"Serenity Now" At Rotary Gull Lake Park; Bifocals Concert Band

"SERENITY NOW"……AT GULL LAKE ROTARY PARK

MUSIC ON THE BARGE PROUDLY PRESENTED THE BIFOCALS CONCERT BAND

     NOTE: DURING TONIGHT'S CONCERT, ON THE BARGE, A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE BIFOCALS CONCERT BAND PRESENTED FRED SCHULZ, MANAGER OF THE "MUSIC ON THE BARGE," SUMMER SERIES, WITH A CASH DONATION, TO HELP OFFSET OPERATIONAL COSTS. IT WAS NOTED THAT THE BAND HAD ACQUIRED MORE MONEY LAST YEAR, THAN EXPECTED, AND DECIDED TO OFFER A PORTION BACK TO FRED, BECAUSE OF THE BAND'S LONGTERM CONNECTION TO THE CONCERT SERIES, AND LOVE FOR THE GULL LAKE VENUE. FRED, THE HUMBLE HOST, WAS GREATLY HONORED, THAT THE BAND WOULD BE WILLING TO MAKE SUCH A GENEROUS DONATION; WHICH OF COURSE, IS CERTAINLY NEEDED, WITH THE RISING COSTS OF PUTTING ON THE SEASON OF ENTERTAINMENT.

THE GENTLE EASE OF THE CONCERT, ON THE AGITATED SOUL - THAT WOULD BE ME!

     WE HONESTLY NEEDED CONDUCTOR NEIL BARLOW, AND THE LEGENDARY BIFOCALS CONCERT BAND THIS EVENING. I'VE BEEN YELLING OUT, "SERENITY NOW," FOR THE PAST TWO HOURS. SUZANNE AND I GOT INTO SOME RATHER BUSY LOCALES, LATE IN THE AFTERNOON, AND WE GOT A REFRESHER COURSE IN MUSKOKA TOURISM UNPLUGGED. SO IT CAME AS A GREAT DELIGHT, LET ME TELL YOU, TO GET SETTLED INTO THOSE LAWN CHAIRS AT LAKESIDE, AND AWAIT EITHER THE RAIN…..WHICH DIDN'T ARRIVE, OR THE PLEASANT MUSICAL PERFORMANCE BY THE BIFOCALS, AS PART OF THE ANNUAL "MUSIC ON THE BARGE" SUMMER PROGRAM, OFFICIATED BY MASTER OF CEREMONIES, FRED SCHULZ. WHAT A CHANGE FROM THE LAST TIME NEIL BARLOW WAS CONDUCTING OUT ON GULL LAKE……WHICH WAS LAST WEEK, AND IT WAS HUMID. TONIGHT SON ROBERT WAS ASKING FOR HIS HOODY EVEN BEFORE THE SHOW STARTED. AS I DISLIKE THE HEAT, THIS WAS A WEATHER-TREAT FOR ME. SUZANNE WAS SHIVERING BY THE END OF THE CONCERT. I HUGGED. SHE SAID I SMELLED LIKE PICKLED EGGS, WHICH WHILE INSULTING, WAS ALSO CORRECT. I ALWAYS BRING PICKLED EGGS FOR MY ONSHORE LUNCH. IT'S A TRADITION.

