TubaOrNotTuba

Today I turned to old TV shows. That place in history for anything was possible even if implausible. Specifically an episode of Sea Hunt. Let me set this up for you. We have a retired frogman working feeding the fish at a local attraction. Somewhere nearby an experimental jet plane crashes in the water. Within minutes a helicopter is on scene to pick up our skilled diver along with all his gear and an underwater voice system. A slate board that actually worked. Extra gear for the man they would rescue. Cutting torches in order to break through the canopy. I guess that hammers and crowbars had not been invented back in that time. At everything running across the screen counted on the clock. Things like he only has four more minutes of air as they take eight minutes to set up the scene. Of course the wreck was located quickly and with that torch he was able to cut a very accurate hole in the side of the fuselage of an experimental airplane to reach the lever that would release the canopy. You can’t make this stuff up. Within minutes all were safe on the surface along with the camera from inside the sunken jet, added a pair of baby shoes. I’ll have to think about that part. I have gone diving, nothing happens quickly. It can take you half an hour just to get dressed. But not on TV., the clock is always running in your favour, like finding something underwater and cutting an accurate hole in the side with a blowtorch. Did I mention this was all in black and white because they had not invented colour either. That wonderful time just after the Second World War when anything was possible. And the cool part is that they could wrap the whole thing up including commercials in under half an hour and get ready for the next episode. I’m sorry about that jet airplane it was too heavy to lift out of the water so it seems to have been abandoned. Maybe I should get some dive gear and go see if I can find it inside of a minute. Should be easy to recognize it. It has a very accurate hole on the side where that escape lever was available. Not to the pilot but to a diver who just happened by and found the plane. As I say, you can’t make this stuff up.

I have spent my life rescuing musical instruments. Orphans for the main part. It all started with a snare drum which is still around here on a shelf received as a gift from an uncle by marriage. While at university, I had a bugle. Not a trumpet but a bugle. With a serious air leak. Often ended up at football games serving as a noise maker for someone else. And then there was a day I rescued a recorder. A large, wood tenor recorder. I was waiting for a train, in Halifax and in a nearby window of a shop I saw my next treasure. Wouldn’t with all the pieces. I entered the shop checked some other items and then asked, nonchalantly, how much for that. The shopkeeper quoted a price and I responded that it was too much. He made the usual well, take it or leave it. And I actually had an answer. I pointed out the window to awaiting passenger train and I told him with a voice full of calm that I was going to leave on that next train, with or without the recorder. There are other instruments that have been rescued around the house. Or around other people’s houses. In particular a trumpet that was rescued piece by piece while I was at university with the help of a real instrument repair company the trumpet was restored to playing order. There are a couple of flutes that came into my hands from the surplus market end of violin purchased by my father when I was still a child. All still around all still in playing order because instruments deserve careful treatment. Am I through collecting? Probably. I no longer have the will to forage.

Some of my early jobs never made it to the point of being included on a resume. But, they were jobs nonetheless. At one point I was hired because I was punctual and polite. Also, I could read and use paper scissors. The local university like any large operation tries to keep track of what others are saying about it. And so I became the clipping service. Once a week I would show up at a small office take a place at the desk and sort out that week’s newspapers. From all across the province. Then I would read or skim until I found a mention of the university. I would clip it out and date it, carefully. I did not have to read them aloud. These would just go into a folder so that if ever the question came up there was no need to quote into the bins looking for old newspapers. It was a job at a time when jobs did not pay much but my costs of life were low. And I did have dreams. I imagine some point in future where that office would decide that I was the only person suitable for a full time roll. As a paper Clipper or whatever. That never happened but I did find other things to do for them that would keep me with regular pay. I took photographs at a time when that actually meant something. I would deliver newsletters to drop boxes around the campus. And I would do my own garbage pickup. A complete solution to a small problem. The experience did me well. I was able to make the connection between giving what people said about you substance. Small pieces of news print if you will. And I took it to heart that no mention is too small when you have to justify a large budget. Paying some kid to do cutouts made sense. A lifetime later I have no idea if the position ever became large or permanent. I had moved on to other things. But I remember the wind and the wear and then notice that even small mentions are important to some people.

