TubaOrNotTuba

Most musicians will agree when you play solo it is as if you were naked in front of the whole world. On a sound basis. Hopefully you kept your clothes on. So I sat here for a few minutes trying to remember 3 or 4 moments that I have never forgotten. One early one involved the first time that I had to record a drum fill. In a stage band or jazz band context. But the performance was captured to tape and placed on a record album that was sold to all of my acquaintances. Not a long solo but for me unforgettable. Another moment was my first tuba solo while performing a piece by Holst. One of those situations where everyone can hear you because you are the first one to perform in the piece. Not long but you have to get it right. There is no do over. And from the first note until the last you are centre stage. In an audible context. The third moment would be when I stood up in a full auditorium and performed a solo on flute. By that point I realized that most people have no idea what they’re listening to. Some cannot even identify the instrument much less the piece of music. Still you want to get it right the first time. No do overs. A fourth one would be my loudest performance. Not something I had intended but I got caught up in the moment it has our pit orchestra finished our run on Oklahoma I hit the drums solidly loudly enough so that I broke a drumstick which is something I have almost never done either intentionally or by accident. That was a long time ago but the moment is still with me. So what about you? Do you have moments that you can say I was in front of the world. It happens and if you only play as part of a band you may never have those moments but when you are in front of the band you have to be on your best behavior. In passing I did have a teacher tell me that I could go ahead and play more loudly on a regular basis because I was one of the quietest tuba players he had ever met. As he explained it was all in the air that came out of the top of the instrument not the air going into it.

At the end of another year I have to reflect. I doubt that again this year I will be added to that list that people refer to as the elders of society. I checked my birth certificate and I have enough years of seniority but somehow I lack one crucial ability. I am unable to teach anyone else some of those finer points of our culture specifically the ones dealing with myth and legend. I checked and I have no myths or legends to pass along nor do I have any real folk songs. My quiver is empty. Many societies around the world depend upon the more aged in a group to teach the younger people. I have taught but only what was considered to be the material judged as apt. What does this mean going forward? I guess I’m going to have to learn some folk songs and this end legends and then get out there and beat my drum so that others will know that I too have learned the foundational elements of my culture. This could be difficult. I checked the historical record and in this area only a couple of centuries have passed since my group arrived. For me to try passing on the legends of those who were here before would amount to cultural appropriation and I am not ready to go down that bumpy road. I could, I suppose make up some folk songs. Put the author down as anonymous and then assured that the tune is a catchy one. One that will be passed along to all who hear it in my area. I will be fulfilling my role as a teacher and beefing up my creds as a senior. An elder. I do not particularly want to have another badge on my sleeve but it would be interesting to be introduced to others as an elder of my society just a thought overnight we received a light layer of snow. There is more on the way apparently. And the man on the weather station says that this will probably stay with us through the holidays. No sudden melt in view. This does not really matter other than as an entry in the almanack.

I’m going to offer you a choice. Would you prefer to be banished to a desert island or a deserted island? Think about that for a moment. Living on a sand dune is something I am quite familiar with but living on any island with no other people less so. Getting out into the sand is wonderful when the weather is warm but I would not want to be down on the beach right now. Too cold with that sand between my toes. As for going to a deserted island? There are so many because not everyone is suited to people hanging out for more than an hour or two. Plus on a deserted island there might be some stuff that was left behind. Things like trees and houses and wild animals. Small wild animals that you can cook over an open fire. There the choices were made for you. All I’ve ever found on a desert island meaning sand is something called a sand hopper. A perfect example of brownian motion that is worthless. As for islands that are devoid of humanity? That can be quite relaxing. Not in the dead of winter but the other seasons. Looking at my calendar we are very close to the solstice which for the unfamiliar is not the same as an equinox. This is where we set the limits of seasons. Fun fact for those that live in Australia they’re getting set to celebrate summer. Not like us. There probably is some place on the earth where the seasons are wonderful all year long. Boring but wonderful period of course they probably have a lot of people already which makes the chances of finding a deserted island into a bit of a struggle. I think I will go for an option where I can call ahead and have someone bring in what I need so that I do not have to forage. Getting the grocery shopping done for me if you will. And if I pick my place properly I will not have to deal with all those other pesky weather related phenomena. We make it snow tonight or tomorrow. Not enough to matter but enough to remind me that this island does not meet my own limits for what makes a proper place to live.

