Catcher In the (it's a small world) Rye

Don't know why, but J.D.Salinger's book appealed to a young adult male Brit in early & mid-sixties London. My mother had told me about its notoriety in the U.S. but didn't tell me anything about it.
of course, talking about it with friends, I learnt that it was "shocking" because it featured a young teenage boy using the 'F' word... however, that was lost on us -  as our British edition was censored; must not corrupt young minds... I mean, everyone knows how chaste & unsullied teenage boys are.
In the next few years, I read the rest of Salinger's, albeit limited, published output. I carried the paperbacks everywhere with me, and re-read them many times.

Well, last month, PBS had a  special on him and the story regarding his relationship with Joyce Maynard. I did know about the affair and her subsequent silence about him... then her sudden writing about the relationship. (I think that this is all about to be covered in a forthcoming film as well.)
The program was very interesting and prompted me to re-read his books again. I had one in my hand this week when I went to a doctor's appointment at our main hospital. My doctor saw Salinger's book and asked me if I knew about his relationship with Ms. Maynard. I said, yes, and told about the recent PBS show, whereupon my doctor revealed that she knew Maynard, indeed, grew up with her. They are both from the same small New England town; even went to school together.
Present circumstances means that their relationship is one of shared emails nowadays, not visits, but nonetheless, they had a childhood in common.

It never fails to amaze me how  simple little things in our everyday being turn out to have links to some new acquaintance or friend. Life is indeed full of serendipity.

st.patricks's day

never fully understood the north American craze for extravagant St. Paddy's day celebrations... except to say, if you are young;  nothing like a non-weekend excuse for drinking. It  seems fairly supportable I would warrant !
as for all the other greenery we used to string around the office, it was definitely just another case of consumer exploitation. certainly, growing up in London in the '60's it was not acknowledged in every drinking establishment... save the Irish pubs !! yes, we did make a special pilgrimage to them on march 17th.. I recall one particular pub in Kilburn at the end of Mart's street that was wild.
(But then that pub was wild every Saturday night, too..)
I could not face putting green dye in my 12 yr old Johnny Walker now, so I guess I will give it a miss this year too.

story of a new life

march 15, 2014

44 years ago to day I arrived in Toronto at the old Malton airport.  Immigrating with two friends - who were already here,  Paul was illegally stopped in his bright red Lotus Plus 2.
He came running into the terminal looking for me.
It was a crazy start to a crazy few years... with many memorable moments.

I loved Toronto in the early seventies. My friends did not settle down as eagerly. They left in 1974 for a decade of wandering. I pretty much settled down by 1973.
I was definitely a Canadian at heart.  Remained so for the rest of my life.... but never gave up also being a Brit at heart and an absentee American.

Thank you Canada - especially Ontario & Nova Scotia... and 33 million people.
... and Kingsbury and Oxford... and St. Petersburg , New York, I-75 & I-95...
... a million other highways.

Ten Years After

So sad to hear of the death of Alvin Lee, Ten Years After's great  guitarist and singer.
They were a highlight of the Woodstock movie. He blazed his way through solos that were the equal of Hendricks & Clapton.
When I emigrated to Canada 40+ years ago and was living in a small bachelor apartment in Toronto, I could not afford a TV, nor a record player. For 3 years my trusty little Sony tape player was my music provider of choice.
I bought TYA's "Watt" from Sam the Tape Man on Yonge Street and played it again and again.
(Yes, Sam had a tape store separate from "The Record Man" store on Yonge in those days; right by his Chinese food shop!)
Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end...

or so the song said.

Oscars & Movies

Just watched the 2005 winner of best foreign language film -- Tsoti. A South African film about 6 days in the life of a young thug.
It was terrific. Yes, the message about redemption and how a baby can alter your perspective of the world -- regardless of the limitations of that world, are not unique to this movie..... in fact, those themes are common in movies, but the actors kept you linked to  the unfolding of the events and I was definitely anxious to keep watching. I was never bored, nor did I feel any scenes were unnecessary or too long.
It is based on a novel by Athol Fuggard, so I am not actually surprised that it had a good narrative. He is an acclaimed S. African writer decades before this movie was made.

annoying phone calls

I am sure that there are many other people/households who are being taunted by annoying phone calls. What I would like to know, is how can a company get away with using # s such as 000 000 0000? And more annoyingly, today 613-704-0070 called me, of course it was a scam and I was not willing to listen all the way through -- yet, I could not hang up the phone, nor disconnect from that number. I pressed Off. Then, talk again, and the female voice was still rabbiting on !! Three  attempts to disconnect did not work.

How can they get away with this?
I have blocked the number now... but it still disturbs me that the phone company permits some business to have a number that is a permanent link.

Valentines Day

Luckily, my wife knows my sentiments (or lack thereof,) concerning the celebrations on February 14th.
The whole event is a sham; dreamt up to make singles feel bad, and go to a bar/restaurant to cheer up & not feel "lonely" in their flats and apartments... while "couples" crowd most of the good tables in the bar/restaurant and talk about "their special night".

Long ago, I had a good friend who actually wanted to get married on Fe. 14th for the two spurious reasons -- 1) that future hubby would always remember the anniversary, and; 2) it was romantic...

Well, we were young then, but close, and she listened to me when I said, hubby was a nice guy and I'd make sure he remembered their anniversary (!), and how could it be romantic when you end up sharing your really special day with a billion or so others...
They got married in May, and are still together 30+ years later.

We do not live in the same province any more, but we remain in touch; and I miss them, a lot.

Thankfully, I have a lovely wife who I appreciate 365(6) days a year....

but
yes,
I have a surprise for her tomorrow..
I have finally done something special she has been asking me to do for over a year! I know it will make her happy... and that is the point of the occasion, I suppose.