GRAVENHURST SANTA CLAUS PARADE; MENDELSON JOE'S GUITAR YESTERDAY; JIMMY BOWSKILL'S ACOUSTIC, TODAY!

Two acquisitions for Currie's Music; A  1960's Harmony Archtop and a Pine Electronic Tube Amp from our friend and well known blues musician Jimmy Bowskill. Jimmy performed with The Vinyl Cafe previously at The Gravenhurst Opera House and most recently at Peter's Players on Muskoka Road South.

A Weekend of Christmas Parades in Muskoka

 

This weekend will see the three major towns in Muskoka holding their Santa Claus Parades to kick-up the Christmas Season.   Huntsville’s popular evening parade was held on Friday night, Saturday’s parade was held on Saturday morning and Bracebridge will hold their parade on Sunday afternoon.

 

Today's Gravenhurst parade brought out a large number of people who lined the main street to watch the many participants and floats that took part in the parade with the theme “Christmas around the World”.   The crisp morning didn’t stop young and old who weathered the below zero temperatures to fill the sidelines.   Fred Schulz Photos

     NOTE: IF YOU WERE AT THE GRAVENHURST SANTA CLAUSE PARADE, TODAY, WASN'T IT GREAT TO SEE AND HEAR ALL THE CHILDREN LAUGHING AND SINGING, DANCING AND RUNNING? NOW THAT'S A "MERRRY CHRISTMAS," IF EVER THERE WAS ONE! IT'S NICE TO SEE SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE TURNING OUT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ANNUAL PARADE, AND TO WATCH THE EVENT UNFOLD. SANTA HAD A LAP-FULL THAT'S FOR SURE. NICE PARADE, AND A GOOD WAY TO LAUNCH THE FESTIVE SEASON IN OUR HOME TOWN. CONGRATULATIONS TO ORGANIZERS, SPONSORS AND COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS. IT WOULDN'T OCCUR WITHOUT THEIR GENEROUS AND ONGOING SUPPORT. THANKS ALSO TO THE BRIGADE OF VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTERS, MEMBERS OF THE GRAVENHURST FIRE DEPARTMENT, FOR HEADING THE PARADE, COLLECTING DONATIONS TO KEEP THE PARADE GOING AGAIN NEXT YEAR. A NICE DAY ALL ROUND. I WANT TO THANK FRED SCHULZ FOR TAKING THE PHOTOGRAPHS ABOVE, FOR USE IN THIS CHRISTMAS-TIME BLOG. LOTS MORE TO COME. PLEASE STAY WITH US FOR A MUSKOKA CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION.....COMING RIGHT FROM THE HEART OF GRAVENHURST. YUP, MUSKOKA ROAD. COME IN FOR A VISIT. BUT I MIGHT BE SLEEPING ON THE JOB (FORMER MUSKOKA THEATRE BUILDING)

THE OLD VOYEUR - AND THE MUSIC SCENE "HAPPENING" ALL AROUND ME

IF ONLY I'D PAID ATTENTION - WHEN JOHN RUTHERFORD ASKED ME TO FOCUS ON THE BATON

     FRESH OFF THE ACQUISITION OF CANADIAN MUSICIAN, MENDELSON JOE'S DECORATED 1970'S, GUILD GUITAR,  YESTERDAY, OUR NEVER SAY NEVER BOYS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, MADE A DEAL TODAY TO ACQUIRE BLUES GUITARIST, JIMMY BOWSKILL'S WELL WORN, AND WELL USED, HOLLOW-BODY GUITAR, AND HIS FIRST AMPLIFIER. JIMMY STARTED YOUNG AND HAD KIND MENTORSHIP FROM CANADIAN MUSIC LEGEND, JEFF HEALEY, EARLY IN HIS CAREER. HE APPEARED WITH HEALEY ON A VINYL CAFE SHOW, WITH STUART MCLEAN, AT THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE, A FEW YEARS BACK. AT THAT POINT, ANDREW WAS HIS SOUND TECHNICIAN. HE ALSO PERFORMED LAST WEEKEND AT PETER'S PLAYERS, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, ON THE SAME BILL AS "THE LAST WALTZ." JIMMY WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SIGN THE GUITAR FOR US. WHAT A WEEKEND. A GUITAR ACQUIRED FROM A VETERAN AND ANOTHER FROM RISING STAR IN CANADIAN MUSIC. AND YES, JIMMY DID ENJOY HANDLING MENDELSON JOE'S "MAINLINE" GUITAR, CIRCA 1970. I WAS THE FLY ON THE WALL. I SHOULD BE PAYING ADMISSION FOR ALL THAT I'M SEEING AND ENJOYING HERE, THESE DAYS IN SNOWY SOUTH MUSKOKA.

     I LOVE MUSIC. BUT I ALSO LOVE AIRCRAFT. I COULD SIT AT A BUSY AIRPORT FOR A WHOLE DAY, TO SATISFY MY INTERESTS IN FLIGHT. AS FOR MUSIC, I WANT TO BE AROUND IT, HEAR IT, SEE IT BEING PERFORMED, BUT I DON'T CARE TO BE A PLAYER ANY MORE. I RETIRED YOUNG FROM BAND LIFE, THE SAME YEAR AS THE BRACEBRIDGE AND MUSKOKA LAKES SECONDARY SCHOOL BAND'S TOUR OF ENGLAND. FROM THAT POINT ON, I BECAME A GOOD LISTENER. MY SONS ANDREW AND ROBERT UNDERSTAND THIS, AND LIKE SITTING AT AN AIRPORT, THEY ALLOW ME TO LODGE IN A LOUNGE CHAIR, IN THE STUDIO OF THEIR GRAVENHURST VINTAGE MUSIC SHOP. THEY HAND ME A LAP-TOP TO WRITE THIS BLOG, AND CARRY-ON WITH THE BUSINESS OF THE DAY. BOY OH BOY, DOES THAT EVER ENTITLE ME TO A LOT OF NEAT STUFF, HAPPENING ALL AROUND ME! THIS IS THE KIND OF IMMERSION FOR THE SENSES, THAT MAKES MY DAYS SPENT HERE, A CULTURAL PANORAMA, WITH THE SWEETEST SOUNDS YOU'VE EVER HEARD. AND THAT'S JUST THE WARM-UP. I EVEN GET A RUSH OUT OF ANDREW TESTING AN OLD AMPLIFIER, WITH ONE OF HIS STUDIO GUITARS. IT MIGHT THEN BE A VIOLIN OR MANDOLIN; A VICTORIAN ZITHER, OR AN HAWIAN UKE, BEING TESTED FOR A CUSTOMER. THE ONLY CASUALTY TO ME, IS THAT IF THE PLAYING IS SOFT AND NURTURING, I'M LIKELY TO BOUNCE MY HEAD OFF THE KEYBOARD, WHEN I SLUMBER-OFF BECAUSE OF THE INHERENT KINDNESSES, AND WARM DIGS, AFFORDED THE JOURNEYMAN WRITER. I DON'T DESERVE SUCH SPECIAL ATTENTION. BUT I'M NOT GOING TO SCREW-UP A GOOD THING, BY ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS, OR BEING IN ANY WAY INTRUSIVE; IN FEAR THEY MIGHT TOSS ME OUT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE DOING, OR HOW THEY GET THE SOUNDS THEY DO, BUT IT'S ALL PART OF MY SUBTLE INQUIRY INTO THE MUSIC SCENE, AS IT SURROUNDS ME. BY THE WAY, THEY'VE ONLY ACCIDENTALLY (THEY CLAIM IT WAS IN ERROR) TOSSED A VISITOR'S COAT OVER MY HEAD A COUPLE OF TIMES, FORGETTING I WAS SITTING IN THE CORNER CHAIR OF THEIR STUDIO. THEY'RE MY BOYS. I'LL FORGET THEIR MISADVENTURES IF THEY FORGIVE MINE....ESPECIALLY WHEN I'M LIVING WITH THEM IN MY ELDER YEARS, AND SPILLING MY PORRIDGE ON THE RUG....OR WORSE. I CAN GET WORSE AND THEY KNOW IT!

     MY MUSIC TEACHER IN HIGH SCHOOL, WAS A MAN OF CONSIDERABLE ACCLAIM. HE LOVED MUSIC SO DEEPLY, AND PASSIONATELY, THAT HE PASSED IT ON TO HIS STUDENTS BY, FIRST OF ALL, THE TRADEMARK AURA OF THE MUSIC MAN; SECONDLY, BY THE FACT HE KNEW HOW TO ENCOURAGE HIS STUDENTS TO SET THE BAR HIGH, AND STUDY HARD. JOHN RUTHERFORD, THE FORMER TORONTO MUSIC TEACHER, WHO FOUND BRACEBRIDGE A GOOD TOWN TO RAISE HIS FAMILY, HAD GREAT EXPECTATIONS FOR ME. ALAS, I WAS PROBABLY HIS ONE BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. I EVENTUALLY DID GAIN HIS APPROVAL, BY MY LAST YEAR OF SCHOOL.  WHEN I WAS ASKED TO FOLLOW DIRECTION, AND THE MOVEMENTS OF HIS GLISTENING WHITE BATON (WITH HIS EYES GLARING AT ME), I WANTED TO SHOW HIM, THAT MY FIVE YEAR "BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS" TUTORIAL HAD PAID OFF. AN INVESTMENT WITH A MORSEL OF DIVIDEND. I CAN AT LEAST BE SATISFIED WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE. I MADE THE SCHOOL'S PRESTIGIOUS "ENGLAND TOURING BAND," A FEW MONTHS BEFORE GRADUATION, AND I DIDN'T LET HIM DOWN DURING OUR MEMORABLE STAY; WITH CONCERT GIGS, STRETCHING BETWEEN LONDON AND YORK. IF YOU DON'T COUNT THE FACT, THAT AT HEATHROW AIRPORT, MY BARITONE CASE CAME TUMBLING DOWN THE BAGAGE CONVEYOR, AND ICING ACROSS THE FLOOR....WITH THE BRASS INSTRUMENT BEING FLUNG LIKE A MISSHAPPEN CURLING STONE, RIGHT TO THE TIPS OF HIS POLISHED BLACK LEATHER SHOES. IT HAD BEEN OUR INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS, BEFORE LEAVING HOME, TO ENSURE THAT THE INSTRUMENTS WERE PROPERLY SECURED IN THEIR CASES. OOPS! MY TAPE JOB LET GO AT THE WORSE POSSIBLE TIME. THE POOR MAN LOOKED AT ME, AND IF THERE HAD BEEN A CARTOON BUBBLE HOVERING OVER HIS HEAD, IT WOULD HAVE CONTAINED THE WORDS, "OH GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE? GIVE ME STRENGTH!" WE HADN'T PLAYED ONE NOTE ON FOREIGN SOIL, AND ALREADY HE WAS HAVING DOUBTS, HIS WEAKEST STUDENT WAS GOING TO EMBARRASS THE WHOLE BAND, AND OUR TOWN. MAYBE EVEN THE COUNTRY! HE DIDN'T HAVE TO SAY A WORD. I SCOOPED UP THE BARITONE (SMALL TUBA-LIKE AFFAIR), AND EXAMINED IT FOR DINTS AND VALVE DAMAGE. WE DIDN'T BRING ANY BACK-UPS. I GOT IT BACK IN THE CASE, AND HANDED IT OFF TO MY BAND-MATE, WHO WAS COVERING HIS EYES DURING THIS WHOLE TIME. JOHN RUTHERFORD MIGHT HAVE GONE OFF LIKE A MISSILE INTO OUTER SPACE, BUT ON THAT DAY, FOR WHATEVER REASON, HE WAS IN SUCH GOOD HUMOR GENERALLY, HE LET THIS INDISCRETION SLIP. THIS WAS A MAN WHO WOULD GO INTO A FRIGHTENING TIRADE AT HOME, IF SOMEONE DROPPED A MOUTHPIECE ON THE CLASSROOM FLOOR. SO I UNDERSTOOD THE "I'M A LUCKY MAN," GLINT IN HIS EYE.

     THE SECOND AND FINAL MISADVENTURE, WAS WHEN AT A SCHOOL CONCERT IN NOTTINGHAM, I BELIEVE, A FEMALE CLASSMATE, I WAS TRYING TO IMPRESS, (AND POTENTIALLY, LOOK DOWN HER BLOUSE) DROPPED HER MUSIC SHEETS ONTO THE FLOOR OF THE STAGE. ONLY MOMENTS BEFORE JOHN RAISED THE BATON, TO PREPARE US FOR THE PLAYING OF "THE LONDON SYMPHONY," OF WHICH HE WAS PARTICULARLY PROUD. WE PLAYED IT PRETTY WELL. SO IN MY MISSION TO HELP MY FRIEND, I BUMPED MY HEAD, ON THE WAY UP, ON THE OUTSIDE BOTTOM EDGE OF HER MUSIC STAND. WELL SIR, I HAD BEGUN THE DOMINO SUCCESSION, OF STANDS TIPPING OVER, BANGING NOISILY INTO EACH OTHER, RIGHT THROUGH THE BRASS SECTION. IT WAS ACCELERATED BY EACH OF THE MUSICIANS IN MY ROW, REACHING NERVOUSLY TO SECURE THEIR OWN MUSIC; BUT INSTEAD, ACCIDENTALLY HITTING THEIR NEIGHBOR'S STAND INSTEAD, CAUSING EVEN MORE MOMENTUM, CONFUSION AND CARNAGE. WHAT WAS HAPPENING? DID I CAUSE ALL THIS DESTRUCTION? MY STAND WAS FINE. I LOOKED UP AT JOHN, AS HE WAS HOLDING THE WHITE BATON IN FRONT OF HIM, AT WAIST LEVEL; I THINK THE GLISTENING IN HIS EYES WERE TEARS, ALTHOUGH THEY HADN'T YET STREAKED DOWN HIS CHEEKS. ONCE AGAIN, I THINK I SAW HIM MOUTHING THE WORDS, "HELP ME GOD, PLEASE!" HEY, I WAS READY TO PLAY, BUT MY NEIGHBORS WERE A LITTLE MESSED UP; THEIR MUSIC SHEETS ALL OVER THE FLOOR. AH, GOOD TIMES.