     IT WAS, FOR US, THE PERFECT WAY TO UNWIND. WE UNFOLDED OUR PICNIC HAMPER, AND WENT ABOUT MAKING OURSELVES A SMALL SHORELINE FEAST, WHILE AWAITING THE SWEET SOUNDS OF MUSIC OVER THE SLIGHTLY RIPPLED WATERS OF BEAUTIFUL GULL LAKE. WHEN FRED INTRODUCED THE CONDUCTOR, NEIL BARLOW, WHO ALSO CONDUCTS THE MUSKOKA CONCERT BAND, AND THE MUSICIANS STIRRED AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THAT HISTORIC BARGE, AND THE MUSKOKA LAKELAND SCENE, JUST BEYOND, WE SOON FORGOT ABOUT HOW WILD WE HAD BECOME, DOING A SIMPLE GROCERY SHOPPING, A SHORT TIME BEFORE. THROUGH THE EVENING, WE FOUND OURSELVES DRIFTING FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY FROM THE REALITIES OF RUNNING SHOPPERS, RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT IN THE BAKED GOODS AISLE, JAMMING CARTS, DARTING KIDS AND YELLING INFANTS. FOR THOSE DASHING, DARING, AND DAREDEVIL SHOPPERS, EXCEPT US LOCALS, THEY APPARENTLY FOUND THE RISING DIN OF HOLIDAY WEEKEND COMMERCE, QUITE ACCEPTABLE AND NORMAL. WELL, IT WAS LIKE BEING TRAPPED IN PIN BALL GAME. SO HAVING THIS WONDERFULLY SOOTHING, AND INSPIRING SUMMER CONCERT, ON A TRULY AMAZING SUMMER NIGHT, WAS JUST WHAT WE NEEDED TO REINFORCE, THOSE OLD TIME VALUES OF SUMMER IN THE COUNTRY. THIS WAS IT……THE DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL. BY THE END OF THE EVENING, I WAS SO SERENE, SUZANNE HAD TO SHAKE ME TO MAKE SURE I HADN'T EXPIRED IN THE MEANTIME. I DO CALL THIS BEING ENTERTAINED……INTO THE PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE BETWEEN MUSIC, THE LANDSCAPE AND SERENITY NOW! THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN, TO NEIL BARLOW AND HIS TALENTED BIFOCALS CONCERT BAND, FOR BRINGING SO MUCH PLEASURE AND PASSIVE CULTURAL RECREATION, TO THOSE IN GREATEST NEED…..ONES WHO HATE ANYTHING FASTER THAN A SNAIL'S PACE. IT WAS A PERFECT NIGHT FOR THE TRADITIONALISTS, WHO FIND MUSIC AND THE LAKELAND ALL VERY ENCHANTING……AND A LITTLE POETIC AS WELL. I ARRIVED HOME TO WRITE THIS BLOG……FEELING RESTORED. THANK YOU. I LIKE BEING INSPIRED BY MUSIC, AND TONIGHT I FEEL VERY MUCH THIS WAY; AND LOOK FORWARD TO ALL THE OTHER MUSIC ON THE BARGE EVENTS UPCOMING. I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE IN THE COMING DAYS.

WHEN IT GETS HOT IN THE KITCHEN……HEAD FURTHER INTO THE BUSH!

     BEFORE WE ARRIVED AT ROTARY GULL LAKE PARK, AND GOT SEATED IN OUR FAVORITE SPOT OVERLOOKING THE BARGE……SUZANNE AND I WENT TO THE GROCERY STORE TO GET OUR TREATS FOR THE NIGHT. HONESTLY, I'LL NEVER, EVER DO THAT AGAIN. A HOLIDAY WEEKEND SUNDAY, AFTER FIVE O'CLOCK, WHEN THE EVIDENCE OF A BUSY PARKING LOT, SHOULD BE ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR A SEASONED MUSKOKAN, TO BACK OFF FOR GOD'S SAKE…..AND COME BACK SOME OTHER TIME. IT WAS NUTS. DOUBLE NUTS, AND I THINK I MAY HAVE SAID THIS IN HASTE, TO THE LADY WHO RAMMED ME TWICE WITH HER CART, BECAUSE I HAPPENED TO BE IN HER WAY. THERE WERE CITY-STYLE TRAFFIC TIE-UPS IN THE PARKING-LOT, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF CUSSING BACK AND FORTH, (LIKE "YOU STUPID ASS, MOVE YOUR CAR) AND SHOPPERS DOING THIS MAD, FRANTIC, WILD-THING, AISLE TO AISLE, AS IF THERE WAS SOME COMPETITION OR RAGING FIRE GOING ON THAT WE WERE UNAWARE OF……..BUT FOUND OUT AT THE CHECK-OUT COUNTER; NOPE THERE WAS NO PRIZE FOR THE FASTEST SHOPPER, IN AND OUT! YOU COULD TELL JUST HOW RUSHED THESE FOLKS WERE, BY FINDING PACKAGES OF MEAT REMOVED FROM THE COOLERS, AND TOSSED INTO THE CHIP BINS, OR BY THE CEREAL BOXES. I FOUND BAGS OF GREEN PEPPERS, IN WITH THE HOT DOGS, AND BAGS OF BUNS IN WITH THE MILK PRODUCTS. OH, I COULD GO ON, BUT I WON'T. YOU DON'T FIND THIS THROUGH THE REST OF THE YEAR. I'M A DAILY SHOPPER, AND I'M TELLING YOU THE WAY IT IS. I WANTED TO ASK ONE OF THE SHOPPERS, WHO I SAW DO THIS, (THE UNEXPECTED DROP-OFF), WHETHER THE RULES IN THE CITY WERE DIFFERENT THAN IN THE COUNTRY……..TOLERATING GROCERY STORE IGNORANCE AND INCONSIDERATION. THE MEAT BY THE WAY, IS SPOILED WHEN IT IS DUMPED ELSEWHERE IN THE STORE, AND TODAY I SAW AT LEAST FIFTY BUCKS WORTH RUINED BY THOUGHTLESS CUSTOMERS. BUT THEN HE LOOKED REALLY BIG AND ANGRY, AND SUZANNE TOLD ME A WHILE BACK, WITH MY LIMP, THAT MY BOXING CAREER IS OVER. HOW DO I KNOW HE WASN'T LOCAL. I JUST DID. I DO MY HOMEWORK BEFORE I WRITE PIECES LIKE THIS.

