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Issue #968
Including:

From Nova Scotia Sus

From Russ

From Karl

The Ontarion

Hi All,

Here’s a question; do fish wonder where bubbles go? This question came about from a conversation with my son about his Koi fish. When they bought their house this summer it came with a fish pond and half a dozen fish which they have come to enjoy. (Not ‘enjoy’ as in ‘on the dinner table’ but enjoy as in watching them). Turns out that as the weather gets cooler and the sky tends to stay darker with rain clouds and so on, the fish become less active with each drop in water temperature and with each drop in light. They reach the point where they exist in almost a state of dormancy on the bottom and tend to stay there without eating or doing much of anything until the water starts to warm a bit come spring. But what do they think about while waiting for winter to pass? Do they contemplate deep thoughts or do their brains go blank? Do they in fact wonder where bubbles go. Yes, they can see them go up but they would also see them simply disappear, like magic, when they reach the surface. And that brings up another thing for them to think about, what IS the surface? Yes, they can stick their heads up through it when they are active and that must give them a glance at some strange alien world but what IS it and where does it go, or come from. During their busy fish lives during active times of the year they are probably too busy to think about such mysteries but once laying dormant on the bottom, with time on their fins, do they contemplate those deep questions? Do they debate back and forth with each other and argue the merits of possible answers? How can we ever know?

Then there is also the passage of time for them. If they continue to think during the dormancy of winter they might well be spending their time on these and other pressing issues but if their thinking processes also slow to a state of motionlessness, the winter would in fact pass very quickly for them. Too quickly for the opportunity to discuss or analyze such questions. They would see winter as a blindingly fast switching from light to dark to light and so on as the days pass, barely noticeable at all. Then spring would warm the water and they would simply realize they were hungry, swim up to where to bubbles go, and look for the human who comes with the cupful of fish food. Either an interesting life or a very boring one. If it is boring, would they even know that? We probably can never know the answer.

Well now, for this week’s entertainment I’ve come up with an old Johnny Cash song called ‘I Still Miss Someone’. However, from a technical point of view, my version would be closer to that of Roseanne Cash because Johnny played it using the basic 3-chord approach whereas his daughter added a minor chord to the chorus, just for one part of one line but it makes a musical difference. So, in the chorus line where the lyrics say “I miss those arms that held me”, the notes for ‘held me’ are done on the minor. It gives it a nicer feel. And, this song works well for this time of year as the first lines go… “At my door, the leaves are falling, a cold wild wind has come”. So, now you know.

I Still Miss Someone

doug

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From Nova Scotia Sus

Deer hunting season here in northern Nova Scotia starts at the beginning of November and has just ended this past week. It's not my favourite time of year because we live where many people come to hunt. The local hunters know the area and where we all live but the ones that come from Cape Breton and other places do not have a clue how close to homes they are. Like us, our rural houses are hidden with long lanes through wooded land. We like it that way for privacy and space but it can put us in harms way. All hunters have to take safety courses to get a license to hunt but there are always those who choose to do things their own way. Just last week while my neighbour and I were putting out the garbage we were startled by a very loud bang. A couple of men had parked their van not far from our driveway, shot a deer from the road and then sped away when they realized they had been seen. Sometime later they must have come back and picked up the deer, for it was gone.

We have a really nice walking trail that runs through Scotsburn that used to be the old railway track. Many people use it for all kinds of activity from bikes to snowmobiles. My friend and I like to walk the trail regularly. There is a fair amount of activity from beavers too. They have chewed many trees, some have fallen and some about to. They have dammed up the water to almost overflowing the trail. So far we haven't come across a beaver but they sure are busy. I've been checking on our pond to see if there is any evidence of beavers. A few years back a couple of beavers had moved in and had just started to dam up under the bridge. Luckily by constantly removing all the twigs I had persuaded them to move on.

Today we woke up to snow on the ground. Still not much though. This has been the nicest fall I can remember. Take care everyone, get outside and enjoy yourself in the fresh air.

Sus

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From Russ

Happy Holidays!

How do you feel about being wished “Happy holidays”?

A holiday is a few days off work which can happen any time during the year. With the corona vires in ‘full bloom’ many workers have been on ‘holidays’ since last March! Many are dying to get off holidays and back to work! Its like we’re all on house arrest, and not allowed to leave town. How do you like wearing that ‘ankle bracelet’? Mine’s too tight. I have poor circulation and my foot keeps ‘going to sleep’!

“Lock-down” is a term used in prisons when there’s been an escape. All inmates must return to their respective cells for an emergency count. Now, it’s so commonly used in relation to our schools, our public buildings, and our entire cities that its part of our ‘every day’ vocabulary.