     JOHN RUTHERFORD DIED THIS FALL, BUT I COULDN'T REALLY ADDRESS THESE MISFORTUNES OF KNOWING ME, IN A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE. HE WASN'T A PATIENT MAN, TO MOST OF US, BUT FOR ME, HE WAS A PILLAR OF PATIENCE. ALL HE COULD SAY TO ME, AT THE END OF THE CONCERT, (WHERE WE HAD EXPERIENCED THE "TOPPLING" OF STANDS), WAS "THESE THINGS COME IN THREES. WHAT HAVE I GOT TO LOOK FORWARD TO MR. CURRIE?" I'M PLEASED TO REPORT, I KEPT THE PEACE FOR THE BALANCE OF THE TRIP, AND I ARRIVED HOME IN ONE PIECE; WHICH WAS FORTUNATE BECAUSE MY BAND-MATES HAD WANTED TO SEND ME HOME IN THE LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT, FOR MESSING THEM UP ON STAGE.

     SO YESTERDAY, WHEN WE GOT HOME FROM OUR BUYING TRIP, UP TO THE KAREN ROBINSON GALLERY, IN EMSDALE, WHERE WE HAD GONE TO PICK UP THE 1970 CIRCA "GUILD" GUITAR, FORMERLY PLAYED AND DECORATED, BY WELL KNOWN MUSICIAN / ARTIST, MENDELSON JOE.....AND AFTER EVERYBODY ELSE HAD A CHANCE TO HOLD AND ADMIRE IT, ANDREW HANDED IT TO ME LIKE IT WAS A NEW BORN. I REMEMBER THE LOOK, BECAUSE IT'S EXACTLY THE WAY SUZANNE STARED AT ME, BEFORE HANDING OVER OUR FIRST BORN, WHICH, WITH SOME IRONY, WAS ANDREW. SHE ASSUMED I WOULD DROP HIM, JUST AS ANDREW THOUGHT I MIGHT FUMBLE MENDELSON JOE'S GUITAR.....WHICH, BY THE WAY, HAD ITS OWN TITLE, AS GIVEN BY THE ARTIST. "THE LITTLE MAHOGANY GUILD." ALL OF A SUDDEN, WITH THIS MUCH ATTENTION ABOUT MY HANDLING CAPABILITIES, AND MY OWN RECOLLECTION OF THE LOOKS I USED TO GET FROM JOHN RUTHERFORD, UNDER SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES, I WAS GOING TO HAND IT BACK QUICKLY. YOU KNOW, ONCE THAT STORIED PIECE, OF CANADIAN MUSIC HISTORY, ONCE USED IN THE CANADIAN BAND, "MAINLINE," WAS CRADLED IN MY OUTSTRETCHED ARMS, THERE WAS AN INSTANT CONNECTION.....A SORT OF SPIRITUAL SHARING BETWEEN MERE MORTAL, AND INSTRUMENT, SUCH THAT I BEGAN SILENTLY CHANTING, "TED, CONCENTRATE. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS. YOU WILL NOT FUMBLE THIS HAND-OFF. NO YOU WON'T!" SO I DIDN'T. I DIDN'T LET MENDELSON JOE DOWN. I DIDN'T DISAPPOINT ANDREW, OR MY WIFE, LOOKING OVER HIS SHOULDER, AND I MAY HAVE EVEN AMUSED JOHN RUTHERFORD, LOOKING DOWN ON WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN AN EPIC EVENT OF HISTORY'S MISHANDLING. LIKE WHEN I CRADLED ANDREW HIMSELF, IN THOSE FIRST FEW MOMENTS OF LIFE, I HELD ONTO THIS ENERGY-FILLED RELIC AS IF BOTH OUR EXISTENCES DEPENDED ON IT! I PROVED MY CRITICS WRONG. I WISH I COULD UNDO ALL THE STUFF I INFLICTED UPON JOHN RUTHERFORD, FOR THOSE TURBULENT YEARS, TRYING TO MAKE A MUSICIAN OUT OF A SOW'S EAR.

     MENDELSON JOE'S LATEST CD IS ENTITLED "ART IS THE HEALER." HE'S RIGHT ABOUT THAT. BUT IN THE CASE OF THE GUITAR, IN MY ARMS, IT WAS LIKE THE CD; MUSIC AND ART COMBINED. I DIDN'T WRITE THIS HEADING. BUT I LIVE IT EVERY DAY, IN THIS HUMBLE STUDIO, FULL OF ARTFUL MUSIC. FOR THOSE FEW MOMENTS, THAT THEY ALLOWED ME THE PRIVILEGE TO STRUM THIS DECORATED PARLOR GUITAR, WHICH HAD BEEN WITH MENDELSON JOE, ON THE STAGE OF TORONTO'S MASSEY HALL, (1975, OPENING FOR PATTI SMITH), I GOT THAT WILD SENSE OF MUSIC CHRONICLE, MY BOYS DRINK IN LIKE SODA POP. ALL OF A SUDDEN I WANTED TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT AGAIN. THIS INSTRUMENT? ANDREW GOT A LOOK OF PANIC. "NOT THIS ONE DAD....THE BEATER IN THE CORNER IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!" HEY, IT'S THE TH0UGHT THAT COUNTS!

     WE HAD TEN SHOWINGS OF THE MENDELSON JOE GUITAR TODAY, FROM THOSE WHO HAD READ ABOUT IT ONLINE. DROP IN ANY TIME. I'M HALF WAY THROUGH HIS BIOGRAPHY, ENTITLED "ALIEN," AND QUITE ENJOYING THIS UNIQUE LOOK AT THE CANADIAN MUSIC SCENE DURING THE 1960'S AND 70'S. THIS PERIOD IN MY LIFE  WAS KIND OF A BLUR. SO I'M LEARNING ABOUT IT ALL OVER AGAIN. THERE ARE COPIES OF THE BOOK AVAILABLE AT THE KAREN ROBINSON GALLERY, AS WELL AS HIS LATEST CD, AND OF COURSE HIS ART WORK. YOU SHOULD CALL TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT IF YOU'D LIKE TO VISIT, OR ACQUIRE EITHER A BOOK, A CD, OR BOTH. CHECK THE GALLERY SITE ONLINE FIRST, AND EMAIL FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

     IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE A CRACK AT JIMMY BOWSKILL'S GUITAR, THAT'S WHY WE ACQUIRED IT.......IT'S FOR PLAYING. WE'RE NOT A MUSEUM.

     THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY FOR THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON BLOG.

     I MUST END WITH A LITTLE CONFESSION. ROBERT BEGAN PLAYING HIS GUITAR IN THE STUDIO, LATE THIS AFTERNOON, AND IT WAS SO RELAXING FOR THIS WRITER IN RESIDENCE, I FELL ASLEEP, WAKING MYSELF ABRUPTLY WITH A WHACK IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD.....WHEN I HIT THE WALL BEHIND THE CHAIR. I STARTED TO DREAM ABOUT FLOWERS AND PASTURES AND THEN BAM! OH WELL.

MENDELSON JOE, AND A SWEET LITTLE GUILD GUITAR - MUSIC HISTORY AND CANADIAN ART IN ONE SPECIAL PIECE

The Kahshe River along Sparrow Lake Route D

 

A beautiful winter scene along the Kahshe River in Kilworthy on a very crisp Friday afternoon in Muskoka.  Once used to transport logs to the mills further down stream, now is a perfect setting for artists and photographs who wish to capture it’s beautiful natural rock outcroppings and majestic white pines.  Fred Schulz Photo

A SUNNY MORNING ENJOYED IN THE SNOWY ONTARIO WOODLANDS - A FAMILY ADVENTURE - BEST ONE YET

-TO PICK UP A RELIC OF CANADIAN MUSIC HISTORY


     I DO FEEL GUILTY ON DAYS LIKE THIS! I CAN'T HELP IT! WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE WORK, AND THE GRID-IRON OF TURNING A PROFIT, IS TOO MUCH FUN TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT. I'VE TRIED TO EXPLAIN THIS BEFORE, AND I'M NOT SURE IF I MADE MYSELF CLEAR. IT'S ABOUT THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE PROFESSION GENERALLY. WE GET THIS RUSH, YOU SEE, WHEN CIRCUMSTANCE (FATE) PREVAILS UPON US, REALLY NEAT OPPORTUNITIES. I COULDN'T COUNT A DAY LIKE TODAY AS WORK, OR MUCH MORE THAN A TYPICAL BUSINESS EXPENSE OF TIME AND MONEY. WHAT WE GET FOR OUR INVESTMENT, IS THE RARE EXPERIENCE OF ADVENTURE ROLLED INTO DISCOVERY; AND IN THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, WE'VE HAD HANDS-ON CONTACT WITH SOME REMARKABLE TREASURES. AND BY THIS, I DON'T EQUATE THAT WITH CASH VALUE OR QUICK PROFIT. BUT WHEN YOU'RE IN OUR PROFESSION, AS OUR FAMILY HAS BEEN INVOLVED FOR DECADES, EVEN TEMPORARY POSSESSION OF CULTURAL ANTIQUITIES, RELICS OF A BYGONE ERA, ITEMS WE ADORED IN CHILDHOOD...BUT IT TOOK REACHING ADULTHOOD TO AFFORD THEM; MEMORABILIA THAT TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY, BECAUSE OF ITS PROVENANCE, AND PIECES OF NATIONAL HISTORY YOU GET TO STUDY, AS CLOSE AS YOUR OUTSTRETCHED ARMS, EVEN IF ONLY FOR A FEW MOMENTS. THIS CAN HAPPEN EVERY DAY AND SOMETIMES TWICE TO THREE TIMES. IT MIGHT COME IN THE FORM OF MINT CONDITION, RARE COUNTRY RECORDS, OR IN THE BAGS OF OLD BOOKS WE'VE ACQUIRED. A FIRST EDITION "GONE WITH THE WIND," ISN'T OUT OF THE QUESTION. ONE DAY WE'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO SECURE A 1940'S LIONEL TRAIN SET, AND THE NEXT, A PUMP ORGAN FROM AN HISTORIC MUSKOKA RESORT.
     MANY IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT WE DO, OR HOW WE GATHER OUR INVENTORY. AT TIMES WE HAVE A HARD TIME EXPLAINING OUR OBSESSION WITH THE PAST, AND AS FAR AS HOW WE GATHER VINTAGE ITEMS, MOST OFTEN THESE ARE TRADE SECRETS WE CAN'T POSSIBLY SHARE.....IN CASE YOU HAPPEN TO BE A COMPETITOR. WE WILL OFFER YOU THIS! IT'S A DREAM JOB. WE GET TO RUN A MUSEUM A BIT. PLAY WITH THE STUFF, NOW AND AGAIN, SHARE IT WITH OTHERS, LIKE SOME OF OUR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, AND THEN SELL PIECES TO THOSE WITH PASSION LIKE OURS......WHO WISH TO OWN A LITTLE HISTORY AS WELL. WE CAN FEEL REAL GOOD ABOUT OURSELVES, WHEN WE SEE A CUSTOMER LEAVING OUR SHOP, TOTING ONE OF OUR ANTIQUE PIECES. OF COURSE WE WANT IT ALL TO GO TO GOOD HOMES. WE'RE VERY POSSESSIVE, SOMETIMES REFUSING TO SELL HISTORIC ITEMS, IF WE SUSPECT AN ORIGINAL FINISH, LET'S JUST SAY, ON A GUITAR, IS GOING TO BE STRIPPED OFF INSTEAD OF PRESERVED. WE ARE STEWARDS OF ORIGINAL FINISHES. SO THE STORY BELOW, WILL EXPLAIN WHY WE ARE OVER ZEALOUS ABOUT PROTECTING ORIGINAL FINISHES AT ALL COST. IF WE'RE REALLY WORRIED ABOUT IT.....WELL SIR, IT WON'T MAKE IT OUT FOR SALE. EVER!
     TODAY'S BLOG HAS A LITTLE GUILT ATTACHED, BECAUSE WE HAD ONE OF THOSE INCREDIBLE DAYS OUT ON THE HUSTINGS, DOING WHAT ANTIQUE HUNTERS ARE BEST KNOWN FOR.......WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, ENJOYING THE VERY FINE COUNTRYSIDE ALONG THE WAY. THESE OUTINGS REMIND ME OF THE OPENING CHAPTERS OF "ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE," BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS A PEAK OF SENSORY STIMULATION, SEEING MUSKOKA AND AREA, IN ALL TYPES OF WEATHER, ALL TIMES OF DAY AND NIGHT, OVER THE FOUR SEASONS. IT'S A SORT OF "AWAKENING" AND LIBERATION, EACH TIME WE VENTURE OUT, WITH OUR TYPICALLY HIGH EXPECTATIONS, OF WHAT WE MIGHT FIND, AND THE NEAT PEOPLE WE MAY MEET ALONG THE WAY. THIS WAS OUR DAY FOR REDISCOVERY. I HOPE YOU'LL APPRECIATE HOW CRAZY-HAPPY WE CAN GET, BEING "US.".....FOLKS WHO COLLECT THINGS OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE.

