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| Two Rare 1970 Posters Given To Andrew For Display In The Music Studio |
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING "ERNEST P. WORREL"; I MEAN EARNEST, AS IN STRAIGHTFORWARD AND NOT FOOLING AROUND
YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR - OR ONE DAY THAT PILE OF ASHES, SMOKING FROM YOUR SHOES....WILL BE YOU
A COUPLE OF NIGHTS AGO, OUR BLACK CAT, WE CALL "WEE UNCLE ANGUS", WAS LAYING ON THE BACK OF MY CHAIR, AND WITH MY HEAD AGAINST ITS BELLY, I APPARENTLY LOOKED LIKE A MEMBER OF THE SCOTS GUARD. OR THAT I WAS HAVING A BAD CASE OF CAT-HEAD. SUZANNE DOESN'T HAVE A CAMERA ON HER CELL PHONE, SO SHE COULDN'T CAPTURE THE MOMENT, TO ENTERTAIN OUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS. WE LAUGHED ABOUT THE CAT AND MY BALDING HEAD, AND HONESTLY, IT WAS THE FIRST GOOD, AND HARDY CHUCKLE WE'VE HAD FOR WEEKS. IT FELT REAL GOOD. SO WE'VE BEEN MADE ABUNDANTLY AWARE, THAT IMBEDDING CIRCUMSTANCES TO LAUGH AT, DURING THE BUSINESS DAY, HAS ITS INHERENT PROFITS. AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT WHAT TO WRITE, THIS MORNING, AND FEELING A LITTLE INTIMIDATED BY THIS HONKING BIG SCREEN IN FRONT, I COULDN'T HELP REMINISCE BACK TO THE DAYS IN THE PRINT MEDIA, WHEN GADS, WE REALLY NEEDED TO EXPEND OUR FRUSTRATIONS ON THE JOB. WE FOUND THAT A FEW WELL PLACED WORDS AT STRATEGIC INTERVALS, LIGHTENED THE MOOD ENOUGH, TO LAST OUT AT LEAST ANOTHER HALF HOUR OF BEING BROW BEATEN BY MANAGEMENT. THAT, AND THINKING ABOUT A COOL JUG OF DRAFT, COMING ON THAT SILVER SERVING TRA! Y, AT THE PRESS CLUB, ONCE THE PAPER WAS "PUT TO BED."
ONE PRESS DAY, BACK IN MY HALCYON (WILD AND CRAZY) DAYS, AS EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, IN BRACEBRIDGE, I WAS TRYING TO HUSTLE OUR WRITERS TO FINISH UP THEIR COPY, BECAUSE THE PRODUCTION STAFF NEEDED TO GET THE COPY SET, WAXED, AND CUT ONTO THE PAGE FLATS.
WE ALL HAD OUR OFF-HAND REMARKS, WE'D MAKE, TO BLOW-OFF STEAM. IT WOULD NEVER BE AS OFFENSIVE, IN MIXED COMPANY, AS "F-OFF," BUT WE FOUND ONE SIMPLE RETORT THAT COVERED A LOT OF TERRITORY. "TAKE A DRAG." THIS WAS CRAFTED BY A REPORTER, WHO WILL REMAIN NAMELESS, WHO ONCE, WHEN ASKED TO DROP WHAT HE WAS DOING, AND MOVE THE PUBLISHER'S CAR, RETORTED, "TAKE A DRAG!" WHEN THE PUBLISHER STOPPED TO ENQUIRE WHAT HE HAD JUST SAID TO HIM, THE REPORTER SHOWED HIM THE CIGARETTE HE WAS SMOKING, AND REPEATED, WITH A FEW EXTRA WORDS, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A DRAG?" LET'S JUST SAY, THE PUBLISHER TOSSED THE KEYS ON HIS DESK, AND SHUT THE DOOR TO HIS OFFICE. THAT WAS THE CUE FOR THE REPORTER TO HIDE HIS CAR. WHAT ELSE COULD HE HAVE DONE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES? WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE? WE KNOW THIS, BECAUSE IN THE EVENING, WE SAW THE PUBLISHER WALKING BACK AND FORTH ON DOMINION STREET, TRYING TO FIND HIS CAR. "OOPS," SAID THE REPORTER, TO HIS EDITOR. "I WAS GOING TO TELL HIM WHERE I'D LEFT IT, BEFORE WE WENT TO THE PUB." SO THIS WAS THE DAY WHEN "TAKE A DRAG," WAS FIRST USED, AND THIS WAS ABOUT 1981-82. (WE STILL USE THIS TODAY TO LET OFF STEAM, AND SO FAR THIS WEEK, WE'VE SET A RECORD FOR THE NUMBER OF TIMES IT HAS BEEN USED CONSECUTIVELY, WITHOUT MORE THAN A BREATH BETWEEN.)