     I DON'T EVER WANT TO BE SEEN AS BEING OVERLY CRITICAL OF OUR TOURIST FRIENDS, AND SECOND HOME OWNERS, BUT I'M REALLY SORRY TO SEE FOLKS WHO CAN'T SEEM TO SETTLE DOWN TO THE SLOWER PACE OF HINTERLAND EXISTENCE. I THOUGHT THE WHOLE IDEA OF COMING UP TO COTTAGE COUNTRY, WAS FOR REST AND RELAXATION? I SAW NONE OF THAT IN THIS GROUP, BUT IMPATIENCE FOR EVERYTHING FRANKLY……IN FACT, MOST OF WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT HERE IN MUSKOKA. IT DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T GET FRANTIC SOME TIMES, WHEN THE STORE IS OUT OF  THE BUTTER TARTS WE LIKE, OR THERE IS A LINE UP WITH MORE THAN TWO PEOPLE, AND SOMETIMES WE PREFER IF WE'RE THE ONLY SHOPPERS IN THE JOINT. HEY, IT DOES HAPPEN. WHAT FREAKS US MUSKOKANS OUT A LITTLE, IS BEING THRUST INTO THE MIDDLE OF A CIRCUS ON SPEED, JUST BECAUSE WE HAD TO GO AND GET A LOAF OF BREAD…..GOD FORBID. THE ATTITUDE OF SOME VISITORS IS PRETTY CRAPPY, AND I'LL TELL YOU WHAT! THEY WON'T GET AWAY WITH IT IN OUR SHOP. HOUSE RULES. WE HAVE OUR OWN BOUNCERS, WHICH MAY BE A FIRST IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE. WE ARE WELCOMING FOLKS, AND IT TAKES A LOT TO TICK US OFF……BUT EVERY YEAR, AROUND THIS TIME, WE HAVE TO ASK SOME OF OUR PATRONS TO LEAVE THE BUILDING. IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF HAGGLING, BUT IT IS BECAUSE OF RUDENESS. 

     MUSKOKA IS SUCH A REMARKABLE, AND BEAUTIFUL PLACE, THAT IS SO DARN GOOD FOR THE BODY AND SOUL. IT IS A PLACE TO UNWIND, AND ENJOY ALL KINDS OF RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, AND THEN LAY ON THE DOCK…..SIT IN A MUSKOKA CHAIR ALONG THE SHORE, LISTEN TO THE LOONS, AND TAKE A LATE NIGHT SKINNY DIP. MAYBE YOU'LL INVITE US OVER. GOOD TIMES. BUT TRUTHFULLY, WHAT WE MUSKOKANS BEGIN TO NOTICE, THAT WE REALLY DESPISE, IS A HUGE INCREASE IN SIRENS AND FLASHING LIGHTS, AS FIRST RESPONDERS TAKE FLIGHT TO TEND THE INJURED DUE TO MISADVENTURES. HAVING BEEN A LONG TIME REPORTER AND COMMUNITY HISTORIAN, THE FIRST OF JULY WEEKEND WAS USUALLY, AND YES TRADITIONALLY, MARRED BY TRAGEDY, ON THE WATER, AT THE COTTAGE AND ON THE ROADS. IF THESE SAME SHOPPERS, THAT I SAW THIS EVENING, ACT THE SAME WAY ON THE HIGHWAYS AND LAKES AND RIVERS, THEY'LL INCREASE ALL OUR ODDS OF DIEING IN PARADISE.

