It is with scuples that I relate what has transpired throughout our lives since six o’clock this morning.  On the one hand, the facts are there, austere but true. There is no deceit attached to any particle of the chronicle which follows.  On the other hand, there are sometimes things about which one should not chatter (as I confess I am wont to do). But sparsity of thought and words is not a character for which I am rightfully known. And rather pretend I can wittingly change the tide of either myself or history, I prefer to cling to what I have instinctively enacted in the hopes at least of avoiding any derivative clamour which might otherwise arise upon the rendition of an adulterated version (howsoever it may have been inspired by propitious social delicacy).

Listening to this mournful introduction, you must be wondering, Dear Reader, what is it about which he intends to relate that is so prepossessing.  The answer I regret to say is nothing. There is nothing particularly engaging about the events hereinafter reported.  What however has captured my interest in the commotion of our day is the strength of the ingredients and the immediacy of my response to their nutrition. Say what you will, it isn’t every day that one is provoked by more than the glare of the sun or the glitter on the water.

The eagerness began yesterday afternoon when we were returning from the home of my sister and her husband. They’re adjacent the Rideau Canal in the Dow’s Lake area of Ottawa. They had given us furnishings which they no longer required and which we could use. As we drove homeward along the Appleton Side Road into Almonte we received an unanticipated telephone call from The Honourable Mr. Justice ASD and his wife who had only moments earlier left Almonte where they were visiting our mutual friends Jim and Louise. Our friendship with the Judge, his wife and their children is of especial importance to me because I have known the couple since before they married; and, while I haven’t been privy to a great deal in the lives of their children, the capital of their evolution has formed what for us is always intriguing and heartening. The children fall into the category of handsome, intelligent and sparky. I cannot imagine or guess what enormous thrill they inspire in their parents and grandparents. We learned today that their eldest daughter is 21; and, notably, that she wants to “date” others but not marry them. Considering that my mother married at age 18 and I was born within the next two years, I’m guessing the ambitions were then different.  In fact I am quite certain I recall my mother having said or intimated that she intended by marriage to satisfy her goals in life. Which I have to say, I believe she did.  You might chortle but in the context of “the little woman” my mother easily earned her reward as “Management” as my late father frequently called her. Clearly there are a variety of talents among people; my parents had theirs. Indeed only recently I thought to myself that I could never have maintained the pace my parents did.

We rallied with our friends for breakfast in downtown Ottawa this morning. Nine o’clock to be precise.  As I later observed to my friend when he apologized for having drawn us out of the country into the city for an early morning rendezvous it is one of the few occasions on which I have elevated myself from the straw before 10:00 AM. It is a sad truth that I sleep more than required.  Or, more to the point, I toss and turn in bed more than I should.  Although I have never been a good sleeper I have however learned that if I stay up until 1:30 AM, then get up at 7:00 AM i have a perfectly good night’s sleep.

Our breakfast was casual and prolonged.  We lingered at table long after everyone else had left the restaurant. The staff had begun to make very subtle hints. The longevity of our reunion spoke to our inexpressible commonality.  Indeed it was reminiscent of the time we last foregathered on Anna Maria Island when we were staying on Longboat Key.

It is perhaps opportune for me to finish this tale. Upon the conclusion of our long-awaited confab, we went our separate directions. Not long afterwards while waiting in a parking lot, I received the email below. It has revived me.  Though I am cautious not to overestimate, it nonetheless invigorates. Just to know the Ford Motor Company is back in gear: that those foreign electronic parts have either arrived or been duplicated and Made in America; and of course that my introduction to the hybrid awaits.

********************

Hi Bill,

Your new Corsair has arrived in Montreal, therefore we should see it in the next couple weeks here at the dealership.

Regards,

Denis Duhaime
Sales and Leasing Consultant
Lincoln Heights Ford Sales Limited
1377 Richmond Rd, Ottawa, ON K2B6R7

W: 613-829-2120
M: 613-447-4700