Monday Morning Musings

Posted on October 5, 2015 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

Ripley’s Believe it or Not

I have been reporting in this space for some time now about my personal “makeover.” I could NEVER have imagined eating the following for lunch: cottage cheese, sweet potatoes and a mixture of steamed veggies. I am a month into my new healthy eating regime and hope to have found something that I can sustain over the long haul. It’s a lot of work and a lot of discipline but I must say that I feel much better and my energy level is as good as I could hope for at this point in my life.

The other morning, I went for my daily walk. Nothing new about that. However, it was raining at the time and I decided to walk in the rain without rain gear or an umbrella. It was one of those very unseasonably warm mornings. I knew I was going to get wet ( duh ) but funny thing, once you’re wet, you can’t get wetter. As I was making my way up the long stretch of highway from The Landing towards St. Martha’s Hospital, I felt pretty lucky. You see, I have a friend in St.Martha’s who is dying of cancer and I know that he would like nothing better than to be out walking too. I reflected on a forum I attended the night before on the topic of end of life issues. I also thought about two recent sudden deaths in our community. It reminded me that life is not a dress rehearsal. We have one kick at this and need to make the very best of it.

Ok. Enough of the serious stuff. I have so many stories in the works that I scarcely know where to start. Quickly, looking back, many of you enjoyed my story called “The West End.” Actually, this story easily got the biggest response of any piece that I’ve written over the past 3 years. I guess we’re all suckers for nostalgia. Life wasn’t perfect by any means growing up in the 60’s but it was a much simpler time. We were innocent and our lives were uncomplicated.

In that piece, I made reference to the Marian Boy Choir. They were a world class boy’s choir that started in 1952 under the direction of Fr. Terry Lynch. A few people commented on this so I decided that the choir deserved a separate piece. So, bright and early yesterday morning ( 5:30 ish! ), I penned a piece called “ Oh, How They Could Sing.” As part of my research, I met with seven former members of the choir on the weekend for coffee. It was fascinating to hear their stories. I have been asked to consider writing a book about Fr. Lynch and the choir. I have been loaned tapes of many of their performances. They really were that good.

Coming up later this week ( Wednesday ) is a story called “ An Incurable Condition”. A light hearted look at the trials and tribulations of married life.

A friend of mine recently took a road trip to visit friends in Ontario. Her new car broke down and the resulting story was a comedy of errors. Well, it wasn’t funny but the story is so unbelievable that I’m going to try and retell it once I’ve met with the protagonist. Coming soon, “Judy’s Joyride.”

And what if you were taking part in a very important video conference with people across the country and right in the middle of it, your dog walks by you and farts? Luckily, the technology for transporting smells through the computer hasn’t been developed…yet. I was chatting with the young woman who was taking part in the call. I think this deserves my full and undivided attention.

Finally, check out the cover for my third book. It’s on my home page. www.week45.com. And while you’re there, scroll to the bottom and enter your e-mail address. That way, you won’t miss any of my incredibly stimulating (!) posts. Facebook is simply not a sure fire way of getting my stories out there anymore.

Have a great week.

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