Monday Morning Musings

Posted on August 31, 2015 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

I expect to be harping at you soon

When I retired a few months ago, I had three goals ( sitting around putting on pounds and being lazy wasn’t one of them ): (1) Whip myself into shape. I have enrolled in a program ( nutrition and exercise ) and will start tomorrow. The endless journey for wellness and balance continues. (2) Find a part time job to stay engaged. I started new work this past week ( casual/part time ). (3) Find a new hobby to keep the brain stimulated. The picture above says it all. My harp instructor is Thea Huard. She is wonderful and incredibly patient. ( www.antigonishcelticharp.wordpress.com )

First, the good news: summer has arrived in all its glory. The bad news: tomorrow is September 1^st. It looks like the best stretch of weather we’ve had all year will happen this week. Better late than never, as the expression goes. We spent yesterday afternoon at Lawrencetown Beach with some of the family. Hadn’t been there before. What an awesome beach.

Our family reunion is in the rear view mirror. There was a time when I was much younger that I didn’t think much of family reunions but the passage of time has changed all that. I now know that these get togethers are so important on so many levels. There is a lot of mileage when you consider that the youngest attendee was 2 and the oldest was 90. It is a time to reflect on the past, live in the moment and ponder the future.

I have some new stories ready for publication. “Done Roamin,” my Casket story later this week , is about a gentleman from Doctor’s Brook who, like many of his generation, went to the “Boston States” to seek employment back in the 50’s. He spent much of his working career in Boston and retired to Nova Scotia. I like writing these kinds of stories. They are about the lives of real people who faced all kinds of challenges ( like the rest of us ! ). We often romanticize about the “good old days” but for our parents’ generation, there wasn’t too much that was glamorous. I still think the reason for their longevity is their incredible work ethic. They didn’t have any choice. Without most of the modern conveniences that we take for granted, their lives involved physical exertion at every turn.

In my research, I was shown a story from a 1941 edition of The Casket. It is an incredible story of two women who went from Doctor’s Brook to Antigonish to do some shopping and were storm stayed for five days. After three days in Antigonish, they decided to walk in waist high snow back to Doctor’s Brook by way of Cloverville and Big Marsh. I thought running the Boston Marathon was a feat of endurance until I read about these incredibly tough women.

On a much more light hearted note, “Be Mindful” is a story about a couple who goes to Halifax to get their car serviced. While driving the dealership’s loaner car ( one of those eco friendly models ), they get stuck in horrible traffic on their way to Bayer’s Lake . It was one of those days when the humidity was through the roof. The air conditioning wasn’t working properly. Are you starting to get the picture? The regular maintenance checkup turns out to be something more serious. Well one thing leads to another, including a request from their daughter to pick up a couple of adult coloring books. I don’t want to spoil the story but the quest for the coloring books involves four malls. This story will make you laugh or cry or both because we’ve all been in a similar situation.

I am looking forward to a trip up to Neil’s Harbor to meet a family doctor who has been practicing there for over 40 years. I expect that he will have some great stories.

Have a great week.

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