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