     THERE'S AN UNMISTAKABLE ENERGY IN OUR SHOP TODAY, THAT'S KIND OF HARD TO EXPLAIN, UNLESS YOU BELIEVE THAT AN OLD GUITAR POSSESSES QUALITIES OF ITS FORMER OWNER, AND ALL THE CULTURAL HISTORY IT HAS BEEN EXPOSED. NO, THAT'S JUST FOR SENTIMENTALISTS AND POET / PHILOSOPHERS. I'M NOT SURE IF REALISTS AND LIVE-FOR-THE-MOMENT VISITORS HERE, WOULD SENSE THIS AURA OF DISPATCHED KARMA, UPON THE WILLING SOUL. MAYBE. MAY BE NOT. I HAVEN'T HEARD SUCH RUGGEDLY HEWN GOOD HUMOR IN THIS PLACE, ALL YEAR, AS HAS BROKEN OUT BETWEEN STAFF AND CUSTOMERS, AT THIS TIME OF WRITING....WHO ARE MORE LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED GOOD NEIGHBORS; THEY'RE HERE SO OFTEN...ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS SPECIAL GUITAR ARRIVED. THERE'S NO DENYING IT HAS INSPIRED A LOT OF CONVERSATION, DEBATE, AND MUSIC PHILOSOPHY, ABOUT THE ARTS BEING GOOD FOR THE SOUL. I WON'T CHALLENGE THIS. I LIVE IT EVERY DAY. IT'S WHY I LIKE WRITING IN OUR COMFORTABLE, ART-LINED MUSIC STUDIO, IN UPTOWN GRAVENHURST. I'M SURROUNDED BY INSTRUMENTS WITH SOUL. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN EXPLAIN IT. NOW WE HAVE ENHANCED IT SOME MORE, WITH A UNIQUE ADDITION TO THE CURRIE COLLECTION, OF WHICH WE ARE IMMENSELY PROUD.
     WHEN I WRITE ABOUT OUR MUSIC AND ANTIQUE BUSINESS, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, I CAN UNDERSTAND HOW EASY IT WOULD BE TO THINK OF US AS "HORN BLOWERS," TO THE EXPONENT OF TEN. I'M PRETTY SURE, THERE ARE FOLKS WHO READ THIS BLOG, WHO DISBELIEVE MY CLAIMS ABOUT FAMILY SEEK-AND-DISCOVER MISSIONS, AND ANTIQUE HUNTING ADVENTURES. FOR THOSE, MY SUGGESTION, IS TO ARCHIVE BACK TO YESTERDAY'S BLOG, ABOUT THOSE WHO WRITE PROPAGANDA, AND EMBELLISH STORIES TO ELEVATE THEMSELVES. APPARENTLY THE TRUTH DOESN'T DO THIS "SET ME FREE THING" FOR EVERYONE. I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND IT LIBERATING. SO AS THE GUY WHO WROTE THAT TOME, I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T CONTRADICT MYSELF ONE DAY LATER. SO HERE IS A STORY FOR YOU, THAT I WILL CALL OUR REMARKABLE VISIT TO EMSDALE, ONTARIO, AND THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY GALLERY, OPERATED BY OUR KINDLY HOST, KAREN ROBINSON. IF I CALLED HER FOREST RETREAT A "HEAVEN ON EARTH," THAT WOULD BE MY OPINION. SO I CAN GET AWAY WITH IT!
     THE PHOTOGRAPHS ABOVE, WILL HAVE ALREADY GIVEN THE STORY-AWAY BY NOW. IT'S THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR BELIEVING PHOTOGRAPHS TELL THE TALE MORE EFFICIENTLY..... THAN ANYTHING A WORDSMITH CAN HAMMER INTO THE SAME SPACE. WE ATTENDED THE FOLKSY HINTERLAND GALLERY, TO PICK UP AN IMPORTANT, (AT LEAST BY OUR DETERMINATION OF CANADIAN MUSIC HERITAGE), 1969-70 GUILD GUITAR (MODEL M-20), OWNED, PLAYED, AND ENJOYED BY WELL KNOWN AND RESPECTED CANADIAN MUSICIAN, MENDELSON JOE, FORMERLY OF THE POPULAR LATE 1960'S GROUP "MAINLINE." THE BONUS, OF COURSE, IS THAT WE MADE AN ART PURCHASE AT THE SAME TIME. YOU SEE, MENDELSON JOE, IS ALSO ONE OF THIS COUNTRY'S HIGHLY REGARDED ARTISTS, AND THE GUITAR ISN'T JUST FOR PLAYING (BUT IT DOES SOUND AMAZING); IT'S AN EARLY EXAMPLE OF THE MUSICIAN / ARTIST'S (LATE 1970'S) CREATIVE FORAY WITH PAINT....AND WE ARE CONSUMED BY THIS AMAZING ART PIECE THAT YOU CAN ALSO PLAY. ANDREW HAS JUST NOW PUT IT DOWN, AFTER PLAYING IT FOR THE PAST HOUR, AT THE GRAVENHURST STUDIO; AND CO-OWNER, BROTHER ROBERT, HAS PICKED IT UP, ADMIRING THE CHARACTER OF THE NOSTALGIC INSTRUMENT, WITH ITS WHACK OF MEANINGFUL ADORNMENTS. HE'S PLAYING IT NOW AS WELL, AND BY THE EXPRESSION ON HIS FACE, HE'S PICKING UP ON THE VIBES FROM THE MUSIC HISTORY, HE AND HIS BROTHER REKINDLE EVERY DAY IN THEIR SHOP AND STUDIO. IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR VINTAGE MUSIC BUSINESS, YOU'LL APPRECIATE JUST HOW PERFECTLY THIS ARTFUL PIECE WILL FIT INTO, THE LEGACY THEY'VE BEEN BUILDING THEMSELVES, HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA.
     THE BOYS WERE EXCITED TO HAVE SUCH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, OFFERED TO THEM BY MENDELSON JOE HIMSELF, SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, AND ANDREW HAS BEEN GLOWING EVER SINCE. IN THEIR STUDIO THEY HAVE NUMEROUS "NEVER WILL SELL" INSTRUMENTS, SOME BECAUSE OF RARITY, OTHERS BECAUSE OF WHO PERFORMED WITH THEM PREVIOUSLY; SUCH AS A GUITAR ONCE OWNED BY COUNTRY SINGER, SMILEY BATES, AND ONE OTHER, A GIBSON, THAT WAS USED BY A STUDIO MUSICIAN ON THE POPULAR CHILDREN'S SHOW, "ROMPER ROOM." REALLY! OF COURSE, INCLUDED ON THE "PROTECTED LIST," ARE  INSTRUMENTS AND AMPLIFIERS THEY USE FOR RECORDING AND PERFORMING THEMSELVES. WE HAVE THIRTY OR SO ANTIQUE VIOLINS, MANDOLINS AND EARLY 1900'S GUITARS HUNG ON THE WALL, AND WHEN THERE ARE MUSICIANS JAMMING, EACH OF THE VETERAN PIECES, RESONATE WITH THEIR OWN UNIQUE VIBRATIONS, ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUAL CONSTRUCTION, ADDING TO THE AUDIBLE MAGIC OF THE DIGS.
            WHAT MENDELSON JOE CALLED "THE LITTLE MAHOGANY GUILD," IS NOW PART OF THE STUDIO'S PERMANENT COLLECTION, AS BOTH A FINE INSTRUMENT TO PLAY, AND A REALLY INTERESTING ART PIECE TO VIEW AND WONDER ABOUT. DEPENDING ON THE LIGHT, AND ITS POSITIONING, THE TEXTURED FINISH CAN LOOK THREE DIMENSIONAL ONE MINUTE, TRANSLUCENT THE NEXT. THEN THERE'S THE HISTORY CONNECTED TO THE VINTAGE GUILD, AND PART OF THIS CAN BE VIEWED IN AN ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPH, OF MENDELSON JOE, IN HIS BIOGRAPHY, ENTITLED "ALIEN," HOLDING UP THE SAME GUITAR, MINUS SOME OF ITS LATER ART WORK,... WHILE ON STAGE AT MASSEY HALL, IN TORONTO, WHERE HE OPENED FOR PATTI SMITH. IN THE PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY ART USHERSON, THE PERFORMER IS SHOWN HOLDING THE GUITAR, HIGH OVER HIS HEAD, WITH THE BACK OF THE GUITAR VISIBLE TO THE AUDIENCE. THE WORDS "BYE BYE" ARE PAINTED ON THE BACK. ON CLOSE INSPECTION, UNDER OUR STUDIO LIGHTS, THE PASTORAL SCENE OF THE COWS GRAZING, WAS PAINTED OVER THOSE ORIGINAL WORDS, BIDDING FAREWELL TO THE AUDIENCE. WHAT A TREASURE. NO ONE IS GOING TO STRIP OFF THIS FINISH, LET ME TELL YOU.
     IN MENDELSON JOE'S OWN WORDS, "THE LITTLE MAHOGANY GUILD," WAS WELL SUITED TO HIS STYLE AND THE SOUND HE DESIRED. IN A COMPANION NOTE, WITH THE GUITAR, HE NOTES, "I BOUGHT IT NEW AROUND 1970 WHEN I WAS STILL PLAYING IN THE BLUES-ROCK GROUP CALLED 'MAINLINE.' IT SOUNDED GREAT AS AN ACOUSTIC, AND WITH AN ELECTRIC PICK-UP, IT SOUNDED EVEN GREATER THROUGH AN AMPLIFIER. I HAD OWNED A COUPLE OF GUILDS BEFORE, SO WHAT DREW ME TO IT WAS THE NECK. THE PARLOR SIZE WAS ALWAYS PERFECT AS ONE WHO PLAYS SEATED.
    "I'M ONE WHO PLAYS ALMOST DAILY. I USED FINGER PICKS BACK THEN AND PLAYED HARD AND SWEATY. AFTER I LEFT THE GROUP IN '72, I USED THIS LITTLE GUITAR; LATER DECORATED IT WHEN I BEGAN PAINTING IN '75, AND USED IT (MY ONLY INSTRUMENT PLAYED DAILY) UNTIL IT BEGAN TO COLLAPSE IN THE EARLY '80'S. ME THINKETH THAT COLLAPSE WAS PRECIPITATED BY AIR CANADA HANDLERS (THEY HAD DESTROYED MY L3 A COUPLE OF TIMES). IN 1982, I FOUND A LITTLE CEDAR TOP MADE BY J.D. MACKENZIE. HE TRADED IT FOR TWO PAINTINGS. I PLAY THE 'J.D.' TO THIS DATE AND I LOVE IT."
    AS WE HAVE QUITE A FEW TRAVELLING MUSICIAN PASS THROUGH OUR SHOP EACH YEAR, TO AND FROM GIGS THROUGHOUT THE REGION, AND BEYOND, WE OFFER THEM A STUDIO-RESPITE, FOR SOME COOKIES AND A BEVERAGE (ON SATURDAYS).....A LITTLE JAM IF THEY'RE UP FOR IT, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY AROUND WITH SOME RARE AND UNIQUE INSTRUMENTS IN OUR PRIVATE, BUT SHARED STOCK. WE GET A LOT OF SATISFACTION, SEEING THESE INSTRUMENTS BEING ENJOYED AND CELEBRATED; ESPECIALLY BY MUSICIANS WHO ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT CANADIAN MUSIC, AND ITS RICH CHRONICLE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. WE ARE SO PROUD, AS A FAMILY, TO BE ABLE TO OFFER MENDELSON JOE'S WELL TRAVELLED, WELL USED, GALLERY ART PIECE, FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR PATRONS, WHO WOULD OTHERWISE, NEVER GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY SUCH A NICELY CONSERVED PIECE OF NATIONAL MUSIC, AND ART HISTORY. IN ONLY TWO HOURS, BACK IN THE SHOP, WE HAVE ALREADY HAD THREE VIEWINGS, AND SUBSEQUENT INSTRUMENT FONDLINGS, FROM OUR VISITORS....WHO SHARE OUR RESPECT FOR THE WORK AND MUSIC OF MENDELSON JOE. THROUGH TWITTER, MORE COMMENTS.
     IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK, AND A TURN, ON THIS LITTLE GEM, DROP IN AND SEE US. IF IT'S ON A SATURDAY, CHANCES ARE GOOD YOU'LL ALSO GET A FRESHLY BAKED COOKIE, FROM MOMMA CURRIE'S KITCHEN.
     BUT YOU KNOW, THE GREAT PART OF THE DAY FOR ME, THE CHAUFFER, WAS THE FABULOUS VIEW I HAD, AT KAREN ROBINSON'S GALLERY, ON THE STAR LAKE ROAD, IN EMSDALE (NORTH OF HUNTSVILLE), AWAITING ANDREW, ROBERT AND SUZANNE, WHO WERE VISITING WITH THE GALLERY OWNER. I HAD THE VERY GREAT BENEFIT OF THE BEST VIEW ON THE PROPERTY, BACKED, THIS MORNING, BY CBC 2'S SUCCESSION OF SYMPHONIES. I HAVE NEVER WITNESSED, SO MANY BIRDS AT A FEEDER, THAN ON HER GALLERY PROPERTY. THERE HAD TO BE THIRTY OR MORE CHICKADEES, AND TWO OF THE PLUMPEST BLUE JAYS I'VE EVER SEEN. THE SNOW AMIDST THE EVERGREENS, THE BEAUTIFUL PLAY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, IN A MOST ENCHANTING FOREST; I MUST ADMIT, IF I'D SAT THERE FOR HOURS ON END, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN, MOST SINCERELY, A JOY ON EARTH. SO FOR OUR FAMILY, WITH NARY A WORD OF EMBELLISHMENT, IT WAS CERTAINLY A DAY FOR THE FAMILY ALBUM, YET IT WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE  A BUSINESS TRIP. THIS IS WHY I LOVE MY PROFESSION. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT'S COMING NEXT. AND THAT'S THE ALLURE!
     THANK YOU SARAH UNGER, FOR CONNECTING US WITH MENDELSON JOE. THANK YOU KAREN ROBINSON, FOR INTRODUCING US TO HIS FASCINATING, STORIED ART WORK. AND THANK YOU, MENDELSON JOE, FOR PASSING-ON THIS SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF CANADIAN MUSIC HERITAGE, THAT SO MANY OF OUR VISITORS, MUSICIAN GUESTS, AND STUDENTS OF OUR MUSIC INSTRUCTION, WILL BENEFIT FROM LONG INTO THE FUTURE. WE ARE PROUD TO BE ITS STEWARD.
     SOMETIMES YOU KNOW, AS A RESPONSIBILITY TO THE WELFARE OF MIND AND BODY, YOU JUST HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE SHOP, AND THE HOME REGION, AND EXPLORE THE ONTARIO COUNTRYSIDE. WE LIKED WHAT WE SAW. WE JUST NEED TO DO IT MORE OFTEN.
     ROBERT JUST ARRIVED IN THE STUDIO TO SEE ME. "DAD, YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BELIEVE THIS. A GUY JUST CAME IN AND ASKED IF WE HAD ANY "MAINLINE" ALBUMS. I HAD TO TELL HIM THAT WE WERE SOLD OUT, BUT WE HAD THE GUITAR THAT WAS USED BY A MAINLINE MEMBER....AND HE DIDN'T BELIEVE US....UNTIL WE FLIPPED OPEN THE GUITAR CASE (WHICH WAS ALSO DECORATED BY MENDELSON JOE). HE SAID, 'I'VE GOT GOOSEBUMPS. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS. WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF THIS HAPPENING?'  IN OUR STORE SIR, VERY LIKELY. IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. IT'S THE WORK OF THE RESIDENT SPIRITS I THINK." COINCIDENCES AND SPIRITUAL STRANGENESS. WE COULD WRITE A BOOK ABOUT ALL THE WHACKY PARALLELS THAT HAPPEN AROUND HERE, BUT YOU'D PROBABLY THINK IT WAS JUST A STRANGE FICTION. IT'S ALL JUST THE PATINA AND CONNECTED PROVENANCE OF RUNNING A HAUNTED VINTAGE MUSIC AND ANTIQUE SHOP.
     DROP IN SOME TIME FOR A CHRISTMAS SEASON VISIT. YOU MIGHT SEE THE GHOST OF OLD FEZZIWIG HIMSELF, IN THE SPIRIT OF CHARLES  DICKENS, BECAUSE YOU SEE, THIS "CHRISTMAS CAROL" CHARACTER, IS THE ROLE-MODEL BY WHICH WE DO BUSINESS. YES INDEED, THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN MONEY. MERRY CHRISTMAS.

