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| Take time to visit a cemetery during these lovely fall days! You’ll be surprised at the history you’ll uncover if you take the time to read the inscriptions on the monuments. (Photo By Fred Schulz) |
STORIED MUSKOKA - I WILL NEVER RUN OUT OF STORY IDEA LIVING IN MUSKOKA
I NEVER GET BORED REFLECTING ON THE PLACE I CALL HOME
I CAN'T BEGIN THIS BLOG WITHOUT A LITTLE RETROSPECTIVE. THIS IS IN ORDER TO PROMOTE, WHAT A MUSKOKA PHOTOGRAPHER AND WRITER HAVE PLANNED. WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE GHOST HUNTING, AS SUCH, UNLESS WE FIND AN OPPORTUNITY TO CAPTURE ONE ON FILM....BUT WE WILL BE LOOKING TO FIND THE VISUAL JUSTIFICATION, TO CALL THIS PLACE "SPECIAL." SURE, THERE ARE A LOT OF SPECIAL PLACES ON THIS EARTH, BUT RESIDENTS OF THOSE BURGS, HAVE THEIR OWN WAYS OF REPRESENTING THESE NATURAL ASSETS. MUSKOKA HAS BEEN A HIT AND MISS SITUATION FOR DECADES, AS FAR AS ITS PUBLIC REPRESENTATION, AND HERE WE ARE IN 2013, AND MOST PEOPLE STILL THINK OF MUSKOKA AS A PRETTY "LAKELAND," AND, SIMPLY STATED, "COTTAGE COUNTRY," BUT NOTHING THAT WOULD ENGAGE THE WORD "SPIRITUAL." WE HAVE SOME HISTORY BEHIND US, TO PROVE OUR POINT. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY WRITERS AND ARTISTS WHO CHOSE MUSKOKA BECAUSE OF ITS SPIRITUAL ENERGY.....RESONATING FROM ITS DEEP LAKES, BOLD ROCK, PINERY FORESTS, AND HAUNTED LOWLANDS.
WE KNOW THERE IS MORE TO THE REGIONAL REFLECTION THAN WE SEE WITH OUR TOURISM MARKETING STRATEGIES, AND ECONOMIC INITIATIVES, TO SELL OUR GOOD LOOKS ABROAD. WE THINK THERE IS A SPIRIT WITHIN, THAT HAS BEEN ATTRACTING WRITERS, MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS SINCE THE 1800'S, AND WE HAVE CONSIDERABLE EVIDENCE TO PROVE OUR POINT. NOW WE WANT TO PROVE IT TO YOU.
THE STORY OF THE QUEST, FOR ME, BEGAN MODESTLY, AND AWKWARDLY, BACK IN THE SPRING OF 1966, AND BECAME MUCH MORE CONSUMING, IN THE FALL AND WINTER OF 1977-78. I'VE STUCK WITH IT EVER SINCE, AND I'M GLAD I HAVE KEPT MY COMMITMENT. THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME TO REVEAL WHAT I HAVE FOUND. SO PLEASE TRAVEL BACK WITH ME, TO MY OLD HAUNT, IN BRACEBRIDGE, WHERE MY MISSION TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MUSKOKA, WAS FIRST INITIATED. I LIKE TO THINK THAT I'VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE THAT NAIVE APPROACH, COMMENCED MORE THAN THREE DECADES AGO.
BEYOND THE TALE OF BRACEBRIDGE'S MCGIBBON HOUSE, BEING PLEASANTLY HAUNTED, THE MOST IMPORTANT REALITIES OF THAT MULTI-YEAR EXPERIENCE, RESIDING IN THE DOCTOR'S GRAND MUSKOKA RESIDENCE, OPPOSITE MANITOBA STREET'S "MEMORIAL PARK," WAS WHAT IT MEANT TO ME, AS A NURTURING ABODE; A FLEDGLING WRITER WITH A LOT OF PAPER, UNUSED TYPEWRITER RIBBON, AND THE HIGH HOPES THAT THE HOUSE'S PROVENANCE WOULD BURDEN ME WITH INSPIRATION. I DIDN'T HAVE FAITH IN MYSELF, SO IT WAS PRETTY MUCH A CASE OF BEGGING, MY NEW ABODE, TO INSPIRE ME TO WORK LONG AND PROSPER. THE PROSPERING PART WAS SLOW TO MANIFEST. IT DID TURN OUT, THAT MY WRITING WAS NOTICED, EARLY ON, AND IT GOT ME A JOB WITH MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, WHICH LASTED FROM 1979 TO 1989.
