Category: Blog Entry
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Adieu Mon Ami – Not Enough Fun
A Piperguy48 Production Indeed, Frank never seemed to have enough fun. He was forever seeking new ways to have even more fun. He wasn’t greedy, just eager for the next adventure. He could indulge his whims and fancies. He was skilled and talented, generous and thoughtful. He could have everything he wanted except for more…
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Celebrating Black History
A Piperguy48 Production My family, on my father’s side, appears to be remarkably unimaginative when it comes to the issuance of names for their male descendants as evidenced by the following: David Black married Isabel Paterson and had a son, John Black on May 29, 1757, in Wemyss, Fife, Scotland. James Black on Sep 02, 1786, in…
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Scotland the Brave(-ish)
A Piperguy48 Production Scotland the Brave(-ish) It felt like the last payment on a debt that was long owing. A long time ago I was given something, a gift or a prize (or maybe a burden) that I really didn’t earn, but was in some way entitled to by accident of birth. I could have…
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THEY DANCE
A Piperguy48 Production They dance, they dance,Each turn and leap, a testament toThe dedication they invest and pain that they endure.Celtic heritage or simple love for the beauty and gloryThat springs from the heart and soul of youthAnd tribute to the past. They endure, they endure, Hours of repetition, days, months, years of practice, The…
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Gung Haggis Fat Choy
A Piperguy48 Production “Gung Hay Fat Choy” is a traditional greeting used at the Chinese New Year. It is said to mean Health, Happiness, Longevity, and so on. “Gung Haggis Fat Choy” on the other hand is a light-hearted, cross-cultural celebration that combines the Chinese New Year with a tribute to Scotland’s poet, Robbie Burns. The…
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Lesson #01 – You Are Needed
A Piperguy48 Production This is the first lesson in my list. Someone, somewhere, needs you and without that compelling reason there is little point in going on. Of course, you too need someone. We have evolved into a social animal and for us, at least, that means interaction from cradle to grave. That old refrain “You’re…
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Lesson #02 – It Is What It Is
A Piperguy48 Production Robert Heinlein advised, “Never try to teach a pig to sing. It’s a waste of your time and it annoys the pig.” He was a writer of unsubtle style but with a knack for saying what needed to be said. Once you give a nod to his fundamental logic (It has also been attributed to Mark…
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Lesson #03 – Invasion Of The Body Snatcher
A Piperguy48 Production It was the least significant cut on the least significant digit of my right hand, just one among many acquired in the course of a deck-building weekend. It was scarcely noticed and warranted no special attention. The deck appeared in our yard according to plan and the time had come to sit back, admire…
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Lesson #04 – Fair Play
A Piperguy48 Production Bob was a bully. He was short but powerfully built, like his father, the no-neck sort and where his father’s hair was an iron-grey brush cut, Bob’s was a long sweep of greasy black. He carried his short stature like a dare. The cigarette pack rolled in the sleeve of his white T would likely…
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Lesson #05 – Once A Piper
A Piperguy48 Production He saw me looking at a rough woodcarving on the table. It was a work-in-progress, meant to show a piece at an intermediate stage. In time it would be a folk-art carving of a piper, rough in outline but close enough to hint that the artist once held a set under his arm with…
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Lesson #07 – Quality – The Gary B. Principle (see Lesson #8)
A Piperguy48 Production Gary probably should have known better and if, as he dropped to the floor, he had time to reflect on the error of his ways, I doubt he would have uncovered any startling new truths about what was happening. Gary was a living, breathing (for a short while) coronary about to happen, a…
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Lesson #08 – Quantity The Jim C. Principle (see Lesson #7)
A Piperguy48 Production I wish I had known Jim a little better. I might have come to a different conclusion (or not – I’ve been known to be wrong). You may rightly infer that Jim is no longer with us. Nonetheless, I knew enough to draw a lesson from his life and his sudden departure from it.Jim was…
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Lesson #09 – Some Things Can’t Be Fixed
Fella was a stupid name for a dog, even a mangy no-breed mongrel like this one. Aside from 4 legs, 2 ears, 1 nose and a tail there was nothing else to link him to any recognizable pedigree. Mutt was the closest we pin on him. But he was a good dog. Quiet, gentle with children, kept his business…
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Lesson #10 – Going To The X
The Canadian National Exhibition – The CNE – The Grand Old Lady on Lakeshore Boulevard – The X. Going to the X today. Off to the CNE looking for traces of something that may not exist anymore: a piece of architecture, a fading scent, the trace of a skyline or a sense or sound reminiscent of another…
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Lesson #11 – God Does Not Deduct
I can’t claim credit for this old saw, but I know it to be true. I’ve heard it used to justify many otherwise frivolous pastimes, but fishing is my frivolity, so there it is. I hope and pray the fish don’t mind, but the worth to my soul and the value to my spirit give…
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Lesson #12 – The Power To Say No
This has nothing to do with the war on drugs or born-again pledges of abstinence. This is about real power, that moment when you taste that sheer exhilaration of saying “No! Enough!” It’s delivered with conviction or determination. You’ve been pushed and you dig in your heels and discover some unmovable core that lets you say “No” with authority. And…
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Lesson #13 – How Many Remain?
Another Remembrance Day Sunday Service has come and passed, another progression of seasons that bear witness to the greatness and the folly of our conceit. The day seemed to sneak up with hardly any notice, concealed perhaps beneath the unusually warm weather of this early November rather than the frosty chill that usually precedes it. Maybe it…
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Lesson #14 – On The Instructional Qualities Of Pain. What does it teach? What does it reveal?
My body has become the victim of a misunderstanding by my immune system which, until recently (the first 40 years or so), has done an adequate job of mending hurts, fending off invading bacteria and keeping other unwanted intruders at bay. This system now believes that the natural action of joint movement in fingers, hands, feet,…
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Lesson #15 – How Can I Make You Understand?
The rotator cuff of my right shoulder feels like some dangerous kitchen device, all blades and teeth. The protest of my neck’s C4 and C5 will not be silenced by any amount of forced relaxation exercises, pain re-focusing techniques or Zen. It descends by degrees through elbow to wrist, sliding from pain to ache to finally, dull pulsing throb…
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Lesson #16 – There’s Going To Be Some Crying
Granddad was going about the business of “passing on” and it was turning out to be a painful, unpleasant experience. His foot had gone gangrenous and the decay was starting to work its inexorable way up his leg. At some point, I stopped being carted along to the cavernous ward at Toronto General Hospital. Until that time I…
Notes In The Margin 