Thursday Tidbits

Posted on April 8, 2021 under Thursday Tidbits with 2 comments

Weir Beach

 

“I want to run wild and live life to the fullest… but I also want to be in bed by 9:00 p.m.”

L.P. A friend of a friend.

A few days ago, while vacationing in Victoria, I received a dinner invitation. When I was asked what time would suit me best, I cheekily suggested 4:00 p.m. I was joking, of course… sort of. You see, with the three- hour time difference between B.C. and Quebec, we would actually be dining at 7:00 p.m. I know that is warped logic but when you’re travelling through time zones, you’re always making these kinds of calculations.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had a helluva time this year adjusting to the time change. I thought it might be attributed to living in the north but the more likely conclusion is that damn aging thing again. Everything seems just a bit more challenging when you’ve been stomping around the planet for nearly 70 years. So, it came as no surprise to me that flying west last week, kicked the crap out of me with the time zone change.

The first night, I managed to stay awake until 8:00 p.m Victoria time (11:00 p.m. Kangiqsujuaq time). I had been on the go for 18 hours that day. At precisely 2:30 a.m. I woke out of a dead sleep. Yup. My inner clock said “rise and shine”. I normally get up at 5:30 in the morning. Mercifully, I was able to get two more hours of sleep.

In the best of times, finding a 24- hour diner serving breakfast can be a bit tricky. During a global pandemic, I would have a better chance of finding the Oak Island gold treasure chest. With no cooking facilities in my B&B, my options were limited. The night before, I had dined with Peter at a restaurant, crawling distance from my accommodations.  I had a spicy rice bowl chicken thingy, and the serving size was befitting of a lumberjack. My B&B does have a small bar fridge and a coffee maker (two of the essentials) so I was able to doggy bag the considerable amount of leftovers and put them in the fridge.

Do you know what it’s like eating cold spicy rice bowl chicken thingy at 4:30 a.m. washed down with a steaming cup of Folger’s coffee? It was fantastic of course because beggars can’t be choosers and I have seen enough poverty in my travels to realize that my breakfast fare would be a meal fit for a king in certain parts of the world.

Speaking of lumberjacks, I received a message on my Week45 site the other day which led to an interesting exchange of e-mails. It’s not that I have a staggering number of readers that I don’t know but once in a while, I’ll see a comment and have no idea who’s messaging me. I try and respond to all my messages even though I often don’t receive them in the north with the questionable (?!) internet service.

It so happens that this gentleman is married to someone that I worked with about 150 years ago. He has a keen sense of humour. This line in his message broke me up: “I believe we have, according to J., (his wife) a great deal in common other than just rugged good looks, ripped abs, devastating charm and rapier wit.”

Now, I could probably write an entire page refuting all of this. I might be able to make the case that I have a certain degree of wit (and width these days) but as for rugged good looks, ripped abs, and devastating charm? Sorry, my friend. I’m delusional but only to a degree.

I’m happy to report that I have slowly adapted to the time change… just in time to fly back north and go through it all again.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. On a serious note, my neighbours back home in Antigonish, Shane and Stacey, suffered a devastating fire and lost everything. They and their two children are going to need a lot of help. Please consider sending a donation to this GoFund account and keep your eyes out for a fundraiser being organized by my daughter, Betsy at Piper’s Pub. https://www.gofundme.com/f/lost-home-and-all-belongings-in-fire. I’ll match your donations up to $250. If you don’t like GoFund me, e-transfer the money to me and I will see that Shane and Stacy receive it. Thanks a lot. (lenpdmacdonald@gmail.com)

Shane and Stacey have been good neighbours. They have a trampoline in their back yard. All three of my granddaughters have spent countless hours there.