Posted on December 30, 2021 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

 

Happy New Year

 

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

Don’t want to worry ‘bout tomorrow,

Live every day completely,

Love for the joy of loving,

Then I will be happy.”

Simple Life – Valdy

Nope. Sorry. No New Year’s resolutions.

I want to be healthy and happy. Full stop.

Sure, I could swear off red wine or promise to lose 15 pounds, honorable gestures to be sure. I could give up sweets but as far as I can tell that would be a precursor to hell. Can you imagine no cream puffs, lemon meringue pie, or chocolate chips cookies for eternity? I could swear off swearing. That’s one I might work on. I don’t swear like a longshoreman, but I could certainly attempt to eliminate expletives. However, Jason Kenny would have to retire from politics first. Resolutions in my house have the shelf life of a bag of Oreo cookies after Lent.

Allow me to be serious for a moment. This past year has been excruciatingly difficult for so many people. Covid has caused untold trauma to so many people. Many small businesses have folded or are on the brink. If you don’t have customers and sales, it’s pretty hard to stay afloat. Some of you have experienced loss in the past year. All losses are not the same. Some are so devastating you can hardly breathe. Others are watching loved one’s deal with terminal illnesses while many families grapple with an elderly family member being robbed of their memory… and dignity. Against this backdrop, it is easy to get discouraged.

Which brings me back to Valdy.

“Live every day completely.”

What are your plans for 2022? Same old, same old? If that “same old, same old” makes you happy then keep on trucking. But I suspect that there are a lot of trucks stuck in the mud because of Covid. We’re not out of the woods yet. Are you going to sit around your house or apartment consuming bad news and watching reruns of Downton Abbey? If this was 1960, you might be forced to watch the test pattern on your old black and white RCA television set. You know. The one with rabbit ears. Try explaining that to your grandchildren.

Why not drag yourselves out of the doldrums? Do something, anything, different to change things up. Try Sudoku or cross stitch. Learn how to play bridge or read some books. Try cooking something different. Go for a walk every day. The walks don’t have to be long but there’s nothing more therapeutic than fresh air.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein

A number of you have asked me about my next adventure now that I have returned from the north for good. I have a blank slate once again.  I sure as hell am not going to sit around navel gazing. My immediate plan is to finish writing my book about my time in the north. Four previous quarantines gave me a great start on the book. Now I need to buckle down and “get ‘er done”.

I plan to take my own advice and try something new. With the help of my son, Peter, I’m hoping to release a weekly podcast starting some time in the new year. We’re still tinkering with the format but initially the podcasts will focus on travel stories. Pete and I did four epic cross continental trips between 2015 and 2018. Our plan is to sit around and talk about our “tales and trails”. There will be a musical component as well. I’ll give you plenty of warning.

I hope to travel in 2022 outside of Canada if it is safe to do so. Right now, that one is out of my hands.

One final thing.

Most New Year’s Eve gatherings have been cancelled. But not all. If I feel inspired, I will host the “New Year’s Eve Loser’s Ball Pillow Talk Year End Special.”  I am not suggesting for a moment that my readers are losers. Au contraire. I’ll keep you posted but tentatively, I’m looking at Friday, December 31^st at 7:00 p.m. AST, 6:00 EST, 3:00 PST and Saturday, January 1^st at 8:00 a.m. in New Zealand! Send me your musical requests.

I think Joel Plaskett said it best:

Hey good looking, why the frown?

You always look better when it’s upside down,

You say you got nowhere that you’re going to,

Can I go nowhere with you?”

Nowhere With You – Joel Plaskett

You can go nowhere with me!

Thanks for your support over the past year.

Hope we can all meet up here in 12 months’ time with Covid buried in the landfill.

Stay safe.

 

 

Posted on December 27, 2021 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Covid Christmas 2

 

“It’s just another Covid Christmas,

Sure wish that I had missed it,

Cause that’s not a fun day,

Make you wanna run day,

It’s just another Covid Christmas.”

Sung to the melody of  Manic Monday

We have endured our second Covid Christmas in a row.

It sucks.

I know that that’s not the politest thing to say but I know damn well that this is exactly what many of you are thinking, if not actually saying out loud. Of course, we all made the best of it. What choice did we have? We still managed to eat and drink to excess, were able to spend some time with family, and even found a few presents under the tree. My tree is so small and my friends so few, that I used the dining table! I’m joking of course… about friends, that is. I received Christmas greetings from all over the world.

“So, Len. Please tell us what Santa delivered to the dining table, other than your usual lump of coal?”

Without fail, some kind soul usually drops off a six pack of beer. You can imagine how thrilled I was to find a 5-pack of rapid tests. It appears that this is a “must have” gift and very hard to come by unless you want to be extorted by a scumbag online seller. If you happen to run low during the holidays, stop by my apartment. I’ll only charge you $10 per testing kit!

I also received a box of 50 masks, a handful of plastic shields, and a case of hand sanitizer. The most beautiful and heartfelt gift was a framed copy of my QR code. For the man who has everything.

I was surprised to receive greetings from the Queen. Personally, I would have preferred an autographed picture of Freddy Mercury. I also received robocalls from the P.M., Drs. Bonnie Henry and Robert Strang and a shocking, surreal call from Anthony Faucci.Dr. Dr. Isaac By Gosh and I had a lovely chat about epidemiology on Messenger video. One of my most cherished gifts was a 10- year subscription to MMWR. It is an epidemiology journal with weekly reports on morbidity and mortality. Riveting stuff.

My absolute favorite gift? I was humbled to receive an autographed T-shirt from former Nova Scotia Premier Stephen MacNeil. “Stay the f..k home, Len.” Touching.

What? There’s more? Sound like an old K-tel advertisement.

I received some gifts that can only be described as unique. I received a pair of tickets to see my beloved Habs play the Leafs. Montreal has been playing so poorly and with several players in Covid protocol, that mercifully, I don’t have to travel to Montreal. I was given a special dispensation from the Chief Medical Officer allowing me to stand three feet away from my girlfriend, and touch fingertips, a whopping 50% reduction. Oops. Great idea Dr. Stranglove, but as of this writing I don’t have a girlfriend.

I have always wanted to continue my education. After all, grade three was the three most difficult years I spent in school. I just heard that St.F.X is offering a brand new Masters program. Some kind soul offered me free tuition to take the newly minted Masters in Event Planning. The course will be conducted online. (Sorry to my loyal readers who are not from Antigonish. This is very much a local story, but it did manage to spread to other parts of the country).

“Wow, Len! You scored big this Christmas. Your apartment must be a fun place to hang out with the abundance of Covid supplies.”

I will be hosting a Loser’s Ball on New Years Eve. Come one. Come all.

It’s Monday.

“Its just another manic Monday,

I wish it was Sunday,

Cause that’s my fun day,

My “I don’t have to run” day,

It’s just another manic Monday.”

Manic Monday – The Bangles

Have a great week.

 

 

 

Posted on December 25, 2021 under News & Updates with no comments yet

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!