Today I have a question without an answer. My question is whether or not I should spend time looking at where I’ve been or looking at where I would like to go. Sort of a finite versus infinite kind of equation. I know where I’ve been more or less asking where I would like to go is much more complicated. And what I am learning along the way is that even the places I’ve been still have things to show me period. Videos that replaces as if I have never been there. Mysteries. Even the simple things. I went on a virtual road trip to northern Newfoundland. If you had said to me have you ever been there, I would answer in the affirmative but what I see in these videos leaves me with a lot of unanswered questions. How did I miss so many attractions the last time around. Of course, some of the problem is that my last trip there was years ago and things evolve. As we look forward to the next travel season I will have to provide some input. Give some clues about what I would like to visit. Would I like to return to the rock? Indeed. Just because. And there are closer provinces that I can visit or revisit as the case may be. I realized that they only saw a small bit of what was available, on those other occasions. What will really happen is that I will take my place as a passenger and give only mild indications. The driver does not want to hear about the things I thought I saw in a video. She knows. I do not get all the details anymore.

I just wanna take a moment to get this out there. Not all knowledge is helpful. I was watching a video about the use of a cane by the visually impaired. Seems fitting. And when the narrator explained that for those with a cane it’s not if you will be hit by a car but when I had to pause. Full pause. I had not considered that as one of my possibilities. I live in the country and I know not to ramble across the highway. In fact in the last five years I have had zero reason to do so. A good idea because who knows when a phantom potato truck is going to roll on by. But the reality is that if I was to go to the city,  I would have to think about my situation carefully not just the I can’t read the sign on your store possibility but the idea that I could take a turn and get lost and then not be able to explain to a passerby where I was actually coming from or going to. Unfamiliar territory. Yes I could use a white cane to battle the demons but not the getting lost and wandering into the path of an automobile. A reality check. Now, the idea of a guide dog has been presented and my own fear is that a dog would die of boredom. You can only watch your favourite human sitting down in a room for so many hours a day. I am going to have to learn more obviously. Try to get out of my comfort zone and talk to others who have limited vision. Let the record show that there are none in this area. At least, none that I have seen. In fact during my time in the workforce there were none, either. But don’t worry. I have lost the urge to wander around in the dark. It only took one encounter with an awkward set of stairs to show me that there are impediments. Rather, I will continue to self educate do my best to learn from the efforts of others. Also videos on how to use your cane are really boring. I can hardly see the point.

Hang in there. That massive snow melt it was just an illusion. We’re back to basic white outside. Am I surprised? No not really at this time of year we have to accept that nothing is set in stone. Anyhow I was contemplating the idea of going for a walk. Not far. And the snow on the ground will make it easier to find my way back home period. Just a joke. At least I know my way around the property and if I avoid the big ditch over the road all is good. I wonder how I would cope if I suddenly had to return to life in the big city. Where everything required navigating the corners. Corners are fine but traffic is a fast moving illusion. Even here in the country. When people recommend that you keep your dog tide it’s more for dog safety than anything else. Those big trucks and those fast moving current cars do not have time for caution. Work to be done. It is not that long ago that life on an island required going from place to place by boat. From my research I know that there was a makeshift road along the top of the cliff going from one cove to another. If there had been few storm, the road would actually be contiguous. But I have found too many places along that same old road where the path gives way to cliff. Suddenly. Just tell yourself that you did not need to go see the neighbour this month. You can see them in a few weeks in church. Those were the days I guess. And if you had a good horse the animal would do most of the navigating for you.

The obvious question here in Canada that you must ask every day comes down to one thing. How is the weather? For those who must be on the roads you ask the second part and are the roads good? In the middle of the summer they probably are but this time of year is a crapshoot. Right now the road at the end of my driveway is wonderful. No big storm coming through but to the West of here in the bigger provinces my son has reported the roads are terrible. To the point where if you are planning to travel you might consider putting it off. I have no plans to travel right now but I do care about other members of the family who want to go from there to wherever. Give it a second thought. Do not go out just to see if you can make a trip. Tomorrow will probably be better, although here that might also change. I noted that for people heading down through the central United States that whole thing of tornadoes is back in the news. It seems early but the dates we assign to seasons are skewed. I am not sure what would be the best time to travel anywhere. Probably yesterday because whatever is happening is already done. But do not stay out there too long. There is always more weather. As for the costs associated with travel, things like fuel, it has never been cheap enough to travel. Not really. A lifetime ago my father was protesting the costs of gas. The same rules will likely apply to the next generation. Costs that we do not want to pay. Whatever happened to those flying cars we were promised? The ones that had no associated costs. I guess that like so much else in life it was just a mess. But back to the storm. Nothing here yet and the day is almost over.

