Hi Mom!

Hi Mom! And Hi Wife! Hi Son! Hi Daughter!

My dreams of this going viral are evaporating . . . 

I’m kidding of course. I expected that a few people would find this blog interesting and most importantly that I would. But I’m pretty sure I’ve reached the point now where only people who might feel guilty about not reading this are still checking in.  

I may provide updates on another adventure as I’m currently preparing for a week sailing on Lake Superior on this:

My sailboat: a 1972 Grampian 26 as previously described elsewhere in my blog

I started the blog intending to document and share with friends a motorcycle ride to the Arctic and possibly other adventures.  But I found it impossible to write of what I was experiencing without delving into some reflections of what is happening in life and then, by extension, the history that helps me place myself in context, not to neglect future plans that are the only actual certainty. 

The plans, that is. The plans are certainty. Whether they will actually occur is a separate question. But they’re definitely plans. Certainly!

I also expect to find some form of enlightenment through the process of writing things down, “some form” of enlightenment fortunately allows a lot of different forms, including the “non-existent” form. That’s a pretty accurate description of what I’ve found so far. 

It’s already interesting for me to go back and reread my entries from a month ago and I suspect that may only grow. I’ve never previously kept a journal and now choose to do so in a very public forum.  Hmm, diagnosis, doctor?

I’ve always been open to trying new things. Well not ANYTHING, as there are SOME things I don’t see myself trying. But up for a challenge, unafraid of embarrassing myself, go for the experience: yes to all that. 

I haven’t yet discovered some amazing unexpected talent. On the contrary, my lesson usually is: what the hell was I thinking? But by then I’m at least semi-commuted so I feel an obligation to carry on. 

I was somehow talked into “trying” hockey and as someone whose balance and coordination isn’t all that good, I was dubious. My friends (true Canadians, unlike me) wouldn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t a hockey player. Or they were perhaps having fun at my expense. 

But I went out to play after getting the necessary equipment at the used sports store and my friends quickly realized that I wasn’t joking when I told them I hadn’t played before. But I stuck with it. 

I have now played as the least talented person on the team for almost twenty years, winning the “most improved” award yearly for about the first decade until it became clear that all improvement is relative to where one starts. 

Strange to say I keep getting invited to our  annual tournament even though my accomplishments are limited to being sufficiently sober to get on the ice for each of my shifts. I’ve never scored a goal on a tournament which helps to explain my status as “third string”. Maybe they just feel sorry for me.

I didn’t go to the tournament this year because my retirement was coming up and I worried about all the things that I would leave un-done. Also, my colleague and roomie declined to go this year, saying it’s in part because he’s “getting too old” even though I’m six years older than he is. So there you go: I manage to combine questionable judgement with limited skill. 

The team went 0-4 this year I think perhaps because their mascot was missing? Maybe I did contribute something after all! 

I do plan to get out and skate again. Maybe go to the tournament next year, if they’ll have me. Despite my realization that this might not be the greatest idea, among other reasons a collision I had with the boards which resulted in a broken ankle (a minor injury really, that I’ve recovered well from. I wish I could say the same about all of my various injuries and maladies!). The human body heals.

Do accept this report as confirming that I’m fine, Mom (big wave) and anyone else still reading this which I know that there are still 3-4 other regular readers feel free to comment in the comments section below.