Some days the phone will ring and I am sure that at the other end there is someone trying to pass a scam. However it takes time. You have to ask the right questions or they will just hang up on you. Today I had one of those normal calls from the telephone company. Asked me to confirm the date of delivery for a new router. Did I mention that this is for a system I do not use? Anyhow the usual response from the other end is to hang up the phone and move on to another call. But, today I got a rookie and she took me one step further. In order to deliver my new router they would need to make some adjustments to my computer. And there it was. A trident rude scam where they get into my control panel and open my computer up for remote access. Of course I did not allow that. But I’ve learned that calling them a scammer really seems to make them angry so that was what I did. Your mileage may vary. Unfortunately the majority of the scam calls that arrive here are already of a known measure. I look forward to some of that crypto traffic that seems to be taking over the world. I mean having me trade something that I do not already have seems like a fun way to get rich quick. I have seen a crypto instant teller but it was a long time ago and far away. I must check with the kids and see whether that possibility still exists. Get me some of that block chain. I guess I have a rather dull life. Trying to bait scammers. I actually miss the good old days when I had a job that paid money. A little. You can only stay with the same employer for so long before even their tricks become familiar ones. Sort of like keeping an old dog around too long.

The level of disarray in our current federal government is startling. All that comes to mind is a hen house with a fox inside and the fox is invisible. Let’s step back from this mess for just a moment. Yesterday the finance minister resigned. There are others counting down the days until the Prime Minister resigns. Almost as if these people we’re actually in control of things. I will give you a quick side show these people are spokespeople. All of the government ministries have a whole team of experts behind the scenes actually running the puppet show. If one of them is suddenly unavailable there is always someone to step in. We designed our government that way. They are nothing more then spokespeople. No need to panic there is already a new finance minister. Took only a couple of hours. The time to fellow de mandatory paperwork I imagine. The amount of stress that media and government try to give us over what is really a mundane change in personnel is amazing. Yes some of us are able to name the current Prime Minister but not everyone. Most people including myself have never actually met an acting Prime Minister. I’ve seen a couple who retired but that’s the point these are nothing more then spokespeople no more or less important than the person that reads the Evening News. Just a more expensive suit. I will sleep quite well knowing that our government system does not depend upon one person to get the job done. In sharp contrast with the neighbours. In fact having the president of the United states continually refer to our Prime Minister as the governor of our state puts it into perfect perspective these are just figureheads. And if you remember back to the days of sailing ships when they put a figurehead at the prow of the ship that figurine never prevented a shipwreck.

I am not going to lie to you. Some tasks that are actually very routine take me longer than I think they should. I just finished running the vacuum cleaner around the house. This is not a large house and I know where I am going and I could count the corners for you but some other parts of the job are just at the limits of my ability. A task as simple as emptying out the vacuum cleaner’s bin in the garbage bin requires that I rethink things. Some reverse engineering is involved. If I cannot see the latches to open the bin I have to figure out where they should be through logic. And I do. That is now empty. However if I was doing this for someone else they would have sent me to the road a long time ago. My abilities are not what I think they should be. So going forward what should I do? I could lock the doors and keep all others out. No more dust or dirt. Or I can accept that dust and dirt are part of life but that does not make much sense when we have gone beyond dirt floors. Therefore I continue. If someone is watching me they will be given to fits of laughter because I take a lot longer to get myself out of any corner than I should. Not that different from a robot I suppose except that I cost less and eat more. That’s it. That’s my rant for now. In other stories I see that the federal Minister of Finance has decided to resign. There is something sinister about that I am wondering how the government will get itself out of this corner. The news has just broken so there are no pundit articles to read just yet by the end of the afternoon I am sure the rumour bill will be hard at work. Our government has become a walking rumour just in time for the holidays.

Something in the news leaves me puzzled. 1st a disclaimer. I come from the country. Rural life. Fences are important if only to keep the cows where they belong. We have had this tradition for as long as we had traditions. Now moving forward. I think that as a country we respect the border. We only have one so it doesn’t take that much of a jump to say that we take care of the border on our side of an imaginary line. Our neighbour to the South and I’m thinking in terms of national neighbour seems to feel that people are crossing into his land from here. No proof given but I accept that he may have a different view of things. However at what point do we have to spend the money to build fences on his side of the line. I can see where we need to do our usual diligence but he seems to believe that all of the border infrastructure should be built by us. Something about a wall that he promised his people and never delivered on. I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out because we’re only a couple of months out from his threats being made real. He has big plans for us whether or not we are paying attention. That border thing might be important if both sides were doing their job but that is not the case. I do not feel that we need to build a new fence for his side of the wall especially since he has never built that wall. Instead I want some rational response to things if people are coming to your side of the fence to sell stuff stop buying. Because that’s the real case here all of the posturing is someone trying to keep his population from buying things that he does not want them to have. Whether or not those products are being produced elsewhere and coming through our land to his side of the fence is just a detail.