BACK TO THE NEWSROOM. THIS SAME REPORTER LET ME PROOF HIS WEEKLY COLUMN, AND IT WAS, AS USUAL, A HARD HITTING OPINION PIECE, THAT PROBABLY WAS AIMED AT BRACEBRIDGE TOWN COUNCIL. WE USED TO CHALLENGE THEM WEEKLY, BECAUSE WE LOVED THE DIFFERENT WAYS THEY EMPLOYED TO AVOID US. FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE REPORTER / COLUMNIST, DECIDED AT HIS OWN FINAL EDIT, TO ADD ONE LAST PHRASE....THE ONE I ONLY SAW THE NEXT MORNING, WHEN I WAS READING THE ISSUE, HOT OFF THE PRESS, AS THEY SAY. I WASN'T EVEN READING HIS COLUMN. FOR WHATEVER REASON, I JUST HAPPENED TO BE LOOKING AT AN ADVERTISEMENT THAT THE COLUMN ABUTTED, AND SON OF A GUN, I SAW THE LAST LINE AND IT WASN'T THE ONE I WAS FAMILIAR WITH. HOLY CRAP, WAS I IN TROUBLE. WELL, HE DIDN'T USE "TAKE A DRAG," TO PUNCH-UP HIS COPY. INSTEAD, HE USED "NUKE THIS!" IT WAS, FOR ME, THE SUDDEN, VIOLENT OCCASION, WHEN THE COFFEE SPRAYED OUT MY NOSTRILS, LIKE DRAGON FIRE, AND I DAMN NEAR CHOKED TO DEATH, WHEN I INHALED AT THE SAME TIME.
IT HAD NO READERSHIP VALUE, TO THE EDITORIAL CONTENT OF THE COLUMN. HE JUST WANTED SOME SHOCK AND AWE, AND IT DID BOTH OF THOSE THINGS, WHEN, FROM AROUND THE CORNER, CAME THE ADVERTISING MANAGER, SO RED IN THE FACE, I THOUGHT HIS HEART HAD JUST EXPLODED. "WHAT THE HELL DOES 'NUKE THIS,' MEAN," HE ASKED, WHILE KNOWING FULL WELL, THAT IT WAS VERY SIMILAR TO SOMETHING MUCH, MUCH WORSE. WHEN I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO SPEAK, AFTER CLEARING MY AIR-WAYS OF COFFEE-FOAM, I HAD TO CONFESS THAT THIS HAD BEEN A LAST MINUTE ADDITION TO HIS COLUMN, I HADN'T APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION. I BEGAN STUTTERING WITH MY EXPLANATION, THAT WAS FEEBLE AT BEST. AT THAT MOMENT, BY THE WAY, I HAD ALREADY THOUGHT ABOUT REVISING MY RESUME, BECAUSE THIS BREAK WITH EDITORIAL PROTOCOL WAS WHAT SHOULD HAVE GOT ME FIRED. AT ANY OTHER PAPER, I WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE RECEIVING END OF THE PUBLISHER'S BOOT. THE REPORTER SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, WITH ME RIGHT BEHIND.
