hello again, hello…

What do you do when someone else’s house is burning down (and there is nothing you can do about it?)

This morning I awoke to clear skies, an only slightly orange sun and a need for a mini-workout to continue the futile efforts I undertake to get in better shape (as if that will help me live longer). There was quite a cacophony of information as I opened my computers – a wonderfully classy resort north of West Kelowna burned to the ground, fire-fighters on the east side having to deal with people who don’t want to follow evacuation orders, the cancellation of a pending visit by a very long-time friend (would you believe going back to MHS & St. Peter’s in Madoc?) due to travel advisories and road closures, news an ex has become a widow again, and the discovery that in Scotland this weekend is a long weekend and thus some tourist business related operators are on holidays themselves.

The mini-workout seemed like a positive get-away. So I put on the headphones (or ear buds, whatever they are called) and decided to drift away to the driving beat of the Jefferson Airplane cum Starship followed later by the gentler Pat Boone. And as I was going through the various pain-inducing activities, as a way to mitigate my immediate feelings I began to reflect on my music and why/when did certain genres become central to my life. For example: Jefferson Airplane without fail reminds me of grad school at the U of Minnesota and Pat Boone takes me back to the days of High School (& a bit before that). F.O.S. times at the UofA are heralded by the Moody Blues and Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline. S.E.P. was Rod Stewart with special emphasis on Tonight’s the Night while the Okanagan Water Study was more Kingston Trio, Glenn Yarbrough and Pachabel’s Canon… Then as I became involved in Aboriginal education it was Tamarack, some Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand & Art Garfunkel plus increasingly movie sound tracks and any kind of classical music… This millennium has been Classical, Jazz & Frank Sinatra (& the Great American Songbook) with occasional moments of throw-back/retro all courtesy of SiriusXM, the satellite radio. Then the mini-workout was over and as I returned to my computer there was once again a constant feed of news about the fires.

There is really nothing new I can tell you that you don’t already doubtless know from your own news source(s), so I won’t keep harping on it all. If something significant happens to impact me more directly, I will take time to write another chapter on it. For the most part I would suggest you turn on/up your favourite music and either reflect on your good fortune not to be in a fire zone or reminisce via the music the different epochs of your life and how it s good that you are still here. Remember what Charlie Brown once said: Some day we all are going to die! To which Snoopy wisely replied: Yes, but on all the others we aren’t!

g.w.