The services offered by the government are important. They have told us so. In return for our tax dollars the government agrees to take care of jobs that would otherwise be too expensive to handle. So right now I am watching what amounts to a double mess. Our postal system is broken. Over the last four weeks mail has been sitting inside of buildings not being delivered. The government has decided that the striking workers have to stop and get back to work. In return the outdated contract will continue until something changes. Meanwhile the government has also announced a tax holiday. Over the next month or so we should expect to spend less at the store on a large list of objects because the tax has been withdrawn. However that same government does not understand the mechanics of their own system. The tax holiday as we know it should begin today. When the company is not ready the government has told them to just carry on as normal. Collect the usual taxes and remit them just like before. The consumer can then appeal to the government for a return of those taxes. I get the feeling that this will be impractical. As one pundit put it, a clown show. The government is unable to provide proper mail service or taxation service So what is left? Well we could say the military but the government has also under spent on that. At least according to all of our allies. I keep wondering what the government is doing on a day-to-day basis since they seem to be missing the boat on a number of items. Including the boat. We depend on ferry service but break now that is also broken. Will it get fixed? Eventually I suppose because governments do keep a checklist of what they have not yet completed. I will make a bet that our taxes will be collected on time to the cent. We may not use the cent but they do.

Clearly I made the right choice. I know little about the arcane science of getting wealth. Other than four words. Buy low sell high. I have never put much energy into the whole affair because there are so many others who seem to have it all figured out. Or not. All those stock market reports are destined for someone but for those of us with a rational amount of money we need not pay too much attention. Seeing the future president of the United States ring the bell at the stock market exchange left me indifferent. I guess that is how some people believe that they belong to a church. If you ring the bell you must be getting in touch with your personal God. Now where was I. High finance. I came across some videos this morning that tried to teach me about the way that interest rates and house buying are interlocked. I thought about it for a few minutes and realized that they too have to deal with the buy low and sell high. The video never entertained the difficulty of getting that first house. Now I have been a homeowner for about four decades I have owned or will own someday different homes that met my needs of staying warm and dry in the winter. I have never understood this need to flip a house when the house is working just the way it should. To all those people who post their homes on a real estate site realize what it really says about them. They make poor choices and are then left trying to rectify a problem right now we are waiting for our personal interest rates in this country to settle down hello from the little I’d learned from these videos the odds are against us. Not a great time to be trying to buy or sell much of anything. Unless you are already rich. I should ask someone who is better schooled in economics. Do you realize that the school system leaves this subject untouched. Probably because our teachers are also uninformed or poorly educated in the mechanics of getting rich. I did see some movies about robbing banks but they seem to date back to the days when people got away on a horse. I do not own a horse either.

A quick look out the window reminds me that I am at home and that I am in very little danger of being storm stayed. That’s the expression we use around here for when you can’t get back to where you want to go. Further looking back in time I realize that I have not had very many incidents that saw me storm stayed or otherwise delayed by weather. There was a trip in the winter when we got hit by an ice storm and had to stay at a hotel on the road but that was easy. There was also a train trip that went on for so long that some fellow passengers decided to give up on public transportation and rent a car. For the next afternoon I traveled with them from one major city to another in order to get home for the holidays. Again that went well there was also the time that I could not get home from church where I had gone to sing in a choir. Happily the choir director simply invited me to stay with her family at their house. I was only a few kilometres from home but there was too much snow. There is a commonality to the story. All of my delays have pertained to winter weather. I have never had to shelter in place because of a hurricane or any other natural disaster that did not involve snow. Or ice if I count that freezing rain. We are now getting ready for winter in this part of the world and given that there is no snow on the ground that tells you something. This used to be the time of year when you got your sleigh out from storage two down the hills. Yes I know where my coat is and my boots but right now I could probably traipse around outside in bare feet double digit weather. For the record I’m not going to because that might get people in the neighbourhood talking about the crazy old man who lives up the road I do not want to add to their stories.