TubaOrNotTuba

My first contact with a schedule came from the local train station period. There was a chalkboard just outside the station door which listed the arrival and departure and destinations. My father would update it with chalk because these were flexible. With the assurance of a child I had the idea of and a more announcement board clearly in my head. Later, in school I started to read historical fiction and I remember my curiosity about someone climbing into the belfry with lanterns. What was the Lantern? What was a belfry. By land and sea? What about air travel? I learned later that my suppositions we’re flawed. But I still wondered in the case of those lanterns what would have happened if a gust of wind had blown out one of the flames. Would that have changed history? Perhaps that is why we put aside candles and move to batteries but I don’t know. As I move through life I learned that there were many more destinations and many more time slots. Going into a large train station where the board covered a whole wall was an eye opener. The world was much larger than I had assumed. And that was only real travel. Did anyone care about all those cars on the road? Where were they going and when would they arrive? Who had the chalkboard. Seems like a lot of work for someone. Nowadays we simply call up a browser and check things online. Not for real travel or ships but plain still try to keep the schedule. What will life be like in the future? Will we try to schedule things that are visual, like a zoom call? Will a schedule even matter? As you can see the number of questions has not diminished even as I get older. And those train schedules where I learn to read are something from the past.

I could have gone to town today. But I didn’t. I thought about sitting in the car for the two plus hours of transit time and realize that there was nothing in that that would make my day better. Here at home I have a coffee machine and a refrigerator and a bed if I get sleepy. None of those things are available in the car. Plus someone might come to the door and need to see me or another person. And if the house is just empty their trip is for want. And so I declined the chance to travel and set back to do what I do best. Kill time. If I were more in tune with how much time I have left I might be more committed to doing things. But none of us have an answer to that. I thought briefly about some of my siblings who are currently wandering around in Dublin and I thought that that might be interesting to do for an hour or two. But then I’ll be back to wondering where was the next stop going to be. I need to find a reason. Is that a sign that I’m getting old? Right now the most interesting thing that will happen today is having my favourite foster dog come to visit. Giving him a chance to sit on the couch and scratch softly behind his ears. Dogs like that you know. If I were more of a cat person I could learn to tell why the purr sounded so perfect. But I am not a cat person for medical reasons. All that sneezing and I dripping is less than amusing or enjoyable. Dogs don’t do that to me at least. You can tell that I have not tried many other pets. There was a bird that lived in the house once I think. And there was that silly Guinea pig but it killed itself. So sad and not so sad. That is an animal that gives back nothing to the relationship.

I think you know the drill. That next door neighbour who moved away five years ago is back. You were convinced that he had gone on to do other things but he liked that house and so at the first opportunity he was back in hanging his gaudy curtains and putting his junk around the place. Seriously doesn’t he have something better to do with his life. Like playing golf or insulting people. But no, he is back and from what I hear he has a few access to grant. Without the necessary grinding wheel. I hope he doesn’t take up axe throwing as a new hobby. I really expected him to build a wall around the place at least on one side and they also expected him to find some new friends. Most of them have gone on to better things. Like prison. But the neighbourhood is getting ready for the side show. It would be great to say that we know what to expect, but we do not. Maybe he has learned a few new ways to insult people while he was away. And what if he dies in his sleep. Who gets to clean up that mess. When they say that the neighbourhood has gone to ruin this may be the most correct statement you can make. I am not going to raise a flag in his honour or mine. I will try not to play loud music when I know that he is home from the golf course. No sense attracting attention to myself. And if the prices at the local grocery store go up I will know who to blame. This is a thinly veiled analogy because I am sure that you know what I mean. The best we can hope for, is that he will not bring war down on our backyard. Or cause the rest of us to fade into bankruptcy. He knows how that works. And I hear that he does not like dogs. No matter because my house is currently dog-less but if I change my mind do I have to get the neighbour involved in my decision process. Maybe something small and discreet.