WHEN I RETURNED TO MUSKOKA, FOLLOWING UNIVERSITY, I WAS EXCITED BY ALL THE POSSIBILITIES OF FREE ENTERPRISE, AND THE BOILING OVER ASPIRATIONS TO PEN SEVERAL BOOKS, ON LOCAL HISTORY. MOVING TO THE HISTORIC HOME OF DR. PETER MCGIBBON, FORMER MUSKOKA MP, AND OFFICER IN THE 122ND MUSKOKA REGIMENT, IN WORLD WAR ONE, WAS A HUGE MOTIVATIONAL FORCE, AND WHETHER I WAS WORKING IN THE ATTIC LOFT, WHICH OFFERED A NICE PANORAMA OF THE PARK, OR IN THE FRONT ROOM, OF THE SECOND FLOOR APARTMENT, EVERY DAY OFFERED SOMETHING AMAZING TO STIR THE CREATIVE JUICES. IF YOU ARE A WRITER OR ARTIST, YOU KNOW HOW CRITICAL THE SURROUNDINGS ARE TO THE CREATIVE ENTERPRISE, AND FOR ME, IT WAS NINETY PERCENT OF THE BATTLE. EVEN TODAY, I HAVE TO WORK HARD TO KEEP MY HOME OFFICE FULL OF INTERESTING ART PIECES AND CURIOSITIES, INCLUDING THE FULL VIEW OF OUR BIRCH HOLLOW AND THE BOG, JUST TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE WRITING DRAIN. AT THE MCGIBBON HOUSE, I DIDN'T NEED ANYTHING MORE THAN THE AMBIENCE OF THE BUILDING ITSELF, AND OF COURSE THE SPIRITUAL INTRUSIONS THAT CAME FREQUENTLY. THANKFULLY SO. THEY GAVE ME A LITTLE EDGE ON MY CONTEMPORARIES, WRITING THE SAME KIND OF REGIONAL OVERVIEWS. HOW CAN A GHOST HELP A WRITER? I'LL TAKE A CRITIQUE FROM ANYONE OR ANYTHING, IF IT MEANS MY WORK WILL IMPROVE, AS A RESULT.
BEFORE I MOVED BACK TO BRACEBRIDGE, WITH AN IDEA TO BECOME AN ANCHORED AND RELEVANT MUSKOKA AUTHOR, I WEIGHED OVER A LOT OF JOB POTENTIALS, AND OPPORTUNITIES, IN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF CANADA, THAT SEEMED TO QUIETLY BECKON. I MET A LOT OF STUDENT FRIENDS, WHO PROMOTED THEIR HOME REGIONS OF THE PROVINCE AND COUNTRY, AS WELL AS BEYOND OUR COUNTRY.....AND THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I SERIOUSLY ENTERTAINED STARTING OUT IN SOME LOCALE WHERE I DIDN'T HAVE A HISTORY. I HAD MOVED WITH MY FAMILY, TO BRACEBRIDGE, BACK IN THE SPRING OF 1966, AND SPENT A GREAT CHILDHOOD AND MY TEENAGE YEARS IN MUSKOKA, AND IT WAS SO MUCH BETTER FOR HEART AND SOUL THAN WHAT I HAD EXPERIENCED DURING MY EARLY YEARS IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO. SO EVEN THOUGH I DID THINK ABOUT MOVING ELSEWHERE, TO PURSUE MY CRAFT, AND GET A JOB, I FELT COMPELLED TO RETURN TO MUSKOKA, JUST IN CASE IT HAD SOME POWER OVER ME.....AS I HAD SUSPECTED AS A KID. BOY WAS I OVER-POWERED.
WHENEVER I DRIFTED, IN THOSE FIRST FEW YEARS, TO FOLLOW JOB OPPORTUNITIES ELSEWHERE, ESPECIALLY WHEN I WAS BROKE, I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET BACK TO MY REAL HOME. I QUIT THREE JOBS BECAUSE I DIDN'T LIKE THE REGION I WAS GOING TO BE LIVING IN. MUSKOKA WAS ALWAYS BECKONING.
