Running a Seasonal Business Jams 12 months into 2; Graydon James and The Young Novelists

Coming to Gravenhurst May 23rd. Tickets available at the door at St. James Anglican Church on Hotchkiss Street.

Rob Currie Photo

A week from today, Friday May 23rd, St. James Anglican Church in Gravenhurst will be the sight of Andrew Currie's first relocated "Sessions" Concert. Tickets are available at Currie's Music across from The Opera House.

THE REGIONAL ECONOMY WAS WELL REPRESENTED, AS EXPERIENCED IN THE OPERATION OF ONE SMALL, HOLE-IN-THE-WALL BUSINESS

THE SKIPPER WAS MORE THAN HAMBURGERS, MILKSHAKES AND SUNDAES - THE WORK AND WORKERS COMING AND GOING IN THE BROADER SENSE

     WELL, IT'S THE VICTORIA DAY WEEKEND, AND TODAY HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY BUSY; AND WE'RE NOT COMPLAINING. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO HAMMER OUT THIS COLUMN FOR FIVE HOURS, AND EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES, ANOTHER STRANGE OCCURRENCE, OR A STUDIO TOUR, SENDS ME IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT DIRECTION. I ARRIVE BACK AT THE PLACE I LEFT OFF, AND FOR THE NEXT TEN MINUTES, I WILL THUSLY MAKE AN ARRAY OF TYPOS, AND I'LL EVEN JUMP PARAGRAPHS, FROM SOMETHING I'M TRANSCRIBING; AND THEN SOMEONE WILL SPILL EITHER A COFFEE OR A BOWL OF SOUP ON MY SHOULDER, CRACKERS DUMPED IN MY LAP. TODAY WAS ONE OF THOSE STORIED DAYS IN OUR SHOP, WHEN FRIENDS DROPPED BY FOR VISITS, AND CUSTOMERS STOPPED BY FOR LONG OVERDUE VISITS. COLLEAGUES IN THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION ALSO DROPPED BY FOR A VISIT. SO THIS LAPTOP WAS OPENED AND CLOSED LIKE A SALESMAN'S BRIEFCASE, AND FROM WHAT BEGAN AS AN EASY TASK AT ELEVEN THIS MORNING, HAS ONLY NOW BEEN EDITED, AND THE CLOCK ON THE SCREEN TELLS ME IT'S FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON. FOR A RELATIVELY SHORT COLUMN, I THINK I'VE JUST BROKEN A RECORD FOR LONGEST TIME EVER TAKEN TO WRITE A BLOG. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, ON THOSE OCCASIONS WHEN I HAD TO BREAK TO, LET'S SAY, MEET AND GREET, I HAD A GOOD TIME SOCIALLY, AND THAT'S ALWAYS OKAY IN THE CURRIE FAMILY WAY, OF RUNNING A BUSINESS. YOU'LL READ MORE ABOUT THIS, FROM MY WIFE'S PERSPECTIVE, PUBLISHED BELOW. IT'S TRUE, OUR SHOP IS A KIND OF DROP-IN CENTRE, AND SOMETIMES IT'S THE BEST MEDICINE FOR THE FRUSTRATIONS OF THE DAY. A NICE, QUIET VISIT, WITH A HOT CUP OF COFFEE, AND A FRESHLY MADE TREAT, LIKE THE ONES THEY USED TO HAVE AT THE SKIPPER. WHILE THE LOCATION OF OUR FAMILY BUSINESS IS NO LONGER ON THAT LAKE ROSSEAU SHORE, AND WE DON'T SELL GAS OR REPAIR OUTBOARD, AND INBOARD MARINE ENGINES, AND WE DON'T HAVE A GRILL TO FRY UP WHAMBURGERS, OR A COOLER TO KEEP ICE CREAM COOL, THE SPIRIT IN OUR MODERN DAY ADAPTATION OF MUSKOKA BUSINESS, AS AN ANTIQUE SHOP, AND VINTAGE MUSIC EMPORIUM, ISN'T REALLY AS FAR A STRETCH AS IT MAY SEEM AT FIRST GLANCE. WE ARE STILL COMMITTED TO OUR CUSTOMERS, JUST AS NORM AND HARRIET STRIPP WERE IN THE HALCYON DAYS OF THE WINDERMERE MARINA AND THE SKIPPER SNACKBAR. DIFFERENT LOCATION, DIFFERENT INVENTORY, BUT SAME RESPECT FOR ALL CUSTOMERS, WHETHER SEASONAL OR PERMANENT RESIDENT; DAY TRAVELLER, OR FELLOW ANTIQUARIAN. AND THERE IS ALWAYS A PLACE TO SIT FOR A SPELL, AND TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF THE DAY. I'VE HAD THREE STUDIO VISITS TODAY, DISCUSSING EVERYTHING FROM MUSKOKA COLLECTABLES TO TOWN POLITICS. NEVER A DULL MOMENT THEY SAY. AND THEY WOULD BE RIGHT. BUT AS FAR AS TRADING THIS FOR SOMETHING ELSE? NOT A CHANCE. THE DAY THIS STARTS LOOKING MORE LIKE WORK THAN CULTURAL RECREATION, WELL, IT WILL BE TIME TO TAKE A NINE TO FIVE JOB SOMEWHERE ELSE.
