Posted on August 16, 2021 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

 

Happy Feet

 

Back to school sales are ubiquitous which can only mean one thing. September is lurking in the shadows.

As usual, summer is quickly becoming a blur. June was a pretty decent month. July was sketchy at best, but most Maritimers would agree that having too much rain is far better than the plight of our friends in western Canada who have been suffering the effects of devastating wildfires. August has been pretty steamy so far. It was very hot and humid on the second day of my big walk. It took me several days to recover from my 77 kilometer walk around the Cape. It felt very much like the aftermath of running a marathon. I drank plenty of liquids in recent days trying to restore chemical imbalances that occur during extreme activity.

The day after my big walk, I headed up to Halifax. One of my granddaughters was having dental surgery at the IWK Children’s Hospital and I went up to lend a hand. Many of us have on one occasion or another, gone to the IWK with one of our own children or at the time of the birth of grandchildren. People in Atlantic Canada know that the IWK is an outstanding hospital providing world class care to young people.

I have had several surgeries over my lifetime and no matter how grizzled one is, there is always an unsettling feeling in the days leading up to an operation or procedure. Children are no different. I was asked by my daughter to go to the hospital to assist her the day of the surgery.

Unless you’ve been to the IWK, or any children’s hospital, it is hard to describe the atmosphere. These are very special institutions and I feel quite certain that the most important attributes of an employee in the hospital are compassion and good humour. We had to be at the hospital two hours before the procedure. That is a long time to entertain an eight-year-old who is understandably anxious and worried.

The nurse who did all the pre-op work was a young man. He spoke in calm, reassuring tones as he went through his list of duties. At the first sign of distress, he started pulling tricks out of his magic bag. He brought in a multi-sensory cart. After dimming the lights, he flicked a switch and it was like a lava lamp on steroids. The room was filled with warm glows of red, green and blue, instantly changing the ambience in the room. As we got closer to the time of surgery, there were some rough moments. An iPad was produced with children’s videos and games, and this was followed up by a Nintendo switch. All of these tools were used to calm, relax and reassure our granddaughter.

Everything went very well and after two hours in the waiting room, the surgeon met with us to give a report. She was delightful, just like every other person we dealt with that day at the hospital. I happened to look down and saw the surgeon’s footwear. Everything about the surgeon was joyful right down to her shoes! A few hours later, we were able to leave the hospital.

I can’t say enough about the care my granddaughter received. I must remind myself to send a donation to the IWK the next time they have an appeal.

The tooth fairy.

How much did the tooth fairy leave you when you were a child? I’m quite certain that the going rate back in the 50s and 60s was .25. Rarely was there more than one tooth involved. You wrapped up your tooth in a piece of Kleenex or toilet paper and tucked it under your pillow and awoke to find enough money to buy a Jos Louis and a Coke, which, of course, led to more tooth decay and more extractions. As an aside, the night before the surgery, my daughter had purchased a chocolate cake, a surrogate birthday cake. To say that it was sweet would be an understatement. The icing was so sweet that none of us were able to eat a whole slice. Surely you remember caramel cakes. It’s shocking that any of us old geezers have any teeth at all after consuming these sugar laced treats.

My granddaughter had several teeth removed. Now, the IWK doesn’t return the extracted teeth to their rightful owner. They give the child a certificate indicating the number of teeth. When my daughter told me what the tooth fairy would be leaving (just a small mortgage payment) my jaw dropped. I used to be able to do a calculation of the time value of money but even wildly adjusted for inflation, it wouldn’t come close to the payout for a lost tooth in 2021.

As the surgeon turned to go, I was tempted to ask her if she could quickly remove a few of my teeth. With the money from the tooth fairy, I would be able to afford a nice meal at The Keg, something I have been coveting for more than two years. Mind you, with a few missing teeth, I might not have been able to chew my steak. I could have made a serious dent in the unlimited salad bar.

I am happy to report that my granddaughter’s recovery was speedy and the next day she was outside playing with neighborhood friends.

Thank you, IWK!

Have a great week.

P.S. In case you missed it, I received the most amazing present a few days before my birthday. When I returned from India four years ago, I gave all of my Indian clothes to a friend who is a quilter. She arrived at my apartment and presented me with a memory quilt containing pieces of fabric from the clothing I had given her. It is magnificent and I will cherish it forever. Thanks, MD!!!

 

Posted on August 9, 2021 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Heading out for my birthday walk – 75 km

 

Good Morning. By the time most of you read this, I will have begun my two- day, 75km walk around the Cape. Below is a repost of a story I did in July regarding a fundraiser for a youth day in Kangiqsujuaq where I taught school.

Recently, I was in touch with community leaders in Kangiqsujuaq (where I taught school the past two years) to see if there was something that I might do that was positive and constructive. I received a message from the Fire Chief who informed me that the Fire Service, Police Service and Social Services in the village were teaming up to put on an information and fun day for the youth in the community sometime before school starts up in mid-August.