REASONS WE CHOOSE GRAVENHURST FOR OUR BUSINESS; THE STORIES THAT MISS THE MARK

Add Christmas Pageants Were a Big Part of the Christmas Season -  I recently received a newspaper clipping from the Orillia Packet and Times dated December 17th, 1961, entitled Children Enact Bible Stories.

 

 

Sparrow Lake – Children from Sparrow Lake United Church, Kilworthy delighted elderly members of the community when they presented a program with a Christmas Theme at the Balmoral Home on Sparrow Lake.  Parents assisted the small children when they dressed in ancient costumes to enact the Christmas Story.

 

The presentation sponsored by the Sunday School and performed by the members of the various Sunday School classes lasted for about an hour following by the singing of Christmas Carols.  Twenty-Five residents and the children from the Sunday School got acquainted at a social after the presentation.

 

Christmas Concerts and Christmas Pageants were an important part of growing up in the Fifties and Sixies in the community of Kilworthy, Sparrow Lake and Severn Bridge.

The above photograph taken on Wednesday, November 27th, 2013 was once a hub of Christmas Activities with Pageant rehearsal and Sunday School classes filled to capacity.

Fred Schulz Photo

ONE FROM THE FILES 2012
PART 2; PROPAGANDA IN ALL IT'S SILLY GLORY

OLD FASHION MUSKOKA BUSINESS - WE LIKE IT THIS WAY

WE TOOK A CHANCE, AND INVESTED IN THE MAIN STREET OF GRAVENHURST…..WHAT A SAVVY BUSINESS MOVE

     OUR FAMILY CUT THROUGH THE RHETORIC, THE DOOMSAYING, SKY-IS-FALL PREDICTIONS, KEPT THE BLINKERS ON, AND BACKED OUR SONS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, WHEN THEY DECIDED TO OPEN THEIR VINTAGE MUSIC AND GUITAR SHOP, IN GRAVENHURST. THAT WAS SEVEN YEARS AGO, BY THE WAY. WE WERE TOLD OUR BUSINESS PLAN, WAS THE TRUE "IMPOSSIBLE DREAM," AND THAT IT WOULD "NEVER WORK IN GRAVENHURST." FRIENDS AND FAMILY THOUGHT WE WERE NUTS, AND TRIED TO CONVINCE US IT WAS BETTER TO OPEN THE VINTAGE MUSIC SHOP ON THE MAIN STREET OF BRACEBRIDGE. BUT WHAT WE SAW IN THE FORMER MUSKOKA THEATRE, WAS A UNIQUE FORMER ENTERTAINMENT VENUE, THAT HAD A LOT GOING FOR IT……PARTICULARLY ITS PROXIMITY TO THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE…..AND CENTRAL BUSINESS LOCATION. WE DID OUR OWN SURVEYS AND IT ALL CHECKED OUT. WE DON'T HAVE MONEY TO RISK, SO WE ALWAYS PERFORM OUR DUE DILIGENCE, TO MAKE SURE WE CAN COUNT ON A RETURN FROM THE INVESTMENT. LONG TERM RETURNS ARE FINE. WE JUST NEED SOMETHING TO RISE FROM THE CULTIVATED GROUND.

     AFTER THE FIRST YEAR, CUSTOMERS WOULD ASK ANDREW WHEN HE WAS GOING TO CLOSE THE SHOP. AFTER THE SECOND YEAR, MORE PEOPLE ASKED ANDREW AND ROBERT, WHEN THEY WERE GOING TO SELL OFF THE BALANCE OF THEIR INVENTORY, ON-THE-CHEAP, AND CLOSE THE SHOP. EVERY YEAR, WE HAVE HAD THE SAME A--HOLES ASKING THIS STUPID QUESTION; AND EACH TIME THEY ASK, THE BOYS JUST SMILE AND SHAKE THEIR HEADS. THERE'S NO POINT ANSWERING THESE DOOMSAYERS, WHO APPARENTLY PREFER FAILURE TO SUCCESS.  TRUTH IS, MANY OF OUR CUSTOMERS, STILL CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW WE HAVE SURVIVED, WHILE OTHER BETTER EQUIPPED BUSINESSES HAVE FAILED MISERABLY. IF NICK THE GREEK HAD BEEN TAKING BETS, EVEN AMONGST THE OTHER MAIN STREET VENDORS, HOW LONG THE BOYS COULD KEEP THE SHOP GOING, CHANCES ARE WE WOULD HAVE ALWAYS BEEN CONSIDERED, A SURE THING TO DISAPPEAR OFF THE COMMERCIAL MAP. THE PROVERBIAL LONG-SHOT. EVEN NOW, WE HAVE THOSE WHO PREDICT WE WON'T MAKE IT UNTIL THE SPRING. NICE PEOPLE EH? BETTING ON OUR DEMISE. THEY NEED TO GET LIVES, WOULDN'T YOU AGREE?

     THERE ARE A LOT OF BUSINESS SECRETS I CAN'T SHARE. THERE ARE A FEW I CAN. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO EXPLAIN HOW ANDREWS MUSIC AND COLLECTIBLES, HAS DEFIED THE ODDS, TO SURVIVE INTO THEIR SEVENTH YEAR. FIRST OF ALL, ON OUR ADVICE, THEY OPENED A LOCAL BUSINESS. I TOLD THEM CLEARLY, THAT IN ORDER TO SUCCEED IN MUSKOKA, THEY WOULD HAVE TO CREATE A LOCALLY SENSITIVE BUSINESS, BASED ON OLD FASHION VALUES OF FAIR PRICING AND EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE. NOW AS A FOOTNOTE, THESE TWO RECENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADS, DID KNOW A LOT ABOUT OLD FASHION ENTERPRISE, AS MOM AND POP HAVE BEEN IN THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS SINCE THE LATE 1980'S. WE SHOP IN OLD FASHION BUSINESSES, AS A RULE, AND THEY KNEW THE LOGIC BEHIND ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS THAT WOULD CATER TO THE PERMANENT POPULATION. IT WAS GOING TO BE A HOME-GROWN GRAVENHURST ENTERPRISE. NOT A MIRROR-IMAGE SHOP, OF ONE IN TORONTO, HAMILTON, OTTAWA OR KINGSTON. IT HAD TO BE WHAT THE LOCAL POPULATION OF MUSIC LOVERS AND MUSICIANS WANTED, IN A BUSINESS, IN THEIR COMMUNITY. THE BUSINESS WAS NOT CREATED AS A SEASONAL "TOURIST" SHOP, ALTHOUGH WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN GLAD TO INVITE TRAVELLERS TO OUR TOWN, TO COME AND VISIT. BUT THE PRIORITY FROM THE BEGINNING, WAS TO LOOK AFTER OUR TOWN FIRST. WE MEANT IT THEN AND NOW. IF YOU ASK OUR CUSTOMERS, THIS PARTICULAR QUESTION, WE'RE ALL COMFORTABLE THEY'LL TELL YOU, THE BOYS ARE LOYAL HOMETOWNERS; THEN COME IN, ON A TYPICAL SATURDAY MORNING, WHEN THE PARTY FAITHFUL SHOW-UP FOR SUZANNE'S HOME MADE COOKIES. LET'S JUST SAY, BY MID AFTERNOON, SEVERAL DOZEN HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO CRUMBS. THE FOLKS IN THAT MORNING SCRUM? OUR LOCAL MUSICIAN FRIENDS AND LONG-TIME CUSTOMERS. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS, AND SUZANNE CAN'T QUIT NOW. SHE COULDN'T STAND THE THOUGHT OF DISAPPOINTED COFFEE-TIME VISITORS.

     THE BOYS, AFTER GRADUATING GRAVENHURST HIGH SCHOOL, WENT RIGHT TO WORK ON SHOP PLANNING. ANDREW TOOK A BRIEF "YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR'S COURSE, WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND IS ONLY ONE A FEW STUDENTS WHO FINISHED THE COURSE, STILL WORKING IN HIS CHOSEN PROFESSION…..WITH A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS. THEY HAVE NEVER BORROWED A DIME FROM A LENDING INSTITUTE, AND TO KEEP PRICES AS LOW AS POSSIBLE, THEY DON'T ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS OR EVEN DEBIT. OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS, WELL SIR, ONLY TWO PEOPLE HAVE LEFT AN ITEM BEHIND, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T OFFER CREDIT PURCHASES. WE SOLD THOSE ITEMS SOON AFTER, MINIMIZING THE CASH-FLOW PROBLEM FOR US. THEY PAY FOR ALL THEIR INVENTORY AT THE TIME, AND OWE NOTHING……NOT ONE DIME TO ANY ONE, OTHER THAN THE COSTS OF RENTAL AND INSURANCE AT THE START OF EACH NEW MONTH.

SO WE INVESTED AS WELL

     Once again, despite our friends asking if we were "nuts," we decided to take advantage of some newly vacated room, in the old theatre building, to offer a variety of antiques and collectibles, under the business acumen of second son Robert, a lover of art and nostalgic furnishings himself. As Suzanne and I prefer to enter retirement as antique hunters, called "pickers," we didn't want to get into the day to day selling of items. From the first of June, we couldn't get out of the shop because of the rush of business. We had folks come up to the counter, honest to God, with a line up of customers with purchases in hand, standing behind, and with crass boldness, ask us how long we thought we could last, doing business on the main street. We've had a half dozen, who left after saying things like, "I wish you good luck on your venture……cause you're going to need it in November." Or "Maybe you'll have some winter sales, to fend off the wolves." The four of us are pretty good with our responses, and hand gestures, which are either inaudible, or acted out with assorted fingers below the counter. It's a shame you know, how folks get their jollies at other peoples' expense. I suppose we'd make our critics happy if we put a "closed forever" sign on the front door. We'd break the hearts of those who visit here two or three times each week. We're not kidding about that. As for our capability to survive and profit, all I can say, is that the lease was extended on the antique expansion for an additional year, based on the success and joy of being in business on the main street of Gravenhurst.

     As far as it being an acknowledged edition to the main street, we haven't received a fruit basket yet, or a tasteful "welcome to the neighborhood" card, and that's just fine; considering the boys were never welcomed to the business community when they opened shop seven years ago. It wasn't a requisite anyway, but it just kind of seemed the right thing to do……especially considering we kicked aside a lot of adversity and negativism to open in that first year. Having that faith in our hometown, and the citizens who do shop here, was a solid strategic investment. No regrets. Not one. They have never missed making rent, and related expenses, and having a profit at the end of each month. Not big profits, but ones that were large and promising enough, to look forward to increased sales for the next month, and the one after that. Folks, we're not bragging. If anything we are a humble crew, so very grateful to those customers who believed in us, and who gave us reason to carry-on and re-invest, on the promise they'd be back to see us soon. And they always have. As for the tourists and cottage community, by golly, what a pleasant mix it creates, in company of the regulars throughout the summer season, right up to late October. Many friendships have been made, in our studio, between out of town music lovers and musicians, and our local clientele and performers……by the simple act of sharing stories and general conversation about the good graces of music. It's what we're about.

     The boys have been teaching guitar and drum lessons from the beginning, which actually started here at Birch Hollow. We made them studio space here, and the rent was very affordable. But there was no holding them back, and after a couple of years working in confined quarters out of a residential neighborhood, they finally had pooled together enough inventory and cash, to rent one small room, on the second floor of the old theatre building. The rest has been an amazing odyssey for two sons of Gravenhurst, who decided to stay home, and take their chances on a good idea. The customers have proven, it was indeed, a good idea.

     During the days, since September, I have been the assistant clerk, to both my sons, in the antique wing, and it has been a real thrill to have a "Waltons' Mountain," kind of business, where the four of us at present, get along well in commerce……as we always have in home-life. We weren't sure it was going to work, and we initially worried that they would feel crowded, having us close by each day. Suzanne is on the brink of retiring, and hopefully we will be able to do a little more traveling in the coming years. She's such an amazing seller of old stuff. She used to work at her family's Windermere Marina snackbar, "The Skipper," and then for many summers, in the pro shop of the Windermere Golf and Country Club, before becoming a full time teacher. She has run our antique business, from a variety of locations, and at shows, since the late 1980's. I just purchased a Feather-weight Singer sewing machine, for her future operations, because she wants to repair old quilts once again, as she used to in our former Bracebridge antique shop. She also restores vintage wool blankets, from Hudson's Bay to locally produced "Birds' Woollen Mill" blankets. Suzanne knows a lot about Birds, as we used to run the museum, in Bracebridge, known as "Woodchester Villa," the octagonal estate, that was built by Henry Bird in the 1880's. Point is, she's pretty excited about moving on from the classroom, and pursuing some of her hobbies and possibly some minor league "clerking" in son Robert's little shop.

     As for the antique component of the business? Well, we are doing fine, and while sales are slower this time of the year……and they were the same in Bracebridge in the mid-1990's, those sales we do have, make up for the fewer number of customers. Being on the main street of Gravenhurst has been fabulous. Not because we are getting wealthier each day, but because like Dickens character, "Old Fezziwig," we have a family business that is also very much a way of life. I often lounge in the boys' pleasantly appointed studio, where they have recorded many fine local musicians, including the guitarists and drummer who created the popular "Skokie Song," for the Gravenhurst Winter Carnival. I can't really tell you, in a heartfelt way, just how important it has been for Suzanne and I, to know today, that our gamble, and their's, worked out so well. They love going to work in the morning, and with lessons, happily stay late in the evening. They come home tired, but never disappointed by the business they created, dollar by dollar.

     The best business strategy for Gravenhurst merchants, regardless where it, or they, might be clustered, is for proprietors to cheerfully greet each day, each customer, and each and every partner business in the locale, because networking with our allies, has been the most positive change in the uptown landscape, since we opened shop. We had our frustrations, and deadlock with some members of the business community, and for that reason, we opted-out of association reindeer games. We had no choice. Nothing has changed, except, we have found other businesses that feel exactly the same about representation, and are only too happy, to make friends with other neighborhood entrepreneurs…..no strings attached, other than general goodwill. We feel in good company, and I hope they feel the same. What was once an unfortunate blockade, is no longer. And we continue to represent our own old fashion values, and it's what our customers seem to appreciate most. I suppose you might say, we're a "little behind our times," but we always get the job done.