     I THINK THE STORY OF THE SKIPPER IS A GOOD ONE, AND NOT JUST BECAUSE MY WIFE WROTE IT. IT IS ABOUT A TYPE OF BUSINESS THAT OPERATED ONLY TWO MONTHS EACH YEAR, FOLLOWING THE TRADITIONAL SUMMER SEASON AS RELATES TO TOURISM. THERE ARE SUMMER-ONLY BUSINESSES, BUT NOT AS MANY AS THERE USED TO BE. BUT IN AND AROUND THAT SUMMER BUSINESS, A LOT OF REGIONAL HISTORY WAS TAKING PLACE, AS SUZANNE SAYS, ON THE SOCIAL-CULTURAL LEVEL, WITH A SPIN-OFF INTO ECONOMICS. IT WAS IMPORTANT TO DOCUMENT THIS, BECAUSE TODAY, UNFORTUNATELY, EXCEPT IN MEMORIES LIKE THIS, IT IS BEING FORGOTTEN IN THE MODERN ERA OVERVIEWS OF SEASONAL BUSINESSES. SUMMER ONLY, MEANT TWO MONTHS, AND IT WAS AN INTENSIVE BUSINESS PERIOD FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED. THE FACT THAT ALL WALKS OF LIFE CONNECTED IN THIS LITTLE PLACE, AND COMMERCE UNFOLDED, AND SPUN-OFF LIKE A MERRY-GO-ROUND, TO EVERY POINT OF THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL ECONOMY, WAS A STUDY SUITED FOR A BUSINESS COLLEGE. IT WAS MORE THAN JUST A SMALL BUSINESS DOING ITS THING, IN A SHORT PERIOD OF A LONG YEAR. HOW DID IT SURVIVE? WHY COULDN'T IT EXIST TWELVE MONTHS A YEAR? WHY ARE THERE SO FEW OF THESE OLD TIME BUSINESSES TODAY, THAT ONCE WERE SO VISIBLE AND POPULAR? WHO WERE THE SUCCESSFUL OPERATORS OF THESE OLD FASHIONED LAKELAND BUSINESSES, SNACK BARS, CORNER STORES, BOAT RENTAL OPERATIONS? IS THERE NO DEMAND FOR THESE SERVICES TODAY? IS THERE NO NEED FOR THEM TODAY IN THE COTTAGE AND RESORT COMMUNITY?