Covid has affected everyone in some way. It has been particularly hard on our oldest citizens and in many ways, our youngest citizens. Besides the fear of the virus, it has forced people to spend long periods of time away from friends and family. We were lucky in Kangiqsujuaq in that we were able to hold in person classes at school but most other extracurricular activities including group gatherings were cancelled or severely limited.

The event in Kangiqsujuaq will center around safety. There are many issues and challenges faced by young people in northern communities. The hope is to have a day of education and frank discussions with the young people. After all, they are the future leaders of the village.

This is where you come in.

I have committed to raising at least $1,500 to assist the organizers with the purchase of food and treats for the event to be held on August 21^st.

So, here’s my plan. To celebrate my 70^th birthday, I have decided to go for a little stroll. My original plan was to walk 70km to match my age. After some consideration, I have upped that a bit to 75km which is the precise mileage to walk around “The Cape”. I will complete the walk over two days, August 9^th and 10^th. I will dedicate this walk to the youth of Kangiqsujuaq and hopefully draw attention to my fundraiser. Day 1 will be 40km and day 2 will be 35km. I have arranged overnight accommodations just outside of Ballantyne’s Cove. I will be accompanied on Day 1 by my good friend, Brenda Gould. Many thanks to PP and MP for agreeing to put me up and put up with me.

I have set up an account at the East Coast Credit Union (it will always be the Bergengren Credit Union to me) called Len’s Walk, for those of you in Antigonish who want to make a donation in person. For the rest of my friends, you can send me an e-transfer at lenpdmacdonald@gmail.com.

Any size donation will be greatly appreciated and will go directly to the young people of Kangiqsujuaq.

There is another way you might help. Why not lace up your runners and come and walk part of the route with me. I don’t expect that many of you would be keen to do all 75km but maybe one or two kilometers to help me pass the time.

I know that I always seem to have my hand out for some worthy cause. This one is personal to me, and I am confident that we will be able to raise the funds for this important event.

Any excess funds raised will go towards The Family House in Kangiqsujuaq, a safe place for families to go during difficult times.

Thank you.

Have a great week.

P.S. I would be delighted if you would share this post with your friends. Tx.

 

Posted on August 2, 2021 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

 

The Skyline Trail on a hazy summer day

 

I don’t know about you, but I am (im)patiently waiting for the dog days of summer to arrive.June was a pretty decent month, but July was quite wet. On many days, it rained cats and dogs. We are by nature, an optimistic lot, so here’s hoping that the summer and fall bless us with some warm, sunny weather.

The weather isn’t helping the battered tourism industry. I took a spin around the Cabot Trail last week with two friends and colleagues from Montreal.

Chad and Emma made their very first trip to our province last week. Chad had the good sense to propose to Emma, and doubly so, by going down on one knee on the waterfront in Halifax. We had a few days together including a tour around the Cabot Trail. As I have commented in this space before, it is infinitely easier to drive the Trail than to walk it. I still shudder at the thought of walking from Cheticamp to Pleasant Bay in one (hot) day (42km) while navigating French Mountain and Mackenzie Mountain. I must be nuts. I can see you all nodding in agreement.

Sadly, there wasn’t much traffic on the Trail and tourism operators are suffering. They are seeing a small increase in traffic but not nearly enough. Many of my readers have been to Le Gabriel restaurant in Cheticamp. It is normally very busy with every seat in the front and back sections of the restaurant flat out. On the day we stopped for dinner, there was a grand total of three tables of patrons.

I think Chad and Emma would agree that the highlight of the trip (other than spending 14 hours of quality time with yours truly!), was the walk on the Skyline Trail just on the outskirts of Cheticamp at the top of French Mountain. The path is easily negotiable by most able- bodied people. It is wide and well graveled, and it is flat. The reward for a 45- minute walk is one of the most spectacular views on the Cabot Trail. It was hazy the day we were there and at first glance, I thought it was fog but in fact, I discovered later that it was smoke from the wildfires in Ontario. Chad commented that it was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen upon reaching the 314 steps at the end of the path. Had he known about Skyline, he might have delayed his proposal. They reenacted the scene although this time, Emma went down on one knee. I called this a “counter proposal”!

I am deliriously happy to announce that my four children will be performing at Piper’s Pub this Friday, August 6^th from 6-9 p.m. They are in town to push their dad over the cliff into his 70^th year on the planet. There is no admission or cover charge. They haven’t had the opportunity to perform together live for some time now. I can’t think of a better birthday present. Why not drop in, have a brew and a bite, and listen to some great music. I might even take the stage to sing Neil Young’s “Old Man” which seems quite appropriate.

I am about to embark on my second attempt at medical marijuana for pain relief. The first time was shortly after marijuana became legalized. I went to the NSLC and got some CBD oil but honestly, I didn’t get much relief. In retrospect, I should have done more homework and stuck with it a little longer. This time, I will go through a federally regulated cannabis clinic to seek advice on what to take and in what dosages. I have an interview with a medical expert in mid -August. I’ll keep you chronic pain sufferers posted.

This has been yet another edition of “Len Lite”, the new moniker I will use when I don’t have much to say.

Have a great week and stop in at Piper’s on Friday evening.