     The point I really want to make here, is that we defied the critics, and have never looked back. If you were to ask Robert or Andrew if they consider their businesses "successful," they'll just smile, as they usually do, and wait for you to ask them "how long before they go out of business." I hate to say they're a little jaded by this line of questioning, but it's true. And it is what's wrong with Gravenhurst in a nutshell……that too many naysayers are salting the earth with their critiques; but we don't know why they insist on cultivating negativity, rather than attempting to reach-out to everyone with a vested interest, to work side by side……instead of being adversaries, which has been the case. It didn't make sense when we started the business and it makes no sense today. But yet it continues.

     We have found a gentler, kinder, more comfortable allegiance of local businesses, and have found that there's a deep pool of willingness to co-operate, when it comes to sharing and networking to look after customers……which of course, is the pivot of any successful enterprise….here or anywhere.

     As a critic of the business community myself, I felt it was necessary to put-up or, as they say, "shut-up!" We invested in Uptown Gravenhurst, and with a lot of hard work and resilience, and long, long hours, we can honestly say, we have financially benefitted and profited, by investing in our hometown. We feel pretty good about admitting that. And we're going to have a Christmas celebration, in recognition of a gamble that was also a winner!

     Thanks once again, for taking the time out of your busy schedule, to spend a few moments here at the Birch Hollow hearthside…..at this festive time of the year. It's always nice to have company on these snowless winter nights. Green Christmas? Christmas-time isn't diminished by the weather, as it is a heartfelt celebration…..not just one celebrated on skis and snowshoes. And by the way, "Goodnight John Boy!"

WHEN PROPAGANDA BECOMES ACCEPTED TRUTH - WE BUY THE HOUSE OF CARDS - AND LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES

IT'S SEEMS AN EASY OUT - BUT HAVE WE LEARNED ANYTHING FROM RECENT DECEPTIONS IN CANADA?

     

     IT HAS BECOME ACCEPTABLE PRACTICE TO TELL PORKIES. IN FACT, IT'S EXPECTED THESE DAYS, THAT TRUTH WILL NEVER SPOIL WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A GOOD NEWS STORY. I HEAR AND READ IT ALL THE TIME HERE IN GRAVENHURST AND MUSKOKA GENERALLY. AUTHORS OF THESE MISTRUTHS WHO KNOW FULL WELL, THAT IF THERE WAS A FORENSIC AUDIT OF THEIR STATEMENTS, OR A LEGAL INQUIRY, THEY'D BE EXPOSED AS LIARS. IF THERE WAS A GAIN OF MONEY, AS A DIRECT RESULT OF ONE OF THESE DECEPTIONS, IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED AN ACT OF FRAUD. YET IT HAS BECOME A TOOL OF UNSPECIFIED GAIN IN MANY OTHER WAYS, ESPECIALLY USEFUL IN SHIFTING OR BUILDING PUBLIC OPINION. YOU ARE LEARNING OF THE PUBLIC OPINION FALL-OUT, AND COLLATERAL PARTY DAMAGE, FROM THESE PURPOSEFUL DECEPTIONS, IN THE RECENT DEBACLE OF THE SENATE SPENDING SCANDAL, FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND THE PROVINCIAL MINEFIELD, OF THE CANCELLATION COSTS FOR THE PLANNED GAS FIRED GENERATING PLANTS, SCRAPPED AS A VOTE-GETTER, PRIOR TO SEVERAL BI-ELECTIONS. THE SCANDALS HAVE BEEN ACCELERATED BY THE FACT THE MEDIA EXPOSED THE COVER-UP, AND THE CAMPAIGN TO MAKE EVERYTHING SEEM NORMAL; EVEN AS THE EXPLOSIVE ALLEGATIONS WERE HITTING TORONTO CITY COUNCIL, THERE WAS DENIAL EVERY FREAKING DAY IT SEEMED. SO THE ART OF LIEING, MISLEADING, COVER-UPS, AND PROPAGANDA, ARE PART OF THE REPRESENTATIVE EXPECTATION. AT SOME POINT, DURING THE PERIOD OF AN ELECTED OFFICIAL'S TERM OF OFFICE, IF NOT EVERY OTHER DAY, THEY WILL BE EXPECTED TO "LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE." SPEAKING OUT AGAINST YOUR OWN LEADERSHIP IS POLITICAL SUICIDE; OF COURSE, GETTING CAUGHT AS PART OF THE COVER-UP, IS SUICIDE BY MEDIA. WHAT'S YOUR POISON? IS IT ANY WONDER, SO MANY CITIZENS PAY SO LITTLE ATTENTION TO THE POLITICAL SCENE THESE DAYS. MANY REFUSING TO VOTE. LIKE THE MOVIE "THE STEPFORD WIVES," IT'S HARD TO PLAY POLITICS WITHOUT TOWING THE LINE. YOU HAVE TO WATCH FOR THE NETWORK OF FRIENDS., WHO HAVE EACH OTHER'S BACK, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY. BEING TOO HONEST CAN BE MEAN AN EARLY EXIT FROM THE CLUB. MAYBE I CAN PROVIDE A LITTLE INSIGHT, AS A FORMER REPORTER / EDITOR FOR THE MUSKOKA MEDIA.

     BACK IN THE EARLY 1980'S, WE HAD WICKED COMPETITION FROM THE BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER. A RELATIVELY NEW AND CHALLENGING PUBLICATION, THE EXAMINER WAS HURTING THE HISTORIC "HERALD-GAZETTE," WHICH I WAS EMPLOYED. THIS IS THE ABRIDGED VERSION, BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT MORE INVOLVED IN THIS, THAN JUST TWO COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS BATTLING FOR MARKET SHARE. WHAT THE VICIOUS COMPETITION MEANT, WAS THAT OUR REPORTING STAFF NEEDED TO "UP THE GAME," AS THEY SAY. WE HAD TO PROVE WE WERE GOING TO PLAY HARDBALL, AS THE EXAMINER WAS DEMONSTRATING OF THE NEW GAME IN TOWN. THEY WERE KICKING THE CRAP OUT OF STATUS QUO IN OUR COMMUNITY, WITH WHAT WE ALL KNEW WAS AN EXCELLENT PRODUCT.  REPORTERS WERE TEARING APART THE "YOU CAN'T TOUCH THIS," CODE OF CONDUCT, THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY INGRAINED IN LOCAL UNWRITTEN (BUT ASSUMED) PROTOCOLS. THE EXAMINER MARCHED TO A DIFFERENT DRUMMER, AND BEGAN EXPOSING LOCAL POLITICS FOR WHAT IT WAS.....WHICH SEEMED A LOT LIKE A GENTLEMAN'S CLUB IN THOSE DAYS. IN A FEW SHORT YEARS, THE HERALD-GAZETTE, THE LEGACY, WAS BEING PUSHED HARD TO IMPROVE ITS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING. TO PROVE ITS RELEVANCE TO THE COMMUNITY.  TRUTH BE KNOWN, THERE HADN'T BEEN MUCH INVESTIGATIVE ANYTHING PRIOR TO THIS; AS ANY PUBLICATION CAN GET AWAY WITH, WHEN THERE IS NO SERIOUS COMPETITION. THE BIRTH OF THE EXAMINER, IN FACT,  IN THE LATE 1970'S "HERALDED" A NEW AND IMPORTANT PERIOD IN THE COVERAGE OF LOCAL NEWS. THE HERALD-GAZETTE WAS FORCED TO CHANGE OR LOSE ITS MARKET. READERS WANTED THE REAL, UNCENSORED NEWS. NOT PRESS RELEASES AND PROPAGANDA. UNFORTUNATELY, WITHOUT INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS, TO TAKE APART PROPAGANDA, FOR WHAT IT WAS, EDITORIAL COPY WAS TOOTHLESS. IT WAS A GREAT VEHICLE FOR COMMUNITY NEWS, BUT IN ORDER TO COMPETE WITH THE TRAIL-BLAZING OF THE EXAMINER, CHANGE HAD TO OCCUR OR ELSE. I WAS A LATER PART OF THE TRANSITION TO HARD NEWS, BEING EXTRACTED FROM PREVIOUSLY PROTECTED PUBLIC SOURCES. A BIG ADJUSTMENT IN ATTITUDES WAS SLOW TO MATURE. THE READERSHIP AND CONSTITUENTS GENERALLY BENEFITTED FROM THIS COMPETITION, TO GET THE BIG SCOOPS. WE WERE A HUNGRY BUNCH BACK THEN.

     IT WAS DIFFICULT AS EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, FOR A NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT REASONS. OUR MANAGEMENT WAS FIRMLY ROOTED IN THE POLITICAL SCENE, AND IN BOTH LOCAL SERVICE CLUBS, AND CHURCHES. THIS IS PRETTY AVERAGE FOR A SMALL COMMUNITY, AND QUITE EXPECTED, AS A FRIENDLY ENCUMBRANCE FOR AN EDITOR AND NEWS STAFF. EVEN THE EDITOR, OF A SMALL TOWN NEWSPAPER, HAD CERTAIN CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. I WAS A DIRECTOR AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICIAL WITH THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND YES, I WROTE A LOT OF PRESS RELEASES ABOUT OUR NEW MUSEUM, WOODCHESTER VILLA. I DIDN'T LIE ABOUT ITS SUCCESSES, BUT I DID INFORM THE READERS THAT EVENTS HELD THERE, WERE GOING TO BE "ENTERTAINING," AND "FAMILY FUN." I'D EVEN WRITE ABOUT THE SUCCESSES OF THE PROGRAM, BUT I WAS ALWAYS VERY CAREFUL NOT TO PAD THE ATTENDANCE FIGURES, BECAUSE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN REVEALED BY ANY ONE OF MY TOWN COUNCIL OVERSEERS, IF AN AUDIT SHOWED I WAS FUDGING THE STATS. POINT IS, THERE ARE INTERNAL MORAL STRUGGLES WE FACED EVERY WEEK, TRYING TO KEEP OURSELVES UNBIASED AS FAR AS THE STORIES WE WERE RUNNING, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, STILL TRYING TO MAINTAIN GOOD RELATIONS, WITH THOSE GROUPS WE HAD CONFLICT OF INTEREST ASSOCIATIONS. SOME FELT, BECAUSE OF FRIENDSHIPS AND RELATED CONNECTEDNESS, WE OWED IT TO THEM TO BOOST THEIR PROFILE WHENEVER POSSIBLE. WE REFUSED AS MUCH AS WE COULD. AT LEAST US NEWS STAFFERS. THERE WERE SOME THINGS AND COVERAGE WE COULDN'T DENY. WE DIDN'T OWN THE PAPER. WE WERE A TORY NEWSPAPER. THAT WAS NO SECRET. THE BEST PART, WAS THAT MANAGEMENT WOULD WRITE PRO-TORY EDITORIALS, AND I CAN SAY HONESTLY, I WAS NEVER ONCE TOLD TO SLANT A STORY IN SUPPORT OF ONE OF MANAGEMENT'S MANY CONNECTIONS. IF I WAS, AND I DON'T REMEMBER SUCH A CASE, I WOULD HAVE TURNED IT DOWN, AND VACATED MY SEAT AT THE KEYBOARD. I WAS ASKED IF I WOULD WRITE A HARD-LINE EDITORIAL ABOUT A BRACEBRIDGE COUNCILLOR ONCE, BUT I JUST LAUGHED AND WALKED AWAY....ASSUMING THE OVERSEER, AT THE TIME, WAS JUST JOKING AROUND.

     I LEARNED, DURING THESE MEDIA YEARS, WHEN WE GOT TO POKE OUR NOSES INTO A LOT OF PREVIOUSLY SECRET AREAS, JUST HOW MUCH HAD BEEN GOING ON IN OUR COMMUNITY, BELOW THE RADAR. WE FOUND LOTS OF SECRET STASHES OF INFORMATION. READERS LOVED IT, AND BOTH NEWSPAPERS WERE GETTING GOOD REVIEWS, AS MORE AND MORE REVELATIONS WERE BEING OFFERED, ABOUT THE INNER WORKINGS OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT. IN SHORT ORDER, ELECTED OFFICIALS WERE APPEARING AS THE PROVERBIAL "DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS," NOT KNOWING JUST HOW FAR THEY SHOULD GO, TO "COOPERATE WITH THE PRESS." IT TURNED OUT, THAT MOST CAPITULATED BY FRIENDLY PERSUASION. HAVING A PEN AND NOTEPAD BENEATH YOUR NOSE, WAS HARD TO IGNORE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU WERE BEING QUOTED; WHEN IN YEARS PAST, AN OFFICIAL COULD "GO OFF THE RECORD," AND SEEM SO HONORABLE FOR DOING SO. NOW THERE WAS FAR MORE "ON THE RECORD" BEING ACCUMULATED, AND THE CHRONICLE OF LOCAL HISTORY, HAD TAKEN A SHARP RIGHT TURN. ISSUE BY ISSUE, THE TOWN WAS BEING OPENED LIKE A STUBBORN CLAMSHELL. WE FOUND LOTS OF ATTEMPTED COVER-UPS OF PUBLIC INFORMATION, AND ENJOYED MAKING COUNCILLORS UNCOMFORTABLE, HOLDING ON TO INFORMATION. CONSTITUENTS HAD A RIGHT TO KNOW. PREVIOUSLY, IT WAS THE CASE, THE MUNICIPALITY WOULD PROVIDE THE SANITIZED VERSION. TWO PAPERS EAGER TO OUTDO EACH OTHER, STOPPED THIS PRACTICE ABRUPTLY.  BOTH PUBLICATIONS STARTED EXPOSING COUNCIL'S PRACTICE OF LIMITING INFORMATION FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION. AND BY THE WAY, THE PUBLIC GRADUALLY UNDERSTOOD, JUST HOW MUCH OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES AND MANIPULATION, THEY DIDN'T KNOW.....AND THEY WEREN'T PLEASED ABOUT THE REVELATIONS. IN THE BEGINNING, THEY ASSUMED WE WERE THE ONES EMBELLISHING THE TRUTH JUST TO GAIN MORE READERS THAN THE COMPETITION. WHICH WAS SAD REALLY, BECAUSE, THEY HAD BOUGHT INTO THE PRACTICE OF ONLY ALLOWING CONSTITUENTS TO KNOW WHAT THEY FELT WAS NEWSWORTHY. WE HAD A DIFFERENT PLAN; AND IT WAS THE RIGHT PLAN. THERE WAS A LOT OF NEWS IN OUR SMALL COMMUNITY. BUT ONLY A SMALL PORTION WAS MAKING ITS WAY TO PRINT, UNTIL OUR NEWSPAPERS BEGAN BATTLING FOR SCOOPS. IT WAS THE HALCYON PERIOD OF JOURNALISM IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. NO NOOK OR CRANNY WAS SAFE FROM THE PRYING OF HUNGRY REPORTERS.