I'D SIT IN THE ATTIC LOFT, WATCHING THE SNOW FALLING SO GENTLY, BEAUTIFULLY OVER THE HARDWOOD-BORDERED MEMORIAL PARK; WATCHING THE SCHOOL KIDS FROM BRACEBRIDGE PUBLIC, RUNNING ALONG THE INTERSECTING PATH, AND WITHOUT ANY OTHER PREAMBLE, I'D SET ABOUT TYPING AT MY DESK....., AS IF A MAN POSSESSED BY THE ALLURE OF AN INVISIBLE LEADER. IT WAS THIS MOST AMAZING SCENE OF SMALL TOWN LIFE AND TIMES, INFLUENCED BY THE CHANGE OF SEASON, THAT STIRRED ME TO ACTION. I CAN REMEMBER GETTING CHOKED-UP, BECAUSE IT WAS SO INCREDIBLY REMINISCENT OF MY OWN DAYS, DOING THE EXACT SAME THING AS THESE SCHOOL KIDS.....CROSSING THE PARK, AND STOPPING, ON THOSE FIRST SNOWY AFTERNOONS, FOLLOWING CLASS, TO FALL DOWN AND IMPRINT SNOW-ANGELS ALL OVER THE PLACE. IT WAS AS IF I COULD SEE MY OWN GHOST, TRYING TO MIX IN WITH THIS NEW GENERATION OF ANGEL-MAKERS, ALTHOUGH THEY COULDN'T SEE ME. I HAD TO SATISFY MYSELF AS THE VOYEUR. AND THE PASSERSBY ALL DAY AND NIGHT, MADE THIS AN IDEAL PORTAL, FROM WHICH TO CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF THE TOWN'S CHARACTER, AND ALL ITS PECULIAR MOODS. IT WAS AT TIMES, AT MID-DAY, BUSY AND SO QUAINTLY ANIMATED, LIKE A WIND-UP TOY, THAT SENT ALL THESE FOLKS OFF IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, YET BROUGHT THEM BACK THE SAME WAY......EVENTUALLY, SNOW-COVERED, AND WRAPPED UP WITH SCARF AND HIGH COLLARS, TOQUES AND MITTENS. IF IT SEEMS SICKLY SWEET AND SENTIMENTALLY HEAVY, THEN YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I WAS INFLUENCED BY MY SURROUNDINGS.
I COULDN'T HAVE WRITTEN NEGATIVELY IF I'D SET OUT TO DO SO. I WOULD JUST SIT BACK, PERPLEXED ABOUT HOW TO GET OUT OF THIS ROCKWELLIAN PREOCCUPATION, AND CLOAK OF NOSTALGIA, AND THEN FEEL COMPELLED TO JUST CAPITULATE TO THE PREVAILING MOOD.....AND ENJOY THIS AERIAL GLIMPSE OF MY HOME TOWN, IN TRANSITION, CIRCA 1978-79. YET, YOU KNOW, IF THAT HOUSE WAS STILL THERE, AND THE ATTIC ROOM WAS AVAILABLE FOR AN OLD WRITER LIKE ME, I THINK I WOULD SEE MUCH OF THE SAME COMINGS AND GOINGS THROUGH THE SEASONS, JUST AS SENTIMENTALLY PROPORTIONED AS I SAW IT BACK THEN.....THROUGH THE ROSE COLORED GLASSES OF A ROOKIE WRITER TRYING TO MAKE HIS MARK.
I FOUND IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FASHION MYSELF AS AN ANGRY YOUNG WRITER, AT ODDS WITH SOCIETY. IF I CLIMBED THOSE STAIRS TO THE ATTIC, AND GRUMBLED MY WAY TO THE CHAIR AT WINDOW-SIDE, AND THEN SPILLED A CUP OF HOT COFFEE ON MY LAP, WITHIN MINUTES OF LOOKING DOWN ONTO THAT PARK, ATTIRED IN THE SEASON'S FINERY, GADS, I WAS SNAPPED BACK INTO THE THEME OF "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE," AND THIS REPEATED OVER AND OVER, IN THOSE FIRST YEARS OF EXPERIMENTAL WRITING. IF I WAS TRULY ANGRY AND HAD LOTS TO PROTEST, AND FELT IN KEENLY VENGEFUL ABOUT ANYTHING IN MY LIFE, OR AS A CURRENT EVENT, THE PLEASANTNESS OF THE OLD HOUSE, WAS SO OVERWHELMING, THAT WELL......NOTHING BAD CAME OUT. IT WAS LIKE SWALLOWING RAZOR BLADES THAT TURNED TO JELLY ON THE WAY DOWN.