     TOURISTS DON'T SEE THIS AS ANYTHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEY EXPERIENCE EVERY DAY IN THE URBAN AREAS OF NORTH AMERICA. ON THE WAY TO WORK IN THE MORNING, THEY ARE USED TO TRAFFIC JAMS, AND PASSING BY NUMEROUS ACCIDENT SCENES; THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF LIFE. THEY ARE USED TO HUSTLING TO GET TO WORK, GET THE KIDS TO DAYCARE OR SCHOOL, AND BEING CROWDED LIKE SARDINES ON BUSES, STREETCARS, AND SUBWAY TRAINS. THEY'RE USED TO THE SOUNDS OF LARGE JETS TAKING OFF AND LANDING IN THEIR VICINITY ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY, AND IT ISN'T SO INTRUSIVE TO THEM, TO HEAR JACKHAMMERS, DUMP TRUCKS, AND SUNDRY OTHER BUILDING AND DEMOLITION SOUNDS. WELL SIR, WE DON'T HAVE THOSE INTRUSIONS TO THAT EXTENT, MOST OF THE YEAR. NOW YOU CAN CALL US BACKWARD AND MUSKOKA-BILLIES, AND THAT'S JUST FINE. SO EXCUSE US FOR BEING A LITTLE FREAKED OUT, EARLY IN THE SUMMER, WHEN OUR HINTERLAND BECOMES MORE CITY-LIKE THAN WE CAN POSSIBLY APPRECIATE. YOU WILL HEAR, IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY, YOU WILL HEAR A LOON, AND SOMEONE PISSED OFF, WHO SAYS, "I WISH THE SUMMER WAS OVER." AND YES, WE FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT TOURISM IS OUR NUMBER ONE INDUSTRY HERE, AND AS AN HISTORIAN, I WRITE ABOUT THIS REALITY FREQUENTLY. THERE IS HOWEVER, A POINT OF CONDUCT HERE, THAT MANY MUSKOKANS DON'T UNDERSTAND……AND IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY. WHY COME TO THE HINTERLAND IN THE FIRST PLACE? ISN'T IT ABOUT THE "SERENITY NOW," THING, AS  IT HAS BEEN SINCE THE 1850'S, WHEN THE FIRST ANGLERS AND HUNTERS ARRIVED IN THIS TRANQUIL, WILD LAKELAND? I DIDN'T SEE EVEN ONE….NOT A SINGLE RELAXED TOURIST AT THE GROCERY STORE. CERTAINLY NOT THE STAFF, BY THIS TIME IN THE DAY, HAVING LOST THAT RELAXED FEELING BEFORE NOON. SO WHAT'S CHANGED HERE? WHO ARE THESE TOURISTS, RACING ABOUT AS IF THERE IS SOME GREAT DEADLINE LOOMING? HOW DO YOU ENJOY A PLACE LIKE THIS, AT A BREAKNECK PACE? HOW DO THEY FEEL WHEN THEY GET HOME TO THE URBAN JUNGLE? AS IF THEY'VE JUST COME BACK FROM PARADISE? OR, FEELING LIKE CRAP, EXHAUSTED, EXASPERATED, AND TAPPED OUT FINANCIALLY?

   I KNOW THE MAJORITY OF TOURISTS AND SECOND HOME OWNERS, OTHERWISE COTTAGERS, CLEARLY RECOGNIZE, BY THEIR OWN HISTORY HERE, HOW TO ENJOY WHAT MUSKOKA HAS TO OFFER. I KNOW THAT WHAT WE SAW TODAY, IS AT BEST, ONLY A MICRO-FRACTIONAL GLIMPSE AT THE TOURISM PULSE, AS IT PRESENTS FOR SOME OF OUR VISITORS. BUT EVEN THEN, IT WAS BEFUDDLING, TO FOLKS LIKE US, WHO CELEBRATE A NICE, GENTLE, ENJOYABLE PACE HERE, WITHOUT EVER FEELING THE NEED TO SPEED-IT-UP OR ELSE. IT'S JUST TROUBLING THAT ANYONE IN CANADA HAS TO LIVE LIKE THAT…..IN THIS VERSION OF THE HUMAN RACE, WHICH SEEMS MORE LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF SCIENCE FICTION……EERILY FUTURISTIC, AS TO WHAT WE ARE ALL GOING TO BECOME EVENTUALLY. A BUNCH OF DROIDS BANGING INTO EACH OTHER, ON THE WAY TO SOME STRANGE BENEVOLENCE AT THE END OF THE MISSION. THERE WAS NOTHING ENJOYABLE ABOUT THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE, FOR THESE DARTING AND WEAVING SHOPPERS. I LIKE TO SHOP. I FIND IT SOCIALLY RECREATIONAL. BUT NOT ON DAYS LIKE THIS.

