Noisy Visitors

I had some friends over last night. They were kinda noisy, because they came equipped with djembes and beer. Not a bad deal for me. I got to drink some of the beer, and wail on the soprano saxophone along with the drums.

Sassinak started something really cool. She began imitating a heartbeat on her drum, and the rest of us started improvising madly to it. I’m not so certain whether I was playing anything worthwhile, but Sue and the Doc made some great things happen in reaction to Sassinak’s heartbeat.

I don’t complement Sass’ drumming enough. She has an interesting approach to drumming which I admire. Most drummers can be rather maniacal, and try to fill every second with sound. Not so with Sass. It’s refreshing because she has a good sense of space, and plays with a “less is more” attitude. It’s usually pretty hard for drummers to find this, and yet Sass comes by it naturally.  I tend to like busy music, but there’s a lot to be said for any musician who plays only what’s necessary rather than trying to fill every second. There’s a kind of sensible economy to Sassinak’s drumming.

It wasn’t a long jam session, but we managed to play for a bit. It was rewarding because I need to make noise on my horn frequently enough to keep myself from going insane. Playing an instrument of any sort is a great pressure relief tactic.

Beautiful World

At the risk of sounding serious, I have to admit that it’s hard work to see beauty in the world sometimes. The dictators of the world wreak their horrors in every corner of the world. Natural disasters and chaos strike without warning. Environmental disaster looms heavily because of our own avarice and inaction. There is so much nasty business going on that sometimes, it seems impossible for beauty to survive.

Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t been depressed about things. I have merely had a focus on the persistent negativity in the world. Being a newshound and a keen observer of things can have it’s drawbacks. A couple of events have helped shake this rather cynical world view that I’ve had lately.

I discovered that a long term customer of mine is leaving his comfortable life in southern Ontario to move to Sudan for a few years. He’s going to help the local folks improve their water systems as part of a missionary effort. I dare say that the vast majority of us wouldn’t contemplate such a thing. I’m at the top of the list. While I hope I don’t attach too much importance to the accumulation of wealth, it sure is nice living in the western world in comparison to east Africa from all reports. While I don’t particularly agree with missionary activity, it is hard to fault his motives or think badly about him helping provide such a critical necessity to these desperately poor people. I couldn’t help but shake his hand and wish him the best, because it’s a great thing he is undertaking.

As many of you may know, I’ve had a bit of a struggle with my eyeballs this year. I have begun to settle into a pattern of wondering whether I’ll recover enough of my vision to see things in a way that I might recognize as “normal”. Self doubts appear. When I compare notes with other people who have had a lifelong use for glasses, I guess I should just shut my big yap. Handsome Jack, and her husband Jibber joined PJ, Sassinak and I for a barbecue this past week. When the subject turned to my eyesight, we compared notes, and I realized I wasn’t so bad off. My vision isn’t as good as it was before my bilateral optic neuropathy, but even now, it’s improving 7 months later. The best part is breaking the pattern of doubt, and realizing that the improvements are still happening. Impatience is my worst enemy in this battle.

 Realizing that there is good in the world, and that good things are happening to me too isn’t such a bad thing. Just when I think the whole world has lost it’s collective marbles, along comes a guy doing a selfless thing like my customer. Just when I think my grasp of the world has somehow loosened, I notice a little more colour in a small flower at the side of the hiking trail.

I have got to stop reading the news, and paying attention to the donkey-raping-shit-eaters of the world. I’m gonna go walk the dog now.

Long Weekend On The Hill

I just got back from a pleasant weekend in Osprey Township. Sassinak’s mum and dad live somewhere out there, and every year they are kind enough to invite me up for a weekend. What nice people!

 Sass and I bailed into the convertible friday afternoon with our knapsacks and rare spices, and headed off. We made a pit stop for some vino and beer en-route, and then we hit the open road. When we were northbound, I stopped to take a picture of a tree, that I’ve been visiting every few months. I call this tree “The Lonely Tree” because he stands in the middle of a cow pasture with no other trees around him. (Yes, I’ve given the tree a gender.)

While I was stopped to snap a few photographs, I mused that it might be fun to write a children’s book. Sassinak fixed me with her evil eye, and said that it was a grand idea. With the gauntlet thrown, I began to think about it more seriously.

I’m not much of a kid person, but one thing I do know, is kids have very good bullshit detectors. They can spot dumb stuff a mile away. And worse still, they’ll let you know it if they do think something is not exactly “with it.” I’ve started scribbling a few notes, and figuring out a story line, and, I’ve started wondering if I have bitten off more than I can chew.

I would hate to spoil anyone’s expectations, so I’ll be tight lipped about the story until it has a little more substance. It’s pretty flimsy at the moment, but I think I can actually pull this off. Then, perhaps I can cajole some of my artistic friends to help illustrate it for me. Oddly enough, what was tossed off as a flippant suggestion has obsessed me for the last three days since Sassinak figured I was on to something, and ought to try.

The rest of the weekend was restful for the most part. Sass and I took off for a hike with her parents on Saturday. While it sure was nice to be out on the trail, the odd thing was, Sassinak and her mum got quite lost on the trail and ended up lost. Not to be outdone, Sass’ dad and I also got lost, only in another direction. We were supposed to take a left turn on the trail, and we thought we did. None of our intrepid quartet made it to our destination after all was said and done. As I drove my car back to our supposed end point, with Mr. B., we found Sass and Mrs. B. waiting on the side of the road. We picked them up and drove the rest of the way to get our other vehicle. No one was waiting long, and all of us scratched our heads and wondered how we both got lost in two different directions.

Mr. B. treated us to his homemade pizza afterwards, and we spent a lovely evening drinking wine and chatting around the dinner table.

On sunday, we headed out for a trip to the Range Road Diner. Despite the lousy service, and the long wait, Ted’s prowess in the kitchen saved the day once more. The food always makes up for the deficiencies. After our brunch, we headed off in search of a garden center. We got lousy directions and were not able to find either of the two suggested centers. We shrugged our shoulders and returned home. Flowerless, but happy for the scenic tour.

After some gardening, and a sun deck pilates session, another fabulous home cooked meal from out hosts awaited. This time, Mr. B. stoked another fire in his kitchen, and made a lovely roast beast for dinner. More vino and conversation ensued.

Sass and I went for a late night stroll down the road to take in the moonrise and watch the local folks fireworks display. Up in the open country, we could see fireworks from several nearby farms in celebration of our national holiday.

One hundred and forty years of confederation. Not too shabby.