WHAT USED TO BE THOUGHT OF AS CLASSIC AND TRADITIONAL MUSKOKA FARE, IS NOW CONSIDERED A GLIMPSE OF NOSTALGIA, PUBLISHED IN A COFFEE TABLE BOOK, TO CONNECT THE VOYEUR TO THE PAST. WELL, I MARRIED THE PAST, IN THAT RESPECT, AND HERE NOW, IS ANOTHER SHORT GLIMPSE BACK, AT A TIME WHEN THESE INDUSTRIOUS LITTLE BUSINESS VENTURES, TENDED THE NEEDS OF OUR COTTAGE AND VACATIONING PUBLIC; AND WERE IN PART, THE PATINA OF THE HOLIDAY ADVENTURE. SUZANNE REMEMBER HOW FAST THE KIDS BOLTED OUT OF THE FAMILY STATION WAGONS, ARRIVING AT THE WINDERMERE WHARF, THEIR TINY FEET RACING TO THE SKIPPER STAIRS, ANTICIPATING THE GRACIOUS SAME-OLD, SAME OLD, FROM THE VERY LAST SUMMER. EVEN THE ADULTS, WOULD STEP QUICKLY UP THE STAIRS TO MEET HARRIET AND POSSIBLY NORMAN, WAITING WITH BIG SMILES, TO RE-START THE SUMMER FESTIVAL ALL OVER AGAIN. AND SUZANNE WAS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE TO CAPTURE THE GOOD NATURE, BURSTING IN THE TINY ROOM THAT LOOKED OUT ONTO THE SPARKLING LAKE OF GOD'S COUNTRY. UNFORTUNATELY NORM AND HARRIET HAVE PASSED ON, BUT SUZANNE REALIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTING THEIR BRIEF BUT INTERESTING BUSINESS HISTORY, THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER ALL WALKS OF LIFE, IN ONE OF THE MOST NON-THREATENING ENVIRONMENTS IN THE WORLD. EVERYONE WAS ON THE SAME LEVEL, STANDING AT THE SKIPPER SNACKBAR. AND NO ONE SEEMED TO MIND BEING ONE OF THE GANG, AT THAT MOMENT, ON A SUMMERTIME RETREAT. I'LL SHUT UP AND LET HER EXPLAIN THE REST. SHE WAS THERE, AFTERALL. I WAS A TRUCK DRIVER FOR A LUMBER COMPANY. WHAT DID I KNOW?
 
     "MOTHER (HARRIET STRIPP) STARTED OFF OUR MORNING, AT THE SKIPPER (THE UPPER LEVEL SNACKBAR OF THE FORMER WINDERMERE MARINA), INTO THE JUKE BOX, AND THE SONGFEST BEGAN IN EARNEST. THE AROMA OF FRESHLY BREWED COFFEE WAFTED IN THE AIR, AND IT WASN'T LONG UNTIL A LINE-UP OF PATRONS STOOD AT THE COUNTER. THE KIDS ARRIVING WITH PARENTS WERE LOOKING FOR TREATS, WHILE DAD (NORMAN) OR MOM PICKED-UP THE DAILY NEWSPAPER. SOME PATRONS BEGAN THEIR MORNING, AS IN OTHER COFFEE SHOPS, THE WORLD OVER, WITH A HOT BEVERAGE, AND A QUIET TIME WITH THEIR PAPER. QUIET FOR AWHILE AT LEAST. ALONG THE WATERFRONT, WORK CREWS WOULD BEGIN ARRIVING FOR TASKS AROUND THE LAKE, AND ACROSS TO THE ISLANDS, AND DELIVERY TRUCKS WOULD RATTLE AS USUAL DOWN THE HILLSIDE TO THE WHARF AND MARINA. WE RECEIVED A LOT OF BUSINESS FROM DELIVERY PEOPLE AND WORKMEN THROUGHOUT THE DAY. SOME LIKE ONTARIO HYDRO AND BELL TECHNICIANS WOULD COME FOR COME FOR LUNCH OR COFFEE TIME, AS A GROUP, AND WITH ALL THE OTHER ASSORTED SOULS, VACATIONERS, PERMANENT RESIDENTS AND BROWSERS, IT MADE QUITE AN INTERESTING GROUP AS YOU CAN IMAGINE. IT WASN'T A VERY SERIOUS PLACE IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR IN A SNACKBAR. THERE WAS A REVELRY BREWING WITHIN, MOST OF THE TIME; SOMETIMES IT WAS A WORK CREW RELAXING WITH SOME HUMOUROUS ANECDOTES, OR A COLLECTION OF MOTHERS ATTEMPTING TO RETRIEVE THEIR YOUNGSTERS FROM A GATHERING AROUND THE PINBALL MACHINE. WHEN THE WORK CREWS BEGAN TO ARRIVE, BECAUSE THEY WERE ON A BUDGET OF TIME, WE HAD TO BE QUICKER FILLING THE ORDERS. WE TRIED TO BE READY FOR THEM BUT OTHER TRAFFIC AND EVENTS, AND SOME MISFORTUNE IN ORGANIZATION, BOTTLE-NECKED DELIVERY. FUNNY THING THOUGH. NOBODY GOT TOO UPSET ABOUT DELAYS. IT'S LIKE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE."