I believe this period in history will go down as World War 3! I feel we’re living in a “War Zone” with Government ‘edicts’ , changing every day or two; rationing of certain products, i.e. toilet paper = “One to a customer”; sanitary wipes and disinfectants not-to-be-found on the shelves of any stores; food prices rising 4% over-night. Not to mention small business going bankrupt; no jobs; the Army called in to control us civilians during the distribution of the “miracle vaccine” - - and, on and on it goes - - and where it stops nobody knows.

But, on a lighter note; I waited all day for the arrival of Ashley, a jolly, plump, little morsel who arrived at 6PM in a rush-of-cold-air, to apologize for being late. She pushed a drink ‘swizzler’ into my ulcer, measured the depth, wrapped an iodine swab around the other end of the same stick – shoved that into the hole, cautioning,

“This will hurt a wee bit”. She lied. Then sweet, tender, Ashley quickly demonstrated ‘how’ I was to flush and bandage the wound daily, until the next VON’s arrival ‘some time’ next Thursday (today). I couldn’t accomplish that assignment – too complicated for this ‘old goat’!

Then, as quickly as she arrived she was off. But, not before telling me she starts at 8AM and is supposed to finish her schedule by 4PM, it was now 7PM, and she still had one more client, “But that’s not so bad – its on my way home to Dundalk – are you a bleeder?”.

Your old Uncle Russ.

PS Only one more Squamidian before Christmas. Don’t forget to write. Merry Christmas!!

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From Karl

Hi everyone from Melbourne, We in Melbourne Victoria have gone over 42 Days without a single new case of Covid which is good news here when we hear ALL the cases from around the world, I guess the harsh lockdown WE went through worked and we got through this BUT WE MUST keep on top of this Covid so stay safe out there, I can now get out now with my camera and get back to my photo passion GEE its been a long time since I got out still not too many people out and about but still slowly getting better, I really enjoyed everyones contribution last week, Doug I listened to Foxes & Fossils they where truly great band, Russ you are a GREAT writer my friend I get a chuckle out of your writing and stories keep up with the stories, Was nice to hear from Greg and the Ontario report seeing we lived in Kitchener all those years and to hear the stories of the changing things happening there, Carol and Al would love to be there again ,We had such good memories of being with you guys on our last visit there so STAY SAFE everyone and sending BIG Hugs to everyone, I will send a few photos from my last visit to the City a few days ago by for now..

Karl

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THE ONTARION REPORT

Hello everyone

Doesn’t this season bring back so many memories and thoughts of yesteryear to your mind? When I think back over the years I can’t help thinking of all the great songs by my favourite artists that were and still are great works that were written most likely about true life experiences. Roy Orbison is my favourite artist and has written so many great songs that rang true when they were first written. I find that lately his music is showing up in movies and commercials on TV and even now they ring true and bring back so many memories from years gone by! It was quite a shame that he had to pass away at such a young age (54) from heart disease. I am not ashamed to admit that when I awoke one morning in 1988 to the news of his death that it actually brought tears to my eyes! His music was so warm and real life that I’m sure I wasn’t the only person that could relate to the stories he told in his songs. So many artists sing about what I call bubblegum crap that has relatively little or no meaning when you listen to the lyrics. But Orbison’s ballads actually told stories that related to real life experiences that most of us could relate to! For instance his huge hit “In Dreams” tells a story that even today has great meaning. I hear that song or at least a good part of one of the first verses in a commercial that features young children in their beds, about to fall asleep and dream, just as the song says. When I hear that few lines of Roy’s great song, I can’t help but sing along with the tune. I’m sure that I could come up with a dozen of his songs that I still know from memory without having to read the lyrics off a sheet! His music still is some of the most loved ballads of all time!

He was one of the most famous artists of the 50’s 60’s and 70’s and his collection of music is I’m sure one that is priceless, as is the collection of many great musical artists of that era! Many artists from that time are now selling off their music portfolios to commercial computerized distributers for hundreds of millions of dollars now that they are reaching old age and fazing themselves out of the industry! The first that I can recall having a huge value to their collection is Paul McCartney who’s collection is worth almost a billion dollars. I remember when he had to fork over 500 million to buy back the rights to his own music back in the early 2000’s from the record company that had claimed ownership of his portfolio. The world was in shock to hear that he didn’t own the rights to his own songs and had to buy back those rights from a third party.

I’m just glad that Doug and I don’t have a publishing manager that can take advantage of our writings in such a manner! LOL! Can you imagine how much our almost 20 years of writing would be worth if we had to buy it all back from a third party? LOL!

Maybe we could sell those rights to Hollywood for a handsome profit? But, then again maybe NOT! Hahahahaha…….! Oh well, maybe such things can happen only “In Dreams”! Thanks Roy!
That’s about all I have for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to taking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!

Bye for now … Greg.

PS: Something To Think About>
Write about your favourite artist!

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