J. MacDonald at the organ.

I have spent a lifetime singing in church choirs. It has been one of my greatest joys. For the better part of 36 years, I have trudged up the spiral staircase (stairway to heaven???) to sing under the watchful eye of James MacPherson. Of all the treasured memories to this point in my life, witnessing the genius of James year in and year out is very near the top of my list.

But alas, that staircase seems to be getting longer and steeper. It is time for a new generation of singers to step up and lend their voices in making celestial sounds.

Nothing is forever. With the passing of James last November 8^th. we all knew that the dynamics of the choir would change going forward. In a stroke of genius (and a bit of luck), St.Ninian’s was able to attract a young and multi-talented music graduate by the name of Emery van de Wiel. With very little time to get his feet wet, Emery was staring at navigating the Christmas season. Now, Easter has come and gone and Emery has definitely found his groove.

Besides his work with the choir, he was the musical director for the enormously popular “Everyone’s Way of the Cross” which was recently staged at St.Ninian’s. Emery has shown us that he belongs and will lead the music ministry for many years to come.

But, he needs some new foot soldiers. If you are interested in joining the choir, get in touch with Emery at emeryvandewiel@hotmail.com. While all voices are welcome, a few new tenors are his priority.

Speaking of all things musical, the spring concert for the Antigonish Chorale Ensemble is this coming Sunday, April 8^th. at 7:30 p.m. at St. James United Church. The theme is “Earth Day” and promises to be a great show.

The first annual “Bowl With Bernie” was held last Saturday at the Pins Bowling Center. A large and exuberant crowd showed up and $7,200 was raised for L’Arche and CACL in Bernie’s memory. I was able to contribute in a small way by selling copies of my books with all the proceeds donated to the cause. I had a wonderful time chatting with old friends and I met some new people too. Bernie will never be forgotten by his legion of family and friends.

If you are looking for me this weekend, I will be holed up (!) watching The Masters golf tournament, my absolutely favorite television event.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. Fare thee well, Joe White. A “ working man” and friend to all, has left us.