Monday Morning Musings

Posted on September 5, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

Action at the Cape Breton Open

Haul out the sweaters… there`s a distinct nip in the air.

In a university town, the return of students is a big deal. The population of the town of Antigonish nearly doubles almost overnight bringing with it a totally different feel than when the students aren`t around. Add to this, the Eastern Nova Scotia Exhibition, otherwise known as the Fall Fair and Labor Day weekend, and you have lots of people and lots of activity. It is probably one of the busiest weekends of the year.

We share a neighborhood with many students. By and large they are lovely people and a courteous lot but when they return en masse, parties are bound to break out. I haven`t had an “all nighter” since the early 70`s but I listened to one on Friday… right in our back yard!

Now, on to something completely different.

I love to see people chasing their dreams.

I took a day trip up to Baddeck on Friday to watch a professional golf tournament. No, Rory, Ricky, Jordan and Jason weren`t there , but there were 160 or so young, athletic, ambitious individuals trying to make the grade. Talent wise,  they are every bit as capable as the guys and gals on the major tours but like every other walk of life, they have to “ pay their dues. ” These guys play on the Canadian Tour, hoping to get a spot of the Web.Com tour which is the developmental tour for the PGA. ( Apologies to non golfers but regular readers know that I opine on any subject that happens to come into my head! ).

I didn`t know any of the players so naturally I decided to follow the lead group.  It was highly entertaining, despite the fact that I was under dressed for the cool, dampish weather. ( Methinks that I have developed the start of the dreaded “man cold” ). I was quite taken with the young man from California who shot the course record on Thursday. He had a wonderful demeanor,  with not a trace of arrogance , which is common with many elite athletes.

Those of you who know me well, know that I am the shy, retiring type!  When the round finished, I decided to approach him to see if he would consider having lunch and doing an interview for Faces in the Crowd. My instincts were right , as he quickly agreed and we headed into Baddeck, along with his grandfather.

Getting to the pinnacle of any endeavour ( sports, business, politics ) is a grind and takes years of effort and infinite persistence. I listened with great interest to Ben`s journey thus far. I don`t want to spoil the upcoming FITC story but you golfers out there will be very interested to hear who his opponent was in the 2011 U.S. Amateur,  in the round of 16 match play.

I always keep a box of my books in the car and was able to give a signed, personally addressed copy to Ben and another for his grandparents.

I also interviewed a well respected medical oncologist last week for a FITC story. It was very interesting to talk to someone who deals with cancer every day. I think you will find his comments very enlightening. SPOILER ALERT: the biggest killer is not heart attacks or cancer. Anyone want to take a stab at the correct answer? The first correct answer ( according to the oncologist … not Wikipedia ) gets a Week45 hat… a collector’s item, for sure!

Have a great week.

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