THE ONLY PARALLEL I CAN THINK OF, WAS THE WAY EBENEEZER SCROOGE FELT, AFTER WAKING UP CHRISTMAS MORNING, HAVING EXPERIENCED EACH OF THE THREE VISITING SPIRITS, SENT TO RECLAIM HIS MISERABLE SOUL. AS HE COMMENTED, FROM THE PEN OF CHARLES DICKENS, RATHER PROFOUNDLY, SCROOGE FELT HE HAD NO RIGHT FEELING SO GOOD. FROM A NASTY CODGER TO A HUMANITARIAN AND GOOD FRIEND TO ALL, HIS VIEWPOINT OF LIFE HAD FOREVER CHANGED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS ABOUT THE MCGIBBON HOUSE, BUT AS HAUNTED AS I BELIEVE IT WAS, THERE WASN'T A SHRED OR WAFTING VAPOR OF ILL-WILL. NOT A PUFF OF IT, OR EVEN THE SOFTEST GRUMBLE OF PROTEST ANYWHERE WITHIN ITS HISTORIC WALLS. IT WAS AN UPBEAT PLACE WHERE I COULDN'T STAY MAD AT THE WORLD, OR EVEN LINGER AS A TEMPORARY PESSIMIST. I MIGHT START OFF A LITTLE ANNOYED BY SOMETHING, AND HAVE A DESIGN, EARLY ON, OF MAKING SOME EDITORIAL PROTESTATION, BUT SURE ENOUGH, IT WOULD FADE AND FALTER, AND THE FLOWERY, SENTIMENTAL FEELINGS TOOK OVER......AND I WAS GOOD WITH MY LIFE AND WHAT LIFE I WITNESSED INTERACTING AND CRISS-CROSSING BELOW MY WINDOW.
IT WAS THE WINDOW ANALOGY THAT I'VE BEEN ATTACHED TO EVER SINCE. IT WAS MY OBSERVATORY OF BRACEBRIDGE, AS IT WAS THE CASE OF MUSKOKA GENERALLY; AND IT REAFFIRMED SO MANY TIMES LATER, HOW CORRECT I HAD BEEN, TO BUILD MY OWN LIFE AND PROFESSION IN THE DISTRICT I LOVED. FROM MY FIRST VISIT IN THE SUMMER OF 1965, TO A MODESTLY APPOINTED COTTAGE ON BRUCE LAKE.
WHENEVER I FEEL THE NECESSITY TO FRAME SOME MUSKOKA QUALITY OR QUANTITY, LIKE PHOTOGRAPHER FRED SCHULZ WOULD SNAP A PROVOCATIVE LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPH, I USE THE ABSTRACT FRAMING, THE MEMORY OF PERSPECTIVE AND VANTAGE POINT, AFFORDED ME BY THAT FORMER MCGIBBON HOUSE PORTAL, AS A SORT OF GUIDE; WHEN DESCRIBING THE NEWEST MUSKOKA SCENES I DISCOVER, ON MY MOST RECENT CROSS COUNTRY GAD-ABOUTS. IN THOSE EARLY YEARS, TRYING TO MAKE IT AS A STARVING ARTIST, I TOOK INSPIRATION FROM WHEREVER, AND WHOEVER I COULD; AND IN MY CASE, MOST OF IT CAME FROM A CONTENTING, COMFORTABLE FAMILY HOME, ON UPPER MANITOBA STREET, THAT ALWAYS SEEMED TO INSPIRE CREATIVITY WHEN NOTHING ELSE SPARKED THE SLIGHTEST MOOD OF ENTERPRISE. ALL IT WOULD TAKE, IS A FEW MINUTES OF QUIET CONTEMPLATION, AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY, AND I WOULD FIND SOMETHING TO WRITE ABOUT. EVERY TIME I'D MAKE THOSE TYPEWRITER KEYS DANCE WITH INK, THE MELANCHOLY EVAPORARED LIKE THE EARLY MORNING MIST. IT WAS MY ERA OF THE EFFERVESCENT "SUNNY DISPOSITION." I LOVED IT!