     JUST A LITTLE SOUTH OF GULL LAKE PARK, THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT SCENE ON BETHUNE DRIVE, AND WE HAD TO BE RE-ROUTED AROUND THE MISHAP. IT APPEARED AS IF A PEDESTRIAN HAD BEEN HIT BY A CAR. NOW I'M NOT GOING TO BLAME IT ON TOURIST TRAFFIC, BECAUSE THE ROAD WASN'T PARTICULARLY BUSY AT THE TIME, AND WE HAVE ACCIDENTS HERE ALL THE TIME DUE TO PLAIN OLD MISADVENTURE. IT DOES HOWEVER, GIVE THE PLACE AN URBAN FACE, SOME TIMES, AND IT'S OFTEN WHY WE GRIT OUR TEETH, CLENCH OUR JAWS, HOPING WE WILL SURVIVE THE SUMMER MONTHS……AS VALUES AND EXPECTATIONS CLASH ALL OVER THE PLACE. IF I SIT OUT ON MY VERANDAH, FOR AN HOUR IN THE EVENING, I WILL HEAR SIRENS, AND YES, I WILL WONDER, IF THERE IS AN ACCIDENT ON HIGHWAY 169……OR A BOATING MISHAP ON OUR LAKES. I CAN SIT OUT ON THE VERANDAH FOR ANY NUMBER OF HOURS, IN THE SO CALLED OFF-SEASON, AND POSSIBLY, ONE NIGHT OUT OF THIRTY, HEAR AN AMBULANCE OR FIRE TRUCKS ON THE ROLL. NO IT'S NOT BASED ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, OR IN DEPTH STUDIES, JUST THE HISTORICAL REALITY, OF A LARGE INFUSION OF URBAN DWELLERS, IN COTTAGE COUNTRY, WHERE DEER, MOOSE AND BEARS, WANDER ON THE ROADS ALL THE TIME, AND ROCKS AND SUNKEN LOGS MAKE NAVIGATION PRECARIOUS. IN THE SUMMER MONTHS, WHEN I WAS EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, OUR SUMMER ISSUES WERE FULL OF ACCIDENT AND MISHAP REPORTS INVOLVING THE TOURIST POPULATION. WE HAD MORE ACCIDENT PHOTOGRAPHS THAN WE COULD FIT ONTO THE NEWS PAGES, AND ENOUGH COPY TO FILL PAPERS TWICE AS THICK. NOTHING REMARKABLE ABOUT THIS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE POPULATION OF OUR AREA SWELLS BY THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.

     TOURISTS AND SECOND HOME OWNERS, COTTAGERS, DON'T WANT MY ADVICE. THEY KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THE HINTERLAND, JUST LIKE THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS BACK HOME. THEY WOULD BE APPALLED AT SOMEONE LIKE ME, MAKING THE SUGGESTION, THEY SHOULD SLOW DOWN AND SMELL THE COFFEE…., AND WATCH OUT FOR THE MOOSE THAT JUST STEPPED OUT ONTO THE CENTRE LINE. HEY, I'M JUST A BLOGGER MAKING SOME OBSERVATIONS. AS AN HISTORIAN, WHO HAS A LOT OF ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, ABOUT MANY TOURIST SEASONS COME AND GONE, I FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE MAKING THESE CLAIMS……AND REGRETS, ABOUT VISITORS TO OUR AREA MISSING THE BIG POINT…….ABOUT RESPECT FOR A COUNTRY WAY OF LIFE HERE, THAT WE HAPPEN TO ENJOY, AND BENEFIT FROM IMMEASURABLY. WE'D SURE LIKE IT IF YOU WOULD ENJOY YOURSELF AS WELL……EVEN SHOPPING…..CAUSE YOU'RE SHOPPING IN GOD'S COUNTRY……SO THERE'S NOT NEED TO RACE, IS THERE?

     THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG-ATORIAL. YOU PROBABLY HAVE A LOT OF SIMILAR STORIES….AND PROBABLY A FEW ABOUT US LOCALS BEING PAINS IN THE PROVERBIAL ASS. WE AREN'T PERFECT, THAT'S FOR SURE.