Monday Morning Musings

Posted on November 2, 2015 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

A mini vacation in Florida before our next transcontinental trip

“On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again.”

On The Road Again – Willie Nelson

Peter and I are “on the road again.” He is moving out to Victoria for the next while and I am helping him with the move. All of his worldly possessions are now in his car as we traverse the countries to reach our ultimate destination. Yes, I said countries. You see, we are always seeking adventure. The shortest distance between two points may indeed be a straight line but why do that when you can zig and zag. In our case, the road to Victoria takes us through Florida for a week of sunshine. After some R @ R, we`ll cross the United States diagonally. Like our last two trips, we`ll keep you posted with some of Pete`s amazing photography and a few words from yours truly.

The journey began Friday when we left Halifax mid day. We arrived at the border in Calais early evening. We were the only vehicle in the lineup. This is a Friday night and I figured that there would be a little bit of traffic . The border officials ( bored…er ! ) were anxious to show us their awesome power and detained us for over an hour. As mentioned, Peter was carrying everything with him…. all of his music gear, personal possessions, golf clubs etc. We also had a clam shell on the roof. It did look a little bit like Jed Clampett and the family rolling in to Beverly Hills. You couldn`t find room for an anemic flea.

Obviously Peter and I were running away to Nashville to make it big. ( Thanks KM ). At least this is what appeared to be the big concern. I figured that having an old bald guy to vouch would be worth something but when Customs officials have nothing better to do, you just keep your mouth shut and pray that they don`t bar you entry to the country. I had this vision of a drive through Northern Ontario rather than St. Pete`s Beach.

I`ll spare you the rest of the sordid details but safe to say, I couldn`t let this pass without me taking a good natured stab at Customs officials. So keep your eye out for a story called “Borederdome.”

Those of you who ever went to church are probably aware of the story of Lazurus. Some say that I am pretty good with words but I bet you didn’t know my amazing powers of raising a person from the dead. Last week, I published a story in the Cape Breton Star ( republished here on Week45 on the weekend ) called “Hidden Gems.” I mentioned that Dr. Ken Murray was convinced by “the late Dr. Ron Stewart” to take a two year position in Neil’s Harbor. As it turns out, Ron is very much alive and well! I scrambled to get an e-mail address to apologize and thankfully I was able to connect with him later in the day. He had a great chuckle over the whole thing and was receiving good natured calls, ribbing and condolences from friends and colleagues. When I did the republish on my website, I brought him back to life. I have further insulted him with a promise of copies of my three books!

Shift work. A lot of my friends work shift work , whether it’s at the hospital or the mill in Point Tupper. In my youth, I worked in a sawmill and also a commercial bakery so I’ve had a taste of shift work. But that was over 40 years ago. Recently, I started a new part time job at the hospital that requires shift work. Whoa! What an eye opener. It is not that I didn’t respect shift workers before but now I have a new appreciation for them… especially nurses, who are ( in my humble opinion! ) the people who provide the mortar for the health care system. I decided to write a tribute piece to them so keep your eye out for the story “A Seismic Shift.”

And finally ( wow , this is a long MMM today ). I have a story that most dog owners will be able to relate to. ( Yeah, a preposition at the end of a sentence sucks but the watered down coffee I’m drinking in the hotel lobby at 6:00 in the morning, as I write this, sucks too! ). Has your dog ever farted at exactly the worst possible time? Maybe you were having a dinner party with special guests. No matter. I know a young woman who was doing a very important video conference with people across the country when her dog, Casey, let one rip. No, the other conference call participants couldn’t smell it but they could hear it. And, the young woman was suffering from morning sickness at the time.  This is pretty light fare ( Len Light? ) but I think you’ll get a kick out of it.

Ok. Done.

Have a great week and look out for more “stories from the road.”

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