THE ONLY PROBLEM, WAS THAT IT DISQUALIFIED ME PERPETUALLY, AS BEING A RISING STAR IN CONTEMPORARY WRITING, BECAUSE I WAS VOID OF ANGER. I COULDN'T MUSTER ENOUGH DISDAIN TO WRITE MORE THAN A TERSE PARAGRAPH. IT WAS THE HOUSE. I KNOW IT WAS THE PREVAILING GOOD HUMOUR AND KINDNESS OF THE MCGIBBON HOUSE, THAT SIMMERED ME LONG BEFORE THE POINT OF BOILING FORTH. I WAS CALMED BY ITS EMBRACE, TIME AND AGAIN.
FROM MY EARLY YEARS WRITING FROM THE BOSUM OF THE MCGIBBON HOUSE, I HAVE VEERED ONLY SLIGHTLY OFF THE SAME PATH, AS I BELIEVE I WAS INSPIRED, DURING THOSE FORMATIVE DAYS, NIGHTS AND EVENINGS, WHEN I BEGGED TO BE SPIRITUALLY ENLIGHTENED. I REMEMBER TELLING MY GIRLFRIEND, GAIL, AT THE TIME, THAT MY OBJECTIVE WAS TO BECOME KNOWN AS A "MUSKOKA" WRITER. SHE SAID, PAUSING, TURNING TO ME, WITH A PUZZLED STARE, I GOT A LOT FROM HER, IN THOSE DAYS, ASKING "WHY WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN AS A CANADIAN WRITER?" "ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU SHOULD BE AIMING FOR?" "I SUPPOSE IT WOULD BE NICE TO ONE DAY ACHIEVE THAT KIND OF STATUS, BUT TO ME, THE WAY I FEEL, IT'S FAR MORE IMPORANT TO BE KNOWN AS A REPRESENTATIVE WRITER FOR MY HOME DISTRICT, THAN TO BE LOST IN THE MOB OF AUTHORS, CLIMBING OVER EACH OTHER TO BE CONSIDERED NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT." THESE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE EXACT WORDS I USED, BUT THE POINT IS IDENTICAL. EVEN FROM A YOUNG AGE, I HAD NO REAL INTEREST IN BEING ANYTHING MORE THAN A COMPETENT, RELIABLE, REPRESENTATIVE WRITER, WITH REVERENCE TO THE INTEGRITY OF LOCAL HISTORY; CONSIDERED CAPABLE ENOUGH TO WRITE ABOUT OUR REGION OF CANADA......SUCH THAT EACH EFFORT WOULD BE PART OF A MUSKOKA MOSAIC WE COULD ALL BE PROUD TO POSSESS. HAVEN'T ACHIEVED IT YET, BUT I'M NO QUITTER.
I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THE SCOPE OF THIS MANY TIMES SINCE, AND CONTINUE TO WONDER, WHETHER IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASIER TO BECOME A KNOWN CANADIAN WRITER, WITH NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS......AS HAVING TACKLED BIGGER STORIES AND MORE CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES, RELEVANT TO ALL CANADIANS, THAN HAVING BEEN SO NARROW FOCUSED, AND CONFINED TO AN AREA SO GEOGRAPHICALLY TINY. STRANGE THOUGH, THAT I HAVE NEVER REALLY CONSIDERED MY MUSKOKA PREOCCUPATION AS A NARROW OR RESTRICTED FOCUS, ALTHOUGH MY FRAMING ANALOGY MAY SEEM, BY ITSELF, A SELF IMPOSED LIMITATION. IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE THE OPPOSITE. I SEE IT ALL FROM THAT OLD WINDOW, AND EVEN THOUGH IT IS MY HISTORY NOW, IT WAS THE PERIOD OF GREATEST DISCIPLINE AND FORESIGHT, THAT TUTORED ME ON HOW TO ARTFULLY NARROW A VANTAGE POINT, TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE, TO THE CONTRARY, EVEN MORE.....IN THE ETHEREAL, UNIVERSAL CONTEXT OF BEING A SPIRITUAL OBSERVER WITHOUT ANY BOUNDARY WHATSOEVER.