     THIS IS WHAT IS MISSING TODAY. THERE HAS BEEN AN UNFORTUNATE RETURN TO THE "GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL" YEARS, THAT NEWSPAPER COMPETITION HAD KNOCKED ON ITS ASS. NOW THERE ARE MORE NOOKS AND CRANNIES THAN EVER, AND NO INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS TO FERRET THEM OUT. SO WHAT BECOMES PREVELANT INSTEAD, ARE THE SAME OLD REIMS OF PROPAGANDA SPILLING OUT FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENT. ESPECIALLY ABOUT ANYTHING THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE PRESENTING, IN OF COURSE, THE MOST POSITIVE LIGHT ATTAINABLE, VIA WORD SMITHING IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. IF A PUBLIC EVENT FOR ANY GROUP IS HELD AT THE OPERA HOUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE REPORT ON THE ATTENDANCE IS GENERALLY OFFERED AS "BIG. REALLY BIG." TO MOST OF US, READING THIS, WE WOULD ASSUME, THAT OUT OF 320 AVAILABLE IN THE "HOUSE," THAT "BIG" WOULD HAVE TO MEAN, IN EXCESS OF TWO HUNDRED TO CAPACITY. IF THESE "BIG" AUDIENCES WERE AUDITED BY INVESTIGATIVE MEDIA, WE MIGHT FIND THAT FOR "PUBLIC CONSUMPTION," AND THEIR SATISFACTION, "BIG," MAY BE AS SMALL AS FIFTY PEOPLE. IT HAS BECOME ACCEPTABLE PUBLIC RELATIONS, IN THIS MODERN ERA, TO MAKE UP THE RULES AS ONE GOES ALONG, AND WHAT IS BIG TO US, IN NUMBERS, IS FRANKLY, IRRELEVANT. WE'RE NOT THE "DECIDERS" FOR THE RULES OF THE GAME. BY THE WAY, I WOULDN'T WRITE THIS, IF I HADN'T STUDIED THESE CLAIMS IN THE PAST, AND FOUND THAT ON ALL OCCASIONS, THE NUMBERS BEING CLAIMED, AND THE SUCCESSES GARNERED, WERE OFF BY A CONSIDERABLE MARGIN. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY WERE USING WORDS THAT WOULD COVER ALL THE BASES. "AN EXCELLENT TURN OUT!" WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? "A LARGE CROWD WAS IN ATTENDANCE?" WHAT IS THE DETERMINATION OF A "LARGE CROWD?" IT DEPENDS ON THE WRITER AND THE PURPOSE OF THE STATEMENT. A LARGE CROWD TO ME IS DETERMINED BY THE SEATS AVAILABLE AT THE PARTICULAR VENUE. FORTY PATRONS IN A FIFTY SEAT VENUE IS LARGE. FORTY PATRONS IN A 320 SEAT FACILITY IS NOT A LARGE CROWD. YOU'D BE SHOCKED AT HOW MANY TIMES THIS IS CONSIDERED A SIGNIFICANT AND LARGE AUDIENCE, DESPITE THE FACT EVERY PERSON IN ATTENDANCE WOULD AGREE, IT WAS A SMALL, SMALL ATTENDANCE. SO WHEN DOES THIS STRETCHING OF THE TRUTH BECOME UNETHICAL AND DAMAGING. WELL, FOR ONE THING, WHEN IT IS USED TO SUPPORT A POLICY OR PROGRAM WITHOUT JUSTIFICATION, AS NOTHING MORE THAN PROPAGANDA FOR UNSPECIFIED GAIN. THE ONLY WAY TO EXPOSE THESE MISTRUTHS, OR EXAGGERATIONS, IS TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING. OTHERWISE IT WILL NEVER BE REVEALED. SO WHAT DAMAGE DOES IT CAUSE? IF GOVERNMENT OR A PUBLICLY FUNDED ORGANIZATION DOES THIS, THEN THEY ARE MISLEADING THE PUBLIC. IN MY WORLD THIS IS WRONG. THE TRUTH NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH, SOONER OR LATER. THE PROBLEM COMES, WHEN GETTING FORTY PEOPLE OUT, DOES BECOME A "BIG" CROWD, AS EXPECTATIONS ADJUST TO THIS NEW NORMAL. THE BETTER PLAN, IS TO COME CLEAN, AND ADMIT OPENLY AND HONESTLY THAT THE EVENT ATTRACTED A "SMALL" CROWD. THE WORLD WON'T END AS A RESULT. AN HONEST ANSWER CAN MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER TOO.

       THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF COURSE, IS THAT WHEN IT IS IGNORED TIME AND AGAIN, THE PUBLIC BEGINS ACCEPTING WHAT IT'S FED WITHOUT FEELING ANY NECESSITY TO INVESTIGATE THE CLAIM. THE "GETTING AWAY WITH IT THING," BECOMES A MEDIA RELATIONS ADDICTION. WHEN I HEAR A PUBLIC OFFICIAL GENERALIZING ON THE STATE OF THE UNION, IN FOR EXAMPLE, OUR TOWN OR THE REGION, I NOW ASSUME THAT FUDGING HAS OCCURRED TO SOME DETAIL BEING ADDRESSED. IF I WAS TO PUSH THE SPEAKER ON SOME OF THE DETAILS, I'D GET AN ANGRY RETORT, AND EXPECT TO BE KNOWN THEREAFTER AS A HERETIC. "HOW DARE YOU CHALLENGE THE AUTHORITY OF PUBLIC OFFICE?" FOR GOSH SAKES, LOOK AT WHAT REPORTERS HAVE UNCOVERED IN THREE LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS, THAT WAS BEING COVERED UP AS INCONVENIENT TRUTHS? "PROBLEMS AT CITY HALL? NO, EVERYTHING IS FINE." EXCEPT THE CRACK SMOKING THING!

     I'VE ALSO BEEN INVOLVED IN PUBLIC RELATIONS LONG ENOUGH, TO KNOW THE INHERENT DANGERS OF LIEING AND GETTING CAUGHT. I'VE WORKED WITH SOME VERY SAVVY PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALISTS, AND WHILE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CORPORATE OR GOVERNMENTAL SECRETS, AND RIGHTLY SO, THERE ARE MANY PROBLEMS TRYING TO ERASE THE EXISTENCE OF CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES BEFORE ANY ONE CAN FIND OUT. I WOULD NEVER ADVISE A CLIENT TO MISREPRESENT THE TRUTH OR TRY TO DODGE REALITY, FOR THE SIMPLE REASON, THAT IT DOESN'T WORK. WHEN IT IS FOUND OUT, THE PERSONAL DAMAGE IT INFLICTS, CAN END CAREERS; WHEN AN HONEST APPROACH, TO SOMETHING LIKE A DRINKING AND DRIVING CHARGE, CAN BE USED POSITIVELY, BY THE SUBJECT, TO DEMONSTRATE TO THE PUBLIC, THAT TO ERR IS HUMAN. IT'S WHEN THEY TRY TO COVER IT UP, THAT THE IMPACT OF THE EVENTUAL REVELATION, DOUBLES IN NEGATIVE WEIGHT.

     SPIN-MASTERS DO THEIR JOBS. THEY HAVE A PURPOSE AND A LEGITIMACY. WHEN THEY ARE USED TO COVER-UP SERIOUS SHORTFALLS OR PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY GOVERNMENTS, THERE SHOULD BE NO SURPRISE WHEN THE POOP EVENTUALLY HITS THE FAN AT TWICE THE SPEED. WHEN ROOKIES, WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING, PLAY PUBLIC RELATIONS ROLES OUT OF NECESSITY, THAT'S WHEN ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE IN MOST DANGER OF BEING IMPLANTED INTO AN EVEN BIGGER HOLE.....THAN IF THEY JUST 'FESSED-UP TO THE PROBLEM AT HAND. WHENEVER AN ELECTED OFFICIAL TELLS THE PUBLIC, IN CLICHED PITCHES, ABOUT "CLEAR SAILING AHEAD," OR "WE'RE MOVING FORWARD," I READ THE MATTER DIFFERENTLY. MY TAKE IS, "OH CRAP, WE'RE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE," AND "WE'RE SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL, SO DON'T GET IN OUR WAY!" SO WHY CAN'T THEY ADMIT THIS, AND LIKE REDUCING THE STEAM FROM A PRESSURE COOKER, CUT THEMSELVES A LITTLE SLACK. I HAVEN'T HEARD TELL OF A LYNCHING OF A PUBLIC OFFICIAL IN A LONG, LONG, LONG TIME. SO WHY THE VEIL OF SECRECY? WHY COVER-UP THE TRUTH? I'M WILLING TO BET THE HANDBOOK ON THE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THIS COUNTRY, DOESN'T HAVE A SECTION HEADED, "HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY BLOW OFF THE MEDIA," OR "FIFTY WAYS TO LEAVE THEM GUESSING!"

     THERE IS AN OVER-BURDEN OF PROPAGANDA IN THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST. I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS MANY TIMES IN THE PAST, BECAUSE IT REALLY BOTHERS ME, THAT BEING OPEN AND TRANSPARENT ABOUT MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST, IS SUCH A BAD THING TO SO MANY PEOPLE.....WHO NOW ARE ADDICTED TO EMBELLISHING EVERY MEDIA RELEASE....AND PUBLIC PRESENTATION, FOR FEAR, I SUPPOSE OF A PUBLIC BACKLASH. YET, THE TOOTHLESS MEDIA DOESN'T EVEN ATTEND MOST OF THESE EVENTS, OR SHOW ANY REAL INTEREST DIGGING INTO THE MATTER. BUT I WANT TO OFFER ONE BIT OF ADVICE, TO THOSE PART-TIME SPIN-MASTERS, A LITTLE ON THE GREEN SIDE, WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN THIS "FUDGING" OF THE TRUTH. THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING IN CYBER-SPACE THAT IS DOING WHAT IS MOST DASTARDLY, TO THOSE WHO CONCEAL AND MISREPRESENT THE REAL STORY. IT'S CALLED TWITTER.

     I CHALLENGE ANYONE READING THIS BLOG, WHO DISAGREES, OR WHO POSSIBLY AGREES, TO CHECK OUT TWEETS, INVOLVING GRAVENHURST. I DO NOT TWEET. BUT THOSE WHO DO, ARE NOT AFRAID OF CONTRADICTING ACCEPTED THOUGHT, OR OFFICIAL STATEMENTS. IN OTHER WORDS, A PERSON WHO ATTENDS A SHOW, FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE OPERA HOUSE, WHERE IT IS CLAIMED A LARGE TURN-OUT OCCURRED, COULD BE CHALLENGED TO SHAME, BY A PATRON WHO TWEETS A STATEMENT, NOTING THAT A TINY CROWD ATTENDED INSTEAD. MAYBE WITH A PICTURE. WHILE WE'RE NOT LIKELY TO GET A TEAM OF WOLF-LIKE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS HERE, ANY TIME SOON, THE GENERAL PUBLIC USING COMMUNICATION ALTERNATIVES LIKE TWITTER, ARE BECOMING POWERFUL REPORTERS....MAYBE EVEN WITHOUT KNOWING IT. AND FOLKS, JUST TO WARN YOU, THERE ARE TWEETS ABOUT OUR TOWN THAT ARE VERY UNATTRACTIVE BY THEIR HONEST OPINIONS. OPINIONS ABOUT LOCAL BUSINESSES. SOME GOOD. SOME SHOCKING. AND THEY'RE NOT BEING CENSORED, SO AS FAR AS COVERING-UP STUFF IN THE FUTURE, THIS FORUM IS OFFERING A SMACK-DOWN FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO KEEP THINGS UNDER WRAPS. STATUS QUO IS IMPOSSIBLE, AS IT ONCE WAS, AND WE ARE FINDING LOCAL TWEETS VERY REVEALING INDEED. OF COURSE, WE CAN SUFFER THE SAME UNCENSORED REVIEWS, AND WE'LL TAKE THEM ON THE CHIN.....AS WE HAVE NO CHOICE IN THE MATTER. FOR YOUR INFORMATION, WE HAVE HAD TWEETS MADE FROM, AND ABOUT OUR STORE, IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS, THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO ACCESS, TO CHECK ON OUR CUSTOMER APPROVAL. IT HAS ACTUALLY MADE US A MORE RESPONSIVE BUSINESS, KNOWING THAT WE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT MAKES IT TO AN INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE. FUDGING THE TRUTH MEANS NOTHING. THOSE WHO TWEET ABOUT US, ARE THE ONES CALLING THE SHOTS. WE RESPECT THAT. IF WE DO SOMETHING WRONG, OR FAIL TO GIVE THEM THE SERVICE THEY DESERVE, THEY CAN RIGHTLY BASH US ABOUT ONLINE. IT USED TO BE CONFINED TO A LITTLE GRUMBLING ONCE OUT THE DOOR. NOW ITS GLOBAL IN SECONDS, AS ARE PICTURES OF OUR BUSINESS. FOR US, IT HAS BEEN A MAJOR SHIFT IN ADVERTISING, AND WE DON'T WANT UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS LEAVING OUR SHOP. SO BEING TRANSPARENT HAS ITS ADVANTAGES. ECONOMICALLY SO, FOR US. BUT IT HAS ADVANTAGES FAR BEYOND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

     IT'S A NEW ERA. INSTEAD OF AN INVESTIGATIVE PRESS, WE HAVE TWITTER. WHAT WOULD MARSHALL MCLUHAN THINK OF THIS "MEDIUM AS THE MESSAGE?"

Gravenhurst Muskoka; The Cost Of Playing Politics, A Sad Reality At A Festive Time Of Year

More Festive Lighting in Gravenhurst

 

As the Christmas Season rapidly approaches more houses are coming alive with their festive lighting displays.   This one located on Old Muskoka Road, Gravenhurst was a real eye-catcher on a tour of the town last night.  Fred Schulz Photo

Note: December 27th blog follows this earlier blog from December 2012.

