Four weeks!!! Four whole weeks….over in flash, just like summer!!! The column hiatus has now ended and WE’RE BACK! Yep it’s been a busy (and sweaty) summer with loads going on, on all fronts, both personal and professional. I must confess, Fall is my favourite season. The colours are outstanding and the cooler weather (with sunshine) actually makes me feel cozy.
Okay……so where to begin….I’ll work my way backwards…..one concert at time.
What an EPIC weekend!! The weather, except for a couple of 15-minute downpours on Friday, was gorgeous nicely covering all three H’s…..hot, hazy and humid. So humid I felt like a piece of flypaper…..everything was sticking to me. A dive into the lake was sorely tempting. On the flip side, with no more rain in the forecast, people, little ones and big ones, were out in droves. In fact, it was another record-breaking year for the Mariposa Folk Foundation.
It seemed like it took a week to do so, but the email finally loaded 😉.
Subject : Tova Feldschuh
Message: I miss you. Could we meet for coffee?
Mid August, and most days I feel like, this year, summer never really got started. Maybe it’s the weather, or the political climate, but something feels off-kilter. My potted veg and herbs are in shock; it’s been either torrential rain or temps in the 90s – sometimes in the same 24 hours – every day since they were planted. Sodden pots sit cheek by jowl with containers so arid they threaten to burst into flame. There won’t be much of a harvest this year.
I was introduced to a young lady several month ago at Cherry Cola’s. Her name is Sally Shaar. We chatted for a while….I can’t even remember if I gave her a business card…..shared a bit of information about each other (she found out I wrote for DBAWIS and I found out she was a singer in a band) and eventually we parted company.
I already had a column drafted and ready for editing this morning, but my muse took a hard left turn and demanded a re-write.
I wanted to talk about how important it is to be true to yourself; in your own life, in the way you present to your loved ones, and the realities of pursuing the path by which you pay your bills. But all of that sounds rather pretentious, in the face of current events.
What I came to realize is that the only reason that old, white women like me can spend any time at all dreaming of improving themselves and their surroundings – never mind assuming that anyone else would be interested in reading those thoughts- is that we have ‘privilege.’
It’s the final weekend of summer….the official/unofficial end of walks along the beach, barbeques, wearing white, lounging with a martini…yes it’s Labour Day weekend. Many of us are all off cottaging or tenting or beaching. Escaping the city for one last breath of summer air and that sense of liberating freedom that comes with it.
I had another blog prepared and ready to roll today about my favourite topic, music, but in light of the last 72 hours of clown car antics from the family of my city’s mayor, Rob Ford, I couldn’t let it go without comment.
There are two things that mark the end of summer every year – one is the mopy-faced kids who’ve realized that 8 weeks of vacation just isn’t long enough. The anxiety of heading to school – public, high or post-secondary – means summer has officially ended for kids in an abrupt slap in the back and a new set of responsibilities.
There are two things that mark the end of summer every year – one is the mopey faced kids who’ve realized that 8 weeks of vacation just isn’t long enough. My daughter moved into University residence this weekend as she starts both her personal independence and a long path toward becoming a Forensic Psychologist. My son, meanwhile, starts high school in a scaled down fast-lane critical thinking school (GASP!) for students who want to be community and business leaders. Summer has ended for them as an abrupt slap in the back with adult responsibilities.
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Bullseye Records of Canada
Segarini: Don't Believe a Word I Say 