Looking For Romance

LOOKING FOR ROMANCE!

Yesterday, while attending a great Jazz and Blues Festival in Lakefield (a small village on the Trent Canal System), my friends and I were invited to visit ‘Romance’, docked in the harbor, for cocktail hour.

“It’s easy to find – 32 footer with a burgundy top,” said the hostess.

We laughed and talked on the way over about Burton Cummings’s upcoming concert here in Peterborough and how we all agreed that he should open with, ‘Your Backyard ‘ because, once again, he would be in my backyard.

We were not paying much attention to the task of finding our friends’ boat.

Escaping a sudden downpour, we quickly clambered onboard the burgundy topped cruiser and took shelter under the covered back deck. It looked like our friends had stepped out for a moment and, getting caught in the downpour, sought shelter elsewhere. So we made ourselves comfy and somehow the conversation got around to Murphy’s Law.

I am sure you have all met Murphy and know about his law but just in case, allow me to enlighten you. According to Wiki, “It is found that anything that can go wrong at sea, generally does go wrong, sooner or later, so it is not to be wondered that owners prefer the safe to the scientific.”

In my novel, 'Because We Could',  Murphy first visits the pages when we are about to begin our disastrous journey across the Bay of Fundy -  the most treacherous body of water in the world. Our ship was an antique 112′ submarine chaser and, our misly crew of four, clueless. 

“During the shoving off maneuvers, Murphy went straight to work and pushed Greg’s outsized glasses off our crewmember’s nose into the sea to become the first piece of jetsam we would unwillingly offer up to Mother Ocean. Unfortunately, this sacrifice took with it Greg’s sight and every last ounce of his pint-sized courage. After pawing his way to the inside of the wheelhouse, he pretty much stayed there for the duration of the crossing, earnestly gripping the rail.”

OK, back to our current storey. About 45 minutes passed with no sign of our hosts, a woman was standing on the dock asking what the hell we were doing on her boat? She saw no humor whatsoever in what had happened.

Tails between our legs and full of apologies, we disembarked and walked to the stern to see what the heck the name of her boat was. There, written in the standard black letters was:

MURPHY'S LAW 

Hysterics prevailed.

Notable groups at the concert:

      Jane Bunnett Cuban Rhapsody - Jazz

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0fikzzjUJ8

      Blackburn - the blues, Baby

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-lhsZjbE6g

And, to read how Burton ended up in my backyard - see chapter 4 in 'Because We Could'.

And for the song, 'Your Backyard' go to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAUyRMrPu4U

                       

Back At It

I'm back! Took a short sabbatical to check out a couple of hospitals. Piece of advise to readers - if you think you are going to pass out at the wheel, don't give it a second thought - pull the fuck over thatmoment, 'cause hitting a tree at 80 k's, hurts like hell.

The heli lift was cool and definitely on my bucket list, but the board and neck brace were bloody uncomfortable and the view of only the chopper's ceiling, a huge disappointment. My car 'is' no longer, but I live on, pretty much unscathed. Prior to the accident, I had been contemplating highlighting my life's adventures with tattoos, but now the scars collected over the years, along with the addition of the numerous recent ones, have pretty much taken care of that. I am definitely a walking storyboard now.

On a more positive note.....yesterday I had a fun book signing at Chapters Book Store, Canada's version of Barnes and Noble. It was in my hometown in Ontario, and, due to a notice in our local paper, many people from my high school days stopped by to support me and to see if I recognized

them - or vise versa. Not fair!

 . Young me.

One of my fans came to buy a second copy of my book, 'Because We Could', to pass onto a film producer friend of hers who was looking for her next project. I know that this is what it takes these days. More than ever before, it really is who you know.

In the 80's, I worked on a film with Jane Fonda. After that, we exchanged a couple of letters - her's to thank me for the great food and mine to ask if she would like to back a project I had in mind. She actually answered me.

Today, I am trying to send her a copy of my book sort of as a thank you for all the films she has done that I have enjoyed. Also, after the release of Netflix's Frankie and Grace, I thought she would enjoy my story, a lot. Now it seems she has agents for her agents and a wall around her as thick and as complicated to navigate as a rain cloud.

And we all know how my attempt to reach Burton Cummings for a coffee went... So, cross your fingers and hope for me that this film producer friend of a friend loves the read.

Some more good news, the bar on the age of my fans was raised this week with the addition of 91-year-old artist, Bobby Patterson. She loved it!