Thursday Tidbits

Posted on January 30, 2020 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

According to some of my students, it was a warm day in Kangiqsujuaq

 

I caved.

I resisted the temptation as long as I could. It is a vice that I have struggled with for a long time. Sometimes it lifts my spirits, but it also depresses the hell out of me. It helps me pass the time when I feel lonely. I’ll admit that it’s a crutch for me and probably for many of you.
I bet some of you thought that I was referring to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs or sweets. Wrong.

It’s television.

I must admit that I have been finding the evenings long here in the north. When it’s dark at 3:00 p.m. you feel like you should be going to bed around 7:00. I manage to fill the hours reading, writing, watching Netflix and making puzzles. Of course, there are any number of ways to get updates on news and sports on my electronic devices.

Last Saturday, I hosted a jam session at my apartment. One of my colleagues happened to mention in passing that he had a television to give away. It’s not one of the fancy flat screen varieties with high definition. It’s an old RCA. With the Super Bowl on this weekend, I decided to take up his offer.

Besides satellite television, the only other service provider for cable T.V. is the local Co-op store so I meandered over there on Monday. School was closed due to furnace failure, so I had time to set up an account. Danny, the technician, came to my apartment in the afternoon and just like that, I was connected to the world. I had just made a batch of oatmeal cookies and gave a bag of them to Danny and his sidekick, Andy.

The best news in all of this is that once again, the circle has come full and I am now officially a member of the Kangiqsujuaq Co-op as a result of signing up for cable. I grew up in a community that has its roots deeply imbedded in the Co-op movement. I was a member of our local Co-op grocery store decades ago and my father was one of the first managers of a credit union in our hometown, another important cog in the cooperative movement.

It only took an hour before my well-known ineptness with electronic devices reared its ugly head. I wrote a piece about this several years ago. I feel the same now as I felt back then. https://www.week45.com/out-of-control-remote/

After watching endless interviews about the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant, I made the fatal mistake of turning the television off. Danny had given me a new, fancy remote control. When I decided to watch some news, I hit the power button and all that I got was a screen full of snow. I tried every possible combination but couldn’t get the television to work.

I bundled up and headed across the field to the Co-op. Luckily Danny was still at work and he agreed to come over on his way home from work. It took him less than three seconds to get the T.V. to work. I discovered that you had to hit the “cable” button BEFORE hitting the power button. I always thought that turning on a television started with the power button.

I still long for a one channel universe along with a television with rabbit ears!

Many of you have messaged me wondering how I am getting along. As far as I can discern, the three keys to my survival are getting to school very early in the morning to plan my day; My sense of humor – there are times when I don’t find anything humorous, but in a weird way find it amusing; Music – Yes, I play and sing for the children quite regularly but during those early mornings before school starts, I often pull out the guitar and sing something at the top of my lungs.

I have established a routine for my students upon their arrival in class. They complete some paperwork which asks them some basic questions: “How are you feeling today?” “What time did you go to bed last night? “What is today’s weather?” If they are tired, sad, or happy, I know right away. It was with some bemusement that several students commented on the weather last week. Weather choices are cold, warm, hot, windy, rainy, cloudy and sunny. On this particular day, a handful circled “warm”. It was -25 at the time. I guess everything is relative to one’s own reality.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. I’m not big on hero worship, especially when it comes to celebrities and athletes. I watched the outpouring of grief for Kobe Bryant. No one can deny that he was a superlative athlete. But Kobe was far from perfect.

My heroes continue to be single mothers.