When it comes to making a summary assessment of life there are unquestionably more enthralling polar alternatives than birth and death (though honestly after 75 years of age the topic becomes tinged, rather like standing by the curb waiting for a cab). Inevitability is not guaranteed inspiring. For the moment – during this blissful start to the Victoria Day Weekend – I have formulated the summary of the beginning and the end as “blossom to seed” which, although not as abruptly capturing the unanticipated wonder of birth and the precipitous dread of death, does afford a more poetic and less dissipative rendering of life.  No doubt it speaks to the universality of the subject that I was moved to reflect upon this awesome subject when noticing from my lofty perch overlooking the fields that the glorious yellow dandelions have overnight transitioned to balls of white fluff (which in turn I expect to discover tomorrow have been completely blown away). Nonetheless the compelling feature of seed is its inherent prospect of growth. Or should I say something more elevated such as transcendental? Maybe the no less magical answer is grandchildren.

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Earlier today while casually flipping through various articles on the internet, I chanced upon an adage to the effect, “You don’t have to go afar to be exhilarated; it’s right before your eyes.”  My account is an injustice but I believe it captures the motivation to widen one’s perspective concerning what is round about; and, it strengthens the posture that a good deal of what we imagine to see is in our head only. I don’t reckon the adage is a condemnation of world travel; just surrogate encouragement for those who don’t.

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“The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” is a 1974 Canadian film adapted from Mordecai Richler’s novel of the same name. It stars Richard Dreyfuss as the title character, his first lead role.

Winner of the Golden Bear at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz has been described as a ‘coming of age’ for Canadian cinema, as both a widespread critical and commercial success internationally. It won the Canadian Film Award for Best Motion Picture, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film. The film has been designated as a “masterwork” by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada.

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Since the beginning of the barter system (that is, from the time people learned to share reliance on others to fulfill their wants), the expenditure of money has acquired multiple and various characteristics. For those of us not on the leading edge of anything, buying stuff boils down to housing, groceries, clothing, gasoline and then what I would generally label as personal retail expenditure (furnishings, artwork, automobiles, jewellery and accessories).

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The question, “What have you done?” is not uncommonly posed in a variety of situations which strangely have nothing to do with one another.  It is a question of wide usage with unrelated purpose. For example in its simplest format it may be an untainted question of fact. Or, what is more frequent, it may be a pernicious suggestion that what you have accomplished is not without a degree of ambivalence surrounding the tale of adventure. Or, it may not be a question at all, rather a bland signal that what you have done is preposterous (more an exclamation than an interrogation). Or – and this is where I have an especial interest – it is an enquiry into how (if at all) you have succeeded to unwind your life. It’s a general look at what, in my case, I’ve spent the past 75 years doing amidst the pitfalls and highlights.

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Despite the large number of philosophical schools and their nuances, all philosophies are said to fall into one of two primary categories, defined in contrast to each other: idealism and materialism. The basic proposition of these two categories pertains to the nature of reality: the primary difference between them is how they answer two fundamental questions—what reality consists of, and how it originated. To idealists, spirit or mind or the objects of mind (ideas) are primary, and matter secondary. To materialists, matter is primary, and mind or spirit or ideas are secondary—the product of matter acting upon matter.

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Usage of the term indulgence in my experience most often accompanies a calculated self-satisfaction. Such as indulging oneself in butter tarts. It is however also indicative of the extension of time for performance of an obligation; for example, indulgence for payment of a debt. Both indulgences share a degree of satisfaction (though the character switches from transparency to ambiguity). The more discernible difference perhaps is that in the first instance one indulges oneself; whereas in the second instance the indulgence is vicarious. Today I enacted the delivery of first-hand indulgence.

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What little I know of tricycles is here rendered. It is an acquaintance which began precipitously on Key Largo one November at a time when I was anticipating knee replacement surgery in the upcoming months upon our return to Canada at the end of April. The day of our arrival on Key Largo I bought a Sun tricycle (which I have since sold to the neighbour next door from Boston). It was in my opinion a good tricycle though it had only one gear. The limitation was acceptable at sea level when everything is flat.  Otherwise I would recommend a minimum of 8 gears which is what I have on my current Evo Latitude tricycle. I hasten to note however that even with the 8 gears the instrument is not transformed to a racing machine. A tricycle is by any account a ponderous vehicle. The larger seat of the Sun tricycle was an advantage.

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Before the construction of the lighthouse, the rock had caused many shipwrecks because, except for a few hours a day at low tide, it lies just below the surface of the sea. By the turn of the 19th century, it was estimated that, in a typical winter, as many as six ships were wrecked on the rock. (In one storm, seventy ships had been lost off the east coast of Scotland.)

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For this old fogey a busy day means going to the grocery store or having an early morning medical appointment in the city. Beyond that it’s weighing one’s worth, recollecting the past and pondering the future. Not exactly an ambitious enterprise. Indeed these idle conventions are more attuned to what to ignore than to what one wishes to capture or to be captured by. A succinct though by no means differential acknowledgement. In brief, I have given up convincing others or myself about what to think or do. The mere utility of doing otherwise is questionable for innumerable reasons. No longer have I the devoted self-interest of the tiny sparrow announcing itself from atop a springtime fence with its familiar melody.

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