THE WRITER'S CHRISTMAS - I AM A PONDERER, A LOVER OF QUIET CONTEMPLATION - AND A SOCIAL OUTCAST

ON BEING THE OBSERVER, AND INTERPRETER

     "MY CHAMBER WAS IN THE OLD PART OF THE MANSION, THE PONDEROUS FURNITURE OF WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN FABRICATED IN THE DAYS OF GIANTS. THE ROOM WAS PANELED, WITH CORNICES OF HEAVEY CARVED WORK, IN WHICH FLOWERS AND GROTESQUE FACES WERE STRANGELY INTERMINGLED, AND A ROW OF BLACK-LOOKING PORTRAITS STARED MOURNFULLY AT ME FROM THE WALLS. THE BED WAS OF RICH, THOUGH FADED DAMASK, WITH A LOFTY TESTER, AND STOOD IN THE NICHE OPPOSITE THE BOW WINDOW. I HAD SCARECELY  GOT INTO BED WHEN A STRAIN OF MUSIC SEEMED TO BREAK FORTH IN THE AIR JUST BELOW THE WINDOW. I LISTENED, AND FOUND IT PROCEEDED FROM A BAND, WHICH I CONCLUDED TO BE THE WAITS FROM SOME NEIGHBORING VILLAGE. THEY WENT AROUND THE HOUSE, PLAYING UNDER THE WINDOWS. I DREW ASIDE THE CURTAINS TO HEAR THEM MORE DISTINCTLY. THE MOONBEAMS FELL THROUGH THE UPPER PART OF THE CASEMENT, PARTIALLY LIGHTING UP THE ANTIQUATED APARTMENT. THE SOUNDS, AS THEY RECEDED, BECAME MORE SOFT AND AERIAL, AND SEEMED TO ACCORD WITH QUIET MOONLIGHT. I LISTENED AND LISTENED - THEY BECAME MORE AND MORE TENDER AND REMOTE, AND, AS THEY GRADUALLY DIED AWAY, MY HEAD SUNK UPON THE PILLOW AND I FELL ASLEEP." (CHRISTMAS EVE)

     THE PASSAGE ABOVE WAS WRITTEN BY AMERICAN AUTHOR, WASHINGTON IRVING, IN HIS EARLY 1800'S PRESENTATION OF "THE SKETCH BOOK," WHICH INTRODUCED THE READER, FOR THE FIRST OF TWO BOOKS, WITH SQUIRE BRACEBRIDGE, OWNER OF A LARGE ENGLISH ESTATE, AND HIS VISITOR, GEOFFREY CRAYON, THE FICTIONAL TRAVELLER, WHO WAS FAIRLY CLOSE IN CHARACTER TO IRVING HIMSELF…..AND HIS LOVE FOR BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE RAMBLINGS AND CHERISHED TRADITIONS.

      "WHEN I WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING, IT SEEMED AS IF ALL THE EVENTS OF THE PRECEDING EVENING HAD BEEN A DREAM, AND NOTHING BUT THE IDENTITY OF THE ANCIENT CHAMBER CONVINCED ME OF THEIR REALITY. WHILE I LAY MUSING ON MY PILLOW, I HEARD THE SOUND OF LITTLE FEET PATTERING OUTSIDE OF THE DOOR, AND A WHISPERING CONSULTATION. PRESENTLY A CHOIR OF SMALL VOICES CHANTED FORTH AN OLD CHRISTMAS CAROL, THE BURDEN OF WHICH WAS, 'REJOICE, OUR SAVIOUR HE WAS BORN, ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE MORNING.' I ROSE SOFTLY, SLIPPED ON MY CLOTHES, OPENED THE DOOR SUDDENLY, AND BEHELD ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FAIRY GROUPS THAT A PAINTER COULD IMAGINE. IT CONSISTED OF A BOY AND TWO GIRLS, THE ELDEST NOT MORE THAN SIX, AND LOVELY AS SERAPHS. THEY WERE GOING THE ROUNDS OF THE HOUSE, SINGING AT EVERY CHAMBER DOOR, BUT MY SUDDEN APPEARANCE FRIGHTENED THEM INTO MUTE BASHFULNESS. THEY REMAINED FOR A MOMENT PLAYING ON THEIR LIPS WITH THEIR FINGERS, AND NOW AND THEN STEALING A SHY GLANCE FROM UNDER THEIR EYEBROWS, UNTIL, AS IF BY ONE IMPULSE, THEY SCAMPERED AWAY, AND AS THEY TURNED AN ANGLE OF THE GALLERY, I HEARD THEM LAUGHING IN TRIUMPH AT THEIR ESCAPE.

     "EVERYTHING CONSPIRED TO PRODUCE KIND AND HAPPY FEELINGS IN THIS STRONGHOLD OF OLD FASHIONED HOSPITALITY. THE WINDOW OF MY CHAMBER LOOKED OUT UPON WHAT IN SUMMER WOULD HAVE BEEN A BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE. THERE WAS NO SLOPING LAWN, A FINE STREAM OF WINDING AT THE FOOT OF IT, AND A TRACT OF PARK BEYOND, WITH NOBLE CLUMPS OF TREES AND HERDS OF DEER. AT A DISTANCE WAS A NEAT HAMLET, WITH THE SMOKE FROM THE COTTAGE CHIMNEYS HANGING OVER IT; AND A CHURCH, WITH ITS DARK SPIRE IN STRONG RELIEF AGAINST THE CLEAR COLD SKY."

A SEASONAL SOJOURN OF THE REINCARNATED

     Occasionally, at this time of year, I will talk with Suzanne, at some length over mulled cider, about my family from England. The "Jackson" side of my family tree. Quite a number of the Jackson, including William and Benjamin, who had resided within easy travel of Liverpool, emigrated to Canada, in the mid 1800's, to better their lives, on newly opened farmsteads near Brighton, Ontario. Suzanne is a whiz at family history, and has over the past three years, given us a full tree, instead of the few meagre branches, that we'd been going on wrongly, as gospel, for three decades at least. She adores her subscription to Ancestry.ca. When we begin chatting about our family roots overseas, inevitably we will bring up the possibility that we have been reincarnated into the modern era, from family stock going back centuries…..maybe to Elizabethan times. We both, you see, have particularly poignant feelings, at times, almost as if, like the sudden jerk of a heart-string, from somewhere beyond mortality, we are sent abruptly into some historic ambience, and attire, we have given up trying to explain. We each have different triggers, that will give us that curious, momentary instinct, we were part of another time period. It could be the sensory arousal, from something as simple as a wafting fragrance, or scent of roast beef cooking in the oven…..the aroma of spices or fresh herbs. Flowers as perfume. It can also be a weather condition, the sunrise or sunset, or a motor trip through the countryside, that makes us reflect on something we know nothing (apparently) about. I can tell when she's having some historical flashback, although mine are usually always experienced in solitude situations, and most often the result of two aggressive triggers, sometimes all at once…..which is definitely of the nature of "fantastic."

     The first trigger, is when I spend long hours at this keyboard. Tonight, for example, I was supposed to attend a party, my lads were throwing, for their friends and business associates. As I am a true social misfit, and hate small talk with a passion, I opted out with the apology….."Geez, I'd love to, but I've got a blog to write." Even in the few minutes I sat here, trying to put together the basics for a column, I was drawn, to the point of being compelled, to Washington Irving's book in the case above my desk. The reason I enjoy Irving's writing, especially about old England, is that it has, all my life, been the one sure exposure, that will send my spirit wandering the English moors, looking for Squire Bracebridge's estate. Since I began reading Irving, as a teenager, I have made it a regular visitation ever since. Do you know, that even Charles Dickens, admitted, he often retired to bedlam, with a copy of a Washington Irving book, tucked under his arm. For some reason, it is Irving more than any other writer, even Dickens, who has for long and long, stimulated my imagination well beyond the story, such that I can find my concentration taken over by thoughts and memories I can't logically explain. It's as if Irving's work, especially his Christmas stories, open up a portal for my old well-travelled soul, to cross back into familiar history. It has always been a haunting experience, yet remarkable enough, that I can't help tempting the situation, feeling that one day, I may actually discover the truth behind the strange, alluring aura of commonplace, that puts me in the English countryside…..where possibly I once lived in a former life. Is it an over-active imagination? Wishful fantasy? Or just the trappings of a good writer, Washington Irving, doing what accomplished authors are supposed to do…..with any story they write. Take you on an adventure!

     The second most powerful trigger, is anything played on a lute. I must have been a musician way back, and it is Elizabethan period songs, that can make me melt into a sentimental whirling dervish, trying relentlessly, to escape my mortal fetters……without knowing why it's is so imperative to break free. I can eventually collect the visualizations, of the same English countryside, almost to the point where I could walk to the place I once resided. I have heard period songs, that hurt my heart. The passion for a return, to those times, being so imbedded in my soul……possessing some meaning and romantic overture, I am at a loss to understand…..at least in this mortal capacity. If you have ever felt similarly, and believe in the possibilities of reincarnation, I certainly don't need to explain this further. You have been strangely titillated by the exposure to something, that acts to inspire thoughts, that may not be your own….at least in this lifetime. In my case, if I was to listen to Elizabethan music daily, I would turn into a jelly of formless sentimentality…..because this is what happens, even when I occasionally hear the music, performed on CBC 2, my channel of choice. I sit there speechless, and let messenger ghosts remind me I'm being beckoned by another century. It's not that I like this period music, but it has a power over me, that makes my knees wobble more than usual. I can feel myself part of a courtyard dance, with a woman I must have known from this same era, and it is definitely not my wife. I can see her face so clearly, it becomes very unsettling, as if the very thought, and dance of which I can't control, smacks of infidelity……unless I turn the music off quickly before anything happens. And yes, it is like seeing a wayward spirits, and no fooling, I'm one of them. I've referenced this before, in these stories, and especially in my Muskoka and Algonquin Ghost blogs….., that I have seen my ghost before…..and it's not like I wouldn't know the chap. When the ghost wanders about, in Elizabethan times, I must admit, the face of the dancer, is not the one I see in the mirror each morning…..but the aura is definitely something I'm familiar with. I don't tell Suzanne about these weird time-travel, deja vu' experiences, because they stretch miles beyond what she has felt similarly; hers always representing a more recent history…….such as from the pioneer years, like her ancestors, working the rocky soil of Muskoka, near Three Mile Lake, at Ufford. I think my reincarnation skipped a few centuries, because I definitely have never managed a plow or used hay fork, even in my wildest dream, or nightmare.

     What really gets my spirit travels up and going, is the approach of the Christmas season. There is no other time of the year, as strong for these deja vu' sensations, as the Christmas to New Years period. Even traveling in England, didn't cause much thoughtful recollection, of a previous life, which frankly shocked me.I've had these strange feelings since childhood. I think I tried too hard, to encourage these sudden feelings, because then it would have been easier to follow and maybe even research. If it is actually England or Scotland, in my flashbacks. I think it is, but these are all confusing time travels of the mind. For whatever reason, it is the Christmas season, most of all, that evokes thoughts of a past life. I am able to resolve a lot of these urges and issues, by writing, and when I have my most compelling periods, where I have one foot in an English dance, and the other here at Birch Hollow, I gather up my wayward soul, and set myself the task of writing about it; and anything the thoughts may generate on their own. I can tell you this honestly. I must also have been a writer then, possibly a "less than" great bard, who was particularly sensitive to the natural environment. When I feel this surging sentimentality, I am most prone to writing what I call my landscape pieces, which you can read by accessing my "Muskoka as Walden," blogsite, which I have used for several years, as an outlet, whenever nature calls…..and it most surely does……but I can tell you, it is because the landscape here at Birch Hollow, reminds me of an English moor. For the record, I have never once set foot in an English moor, at least in this chapter of "My Spirit Doth Travel." You will find hundreds of occasions, really without intent, where I have referenced a Muskoka lowland, or bog, as a "Moor," as if it is as familiar as the one that might have been written about, as a backdrop for a Sherlock Holmes murder mystery. It may be a bog, and a typical Muskoka wetland, with ponds, but when I write about it, during one of my deja vu' moments, it is a "moor." Plain and simple. Is this strange or not?

     At Christmas, I am an English townsman. I can see the thatched cottages, and the narrow, winding country lanes, with the neatly crafted rock fences, and the hills and valleys in the distance, that are simply not the topography of Muskoka. I can imagine myself lodging in some road house, waiting on a settle by the fire, for my mug of dark ale, and listening to the ice pellets hitting the roof and the wind creaking the old metal sign, on its rusted hinge, hanging above the door, out front. Like Irving's character, the good Mr. Crayon, I can hear and see the traditions of retired Christmases, as if they are new again……and I ponder for a moment, if I might ever be pulled back entirely, on one of these memorable sojourns from the present…..and if so, what would happen to my story right now……if this history became so compelling, as a vacuum, taking me all the way home, many mortal lifetimes from here? What might Suzanne think, upon finding only my slippers and still warm pipe, and the imprint of an old author, still recognizable on the chair cushion?

     "It is a beautiful arrangement, also, derived from days of yore, that this festival, which commemorates the announcement of religion of peace and love, and has been made the season for gathering together of family connections, and drawing closer again those bands of kindred hearts, which the caress and pleasures and sorrows of the world are continually operating to cast loose, of calling back the children of a family, who have launched forth in life, and wandered widely asunder, once more to assemble about the paternal hearth, that rallying place, of the affections, there to grow young and loving again among the endearing mementoes of childhood." Washington Irving.

     Somehow, I have come to feel that Irving himself, a tireless preserver of British traditions, even as an American, felt the spirit-kind wasn't necessarily confined to one existence alone. Maybe it's why I cherish his work, as I do. There is a validation, to being called to assemble again, "about the paternal hearth, that rallying place, of the affections."

     Bless you, for visiting today, so close to Christmas Eve. I know you probably have better places to be…..finer acquaintances to visit, and warmer fires to sit beside, than this humble hearth of mine. I hope your Christmas season will be joyful and of course spirited, and spent happily in the festive aura of tradition and goodwill. We shall share this paternal hearth, at Birch Hollow, in the charming bailiwick……across from this snow-laden, enchanted lowland…..the moor. A Gravenhurst, Muskoka moor!