     IF THE SKIPPER HAD NEVER BEEN THERE, ON THAT LAKE ROSSEAU SHORE, THESE FOLKS WOULD HAVE ADJUSTED. THEY WOULD HAVE GOT THEIR COFFEE AND PIE FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE. THEY WOULD HAVE FOUND ANOTHER PLACE TO GATHER AND CHAT, OR READ THE NEWSPAPER. IN THE 1960'S AND 70'S, AND OF COURSE EARLIER THAN THIS, OPERATING A TRADITIONAL SUMMER SEASON BUSINESS, COULD BE QUITE SUCCESSFUL FINANCIALLY. TODAY, THERE ARE A LOT MORE COSTS AND ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGES OF RUNNING A SUMMER SEASON ONLY ENTERPRISE. SUCH THAT EVEN WITH TWO HIGHLY PROFITABLE MONTHS, THE ASSOCIATED COSTS FROM TAXES, RENT, SERVICES AND INSURANCE, NOT TO MENTION SUPPLY COSTS, IT'S FAR MORE OF A STRUGGLE IN 2014 THAN IT WAS IN THE MID 1960'S, WHEN THE STRIPP FAMILY WERE RUNNING THESE TWO BUSINESSES IN THE VILLAGE OF WINDERMERE. BUT FOR THE SOCIAL-CULTURAL HISTORIAN, WHO HAS AN INTEREST IN THE CHRONICLE OF BUSINESS THROUGH THE DECADES, THE STUDY OF THE SKIPPER IS PRETTY INTERESTING; AND NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE FAMILY CONNECTION. IT WAS A HUB OF ECONOMICS, WITH BOTH SEASONAL AND YEAR-ROUND BUSINESS INTERCONNECTING. THE SKIPPER BECAME A HUB OF COMMERCE, WHERE THE COMPONENTS OF THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC ENGINE WERE MOST CLEARLY VISIBLE, LINKING MANY OF THE SECTORS OVER GOOD FOOD, HOT COFFEE AND CONVERSATION. IT WAS A NEAT MINGLING OF ALL KINDS OF FOLKS, WITH ALL KINDS OF VESTED INTERESTS. CORPORATE EXECUTIVES STANDING AT THE COUNTER, TO GET ICE CREAM FOR THE KIDS, NEXT TO A HYDRO WORKER, GETTING A WHAMBURGER, IN PREPARATION FOR SOME ISLAND WORK PROJECT. WHILE IT MIGHT NOT SEEM ALL THAT IMPORTANT, AT THE TIME, IN RETROSPECT, IT WAS A CLEAR DEMONSTRATION HOW THE LOCAL ECONOMY, ON A MICRO-SCALE, ACTUALLY WORKS TOGETHER WITH MANY SHARED BENEFITS.
