Posted on July 9, 2020 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

 

 

 

One of the many uses of bananas

 

The truth hurts… most of the time.

I find that the older I get, the less likely I am to beat around the bush. I say what’s on my mind and rarely worry about the consequences. It’s not that I don’t care any more it’s just that I don’t care anymore! I see nods of approval from many of my aging readers. It’s kind of refreshing, wouldn’t you say, to just be perfectly candid. Honesty is the best policy, especially when you’re over the age of 65.

I recently went to a local watering hole to listen to some live music for the first time in almost a year. This establishment had taken all the necessary precautions to keep patrons safe. The one exception is that they didn’t turn off the beer taps. Tables were well spaced, surfaces immaculate, a sign in sheet as you entered, and masked waitresses who looked like they could be members of Jesse James “Younger Gang”.

I saw a table of friends who had also emerged from their caves to see what the new world looked like. I wandered over to say hello. We exchanged pleasantries and bumped elbows. One of the people at the table looked at me and came out with this gem. “My, Leonard. You have certainly gained weight since the last time I saw you.” It was the truth and I couldn’t deny it. Rather than feeling maligned and resorting to a fit of pique and sulking, I took the high ground. I went to my booth, ordered an enormous burger with the works, along with a mountain of fries, and washed it down with two tall glasses of Keith’s draft. “Take that, you old bat!”

Sometimes what we hear, is not actually what we process.

We’ve all had this happen to us back in the day when we endlessly listened to the “hit parade” on our favourite radio station. If the song was a hit, you might here it multiple times a day for weeks on end. Back then you couldn’t simply Google the lyrics. If you were really diligent, you would buy the vinyl record, put it on the turntable, and lift the needle off and on repeatedly as you tried to figure out the lyrics. Even then you might not pick up on some of the subtleties. Take for instance, Kenny Rogers’ Lucille. For the longest time, I thought the words went like this: “You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille; Four hundred children and a crop in the fields.” No wonder Lucille left him.

So when I first heard the now ubiquitous phrase, “flattening the curve”, I was certain that they were saying “fattening the curve.”

I decided to take the message seriously. Self-isolation was the perfect starting point.

I remained sedentary for the better part of two weeks limiting my exercise to several trips a day to the fridge. When I felt lethargic, I would take a nap, sometimes two. I removed the bathroom scale. I baked almost daily. I binge watched Netflix and often washed this down with a second course of Crave. I drank beer and wine. On hot days, I drank beer. On chilly, overcast days, I drank wine. When the weather forecast was unpredictable, I took no chances and had some of both.

After my period of self-isolation, I quickly morphed into self-destruction. Once the lockdown was eased, I did my best to single handedly keep the local restaurants and bars in business. Yes, I did manage to limit the damage by doing some long walks and hikes, but we all know that input and output are not evenly correlated. A 40 kilometer walk might counteract some, but not all, of the effect of those burgers, fries, and beer.

On Monday, while passing the fridge, I noticed a few lonely, marginally overripe bananas. As far as I can tell, there are 4 things one can do with bananas slightly past their prime:

• You can compost them which is an environmentally conscientious thing to do.
• You can eat them. Purists say that this is the time when bananas are at their most nutritious.
• You can freeze them. Of course, we all understand that there is a zero chance that these will ever see the light of day unless you move or die. Face it. All you’re really doing is hiding them to assuage your guilt for the thought of throwing them out.
• You can make a banana cream pie.

Each of these options has its merits but if you’re trying to “fatten the curve” there is really no choice.

Have a great weekend.

Posted on July 6, 2020 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

 

A stroll down The Main

 

“The only constant in life is change.” Heraclitus

The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus was born in 540 B.C. I’m not sure what was going on back then that caused him to coin this well-known phrase, but it has stood the test of time.

Is it only me or is the pace of change happening at warp speed? Maybe it was always thus if you believe the words of the Greek philosopher. Change is inevitable and normal, but it is the speed of change that has my head spinning.

Even before the pandemic hit us, the face of business had been in transition for some time. The small mom and pop stores of yesteryear had been, by and large, swept away by a current of big box stores and online shopping. It’s hard to stop a tsunami once it starts. Small business, the heart and soul of small-town Canada for centuries is now under threat of extinction.

Covid-19 has brought out the best in people. Those of us forced to self-isolate for 14 days were inundated with acts of kindness from family, friends, and in some cases, complete strangers. Many local businesses adapted their way of doing business by offering their services online, with delivery and pickup as options when entering their premises was not allowed.

While more and more people relied on the goodwill of others, many took this opportunity while hunkered down, to think about their lifestyle and the way they buy and consume goods and services. Many of us realized that we could do quite well with less. We baked like there was no tomorrow and garden centers experienced explosive sales as many people decided that it was time to start growing their own food. The notion of food security has been brought under the bright lights.