THIS RECENTLY RE-ENERGIZED PARTNERSHIP, WITH WELL KNOWN MUSKOKA PHOTOGRAPHER, FRED SCHULZ, IS AN EXTENSION OF THAT MCGIBBON HOUSE WINDOW ONTO OUR HOME REGION; AND FRED'S CAPTIVATING PHOTO STUDIES, ALONG THE BACKROADS AND OBSCURE PATHWAYS, AND MY WRITTEN OVERVIEWS, HAVE AMALGAMATED TO FORM WHAT I HONESTLY FEEL, IS A STIRRING, INVIGORATING, PERSPECTIVE OF THIS ENCHANTED REGION OF CANADA. INFLUENCED CHARACTERISTICALLY BY FRED'S LIFE-LONG PASSION FOR THE REGION, AND MY OWN DESIRE TO CAPTURE AND PROMOTE, WHY IT HAS HELD MY HEART FOR ALL THESE DECADES. I WON'T DENY, THAT FOR ME, IT HAS BEEN A SPIRITUAL PULL, THAT TOOK HOLD ON THAT FIRST TRIP TO MUSKOKA, AND HAS NEVER LOOSENED. ALL YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO, IS ASK FRED WHAT IT WAS LIKE GROWING UP, IN KILWORTHY, ONTARIO, DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, TO LAUNCH A CONVERSATION THAT MIGHT LAST AN HOUR OR A WEEK. FRED'S FAMILY USED TO RUN THE KILWORTHY GENERAL STORE, IN THE VILLAGE SITUATED SOUTH OF GRAVENHURST, AND HIS MEMORIES ARE AS CLEAR AND REMARKABLE, AS IF HE WAS SITTING ON THE STEPS OF THE BUILDING, AS A LITTLE KID WITH A BOTTLE OF POP IN HIS HANDS......HAVING JUST THEN BEEN ASKED, "SO LITTLE FELLOW, HOW DO YOU LIKE HELPING OUT YOUR FOLKS IN THIS VILLAGE STORE?" WELL, THE SHORT ANSWER IS, HE LIKED IT SO MUCH, A PART OF HIS SOUL IS STILL WAITING THERE, HOPEFUL IT MIGHT ONE DAY RE-OPEN. BUT HE KNOWS IT WOULD BE FULL OF GHOSTS.....FRIENDLY GHOSTS, BUT NOT THE KIND OF MANPOWER THAT WOULD DO MUCH FOR BUSINESS. BUT THIS IS HOW POIGNANT THE MEMORIES ARE FOR FRED, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU WILL GET, WHEN MY COLLEAGUE GOES OUT ON THOSE AUTUMN MOTOR TRIPS, TO CAPTURE WHAT HE BELIEVES, DEFINES THE MUSKOKA EXPERIENCE HE HAS PARTNERED WITH, OVER A WONDERFULLY FULL LIFE.
I MAY AT TIMES, TAKE A ROUTE LESS TRAVELLED, AND OBSERVE AND REPRESENT SCENES I COME UPON DIFFERENTLY; YET THE WORK OF THE WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER, WILL MERGE SLOWLY, WITH ONE OVERALL CHARACTERISTIC OPINION, THAT I BELIEVE WILL MORE THAN JUSTIFY US FOR THE MISSION.......AND IT WILL HERALD OUR OWN CELEBRATION OF THE SPIRIT(S) OF OUR PARTNER "MUSKOKA." IT WILL BE EMBELLISHED BY SENTIMENTALITY, BECAUSE I CAN'T STOP THAT.....AND IT WON'T BE VOID OF NOSTALGIA AND HISTORY. IT'S TOO IMPORANT FOR BOTH OF US, TO EVER NEGLECT THE RELEVANCE OF HEART STRINGS, PLAYING OUR FAVORITE SONGS. IT WILL, FOR ME, BE THE FULFILLMENT OF A PROMISE I MADE A LONG TIME AGO......TO DEDICATE MYSELF TO BECOMING A REPRESENTATIVE MUSKOKA WRITER. AS FOR FRED, I'VE GOT SOME CATCHING-UP TO DO, AS HE IS ALREADY CONSIDERED AN EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED MUSKOKA PHOTOGRAPHER.