I HAVE NO IDEA EXACTLY HOW I WORD-SMITHED AN APOLOGY, TO BOTH THE MANAGER AND THE PUBLISHER, AND A FEW OF OUR MORE CONSERVATIVE READERS, WHO KNEW WHAT WAS MEANT BY THIS RATHER RUDE ENDING, TO AN OTHERWISE EXCEPTIONAL COLUMN. HE WAS A BRILLIANT WRITER, AND INEVITABLY, IT IS WHAT WOULD SAVE HIM. HE GOT THE ATTENTION HE WAS LOOKING FOR, FROM HIS UNEXPLAINED PROTEST, I SUPPOSE, AND SPREAD A LITTLE TO HIS EDITOR-FRIEND. "LET'S GO DOWN TO THE ALBION (BRACEBRIDGE, WHERE OUR PRESS CLUB WAS LOCATED), AND I'M BUYING," HE SAID, HIS ARM AROUND MY SHOULDER, SENSING I NEEDED A HUG. I HUGGED HIM BACK, WITH CONSIDERABLE FORCE....AND OUTLINED THE SHAPE OF A JUG IN THE AIR. "THIS TIME, IT IS A FOUR JUG (OF DRAFT) MINIMUM," BECAUSE FOR US, IN THOSE DAYS, BEER WAS THE END-ALL; AND WHAT MADE ALL THE HURT GO AWAY. I'M NOT ADVOCATING THAT ONE SHOULD DRINK TO FEEL GOOD. IT WORKED FOR US. THAT PART I KNOW. WE KEPT OUR JOBS, AND I BECAME ACUTELY VIGILANT, EVERY PRESS DAY THEREAFTER, UNTIL HE HEADED OFF IN THE NEBULOUS FORUM OF AUTHORDOM, WHERE HE COULD NO LONGER HURT ME.....OR BUY MAKE-UP JUGS OF BEER.
POINT IS, WE'VE HAD REASON TO USE THESE SEVERAL-WORD ESCAPE VALVES, IN THE PAST THREE DAYS; UNTIL NOW, THAT IS, WHEN THANKFULLY THEY ARE ONLY WHISPERED IN LOW TONES; AND ONLY WHEN THE DONUT HALF FALLS INTO THE CUP OF COFFEE, OR THE MILK IN THE FRIDGE HAS TELL-TALE LUMPS, AND A RATHER NASTY AFTER-TASTE. WE GATHER AT COFFEE, AND ADMIT, AS IF GOING TO CONFESSION, THAT WE'VE BEEN TAKING LIFE TO SERIOUSLY. WE'VE BUILT OUR BUSINESS, AND OUR LIVES IN FACT, IN WEIGHTY ESSENCE, BASED ON GOOD HUMOR. AND YES, A LOT OF "ERNEST" MOVIES....WE HAVE THE WHOLE COLLECTION. IT'S SURPRISING YOU KNOW, HOW A COUPLE OF HOURS, WATCHING ERNEST P. WORRELL, AT SUMMER CAMP, OR AT CHRISTMAS, CAN MAKE THE TOUGHER PARTS OF THE DAY, MELT AWAY INTO THE KIND OF LIGHT-HEARTEDNESS, THAT MAKES EVEN SAYINGS LIKE "TAKE A DRAG," AND "NUKE THIS," SEEM SO DARN APPROPRIATE, YET NON-AGGRESSIVE.....THAT, YOU KNOW, I MIGHT EVEN CONSIDER OFFERING UP TO THE DEVIL, SHOULD HE SHOW UP HERE UNINVITED, AND REQUEST MY ATTENDANCE AT HIS PLACE OF RESIDENCE.