     SUZANNE, MY CO-WRITER ON OUR BOOK OF MUSKOKA SKETCHES (CIRCA THE LATE 1990'S), CONTINUES HER STORY, WRITING, "THEN THERE WERE THE TOUR BOATS LIKE THE LADY ELGIN ARRIVING THROUGHOUT THE DAY WITH THIRSTY PASSENGERS. THIS WAS "A POT OF TEA" CROWD USUALLY. ONCE AGAIN, WE TRIED TO ANTICIPATE THEIR ARRIVAL. PASSENGERS HAD ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES, AND NOT MUCH MORE, SO TIME WAS OF THE ESSENCE. YOU HAD TO BE NIMBLE AT THE COUNTER. BUT WE WANTED TO SEND PASSENGERS ON THEIR WAY FEELING GOOD ABOUT THE HOSPITALITY OF THE SKIPPER AND WINDERMERE GENERALLY. WE DID OKAY, OR SO WE WERE TOLD. WITHOUT A LOT OF WARNING THE LADY ELGIN WOULD MAKE A RETURN VISIT LATER IN THE AFTERNOON. SECOND VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST, AS THEY SAY. AND THEN TO COMPLICATE MATTERS, THE PLEASANT-VIEW HOUSE BOAT WOULD ARRIVE WITH PASSENGERS FROM BEAUMARIS, ON LAKE MUSKOKA. THE MINGLING WAS PLEASANT FOR PASSENGERS, FRIGHTENING FOR THE HIRED HANDS. THEN WE WOULD GET A CALL FROM CANADIAN KESWICK THAT THEY WERE BRINGING A BOAT LOAD OF CAMP STAFF FOR A HAMBURGER DINNER AND MILKSHAKES. FIFTY PEOPLE. THEY TOLD US WHEN THEY WOULD ARRIVE AT THE DOCK, SO WE HAD A LITTLE MORE PREPARATION TIME THAN THE OTHER CRUISE BOATS. WE PRIDED OURSELVES ON ALWAYS BEING READY FOR THESE SPECIAL TOURS AND THERE WERE QUITE A FEW OVER THE SUMMER, AS I RECALL. IT WAS A BIT OF A SHOCK OF COURSE, AFTER A GRUELLING AFTERNOON, TO BE HIT WITH SUCH A LARGE ORDER AT THE END; JUST AS IMAGES OF AFTER-WORK WERE DANCING IN OUR HEADS. HARRIET WAS LIKE A STEAM ENGING, CHUGGING AWAY, GETTING THE JOB DONE AND SELDOM COMPLAINING ABOUT TOO MUCH FOR A SHORT-ORDER COOK TO DO. THAT WAS THE NATURE OF THE BUSINESS; TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF OUR CUSTOMERS, AND NO MATTER WHAT THE WORK-LOAD, YOU JUST PUT YOURSELF ON OVER-DRIVE. ANYONE WORKING IN THIS INDUSTRY TODAY, THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR KNOWS WHAT OVER-DRIVE MEANS. TWELVE MONTHS NORMAL WORK JAMMED INTO TWO MONTHS. I MUST CONFESS THAT I DO THINK BACK TO THOSE ASPECTS OF WORK AT THE SKIPPER, AND GRIMACE A LITTLE. I GET TWINGES IN MY FEET JUST THINKING ABOUT ALL THE LEG-WORK. I WISH I COULD HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SKIPPER MORE FROM THE CUSTOMER'S VANTAGE POINT. SITTING DOWN FOR ONE THING, AND WATCHING OTHERS WORK.
     "ONE OF MY LEAST FOND RECOLLECTIONS OF THE SKIPPER, AND ITS RESPONSIBILITIES, ARRIVED ON SATURDAY AFTERNOONS. WE WOULD BE BURIED BY ORDERS AND FILLING STOCK ONTO THE SHELVES, WHEN AT ABOUT 3:30 P.M. THE PAPERS ARRIVED. THE TORONTO STAR AND THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR. THE STARS WERE THE REAL PROBLEM AS WE HAD TO DEAL WITH SEVENTY-FIVE LARGER PAPERS AND THE INSERTER, IN BETWEEN CUSTOMERS AND ESPECIALLY THOSE COMING IN FOR THEIR WEEKEND NEWS. TALK ABOUT THE PRESSURE TO PERFORM. WHOEVER HAD THIS TASK, HAD TO WORK FAST. YOU NO SOONER STUFFED A PAPER THAN IT WAS IN SOMEONE'S HAND, AND AT YOUR BACK AND ANOTHER HAND REACHING FOR THE NEXT ONE AVAILABLE. MANY OF THESE WERE RESERVED FOR OUR REGULARS AND THAT LEFT ONLY FOUR OR FIVE EACH DELIVERY TO SELL TO OTHERS. YOU HAD TO KEEP CONTROL OF WHO WAS GRABBING THE PAPERS BECAUSE YOU SURE DIDN'T WANT TO EXPLAIN TO A REGULAR CUSTOMER WHY THERE WERE NO SATURDAY PAPERS LEFT. BY TIME YOU FINISHED SORTING AND INSERTING, YOUR ARMS WERE BLACK TO THE ELBOWS AND YOU CAN EASILY IMAGINE HOW NEWSPRINT IS ATTRACTED TO A WHITE UNIFORM. A LOOK IN THE MIRROR REVEALED ADDITIONAL SMUDGES COURTESY THE PRINT INDUSTRY. I HATED THIS JOB AND SO DID EVERYONE ELSE, WHICH EXPLAINED WHY STAFF WAS PRETTY SCARCE IN AND AROUND THE TIME THEY ARRIVED ON SATURDAY AFTERNOONS. HIDING IS A BETTER WORD HERE THAN 'SCARCE.' IN OTHER WORDS, BEING INVISIBLE AT THE TIME THE PAPER CHORES WAS THE NEXT ORDER OF THE DAY.