Here we are. The morning after. The headache has not begun. All I can tell you from listening to the press is that nobody understands what really happened here. We now have four years to try and figure out just how bad the damage will be. Moving along. I decided to get ambitious this afternoon and start clearing the last of the lawn furniture off the deck period. I managed to get most of it down to the next level but as the light outside faded I also realized that this was not something to do after dark. I managed to not fall down stairs but I was going to have to wait until tomorrow or the next day to finish my task. As you get old you learn that your safety means more then getting things done. Am I disappointed? Only minimally. The deck is clear enough for the snowfall should it begin and getting the stuff down from where it is now to below the deck. It’s just a matter of my making the effort. In broad daylight. I forgot how the daylight fades away at this time of year. What seemed like an easy job in mid afternoon turn turned to be something very different only an hour later. I also should not be trying tasks like this by myself. If I fall it could be hours before someone comes along. Anything else of note today? Not really I am here by myself this evening waiting for my loaner dog to arrive. That might not happen until tomorrow or the next day but I am prepared. You can tell from this that we have not made a choice to get our own dog just yet. I want to see a bit more of what is going on around me before I commit myself to having a trip buddy. In all the contexts that implies.

I have strong memories of one of the first recordings I listened to from a rock concert. Not going to name the group but there was a chanted slogan in the background. The whole world is watching. Not in context with the video of this concert. Rather a political statement. It turns out that history does repeat itself and today we’re back at that same point where the whole world is again watching. Waiting for the alarm bell to sound closing the election polls south of here. We have been warned. This one will not be counted in 15 minutes. Perhaps not in 15 days. Something complicated and complex. Beyond my own experience with canadian elections where we generally know the winner within hours. And I like so many others will be uncovering my eyes and checking the results from time to time this evening. And tomorrow. After several years of this campaign I want to know the outcome. I want to know if things are going to be as bleak as some have said. Enough time to get my sleeping bag ready and head out into the bush or something. Why does it have to be so complicated? Why cannot elections be as they are designed to be comma, straightforward. We will know eventually who was the winner but the lead up to that point is painful. So back to my videos where I have some choice in what I see. I can look for a title that interests me instead of depending upon those who make life difficult telling me what I do or do not want to hear. Remember, I have no skin in this game. I am not voting nor do I really care about the outcome other than the inevitable effect on me. Will my savings dwindle away in a flash of light? I mean, the odds that I will suddenly become wealthy based on the outcome qualifies as slim to none.

I still remember the first book they read as a directed reading. While in high school. I was a drummer and although I did not understand the relation between my instrument and my hearing I think that my teacher who was wiser did. He loaned me a textbook that had been given to him while in college by the author. A concept really. I’m not going to bore you with details but the overlying subject was something called sound escapes. You can look it up. We live in an environment where it is increasingly difficult to find silence. Industry has gone so far has to make noise cancelling headphones part of our standard toolkit. From time to time based on what I learned in that textbook I take a few moments to actually listen to the world around me. Today as an example I had an eye appointment. Afterward I ended up sitting in the middle of a woodlot simply listening to the world around me. It takes a while for your brain to tune in the new sounds. First of all the big trucks going by outside. And then the sound of someone hammering on a roof across the fields. Only after this had gone I was able to hear the different sounds of birds who were doing what birds do best. I did not stay there long enough to record all the sounds that I heard but I did take the time to listen and that is the real lesson here. If we do not listen we cannot hear and if we stop listening there are sounds that we will never hear. Think of the effect of the jet airplane which has given a new way of covering up the sounds of the environment. Not just at the end of a landing strip but as they pass overhead while I sit in a woodlot. I will go back to another place to listen soon because this is one of those things that you must exercise. And yes, I have reread the book after all these years because we tend to forget the little details while keeping the larger ones. Things that get covered up in the noise of our lives.

