Monday Morning Musings

Posted on July 23, 2018 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

High Sea Highlanders dragon boat members

Special. adjective. Better, greater or otherwise different from what is usual. Synonyms: exceptional, noteworthy, remarkable, outstanding, and unique.

There will be a lot of “special” going on starting July 31^st. The National Special Olympics begins in eight days and you can feel the excitement and anticipation mounting in the host town, our own Antigonish. Rarely is a national competition held in such a small community but Antigonish has proven consistently that it punches above its weight. The town has hosted many successful national championships and visitors from across Canada will be treated to a first class event.

The town is justifiably proud that one of our own, Ryan Kearney will carry the flag for the team from Nova Scotia in the opening ceremonies. Ryan is a fine golfer but more importantly he is a fine gentleman. He knows everybody and always has a smile on his face. He has achieved a great deal and a lot of credit goes to his family who have been supportive of Ryan’s endeavours for a long time.

A number of athletes from the Eastern Highland Special Olympics organization will compete with our nation’s finest athletes. I bumped into some of these folks Saturday at the Dragon Boat Races in New Glasgow. Their team, the High Sea Highlanders are regular competitors in the event and they demonstrate camaraderie and competitiveness… and class.

Speaking of special, I really enjoyed an extra special performance on the spoons by Matthew Wright at the Antigonish Art Fair last Friday evening. During a set changeover, Matthew held the large crowd spellbound with several nifty manoeuvers. I have never seen spoons played behind the back or under the armpits. He was definitely a crowd pleaser.

Summer is in full swing. Like many others, we have been entertaining grandchildren this summer. They have boundless energy and stomachs that are bottomless pits. It seems like the sink is perpetually filled with dishes and the wash machine never sleeps. Cook, clean, wash, dry. Repeat over and over again. You don’t notice the chaos in a big house but as apartment dwellers with limited space, it gets pretty crazy. This is not a complaint, just an observation!

I am a former golfer so it’s not surprising that I watched a lot of golf on the weekend. Golf aficionados love the British Open. Many years ago (2003) I was on golf vacation in Ireland when the Open was being contested. Eight of us stopped in a pub after a round of golf and ended up staying for a very long time catching the final round. While the golf was memorable, what sticks in my mind were the crazy bets that were tossed around the pub. Picking a winner was an obvious bet. But betting on which shoe the golfer would clean first after exiting a bunker shows how far things went astray as the hours wore on. Ben Curtis won that Open but it mattered not to our crew who trudged onward to Tralee for the next day of golf.

Ok. Last chance to support the Heart and Stroke Foundation. With one day to go, I am $355 short of my fundraising goal of $1000 in the Big Bike Ride being held tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. on Main Street. Here’s a link to my page if you would like to make a tax deductible donation. http://support.heartandstroke.ca/site/TR/BigBike2018/BB_General_2018?px=2165881&pg=personal&fr_id=5878

Is it possible to eat ice cream every day of the summer? As long as the grandkids are around, sales of Scotsburn ice cream will remain high!

Have a great week.

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