Monday Morning Musings

Posted on September 7, 2020 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

One of many interesting rock formations

“If you come to a fork in the road, take it. “Yogi Berra.

I’m rather disappointed in myself but that’s hardly news. I was about to dish up another educational piece on Inuit history today, but last Friday night when I wrote this, I didn’t feel very serious. So, you’re going to receive a big dose of incoherent, unconnected pieces of nothingness.

Some of you had great fun last week with my post about “the road not taken”. The Yogi Berra line above is a classic. For those of you too young to remember, Yogi Berra was a Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees. He was an 18 time All Star and appeared in 14 World Series, 10 of which the Yankees won. A few other Berra-isms for your Labour Day enjoyment: “You can observe a lot just by watching. “No one goes there nowadays. It’s too crowded.” “Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.”

Have any of you noticed the plethora of ads for mattresses lately or am I the only one receiving these? It’s an all-out mattress war and it seems that Endy and Casper are duking it out for market share. I have become aware of such specificities as “plush dual cloud foam”. Yup. That’s obviously the first question I would ask a sales rep at Sleep Country. I mean, we can all wrap our heads around the titanic battles between Coke and Pepsi back in the 70s, unless you weren’t born back then in which case you have no idea what I’m talking about. But mattresses? Seriously? Could this be the precursor to the “endy” of the world?! Or a new 11^th Commandment? Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s bed. Endy envy? STOP!!!

In related news, I have noticed a serious uptake in dating sites. They’re as ubiquitous as Tim Horton’s stores. I’m starting to wonder if the same outfits that own the mattress companies also own the dating sites or vice versa. It seems that there is every imaginable site for just about any age group. I expect any day now that there will be a sight for babies or possibly for your pet cat. Can Luna find the purrfect match? Pardon me while I hit the paws button. Would that be considered a subordinate claws?

Enough of that. You’re probably thinking that because it was Friday when I wrote this that I found the keys to the liquor cabinet. Wrong. Unless a large plate of steamed mussels can cause temporary insanity, I wasn’t consuming anything that could explain this stream of unconsciousness.

Speaking of mussels. Last week, there was a civic holiday on Thursday. It was a day for the NV (Northern Village) of Kangisqsujuaq to pause and thank its workers. It was a fun day filled with all kinds of games and activities. I watched with great interest a bannock making contest down by the community wharf. Contestants constructed their own “stove” with rocks and used seaweed for fuel. They mixed their bannock ingredients in bowls and then put them on flat rocks above the fire that served as the grill. One of the participants was the Mayor and she looked like a pro. She and I had a great chat. There was blueberry picking, mussel picking and a foot race. A couple of work colleagues did not participate in the official mussel picking contest but did come home with a huge bucketful of these delicious shellfish. They offered me a huge bagful and I cooked them for supper on Friday, dipped in garlic butter. Superb.

I want to take this opportunity to thank my fellow teachers for all their help last week at school assisting me move classrooms. It was a mammoth job. I especially want to thank my friends Eliane and Adamie who went out of their way to assist me in so many ways.

Your suffering is almost over. One other thing I mentioned last week was the notion of lifelong learning. A dear friend from my education year at St.F.X. reminded me of a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein. “Education is what remains when you have forgotten all you have learned in school.” So true… especially in my case! Thanks, MMP.

Have a great week.

P.S. Heroes are highly overrated unless that hero happens to be your sister. My sister, Eleanor closed the doors of her convenience store at the end of August. She and her late husband, Lou Brosha, operated this family run business for 26 years after returning home after many years in Fort Vermillion, Alberta. They worked long hours and were two of the most community minded people you could meet. My sister didn’t have it easy. Lou had MS for a long time and there were many other challenges that she faced along the way, including the death of her daughter, Audrey, that may have broken most people. She was and remains one of the most generous people I know. She mentored many young staff members who are her biggest fans. I never heard her complain once about her lot in life. When others were in need, she was always one of the first to step up and offer her time and resources even when her plate overflowed. Real heroes are real people, not those with puffed up egos and multimillion-dollar salaries who claim to be role models. What a joke. The world would be a much better place if there were more role models like my sister. And luckily there are.

El’s favorite expression? When any of her sibs started to whine and complain about THEIR lot in life, she would turn with a slight look of disdain and say, “Get over it.”

If anyone deserves a healthy and happy retirement it is El. Best wishes. With love and admiration.

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