Author Archives: L. G. William Chapman, B.A., LL.B.

About L. G. William Chapman, B.A., LL.B.

Past President, Mississippi Masonic Hall Inc.; Past Master (by demit) of Mississippi Lodge No. 147, A.F. and A.M., G.R.C. (in Ontario) Chartered by the Grand Lodge of Canada July 20, 1861; Don, Devonshire House, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario; Juris Doctor, Dalhousie Law School, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy), Glendon Hall, York University, Toronto, Ontario; Old Boy (House Captain, Regimental Sgt. Major, Prefect and Head Boy), St. Andrew's College, Aurora, Ontario.

A wistful Sunday afternoon

One cannot ignore a vagueness, nostalgia and dreaminess – even melancholy – on a balmy sunny Sunday afternoon in the middle of July when one’s corrupted gusto is so egregiously tranquilized by lethargy and reverie. It is a singular moment, no pressing imperatives, no prerequisites, no interruptions of one’s placidity. The arguments and indeterminants of the week have gracefully faded from view or departed by design to await further enhancement in the upcoming week. I began immediately after breakfast by reclining in the blistering warmth on the balcony looking upriver. My vocation was clear: indolence and avoidance.

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A sense of recovery…

Having lately been encumbered – unexpectedly and remorsefully  – by the notional necessities of a credit card, a PIN number, Face-ID and its associated Cloud-based imperatives, we’ve commensurately endured the unwelcome interference of time limits, geographical distinctions, passwords and current balance. The once proximate fencing of primary limitation has translated to an expression of universal abhorrence. Suddenly the breadth of the storm is incalculable! The disabling conformity screams, “You can’t get there from here!”

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You can’t give it away!

If you have ever tried paying an American credit card from Canada through a Canadian bank, you know the turmoil surrounding conversion of the money from Canadian to US$; or, the greater obstacle to locate a bank in America to which you might first transfer the money from Canada before directing the payment of the credit card from that new account. Perhaps I have complicated the process; but I believe the general rule is that you need a separate US account (let’s call it an “American” account) through which to cycle US$ to pay an American credit card.

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Catching the pace

Like the rising sun, the new day incrementally and uninhibitedly springs into motion upon its daily elliptical journey. I awoke at six o’clock this morning and religiously recorded my blood pressure – though for reasons which now frankly escape me because the stronger medicine lately prescribed by my family physician has apparently stabilized the numbers. In spite of the stoic start to my day I nonetheless retired once again to bed and didn’t reawaken until 9:55 am. Shameful, yes; but clearly the sleep was needed. Instantly though I felt the pressure to accommodate, to clarify the tardiness for starting the day. My mind was frantic with relieving plans and ambitions.

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Afternoon parley

Today is one of those days! Everything is boomps-a-daisy! From the moment of my awakening at 8:10 am (altogether a civilized hour in my opinion) I reckoned I had flourishingly approached the day with vigour and gusto. Following the customary morning ablutions and the statutory repast of fried eggs and steel cut oats with judicious (and gratifyingly oily) spoonfuls of nutty organic peanut butter, I launched onto my tricycle to complete the usual circuit of 4 Kms about the neighbourhood. My partner joined me on his bicycle.

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Sunday summer drive

McDonald’s Corners is a blip on the map in Lanark Highlands.

Locally known as “The Hill”, this Scottish-settled community of just under a hundred residents serves as a scenic gateway to Dalhousie Lake. While it used to be a self-sufficient hub with its own blacksmith and general store, the village has pivoted to focus heavily on the arts and local agriculture.

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Looking upriver…way up…

Geography is not my forte. I’ve been told that our Mississippi River (the one I ponder every morning) doesn’t connect with the American famous (Huckleberry Finn) Mississippi River.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. It is commonly named among the Great American Novels, and it is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local colour regionalism.

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