AS WE TRAVEL ON THROUGH THIS AMAZING SEASON OF THE YEAR, ON TO THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY, I HOPE YOU WILL FIND THE FRUIT OF OUR LABOURS, TO BE UPLIFTING, ENLIGHTENING, AND REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TRUE NATURE OF MUSKOKA.....THAT IS OFTEN OBSCURED THESE DAYS, AND LEFT UNDISCOVERED, BECAUSE OF PRE-OCCUPATION, AND THE URBAN-LIVING PATTERNS WE CHOOSE TO EMPLOY, EVEN IN A RURAL CLIME; AND THE GNAWING ANNOYANCE OF INTRUSIVE POLITICS THAT OFTEN MAKE US FORGET HOW TRULY AMAZING THIS HINTERLAND IS......AND INSPIRING IT CAN BE, IF SOUGHT OUT BY THE WILLING....
ON THESE WRITING ADVENTURES IN MUSKOKA, I DO, WITHOUT APOLOGY, CARRY AROUND WITH ME, THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PENNINGS OF WRITERS LIKE WASHINGTON IRVING, DEPICTING HIS MYSTICAL OVERVIEW OF THE HAUNTED HUDSON RIVER VALLEY, AND DAVID HENRY THOREAU'S NATURE-SCAPE, VIA HIS "WALDEN POND." I WON'T OFFER ANY APOLOGY FOR BEING INFLUENCED BY THEIR WORK, AS OUR PIONEERS WERE IN THIS SAME REGION; WHO MAY ALSO HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY THEIR POPULAR BOOKS, FROM WHEN MUSKOKA WAS ONLY A COLLECTION OF TINY HAMLETS, AND LOG HOMESTEADS. I WON'T APOLOGIZE FOR THE STRONG FEELING THAT THIS REGION IS ABUNDANTLY HAUNTED AND SPIRIT-FULL, BECAUSE IT IS THE WAY I HAVE ALWAYS FELT, FIRST AS A KID, AND AS A VOYEUR EVER AFTER. I UNDERTAKE THESE ADVENTURES, HOPING AGAINST HOPE, TO ENCOUNTER WHATEVER SPIRIT OR PARANORMAL ENTITY, WILL AFFORD ME THE TIME TO PLAY...AND LEARN. I AM THEIR HUMBLE SERVANT, AS I WISH TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT HAS, AND CONTINUES TO MAKE, MUSKOKA SUCH A REMARKABLE PLACE.....BEYOND THE OBVIOUS ATTRIBUTE TO ITS PICTURESQUE CLAIMS TO FAME.
FRED AND I HAVE ONLY ONE MISSION HERE......AND THAT IS TO SATISFY OURSELVES, THAT WE HAVE FULFILLED A MISSION TO CAPTURE, AND PRESENT THE SCENES OF MUSKOKA, IN THE MOST ENLIGHTENING AND INFORMATIVE WAY POSSIBLE......WITHOUT BECOMING MIRED IN THE SENTIMENTAL WEB OF THE WAY IT WAS, VERSUS THE WAY IT IS TODAY. AS PART OF OUR OWN RESPECTIVE BUCKET LISTS, WE'D LIKE TO LEAVE BEHIND A WEE BIT OF LEGACY, OF HOW A CONTEMPORARY WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER, SAW MUSKOKA IN THE PRESENT TENSE OF 2013 ONWARD......EVOLVING UNTIL WE CAN DO NO MORE.
I HOPE YOU WILL JOIN FRED AND I, AS WE CONTINUE TO EXPLORE MUSKOKA. WE HAVE ROOM FOR YOU, IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAG ALONG. THANKS FOR JOINING THIS BLOG TODAY. WE HAVE A GREAT AUTUMN SEASON PLANNED. FULL OF ADVENTURE, AND FULL OF DISCOVERY. WE'RE GOING TO CHALLENGE OURSELVES LIKE NEVER BEFORE. SO IT SHOULD BE A HELL OF A RIDE.
WE TAKE OUR FIRST STEPS IN THE NEXT BLOG.
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