In our community, we are blessed with a farmer’s market and within days or weeks, a sparkling new Farmer’s Market building will open its doors. It is obvious that we crave locally grown vegetables and fruits. We feel secure knowing that these items were grown locally and not transported for thousands of kilometers on a truck. In some cases, we might pay a bit more to get these products, but we are smart enough to realize that there’s a difference between cost and value.

More and more people are reassessing their shopping habits. There is no way to stop the juggernauts like Amazon and Walmart to name but a few. There is a whole generation of people who have grown up with online shopping and big box stores and these entities aren’t going away any time soon.

How are small communities going to survive when old business models no longer work? Many would suggest that businesses must adapt or die, the “survival of the fittest”. I don’t claim to have the answers, but I still believe that there is a place in 2020 for shopping locally whenever possible. I’m not suggesting that we close our county borders and insulate ourselves but maybe we need to consider regional economic bubbles where people are encouraged to shop locally. It is incumbent on businesses to give people a reason to spend their hard earn dollars supporting the local economy.

What will our communities look like in 25 years if we abandon the small businesses who support local charities, sports teams and the arts community?  No one knows who will be left standing when the dust settles but make no mistake there are going to be a lot of casualties.

The winds of change are howling. We might consider embracing change as an opportunity for growth and renewal.

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I must admit that there are times when I wish we could go back to a simpler time when many activities happened organically without the need for large outlays of cash. Kids lived in the great outdoors and manufactured their own games, playing a pickup game of ball or building forts. Adults bought their groceries at their local Coop or “Hometown Proud” IGA where you knew the names of all the staff. Sadly, those days are long gone.

“Give me the simple life, I need the simple life,

Don’t want to worry ‘bout tomorrow,

Live everyday completely, love for the joy of loving,

Then I will be happy.”

Simple Life – Valdy             

Have a great week.

P.S. If you are wondering what was the point of this post, I’m not even sure myself! After all, it is a confusing time and I confuse easily!!!

 

Posted on July 2, 2020 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

Sock it to me

 

There’s an expression that I love. It goes like this: “It’s hard to make new old friends.”

Old friends are like a well-worn sweater or a pair of comfy slippers that you just can’t discard even though they are tattered and coming apart at the seams. Enduring friendships are to be celebrated and cherished even when you haven’t seen a person in decades.

Earlier this week I received an unexpected gift, a pair of Happy Socks. I am hardly a fashion maven. It’s difficult if not impossible to dress me up and make me look respectable. That was until a dear old friend, Patrice, sent me two pair of what I would call “designer socks”. This hose can be added to my rather bland collection of blue dress socks and several pair of “Darn Tough” socks that I use for long walks. The latter are very expensive but worth every penny if you’re planning on doing a lot of running or walking.

While I love my new footwear and its snappy design, it is the thought behind the receipt of this unexpected gift which really brightened my day. I haven’t seen Patrice in more than 40 years. We communicate occasionally on social media, but we haven’t had a face to face during this passage of time. Old friends are a treasured commodity.

Most, but not all, of my readers are Canadians. I have a handful of old friends living in the United States and “new old friends” that I met during my time in India three years ago, and while walking the Camino in Spain last year. Yesterday, we celebrated our country’s birthday. While most of the festivities were done online because of the pandemic, it didn’t diminish the feeling that many of us have for our “home and native land”. Canada is not perfect but when one looks around the world, most of us who call ourselves Canadians are very happy to call this place home. And grateful. In these very challenging times, I am glad to live in this country. I suspect that I am not alone.

Because I am feverishly trying to create something out of nothing while writing this post (!), I thought that I would tell you that my 6^th book is on its way to the printer. I want to send out a huge thank you to my daughter, Ellie and to Jean Pearcey who worked super hard, especially in the past few days, to get my manuscript presentable. I hope to have copies of the book for sale before I leave for the north on July 26^th. In all likelihood, I will do a virtual book launch on Facebook “live”. The books will be on sale locally at the 5 to $1.00 and of course, you can get a copy by contacting me directly. An online version of the book and e-book will be available on Amazon shortly.

Last weekend, I walked from town to Ballantyne’s Cove. The weather was hotter than I expected. It was in the high 20s. Forty kilometers into the walk, and sporting two rather nasty blisters, I was invited to spend some time at Friendway Park at Cape George Point. Paul and Marsha Purcell have a summer place high on a hill overlooking the ocean. Paul is a celebrated athlete, but I had never had the pleasure of meeting him until that afternoon. Along with their children, the Purcells were joined by the Bonvie family. It was one of those uniquely Maritime moments when the chemistry is almost instantaneous. It didn’t take long for well placed insults and barbs to start flying. We shared stories and laughter. The final 3 kilometers of the walk to the wharf at Ballantyne’s didn’t seem so onerous.

It actually isn’t hard to make new old friends!

Have a great weekend.