I was reminded of this solely, because it has been a rather difficult week, here at the shop, and none of the adversity has had anything to do with a slow economy. What a lot of people don't know about us, antique and music shop staffers, here in Gravenhurst, is that as serious as we conduct our business affairs, we are the least likely people on earth to die from any stress related disorders. We know a lot of stressed-out folks, and some of them are customers, but we always hope, that when they leave here, their blood pressure has dropped a tad....and they've shared a few laughs. The difference with us, is that we're realists. It doesn't mean we don't enjoy daydreaming, about neat stuff we can't do, at the moment, or can't afford to own. But we know that our imprint on the world won't be much more than a few tiny footprints in the snow, (or as an abstraction to make a point), and that whether we are in business or not, we have no delusion of grandeur, no feeling that we could, if we wanted, take over the world, or end both poverty and hungry, as it affects millions of people on our planet. We just resolve each morning, to take things as they come, and find something to be cheerful about.....so that we can spread it to everyone who arrives here, possibly looking for a wee respite amongst good friends, and neat collectables. I'm sure from time to time, our customers may have thought they heard something, that sounded a lot like "take a drag," while our heads have been stuck in the broom closet, or a murky alcove, as a little "serenity now" release of negative energy. We certainly don't want to ruin these shop visits for our customers, although a few of them know when we're having some issues....and no we don't smoke.
This week, honest to God, we have had hundreds of people joining us with similar sayings, and a little worse, as if by golly, everyone has benefitted from our temporary chagrin. A sort of blood-letting without the mess. Somebody even reminded us of the famous Homer Simpson quote, from the show, "The Simpsons." Homer said, after a trademark "Doah," with some contortions, that face it, "Life is just one crushing defeat after the other!" We laughed out loud that's for sure. All told, it has brought out a hundred more times, above the downer-effect, a resounding, cheerful resolve, than our experiences have been, to the contrary, negative. If we could harness this positive energy, that has been directed our way this week, we could light up the town for a year. And isn't that an incredible opposite reaction; and so powerfully enabling, and empowering to the citizenry at large. If you ever thought that "people-power," was one of those hollow, stupid sayings, that offered nothing substantial, for any movement, at any time, we found something remarkable instead. Inadvertently, we had stumbled into a situation, to feel for ourselves, a deep and powerful current, we hadn't recognized before. It was in the expansion of positivism, and the outer limits of its inherent philosophy. Like the reason hot water is used to resurface arena ice. It freezes faster because of evaporation. Philosophy and actuality were mixing into what we perceived as a dark, somewhat ominous undertow. While we had resolved to laugh it off, others were venting some serious stuff, and it seems our situation was not unique at all.
What came to our attention this week, was not only affirmation, but the revelation, that there is far more pent-up frustration out there, than we would have known, without flying our so called trial balloon. And we have seen how, what began as a negative reaction, has become a powerful undertow. So when we have our flash mob, or coup d'etat, at the Opera House, it will be in the many hundreds, if our supporters are telling us the truth. We have no reason to doubt them. What was fascinating to us, once again by the happenstance of misadventure, was to find out, just how raw emotions are, running through the community, beyond the surface politeness; and how wrong our elected officials have been, ignoring the mounting frustration; using amusing phrases and anecdotes to patch what is clearly thin ice on which to tread. Insightful people should have known about this, and for three of three years, I've made this "contained-anger" of constituents, known to anyone who would lend me a few moments of time. We have had to ask for calm and patience actually, although it's obvious this wasn't just about us, or our situation with the back room. There's a pretty deep vein of discontent, and it's beginning to surface. Are we all fools and alarmists, when we offer up criticism of town actions and reactions?