Sometime during the last hour there was a traffic accident just up the road. Minor traffic accident. The kind that got a visit from the police after the fact. Required the use of a first aid kit. By a first responder. What makes this story interesting to me is that the first responder lives here. The ink is barely dry on a brand new first aid certificate. Already, that brand new first aid kit has been called into service period. It is odd how you can go for years and years without any need for such things and then, boom or bang, there you are. There was nothing special about the road today. No new ice or heavy circulation of vehicles. Just the way it goes period. And I wonder, not having actually seen the accident, if this was a full life saving event. Maybe, because who am I to judge? That being said I now see I need to upgrade all the first aid kits we have in the house and the car and the RV. If you do not have it, you cannot use it. And I am sure that those actually involved in the incident are happy to have had someone come by and give assistance. Sitting by yourself on a quiet country road. With blood dripping is not that much fun. What will be the next moment in our lives. I have taken several courses but I have never needed my knowledge or ability. A positive thing. Given the number of people who are out and about lacking due care and attention. I, intend to stay close to home, where I can find my own means to avoid moments of bodily harm. Although, now that we have a qualified first responder in the house, I am much less at risk. Did I hear mention of CPR training? From what I’ve heard that can be useful as I get older. Title a first response

Times change. The jobs that people do change. I just need to look around this neighbourhood. So many jobs are now gone. Take a look at the local village. No stores no post office no real service. Even the tracks are gone. There used to be a building over there where they stored the bus that took people to town gone a small building near the general store had a telephone operator. That job is gone. There were a series of small local schools. All gone. If we go over to the local fishing port not a single person goes out trying to catch codfish or macro. Lobster is still a big item though. You will notice that the sound of someone cutting down trees is just an echo of the past. We do not warm our homes with green firewood anymore. If you were to ask me what job should a young person try to learn I would be hard put to find an answer. Most of the jobs have moved on to the city. Far enough away that you do not travel back and forth at the end of each afternoon. I do note that there are still the same houses for the main part. They have been in place for over a century. My grandparents would still be able to find their house and the houses of many neighbours but I live in a place where the time has passed by. Of course, we have gained. The economy as such is still stable. But that is only one century. The lighthouse over at the point still shines at night but the position of a lighthouse keeper is just a point in history. We still have the same churches so I guess that is a good thing. In the fields I see no shape or cows or horses. All the fox is now wild. In sharp contrast we have windmills. I asked and all the electricity that is generated goes away to other places. We consume but there are no jobs associated with the technology. The traffic comes only at certain times of the year. Usually, a tourist on his way from somewhere to somewhere. It does not bode well for the population. Going forward in a century this will be a virtual desert.

Many of my day-to-day issues are caused by my own hubris. A reluctance to ask for assistance. The question was raised about the odd white powder sprinkled near the sink period. I knew the answer. I have been trying to measure a dose of stomach powder period. One tablespoon approximately. But the spoons I found would not fit in the opening of the container so I used that other tried and true method where you tap on the bottom, carefully until some falls out period. This is not a method recommended in the laboratory, nor in the average kitchen. I usually get through the effort but there has to be a better way. On a similar note I have just come in from the garage where I was trying to find a tire pump. I know it is out there but I did not find it. However, I can confirm the lawn tractor has a flat tire and the steering wheel is where it should be period. I will try again, another time. No, I was not trying to re inflate the tire on the lawn tractor. That is an issue for another day. Rather I wanted to firm up the tire on my bicycle. And no, I’m not trying to go for a bicycle ride either. A different issue. Since I did not find the tire pump where I thought it would be I now have two options. Look around for another pump or ask for assistance. That project is on standby for now. I find so many ways to kill time. Not always successfully. By the end of the day I am ready to go back to bed. My measure of success has changed. Lately, there has been a raccoon hanging around outside. I wonder if he could be trained to do jobs. They have the reputation of being highly intelligent.