     "AT DINNER TIME, ON SATURDAYS, WE ALL GOT A BIT OF A BREAK, UNTIL THAT IS, THE CROWD STARTED TO BUILD FOR THE WEEKLY SKI SHOW AT THE WATERFRONT. KIDS WOULD START COMING INTO THE SNACKBAR TO GET THEIR TREATS FOR, AND DURING THE WATERFRONT SHOW. AFTER THE SHOW ENDED, THAT'S WHEN THINGS GOT REAL INTERESTING. BUSY TO A ROAR. TEA, COFFEE, AND HOT CHOCOLATE WERE BREWED WELL IN ADVANCE, AND WAS PRETTY MUCH DRAINED AFTER THE MOB HEADED FOR HOME AND COTTAGE. THE SKIPPER WAS THE GATHERING PLACE ON THOSE OCCASIONS. THE SKI SHOWS WERE A HUGE DRAW IN WINDERMERE BACK THEN. IT WAS NICE FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO END THE EVENING WITH AN ICE CREAM TREAT OR BEVERAGE AND A NICE VISIT. IT WAS A FAMILIAR CROWD THAT'S FOR SURE. IT WAS REFLECTIVE OF THE CLOSENESS OF THE COMMUNITY; THAT SOME MAINTAIN TO THIS DAY, WAS, AND IS DIVIDED, BETWEEN PERMANENT RESIDENTS AND COTTAGERS. NONSENSE. WE GOT ALONG AND IF THERE WAS A RIFT IT CERTAINLY WASN'T APPARENT. MAYBE WE HAD A CLOSER LOOK AT IT FROM BEING AT THE SKIPPER. YOU HAD TO COME TOGETHER BY CIRCUMSTANCE, OF GETTING SERVED AT THE SNACKBAR. TO MERGE, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY, WITH THE DAILY TRAFFIC. THERE WERE MANY FRIENDSHIPS MADE BETWEEN LOCALS AND COTTAGERS FROM THESE SNACKBAR ENCOUNTERS; SOME OF WHICH WOULD HAPPEN DAILY, AND HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH A SKIPPER INSPIRED EVENT; OR GENERAL HAPPENSTANCE.
     "ON THOSE SATURDAY NIGHTS IT WAS A PARTY. THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, THE WATER SKI SHOW HELD THE AUDIENCE SPELLBOUND, AND THE NIGHT AIR ON THE SHORE OF LAKE ROSSEAU WAS INTOXICATING. IT WAS THE MOST UNSERIOUS BUSINESS TIME OF THE WEEK, BECAUSE EVERYBODY WAS IN A GOOD MOOD. THE YOUNGER AUDIENCE GOT TO STAY UP LATE, FAMILIES WERE TOGETHER AND THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT CHOCOLATE AND BUTTERSCOTCH SYRUP ON ICE CREAM, THAT MAKES A PARTY OUT OF THIN AIR. AFTER WE SHUT THE DOOR ON A SATURDAY EVENING, LET ME TELL YOU, WE WERE EXHAUSTED. BUT IF ANY EXHAUSTION CAN BE GOOD, WELL, THIS ONE WAS. WE HAD SPENT AN EVENING WITH FRIENDS, BEING ENTERTAINED AND POSSIBLY EVEN LAUNCHING A NEW ROMANCE, OR TOW. THE NEXT MORNING? NOW THAT WAS HARD TO GET EXCITED ABOUT, BUT THAT'S LIFE. WORK AND MORE WORK. ROUTINE BROUGHT US STRANGELY BACK TO LIFE."
     THANKS SO MUCH FOR VISITING TODAY'S BLOG ABOUT THE SKIPPER. I'LL HAVE ANOTHER COLUMN TOMORROW ABOUT THE SKIPPER, AS A WRAP-UP TO THIS SMALL SERIES OF ARTICLES.