Blog, December 27, 2013

     THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE IN THIS TOWN. MORE THAN WE KNOW. PEOPLE WHO GIVE SO MUCH OF THEIR FREE TIME, AND SERVICES, TO HELP WHERE NEED IS MOST ACUTELY FELT. THESE ARE CITIZENS WHO WILL EAGERLY VOLUNTEER TO DRIVE THOSE SUFFERING FROM ILLNESSES,TO THEIR MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS; SOME AT GREAT DISTANCE, AND WHO NEVER ASK FOR GAS MONEY. KINDLY NEIGHBORS WHO LOOK AFTER THE DRIVEWAYS OF SHUT-INS AND THE AGED, WHO CAN'T SHOVEL BECAUSE OF PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS. FOLKS WHO DIG DEEP INTO THEIR POCKETS, ALL THE TIME, TO HELP FUND LOCAL CHARITIES, AND WHO ARRIVE REGULARLY AT THE FOOD BANK WITH BAGS OF GROCERIES. THERE ARE TOO MANY POSITIVES OUT THERE, TO GIVE MUCH CREDIBILITY TO THOSE WHO THRIVE AMIDST POLITICAL INFIGHTING. AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, IT ALL SEEMS SO TERRIBLY COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE, TO THEN HAVE THIS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED UNDERTOW, TAKING DOWN THE MORALE OF ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE WE'RE ROUNDING A CORNER.....ONLY TO FIND YET ANOTHER PERILESS WHIRLPOOL AHEAD. IT DOES APPEAR AT TIMES, AS IF WE SELF SABOTAGE IN THIS TOWN. BUT IT'S NOT THE REALITY OF THE MAJORITY OF CITIZENS. IT IS THE AWKWARD, IMMATURE STICKHANDLING OF THE FEW, MAKING IT LESS DESIRABLE TO GET INVOLVED. WHO NEEDS THE BURDEN OF PERSONAL AGENDAS, GETTING IN THE WAY OF WHAT SHOULD BE CONTROVERSY-FREE. WHAT COULD AND SHOULD BE ELIMINATED BY STRONG LEADERSHIP, AND DEEP CONCERN BY ALL MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, IS FOBBED-OFF AS "IT'S NOT MY DEPARTMENT." "NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY!" "NOT MY JOB!" I'M JUST AN AVERAGE CITIZEN, WHO IS TELLING THEM DIFFERENTLY, WHETHER THEY CHOOSE TO BELIEVE ME OR NOT. IT IS THEIR DEPARTMENT, IT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY, AND IT IS THEIR JOB! THERE IS CIVIL UNREST OUT THERE, AND IT'S EXPANDING. FOR ALL THOSE WHO HAVE EVEN A MINOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE GREAT REBELLIONS OF HISTORY, MANY BEGAN AS A SPARK OF CIVIL UNREST, AND A DISATISFACTION WITH THE WAY THEY WERE BEING TREATED. WE NEED A REBELLION IN ATTITUDE. WE REALLY NEED TO DEAL WITH UNREST AT ALL LEVELS. OR, THE DISASTER AHEAD WILL BE AN ALL CONSUMING ONE, AND WILL HAVE HUGE ECONOMIC RAMIFICATIONS.

     WHAT WILL HAPPEN HERE, IS THE TRADITIONAL "PASSING OF THE BLAME." IT MUST BE SKOKIE'S FAULT. THAT FREAKING LITTLE OTTER JUST DOESN'T KNOW WHEN TO QUIT. WE'VE GOT TO BLAME IT ON SOMEONE OR SOMETHING. RIGHT? THERE'S A LONG STORY HERE, BUT FOLKS, I'M GOING TO LEAVE THIS FOR THE VOLUNTEERS AND BOOSTERS MOST INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN THE WINTER CARNIVAL TO SORT OUT. WE SHOULD RUN SKOKIE FOR MAYOR NEXT TIME AROUND, WITH A PLATFORM OF "WINTER YEAR ROUND."

     

     THIS MAY BE A FIRST, OF SORTS, IN MY WRITING CAREER. I HAVE STARTED TODAY'S BLOG WITHOUT WRITING A HEADING FIRST. UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, I NEED THOSE FIRST FEW WORDS, OF A HALF-TITLE, TO GIVE ME A ROUGH BUT WORKABLE FRAMEWORK, FROM WHICH TO BOUNCE AROUND, IN THE HELTER SKELTER TO FOLLOW. I NEED THE STRUCTURE OF THOSE FIRST FEW WORDS, THAT FOR ME, MIGHT AS WELL BE AN ESSAY, FOR WHAT THEY REPRESENT, TO GUIDE ME THROUGH THE DAY'S COLUMN. I HATE HAVING TO CHANGE A HEADING, JUST BECAUSE I'VE DEVIATED TOO FAR IN MY COPY, FOR IT TO BE RELEVANT ANY LONGER. OUT OF HABIT AND SUPERSTITION, OF WHICH I AM AN OVERZEALOUS FOLLOWER, I WOULD SOONER RE-WRITE THE WHOLE PARAGRAPH, I'VE JUST COMPOSED, RATHER THAN HEAD TO THE ALMIGHTY TOP OF THE PAGE, TO CORRECT MY STRATEGY FOR THE DAY'S WRITING JAG. WRITERS LIKE GOALIES, HAVE THEIR COMPULSIVE HABITS, AND I WAS A FORMER GOALIE. TODAY, I'M SO MAD AT THE POLITICAL NONSENSE IN MY HOMETOWN, THAT I HAVE SAT HERE, LOOKING AT THE WHITE SPACE, FOR THE PAST HOUR, AND BEEN UNABLE TO FIND ANY SUCCESSION OF WORDS, KIND OR ANGRY, THAT WOULD FRAME WHAT I'M THINKING TODAY. SO AS A MATTER OF SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT PROTEST, I AM LEAVING IT BLANK FOR THIS BLOG, BECAUSE HONESTLY, I DON'T BELIEVE, THE WAY I'M FEELING TODAY, A FEW WORDS COULDN'T SUM-UP MY TRUE DISGUST ABOUT THE POLITICAL GAMES, BEING PLAYED AT THE CONSTITUENTS DISADVANTAGE. THIS TOWN IS IN POLITICAL CRISIS, BUT HAS BECOME TO SOME, THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD. AND IT'S NOT JUST POLITICS OF THE GOVERNMENT-KIND. IT'S WORSE. EVERYTHING IS BECOMING POLITICAL. IT'S ONE THING TO HAVE THE EXCESSES AND POOR GOVERNANCE FROM THREE LEVELS, BUT QUITE ANOTHER, FINDING THAT POLITICS IS GOVERNING MOST OF WHAT WE DO IN THIS TOWN......LIKE ONE RIDICULOUSLY HUGE GAME OF "SURVIVOR," WHERE THERE ARE NO WINNERS....BELIEVE ME. JUST CASUALTIES.

    IF YOU LISTEN TO THE WORD ON THE STREET THESE DAYS, IN UPTOWN GRAVENHURST, HONESTLY, YOU'D WANT TO HIGH-TAIL IT OUT OF TOWN....FOR FEAR OF BEING DRAWN INTO THE VICIOUS CYCLE AND QUAGMIRE OF DISENCHANTMENT.....WHERE THERE IS A LOT LESS COLLATERAL DAMAGE FOR HAVING A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OR OPINION. IF YOU'RE NOT LIKE-MINDED WITH THE POLITICAL MOVERS AND SHAKERS, IN OUR TOWN, YOU ARE THUSLY, A HERETIC. A ROGUE. A TROUBLE-MAKER. SOMEONE TO BE SHUNNED AND ISOLATED, IN CASE YOU MIGHT CAUSE A SUDDEN, IRREVOCABLE RIPPLE ON THE OTHERWISE STILL WATER. WHEN YOU HAVE A MAIN STREET STOREFRONT LIKE WE DO, AND HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN SO MANY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS, WITH SO MANY CHARITABE GROUPS, AND CITIZEN PARTNERS, HONESTLY, YOU CAN'T HELP BUT BE EXPOSED TO THE GOSSIP OF THE DAY. WE UNDERSTAND WHAT GOSSIP REPRESENTS AS A POISON, AND WHAT WE'RE WORRIED ABOUT, IS THAT LATELY, WHAT WAS ONCE JUST RIDICULOUS HEARSAY, IS NOW, TOO CLOSE TO BEING FACT, TO DISMISS CASUALLY. WHAT IS PURPORTED TO BE A FRIENDLY TOWN IS AN IMAGE FAR FROM THE TRUTH. THOSE CONTRIBUTING TO HARD FEELINGS JUST DON'T WANT TO RECOGNIZE IT. WE ARE, IN SO MANY WAYS, BEING TARNISHED AS A GOOD TOWN, BECAUSE WE HAVE BECOME ADDICTED TO POLITICS IN ITS MANY FORMS; NONE OF IT HELPING US IMPROVE OUR AMBITIONS TO BE A BETTER, STRONGER, FRIENDLIER TOWN. SOME MIGHT CALL IT A "GOVERNMENT STATE." IT'S WHEN FAMILY COMPACT-POLITICS, FROM THE BAD DAYS OF UPPER CANADIAN HISTORY, ARE UTILIZED AS THE STRATEGY OF MANIPULATION TODAY, THAT WEAKNESSES IN CITIZEN WILL TO FIGHT-BACK, INITIATES AS A DIRECT RESULT, THE UNFORTUNATE, SLOW MANIFESTATION OF FAILURE, IN ALL ITS MANY FORMS. THE PEEING-INTO-THE-WIND SYNDROME. IS THIS WHAT WE WANT IN OUR TOWN? IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME, TO REVERSE WHAT HAS BECOME A NEGATIVE ENVIRONS, AND I'M DEEPLY SADDENED TO ADMIT THIS, AS ONE OF THE TOWN'S BOOSTERS. WHETHER YOU HEAR THE SAME STORIES, AS WE DO, OR NOT, DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING. OBVIOUSLY WE'RE IN THE BEST PLACE TO CATCH-UP ON CURRENT EVENTS, BECAUSE OF OUR CUSTOMER BASE. BUT WE HAVE TO START SOUNDING THE ALARM, BECAUSE WITH THESE POLITICAL GAMES GOING ON, WE'RE SACRIFICING OUR HOMETOWN REPUTATION. FAR TOO MANY OF OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE OPTING INSTEAD, TO STAY OUT OF THE WAY, AND LET THE BIG WHEELS BATTLE IT OUT FOR SPOILS OF BATTLE. THE PROBLEM WITH APATHY, IS THAT IT BECOMES A GROWING IMPEDIMENT TO VOLUNTEERISM, BECAUSE FEW WANT TO GET BASHED AROUND, AND STEPPED-UPON, BY THOSE WHO CAN'T TOLERATE LEAVING WELL ENOUGH ALONE.

     I LIKE THIS TOWN. OUR FAMILY LIKES THIS TOWN. OUR BUSINESS IS DOING WELL IN THIS TOWN. WE ARE REVERENT OF THE CITIZENS WHO BUILT THIS TOWN. WE WANT A RETURN TO THE LEADERSHIP WE HAVE KNOWN IN THIS TOWN, THAT IS HOMETOWN PROUD; FOLKS WILLING TO OVERCOME PETTINESS AND PERSONAL AGENDAS, FOR THE COMMON GOOD OF THE TOWN. THIS WAS ONCE BASED ON INCLUSION, WHEN CONSTITUENTS FELT LIKE PART OF ANY SOLUTION, TO ANY PROBLEM. NOW WE ARE TOLD, WELL, THAT EVERYTHING IS FINE AND MOVING AHEAD, WHEN IN FACT, THE SPIRAL DOWN EFFECT WE SEE AND HEAR ABOUT (BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MAKE IT TO THE NEWS PAGES), PROVES THE EXACT OPPOSITE TO HOLD TRUE.

     THIS IS A GENTLE RANT. I'VE REWORKED THIS A COUPLE OF TIMES, BECAUSE, IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON, WE DON'T NEED TO INFILL WITH DOOM AND GLOOM. IT'S NOT EASY TO WATCH ALL THIS DISHARMONY TRANSPIRING, AND NOT BE ABLE TO DO A DARN THING ABOUT IT. WE KNOW BY EXPERIENCE AND IMMERSION IN THE POLITICAL GAME HERE, THE CONSEQUENCES ARE TOO GREAT AND LONG-LASTING, TO ENGAGE, JUST BECAUSE YOU FIND YOURSELF ITCHING FOR RETALIATION. IT'S NOT WORTH THE EFFORT. IT'S THE REASON THAT AFTER OUR LAST UNFORTUNATE FORAY INTO MAIN STREET POLITICS, A HALF DOZEN YEARS AGO (OR MORE), WE VOTED AS A FAMILY TO STICK WITH OUR BUSINESS LOCATION DURING THE DAY....AND THEN WALKING THE SHORT DISTANCE, TO GET IN THE CAR TO GO BACK HOME, AFTER WORK. WE DID OPT TO JOIN A FEW COMMUNITY INITIATIVES, BUT HAVE HAD TO ABANDON THEM NOW, FOR FEAR OF GETTING DRAWN IN, TO A SPIRAL THAT IS GOING DOWN, NOT UP. IT HURTS US AND OUR FRIENDS, NOT TO MENTION CHARITIES WE USED TO SUPPORT, BUT WE CAN NO LONGER TAKE THE RISK, OF GETTING INVOLVED IN WHAT CAN ONLY BE CONSIDERED A MINE-FIELD OF OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME. WE ARE TRYING TO BE CHARITABLE FROM WITHIN OUR BUSINESS LOCATION INSTEAD. WE DO WHAT WE CAN TO SUPPORT THE REPUTATION OF OUR HOMETOWN. IT'S JUST A LOT MORE LIMITED THAN IT WAS, WHEN WE WERE FULL OF RAW, RAW, RAW ENTHUSIASM.

     THE SOLUTION? THE CONSTITUENTS OF THIS TOWN, KNOWING THIS STUFF IS GOING ON, NEED TO RISE UP, AND DEMAND CHANGES ALL ROUND. IT ISN'T GOING TO BE SOLVED SIMPLY BY ELECTING A NEW COUNCIL. IT'S DEEPER THAN THIS. WE NEED TO START FINDING THE SOURCES OF THE POLITICAL MANIPULATIONS AND CONTRARY AGENDA.....AND IMPOSING SOME OF OUR OWN VALUES. HOMETOWN VALUES. NOT THE POLITICAL DICTATES OF THOSE WHO KNOW HOW TO PUSH BUTTONS TO GET THEIR WAY.

     I'M DONE. BUT I STILL HAVE NO HEADING TO ADD TO THIS BLOG. IT IS A FIRST FOR ME.