Currently one of the important political slogans is that we’re not going back. I can assure you that we are not and this has nothing to do with politics. I have lived through the pre electricity era and I have lived through the pre easy heat your home era and I am not going back to either of those someone said why don’t you put up solar panels to light your house? The answer is simple there are more efficient ways. It turns out that central electricity beats all the other old ways hollow. I say that because I have been there. I have watched the trimming of the Wicks before the oil lamp went into service after supper. I have watched the slabs of wood come in from outside to heat the single stove in the house. I have lived in a home where electrical appliances were only a dream. I am not going back. I know more about alternative technologies and if I was pushed I could probably get the lights on using stuff I have around the house but the lighting would be limited and it would be dim. I think I would simply go to bed early. As for transportation I am not ready to walk from here to the store more than once a year. That would make for some hungry supper times, believe me. The conveniences of lights and transportation in a car mean that what we do now is for our own good and at a price we can afford. I have never owned a horse but I know that they’re more trouble than they’re worth. Cantankerous beasts with big feet. As for chopping down trees to heat my home I have learned from my ancestors in every case when something else came along they put the axe in the corner and carried on as if it had never existed. You see we do learn. And we do change things for the better.

In a few hours we will change the clocks period. In a few days our neighbours will change their government. The question is which action will affect me more. Yes I know the obvious. There is no election going on in my country that will have great implications for me. As for changing the clock that qualifies as 15 minutes of frustration as I attempt to reset the time on the stove and the microwave and that little white button over in the corner that I used to find out what time of day it really is. Even the tick tock clock in the kitchen is easy. As for our neighbours with their endless long election. Well I just want to see that one over. I want something new in the newest cycle. I want to stop doom scrolling as others put it. Checking to see if the polls have anything of note because usually they do not. Remember this is not my circus and those are not my monkeys. Actually I do enjoy watching the lead up to a big election. So many lies told to so many people. And when all is counted and the signs have been changed on the office doors my life will go on. Waiting for the next time I have to reset the clock. What I should do given that there is no snow on the ground yet is take care of rearranging the chairs on the deck. An obvious point of pride on that big ship that went down. For me an obvious move to make sure that when the snow does come that I can clear it out of the way without having to fight unseen obstacles. I will get around to it. Right now it is not particularly warm but things are clement and I know what I want to do before I do it. Yes I do plan such things out in advance. No headlong rush into falling. Those chairs are heavier than they look. And my deck does not tend to slant when the waves get high. I would make a very poor foul weather sailor.

There is an older movie that I’ve watched several times. Nothing that would have ever been seen in the theatre. I believe it was a British documentary. It has to do with the work to save some sailors. And the surprising part is the number of interlocked technologies that come into play. The opening scene begins with the sound of a real train whistle. Used to wake our intrepid crewman before he heads for his ship. I believe this is in a coastal town allow no signposts are ever shown. However in the background there is an ongoing theme that involves communication with a Coast Guard radio station. Letting people know that a ship is in danger. The operator undo T uses voice while Morse code plays in the background. In the station itself there’s also an operator wearing a headset as he uses landline telegraph. Supposedly to communicate with other authorities in this area that do not have the benefit of a ship. There are a number of ships that also join in to the search and rescue. Also the load of coal that has to be transported from one bunker to another to level things out to keep up the steam that is used to drive the ship. And the sound of the whistle on the ship communicating with we never find out who. So many little mysteries. I tried to imagine the making of this documentary. As they sat around the table writing the script did they simply throw in every technology they could think of? In the end no one died. At every juncture someone had a cup of tea which proves that it was a British documentary. I assume that if it had been from the continent the beverage of choice might have been wine. I’m going to have to find some other films from this. To see how they handle such an A2 storyline. Remember, no one died. At a point where we thought things might get rough everything was settled and the ship radio back to shore to say that the rescue tug would not be required. A short and sweet lesson in life. Yes I should list the title of the film but unfortunately I missed that Part 2.