We can only resolve the issues of the Opera House conundrum, for example, or problems with the town generally, by getting involved. Deeply involved. Maybe to never surface again. Some prefer jabbering from their arm chairs. This won't solve anything. We have found, that there is a strong will in this community, to use a positive, constructive approach, to force elected officials to pay attention. It is in their best interest to take a big snort of that coffee; and from what we have experienced in support, just this week, we think it would be possible, with a little notice, to protest, with a thick ring of musician supporters, wrapping around the Opera House; several times, several layers deep. To make the point, we want-in on the reformation of old and useless policies....that are not serving the public need. Policies that are not reflective whatsoever, of the present day demands of the community. As a former journalist, what a neat photo-op this would be. The best time for something like this, is prior to the next municipal election, when we have a better opportunity, to impress upon council-hopefuls, we mean to change the status quo.....for the mutual benefit of all of us who have contributed tax money, to the building's upkeep, for all these years.
We couldn't conduct a day of business, here in our shop, if we were influenced whatsoever, by anger, or weighed down by misdirected frustration. It's why, like the beginning of today's blog, I have let you in, on our "not-so-secret, secret!" That we really do possess the capability of finding the positives of every new "adverse" situation, and learning from the cutting edge of each new experience, how to get back-up on what has been a very slippery saddle. Funny how we've found a lot of other folks, in our ballywick, who feel exactly the same, and know all too well, how difficult it is to fight city hall.
When we look back now, to our first days, lodging on this stretch of main street, we also realize just how much opposition, in all its shapes and sizes, we've had to stare down. We even have a letter, in our possession, that lets us know (when we forget), how crappy we are as business-people. I've saved this one for future posterity. I might frame it one day and hang it in the shop. It should have shown us how impossible it would be, to change our future prospects. None of it had anything to do with sales. The only thing that has kept us here, has been the friendship and light-heartedness of our customers....who we do supply with cookies on Saturday mornings. I hope this doesn't violate any bylaw. If that's the case, I've got to come clean, that we've been doing this for a long time, and may have even caused weight-gain for our patrons.
When William Dawson LeSueur afforded us the name "Gravenhurst," for our post office, in August 1862, it's possible he pissed off a few of the local notables, who had put-forward the name "McCabe's Landing," instead. He thought that there was something important in the name, "Gravenhurst," and the book he reclaimed the title. How many villages, towns or cities do you know, on this planet of ours, that were named after the work of a poet / philosopher? Ours was! Maybe this is the nagging issue in this town. Possibly it has something to do with the full name of the book... "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil." Makes you think, doesn't it? But rather than imposed as a joke, on a fledgling hamlet, it was meant by LeSuer, an historian and literary scholar, in his spare time, to be a memorial tribute, to the work of one of England's brightest minds. The book had been written by William Henry Smith. It is a book, by the way, that is still being used today around the world, in universities and colleges. It is available via "Googlebooks." That's how important it was, and remains to scholars. LeSueur, well, he knew all about positivism, and the critical approach to history. He debunked a lot of accepted historical accounts in Canadian history, and low and behold, part of his legacy belongs to us. Methinks we could learn a thing or two, from one or two of these foundation planks, part of our provenance as a community.
We have now shifted, what was our "sessions" area, in our back room, to the room we instead call "Studio Two," which of course, is a compliment to "Studio One," Robert operates for his guitar students and recording. So while we have lost a tiny, tiny venue, for our musician friends, we now have a much better facility for "live recording," and this is going to work out great.....as we already have some projects lining- up. Yes, we will stay under our occupancy rating, to keep on the right side of the law. And by golly, we're going to have a lot of fun....and that is the law.
At coffee this morning, we were talking about a scene from the movie "O Brother, Where Art Though," with Charles Durning, playing the part of Pappy O'Daniel, running for re-election, and using the music of the "Soggy Bottom Boys," as a circumstantial background, for his campaign pitch. Maybe this is the election occasion, to have one wildly public, no-holds barred campaign, like the good old days....and we'll provide the music. Make it the kind of community happening, when we can increase voter participation to a modern day record. Seem impossible? We'll see!
Thanks for joining me today. Are you interested in running for council? We should chat!
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